(Y/n) woke up once more to the sight of something unpleasant. Sona stared at the issue with her, the both of them trying to ponder what was setting her off. A royal guard was slumped dead on the floor. Indefinitely, it was her handiwork. The six pointed pattern she had stabbed into the woman's back, the killing blow through the throat, and the weapon type all lined up to her usual modus operandi. Though, the woman's identity didn't quite line up. The (h/c) haired girl hadn't remembered even seeing her before, let alone viewing her as a threat. Sona, too, was at a loss for why she had killed her.

"Time of death was at 1:24am," the android mumbled, taking any other clues he could find, "You woke up around that time, but I'm not sure why. There were a few anomalies that could have caused it. For one, there was a full moon last night. Another was that it was misty. A third possibility was that the temperature suddenly dropped around then. I noticed you don't usually sleep well when it's cold, so that anomaly is probably the cause."

"But it's always cold here."

"Yes, but, at about 1:12am, you woke up. At the same time, I noted a massive drop in temperature with below zero temperatures around the embassy."

"Put a pin in that for now. What happened after I got up?"

"I ran a few tests on you, but you were in a strange state. It was like you were in a trance, as usual. I followed you outside where you just stood there until 1:20. Then that guard walked by and you just...pounced at her. The rest is the same as always. I made sure to take you inside and clean you up. I also took the guard and cleaned up the evidence outside."

"Thank you."

The younger girl tilted her head at the corpse. She didn't have any memory of what happened the previous night, but she never really did, so it wasn't too surprising. It was concerning, however, that her attacks were becoming more commonplace. Sona was right, though she still didn't think going to a therapist or doctor would have done anything for her. She would have to think up ways to stop her from doing it again, but, for the time being, it was best to clean up the mess. As she moved to do so, the android stopped her, doing it himself.

In truth, both Sona and Haru were well aware of her past. Once the android was assigned to her side, her killings came to light. They weren't prolific in Echal, and she had only disposed of a few people that genuinely wanted to hurt her or other Akahito family members. However, Sona, having access to a surplus of information, was able to match up her M.O. to previous cases, mainly in Echal. And when he and Haru had confronted her about it, she simply confirmed it.

It didn't matter much to Haru. He just wanted to know more about her. To Sona, however, he was able to use the information to best help her. He had even learned how to dispose of evidence and, over time, he was able to find warning signs as to when she would attack or when she became unstable. And though there were still times out of the ordinary that couldn't be predicted, he was there to watch over her at all times just in case. Still, like many things surrounding her, even he didn't know what she was suffering from.

Her motives were also somewhat complicated. Sona knew she killed primarily to defend herself or things she wanted to protect, such as himself or Haru. If she perceived people wanted to steal them, harm them, or otherwise take something away from her, they were her targets. Typically, she didn't plan to kill them, a sudden spike of aggression manifesting in her at night and causing her to seek them out. Temperature usually impacted how quickly aggression set in, with lower temperatures resulting in more desperation.

"Where's Haru?" the girl sighed after they finished disposing of the body, "He's been weirdly quiet."

"He's shut himself in his room. I don't know if he'll leave it at all today, but I can bring him meals on your behalf."

The girl nodded, moving to knock on the brunette's door. She was only met with silence, and, even when she tried to open the door, it would not budge. He locked himself inside. It wasn't so surprising, considering the shock he was still in. In fact, one way or another, she expected it. And though she would have liked to have broken down the door and given him all the hugs and kisses he needed, for Haru, it he become best to leave him alone until he recovered. While no one knew how long it would take - due to this practice being new - it was at least relieving that Sona would take care of him.

"If it helps, he's not experiencing turbulent emotions. I do detect a bit of anxiousness, but he's working on something."

"It might help for him to call his mother. She's probably worried to death about him."

"Actually, he called her yesterday."

A small, grateful smile crossed the girl's lips. Haru loved his mother deeply, enough to put aside anything if she wanted to spend the day with him. For most people he liked, he would have just kept on working on something while he talked with them. But, for her, he would always give her his full attention. It might have been because she, too, was dying, but, perhaps, since he saw Orion recovering, he felt a spark of hope for her as well.

"Then, I'll leave it to you. I have to talk to someone."

Though she hadn't told the android, (Y/n) did remember one thing. Probably after she had killed the guard, she managed to hold onto the memory of seeing white. And while it could have been a coincidence, Celith was a bit of a special case. He had been watching her as often as he could have, trying to figure out ways to help her or impress her as their kind usually did. That was why the chance of it being him was so incredibly high.

She found the boy waddling around by a garden - not too surprising. Like her, he preferred to be surrounded by plants and nature than by people. Then again, as she stared from a distance, she noted someone else playing with him. Yet, as she approached, the figure became startled and disappeared from sight behind some bushes. Celith became hyperaware of her presence, too, turning around and panicking. He was mumbling something in a language she couldn't decipher before a small hairpiece was thrown over from the bushes. Blushing, the boy grabbed it before shyly offering it to the girl.

"I told you I don't want gifts," she sighed, knowing he couldn't understand her anyway, "Besides, it's against tradition if you give me something that already has an owner."

"Not owned! New!" a small and feminine voice called from the bushes before an avian-like squeak could be heard.

The (h/c) haired girl placed her hand on her hip as she pondered who could have been playing with the white-haired boy. True to their nature, Celith didn't like many people, and she couldn't imagine he would be left to play with someone alone. He didn't have a playmate either. But, perhaps what was most interesting was both that the girl had an Athainian accent and that she had some way of communicating with the boy. Otherwise, she wouldn't have thrown over the hairpiece for him.

Quietly, the older girl began sneaking up on the bush. As she found herself directly behind the young girl, she observed her, noting the familiar white hair with orange tips. The kimono she wore was also very Athainian in nature, colored a pale blue with a very poorly embroidered sash, littered with little birds of some sort and snowflakes. She looked to be not more than five years old, being so small as she was. Eagerly, she tried to watch through the bushes, but, as the older girl placed her hand on her shoulder, she let out a shriek and stumbled back. Celith came running to see what happened.

Expectedly, the girl tried to flee, only for (Y/n) to hold her up by the back of her kimono. Almost immediately as she began holding her, the small thing started looking very comfortable. She relaxed herself and gave a yawn, only for her to become irritated with herself, kicking her legs to keep herself awake. It didn't seem to work as her eyes started to close. Only when the older girl put her feet on the grass did she stir, giving another yawn and huffing. Of course, (Y/n) made sure to hold onto her collar tightly.

"You can't pick me up," the girl then scolded her, rubbing at her eyes, "I get real sleepy if you do."

"You can't blame me. You were just going to run away again. Since I have you now, who are you? Or, rather, what?"

"Um...I'm not 'pposed to say."

The girl began childishly digging her heels into the dirt, actively trying to avoid telling her. And while it wasn't too surprising, especially since she had already tried to make herself scarce, it did annoy (Y/n) a bit. The small thing then began to rock on her toes, getting distracted. She even bent down to pick up a dandelion, only for her to give an "umph" as the (h/c) haired girl held her collar tightly.

"Well, I bet you're not supposed to be here either. One way or another, you'll get in trouble, so you might as well tell me. You don't seem like you want to hurt me, so I'm not going to hurt you."

"Yeah, but...Tia'll get mad. He'll hurt you."

"Tia...?"

"Tia!" the girl glowed, showing pure affection for just the name, "His name's too hard, so that's what I call him. He's like...like my pops 'cept he's not really my pops 'cuz Tia'd never hurt me!"

"Then, Tia adopted you? Is he a lycan, maybe? Or, since you're a girl, it's vaguely possible it could have been a vampire. What about a demon?"

"Don't be silly. Everyone calls Tia a demon, but he's not!"

"Then, what is he?"

The girl opened her mouth to answer, very confident about it. That was when she suddenly became confused and started pointing at different things, trying to connect the dots. She stuck her cheeks out in bewilderment before she suddenly perked up again. Excitedly, she grabbed onto (Y/n)'s sleeve with both hands and tugged on her, beginning to bounce slightly.

"He's a yuki onna!"

"Yuki...onna?" A pause. "And Tia is...a guy?"

"Yeah!"

"I don't think that's right."

"Oh. But, if he's not that, I dunno what he is. D'you know, Celith?"

The white-haired boy tilted his head in confusion, signalling to her that he needed a translation. The older girl listened carefully as she began to speak. Though she could not decipher the language itself, she did recognize "ice". All the same, the language was still a mystery to her, but, if the Athainian girl had learned it, it was possible for her to learn, too. Then again, when the little girl could translate Celith's words for her and vice versa, it wasn't exactly necessary for her to learn, though it was tempting.

"We dunno. I just musta thought he was a yuki onna 'cuz I'm a yukinko."

The (h/c) haired girl narrowed her eyes. That was odd. Usually, a yuki onna would never let its child out of its sight. They cared deeply for them and defended them to the death. However, contrary to that, the girl in front of her was alone. Secondly, she was in a warm climate when she should have been in a freezing environment. Thirdly, it seemed she had been stolen, possibly by a stronger species. Then again, she couldn't make any conclusions based on what the small thing said alone. The reality could have been much different.

"Well, let's put what 'Tia' is aside for now. You're always following me around. Why?"

"Nuh-uh. That's a secret."

"Then, you're friends with Celith. Do you know what he is?"

"Of course. That's why we gotta protect him real good. You too, you know. Tia's protectin' you, too. He even protected you last night!"

"...Tia did?"

(Y/n) considered that. She didn't know what or who exactly he was protecting her from, but the little girl wasn't lying. And since she was an ice elemental, it was very possible that "Tia" was, too. That could have explained why the temperature became freezing the previous night. Though, only a few would be able to change the natural climate of an entire city. A yuki onna definitely wasn't capable of that. That meant the mysterious "father" of the girl in front of her was extremely powerful and similarly dangerous.

"I thought Celith was there last night."

"He was. We were all there."

The mystery vanished. That left the (h/c) haired girl with a few other questions, but none as important. Instead, to thank the girl, in some shape or form, she released her collar. The small thing then gave a smile before going to hug Celith. The two seemed like great friends, almost siblings. Since they were under the protection of the same person, it wasn't all that surprising. Even if the girl was a more powerful species, he was able to play casually with her. That usually wasn't possible.

"Do you know why Tia is trying to protect me?"

"Mm...I dunno exactly. He just said it's 'cuz of Celith and Orion."

"Orion? You know him?"

"No. I only really know Celith and Tia here. And now you, too, I guess. Oh, and - "

"This is a very important question, so listen carefully. Does Tia own Celith?"

"What are you talkin' about? Tia's like Celith's pops, too. Celith can do whatever he wants whenever he wants. Tia just wants him to be happy. He even let him c'mere and live with everyone in the castle just 'cuz he wanted."

"Then what about Orion? Or me? Does he want to own us?"

The little girl paused and darted her eyes over at the boy to her left. They exchanged odd glances. It didn't bode well for the (h/c) haired girl, but she waited, if only to see what kind of threat "Tia" really was. The yukinko then began to translate her conundrum with the boy, only for him to suddenly shake his head aggressively. It was like he didn't want her to say anything. As a result, she began to dig her heels in the grass again and speak in an unsure tone.

"Well, I really shouldn't say."

"No, you absolutely should say," (Y/n) panicked, placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, "Please. I need to know."

"But he says bad words about you and Orion. I don't think you wanna know."

"Please, please tell me."

"...Okay, but don't get mad at me for saying mean words. He says you guys are really stupid and slow and that you can't put two and two together" A pause as the girl leaned closer and whispered reassuringly, "That's four, by the way. He also says he doesn't want to babysit you guys and that you're a very picky girl."

"But, what about - "

"No way. He doesn't like you guys at all. Besides, he says Celith's enough for him and that I'm already more than he can handle."

The yukinko seemed to think that meant he loved her intensely, excitedly thinking about him. Either way, somewhat relieved, the (h/c) haired girl let out a sigh. Though she still couldn't verify the unknown male's motives or desires, at the very least, she wouldn't be taken by surprise. The girl noted her relief and gave a smile, patting her head. She then followed (Y/n)'s actions as she laid down on the grass.

"You can talk with Celith, can't you? I'd appreciate it if you told him I don't want any more offerings. That way you won't have to give up any more of your pretty accessories."

"But it was new. I didn't wear it, I promise. Tia gave it to me for helping, but if it makes you like Celith more, you can have it."

"That's sweet, but I don't need it."

"But then he can't hang out with you 'cuz he has to give you a present."

"I don't honor the traditions. In fact, I really hate them."

"How come? If someone gave me presents every time I saw them, I'd be happy. That way I could have a lot of toys and clothes and even pretty gems."

(Y/n) chuckled. The girl had a point, but that was just because she didn't know how tiring it really was nor did she know the expectations they came with. Though the older girl didn't have a lot of experience with the tradition, even the times she was subject to it were more than enough to discourage her participation. Still, she supposed there was a bit of irony in the fact that she abhorred the difference between herself and one more pure-blooded. They received even more than she did, making everything overcumbering, but, still, she couldn't help but feel envious of it.

Moving to throw the accessory back to Celith, she watched as he began tearing up, shaking in concern. The yukinko explained to him that he could be around her; she just didn't want to receive his gifts. And though he was happy to hear she didn't consider him a nuisance or unworthy, he still looked dejected. Their tradition was deeply engraved into them, especially the males. That was probably why the white-haired boy was so saddened when she refused to follow them. A bit of apprehension remained on his features all the same.

At this, she once again noticed the differences between him and Orion. Whereas one adhered very strictly to tradition, the other seemed to have no understanding of any rituals. That, in itself made the orange-haired boy suspicious, but, more so was his general demeanor. It was like an uncanny valley. He had all the characteristics to be one of them, but something was still off and she couldn't put her finger on what it was or why she couldn't figure it out.

Before long, time passed the three of them by. Whereas Celith and the girl spent their time playing, running around, or picking off berries from the bushes to munch on, the (h/c) haired girl just watched. She didn't know exactly what she was waiting for or what was keeping her watching them. It may have just been out of envy. That was true of most things she did. Strangely though, she felt somewhat at peace just being near the kids. Regardless, she had to go back sometime or later, the girl standing up and dusting herself off. That was when the girl latched herself to her arm and gave a shy smile.

"Leavin'?"

"Afraid so, but you can always come see me."

"I'm not 'pposed to, but that sounds fun. When you come see me next time, can you bring me some creme puffs? They're my favorite."

"I guess I do owe you for your help."

"I know you're tryin' not to ask, but I don't mind tellin' you my name. I'm Emi. It was nice to meet you, (Y/n). Let's be friends."

The older girl blushed slightly, turning to leave. She couldn't stop thinking about the small thing, wondering just who had taught her to be so adorable. In truth, Emi Chinen was cute beyond belief. And, more than that, she had the strangest ability to make even the toughest and stand-offish people fall for her charm. Because, above anything else, she was completely innocent, unlike them.