Humming, I happily cook with speed, Yuna right behind me and getting me ingredients as I go. I missed having my little helper… well, she’s taller than me, but not the point. “I gotta admit, you didn’t get rusty at all.”

  “Heh, thanks~ I did it with you so long, how could I forget?” Shaking my head, I put a few fish on the stove, sizzling instantly audible and a delicious scent filling the kitchen. “Doesn’t mean you can’t get rusty, it’s happened to me before.”

  “Really? How? You’re always working.” Rolling my eyes, I watch her start making the sauce, only to grab a bottle and add in a bit more mayo to it. “Well besides that you didn’t add in enough, so I spoke to soon…” Rubbing her neck, she chuckles a little. “ehe…” Smiling, I take over the sauce for her, continuing. “When I was a kid, I had a week off from helping my Mom. When I got back to it, I was making dumb mistakes, and it took a day to get back into it.”

  Finishing the sauce and going back to the fish, flipping it, she cocks her ear at me. “So wait, your mom just ran it on her own without you?”

  “...no. no, she didn’t.” Feeling a bit of tightness in my chest, I shake my head, trying to clear the feeling a bit.

  “Then who…?” Sighing, I take the fish off the stove and shred it up in a bowl, ready for sauce. “...Ruby, my twin.” Her eyes widen like saucers, tail straight up. “Huh?! You have a sister?!”

  Flinching, I nod slightly, mixing in the sauce with the meat and trying to not choke up. Taking a few deep breaths, I speak. “Yeah… she left a few weeks before I met you. After my Mom died.”

  “oh…”

  Suddenly she lifts me up into a hug, holding me into her soft chest and petting me. It’s soft and warm… and the blush is lost in me hanging there limply. “Sorry for bringing it up. I’m sure it’s… not a nice thing to talk about.”

  “...no… it isn’t…” “Now I understand why Mira hurt you so bad… hurt you worse than me I’m sure…”

  Tears start to leak out, but I try to stay calm, taking deep breaths. “You were lied to, it wasn’t worse…”

  Her hand rubs behind my ears, forcing my body to untense, and making it impossible to hold my tears back, crying into her chest. “There there… let it out…”

  ‘Since when… was she so good at this… so calm…?’

  Despite my thoughts, though, I just cry into her for several minutes. I don’t even realize I stopped until my feet touch the floor again. “Better?”

  Nodding slightly, I wipe my face and finish up dinner. “Y-yeah… thanks…”

  “Welcome~”

  Setting out plates of food, I look over at her as she makes the tea. “...” Spotting my gaze, she turns and cocks her head at me. “...what?”

  “...you’re oddly… happy. Normally you’d be sad with me, but you’re not…” Blinking in realization, she looks down at her hands and goes silent, ears twitching as if listening to someone… Oraxia, I think. Before she nods. “...I don’t think I can, anymore. Oraxia said she got rid of it.”

  ‘What? She got rid of sadness? I… I- no, I should just show happiness for her, I know she’s gotta be worried about my reaction to this.’ “well… good for you I guess. Mind getting Salka for dinner?”

  Nodding, she nyooms off and gets her, while I finish the tea and serve it.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  …

  Eating, Salka is in quiet thought as we go. It’s usual for her, but from Yuna being quiet too, it feels almost empty. Or… broken, like only half of my best friend is there.

  “Sal, we learned something about Yuna’s… fusion. She can’t feel sadness.”

  Looking over at Yuna and getting a nod, she sighs. “I was worried about that… you thought it would be best to get rid of it, Oraxia?” At the spider’s nod, she continues. “Well, it likely will have ripples, but with a second soul stitched in to strengthen it, I imagine it might be limited. Not as bad as… some things.”

  There’s a tension in the air now, but I can’t help but try and cut it. “Some things?”

  “Well… usually emotion removal comes with removing empathy, since how can you feel for someone if you can’t feel?” Yuna shakes her head. “Well, I comforted Lumi, I still can sympathize.”

  “Makes sense… you’re still Yuna, after all, hard to get rid of your caring nature. So of all things to remove, that’s probably one of the safest. Anything else you cut out?”

  “No… just sadness.” “Good.”

  It descends to silence again, a quiet tension present but much less thick.

  Finishing up our food, Sal grabs the plates and cleans them in the sink. “Thanks for the meal.” “Welcome.”

  “Hm… hey, Yuna?” “What’s up?” As Sal puts the plates away, she speaks calm. And I notice, her muscles are a bit more defined now, guess the working out has been working out. …don’t mind how silly that sounds.

  “So I get how your home was like, but… what was it like leaving the city? Aren’t there guards or something?” A little curious myself, I tear my gaze away from my input’s muscles and look at Yuna.

  “Well… no, not really. At least the path I take, they don’t watch for people on foot, just vehicles and stuff, so a little backway through is easy.”

  “Oh, huh, interesting. Wonder if they’ve got cameras set up there, or if it’s too expensive to be worth it.”

  Yuna pauses in thought, before slowly speaking. “Well… there was one odd thing, when I returned. Someone was patrolling through, a cop or something.”

  “...or something? They weren’t part of BLPD?” I can see Salka tense up, cleaning another plate. “Well, I mean, they looked like a cop, but the badge they had was a… a triangle, with an eye that felt like it was looking at me.”

  Plate clattering into the sink, she seems tense, whispering that escalates into a frustrated yell. “fuck… Fuck!”

  Alarmed, I slowly stand. “What’s wrong?”

  “The Veilbreaker, you might’ve got the attention of them!” Both of us are staring at her, before she turns to face us and… tears are streaming down her cheeks. “The Queen- the ones who killed Reta! That’s who was searching for you!”

  “But, they didn’t see me-” Her fist is clenched as her furious red eyes stare into Yuna’s. “Do you really think that?”

  “W-well-” Stepping into Yuna’s space, she gets right close to the now wilting back blonde, her voice a low growl, slipping into a cold tone. “If they sent someone out there, they already knew, they were waiting for someone, and they likely had cameras to watch for you. They’re probably already getting a report done on you, and are just waiting for you to be spotted to send a hit on you!”

  “I-I…” I can tell Yuna’s frozen, she’s not crying, but she feels terrible. Stepping in front of her, I push back on Sal some. “Hey, she didn’t know, alright? Don’t go blaming her for everything, she messed up, and now we fix it, right? Just like Mira, just like the Others.”

  Staring at me, she backs up, before turning to the door and meeting the doorframe with her fist. Taking a deep breath, she looks back at us and speaks in a low tremble, holding back her fear. “You just don’t get it… it’s anything but simple. When there’s a threat, they solve it. And if they know I’m involved? It’s a wrap. The Queen is so powerful, she’d kill me and Reta at the same time if we jumped her. This isn’t something you can just use a few tricks, she’ll kill us, and it’ll be all my fault.”

  “Sal-” “No! No… I… I need to go plan, figure out what we’re doing. Yuna, don’t leave the cafe until I say so.” As Salka walks away quickly, her tail low and flicking, I turn and hug Yuna.

  “I messed up…” “We all mess up sometimes. You did what you thought was best, and something you didn’t know happened. So just… just relax, we’ll make it through this.”

  ‘We will… Salka will figure something out. If she doesn’t...’

  Hearing a door slam shut, I force myself to not think about the possibility, hugging Yuna tighter.