"It's all my fault," Luna says, hugging Helios and crying.
"No, it's not your fault, Moon," Helios replies, comforting her in a gentle voice.
"Yes, it is! If it wasn't for me, they would have never caught you," Luna insists, her voice muffled by tears.
"Who told you that? Even if it were true, I would never blame you," Helios says, pulling back to look at her.
"I don't want to ruin the family reunion, but you still need to go to the event,Leader" Rio interrupts, floating out of Helios's bedroom on his artefact.
"Can't you see that I'm doing something important?" Helios snaps, throwing a pillow at Rio as he drifts toward the exit.
"So, who are you choosing to go with you?" Seer asks in an interested.
"What do you think?" Riku adds in a teasing tone, glancing playfully between Sara and Helios.
"Now that I think about it, I did hear something about going on a date," Helios says, looking at Sara with a sly smile.
"You're hearing things because you're tired!" Sara retorts, quickly looking away as her face turns a deep shade of crimson.
"Anyway, you have a few days before the event happens because the Royal Family still needs to plan for it," Seer says, her tone calming the room.
"You're part of the Royal Family—what is this event even about?" Helios asks, his voice laced with suspicion.
"If you can't guess... it's for a marriage with one of my sisters, of course," Seer says, fixing her gaze on Helios.
"I don't feel like going even more now," Helios groans, flopping back down onto his bed.
"Brother, am I going to get a sister-in-law?" Luna asks, looking at Helios with an intrigued gaze. Then, her expression shifts. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asks, looking away with a frustrated pout.
"I'm never getting married, Luna," Helios sighs.
"Oh? Is that so?" Sara says, her voice cold. She turns and leaves the room, looking visibly frustrated.
"Not even to your girlfriend, Sara?" Luna asks innocently.
"Girlfriend? Wait, what did I miss while I was in a coma?" Helios asks, his face twisting into a mask of pure confusion and shock.
"A few interesting things," Nova says, already following after Sara. "See you guys later. I need to go before something gets destroyed," he adds, closing the door behind him.
"Well, I'm going home. I have nothing to do here anyway," Riku says, beginning to sink into the shadows.
"Riku, you can walk out using the door. It's literally right there," Helios says, pointing at the exit.
"Bye, Leader. See you at the Organization," Seer says, waving her hand as she exits.
"Bye, Brother! See you tomorrow," Luna says, stepping out and closing the door. A second later, she pops her head back in. "Brother, I hope you're not going to work tomorrow. It's been a long time since we did anything together." She closes the door for good this time.
Outside in the hallway, Nova catches up to his sister. "Wait for me, Sara!"
"What do you want from me?" Sara snaps, her voice trembling with frustration.
"Are you angry that the Leader didn't confirm your relationship?" Nova asks teasingly. Sara stops walking abruptly.
"Do you have nothing better to do?" Sara asks, her eyes narrowing.
"Nothing is more important than my sister," Nova says firmly.
"You always say that, but we both know it was never true," Sara says, looking away bitterly.
"I was always a good brother," Nova insists.
"Yeah, right. You didn't even remember my birthday," Sara says, walking away again.
"Wait! Fine... I was never a good brother. But can you at least tell me why you are so angry at the Leader?" Nova asks. Sara stops again.
"I don't know why. I just... I felt sad," Sara says, her shoulders sagging as she looks at Nova.
"You were never good at expressing emotions after Mom died and Dad basically abandoned us," Nova says softly, reaching up to take off his artefact fox mask.
"Why take off your mask? You remind me of him," Sara says, flinching and looking away.
"I always wore this mask just so you would never distance yourself from me, but it seems like you still started hating me without me knowing," Nova says quietly. He slides the mask back over his face and walks away.
Sara stands alone, a dark memory resurfacing—the voice of her father accusing her of killing her mother. She shudders and walks away without looking back. When she reaches her mansion, she goes straight to her room and collapses onto the bed.
"I still wonder... if Mom was still alive, would he love me? And would Nova not have to do all those things for me?" Sara whispers, throwing an arm over her eyes. "I should have told Nova that I don't hate him. I hate myself for being useless when he needed help... and for how I took Mother from him. I'm sorry, Brother. For everything."
The next day, the members of Blackthorn were all at the beach.
"It's really nice of the Leader to give us a vacation after the war," one member remarked, soaking in the sun.
"This is why Blackthorn is the best organization!" another shouted.
"Brother, do you want to go swimming with me?" Luna asks with a bright, happy smile, her silver hair fluttering in the sea breeze.
"No, Moon. You go ahead by yourself for now," Helios says, waving her toward the ocean. As she runs off, he slumps over. "My wallet... why did this have to happen today of all days?" he mutters, fake tears pricking his eyes.
"Leader, at least you did something good for once," Rio said, standing on the sand without his artefact pillow for a change.
"Shut it! It's not like you're using your own money!" Helios snaps at him.
"I mean, you did start this," Ray adds, recalling the events from a few hours prior.
Earlier that morning...
"Leader, it seems like you are fine again," Nova had said, walking with Helios through the Organization hallway.
"One of the advantages of being a Seeker," Helios replied confidently.
"I thought you were going to say you weren't feeling well so you wouldn't have to come to work," Nova joked.
"I can't go whenever I want anyway," Helios sighed. "But since I'm going to the beach with Luna today, I decided to at least finish my paperwork first."
"Lucky. You get to go to the beach," Nova muttered.
"Yes! We're going to the beach!" Helios shouted out by mistake.
The entire hallway went silent. Every organization member stopped what they were doing and stared at Helios.
"We're going to the beach!" one member screamed.
"The Leader is rewarding us for our hard work in the battle against the Principal of Eclipse!" another shouted. Suddenly, the Blackthorn members began hugging each other in pure joy.
"It seems like we are going to the beach now, not just you," Nova had said with a mocking smirk.
Back at the beach...
Ray finished remembering the chaos. "I didn't want to spend my money on you guys," Helios grumbled in frustration.
"Take it as an excuse to build trust among the members," Sara says, stepping up beside him.
Helios looks at Sara, his face suddenly blushing.
"Wow, do you two only notice each other?" Seer asks, standing nearby without her usual veil.
"Where are you looking, Leader?" Nova asks in a menacing, protective voice, suddenly appearing right behind Helios.