The Queen's Newest Problem

Ch 18: Sharing More Stories

Recap:

I turned to my ally, who was eyeing the spot where the criminal used to be; she noticed my gaze and returned it with an inquisitive expression.

"Now, about that story..."

Ciel's POV

I sat down silently, looking out the window and waiting for Ms. Black Rock Shooter to calm her ally down.

When she finally woke up -- our allies wanted her to be with us when telling their story -- she thrashed about wildly, still expecting for Strength to be in our vicinity. Immediately, Sebastian shielded me from her and took us both back a few steps while the azure-eyed Otherself gripped her crazed ally, doing everything in her power to stop her movement and bring her back to sanity.

She tried everything, but the emerald-eyed woman kept thrashing and screaming. She audibly cursed while still keeping a tight grip on her ally; she turned to us -- Lizzy, Ms. Kuroi, Sebastian, and I -- and instructed us to go inside, explaining that she will handle this herself.

Despite Ms. Kuroi's protests, we all retreated to the central room, waiting for both to come in (hopefully both in one piece).

I let out a tense breath as I rapped my fingers against my knee impatiently. I'll never admit it, but I was getting worried. It's been at least fifteen minutes, and still nothing from Ms. Black Rock Shooter, good or bad. I sighed again and looked out the window, hoping to see at least some improvement of the situation. But to my dismay, I didn't see them anywhere; they couldn't have entered the manor already or someone would have told me, so they must still be outside. But where, exactly, I couldn't say.

Finally, after ten more minutes, I could hear them entering, and I immediately stood to assess their state of being. Fortunately, Ms. Dead Master seemed to be stable now; she was quiet and kept her head down, but she was stable. Ms. Black Rock Shooter, on the other hand, looked exhausted, like she had just been through a horrible battle in her world.

I briskly walked to them and gestured to sit down. Ms. Kuroi quickly sat down beside us and held her Otherself's hand, both in concern and support, I'll assume. I cleared my throat, gaining their attention.

"The story?"

Yes, I understood now may not be the best time to ask about such an emotionally trying tale (as demonstrated from our emerald-eyed companion here), but I also wasn't going to bypass important information about the Otherselves and their world.

I saw Ms. Black Rock Shooter's azure eyes darken at the thought of the memory before silently nodding and taking a deep breath.

"Years ago," she began with a solemn tone, "before any of this, Gold Saw, Strength, Dead Master and I, we were close friends."

I could feel my jaw drop.

"But..." I interrupted before I could stop myself, "You couldn't be the worst of enemies now. What on earth happened to change that?"

She turned her head to the side and dawned on a sorrowful expression.

"Originally, it was just Dead, Strength, and I. We were close because our Realselves became inseparable."

I subconsciously looked toward Ms. Kuroi for confirmation, and she nodded with a nostalgic, yet solemn face.

"We met in middle school, though Yuu was a childhood friend of mine. We met Yomi not long after entering school, and though we had our ups and downs, we became the closest that friends could ever be. But, eventually, Yuu brought us to her house one evening and we met her caretaker, Saya."