Faith

"Sumire's alive!" Ryo shouted as he pressed through the front door of Sunlight Headquarters. "Huh?"

The entire first floor of the headquarters was filled to the brim with all of its members, minus Natia. Jinni stood next to Claude comforting him by rubbing his shoulder and serving him green tea. Naoto, Sophie, and Rux Zanner sat on the couch with Nana cuddled up with Chiaki and Star. Claude set his eyes upon Ryo, glaring at him like a malformed monster searching for prey. Jinni worriedly looked at Ryo as he set his foot inside the room, shutting the door behind him.

"We heard everything, boy," Claude's deep booming voice was filled with conflict and hesitation. "Speaking of hearing... I would love to hear your explanation behind why I just discovered this. My daughter dying at the hands of a rogue assassin? Bullets passing through her? My damn daughter... did you not once think about how I felt?!"

Ryo took a step forward. "She's not your daughter." He said.

Claude slammed both of his fists on the table and charged straight for Ryo. He snatched his collar and yanked him close with his visible eyes distraught with emotion. "And you think you're her brother!?"

"That's enough." A cold and hostile voice stopped the both of them from escalating tensions. Ryo and Claude turned to their side, refusing to continue any further with a resounding figure that the both of them feared. Akai, who stood beside Rose Accel, patiently waited for Sunlight to deescalate their hostility.

Ryo looked into Akai's eyes, sensing a hint of guilt within him. He knew that she was dying, yet the inconvenience of her being here only made it worse after news broke out.

"Sorry." Akai apologized.

Rose Accel took a deep breath before using two of her canes to stand up on her own. "Both of you," She began with a dull monotone voice. "Sit. Now."

Both Ryo and Claude followed her commands without thinking twice. The rest of the Sunlight members, including Jinni who appeared the most worried out of all, sat still unsure of Rose Accel's unpredictable nature.

"Tell me..." She softly spoke. "Which one of you knew?"

All of the Sunlight members exchanged glances with each other. Eventually, Ryo and Naoto both raised their hands as the two who knew the most. Sophie did as well, but the others knew that she had nothing to do with it.

"Unbelievable," Rose Accel said. "And you all stayed quiet. All for what?"

"We wanted to investigate what happened on our own," Naoto stated, wanting to affirm his responsibility. "We discovered more than we-"

"Naoto, stop," Sophie ordered her little brother. "Let Ryo speak."

Naoto looked over to Ryo and silently expressed his approval. However, he looked away after Ryo nodded back at him.

"I'm sorry," Ryo apologized. "But Sumire's disappearance was my responsibility, so I took the blame for it. I needed to save her on my own, and now we know where she is. But there are more important things at stake right now-"

"More important things?" Rose Accel interrupted, stomping one of her canes down on the wooden floor. "Are you aware of who exactly Sumire is to me? You didn't think I'd care, did you? Do you see me as some kind of monster? Do you... all see me like that?"

Akai leaped forward, blocking Rose Accel's view of Ryo and the others. He placed both of his palms up to extend his blockage. "No, no, no, it's not like that at all!" Akai said, chuckling nervously. "To be honest, Rosie... it was my fault from the beginning to let Ryo and the others keep these things secret. You see, as soon as I found out, they were worried about worrying you, that's all! So I gave them lots of treats and fun stuff to keep quiet!"

"Do not interfere," Rose Accel bitterly clamped her lips shut, looking away. "Natia is gone too."

"She's okay," Chiaki interrupted. "I've been monitoring how she's doing and-"

"Natia's my responsibility too, you see!" Akai continued. "I told her to stay behind and handle the situation."

Ryo exchanged glances with Naoto, unsure of what Akai's plans were. Perhaps he was the only one that was able to defuse Rose Accel's bomb-like mind. Utter lies might have been all it took to stop her.

"Still," Rose Accel continued. "I am her mentor. She is my responsibility."

"Ryo Nakai. Rise," Rose Accel ordered, approaching him at a snail's pace with her weakened and fragile body. As he stood up, she examined his eyes closely and carefully with a hint of trust and doubt together. Ryo's nervous attitude got the better of him; he knew everyone was staring at the both of them, waiting for the next person to valiantly speak up. After several seconds, Rose Accel pouted and turned her eyes away. "Sorry." She muttered.

"Sorry?" Ryo asked. "What are you-"

"Tell me what happened..." She asked. "Tell me what happened now."

Ryo nodded. As Rose Accel sat back down, Ryo filled in the entirety of Sunlight on the whereabouts of Sumire and the plans of Genesis Laboratories. Nana rested upon Claude's shoulder to take his temperature after hearing of Sumire's sudden disappearance. Jinni took notes upon her clipboard while Sophie heard Nobu Shibusawa's name throughout Ryo's explanation. The mere mentioning of preserved bodies for energy enraged Dr. Zanner because he believed life was meaningful and brimming with wonders. He worried about his daughter's condition but knew Chiaki was monitoring their battle soundly. Rose Accel and Akai sat together; all she could do was a nod to Ryo's remarks while Akai kept a close eye on her.

"There's a spy on her tail right now," Ryo mentioned. "She's in danger. I don't know how long she has... but I have to save her."

"Did you hear a name?" Rose Accel asked. "Anything at all?"

"I did," Ryo said. "Rion Stormfield."

"Rion... Stormfield?" Dr. Zanner whispered to himself. More chatter came abruptly in the meeting room. "Chiaki my boy, would you mind-"

"Already on it," Chiaki said, searching through the computer for his name. The keyboard clattered as Chiaki diligently searched through multiple files and extensions of existing extensions. "Rion Stormfield, Rion Stormfield..."

"What did you find?" Sophie asked.

"Nothing yet," Chiaki said. "Weird. Nothing's showing up. Just... random places, like auto shops and names stemming from America," He gave up the search and returned to the mainframe of the computer. "I'll run some additional searches right now on the main computer upstairs. Naoto, would you mind if I used some of your data?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Naoto said. "Just make sure you take care of Star in the process."

"Will do," Chiaki said, grabbing his equipment and beckoning Star to follow. "Come on, let's head upstairs."

Ryo watched as Star followed Chiaki. Before she moved completely out of sight, she turned around and smiled at Ryo to give him a sliver of hope for Sumire's rescue. Ryo turned back and noticed Rose Accel concentrating fully on assessing the situation. "What are you thinking right now?" He asked.

"We cannot go tonight to Sagittarius. It is too risky," Rose Accel said. "We don't know the full extent of what we are up against. Rion Stormfield might be much more dangerous. If we do not plan accordingly..."

"Then my daughter will be killed," Claude finished. "Please, we have to take our time and save her! She's the only one that I have..."

"You needn't worry," Rose Accel ensured, standing up from her seat once more with the support of her canes. "Sumire will be safe. I understand how important she is to you."

Surprised to see her generous and kind personality, Ryo raced to the kitchen to take some time to cool off. Natia was fighting, and Sumire's news of being alive made his chest pump full of energy both in a good and bad way. The amount of stress about the ensuing mission made him eager to step forward.

Ryo stepped out of the kitchen, approaching Claude seeking to apologize to him for his silence. However, Rose Accel stopped him.

"Sit," She firmly commanded, solidifying her position as the leader of Sunlight with how robust her voice was. She scanned all of Sunlight: Ryo, Naoto, Sophie, Jinni, Claude, Rux, and Nana were all prepared to listen. "One day," She began. "That is how long we will stay in Sagittarius. The longer we stay, the more Genesis will know about us. We extract Sumire and stop Rion Stormfield."

"How are we going to find her?" Claude asked.

"Ryo, you said that the last time you saw her was in the mountains, right?" Sophie asked. "There was snow?"

"Yeah," Ryo said. "That's the last thing I saw through the camera feed."

Rose Accel nodded. "Then it's simple. We track the snowy mountains as we fly through Sagittarius."

"We should be able to track her suit as long as we're not getting any interference," Chiaki's voice rang loud and clear through the meeting room's speakers. "Since we'll be close, it'll be easier to find her."

"So... we're flying?" Claude asked. "I'm going to find the person who did this to her. They'll pay for this."

"That is not the mission objective," Rose Accel interrupted. "Our mission is to extract Sumire. Spend tomorrow morning and afternoon preparing supplies for the trip; we leave at midnight. Be prepared for close quarters combat. We should all be aware that Genesis is our enemy as well," She looked over to Ryo and leaned forward from her seat. "Ryo. You have the most experience fighting the enemy. You will lead the search."

Ryo nodded without a single word. He was astonished that Rose Accel gave him the leadership role even though he was a rookie. He was glad that she was understanding of the situation.

"We have two aircrafts in the hangar underground," Rose Accel said, looking over to Akai. "Hey... would you be kind enough to send them above?"

"Yes dear, of course." Akai spoke in an overly friendly tone in response to her command.

"The rest of you. I assure you all know the proper procedures to prepare," She said, scanning the room. "Naoto. Set everyone up inside the hangar. As for Ryo, I need to speak with you outside."

Naoto turned towards Ryo, who nodded at him as a gesture of him handling the entire situation. Jinni looked at Ryo too; he knew that her fear of Rose Accel was prominent throughout their relationship and hoped he would survive whatever the "talk" was. Sophie supported Claude and Rux up from their seats to assist them in emotionally comforting them. Ryo knew that Nobu was on her mind, and he wanted to make time to speak to her later.

He trailed with Rose Accel's sluggish movement outside the backyard. Memories suddenly came from the first day that he had introduced himself to Naoto and Jinni where he smiled vividly at their newly found relationship. However, with Rose Accel, it was different. Her long obsidian tied ponytail bounced against her shoulders as she took the time to move across with her crutches. Ryo knew the secret about her health, but he didn't know the specifics. Perhaps he knew too much, and that would have affected the way he viewed her.

"Open the door." She ordered.

Ryo opened the door for her. She slowly moved out to the grass as Ryo followed.

"Shut the door."

Ryo did exactly that. The sound of chirping crickets in the midnight made the moment quite soothing, but Ryo could not relax at the time. He wanted to know what was going on.

"Sorry." She said while looking into Ryo's eyes.

"Sorry?" Ryo asked. "For-"

"The first time we met," She clarified. "I know when I make mistakes. I am not as heartless as you think. Especially with Cagliostro. She always sees me as a monster no matter what I do to support the rest of Sunlight."

Ryo was surprised on how mature she handled the situation with an apology and acknowledgment. He saw this as an opportunity to understand her perspective. "What exactly happened with you and Jinni?" He asked.

"That is none of your business," She shot down. "The fact of the matter is I called you a pathetic human being without knowing the details of your power and knowledge. And I know that you have a past worth fighting against. Perhaps you would find it in your heart to forgive me, for I misjudged you" She dropped one of her crutches on the grass and twisted her hand to touch her chest. "I too know what it means to fight against something. Whether or not you take that with a grain of salt, that is up to you."

"I... I appreciate it," Ryo acknowledged. "I never expected me to get involved with you and everyone else, but I always thought of it as a way to get stronger. Besides, I'm actively battling against the ones who deserve justice. And... I support you too. If you feel different in any way, you can leave it up to-"

"Different?" Rose Accel intervened, stepping forward to Ryo with a questionable glare. "What did he tell you...?"

Shit, Ryo thought. Me and my mouth.

"No, I thought it was clear that-"

"Your eyes," Rose Accel interrupted again. "I see your eyes. You're about to lie to me."

"I... sorry," Ryo corrected. "He told me about your health and how it's affecting you. I mean, I did ask about why you were always in a wheelchair and in crutches. I was naturally curious and he just answered my concerns."

"Is that so," Rose Accel's suspicious tone made it clear Ryo was difficult to trust in the moment. "Your judgment about most situations is questionable. Considering how you left Natia, it takes a great deal of strength to make such a decision considering your relationship with her."

"My... relationship?" Ryo asked, thinking Rose Accel had the wrong idea.

"You two are friends, are you not?"

"Yeah, we're friends, but... did you think of something other than that?" Ryo said, looking into her eyes just like she did.

"No, I didn't. Don't be ridiculous. The point is, I've been hearing of your improvement lately from Akai. He says you have a good heart and you deserve some praise. And you've been through so much, especially since that friend of yours had that accident. So... I'll give it to you. Well done."

"Oh. Thank you," Ryo said, slightly cheerful that someone like her showed a little tad bit of sympathy despite her unusual personality. He was also startled by the fact that she remembered April's incident. "I appreciate that. I think you deserve some too for handling those plans inside."

"It's my job," She said. "That new person, Sophie, has been helping around your headquarters for a while now. Consider her a welcome addition," Rose Accel stumbled through to the entrance to the living room, sneezing suddenly after sensing the cold air around her skin. "I'll pay Natia a visit. Follow the others and lead once you have the experience. Don't let me down."

"Wait, pay Natia-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Rose Accel shut the door behind her to drown out his voice.

She knows a lot more than I anticipated, Ryo thought. He turned around and sensed his toes nearly lifting off of the grass in restlessness. He knew he would be seeing Sumire tomorrow, and he had to be prepared for the ensuing mission.

But before he entered the living room again to inspect the hangar, Ryo discovered one odd detail that came off of the radar. Something completely unexpected that seemed like a simple, minuscule detail.

Why does she always talk about my eyes? Like... her.