Silver Chains and Broken Bonds.

Darkness. Weight. Silence. Natasha opened her eyes, but saw only darkness. She felt immense pressure on her back and legs. The air was stale, thick with brick dust that burned her throat. She coughed, and pain exploded in her ribs. She was alive. Barely.

"Why...?" she whispered into the darkness.

It wasn't a question. It was an existential lament. Why was she still breathing? The impact from the fan should have shattered her organs. If that didn't kill her, the building collapsing on her should have finished the job. Why was Natsuki, her own sister, doing this? Why was fate so intent on taking everything from her, again and again?

Natasha pushed a concrete beam with a groan of effort. Her body, hardened by years of training and reinforced by her Kijin Essence, responded. Slowly, she dug her way to the surface, moving aside bricks and twisted metal until she felt the cold water on her face.

She emerged from the rubble like a corpse rising from its grave. Her uniform was in tatters, bruises were forming on her pale skin, and dried blood caked her forehead. But what was broken wasn't her body, it was her spirit.

She shuffled toward the center of the street. The black rain washed the dust from her face, revealing an empty, lifeless expression. A few meters away, Natsuki stood with her back turned, watching the rain. Sensing her sister's weak aura, she turned her head with theatrical slowness.

"Ooooh..." Natsuki smiled, a smile that didn't reach her inverted eyes. "So you're still alive? Hehehe... Whoever trained you did an excellent job, little sister."

Natasha stopped. Her arms hung limply at her sides. There was no combat stance left. "Natsuki, why...?" her voice cracked. "Why are you on their side? The Calamity was supposed to have taken everything from us. They killed Dad, Mom... destroyed our home. Don't you remember anymore?"

Natsuki turned fully, walking toward her with light steps, making no sound in the puddles. "Family...?" she tilted her head, pretending to think. "Ah, yes. I remember something about that family of yours. Weak people. People who died a long time ago."

"Then why?" insisted Natasha, tears mixing with the rain.

"Does it matter?" Natsuki interrupted, her voice turning cold and sharp. "That day, when I was on the brink of death... I understood the truth. Neither you nor I were capable of defeating the General of Kanto. Humanity is fragile, Natasha." Natsuki stopped in front of her. Natasha didn't move. "It's better to join the strong than to be forgotten corpses in the rain," Natsuki said.

In a swift motion, the older sister enveloped Natasha in a hug. Natasha went rigid. Natsuki's body was cold, unnaturally cold, but the scent... the scent was the same as she remembered from childhood. Natsuki brought her lips to Natasha's ear and whispered with poisonous sweetness: "Don't you think so, little sister? Why not stop fighting... and join us?"

Natasha's heart wavered. She was so tired. So alone. The offer to surrender, to be with her sister again, was tempting. Her emotions screamed louder than her logic. She was about to raise her arms to return the hug, to accept her fate...

However, a sharp metallic sound cut through the air. Two silver chains, thick as serpents, whistled between the two sisters, grazing Natsuki's nose and forcing her to release Natasha and leap backward to avoid injury.

Natsuki landed gracefully on a flickering streetlight, looking with annoyance toward the darkness of a side alley. Natasha was left there, alone again, kneeling on the ground, trembling from the loss of contact.

"Come on now, Naty-chan," said a male voice, deep and heavy with reproach. "Are you really going to let yourself be convinced by a creature that claims to be your sister? I honestly expected more from you."

From the shadows emerged Kyosuke. The Class S walked with his hands in his pockets, though the chains extending from the bracelets on his forearms floated around him as if they had a life of their own. His suit was dirty, but his glasses were impeccable.

"Kyosuke..." Natasha murmured, too weak to stand.

Kyosuke stopped beside her, but didn't look at her. His eyes were fixed on the monster atop the lamppost. "I came because Kaori was hysterical," he said, shrugging. "She told me the base will probably fall today. And if that place goes to hell... her last order was to make sure at least you two survive. So... here I am. Saving your hide."

"Tsk..." Natsuki clicked her tongue from above, opening her fans. "Another nuisance. Humans are like cockroaches."

Natasha looked at Natsuki, then at Kyosuke. Cognitive dissonance swirled in her head. "Kyosuke... that woman is..."

"Yes, I know," Kyosuke cut her off dryly. He adjusted his glasses with his middle finger, a habitual gesture that meant he was serious. "I heard everything from the alley. I know who she claims to be."

He glanced sidelong at Natasha, who was still kneeling, broken. Kyosuke sighed. This wasn't the time to be gentle. "Listen, Natasha. If you can't deal with that thing because it reminds you of your sister..." Kyosuke took his hands out of his pockets.

With a metallic roar, more meters of chain unspooled from his arms, gleaming under the lightning. The silver metal resonated with his own Kijin Essence. "...Then let me do it."

Without another word, Kyosuke bent his knees and shot forward. "DIE, you damned witch!"

The chains lashed out like hypersonic whips, seeking to crush Natsuki. The kimono-clad girl jumped from the lamppost just before the pole was pulverized by the metal impact.

Natasha remained there, under the ceaseless rain. She was a spectator in her own tragedy. Her best friend was fighting to the death against the only family she had left. And she could do nothing but watch, paralyzed by the pain of a heart that didn't know whom to choose.