"I'll be ending this recording now, Ms. Raiden."

"Mmm."

Sitting in her armchair in the middle of an empty room, save for the small desk placed in front of her, Durandal sat in silence. Hearing the last few words of the recording that lightly echoed from her phone placed on the desk, the sudden cut off indicating the end of the conversation became all the more pronounced in an otherwise quiet room.

Her arms crossed as she stared at the screen of her phone, the replay button displayed brightly as if tempting her to replay it once more. Instead, she merely sighed, leaning her head onto the soft cushion of her armchair as she closed her eyes.

She had listened and relistened to this same audio track over and over since she first woke up some time around in the evening. She had to admit that she didn't think she would oversleep for this long –a sign of how truly exhausted her body was– but it had helped to clear her mind a bit more. She was glad that Rita had helped her with that.

With that aside however, Durandal was certain of one thing now.

That being that the house she had been invited into by Raiden Mei, was not the place she was looking for. In another word, that woman hadn't lived inside that house for a good while now, and instead had been living somewhere else. Most likely the same place where she had kept her little sister, Kiana.

The wrong directions, the fumbling of the keys, and most of all, the dust that covered the entire place all but pointed to that one conclusion for her. Durandal nodded her head slightly at that, but a question now surfaced inside her mind.

If Raiden Mei no longer lived in that house, where could she be staying now? And subsequently, where is she keeping Kiana?

That question was the very reason why Durandal had decided to listen back on the conversation the two had last night, repeating it as if she was looping a video. It was futile however, she knew that it wouldn't give her any more insights than she already had.

It was all because of what happened last night between them, an event that still lingered in her mind even now.

That woman cried. She cried over the death of someone she likely caused herself and made it look like it was a suicide.

And yet, for the life of her, Durandal can't even begin to believe for one second that those tears were merely a bluff to get her to lower her guard or to cast suspicion off of herself. No, she wished it would have been that easy.

The truth was however, those tears were real; far too real.

There was not a spark of deception or intentions behind them, almost as if the woman herself didn't expect she would break down like that, especially in front of an officer that was clearly casting suspicion onto her. And yet she did, and now Durandal truly had no idea what to make of it.

Perhaps that woman was just psychotic. Perhaps she simply had lost her marbles or had dissociated herself entirely from the murder that she can't even begin to understand that she committed it. Any of that she would have accepted fully as the answer.

But she knew better. She had seen what those that suffered or bore those kinds of traits behave like. She had seen it many times by now.

Mei was nothing like them, not even close.

At least, Durandal couldn't convince herself Mei was.

There was genuine pain in her voice, heartbreak in her cries, and ultimately, grief.

It made Durandal pause, and for a moment, she forgot why she was even there in the first place. For that singular moment, she could only see a regretful and tearful woman, agonizing over the choices she had made; and it made her want to ease that pain, even if just a little.

Maybe that was a bad idea…

Perhaps. She had no way of knowing either way.

But she didn't regret what she chose to do or say to her then, and she didn't even now. The latter is something she evidently is still so stuck on.

"Lady Durandal?"

"...Ah, Rita.."

Durandal mumbled, turning her gaze to the side to find Rita standing; her light pink eyes glinted with curiosity as she stared at her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you entering…" Durandal said, almost sheepishly at that.

Rita only offered the girl a smile, tilting her head slightly to the side. "It's alright, you have a lot on your mind after all. I made you some tea just to help with that."

"Tea? Aaah," her eyes widened slightly at those words, before she turned to look at her desk again, finding a small tea cup sitting comfortably on its surface; steam still slightly coming off from the top. "Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, Lady Durandal," the woman slightly bowed to her partner, before she turned her attention over to the phone on the desk. "Were you listening to the recording again?"

"Yes, I was," Durandal replied, taking a small polite sip from the cup as she set her gaze onto the phone as well.

"If I may presume, you were thinking about that woman –Raiden Mei– just now, right?"

"Mmm, you're right.." Her voice grew a little quieter near the end, her expression that of someone uncertain of how to feel. "I still..don't know how to feel about her…how I should feel."

"Why is that?" Rita, now turned to face the Kaslana fully, her tone a mix of light surprise yet also questioning.

Durandal couldn't offer an answer to her question however, opting to tilt her head downwards as she peered at the floor below her feet, her eyes peering at the white tiled flooring.

"...I don't know," she offered a muted answer, though it came out as merely a whisper. "I just…"

Seeing her lady struggling to come up with a proper answer, Rita's eyes softened slightly to reveal a faint worry; before she quickly recomposed herself as she puffed.

"That's alright, Lady Durandal," she said resolutely, gaining the attention of Durandal as she turned her head towards her. "You don't need to know right now, what matters most is your little sister's safety, yes?"

"...Yeah, you're right," she responded, her head feeling a bit clearer now that Rita had said that. Her chest puffed up as she let out a long sigh, her mind a bit more at ease as she shoved these confusing thoughts away for a moment.

"Thank you, Rita. I'm glad you're here," Durandal said with a small smile towards Rita, relieved and grateful to have the woman by her side. Rita simply nodded back, a faint smile flashed through her lips before she promptly turned away; her body swaying forwards as her footsteps soon followed with soft clanks of her shoes.

"Just as you requested, I had informed both Ana and Owl what our next move would be, and had them assigned to keeping watch of Raiden Mei for any suspicious activities. I also told them to keep a long distance, and only engage in watchout whenever they are off-duty."

"Right, I hope they'll stick to that," Durandal added, her gaze flickered a little from worry. Those two balanced each other out well enough, but they have their odd moments. She hoped that it wouldn't be those times now.

But at the same time, a guilty expression spread across her face, her hand unconsciously reaching for her cheek as she lightly scratched it.

"Though, if it hadn't been for me, they wouldn't need to be so restricted."

Her mind thought back to her last conversation with the head chief officer of the station, and how strenuous their relationship had become. Granted, they were never quite on good terms in the first place when she first transferred here over a month ago, but she certainly didn't improve it in any way with the way she had been going about this private investigation.

"It's alright, Lady Durandal. I doubt things would have lasted much longer even if you didn't do what you did," Rita offered her own thoughts, giving a backward glance at her lady as she walked to the other end of the room, her hand gently grazing against the closed window frame on the other side. "Your sister has been keeping things under the rug for a while, while we are meant to uncover it. It would have been a matter of time before he had enough of us prying around."

"I know," Durandal admitted, yet that guilty expression remained on her face. "Even so, I get why he would be agitated with us; with me. His job is on the line because of us."

Durandal recalled her younger sister –Sirin– words: about how she had managed to prevent the news of Kiana going missing from spreading outside of Nagazora, and how she had bribed and paid off the higher-ups within the city to keep a tight lid on any info on that case to stop anyone from finding out about this; intentionally letting the case become a thing of the past in order to lower the guard of the one behind their little sister's disappearance.

It was the entire reason why she and the rest of her division was able to so casually transfer over to Nagazora without a fuss, and why she eventually managed to catch Mei off-guard enough to even glean as much information as she could. Without Sirin's direct intervention, the culprit might have never been found had things been allowed to spiral and grow out of control; they would have hid themselves under the radar forever at that point.

Even so…

"This entire thing would have been simpler had your sister just told the news to your parents, right?"

As if reading her mind, Rita said exactly what Durandal was thinking, making her eyes go wide in surprise as she turned to stare at her partner. Rita only offered a small smile at her.

"That look on your face was telling enough," she simply explained, not giving any more than that as she looked at Durandal from across the room.

"...Yeah, you're right," she didn't pry anymore, however, already used to how observant Rita usually is, leaning back onto her chair with a soft sigh.

"I have been wondering about that as well lately," Rita continued, a firmer tone taking over her voice as she stood still, a hand resting by the window-still. "I understand the need to keep the situation under control, but why would she shield this information away from her own parents; your parents? Shouldn't they be the first to know?"

Durandal mulled over her partner's question for a moment, before she gave Rita a sterner look. "Sirin doesn't want them to panic over this, and..because I don't think they will be able to handle that kind of loss again…not after what I did," her eyes narrowed for a moment, a tinge of regret and sadness ebbing its way into her voice.

She had only reunited with her parents earlier this year. To Durandal, it was an emotional one. But to her parents? It was beyond that. Their daughter came back to them after being gone for eight whole years, never sending them a letter or anything to indicate that she was even alive. The emotional toll that must have put on them, the pain that she had inflicted onto her own family…

Durandal could only bite her lips, cursing herself for making the choice she made that day, that one fateful decision that she could never take back. There was so much she needed to fix, so much she had to fix, she frankly doesn't know if anything she does will ever be enough to repair what she had broken.

But she will keep trying regardless.

Because someone had given her the push she needed to keep going. Because someone had placed their absolute faith in her that she can fix things.

And that person was standing in the room with her, their gentle gaze always looking towards her with belief and trust, but most of all…

A small smile crept its way back up to her lips, her eyes looking back up to Rita.

Ahhh…she looks even prettier under the sunlight..

"Hmm? Lady Durandal?" Rita suddenly perked up her voice, her gaze widened slightly as she turned her head down a little, staring curiously at Durandal's almost glowing expression.

Her voice snapped Durandal out of her quickly trailing thoughts, the Kaslana awkwardly coughing into her hand as she struggled to compose herself, sitting back up straight onto her chair. "I-It's nothing, sorry…"

"It's alright," Rita immediately replied, curiosity still emanating from her gaze from the sudden odd demeanor of her lady. Nonetheless, she quickly curbed that feeling, returning to the main topic at hand. "If that is truly Sirin's reason for that, then I have no place to question it. However, I do wonder…why the rest of the Kaslanas?"

"What do you mean?" Durandal returned the question, seeming confused by what she was trying to say.

"Why did she feel the need to hide this from all Kaslanas, except for you? Surely, having more than just our division working on the case would have been more beneficial for us and for her, wouldn't it? I don't quite see why she had to be so restrictive."

"Hmm…" Durandal hummed, before nudging her head slightly upwards as she spoke. "Sirin is a really careful person. She probably doesn't want to…'add more to the flame' than necessary, so having us was just enough for her. I think so anyways."

"...You're quite supportive of her, aren't you Lady Durandal?" Rita asked, the question surprising Durandal a bit.

"Well, I don't see what's wrong with that?"

"It's not, but…" The woman mulled over her words for a moment, her eyes narrowed as she turned to face Durandal properly. "Please forgive me for being rude, but I noticed that your younger sister might not be as receptive to your family as one would assume. Or rather, she seems to have a disliking towards the other Kaslanas."

Durandal's mouth opened slightly, preparing to deny her partner's claims. But she stopped herself, her lips sealed tight as she dropped her gaze onto the table, mulling over Rita's words a bit more.

Before she met, or rather reunited with Sirin again, she had heard a lot of things about the girl during her time traveling across the world. On the surface, she was someone known far and wide around the world as a girl with a fiery attitude to her, yet so incredibly talented in nearly everything she did that no one is able to refute or challenge that very attitude.

That was the image she had of Sirin back then.

Now however, as she started to reintegrate herself back into the Kaslana household, she realized that it ran far deeper than what was shown for the wider audience. To those working closely to her, especially when it's another Kaslana, they all said the same thing after every ordeal they had with her.

The world was lucky that they only got to see the fun side of that fiery girl, instead of working with her.

So of course, Durandal couldn't deny Rita's assumptions, seeing the same thing as she did as well. Most people would come to that conclusion, and it's not like her younger sister ever went out to rectify any of that; she didn't seem to care actually.

She couldn't refute it. It wasn't a lie after all.

And yet…

"You're the only one I can trust, big sis."

"...I don't agree."

Rita's eyes widened in surprise by that, yet Durandal could only answer that slight confusion of her partner with a smile, one filled with conviction and belief of another.

"She's a good girl. I know she is," she added, turning her gaze away as she gently closed her eyes. Her smile remained on her face. "I trust her."

"...Very well then," Rita replied, sounding like she wanted to sigh, but instead smiled back at her. "If that is what my lady had decided, then I have no further objection."

"You really like calling me that, don't you?"

"It fits you quite well, so yes, I very much do."

The two of them laughed together at that, the once relatively quiet room now filled with gentle warmth from their light-hearted banter. Not long after however, Rita turned to the open doorway, as she began making her exit, her smile still persisting through each step.

"For now, I'll keep checking in on Ana and Owl to see what they can find. I'll also prepare dinner for you as well."

"Mmm, thank you Rita."

"It's my pleasure. But, if I may make a suggestion…" She suddenly stopped at the doorway, a hand planted onto the side of the frame as she gave a backward glance towards Durandal. "Now might be a good time for you to reconcile with that girl, don't you think?"

"Ah." Durandal uttered, her mind frozen for a split second.

She had completely forgotten about that.

And without another word, she quickly turned back to the table, grabbing her phone as she frantically began to dial Bronya's number, earning a soft chuckle from Rita before the woman finally left the room.

But…what should I say?

She thought to herself, her blue-colored eyes staring intently at the name of the girl on her screen, her finger hovering over the call icon.

She knew she had to apologize to the girl; that much was obvious. Rather, it was the matter in which she should apologize for that stopped her from pressing the button.

What she said about Bronya's friend –about Mei– was uncalled for and incredibly vicious of her, but…was she completely wrong in her assessment? Or…

She clutched the side of her face, gritting her teeth as the previous thought she had before at the start returning in full force. It was enough to make her want to have a headache.

She couldn't find the will inside herself to get angry at that woman anymore, at least not the way she had felt before last night's conversation. Something about Mei felt different, yet somehow familiar to her; like gazing at something you hadn't seen in so long, yet perfectly still reflecting the best parts of what was always there regardless.

There was no doubt in her mind that Mei was the culprit, but why she did what she did…it frankly didn't make sense to Durandal.

How can someone like that do such a thing…?

For a person to cry over a stranger's death so painfully like that, holding nothing but regret in their hearts, while at the same time committing the very atrocity that led to that death itself…could it just simply be that the woman was psychotic? Or perhaps dissociating from her actions and feelings altogether?

It wouldn't be the first time Durandal had run into such individuals, but this case wasn't the same. Raiden Mei wasn't the same as the others.

Her guilt and regret was clear to Durandal, no matter how convincing one can act out their feelings, that kind of emotion simply can not be replicated with genuine sincerity unless the person really does feel it. Which only begs the question of why? Why did Mei do this? What even pushed her to commit such things if who she really was inside was anything but such a monster?

Why did she kidnap Kiana? What would she even gain from this?

As Durandal continued to ponder over this, a sudden noise snapped her out of her train of thought, her gaze fixated onto the desk again, or rather, her phone.

The device buzzed in her hand, the screen displaying a very familiar name that immediately made her eyes frozen in a surprised shock.

It was Bronya. The girl was calling her.

Knowing she had no other opportunity than this, Durandal quickly took in a breath to calm herself down, before she answered the number, nervously pressing the screen against her ear.

"A-ahem, Ms. Bronya?" Durandal clumsily muttered, her voice barely composed due to the sudden nature of this call. "W-What is it that you called me for–No wait, first please allow me to apologize for what I said–"

[Durandal.]

The Kaslana halted in her frantic speech, her eyes reflecting confusion for just a brief moment at the girl's serious tone before it quickly dissipated, replaced by a more serious expression. Her hand planted onto the table as she stood from her chair, her cobalt irises shone brightly as she slightly glanced over to the side of her head.

"Yes, what is it, Ms. Bronya?"

[...Can we talk? Privately?]


Bronya shut her phone off, her lifeless gray-irises aimlessly staring into the vacant corner of the space she inhabited; the undercover of a staircase, hidden from view of any other employees that may walk past or up these very stairs.

Her hand lingered against her cheek, the phone pressing against it for a long moment, before her arms fell to her side. The cluttering of the phone smacking against the cold hard surface of the floor being the only sound to echo in this empty narrow space she cooped up in.

Her knees pressed against her chest, Bronya remained motionless, her head rested on her shoulder as she pressed her back against the rough edges of the ascending staircase. The shadows enveloped her, a cold embrace that echoed the thoughts inside her head.

She bore her gaze into the dark corner of the walls encased by the staircase, finding nothing but pure darkness gazing back at her. An endless abyss that seemed to stretch out towards her the longer she held her gaze over it.

Soon enough, the very air became tainted by this encroaching darkness, a suffocating pressure that loomed over the very atmosphere, making each breath weightless and meaningless to even so much as to inhale.

The walls began closing in on her, growing tighter with each slow passing of the second. Her head fell forward just a little more, not a single noise uttered from those dried out lips as she felt her very body crushed by the weight of it all.

The air no longer breathable, the sight all but coated by the blackness that was the endless abyss of the void she found herself in. She felt the very world came bearing down on her small lifeless form, grinding and grounding her form to dust until–

"Hah."

A singular choked gasp escaped her lungs, her lips barely moving as she felt her head sunk deeper into her knees.

She blinked, the very cage she found herself in suddenly retreated back to its original place, returning to that of an ordinary space beneath the cover of the staircase.

As if the familiar prison she had just found herself in was nothing more than an illusion.

Part of her wished it was. She could keep burying it all away if it was.

Without a word, Bronya' legs shuffled in front of her, stretching and pulling her up from the ground as she steered her head lazily towards whichever direction her body spun. And soon –lifelessly and aimlessly– she began to move, heading towards the place she had agreed upon.


"I'm home," Mei gently muttered, stepping through the open doorway before promptly closing it behind her, finding herself standing inside the familiar bedroom she had gotten accustomed to seeing again and again these past few days.

Her eyes glanced up to see Kiana sitting on the bed, her posture slightly bent forward as her hands firmly pressed against the sheets. The girl lifted her head, turning slightly to face Mei, an unreadable expression present on her face.

Seeing that, Mei didn't offer much else, merely making her way over to the bed. Kiana's eyes traveled with her, keeping a firm gaze onto the woman as she made her way over the side of the bed until…

Mei, unceremoniously and surprisingly, plopped herself down onto the bed, her entire body almost collapsing onto the soft mattress. Her back slowly sunk into the sheets as her forearm rested on top of her forehead, letting out an audible sigh as she closed her eyes for a moment to regain any semblance of strength she could muster.

Kiana merely stared at her with a wide-eyed gaze, confused and caught off-guard by her action. She had no idea what to think or make of this sudden action, but looking at how tired the woman seemed, Kiana gradually calmed down from the slight shock, her gaze breaking away for a moment as she stared at the watch on her wrist, noting the time that still slowly ticked away since she first got her hands on it from the very same woman.

Eight hours…

She counted in her head, silently turning her wrist along with the watch away as she glanced back at Mei, who was still keeping her silence.

"...Are you tired?" Kiana found herself asking, finding the long quietness to be slightly nerve racking to her.

Mei merely responded with a hesitant nod of her head, the sheets shifting slightly under her.

"Do you want to sleep?" The girl asked again, this time earning something more than just a simple nod or shake of the head. The woman's eyes opened upon hearing the question, a palpable sense of exhaustion plagued those very irises that seemed to grow dimmer every moment.

"I...don't really sleep," she muttered under her breath, pausing for a long moment before raising her voice once more. There was a noticeable tremble in her tone. "No…I'm scared of sleep."

"...Why?" Kiana's lips instinctively moved to ask her, her gaze grew more focused onto the woman's vulnerable figure as she seemed to lightly bite her lips; as if contemplating something she could hardly find the words to describe, should she even want to describe it.

Finally, Mei seemingly came to her conclusion, her voice faintly echoed beside Kiana once again.

"Because it's terrifying to wake up from my dreams."

"...I see…"

Kiana finally broke her gaze away from Mei, taking in the cryptic wording of her answer. Mei noticed the vacant look the girl now held from her answer, her heart growing heavier than it already was.

Silently and tiredly, she forced her body to rise from the bed once more, her hands planted firmly onto the sheets for support as she now sat beside Kiana. The girl still kept her gaze to herself, not seeing a reason to look back at her.

"...I have been thinking," Mei suddenly started, noticing just a slight twitch from Kiana's ears as she paused for a moment, choosing very carefully the next few words that were about to spill from her mouth. "...About what I'm going to do.

"I might end up hurting someone because of it."

That seemed to catch the girl's attention, her head shifted slightly to reveal a single blue-colored eye peering at Mei, her white hair covering the rest of her face too well for the woman to see anything else. Regardless, she continued, her hands clenched onto the sheets.

"But…I'll try not to. I will go on with it, but I will…try at least."

Her words felt hollow even if she meant it.

"...Why?"

The girl's single-worded question brought Mei's indigo eyes up to look at her, to really look at her. A simple question, yet one that Mei can't help but ponder over herself the entire day, and now someone else had replaced that questioning voice inside her head.

"Because I lo–"

She didn't let herself finish that sentence, choosing to hold her lips thinly together as she reconsidered her words.

"...Because I want to love you, Kiana."

She finally answered, breaking away from the girl's half-covered face as she stared towards nothing, a pale expression swept over her features so casually, like it had happened again and again before this moment. To Mei, it probably has happened so many times at this point.

"I want…to talk to you. I want…to spend time with you, to tell and share things that I want to share with someone I am close with, to just be with someone that I feel like I can be with. I want those things…with you…"

"...What about your friend?" Kiana perked up, earning a faint smile from Mei, yet it was one that conveyed not a spark or joy or happiness, but one filled with an overwhelming sense of melancholy that the Kaslana could never hope to understand properly no matter how long she spent thinking and mulling over it again and again. She wondered if even Mei herself understood it either.

"I can't," Mei truthfully answered, her voice dropped into nothing more than fading whispers of a confession she had never once told anyone else, as she had no one else to tell it to. "I can't do that to her. She…shouldn't have to deal with someone like me. She doesn't deserve that."

With that, Mei forcefully shut her eyes, taking in a shaky audible breath through her slightly parted lips. Her body shuddered in place, as if forcing back the urge to cry again. She had cried enough already, it was time she did something else.

And something else she did, her gaze returning once again with a fragile softness to them, the look held wholly for Kiana as she slightly tilted her head to the side.

"Let's talk, Kiana," she added, a sincerity in her tone that was not lost even amongst the clearly tired and exhaustive effort she needed to even push her chest to say those words. "About anything…I want to get to know you more. Beyond my own dreams…I want to know you."

"..."

Kiana pondered over those words, her one eye still keeping a firm gaze onto Mei's. Yet it didn't take long before what could only be classified as a short sigh escaping her lips, her face turned fully over to Mei, showing the woman a similar tired-looking expression, albeit much less severe than Mei at least for this night.

"...Okay."

The answer seemed to earn Mei's approval, a breath escaping her lungs that she didn't know she had held in all this time. And with a simple nod, she smiled. This time, it was a genuine smile.

"You first," she simply muttered, letting the girl carry their conversation for the rest of the night.

And doing so Kiana did, taking a moment to mull over what to say before her voice echoed across the spacious bedroom, loud enough for only the two of them to hear, encased in a singular space that held only them.

Mei nodded along to her every word, that same natural yet somewhat dimmed smile ever present on her lips. She would find the time to say her piece as well, but for now, she was content in letting the girl speak, for however long she needed to.

It was enough to take her mind off what she will do tomorrow just for tonight. For tonight, she will only think of Kiana, a simple and pleasant thought she peacefully reveled in, even if every minute felt like another heavy weight was pressing down her shoulders.

She was fine with it either way.

Because regardless of what will happen tomorrow, no matter what consequences may come her way…

Mei felt like her dream was just a bit more real now.


Durandal walked along the sidewalk, her gaze lightly darted over the numerous streetlights littered across the neighborhood. Some were neon-signs advertising their items, and some were simple markers for small food stalls erected in front of the many houses on either side of the long stretched out road.

This place really has changed from what she remembered all those years back, when this neighborhood was just that; a small but cozy gathering of people just living their lives. Nowadays, it looked like any other place that had begun to appear all over the city. A busy, lively and often-times, chaotic cacophony of noise and sounds; meant to capture one's attention and gaze for just long enough to consider staying for a while, yet offering little else beyond that.

Had things been different, she would have spent some time ruminating over all this, to truly let the faint realization that what she once found familiar with barely existed here anymore to be something to dearly miss. Alas, she continued forward, giving each sign a narrow glance before breaking away entirely.

She checked her phone, reading the message sent by Bronya once more –the exact same place the two had left their last conversation on– as her footsteps slightly grew in pace.

Her eyes drifted upwards, landing on the sudden gap between the buildings as she once again stood right outside a narrow alleyway, now even darker from the night sky blocking away any source of light.

She peered into the abyssal sight, slowly letting her eyes adjust to the poor light condition before she saw her –Bronya– silhouette lightly shifting in the cover of night.

Her distinct silver-hair was hardly noticeable now as she too seemed to notice the Kaslana's presence, her figure shifting slightly as she looked to be stepping towards her direction.

"...Ms. Bronya," Durandal called to her, remaining in place outside the confines of the ever reaching darkness that was the alley. "You wanted to talk privately, so I came alone. What is it you wanted to discuss?"

The girl's movement suddenly stopped, the faintest shift of her head pulling downwards as she stood there, mere inches from stepping out of the alley. For a long moment, the only noise Durandal could decipher was the constant chirping and voices from behind; raving or chanting words and songs that was typical of such gatherings.

"...Can you…" Bronya started, her voice barely audible through the constant ravings from their surroundings. She seemed to realize that, growing awfully quiet before she continued, this time louder. "...Can you promise me?"

"Promise?" Durandal repeated, her brow raised slightly at the sudden request.

Another long pause, the abrupt and confusing start to their conversation only aided in Durandal's growing concern for the girl. She had nothing to work on –their last encounter was nothing short of hectic– and it made her nervous, her hand instinctively reaching out to the girl for…something.

"Promise me…"

Hearing the girl speak once more, her hand stopped mid-way, her eyes widened slightly as she listened to every word the girl said next, trying her best to block out the noises from behind her.

"...that you will protect Mei…to not hurt her…prove her innocence if–" Bronya's voice was shaky, barely managing to squeeze out those last few words before falling silent once more. "-if you can."

"..."

Durandal lowered her hand, her expression akin to that of shock.

She opened her mouth, ready to say something back to the girl's absurd request.

She paused however, her lips slowly fell back down as she refrained herself from speaking a word, merely keeping a fixed stare at the dark figure before her.

Raiden Mei, the most likely suspect and subsequently, the culprit and reason for why she was here.

The same woman who kidnapped her little sister for god knows what reason.

The same woman who shot an innocent store clerk, whose only "crime" was being a witness to those two's chance meeting.

And…

The same woman who then cried over that very action, clear regret and pain in their voice as they drowned in their own guilt. The regret of not spending more time getting to know the person she had killed, completely in disbelief that someone like her could ever be remembered by someone else, to be looked at or thought about fondly.

Which was she? Which is the real Raiden Mei?

A soulless monster who will do anything to bury her crimes? A conflicted person struggling to come to understand their own actions? Or neither?

Durandal didn't know. A question that she had asked herself over and over ever since. She truly didn't know.

So why not ask the only one who could give her an answer? Why not ask that woman's friend, who seemed so adamant about her innocence that once completely baffled and enraged Durandal, yet now she could only look at her with a burning question in her chest.

"Why?"

A question she found herself echoing through her lips, filled with the desire to know.

"Why do you care so much about her?"

A long, palpable silence elapsed the girl, one that only made Durandal grow nervous as that silence turned into drawn-out seconds.

Then, Bronya moved.

One step. Two steps. Three…

Durandal's eyes widened, the girl's visage finally visible under the bright chaotic lights bouncing off from the neighborhood streets.

None of them helped to lessen how truly awful her pale soulless face looked to the Kaslana. Those sunken bag-filled eyes, her downcasted pupils barely dilating under view, unblinking in its attempt to maintain any semblance of steadiness. Even then, Durandal could see her lips quiver, a shaky voice barely above a choked out whisper as she muttered to her.

"Because she saved my life, and I…I don't know how I could ever repay her."

There was not a spark of deception in her tone, nor a hint of hesitation.

That was how Bronya felt, truly and utterly.

An answer that left more questions than it answered, yet Durandal knew better than to pry into that.

For her eyes lost the widened gaze of shock, replaced only with a softness that conveyed only empathy for the girl standing before her.

For she, more fittingly than anyone else, understood the redundant need for any other reason than that.

For someone like her, the unbridled emotion behind the girl's trembling voice was all she needed to understand everything.

For Durandal, such an emotion is all too familiar to her. One she had no reason to ever doubt.

After all, she was a Kaslana.

And so she closed her eyes, a deep gulf of air entered her lungs as she inhaled, her shoulders raised slightly from it. With a soft sigh, she reopened those cobalt eyes once more, a steadiness now laid within them.

"You have my word, Ms. Bronya."

Her words seemed to shake Bronya a little, her dull gray eyes trembling slightly in their sockets as she finally glanced towards Durandal, finally looking at her.

Her face contorted, an expression only described as relief mixed with nervousness etched onto it as she let out a shaky breath, one she didn't seem to even realize she had been holding in all this time.

"Thank you…" She whispered, her head falling a little to the ground as she took a moment to recompose herself.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Durandal questioned, to which Bronya lightly shook her head towards, her posture straightening somewhat as she turned her gaze back onto her.

"No…it's this."

She raised her hand, a phone already in her palm before Durandal had even noticed the girl had taken it out of her pocket, or perhaps she had held it all this time? Nonetheless, the screen was turned on, the brightness of it slightly blinding to Durandal as she squinted, her narrowed eyes quickly reading through the words plastered on its screen.

"What…is this?"

She muttered, her hand instinctively reaching up to grab the phone from Bronya's palm, finding herself skimming over what she had just read over and over.

"I…found it on her computer, or well, her mailbox," Bronya answered. "There were only three mails I could find, all sent some time before or after September, all of which shared the same point."

"...These are confirmation letters on successful purchases of houses or apartments," Durandal remarked, swiping through each of the three letters as she confirmed the dates on each of them, with the latest one being…exactly three days after Kiana's disappearance.

"They…were all I could find," the girl added, her eyes darted to the side. "For now…I think we should look into those three."

"...Thank you, Ms. Bronya," Durandal replied, a stern yet grateful expression plastered on her face. "This is immensely helpful for us. I will keep my promise to you."

"...Yeah."

Without wasting a second, the Kaslana pulled out her own phone, her fingers dancing across the screen as she dialed the number of her partner.

[Yes, Lady Durandal?] Rita picked up almost immediately, her light tone voice somewhat drowned out by the noises of the background around them.

"Rita," Durandal said, pausing for a moment as her gaze drifted over to Bronya once more, who only gave her a simple nod as a response. Nodding back, she continued, a confidence in her voice that had been solely lacking for so long now finally returned.

"We got a lead."


AU: Slightly delayed update this time, got myself into a weird headspace so it took some time. Truly slothful of me nonetheless considering how much shorter this chapter was, but hey, I got it out now at least.

We are now passing the second act of this three-part act, and quickly moving to the climax. I'm curious to know what you all think is going to go down or happen, but most of all, I hope you will enjoy the conclusion to this by the end. It's been a long time coming, and I am eager to see how you will all react : ).

But anyways, for this chapter, we finally get some more info on the last of the sisters, Sirin. She's quite a character I tell ya. I'm glad I got to include a bit of her here, as it gives a bit more context to the world that they all inhabit, and also serves to explain quite a few things as well. Nonetheless, I'll make an effort to keep this story as self-contained as possible, while ensuring the world feels alive in the process.

There will also be a little, sort-of announcement I will make for the next chapter. It's something that I believe is needed to make the subsequent chapters after this to be more coherent and tightly knit. I'll talk about it later, but for now, I would love to hear all of your thoughts for this chapter, so feel free to leave them in the comments! I read all of them, and it's genuinely really interesting to see other people's perspective on things. Great for learning experiences as well.

Anyhow, that's all from me. See y'all in the next chapter~.

P.S: Gonna write a spooky one-shot fic for a fandom I haven't come back to in years now. Hopefully I won't take forever on that…

Also, no QnA this time around, but! Here's some small trivia info for y'all.

Durandal's division as of now consists of six members. Two of which have already been name dropped in this chapter, while the other two…well, you'll find out soon :).

Durandal before the start of this year in the story, only went by the name Durandal. It's only recently that she started using the Kaslana name again. She still feels uncomfortable using her real name though, so for most of their time together, Rita only refers to her as Durandal. Most of the time. They have…certain occasions where this is not the case.