A/N: Inspiration for this story came from a webtoon that I really enjoyed named Trump (no, not Donald Trump). The names of the main characters (except for Vergil) came from there. I recommend reading Trump if you have the time! :)

P.S. Before anyone gets confused, Hadrian is the name of the supernatural police force in this one-shot.

[Memories Are Lost]

Ran Bellenisima was enjoying himself a good cup of coffee in a calm night when the phone rang. It was business as usual, and regardless of how he really wanted a relaxing night alone in the silence, he held a position that often prevented him from doing what he wanted. What surprised him when he took a look at the brightly lit screen of his phone, however, was not the name of his assistant, but his close friend.

"What's up?" He picked up the call with a small bounce in his tone of voice. It had been long since he last spoke to either of the Sparda brothers. Dante had gone missing on a mission for years now, and nobody had heard of him. Speculation on the streets were that Dante was either dead, or had found himself a succubus who led him down into the depths of Hell. As a close friend who had trained and grown up alongside Dante, Ran knew that he should be worried about his friend's safety, but there was really no need.

Anyone who knew Dante well would easily put faith in the man's ability to survive all sorts of situation. The Sparda twins were practically cockroaches.

"Ran..."

The airy voice that spoke his name gave him a chill in his spine, as he mentally corrected himself. Vergil Sparda was practically a cockroach when it came to his physical abilities and wits, whenever he was hard at work. But around his family and friends, the man was almost too embarrassing for Ran to recognise as a friend. They might be friends, but sometimes even Ran couldn't comprehend how split personality disorder could be so perfectly expressed in one man.

"What's wrong?" Ran sat up. "Where are you?"

"My place." The answer came, but it took someone who knew Vergil well to hear the tight tension in his voice.

"Be there in a moment." Ran promised and hung up the call. It was rare for Vergil to call, especially after he withdrew from the Hadrian to spend quiet twosome time with his newly-married wife, but it was extremely rare for the same man to call sounding so upset. This was definitely something Ran could not ignore and brush off as nothing. Split personality disorder be damned, Vergil was on to something serious this time.

Forgetting the cup of coffee now, Ran didn't even bother changing out of his sweatpants as he threw on a shirt and coat. Then, because he was a Captain in Hadrian, the sole enforcement agency of the country, he was thus allowed to use teleportation magic whenever he liked. Ran casted a quick spell and stepped through his self-made portal.

The smell of blood and charred things was strong. It was dark all around, but Ran's fears were confirmed when he heard crying sounds, accompanied with distant crackling sounds of a fire still going on somewhere.

"Verge?" Ran whispered, crouching on instincts. He could smell demon in the air, but couldn't be sure if it was still around or had already gone.

"Outside..." He heard the low voice of the man, and now that he was hearing it in person and not through the phone, he was struck by how hoarse it was. The man had seriously been crying, and the Vergil Sparda he knew didn't cry.

Running outside towards the sound of his friend's voice, Ran was struck by a frozen spell when he appeared at the door and saw the mess in the lawn. Remains of what used to be demons covered almost every visible inch of the grass, but in the middle was a horrible scene of Vergil Sparda sitting under the moonlight with blood soaking his shirt. Tears streamed from his eyes as he looked up to see Ran.

The breath of shock shook itself out of Ran's chest when he saw the bundle that Vergil was holding in his arms, and how chest was no longer moving up and down.

"W-W-What happened?" Ran forced himself to move forwards, closer to take in the scene.

He wasn't even sure if he was shocked to see a small head of red hair on the floor beside Vergil, eyes closed. The young boy who definitely could not be older than 3 years old was still breathing, and though bloodied by his mother's blood, he looked to be unscathed. The boy's resemblance to his father was remarkable.

"Her last words... were to make me promise never to expose Kasin to needless dangers from demons again..." Vergil said as Ran approached, hands smoothing out the long curtain of red hair that was wet with crimson blood. Under the moonlight, the whiteness of Sia's face almost glittered in Ran's eyes. The lips that had used to kiss Vergil passionately in front of Ran were completely pale. Like a porcelain doll, Vergil's wife was draped across the man's lap, limp in his arms.

"But... she was a level 9 witch with the ability of Alternate Reality..." Ran said slowly, brain slow to process the truth in front of his eyes. Ran met Sia in Remsera, the school of magic, and they had both graduated as the top two students of their cohort in both theory and practical. Sia's innate capability was ranked equal to Ran, so how was it possible that an ex-Hadrian officer like Sia could be ruined by demons so easily?

"I need a favour from you, Ran..." Vergil looked back up slowly to see Ran standing beside him, completely shell-shocked. "Take care of Kasin for me."

"What? I-" Ran could easily assume that Kasin was the name of the red-haired boy sleeping beside Vergil.

"Sia and I never registered his birth. We intended to home-school him since his mother was a level 9 witch and his father is a Sparda... Take care of Kasin, Ran. He will never be safe if he is around me. Demons will always come for a Sparda, and I will never be able to honour Sia's last wish if I stay by his side." Vergil interrupted, hand bloodied with his wife's blood clutching to the ends of his friend's sweatpants. "Please, Ran..."

"What will I tell him about his parents?"

"I wiped his memories. He is only 3. He has time to build more memories with you. He will be safer with you, Ran. Please, protect Kasin."

"You are his father, Vergil." Ran could not believe what the man was talking about. "Even if it is difficult, you have to protect your own son."

"I am a Sparda. You know how my whole life has been like. Sia doesn't want that life for Kasin. Sia died for Kasin. Help me fulfil her last wish, Ran. Please."

"What about you? What is going to happen to you?" Ran knew that the man wasn't going to tell him anything about what had happened, and in all honesty, Ran wasn't sure if his guts could be able to withstand a recollection of what Vergil had gone through. After all, Sia had also been a great friend and colleague when they were all working in Hadrian in the same team.

"Wipe my memories, Ran. Wipe them clean. I burnt all pictures I had of Sia and Kasin that I could find. Wipe them clean from my mind, Ran, so that I will never come back to meet Kasin and put him in danger ever again."

"You're kidding!" Ran's shock was even greater now. "You're crazy, Vergil. You need to calm down and think clearly."

"I am calm!" Vergil's arms around his wife's dead body tightened. "You're the only person who knows the truth, and let the truth die with you. Kasin is the only thing left in my life that I have to protect, and if forgetting him and Sia is going to keep him safe, then do it. I have nothing to be afraid of if it will make me stay away from him and keep him safe. I'm leaving him with you, because you're the only person left that I know is a level 10 witch."

"You are a level 10 demon, Vergil. You can protect your son."

"I am a level 10 demon with Sparda's blood." Vergil answered. "Dante is missing because he is a Sparda, and Sia died because she married a Sparda. Don't let the same fate happen to Kasin, Ran. Save him from this fate. I beg you."

Ran knew that he shouldn't be listening to his friend since Vergil was very obviously distraught over his wife's death, but for some reason, he was convinced as well that his friend had thought everything through. Vergil might have split personality disorder, but clear, rational thought process was something that applied to this man no matter the circumstance. Ran knew in his heart that Vergil had decided on the most rational and safest course of action for his son, and that no matter how Ran pondered over the situation, he would never find a decision more apt than the one Vergil was currently suggesting.

The time for decision came to an end when Vergil finally let the limp body go, ignoring the blood on his arms. Tender hands that had clearly been trained for the past 3 years in secret picked up the sleeping boy and Vergil turned to look at Ran. Now that he was closer, he could see even more likeness of the boy to his father and mother. Kasin had inherited his mother's flaming red hair and small nose, but his lips were undoubtedly his father's. Even with his eyes closed and sleeping peacefully under Vergil's powers, the boy looked like an angel.

"Be his father because I can't. Let him grow up well, and let me forget him so that he will be safe from me. I won't ask for anything more from you."

It took one look in his friend's eyes for Ran to know that they had reached a crossroad in their lives. The decision that Vergil had made was one that neither of them would ever be able to turn back on. There would be no wavering, no looking back.

"You are not going to remember this when you wake up," Ran paused to receive the small boy in his arms, not surprised when he found he could rest the boy against his shoulder with one arm, "But once you make this decision, I am Kasin's father. Can you really bear it?"

"I have to." The sorrow in Vergil's eyes spoke for volumes, and Ran knew that there was no shaking the man. To drag this out was only going to put the both of them in more emotional struggles.

"Then, forget." Ran said, and put the palm of his free hand on his friend's forehead, drawing a magic circle in his head. "You asked for this."

"Thank you." Vergil answered with closed eyes.

A soft glow occurred as Ran watched the memory threads of the past few years slither out of Vergil's forehead in glowing golden colours. Ran made sure not to take out too much, but cleaned out very perfectly all memories of his son and wife.

Then, when it was all done, Ran laid his friend's unconscious self on the floor beside Sia and whispered a silent prayer and promise for the woman to rest in peace and let him protect Kasin for their sake. Ran held the precious boy sleeping carefully as he walked back into the house, and picked up the phone.

The call to the Hadrian emergency hotline connected almost immediately.

"There has been a murder in Captain Vergil Sparda's house." Ran reported lowly.

________________________________________________________________________________

15 years later...

Councillor Vergil Sparda adjusted his tie and frowned at himself in the mirror dressed in a trainee officer's outfit. He had been wearing his suits for too long and was now no longer used to his image. In particular, he was extremely unused to his hair being jet black and windswept to the side, but he had been assured by his assistant that it was the current fashion trend of the men in their late twenties.

"Mr. Sparda, you have-" His assistant started to say as she walked into his office, startling in shock when she spotted him standing in front of the mirror. "Is that you, Councillor?"

"You don't recognise me?" He asked, not sure if he should be proud that his disguise was working perfectly, or insulted that his assistant could not recognise him.

"The clothes and hairstyle can really change a man." His assistant answered smartly, knowing the words to say. "I will miss seeing you in the office, Councillor."

"I will still be back in the office for meetings. I cannot have people talking about how a Councillor is missing from Executive Committee meetings." He answered. "Now, before I act like a complete retard in my new team, is there anything you need?"

"Oh, no. I forgot that the project starts today. I was about to inform you that a class from the magic school Remsera is here to visit the Hadrian Investigative Headquarters and was wondering if you would like to receive them personally for a short while for an eye-opener."

"Like you said, the project starts today." Vergil removed his lanyard that proclaimed his identity as Councillor from around his neck, pushing it into the hands of his assistant. "As of now, my name is Cassian. I have to go now; Team 707 is waiting for their newest recruit."

"At least let me escort you to the training room."

"Do as you wish." Vergil answered, picking up his new ID where it had been delivered to him. It was really strange to see himself with black hair and a windswept hairstyle, but at least he could still recognise his own eyes, nose and lips. His name was Cassian now, and the biggest challenge of his disguise project was that he was now labelled as a level 3 witch.

Vergil was not very sure how he was about to fake some witch powers to prove himself to his new team members. At the very least, he could lie and say that his innate capability made it impossible for him to show his powers unless in a dangerous situation, but being looked down upon for having an ability that was not actively useful was not something he looked forward to. Most importantly, Vergil hoped that no one in his new team would be able to recognise the level 10 powers of a demon. Team Leader Yan was a level 6 demon, and if Vergil was careless, he could easily be spotted for not being a witch.

Exactly like how he had anticipated it, Vergil's journey to his new department within the office building was spent with no one recognising him. There were a few curious looks as to why the Councillor's assistant was following him, but Vergil was smart enough to act nervous, eyes darting around as if taking in a new scene.

"I'll leave you here, Mr. Cassian." His assistant was also good at acting once they reached the door that would lead him to his newest workplace for the next few days, months, years. "Good luck for your first job."

Luck. He was going to need a lot of it.

Vergil opened the door to his department, not surprised to see eyes watching him curiously when he walked in, bowing in polite respect to his 'seniors'. He was acting as the newest trainee officer, after all, and needed to show the manners appropriate to his title.

"You're the new witch guy. The Councillor's office told me you were coming in soon to help out, but I wasn't sure when." A remarkable man in silver-grey hair stood tall with a friendly smile, approaching him immediately with a formal outstretched hand meant for a shake. "I am your team leader. Call me Yan."

"Cassian." Vergil answered, accepting the handshake politely. "I hope that I will be of help in the future. Please guide me."

"First task for you, New Guy," Yan's smile was still plastered on his face, but Vergil sensed some slight shift in the mood and was wary immediately. "Get me a cup of coffee in thirty seconds. The countdown started ten seconds ago."

________________________________________________________________________________

2 years later...

"Cass, have you prepared the files for Layside Street Murders?" Level 5 shapeshifter Hogan asked.

Wordlessly, since he was still in the middle of his sip of coffee, Vergil handed the said file over to his team mate.

"Your conjecture is that the murderer is a demon? The evidence from the crime scene clearly showed it was a witch." Level 2 demon Eid questioned as he leaned in to read the contents of the file.

"It was too obvious that it was a witch. Also, there was the faint smell of demon beneath all the spellcasting residue. The smell of something rotting will never escape my nose." Vergil answered, finishing the last of his coffee? "Where is Yan?"

"He went with Moran to collect the new witch." Eid answered with a yawn. "For a Team Leader, he is really bad at keeping time. No wonder the Councillor's Office always throws the hard cases to us. If you aren't here with us, Cass, I don't know how we're going to survive."

"You'll survive." Vergil answered, checking his phone for any updates. He had been in the disguise of Cassian for the past 2 years, but disappointingly, his undercover investigation was still not coming up with anything. The strange spirit that had been rumoured to be attacking only the witches of Team 707 hadn't shown up in the past 2 years. Was it because this 'spirit' could sense that he was not actually a witch? Vergil was not inclined to believe in things such as spirit, but as the Councillor, he had been forced to take action to find out the truth while keeping things hushed. Talks about things like spirits always unnecessarily spooked people out, and Hadrian officers were no exception to that.

"By the way, I heard Yan struck gold this time with recruitment." Hogan started in the silence of the meeting room. "The new witch is level 8. If he gains enough experience with us as a trainee officer, the Councillor's Office will promote him to be a Team Leader. Aren't you worried, Cass?"

"Worried? What for?" Vergil asked with disinterest. The only thing that could possibly worry him about the newest recruit was that it might possibly draw out this 'spirit' since a proper, real witch was finally joining Team 707. But if New Guy was level 8, then Vergil assumed that the 'spirit' would have some problems getting rid of New Guy even if it appeared.

"You've been with us for 2 years, Cass, but your magic hasn't seen improvement. You can't even move a pencil with your innate power." Eid answered helpfully.

"I told you, my power only appears in times of danger." Vergil lied fluidly as he had done for the past 2 years. They had been through this too many times than Vergil bothered to count. "I saved Hogan's ass that time he was cornered by a bunch of demons."

"There wasn't any trace of witch magic. You're lying about using your power, aren't you? Some by stander helped you out with his/her demon power, and you just sliced your way through the rest." Eid answered. "But whoever that demon was, it was real strong. The taste of the demonic power was so bitter in my tongue, it stayed for days. Your saviour was really a god-sent, Cass."

"Nobody saved me." Vergil insisted, though he couldn't venture more to tell his teammates the truth; that he had used his own demonic power once he saw that Hogan had fallen unconscious, instantly wiping out all the demons on scene in that one incident.

"Still, I don't think you're going to get kicked out of the team. You might be lousy in your witch magic, but you've got a brain smarter than anyone around here. New Guy definitely won't be able to beat you in terms of brain power."

"How reassuring." Vergil muttered, not really keeping track of the conversation as he checked his watch. "Yan is taking his time."

"Of course I'm taking my time. I'm getting someone with proper witch powers to replace you, Cass." The man in topic opened the door to the meeting room on cue, taking the attention of everyone as the silver-grey haired man strutted his way into the room, followed by level 4 shapeshifter Moran. Behind them trailed a young man with a head of short bright red hair, dressed in a simple white shirt and jeans. For a man about to work in a government agency like the Hadrian, he was showing an awful lack of respect for the dress code.

Vergil's first impression of the young man based on his clothes was not doing him well, but he resisted making more judgement as the trio filed into the room, New Guy looking around at all of them with face of open curiosity and eagerness. It was a good look for any new guy –particularly a fresh graduate from Remsera like him. Still, there was not any part of him that looked distantly like a level 8; though Vergil was wary to impose an absolute judgement just based on sight.

"New Guy, meet your new team. Go talk to them or something and come report to me in thirty minutes. Meeting for the Layside Street Murders will start in forty-five." Yan yawned, patted the new guy's head in a move that clearly undermined the young man, then left.

"Hi, I'm Eid. Level 2 demon. I'm the tech guy of the team." Eid was first to approach the uncertain young man with a friendly smile.

"I didn't get to introduce myself on the walk over here. I'm Moran. Level 4 Shapeshifter. I'm the admin personnel. If you have to take days off, come straight to me." Moran was quick to follow.

"Hogan. Level 5 Shapeshifter. Come to me if you want to get roughened up. You look like you still need some help getting into shape."

Vergil knew that his cue to come in with the next introduction had been given, but he couldn't be bothered. His assistant had forwarded an email from the Remsera School, saying that they had just found out that one of their graduates turned out to be the son of a criminal, and that there was high possibility that this fresh graduate had infiltrated Hadrian with the rest of his cohort.

"Come on, Cass. Don't pretend to be a badass." Eid encouraged, but Vergil couldn't really be bothered at the moment. He would simply keep a look out for New Guy just in case the rumoured spirit really appeared, but that was all he would bother himself with.

"You'll tell him about me even if I don't." Vergil answered shortly, typing a quick reply to his assistant to raise the alarm levels and have the Team Leaders to check up closely on their newest recruits.

"That's Cassian." Moran picked up since he had clearly shown disinterest in petty things like introduction. "Level 3 witch. Don't count on him for being a witch, however. He doesn't have his innate power until times of danger. He's only useful nowadays because of his brains. That's why we have you here with us; you're here to make up for the fact that he can't use his magic for nuts."

"I could use it to save Hogan's ass once, I'll do it gladly a few more times for you under the right circumstance." Vergil answered to warn his teammates that he was still in proper hearing range. "Now, be done with introductions. I have something to attend to."

"How about it? You haven't told us about yourself, New Guy. How about a name?" Eid prompted, gladly pulling the limelight off Vergil, and onto the new guy who had been quietly observing this whole while.

"My name is Kasin. Level 8 witch. I don't know how I can fit into this team, but I'll try my best. Please guide me."

Kasin.

Vergil's fingers fumbled for a quick moment, and his phone slid through them, crashing on the floor with a loud clatter that took the attention again. Face going softly red in embarrassment at the fumble, he picked his phone up again, resuming the composing of his email while the name floated through his head. Kasin. He had heard this name before, but where?

"What brings you to Hadrian? Did you come here because your parents forced you to? Having innate power of level 8 usually ends you up teaching in Remsera, don't you?" Eid was his saviour, for the man continued the conversation as if he hadn't done anything embarrassing.

"I signed myself up to Hadrian. My dad was actually against it, but I insisted."

"Hadrian isn't exactly a young boy's dream job." Hogan put in suspiciously.

"I'm here to find someone. Getting into Hadrian is only step 1." The young man answered, clearly unafraid to profess his beliefs. The young one was confident of himself –something that Vergil approved of. With innate power levelling at 8, it was completely understandable for the young one to be proud of himself.

"Is that someone we should know about? We can try to connect you to that person if it's in our power."

"I doubt so. I'm looking for the Councillor."

Vergil jerked suddenly, bumping into his table loudly. Eyes once more turned to him in curiosity, but he purposefully kept his eyes and slightly red face on his phone. The young man had signed up to be in Hadrian just to find him?

"Councillor Sparda?" Eid repeated in confusion, quick to forgive Vergil's sudden quirk. "Whatever would you look for him for? Most of us normal officers don't like to go see him for no reason. Even Yan says he get the jitters from seeing him at the other end of the table during the annual Team Leaders meeting."

"So I heard. I need to talk to him." The young man didn't seem fazed at all, which was a small cause of curiosity for Vergil himself.

"You don't just 'talk to him', New Guy." Hogan said with a hint of disapproval. "Councillor Sparda's not someone to mess with. I heard he was dangerous when he was younger, but he is positively lethal ever since he got injured and lost his memories. Nobody talks to him for casual conversation unless they have a death wish."

"I need to talk to him even if I die." New Guy insisted while Vergil silently approved of the young man's bravery and confidence.

After being in Team 707 for the past 2 years, he had heard a crazy multitude of rumours that surrounded him as the Councillor. For some reason, the Hadrian officers had made him look like some sort of a fallen angel, an omnipotent being who had little tolerance for anything other than business. While it was true when Vergil was in his work mode, the Vergil of daily life was rather different. He appreciated a chat or two with his subordinates, and maybe some sparring sessions to educate the young ones.

Yet, according to rumours, the Hadrian officers had made him out to be something even more demonic than he actually was. As how the story went around in Hadrian, 17 years ago, Vergil apparently had a big falling out with his best friend Ran Bellenisima over his wife. According to rumours, Ran and Sia had been madly in love when Vergil somehow stole the woman and forced marriage onto her. 17 years ago, Ran had sought revenge with a vengeance, and somehow it had ended up with Vergil's wife dead, and Vergil with a terrible memory loss. With a murder charge on his head, Ran had gone into hiding ever since and the ex-captain of Hadrian had never been seen again.

Vergil would have liked to confirm the facts and rumours to the public, but the biggest problem was that there was a large hole in his memory ever since he woke up 17 years ago in the hospital. Everyone had told him that his wife was dead, and that the culprit was Ran –because the Hadrian officers on scene had detected extremely powerful levels of witch magic that could only be executed by the level 10 witch.

But the worst thing was that try as he might, he could not remember. Everyone had told him that he had been married for 3 years, but there were no memories of the woman at all. Everyone had told him that his best friend –his only remaining childhood friend since Dante was gone –had betrayed him, killed his wife and injured him badly. Yet, somehow, Vergil couldn't imagine Ran doing something like that. From what Vergil remembered of Ran, the level 10 witch would rather die than touch a hair on his friends. Ran knew very well how dangerous his witch powers were, and wouldn't use it for no reason, particularly not on Vergil.

But strength of faith was not helping Ran's case, because the man had disappeared after committing his crime. For 17 years, Vergil had been left to deal with Hadrian alone, wondering why there was a black hole in his memories, and –if Ran had really erased his memories –why it was so.

"Cass? Your phone is ringing." Hogan's question pulled Vergil out of his reverie, and he blinked up to see everyone, including a pair of very familiar aquamarine blue eyes looking at him. The flaming red hair looked like something Vergil had seen often, but he couldn't explain why he got that feeling. The name Kasin had also struck something in Vergil, but he couldn't understand why. Everything about New Guy was striking Vergil strange.

"You okay, sir?" New Guy asked with a small look of concern.

"I... I'm fine." Vergil excused quickly when the moment dragged on for a little too long. "I need a break."

Nobody could say anything more before Vergil tore out of the meeting room like Hellhounds had suddenly been released on his tail.

________________________________________________________________________________

One Month Later...

Ran Bellenisima was a wanted criminal with a bounty of 50 million on his head, and still he fearlessly walked into the one place that all criminals with a proper mind should avoid. He might be a level 10 witch, but with a place teeming full of shapeshifters, witches and demons of all varying levels, Ran couldn't be completely sure if he was going to get busted or not.

But what the heck. He had already travelled this far. Turning back to hide away was not only going to give him more regrets to think back on, but it would also be letting down the promise he made to his friend.

Praying with all his heart that his son's mother could hear his plea to keep him blissfully hidden, Ran walked his disguised self through the front doors of the Hadrian HQ. The bustle inside the HQ was something distantly nostalgic, but he didn't have the time to relive the days in which he was still a captain in this place. Ran was no more a Captain. He was a wanted fugitive with a kill-on-sight order placed on him.

He approached the front desk, waiting for his turn in the queue of civilians wanting to meet various officers of various departments and teams for various reasons. How many times had the receptionists called him to tell him he had a visitor when he was still a captain? There had been people of all sorts: eyewitnesses surrendering information, criminals tired of running and intending to confess, people who had heard of his prestige and wanting him on their cases... the list of people looking for him had been endless. And now, he was about to be one of those people standing at the other side of the desk, asking for someone instead of being asked for.

"Good morning. How may I help you?"

"I am looking for a new officer trainee. His name is Kasin, and he is posted in Team 707 of the Investigative Department."

"I'm sorry, we are not allowed to contact trainees directly. Will it be fine if we contacted him through his Team Leader Yan?"

Ran shortly considered his options, then gave a nod. If he was hesitant to let anyone know that Kasin had a visitor, then he might as well give up this notion.

"May I have a name, or any sort of relation to Trainee Kasin?" The receptionist enquired with a polite smile.

"My name is Mio." Ran lied, knowing clearly that his son would recognise this name even on his deathbed. Mio was the call sign for Ran in his days as Captain, but the only people alive to recognise it was his son and the Councillor.

Thankfully the name Mio didn't raise any alarms, and he was instructed with the directions to the office of Team 707. Glad that he hadn't gotten under anyone else's radar yet, Ran gave his thanks and made his innocently normal way to the elevator which was coincidentally, and thankfully empty at the very moment. His wish to be left alone in the elevator, however, was interrupted when someone rushed into the small space right before the door closed.

Ran shuffled to let the newcomer a little bit of space, watching as the newcomer reached forwards to press a button, then hesitate and withdraw his hand upon the realisation that the desired floor was already chosen.

Ran waited uncomfortably in silence as the elevator made its slow ascent, and decided, instead, to study the newcomer who had rushed into the cramped space without so much a word or apology. Black hair was swept and styled to one side with a good amount of gel, and the image of a man with authority suited the black suit that the man wore. From his old days in Hadrian, Ran recognised that men in suits were fully fledged officers.

Carefully, Ran let his eyes travel down the shape of the man standing in front of him, with papers in his hands. An ID card hanging from the man's waist snagged his attention, and Ran squinted with his best effort to try making out a name. He couldn't see the face on the ID card clearly in the dim lights of the elevator, but he could make out a few letters in larger font.

Cassian (707)

"You're in Team 707?" Ran could not stop himself from asking, his voice sounding loud in the silence that had been in the elevator previously.

"Yes." The man answered with a surprised jolt, turning around to meet eyes with him. Ran's heart skipped a quick beat when he met sharp aquamarine blue eyes, but composed himself perfectly well to betray nothing on his face. "Are you looking for someone from my team?"

"I'm looking for Kasin." Ran answered.

"Oh." The short answer gave Ran a weird feeling. Was that relief, or disappointment he heard in the man's voice? Actually, the man's voice sounded almost distantly familiar. "You have business with him?"

"Something like that." Ran gave his vague answer, and was glad that the man didn't seem bothered to want to know more. Then, because his curiosity had been burning since he learnt that his wayward son had entered the Hadrian, Ran could not stop the next question from spilling from his lips. "Have you met the Councillor before? Does he come around checking on the teams?"

What Ran really wanted to ask was if Councillor Sparda had met his son again after so many years, but it wasn't something that he could ask directly to just anyone.

"The Councillor?" The man named Cassian repeated with a look of confusion, but Ran strangely saw something like amusement glittering in shocking blue eyes. Was it him, or was aquamarine blue eyes getting more and more common in the gene pool nowadays? "No. I have never met the Councillor before. He doesn't come out from his office unless he absolutely has to, and he doesn't have time for mere officers like us. Only our Team Leader Yan has met him before. Why? You got something to say about him?"

"No, I was just curious. He's the only level 10 demon around, so he's famous where I live." Ran replied quickly, hoping that his lousy excuse would be forgiven and accepted innocently.

"We're here." Cassian announced, and led the way out of the elevator. "I'll bring you to the office. Kasin is most likely there."

"Thank you." Ran said, glad to have met a stroke of luck to meet his son's teammate. He didn't want to reveal his identity as Kasin's father just as yet. It was for the best if everyone around assumed that he was just a stranger –or perhaps just a friend –to Kasin. If there ever came one day that anyone realised that he (Mio) was actually the wanted fugitive, at least it wouldn't put Kasin in a dangerous position.

"You know Kasin well, sir?" The conversation started again, because it seemed like they needed some walking to get to the Investigative Department.

"I'm a friend. Just visiting since I happened to pass by the area. How is he doing in the team?"

"He is a smart one. He must have inherited some good genes from his parents. Solid foundation in magic studies, analytical mind. He was a little weaker in the physical aspect when he first came, but we trained him up well. He's a good worker. All he needs is a bit more experience, then he'll be able to lead a team anywhere in the Hadrian." The answer was quick and precise –very analytical. Strangely, Ran felt a hint of nostalgia from this analytical tone of voice.

"That's good to hear. I'm glad that he is doing well."

"He has a frustrating tendency to go looking for trouble, however. He is also stubborn to a fault, and I worry that he might suffer from some personality disorder given how great his personality diverges between situations." The continuation of the analysis, and this time Ran was surprised to hear the judgement made on his son by an objective third party.

Ran had known that his son was a trouble maker and a stubborn mule when Kasin wanted to be, but the personality bit was something not many people bothered caring about. Most of Kasin's friends had written down the wild mood swings as Kasin being crazy, but Ran knew better. Kasin had inherited his personality disorder from his father.

In fact, Kasin had displayed so many inherited characteristics over his years of growing up that it had almost driven Ran crazy. Every little trait that young boy had displayed had reminded Kasin of his parents, and while Ran had loved Kasin like his own flesh and blood, those had also been cruel reminders to Ran that Kasin was not really his.

"His powers are also troubling. He is charted as a level 8 witch, but he shows hints of demonic energy. His spells and magic have a small sour aftertaste on the tongue, like a demon's work... And as a level 8 witch, he should only be able to use up to the abilities of elements. He is slowly crossing into the domain of time and space... Perhaps Remsera should conduct their banding test on him once more just to make sure that he isn't actually level 9 or 10." Cassian continued, and Ran checked the man only to realise that he seemed to be introverting and speaking his thoughts aloud. It was funny; how this move actually reminded him of his best friend. When they were younger and studying together –Ran studying his witch magic while Vergil studied his demon lore –Vergil had always put his analytical mind to work, and narrated his thoughts aloud for Ran to catch his flow.

"You seem to know much about witchcraft. Is it safe to assume that you are also a witch?" Ran asked casually. The guy didn't seem like a witch, but then again, nobody looked like what they were.

"Level 3." Cassian nodded. "But my magic is weak at best. I'm good for the team for only my instincts and wits. You?"

"Witch as well. I don't know my level since I wasn't tested." Ran lied, since there was no possible way he could reveal himself as a level 10 witch without raising the alarms. There was only one level 10 witch in the universe thus far, and it was Ran. Just like how there was only two level 10 demons in the universe, and Dante had gone missing, leaving only Vergil to claim the title.

Cassian stopped walking, and Ran did the same one step later, turning around with curiosity. What he saw, instead, was a pair of suspicious eyes pinned on him. Ran's caution rose immediately, though he could not imagine what it could possibly have been that he said that would suddenly raise the alarm levels of a Hadrian officer.

"You are not Kasin's friend from Remsera?" The question sounded like an interrogation.

"N-No." Ran could not stop his stutter at how sharp the aquamarine blue eyes suddenly seemed as pupils sharpened on him like an eagle's unforgiving gaze. The only person he had ever seen such a sharp gaze from before had been Vergil, and it was a very strange feeling to witness it once again from an officer in Hadrian. "I'm his friend before he got into Remsera. I'm a traveller."

"You do trading for a living?" The suspicion was still thick on Cassian's tone, and Ran could easily imagine how many criminals would cave to confess under this tone of voice.

"Yes. I met Kasin when he was much younger." Ran lied. Technically, he had met Kasin when the boy was only 3 years old. It wasn't exactly a lie.

"What kind of business of trading? Goods? Information?"

"A little bit of everything." Ran answered vaguely, not willing to commit to a name of profession. This Cassian was smart, and Ran didn't want to tempt fates. It was clear that he had triggered the alarms of this officer somehow, and Ran didn't want his identity to be easily found out even if he had made this officer suspicious.

"What were you trading when you met Kasin? What are you trading now?"

"It's my business to trade. I trade everything." Ran avoided answering absolute answers as best as he could.

"Are you looking Kasin up for one of your business deals now?"

"No, but even if so, it will be perfectly legal." Ran balked. What if he was really a trader? This Hadrian officer was really getting his feathers flustered for no good reason. Besides, worrying about Kasin's friend's suspicious background was a job meant for Kasin's father, not a teammate like Cassian. "I don't have to answer these questions to you, Officer Cassian. It will not help your investigation in any way."

"I decide what will help my investigation and what doesn't." The answer was made with an unrepentant tone, and Ran knew that he wasn't let so easily off the hook. "Let me warn you, Kasin's friend: If you intend to harm a hair on Kasin, Team 707 will have no qualms doing everything to take you in. Personally, I will see that you will regret trying to harm my team mate."

A quiet part of Ran was glad that his son had met such a fiercely loyal team mate so determined to protect him and vigilant of possible dangers. The other noisier part of Ran, however, was insulted that someone who was practically a stranger to his son was threatening him –Kasin's father –against harming the boy. Even if Kasin didn't have a single thought of putting his son in danger anywhere in his head, he was a little annoyed –mostly at himself –that the one fiercely and openly protecting Kasin was not Ran himself, but just a team mate like Cassian.

Just a level 3 witch like Cassian.

"Warn me for all you like." Ran bulked with a frown. "I am Kasin's friend, and I do not deserve such hostile treatment from an office like you in an innocent visit to see my friend. If you doubt my position, then Kasin will prove to you that I am worth of proper trust and undeserving of your baseless accusations."

"We will see." Cassian answered coldly, and it seemed like they had somehow reached a stalemate in their conversation. Ran was almost sorry to see the departure of a rather amicable man from the elevator, but he wasn't here to make nice with Kasin's team mates. Ran was here to visit his son, and he wasn't about to let an innocent team mate ruin it.

They reached the office soon enough, and Cassian didn't say a word before taking a seat at his work station. Ran could not see his son anywhere in the office, and thus moved towards where the Team Leader's table was, sectioned perfectly to be constantly monitoring that other officers hard at work. The silver-grey hair of a man with his legs propped up on the table made Ran immediately assume that he was the Team Leader Yan of Team 707.

"Good morning." Ran cleared his throat to gain the attention of the rather-lazy looking man who hadn't moved his eyeballs away from his phone since Ran's arrival into the office. "I'm looking for Kasin."

"You're the guy the receptionist called about? Mio?" Yan answered with a bored tone, eye rolling over to Ran just in time to catch him nodding before swivelling back to his phone before yelling at the top of his voice. "Kasin! Your buddy Mio's here to visit!"

The shout made everyone in the office look up briefly from their jobs, but look back down equally quickly when they spied Ran waiting innocently beside their Team Leader's table. What surprised Ran was that the officer Cassian didn't look back down to his table, but stared at him instead, a face full of shock.

"Mio?" Ran distantly heard his son's familiar voice coming from the back room. "What Mio-"

The sentence was cut shortly off when Ran saw his son's head poking out from the room's open door, and he met Kasin's eyes.

"Oh shit! What the heck are you doing here?" The exclamation was loud, and Ran could not help but smile. The surprise he had intended for his son had thankfully hit the correct place, and he was touched that his son still cared enough about this father to worry about his safety. At least Kasin knew enough that his father was a wanted fugitive right smack in the middle of the Hadrian.

"Here to check on you and see how you're doing, Little Kasin." Ran could not stop himself from answering affectionately. "Are you free for a talk?"

"Yan?" Kasin's hopeful tone asked as the boy dropped whatever he had been holding in his hands, running out to the office.

"Go on. If you spend half the day exchanging love stories, I'm going to send you and Cass out for field legwork."

"Thanks." Kasin replied with a brilliant smile that Ran immediately realised that he had missed. "Why Cass, though? He hasn't done anything wrong."

Ran assumed that Cass was the shortened name of the Officer Cassian who had threatened him.

"He watches your ass better than anyone does, and the team's gotta keep you alive. Your magic is better than his, but your brain and body is slower. Cass has no complains on that, so why do you?"

Despite all the threatening, Ran agreed that if Officer Cassian was watching over his son, he might actually feel a little more reassured that Kasin was in safe hands. Ran was rather sure that his mission to talk Kasin out of staying in Hadrian to find out a way to clear his name of the alleged crime of murder was going to fail. Like Cassian had said, Kasin was stubborn to a fault, and Ran wasn't very confident of his ability to talk his son out of his decision made. After all, Ran had gone through an experience of trying to convince the boy's father out of a decision, and Vergil had just ignored all of his words and gone straight ahead to do whatever he wanted.

In all, Ran was either a very bad persuader, or he just had the dumb misfortune to meet a pair of unrelenting father and son in his lifetime.

"Go along and don't keep your friend waiting." Yan dismissed with another yawn, and Ran was nothing if not glad to have his son all to himself as Kasin ushered him out of the office quickly.

It had been months since he last saw Kasin, and his boy had grown up yet again. The boy was looking more and more charming –more and more like his father. Soon, people were going to point out that Kasin had features similar to the Councillor, and the questions and trouble were going to start. Ran did not look forward to those troubling times ahead, but it was something he knew was looming over the horizon.

At the moment, however, all Ran wanted was to have his son to himself.

________________________________________________________________________________

Two Weeks Later...

"Kasin!" The call of the name made Ran's heart pound heavily in his chest while he did his best to crouch, inching through the dimly-lit surrounding. He was in the abandoned part of town, and the broken down buildings and unfamiliar territory put him in trepidation. It was bad idea for anyone to try coming in alone, but Ran didn't have a choice before he came running wildly into this place. His son was in trouble.

The only consolation that Ran had was that his son was together with Officer Cassian. They might not be completely safe at the moment, but at least Officer Cassian was fully conscious.

Ran had been silently trailing his son and his son's teammate for the past 2 weeks after Kasin had completely refused to quit Hadrian. The boy had entered Hadrian in the hopes of finding evidence that Ran had been framed for murder, and believed –with a passion –that the person who held key to answering the mystery was the Councillor of Hadrian. Ran had endlessly tried to assure his son that he was completely fine being labelled as a criminal as long as Kasin was kept safe, and that the boy should not try to look for the Councillor.

But like his father, Kasin had no ear for begs and pleas. Ran had only managed to breathe a sigh of relief that in the past one month that the boy had joined Hadrian, Kasin had not been able to meet the busy Councillor.

Ran knew extremely well how much of a workaholic Vergil was, and felt a little bit reassured that at least father and son would not be able to meet. While Ran had faith in his magic, there was always a possibility that Vergil might be able to remember bits and pieces of the erased past if the man met Kasin, and the consequences would be rather dire. Ran didn't give a damn about how much Vergil would suffer at the regained memories, but he didn't want Kasin to be accused of somehow causing the Councillor harm without even knowing how to.

"Kasin, wake up." The voice of Officer Cassian was like a beacon for Ran as he silently stepped his way further and further into the dimly lit surroundings. Ran knew that this place was a hideout for many thugs. If a Hadrian officer and officer trainee were kidnapped here, then it meant that these bunch of thugs apparently had a leader who wasn't intending to keep them alive shortly afterwards.

There was a groan from a familiar voice, and Ran's heart burst with soft relief to know that his son was rousing back from unconsciousness. His fatherly instincts had activated when he had watched a baseball bat smash into the back of his son, knocking Kasin out, but at least it sounded like there wasn't going to be any permanent damage done.

"Wha- Where are we?" Ran heard his son's voice and continued his crouched stalking. With the enclosed spaces, the voices were bouncing off walls and giving him mixed signals and messing up his sense of direction. For now, he was content with taking a stealthy approach, but if he heard sounds of his son in mortal danger, he would damned all thoughts of keeping cover.

"Hollow Ruins at the edge of the city." Cassian answered. "You doing fine?"

"My head's banging. Can't you get out of your restraints?" Kasin was sounding thankfully fine and more alert now.

"No. The restraints keeps witch powers out completely."

That answered why Cassian didn't seem to be able to do anything with his magic despite being a trained officer.

"Do you know who's behind this?"

"Yes, and you're not going to like it." Cassian answered calmly. For an Officer who had just been kidnapped and tied up with power-negating restraints, the man was keeping awfully calm and analytical. Ran silently commended the man in his mind, still doing his best to follow the sounds and taking turns.

"I already don't like being tied up with restraints that negate my power, Cass. What else do you think I'm going to like here? So; who's behind this?"

"Have you ever heard of Viper?"

"No."

"Viper was the team leader of Team 707 before Yan. He was a level 7 witch. Four years ago, he was discharged for malpractice of his magic during an investigation and causing innocent lives to be lost."

"What does that have to do with us being tied up here?"

"Viper was documented to be a man with ego problems. He was determined to see himself as the one and only witch worthy to be in Team 707. I assume that he refused to allow anyone else to take his place even after he was discharged and killed all the successive witches assigned to Team 707 in multiple 'accidents' and started the rumour of a spirit haunting the team to cover the string of murders. It isn't surprising that the two of us are tied up here and waiting to die with restraints holding our witch powers in." Cassian explained.

"You seem to know a lot about him."

"I've been researching about him for the past 2 years. Rumours of spirits in Hadrian doesn't do well."

"But haven't you been in the team for the past 2 years? Why is he capturing and trying to kill you only now? And why the hell are you so damned calm?"

Ran stopped in his tracks when a new voice entered the conversation, and he knew immediately that the culprit behind the kidnapping had joined his son in whatever room they were stashed away in.

"Because Cassian is a puzzle that I haven't been able to solve thus far. The system claims that he is a level 3 witch, but he can't even use his powers to save himself properly. I've been studying him for the past 2 years, wondering if he is really a witch, or just someone lying to be a witch because I couldn't find his name in the Remsera database either. Whoever this person is, he isn't a graduate from Remsera, and I don't think he is even a witch." A nasal voice belonging to someone that Ran would only have to assume was Viper answered his son's questions instead.

"I could prove myself to you right now if you let me out of the restrains." Cassian's calm voice answered without betraying a single emotion. Ran immediately picked up his pace now that an unspoken countdown had been announced. If he took his time exploring the place, he might end up getting his son hurt.

"I intended fully to let you off the hook, Cassian. I only wanted to get rid of Kasin, but you seemed eager to join him, and I don't like to deny men of their wishes to die."

"The only one dying today is you, Viper." The replying answer was spoken in a tone so factual that it sounded almost like an undeniable law of nature.

Ran paused for the slightest moment in his venture, heart suddenly picking up pace as he waited for the next words to be spoken. He was sure he had heard Vergil's voice.

"I would like to see you try. If Trainee Kasin who is level 8 cannot even hold his power to save his life, what makes you think an Officer of level 3 can do anything to escape?"

"You must have not heard news about me, then. I have worked pretty well in past cases with only my brains and not my magic." Cassian answered, and Ran was immediately confused. He was rather sure that he had heard the Councillor, but the conversation was going on as if it was Cassian who had spoken. Besides, according to the rumours about the Councillor of Hadrian that he had heard on the streets, Ran was pretty sure that Viper would already be peeing his pants if the Councillor appeared –and yet Viper sounded pretty calm at the moment.

He had to be mistaken.

Ran continued his crouched progress, getting more and more impatient now. He had met many empty hallways and dead-ends after his directionless turning, and was beginning to worry that his instincts were failing him. Was he actually walking further and further away from his son?

He gave a start when he turned a corner, and met a distantly familiar face staring back at him with an equal amount of shock written on face. Ran recognised the silver-grey hair immediately, along with the sleep-tousled quality to the hair and clothes. If there was a competition for anyone who could look lazy at any time of the day, it would be Dante Sparda and team leader of Team 707 would share the same prize.

"Aren't you Kasin's friend?" The two of them closed the distance to each other, keeping a careful crouch as Yan whispered the question to him.

"I saw Kasin and Officer Cassian get kidnapped. I followed them here. I'm trying to find them."

"It's dangerous here." Yan answered. "Eid, get him out. We need to keep the civilian safe."

Ran was not surprised to find the level 2 demon coming out from the shadows with a somewhat surprised look at his presence. Still, Ran backed away from the officer's attempt to hold him, keeping himself out of the demon's range of shadows.

"I'm not going anywhere until I see Kasin safe. I can take care of myself, and I'm not going to sue Hadrian even if I get injured."

"I assume you heard Cassian. The suspect is a known killer of witches. Your fancy witch powers aren't going to work here." Yan insisted, clearly dismissive of Ran's insistence.

"I'm coming." Ran glared. "And I can take care of myself even without my 'fancy witch powers'. I will be valuable help if you need witch backup. You've lost Kasin and Cassian; you're going to need my help."

"Anytime now, Yan!" Cassian's yell broke the argument brewing between the both of them, and all three of them jumped into action at once without prior coordination.

Being demons, Yan and Eid immediately stepped back into the shadows, ready to teleport to wherever the two poor guys were kept captive, clearly intending to leave Ran behind to save their team mate. Ran had other ideas, as he grabbed Yan's shoulder before the demon could completely teleport.

Blackness covered over him, but Ran was careful to let go at the perfect timing, rolling on the floor and regaining his balance –only realising that he stood in front of an unfamiliar man with glowing purple eyes.

"Get down, you idiot!" Ran heard a yell, and obeyed immediately, feeling the demonic power blast straight above his head. "Eid, back me up!"

A flurry of chaos ensued, but Ran was careful to keep his head low as he ran quickly for where he saw the two poor witches tied up.

"Mio! What are you doing here?" There was definitely relief to be seen in Kasin's eyes at Ran's arrival.

"Saving your poor ass. I told you; being in Hadrian is dangerous for you." Ran nagged while he grabbed Kasin's shoulders, spinning the boy around to get a good look at the ropes tying the boy's hands up.

"Don't." The voice beside him warned, and Ran spared a quick look over to Cassian, who still looked calm as a cucumber. "Viper is a level 7. You can't dispel the ropes unless you're at least level 7. Kasin can do it, but he doesn't know how to."

"Then you have any bright ideas?" Ran demanded. "In case you haven't noticed, Yan isn't going to last very long fighting a level 7 witch who was smart enough to kill witches and get under Hadrian's radar for so long."

"Just bring Kasin somewhere safe and wait. I'll settle things here." Cassian answered.

"Don't be an idiot, Cass! You're just a level 3, and you can't use your magic." Kasin protested, trying to spin back around to look at the man who had somehow struggled to his feet even with his hands tied behind his back.

"I have a secret tucked under my sleeve." The man answered fearlessly and confidently. "Just bring Kasin to safety, Mio. Take care of him for me."

Ran wasn't sure why the light bulbs in his head took that exact moment to all light up in response to the familiar request, but it was the completely wrong moment to light up, because Viper –who had been deftly teleporting from place to place to escape the demons' attacks –appeared right in front of all of them, holding something flaming in his hand.

"Even if I perish, I will take you guys with me!" Viper declared, and Ran's instincts flared.

Even though a wanted criminal like him wasn't supposed to use his magic in front of Hadrian Officers –since everyone would immediately recognise that he was one of the strongest witch that they have ever met –Ran was desperate to save his son from the suicidal magic explosion and thus summoned a protection shield in front of them.

What shocked him to the core was the taste of something very bitter on his tongue; the hairs on his arm raising. Ran blinked furiously at the sight of the fire of the explosion meeting resistance even before it reached his shield, and only then did he realise that another damned powerful shield was erected in front of his.

That shield was made with extremely heavy and potent demon energy –and there was only one person Ran knew who could make demon energy so strong that it reacted like a witch's magic. It suddenly all made sense; why Cassian was a level 3 witch who couldn't show off his innate magic. No matter how much the energy behaved like a witch's magic, everyone in the room could sense it clearly; it was pure, raw demon energy coming from one hell of a demon.

"CASS!" Kasin screamed from within Ran's protective embrace, because beyond the transparent shield, they could clearly see things becoming a fiery hell.

Since his shield was no longer needed, Ran did away with his protective spell and drew up another magic circle in his mind. A large glow opened up above them, and the fire and smoke was immediately drawn out of the small room, opening up the scene in front of them.

"Cassian!" Kasin yelled again, this time pushing himself out of his father's embrace to get to the person lying unconscious on the ground in front of him. It was strange; Cassian looked remarkably unscathed except for some blood from his temple. For someone who had apparently stood alone through a magic explosion, he looked to be in one piece.

The same couldn't be said for Viper –but nobody was really interested in the bloodied remains of a dead criminal.

"Cass, wake up! You okay?" Kasin was first to reach the poor man's side, and Ran was quick to follow.

"Eid, ambulance. Contact Moran and Hogan for clean-up." Yan instructed, and the dutiful officer obeyed quickly. The team leader of Team 707 might be a lazy ass on usual basis, but the level 7 demon clearly knew what he was doing as he checked Cassian for a pulse and vital signs.

"He's physically fine." Yan announced shortly with a frown. "But I don't know what's going on with his power. I don't know what the heck he did, but it wasn't witch magic. He doesn't feel like a witch at all. And where the heck did that demon shield come from?"

"That's because he isn't." Ran answered with the bitter taste in his tongue still tingling. "He will be fine, because there is only one person who can survive a magic explosion from a level 7 witch, and only get out of it with a bump on his head. Look."

Ran's instincts was not wrong at all, because now that the man was unconscious, the power he had dedicated to maintaining his disguise and hiding his true nature was gone. Unconscious men could not keep his appearance up for long, and even as they were talking, the change was slowly becoming obvious.

A silver-white colour that Ran was familiar with slowly began to chew at black hair, and a non-existent wind caused the hairstyle to change slowly. Like plants growing, short hair slowly lengthened and fit themselves all in place. Facial shape became slightly more angular, and lips became slightly thinner.

"Holy shit. Cassian is actually the Councillor?" Yan gasped.

Ran watched his son stare at Yan in shock, looked back down at the unconscious Vergil, then back up at Ran. Kasin was clearly struggling to understand, but all Ran could think of at the moment was how sneaky Vergil had been this whole while -and also how oblivious to the situation the Councillor had been for the entire past month.

"I told you it was dangerous for you to stay in Hadrian, Kasin. You just wouldn't listen."

________________________________________________________________________________

A Few Hours Later...

Ran took a seat beside his son on the row of chairs outside the private one-bed ward. Clearly being the top authority of Hadrian had ensured Ran's best friend a very comfortable and almost hotel-like treatment in the hospital. Half of Ran was silently jealous at the unnecessarily careful treatment that he had seen Vergil go through with the doctors in the hospital, but the other half of Ran decided that the poor guy probably deserved a rest after leading his workaholic lifestyle. While he couldn't vouch for what he had heard about the Councillor the past 17 years, he had heard about how much 'Cassian' worked in Team 707 in just the past month from Kasin.

"You okay? You're not hurt, are you?" Ran asked his son worriedly, who sat stoned on the chair, eyes filled with a faraway look.

"No, I'm fine, D- Mio." Kasin's reassurance was not very reassuring, because Ran knew -from watching the boy grow up -that Kasin was usually very careful about making mistakes that could cost them both their lives -mainly like calling Ran 'Dad' in public. They had always just called each other by name -and Ran by his call sign.

"Are you thinking about the Councillor?" Ran probed.

"I can't believe Cassian was the Councillor the whole time." Kasin admitted. "Did you know when you first met him?"

"He gave me endless waves of nostalgia." Ran confessed, then looked around to see if anyone was trying to eavesdrop on their conversation before dropping his voice to a low conspirational whisper. "But I only assumed that I was feeling nostalgic because I hadn't been back in Hadrian HQ for 17 years."

"I never once imagined that he could have been Vergil..." Kasin still looked taken aback.

"If anyone is to be completely shocked, I think Yan is suffering the worst right now. Yan has met undisguised Vergil before in Executive Committee, and couldn't even recognise him for the 2 years that Cassian was working with them."

"He was really good at this, wasn't he?"

Ran chuckled to hear the awe in Kasin's tone of voice. If only Kasin knew of the truth... but the boy's real father had wiped out his memories for his sake and Ran didn't want to go back on the promise that he had made 17 years ago. Ran had protected Kasin this whole while, and even in the magic explosion with Viper, Ran had summoned a shield. It was just that the boy's biological father had acted faster than Ran did; even in the witch-magic restraining restraints.

"That's why he's the Councillor." Ran answered with a chuckle.

"But now that you know he's the Councillor, don't you want to ask him why he framed you for the murder of his wife? Even though Yan and Eid haven't said anything about it, but I know you used your magic to try to save us. I don't think he will forget that he sensed your magic before he collapsed."

Kasin's worry was very touching, and as always, there was a hint of the Sia that Ran remembered well. Kasin have characteristics a lot like his father, but there was also no denying the fact that the boy also was his mother's son in terms of personality as well.

"I told you, Kasin. I'm not interested in clearing my name. I only want you to be safe."

"And I only want you to be able to enjoy your life freely and do whatever you want without being chased down and treated like a criminal."

"I am enjoying my life now, aren't I? I'm free to do whatever I want; even walk through the front doors of Hadrian without being afraid of people trying to shackle me." Ran laughed, ruffling his son's flaming red hair. Their father-son moment, however, was ruined when the door to the Councillor's ward opened, and out came Team Leader Yan and a female that Ran wasn't familiar with.

"How is he?" Ran asked quickly since only the two of them had been allowed into the Councillor's ward ever since Vergil was admitted. It made sense that Councillor Vergil's admittance into the hospital was a hush-hush affair, because if the public knew that the highest authority of Hadrian, who was supposed to be the most powerful and invincible level 10 demon in the entire country had ended up in hospital, there was sure to be hell to pay.

"That damned bastard didn't get any damage from the magic explosion at all." Yan grumbled, clearly not looking happy at all that he had been led by the nose to believe that a level 3 witch Cassian had sprung a surprise on them by becoming the level 10 demon Councillor Vergil overnight. "He tripped over a piece of rock, fell, hit his head and blacked out. That idiot."

"There is no permanent damage done, but we're keeping him in the hospital because he hasn't been resting properly for a long time, and this is the only time we have the legit excuse to make him stay in bed." The female continued with a helpless smile of amusement at Yan's complaint. "You two must be Kasin and Mio. My name is Lillian, and I'm the Councillor's assistant. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Ran and Kasin made quick introductions with the woman before she pleasantly bade them farewell with the excuse of filling in reports of Vergil's closed case of Team 707's fake spirit. That left them with a grumpy-looking Yan who looked like someone had just told him Santa didn't exist.

"What did the Councillor say to you?" Kasin asked with amusement at the sight of his team leader's obvious scowl.

"He was laughing at me, that damned bastard." Yan crossed his arms across his chest in a tantrum. "I regret all the times I made Cassian's monthly team member report sound nice. I should have said that he was a sarcastic bastard who can't get his head out of his ass half the time."

"I'm sure his assistant would have pulled out that report and have it changed to something nice if that really happened." Kasin rebuked. "If he's fine, I guess we can go now? I'm tired from getting kidnapped with the Councillor and all."

"He asked for Mio." Yan answered, looking directly at Ran with the same scowl as if Ran had somehow pissed him off by just standing there in front of him. "I don't even want to start asking why you were in the Ruins, and why you grabbed on to me when we teleported. A civilian appearing on my report on this case is going to bring in so much trouble."

Neither Ran nor Kasin could put in another protest or comment before Yan gave a large explosive sigh, covered his eyes with a hand and wandered spiritlessly down the corridor away from the ward as if he didn't want to think anymore.

"Poor guy." Kasin shook his head in pity.

"I can imagine. Vergil isn't the easiest person to deal with sometimes." Ran took in a deep breath and looked at his son. Now that Yan had gotten a close look at the real, undisguised Vergil, it was going to be a matter of time before he started to comment that Kasin looked a lot like the Councillor. "Stay out here and wait for me, Kasin. I'll be awhile with him."

"Stay safe, Dad." Ran was happy to hear his son wish him well quietly as he opened the ward door, closing it safely behind him so that Kasin wouldn't try eavesdropping on the conversation between old friends. Ran had no doubt that Vergil now knew that he had been the 'Mio' that he had met in HQ two weeks ago. It was pointless for Ran to hope that Vergil would pretend to not realise his identity especially since he had used his power to protect Kasin back at the Ruins.

Thus, it was also pointless for Ran to keep his disguise. He let his hair colour change back, his features reverting back to the usual as he approached his very-awake friend who had watched with him a dagger-like aquamarine blue gaze.

"Hello, Vergil." Ran greeted like they did not have 17 years of separation between them. "It is really embarrassing for a Councillor like you to pass out from tripping over a piece of rock."

"I will bear the shame." The man answered. "Have you been well these 17 years? Where have you been?"

"I'm doing fine. I was about." Ran answered vaguely.

"I'm sorry you had to run all these years, Ran. I couldn't remember what happened that night."

"Guilt isn't a look that suits you, Verge. And I never pinned the blame on you. You and I made a promise that night, and I don't regret making that promise with you. Not even now."

It was all Ran could afford to say concerning that night. If he gave more details -like how Kasin had been entrusted to him that night -he was afraid that the memories would all come flooding back. The Vergil that Ran knew would immediately waste no effort to make sure that they both of them be shipped far far away from this place, away from the danger of being captured by Hadrian. Even as the Councillor of Hadrian, Vergil would never be able to explain to the public why he let a wanted criminal go scot free.

"I made a promise with you..." Vergil didn't sound surprised at all to know that a promise had been made that fateful night. "Have you fulfilled it yet, Ran? Can you come back to my side once again?"

That lonely look. The Ran 17 years ago would never have been able to resist that lonely look pasted on Vergil's face, in his eyes. But Ran had now gone through 17 years of bringing up this man's son and was now immune to whatever pleading expressions that either father or son tried to use on him to trigger his guilt and compassion.

"No. The promise was for forever, Verge."

"Even though Kasin is now an adult?"

"..."

Ran didn't know how to reply, mainly because he wasn't even sure what had happened all of a sudden. Vergil... remembered about his son?

"Thank you for bringing him up to be such a fine young man, Ran. You really deserve to be called his father. But he is grown up now. Maybe still a little weak, but Hadrian will take care of him. Let me do what I can to watch over him and fulfil what I couldn't 17 years ago. It's time for you to come back to me."

Ran lost the energy in his legs and fell into the chair that was set up beside the bed, still staring at his best friend like Vergil had grown horns.

"How did you... When?"

"When I fell down and hit my head on a rock. The doctor was confused as to why I fell into such deep unconsciousness when all I did was to hit my head against a rock, but I was remembering. The wound left from Sia's death is still hitting me like it was yesterday, but I know that 17 years have passed in reality since then." Vergil looked down at his hands as if he couldn't bear to let himself start grieving, or things might turn out horrible once again.

"Our son is 20 now, and now he is a level 8 witch trained personally by a level 10 witch. I have no complaints letting Kasin experience the world by himself with the protection of what I can give him in Hadrian, and I know his mother will not disagree with me if she were still alive. I know you love him like a son, Ran, and I don't want you to separate from him. Stay with me. Stay by my side, and we watch over him together. You as his father, and me as some sort of a guardian."

"But I am charged with the murder of your wife..." Ran wasn't even sure where to begin after his best friend's long speech. Vergil was really one hell of a convincing devil when he wanted to be.

"I knew from the start -even after you wiped my memories -that it is impossible for you to have murdered my wife. Even if I couldn't even remember Sia's face, I knew it in my guts that you were not the murderer. But the key eyewitness of the case was myself, and I couldn't give any substantial evidence to protect you. The charge held because nobody knew the truth except for you. But now, I do."

"But what do I tell him? The only reason why he even came to Hadrian in the first place was to find you to clear my name."

"Hasn't he completed his goal, then? The truth will come out, and the public will know that they have been blaming the wrong person for Sia's death this whole time. Kasin will not have to hide as your son anymore."

Ran thought back about the past 17 years, and how Kasin had been forced to pretend that he was fine with his father as a criminal, and without a mother. The young boy had been exactly like his father and mother -understanding and obedient -and hadn't pestered Ran about his mother. All Ran had told Kasin was that his mother had died early.

"Does he not deserve the truth?" Ran asked all of a sudden. "I've watched him grow, and he never asked me about his mother. He never doubted me for a single moment that I might not be his father; but doesn't he deserve the truth of what happened?"

"What truth?"

Ran froze and so did Vergil. And judging by the look on his best friend's face, they were pretty fucked because both of them knew exactly how much of Vergil's stubbornness that Kasin had inherited. The boy would never be letting go of this question until either of them answered.

Still, Ran had kept the secret up for 17 years. He had to try.

"A secret we shared while we were still young and stupid, Kasin. Come meet Uncle Vergil -the guy you came to Hadrian to meet." Ran plastered a smile on his face as he turned around to see the exact same sharp blue eyes piercing at him. Jesus; the deadly pair of blue eyes were a dead giveaway of who the boy's father was; particularly now that Vergil was no longer in disguise.

"I heard you talking about my mother and father. Dad, are you going to explain things to me or not?"

"I'd rather not." Ran answered honestly.

What surprised Ran was the fact that his son didn't insist the question on him. Instead, aquamarine blue eyes travelled from Ran to the man sitting patiently on the bed, looking completely calm on the outside. Ran was the only person alive who still understood Vergil's real personality that often hid behind the facade of a capable, invincible Councillor. The man was struggling real badly -beneath the surface -not to cry.

"Then would you rather answer the question for my father's sake... Dad?" Kasin asked, eyes fixed on his biological father.