Author's Notes
Well, I suppose I had this three quarters' written by the time rewrites hit, so the stuff I've been writing in breaktime got me up to full chapter length pretty quickly. Hence, a rather quicker update than I had anticipated. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14: Aftermath

Setsuna's sword swept through the air, driven by the unflagging fury that burned inside her. But this time, rather than the blade ripping into another luckless demon, it passed straight through it. Setsuna stumbled, thrown off-balance by the force of her attack, and stared at her erstwhile opponent. The demon was almost transparent, fading swiftly, until it dissolved into a swirl of particles a moment later. The swordswoman spun around, looking for answers, just in time to see another demon vanish the same way. From inside the circle of surrounding demons, Mana called out to her.

"They're being dispelled."

Setsuna heard her, but it didn't make any sense. Why should that be happening? Why now? She raised Yuunagi once more, picking her next target, but no sooner had she begun to move forward, than the grey-skinned demon disappeared, its glowing red eyes the last things visible as it dissolved into its magical components. She felt cheated. These demons were hers to punish, hers to kill. But now someone else was dealing with them. Her grasp on the hilt of her long nodachi trembled, and her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip, clutching at the polished wood. Regardless of the actions of the unknown magician, she would not give up her role until the fight was finished without a doubt. She would protect Kono-chan until the very end. She chose another demon and closed in. Whether it was sent back to its hell dimension by her blade or the mysterious dispelling power wasn't important. Just as long as it was finished.

The battle lasted barely minutes after the first demon had been dispelled. Setsuna and Mana both took down a few more of the feral creatures, but the bulk of them simply dissipated into the air, leaving nothing of themselves but dust motes in the autumn sunlight. As the last of them faded into nothingness, the two remaining Mahora fighters dropped their weapons as if on a signal. Mana sank to her knees beside Kaede's supine form, her hands checking quickly for a pulse.

Setsuna in turn flexed her wings and was at Kono-chan's side in an instant. She cradled the fallen mage's head in the crook of her arm, gathering her close.

"Kono-chan?" she asked in a low voice.

The healer's eyelids flickered, and slowly her eyes opened, her gaze focusing on Setsuna's face. A slow smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "It smells like birthdays." The words were halting and hoarse, but understandable. Even if they made no sense.

"What?"

"The smoke… smells like candles. Like when you blow out the candles on a birthday cake."

Setsuna could only stare at her, and then blinked, suddenly aware of the smell that surrounded them. The scent of burnt paper was all around them, oddly sweet.

Tears filled her eyes. "Kono-chan…" Her free hand slipped underneath the mage's shoulder, feeling for the injury she knew was there. The Mahora uniform was slick beneath her fingers, warm from the blood that soaked it.

Kono-chan hissed with pain, and then tried to push herself up with her uninjured right arm. She was immediately prevented by Setsuna's tightened grasp.

"Please don't. Don't push yourself. You'll make it worse." Panic coloured her voice. Now that the fury had left her, all that remained was cold fear.

Kono-chan shook her head slowly. "I don't think it's that bad, Secchan. It… it hurts… but…" Despite her friend's protestations, she managed to roll over until she was lying on her front, halfway across Setsuna's knees.

The swordswoman now had full access to the wound, and she explored it carefully, pulling blood-soaked material back from the injury as gently as she could. She caught her breath at the sight of the four puncture marks in the mage's left shoulder, all of them welling with fresh blood, but even so, a surge of relief ran through her. Kono-chan was right. The wound was a nasty one, but the demon hadn't hit any major veins or arteries, and its claws hadn't gone deep enough to injure bone or tendons. Moving quickly, Setsuna ripped a strip of material off her skirt and wadded it up to press against the puncture wounds, the better to stop the blood flow. Kono-chan gave a little gasp of pain, but quickly quelled it, pressing her cheek down against the supporting warmth of Setsuna's knees.

Now that the immediate danger was over, Setsuna slowly became aware of her surroundings. Even as her hand pressed the wad of material down against Kono-chan's shoulder, putting firm pressure on the wound, her eyes flicked around the clearing to see what had become of her companions. Kaede lay motionless not too far away, wrapped in a maroon uniform blazer. Mana, in her shirt sleeves now, knelt beside Kuu's unmoving body, pressing a folded mass of material against the martial artist's stomach wound in an effort to staunch the blood. As if she felt Setsuna's eyes on her, the miko looked up with a grim smile.

"We are lucky this time, Setsuna. Kuu's wound is bad, but not life-threatening, if we can get her to a doctor quickly. Kaede will regain consciousness very soon. How is Konoka-san?"

Setsuna opened her mouth to reply, but it was Kono-chan who got there first. "I'm all right, Mana-san. It's not that bad."

Mana nodded. "The demon most likely pulled its blow when you got in its way. They had been ordered to capture, not kill you."

Setsuna felt herself nodding slowly in reply. Mana was right. If the demon had put its full force behind the blow, Kono-chan would have been run through by the creature's claws, and would probably have died from blood loss by now. That image, of Kono-chan lying pale and still, a gaping hole where her shoulder used to be, filled her mind, and for a moment she could see nothing else.

She was jolted from her reverie by an echoing voice in her head.

"Setsuna-san? Setsuna-san?! Have the demons gone? Are you all right?" It was Negi.

The next few hours passed quickly, like some kind of dream. Negi had only been unconscious for a couple of minutes, and as soon as he recovered, he had worked quickly. The Dean had been the first port of call, and a helicopter was soon on its way to airlift the injured to Mahora's finest medical facilities. Mana's prediction turned out to be correct. All of the four fighters required some medical attention, but Kuu was the only one injured seriously enough to need a stay in hospital. The others, along with Kono-chan, were patched up and sent back to their various dorm rooms with orders to rest.

The doctors might as well have been ordering a change in the weather. Mana returned to the dorm room only long enough to pick up a change of clothes, and then disappeared out again. She didn't give an explanation, but then, she rarely explained herself at the best of times. Setsuna lay on her bed, hands linked behind her head, staring up at the ceiling. She knew she should be resting, but her thoughts were racing too fast. She only had to close her eyes, and she was confronted once again with the terrible image of Kono-chan, pale and still, eyes glassy in death. No amount of exhaustion could force her to sleep with that picture in her mind. Eventually she sat up with a sigh. She would take a walk. Perhaps that would help clear her head.

Somehow, despite any kind of conscious direction, Setsuna found her steps leading her to the dorm room shared by her three closest friends. She hesitated at the door, her hand hovering over the door handle. Why was she even there? What was she hoping to achieve? Even as she debated with herself on the threshold, the handle suddenly turned and the door opened to reveal a rather startled Negi. He didn't say anything, just glanced behind him into the room and stepped out, closing the door behind him. When he spoke, his voice was soft.

"Setsuna-san? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Setsuna blushed. "Well… I couldn't sleep… and I thought…"

Negi interrupted her, a bright smile lighting his features. "You're here to check on Konoka-san?"

"I…" she looked down at the floor, unable to find the words to answer. Was she here to check on Kono-chan? Or did she have some other motive for visiting? There was no correct reply, at least not one that could be given so easily. She opted for evasion. "How is Ojou-sama?"

"Asleep, I think. Asuna's helping with the clean-up over at the concourse, so I thought I'd give Konoka-san a chance to relax without being disturbed. And I needed to patrol anyway, what with Master Kuu and the others…" he trailed off. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Setsuna-san. Take care to get some rest yourself though, won't you?"

Setsuna smiled at his worried expression. "Thanks for your concern, sensei, but don't worry about me. I'm fine, really. Just a few scratches."

"Well then. Take care." With a quick bow, Negi turned and headed off down the corridor, staff in hand.

Setsuna watched him go. For someone who had been fighting hard not so long ago, he seemed in surprisingly good shape. Despite the bandage wound around his head, a testament to the crack on the head that had knocked him senseless, his energy and enthusiasm didn't seem to have been affected at all. Everything about him spoke of determination and focus. The swordswoman sighed. It must be nice to have such a straightforward view on life. She took a deep breath and laid her hand on the door handle. She was here now. Best to let the instinct that had brought her to Kono-chan's door play itself out.

She let herself into the room, closing the door behind her softly. It was still only late afternoon, but the curtains were drawn, letting only a little red-tinted light around their edges. She paused, allowing her eyes to adjust to the near darkness before stepping further into the dorm room. But just as she was about to move there was a sudden click and the room was flooded with light. Setsuna spun toward the light's source, to be greeted by the sight of Kono-chan leaning forward out of her bunk, hand outstretched to a small table lamp on her bedside table. The mage's eyes were squinting against the lamp's glow, bright after the room's earlier darkness.

"You should be sleeping, Ojou-sama." The words slipped out without her thinking about them.

Kono-chan pouted in reply, and lowered herself carefully back into the confines of her bunk. "That should be my line, Secchan. Why aren't you resting?"

"I'm not the one that's hurt." The words were brusque, clipped, but Setsuna realised even as she spoke them that they were the truth. They came straight from her churning emotions.

Something in her tone made Kono-chan stare at her, eyes still narrowed against the lamp's glare. "That's not true." Then she shook her head, dismissing her own words with a gentle smile. "But that doesn't matter. I'm glad you came to visit, Secchan. How are you feeling?"

Setsuna turned away, head bowed. "I'm…" How could she answer that? There were so many answers. She was anxious, nervous for Kono-chan's well being, even now; she was angry; she was afraid; she was vastly, overwhelmingly tired. But there was one thing, one thing that kept rising to the surface of her racing thoughts. She couldn't avoid it anymore.

She turned back to face her mistress, and the words came out of her in a sudden rush. "Why did you break your promise?"

Kono-chan's eyebrows came up in a surprised expression. "Why? Kuu-san was going to get hurt. I didn't have a choice."

"You said you would hide far back in the forest. You promised you would. You shouldn't have been anywhere near the battle."

The other girl frowned at that. "I couldn't just leave you, Secchan. I couldn't just hide and not even see how you were doing. I'm a healer. I wanted to stay close to you. What if you had got hurt?" Her tone was still soft, but it had begun to take a defensive edge.

"You promised." That was the heart of it. "You promised, Ojou-sama. It's my duty to protect you. I can't do that if you don't tell me the truth."

Kono-chan looked away, her gaze focused on the bottom of the upper bunk. "I know. I'm sorry, Secchan. Really. I didn't mean to lie to you." She suddenly turned back, and now her eyes were hard. "But I'm not sorry that I was there. I wanted to be able to help, and I did help! I saved Kuu's life! If I hadn't been there, she could have died. Surely that's not such a bad thing?"

Setsuna actually took a step back, her shock and hurt showing clearly. "That's not fair."

"But it is true." Kono-chan's gaze didn't so much as waver.

"If that demon hadn't pulled its blow, you would be dead now." Setsuna's voice shook. "You could have died. I can't… I can't let you do something like that again."

Kono-chan pushed herself up on her right arm until she was sitting up in bed, her duvet falling down around her waist to show soft pink pajamas. "You can't let me?"

The swordswoman swallowed hard. She had never heard that tone in Kono-chan's voice before. She couldn't back down now though. "No."

"How can you…"

Setsuna cut her off. "Ojou-sama, you don't understand. My mission is to keep you safe. I'm sworn to protect you. I would die for you. I only want to…"

"No, you don't understand!" It was Kono-chan's turn to interrupt. "I don't want you to die for me! Maybe I can't fight, but I can heal. I can be useful!"

"But you can't even look after yourself!"

There was a sudden, deafening silence. Kono-chan sat absolutely immobile, still leaning forward over the edge of the bunk. Her face was flushed, her mouth slightly open. Setsuna felt the blood rush to her own cheeks. What had she said?

"Ojou-sama…"

Kono-chan let herself fall backwards against the wall. She didn't react even when her injured shoulder connected with the brickwork hard enough to be audible. "I'm sorry. I'm very tired." She gathered the fallen duvet up with neat, precise movements and lay back down, pulling the covers up to her chin.

"Please…"

The young mage stared upwards at nothing. "Perhaps you'd better go." She turned over to face the wall.

Setsuna stared at the back of her mistress' head for a long moment. Finally she bowed her own head, biting her lip. "If you wish it, Ojou-sama."

There was no response. Setsuna turned and headed for the door with quick, jerky strides. She paused just before she reached the threshold, looking back at the bunk. The only part of Kono-chan that was visible was her long chocolate brown hair spilling out over her pillow, seeming to glow in the lamp's soft light. The swordswoman opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Her fists clenched at her sides, and she snatched at the door handle, tugging the door open and stepping out in one swift movement. The door closed gently behind her, and she found herself leaning on it, forehead laid against the cool woodwork.

"Kono-chan…"

End Notes
Yeah, I know. I'm just not making with the fluff, am I:) But trust me, a little angst always improves the mix. No, really. :)

This was another tough chapter to write, mainly because the Konoka we see in the manga is so rarely serious. I wanted to find a shape for an argument that made sense for both our leads, so that both would be acting in character even if we've rarely seen them in this kind of situation before. I hope it worked in the end. I know I've had heated conversations where I just ended up blurting out something that I didn't quite mean, and yet can't take back. I figured Setsuna might be liable to do the same thing.

Anyway, there it is. Do let me know what you think - reviews are very very welcome. More to come as and when I write it. It's all brand new from here on in.