Masumi stared at the building, the home she will be staying at with her grandfather from now on, a simple brick fence and a black iron gate surrounding the 2 storied property, looking so much as part of the neighbourhood that none would suspect that the owner was one of the richest men in Japan.

A hand rested on her little shoulder and she looked up to see her grandfather smiling gently as he said, "Well, what do you think?"

"It's beautiful, ojiisan", she replied dully not even hiding the fact that she felt nothing for the place.

"…Are you sure you don’t want to stay together with Mayumi?"

At the mention of her sister, Masumi's face immediately paled and her small body slightly trembled. It seemed that was all the answer she would give as he smiled sadly. He led her by the hand and from that day forth, began her everyday monotonous life.

Every morning she would wake up and practice her sword swings before going off to dutifully attend the local Middle school while her grandfather travelled all around Japan and at times overseas, leaving her access to credit cards to help support her daily expenses. And every time he returned, he would look at the bills and frowned asking her, "Are you sure you don’t want to spend anything for yourself? It's alright to spend some money on cute clothes and makeup you know. After all, you are a growing girl"

"It is fine ojiisan. There is nothing that interests me", she replied in a cool voice.

"… You know, I am proud to boast to my friends that even though I give you Credit cards that would even allow you to buy your own house, my granddaughter is so very frugal with money and only uses it to pay the bills, but", he held her hands in his own, "sometimes it is fine to be a little selfish, waga no mago no Masumi-chan "

Her eyes softened a little, "Truly ojiisan, there is nothing I want for. All I need is you, and that you at least sometimes come home for dinner".

"Haaa… you are such a good filial granddaughter, I don’t know what goes on in my son's head sometimes"

And as such, the seasons turn as first one year, and then two years passed by until finally Masumi entered the first year of High School. And it was on the day of the entrance ceremony that her grandfather dropped a bombshell that would destroy the everyday calm of her routine.

"Masumi… please sit down", her grandfather said gravely.

Puzzled, Masumi did as she was told and looked in expectation to her grandfather.

"Your sister", he announced, "will also be attending the same school as you".

"…Is that so?"

"…Are you fine with that?"

"Why wouldn’t I be ojiisan?"

"Masumi… it is ok to confide in me a little more you know?"

"Truly", she smiled slightly, "I am fine ojiisan"

"Masumi, you should really go meet your sister", he tried persuading her, "there are things you two should talk about"

A glint appeared in her eyes as she replied, "I will think about it… if we meet by chance"

"Masumi", he placed his hand on her cheek, "be gentle with your sister…ok"

Leaving the house with those mysterious last words still echoing in her ears, she followed along the path that will take her to the High school that she will be studying in for the next few years. Along the way, many students, male and female were stunned by the cool beauty that seemed to be in a melancholic mood as Masumi distractedly try to think of ways to avoid her sister in school, unaware of the commotion she was causing.

However her mind was thrown into turmoil because standing at the front gates waiting patiently, was Mayumi, twisting her head left and right like she was looking for someone. Mayumi had grown up into a beautiful girl, just like her sister, however there was a childish charm about her as she behaved inappropriately for her age. There is no need to mention that there was several boys love struck by her and trying to find courage with one another to be the first to talk to her.

"Ah!", Mayumi's eyes brightened in delight, "Masumi!", she waved energetically as though signalling Masumi to come over.

Feeling a throbbing headache coming on, Masumi just ignored and walked past her, unwilling to even spare her a glance. But Mayumi wasn't daunted as she chased after her sister and began talking rapidly like they were old friends while Masumi just continued on in silence.

"Wow I can't believe how beautiful you have become, Masumi!"

"Your gorgeous hair is just how I remember it"

"So how is ojiisan these days? Still chasing innocent housewives?"

"Oh did you watch that TV show last night? I couldn’t believe how that man had the nerve to say he loved her! Hmph what a jerk!"

"Say, do you want to play this new game that came out? It's called Royal Road and I hear it is amazing!"

This continued on until Masumi reached her classroom before Mayumi smiled and said, "Well I will see you after class", as she disappeared down the hallway to her own homeroom.

And she kept her promise, Mayumi appeared after classes ended and would keep chattering on about nothing with Masumi who just kept her silence. This sequence would be repeated the same day after day and a rumour had started going around that these two beauties knew each other but were somehow in a minor argument, considering how hard Mayumi seemed to try to make it up to Masumi.

"Ne… Masumi"

There was something in the voice of her sister that made Masumi stop for a moment before turning back to coolly stare at her sister in silence. They were currently outside in one of the secluded gardens of the school, therefore there were few if any people taking notice of them.

Mayumi was fidgeting perhaps due to nervousness before reaching her hands into her school bag and brought out a stuffed toy of a Pikachu from a Japanese anime.

Sticking her hands out Mayumi proclaimed, "This is for you!"

"…"

"I…I know that you used to love stuffed toys, so I got you a Pikachu!"

"…"

"Hehe, did you know Masumi, Pikachus are quite hard to catch, just like you"

"…"

"So I got myself a stuffed toy of a pokeball so we can have a matching set!"

"…"

"I will throw my pokeball and catch your Pikachu anytime!"

Mayumi stood there nervously for the longest time, her hands beginning to tremble before her sister finally moved towards her.

Mayumi's smile stiffened as Masumi swatted the toy out of her hands as she spoke coldly, "Stop acting like a child. Also… stay the hell away from me"

With that Masumi turned abruptly and began to walk back towards her own classroom.

"Masumi", she whispered, "I cannot… hold… on", the trembling in her hands soon started to spread throughout her body as though caught in a seizure, "I…am…sorry", as Mayumi fell forward onto the ground, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.

Masumi heard what her sister said and was about to keep walking when she heard a thud behind her. Turning, she saw her sister lying on the floor, in the throes of a convulsion and Masumi's mind blanked out. Before she knew what she was doing, Masumi was hugging the body of her sister as she screamed out to the surroundings.

"Dareka! Dareka! Tasukete!"

"DAREKAAAAAA!"

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INTRO SONG: Trust Me

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Gerhard was brought back to the Clan hall under guard by over a hundred warriors, whilst another hundred more was summoned to secure the building, a gathering in such numbers of their vaunted elites were only ever required when high ranking dignitaries and Selvari Tel's'vär were to be treated to with respectful ceremony. This time all the Elders bowed their heads reverently in greeting to Gerhard as he walked past them, many of them calling out Sainür in deference to which he just nodded his head back in perplexity, startled at the about face their attitude had taken once he had passed the trial. Even Ellemon gritted his teeth and paid his respects to Gerhard, although it appeared to pain him to do so.

Mist smiled pleasantly when she saw this but regained her tranquillity when Gerhard stood next to her.

"I am glad that you succeeded, Sainür ", Mist bowed her head.

"I am glad that your claims were vindicated", Gerhard gave a small smile back.

"… I believe it was fated that we met", Mist smiled, "however I would still like to apologise for how we treated you"

"Aye", Taisei joined in, "forgive us for our impropriety Sainür , our kind tend to be extremely conservative and I daresay, very xenophobic".

"That's", Gerhard grimaced as he remembered what his own nation had done many years ago as he replied, "no, you are much kinder than you think you are", as he took Taisei's hand in this world's version of a warriors' grip, wrist to wrist, "even when tradition and law told you that we must be exterminated, you used your own judgement with your own eyes to seek out the truth. You gave me a chance at justice and life…. I sincerely thank you".

The surrounding elves were stunned at this display of magnanimity and their impression of Gerhard rose beyond that of him just receiving the title of Tree Friend, to inline with he is worthy to be a friend of the Elves and part of the clan. The Shadow clan can now proudly boast that not only do they have the divine instrument of Selvaria's will, but also that the man himself has the graciousness of a noble king.

There was a wealth of emotions that threaten to overwhelm Taisei however he controlled himself as he bowed his head in deep gratitude towards Gerhard. There was no other words that needed or could be said at this moment, however respect was forged, and in that forging, Taisei believe he had found hope for his people. Gerhard… Taisei instinctively knew that this man was more than just a tool of the Goddess, he represented a new road that could be trodden for his race.

At this moment though, there was a commotion amongst the guards which caused both Taisei and Gerhard to look in the direction of WarWalker who appeared from the group. The tall elf nodded respectfully to Taisei before turning to Gerhard.

"There is… an amin here for you, Sainür", WarWalker stated slowly, "a scout".

"Where is he?", Gerhard asked in consternation. There is no reason a scout should be sent for him… unless something troublesome was about to befall the Basterni stronghold.

With a tilt of Warwalker's head, immediately the guards parted and brought forth a frightened young man in the uniform of the Rosenheim army before Gerhard and Taisei, the man instantly regaining his composure when he finally saw his commander.

Saluting, with fist over breastplate, the man announced, "Private Rorke Drift, reporting sire!"

Gerhard returned the salute crisply before commanding, "State your business"

"Marquis Rommer requires the Centurion to immediately return to the stronghold. There is a possibility of a threat of invasion".

"Where is this particular threat coming from?"

"That…", the scout appeared confused, "we don’t know that either sire. We were only informed to prepare for war".

"…Is that so…", Gerhard turned to Taisei, "It seems I will need to cut my visit short".

"…You can summon us to battle you know", Taisei suggested heavily.

Ellemon nearly strode forth and protested but seeing that the whole assembly were currently watching with bated breath, he then realised it was not wise to stand out when none of the Elders even blinked at the idea… so he just stood his ground.

"…No", Gerhard smiled gratefully, "that won't be necessary. It is a human problem, so let us humans deal with it".

Taisei just stared intently into Gerhard's eyes, before his shoulder shook and he threw his head back roaring in laughter. Ellemon was stunned in confusion however all the elders had wide smiles on their faces as they nodded in approval. Even Mist had a vague idea of what is going on as a small smile creep across her lips.

Seeing that Gerhard was looking puzzled, Taisei responded, "Say no more Sainür ! If you go into battle then so shall we!"

The surrounding Elven warriors began to stamp their feet together in unison as they began to chant, "Awaken Iron! Cut them down! Awaken Spears! Cut them down! Awaken bows! Cut them down! Awaken Axe! Cut them down! Awaken Blades! Cut them down! Awaken Courage! Cut them down!"

Taisei smiled savagely towards Gerhard, all hints of the civilised elf he was disappeared and in its place was a warrior as he yelled in promise to him, "Where Sainür leads!"

"CUT THEM DOWN!"

*********************************************************************************************

"I am sorry", Max feigned ignorance, "I have never met you before?"

"Maaaaxx!", Lydia yelled desperately, "how can you say that to your only friend in this whole world. ONLY. FRIEND. ONLY. FRIEEEEND"

A vein throbbed on Max's forehead as he turned to the guard, "Please take her away", as he placed both hands on top of William's shoulders, "She must have kidnapped this poor child to perform part of her thievery act but you cannot blame so young and pure a child for doing so", Max preached, "their intentions were mainly to bring happiness to their perceived benefactors. Ah, tis cruel how evil a woman could play with the heart of such an innocent child".

To add to the effect, Max pretended to spit upon Lydia's feet, as though to ward off evil. Oh… Max actually felt a tingle of pleasure for doing so… NOT GOOD. DON’T WALK DOWN THAT PATH, MAX! YOURE AN 'M' NOT AN 'S'!

"M-max? is it ok to let them take her? What if your grandfather will get annoyed?", Lorelei asked in concern.

"…I think opi would be more annoyed to find out that she had been pick pocketing instead of watching in rapt attention to his trial…"

Lydia's face paled as she quickly denied the accusation, "Like I said, my hand just FELL into that man's purse. C'mon Max! If you help me clear the misunderstanding… I can teach you how to fight back against Mayumi!"

Just as Max was about to leave with William in hand, he froze as he quickly turned to Lydia and said, "You're not saying that just so I will get you out of trouble, are you?"

"Don’t you want to win against her sometimes?!!", Lydia cried over her shoulder as she was being dragged away by the guards.

Mulling over it deep in thought, finally the words of Lorelei helped decide the matter.

"Max, are you… perhaps really weak?", she asked innocently. After all, strength is meaningless to a creature that has no need for a physical body.

The blow to his pride was immense as he finally made up his mind, gritting his teeth he called out to the guards, "A-actually! I do know her! She is one of the companions of the Sainür . It must be a horrible mistake that she would do something like stealing!"

The guards halted suddenly as they looked to one another before gazing back at Max in suspicion.

"I mean it's true", Max continued unfazed, "you would only need to realise that she is a human, we are all humans… and the only humans that came into the village today are those that accompanied the Sainür ".

"Suppose you have a point", one of the guards grunted in dissatisfaction.

"Huh? When did Gerhard become Sainür ?", Lydia asked in confusion.

"Lydia… this is the reason why you should pay more attention to your surroundings", Max scolded her. Oh dear… he's got that tingling feeling again.

"There is also nothing to worry about", Max carried on, "Once the Sainür is back from the council, he can happily explain and prove to you that we are all CLOSE friends and COMPANIONS"

"Guh… I get it already. Well off you go amin", the elf guard released her reluctantly, "make sure there is no next time!"

"Yes yes", Max nodded repeatedly in agreement as he grabbed Lydia by the arm and brought her next to him, "I will ensure that this hooligan will be kept under close scrutiny so that she won't be a bother to the general public".

"See that she doesn’t", the guard just waved his hand as though the problem was no longer his to care about.

"Now…", Max gripped both arms of Lydia like eagle claws as he demanded, "Teach me immediately".

"Max… you're scaring me", Lydia shifted her eyes away from his face.

"Teach! Now!"

"O-ok! Ok! I will teach you! I will teach you the secret arts on how to make a maiden fall in love with you!"

"…huh?"

"Ok first, the important thing--"

"No wait! Wait!", Max interrupted Lydia as she was about to lecture, "What do you mean make a maiden fall in love? Maiden… as in Mayumi is THE Maiden!??"

Lydia looked at Max as though he was an idiot, "Well yeah, of course she is a maiden. She is a girl after all"

"…And why do I want her to fall in love with me?"

"Of course, so that she no longer beats you after all!"

"…MASTER!", Max fell to his knees and kowtowed towards her.

"Hohohohoho!", Lydia laughed like a 2nd rate villain, "Although part of attraction has to do with your looks", she could only tsk tsk in pity as she gave Max another look over, "Well… I guess we have to work around what we got"

"… Master, shouldn’t you be building my confidence?"

"Well, it's alright", Lydia chuckled, "I can guarantee you that she feels something about you"

"…Isn't it the urge to bully me?"

"Well… that is also a possibility", she blandly admitted.

"Max? Are you really going to flirt with Mayumi?", Lorelei nagged sounding peeved.

"It!…It is only to establish a republic free from tyranny! Shout the battle cry of freedom!", Max responded incoherently.

"Max… I think we also need to work on your brain", Lydia gazed at him worriedly.

"…LIKE I WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM YOU!"

*********************************************************************************************

Masumi walked into the hospital with the flowers she bought in one hand, and the sweets secured in her school bag. Greeting the nurse in reception with a slight bow, she was allowed through and the elevator opened for her. Humming to herself, she took out her phone to text her sister that she had arrived. A slight smile appeared on Masumi's face as she got a reply back of an emoticon with a huge smiling face.

Exiting the lift, she quickly walked down the hallway until she approached an area that looked tastefully furnished as she wave at several men in the distance. She greeted the black suited guards politely whom bowed in return to her.

"Welcome back ojousama. The Clan Head is waiting for you", one of the guards said.

"Gokurosama ", Masumi smiled gently.

"Is that you Masumi?!!", a voice called out in excitement from behind the door, "Hayaku come in!"

The guards smiled wryly to one another as they opened the door to allow Masumi to enter. What greeted her sight was a room that was way too opulent to be normally found in a hospital while her sister was sitting cross-legged on a king sized hospital bed, Mayumi's eyes scanning all over Masumi's body before falling onto her bag.

"It's there, isn’t it!", sounding like a detective who had just solved a difficult case, Mayumi pointed towards the bag in triumph.

"…Nee-san, where else would I put it?", Masumi gave a minor giggle as she opened the bag to pass the box filled with daifuku over to her sister. She noticed the stuffed toy of a Pokeball next to Mayumi's pillow and it brought back memories of when Masumi was just a stubborn brat, to which she can only helplessly smile about it now.

"Ooooo… heavenly", Mayumi cooed in happiness as she took a bite from the sweet, her face the very expression of life fulfilled.

Masumi sat down on the bed next to her sister and took a handkerchief out to wipe a corner of Mayumi's mouth as she complained, "Nee-san please be more aware of the fact that you are now the Clan Head", she sighed, "You are the face of our dignity after all".

"But but", Mayumi whined, "Everyone is so stingy. They always say 'You can't have this' or 'You can't have that'. Even I want potato chips sometimes!"

"Hai hai , I understand"

"OOOOh! As expected of my sister! Come! Let's overthrow this government together and change the laws to allow us poor patients to have any food that we want!"

"Nee-san, if the Prime Minister heard you say that, he would break out into cold sweat", Masumi smiled. Last time, her sister said that while there were government spies also on guard duty for her well being, it took her grandfather a lot of effort to convince the Prime minister that our family wasn't going to rebel. Well at least not over food, he joked.

"So…", Masumi hesitated before she asked, "where is father this time?"

Mayumi paused for a moment before she replied, "Oh, I sent him off to Africa. I told him to try and sell Toyota's there and see how that goes"

"Nee-san… which part of Africa?"

"I dunno? The one where there is a civil war going on?"

"…Isn't it about time you and father have a good long talk together?"

"Why? Father likes selling cars in war torn countries. Did you see the last financial report? I was shocked that you could sell that many cars to rebels and government troops. Toyotas are quite good to be converted into mobile gun platforms it seems".

"Isn't it because whoever paid father the most, he will help them win the war?", Masumi sighed, "Also... isn’t it time to say the things you need to say to father and him to you as well?"

"But…W-well I don’t want to ever see him again! He even arranged my own marriage before I could even learn to walk!"

"But I thought... it has already been annulled?"

Mayumi jerked at those words, "Well the engagement was definitely broken off that year... when they found out about my condition", she smiled despondently.

"…Nee-san"

"And to think that my ex-fiancé used to come and visit me with flowers…"

"Nee-san... you don't need to-"

"…reciting disgusting poetry and whisper sweet nothings to me for so many years".

Masumi just hugged her sister who was still stuffing daifuku into her mouth as she vented huffily, "It’s a good thing we never kissed... otherwise I would have lost my precious first to... a guy like him".

"…"

"...I still can't believe he came over that year...treating me as a stranger..."

"..."

"Saying BECAUSE he had fallen in love with someone else… haha…what a liar"

Masumi could feel her shoulders getting wet, tear drops soaking through her clothes as she gently rubbed Mayumi's back.

"What a liar… when would he ever had the time to find someone else?"

"..."

"He always visited me nearly every day when you were gone Masumi…"

"..."

"I thought... I would never smile again... if he wasn’t there…"

Masumi could do nothing but just hugged her sister tighter, unsure of what to say or how to atone.

"Ahhhhhh! Damn it!… That guy is like a curse! Even after all these years, he can still give me hiccups", Mayumi complained in annoyance.

After a while the both of them just held each other in comforting silence as Mayumi lay her head on her sister's shoulder with the half eaten daifuku still pressed firmly on her lips.

"Masumi…"

"Yes, nee-san?"

"This daifuku tastes salty"

"…I am sorry nee-san"

"Haaaa… I feel like teasing Max now"

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Ending Song: Kore wa Koi