{DIANA'S POV}
My brother lays before me. His body is uninjured yet he's closer to death than ever. It's all my fault.

I gasp, snapping out of the terrible memory that replays itself in my nightmares. My fear. That was the last time I ever used my true ability to its fullest.

Two people's voices leak out of the broom closet I'm standing in front of.

"I-It's so dark. I can't see a-anything."

"Come on, you can do it. Just a little bit more, for me? Think of this like my shadows."

"I love you, b-but without light, I c-can't c-cast my illusions. It's... unsettling."

I've eavesdropped enough. I knock on the broom closet door. I called my dear Nii-sama's lacrima and told him I was coming. It's his fault he didn't answer. He made me wait for so long, I went to find him.

Rose Fernandes opens the door. My eyes narrow. She's remarkably put together, but her shirt is buttoned askew and she only has one sock on.

Surrounding Rose are a bunch of tiny translucent strings. Most are green, the color of friendship. Glowing brilliantly, her ties with her Sabertooth guildmates are strong. I followed one of them to get here, assuming the two would be together.

Irksome how I was right. Brother thief.

Other green strings tie her to her former Fairy Tail guildmates, but these ties are frayed and dull to nearly grey. Almost extinct. They've gotten some fresh sheen since her grand reveal.

And what an interesting reveal it was, in terms of bonds. Purple is the color of blood-kinship, true family. I expected Rose's three purple strings to glow brighter, to strengthen.

Two did. But one bond turned an ugly polluted black. Reiki truly hates his sister.

And finally, one red string leading back into the small closet. Tied to the other end is my dear Onii-sama, trying frantically to tidy himself up.

I shoot Rose a stink eye and smile brightly. "Nii-sama! Let's go conquer our fears together!"

"How did you even find me?" Nii-sama mutters.

I'll never tell. I beam. "Sister's intuition!"

I can't help it. I look at Nii-sama's bonds; to our parents, to his guildmates. Aside from the red one, every string is frayed. But unlike Rose, whose bonds frayed naturally over time, these are cut cleanly.

When I was young and naïve, I thought it was normal to see the strings. I didn't know they were bonds. I didn't know what they meant, and nobody would understand what I was talking about.

While other people walked right through the stings, I plucked them with my fingers and they would twang a tune only I could hear.

When I was four, I watched Mama and Nii-sama swing swords and I began to wonder if I could cut the strings since I could touch them with my fingers.

There was this old retired couple that lived near the Mermaid Heel guild hall. They met when he was a delivery man and she owned an arts and crafts store. He delivered her supplies weekly, which was the start of their 63 year romance.

The red string connecting the old couple was blinding; it drew my attention. I, who was young and irreparably stupid, wanted to know my limits. So I tried to cut the string with my magic. It worked surprisingly well, and the result was horrifying.

The connection that couple shared was severed. There was no heartbreak, they simply weren't in love anymore. They didn't even have a green bond of friendship. They had no bond at all.

They were strangers.

People speculated that maybe they hit their heads and got amnesia. Or they blamed it on dementia, saying, "They just forgot each other."

But I knew the truth. I knew I was responsible and I was terrified of telling people. Thinking I was a love-stealing monster, I feared punishment for my actions (now knowing that they probably wouldn't punish a four year old, it seems stupid).

Nero, my dear Onii-sama who was only six years old, was the only reason I survived. He got me on my feet and pushed me forward.

I followed Nii-sama on the path of the sword and of magic. He taught me with love and kindness and patience. He was the only one I was attached too, the only one I felt comfortable around.

Until I lashed out at him with my bond-cutting magic during a bout of manic paranoia. By the time I regained awareness and stopped myself, only one bond was spared from my wrath.

I fell into a deep depression afterwards, instinctively knowing that I almost severed all of Nii-sama's bonds. He wouldn't have known me or Mama or Papa or anybody. The isolation would've killed him.

I love Nii-sama so much because he pulled me from the brink. I almost killed him as thanks.

The only non-frayed bond he had was the green-yellow friendly rivalry he had with a Fairy Tail mage. Fairy Tail's bonds are strong like steel cables. I followed that sole surviving bond to Rose and told her that Nii-sama had partial amnesia from a monster attack. A lie, yet the truth.

I'm a monster who cuts too well, after all.

That girl went so far as to abandon her own family and guild. She came and stabilized Nii-sama's condition, allowing him to rebuild his frayed bonds.

Master Sting saw that Rose was the only thing that could cure Nero's disease. Sabertooth hid Rose while the rest of the guilds searched for her, lying to their friends even though it hurt them.

Rose did it all for Nii-sama. I retreated to Mermaid Heel and watched from the sidelines as their powerful, undamaged bond grew brighter, morphing from green-yellow to red over the years.

I'm still afraid that all those bonds I frayed so long ago will snap. If that happens, he'll forget me. I cling to him to prevent that, hoping that my ability to cut bonds will also allow me to repair bonds.

Today, I tell Rose and Nii-sama the truth. It's cathartic to get off my chest. I've kept this bottled up for so long. They listen to my entire story.

I haven't told anybody the specifics of my ability before. I fear this power and what I could do with it.

"So that's why Nii-sama almost died, and why Rose was the only one he responded to. I—I'm—" I choke up. "I'm so sorry, Nii-sama. If you hate me—"

Rose hugs me. "I can't imagine what you've gone through. Thank you for opening up, Diana."

Maybe she's an okay Onee-san. Just maybe though.

Nii-sama ruffles my hair. "You were only four. Of course I forgive you."

I cry harder. I dunno about conquering my fear yet, but I've definitely faced it today. I was afraid of how they might react; I thought they'd laugh in my face or run away in fear of my power.

I can begin to accept this bond-cutting gig a little at a time. One day I'll definitely master my ability and fix Nii-sama's bonds.

Until then, I'm frustrated that I must leave my dear Onii-sama to Rose-nee-san (not that I'd ever call the brother thief that out loud).