Aiyanna spoke

"Why did you handle it that way?" She asked

Keros didn't respond and just kept staring toward the sky.

Aiyanna walked closer and after a moment she asked again.

"How do you think I should have handled it?" He asked lightly in response

"You could have kept the part about your father being alive when you saw him to yourself." She began with her first observation

Keros sighed.

"I could have, but she deserved to know. I got to speak with him before he passed, and she didn't. I feel I owed her the truth even if it would upset her. Besides, it's better she learns this from me now and not from someone else later." Keros replied

Aiyannas' eyebrows furrowed. He felt like he needed to be honest with her about this, but lied to her right after? What a hypocrite!

"So you hurt your sister with the truth and justify it by claiming you 'owed her', and then decide to hurt her by lying to her right after? That's bullshit." Aiyanna said with an angry tone. She had lost respect for Keros. She felt that he had unnecessarily hurt his sister with his hypocrisy.

"What do you know?" Keros replied with a light mocking chuckle.

Aiyanna grew more irritated

"I know that your sister just had to hear that her parents died, and you only made it worse with your hypocritical methods!" Aiyanna rebuked him.

He remained silent. Which irritated her just as much as if he tried to refute her. She found herself finding more and more faults with Keros as her anger grew. Her mind raced and made wild opinions about him in seconds. He was insensitive with how he handled the situation with his sister and likely wasn't genuine with what he said in the hall. He acted far too calm over his parents' deaths and seemed to care very little. He was even able to laugh and joke at dinner! He had acted well enough to deceive her during the car ride, but now she saw right through him! She ignored the consequences and began to speak her mind.

"Do you even care? Do you care about anything?" She said as her voice rose slightly.

Keros didn't respond. Aiyanna wouldn't accept this and stepped forward, placing her hand on his shoulder and pulling back so he would have to face her. He spun easily.

Aiyanna was shocked by what she saw. Tears were streaming down his face. His eyes were red and puffy which showed that he had likely been crying since before she even got up from the table. His face displayed deep grief and exhaustion. He was staring directly into her eyes now, and she felt as though she was plunged into ice water from the emotions she saw within the depths of his blue eyes. The pain, heartache, and regret in those eyes was haunting. It was as if she could see his soul screaming out within his eyes.

She realized she had been mistaken. He had been acting, that was for sure, but he wasn't acting upset. He had been acting calm and collected. He had put on a strong facade the entire time to hide the pain he was feeling. He had kept everything in from the beginning and only lost control of it when he was alone. Even now he was doing everything he could to keep it bottled up within himself, only allowing a few tears and emotions to escape onto his face.

Keros withdrew his gaze and directed it toward the night sky once again. speaking out.

"Of course I do. My parents' deaths is the worst thing that has ever happened in my life. I don't want my sister to have to go through this, but I can't shield her from it. I can just be honest and support her until she can accept it." Keros paused and sighed before continuing

"You're right, I did lie. I lied because the truth would have hurt her far more." Keros didn't elaborate but continued on

"I'm not perfect. I don't know what I'm doing, and I'm just taking it as it comes. I've accepted that, and I'll just learn from my mistakes." Keros said before going silent.

Aiyanna felt terrible. She had let her ignorance grow into irritation, and irritation grow into anger. She had jumped to conclusions and thought terrible things about Keros. She felt ashamed of herself.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions." she said quietly

Keros turned his gaze back to her. 'I wonder if that's how I looked when I lashed out at dad.' He thought. That night that he had argued with his father about his training had been on his mind all day. He fully understood now why his father pushed him so hard, and it pained him to think about how he acted that night. He lashed out with anger due to his ignorance, and the calm demeanor his father had. Now, Aiyanna had done the same thing. It almost mirrored the situation perfectly. He had even questioned if his father cared. He understood how she felt.

"It's okay. No one is perfect, and it's easy to get ahead of ourselves sometimes. Besides, I remember when I acted the same way with my dad." Keros said lightly. If his father had been able to forgive him, then Keros could forgive her.

Aiyanna still felt ashamed. She held herself to a high standard and planned to learn from her mistake. Even considering his forgiveness, she was a soldier and should have displayed better discipline. She had become too comfortable and allowed that to influence her actions.

"Thank you... I wanted to stay and support you, but I guess I've messed that up pretty bad. I don't think I'm fit for doing so anymore though, so I'll see myself out." Aiyanna said with a blush before stepping to the door and opening it.

"I'm sorry for your loss Keros." She said as she walked in and closed the door.

She said goodbye to Booker when she passed the kitchen and left the house.

-

Keros sat in the living room with Booker. He had just recently come back inside. It had been a few hours now since his sister had locked herself in her room.

Keros and Booker talked. Keros explained everything, even the truth that he hid with the lie. He planned on taking that lie to the grave with him, but he trusted Booker fully and knew he would never tell a soul. They talked about the wounds on his parents and how they seemed weird, and they took guesses at what inflicted the wounds. Booker vowed that he would follow Keros in his revenge, even if it cost him his life. They even spent some time talking about the memories they had of his parents.

Keros told him about his plans. That he wouldn't be continuing school, would be joining a mercenary group, and would be moving to live with his uncle Rod. He also told him that Catherine would be staying with their aunt for a while. At first, Booker tried to persuade Keros to come to live with him and continue school, but when he found out Keros was determined on his plans Booker tried to follow him. Keros managed to convince him to stay at home and continue school with the promise of teaming up after they were both sixteen.

Booker proposed that they become sworn brothers and Keros agreed. They held an impromptu ceremony. The cut their hands and clasped them with each other while they recited an oath swearing to always have each other's back regardless of the situation. To them, the ceremony simply reinforced the bond that they already had.

By the time they finished talking and holding the ceremony, it was already 7:30.

-

Aiyanna made it back to the military base and immediately headed for the squad four barracks. She is a soldier in the army, the main branch of the military. She would be assigned on missions outside of the stronghold and work with her troop. However, when she was within the stronghold she was assigned to work with spec-ops squad four and reported to Captain Rodney.

When she made it to the barracks she went to the door that lead into the captain's office. She stood before the door, hesitant, before she collected her emotions and knocked.

"Come in." Captain Rodney called out through the door.

Aiyanna entered and saluted

"At ease. what do you need?" Captain Rodney asked

"I'm here to make a report about my assignment." Aiyanna said

"What could there be to report? All you had to do was take the kid home." Captain Rodney said with a light laugh

"I made a mistake Sir." she said while avoiding his gaze

She explained what happened from the moment she entered the house. How they had a joyful dinner, how Keros broke the news to Catherine, how he lied to Catherine, and what he said in the hall. She then explained how she confronted Keros, how she grew irritated and the things that made her grow irritated, and the things she said to him. She even included his response to her outburst. When she finished, she waited and prepared to be rebuked and punished.

Captain Rodney started chuckling. It didn't last very long but, it was unexpected.

"That brat. He'll grow into a good man!" he bellowed without regard to those that might be sleeping

"S-sir?" Aiyanna was confused.

"Tell me something. Did he explain his reason for lying?" Captain Rodney asked as he stood up and went to a cabinet, pulling out a bottle of liquor before returning to his seat.

"No sir. He just said the truth would be worse." she replied.

"Hm, Only Keros and I know the truth. I assume the only reason he didn't tell you is that he doesn't know you well enough to trust you to keep it a secret. I on the other hand know you will keep it to yourself, so I'll tell you to clear up your confusion." Captain Rodney said as he twisted the cap off the bottle and poured a glass for himself, before taking a sip.

"Jack, Keros' Father, was the one who requested that Keros be brought here to see him before he passed... Only Keros." he said before downing his glass and pouring another

"Why? Wouldn't he want to see his daughter too?" She asked, still confused.

"Of course he wanted to see her, but do you think she could have stomached the sight of seeing them? He didn't want her to have to see her parents in such a terrible condition."

"Okay, that makes sense but I'm still confused. Why did Keros lie to her about that?" she asked

Captain Rodney sighed

"I think its because he didn't want her to feel hurt that her father didn't want to see her. He didn't want it to tarnish the memory she has of her father. Because even though she might have understood the reason, she probably wouldn't be able to accept it... He was protecting both of them in a way." he down another glass. it would be difficult to determine how he felt right now

"I see." Aiyanna felt like she could understand, and maybe even sympathize with the decision to lie.

Captain Rodney pushed his glass aside and leaned on his desk, resting his elbows and crossing his fingers

"Why did you report this? Were you afraid that Keros would inform me of it tomorrow?" he asked

"No sir. I just feel ashamed of the way I acted and represented the military." she responded

"Even after you followed him home for moral support when he informed his sister? Even after forgave you for how you acted, you're still ashamed?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yes, sir." She replied

"Alright, then to absolve you of your shame you can clean the barracks until Noon. That will be your punishment for your mistake." he said while studying her reaction

she sighed before nodding. Cleaning the barracks as a punishment was monotonous but other than that it could barely be considered a punishment in her opinion.

"Sure what you said to Keros was extremely brash considering the circumstances, but the fact that you felt so strongly about the matter to breach your discipline shows just how much you care about the people around you. I agree you should feel bad for how you acted, but don't beat yourself up over it. Learn from it and move on." he said before dismissing her

-

*knock knock*

Keros knocked on his sister's door

"Catherine.."

there was no response so he knocked again, and he kept knocking until he heard one.

"Go away." a tired voice sounded from within

"You need to get ready. At 9:00 someone will pick us up and take us to the funeral." Keros said softly.

he didn't get a response, but he heard some movement so he figured she must be getting ready. He took a quick shower and returned to his room to get dressed. He wore his best dress clothes and styled his hair meticulously. When he had finished he went to the living room to wait. His sister came out shortly after wearing a floral dress that had daisies on it. Her eyes looked dull, and there was a gloomy atmosphere surrounding her.

"you look nice. The dress was a good choice." Keros said. Their parents nicknamed her daisy, and he felt this was a simple way of respecting and remembering them.

Soon there was a knock at the door. It was the same bald man that was with Aiyanna yesterday. Keros and Catherine followed him out, and Keros told him that they needed to visit a shop nearby before they leave the district. Keros led them to the electronic shop and told Catherine to give Ole Frank her ID badge. He made the ID chip and brought it to the counter along with the commlink Keros had paid for last night. He demonstrated how to install the chip before handing the commlink to Catherine. Keros thanked him, before setting out with Catherine and the bald man.

The car ride to the military base was long and quiet. When they arrived, the man escorted them to squad fours barracks before departing

Keros led Catherine inside and asked some of the squad members where the Captain was. He was directed to a door on the left. He knocked and entered after he heard a response. Inside uncle Rod sat behind a desk with the container that held his parent's ashes resting on it. He gave a light smile and they had a short chat.

He consoled Catherine and expressed his condolences before telling her about the container and how he held their parent's remains. Catherine broke out in tears again. Keros and uncle Rod took turns consoling her for a while before leaving the room to allow her some privacy with her parents.

They had a seat in the lounging area and entered a conversation. The situation yesterday managed to jump-start the friendship between the two, and they got along well. Most of their conversation was about the future and what Keros' goals were, but some of it was about Aiyanna. Keros had a few the time he had spent with her yesterday.

Uncle Rod told him that Aiyanna is seventeen years old and joined that she joined the military right out of school. Two months ago she applied to join the Special Operations sector specifically squad four. Likely because her father had been a part of this squad at one time, and she was following in his footsteps.

"You haven't accepted her yet?" Keros asked

"I accepted her as a probationer, but she's still too young." uncle Rod replied

"Too young? I thought capability was more important than age." Keros said, almost mockingly

"Of course age isn't a significant factor, as long as you're an adult you can join the Special Operations. What I meant by that is to say that she is too weak and inexperienced. It's extremely rare for someone as young as her to have the strength experience needed to work well in a small unit. It's even harder to get that experience in her current troop." Uncle Rod explained

Keros was thinking about uncle Rod's answer when he saw something odd. Aiyanna walked out of a room with a toothbrush and a bucket full of soapy water.

"Speaking of Aiyanna... What is she doing?" Keros asked with a furrowed brow.

"Oh, she is cleaning the barracks with a toothbrush as punishment for how she treated you last night." Uncle Rod said nonchalantly

Keros was baffled. she told him about last night? It must have affected her quite a bit for her to mention it. Why was she being punished over it though? Surely it was a forgivable mistake considering the thought behind it.

"You seriously gave her punishment for that?" Keros asked with irritation.

"Yes. She was out of line." Uncle Rod said as he narrowed his eyes

"She just spoke up when she thought I had intentionally hurt my sister. Sure she made a mistake, but her heart was in the right place. I don't think that deserves such a humiliating punishment." Keros said, his voice getting firmer and louder.

"She negatively represented squad four. Squad fours reputation is important and I expect the members to act with more class than that." Uncle Rod replied, matching Keros' tone

"Screw class! You're warriors, not politicians! You fight with your bodies, not your words!" Keros was had almost grown to a yell by this point.

The squad members in the vicinity heard the commotion and watched with rapt attention

"Being refined is an important part of being in the military brat! Even warriors need a certain level of sophistication or they will drag the squads' reputation down!" Uncle Rod refuted, once again matching Keros

"Your reputation should be built on your accomplishments in battle! If you need fancy words to compensate then your reputation isn't worth squat old man!" Keros bellowed and stood up

"Watch how you speak to me! I am a captain in the military and your godfather! Show some respect!" Again uncle Rod matched Keros in every way.

The team members thought it was a little comical at first, but it seemed to be getting out of hand quickly.