Bittersweet

Chapter 7: Uncovering the Truth

It had been four months since Rogue left Sting.

It was a tough choice, really, but to be honest, there was no other option. Rogue knew that he had to separate himself from Sting as soon as he figured out the root cause behind Sting's odd behavior.

He knew things were hard on Sting's end, but things were definitely not easy on his end either. He just hoped that the rest of his guild members were safe now, doing better now that he was gone. And most of all, he hoped Sting was better now as well.

✧ Two Months Earlier ✧

Yukino Aguria laid still in her hospital bed, the steady thrum of the monitor beside her being the only sound filling the room. It was deathly quiet; not a single bird was chirping outside, the infirmary had no new patients, and all the doctors were out on lunch break.

To put it lightly, she felt lonely and cold in the small room, but at least the pain from the incident two months before had finally started to fade.

Thoughts filled her mind, memories of the day when her own guildmate, her guildmaster, unexpectedly attacked her and left her in critical condition. She shuddered as she remembered the pain, the blood rapidly leaking out of her delicate body, and then watching through blurred vision how her guildmates circled around her to make sure she wasn't, well, dead. She also remembered the warmth of Minerva's hands around her, the feel of her space magic, the way she was so worried about her...

"Yukino?" a voice called, causing her to snap out of her thoughts.

Yukino craned her neck sideways, watching the familiar person enter her room, just like she had every day. Or at least, it used to be every day, but the visits had been cut to only once every week or two lately. Yukino didn't mind really; she didn't want someone to check on her so often and use so much of their time, but she had missed the company. "Minerva-sama?"

Minerva nodded, walking up to her. She placed a hand on her bed, right beside her shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank you," Yukino answered with a smile.

"Sorry I haven't been visiting as much," Minerva said, and the tone in her voice made Yukino worried. Minerva paused for a moment, staring at a spot on the floor as if pondering something, and Yukino raised an eyebrow.

"It's okay, you know. You deserve a break too," Yukino said, slowly moving her hand and placing it on top of Minerva's. "How's the guild doing, by the way?" She saw Minerva shrink at that, and Yukino was about to say something but Minerva spoke first.

"There's something I need to talk to you about."

She lowered her voice when she said that, and Yukino could just barely make out what she had said. A chill ran through her spine, and she was almost afraid to ask, but curiosity overpowered her. "W-What is it?"

"It's about the guild and what's been going on," she explained, her lips curling into a frown.

"Oh no, is something wrong?" Yukino asked, nearly sitting up in surprise.

"It's...Sting," she said carefully, as if his name were a curse. Yukino swallowed the lump in her throat. "It's been so chaotic lately...and I can't deal with it alone. I've been spending so much time trying to keep things under control but even I cannot complete such a task." She stopped, he expression now looking a lot more strained.

Yukino could tell she wanted to say something more, but was reluctant for whatever reason. "What's going on with Sting-sama?" she asked with genuine concern.

"You shouldn't worry about that bastard after what he did to you," Minerva said suddenly before she could stop herself.

Yukino smiled sadly. "I know he didn't do it on purpose, or at least when he did it, he wasn't being himself. I fear something is very wrong with him, perhaps he is under a spell of some sort?"