Tomoe sighs to herself and retreats back into the room. Jessica follows along close behind her. As she leaves, Haru thinks she hears her whisper ‘Good luck’ under her breath. Then, it’s just her and Tsuki. In this near lightless place. “So, what was it you wanted to ask me?”“Tell me, girl.”Tsuki circles around Haru, swaying with every step she takes. “Did Tsumugi kill Kentomi?”“What?”“I want to hear it from someone who was there when it happened. Did Tsumugi kill Kentomi?”“Before that, I must ask. Do you want the truth, or do you want to hear what you want to hear.”“Neither. Give me your answer.”“...then no. Tsumugi did not kill Lady Kentomi.”There’s a long silence. Longer than an eternity, longer than a hundred eternities. “Good.”Tsuki steps away, her face twisted in a shark’s smile. “Any ally of Tsumugi’s is an ally of mine. Nice to meet you, Sister-in-law.”She gives Haru a playful nudge on the shoulder. “Oh huh, I suppose that does make us in-laws, huh? It’s nice to

There’s a full moon out tonight. Something about how the moonlight plays with the colors of the flowers gives the garden an otherworldly beauty. Moths dance with the wind under the light of incandescent bulbs– entranced. And amidst it all, there are maids planting new flowers where wilted ones used to be. Their heads are bowed down, as though in reverence. An ever beautiful garden as enthralling during the day as it is at night.“More tea?”“No, thank you, Kiara. I’m absolutely stuffed.”“I’m fine as well.”Kiara, the head maid of this whole place bows and retreats back into the shadows, where the sight of her won’t ruin the beauty of the garden. Pale-faced and dull-eyed, she reminds Haru somewhat of a dead fish. She wears her jet black hair short and in small natural clumps. Overall, eh, like a 3/10. Pass from Haru. “Are you frustrated?”“Who wouldn’t be?”Tomoe starts walking around the garden. She gestures for Haru to follow her. “It’s bullshit!”“Mhm.”“You believe me, right?”“

It’s nice to have KANNIBAL’s weight in her hand again. Defying the laws of comfort, Asuka finds Haru in the backseat, asleep on top of KANNIBAL. Which, by the way, is a huge chunk of steel with a slightly sharp edge. And yet, here she is anyway, sleeping on it. “We’re here.”“Mmmm…”Asuka pokes Haru’s side, causing her to jerk. “Five… five more minutes… mmm…”Fading in and out of the border of sleep and wakefulness, Haru hears a pair of footsteps approach.“Ah, Asuka. It’s pleasant to see you again.”It’s only been one night, but it feels like it’s been a full year since Haru heard Tsumugi’s voice. It’s still not enough to make her get up, though.“Lady Tsumugi.”“No need to be so formal, Asuka, you can just call me Tsumugi.”“Yes, Lady Tsumugi.”“Anywho, should we wake Haru up or…”“I’m up, I’m up.”She rubs the schmutz out of her eyes as she sits upright. “What time is it?”“Eight, eight-thirty. Around there.”That’s pretty early. For Haru’s standards, anyway. Regardless, she fin

The instant Kikimi runs out of ammunition, Haru dispels the shield, extends her arm and drops Kikimi with a vicious lariat to the head. She goes down a lot easier than she expected. There’s a glazed over look in Kikimi’s eyes as Haru rolls her body over with her foot and plants it on her back, pinning her to the ground. If she so chose, she could crush her ribs right here. But she doesn’t. Instead she kneels down and presses the muzzle of her gun right up against Kikimi’s head. “Oh c’mon. At least try.”“Gh–!”Kikimi says nothing. She feels her struggling through the sole of her shoe but it’s useless, her foot doesn’t move an inch, like it’s fixed in space. Hm. That was a little disappointing. Maybe she was expecting too much from someone completely unaugmented but she figured that Kikimi might know a Judo throw or maybe some kind of phantom punch, or really even just try and put up some kind of a fight. Cause right now, it’s kind of like she’s just given up. Haru slowly removes the

Kuroko revs her motorcycle engine as she catches up to the train. The cold nighttime wind stings her eyes but she barely feels the pain. “All units disengage, I’ll take it from here.”“Wait. Something’s off. They’re not using Magitech weapons.”“We have our orders.”“I said WAIT!”As soon as she’s close enough, Kuroko suddenly leaps from her motorcycle onto the top of the rearmost train car. Her shoes make loud thuds as she lands. Loud enough to announce to the people inside that someone’s here. “ON THE ROOF!”She hears the orders being barked from below. A second later, bullet holes begin to open all around her. Kuroko does not hesitate. She conjures a bundle of string connecting her to the edge of the roof before jumping off the train’s side. Kuroko uses the strings to swing herself through the train window and into the train car proper. Her bombastic entrance is met with a mixture of confused and frightened expressions. There’s a moment of silence, then it’s shattered into a mill