The day was going to be full of heavy hearts and difficult thoughts. Decha knew it the moment he arrived at the Agency. There, he was to go into an auditorium where a serious discussion between the council members would be held.

While walking down a long and wide hallway, Decha saw various janitors cleaning and preparing decorations for the memorial later. Jax was standing in front of the doors, eyeing some of the pictures on the wall.

Decha could sense Jax's hesitation to enter. He couldn't blame him. Any Astellian man would do the same if they were in Jax's position. He was about to take on a heavy load.

A trial period.

While inheriting the position of a Council Member wasn't the usual tradition, Jax had more than enough star pins to take on the role. Jax had 14, which is twice as much as his father had.

Succession wasn't immediate. Jax was going to be put on a trial, an event that would measure his abilities, physically and mentally. He'd have to be monitored constantly until he takes Strout's place.

Decha sighed. He wasn't usually one to show pity, but something was stirring in him to do so. "Are you alright?"

Jax kept his eyes on his father's photo. He'd never thought he'd see him up on the board for the fallen officials. Not anytime soon at least. "I'm fine,"

"You don't look it," Decha teased. "You look like you rolled out of bed, skipped a shower, and stepped in dog crap on your way here."

Jax finally shifted his gaze to Decha, before pressing his lips together. "When did you become so thoughtful?"

"Surprisingly, I've been a lot more of that lately. But that's beside the point. You should head inside and take everything head-on. Generals don't cower in halls, N9899."

Jax nodded. There was the blunt and emotionless Decha he knew. But he did notice there was a change in Decha's aura. He didn't reek of murderous energy, as usual.

He had a theory as to why. "How are you? You seemed in pretty bad shape last night."

"It was just a headache. I've been on my feet much longer than my body could handle, I guess."

"I dunno, fainting from exhaustion doesn't seem minor." Jax snorted, and then thought of what he saw on the cameras the night before, thanks to Decha's mom. He never thought he'd see Decha embrace a woman the way he did.

Decha always seemed like he hated women or was disgusted by them. He was oblivious to flirting, always hanging around men, and focused on work. Jax thought he had a thing for men.

But after seeing him with the Bracket woman, it was enough to confirm that he liked women, he was just reserved about it. "You seemed very tired, which made me nervous. I don't think many Generals have ever seen you so vulnerable."

"I wouldn't call it... vulnerable. Just not at my best."

"You even try to mask it in front of the Bracketer in your care. But last night you were too weak. I would've waited until I was down the hall to faint." Jax snickered.

"That was something I couldn't control, unfortunately." Decha rolled his eyes. After hugging Rory, he felt tired. Whatever spell she has in her touch did that to him. He didn't like it.

"Do you try to act so strong in front of the Bracket woman because you love her?" The question made Decha stiffen.

"What?"

"I'm just curious about what you think of her."

"What is there for me to think about? I'm currently her legal guardian. My job is to keep her safe and taken care of until she goes back to Sector B."

"So you don't hate her?"

"Why would I hate her?"

"Most Astellians are very skittish when it comes to Bracketers, especially the women. They lack good hygiene and smarts, and they're very weak. Compared to Astellian women, they're not valuable."

"Astellians are no better. They lack proper manners, they're loud and always entitled. Now that I think about it, we are complete scum compared to Bracketers."

"How so?"

"Bracketers are very emotionally intelligent. There are different types of intelligence, and Bracketers take the cake when it comes to emotional needs."

"That's what makes them weak."

"It's what makes them stronger than us," Decha mumbled, ashamed to admit it. That was a trait part of Bracket culture that he envied.

Constant empathy, and thoughtfulness.

From what he learned about Rory, Bracketers were full of selflessness, ready to suffer in the place of others.

Rory was still hiding the condition she was in for her sickness to prevent anyone from going out of their way for her.

At first, he thought it was stupid. But he realized that she didn't like being vulnerable either. That was probably because everyone viewed her as weak and restricted her.

So often she'd pay more attention to others well being than her own. It was sort of genius for her to do that.

"You seem smitten."

"By who?" Decha snapped.

"By her."

"Again, who?" Decha looked to his left and right to see if the person Jax was talking about was in the room.

"I'm feeling down, give me a hug, N96." Jax extended his arms and trudged forward. Decha furrowed his eyebrows and avoided the embrace. He ducked swiftly under one of Jax's arms, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and shoved him into a space on the wall.

"If you touch me, I'll snap your neck." Decha spat.

Jax chuckled in response. Surely, something was going on between Rory and Decha. "Okay, okay! Let me go. It was a joke." Jax groaned.

Decha released him. "Stop being an eyesore and get inside."

Jax happily obliged and opened the doors. An uncomfortable air whipped around Decha's neck. Jax tensed, meaning he felt it too.

In the center of the room were the 6 council members, all of them with icy glares on their faces. Jax sauntered in with Decha not too far behind.

"You're late, Strout's son." One of them, Henry Maxwell, a short and plump man muttered bitterly. He was balding and had a dyed combover to keep some of his youth, which was quickly ebbing away.

"He's on time," Decha came to Jax's defense, earning the stares of the others. "Give him a break. His father just died last night."

"Who the heck are you?" Henry spat. "Who let a General, one who lacks respect into our— lord, that's N96." Henry shut up the moment they walked onto the platform. Decha's presence humbled all of them.

Although they ran the Sectors, they knew that Decha was a Supreme. Without their High ranked Generals, Astell would be nothing.

"We could've handled this ourselves, N96. No need to waste time hearing us discuss." Lou Stain, another council member who was tall and thin like a stick, with graying hair and a monocle mumbled.

"Director Chen sent me in his place. It's obligatory of me." Decha shrugged. He didn't want to be here, but he was getting paid, so he was okay with it. "Go ahead and discuss."

"We need to talk about the future of Astell. How old are you, Strout?" Henry asked.

"22." Jax huffed.

"Heavens, he is still young! There is no way he can help run the Sectors!"

"My age has nothing to do with the fact that I have outpaced all of you." Jax displayed all of his pins proudly.

"Are you ready for the trial ahead, boy?"

"It's sudden. But if it needs to be done, let it happen."

"What are your thoughts on the bombing yesterday?" Cardinal Adams, another council member, inquired.

"Obviously, I'm more than angry that it killed so many people. My father being one of the victims makes me want to find the culprit and kill them."

"Then we should set a game plan, right?"

"A game plan for what, exactly?" Jax narrowed his eyes.

"We all know that the Bracketers are behind these catastrophes. We need to fight back, and teach them a lesson! If we get rid of all the Bracketers who aren't currently residents, the refugees for example, then we can teach the Bracketers a serious lesson!"

"You want to kill off the refugees?" Jax scoffed. "Are you joking?"

"Certainly not! How many bombs have gone off in Astell and have caused great harm? We need to protect our people!"

"I don't mean to butt in, but Sector B are also your people. You run both Sectors." Decha hissed.

"How do we know if the refugees aren't the ones doing this? The border has been blocked off by the nationals for 2 weeks!" Cardinal spat.

"You don't, and that's exactly why killing them off is a bad idea." Decha reasoned. Killing the refugees off, meant that Rory's life was in danger.

"You're saying that because a Bracket woman is under your care. If you keep her on a tight leash, she'll be spared." Cardinal gruffed. It was taking all of Decha's strength to hold back from climbing across the table and strangling him to death.

"Killing more people off because of the bomb yesterday doesn't make any sense. It'll start a war." Jax shook his head.

"A war they'll be sure to lose!"

"For a man named after a bird, you sure are doing a lot of squawking," Decha mumbled under his breath. "We're not going to kill any refugees. We are going to find the culprits and kill them. I say them, because, during my investigation, I've found that the people responsible are organized. Although all evidence points to Bracketers, we still aren't sure."

Cardinal rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "I say we vote on it. All those in favor of—"

"If any of you raise your hand, there's no guarantee what may happen to you when you walk out of those doors." Decha reached for his pistol and began turning up the dial. The movement of his fingers sent fear in all of the council.

"Is that a threat, N96?" Chauncey Alan, another council member deepened his tone to seem more intimidating.

"A threat? No. Of course not. It's just a protocol we follow on the Outside. There are no walls, so it's extremely dangerous. Anything can happen. There's no guarantee anyone makes it out alive." Decha said it in a dull tone.

"You wouldn't dare harm a council member."

"It wouldn't be a dare." Decha shrugged. "I'll do it willingly."

"Your job is to obey us!" Chauncey spat.

"My job is essentially to protect the people of both Sector A and B. I don't follow the council, I follow the law." Decha twirled the pistol in his fingers before catching it firmly in his hands. "So who's first? Go on. Raise your hand. I won't judge you for it."

"Senior Chauncey, stand down. This is the same man who saved your daughter last night." Jax sighed. Chauncey's eyes widened and he closed his mouth before looking at Decha.

Without any more words, he sat down. Decha smiled.

"I say we put a National ban on Bracketers freely traveling in and out of Astell. If they are currently registered as refugees or Astellian residents, then they are free to roam. But those who aren't registered in our systems will be taken back to Sector B."

"We are still working on rebuilding the walls."

"Why don't you make do with what you have?" Decha suggested. "Instead of rebuilding a large wall to block everyone off, turn it into a mid-section for Bracketers and Astellians to coexist."

"N96, are you crazy?"

"Let's listen to what he has to say, Cardinal, don't jump ahead. N96 hasn't failed us yet." Kanemaru Stein, one of the council members who were in charge of construction projects, snorted.

"The wall will take a lot of resources to rebuild. I'm not saying that it shouldn't be heavily guarded, because it will be. But rather than creating a wall, create a tunnel for a midsection that will be monitored by the Agency. We can fill up the surroundings by water, making it hard for any Bracketer to try to go past the border of downtown, but also making it easier for them to request access to come to Astell completely."

"A tunnel?"

"More like an island. But it'll be right where the hole in the wall is. I know some businesses by the border of Astell need resources from the Brackets. That Island midsection could be a haven for them, as well as Bracketers who want to request access to lift their Ban. We can do background checks and have them fill out paperwork. This limits the possibilities of any more threats."

"That's not entirely a bad idea." Kanemaru nodded. "I'll take note of that."

"For now, we need to gather the fingerprints of all refugees. We'll register them as temporary residents, scan them and do background checks. And if possible, we can move them out of that camp and near a secluded area of town where there are some apartments. It'll be guarded all the time of course." Jax added, and all the council members but Cardinal and Henry agreed.

"Tomorrow, I'll give a National announcement regarding my father's death. But I want his memorial to be a private event. I'll take his award privately, it can be broadcasted."

"We can arrange that." Chauncey nodded.

"N96, you should go ahead and get Rory registered."

"I will. But she'll stay at my home. I'm not sending her anywhere."

"... Can I ask why?" Jax frowned.

"She's sick," Decha answered.

"Sick?"

"She has IDS."

"That disease is curable, right? She can go through treatment or—"

"We've tried that already, but her case is more severe. Her body rejects all the medication we give her. More than likely, her condition will worsen if not monitored properly."

Jax nodded and understood why he was so protective over the Bracket woman. Most of the refugees at the camp were in good health. Rory being alone in an apartment would probably make things worse for her.

"Alright. Then when she is registered, put her under your family name temporarily."

"Why would I put her under our household name? That's only for marriage." Decha narrowed his eyes.

"Well you could always register her as your child but... she's of legal age, so it may not be possible." Jax teased and tapped his shoulder. He left Decha there to glare at him.

It was going to be hard to ask Rory to scan. It was going to be difficult to get her registered. Decha already knew that Rory refused. He was going to have to find some way to convince her.

~~~

"How tall are you?" Decha leaned over the couch where Rory was sitting. She was watching her show and too caught up in it. When Decha spoke, it startled her.

He just got the paperwork he needed to send Rory's information to the Agency. To register as a temporary resident, he needed more than just her medical records.

"Um... five feet?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you answering my question with a question, Rory?" Decha sighed. "I'm serious, what's your height?"

"I'm five feet tall," Rory grumbled. "Why are you getting all hissy with me? You're the one bothering me while I watch TV."

"You look a lot shorter than five feet."

"Can you get out of my way?" Rory nudged him aside, trying to keep up with the scene on the screen.

"What's your blood type?"

"I don't remember." Rory shrugged. Decha marked that question for later. He was going to have to look through her medical records for that answer.

"When was the last time you had your menstruation?"

"What?!" Rory gasped, shocked to hear him ask her so boldly.

"When was the last time you had your period?"

"Why are you asking me that?!" Rory blushed, extremely embarrassed. "That's a personal question."

"I'm just curious." Decha lied, not making the situation any better. "I don't remember you bleeding in the last month. Unless you asked Jessica to buy you some sanitary items."

She didn't want to have this conversation with him. Rory shot up from the couch and stepped straight toward her room. Decha stopped her.

"Answer my question."

"No! I don't want to!"

"Rory,"

"I'll answer anything else but THAT. I don't care whether you're my Legal guardian or not, I think it's rude of you to even consider asking me something so... so..." Rory felt disgusted. "You're out of your mind."

"Okay, fine I'll ask another question." Decha sighed. "Have you had any relations with anyone in the past?"

A loud whack boomed across the room. Without realizing it, she slapped him. Decha's head whipped aside, but he barely nudged. He was still surprised that she struck him.

"Oh my god, I didn't mean to hit you!" Rory realized she just broke a law and reached up to grab his face. But then she realized she had a valid reason for doing so. "No, wait— you deserved that!" She dropped her hands to her sides.

"I deserved it?" Decha spat.

"Yes! You... are disgusting! Why would you ever insinuate me sleeping around with someone?"

"It's a simple question! All you had to say was no if you haven't!"

"You asked me about my period, then you asked me if I was... do you see what you're implying, you dope?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Decha huffed. All he was doing was asking questions the paper told him to.

"I'm not pregnant, I haven't had any relations with ANYONE, and I had my period 2 weeks ago. Before the Walls collapsed."

"What the heck?" Decha blinked at her, wondering why she brought up pregnancy. Wasn't she unable to get pregnant with her sickness? Giving birth would put a lot of stress on her and— Decha stopped when he realized. Asking the period question first and then about her relationships was a bit suspicious of him. "Shite, Rory, I—"

"Don't ask me any more questions." Rory crossed her arms angrily.

"It wasn't my intention to... insinuate anything."

"Then what were your intentions?" Rory sneered.

"I'm trying to register you as a temporary resident. The council has decided to change up some of the systems. We'll be able to keep track of all the refugees this way. These questions have to be answered and turned in."

"Then why didn't you say that first!?" She whined.

"Because you're not going to particularly like this process," Decha grumbled. "I need your fingerprints."

"Is that all?"

"... and you have to be scanned."

"No."

"Rory, I tried holding it off for long enough. But you don't have a choice this time."

"I'm not going to do it." Rory shook her head. "If you have to send me back to Sector B—"

"You're not going back to Sector B. End of story." Decha cut her off before they started another argument. "I get that you don't want to be scanned, but this is a requirement only for the Agency's records. If you don't want me to be there, I won't be there. I'll go into another room."

"There's a lot more going on for there to be a simple solution." Rory huffed.

"I know," Decha heaved. It was very complicated. Decha knew that Rory was hiding the state of her condition, but Rory didn't know that he knew, so the situation was all a mess. "It's only for the records."

"If I scan, will that mean I'll be able to roam Astell freely once the records go through?"

"Uh..."

"I won't have to stay here, right? Because I think I can manage on my own for a while. I think I've stayed here long enough."

"Not exactly." Decha didn't know how to explain that he was going to register her as a household member. He didn't want her sent away to the secluded apartments with the other Bracketers.

"Who do I have to talk to so I can stay somewhere else?"

"Me."

"So I'll be a temporary resident, but I'll still have to stay in your care?"

"Yep." Decha lied. He wasn't going to allow her to leave until she was fully recovered from her sickness.

Rory groaned in frustration.