"Ken, come here." Hearing Lilith call me, I turn around. "Yes?" Seeing her with her legs crossed on the couch, I ask if she wants something. "No, I just go the word the meeting is over, so you should go after Raven."
Hearing the loud footsteps above, I smile at Lilith. "Thanks for the information. I'll make sure to repay you one day!" Running off, I enter the halls of the hotel. Seeing all kinds of people crawl out, I see a certain combination of black and white flying in the air.
"Raven!" Spotting me he waves me over. "Ken, did you at least have fun here?" Nodding my head, Raven looks at my torn sleeve. "Did you fight someone?"
Looking away, I say. "Yeah... Some guy named Tassir, he used wires as weapons, and I thought it was cool." Getting a chuckle out of him, we start to walk out of the hotel.
"That's so much like you. You're the only person I know who could think such a weapon is cool... I also once fought a guy with wires as weapons."
Retelling me the fight I already knew of, I find something interesting.
"I thought I had a lead to Alice's killers, but instead I just met a guy who wanted to pass on his art like you." Exiting the building, I ask him if he knows that man.
"Of course, I know him, you know him as well." Stopping in my tracks, I look at Raven in disbelief. "Ken, don't tell me you didn't connect the dots."
Looking around, Raven shakes his head and tells me we're getting some waffles. Walking to the waffle shop, Ravne stops on a street next to it.
"Next thing you're gonna tell me is that you met Lilith, aren't you? Or are you planning to keep it a secret from me?" Coming to a stop, I look at Raven's back. Turning to me, I could feel the cold wind blow past us.
Putting a hand on my sword, Raven looks at me. "What are you gonna do? Kill me? Aren't we friends?" Taking a step closer, I feel my leg move back. "Ken...." Hearing the disappointment in Raven's voice, I see him turn around and go to the store.
"No Raven! Wait!" Running after him, we enter the store. "Raven, I didn't mean it! I swear! I was just..... scared." Sitting down he looks at me. "Of what? Me? We're friends Ken! I risked my life for you! Yet you almost pulled your sword at me! Why!?"
Going silent the sound of the ticking clock fills the air.
Sitting in front of him, we both hear Ella walking from behind the counter. "You.... wanna talk about something?" Raising my hand, I lower it back down in shame.
"Yeah, take a seat Ella, I promise it's not gonna be long." Taking a seat, she turns to me with a worried expression. "What happened? We were buddies just yesterday."
Swirling the glass of water she brought us, Raven rested his head on the table. "Such a stupid thing. Ken, you need to be careful. How many times do I have to say that Lilith is a bad woman?"
"Lilith? Who is that?" Ella tries to join the conversation but gets ignored.
"Liliht isn't a bad person! You just hate her! You think she's part of some weird cult! You think she's the one who killed Alice! But you know nothing! Do you know anything for certain?! Something that isn't just one of your speculations?!"
Slamming my hands into the table, I expected Raven to say something, but he just stays silent. Deciding to push on, I yelled.
"Do you know how nice Lilith is?! Mary and Lucy might have been caught! But she gave me this!" Throwing the file on the desk, I can see Raven's eyes go wide. Opening my mouth to yell at Raven again, I get cut off by a single powerful shout. "Ken!" Seeing Raven stand up, he grabs the file and looks over it.
"That bitch!" Throwing it down on the table, He gets into a full sprint.
Leaving the file behind, I yell at him. to get back here but he doesn't listen. Falling back into the chair, I start to feel sick with myself.
"Did I..... Just yell at a guy who saw his love die and I told him he had nothing to live for?" Feeling my stomach twist at how I yelled at him, I feel Ella hug me.
"It's fine Ken, Raven knows you didn't mean it. I'm sure of that. I did this as well, but he always forgives me. I'm sure he will do the same for you." Telling her that I might be a different case, she smiled.
"I'm sure you are. Want some hot chocolate?" Nodding my head, she walks away. Hearing footsteps behind me, I turn around. "Wow that was quick-" But instead, I see Ella's father.
"You know, you're awfully close to my daughter." Scratching his side, he smiles. "But don't worry, I can see your heart is in the right place."
Crumbling back onto the table, I sigh. "You sure? Would someone with a good heart yell at their friend like that?" Chuckling, he takes a deep breath. "Trust me, it's normal. Your friendship with Raven was built quickly, and like a bridge, its supports aren't fully fleshed out."
Pulling a chair for himself he sits next to me.
"The fact that you feel bad about the things you did shows that your heart is in the right place. I knew a guy whose heart wouldn't even flinch at making a person cry. Those people are the true monsters."
Starting to rock on the chair, he continues. "Just so you don't think, Raven isn't one of them. His heart is just all over the place. He's still coping with the loss of his loved one."
Turning to Ella, I can see his eyes sharpen. "You... understand Raven?" I ask, while fully knowing it's a stupid question. Not saying anything, Ella's father reaches into his shirt and pulls out a necklace.
opening it he reveals a black and white photo. "Back when we took this picture, the colored film was still not remade."
It's a picture of him and a woman in a wheelchair. "Is that, Ellas' mom?" Getting a nod, he hides it back in his clothing. "She was a medic in my company back in the war. She was shot in the back and lost her ability to walk."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. May I know where she is now?" Pointing to the sky he sighs. "She was killed by a depraved serial killer a year after giving birth to Ella. I lied to her and told her that she died during her birth."
Not knowing what to say, Ellas' father smile. "See? You're a good kid. If you were a heartless bastard you wouldn't think about saying something, even if it would offend me."
Thanking him for the kind words, he suddenly falls over on the ground. Fearing for his safety, I jump only to hear. "This is what you get for rocking on the chair." Seeing Ella place the cup of hot chocolate on the table, I could hear Will mumble something about good daughters not throwing their fathers to the ground.
Chuckling slightly, I take a sip of the chocolate. "Anyway, what is this file, Ken?" Taking the file off the table, I just tell him it's about a depraved slave convoy. "You sure? Cause I see something else."
Showing it to me, he asks if I know the secret public messages of the underworld. "No?"
Sighing he points me to every second starting big letter.
"Old Street 145, Come Alone, Raven."
"Oh no."