“We’ll cover more ground if we split up. Ettie, set up a telepathic connection between everyone.”

“On it, Boss!”

Ettie’s lilac eyes glowed neon, and a small light of the same color enveloped us momentarily.

“Hello, hellooo! Can anyone hear meee?!”

I suddenly heard Ettie’s loud voice echo in my mind. It was a little startling and I held my head instinctively.

“Gahh!? As if anyone couldn't hear that! You’re too damn loud!” Robin yelled.

“That’s the point, dummy! It's gotta be loud enough that you can hear me!”

“While I agree it was an… intense example, Ettie has a point.” Blaze rubbed her head. “I’ll just bear with the headache...”

“It takes more of a toll on me than it does you guys, y’know!” Ettie humphed. “I’m gonna have to take medicine later!”

Celine smiled with a bashful giggle. “If you need a nurse, do let me know.”

“I don't think it would be bad enough that I’d need a nurse…”

“Ahem.” Blaze cleared her throat to grab the others’ attention again. “We’re going off topic.”

Blaze pulled out a map to the city and opened it. “Since Luna is at the most risk of being Crime’s target and can clearly not be trusted to do anything non risky, I’ll go with her.”

I couldn't come up with a comeback to her jab because nothing she said was untrue, embarrassingly enough.

“That leaves you three to search this area.” Blaze handed another copy of her map to Ettie's group and sternly looked at her. “Do not lose this map. Circle each area you finish covering, and then move onto the next one. Am I clear?”

“C’mon, Boss, I’m not a kid!” Ettie pouted.

“I said, am I clear?” Blaze repeated even more sternly.

Ettie saluted immediately. “Very clear, Boss!”

“Okay, very good.” Blaze nodded. “We’ll contact each other telepathically whenever we find information, and we’ll regroup once we find enough to go off of.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and Blaze closed the map, shoving it back in her pocket.

“Meeting adjourned. Let’s begin Operation Shadows!” Blaze declared.

The rest of the members didn't seem to think anything of it, but I was baffled. “Operation… Shadows?” I repeated slowly.

“Well, we’re tracking down Thorn Shadows. So, I think it makes sense for the mission to be called 'Operation Shadows'.”

“....But why does the mission need a name?” I was still completely lost.

“Isn’t it cool to have one?” Blaze asked with enthusiasm gleaming in her eyes.

She looked so proud about her naming sense, a total contrast to her negative feelings on the mission itself, so I decided to go along with it. “S-Sure… I guess…?”

Blaze nodded satisfactorily as if to say 'I knew it!'.

With the groupings decided on, Ettie split off with Robin and Celine, leaving me and Blaze.

“Alright then, let's get started with the mission.” Blaze held her hand out and waited for me to take it.

“Huh? You don't have to worry about me getting lost, you know…”

“No, but I do have to worry about you running ahead and getting yourself into trouble.” Blaze smiled, but there was a hint of annoyance to it.

I knew I couldn't argue with her after everything I had done, so I reluctantly took hold of her hand.

It's warm…

Blaze seemed to have a naturally warmer body temperature than the rest of us because of her ability, but it was a warmth that was comfortable. Despite the current circumstances being more embarrassing than anything, I didn't dislike the feeling of holding hands with her.

“Let's go, Luna.”

“A-Ah, right…!”

We began our search while walking hand-in-hand.

“....”

“....”

But this silence is painful!!!

At least with the other three around, the mood was less tense! Ettie was able to lighten the mood, but I really was no good at that!

Telling a joke in this situation doesn't sound right… And I don't know any, anyway…

Ettie’s smile was so bright; it was usually contagious. But my smile wasn’t really a bright one… And there was nothing to smile about right now, either.

I guess I could try asking her about Thorn to break the ice…?

Considering the mission, maybe she would actually be willing to talk about him more?

I decided to try asking. “...So, you and Thorn, um… know each other?”

Blaze immediately stopped dead in her tracks.

Okay, bad idea! That was the worst possible question I could have started with! Crap! How do I salvage this situation?!

“....You could say that.” Blaze answered quietly before I could change the subject and continued to lead me forward by the hand.

“W-Were you friends…?” I asked cautiously.

Blaze tightened her grip on my hand. “I…. I don't know…” She muttered.

“What happened between you two?”

I stopped myself from asking it. Blaze’s face already looked pale, and her grip on my hand was tightening to a painful level.

“B-Blaze… Y-You’re hurting me…” I flinched from her tight grip. My hand was starting to burn up and I felt uncomfortably hot. “I-It’s hot…”

She immediately released my hand with a gasp. “S-Sorry! I-I didn't mean to hurt you, I just…” She averted her gaze from me. “I… I don't want to talk about it… right now…”

“I-It’s alright… I-I’m sorry for asking in the first place…”

I applied water to cool the burn on my hand and flinched. It still stung.

If she held onto my hand any longer, I would have gotten burnt for sure…

“I…” Blaze looked at me guiltily and kept her hand close to her, clearly opposed to holding hands again. “Just… stay close to me, alright?”

“A-Alright…”

Blaze’s hand was in a reaching distance, but I didn't want to upset her any more. I followed closely beside her, while making sure our hands wouldn't accidentally touch as I did so. I thought we had grown closer this morning, but now it felt like there was a distance between us again. The thought made me feel gloomy.

“....S-So, what are your siblings like?” Blaze asked after a long silence, probably in an attempt to break the ice.

Come to think of it, I hadn't really talked about them. Thinking of my siblings made my chest start to feel just a little lighter after our tense conversation. “U-Um, the three of us would go on adventures every day. Our stepsister and her girlfriend would take us to the forest where we were free to use our abilities and explore… We’d go exploring until the sun set.”

“That sounds fun.”

“It was…” Thinking about it again filled me with a sad feeling of nostalgia. “It was a lot of fun.”

I miss them…

I bit my lip to stop it from quivering.

“I’d like to hear more about your siblings. If you don't mind, that is.”

“I don't mind at all.” I was surprised Blaze was so interested, but it made me happy to have someone listen. “Eon is my older brother, but he's a bit of a crybaby. He's easily scared and he’s a bit of a worrywart, but he can also be very brave… He’s saved me on times when I got into trouble while exploring.”

Blaze snorted. “Yeah, I can imagine you getting into a lot of trouble.”

“W-Well, I was a reckless kid back then.”

“Was?”

“Oh, shut up.” I lightly nudged her.

“Pfft!” She laughed. “It's just hard to imagine you being more reckless than you are now.”

Even if Blaze was laughing at me, I was glad to see she had cheered up. Seeing her laughing so much, I felt a smile form on my lips.

“Violet is my older sister. Eon is technically the oldest twin, but Violet looked out for the both of us. She’s gentle but she’s tough, too, and she was also just a little scary when she got mad. She was always healing our injuries.” I chuckled at the memory. “Then there's my stepsister, Crimson, and her girlfriend, Noelle.”

“Ah…” Blaze looked like she was thinking back on something. “That’s right. You mentioned Noelle the other day, didn't you?”

“Yes, she was like another older sister to us. We were all really close with her. She was the one who started taking us exploring. She’s adventurous and loves thrills… She got us into trouble a lot, to be honest, haha…”

“I can see where you got your recklessness from…”

“But I loved the feeling of flying on her back. At first, it was a little terrifying, but once I got used to it, it was so freeing… Nothing beat the fresh air and wind on my face. And she'd have her homemade chocolate chip cookies waiting for us in the oven once we returned home.” I laughed softly.

“What about your stepsister?” Blaze asked curiously.

“I love her too, but she’s a little intimidating. She was kind of cold, and I could never really tell what she was thinking… Noelle could tell perfectly, though.” I gestured to the ribbon I was wearing. “Noelle actually gave me this ribbon as a gift.”

“So, that's why you’re always wearing it.”

“I like it, but I guess another reason I wear it all the time is so my siblings will be able to recognize me. I mean, a lot can change in six years…”

It was possible the older siblings I remembered could be completely different people once we reunited. The thought made me feel a little sad, but I figured it was inevitable.

Blaze seemed hesitant to ask. “....How did you get separated?”

I didn’t really want to talk about it after reminiscing about fond memories, but I figured Blaze had a right to know, considering how much she was helping me. “...My stepmother made a deal with the Anti Ability Association to save her and Crimson. And she… sold the three of us off to them.” I bit my lip again.

“Wh… What the hell…?” Blaze immediately stopped in her tracks and looked at me, her eyes widened with shock.

“...T-They were going to take us to a research facility… and forcefully extract our abilities from us… killing us s-so that they could use our abilities for their own benefit…”

The armed hunters… my stepmother pushing me forward in front of them… the gunshot… my desperate screaming and pleading… Noelle flying to my rescue with Crimson… It all flashed in my mind. I could feel my breathing rapidly quicken. It was like I was right there again.

“L-Luna, it's okay…! I’m right here!” Blaze grasped my trembling hands. “You don't have to tell me any more if you don't want to!” Blaze applied a gentle warmth to my hands with her ability and I slowly felt soothed.

“N-No, i-it's okay…” I took a deep breath, already starting to feel calmer. “F-For a little while, Noelle looked after me while I recovered, but once Crimson made sure I was safe, she left us to search for Violet and Eon… But Crimson hadn't returned after a week, so Noelle left to go search for the three of them. She told me to stay in that house until they returned, but… so much time had passed…”

“So, you decided to go searching for them…”

“Mm…” I nodded. “I-I haven't seen Violet and Eon since they were taken. I was so scared that they had died… that my search was for nothing… But what Thorn said… it gave me hope again.”

“Yeah… Thorn wouldn't have said all that if they were dead.” She gave my hands a gentle squeeze. “I promise you they’re alive, and we’ll find them.”

“Yeah…” I squeezed her hands back. “Thank you…”

Blaze smiled softly and I felt reassured. The touch of her hands was comforting that I felt a little lonely once Blaze let go of them.

“...U-Um…” I didn't want to make Blaze uncomfortable again, but I was a little curious. “What about your family?” I asked.

There was a look of surprise on Blaze’s face before she scratched her head. “...Well, I guess it's only fair that I tell you about them after I made you answer something like that.” She frowned. “I don’t have any nice stories about them like you do, though. I have an older sister, but I never got along with her. She’s hated me since I was born, and there was never anything I could do about it.”

“...I-I’m sorry…”

I felt like I had touched on a sensitive subject I shouldn't have…

Blaze clenched her fists and looked down solemnly. “....Basically, my ability first awakened while I was sleeping. I had a nightmare and it ended up leaking out and setting my room on fire, so the hunters were notified of a house fire and they killed my parents. My sister and I managed to escape before the hunters found us, but my sister still blames me for that incident. She tried to kill me the last time I saw her… To avenge her parents by getting rid of their 'killer'.”

I couldn't believe what Blaze had just told me. I just stood there in shock.

Her own sister tried to kill her…?!

 “B-But that's insane…! The hunters were to blame, not you!”

“Maybe so, but Phenix would never believe that. She can see the future, and it warned her of their death. It warned her that I would be their killer. Maybe that was why she hated me from the start.”

“B-But that's not right…”

“...Anyway, I haven't seen her since. I’m kind of envious you had such a nice relationship with your siblings, to be honest.” Blaze laughed weakly, and I felt a pain in my chest.

“I-I’m so sorry for asking you about something so painful…”

“No, I was the one who asked first. Now we're even.” She ruffled my hair, as if to say there were no hard feelings. “But if you’re asking about family, then I had a brother and a sister in the orphanage I was taken into after that incident.”

A brother and a sister…?

I wondered if she was referring to Ettie and Robin.

“My brother was… incredibly cool. I looked up to him a lot.” Blaze spoke fondly. “He was like a ray of hope for me and our sister.”

…That doesn't sound anything like Robin.

Who was it, then…?

“He formed a little organization with us at the time and we basically played hero together. Looking back on it now, it really wasn't anything big, but… it was everything to me.” Blaze gently touched her red neck bandana. I wondered if it was from her brother. “It still is.”

“That sounds wonderful…” I smiled honestly. “Was that how Regret was formed?”

“....Not exactly.” Her voice took on a sudden melancholic tone. “But when I formed Regret, I wanted to be a leader like he was during our time together.”

It sounded like Blaze's old leader meant a lot to her, which had me curious where he was now. “What happened to him?”

“....Come on, let's get moving.” Blaze yanked my arm and walked onward. “We've wasted enough time here.”

“A-Alright…”

Is he… dead?

…No. Of course, I had no way of knowing for sure, but I had a feeling that wasn't it. There was something suspicious about her reaction… It reminded me of how she would act whenever the topic of Thorn was brought up.

….Wait. Thorn? Was her old leader possibly…?

I wanted to ask, but I knew I shouldn't, so I followed her without pressing the subject further.