LACRIMIS

SEENA

Seena blinked. “Akane?”

Akane stepped through the 'sarian checkpoint, waving a badge to the guard. She had a surprised look on her face. “Seena?” The beads in her hair clicked as she put the badge back in her pocket. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same! What were you doing in NHQ?”

She rolled her eyes. “Had to visit my mother.” She guided Seena by the arm a little bit farther away from the checkpoint. “Your turn. You don't know anyone in there except me and Derek.”

“Actually, I was just walking over to...” Seena frowned. “Wait, have you been crying?”

Akane's beads clicked as she wiped her face hurriedly. “What? No, of course not.”

“Yes you have! What's wrong?”

She sniffled a little. “Nothing. Nothing. Just...” She shook her head. “My mother's being...”

Ah. Right. Akane had been forced to take a lot of crap for her commitment to her father's ideals. Seena had to admit she wasn't always as supportive as she could be, but then again she wasn't her mother. It wasn't her job to be supportive.

But still, she was here. She grabbed Akane's arm. “How about we get ice cream? My treat. As an apology for missing your party.”

Akane adjusted her backpack. “You already got me that anime, you don't have to—”

Seena waved her concerns away. “Don't be silly. That was just your present. You were gonna get it anyway. This is something else.”

Akane frowned. “I... I have a bit of homework...”

Seena rolled her eyes and started tugging her away from NHQ, towards a place she knew a few blocks away. “Nine hells, girl, it's just ice cream. It will make you feel better, and it will only take an hour, tops.”

Akane sighed. “Fine, fine.”

Seena smiled. “You'll enjoy it, I promise.”

They walked in silence until they reached the ice cream parlor, sat down, and ordered.

“This is a really nice place,” Akane said a little uncomfortably once the waiter left. She was right, of course. The entire 'scraper was a high-class restaurant, with the first five floors dedicated to seating, and the rest catering to that. But at this hour, they weren't dealing with the dinner crowds that normally filled the place, so it was just the two of them and a few other groups scattered around. The downside was that service was slow, since there was only one waiter.

“It's fine, really,” Seena said. “It's not that expensive, especially the dessert. Besides, I have the cash to spare.”

Akane dropped her backpack to the floor and then carefully laid down her sword-bag, open-end within easy reach. “Your job with the Mals has been going well?”

Seena grinned. “Yeah, really well.”

“But you're not killing for them,” she said.

Seena nodded. “I'm a glorified babysitter.”

“Good for you. But it seems strange.”

“How so?”

“The Mals are all about the violent kind of assassination. Climbing up the side of a building, slipping through the window, and killing everyone between them and their target is more their style than sending a seductress with murder on her mind.”

“Guess which one killed Baal?”

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“The former,” Akane said instantly. “Derek's been researching this since the second you mentioned you joined up. I probably know more about the Mals than you do.” She shook her head. “But that's beside the point. The Mals have always been a small culture. Why do they suddenly need a babysitter, and a well-paid one at that?”

Seena rubbed her forehead. Well, at least I got her mind off her mother, she thought. “It's... complicated, Akane.”

“I have eight hours until my next class.”

Seena sighed deeply. “Okay... okay. I'm not actually being trained as an assassin.”

“Yes, you said that already.”

She frowned. “Akane, don't interrupt. This is important.”

Her expression became serious again, and she nodded.

“After Baal was killed, the warlords realized something needed to be done,” Seena said. “Like you said, the Mals have never been that big, and without him around...” She shrugged. “Well, you know how it is. Experts predicted a year, two at the most, before the subculture imploded.”

“But... babysitting?”

“See, that's just it,” she said, getting into it. “They're planning for the future. The current Mals are bringing in their children to Maladomini, where me and a few others take care of them, teach them, and so on.”

For a few minutes, Akane didn't say anything. She just stared at Seena in silence, forcing her to wonder whether telling her had been a good idea after all.

“Seena Amethyst Lancaster,” she said slowly. “I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. I want to assume you know better than to...” She closed her eyes, steeling herself, before continuing. “...than to aid in some sort of brainwashing scheme.” Her eyes snapped open again. “But I have to ask: Do you know exactly what you've gotten yourself into?”

Seena thought it was the most she had ever heard her say at once. She twiddled with her hair a little to have an excuse for not responding.

The fact was, she didn't know. She was being literal when she said she was the babysitter. She had always been good with babies, and there weren't that many to take care of, so she did a good job. Besides, it wasn't like she was completely alone.

But if there was any brainwashing going on, it was with the older kids, who Seena didn't have access to. Well, that made it sound more nefarious than it really was. She wasn't in charge of teaching them and didn't have the spare time to sit in on one of their classes, but it wasn't like she was barred from seeing them.

“I don't know everything I should,” Seena said. “But I'll look into it a little, all right?” She reached over and squeezed Akane's hand. She flinched a little, but only a little. “The Generals are just trying to keep it from falling apart. I'm sure there's nothing... you know. Nefarious. Going on.”

“What's nefarious?” Lizzy asked. She slid into the seat next to Seena, holding a bowl of ice cream.

Seena blinked. “What are you doing here?” She glanced at Akane, but she was just as surprised. She clearly hadn't invited her.

Lizzy ate a bite. “Using my vast array of spies and informants I was able to track you from your secret lair, where I have cornered you here, for the perfect ambush.”

They stared.

Lizzy grinned. “My manager saw you two leaving NHQ,” she said. “I was in the area, and I knew you liked this place, so...”

“Speaking of nefarious purposes...” Seena muttered. “I know you mean well, sweetie, but I really don't like thinking about that dirty old demon following me around.”

“Graz'zt isn't following anyone,” she said with a frown. “And he's not dirty!”

“Really,” Akane deadpanned. “What about the hentai he had you voice?”

Lizzy dug into her ice cream angrily, then started saying something in Japanese.

“English, Lizzy,” Seena said. “Please.”

She sighed. “Fine. That was one very small role in one very tasteful romance that just so happened to follow people into the bedroom. I'm proud of my part in it.”

“Uh-huh,” Seena said. “Well, you'll understand if I don't invite him to my birthday.”

Lizzy gave her a bewildered look. “Why would you invite him to your birthday?”

“I wouldn't—I mean...” Seena sighed. “Never mind. Don't worry about it.”

The waiter came back with their ice cream. Lizzy tapped the side of her bowl with her spoon in contemplation. “The next birthday is... Derek's, right? On the twenty-ninth?”

Akane nodded. “Three weeks, three days.”

“And then the Highlander is October twenty-seventh.”

Seena stared at her. “Highlander?”

Lizzy grinned. “Yeah, Laura! You see, her family is from Cantabria, a mountainous part of Spain—”

Seena waved her spoon to stop her. “No, no, that's all right. I don't need an explanation for every silly nickname you give out.” If she did, she'd be here all day.

At least Akane wasn't crying.