As the call ended, Kaori sat there, her heart heavy with disappointment and frustration. She dropped her phone in disbelief, the weight of her father's decision weighing heavily on her shoulders. Yuki, having observed the entire exchange silently, approached Kaori cautiously. "Is everything...okay?" Yuki inquired, her concern evident as she placed a hand gently on Kaori's arm.

  Kaori shook her head, her eyes brimming with tears. "No..." she replied softly, her voice trembling with emotion. "Nothing is okay. My father just disowned us, Yuki. He disowned us because we couldn't live up to his expectations. He's choosing the 100% success rate over us, his own daughters.”

  Yuki's eyes widened in shock, her grip on her sister's arm tightening slightly. "He...He disowned us? Just like that?" she gasped, struggling to process the news. Yuki's usually calm facade cracked for a moment, revealing a hint of vulnerability. "But we've given everything for the Clan. How can he just throw us away like that…”

  “I know...we've sacrificed so much for the sake of the Clan and their damn success rate. We've put our lives on the line, faced perilous situations, and now, all we get in return is abandonment. I thought...I thought we meant more to him than just being a means to maintain their precious reputation.”

  "It's not fair. There was no chance of us defeating Fjord anyways, not without one of us sacrificing our lives.”

  “Exactly! We had no chance against him, but my father doesn't care. He's blind to anything beyond the 100% success rate. We're just expendable assets in his eyes. All those years we spent training, following orders, and doing whatever they asked of us...it all means nothing to him.”

  “The worst part is, we have nowhere to go now. We're outcasts...We don't have a family or a home to return to. What the hell are we supposed to do now...?”

  "I don't know, Yuki. I don't know what we're supposed to do now. We've given everything to the Clan, and they just threw us away like we never mattered. We have no family, no home, and no purpose. We're just...lost. Lost and without a place to belong. We have to make it on our own.”

  Kaori was about to get up from her seat until she heard the door crack open, her eyes darting up to see two people coming into the room. One was a raven-haired man dressed in a Gaia Disciples uniform similar to that of Fjord's, and the other was a tall, hazel-eyed ginger woman, her hair down to her elbows. The young woman's uniform was similar to the older man's, but of a different color scheme, that being white and blue as opposed to the man's black and dark red uniform. The two didn't notice Yuki or Kaori in the room with them, as they were locked in an argument.

  "You will never understand," the man spat out at the woman. "That humanity as a society is beyond open dialogue and reasoning. Your naivete is why we're here, Ciel."

  The young woman, apparently going by Ciel, crossed her arms in defiance and shook her head. "But violence will get us nowhere, Oswald. That's what you're failing to understand.”

  The man, Oswald, scoffed dismissively, taking a step closer to Ciel. "You're too blinded by your idealism," he retorted, his tone condescending. "You believe in the goodness of humanity, but the reality is much harsher. People are selfish, greedy, and destructive by nature. They won't change without force.”

  Ciel, unyielding in her stance, shot back, "You're too cynical, Oswald. Not everyone is inherently evil. There are good people out there. And even those who are corrupt can be changed and persuaded through peaceful means.”

  Oswald, his patience running thin, sneered, "Spoken like a naive optimist. Let me show you something."

  He reached for the eyepatch on his right eye, pulling it up to reveal the fake eye in his socket. "See this, Ciel? I got my REAL eye gouged out by the police during a human rights protest years ago. They were attacking us like gorillas fresh from the zoo all because I had the nerve, the audacity, to stand up for minorities and the system keeping them down.”

  Ciel's defiant resolve wavered momentarily as she stared at Oswald's fake eye, but she quickly regained her composure. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Oswald, but that doesn't justify using violence and killing innocent people," she protested, her voice tinged with sorrow.

  Oswald's expression hardened, taking another step closer, looming over Ciel. "Innocent people? You still don't get it, do you? They're all complicit in this corrupt system of inequality and injustice. They don't care one bit about the marginalized and the exploited. They won't change unless we force them to.”

  Ciel stood her ground, "That's where you're wrong, Oswald. Violence only leads to more violence. It doesn't pave the path to change; it widens the divide between us. We need to find a way to coexist with humanity, not wipe them out!"

  Oswald shook his head. "Coexistence? You're still stuck in a fantasy land where everyone can hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya' and pretend REAL inequalities and deep-seated hatred and biases will somehow go poof, just like that.”

  Ciel protested with slight frustration, "I'm not blind to the reality of prejudice and division, Oswald. I'm well aware of the immense suffering and oppression minorities face daily. But resorting to mass murder won't solve anything. We have to find another way."

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Oswald, his expression turning dark, sneered, "Another way? What other way? Reasoning with them didn't work, protests didn't work, laws didn't work. What do you suggest we do, hold a damn meeting and have them pinky promise not to be bigots anymore?”

  Ciel, visibly struggling to come up with an alternative solution, stammered for a moment before replying, "I...I...I don't know, but...there has to be a better way. Killing them all will only make us the villains in the end!"

  Oswald clenched his fists tightly. "Damn it, Ciel, you're infuriatingly naive AND stubborn! You're too idealistic. We're NOT the villains here, the real culprits are the ones in power, the ones who perpetuate injustice and oppression! That's why we as an organization split in the first place. You were too soft, you weren't showing the bigots out there what'll happen to 'em if they bring their bullshit from obscure internet forums to the streets. Now look at which side they're listening to right now. Clearly not yours. The split was the best thing to ever happen to us.”

  Ciel, visibly torn between her convictions and Oswald's words, couldn't deny the truth in his statement. "You... You have a point, Oswald," she admitted reluctantly, her voice tinged with sadness. "But...but is mass murder the solution? Are we truly doing the right thing by resorting to such extreme measures?"

  "You're still holding onto that moral compass of yours, huh? It's a miracle you haven't gotten a knife in your gut already for being so weak.”

  Ciel, stung by the harshness in Oswald's words, couldn't stop herself from countering, "Weak? You call having compassion and empathy weak? I call it being human, something you seem to have forgotten along the way.”

  Oswald retorted, "Compassion? Empathy? Towards racists? Sexists? The whole nine? Don't make me laugh! 'Know what, I was wrong about you. You're not weak, nor naive. I'll put it real simple. You, Ciel, are a white supremacist bootlicker.”

  Ciel's expression turned from hurt to outraged, bristling at Oswald's harsh accusation. Staring daggers into him, she stepped up to Oswald, looming over the shorter man as she took a pale finger and poked his chest with each word she uttered, "Don't. You. DARE. EVER. Call me that again. I'm the antithesis of a white supremacist bootlicker! I'm fighting for equality and social justice for ALL marginalized communities!”

  Oswald, unperturbed by Ciel's proximity, took her finger from his chest, holding it tightly in his hand. “Equality and social justice, huh? You're fighting for a lost cause, Ciel. They'll never view you as one of their own. You're still perceived as white. They'll still call you a race traitor. But sure, go ahead. Sacrifice your life to fight for a cause doomed to fail. It'll only make the inevitable easier for us to swoop in and take over.”

  Ciel, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes, retorted through gritted teeth, "I'd rather die standing up for what's right than live as a coward like you—"

  At the word 'coward', Oswald swung an open palm at Ciel's face. Ciel caught Oswald by his wrist, gripping it with surprising force.

  Oswald was caught off guard by the unexpected strength Ciel displayed, not expecting such a firm grip from such a delicate woman. "Let go," he demanded, attempting to wrench his wrist free.

  Ciel's grip remained steadfast, her expression resolute, albeit filled with sorrow. "No," she replied simply, the single syllable carrying a weight of defiance. "Not until you promise me one thing.”

  "And what's that?”

  Both Kaori and Yuki leaned in, eager to hear what this promise will be.

  Ciel, her voice firm but tinged with a plea, looked directly into Oswald's eyes, her gaze unwavering. "Promise me you won't do anything drastic until I return," she implored.

  Oswald raised an eyebrow. "Return?" he echoed. "...Where the hell do you plan on going?”

  Ciel released her grip on Oswald's wrist, which now had deep red impressions of her fingers. "Somewhere to clear my head and figure things out for myself," she replied cryptically. "I need time away from this chaos to think things through."

  "Somewhere, huh? That's specific. You're not planning on scurrying away like a rat, are you?”

  Ciel snapped back defensively, "I am not running away. I'm taking a brief hiatus to understand myself and where I truly stand. I want clarity."

  "And just how long do you plan on being gone for? A few days? A week? A month?" Oswald inquired, his tone tinged with a hint of condescension.

  “I... I don't know," Ciel confessed. "I haven't thought that far ahead yet."

  “You don't know? How convenient. Running off without a plan, huh? That's really smart.”

  Ciel flinched at Oswald's sarcasm, unable to hide the frustration in her expression. She knew he was right, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it. "I... I'll figure it out," she reiterated, trying to sound more confident than she felt as she briefly looked to the side, leading to her seeing Yuki and Kaori sitting on the couch listening to their conversation.

  Oswald followed her line of sight and noticed Kaori and Yuki silently observing them. A smirk played at the corner of his lips as he turned his attention back to Ciel. "Looks like we have an audience," he remarked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

  Ciel, realizing her mistake of inadvertently revealing their audience, internally cursed herself for not being more careful. "Damn it," she muttered under her breath before returning her attention to Oswald. "They heard everything," she noted, her jaw tensing as she approached the two women. "Hey, who are you two, if you don't mind answering?”

  The two women on the couch were startled by the sudden attention directed at them. Yuki was the first to reply, her voice carrying a hint of caution. "We're, uh...just here for the free refreshments," she responded, managing to keep her cool.

  Kaori added to Yuki's response, her tone firm, "And we didn't hear anything.”

  Oswald, standing a few steps behind Ciel, let out a dry chuckle. "Oh, please," he interjected, rolling his eyes. "You two were totally eavesdropping. Don't pretend otherwise.”

  Yuki and Kaori exchanged a brief glance, a silent acknowledgement passing between them. Kaori decided to stand her ground, her gaze sharp as she retorted, "Well, it's kind of hard not to listen when you're literally yelling at each other five feet away from us.”

  Oswald, his annoyance evident, shot back, "We wouldn't be 'yelling' if someone hadn't started acting like a naive idiot."

  Ciel, clearly growing tired of the escalating tensions, tried to defuse the situation. "Can we just—"

  Oswald cuts her off, gesturing towards Yuki and Kaori. "Oh no, Ciel. We are going to find out who those two are, and why they're here.”

  He then stepped toward, staring down the two girls as his aura emanated from his body, “...By force if necessary.