Oh boy this chapter was a monster. I'm crying. It's over 4200 words long.

I had a hectic January, making a comic for graduation exam and stuff. Fifteen hours of typesetting. Fifteen.
I hate typesetting.

But, I'm alive! That's the most important thing. Enjoy this fluffy chapter~

:)

"Good night. Tomorrow is a new day."

"You know," Mayura confided, "I understand the whole marriage thing, but…"

Shimon Ikaruga hummed, signifying that he was listening despite not looking at her.

"No, actually, I don't. But don't you think this is a little…" There was a long pause, Mayura seemingly unable to find an appropriate term. She waved at their surroundings helplessly.

"...invasive?" he suggested. "Forceful?"

She winced. "...I wouldn't say that… maybe… sudden."

Shimon sighed, shaking his head. People were moving around them, paying the teens no attention, carrying boxes.

He seemed to be in a terrible mood, but Mayura could understand. She, herself, would probably yell at the source of their discomfort if she could…

...but could you really yell at the head of all the exorcists?

He was about as happy as Shimon wasn't, which meant a lot.

"Well, I guess I'll leave you two together, then." There was a strange melody in his tone of voice.

"No."

Mayura whipped towards her… towards Ikaruga Shimon, who had just spoken.

"No?" Arima loomed over them.

He was a very tall man, and he never seemed more menacing than when he dropped the happy front and looked at you from above, like a bird of prey. He was so huge. Mayura suddenly felt too big, too visible. She wanted to hide, to be invisible, just to be hidden from the cold aura of this man. He glowered dangerously, waiting for the commander's reply.

"Arima-sama…" Even the red-haired boy was hesitating. It was difficult not to be intimidated. Anyone with two brain cells, or who cared about what the two brain cells said, would be careful before crossing him. "Why do you want me to move into Otomi's house?"

Mayura didn't flinch because he spoke, no… definitely not…

She could feel the disgust on his tongue, like honey turned sour. It wasn't even directed at her; rationally, she knew that he was angry at his superior, not her. She had done nothing wrong.

It still stung, though.

"Well, Shimon-kun, I do need you two to get to know each other, you see~?" He was still smiling, but venom remained hidden underneath. "Would you rather have another house? That's not a problem, I can take care of your finances, easy~ I just thought Mayura here would rather stay in her own house, but I have someplace you might-"

"That's not it! I just..." His voice wasn't as powerful as he would've liked. It showed on his face.

The head ignored him, or pretended to ignore him. It was hard to tell with that man.

"Luckily, Otomi Yukari-san won't be around, so you don't need to worry about outside interference..."

….what?

Mayura cleared her throat, courageously interrupting the smug elephant in the room. "What did you say?"

He looked at her, expression frozen. She noticed sweat rolling down his temple, and his eyebrow twitched.

"Ah… I said… Your mother seems absent..."

She narrowed her eyes. "You know where my mother went. Yet, she didn't tell me." It wasn't a question.

He was definitely sweating. He avoided her eyes. "M-Maybe?"

"What. Did. You. Do. To. My. Mother." It wasn't a question either; it was a statement, an order. Suddenly she didn't feel so short, nor did he feel so tall. He shrunk a little under her accusing glare. Mayura was vaguely aware of her red-haired companion of misfortune looking on, bewildered, but she only had eyes for the man in front of her.

She tried to channel her mother's intimidation skills, and pulled off what she hoped was a sweet smile. He took a step back.

He had definitely met Yukari before. Being the spitting image of her mother was quite useful, at times. She knew herself too timid to truly be intimidating, but the resemblance worked in her favor.

She walked towards him, still smiling.

"I…" He took another step back.

She called back a terror-tinted memory, closed her eyes, tilting her head slightly, and prayed that her impression was good enough. She knew she could screw up any moment and he'd snap out of it, but… Don't think about failure Mayura! This is for your mother!

"Do not. Lie to me."

The exorcist leader took another step back, bumped into the table, and coughed to clear his throat. She opened her eyes again, but didn't stop smiling.

"I may have sent her a... picture and the location of your father." He was avoiding her eyes.

She did her best to make her voice dangerous. "What kind of picture?"

"...a picture of him, talking with another woman..."

Her eyes widened, and she raised an eyebrow, blinking her surprise away. He was avoiding the main issue, that much was obvious. "Why would that make my mother leave the house in a hurry?"

He narrowed his eyes, and she flinched back. Wrong thing to say. The spell was broken.

He stepped closer to her, invading her personal space. His body seemed to bend like a bamboo on the verge of breaking, folding itself to be on her eye level yet impossibly taller and she felt like a child again.

"Do not worry about your mother. Concentrate on the present, will you?" His smile was twisted.

"This is what I was talking about, Arima-sama," Ikaruga said, breaking the building hostile atmosphere between them, and reminding them that he was still in the room. He didn't move from his spot behind Mayura, however, he just elevated his voice to make himself heard. "I feel that us living together at this point would be... too soon."

Arima turned around to look at him. Like a cat pouncing on a yarn ball, he went one with an even bigger smile. "Ah, I see, Shimon-kun~ You wanted to prepare your belongings before leaving!"

Mayura stared at the Heavenly Commander. He had an odd look in the eye- like cornered prey. He was frozen on his spot, his eyes whipping around in search of a metaphorical escape.

"Arima-sama… You know that isn't what I-"

The tall man raised a hand to interrupt and looked around the room intently. The two other occupants noticed the boxes had all been brought in.

"Well you can organize your things now! I'll leave you newlyweds alone~"

He left just like that, faster than a man of his size should be able to. They were alone now. She realized she was still staring at her unfortunate friend, and dropped her eyes to the floor.

She heard Ikaruga groan. He flopped down on the couch.

"...do you want me to help you unpack?"

He glared at her. "No." He let his hardened eyes wander. "Just… go to your room or something, okay?"

She tried to smother the spark of hurt. Of course he was in a bad mood. What reasons did he have to not be in a bad mood? It made sense. It wasn't against her…

"...there's no need to snap at me."

She knew she was speaking too low for him to hear. She knew it, but she couldn't stop herself from saying it, because it was unfair and she had nothing to do with it and it hurt.

She went back to her room, sensing a headache coming.

"Good morning~!"

"Good morning, Rokuro."

The red-eyed boy looked around the living room in a haze. One more day before he had to go back to school. Well, one and a half, counting today.

It sucked. Rokuro didn't like school all that much. He didn't hate it, but like 95% of his generation, he liked sleeping more.

Oh well. It wasn't like he had any choice on the matter. He was not becoming an exorcist, so he was going to need a backup plan.

Singing was scrapped, though… what hadn't he tried yet...

Ryougo was reading the newspapers on the couch. He hadn't quite recovered from his little stunt from the previous day, so he was still resting.

Shinnosuke and Atsushi weren't home. Maybe they had gone for groceries together. They did that a lot, for some reason he couldn't fathom.

Gramps was visibly fighting a fierce battle against Benio Adashino's old granny. He clutched his console harder than he needed to.

...they were missing someone.

"Ikaruga isn't home?" he asked to no one in particular.

Ryougo answered him without even tearing his eyes away from the paper. "He moved out while you were sleeping," he said, and Rokuro raised an eyebrow.

The gesture went unseen, of course, but it's the thought that counts.

Well, now life was going to go back to normal, it seemed. With the commander out of his life, his routine would come back around.

He strolled to the kitchen. It was a tiny bit late for breakfast, but…

...but…

…..

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, ADASHINO BENIO?!"

She indicated a plate full of crumbs.

"Why are you eating in my kitchen?"

"It's not just… yours."

He sighed and sat by her side.

"What were you eating?"

She left her eyes trained on him for a second before sadly contemplating the empty plate.

"Ohagi."

He tapped a careless rhythm on the table with his fingers, thinking.

"Are you still hungry? I didn't eat anything yet."

He glanced at her. She nodded slowly.

"Wait here. I'll be right back."

He felt her eyes boring when he bolted out of the kitchen and into his bedroom, but she didn't follow. He threw off his pajamas and grabbed some clean clothes, not caring all that much what they were, as long as the colors didn't clash violently. Rokuro never understood what the other guys had against pink. It was a nice, soothing color.

He glanced at the mirror and took a moment to tame his hair into something presentable, before walking back to the kitchen, grabbing his coat on the way.

"Aren't you coming? Let's go."

"Okay. I know I told you I'd buy anything you want. But in case you. didn't . realize. I DIDN'T EAT BREAKFAST. I'M HUNGRY! LET ME EAT!"

She huffed at him.

Rokuro stared fearfully at his now-empty wallet. How..? How was all of his money gone in a giant plate of ohagi..? Why?

He sighed. "So… is there anything in particular that you wanted to know?" She made an interrogative noise that he interpreted as "on what?"

"About Yu… your brother."

Her facial expression nuanced across surprised and pensive. He went back to staring at his knees.

He wasn't sure why he talked about that, but she would probably leave soon, right? The earlier he got that over with, the better.

His stomach gurgled.

What could he talk about? What should he keep silent? The tragedy itself was a given, but…

Something poked him out of his thoughts. Sticks? Chopsticks? Something sticky was being shoved into his cheek.

Ohagi.

"You can have… one." He felt the unusual, heavy intonation in her voice, as if what she had just said was a supreme honor.

Now that he thought of it, Yuuto also liked ohagi a lot. He shouldn't be surprised that his sister was also fond of them, should he?

Ah, memories, memories.

She poked his cheek with the sweet again, so he bit into it while she held it. He was careful to eat slowly, knowing that he probably wouldn't get anything else from that tyrant girl.

He licked his lips when he was done. "Thanks, Benio Adashino."

She nodded and blissfully went back to the meal she bought with HIS money. He grumbled a bit longer, but decided to let it go.

"You didn't tell me what you wanted to hear, Benio Adashino."

She glanced at him sideways. "Call me… Benio. Hearing you repeat... my full name… over and over again… is painful to listen… to. "

...it was probably the longest sentence he'd heard her say. She was lightening up, slowly! He was winning Yuuto's sister over…! Although she had passive aggressively insulted him in the same sentence.

"Call me Rokuro," he said, smiling. This was improvement.

She nodded. "Can you tell me about…" Here it comes, he thought. "You?"

"...me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"You are not an exorcist… yet you… know my brother. This made me… curious."

"...I don't know if there's much I could tell you, Benio Ada… Benio. I mean… it's not that I don't remember, not at all… but… they're..."

She frowned. "Things you would like to… forget?"

He chuckled.

"I'm only ever good at running away."

She didn't answer, so he glanced up.

She was looking at him. She had finished her plate and put it aside. He cast his eyes down.

Rokuro watched her put her fists on her lap in slow motion, before snapping his eyes back to hers.

She didn't move nor speak.

What was she waiting for? Had his confession made things awkward? She was staring. He knew he was going to start fidgeting. Was she judging him? Was she disappointed? He was sweating now. Wasn't she going to stop staring? She frowned again, narrowing her eyes. She was angry. Why was she angry, because he wouldn't tell her anything? Should he speak up again? He didn't want to. He shouldn't have said that. He'd ruined everything, hadn't he?

She opened her mouth and uttered a single word.

"Rokuro."

Her voice was strained.

"Running away is… acceptable. Sometimes the only way to stay alive is running away. Sometimes there is no way to choose a path, and you flee." The words spilled faster than he had ever heard from her. She took a deep breath.

"But you cannot run away forever, or else you will lose… everything. You cannot just not choose and put it off until it's too late. Because that's still choosing and that's... the worst choice you can make."

She stopped to breathe again, twice, and lowered her eyes to stare at her knuckles. Her hands were fists, clutching the fabric of her skirt.

"I mean to say that you… you evidently have something weighing on… your mind. And if you want me to… I can… listen. I know I do not… speak much but… I can listen to… you. If you… so wish. So… don't run away."

She tentatively looked back up, but slipped away as soon as she met his eyes.

"You just want to hear it." His voice came from far away, toneless, like he was underwater.

"No… No." She finally looked at him in the eye, and all he could see was determination, now. Her voice firm.

"I want to listen."

Her eyes were so similar, yet so different from Yuuto's. Yuuto's eyes had had the same shape, he noticed it now. The color, however, was different. She had a pair of beautiful blue-green eyes, of course, but there was more. There was the warmth they radiated as she leaned closer.

He couldn't help but stare. His gaze gravitated towards her eyes, and perhaps he could get lost into them and forget the acidic ones her brother once had. There was kindness in there. There was courage. They were an eagerness to listen. There was everything he could have been. Somehow, he knew these eyes held an entirely new world within them.

Was it a world he wanted to have anything to do with?

"...Benio. You'll really listen?"

"To anything… you want to say."

"Even if it's awful?"

"Any...thing."

"I am…" Rokuro took a deep breath.

"I am the sole survivor of the Tragedy of Hiinastuki."

Benio stilled.

"And I… I killed them all. They died because of me. Because I was weak and blind."

Shimon stopped dead in his tracks.

Rationally, Shimon had known that it wasn't Mayura's fault that he was shoved out of bed way too early in the morning and set up by his superior to invade her house. He'd been cranky, uncomfortable, and taken off guard.

So, he'd given her the cold shoulder. Maybe just a little bit. She had been nice during dinner, the previous day. A little too nice, maybe. She agreed with anything they said, and glanced nervously at both him and Rokuro. She made mildly funny jokes.

She was all-around a normal, boring middle school girl, and that made him grit his teeth.

Then there was this morning. Where she'd made Arima cower for a while. That had given him quite the chill, honestly.

She had scared him just the tiniest bit. And Arima had scared him, too, with his very special brand of gloomy scheming.

Then she was back to the nice girl he was getting to know.

And it made him angry.

If she did have fight in her, why act so shy? So meager? So.. shallow? Was it an act to make Rokuro like her better? Was it a lack of self-confidence? Did she think he'd like her better this way?

The Twin Stars were supposed to represent hope. The end of the thousand years war. They weren't supposed to be… two teenagers constantly being awkward with each other.

Not a shallow little girl who knew nothing of their fight and a teenager who never dedicated enough time to make friends. He had never considered romance before, it'd been unnecessary. He had built himself to fight on the island until he ran out of enemies or died. Maybe after, he'd have had the time. Once Chiiko was safe. Once Magano was gone. In the distant future where he wouldn't see the polluted skies of their personal hell anymore.

And now, he was supposed to lie down his weapons and romance a..?

Shimon sighed. "I'm going out." He realized Otomi had left the room, and repeated louder. "I'll be back… soon." Just clearing his head away from this mess.

He didn't know the district very well, so he had wandered off to the only place he knew-

The Seika dorm.

He recognized Rokuro and Adashino Benio ahead. They had their backs to him.

He suddenly remembered his curiosity about Rokuro. The not-an-exorcist-anymore who quit two years ago. It somewhat slipped his mind with the whole wedding thing, but…

He found that he was still curious.

He honestly thought the boy interesting. Funny, in his own somewhat pathetic way. He didn't know what made Rokuro quit, but it seemed to have wounded his soul. He had seen it before numerous times. Perhaps the boy's parents had died, or a friend..? It really wasn't his business, but the violent reaction from their first meeting made him wonder if the trauma wasn't something more… unique? He didn't know how to put it.

He couldn't just ask, though.

They were were within earshot now, should he call out to them..?

"I am the sole survivor of the Tragedy of Hiinastuki."

Shimon stilled.

"And I… I killed them all. They died because of me. Because I was weak and blind."

...it clicked into place.

The redhead backtracked the way he came.

Where is Rokuro?

Ryougo chewed on his fingernails. It'd been hours since his little brother had left "to get breakfast" with Adashino. He hadn't gone off to pick a fight with the Heavenly Commander, had he? He had the feeling that he had gotten himself in trouble. He was going to thoroughly chew him out as soon as-

A ring startled him out of his thoughts. The front door!

He stood up, making the chair screech painfully. Ryougo grimaced. He groaned when he bumped into the table in his hurry, too, but he couldn't care less.

"I'm back." His little brother's voice. It was empty of its unusual energy. Hollow. A bit rough. Mental alarm bells went off.

"Welcome back," he said, forcing a smile. It was dark outside, and raining. Rokuro's hair was wet, and his eyes, downcast. What happened while he was outside?

"Hey, come in." Rokuro called out, turning around without sparing Ryougo a glance. "You'll catch a cold, Benio."

Ryougo took a step back to let both teens in. Somehow, he hadn't expected Benio Adashino to still be with Rokuro.

"Rokuro?"

His little brother hummed in response, setting aside shoes and damp coat.

"Are you okay? Look at me."

He obediently looked up to meet his eyes, rubbing them with a hand.

"What happened to you?!" He grabbed his brother's cheeks, inspecting the blackening skin around his red eye. Had he taken a hit..? The white of his eyes was bloodshot and puffy, as if he had cried.

"He wouldn't… listen," Benio interjected coolly. Her eyes looked puffy, too, but it might just be the lamplight.

"You said you wanted to listen!"

"I did… didn't… I?"

Rokuro beamed, and Ryougo let his hand drop to his side. "Yeah, you did. Thanks." Ryougo stared.

He didn't seem… empty, after all. It was another kind of emotionlessness.

Rokuro looked more peaceful than he had seen him in two years. Was it thanks to Adashino?

There was nothing that could be done, then, except grin to them both and fuss over their drenched clothes.

As long as his little brother was happy, he was satisfied.

The next day, Rokuro stared at the ceiling, content.

Okay, so tomorrow, he was going back to class, but it wasn't so bad. He hadn't felt so… calm in a while. Maybe talking had been what he needed most, after all.

Oh, he was certain he would relapse soonish into darker thoughts and squabbling with Ryougo, but talking with Benio had been… nice. Even if she had beaten him up to a pulp until he admitted that it wasn't his fault if his friends had fallen.

A battle cry echoes across raw hills,

Angry tears stream down flesh, soundless,

Red when they touch the ground.

He, ultimately, had told her everything. She had not liked it. At all. Benio had screamed at him. He had apologized, screamed, and she had cried, too, for what seemed like hours. He had too. And then they had sat on a bench, huddled together and staring into space, until one of them had started talking. He didn't remember who, but they talked and talked and talked. She told him about what Yuuto had been like, when they were children.

It was funny in a very sad way, how different Benio's Yuuto had been from the Yuuto that Rokuro knew and hated.

A sob echoes across raw hills,

Choked by rage. A step back, and a grin.

Flesh clashes with bone, and tears.

He told her what Yuuto had done. He told her about their first meeting, and their last, and everything in-between.

When everything had been said- it wasn't everything, but it was as much as they could get past their throats that day- after a number of instances shouting at each other- they'd felt hungry, and realized that it had gotten late already.

Ryougo hadn't been mad, surprisingly enough. They'd eaten dinner and Rokuro had fallen asleep on the couch.

He woke up at five in the morning (Ryougo would be proud) with Benio gone for ages, of course. He hadn't gotten to say goodbye. He mostly lazed around, zombieing through the day, and went off to nap again around four. He just didn't find it in him to want anything but stay cozily in bed, just for today. It felt too unreal that someone out there knew. And honestly forgave him. It felt unreal and it sapped all his energy, but in a nice, warm way. He wanted to bask in that feeling just a bit longer, so he had taken a nap, sleeping dreamless.

The madman's laugh echoes across raw hills

A broken body lays at his feet, unmoving.

He laughs like he has never laughed.

...sleeping dreamless, until now. Now, he was wide awake. He glanced at his wall of clocks- eight pm.

Looks like he had nicely screwed up his sleep schedule for school. Well, too bad.

He yawned, stretched, and staggered to the dining room.

"Hey, Ryougo."

"Oh, you're awake." Ryougo dances on the ball of his feet. Does he have something to hide? Did he burn dinner again? "Erm… Rokuro… Benio-chan didn't tell you if she planned to go anywhere, did she?"

He shook his head, feeling dread pool in his stomach.

"According to Shimon, there was a huge clash of enchanted powers in Magano, and…"

Ryougo wasn't looking at him in the eye. "Finish your sentence, Ryougo."

His adopted brother tried to smile, and took his hand, guiding him to the couch. He sat beside him. Rokuro grit his teeth.

"Finish your sentence, Ryougo. What happened in Magano? What did Shimon find?"

"...nothing," Ryougo replied, and Rokuro didn't understand. He couldn't. What was that supposed to mean, nothing? What did that clash have to do with Benio? "Baa-chan last saw her around six o'clock, and not since. Shimon says the clash happened around six, and was strong enough to slightly disrupt the barrier. He went there to investigate, but whatever it was, it was already over. There was nothing." Ryougo's head hung lower and lower as he spoke, and Rokuro felt like his ears were filled with cotton. The impression of unreal-ness he had perceived all day turned sour. "There's been no trace of her since Baa-chan last saw her."

"She's… she's gone. Benio Adashino is missing."