Afterlife

19

Nearly an hour had passed since Connie had left for the IP headquarters, and Fiara who had now returned to the common area, was currently sitting on the countertop in the kitchen, as was her usual state, biting the sides of her nails as she not only considered the many possibilities of how things would turn out with Connie and the Commander, but also how everything had gone down in the forest according to Marcus' version of events, and who was really to blame for this whole thing.

'Was this my fault?' she couldn't help but wonder as she recalled her own encounter with Hitori and all that was said between them before their fight. 'No... it can't be, I didn't tell Hitori where the group was, so he would have no way of finding their location through the information I had given him,' she reasoned, however, her tendency of blaming herself only returned when she considered yet another possible answer. 'I suppose he could have simply tracked them. I had told him that the group was out on mission, so maybe he simply assumed they had left from somewhere nearby and followed the tracks until he eventually found their camp. If that were the case, then all of this very well could be my fault.' She looked downward, an overwhelming sense of guilt shrouding her being as she considered the possibility of this theory being true, and found it to be rather solid reasoning. 'I've been nothing but trouble for this group ever since I arrived. Maybe... maybe it would be better if I just left. Maybe then they would be able to operate more smoothly without having to worry about slowing down for my sorry ass.'

Before she could consider her notion of running off for even a second longer, her thoughts were suddenly disturbed by the distinct sound of footsteps approaching from behind her. Wondering if maybe it was Connie, back from the Commander's office, or even Santino by some miracle, she turned quickly, dropping the hand she'd been nibbling at to her lap as she craned to see who was approaching. Her sense of alarm and false hope, fading when she saw that it was only Diego, who had just entered the room after having cleaned up from the long mission and was now dressed in what appeared to be a pair of jeans and a grey hoodie. 'Judging by its size, its probably one of the oversized ones from his closet,' she reasoned. Diego wasn't much taller than herself, so the hoodies fit him almost the same as they did herself, so it was a sound assumption.

"Hey," she said gloomily, adding a small smile at the end to conceal her disappointment before a slight spark of curiosity arose in her and she couldn't help but ask, "What happened to your arm, I saw that it was bandaged up earlier?"

Diego lifted the arm in question ever so slightly, looking down at it briefly before returning his gaze to hers as he replied with a bright smile at the end, "Oh that was nothing really, just the repercussions of having a job as an IP." As he spoke, he walked over to the counter that she was sitting on, closing the distance between them before he stopped a couple feet to her right and leaned against the edge of the counter with his elbows. Sighing slightly as it was clear that he too was at least slightly stressed out about this whole situation.

Fiara then turned her gaze towards her lap as she considered whether she should ask this next question, but it was burning a hole in the back of her mind, wondering whether things would work out for the group or not, especially sense she was considering leaving. She didn't want to just leave them if they needed her help, but then again, would she just be in the way if she stayed? "Do you think Connie will be able to get Santino released?" she asked, partially out of real curiosity as to if Connie was actually powerful enough in rank to accomplish such a thing, and partially because she was hoping she'd at least get to see Santino one last time before leaving, if that was what she ended up deciding on. To thank him for putting up with her for as long as he had.

There was a short silence before Diego replied with an answer that was so vague that Fiara knew she would have to ask more. "I don't know..."

Fiara made an exasperated look before shifting her position on the countertop to face him more directly before asking, "What do you mean you don't know?"

"Well...with the amount of evidence they currently have against him, along with the fact that he's probably on the afterlife's most dangerous citizens list, it's not very likely that they would allow Connie to bring him home with her, despite her rank or social standing," he explained, "however, the fact that the Commander knows that similar stuff like this happens to our group a lot, might make him be more open to bending the rules in our favor. But I can't guarantee which of those options will occur."

"I see," Fiara replied, scrunching up her face as she considered his answer to her question. Either way, Santino's name would still need to be cleared, and that wasn't going to be an easy task. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't even completely sure what the justice system was like in the afterlife. Would it be like it was on earth, with a judge and jury? Or would it be one person deciding his fate? For all she knew, it could be a spin the wheel sort of situation. Spin one thing and instant death or another for instant release. It wasn't hard to see that she knew nothing of these matters, and would probably be of very little help to the group. So if she was going to stay, she would need a good reason. "This is all my fault," she muttered.

"What?"

"I said this is all my fault," she replied in a louder tone. "If I hadn't let my guard down with Hitori, then I wouldn't have told him that you guys were out on mission, and he never would have gone looking for you. Then Santino wouldn't have been blamed for murder, and none of this would be happening right now... I never should have joined this group... all I've done is cause you guys one problem after another. It was bold of me to assume that my life here would be any less of a screw up than the one I had before." She paused as she recalled all the stupid mistakes she'd made in her life before this, all the mistakes that made her into the careless individual she was today. She was always far too trusting of others, and almost every time it came back to stab her in the back. "Maybe I should just go," she finished quietly as she looked downward once more, tears trying to form in the back of her eyes as she waited to hear what Diego would have to say. Would he tell her she was right, that she was every bit of the screw up that she said she was, and that it really would be for the best if she would just leave? Or would he try to convince her to stay? She had to admit, she liked the second option better, but after everything she'd said, she wouldn't have blamed him if he went with the first.

There was short silence that seemed to last an eternity in Fiara's mind as she awaited his answer, and when it finally came, she looked up to see Diego offering her an understanding smile right before turning to face her and saying, "So you made a few mistakes... so what? We all make mistakes sometimes. I can say for a fact, that you will not find a single person in this group that has never made a mistake. Hell, I make at least ten a day, I mean look at my arm," he paused as he gestured to his injured arm once more, "Does this look like something that wasn't the result of a mistake to you?" Fiara smiled briefly before allowing it to fade once more as he continued to speak. "I've made a million mistakes in my life time, and I'll probably make a million more before I finally do something right... but that doesn't mean I will ever stop trying." He paused once more before he then finished up by saying, "So don't ever think that you are the only one that makes mistakes, because you're not. You joining our group wasn't a mistake, it was a blessing, because now you have the chance to learn how to take those mistakes, and turn them into something useful."

"How am I going to turn this mistake into something useful?" she questioned doubtfully.

"By helping us clear Santino's name," he replied, "Your testimony about being attacked by Hitori may very well just be enough to convince the other leaders that there is more to this story than meets the eye. You aren't useless, Fiara, you just haven't found your place in our society yet... once you do, I think you'll surprise yourself with how useful you actually are."

Fiara couldn't help but smile brightly as she wiped the tears that were trying to form in her eyes away with the edge of her sleeve. Diego's words turned out to be exactly the ones she needed to hear. The ones that would give her a reason to hope... a reason to stay. She then turned her eyes on him once more, a bright smile on her face as she said, "I have to confess, when Topaz first told me that you were going to be my teacher, I wasn't too thrilled about it... but now... I realize they couldn't have picked a better man for the job."

Diego then smiled back at her as he said, "And I'm glad that I was the only person available at the time." This comment then resulted in a short silence before they both erupted into a heartfelt laughter that filled the entire room, allowing them a brief moment of joy before Connie would soon arrive home to deliver the news that she'd failed in her mission to bring Santino home.