**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Here's the next chapter! Buckle up because this one's a wild ride. :)

. . .

"Puppy… Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine, Loki." Nari waved him off, insisting for the eighth time now that she would be perfectly fine. It had been a few days since her explosive meltdown on the roof of the school, and she had, as far as she was concerned, improved tremendously. It had felt surprisingly liberating, releasing all that pent-up hurt. To let go of her pain, even if only temporarily.

The god of fire disagreed. After seeing the human student in such a state, he simply couldn't unsee it. He had visited her the day after, that evening, and now the following afternoon, hoping to get a little more insight on what precisely had happened. Most of what escaped her that night were heart wracking sobs and gasps for breath. Any words Nari had spoken during the process were incomprehensible. It wasn't so much that she hadn't tried; there was just no plausible way to formulate coherent sentences when all she could manage was garbled mumbles. Now, in a far calmer state, she had clammed up again, and getting any information out of her was proving impossible. "I would love to believe that, but —"

"Loki, listen to me." The moment she began, he knew she would entertain no further argument. "What happened that night... I wasn't exactly myself. I do understand and appreciate your concern, truly. But I am okay now. At this point, I just want to rest, okay?" There was a moment of silence between them before she tried again. "...Please?"

With her final plea, Loki gave up. There was no way he was getting any answers out of her. But leaving her entirely to her own devices wasn't an option. There was something very wrong with the older Kusanagi sister, he could feel it. A nagging, unsettling feeling in his gut that told him letting her be would be a terrible idea. So, he would for now. But not for long. "Alright, Puppy. I'll leave you alone."

"Thank you, Loki."

That had been hours ago. Now, Nari lay alone in her bed curled beneath the sheets. Nearly every muscle in her body was shaking, she could feel her chest tightening as invasive floods filled her head. Thoughts of flashing lights and screaming fans. Of shouting voices and roaring flame. Of her parent's disappointed faces morphing into ones of pride at the sight of the other. Of Yui. No. It wasn't enough. She wasn't enough. She was never enough. And she was tired. She was so, so tired.

All she had wanted was to escape her old life. In trying to do so, she found herself in an even worse predicament, one where flight wasn't an option. Then, when she had all but lost hope, she found herself residing in an alternate dimension. A world of fantasy and magic. A realm of the gods. She had hoped that she could finally find her freedom there. A chance to start over, and maybe finally do things right. But much like the others, that had been nothing more than a dream. Eventually, everything had caught up with her. It would always catch up with her. She knew that now. She would never be fast to outrun the mistakes of her past. Even here, in the garden of the gods, she couldn't wash away her sins. Or his.

Frustrated, she reached beneath her pillow for the familiar orange bottle, trembling as she twisted open the cap. She would do anything to stop the pain. To stop the thoughts. To stop the memories. To stop… everything. She just wanted it all to go away, so she could finally rest. Sitting up, she dumped the medication into her palm, threw them back, and guzzled them down with water before leaning tiredly against the wall.

It was only a handful of pills…

Not the end…

… of the world.

. . .

A quiet tune filled the darkening hallways, Yui humming the melody of Midnight Mamba.

The concert was everything she had expected, hoped for, and more. It had always amazed Yui; her sister's ability to work the crowd. Her dance moves, her voice, and even her interactions with the audience were all in startling contrast to her typically quiet and standoffish nature. As one who so often shied away from others, it was truly incredible to watch. The moment she appeared as Luna before her Starlights, she transformed and became an entirely different person. And seeing her blossom in all her potential onstage was one of the best experiences she had ever had.

Once all was said and done, Yui had initially gone searching for her sister. Vanishing from the stage, she quickly disappeared from the courtyard; likely to avoid being mobbed by her doll fans. Leaving her to her — she assumed — costume change, she remained behind to keep the other students entertained for a while. With, of course, the exception of Loki. Not long after the show was over, she noticed his absence from the group. Fearing the worst, she quickly encouraged everyone to disperse, just in case he had planned some elaborate prank.

The days that followed were radio silent. Classes were cancelled the following day, at Yui's request. As she had experienced many times in the human world, trying to wrangle students following any kind of exciting event was nearly impossible. During that day, she noticed that her sister was missing. Given the show she had put on the previous night, it wasn't surprising she was exhausted, so she left her alone. Simply attending the concert had tired her out, she couldn't imagine how the performer must have felt. By the second day, Nari still hadn't made a public appearance.

Yui went to her room to check on her and found her lazing about in her bedroom, looking like a wrung-out rag but otherwise perfectly fine. After a brief conversation, she left to continue planning for the next few days. Seeing her sister's face was enough to assuage her concerns temporarily; getting a good nap would do her some good. By the third day, Yui was beginning to grow concerned. She was understanding of her sister's need for recovery, but at the very least figured she would have informed their instructor of her impending absence. That concern quickly grew to alarm when she discovered that none of the other gods had seen her either in or outside of the classroom.

All with the exception of one, who would make their presence known later that evening in the student council room.

"Loki? What are you doing here?" Yui asked. There were multiple reasons to be unsettled by the god of fire's presence in their workspace, the chief of which being it was afterhours. Only gods knew what sort of trouble he could be getting up to at that time of night and if she wasn't careful, both she and the entire council room could end up the victims of a spectacular prank.

Thankfully, he shrugged his shoulders to ease her concerns. "Relax, Kitten. I'm not here to cause trouble."

"…Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"Fair question." Loki hopped from his perch on one of the desks and landed on the floor. "And you would be right to ask it. However…" His footsteps echoed quietly through the room as he approached her, stopping a few feet away; he got as close as he could before she became visibly uncomfortable. "That's not why I'm here today. My visit concerns other matters."

"O-Oh!" Yui's expression perked up immediately. "Is it about classes? I'm happy to see you're finally taking an interest —"

"Ah, ah, ah, wrong again." Loki waggled his finger to silence her, earning a confused stare in response. "I am here to give you a… suggestion."

"Suggestion?"

"Yes. Though I have no siblings of my own, I do understand the importance of someone close to you. As such, I am able to appreciate the trust forged by such bonds, and the resulting willingness to show vulnerability." A piece of crimson hair twirled around his index finger.

The younger sibling didn't answer, only continuing to gaze at him with uncertainty. "U-Um…"

Loki frowned. It seemed he would have to spell it out for her. "Your sister. I visited your sister a little while ago."

"Oh, you did?" Her expression began to falter. "I haven't seen her since I went to check on her yesterday. She wanted to rest after the performance, so I've been leaving alo —" Her voice choked, slapping a hand over her mouth at her catastrophic error. "I-I mean, she wasn't feeling well, and I wanted to —"

Loki lifted his hands to silence her sputtering. "You can relax, Kitten. I know all about your sister's secret identity."

"O-Oh, I… you do?!"

"Yup."

"Wow, I… I can't believe she told you. I mean, I'm assuming she told you. Nari is really secretive about her persona, and she doesn't —"

Once again, Loki interrupted her, stepping forward and poking her nose with the tip of his finger. "Yes, I'm sure that's all veeery interesting. But that's not why I'm here."

"R-Right… you said you wanted to suggest something to me?"

"Yes. I want you to check on your sister."

"Huh?' Yui blinked. That was an unusual request, especially considering that he had just spoken with her a short while ago. At the thought, her chest grew tight, her confusion shifting into panic. "Wait, why? What's wrong with her? Is she okay —"

"Kitten." Loki's purr silenced her, his coy smile belying his underlying concern. "I am not the one you should be questioning. I'm only here to suggest that you check on her."

"Loki, you're not making any sense," Yui scowled. "You said you talked to her a few hours ago, and now you want me to speak with her. But Nari said she wanted to be left alone. Please stop talking in circles and tell me what's going on."

The god of fire inhaled through his nose, doing his best to hide his irritation. It seemed that there was no way of getting through to her without brutal honesty. "Look, something is upsetting your sister. Puppy hasn't been feeling too hot the last few days, surely, you've noticed?"

"Well, yeah… I told you she was exhausted. Nari's not a social person by nature, these things take a lot out of her."

Loki stared at her, eyes growing wide at her steadfast expression. It was worse than he feared; Yui truly had no idea. Determined as she was to convince him, it seemed she had redoubled her efforts for her sister. Nari had mastered the art of masking her emotion, or at the very least, her pain around her younger sibling. To her, she appeared nothing more than drained; that was by design, she saw exactly what she wanted her to see. For some reason, that wall came down around him, probably because she didn't feel he needed to depend on her. But despite her transparency, there were still limits to what she would trust him with — the last two days had been proof of that.

Whatever was bothering her was far beyond what she was willing to share with him, but he knew for a fact it wasn't a result of her simply 'needing to rest.' He could tell that just from her breakdown the other night. The Nari he had seen that night was nothing short of broken. It was a woman left with nowhere else to turn but himself. He was familiar with pain, far more so than any other. And he was certain she was descending into a dark place; somewhere he couldn't reach her. But perhaps Yui could. At least, that was what he hoped.

His silence stretched on for too long, Yui's face slowly contorting into concern. "Loki… what did my sister tell you? What's going on with her?"

Shaking his head, he backed away. "Nothing. That's the concern. And I'm sure she's convinced you every which way that she is alright. She's your big sister, and you trust her. I get it." The look on her face confirmed his theory; uncertainty was evident in her expression. "But trust me when I say, she's not. Something is bothering Puppy, and she won't talk to me about it. But she might talk to you."

"Where did you last see her?"

"I visited her in her bedroom. From what I can tell, she hasn't been sleeping."

"She's been having nightmares again…?" she muttered.

Loki shook his head. "I'm not sure about all that. But I can tell she's on her last legs. I get the feeling her familiar is the only thing keeping her steady."

"Nari…" Yui scowled. The grave expression on his face told her he was sincere. The god of fire was many things; a trickster, a firecracker, a general nuisance to anyone in his bodily radius, and a deft weaver of falsehoods. But he wasn't lying about this. She was sure he was telling the truth. And to be honest, it didn't really surprise her. Her sister always shouldered her burdens on her own; she had done so since they were children. As the oldest, it was to be expected. But they were no longer children, and she clearly needed help. Help that she refused to ask for, going so far as to convince everyone around her — aside from Loki, apparently — that she was alright. Even when she was crumbling on the inside.

"Your sister is going under, Kitten. Pull her out before she drowns."

Nodding, Yui turned, grabbing her bag back off the table. "I'll go see her right now. I'm going to get to the bottom of this." Loki watched her spin on her heel and charge toward the door, items tumbling out of her bag as she went. They went utterly disregarded; those weren't her concern tight now. Stopping just out of the opening, she paused to look back at him. "Loki."

"Hmm?"

"…Thank you for telling me." With that, she turned and bolted down the hallway, leaving the god of fire alone in the silent room.

. . .

Loki's warning haunted Yui the entire way back to the dorm. Her original work in the student council room went neglected, leaving a lack of preparation she had no doubt she would hear about from their instructor the following morning. But she couldn't be bothered to care about it at the moment. She wouldn't have been able to focus anyway after their conversation. The only priority right now was finding her sister, sitting her down, and figuring out what was causing her so much strife that her moods had even Loki concerned. Then, if she had the energy, ream her out for lying to her and stubbornly shouldering whatever it was on her own.

She didn't even bother to drop her items off in her room, heading passed her door and straight to Nari's. A knock at the door rang through the empty halls followed by a heavy silence. A minute passed before Yui knocked again, louder this time, making it clear she would not be ignored. Her third round of knocking was met with an unexpected answer, scratching against the door and a small click. When it opened, she was met not with her sister, but a small black feline in a tired daze.

"Fuyu…? Where's Nari?"

The familiar yawned and stretched out her paws before shaking the stiffness from her body. "She is in her bedroom, sleeping."

"O-Oh… I suppose that makes sense." It hadn't occurred to her until that moment just how late it had gotten. A quick look at the clock on the wall made her feel a little foolish. "I just wanted to check on her and make sure she's alright. Loki told me she hasn't been well…"

At that, the cat nodded. "Yes, your sister has been quite a bit moody the last couple of days. I've spoken to her multiple times, but she insists that she's fine. Honestly, she spends most of her time in her room napping."

"I see." Yui took in the information, following the cat into the room. Leaving Fuyu in the main area, she made her way back toward the bedroom. It sounded like Nari was suffering from her nightmares again. If that were so, she couldn't blame her for being irritated, running on barely an hour or so of sleep. That being the case, she didn't feel right about waking her up if she had finally managed to rest. She would poke her head in and check on her, that was all. If she were awake, she would speak with her. If she were asleep, it could wait until morning. Yui just wanted to see her.

She had to make sure she was okay.

"Nari…?" she called softly, slowly peeking her head in the door. She received no answer. Stepping forward, Yui carefully shuffled through the room, making her way further into the opening. She tried again just in case she was awake and hadn't heard her. "Nari, are you asleep?" Her eyes narrowed in the darkness, looking for any signs of her sister. For a moment, she let out a sigh of relief, seeing her lying still on the bed. Fuyu was right, she appeared to be sleeping. She should come back tomorrow morning. That's what she'd planned to do.

But something was nagging her, screaming at her that something wasn't right. A deep sense of foreboding warning her not to leave it alone. She wasn't sure what exactly compelled her to turn on the light… but she was very glad she did. Upon illuminating the room, she felt her heart stop in her chest. Her sister was very much in bed, but she wasn't sleeping. She was motionless. Eyes closed; head slumped unevenly over the pillow. Sitting loosely in her hand was a small orange bottle… and scattered across the sheets and onto the floor, were dozens of familiar blue pills.

"NARI!" Yui shrieked. She was across the room in an instant, shaking her sister's still form. Her vision blurred as she tried desperately to wake her sister, to no avail. She was still as the grave. A quiet thump sounded from the other room, Fuyu appearing in the doorway a moment later.

"Yui! What's the matter?"

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath, pushing back the tears in her eyes. She couldn't afford to panic right now. They didn't have the time. Nari didn't have the time. Forcing herself to calm, Yui thought back to her first aid classes in school. Turning, she addressed the startled familiar, whose face now mirrored her own: terrified. "Fuyu, I need you to run down to the school building. Find Eir, I'll try and get her responsive."

"Understood." Fuyu didn't question further, there was little point. Regardless of either of their knowledge, she was a cat. Her sister would be far more help than she in such a situation. Her best contribution was her small size and speed, which could far outpace any human. Thus, she did exactly as she was told, bolting out the door and into the darkness of the hallway. Within less than a minute, she was leaping from the dorm building and onto the path, heading toward the school. A surprised yelp vaguely registered in her ears, but she ignored it, veering around a jumping pair of red checkered boots as she went.

Left behind, Yui leaned forward and looked over her. A quick press of her fingers against her pulse point gave her the answer she sought. A tiny thump against the skin's surface brought overwhelming relief. There was a heartbeat. Nari still had time.

. . .

"Ugh…" Nari groaned softly, the sound coming out as a whistle of air through her dry throat. The area around her was dark, she could see nothing but the abyss of sleep. No, that wasn't right. She could tell that she was awake, although she wasn't sure how much. The sound of muffled voices confirmed it, coming into her ears as clouded noise drowned out by the incessant ringing in her head.

She tried to move, falling short as her body disobeyed her. Her arms felt like two lead weights and her eyelids were plastered together. Every muscle in her body felt unusually heavy; even her lungs were straining with each laborious breath. What the hell had happened to her? She didn't know.

"… don't know… unresponsive… else to do…"

The voice was becoming clearer, words starting to register through the fog. Who was that? They sounded upset. Very upset.

"…alright… recover…"

A second voice, this one far calmer with a low, soothing tone. Where had she heard that voice before? Nari tried moving again, huffing to herself when she couldn't. What was wrong with her? With all of her might she tried yet again, this time finding some modicum of success. Forcing her eyes open was difficult, she could almost hear the scraping as they cracked open. She regretted it immediately. Light flooded her eyes, burning her pupils. She slammed them shut again, wincing from the discomfort.

'Okay… that was dumb.' She chided herself, finally giving up with an inward sigh. This was not a good day for her, it would seem. Instead, she resigned herself to immobility, listening to the sounds around her and waiting for her body to regain control. The voices were clearer now; they were forming sentences that were intelligible and giving insight to what was going on around her.

"I cannot say when she will wake. But you can rest assured that everything will be fine."

"Th-Thank you so much… I don't know what I would've — she was —"

"It is no trouble at all. She is lucky that you reached me when you did." Eir smiled, rising from her seat and making her way toward the door. "I will take my leave. If you require anything further, you know how to reach me." With Yui's bow, she exited the room, Nari's familiar trailing shortly behind. No doubt Zeus would want a full report.

"Thank you… thank you…"

The room went quiet, the only sound the ticking of the wall clock and the sharp haggard breaths of someone next to her. Whatever had been going on concluded. Swallowing, Nari took the silence as an opportunity to recalibrate, testing her movement once more starting with her fingertips. She could feel them; that had to be a good sign. She considered for a moment simply falling back asleep when a quiet noise drew her immediate attention. A hiccup, a sniffle, a quiet cry. Nari recognized that voice, her mind snapping to coherence as it finally registered.

No, this would not stand. Not while her sister was so upset.

Nari summoned all her strength, forcing her eyes to open and her mouth to move. At first, no sound escaped, only her lips silently rubbing against each other. On the second attempt, she succeeded, forcing out a quiet moan. "Yui…" Her sister shot up immediately, all but leaping onto the bed and to her side. Nari felt the shifting weight, her sister's face blocking the light above.

"Nari? Nari, you're awake! Oh, thank the gods!"

"Where…?" she mumbled, quietly, trying to figure out what was going on. The familiar layout of the bedposts above her told her she was still in her room. That made sense, it was the last place she fell asleep. What that didn't explain was why Yui was in her room. Or why she had tears running down her face.

"I'm so glad you're okay… Nari, you're okay…"

"Of course, I am…" Nari muttered, slowly forcing herself upward. "Why wouldn't I be?" The arms surrounding her fell immediately, so abruptly she nearly fell back on the pillows. She rubbed her eyes, trying to piece together the last twelve hours or so, but she was drawing a blank. When she opened them again, she saw a startling expression on her sister's face, eyes reddened and puffy. But in those tired eyes was a familiar emotion: rage. Yui was livid.

"Are you seriously asking me that question?"

"Yui —"

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Huh?" The sudden change in volume alarmed her, hand clasping against her head. The ringing had returned, threatening to overpower her sister's voice. "Yui, what —" her words paused when her fingers brushed a hard object within the sheets. Confused, she pushed them back, staring down at a small glimpse of orange.

Suddenly, the realization hit her like a train, the memories flooding back. She had taken some pills to help calm her down during the morning after a sudden panic attack. When she awoke, she found Loki sitting at her bedside toying with strand of her hair. He had stuck with her through the afternoon, talking with her and forcing her to, yet again, convince him that she would be alright on her own. But as the evening drew on, she found herself growing increasingly anxious, mind spiraling out of control and threatening to send her into another episode. Desperate to put an end to it, she had taken another heavy dose, forgetting about the previous one.

"…Oh, fuck," she muttered.

"Oh, fuck?" Yui snapped. "That's it? That's all you have to say?"

Nari's eyes shot up, widening at her sister. She had never heard Yui swear before; it wasn't something she generally did. Somehow, that made the action all the more terrifying, proving just how angry she was. "I-I…"

"Do you have any idea how scared I was?" she rumbled.

"Yui —"

"First, I find Loki waiting for me in the student council room in the middle of the night." Nari blinked. "Then, he tells me to come and check on you because he's worried about you. That alone was enough to give me a heart attack."

"Uh…?" Had she heard that right? Loki Laevatein had come to her sister? Loki had asked her to check on her? Because he was worried? That couldn't be right. "Wait… Loki sent you…?"

"Yeah, and it's a good thing he did," Yui snarled, fist clenching against the bedsheets. "Because I come to check on you, and what do I find? I find my sister OD'd in her damn bedroom!" A heavy sigh was all Nari could muster. So, it was just as she suspected. She had overmedicated. And Yui of all people was the one to find her. "You promised me, Nari. You promised me that you were okay, and I trusted you!"

"I am okay, Yui. I'm fine. It was a simple mistake, I forgot that I —"

"You're not fine, Nari! Tonight is proof of that!"

"Yui, please calm down…"

"No, I'm not going to calm down. I'm not calming down when I find you unresponsive in your room!"

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you…"

"Upset me?! That's what you're concerned about?!" Yui was shouting now.

Her younger sister had always been the more reserved of the two of them, at least once Nari got older. She was always the sweet one. The calm one. The gentle one with not an ounce of aggression in her body. Any anger she felt was swiftly dispersed and deescalated before the situation could worsen. Now, every bit of that anger was coming out at once in a torrent, leaving Nari stunned.

"You could have died, Nari! Don't you understand that?! I nearly lost you to those fucking pills, and you're worried because I'm upset?!"

"I didn't mean to…"

"What would I have done?! What would mom and dad have done? What about Manabu and Jun, did you ever think about that?! What am I supposed to tell them, that their daughter is dead? That she overdosed on medication in the middle of the goddamn night?!"

"It wouldn't matter, Yui."

"Of course, it matters! Why would you even say something like that?!"

"No, it wouldn't. The gods would graduate, Chronos would rewind time, and you'd go back to the moment we left the storehouse."

"Left the storehouse…" Yui muttered, eyes widening at the realization. She could have sworn she had heard another voice when the lightning struck. "You… Nari, that was you? What were you doing in the storehouse?"

"It doesn't matter —"

"What were you doing in the storehouse, Nari?!" Yui seethed, her patience at its end. She was tired. She was tired of the lies. She was tired of the uncertainty. She was tired of chasing her around, trying to find the right time, or the right way to approach the situation. The time for passivity was gone. It was time for answers.

"I was running, okay?" she snapped. "I was hiding from the police. I didn't think they would follow me out of the city, let alone back to the shrine! I didn't mean to drag our family into all of this, but I did. I fucked up. I'm sorry. Are you happy now?"

"No, I'm not happy! Why the hell were you running from the police, Nari? What did you do? What am I going to be dealing with when we get back home?!"

"Well, you wouldn't be dealing with anything if you had left me alone until morning."

"WHAT?!" Yui shouted. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means exactly what I said! If I died here… If I died here, I would disappear… I would be erased. You, mom, dad, Manabu, Jun, none of you would remember me. It would be like I never even existed. Then, I wouldn't be anyone's problem anymore!"

Yui froze, eyes growing wide. She looked as though she had been slapped across the face. It was just as well… that was how it felt. "Problem…? That's what this is about…? Is that what you think? You think you're a burden?"

"Because I am, aren't I? That's all I have ever done is cause trouble for your parents," Nari muttered, her voice beginning to break. "I traveled across the country, I created a whole different identity, I became a different person to distance myself, and I still managed to bring it all back home!"

"But why…" Yui looked close to tears. "Why would you want to distance yourself…"

"To save our family the shame… the embarrassment of being associated with Luna. Of being associated with me."

"That's not —"

"Yui, stop," Nari interrupted. "You have access to a television, and so does everyone else. You've heard the rumors about me… inappropriate conduct, eating disorders, drug addiction, and most recently, murder, arson, and fleeing the scene of a crime. Would you want them associated with that? Do you know what would do to Kusanagi Shrine? To our family?"

"Nari…"

"It's bad enough hearing the stories… imagine what would happen if they knew they were true. They would probably disown me anyway."

"No, they wouldn't! Forget about the shrine, Nari, if you needed help you should have reached out to us! You shouldn't have run away and tried to handle this all on your own! You're our family, Nari, we would never abandon you. We would have helped you; we could have fixed this."

"There's no fixing this Yui."

"Because you won't let us!" she shrieked. "Because you run off and try to solve all of your problems on your own instead of coming to us… Nari, I love you! We love you! You're always looking out for me; you have since we were kids. But who's looking after you?! You think you can carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, but you can't! I'm not a child, you don't have to protect me anymore! Why don't you… why don't you trust me…"

Yui's pleading words cut through her like a knife. This was exactly what she had wanted to avoid; she had never wanted her sister to hurt. She had gone to such lengths to avoid it, and somehow, it had all come full circle. If Nari didn't hate herself before, she did now without a doubt. "I do trust you, Yui."

"Then, why won't you come to me?! Why won't you let me help you?!"

"Because it's better this way."

"Better for who?! For me? For us? Because it damn sure isn't better for you! Whatever this is, it's too much for one person to carry, and if you don't stop this spiral of self-destruction, it's going to kill you! It almost did! We want to help you… I want to help you. Please, Nari, let us help you!"

"Yui…"

"Please! I don't care how bad it is, we can fix it… We can face it together!"

Yui was crying. And Nari, as she soon realized, was too. The sisters were a sobbing mess of tears and broken words. And somehow, it was the youngest that was keeping them stable. That was holding them together, doing what Nari tried so hard and failed to do. Even after all she had done, Yui was there for her. She didn't deserve it.

"Nari… please…"

A tense silence fell between them, two sisters sniffling and huffing at one another's side. Yui wouldn't back down this time, she knew. And maybe… she didn't need to. Maybe she didn't want her to. Maybe… it was finally time.

Nari was the first to break, sagging in utter defeat. "Alright, Yui… You win. You're right, I've always tried to shelter you because you were the youngest, and you always needed me, but…you're right. You're not a child anymore. You are old enough to know the truth."

"And what is the truth? Nari, where have you been these past few years? Why did you turn us away?"

A deep breath followed by a shudder. "It's a long story, honestly…"

"Evidently. Since apparently, it starts with you leaving for university and ends in the storehouse." Nari snorted, taken aback by her sister's sudden jab. Yui snickered too. "I have plenty of time. Please, tell me what happened… I mean, I heard on the news, but… I want to know the true story. What's been going on since you left? How did you end up in the storehouse? What happened that night?"

Nari sighed, fidgeting her hands together. Yui waited patiently, allowing her to collect herself. She did. Then, finally, she began her tale.

. . .

*EDIT: *AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Oh. My. God. I am SO sorry. I just found out that the website turns off email notifications after a certain time. I just noticed the reviews and messages when I was updating the artwork, and I just want to reiterate how much appreciate all of your support. It keeps me motivated, and reminds me to get back to work when I start to wander off. Thanks so much! I'll get back to it now lol.