"I can't get over it…" Hyde thought as he dragged himself through the school hallway. He couldn't get his thoughts off the day with Shiki and her strange attitude. More strange than he himself has been. He figured it was just a girl thing to act so childish, deadly and annoying. But why did it have to be him that suffered… at least Ibuki was there to mitigate some of the pain.

Hyde avoided his friends for most of the day wanting to be alone after the 'date' to clear his mind from the constant questions arising. All of which he ignored and avoided getting answers like the plague.

While he was walking alone in the hallway he heard terrible music playing. The sounds of piano keys played by obviously a novice creating an out of tune sound that was followed up by more keys played out of sync with whatever rhythm was trying to be played. Investigating the source of this horrible sound yielded surprising results.

Entering what Hyde presumed was the band room (since there were instruments everywhere.) he found Mary seated at the piano tapping each key with hesitation. She didn't care about what tune came out, instead she was too caught up in the scene she was trying to present. The wind entered from the open windows and gently made the blue curtain sway. The evening sunlight was focused on Mary like a spotlight, her eyes closed and her expression one of sadness.

She only stopped whatever song she was playing when she tapped the wrong key. Even though she had been using the wrong keys the whole time…

Silence fell between her and Hyde.

"..."

"..."

It was only broken when Hyde bluntly asked. "What are you doing?"

"Uwwaa! You've been hanging around other girls instead of me!" Mary cried out.

"W-wait what?!" Hyde shook his head and hands frantically. What in the world was this girl thinking? The 'date' with Shiki wasn't a date at all, it was a captor practically abusing her captive. Didn't she hear that Shiki slapped the life out of him when he tried to stop her? Or better yet, when she stapled his mouth?!

Didn't Ibuki tell her that? No? Well… "We hang out all the time and besides, Shiki is… something else."

"And you had sex too?!" Tears ran down Mary's cheeks as she shouted. Hyde rushed to cover her loud mouth hoping no one heard the ridiculous statement.

"S-shut up will ya!" He snapped. He felt her warm cheeks with his hand and the cold tears soaking his palm. He pulled away his hand, disgusted "There's nothing between us. Just a simple misunderstanding we wanted to clear up."

Mary stared at him with wide glossy eyes like a baby. She nodded in between stiffened sniffling and whining. Hyde was about to facepalm with his hand wet with tears then pulled it away before he touched his face and looked around for a tissue box. Luckily there was one sitting on a chair by a trumpet which he took and gave Mary the entire box. She needed it.

"T-ank youuu…" Mary blew her nose with the tissue. Hyde could only sigh. "It really can't be helped…"

Feeling somewhat guilty, Hyde walked with Mary back to the cafe. He was expecting to see Midare then remembered she was on her own solving the case.

Where was she exactly this time? Not a place anyone expected her to be. The cold white interior of a hospital being escorted by a nurse towards a room with a single patient.

"She's in this room ma'am." The nurse opened the door to a small room with Yamiko in bed. She was still passed out with a black blindfold covering her eyes.

Midare and the nurse entered, the nurse closing the door behind as she spoke. "I listened to your requests and only had medical perform surgery on her eyes but the damage was severe. There weren't any shards of metal lodged in her eye but whatever she was cut with tore through her eye nerves and took a chunk of her eye with it."

The nurse shuddered thinking about the report she was given. "We managed to keep her alive but… without further treatment, she'll be feeling permanent pain from her eyes frequently and possibly death. Midare pleaseー"

"There's no need. I'll do it myself." Midare chuckled, seeing something under Yamiko's medical bed. She stepped closer to her and raised her elbow before slamming it on her stomach.

"Urk!" Yamiko flinched and sat up from the sudden attack. Midare reached under the bed and picked up an empty cup ramen container. Yamiko stammered "I can explain..!"

That was all Midare needed to hear to know Yamiko was fine. She dropped the container letting the sound of it colliding on the floor echo, "Get up we're leaving."

The nurse stared speechless and her thoughts in disbelief seeing Midare pull off a miracle right in front of her eyes. She had no words, no question that could explain what just happened.

Outside Midare and Yamiko walked together holding hands and with the sun setting on the horizon. Deep in Osaka, the sound of cars, pedestrians, and restaurants full of customers and tourists filled their ears. It was only when they were passing a bridge did Yamiko speak.

"How did you know I wasn't dead forever?"

Midare didn't turn to face her, replying "You and I both know the answer to that question."

Yamiko freed her hand from Midare's grasp. "Then you should know that I'm capable of walking myself. More importantly… Why are you injured of all people?"

Midare stopped and turned around, pointing at Yamiko with her free hand. "I can ask you the same thing o' almighty Clotaire."

Yamiko frowned at the nickname she was given. They both were chasing each other in circles but during a time like this, Yamiko had to drop the playful act she was putting on. She grabbed one side of her blindfold and lifted it to show that her eye had fully healed but the appearance of her pupil was vastly different. Her iris was two colors, dark purple on the outer rim but yellow closer to the slit pupil she had. Midare couldn't stare at it too long because of how it drained consciousness through unknown means. She had a similar power but nothing close to the scale Yamiko was at.

"I was caught off guard. I didn't expect an enemy to outsmart me so easily." Said Yamiko before lowering her blindfold. "The traitor is no doubt powerful for me not to be able to sense their magic. I'm afraid a lot of us are going to get hurt, it's a certainty. Someone in our agency is going to die."

Midare had a nervous look for once in her life. Being able to trick a trickster like Yamiko was a great feat to accomplish, Yamiko even remarked how she was impressed how the traitor managed to do it in a simple manner, even damaging her was incredible.

Midare looked down at the shadow Yamiko cast that was in the shape of a dragon, a detail people often missed until they tried looking again only to realize that there wasn't any dragon and they were just hallucinating. Or not…

"If someone has to end up dying for the sake of others then I'll do it."

"..." Yamiko then twirled her finger around Midare's drill side locks "Reeeeally..?"

Midare smacked her hand away. "Annoying…" She continued walking with Yamiko returning to the dormitory.

────── 〔✿〕──────

Ibuki stepped out of Kintetsu station into the district she's once been before. This time her trip to Nara was her alone to find Julius though she was accompanied by Syrup on the trip to Nara. He had been away from the cafe for some time supposedly visiting someone at the shrine.

Syrup turned to Ibuki dressed in the casual clothing she wore on their 'date'. A sleeveless gray plaid dress with frills and a black and white striped hoodie with cat ears on the hood. Ibuki wondered if her fox ears would fit in the hood but she didn't need to know now. "I'm going to go shopping. We'll meet back here once we're done, okay?"

"I might be late so you can go on without me if you finish your shopping earlier." Ibuki frowned.

"I have time to spare." Syrup then waved and they split paths. During the trip Ibuki hoped the 3 girls were still at the shrine.

"Is this the right way to get there..?" Ibuki then looked up from her phone and narrowly dodged a deer running towards her on the road. She looked back ahead and scratched her head. "Is that exorcist messing with me? Only one way to find out."

Ibuki sprinted the rest of the way there.

She climbed the last step only for Julius to outstretch his arm, preventing her from continuing forward. He glanced at her before returning his gaze ahead.

"Bad news…" Julius muttered.

Across from them was Soap wielding a long scythe with a megaphone tied to the back. On the blade were thousands of written words that gave the weapon a dark purple aura. He held it in front of the Duke of Kazan holding her hostage and behind him was Selena passed out on the ground.

So much for a date…

"What are we going to do?" Ibuki responded quietly.

"Hmm…" Julius had to think of his options. All the while, Soap laughed.

He spoke into the megaphone tied on the scythe, "I could kill this girl here and you wouldn't be able to do a single thing about it. It's impossible logically and mathematics proves it. You're about 10 meters away from me. The average speed of a trained knight like you is equivalent to a dog during its initial sprint. At 5 seconds you'll be 5 meters closer but by that time, this girl will already be dead and I'll still have the advantage."

"But you forgot to factor in this!" Julius twisted his wrist and a magic circle appeared above Soap. "Blades of light, acceleration scythe!"

A spike made of light spiraled down forcing Soap to dodge away which freed the Duke of Kazan from his grasp. She quickly ran to hide but Soap was less concerned about killing her than what he let on.

"You think I didn't factor magic into the equation? That was the first calculation!" Soap stepped forward and pulled his scythe back, slamming it forward. The reach of the weapon was overwhelming, Julius and Ibuki had to dodge even though it seemed like they were far enough.

They circled around Soap who pulled out his scythe from the cracks made on the ground. He stood still as he taunted them once more, "Your time is running out. Hours switch to minutes and minutes switch to seconds. If it were up to me, I'd have your heads hanging on the hour hand."

Ibuki came to a halt along with Julius with their weapons not yet drawn. Soap had his back turnt, they could strike him down and end it all here and now.

But they didn't.

His words were more of a warning of what's to come and terribly worded at that. Soap flashed them a grin before making his escape, walking out of the shrine with a nonchalant wave behind. Once he was gone they could ease their guard. The Duke of Kazan peeked her head out from behind a bush before running towards Selena to shake the injured guardian.

Her injuries weren't fatal. Almost like Soap wasn't intending to hurt her, only to push her aside for something more important. What that important thing was remained a mystery. Ibuki couldn't pinpoint what he wanted from this shrine if not to cause chaos or taking the Duke of Kazan.

Whatever his goal was… it was beyond Ibuki's understanding.

"Wake up! Please don't go." The Duke of Kazan cried with tears nearly forming in her eyes. Selena slowly opened her eyes halfway, speaking dryly "I'll be...fine."

Julius kneeled beside the Duke of Kazan to rub her head. "She just needs some rest. Thankfully Soap didn't go too hard on her."

"Mm…" The Duke of Kazan gripped on Selena's clothing briefly before standing up. "When I grow up, I'm going to stop conflict like this."

She didn't understand the nuance of why the criminals were causing chaos in Japan. Then again they didn't have a coherent reason why they did the things they did. Their chaos wasn't unpredictable, instead it was meaningless. From what Ibuki witnessed so far, the culprits of their cases were complete psychopaths.

Selena slowly stood back to her feet holding her stomach. She was dragged away by the Duke of Kazan behind the shrine where the living quarters were as well as medical supplies left by the exorcist. The Duke of Kazan called for Julius to join along, completely ignoring Ibuki's appearance at the shrine. He would join her after discussing with Ibuki for a bit.

"Is err… Yukikari around?" Ibuki nearly forgot the exorcist's name.

Julius rubbed his chin "I haven't seen her around lately. She told me to take care of this shrine in her place and simply left."

Could it be..?

No, Ibuki was now feeling more anxious after getting a lack of answers. She never asked anyone directly about the attack on the cafe and Yamiko. Julius being apart of the Blue Corps must’ve had an answer or a clue that could lead her to the truth of the matter.

She crossed her arms asking plain and simple, "So what was my sister up to while we were in Kyoto?" This was the easiest way to ask without raising suspicion. Not that there would be much since the two knew each other well but their first impressions were bad.

Cherri told Julius about her sister being a very timid and strong willed girl. She had a lot of talent and the skills to be a knight like her sister but Cherri made sure to keep her away from that path, telling many of the recruiters to reject Ibuki and her comrades in the Blue Corps to not treat the girl as a friend. All for the safety of Ibuki but in turn, since she never understood the reasons why at a young age, it tore her apart both mentally and physically.

Ibuki starved herself for days outside where all the knights could see her lying on the cold ground hoping for a chance to be with her sister. She didn’t know whether she was too weak or stupid to be a knight. Nearly passed out on the stone pavement was where Julius found her. He ignored Cherri’s warnings and took matters into his own hands offering a hand, some semblance of hope towards Ibuki.

But by that time it was too late.

She had already lost herself to time..? Perhaps.

That’s why she was called Ibuki instead of her real name; too afraid to be real towards anyone else any longer. She wondered if Julius even knew, but judging how he acted like Ibuki was a whole new person then he probably didn’t.

"What we were up to..?" Julius turned around and slowly started walking toward the back of the shrine with Ibuki following. "Nothing much I suppose. We didn’t have an assignment during that time. All I can say is that I was here with Lemon, Yuriri and Selena."

"Yuriri?" Ibuki raised her eyebrow now that a new name was at play. Her tense nerves eased as Julius explained, “Oh you might know her as the Duke of Kazan. Her name is Yuriri Auguste and she’s one big bundle of sunshine.” he chuckled.

"Is that so..?" Ibuki’s words trailed off.

Julius raised his head smiling gleefully "I was quite surprised when I found out she was here visiting with Kaguya."

However, even Julius didn’t know why she was here in Japan instead of Kazan. Ibuki shook off that thought and returned to the topic of the agency. Since Julius wasn’t near the agency at all during that time she couldn’t shake much information out of him. Even thinking outside the box, there was nothing useful to gain from interrogating Julius. Out of questions, Ibuki didn’t feel the need to stay.

"Hm? You look like you’re on edge." Julius said. Was it that noticeable? Ibuki didn’t want to keep Syrup waiting.

"I just came to see how you were."

"Really now?"

Julius placed a hand on Ibuki’s shoulder. "Look, if you ever need to talk about anything then I’ll be here to listen. I can tell you’re worried about what the agency is going through. I am too, but I have to make sure Yuriri and Selena are safe first and foremost."

Ibuki closed her eyes and let out a sigh "Thanks."

Although this wasn’t a good experience like a date, she still could rely on Julius having her back whenever she needed reassurance.

────── 〔✿〕──────

Midnight…

The crescent moon illuminated a blue glow that darkened the city. Clouds passed over the streets nearly covering the moon like glass.

Cherri circled her finger on the tip of the empty wine glass she held. Stained with red wine like blood with droplets gathering on her fingertip. She licked it off. "Aah~ Midare certainly knows how to pick her drinks."

She placed the glass on the ground before leaning forward in her chair to look in the telescope to search for any suspicious activity. Normally there were people coming to and from the station making the city look very active at night, even more so due to Reanne being in town. Now there were none.

The street lights flickered and cold set in on the back of Cherri’s neck. It didn't help that her room lights were off making it difficult for her perception to differentiate shadows and the silhouettes of railings and signs. Occasionally a shadow would move in the corner of her eye only to snap back into place when she focused on it.

The dead silence made the sounds of her breathing much louder in perspective thus making it stiffened when she needed to know if she heard someone or something. Whether it'd be the engine of a passing car or the footsteps of a lone individual traveling under the night.

Her mind was nearly empty and she felt her eye was sinking into the telescope desperate looking for a figure lurking in the shadows. Giving up, she moved her face back from the telescope and closed her eyes briefly. The pitch black she saw when her eyes were closed was the same as the darkness that surrounded her.

Suddenly Cherri's fox ear twitched hearing the sound of the door creek. She let out a gasp as she turned around in her seat to face the room door. Her nerves unsettled and a terrified gaze staring at the closed door. The sound startled her, making her forget whether she locked the door or not.

When she stood up, the unclear sound she heard now registered as glass and looking down she saw that the wine glass she placed on the ground was knocked over and shattered. Cherri cursed under her breath and muttered "I must've hit it with my leg."

A likely outcome. Thankfully she was still in her uniform with her boots on, otherwise the unsettling sight of blood on the carpet would've filled her with dread.

Cherri turned on the room light to clean up the glass and turned it back off afterwards. She continued watching through the telescope just like the moonlight.