Fake Hero Vol2; Fight of the Valkyries

{Observation 10: Lucy vs. Hana}

The moment that Lucy saw Erika, looking down at them from the window, she knew that they weren't going to be flying for much longer.

She tried to warn Laurence in time, but she didn't know if he had even heard anything before she felt a hand on her back and the familiar sensation that followed from being teleported.

She hadn't seen the interior before; a room that didn't have a ceiling, where if she looked up, she could see the roof.

The room itself had a table missing a leg, and a chair that looked like it would fall over the moment you sat in it.

It also had a window that showed more of the building; from that Lucy could tell that they were in an elevated position, a metal walkway surrounding the room she was in and just below it she could see a couple of caved in rooms and some flooding.

She was in the warehouse.

Of course, she gathered as much from the fact that a certain someone was also in that small, uncomfortable room.

"Hana."

"...Hello Lucy."

Hana was directly across the table from Lucy, seemingly trying to make a setting where Lucy and her would converse.

Lucy felt like she was hit the gut, even as nothing physically touched her; Hana still had enough faith to set up a place for them to talk, rather than strike first.

Of course, she didn't want to fight her either, but if Hana didn't stop trying to go with her absurd plan to kill the chosen, then Lucy didn't think she would have any choice but to physically try and prevent her.

The way Hana was acting was as though she didn't believe that Lucy would fight her at all.

That made Lucy feel even more guilty than before.

"If you're here to stop me, then it's pointless."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. You know that as long as they exist, things won't get any better."

Lucy gritted her teeth and swallowed her anxiety and frustration.

She knew that it was impossible for her to change her mind, or rather, she felt like there was no other option left to her.

She had to stop Hana, even if she hated her.

That was what Lucy was resolved to do.

"The chosen's base is directly underneath us. You and Erika are in danger."

Hana's expression betrayed some surprise for a moment, but she kept a stubborn, stern look about her.

"...And I assume Birdy's sister saw that?"

"Yes. Also... there isn't any easy way to say this...."

Lucy scratched her cheek and looked at the floor, trying to appear as downcast as possible.

"...Apparently someone had taken all of the spirits away. You were right."

A lie.

A blatant one at that.

Hana, however, seemed to not only buy it, but she also became much more lax in her posture, as though a great weight had been lifted from her.

She then smiled.

"I usually am. Do you remember what I told you when we last met?"

Lucy ignored the question and ran over to Hana, who didn't even bother avoiding the sudden rush.