I asked Smith as we walked down the hallway, "Do you have any clues as to who might have left those nutrients lying around?"

Smith sighed regretfully, "Whoever it was wasn't courteous enough to leave a note behind. Furthermore, Doppel made nearly all traces of it vanish once she discovered it."

"Disappear?" I quirked an eyebrow at her, "What the hell does that mean?"

Smith shrugged. "I've learned not to question too much about Doppel-related matters. She once tried to explain how she could alter her mass at will, resulting in my nose starting to bleed." We stopped in front of a reinforced door, and she quickly entered the passcode before the heavy door slowly opened, allowing us to proceed. "What was strange was that she spoke in plain Japanese, but I suppose that's just how shapeshifters are."

"Uh-huh." Well, that was mildly terrifying. "Did she at least explain why she made the evidence disappear?"

"No, not really," Smith replied with a hint of disappointment. "She said it was 'for the best,' whatever that means. She's extremely fortunate to be so valuable; otherwise, her behavior wouldn't be tolerated."

More and more questions flooded my mind as I contemplated the potential effects of the nutrients. I knew they were potentially hazardous, but why were they causing Doppel to act so peculiarly? Was there something more to them than just increasing the rage in liminals? Unfortunately, I doubted I would ever get a satisfactory response from Doppel, so I decided that I would likely never understand the whole truth behind the mysterious nutrients.

"Therefore, the only evidence we have to work with is the nutrients extracted from Kii," I stated.

"Yes, there are also people searching the forest for other clues or evidence that may have been left behind. Perhaps Kii knows something too if she is willing to share the information."

"Why wouldn't she?"

"Aki-kun," Smith stated, glancing at me, "Would you be willing to divulge everything you know to a bunch of people that just rather violently 'pacified' you?"

Right, duh.

"I can see your point," I conceded, "I hope she will recognize that this was the best option for everyone."

Smith good-naturedly shot back with an eye roll and said, "Well, they say that 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions,' but don't worry, we're not going to give her a hard time about it. After all, it's up to her what she wants to do; she decides to make it in the end since she's the one who suffered here."

The conversation abruptly came to an end as we made our way to the room where Kii was being held. Two members of MON, Zombina, and Tio, greeted us with a wave as we got closer.

"Nice to see ya among the living," Zombina greeted, playfully wrapping an arm around my neck and pulling me close, "Had us worried there."

"Some more than most," Smith snorted.

"Shutty," Zombina growled.

Tio giggled. "Bina-chan insisted on carrying you to the hospital herself!"

"Now hold a fuckin'-!"

Smith interrupted Zombina's tirade and asked, "How is our guest doing?" Zombina cleared her throat and glared at Tio, who smiled in response.

Zombina answered, looking towards the door, "She's calmed down a bit now; all that nasty shit has been expelled from her system. Mana-chan is in there with her to keep an eye on her, but I highly doubt she'll try to do anything. We're too far into the city for her to even consider escaping."

Smith nodded. "Okay. Aki-kun and I are going to have a conversation with her now. The danger is mostly gone, so you two are off the hook."

"Yay! C'mon, Bina-chan, let's go check out this new, adorable bakery that opened down the street!" Tio said excitedly, her heavy boots making a cheerful thump against the concrete floor as she walked off.

"Yeah, I'm comin'!" Zombina exclaimed before turning to face me. Her heterochromatic eyes scrutinized me intently. "You're still intent on seeing that crazy dragonewt, aren't you?"

"That's a pretty safe assumption," I admitted, "I'll be out like a fucking light once that's done, though."

"Of course you are," Zombina sighed, letting go of me and folding her arms, "I'll be there in case your ass needs savin' again."

I smiled wearily. "I appreciate it."

"Yeah, well, you're lucky you have an ass worth saving," Zombina replied as she walked away. "If you need any help, just holla whenever."

"Sounds Gucci," I said, watching her go.

"If you're finished," Smith interjected, jerking her thumb at the door, "you and I have a dryad to attend to."

"Yeah, yeah."

Smith knocked a couple of times before swinging the door open, revealing a bland, small white room with little but a table and two chairs for decoration. Kii, now in a much smaller form than when I had last seen her, sat uncomfortably in one of the chairs, tightly wrapped in a safety blanket and looking incredibly lost. Manako, standing near the doorway, let out a small squeak and sprung to attention as we stepped into the room.

"Hello, Boss!" she half-yelped, going rigid. When her eye rested on me, her lips quivered, and hastily looked away. "Um, B-Bando-san, I, um...."

"Hey, Manako. Something wrong?" I asked, tilting my head.

She inhaled deeply and bowed so quickly that I feared she had broken her spine.

"I'm so, so sorry for letting all those bad things happen to you!" Manako shouted, tears dripping down her face, "I w-w-was supposed to p-protect you, and I failed, and I'm sorry I'm worthless and, and, and...."

"Hey now," I said, gently taking her shoulders. "It's not your fault, okay? There was no way you could have foreseen what would happen."

"Still..." Manako sniffled, "I... heard a crash, and, and I saw you flying away, and I had a clear shot, but...."

"But if you did, then Preya and I probably wouldn't have survived the fall," I finished for her, "Like I said, not your fault. At all."

Manako wiped at her face, frowning and not believing me. "But I didn't do my job...."

"Of course you did!" I confidently reassured her. "You were the hero of the day, and no one else could have achieved the shots you made in a nonlethal way. You should be very proud of yourself!"

"I... I guess..."

In case it was not already obvious, Manako was one of the most insecure people I have encountered since I arrived in this world. Even though I don't think it is my responsibility to do so, I was beginning to feel guilty that I hadn't made more of an effort to be a better friend to her. Luckily, Papi had been getting quite close to her during the Smash tournament, so that was a positive step.

I reassured her by patting her shoulder and looking her directly in the eye, "Don't worry about it, okay?"

Manako kept her gaze on me for a length of time that was slightly longer than was considered normal, but I was aware that she was testing me, so I didn't bother to stress about it. Eventually, she took a deep breath and nodded in a slightly jerky motion, though she still didn't say anything. It was good enough for me.

"Gucci." Leaving her, I turned to face Kii. "So. Uh. Hey."

Smooth transition there, buddy.

Smith must have had the same thought, as evidenced by rolling her eyes as she stepped forward. "So, you must be Kii, right?"

The dryad's expression was unreadable as she stared at us; her lips were set in a tight line, but she eventually gave a slight nod.

"Let me be clear; you will not be subject to any form of punishment," Smith stated firmly while looking at her. "However, if you are willing, I would like to ask you a few questions. If not, we can arrange for you to go wherever you wish."

Kii was quiet for a moment; her small figure slumped in contemplation. Eventually, she let out a soft sigh and spoke, her voice steady and mature beyond her size. "I don't know who polluted me or the forest if that's what you're going to ask," she replied, her gaze averting away from us. I was a little taken aback; if I remember correctly, she typically sounded more childish when she was this small. Yet, I couldn't help but feel that the circumstances behind her change this time had somehow granted her an unnatural maturity.

Smith nodded, accepting the fact despite the unsatisfactory response. "That's alright," she said reassuringly, "So, the only thing that remains to be asked is: what would you like to do now? We can take you back to the forest now that we have already started to clean up the pollution and taken preventive measures to make sure it doesn't happen again. We can also send you home to your country."

Kii folded her slender, branch-like arms, humming quietly as she weighed her options. Her movements were slow and labored, and if I looked closely, I could see her shoulders trembling under the strain. She was doing her best to stay composed, yet it was clear that the day had taken its toll on her. I could empathize with her exhaustion.

Eventually, she glanced over at me with an expression of incredulity. "You said you were Papi's brother?" Kii queried, her tone rife with disbelief.

"That I am," I answered with a nod, "Do you want to see her?"

"Yes," Kii said, shifting in her seat and pulling the blanket tighter around her. "After that, I'm not sure what comes next."

"I'm okay with that. Is that fine, Smith?"

"Of course," Smith replied with a shrug. "So long as you," she looked at Kii, "have a clear idea of where you want to be afterward. I want to make arrangements as soon as possible, but we'll respect your decision."

Kii hummed thoughtfully, her gaze wary as she regarded me. "I'm not too keen on being alone with a human," she stated bluntly.

I suppose I should've been offended, but I knew where she was coming from.

"That's fine," I responded, "We have to wait for Cerea, a centaur that lives with me and Papi, anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue."

Kii nodded slightly, her gaze still fixed on me. I could tell there was something else she wanted to say, yet for some reason, she chose not to. I felt we would have an additional conversation before the day ended.

I had already accepted that today would be one of the longest days I had experienced in a long time, so I was prepared for whatever came my way. Between Preya, Kii's rampage, Smith, Manako, and Draco, one more exhausting conversation was another challenge to add to the pile.

To be continued!