2.1

Mara 'Hela' Singer reporting

Mara Singer had lived a life with many ups and downs, she had seen all this turbulence world had to offer. But still, standing here like this was a special kind of satisfying.

"This is amazing"

The old lady had to back from smiling so much as she was showered with praises. It was well-earned, she did put a lot of effort into this dish. Although to be fair, unlike the other housewives here in this class, Mara had a lot of time on her hand.

"I'm sure your son will love it!"

"I hope so, he can be very picky"

Christmas was right around the corner and her boy would finally return after his years long trip. As a war journalist, he had been away for so many summer now. Last time they had a meal together was embarrassing. Mara could still smell that burnt steak. But now, she had improved exponentially.

Finally, she could treat him to something good that was not made by Chang's takeaway.

Mara wrapped the remaining food with tin foil to bring it home, this would be a delightful dinner. The road was cold and the wind rattled her old bones. Seeing the street draped in the most cheerful red, the old lady couldn't help but feel festive. She tapped her shoes loudly on the pavement floor and pranced home.

The destination, however, certainly dampened her mood. Mara never really like to stay home, it was too spacious, too empty for her. But now that wasn't the case. The lock was still there but she could tell, after living here for so long, someone had broken in.

Taking a deep breath, Mara opened the door and walked in.

In the living room was good old Charles, pouring himself a glass of wine. The old man took a sip then stop.

"Hideous, you sure have a lousy taste for wine as always, Ms. Singer"

"You can ask my neighbour for that, it was a gift for them"

"Oh right, you don't drink" This wasn't the first time they had this conversation, but it was something familiar "I will send you something proper later"

"I will just leave it there to rot"

"Ms. Singer, wine doesn't 'rot'. If you don't want it, I'm sure your neighbour would be delighted to be educated on what constituted as drinkable"

Charles, despite his greatest effort, was not a sophisticated man. He sure wanted to be one and the man sure had the knowledge to be one. But it never gel but he still tried anyway.

Putting the tinfoil-warped dinner on the table, Mara questioned her old acquaintance.

"Why are you here, Charles"

The old man put down the glass and sighed. Despite having done this countless times, this still broke his heart any time. And while him and Mara were only passing acquaintance, he still knew her longer than anyone else.

"Gabriel Denardo was captured and executed by the People Liberation Front's leader, Abayomi Agrinya this morning"

"I see"

That was it, that was the purpose of this trip. Charles took his hat and left in silence. He glimpsed at the old lady face to find it calm as expected.

As the lock was turned Mara took a seat on her soft sofa. The news didn't really come as a surprise. Being a war journalist could be dangerous, Gabriel knew it and he signed up for it anyway. Now he was gone, leaving his dear mother all alone in this world.

Still, Mara Singer didn't shed a single tear. The old lady was now used to loss. In the garage the tattered car still lied, undisturbed for years after young Lucy and Gabriel Denardo Sr last ride.

Today, the last of the Denardo had died and along with them Mara Denardo.

The old lady poured herself a drink with the glass that Charles had taken out for her. A sip for her was already enough, she could never understand how people could drink this thing.

It was just too… bitter.

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Cassian was looking like there was fire under him and Alva wasn't doing much better. Apparently, a giant field of illusion was as foreign to them as the summoned. Even so, an order was an order, they were to remain here for Johann to return.

"I made some refreshment if anyone wants some"

Mara managed to find some tea and it appeared normal at least. She knew that Cassian and Alva were just too 'polite' to refuse, so at least they could sit down and relax for a bit.

Meanwhile, Fleur was also dead worry. Being stuck in a strange land, the danger was starting to feel real to her. Magic? Giant monsters? What else were out there trying to rip the poor woman to shred. The tea seemed to work and Fleur started to calm down.

"Thank you, Madame Singer"

The four sat there, enjoying a moment of tranquillity. Yes, there were only four here, Doraemon had snuck out before but the other didn't seem to notice it. Despite being lit up like a walking billboard, the girl sure knew how to blend in, Mara thought to herself.

Their moment of peace was soon interrupted by a man charging through the door. It was the local healer and owner of this building.

"The boy, he has woken up"

With the happiest smile, he announced the news. There was nothing more pleasing to a healer than to see a patient recovered. The art of healing was among the most difficult, and so only those whose made it their purpose to heal others could practice it. Asides from just a few exceptions of course, like being the protegee for one of the most brilliant mind. The healer remembered a girl at the academy following the Heretic around, Caron was it?

Still, despite his enthusiasm, Mara and the others couldn't help but noticed a huge bump on his head "What happened". Questioned Alva.

"Oh, I forgot about this… Wait a bit"

The healer ran away for a few seconds before returning, this time with another bump. Oh, that boy was throwing a tantrum in there, he was throwing a lot of stuffs around.

Despite the wooden look, this place was excellent at keeping sound contained, Mara thought.

"Why is he throwing this tantrum"

"Oh… I don't really know"

The healer ran away again. After all, it was his job, his purpose to heal people not to listen or actually care about them. This time it took him even less time. The healer returned with another bump excited to deliver the news.

"That boy wants his sword back!"

As soon as the healer finished his sentence, the door behind him busted open and the now more-nourished young boy jumped in. He looked around hysterically.

"My sword, my sword, where is it! Where is it!"

Cassian approached to try and calmed the boy down but it only made things worse.

"He is probably referring to that old katana" Said Mara.

"Oh that" Fleur exclaimed. She was the one to pick it up "What should we do then"

"Just give it to him, that thing to too rusted to actually cut anything anyway"

Alva wanted to object out of principle but maybe giving the boy what he wanted would be more prudent. Knocking him out wouldn't work forever. And so Fleur scurried away to find where Eikichi had put the thing. Meanwhile, Mara and Alva would try to calm the boy down.

Meanwhile, Cassian was sent away to sit in the corner while the healer left merrily to handle other matters.

"Don't worry, you will have it soon. Why don't you have some tea?" Mara asked gently, an offer the young boy accepted. That was also a cue for him to introduce himself but that completely flew over his head.

"This… I never have tea this good before…"

The boy muttered in amazement. Mara could kind of guess as much, his condition was pretty telling. Meanwhile, Alva had to interfere before he chugged the entire pot.

"You seem to really treasure your sword" Mara tried to strike a conversation to divert his attention away from the tea pot.

"Of course, it was passed down to me by the greatest swordsman, he who the title of Unrivalled Under The Heaven!"

"Really, that's amazing, what's his name" Mara did hear of a Japanese swordsman with that title, one Musas…

"He is Shin Ito!"

Wait, that didn't seem right. Mara couldn't remember anyone with that name… Oh well, even though she had an amazing memory, the old lady was never into Japanese history. Maybe that guy was some big shot, who knew.

"And you, what is your name"

"Me? I am Haruka Sato"

"And I am Mara Singer, it's nice to meet you"

The old woman extended her arm. This was something she read about in a book, children hated being treated like children so a handshake like an equal would work well. That was if that kid even knew what a handshake was.

It took a while but Haruka finally reached out and grabbed her hand. At least the intended effect worked.

Alva watched the two, it seemed like she wouldn't have to do anything after all. And yet, there was something about this scene that didn't bode well with her. The girl stretched her mouth to form a smile.

The friendly atmosphere didn't last, however, as Fleur timidly entered the room, clutching the sword.

"Ah, my sword!" The boy yelled out.

"I'm… I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" Something was wrong thought, Fleur couldn't stop apologising. She hung her head low "I'm sorry"

"What, why are you saying sorry! What did you do!" The boy looked like he was about to explode.

The woman handed over the weapon and the clanking sound of metal could be heard. But that didn't happen, unless…

"I dropped it in a rush, the sword, it broke into two"

"You did what!" It took a moment for that to finally sink onto the young boy. Mara tried to calm him down but it was to avail "I won't, I will never forgive you"

The young boy jumped onto the apologetic woman. He kept on hitting her but with his strength, Fleur wasn't really hurt.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

Fleur repeated herself again and again. Alva also tried to intervene but her effort was somehow half-hearted. But why, the girl couldn't understand, it was as if she didn't want that wholesome scene that came before.

But still, there must be a way to stop this. Alva tried to think, maybe something significant enough for this not to explode any further.

And fortunately, a distraction soon arrived. But unfortunately, it wasn't something one would want to witness. It was the party that left!

It was Johann, trying to prop up Eikichi who had quite a hole in his stomach. The wound was covered by a messy black sooth, trying to hold back the bleeding. Nevertheless, the bald man was already covered in blood.

Then came Jim carrying an unconscious Doraemon. The girl looked broken, her limbs twitching unnaturally and she was drenched in a milky fluid.

"What happened!" Alva exclaimed.

Johann answers "What happened was that we finally met them, the 'enemy'"