Sydney
Slow, but needed. Changing routes was tiresome, but they arrived nonetheless. The children followed Murano's lead, and soon the group was in the midst of the waiting room. His eyes did not fail him though, Murano was still suffering much from the backlash of the curse mark. It was such a blessing to be back at the garden, as it allowed the tense fighter to relax his aching shins. Due to this, he would rest against a table that sat near Murano. It was heartwarming to see such a kind person who cares for these mistreated children to such a degree. A twinkle almost catches his eyes before-

*"This was a simple rescue mission. Staying does not necessarily mean you have to help us achieve our goals either, like acquiring funds, information, or going on dangerous missions."* *They made plenty of money on missions to afford such things, right?..* Yasu thought to himself. *"This Tekio is a good person, his kindness comes with no strings attached."* Almost sorta implying there were different Tekio's - which there were - it also let them know that he was not like Duplicate-sama. 

Wait, who actually was Duplicate-sama... He had forgotten because of all of the events happening, like the appearance of a horror but, who was the person she was referring to? Just what kind of person were they involved with?...No, no. No. That didn't matter, and interrogating these children would do nothing to help them or Blue Garden... He would stay quiet for now. Shielding his thoughts with a hand on Murano's shoulder after standing up. 

*"Besides Murano... We got one strange free-loader already."* After saying this, he mouthed the name of **NA-SA-KI**. Obviously he was just joking, trying to lighten the mood a little bit, or perhaps just his own.
Chris
As the rogues led the way through the waterfall and into their state-of-the-art lab, the children looked around with barely-concealed awe. It was a much more open, spacious floor plan than the lab they'd just come from. Even sitting down in a normal seat that didn't have straps attached to it seemed like a new experience. The three of them listened to Murano and Niko speak, Koike with her rippling body of eyes and Haiku with an expression that was either being kept tactfully blank, or was simply numb. Kika presumably was listening, though it was hard to tell given her state.

After Niko's attempt at a joke, there was a long pause as the children processed the adults' gentle assurances. Koike was the first to speak up: "I think you know what I'll say, Yokai-senpai." Then her eyes darted to the side- half of them pointing at Haiku, and the other half at Kika and her bubble. Her hand moved to its opposite arm, idly scratching at a spot below her shoulder (which, notably, was riddled with scratch-like scabs). "Ruiko-kun gave up his life so that we could be free. That doesn't mean you have to stay here, but . . . Haiku, you can't keep clinging to the dead. Duplicate wasn't a nice person. Neither was Saiko."

"*Shut up!*" Hissed Haiku, whose body now trembled- or maybe the extra arms he kept around his back were just shaking. "You're lucky, okay? *You* Had a life before. *You*'ve only been like this for a year. But I was there from the beginning, and I don't remember anything else!"

Despite the rising tension in the room, things felt oddly . . . Relaxed. There was a heavy, hazy sort of *Calm* In the air, like a thick fog that hung over everyone in the room. Everyone could feel it. Why worry about such things as kidnapped children? It was so nice and peaceful. So *Tranquil*. The gentle hum of the waterfall outside, the soft whir of the lights overhead, and a blissfully relaxing sensation overtaking everything . . .
Timothy
Murano listened quietly as the children discussed their situation amongst themselves. He could understand how jarring everything must be for Haiku, who seemed to know nothing else but life under Sakio and Duplicate's watch. He expected the Chimera would act much the same if they were suddenly told to live a new life without him or the laboratory. He wasn't sure on what Kiku had to say, or even if she had any thoughts on the matter at all. They'd need to perform some rudimentary experiments to- 

Wait, what was the point in worrying? It was time to relax, they'd already done their part in freeing the kids. They could think about everything else later. For now, he just wanted to be absorbed in this...*Peace.*

If this tranquil was an lake, then Murano's head was nearly submerged as various conversations with Nasaki began to surface in his mind. He'd warned him of how the Horrors fought, the sense of tranquil one experienced shortly before they appeared. He had yet to experience it, as Juhi was akin to something else, but he'd *Heard* Of it. 

Murano jumped to his feet, trying to shake the feeling away as he looked to the others. "Koike, take Haiku and Kika further into the laboratory. **It** Followed us. Yuki and Yasu, prepare for a fight, it's coming." 

Weaving through various seals, water would pour out of Murano's mouth and shoot up either arm to form a pair of menacing blades. He couldn't rely on his Chakra Scalpel techniques, considering Horror anatomy was likely vastly different to theirs. If it came down to it, he'd try, but he'd have to go through the rest of his kit before that point. 

Yuki withdrew her sword and fell back to Murano's side, keeping a wary gaze on the doorway they'd entered from.