Shedding Tears

[srwu_npc]

[1]

"Tsubasa-chan - so in the end you really did sing it. Knowing well what happened to Kanade, and what could happen to you."

Tsubasa was hauled off, in dire need of emergency medical care - alive, if barely. Such is the price you have to pay for singing the Swan Song, and in the end she was still lucky.

Now Ryoko is using a window to look over the Relic user - who is lying down in another room unconscious, connected to all kinds of life support systems.

[2]

"Tsubasa..."

Commander Kazanari looks serious. But there is nothing more he can do for Tsubasa at the moment, and there are other matters at hand too.

"So this is the identity of the girl who wore Nehushtan, huh."

He looks at the screen - and his brow furrows further.

"Chris Yukine. One of the potential Relic users. When her parents died in South America, she was abducted by a gang and forced into child labor. The Division managed to rescue her - but she disappeared mysteriously two years ago."

"And now she appears again. Her actions, and what happened to her... as an adult, all of it is my fault."

Comments

2

[beast_of_scripture]

She seems rather intent on fighting against us...

[srwu_npc]

"How could one girl find not one, but two Relics? One of them being the disappeared Nehushtan... it's obvious that she's working for someone."

[beast_of_scripture]

Nehushtan disappeared during Zwei Wing's last concert...right?

[srwu_npc]

"Yeah... it didn't just disappear though. Now we can say for sure that someone took it."

"And Yukine is cooperating with that someone."

[beast_of_scripture]

There was also that other relic she had, the Cane of Solomon I believe.

Did you have any information about that?

[srwu_npc]

"It's obviously a Relic, one that allows its wielder to summon and order Noise around. You experienced it first hand, didn't you?"

"There's not much more information than that. As far as our database is concerned, the Cane doesn't exist. It's a new discovery for the 2nd Division."

1

[spearpunch]

What... did happen to Kanade?

[Hibiki's looking in too, very, very worried.]

Is she going to be okay?

[srwu_npc]

"Good question, Hibiki-chan. If I knew the answer... but I don't know. Only time will tell."

"Kanade, hmm... you know how she died, don't you? You were there after all."

[spearpunch]

I know... she sang a song.

Like the one Tsubasa sang. It was so beautiful, but... so sad too...

[srwu_npc]

"This is the Swan Song. If you sing it, you unleash incredible power but - well, you see what happens."

Ryoko gives Tsubasa another look before turning to Hibiki.

"According to the Sakurai Theory by yours truly, it was theoretically possible for Kanade to survive her Swan Song. But you see - her synchronisation levels were low. She wasn't able to even use her Relic without the help of LinkeR, a synchronisation boosting drug."

[spearpunch]

But...

Did she use it just to try to save me?

[She'd told her to not give up on living, to keep on struggling. Had she given up everything just for her sake?]

[srwu_npc]

"Kanade became a Relic user for vengeance. Her family was killed by Noise and she wanted to fight back at them."

"But then, long story short: other people heard her song. She decided she will sing for others - they will hear her, and she will protect them."

"That's why she sang her Swan Song. To protect everyone, which also includes you. And now her Relic is in your body, Hibiki-chan."

[spearpunch]

That's... so horrible...!

[Tears began to flow freely as things start to sink in finally. Things nobody ever told her about the person she was succeeding.]

... And I was talking about just being a replacement for her! Of course Tsubasa would hate me for that...!

[srwu_npc]

"You understand her feelings now?"

[spearpunch]

[Hibiki tries to give a nod, but her face trembles as she tries to bring it back up. The crying gives way to full-blown sobbing.]

2

[a_monetized_mind]

Okay, what the hell. Did you know there were people out there who could control Noise? And if you were keeping track of her, who the hell got her?

[srwu_npc]

"It's not people - it's the Relic she was wielding. Solomon's Cane... according to Ryoko, it gives anyone the ability to command Noise. I have no idea how she came to wield it."

Genjurou frowns.

"Two years ago was a time of turmoil - politically. The Second Division was reorganized, which is the official term for it being in absolute chaos. No one really know what was going on for a while and Yukine used that chance to slip under our radar."

[a_monetized_mind]

Great...and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you don't have any idea who she could have joined up with, do you.

[srwu_npc]

"If it's terrorists who want to control Noise for their own cause, you'd expect them to make a statement or demand something by now. The enemy is still a mystery, but at least we know it's a human."

1

[majestic_keiki]

[Kei is there as well, looking at the injured girl beyond the glass.]

So it doesn't always kill you.

[srwu_npc]

"No, the damage depends on several factors. Ratio of synchronisation is important of course, but sometimes you just have to be lucky."

[majestic_keiki]

I see...I'm happy Tsubasa survived, I just didn't know. Do you know when she will be better?

[srwu_npc]

"You're assuming a lot, Kei-chan. I don't even know if she'll get better - for now we can only wish for the best."

[majestic_keiki]

I was just asking about how she was doing.

[srwu_npc]

"About as well as you can see. I won't sugar coat it, it's pretty bad."

[majestic_keiki]

I understand. But she's still alive, so there should be a chance that she'll recover. Or at least wake up.