Vow

With the resolution of the case concerning the onslaught of Virgo Factory and the Hullbreaker Tunnels, Ryo and Natia's next essential steps were to report their findings to their associates back at Sunlight. However, as they ventured out from the bronze factory, they discovered themselves lacking the strength to move suitably after their battle. The sun was setting, and the night was about to envelop the environment in a cooling chill to relax their compounded and burdened-heavy shoulders.

While the stars were out, Ryo and Natia advanced their way to their equipment van and moved to the rooftop of their vehicle. Ryo found a comfortable and suitable position to rest his palms and back to gaze at the stars as the chilling breeze enveloped his skin to rejuvenate his energy. As he observed the night sky with his hopeful gaze, he had hoped he could achieve a breakthrough of forgiveness for himself the more he envisioned his future.

Ryo perceived himself as a wanderer in Aries, seeking retribution and redemption for the actions that he had caused in the first place. Yet the more he spent wandering around Aries, his heart was at the right place and time for discovering not only his path to redemption but the path to becoming a new person after being corrupted and tainted by those who poorly influenced him. He had always been the kind of individual to be taken advantage of, and even he was beginning to think that he could control his fate.

Natia, who had retrieved a sack of fruit from the vehicle, climbed up to the van to greet Ryo. "Want one?" She offered, handing him a sack of juicy and ripe peaches.

"Sure," Ryo said, snatching one from the bag.

"You didn't think I'd go on a mission on an empty stomach, did you?" Natia joked, sitting next to him as she bit through. Sweet juice began flowing through her mouth, giving her enough energy to sustain the night. "Aren't you going to eat it?" She asked as she noticed Ryo was looking at her.

"Yeah, sorry," Ryo said, sinking his teeth into the peach. The mellow tartness of the peach's soft texture and taste invigorated Ryo to take more bites after realizing how much he had missed the taste of fruit. He caught Natia sipping on another juice box, as per usual. The crickets in their surroundings began chirping to signal the end of the afternoon, and Natia casually leaned back after finishing her juice box. Ryo was about to speak until Natia's eyes crossed with his. He was surprised that she had even greeted him and gave him food, to begin with. "Hey, are you-"

"Wait," Natia interrupted with a low tone. "I want to speak first."

"Okay." Ryo accepted.

Natia sucked in a deep breath and peered directly into Ryo's eyes while lifting herself from her spot. "The truth is… I don't like seeing people hurt all the time," She admitted. "You might think that I'm some kind of devilish witch who wants to mess with and hurt people all the time, especially your sister. But in all honesty, the reason why I hate your sister isn't that I blame her for what happened to my country."

"Then-"

"It's because…" Natia struggled to enunciate her words as she grasped her arm tightly in nervousness. Her voice trembled in embarrassment as if her words were forced out. However, there was a certain tone to her that made it seem genuine. "I'm jealous of her. I'm jealous because she was able to focus on so many things at once back when I first met her in Sunlight. She focused on her cases, her personal life, and even you, for those nine years. And whenever I looked at her, she would always get along so well with everyone, like Jinni and Naoto, and that pervert Akai. And I could only watch as she soaked in all the glory."

"Natia…" Ryo wanted to speak his mind.

"It wasn't always like this," Natia continued. "Sometimes she'd seem down and glum as if nothing in the world could make her happy again. There would be weeks where she'd lock herself in her room because she was afraid of something, or she wouldn't talk to anyone for reasons unknown. But ever since you came, she stopped doing that. That's why I think she did that because she wanted to be closer to you. Once, she told everyone about you and how you were reluctant to speak to her. No matter what she did, she could never convince herself that you weren't part of her hopes and dreams. You came… and she changed again. I was jealous again, and I lost myself, even to you."

Ryo remained still and listened. It was true that he had constantly rejected every single opinion from Sumire because of his overwhelming guilt, but it didn't mean that he hated her. He hadn't found out his true passions and goals because of the Yakuza. But the breakthrough behind it was he finally caved in and experimented with his journey, finding purpose with something extraordinary behind it. He slightly regretted not being able to convince himself to enact earlier, but he believed it was all right.

"That's why… I know that you and your sister didn't cause my country's destruction," Natia continued, gazing up at the stars. "As I said before, I only blame others to gain strength and a purpose to fight. But now, after you came into my life, I don't see a reason anymore. I'm just so separate from everyone, and even someone like you who was separated from people, you found your way into other people's hearts to the point where they respect you. Me? I only have my father, who I think barely even loves me or pays attention to me. I just seem like a burden from time to time."

"No, that's not true," Ryo clarified. "At first, I didn't think someone could ever stoop as low as me in terms of sadness or being lost for that matter. But you telling me this made me realize how lucky I am to be alive and away from the people who hurt me. Like I also said before, you gave me a reason to protect Sumire. You gave me hope to get stronger and compete against you. You do have a reason to fight, at least when I'm around. You can fight me and get stronger."

"It's not always about fighting," Natia said, expressing dissatisfaction with her life with a weak pout. "I've always been a bystander, fighting on the sidelines, all for what? To brag to no one? To have no one by my side to laugh with? It's clear that no one in Sunlight respects me because of my attitude, I know that. But I am so lost. I don't know what to do, or even if I can do it."

"That's not true. I respect you," Ryo said, adjusting his position to sit with his legs crossed together. "I was lost too, but I made it a goal to escape the life I once had. I felt peace whenever I was with Sumire and April and the others. I enjoyed my time with them. All you have to do is just let it all go. I respect you because I know you're someone who's trying to change, no matter how hard it can be. You're teaching me how to be resilient and put in the effort."

"Once again, you're telling me something that you should be doing too," Natia explained, leaning towards Ryo with an aggressive glare. "I don't know what you did in the past, but aren't you ever going to forgive yourself? When are you going to learn that everything you did doesn't matter anymore? When are you going to man up and move on?"

"I…" Ryo could barely speak after being lost in thought.

"What if I told you that I forgave you? Huh?" Natia asked. "No? Is that not enough? Does it have to be from the people that you hurt? Is that the only way you'll be satisfied with yourself?"

Ryo remained silent, looking into Natia's eyes and lips as her breathing began to increase rapidly. The answer was clear; he did have to forgive himself before he could ask for forgiveness from the others, but he didn't find that to be easy. He had to do something first to get a clear conscience of his next steps. But even then, he never expected someone like Natia to even care about him.

"Your mind is just full of crap that doesn't know right from wrong. You keep telling yourself that you won't forgive yourself but you just keep moving on. I can't even do that. I'm jealous of you too. The only difference between you and I is that you hate me." Natia stated.

"I don't hate you," Ryo said.

"You do!" Natia cried.

"I don't!" Ryo yelled back, catching Natia's breath off guard. "How can I hate you? I think you're just lost like I am. I may act like I know what I'm doing, but that's because I'm getting help from you and the others. No one has to be alone in this, and no one deserves to be. If you need someone to shoulder your weight, then I'll help you. Because you're helping me too. You're helping me see things differently. You're giving me that wake-up call to get stronger and focus on my life. You and that nasty attitude of yours aren't all that bad. I've dealt with worse. Much worse."

Natia cupped her palms together and gazed down at her knees. Ryo looked in her direction, and she seemed to be shivering from the bitter truth. He was able to tell Natia the truth from what he thought about her back at the Hullbreaker Tunnels without holding back, and he was glad that he could release it all at once.

"You say all of that… and yet you don't even care what I'll do?" Natia cried. "You beat me in combat, you lecture me like I'm some kid, and you're here telling me that you need me? What kind of person are you?! Why are you so adamant about what I do with my life?"

"Because…" Ryo said. "You're no different from me. I want to make sure that who you are isn't what I was. The same child, left by his peers and controlled by those with authority… the one who was never independent and relied on those to make sure he had a meal or two. I'll prove myself to Rose Accel that I can fight back and take control of my past. I'm learning as well, and I want to learn with you. past. I've promised myself to do that for you and the others. Especially for you." He admitted.

After exhaling a deep breath, Ryo returned to gazing at the stars again after relieving himself from the pressure on his chest. He could see Natia burdened by all of her troubles affecting her also being released. His right eye peeked slightly to his right, seeing Natia's cheeks violently increasing in redness as her light brown skin contrasted with its color. Her short black hair brushed her jawline through the winds as she clamped her arms tighter. All that Ryo did was express the truth; he didn't expect any more from it.

"Then you had better keep your promise," Natia muttered. "Because if I decide to face my problems head-on, then I don't want you complaining that I'm not going to be by your side. We're partners. That's all it'll ever be."

Ryo smiled at Natia's response; he noticed it was an attempt at being as friendly as possible to one of her rivals. "Partners, then." He accepted.

"You better be ready then, because I'll be coming at you with all I've got later," Natia said as she exited the van's rooftop through the ladder. Before she left, she peeked her head back up and looked at Ryo. "This time, no holding back."

"Nice suit." A menacingly intense male's voice abruptly reverberated in both of Ryo's and Natia's ears to shock them without prior notice. The voice's reverberation was so powerful that it sounded nearly synthetic and clear as glass. The two of them disbanded from their huddle and prevailed on the van, scouting their surroundings for their unknown adversary. Natia whirled her dagger to the left, but she sensed nothing and struck pure air. Her lips pucked up in despair, and her ears perked up disordered from how the unknown male's vocal range struck her ears instantaneously.

"What the fuck?" Natia shouted as she struck behind her position to catch the invisible target.

"Where are you!?" Ryo called, scanning his position.

"Over here..." The voice lingered to taunt them; only this time, his voice was distant from their location. A set of floating white documents and papers began floating in midair, tossing them into oblivion after Ryo and Natia failed to grasp the severity of his enraged qualms. "And what a touching story you two have. Thought I wouldn't find you? What, did you think I was stupid? You didn't think I'd find out what your friends were doing over at Bellastraza?"

"Friends...?" Ryo muttered to himself. He instantly reminded himself about the other case his sister and Naoto were undergoing or had already finished.

"Right you are," The threatening voice proceeded to talk down upon the duo without remorse. "Correction, I meant 'assholes' who think they can change Aries's fate. What makes you think you can end what we've started so soon? After all, the only way to get through to those fools… is fear."

Ryo found his neck seized by an unknown force's grip. A reflective facade inconsiderably revealing a camouflaged man materialized out of thin air to indicate that there was a menace present that stalked the two throughout their journey to the Hullbreaker Tunnels. The camouflaged crystalline suit began to reveal its jet-black and green-trimmed color as the man lifted Ryo by his throat off of the van's rooftop. Natia shouted in defiance and leaped towards the assailant with her daggers, but the man unexpectedly caught her by the throat as well without even shifting his head or gaze.

His shrouded helmet had electric green devilish horns that simulated Baphomet's satanic head. Certain unknown green chemicals surged out from his burly and buff arms and legs, seemingly enhancing a combination of his strength, speed, and five senses without needing to increase his neural uplink's strength.

The man, holding Ryo closer to him by the throat, removed his helmet visor to reveal a middle-aged man who was clean-shaven with a flawless jawline face and white spiked up wind-swept hair. His eyes were crystalline sky blue and outlined to appear more intimidating than the average human. His slenderly built body structure made Ryo believe he was an able fighter and based on his strength alone, he was afraid that he would have fallen right on the spot.

"You try to take away our future goals of rebalancing life's order, and I'm gonna make sure I'll take away everything you and your friends love," The man threatened, exhaling in aggression with every sentence. "We've taken the boy and the girl responsible for what happened at Bellastraza. It's only a matter of time before we find out everything they know. Now you have only yourselves to blame if they spill any blood or die without speaking out. And I'll make sure you hear about every little thing, one after the other."

"N-no…" Ryo tried his best to speak out against their actions. "You don't… have to do this…"

"I don't have to do this," The man repeated, seizing Natia's throat even tighter. Both of their legs flailed attempting to touch back on the ground. "Everyone says that, but do they truly know what we want? I follow whoever has brought my solace, and that is Lucia Melody."

"And what about you?" Ryo couldn't handle his throat being squeezed any longer. Natia began initializing a backup plan by using her mag booster to grab her fallen daggers. "You can't see anything wrong with punishing the entire world?"

"Punishment is the first step into making these fiends see what they've accomplished in their decades of research," The man continued. "If only you could understand what they've done, then we might have worked together. But you all know far too much for me to let any of you live. Now you've all pissed me off, and I'm going to make you pay for it."

Ryo purposely took the effort to speak for Natia to have the man not expect her next few moves. Natia was readying to toss her dagger at his hip to break free from his grasp, and it was only a matter of time before they would attempt a scant effort at retaliating such a combat adept individual from Lucia Melody's group. Perhaps, Ryo believed, that it was the man whom Aubrie de Charlotte described as Lucia's right-hand man.

Yet while Natia had ample time to react to retaliate, the mysterious man suddenly dropped the both of them by releasing his grasp of their throats. Ryo and Natia collapsed on the van's rooftop gasping for air while the man situated himself to the side, waiting for them to recover. The mysterious man equipped his horned helmet visor to shroud his face once more, preparing for combat.

"To steer this pathetic world would be foolish if I did not prove the truth in my salvation," The man continued. He summoned an invisible chemical-serrated dual spear etched with electric green trims that vanished back and forth with his invisibility technique. His spear was virtually indestructible, for it was made with a powerful alloy composed exclusively from Lucia Melody. "And the truth is nigh. It is only right that I give you the chance to demonstrate yourselves in combat to show me how much your world needs saving!"

Ryo and Natia successfully recovered themselves, summoned their weapons, and stood in a duo formation with their backs against each other. Ryo, knowing that his sister and Naoto's lives were at risk, had to swiftly finish the duel to rescue them. Natia's pride and ego were much too substantial for a mindless stranger to prove her demise through combat.

"Come then!" The man stylishly spun his staff with both of his hands, catching it in midair and ending his playful schemes with a combat position of his own. "Your heads will be served to Mistress Melody as right for me to destroy this pathetic world!"