It had been a set of hectic days and she still did not feel well. She had barely slept the last couple of days by what she had done and she had to wake up Tanya from her nightmares, thank god the girl did not connect the problem with the body on the ground to her mother and that was good, thank god Aleksandr had been there. She had thought about the wand and twisted it in her hands throughout the nights as she held it but did not dare to bring it back to the Holy Knights, people like Augusta might get it back in her hands. Every time when she depicted the setting again in front of her eyes, her stomach made a roll and she felt the need to vomit again but did not. She needed to be strong. She needed a shoulder to cry on and this was why she could not sleep. He wasn't there, no one was there at this point. She should leave Orchidia as soon as possible.

Every night she stared at the light that came through the little line from her door because her trauma made it that she did not dare to close it and she had placed a lamp in the room next door so she could see the light. But now the last two days she had seen every hour, every minute on the clock and only because of nightmares, new recent ones, came hunting her and she had to take care of her child. Last night Tanya basically slept against her chest, while she sat in the kid's their room, shushing her. Anton had no problems and she was grateful for that, as Tanya was the strongest of the two of them, this would go past. She needed to find distractions, she might go to Oak soon with Odin, that would be good for them. She did not need to tell anyone else about this, only Alek.

She had dropped the kids for the last day at this daycare, they had complained about Tanya yesterday that she had cried and sobbed so much during nap time that she woke up all the children and the daycare was in doubt if Alice took good care of her own kids and it had taken a lot to not lose her temper. She only needed them to be there this morning, while she checked upon the healers for Akira, she had gotten a whisper that she had not left the infirmary yet and she was curious as what happened. Her own leg and arm had been healed anyway. So she arrived at the church in the early morning to see if she could see her old friend.

"Goodmorning."

She'd been lying on her left side because supporting her weight on her back was still impossible. Even against the soft mattress that had been laid out for her. The Shimada had been apprehensive when she woke up here, when she realised that the nurse was actually a nun and the the infirmary was in a church... She'd still not solidified her plans and wasn't sure if she was even ready to infiltrate. Adelaide's decision to bring her here may have accelerated processes. At least she wasn't dead. It would seem the ones tending to her were grateful for the risk she took to close the demonic rift.

Other than that, she had not had the chance to deduce much else. They surely knew her, but interactions had been limited and she'd dropped in and out of consciousness often through the processes required to treat the slice across her back. Her thoughts and memories weren't exactly reliable at the moment. If they wanted to kill her, they'd already had their shot. It did go to show that not all of them were radicals. The Shimada already knew that of course, given that Adelaide had chosen to save her after all.

The frequent stabs of pain wasn't the worst part about her wound. It had left her too weak to be able to conjure spells. The orb still hung over her head protectively, now replenished. She knew because she'd punched a wall in frustration, but felt no pain. It would seem she herself was the only one capable of displacing it. While she could still channel some sort of a power within her protectively through the divinitas, it seemed to have stopped working in any other aspect. At least the equipment had done its part in proving that Adragna kept her word and didn't intend on sending the Shimada on suicide missions. Small mercies, but what if all of it was for nothing?  

Whenever she tried to cast her spells, she felt the magic leave the tips of her fingers... but nothing would happen. The demon's words rang in her head again. But it wasn't just her light that had seemingly abadoned her, even her darkness didn't quite respond. Without magic, the Shimada felt like she was as good as dead. She clenched and opened her fist repeatedly, swallowing the bitterness that rose like bile inside her.

A voice forced her to stir. She recognised it well enough. Her lips pursed into a line as she stifled several groans and righted herself to sit up straight. 'Morning...' she responded, sounding dull, but not ungrateful. The Sokolov had saved her life, just because Akira didn't care about her own state much at the moment, didn't mean the gesture was to be disrespected. 'Glad to see you're on your feet already, though I'm sure the kids would've been happier if you were afforded a longer sick leave.' she half-joked.

What was so difficult on healing a slash wound? It would be just bigger and asking for more healing power but she was sure the nuns would have found a healer by now or taken turns on their job to fix her friend. Maybe she should have brought her elsewhere in Orchidia but as Adelaide had had no other ideas, she had to make a decision. Coming back into the church after what happened with Augusta, made her immediately nauseous and she had her hand well rested upon her sword, being able to catch it as soon as one of the people around her would go mad again. She did not trust them and did not wish to trust them at this point. She had better things to do. "Oh I am on sick leave, don't worry. I dropped the kids at the daycare just to be able to get my check up and to see how you are doing. I heard you were still stuck here and came to see how you are doing myself." Maybe that's what she should have done when she was Akira's mentor, something that was obviously not needed. Even now she had to admit that she was still surprised by the lack of her partner, she had not kept up on the news of the Rune Knights and had no idea if they split as a team, if Hatsuharu dropped out or anything else. Normally she would not be afraid to ask but considering she did not know how they stood against each other or how far they both have come, Adelaide dropped the whole curiosity and only focused on the now.

She took a chair and went to sit down. "Please if it strains your back to sit up straight, don't worry about me. Lay down. I already felt bad the way I carried you here but with my own left arm at that point, I had no other way." She set very straight up, she did not want to use the wand or touch it by any means but she also did not leave it around, she had told the knights together with Alek that she had not seen it and they were obviously looking for it. She simply was still exhausted but that happened from not taking sick leave and now being on a sort of probation, they had not used that word, but she wasn't stupid. "So, how do you feel?" Any idea why the wound wasn't healed yet was the silent question that she did not ask.

She then frowned briefly, as though it had taken her a little longer to comprehend everything that had just been shared. Her processing speed was probably slower, she still had certain substances in her system, mostly to dull the pain and allegedly to speed up the healing process. It was the mention of daycare is what piqued her interest.

'I suppose given everything and the threat of incursions, they couldn't give Konstantin sick leave with you, could they?' she asked, blissfully unaware of the misfortune that had torn the Sokolov couple. Little did the Shimada know that a similar curiousity was reflected by Mrs. Sokolov about her own partner. Her relationship with Tsuru was hardly as intimate or known, but Adelaide was the exception given that she was the one who had put the two together.  

Akira waved her hand dismissively at the concern and the completely unnecessary apology. 'If you hadn't carried me here, I'd be left for dead. The pain isn't that bad, just...' Her words were contradicted by a sharp intake of breath as the movement of her hand caused one of her muscles to spasm against the healing gash and stitches. She sighed softly, shaking her head and smirking almost bitterly. Her soft gasp beckoned a reiterative question. How did Aki really feel? Useless mostly.

'They say I should be out soon... Tricky gash, probably some demonic residue is messing things up.' Aki muttered softly, trying her best to sound more optimistic than she felt. It was apparent from Adel's fettered state that she was going through a lot herself, the Shimada didn't need to burden the blonde with her problems. For the moment she kept the part about her lack of magic to herself. The mention of Kon reminded her of the last time she'd seen the man... The wedding. A happier time, for both her and Tsuru.

Maybe if she truly had lost her magic, it was time for her to give up altogether. There was no real way she could sustain the idea of an infiltration with no means to defend herself should things go awry. Not to mention, while any information gleaned would serve to aid in this civil war of sorts, she would be of no real service. She wondered if Tsuru had in fact worked on his healing skills, perhaps he was her last hope and one way or another, meeting him would make this choice easier. It was rather bitterly fitting that her future possibly lay in his hands.

'I suppose the more experienced healers are dealing with more grievous injuries, mine seems difficult to comprehend. Maybe Tsuru would've been able to do something... He's probably busy...' she muttered, mostly to herself, almost as though her thoughts had decided to slip out of her lips without her intent. Perhaps it was for the best, maybe Adelaide would be able to send for him.

How long had they not seen each other? The last time must be at her own wedding. Not even after that? The now-blonde tilted her head a little to the right and looked at Akira, her face yet familiar, yet always unknown. She did not know Akira well and yet they have spoken a lot, it was mainly that they only had seen each other once in a while and never did that end as calmly as a normal interaction. She would never forget. The first time, when she was pregnant, the time after that when she had just given birth and had run to find her then fiance. Life had already changed so much in three years and yet it felt only as if it was yesterday. "Ah eh yea Kon." She clearly looked away at a nurse and whatever she was doing. She wasn't within reach to hear what they were saying and thus she would not have to hide but talking about it was difficult. Even if front of someone like Judina and especially in front of someone like Akira. She had already fought the tears so badly when she spoke to Judina, weeks ago and now the tears were only closer, hidden behind her eyes because of everything that had been going on. She had missed his presence when she was fighting the demons, did he not swore to protect her years ago? Then where the hell was he? He did not protect his own kids not his own wife when Augusta... She shivered and turned her attention back to Akira.

She suggested to lay down, instead of sitting up but what did she know, she never was a healer and never had a healer companion anymore after the first and even that was something she would never forget. Adelaide wondered, with the sharp breath that Akira took, why the nuns had not found a solution yet. Did they not know the ancient abilities of healing, did they not have experts coming in? What was stopping them? Her eyes narrowed as she had not said a thing but had watched the expressions shift on the Rune Knight her face. Something was bothering her, so much that she did not seem to want to share it because... because why? Their struggle of a relationship? She no longer needed to be a mentor, maybe she could make an attempt of being a friend. She stood up when Akira spoke about Tsuru... she had heard that nickname once before. Because of her quick attempt of getting up, the chair made a rather harsh noise of scrapping on the ground. "Sister Woodhouse, would you please get a healer in here." Before the nun could say anything about what they tried, Adelaide turned to look at Akira specifically, "Get the Knight Hatsuharu, that's an order." An order to the Nun, after all the Ace would want to get her way, it was clearly not an order to Hatsuharu.

Her two old pupils together. She felt the wand pressing against her ribs as she sat down again, maybe. Maybe this could work, maybe she could trust them. After all, she remembered that they vaguely thought the same, it was only a matter of time and she clearly could not trust the Holy Knights. Without a second thought, she folded her hand around the hilt of her sword, no it was clear she could not trust any of the Holy Knights except Alek, because they had a common goal.

Despite her foggy state, she couldn't help but dwell on Adel's dismissive nature when it came to the Shimada's quip about her husband. She wasn't the sort to gossip, so if something had caused a brief rift between the two, the young Rune Knight wouldn't have a clue. Regardless, she took that as cue to broach the subject more tenderly next time, if at all. Akira, while curious wasn't the prying sort. Of course, her knack for making deduction did immediately lead her to making a flurry of mental assumptions. The stress of work demands seemed to be the most plausible reason, among others however.

The other thing that Adel seemed a little fettered about, was the lack of concrete improvement on Aki's part. Perhaps, that is what lead her to so quickly accept a suggestion that Akira had thrown out there almost accidentally. She was about to interrupt the Sokolov when she asked for yet another healer, preparing much like the nurse nun to allow a slew of excuses to escape her lips in favor of those who had already spent copious amount of time working on her, allegedly anyways. But neither the nun, nor Akira were given a chance to interrupt, while Adel  went on to specifically as for Tsuru.

Aki was too stunned to say anything. It was almost like she was that D rank again, forced to partner with that goofy healer. It wasn't like she had a choice. She didn't want to admit how much a part of her yearned to see him again. Yet an equally big part of her was apprehensive, had he found it in him to forgive her? Was he going to deny helping her today? Was he even going to care? She heaved a deep sight and continued to toil within the realms of her mind, in relative silence as Adel's urgency provoked swift action on the part of the Holy Knight underlings.

'Why are y-' there was no point in asking her that. If there was an ulterior motive in saving Akira, Adel wouldn't let her know of it and most likely, if there wasn't, it didn't need the redundant answer at all. Gratitude was all the Shimada had to offer, at least for the time being. 'Thanks... The kids are lucky to have a mom like you.' she said, offering kind words in the hopes to mend the burns caused by the friction from their interactions in the past. She meant them too. 'Tsuru and I haven't seen each other in almost two years...' she admitted, even quieter in her tone this time. She wasn't expecting it, but she did hope that her honestly would allow Adel to be vulnerable too so she could share whatever burdens she was carrying.

She wasn't sure why she was pushing so much after all she had not seen Akira in a long time and she was doing things that weren't the matter to her. She did not know what to say or what she should do but ordering the nun to find Hatsuharu was the best she could do. If she trusted someone to be a good healer, it would be him. She might not have been keeping up with a lot of things that he had done, or the capabilities of magic because she had been distracted and she was distracted now again.

She swallowed with difficulty when Akira said that the kids were lucky with a mother like her. "I sure hope they think the same." She was not tired of hearing that but she was tired from last night, where she had to shush and hush her baby girl because of nightmares. Adelaide had been very lucky and by the Divine she was grateful for that because if Tanya had connected the dots, she would sure as hell not be able to safe Tanya from the horrible nightmares that she had because that would be about her. "Why?" she said for she had never guessed they would split up and not see each other in two years. Surely not everyone would be friends but two years. She moved her hand to her heart, "I have not spoken to Kon in about 9 months." Maybe even longer, she wasn't sure because she did not want to count on it. What to think about it in general. "I will tell you both what happened if you want when Hatsuharu shows up." Because she could not tell it twice in a row, that would break her own heart. She eyed Akira, if she could not fight well, maybe it would be good to give her the rod. Adelaide trusted her more than anyone else compared to the Holy knights especially.

She looked at the door, wondering if Hatsuharu would be around and arriving soon. Maybe she started a disaster by asking for him if they had not spoken in two years. Maybe she would be able to mend something but she wasn't sure what she expected and had to expect.

The blood that he had had all over him after that fight against the demons had already been washed away. But Haru could still feel it on his skin. It was obviously mental trauma and he knew it. That knowledge didn’t stop him from taking at least three showers a day, hoping that will ‘cleanse’ him.

The orange-haired Knight had just come out of one such shower and was lying down on his bed in just his bathrobes, staring at the ceiling, when he heard a knock on the door. “Just a moment,” he said a little loudly, as he got dressed. When he opened the door, he was met with a nun. Now, that was a strange occurrence within the Rune Knight quarters. Sure, there were a few Holy Knights who visited the campus once in a while when they had to work on cases in collaboration with the Rune Knights. But Haru had almost never seen nuns and fathers around. They seldom had reason to.

“Lieutenant Hatsuharu?” the nun asked. “Uh… Yeah! How can I help you?” Haru responded, his tone betraying the confusion he had. “Miss Akira Shimada has been injured in her fight-” she began, but wasn’t allowed to finish her sentence. That information was enough to shock Haru and his eyes widened as he almost shrieked. “What?! Where? How?” he threw a slew of questions at the woman as he put on his black cloak and walked out of the room swiftly. “At the Church infirmary. Grand Holy-” she was cut off again as Haru just ran past her, not caring about the rest of her sentence. The nun simply sighed and followed him at her pace, while he bolted towards the infirmary at his full speed.

The moment he exited the building, he transformed into his raven form and flew towards the church. After all, it was the most efficient way to reach his destination as soon as possible. Once he was outside the infirmary building, he transformed back to himself and ran to the reception. He panted heavily as he gave his name and asked where Akira was. The nun at the reception was rather slow at reading lists according to Haru, but that could just be because he was impatient. She finally gave him the room number and off he went again, without asking which direction said room was. “Not that way! This way,” the nun said, rather annoyed. “Right. Thanks,” he muttered as he skid and began running the other way. Hundred and twelve… thirteen… Fourteen!

He stopped.

There he was, mere meters away from his ex-partner. When he heard that she was injured, his body had reacted automatically and made him rush to where she was. But now that he was about to see her, their last encounter resurfaced in his mind and he gulped in fear. He wouldn’t blame her if she hated him. He had said some terrible things to her. Mostly out of anger and an exaggerated sense of betrayal. But that was no excuse.

Haru shook his head, ridding his head of thoughts about things that didn’t matter given the circumstance. He was most concerned about her injuries and that gave him strength to knock on the door. If he heard a response, he would open it.

The two years hadn’t changed his partner much. She had grown a bit and her face looked more mature, now that she was in the end of her teen years. Haru just stood at the door, speechless. He would then notice Adelaide. She had changed over the years, but not so much that he couldn’t recognize his first mentor. His gaze shifted from one to the other as he struggled to find words. “What… happened?” he finally spoke, his voice cracking as he struggled to bite down his tears.

She managed another weak smile at Adel's seemingly scripted response at her praise. Aki could sympathise with how doubt would cloud the working mother's beliefs. It was probably a struggle to bring up the babies in a world so littered with unfairness and dangers. The balancing acts between protecting them and raising them, must really take a lot out of the woman. Adel looked so different from what Akira remembered of her and it wasn't just the blonde hair. The any exchange of pleasantries, despite having foundations in genuine feelings, seemed forced, so they didn't.

It would seem they both had broached a sensitive, yet significant subject, about their respective partners, albeit in clearly different capacities. Two years... Nine months... They both echoed the same questioning sentiment. Unlike Adel though, who wished to wait for both her students before she delved deeper into the matter, Aki wished to offer a few brief details about her fallout with Tsuru before he got here. She cleared her throat and explained that they had a disagreement on the way she dealt with a certain threat. She guiltily added that perhaps matters may have escalated because out of fear of the way he'd react, she'd kept him the dark too long.

It took her a second more to swiftly divulge that it involved mercy killing a demon-slayer who had been possessed by a vengeful demonic spirit. She winced, wondering if her former superior was going to judge her for it too, or were her holy instincts more likely to understand. But she didn't have a chance to linger on the subject, her heart leapt into her throat and her words got caught there, as she noticed the black cloak flap into view. Her eyes were glued to the frame of the door as Tsuru came into view. A crease formed between her brows and it deepened. It seemed her piercing gaze had caused him to stop in his track. She used the moment to scan his form. He looked so... different, yet it was unmistakably Tsuru, just not the one she knew anymore it would seem.

His lush long scarlet hair, that used to be bound up in that characteristic poofy pony, was gone. It left a neatly trimmed bunch of spikes, in it's wake, which sat atop a hardened face. Aware now that she had been staring and additionally that she was frowning, she tore her gaze away and widened her eyes to wipe that crease away. She waited with bated breath for someone to speak, because she certainly didn't know what to say. Then she heard his question... and the concern in his words. She chewed on her lower lip, her eyes similarly darting between her ex-partner and her ex-senior.

Not trusting her own words or her tone, she slowly shuffled and twisted, glad that her face was turned away, so no one would notice her sharp wince. She fumbled with the strings of the gown, but eventually pulled them open so the flaps of the gown that gingerly covered her fell open to reveal her slender back and the gnarly incision that split it across, despite all the work, it still looked rather menacing, it was a clean wound, but still fairly deep and was probably going to scar. She turned back around, pursing her lips into a line. Her gown hung loose but still ensured she was modest, regardless she pulled the blanket over herself.

'That.' she said monosyllabic and almost guilty. 'Flesh wound, I... I should be fine actually, you... you shouldn't have bothered.' she mumbled, her gaze flitting everywhere except at either of the people in the room. She wanted to ask him how he was, she wanted to apologise, instead she selfishly changed the subject to Adelaide. 'Adel was just telling me.... that... that...' she wasn't sure how to broach the subject of her husband again, without making her selfish intent obvious, so she just let the words hang there, while her gaze stole glances at her ex-partner.

It hurt, physically nothing hurt but mentally she wasn't able to handle everything very well anymore and that was simply and only because a lot of things were already happening and her hold and support wasn't there when she needed him most. She had hurt her children by doing something of utmost importance and yet of damaging view. They were hurt in the same way as she was. They could not see what she saw now and as the door opened, she wished she did not see it either.

Where she had been surprised by her own behaviour and that of Akira against her, she felt at ease and had made up her mind about something that she was hiding for everyone and that at this point only Aleksandr knew. This golden item that she had needed to be out of the Holy Knights grabby hands and away, into the hands of people that she could trust. Considering the fact that Akira dared to tell her about the fallout she had with Hatsuharu, felt that it was now based on mutual trust in this room. She nodded, not entirely sure what to say, it reminded her of the fallout they had before where Jupiter jumped in. What would her faithful companion have said now? "I would have done the same." Was all she said and she thought was all that was needed.

There was nothing much more to say when Hatsuharu came in and it was like she was not in the room. She looked from one at the other as she stood up and out of the way. She would want someone to look at her and care about her the way these two did to each other. Where they aware of that look? Where they aware of the hackling and stuttering in their tone and body language or what?

She tilted her head to the right when looking at what Akira did and only raised an eyebrow, daring. She did not want to smile because she felt jealous but she was also sure those two would have to make up. "I was the one who called on you, good to see you again Hatsuharu." She said with a wry smile because she tried to look friendly but the jealousy made her envious. "I wondered if you could look at the wound because the nuns do not seem to be able to fix this. After that I have to talk to the both of you as a lot is happening and I am sure you both got your own stories with how you noticed."

Once that was taken care off or well for as far as possible, she would wait until she would tell. "I was about to tell Akira about..." she needed to take a deep breath, "About what the Holy Knights did to Konstantin." Although, it wasn't only the Holy Knights.

His question was not answered with words, but an action. For a moment, when Akira turned away from him, he assumed she was still mad at him for what he did two years ago. His worry was now further burdened with sadness and regret, and his gaze fell to the floor. However, when he noticed that she was untying her infirmary robe, his face contorted in confusion. When her wound came into view, the confusion vanished and his eyes went wide in shock as he witnessed the nasty dark gash that wreathed her otherwise smooth and perfect back. Time froze for a moment; at least for Haru. His blood boiled and all he could think of was finding the one who did this to her and brutally murdering them. But his concern for her was greater and it took over soon enough. He involuntarily took a step forward. He didn’t know what made him do that. It wasn’t like his touch was going to immediately heal her.

In all these months that he had lived without a functional magic, this was the only moment he truly felt its absence. He had come to terms with the lack of control over his magical energy and learnt to defend without it. Not once did he regret asking for the seal to be released. But now, he wished he hadn’t. He wished he had his magic. No matter how pitiful it was, he would have poured all his energy into healing Akira. Alas! That was no longer an option. Yet another regret.

Akira’s words weren’t the most welcoming, and he didn’t expect it to be after the bitter parting they had. Besides, she was never a chirpy presence. But that didn’t mean her voice didn’t charm him. After two years, hearing her felt like he found a missing piece of himself again. He wanted to rush to her side, apologize, and plead for her to forgive him. He wished for their relationship to be like it was before. Like the fight never happened. Like the two years never passed. As quickly as those thoughts surfaced, he shunned them away, cursing at himself mentally for being selfish. There was a more pressing issue. That gash was no normal flesh wound. It looked like one, but the dark edges were a tell-tale marker of a curse. That’s when he realized he couldn’t have helped her even if he had his magic. This called for something more than just a healing spell.

Haru turned to Adelaide when she spoke and returned her smile. He was truly happy to see his mentor after such a long time, but couldn’t reflect it in his smile given the circumstances. She was the reason he met Akira. And from the looks of it, she was the reason why his partner was still alive. “It’s lovely to see you again,” he said, still keeping the smile. But that smile faded when her question required him to put his regret into words. “I… Uh… I can no longer use my magic,” he admitted, avoiding Akira's eyes. The young man was disappointed and ashamed to utter those words. “I know a curse when I see one, though. That needs more than your everyday healer,” he said, pointing at his partner’s back. “I might know someone on the council who might be able to stop the curse. But I don’t know if she could get here on time… That is, if the curse hadn’t already taken root,” he added, looking at Akira. It didn’t look like fatal. But it surely was going to have some terrible effect.

Haru decided to write to the council and ask for assistance the moment he left the room. However, before that, there were more things to discuss. Hearing Adelaide’s voice, it was apparent that the two Rune Knights weren’t the only ones struck with tragedy in the room. Haru remembered the name ‘Konstantin’. He never really had the opportunity to know the man personally, but the name is famous enough and Haru knew he was Adelaide’s husband. He was at the marriage after all.

Her tone didn’t bode well. Whatever she was about to say was surely not good news. What made it worse was that she said it was the Holy Knights who did something to her husband, and they were sitting in the infirmary of the church. Haru instinctively looked around to see if the three of them were alone in the room. He locked the door and pulled a chair. “Is he okay? What did they do to him?” he asked.

She could only sigh softly at the reassurance of her very first mentor. Although in retrospect the Shimada wasn't sure if the Holy Knight was empathising with her or the healer. She could just as easily meant that she would have done the same thing Tsuru did. But given that they'd just recently fought demonic, Abyssinian spirits, the context would allow her to assume to former, besides she was partial to that deduction anyways. Perhaps, it was a bit of both, she could understand the Shimada's actions and understand Tsuru's reaction. After all, the blonde woman was supposed to have more insight on such things than her younger proteges so to speak.

Given her state and the stupor from the boredom, she often allowed her thoughts to linger on such semantics rather uselessly, so Tsuru was truly a welcome distraction, in so many more ways than just that. Her eyes had lingered on him for just that extra second, before she turned to reveal the slash. Her flitting gaze allowed her to notice that while she was likely to be scarred, his was now gone. She had made a mental note to ask him about that, if time permitted.

When she turned around to face him again, that latent, stabbing guilt forced her gaze to the floor again. But it allowed for her to notice the way his feet shuffled towards her, in an almost instinctual manner, despite her overly practical words. He still cares. She had been afraid he'd storm away, leave her to her own sorry fate, that he had probably wished such fates upon her in his bitterness. Apparently, either she had imagined his wrath, or time had healed the wounds they had unintentionally left on each other.

She drew a quick breath in and held it, releasing it as a soft poignant sigh as he came to a stop again. Her eyes tentatively rose to meet his, searching for an explanation. Did he change his mind? Was it just his natural empathy that drove him closer and nothing else?. In that moment, just for the briefest of instances, a split second if you will... as their eyes locked nothing else mattered. It was like they were on a stage and two spotlights illuminated just them, as though the lights too existed, just to serve their purpose in letting the two see each other. But as she stared into those clear orbs, the windows to his soul, she saw her own guilt reflected. And then the spotlights went off.

Adel's voice broke the silence as she explained that she was the one who called him and the reason behind it, disregarding Aki's words yet again, for the better perhaps. They exchanged pleasantries and once again, while they had to be genuine they sounded wry given the circumstance, no doubt. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, beating herself up inside about being hopeful that Tsuru might be able to help after all. When he revealed that he couldn't use his magic, her eyes widened and were glued onto him again.  'What...? How?' she asked, softly. She was almost compelled to declare me too, but didn't find the courage to give words to her weakness like her partner, did. She couldn't muster the strength to endure her own rue around the matter, especially noticing how heavily that weight crushed Tsuru.

She could hear the lilting regret in his words. He longed to help his ex-partner and that yearning served as a bleak ray of sunshine. He does care. It was only her echoing thoughts that she had for reassurance, there was know way to predict the future, which was unlikely to present any avenues for the two of them. Unless... her curse (as Tsuru pointed out, almost redundantly for her since as the victim she was already familiar with its effects) was a blessing in disguise.... and his too. Two kindred spirits... Her thoughts drifted and imagined an alternate reality, one where neither of them were burdened by duty. Nor were they plagued by abilities and magic that forced them into these extravagant, demanding roles. But just as the threads of fantasy wove themselves into a fabric of a dream it was destroyed by the haunting sensation of uselessness as demonic spirits among other dangers, tore and sliced into it.

She shook herself out of her reverie as Adel offered a very snipped prologue to her own story. The name coupled with the mention of the religious faction, had piqued her interest. But Tsuru already formed the question that was on the tip of her tongue. She felt a sense of relief at having him voice her thoughts for her again, she truly did miss this and really could get used to it again.

She wished that the one she loved would look at her like that. Maybe it wasn't even that they looked at each other like that, maybe it was just respect and friendship but she wasn't sure how that looked like anymore. At this point, she just remembered Konstantin and how it hurt that he was not around. Someone had already told her that he was in Orchidia and maybe she should leave as soon as possible because of that, take Odin with her to run to Oak without really showing it as fleeing from a situation that she could not handle. What if the kids saw him, would she be able to pull them away from their own father?

Their father looked different but she was sure that they would know it was him and she did not want to pull them away from someone they have been asking for, for a long time now. It was not fair by the illumin. She greeted Hatsuharu and asked him to look at Akira her wound, she looked surprised when her former student told her he could not use his magic any longer. Strange, maybe the Midnight Cult did more than she anticipated, her own magic had been gone and not returned and she had the idea that something was wrong with Akira's magic because she had not seen her magical aura or power much around lately, something she had felt before but the question was if she was not just being ridiculous and saw issues of the cult everywhere.

The blonde looked from Hatsuharu to the scar on Akira's back. A curse? She swore softly without actually saying the words out loud, she expected the nuns would be able to do something. "I don't know anyone specialised in curses. Midas helped me a lot with mine but that wasn't officially one."[/color] Her mother had made up one that the whole church believed in and her amnesia had not worked along with that but Midas and Alice themselves had been able to fix that and Midas was still helping with her father but she did not want to bring that up to the two. They did not have to know that her father was insane after being possessed and cursed by a demon or well that's what they knew so far, if it was true was another question.

She tried to get their attention by telling a bit, she had to tell them what they did to Konstantin. She did not want to burden them about the Midnight Cult because she herself could not provide much information. When she changed her posture, she felt the heavy metal pressed against her ribs and decided that Akira needed a weapon and the rod might work perfectly well and she could show her former pupil what she meant. It would leave out Hatsuharu at this point but she could tell them both a starter and she would be able to not have to repeat the horrible things that happened her and life through the pain. "We went on a mission together but both got captured." She looked from one at the other before she settled her eyes on Hatsuharu. "They separated us and tortured us in our own way. The Holy Knights knew where we were, I am sure of that but it took them months before they freed us. They kept us separate twile I wanted to see him. They told me he lost his memory, they were not to be recovered and there is nothing there. He doesn't remember me nor his children. Nothing." Her voice faltered, "They-they are actively trying to avoid us from being around each other. They don't want him to get his memory back. They turned him into a weapon." She let her eyes drop to the floor and brushed away the beginning of a tear in the right corner of her eyes, "I haven't seen him in nine months."

She decided that she should do something else to process this conversation and she could leave to go back to her children that needed more protection than ever. She opened her the buckle of her armour to get the rod out that was hidden between the breastplate and her shirt. She turned her eyes finally back on Akira, "I got this in a very bad way from my former Holy Knight colleague, it can read memories and works perfectly well as a weapon, I believe it even can manipulate people their motions as Augusta seemed to want it use on me and, well that doesn't matter. I want you to have it, I don't trust it here with the radicals." Shortly she looked at Hatsuharu to prove her point, "I want you to try and read my memories Akira." Which meant she would see the killing of Augusta too. But that was a risk she was willing to take.

It took a lot of effort on Haru’s part to admit that he was of no help there. When Akira asked how he lost his magic, his hands instinctively reached up to the cheek where he once had a scar. He really wasn’t sure if he wanted to go into the details on why he had to forgo his magic. Well, it would be a short one at least. All he knew was that his scar was not really a scar, but a seal, which upon releasing made it impossible for him to control his powers. “The scar… It was a seal,” he said with a sigh. Haru was sure he didn’t need to say anymore. Both the young ladies in the room were far smarter and experienced than he was, and he was certain that was enough information for them to put it together.

Haru did not wish to linger on his minor tragedies for long. After all, both Akira and Adelaide seem to have gone through far worse things. His troubles seemed trivial in comparison. From Akira’s reaction—or lack thereof—he realized that she was already aware that she was cursed. That begged the question of what more she knew about the injury that she was not divulging. If there was one thing that he learned of his ex-partner over the year they were together, it was that she was a very secretive person. Haru’s gaze lingered at Akira for a few moments before he decided to broach the topic later.

He sat on the chair he pulled and listened to Adelaide. What she revealed terrified him. It was horrible enough that the Holy Knight couple was captured and tortured. But for the church to exploit the situation was the true betrayal that wrenched his heart. While what the torturers did was unforgivable, one would expect those crackpots to do such things. What one wouldn’t expect is to not be rescued by their faction despite them being aware of the situation, and then ripping the man away from his family so that they could use him as a tool. “How dare they?!” Haru exclaimed. “Why are you still working for church? You should come join us. We can hunt these radicals down together,” the swordsman offered.

Maybe Adelaide still being part of the Holy Knights was better for her goal of finding the culprits. She could easily glean more information from within than from outside. But, Haru didn’t understand such things. He was a straightforward man, and didn’t think of the nuances.

Adelaide’s next action proved that and Haru understood. He watched as she pulled a golden wand out and offered it to Akira. His eyes went wide in shock when he heard what it was capable of. “Read memories and manipulate people? Good lord… What are these fanatics trying to do?,” he said, pointing at the wand. His eyes further widened and nearly popped out when he heard Adelaide suggest that Akira uses it to read her mind. “We should destroy that thing. No one should possess such powers,” he added, voicing his righteous principles.

His indication was enough for the time being. For some reason, now that they'd tided over the initial moment of reconciliation, the Shimada assumed she'd be seeing more of her ex-partner. At least enough to get the details from him later. It was Adel's cue now. She made a note of the name Midas. She'd never heard of him, or her before. But if there was someone who could do something, she'd have to try. She didn't want to burden the Sokolov at the moment though, Adelaide had done enough, surely the Shimada could find her way to this person if need be.

The blonde's revelation only meant that she too had had a recent experience with something of this sort. Something unfortunate. It wasn't too difficult to deduce that much, given her sombre tone and the anxiety etched across her face. She chose the healer, or rather, the ex-healer to focus on before she started. The Shimada couldn't fault her, despite all the changes, Tsuru was perhaps easier to talk to than she was. Besides, Aki had always believed the Sokolov to be slightly partial to him, even though fate had forced the two ladies to cross paths far more often.

When Adelaide finally composed herself enough to share what happened, it left both the Shimada and Hatsuharu aghast. There were so many moments when each new detail almost provoked Aki into interjecting. She bit her tongue to not interrupt the flow, this was clearly a very tough for her to divulge. Aki's mouth hung slightly ajar and her eyes widened one Adel paused for long enough to indicate she'd said all she had to. It wasn't easy to shock the young adult usually, but these series of unfortunate events, went too far. Nine months was a very long time and it wasn't just a seperation, it tainted with such a dark bane.

She never pegged herself to be the sort with a raving maternal instinct, but as the details off the gruesome two years were shared, she could only imagine how confused that left the kids. Of course, she thought better than to bring something like that up. The choice between duty towards the family and duty towards their work must've already been a very tough one. But that resulting in the separation of the parents due to absolutely unforeseen circumstances, must be very tough to deal with.

What Adelaide failed to share, were the details about her captives, instead, the villain of her story were the people of the Church. This could prove to be Shimada's very first headway. This was proof, from within the Holy Knights that there were radicals present within the organisation who would do such a thing. Her instinct was to ask Adelaide what the plan was, she surely wanted to rescue her husband from such a fate. But the woman looked so... overwhelmed, her vulnerability tore through Aki's usual practicality. The Shimada however, did have her work cut out for her. After realising the potential fallout of such cruel decisions on just one family, she couldn't help but wonder what else the enemies that captured Adelaide and the ones that didn't seek to help her justly, were capable of.

Tsuru's reaction was more organic. Aki shook her head slowly. 'The Church is bigger than just the fanatics.' she stated. It was still aligned with the role she'd chosen to play, which seemed essential now more than ever. 'We need someone good... to... stay with the Holy Knights. There are a lot of people who rely on faith, breaking that would be criminal.' she couldn't possibly find it in her to praise the Church in this circumstance. Besides, neither Tsuru nor Adelaide were her targets. It seemed she had succeeded in not offending the woman, because Adel entrusted something to her. Tsuru immediately wanted to destroy it and Aki flashed her instinctual annoyed gaze at him. 'No. We use it to remedy the wrong that has been done.' The difference in the core values of Tsuru and Aki, threatened to claw at the tenderness of their moment together.

She nodded quietly at Adel, as she accepted the wand. Unwilling to press her on the details about the colleague. If this was going to work, she was going to have to learn to trust. Besides, the Sokolov was trusting her with her memories, it only made sense to return the favor. She wasn't sure exactly how the wand worked, but she closed her eyes, wincing a little as she held it out in front of her, pointing towards Adelaide, with the intent to sift through her memories. Within seconds, it was like a movie was playing in front of her eyes, rewinding Adel's past swiftly. Aki tried to choose a neutral moment. She frowned, trying to concentrate when she noticed the familiar face of the Blue Pegasus' member. Esperia... Alisa always spoke fondly of her, Aki had only met the woman once...

[Mind-Reader used: -500 Mana]

They turned him into something that wasn't human. That only focused on the things that did not matter if you wanted a loving future. He would die like this and maybe she was waiting until she would win this quest or if she would be too late, she did not know and she did not want to think about it. She had to keep herself together because she refused to cry. She hated crying but the last few months had made that so difficult and so tiring that she did not know what would be the best approach of her hate for it. When she finished her story, she gave a weak smile to Hatsuharu for his support, his rage. The one she felt months ago but the flame did not die, it subdued, waiting to enlarge again to fight again, to get back what was rightfully hers. Her husband. The man she missed the most.

"Indeed, not everyone is like that." she added after Akira spoke, "I want to change it if it is possible but selfishly my own goal comes first. They are not all radicals as well, don't forget many do not know about this as the Church is trying to hide it. I play a part in this to get as close as possible only to reach my own objective. I have help, my brother-in-law has been able to join the church for the exact same reason as to why I stay. I am not alone but it doesn't make it much easier." Which was another reason why she would try to avoid Konstantin too but she would have to get to him if she ever wanted to do something about his memories, she needed to know circumstances to be able to fix it.

Before she let Akira read her mind, she turned to look at Haru again now that she had shown the wand. "I do not completely disagree on destroying this, but there might be a time in the future, the right time where we might need it. Hence why I trust it to you, Akira. I know you would make the right decisions with it." She looked at the ground, "I only knew the fanatic who had it, she spoke to me about sin and how we should clean the world of all that, rid the world of the pigs, alas she found it in her heart that I was wrong too, dedicating my time to my children instead of to the Illumin." She left blank about the results of that, maybe Hatsuharu would know and maybe Akira would see but at this moment, it was not important.

The only reason why she did not want that thing destroyed and yet did not dare to keep it within her reach was that of one thing. She waited for Akira to read her memory, to see if she got it to work. "Maybe one day it would prove worthy to help me show my memories to Konstantin. Maybe it will help him understand, right of now that is not important and I want it as far away from the church as possible."

While the swordsman had nothing against Illumin or the wish to debate his existence or intended influence on the matters of the world, he could tolerate the system so long as he was under the impression that they did good. He had met a few fathers and nuns in the few years he had been in Fiore, and have appreciated the fact that they always actively helped people cope with things, both mentally and materialistically. But, when he heard that there were a group of people within the faction that would exploit this belief and twist the core ideals to cause undue harm to the innocents churned his guts in disgust. He wished for the whole religion to be abandoned and forgotten, but was soon reminded that there were good people in the church as well. His mentor who sat across him was one clear example of that. If he acted upon his wish, he would be no different from the radicals.

After learning what he did and sitting there being unable to do anything made him restless. He wanted to do something to ease either of the ladies’ pain. But he couldn’t think of anything that would help. And that’s when he realized how terrible Adelaide must feel. She was the one experiencing this first hand. Looking at her, the ex-healer could feel the sorrow, even if she held back her tears. He was glad to hear that she wasn’t alone in this struggle within her faction. “You may not be my mentor officially anymore, but that doesn’t change much. I’m always at your call if you need anything,” he said. It was unfortunate that he had nothing but words to offer in that moment, but he meant those words genuinely.

Haru sighed when the other two agreed that the weapon might be of some use if employed by the good side. There was some truth to that sentiment; he couldn’t deny. But it didn’t change the fact that it could change hands. He shook his head in disappointment. Such powers usually did far greater damage at the wrong hands than they did good at the right ones. Nevertheless, this was not the time to argue such things. Besides, it was not his decision to make. The silver lining was that it was no longer with the fanatic it was with before.

He didn’t argue and just waited for Akira to use the wand. Haru was curious and he was not proud of it. Getting into someone’s head and seeing their past was invasion of their privacy. While he would love to know who tortured his mentor so that he could personally hunt them down, if Adelaide didn’t wish to reveal that information, he must respect it. That particular information had its allure and he would have to fight the urge to ask Akira later.

After the spell was cast and the two were linked, he had nothing to do but wait.

The words exchanged before she cast her spell, were primarily between Tsuru and Adelaide. The ease the blonde had around her ex-partner was fairly prominent, and yet, despite that, it was Akira that she entrusted with the wand she trusted Akira with the wand. The Shimada wondered what tipped the scales in her favour, in a lot of ways Tsuru had always proven to be more level headed at least as far as Adelaide's opinion should have led her to believe. Perhaps, she'd caught wind of the change in his temperament. The Shimada definitely believed herself to be the better choice as the benefactor, but that fact reflected in Adelaide's actual decision was surprising. Perhaps, it went went to show that there was a different sort of temerity the Sokolov expected from the wielder.

Sure enough, Tsuru's instinct to destroy the damn thing outlined as much. It would seem the blonde agreed too, but her judgement wavered for she did stand to gain things in the future if it continued to exist. Aki heard Adelaide out, as she explained that she did have another Sokolov by her side. Aki's initial instinct was to confirm if she was absolutely certain of the man's loyalties, but it would seem Kon had changed significantly enough to warrant worry from his own family too. Aki only wondered how things would fare if they were all pegged against one another, which seemed likely based on what Adel had shared. She kept such contemplation and doubts to herself, silence often worked best when situations were sensitive.

She had a lot to be grateful for, her ex-partner had rushed to her aid despite their past, her ex-mentor had shown faith even when Aki had often failed to show promise. She was here, she was alive... While it was definitely no place or time to be optimistic, at least she didn't need to color this with a lack of gratitude. Finally, when she used the tool given to her, she was careful, while she saw swift glimpses of faces, pained memories and moments, she'd picked what seemed the most neutral. Adelaide's interaction with the Blue Pegasus mage had been similar to hers with the Shimada and Tsuru, the only difference being, the revelation of the initial enemy, the one responsible for the deed. It would seem some sort of a cult. Akira had heard rumors of such a... organisation but she'd never personally witnessed anything attesting to their existence. So many radicals... From what she learned today, it was apparent that they weren't a group to be trifled with. Which was the precise reason she didn't mention their existence, because it would probably make Tsuru take on more than he could handle, given his strong penchant for serving justice.

Either the reading of the memory, or something that the nurses had offered her to aid the process of healing, suddenly had an overwhelming affect on her. It made her feel rather weak and drowsy. Her lids drooped over her eyes almost lazily, as she stifled the urge to yawn. It was as though something was leeching the force of her being, perhaps it was because the wand channelled her magical energy which had been dormant for all this time. She cleared her throat softly and locked eyes with the Sokolov. 'Adel, thank you again, for everything. Rest assured that I will keep this safe and that when the time is right, hopefully we can employ it to aid Kon in remembering the memories stolen from him.' There was a far away quality to her voice, it echoed slightly differently. Her speech was slow and deliberate, it was evident that her body was craving rest, but her mind wished to linger in the conscious realm.

'And thank you, Tsu-' she swallowed, for some reason finding herself seek formality as a scaffold to navigate the moment.  'Hatsuharu, for making your way here to check on me. I'm so sorry to cut this short, but... I- I think something has come over me and I must rest, feel free to stick around should you both wish to...' she said, stretching just a little before curling and slipping under her blanket.  

Even if it was painful, and it was. Seeing their faces, remembering the times when it wasn't so difficult. Surely life has never been easy that was the time Lacie was still around but that did not mean that it was worse. She had believed it was hard from time to time but at this point, she only believed that back then everything was easy. Her pregnancy had worked out even when fighting, they were together, they got married and most of their friends had been there and now.

Now she felt like she was alone.

Which was a good burst of her bubble when Hatsuharu said she was not. She wasn't sure if she had ever been a good mentor for him because she was sure the answer was no when it came to Akira. Just a lot happened, timing wise at the end of her pregnancy had not been a smart moment either but she had no idea what the Rune Knights thought, nor the Holy Knights at this point, for that matter. All she wanted was her husband back, maybe she would stop working after that if she could afford it, or something easy, no fighting, no need for aggression, which she needed now to finish off her frustration from time to time.

"I appreciate that, thank you." She answered him politely, before turning to Akira to make sure she understood the use of the wand. She had no idea herself how it worked but she hoped to be able to call upon Akira when she could convince Kon to use it. At the moment she did not trust herself nor him with how it worked and it had to be safe. The bad thing perhaps was that Akira was in the church but she was sure the girl knew what to do with it. It felt weird knowing someone could read your mind but they did not speak about it, maybe later, maybe never. Right now she wanted to leave everything behind and take her children and go. Unfortunately, that would not happen easily.

She noticed very quickly that Akira became drowsy but it took her by surprise that she got a nickname, no one called her Adel yet. Which felt funny and yet strange but she did not hate it. "Thank you, I appreciate that." Because even if she gave the item to Akira, she did not want to push her in doing things she did not want. She had made the decision based on a last minute fraction, she had not thought of course that Hatsuharu would be here so quickly, but looking at him shortly and his suggestion to destroy the item and the conversation Akira and she had about their falling out, she decided to give it to Akira. Now she had a chance to ask for a favour later and use it, hopefully with a good result on herself again. She hoped that they would mend their own bond in the meantime.

Now that the knight curled up and went to sleep, she walked to the door and held it for Hatsuharu. "Thank you for coming so quickly. I wish we could talk a bit more but I have to go to my children. After the invasion, they are on the edge and I can't leave them for too long." Which was a bit of a lie, surely Anton and Tanya had not liked that she had been gone to fight off demons, they simply had to understand but Tanya was restless after the death of Augusta and Alice did not blame her. It was her fault that she had to see it at such a young age, or at all.

Haru expected the two ladies to speak about it after Akira read Adelaide’s mind. But, it seems the task had drained Akira quite a bit and left her drowsy. Considering how the teen Knight seldom complained about her state, he figured she must be really tired for her to crave rest that badly. After all, she did have a cursed injury. He was afraid this was the effect of the curse; that, every time she attempted using her mana, she would be drained. The ex-healer hoped that wasn’t the case. But, even if it was, he was determined to cure her of it no matter what it took.

When Akira called Adelaide with a nickname, but deliberately stopped herself from calling him using the nickname that she gave him, he gave a soft sigh and smiled sadly. For some reason, that small detail hurt him quite a bit. He felt it was her way of letting him know that she still hadn’t forgiven him. He didn’t blame her for it and had fully expected it. But, it still stung. Maybe one day he will be forgiven. Nevertheless, that wasn’t his primary objective given the situation.

Haru got up from his chair and walked to the door after Adelaide did. It was indeed wise to let the poor girl rest. Besides, he had some letters to send and many books to refer to find out what was plaguing his ex-partner. So far, he had no real symptoms to concretely rely on. But the lack of any major symptoms in itself was a symptom. And with that lead, he could find out what the curse could be. From what he heard, the two fought a bunch of powerful demons. Surely, whatever one of them did to Akira couldn’t be something trivial.

Adelaide was kind and held the door for him. He thanked her and held it for her once he was outside. “Of course! Take care,” he said, when Adelaide mentioned that she needs to get back to her children. His truly admired the woman. She was going through such a hard time and yet there she was, fighting the demons for the people, putting herself at risk. Anyone could have courage when they have nothing to lose. It takes something special to show the same courage when everything you love was at risk.