New Perspective

Yan took a half step forward.

She allowed her outstretched arm to fall to her side.

"Asher-" she whispered.

Watching the picturesque scene, Yan was filled with an indescribable emotion.

A misunderstanding formed in her mind, making the image in front of her both heartwarming yet unbelievably sorrowful.

Asher's lips pushed into the girl's skin, as if attempting to merge with her body.

Yan pinched herself, banishing the hint of jealousy that flashed through her mind.

Jealousy?

'What's wrong with me...' Quite a few ideas came to mind.

There was no point in envying a corpse's fate.

Her eyes narrowed as a figure climbed onto the roof.

It was the Dark Cloud Blade.

Sayako panted with exhaustion, clutching her bloodied shoulder.

"Heard a scream-"

"Dark Cloud Blade," Yan faced her, blocking Asher from her sight, "do not approach any closer."

Sayako blinked, confused.

"What are you doing here?" From the angle from which Yan stood, the woman couldn't see Asher and Sophie's interlaced bodies.

"I refuse to answer. Are you here for Asher's life, like they were?"

Sayako vehemently shook her head. As her hairbun undid itself with the rapid motion, she finally noticed a mangled body strewn on the ground.

The corpse had the flesh on all its limbs stripped off.

Its head was entirely missing, and a suspicious mixture of brain and bone lied beside it, most likely the remnants of that missing head.

The body wore the uniform of the Crescent Moon.

Sayako gulped. None of the Dons were particularly close (in fact, Sayako barely tolerated them), but a sight like this would generate pity out of anyone.

"I-I'm not here to harm Asher; I was helping Sophie protect him. Were you the one who did that?" She pointed to the unrecognizable corpse.

Yan made a negative gesture, declining to elaborate. The memories of the slaughter were a bit savage to recount in detail, even to her.

Sayako took the silence as an opportunity to look at her surroundings with a closer eye.

"So Sophie did all this by herself? She must've escaped already, then. That's a relief."

Yan's expression softened as the woman displayed her honest emotions. This was an ally, after all.

An ally to Asher, she meant.

Then Sayako's words finally registered.

'She must have escaped already...'

Yan repeated those words in her mind, her expression sinking as she did.

Wordlessly, she stepped to the side, allowing Sayako a glimpse of the garish pool of blood behind her.

As well as the two bodies in its center.

Sayako's eyes widened.

She staggered forward, and Yan did not stop her.

"Sophie-!" Even at a glance, the situation was dire.

Asher, the boy Sophie meant to protect, had his arms wrapped around the girl's pale body. Despite being unconscious, Asher's cheeks were stained with flowing, frosted tears.

Sophie's eyes were open, unblinking.

Sayako knelt beside the pair of bodies.

Her hand trembled as she brought it to the girl's cheek.

She grit her teeth, holding back a gasp as a telltale icy sensation numbed her skin. The type of cold felt only from dead flesh.

"Dammit..." Blackish ooze dripped down her hand, and the half-open eye imbedded in her palm let out a droning, grieving whistle.

Yan stood beside the former Don. The Messenger didn't know the dead girl personally, but seeing how Asher reacted to her death was enough for a connection to be formed within her.

They mourned the death with a few seconds of silence.

Sayako broke the tension with another curse.

"Damn! -You were here earlier than me, right? What happened? Did the other one escape?"

Yan shook her head, motioning Sayako to follow her to the edge of the roof. She pointed down the ledge at the masked Don's broken corpse.

"Sophie..." The former Dark Cloud Blade trembled with regret. She should have helped her. Maybe even a tiny bit of help would have allowed her to survive in the end, if the girl was able to do all of this before dying.

Yan clarified the woman's misguided mindset.

"No, it wasn't Sophie who did this. Asher arrived after she died and killed both of them."

As Sayako processed Yan's words, she couldn't help but doubt everything they had planned.

"I-If Asher stopped them so easily, then why didn't he just stay with us?..." The boy was woundless, untouched.

Sayako crouched, resting her hand against her eyes. She could admit it by now: she was fond of the girl whose heart had now stopped beating. Despite their rocky beginnings, interacting with the girl had brought new light into her life. Sophie was one of her close friends.

Even the inhuman left arm that Sophie gave her, something that brought so much fear and discomfort wherever she went, was a reminder of her repressed memories, memories of her deceased mother.

It also saved her life a few minutes ago, expending all its energy for an instant of melody. It allowed her to deal the finishing blow.

Though it only borrowed a few insignificant minutes in the end, she thought ruefully.

Blood seeped through her shoulder as her voice trailed away.

At the same time, Yan froze.

The girl's thoughts began to race as her mind focused on Sayako's words.

Right- If Asher was so afraid that Sophie would die, why didn't he stay with her? And since he didn't stay with her, where was he when the Stray Dogs attacked? Yan assumed that, at the very least, Asher would be with Little Red's group in order to protect Mei-

Yan nearly gasped aloud.

'Little Red-!'

Where was she right now?

Didn't Little Red scream Sophie's name before running off?

But where was she?

Nothing added up.

Unless-

Asher was Little Red.

Then, everything added up.

Yan stumbled backward, overwhelmed.

A new world opened to her.

Then was Sophie also another one of Asher's identities? If that was the case, then how could one be hugging the other right in front of her?

Questions led to answers led to more questions... Yan quickly cut her train of thought before the narrative became too confusing.

One thing that came out of this was the undeniable connection between Asher and Little Red.

'I-I see. So that's why it ended like this.'

With this information, Yan could finally... do nothing with it.

She certainly didn't plan on divulging such a delicate secret to anyone. If the Hana Association ever caught wind of such information, Asher's life would be over. The Association would most likely strip him of his Fixer title, and maybe even upgrade his threat level.

If that happened, the change in his lifestyle would definitely be too much-

'W-Why am I thinking about him?! He's a Fixer, anyway!' Yan pouted, crouching down to mope with Sayako. Or at least that's what she thought the woman was doing. A hint of blush appeared on her face.

Sayako blinked as Yan flicked at the gravel below her feet. The woman's gaze weakly trailed upward until Yan's face revealed itself.

The girl's expression was so full of emotion that Sayako's mind blanked. Of all the interactions she had with her over the years, as a Don of an important Thumb subsidiary, this expression held more emotion than everything else combined.

"Messenger? Are you alright? Are you here for a Prescript?"

The mention of the word 'Prescript' shook Yan away from her reverie. Her face reverted to a blank canvas.

However, a slip of emotion wormed through her response.

Because she wasn't here for a Prescript, only her own self-interest.

Her own self-interest, expressed by her presence itself.

"N-No, I just came here because-"

/*Bring Asher and Sophie's bodies to an empty warehouse.*/

Yan shot to her feet.

Panic filled her eyes.