Two Days Before...
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"Where have you been all this time, Miranda?! I was worried!"
Snowflakes of different shapes and sizes fell from the sky ever so slow. In that city of Stockholm, it was already evening where thick, dense clouds covered the whole sky. By this time, there should be tons of people and cars dotting the streets.
But until now there had been no sight of anyone in the area. Ever since we arrived in Stockholm yesterday, an ominous silence shrouded every corner of the city.
It was as if an invisible veil had been draped on the three of us, blinding our eyes from seeing even a scant of human presence. And right then, we were walking along the main street, our winter boots crunching the snow.
A faint cloud of breath escaped my mouth— and I hastily rubbed my brown mittens together, taking in as much warmth as I could.
"Where have you been all this time, Miranda! Look at me! Don't just walk in front of us without saying a single word. I need answers!"
Aya was walking right next to me, flailing her arms wildly to get Miranda's attention. She had changed her tone and was basically yelling at Miranda at that point.
Miranda looked over her shoulder to look at Aya. It was only a few moments before she averted her eyes, which in turn caused Aya's face to turn beet red. Wow, she looked pissed. Oh, and both of them were wearing winter clothes complete with mittens and warm winter hats.
Though, Miranda's clothes were all black, even her scarf. I looked at her back for a while and then switched my gaze towards Aya. And that girl... She was pouting and puffed her cheeks to the point where her face almost appeared comical. A thin smile formed on my face.
"Your long hair is messy!" yelled Aya. "It's like you never care about how you look. But then again, this proved that the Miranda I always knew didn't change at all after a year."
Miranda's feet halted, and the two of us behind her stopped as well. She let out a loud(seriously exaggerated) sigh and turned around to face us. Aya was still pouting. Combined with how red her cheeks were, she almost resembled a tomato. Miranda didn't seem bothered by it and nonchalantly tied her raven-black hair into twin braids, each swished along when she shook her head a few times after she was done.
"There. Satisfied now?" said Miranda, her piercing purple eyes met Aya's turquoise eyes.
"Y-You haven't answered my question yet."
Miranda blinked. She cast a glance at the sky as if trying to remember what the question was.
"...I don't remember. What was your question again?"
Aya's eyes opened wide, her jaw dropped. It was not much, but I patted her back a few times to calm her emotions. Hey, the poor girl needed it. Miranda had been ignoring her for who knows how long, and I could feel her to a degree. Because it looked like Aya was about to yell from the top of her lungs if someone didn't console her right then and there.
"I have said it a thousand times the moment we arrived here in Stockholm! How can you not remember?! And more importantly, how can you not know?! I was literally screaming at you a few minutes ago!"
Aya's eyes were almost bulging out of her eye sockets. Her entire body trembled from the emotions welling up inside her. I looked at Miranda and shook my head. Still acting like she was not at fault, Miranda shrugged.
"Calm down, Aya. Here, here."
I patted Aya's head slowly, my fingers brushed along her short, dark hair. After a few tense seconds, her beet red face turned back to normal as she held back the tears in her eyes from falling.
"Don't bully her, Miranda. Come on. You are an adult here, and Aya is just a teenager." I narrowed my eyes at Miranda and she looked away.
"It was an honest question... I also want to know, as to why and how you appeared from out of nowhere back then. And then suddenly offered to help us rescue Alicia and Alexander. It's suspicious if you ask me."
Miranda's eyes slowly paced back and forth between me and Aya. Her gaze finally settled on Aya. She then sighed, a fog of breath came out of her mouth.
"Sorry... Aya. I didn't have any intention to hurt your feelings. It's just that... For that one whole year I was on the run, I didn't know what to do. And by chance, as if it was fate itself guiding me, I found you and Derrick trying to get into Finland months ago... And I heard about how both of you want to rescue Alicia and Alexander... And since I lost track of what I should be doing, I decided on a whim that, it can't hurt to join in as well."
Aya blinked. She locked eyes with me, and I could tell from her eyes that she wanted to talk with Miranda alone.
I nodded at her before I made my way about ten steps back— with arms crossed, I looked at those two from afar.
"I accept your apology," Aya said with a warm smile. Her expression after that instantly turned serious as she asked Miranda another question. "Then, what were you doing before you found us?"
Miranda cast a glance at the white snow underneath. She rubbed her right arm and looked back at Aya. "I was lost. After I ran away from the C.U's base... from all of you... I was hiding. I-I abandoned all of you when Amathelia attacked the base, just to save my own skin."
"Miranda..."
"But then, as I was feeding off whatever street foods I can buy... With what little money I had left... I remembered." A wide smile reached Miranda's cheeks, her purple eyes were about to tear up. "I remembered my Dad."
Aya's lips parted slightly. She wanted to say something but brushed it off at the last moment.
"Dad... He was an amazing person. I admired him... for his bravery... for his loyalty to the country. How he would rather save his own comrades, ones ranked above him, rather than himself... I admired that part of him. So, I desperately searched for any remaining Aegis Users and found you, Aya..."
"..."
"You know... I never told anyone about what happened."
"...I'm sorry, Miranda. Mister Hughes was a nice person."
Miranda's mittened hands grabbed at Aya's shoulders, and she yelped.
"You didn't know what exactly happened, right?" Miranda repeated.
"A-About what?"
"About me... I was not a part of the C.U... Dad and I were from Mongolia."
"Fweeeh?!"
My head almost jerked back when Aya let out a strange squeal. She was surprised no doubt, but that one sounded weird to me.
"What do you mean?" I approached Miranda with that question. "Don't tell me... The C.U kidnapped you and Hughes, and that was how—"
"Yes," interjected Miranda.
"...I'm sorry. You must have been through a lot."
"You don't say, Derrick. But I'm sure Maltyie is going through a lot as well, since you keep her hanging after she confessed to you."
"Wha—" My cheeks turned red as I waved Miranda off frantically. "Y-Y-You were there?! Why didn't you tell you were there?! A-And Maltyie... She..."
"If you don't see her the same way she sees you, then just say it. Don't keep a woman hanging like that, it's a definite no-no."