Meddling in affairs

Libra, Dayland

A triangular building at the hook of a road. The streets were quiet a few blocks out. It was requested that everyone in the radius of three hundred meters to be evacuated. A raid mission was on going. A group of criminals led by mana criminals. Two guards with MP7s on hand, cocked and loaded, ready to fire.

A man approached them slowly. Brown hair with pink color on the end of the strands. He wore a white suit with matching white pants. He stood about six feet tall, head looking down. His bangs covered half his face.

"You shouldn't be here. Get out of here before we shoot!" One of the guards yell

The man kept walking. Then the two guards saw the man carry a sword sheathed in a white scabbard. It had a crescent moon insignia on it.

The two guards took aim. Then the man disappeared. The two guards dropped their guns. They slid off their waists. Dropped to the ground, in half, and lifeless.

The man then snaps the air with his blade, splattering the blood off his blade. Then sheathed his blade back in its scabbard

He entered the building. Slowly making his way up. He reached the fifth floor in silence with a few guards taken down. He reached the seventh floor, the top. Leaving the stairwell, he met a guard with a sledgehammer.

"I don't know you." The guard said

The man kept walking in silence. He got close to the guard. Just a little over a meter away. The guard immediately flailed his sledgehammer to the air and swung down with both hands with full power. His hammer stops adjacent to the man's forehead. Blocked by the scabbard with the sword sheathed.

The guard was surprised, a little bit in awe. He presses his sledgehammer harder but it won't budge. The hammer hit the side of the scabbard, the blade pointing front at the guard. The man held the scabbard with his left hand close to the guard—of the sword—and his right hand holding the grip in an ice-pick grip. He pulled the sword out of the sheathe and slashed the air. He cuts the stick of the sledgehammer, the guard's head in half. The walls next to them were also cut. The building was shaped as a perfect square. If one were to draw a circle in the middle of it, the radius would be twenty-five meters. And now every wall at the height of his blade, at the radius of fifteen meters were sliced through perfectly.

That slash alerted the group of sorcerers that lead the group. Their door was also slashed but they were unaffected by it. They opened the door and saw the man holding the sword that was glowing bright white. Then it dimmed and stopped glowing.

Three sorcerers got out of the room, pissed and wanting to fight.

"You did this, eh?"

"You'll pay for trespassing on our tu-"

The last thing they saw was a bright flash. A thin blade cutting through their eyes. The three heads split in half as they slowly slide off and fall to the ground. The building was cleared. And that was the raid.

The final report was twenty-eight criminals were killed, starting from the entrance all the way to the final room.

Express Train heading from Hursh to Libra.

"Hey, Dan?" Laura calls

"Hm?"

"Why... Why are we going to Libra?" Laura asks

"Mission."

"Kai told me we weren't allowed to go on missions yet." She stated

"I'll tell you when we get there." Dan replied

"Okay."

Ten minutes later they arrived. Not a word spoken to each other. Dan doesn't want to accidentally slip up his reason. They quickly but calmly got out of the station. It was peaceful. People on the road walking, a few cars parked next to the sidewalk. What caught Laura's eyes was a black limousine. Not the longest one, the smaller limos

"Why is that there?" She thought in her head

Then Dan started walking slowly in the direction of that car. She started to worry. She started shaking. She swallows spit and her throat tightens up. She starts to sweat.

Dan stops a car away from the limo, so did Laura. Then from the driver seat of the limo, an old man dressed as a chauffer. He turns to the two.

Laura recognizes the old man. "Lewis?"

"Miss Laura, it has been quite sometime."

Dan then turns slowly to Laura and she looks at him. She grips her sword then ran the opposite direction.

"Laura, wait!"

She got pretty far before Dan started to actually move. "Stay here." Dan said to old man

He sinks to his shadow and reappears in front of Laura. She almost bumps into him.

"Laura, I can explain." Dan said

"Why did you bring me here?" She raised her voice

"You told me that you wanted to apologize, right?" Dan answered

"That doesn't give you the right to just bring me back here!" She got angry

"I know, but..."

She then runs away and bumps Dan. He didn't attempt to catch her. He just turns to her.

"I know I don't have the right, but I don't want you to regret it." Dan said

She turns to him and said "Regret what?" Her voice on the brink of cracking up

"My brother died! Didn't you hear my story?" She said

"He's alive." He stated

Laura's was shocked, angry, and relieved all at the same time. Her eyes started to water because she was so angry.

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it earlier, but I thought that was best. Maybe I was being selfish. I just don't want you to regret not apologizing sooner." Dan apologizes

"How would he forgive me?" She asks as her eyes starts to water

"Laura, you were just a kid."

She dropped to her knees, her head hung low, tears drop from her eyes. Dan walked to her slowly. He levels to her on one knee and grabs her hand.

"I know you're scared. That's fine. It's not always easy to go and solve your problems. It's hard because you don't know if it'll make things worse or actually solve them. Like walking down a pitch black hallway." Dan said.

Laura then raised her head and looks at Dan. He had a small warm smile that soothed here.

"If going through it alone is too scary, then I'll lead you by the hand. Anytime you need me too." He said as he rests his right palm on top of her hands.

"Or you lead me in case I get scared." His smile widen and he chuckled

"You're going to be okay, Laura. I promise."

Dan then stood up while still holding her hand. She gets up by herself and stands with him. Dan started leading Laura back to the limo. Dan opens the door for Laura to enter, she hesitated for a moment. She takes a deep breath and got in the car. Dan closes the door gently then entered the door on the other side.

"Where to?" Lewis asked

"Her house, please, Lewis." Dan replied

"I must say, I missed you, Miss Laura."

Laura was too scared to respond.

Lewis then starts the car and left to the house. Laura looks out the window for most of the car ride. Like she's taking in everything she left. She instinctively held Dan's hand. She held it tight. Dan didn't want to say anything. So, they rode in the car in silence.

The car stopped at the front gate of a mansion. A metal bar gate with spike tops. A mansion within its own complex. It looked like a Japanese mansion. Only one story tall, but as wide as it goes. Styled with wood but based on concrete. It was painted dark grey. The shape of the entire mansion was a hollow square, with a large flower garden on the west.

Laura started shaking even more. A nostalgic sensation but also something unsettling. For the first time, she looks over at Dan. Dan was already looking at her. "Calm down," he whispered. His voice barely left his mouth, it more so that he lipped the word.

She started to breathe in deep. She tries to calm down.

The gate then opened and Lewis drove all the way to the lobby drop-off. Lewis got out of the car and went to Laura's side of the door. He opened her door and she walked out timidly. Dan got out on his own.

"If you still remember where the outdoor lounge is, please wait there." Lewis requested, humbly

"I do. Thanks, Lewis." She replied

"You are very welcome."

Lewis got back in the limo and drove down the road and to the basement garage. Laura walks to Dan. Two butlers waited by the door and opened them for them. They both enter at the same time. Looking through the inside of the lobby. Laura powered through the lobby, while Dan was almost sightseeing. He's the type of person to really enjoy going to an art gallery or a museum. He admired the decor in that room. A painting of a falling man illuminated by a moon. White vases with black details, neatly scattered in the room.

The two left the lobby quickly. Passing through a pair of doors and ending up in an outdoor hall. She walked through it, head down. Fast steps. Nothing much has changed since she left. A small water fountain accompanies the empty hall. Pass another pair of doors and to another outdoor hall. This time it had a few people standing around, conversing and the such.

She then stops. Her heartbeat raced, it deafened her ears. Her breathing got loud and fast. She looks around in distress. It's almost like a panic attack. Dan puts his hand on her shoulder and walks around her and looks at her. With both her hands he holds her neck and cheeks.

"Just breathe, 'kay? Let's just power through this." He said

She slows down her heartbeat and nods. He grabs her right hand gently and guides her through the hall. Eyes stared at them. She felt uneasy but she just ignored it. Whispers filled the air. She felt like they were talking about her.

Pass through another pair of doors, again, another hall. There were many seats and tables in the field. It was definitely the outdoor lounge. It was empty, not one person was waiting there. He brought her to a seat and they sat down together at one bench.

Laura grips her clothes firmly, her heart won't stop pounding. Even after trying to calm down. It was too nerve-racking for her. The anticipation was eating her alive. Only a minute had gone by, but she felt like it was an hour.

Then loud yelling was heard from behind the doors they walked through earlier. Then the two doors opened. A man with a white suit. A katana blade scabbard hanging from his belt. Slightly long brown hair with pink end-strands. That man walked through with old man Lewis.

"Why won't you tell me what this is about, Lewis? What's the deal?" He complained aloud

"It would ruin the surprise, sir." Lewis chuckled

The man sighed loudly. He raises his hand and stretches his back. He holstered his hands in his pocket. Then finally turned around. He at first notices Dan.

"A brat with a black suit? Why should I give a damn about that? I heard that there was a dark sorcerer in Core Intel, but why the hell should I care?"

He glances at the girl next to Dan. His brain stopped functioning. His jaw fell to the ground hard. He slowly unholsters his hands from his pockets. "Laura?" He said in a cracking voice. Laura slowly stood up and walked three steps closer to him.

"I know what you're going to sa-"

Before she finished her sentence, he already disappeared from her sight and was directly in front of her. His arms wrapped around her back. She jumped and got nervous.

"I... I don't even know what to say... Holy shit! It's really you!" He looks back at Lewis and said "Lewis look! It's Laura!" Lewis just smiled and nodded

"Ehh..."

"It's been too fucking long, Laura. I've missed you so much!"

"You're... You're not mad?"

He lets go of Laura and levels to her. "Why would I be mad?"

"I... I left you."

"Yeah, I know. That hurt. A bit. But, I got over that quickly. I knew you had to run either way. Or else you would've been killed."

"I'm sorry. I left you." She starts to tear up again

"Hey, no need to cry. It's okay. You must've been through a lot." He hugs her again

"I'm so sorry!" She sobbed

"I know you are, it's because you're a good person. You never intended to leave me behind. But, you were just a kid and you were scared. And that's okay." He said as he unhugs her.

"Where were you all this time?"

"I just enrolled at Core Intel."

"Oh, really? What about before that?"

"I... Lived with... Kai..."

"Kai? Hinora Kai?"

Laura nods.

"I'll definitely talk to him about that later." He switched to a serious, angry tone. He stood up tall and pats her head. "Mom and dad would love to meet you again."

Lewis then walks to Dan and sits next to him. While Laura and her brother walked to their parent's room.

"Thank you for what you did, Master Fash. Truly."

"Master? Just call me Dan. And no biggie."

"It's a very big deal, Dan."

"I'm just glad that she's back with her brother. Though, I did expect some kind of... Y'know... Conflict."

"Master Taylor was upset at Laura for leaving him behind. But, he could never have hated her for it or held that anger for long. It's not who he is. He's a very forgiving person."

"I'm glad that part is over with."

"After this reunion, Master Taylor would be throwing a party for her. You should be there. Celebrate with us."

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving."

"Ask him, he's old." Jon whispered in Dan's ear

"Ask him what?" Dan asks

"The thing!" Jon referred to vaguely

"Um... Lewis?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know anything about an assassin sorcerer by the name Death Flower?"

"Death Flower..." Lewis tried to scroll through the files in his memories

"I believe I only know her by her call sign. The head clan however, had hired her once. Around eighteen years ago? He was the only one to have met her."

"I see. Not even her name, huh?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

"Damn. A dead end."

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more."

"Don't be."

"May I ask why you are looking for her?"

"It's quite personal I guess. But, she's related to my dad. The Manipulator."

"Oh, my."

"Yeah, I only discovered this in like a week or two after I became a sorcerer."

"It must be hard for you."

"No. Not really."

Dan then realized something the moment he said that. A revelation of some sorts.