The Lawyer launches himself at the Blossom, but he’s too late. She’ll be crushed, and I can’t do anything because he’s right-

Energy blooms from her, a pulse that comes from nowhere. It pushes all the debris away in a violent wave. I manage to hang onto her, but the Lawyer isn’t so lucky. He’s knocked back a short distance before his power fades.

When the dust settles, She holds a card in her hand. Whatever art was on it is washed out, irreparably damaged.

Shame. I wonder what it looked like.

————

Let’s get some things straight:

Luna and Ritsu were in their hotel room discussing the case; The Hundun struck, causing the building to collapse; The warding card she had was used up, saving her. Now they’re searching for Taiga.

Last they knew, he was taking a nap in his room while Romeo chased more leads.

Luna’s exhausted. And dirty. And wet. Everything sucks. Why does her life have to be like this? She stares into the rain contemplatively.

…There’s a little bird circling the site. A white dot amongst the clouds of gray. She should have taken it as a sign, because a familiar laugh rings out behind her.

“You three making mud pies or something?”

“Taiga!” Oh thank god. He’s alive. Now they can regroup with Romeo and-

The rain intensifies for a moment.

“Three?” Ritsu asks, “I don’t think I saw anyone else in the wreckage.”

She turns to Taiga. He’s frowning, scanning the sky from his umbrella. What is he looking for?

Footsteps. They ring out in a clack-splash type sound.

“Good evening.” Uriel says.

He’s dressed in much the same manner as Romeo, but he has a black feathered boa draped around his neck. There’s some light makeup on his face; some eyeliner with wings. He’s completely dry, all thanks to a wide black umbrella.

It feels… off to her. It could be from her hallucination from earlier, but…

“Uriel, It’s good to see you. Where have you been?” Ritsu’s tone is pleasant, but his face betrays his confusion.

He doesn’t respond, walking right past the two and over to Taiga.

Sometimes, she forgets how tall Uriel is. He easily towers over Taiga.

“Don’t worry about that, greenie, ‘least now birdbrain here can start pulling his weight.” Taiga has a self-satisfied look on his face, like the cat who got the canary.

The deluge suddenly sounds too much. Each droplet patters on the ground, the umbrellas, and her own skull. There’s something in the air. A tension between the two that she can’t place.

And Taiga still wears that smirk.

“…Indeed.” After what seems like hours, Uriel responds with his tone cold as steel. There’s an unspoken agreement made before they break off from each other.

“We’ll talk later.”