Hearing those words sent a cold chill down Mei's spine.

Obviously it was no secret that when it came to researching the Honkai and its possibilities, there were definitely those that were willing to push the envelope regardless of whether it was humane or not, but this was just unfathomable.

To think a father, so far driven by his inability to replicate a past success would stoop so low as to willingly use his own daughter to achieve that.

"I guess ever since that day, he's always seen himself as unfit. Uncapable to do anything entrusted to him. It took a lot of convincing and money on my end to prevent any interview and questioning on Alex after that night. All that would've broken him even more. That's probably what the puppets targeted. I didn't think that day would still haunt him till now with how mellowed out he's become. I should be better as his guardian." Said Raven.

Their conversation would stop there as Raven slow the car down and park off to the side at a beach as they had arrived at the seaside.

"If you wanna know all the details, then ask him. He's the only one that knows everything." Said Raven.

"Aren't you interested in knowing too?" Asked Mei.

"I am, but I don't wanna pry too much into it. He's been super respectful about not wanting to pry into my personal life, so I try my best not to pry into his." Said Raven though Mei simply held her hand.

"Come on. I'm sure he'd appreciate if his mentor heard him out." She said with a smile as Raven sighed.

She'd reach to the back and shook Alex a bit as the boy slowly woke up.

"Hm? We here?" He said, yawning a bit as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"We're closeby. Me and Mei are gonna walk on the beach to get in one last moment of rest. We have some time before nightfall. Wanna join in?" Asked Raven.

"Sure I guess. Might as well."

The three would exit the sports car and walk onto the beach as the setting sun reflected beautifully on the clear ocean water as it had a nice glow to it.

As they walked onto the beach, Raven and Mei would take off their shoes and stand in the water for a bit while Alex opted to stay back where the waves didn't reach him as he sat down.

The boy simply watched the two have a small chat as he just stared out into the ocean waves, enjoying the peaceful scenery of it all and the blissful sound of the ocean.

As he kept looking out past the horizon, he'd see the two girls approach him however he saw Raven pull her head down, fully revealing her face which she rarely did unless it was something serious.

This was also Mei's first time seeing her face so she was also surprised needless to say.

Alex stood up as Raven stood before him.

"Your hood's down. What's up?" Asked Alex as Raven chuckled a bit since he knew her habits very well.

She'd step aside and Mei stopped foward, a little uneasy which Alex noticed.

"You good?" He said.

The girl hesitated for a bit before finally finding the courage to ask.

"Alex. Remember how you told me about what the Herrscher did to you?" She asked.

"Yes? Why ask?"

"...........does it, have anything to do with your first ever mission?"

Upon Mei asking that, Alex went deathly silent as his face was one full of shock.

"H-How do you..............."

Alex then slowly faced Raven, his face turning to anger as he now knew why she had put her hood down.

"D-Did you tell her..............?"

"Only what I knew."

"That doesn't mean shit! I specifically told you never to mention a single god damn thing about that day! Ugh you freaking dumbass!" He shouted, trying his best not to cuss at Raven despite how deeply upset he was at her.

"Screw this! I'm waiting in the damn car!"

Before Alex turn to leave, Mei grabbed onto him preventing his leave.

"Mei. Let me go."

"I want the story. Tell me."

"You don't need to know a damn thing. What's in the past stays in the past."

"How can you say that when you haven't gotten over it?"

"Who gives a shit? Nothing can change what happened that night. Why should I get over what was fated to happen? Let me go. Now."

Alex was starting to get extremely irritated however Mei wasn't taking no for an answer as her grip tightened.

"Alex please. Raven told me what she knew. What happened with the father and his daughter wasn't your fault."

When the boy heard those last three words, that was when he finally snapped.

"Not my fault? Not my fault!? It IS my fault!  I'M THE ONE WHO KILLED HIS DAUGHTER IN THE FIRST PLACE!" He shouted.

That last piece of information would shock Mei and Raven as Alex himself realized to late what he had blurted out of frustration.

He tried to leave but Mei kept an iron grip as she tried to pull him back.

Using that momentum, Alex would turn around to try and catch Mei off guard with a punch though Raven would step behind them and easily Alex's punch.

The boy gritted his teeth in frustration as he kept trying to pull back from the grip.

"Let me go dammit!" He pleaded.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't budge an inch away.

Alex eventually calmed down as Raven gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Talk. Now." She said in a commanding tone.

The boy knew he couldn't say no to Raven and with Mei refusing to let go, he had zero chance of escape.

"...................fine."

Mei would let go as Alex took a deep breathe, having to recall the memories he deeply wanted to never remember.

"What did Sensei tell you?"

"The basics. You had a job to babysit for a week."

"That I did. I was looking after a girl named Yumi. Her father was a formerly popular researcher in that area for a hybrid he made ages ago. Staying with that family, I saw how much Yumi cared so much for her father even though he was always busy in his lab. The man was sorely lacking in money. His research wasn't making him what it once was and his wife had left him just recently before I had gotten there. At first, it was nice. They were so welcoming towards me."

"When did things go south?" Asked Mei.

"One night, Yumi had given her father a drawing she had made of them together during dinner. The next day when I showed up, I saw the photo had been burnt in their fireplace. That was when I began to notice the signs. Papers were scattered across, the place got messier and messier, and I'd see her father less and less. It led me to asking around town about where his wife was since he was hanging on by a thread. That was when I found out something shocking."

Alex remained quiet as the two waited for him to resume speaking.

"His wife didn't leave him months ago. She had left years ago. Not only that, but coincidentally she had left just days prior to his initial breakthrough. When I heard that, I immediately had assumed the worst but didn't wanna believe it yet. Then, the fateful day happened."

Alex trembled a bit getting to this part before he eventually calmed himself down.

"The sun was setting and I was out getting groceries for them. Suddenly, the father had called me and said that he had something to show me. I felt nauseous at that moment. I arrived at the house. He greeted me at the front door and let me down into his basement which had always been closed until then. We entered a room that was dimly lit with a candle, and that was when I saw it. A small Honkai Beast with human like hair and hollowed put eyes. He showed it off, sounding super grateful about how he was finally able to successfully pull it off again after so long. The beast looked and felt sad. It kept repeating my name over and over. That was when I finally pieced everything together."

Again, Alex went quiet as he was visibly shaking a bit now.

"I asked him when he first made that hybrid and when his wife left, both having the exact same answer. Lastly, I asked him where Yumi was. At that point he knew I had figured everything out and cursed at me for being for perceptive. For his first breakthrough he had used wife, and then he had used his own daughter."

The two girls were left speechless at this revelation and how a man could be so corrupt by the pursuit of science and research.

"At that point, I completely snapped. I pinned him against the wall, demanding why he did it. He spouted out some nonsense about Honkai-Human hybrids being the next step in the evolution of mankind. I refused to hear him out, so I pinned him to the ground and just wailed on his face. I refused to stop and just kept caving his face in. I wanted to kill him. I was going to kill him, but I was stopped by the Yumi hybrid. It tugged at my coat, growling a bit. It eerily begged me to stop hurting her father. Even after what he had done to her, she still loved him. She was innocent, and unjustly had her whole life ripped away from her. I got off her father as he was pratically gasping for life. I knew that if Yumi was let free she'd just be tested on for the rest of her life, so I did what I had to do.....................I put her out of her misery."

Now with the whole story out there, the two had no idea react.

"So, there it is. I had one job, take care of the girl. Even after noticing all the clues, I still failed. Hell I failed so badly that I had to kill her. What worth could I possibly have, if I couldn't even save one girl?" Asked Alex.

That was where his self doubt stemmed from.

He carried this burden hard on himself.

"I don't wanna dwell on this any longer. Let's g-."

Suddenly, Raven grabbed Alex as she brought him in for a hug.

The boy was immensely shocked as this was something she very rarely did as the girl gently patted his head.

"Don't ever hide anything like that from me again. I may be your mentor....." Trailed Raven as she kneeled down to face him. ".....but I'm also your caretaker. I see you as a son to me, so you can tell me anything. Okay?"

Alex was a little surprised as this was the first time she had shown any sort of motherly affection towards him as the two always kept it respectful between one another.

"Alright I understand. Thank you, sensei." He said.

Raven would stand back up as Mei had a sigh of relief, glad that this was able to be talked through before turning to Raven with a smile.

"So, this is the first I've seen that hood down. You look quite nice. Less threatening even." She said.

"Yeah yeah just try not to remember it too much. You won't be seeing it again." Said the merc as she put her hood back on, stepping ahead before stopping. "We all have shadows of the past that we regret. All we can do is shake them off and learn from them to do better."

Alex and Mei nodded as with nightfall mere minutes away, it was time to go.

"Mei, Sensei, thank you." Said the boy.

The girls nodded as they got back into the sports car and drove off to the location.

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Chapter 32: Complete