Chapter 6 : Thank you, Ms. Quarta- Oh! Xenovia!"

Vin scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, surprised a little at how cute Griselda's laugh was, "Thank you, Ms. Quarta- Oh! Xenovia!"

Griselda nodded, "My ward. A wonderful girl, I teach her and Irina. Both are hoping to become exorcists, and with a little more time, I'm sure they will."

"That explains the records…" Vin mumbled.

"I'm sorry, I beg your pardon. What 'records'?"

"Um, Xenovia holds pretty much every record in the school for anything physical. She's even been unofficially declared the strongest girl in school because of her weightlifting record."

"Oh? This is the first time I've ever heard of any of this. Usually with Xenovia, it's training-this, training-that, so I admit, I do somewhat want to indulge in this knowledge. What was her record, if you know."

Vin put a finger to his chin, "Hmmm… Maybe around 510 pounds, if I'm not mistaken."

Griselda giggled.

"Um, is there a problem?"

"Oh no, not at all. I was just amused because 510 pounds is nowhere close to how much she can actually lift."

Vin paled, "What."

"Oh yes, I tell my students to hold back, but it seems like her 'holding back' is still quite eye-catching."

"Um, dare I ask what her usual record is?"

"I'd say about 800 pounds is the usual we put her at for bench-pressing."

Vin thought back to the one teenager brave enough to say he wanted the school's strongest girl to step on him, and silently prayed that they would never get that wish. Not to spite him, but to save him from getting his nether regions destroyed by a girl who could casually press 800 pounds.

"Alright, any other questions, Vin?"

"Oh! Rizzo, what happened to him?"

"He's innocent as far as we're concerned," Griselda answered, "He can still live a normal life, so we erased his memories of last night, and let him go. For all he knows, he just did his job as usual last night, and then went home."

Griselda sighed, "Unfortunately, that same courtesy doesn't extend to you, Vin."

Vin looked up, shocked, "What do you mean? Can't you just erase my memories too, and then I can go home, live without knowing about any of this?"

Griselda shook her head, "No, I'm sorry Vin, but once a Sacred Gear is awoken, it's stuck with you for life. And as long as you have a Sacred Gear, you're going to attract danger; not just to yourself, but potentially your family. It's crucial to sever the connection between you and your family as soon as possible, before anyone who might look to exploit you finds out."

"That's…"

"It's a rational line of thinking, Vin. It's happened to people before."

"So I don't have much of a choice, huh?"

"I'm afraid not, Vin. As we speak, people are setting up your transfer here, your family are currently under the pretense that you're attending a special camp for mechanical engineering.

But after you say your last goodbyes, we're going to wipe any record of your connection to the rest of the Corsetti family. They won't remember you, your teachers won't remember any connection between you and your family, and all your legal documents will be altered to reflect that. All that would be left is for you to choose a new last name."

Vin stayed silent for a while, looking down and not making a peep. Minutes passed, before he looked up from his lap with eyes that looked a little more tired, a little more dead.

"Alright. What time is it?" Vin asked, his voice a little hoarser than earlier.

Griselda reached into her robes, producing a phone.

"5:00 in the afternoon. It's a Saturday, so everyone should still be up."

"Is there anything you need to confirm before you can take me to my family?"

Griselda offered a small, sad smile, "No, you being with me is enough. We're all set to go whenever."

"Well then," Vin stood up slowly, his body shaking, "Let's go, shall we?"

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, with Griselda sitting beside Vin in the back seats of a moving van, while a random Vatican worker drove up front.

No words were exchanged, Griselda offered no sympathies aside from the occasional sad smile, and a firm, but caring hold on Vin's hand the entire half-hour trip. A gesture not ignored by the distraught, yet concerningly-reserved boy.

Soon enough, the telltale squeak of the vehicle's brakes sounded out, as the car pulled to a stop in the driveway of the Corsetti household. All three left the van, and walked up to the door. The worker stood in front of the two, and rang the doorbell.

Just as fast as the doorbell rang, it opened to reveal Vin's mother standing in the doorway.

"Ah! Hello, you must be the workers from the camp! Oh come in, come in."

Once they all stepped into the house, Vin's vision began to swim. Even as they moved throughout the house, he couldn't tell how much time was passing. All his brain could comprehend was the reminders of his family decorating the walls, and just how empty everything was going to feel when his pictures were going to be gone from that wall, and how the next morning, his family was going to wake up, and not think for a moment about the son that they lost overnight.

He wanted to cry, he wanted to scream, but nothing was coming out. At one point, he felt a familiar burning in his fingers; and upon looking down, was greeted with the sight of the rings, his Sacred Gear manifesting on his hands once more.

Could he fight? Could he beat back the church, tell his family the truth, and fight to keep them safe? The hypotheticals began to flood his mind, until a sudden pressure encapsulated his left hand, ceasing his rampant thoughts. As he looked over to find Griselda giving his hand a squeeze.

Slowly, the rings twinkled, until they disappeared once more. From then on out, Griselda would occasionally squeeze his hand, anchoring Vin back into the present, until eventually, the family was gathered in the kitchen.

"Just let me know when you're done, and I'll do it, alright?" Griselda whispered.