//Ahn: Inhuman Logic

Blue moonlight bounced softly off of Sae's silky black hair as she sat next to Ahn. Amanda had finally gone to sleep, but Ahn couldn't bring himself to do the same yet.

Sae's eyes looked different, somehow. There wasn't any distinguishable change in color; the cold silver still remained. Nonetheless, he could tell that she had had a reaction to Amanda's words.

He ran his hand gingerly across the severed stub where his arm used to be. Sae appeared to have had a positive reaction to the conversation, though it was hard to read her face.

He should have felt the same way. Amanda had treated them like they were no different from herself, and had even gone so far as to thank them despite knowing what they were.

'No,' he thought. 'She doesn't know what we really are. She wouldn't be able to look us in the eyes if she did.'

His mind wandered again to the weeks he spent training to sharpen his combat skills. He remembered the faces better than someone he had met only yesterday. The pained eyes. The morbidly dull acceptance behind them. The hate.

He felt a hand on his good shoulder, carrying his thoughts away from his past.

"Are you troubled?"

Sae's face was turned towards his own, close enough that he could feel the gentle warmth coming from her body. Ahn drew away with a jolt, cursing himself for getting lost in his thoughts again.

'There's no point in thinking about what has already happened. It won't change anything.'

"I'm fine," he replied. He didn't need to concern her. There was enough to worry about in the present.

She stared at him blankly for a moment before slowly drawing herself back into a more casual sitting position, posting herself against the wall of the building behind her.

"What do you think about what she said before she went to sleep?" Ahn asked.

Sae leaned back even further, reaching her hands out to lightly massage her injured leg, which she had been trying carefully to conceal from Nathan since they met him. "She said many things. Which are you talking about?"

"That we can't trust Nathan," he said grimly. He hadn't been able to get a grip on who Nathan really was, but he had felt that, at least for the moment, he wasn't going to threaten them. Amanda telling him otherwise only raised more questions. What had he done that warranted such a resentful look on her face?

"I was surprised, I suppose," Sae said dismissively. "They seemed to be familiar with each other. Perhaps even friendly." She flinched as her hands clenched a bit harder around her ankle. "Not that it changes how I intended to treat him to begin with."

Ahn nodded. This only meant that they needed to remain cautious around Nathan. That went for Amanda, too. Words were only sounds. They carried no real meaning until the actions behind them were carried out. It wasn't uncommon to lie for one's own gain. If she intended to acquire something through them, diverting their suspicion to Nathan would be a more than viable strategy.

"And you?" Sae looked up at him curiously.

"I feel about the s-" he started.

"Ah. Forgive me," Sae interrupted. "I should have been more clear." She stroked a finger through her hair. "About her reaction. To us."

Ahn thought for a moment. "I...don't know."

Sae nodded softly, her gaze drifting toward the sky. She drew in a long breath, then released it, watching the mist dissipate into the cold air. They sat in a long silence, soaking in the darkness around them. Nathan occasionally broke it, tossing around in his sleep, letting out some incomprehensible words.

Ahn thought back to Emily, the girl they had helped in the coffee shop, and to her mother's reaction upon finding out what they were. They hadn't done anything to hurt the girl, yet the help was still received negatively. It was odd, how people tended to associate one thing with another entirely, developing their own mental categories for things they knew little to nothing about. Though, she might have been right in that case.

Ahn hesitated for a moment before he spoke. "What do you think they meant when they called us 'monsters?' What's the margin that needs to be reached to determine that?" he asked suddenly.

Sae thought for a moment, apparently unperturbed by the broad question.

"They tend to use it as a subjective term," she said thoughtfully. "Usually when someone disagrees with their own incorrect sense of morality. Or for those who are stronger than them. There's a fine line between what people call a 'hero' and a 'monster'. What defines where it lies is whether or not the strong one fits their agenda."

She slowly unsheathed one of her swords.

"What are you doing?" Ahn whispered incredulously.

Sae lowered the blade an inch away from Nathan's throat.

"An example," she said coolly. "If I were to end his life right now, many would consider me heartless. A traitor. Perhaps what one might call a 'monster'. If I were to do this and report it to the OEC, however, they would likely receive the information far more enthusiastically."

She drew the blade away from Nathan's snoring figure.

"There is no such thing as a monster. Only those who help each other and those who oppose one another. So, to answer your question, we both are and aren't. In the end, I suppose, what determines which category you fall under is your own idea of which one you are."

Ahn let out a fruitless laugh. Sometimes, the inhuman way of thinking that Sae was so adept at was far more convenient than dealing with emotion. He sometimes wished he could do the same.

He looked at the blue world around him.

'No,' he thought. 'I don't think I can.'