OCTOBER 13th, 1984
Rokkenjima Island

"You sure you can find and put on your pajamas by yourself?"

"No, no- I can do it! Stay out here and don't come in!"

Ange glowered authoritatively and shut the guest room door in her brother's face- And all Battler could do was snicker at the white wood.

"Will she really be alright on her own?"

Battler cocked his head back to glance at the servant girl still with him in the hallway, hovering a few steps away, and simply shrugged at the uncertainty he saw written on her face.

"Probably." He skirted a glance towards the door before moving away– Farther away from Ange's potential range of hearing, where he could drop his voice for only Shannon to hear. "We should let her try on her own first. She's going through that phase where she wants to prove she can do everything by herself."

The 'I'm a big girl now' phase, as her mom put it. Indulging Ange's independence might result in some mismatched shoes or a tumble off of a bike now and then, but Kyrie was probably right when she discouraged needless intervention. It was better to help the girl pick up the pieces of her mistakes, than never give her a chance to make and learn from them in the first place… Especially when she was so enthusiastic to prove herself.

It was an easy order for Battler to follow, in any case. He thought the little determined faces Ange made were cute, and more often than not it was him she was trying to emulate with her endeavors.

And getting to watch her make that face just now had been a nice distraction… At least for as long as she had been about. But as Shannon trailed off with a quiet "Very well" and the seconds ticked on? The reason they were even standing in that hallway – what brought them there, and what they could expect next… It all began to slide back to the forefront of Battler's mind. The same thoughts that had haunted him out there in the garden…

The fight that had followed him out of that dining room…

What did his grandfather want from him?

"… ah… Battler-sama?"

"Eh?" Battler lifted his head with a blink, only aware of the grimace that had formed on his face after he lost it, and turned a dazed, waking attention on Shannon.

The girl opened her mouth, only for nothing to come out, and she simply closed it again with a skirting glance to the door.

Battler's focus on her had been passing, even shallow, but that hesitance finally prompted him to turn and mind her properly. That's right… Shannon had been there all along, at his side since the gardens, but he hadn't really observed her since then. His focus had been on reassuring his little sister, and his own broodings.

Only then, as he eyed her directly, did he notice the all too obvious signs that something was troubling her. That something was weighing on the usually sweet, anxious girl, leaving her distant and quiet. That there was something she wanted to say… But wasn't.

So, naturally, he coaxed her.

"What's up?"

Shannon slid her gaze up, met his eye uncertainly, but visibly eased under his steady stare until she found the courage – eyes back on the floor, fingers steepled tensely together – to ask. "Please, excuse me for my impudence, but… Did- Did you mean it? What you said to your sister?"

"-huh?" His sister- Did, she mean the stuff he said back in the gardens? "…which part?"

Shannon, pursed her lips. So lightly, so subtly, Battler probably shouldn't have noticed it. But he had, and the instinctive certainty that she didn't like that he had to ask zipped through his mind so quickly he more reacted than thought it, frowning in his confusion until the maid, slowly, replied. "…that you definitely, will not leave again."

"-oh."

That, wasn't what he had expected. Actually, he didn't know what he had expected, but either way he didn't understand, and he scratched the back of his neck with a frown as he stared at her downturned face, scrambling for why she would ask that of all things. Why it mattered to her.

It, shouldn't, should it?

He shied away from that line of thought instantly, instinctively, knowing without question that it would lead down foolish, needless paths.

Instead, he fell back on simple, mindless reaction with a listless shrug, turning to lean back against the hallway wall with his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, of course I did. I'm not planning to leave again- Not after that." No, his grandfather could be terrifying and infuriating, but humiliating Battler in front of the family was nothing next to what his dad did.

"…that, may be so-"

Battler turned his gaze – partly wary, partly curious – back on Shannon, and found that she was still looking at the carpet near his shoes… But there was a strange sort of firmness about her eyes, her mouth, that belied her rickety speech. "But, the master seemed very angry, and what if he…"

"-disowns me?" he finished for her, earning a small, mute nod as an award. Unfortunately, where it was easy to guess her question, then answer… "It could happen, yeah." He couldn't control his grandfather's actions, after all, and he couldn't imagine his dad really gainsaying him on the matter when it came down to it. Still, Battler met the open drop of Shannon's mood with a steady smile and the shake of his head. "I don't expect it, though. I know it was bad back there, but that's why I left- So I wouldn't give into the urge to yell back." Indeed, he had ached with the urge to throw the old man's words back down his throat, with interest. But, he knew nothing would come of it. It was senseless to think he could 'win' against his grandfather- The head and provider of the family, who saw it as a child's duty to obey without question. Battler knew that.

So, he had walked away before his anger truly ruled him.

"And I'm not planning to hide for this whole visit. I'll talk to him- Even apologize, if that's what he wants." Shannon's attention started up at his words, eyes wide and shocked and clearly not yet daring to believe him… And yet, where that look encouraged Battler to go on, her expression only seemed to cloud again when he admitted, "I probably did take too long, in coming back- I see that now." Even if he was still angry with his dad when he thought about it, the unfettered welcome of Kyrie and Ange's enthusiasm had planted doubts in his mind… And they had only grown since he set foot on that island. "So, I can at least tell him I'm sorry for staying away from the family until now- Apologize for dragging my feet like I did."

He, didn't really understand the expressions that slid across Shannon's face. There were too many to track, and all too subtle to read. All his scrutiny earned him was an awareness they had been there at all… And then they did not matter, buried beneath the reply she finally, belatedly gave him. "That would likely help… However, he seemed namely angered by how you left. I believe to reconcile with him successfully, you would need to acknowledge, and apologize for that."

"…then yeah, that might have a problem." He wasn't as certain as Shannon was that that was the one and only route to reconciliation, but he had to acknowledgement her argument as it was, leaning his head back against the wall as he stared at the ceiling, and his own conundrum. "That is the one thing I can't do."

"…"

Battler slowly turned his head, wondering why Shannon didn't reply. Perhaps she simply couldn't think of what to say… But one look at her spoke volumes. Her head was turned down, her hair hiding much of her face… But he could see how tense her features were beneath the locks. How still her figure was, and how her fingers were twisted tight in her apron.

She was the perfect picture of mute distress… And he had no clue why.

"…I've caused you trouble."

Maybe it was the sudden break in the silence, or the serious note in his voice, but Shannon jolted upward, stared at him like a deer in headlights- Before all light fell from her face, trapped behind eyes like fogged glass, as she offered him a smile. "Not at all, Battler-sama. It was not my place to ask to begin with."

No… No, he really didn't like that.

And where she hid what she felt, Battler's glower was quite open. "I do mean to stay with the family now, and keep my word to Ange. You get that, right? What else can I say?" Surely, even if she thought he should offer more to his grandfather, that was enough for her.

But Shannon's fingers were still stiff in her skirts, and her features barely shifted- Any true softness that touched them far too gloomy for Battler's comfort. No, she only looked to his feet again… Wouldn't meet his eye as she assured him that "You don't need to say anything else, Battler-sama… If that is the case, then I will wish you the best of luck."

"…" He didn't get it. He didn't understand why she looked so sad- Why he felt like he had done something wrong- Something to her.

What had he said?

He didn't know, and he let the silence trail on so long that the door opened before he found any other words.

"I'm done!" Ange announced as she rushed out of the guestroom, proudly sporting white and gold striped pajamas. She held up her arms to display the perfect buttoning of her top- Completely unaware of the tension she had just cut like a knife. "See, I did it myself!"

"-that you did!" Battler managed, crouching down to her eye-level to show a humored interest in her outfit. "Looks perfect. But, hmm… Should I go and see if you tore apart your mom's suitcase to find them? I wonder what that room looks like now-"

"I didn't! Hey-"

Battler snickered as Ange grabbed his arm, trying to stop his slow rise and move towards the door. Yeah, he fell with ease into the levity the role of 'big brother' offered him- Until he heard a quiet voice behind him.

"If you are both well, then I should return to the main house. I was only released to find Ange-sama, so, if you will excuse me."

Battler turned about to see Shannon sliding straight out of a bow into a turn for the stairs, and tight flutter shot from his chest up into his throat, nearly catching his tongue so he couldn't say anything.

Nearly, but-

"Hey uh, wait-" Shannon stalled, turning obediently back with a neutral, inquiring expression, and he was glad he really did have a good excuse to stop her, because he probably would have never thought of something else beneath that stare. "Would you mind waiting with Ange in the lounge for a bit?" He reached down and pulled at the fabric of his red shirt just above the black vest that covered it. "This is still wet, so I should go change myself- And probably take a shower while I'm at it. Could you maybe wait with her for a bit?"

"…of course," Shannon allowed, bowing her head for a breath before smiling down at the girl who stood with him. "Would that be alright with you, Ange-sama?"

"…" The girl, didn't look exactly like she wanted to agree, but her hesitance was clearly borne not from a dislike for the maid, but from an uncertainty she shot towards her big brother. "You'll come down?"

"Of course!" He ruffled her hair before giving her a light push in Shannon's direction, grinning the whole way. "You just go ahead, I'll be right behind you."

She still looked reluctant, but after a breath Ange burst forward, leading the way down the steps with Shannon right behind her-

As Battler stared after them both, his smile instantly dropping into a troubled frown.

"…he doesn't remember."

"Did you take all of those round pieces, Maria-chan?"

"Uu— I'm making a red tower! I need the red ones!"

"…he doesn't even know there is something to remember- Even as he speaks of when he left! Even when he looks right at you!"

"Alright, alright- Ange-chan and I'll just make our house with fewer pillars, you keep the red round things- Hey! That's part of our roof!"

"Yeah! Don't take apart our house!"

"But this triangle is red, too!"

"…why am I even here, Shannon? Don't you have your answer, now? What is the point of me being here? Holding onto this? He has returned- It's over. There's nothing to wait for, so why do either of us need these sprouts anymore?!"

"Alright, alright, girls- Maria-chan, you shouldn't take blocks from what someone has already built. I'm sure we can all agree to leave you the rest of the red ones, so we won't use anymore red ones if you leave what we already took in our buildings. Does that work with everyone?"

"Yes…"

"Yes, George-nii-san."

"I suppose…"

"Good, and of course we will promise the same, right Shannon-chan? …Shannon-chan?"

"Ah-" Shannon jerked her head up, torn sharply from her inner one-way talk with the distressed witch to find herself- Yes… Yes, she was playing with the cousins in the lounge. They were all on the floor near the sofas, the table pushed aside so that they could play with Ange's construction blocks.

She even still had a yellow piece in her hand, meant to go on the bridge she had been working on with George, and as she looked down at it she realized- She had been holding it for a good minute or so. No one had noticed, with the fight going on over Maria stealing red pieces from Jessica and Ange's house, but, now-

George was looking at her quizzically, and she blushed as she looked down at her lap. "Pardon me, I was elsewhere… Of course, I will save the red pieces for Maria-sama, if she wishes."

"Uu- thank you!"

"Honestly, though," Jessica said with a sigh, replacing the stolen red triangle with a blue one from the shared pile of blocks. "If we were going to do that, we should have seperated the colors from the start. Red, yellow, and blue- It would have divided up perfectly."

"I think your house is coming along nicely with the mixed colors, though," Shannon volunteered, offering a smile that Ange was happy to share, even if Jessica was reluctant to let go of her sore feelings.

"Yes, it is getting taller than you, Ange-chan," George agreed, before shooting an even warmer smile towards Shannon. "We're going to have to work hard if we want to have any hope of winning."

"-yes," Shannon agreed, feeling light with relief as she answered him look for look. Yes, this was what she should be focusing on- What was right in front of her, right then. She might feel bad for the witch, and would need to face her eventually, but for now, she had the joy she had found so recently to treasure… She could worry about lost dreams later.

"Eh? What's going on in here?"

Her mind blanked out at the voice, and everything within twisted- A kaleidoscope of good and bad and ugly things all tumbling together as she schooled her expression into easy welcome and looked up to find an uncertain Battler in the doorway, looking down at them with wet hair and a black t-shirt and baffled eyes. "When did you all get here?"

"You're late!" Maria proclaimed as an answer, even as Ange greeted him with a smile and an explanation.

"They came back a long time ago! You took so long in the shower, we started a contest!"

"Eh?" was all that Battler said, echoing himself as he observed where the cousins and Shannon sat on the floor, blocks spread out around them.

George offered the more detailed answers as he stood to face him. "Grandfather left as soon as dinner was over, with Genji-san, Nanjo-san, Krauss-oji-san, and Rudolf-oji-san, so the rest of our parents excused us and suggested we look for you. Gohda-san even packed some food to bring along, since you and Ange-chan didn't get to eat," he finished as he waved towards the far dining table in the lounge – where a single meal had been set out and already eaten, and a still wrapped bag sat across from it, ready to be unpacked.

"-that so?" Battler ran a hand through his hair as he looked around the room, his expression still surprised, but, oddly touched, too. "Didn't mean to make you all go through so much trouble- I pretty much expected to get called straight back to Grandfather when I ran out- I was shocked when Shannon-chan didn't say he was calling me."

"…I'm afraid it is the opposite," George said, his tone warning enough for all to tense and realize what he would likely say. "He made it clear he didn't want to see you."

Battler… His expression sobered with a harsh suddenness, and he gave a slow, quiet nod as he stared at the food… Unaware of how Shannon was staring at him from behind George's leg, the same weight suddenly in her own stomach.

How… How was he supposed to make up with the master, if he wasn't allowed to even see him?

"-I wouldn't worry about it," Jessica spoke up, forcing a brave smile as they all looked to her. "My dad and yours- They went with him specifically to try and calm him down enough to talk to you- And Genji-san and Nanjo-san went with them. Even if Grandfather won't listen to our dads, he tends to mind what those two say, and they're both clearly for him hearing out your apology."

"-ah." Battler- Looked at her. It was a skimming, fleeting look, gone before Shannon could even think to look away, but it was there- And then he was looking to his cousins again. "I have it on good authority that apologizing for being gone so long won't be enough, anyways."

"Of course not." The answer came from George, so quick and confident that they were all left blinking at him, taken aback. But he was firm, and steady in his stance as he explained, "Grandfather made it clear when he spoke to you- He is angry because you left in the first place."

…it was, exactly, what she had said before. And, just as before, Battler's face clouded with something grim but firm, and the sight made Shannon look away- Focus on further building her bridge.

Focus on hiding her face, as he said that again.

"I get that, but I can't apologize for leaving. It would be like saying I shouldn't have done it- That I regret doing it, and I don't."

Shannon squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the silence of the room, the tears she dared not allow- The sound of the sobs within her heart, echoing up from the witch inside of her.

"Battler-kun… Do you really not understand?"

It was the weary wisdom in George's voice that drew her up more than anything, to slowly, tentatively look up at the man who stood beside her, his gaze grimly set on his younger relative.

…George, sama?

"-what?" Battler asked, wary but, truly confused as well.

His older cousin simply shook his head, though, and spoke on without any sign of doubt or reservation. "None of us blame you for why you left, Battler-kun. I think even Grandfather would say what your father did was wrong, and you were right to not go along with it… Even if he doesn't approve of actually rebelling against him."

"-Dad?" Ange said quietly, but Jessica quietly, gently shushed her, and held her back… And Shannon didn't bother to turn and see the girl's expression.

She was too caught, watching the two men speak.

"But I've heard our parents speak of it more than once, when they didn't think I was near, and Jessica-chan and Shannon-chan and I spoke of it many times in the years you were gone."

Battler's gaze swerved towards her when George named her, but whatever Shannon couldn't hide in that sudden attention, she did not witness any mirroring reaction from him- George spoke again, and stole his attention instantly.

"I think most, if not all of us, felt nothing but sympathy for you in the matter… And we've never blamed you for leaving."

Battler opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. It didn't matter, though- The shock and tentative relief and appreciation was clear to see in his face… Until George went on, his voice suddenly dropping low, landing somewhere hard and unbending. "We understand… And we are happy to have you back now, and are willing to let go of the lost years… But, I can't help but sense that you don't really understand what that means to us."

"…what do you mean?" There was a budding defensiveness in Battler's voice, but it quivered over something apprehensive, uncertain of itself, as he frowned back at his cousin.

George stepped forward a few steps, until Shannon couldn't see his face any longer from her angle… But she would have sworn, when she heard the coaxing gentleness of his next words, that his expression must have been soft, even as it was disapproving. "Did you not think it hurt us, when you threw the family away, and turned your backs on us?"

The flabbergasted expression on Battler's face… She saw it only for a breath, and then she had to look down- Had to hide her face, and her eyes.

It was only her good luck- Only an unexpected miracle that Jessica stood up in that moment, or surely they would have noticed.

"He-he's right, Battler," Jessica said, her jump into the conversation tentative, and yet she gained obvious momentum as she stepped around her block house to stand with George. "We're ecstatic to have you back, but we were just as sad to lose you in the first place- Especially when we thought you might never come back."

They were saying it… They were saying everything she had longed to say for years- Everything she had denied.

And she wanted to join them- To cry out her own hurt, to ask why he had done it, why he had come back with smiles instead of the tears of happiness she had always imagined she herself would cry if he truly came back for her…

When, she still had faith, he would come back for her…

Instead she sat there; her head turned down, unseeing as Jessica continued to speak. "I know Granddad acted like he didn't care about feelings back there, but I really think he's just hurt, too- Hurt, and humiliated, because he thinks you don't care about the family, in name or the people in it."

"…I care…"

The defense was weak, confused and lost, and yet there was something sincere in it that prompted Shannon to subtly rub her eyes and dare look up again.

Battler was looking at the floor, his mouth slightly agape as he stared, like he couldn't make sense of it… Like he couldn't make sense of anything.

So he, really hadn't realized the hurt he had caused… Hadn't thought about it.

The two points warred with one another in her heart for dominance, and as the conflict raged, Battler slowly raised his head to look at his cousins. "You don't think that, do you?"

Jessica hesitated a moment too long, while George's reply of "I should think not" was apparently not strong enough for Battler, for he quickly snapped- "Of course I care! It was hard for me, too, I didn't want to leave any of you behind! But, I just didn't…" A hand was at his head, scratching through his hair as he grit his teeth and looked to the floor.

"Onii-chan?"

It was Ange. She had slid around them at some point during the talk, and was at her brother's side, pulling at his hand until he went silent, and looked down into her troubled, but open face. "If Grandfather missed you… Can't you just say, you missed him too, and that you're sorry? For making him worry and wait?"

Battler said nothing, expression open and vulnerable in its distress, but it was clear he was listening, and his quiet call of his sister's name encouraged the girl to babble on, uncertain in her own right. "I know I missed you, and wanted you to come home, before you came back. I was sad, too, when you weren't there."

She… Shannon, could have sworn she saw something shine in Battler's eye. But it was gone in a blink as he reached down to touch his sister's head, running his hand over it a moment as he quietly spoke to her.

"…sorry, Ange-chan." And he looked up- Looked at his cousins, eyes heavy and, oddly shy, as he strove to meet their gaze. "Sorry, Aniki, Jessica… I never really thought how you must have felt about it- That it would matter so much to you."

No, he really hadn't… And it had mattered.

That was probably why neither cousin answered him right away, but still something in the air instantly lightened with his words.

Even she, slowly, began to feel a little lighter… Until-

"Heh heh, it's alright!" Jessica ruffled the back of her head with a laugh, prompting a stain of relief to spread over Battler's face. "I mean, it's not like you forgot about us the entire time- You reached out to us eventually!"

T… That's right… He had eventually contacted his cousins, even when he was still gone…

…contacted, them…

"Yes-" George stepped forward to pat Battler on the shoulder, allowance and welcome in his voice once again. "And the important thing now is just to remember that you do matter to all of us that much, and to think about that when you admit to Grandfather you didn't consider his feelings, and you're sorry for the trouble you caused him."

Battler snorted lightly in answer, but gave a quiet "Yeah, yeah…" as he scratched his neck, looking passed them- Towards Shannon.

She started when she saw his expression cloud, uncertainty covering his face again. She dropped her gaze as her heart hammered with a fear of what did he see when he looked at-

"…what was that I heard about a contest?"

…oh.

"We're building things!" Maria announced, unaware of Shannon right beside her, numbly striving to push back the relief and disappointment running through her. "We're working in teams! George-aniki and Shannon-san are making a bridge, and Ange-chan and Jessica-nee-chan a house! You're supposed to help me make a tower!

"Yeah," Jessica agreed, grinning as she continued the explanation. "We're going to have the parents act as judges when they finally get back- Without telling them who made what, of course. We don't want them to be biased."

"I see! Heh, sorry, Maria- I made you work on ours all on your own, huh?"

"Uu- That's alright!"

"That's good of you, Maria-chan. And will you wait a little longer on getting help?" George asked, turning back to Battler with a light smile. "Gohda-san went to the trouble of packing your food, so you should eat it before it gets too cold."

Shannon's breath instantly caught in her throat. Her hands suddenly felt cold, clammy.

She, she knew she should do it- That it would be strange if she didn't, after helping Ange… But…

No- She squeezed her eyes shut for just a moment, gathered herself, pushed the hurricane within her away, and-

"I will be happy to unpack and serve it for you, Battler-sama."

Everyone turned and looked at her as she rose to her feet with a smile- Battler blinking his surprise.

"What- You don't have to do that."

"If you please," she said with an easy, untroubled bow of her head. "It is my duty- My instructions that came with George-sama were I could stay here until Kumasawa-san arrived to relieve me for the evening, but I was to serve the meal sent here as part of that deal. It wouldn't be right to have a guest eating out of a bag, even under these circumstances."

"-ah," Battler started, but one glance between him and his cousins and he sighed, giving a shrug. "Sure, I guess- If that's what you're supposed to do."

"Thank you." Lifting her head, Shannon focused her smile on George. "Would you be so kind as to take over the bridge construction, George-sama?"

"But of course." They shared a grin, and Shannon moved smoothly away- Following Battler as he moved to take an awkward seat at the table.

All things considered, it went far more smoothly than she could have expected. Battler kept frowning at the table, too caught in his own thoughts after what George had said to say much, or even look up at Shannon. She worked unhindered by any attention, opening the bag, putting out the silverware and plates, and seving the food from their containers- Still warm in her hands, thanks to the fast-thinking chef who packed the meal while it was still hot. There was even a travel tumbler of water and a glass.

It was so simple… She felt so distant from it all. The witch had even retreated from her again, to stand truly separate from her- On the other side of Battler and his chair. She kept glaring tearfully down at him, mumbling things about finally getting it right in all the wrong ways, forgetting her- But Shannon didn't even feel the need to acknowledge the witch in that moment. She felt surreally proud to have distanced herself from the witch and her feelings. She could truly put the matter aside, and when she was alone, and free to acknowledge Beatrice openly, then surely she could discuss the matter with her from the position of a third-party… An observer, not a participant.

As she moved to finish up the service by pouring the water into the glass, Battler spoke up- So quietly that she had to pause her movements to catch his words.

"Say… Shannon-chan," he glanced up at her out of the corner of his eye, making her freeze completely- Uncertain what she was seeing in his gaze. "Was that what you were holding back when you spoke to me upstairs? What Aniki said about me needing to see that Grandfather was hurt? …that everyone was?"

She, didn't know how to answer that.

It would be a lie to say that that was all that had been in her mind up there, in the hallway, but after a moment of mutual scrutiny, Shannon settled on nodding, and focusing on pouring him a drink as she answered. "I was tempted to say something very similar, yes."

"I see." And, she thought, surely that would be the end of that… But as she moved to put the top back on the tumbler- "-did I cause you that kind of trouble, too?"

Her hand froze on the top, still unscrewed… Her eyes shot open.

"How…" Beatrice breathed, the same dizzy wonder Shannon felt in her own voice… Until it suddenly swirled up in a biting rage. "How can he even dare to ask that?!"

Shannon- Shannon feared that Battler was still talking. Still posing some question she couldn't hear over the ringing in her ears. But when she turned her gaze to him, the truth was much worse.

He was staring right back at her, shocked by whatever he saw in her face.

She swallowed back the tension in her throat, tried to force a smile. "W-what do you-"

"Because-" Battler interrupted, both of their voices barely more than whispers but both strung tight, ready to snap. "When Aniki mentioned you, along with him and Jessica, I thought-"

"It-it's alright, Battler-sama," she managed to get out, trying to shut the tumbler twice before she gave up and put the pieces down, before she dropped it and alerted the others' attention. "I didn't-"

"Of course you did!" called the witch, her voice strained with emotion as she clenched her fists- Clearly wanting to reach out to Battler, even as she knew she couldn't touch him. Couldn't make him look at her. "How, how can he think his actions didn't touch you, too? How shortsighted can he be?"

"And," Battler went on, something steadying in his focus on her that Shannon didn't like- Affirmed her dread that she couldn't back out of this. "I saw you, when Aniki was talking- After he told me what I should say to Grandfather."

No…

Shannon didn't know what to say… Didn't know how to get out of that scene.

She didn't want to be part of this… She had distanced herself from this! She had given this up!

She just- She ached to tell Battler that he had the wrong person. To point at Beatrice and tell him 'she is the one you want' and just listen as they spoke to each other directly!

She didn't- She didn't want to stand there and watch him try to talk to her, as Beatrice tried to talk to him!

"You looked upset- Look upset."

"Of course she looks upset!"

"And, if Aniki and Jessica were upset… You used to play with us, too, back then… You and I used to talk, too."

"How good of you to remember!"

"And I thought you were just talking about Grandfather upstairs, and it still feels kind of vain of me to ask, but… Did I, affect you somehow, too?"

"Of all of the things to ask…"

"Because if I did… Shannon-chan, would, would you look at me? Gah- This hard to say."

"It's hard to listen to, you fool."

"I'm just trying to say that it's like Aniki and Jessica- I didn't want to just leave and not come back. I missed them, and- That applies to you, too…"

"Then why didn't you write me, too?"

"…what?"

…that- didn't make sense.

Shannon, slowly, looked up. Looked up to find that the witch was gone- Had disappeared, and left only Battler…

Battler, staring at her, eyes struck wide.

"What did you say?"

Shannon- Whatever color remained in her face, drained completely. Her hands shook as she realized… As the truth dawned on her.

Beatrice hadn't said that… She had.