Katropolis: Area 5 Chapter 25

A few tense moments passed. Yuna had begun to stare at the floor again, her tears dripping one by one. Sora wasn't quite sure what was going on. Chizuko was staring at Yuna, an expression of shock on her face.

“Y-you..HOW COULD YOU!?”

In an instant, Yuna found herself with her back against the nearby wall, being held by her lab coat collar. Chizuko's facial expression had changed. She was clearly not very happy with what she had just heard.

“C-Chizuko, let me explain!”

“NO! Of all the things you could do, you go and create something that is pure evil!”

Sora, who had been standing at the doorway quietly, tried to intervene.

“Chizuko, I think you should calm down and let Yuna explain-”

“Stay out of this!!”

Backing up, Sora kept herself quiet. It was clear she was not helping the situation at all. Chizuko decided to let go of Yuna, who sunk to ground, shaking.

“I-I can explain. Just give a minute, please.”

“No. NO! There is no logical reason for this!”

Taking the bell collar from her neck, Chizuko threw it on the ground. She was crying, frustrated and upset. She was almost refusing to believe that it was true. Without saying any more, she ran past Sora. Sora thought about chasing after her but Yuna stopped her.

“If I were to tell you, would you be willing to tell Chizuko?”

Thinking about it for a moment, Sora agreed. Chizuko would probably listen to Sora.

                              ***********

A little while later, Sora was scouring the streets. She was reminded of when she went searching for Chizuko over a week ago. At least this time, there was no rain to deal with. Also, it was a little easier to find Chizuko. She hadn't wandered off very far. There was a downcast look on her face and she was staring at the ground, exactly like Yuna had been before. Chizuko seemed a little different without the bell collar on.

Approaching her normally would've been easier for Sora, but this time, it seemed it was difficult. Sora just hoped that what she was about to explain would set it all right. Yuna would be explaining it all to the others while she was here.

Plucking up the last of her courage, Sora went over to where her friend was sat. Chizuko didn't look at her. She was just staring into nothing, the feeling of betrayal clearly there. Sora sat beside her but she still didn't look.

“There's something I need to tell you. Please listen to me.”

No response. She obviously wasn't listening to Sora.

“Listen, Yuna told me that-”

“Is that why you're here? To give me Yuna's bad excuse for creating Nao?”

Standing back up again, Sora stared at her friend in disbelief.

“It's not an excuse! There is a genuine reason behind it all! If you had just stayed and listened to Yuna, then you would know exactly why she did what she did!”  

After a few seconds, Chizuko stood up, facing Sora. Her facial expression was half confused and half angry.

“You really expect me to believe that, do you!?”

“Of course I want you to believe it! Your my friend and you deserve to know the truth!”

Instead of giving a response to Sora, Chizuko walked straight past her. Sora had begun to cry and was now unsure of what to say. She wasn't listening to what Sora had to say, Chizuko was refusing to believe any of it.

Without anything more to say which could convince her friend, Sora silently followed Chizuko home.

                               ***********

Stony silence had been around since the two of them returned home. Neither had anything to say to each other. Chizuko eventually disappeared into her room. It left Sora alone, feeling guilty for not being able to convince Chizuko to listen to reason. She hoped that Yuna had managed to explain it all to the others without much hassle.

Knowing that sitting around feeling sorry for herself was not the way to go, Sora stood up from where she had been sat and decided she would tell Chizuko no matter what. Walking over to Chizuko's bedroom door, she repeated what Yuna had explained to her in her head. She wasn't going to miss a single detail.

Sora opened the door without knocking. Chizuko was sat at her desk, surprised by Sora's presence.

“If you've come to try and convince me again, then you'll be utterly disappointed. There's no way Yuna has a valid reason for-”

“She had no other choice!”

Without waiting for a response from Chizuko, Sora carried on explaining.

“Yuna told me, that if she refused the order she was given, she would've been killed there and then. It was a direct order from Falco himself.”

Inside, Sora was pleased with herself for finally being able to tell Chizuko the truth. Now all of them knew about Nao.  

It was then Sora noticed that Chizuko had gone. She had not been paying attention. The front door was open, which told her that Chizuko had probably left to find Yuna. Not long later, Sora left the house too.

                                ***********

After explaining everything to Kotori and the others, there wasn't much Yuna could do. She had been silently hoping that Sora had managed to tell the same thing to Chizuko. Standing outside in the chilly air, which was hinting that a mist was going to be coming, Yuna thought back to what happened when she revealed what she did. Chizuko had been so furious at her, though she was hardly to blame at that point.

A few seconds later, Chizuko turned up with Sora not far behind her.

“Yuna...I-I'm sorry about before. I should have let you explain. My anger got the better me though.”

Yuna's glasses were steamed over, due to the mist. She didn't mind though, she was just happy that Chizuko was no longer feeling anger towards her.

“That's OK. I'm just glad that you know the truth,” Yuna turned away from Chizuko, wiping her glasses free of mist, “I regret what I did but if I hadn't, I wouldn't exactly be standing here right now.”

Rather than giving a reply, Chizuko stared at the ground. Sora was still standing behind her, happy that everything was now OK. Kotori and Minato had also joined them outside. They had been a little shocked by what Yuna had just told them but they understood.

The mist had started to worsen. It was odd, mist wasn't usually present in Katropolis. It was a bit like the sun, not really coming around. Another rare weather seen in the grey city. There was only previous time that it had appeared.

Rather than heading inside, the five stayed where they were, despite the deepening mist that was surrounding them. It continued to steam up Yuna's glasses, annoying her to no end. No one was talking and the mist carried on making things harder to see. It was concealing something.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”

Through the white mist that was around them all, a familiar figure was seemingly visible. Nao had her devilish smile on her face and her eyes appeared to flash slightly crimson.

Turning from where she was stood, Chizuko faced Nao. She started walking towards her but she was stopped by Yuna.

“Let go, Yuna.”

“No, it's too dangerous. I already told you that you couldn't beat her.”

Chizuko didn't look back, her eyes were focused on Nao. She felt something being placed into her hand and then Yuna released her grip. She saw that the bell collar she had previously taken off was there. Chizuko thought back to the moment it was first given to her. Putting it back on, she felt slight happiness.

“Yuna, thank you.”

Placing the happiness aside, Chizuko drew out her sword and proceeded towards Nao.