“You will leave everything you gained from the golden chests,” the man said sternly as Chris and Xiu Ming stood in his office.

  “Alright,” Chris nodded, emptying out his bag of all the items from the Dungeon onto the man’s desk, scattering papers and documents across the floor as he did so. Xiu Ming reached for the chakram at her hips, before Chris held out his hand, shaking his head, “No, those didn’t come from a gold chest, so you don’t have to hand them over.”

  “They still come from our family’s private Dungeon,” the older man growled, “Thus they belong to our family.”

  “So, then there’s no harm in Xiu keeping them. They were gift from me, after all,” Chris shot back.

  “This does not concern you, boy,” the Kong patriarch growled again, “Now leave, I wish to speak to Xiu Ming in private.”

  “N-,” Chris started to say, stopping when he spotted the girl shaking her head, before letting out a sigh and turning to the door, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  “A warning too late for her,” the man said flatly.

  “I wasn’t talking to Xiu,” Chris replied as he shut the door behind him.

  “Father, I-,” Xiu Ming started to say in Chinese, the older man cutting her off immediately.

  “You would still dare call me that after what you have done?” he asked, his voice calm and level as he spoke, “You have brought such dishonor on this family. It is disgusting what I have heard.”

  “What has elder brother Chu Hwang told you?” Xiu Ming asked, her heart racing in her chest as she spoke.

  “That you are a disgrace. That you will never bring heirs to this family. That you are a homosexual,” her father spat out the word like it was a foul taste in his mouth, “This is unacceptable, and no daughter of mine shall ever be one of those…things.”

  “I still have an interest in men, father,” Xiu Ming tried to say, the man holding up his hand to silence her.

  “I will hear no excuses,” he said flatly, “You are no longer my daughter, you are banished from this household as of now. Return all the equipment and items you have acquired from the Dungeon and leave.”

  “I…” Xiu Ming gasped, tears forming in her eyes as she stared at the man, who wasn’t even looking at her anymore, an anger she’d never felt before welling up inside her chest, “Very well, Guild Master. However, I have one more thing to say. Not as the first daughter of the Kong family, but as the Diver Xiu Ming, strongest Diver of China.”

  “Oh?” the man sighed, turning to glare at her again, “Then speak.”

  “I will not be returning the items I have rightfully earned to you, who has never even set foot in a Dungeon,” the woman said flatly, making the man scowl slightly, “And you may banish me from this house, this family, but you will never banish me from this country. Should you ever try, I will simply defect to another and leave China greatly weakened and pitiful.”

  “Are you threatening me?” the man asked.

  “No, I am warning you,” Xiu Ming replied, amazed at how strong her voice sounded, “That is all.”

  The man remained silent for a long time, before eventually just nodding as he spoke.

  “Very well, Diver Xiu Ming, you have made your point,” he sighed, before looking back at her sternly, a hint of pride in his gaze, “However, such disrespect for your superiors will not be tolerated in the future. You may leave now.”

  “Yes, Guild Master,” the girl nodded, turning on her heel and hurrying out of the room, her heart beating out of her chest.

  “Well done,” Chris said as he stood beside the office door, making Xiu Ming jump slightly.

  “You heard?” she asked, trying to calm herself down, “You understood what we said?”

  “Not really,” Chris chuckled, “But I got the gist from the tone of your voices. You stood up for yourself and won, that’s a good thing, Xiu.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” the girl nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, “Well then, seeing as I am banished from this house, how would you and the others like a tour around the city? I can show you a great many sights.”

  “Sorry,” Chris said as he cringed slightly, making Xiu Ming look at him in confusion, “But we’ve actually been called back to America as soon as possible. Apparently something is going on with a Dungeon? So, we’ll have to skip. Next time though?”

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  “I’ll hold you to your word on that,” Xiu nodded, smiling at the man, “Shall I at least accompany you to the airport?”

  ------

  “Bye Xiu!” Elizabeth said as she hugged the other girl, “Next time you come to America, I’ll take you around the city! There’s a ton of stuff to see!”

  “I look forward to it,” Xiu Ming nodded, her cheeks darkening slightly as she continued, “Actually, before you go, I have a gift for you.”

  “A present?” Elizabeth chuckled, “What is i-?”

  She was cut off as Xiu Ming leaned forwards, gently pressing her lips against Elizabeth’s, before pulling back, her cheeks bright red.

  “Thank you,” she said softly, “Thank you for helping me discover who I really am and start to accept it.”

  “I…wha…?” Elizabeth said as the other girl turned away, strolling happily back to the limo that had brought them to the plane, “Did she just kiss me?”

  “I think she did, Beth,” Chris laughed as he grabbed her shoulder, dragging the stunned girl back towards the large jet, “Come on, we can’t wait any longer.”

  “But…what?”

  “What is it with you two?” Ayla laughed as the group sat in their seats, Elizabeth still stuttering in confusion, “You just seem to attract pretty girls to you. Is it like a hidden Skill or something?”

  “I wouldn’t say pretty,” Chris chuckled as he looked at the Healer, who scowled at him.

  “Oh yeah, Mr. ‘Comparing you to the stars would be an insult’?” she asked.

  “Of course, you’re way to gorgeous to just be called pretty.”

  “I…Okay, you win again, smart ass,” Ayla said as she blushed, “Where is all this coming from, though? Your Charisma Stat isn’t that high, is it?”

  ------

  Jess sighed as she walked through the narrow hall of the rooms section of the jet, pausing outside each door and listening. She was looking for Alan, the man not being anywhere else in the plane, so she figured he was hiding in one of the bedrooms. She stopped outside a door, listening quietly, blinking when she heard a loud sniff and a sob. Carefully, she opened the door, seeing her boyfriend sitting on the bed with his head in his hands.

  “Alan?” she said quietly, making the man jump as he spun to look at her, hurriedly wiping his red eyes, “What’s going on? Are you crying?”

  “What?” the man smiled at her, “Nah, of course not, why would I be? What’s up?”

  “Are you sure?” she asked again, Alan just nodding as he cleared his throat and stood, “We…we need to talk. About the Boss you…we killed in the Dungeon. The Dryad.”

  “Oh,” Alan said flatly, his expression dropping as he looked away.

  “What’s wrong?” Jessica asked again, “You weren’t like this earlier. Is something the matter?”

  “No,” Alan muttered, turning away.

  “Don’t lie to me,” Jessica said as she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her, “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing!” Alan shouted, startling the girl as he glared at her, before his expression fell again, the man dropping his head into his hands as he sat back down on the bed, “Sorry. It’s really nothing.”

  “Alan,” Jessica whispered, walking slowly over to him and sitting beside him, seeing his shoulders shaking, “Talk to me, Alan.”

  “I…Fuck,” he muttered, lifting his head to show the tears running down his cheeks, “Fine. I feel bad about killing that thing, okay? It was…it was just a kid! It didn’t know any better, and thought it was just playing! And…and it looked just like my youngest sister when I…when I killed it.”

  “Alan…” Jessica whispered as the man continued to sob, pulling him into a hug as he pressed his face to her shoulder, “I’m sorry. I was so angry at you, but I didn’t think about how doing that could have affected you. I’m really, really sorry.”

  “It’s okay, babe,” the man sniffed as he sat back, smiling weakly at her, “You have every right to be angry with me.”

  “No, I don’t!” Jessica sniffed as well, tears forming in her own eyes, “I really don’t! I was only thinking about myself, and not that you could be just as hurt by what happened!”

  “Jess,” Alan said softly as he wiped a tear from her eye, before leaning in and kissing her, the girl wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself into his lap.

  “I’m sorry,” the young woman gasped as they broke the kiss, pressing her lips back against his passionately, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Jess,” Alan muttered as he fell back onto the bed, rolling over on top of her, “I love you.”

  “I love you too,” the woman replied, her eyes red as tears dripped down her cheeks.

  They kissed again, before Jess grabbed the bottom of her shirt, pulling it over her head, Alan doing the same with his, quickly undoing his pants as she slid out of her own jeans.

  ------

  “Well, those two seem to be getting along again,” Elizabeth laughed as she flopped down in her seat, looking over at Chris and Ayla as they sat silently, “Jess is really lucky to have such a good man as her boyfriend.”

  “Right,” Chris nodded, staring out of the window.

  “What’s up with you two?” the girl asked, “You’re making me feel all depressed.”

  “Nothing,” Ayla sighed, “Just…that was a hell of a fight.”

  “Oh,” Elizabeth said softly, “Against the Dryad? Yeah.”

  “How are you feeling?” Chris asked, looking over at his sister, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” the girl nodded, “Sort of. It was…it was weird, fighting and…killing something that looked like a kid, but it was just a Dungeon monster, right?”

  “I mean, yeah,” Ayla nodded “But it was still hard. It really was like a child, and we had to kill it to get out, but…”

  “It doesn’t feel good,” Chris finished, “I don’t think it ever will.”

  “Right,” the two women nodded.

  They sat in silence for a while, before Chris rose from his seat, walking towards the back of the plane.

  “Where’re you going?” Elizabeth asked, the man shrugging.

  “To the rooms,” he replied, “I need some time alone to think. And maybe a nap.”

  “That might be a little hard right now,” his sister chuckled, making Chris look at her in confusion, “Well, Jess and Alan might be busy joining a certain club at the moment. And they aren’t exactly being quiet about it.”

  “A certain club?” Chris blinked, “What club?”

  “The Mile High Club?” his sister said, staring at him in disbelief, “Come on, even you should know that one!”

  “The…oh!” Chris gasped, blushing slightly, “I see. Guess I’ll find somewhere else to think for the meantime, then.”

  “Let’s go to the spa again, then,” Ayla hummed as she stood up as well, “I could use a good massage to get the stress out.”

  “Okay,” Elizabeth nodded, jumping to her feet, “I’m coming too! I didn’t get to try out the spa on the way over!”

  “Sure thing, Beth,” Chris chuckled as they walked out of the seating area, pausing as he glanced back at the empty room for a moment, before continuing on.

  ------

  Ryan sighed as he closed the video stream, picking up the phone on his desk and making a call.

  “Get some therapists on standby,” he said, “Seems we’re going to have some things to address before we send them on their next mission.”