"Sumiko, we're sorry... We were... We were on a trip..." — Ruru hesitantly answered as Sumiko immediately headbutted Ruru
"ARE YOU INSANE?! THE DEATH OF MY MASTER WASN'T PREVENTED, BECAUSE YOU THREE WERE TOO BUSY ON A TRIP?!" — Sumiko shouted at loud volumes.
Ruru, Haruna and Rizette trembled in fear as they looked down.
"FIRST OF ALL, YOU DON'T BRING ME ALONG, THIS LITTLE TRIP OF YOURS, LET ALONE TELL ME ABOUT IT. SECOND OF ALL, YOU LEAVE ALL THE DIRTY WORK, TO ME?! FOR WHAT? JUST, BECAUSE?!" — Sumiko screamed, filled with anguish.
"Sumiko, dear. We shouldn't blame them completely. Please, stay calm." — Hecate holds Sumiko's shoulder,
"S-Sumiko, please calm down... We're sorry... We didn't know.." — Rizette answers hesitantly as Sumiko began to calm down, distancing herself from them
"I always thought that the four of us would always be prepared, to have each others' backs...? Isn't that what we first promised to each other, when we formed the Shitori family..?" — Sumiko looked at the three, as she walked, teared up and gripped onto her hair with her right arm, intensely irritated.
"But, our soldiers were there, weren't they...?" — Ruru asked as she looked at Sumiko, her face filled with guilt, as she fidgets with her thumbs
"I don't care about the soldiers... I wanted you three to be there... I've lost a significant person in my life, all because of a trip of yours." — Sumiko looks away, crossing her arms, as she wept.
"We're sorry, big sis... We really are..." — Haruna whispers as she looks down and walks closer to Sumiko
Haruna becomes affected by the aura that Sumiko lets out, making Haruna hesitate to hold Sumiko's arm
Inzagi toughens up and walks to Sumiko, holding her arm
"S-Sumiko... I may not hold a significant memory of yours, right now... But, we have to move on from this. We can't put the blame on anyone or everyone, no matter how harsh the mistake was..." — Inzagi stated as Sumiko continues weeping
"As for you three, you should've considered Sumiko's position. You left her in a city of crime. Sure, she's an elite, but just because a person is an elite doesn't mean that they don't have limits in their capabilities. Because, the title of an elite alone doesn't enhance your strength." — Inzagi looks at Hecate and smiles at her, Hecate smiling back and nodding at Inzagi
"We did terrible, yesterday. But, that shouldn't stop us to be better, for tomorrow. Please, forgive your sisters... You lost a piece of your family, but the majority is still here. You just need to open your arms once again, and look behind you." — Inzagi adds, as Sumiko's weeping began to calm down.
Inzagi hugs Sumiko from behind as he trembles from hesitation. But, he continues anyway... Sumiko grabs Inzagi's hand and nuzzles her face onto it.
Hecate smiles, as she observed the two. Walking to the other three elites.
"You should give her some time, you three. Come on. She's in better hands, for now." — Hecate implies, as the four ladies exit the main shrine.
Sumiko turns around and softly hugs Inzagi.
Inzagi holds Sumiko's head and hugs her tightly.
"Tell me all about it, I'll be here to listen." — Inzagi smiles as he sits on the ground, Sumiko sitting beside him.
"It's just... They're my sisters... They should be more obligated to be there for me, like how I'm so obligated, to be there for them..." — Sumiko said as Inzagi listened
"Before everything else... Before Shitosan, we weren't as always as wealthy as we are now... Before we met Rizette, we were just cold... Poor..." — Sumiko looked down.
"But, I did everything, to protect them, despite being the middle child. I did everything I could, to make money, for Ruru's prosthetic arm. Everyday, I killed and killed, just to get ahead the day." — Sumiko teared up as Inzagi was shocked by her past
"Until, Rizette found the three of us, in a blaze of fire. This was way after papa and mama were killed..." — Sumiko began to tear up more, sniffling much frequently
"So, to know that they were having fun, the three of them, while I was in hell... Is rather... Toxicating." — Sumiko adds, as Inzagi looks down in agreement
"I agree... I'd be mad too, to make an effort on getting them to a stable life, only for them to take me for granted." — Inzagi says
The shrine stayed silent, as Inzagi looked up at the cloudy sky, expecting rain to come soon.
"Come on, it's about to rain, Lady Sumiko. Wouldn't want to get soaked." — Inzagi offers his hand to Sumiko, as Sumiko blushes lightly, her eyes regaining its sparkle. Sumiko takes Inzagi's hand and gets up.
"Alright, can you give me an affordable place to live in? I don't think I can afford anything in this city at all" — Inzagi quickly states as he smiles nervously
"Pfft, I'm not your genie... But, sure, I can help you find a place to live in. How does a VIP hotel room sound?" — Sumiko chuckles as she wipes her tears
"S-Seriously..?" — Inzagi asks, confused on whether she's joking or not.
"If I can find one yes." — Sumiko brings out her levitating tablet, searching for a VIP hotel room
"I own 25% of the city, anyway, what's the worse that can happen. The other three quarters of the owners of this city is Haruna, Ruru and Rizette, anyway. They wouldn't open their mouths at me." — Sumiko mumbles, as she continues to search.
The two began to walk, as Sumiko uses her tablet
"I wonder where the four went" — Inzagi mumbled
"Probably on another trip." — Sumiko said in a cold tone, whilst walking
"Ah, come on, forget about that already." — Inzagi replied as Sumiko smiles at Inzagi
"I've found a place for you. It'll be 150,000 gold per night. 1 gold is 5 silvers, so, 150,000 multiplied by 5, that's 750,000 silver, per night." — Sumiko said, as Inzagi was flustered of the price
"and you're paying?" — Inzagi asked
"Nope, you are." — Sumiko said, in a serious tone. Inzagi immediately denied the room and tells Sumiko that he'd find one himself.
Sumiko chuckles and shakes her head
"Ahahaha, I'm just kidding. Of course I'll cover the costs, for you. You deserve it." — Sumiko smiles, as she heads to a food truck
Inzagi follows her and stands behind her. Sumiko gives Inzagi a crepe, having one for herself as well.
"Ah, what is this? I've never seen something like this, back in Herya." — Inzagi asks
"That's a crepe. It's really good, you should try it." — Sumiko smiles, as she nibbles on her crepe, the two walking once again.
Inzagi takes a bite of the snack as his eyes sparkle
"Wow... This is so sweet and creamy... I love it." — Inzagi continues to eat, as Sumiko smiles
"So, lady Sumiko. How does one city get so wealthy? I mean, look at this city, it has forcefield walls!" — Inzagi asks
"You can just call me Sumiko, or Sumi, Inzagi... Also, it's all thanks to our old sister, Ruru. She funds the place, now, mostly. But, I'm the one who runs it. Rizette is the one who trains its people, and Haruna is just... Haruna." — Sumiko smiles
"I see... Is there another island you own?" — Inzagi asks
"Yes, I own another island, it's personally mine. It's a bigger island than this and is heavily armed and more advanced. It's called the main Shitosan district. My other sisters are there, they're the ones who run it." — Sumiko answers
"Ah, I see..." — Inzagi looks around the area, while eating his crepe.
"Ah, there's the hotel you're living in. Right about that top floor." — Sumiko points to the top of the golden luxury hotel, with droids flying around it, serving as a personal assistant.
Inzagi's eyes sparkled as he looked up at the huge room he was introduced to.
"Let's head there, shall we?" — Sumiko smiles, as Inzagi nods excitedly.
The two walk inside, as the counter greets them.
"Ah, it's a pleasure to be in your presence, great and mighty lady Sumiko, shall it be the VIP room, for you two?" — The female bows, formally, as the other conductors bow to Sumiko.
"Ah, forsé the lady has brought in a significant other~" — The lead conductor said, as he gave Inzagi a flower to give to Sumiko.
Inzagi blushes deeply, so did Sumiko, as Inzagi shakes his head. The counter and the conductors began to chuckle at Inzagi's shyness.
"Pfft, we see indeed, shy lovers eh?~ Alright, head to your room, lovebirds." — The lead conductor bows down to the two, pointing at the golden elevator, with his arms.
"T-Thanks..." — Inzagi hesitantly said, as the two entered the elevator.
"Well... That was awkward." — Inzagi commented, as Sumiko looked away, still flushed. Soon, she quickly changes her face, returning to her normal one
"Ahem... Yes, it was, apologies for that." — Sumiko replied
Inzagi looked down on the flower, and looks at Sumiko... His look coincidentally went at the same time, with Sumiko's glance. The two quickly look away, blushing deeply... Hesitantly, Inzagi hands Sumiko the flower, as Sumiko takes it, not saying a word. You could feel the steam coming out of Sumiko's head, from how much flustered she is.
The two finally arrive to their room
"S-So, this'll be your room." — Sumiko says, as Inzagi looks around, amazed.
"Is that... Is that a mini hot tub decorated with bamboo, with the view of this huge window..." — Inzagi asked, as Sumiko smiles and nods
"Please, enjoy it, it's yours forever" — Sumiko smiles as she gives the keys of the room to Inzagi.
"I couldn't be any more grateful, Sumi... You've helped me so much, despite being an insignificant hero." — Inzagi smiles at Sumiko and hugs her tightly
Sumiko teared up, feeling huge waves of beating in her heart. She hugs back tightly, on the tip of her toes.
"Thank you." — Sumiko whispers as she buried her face into Inzagi's shoulder.
Inzagi smiles and pats Sumiko's head, as he hugged her.
"Inzagi, I don't want to be with my sisters, tonight. I don't want to see them..." — Sumiko asks, as she looked at Inzagi
"Well, you can stay with me, for a while, until you've moved on. As long as we get lady Hecate to stay here" — Inzagi answered
"Why lady Hecate?" — Sumiko asked as she tilted her head, sitting on the couch
"Well, your sisters might kill me, if I said that I slept with their little or big sister or whatever. So, getting lady Hecate to sleep here as well would be—"
"Adding more fuel to the fire?" — Hecate opens the door of the bathroom
The two scream in fear, from Hecate's sudden appearance. Hecate chuckles and sits down
"You two really thought you could sleep together alone, hmm?~" — Hecate teases the both of them
"I-It's not like that, ma'am!" — Inzagi blushes deeply, as Hecate chuckles more
Sumiko stays silent and blushes deeply, looking away, as she fidgets with her fingers.
"I could just leave you two here and just say I stayed~" — Hecate continues to tease them as the two unanimously shook their head, pulling Hecate's hand, asking her to stay
Hecate giggles and pats the two of them
"Alright alright, I'll stay. Nice room, Inzagi, very classy" — Hecate smiles at Inzagi, giving him a thumbs up
"Lady Hecate, what happened to the three?" — Sumiko asks
"Welp, as always, they've been worried about you. But, there were some times that they would try so hard to defend themselves. It's normal though, you wouldn't want to be the center of blame, when you've done nothing at all." — Hecate sits on the couch, drinking a glass of tea
Sumiko says nothing and acts like Hecate said nothing. Hecate looks at Sumiko, concerned
"Welp, it's afternoon, now, you two wanna do something?" — Inzagi asks
"Hmm, board games?" — Hecate summons a stack of board games, with a snap of a finger.
The two get excited as they nod and set up the board. The three finally move on from their previous mission and spend an afternoon of fun.