Interlude chapter. The fun stuff is just getting started!
Chapter 44
The Empress
The piano music was soft, enveloping her senses like the sweetest perfume. It was a song she recognized better than anyone else. The Aria of the Soul. The same song that she had worked countless hours on to make each keystroke, chord, and pitch sound absolutely perfect. There was only one other person in the universe who could know the intricacies as well as she did.
"Welcome," Margaret said. "It's been quite a while, Yuna."
Yuna smiled. It was just them in the Velvet room. No couches. No tables. No cups. No Igor. Just Yuna, Margaret, and the fascinating blue piano that played the most beautiful music. A fascinating instrument that could never physically be out of tune. "You've been practicing."
Margaret laughed quietly. "I strive to be the best at everything I do." She said. "But this piece…" She stared at it thoughtfully. "Whenever I play it, I can feel your emotions. Your heart, poured into this piece. Your social links, care for your friends, belief in the future… It's astounding."
"I love the piece." Yuna said. "But I never thought it was that special."
Margaret shook her head. "To a human it might not be. You feel these emotions every day, unfaltering. But for me… a chance to feel this way for even a minute is absolutely fascinating." She stood up from the piano and snapped her fingers. In a blink of an eye, the piano disappeared and the velvet room returned to normal. Margaret sat on the couch, familiar blue folder in hand. "That's why I wanted to ask you a favor." She said.
"Another music piece?"
She nodded. "This time, however, is different." She handed Yuna the folder. The later peered inside. Every sheet was completely blank. "I realized something." Margaret continued. "The last piece - The Aria of the Soul - I had given you a backbone. A song of my own for you to build off of and renew. But this time, I want to feel everything. I want you to build a song from scratch, and hear everything you feel without any influence from my own lack of understanding."
Yuna stared at the page with a small twinge of excitement. It had been years since she had written her own music without any outside influence. Endless possibilities that only she had the ability to explore. "It will take a lot of time." She said.
"Of course." Margaret said. "I am confident that the progress will be just as fantastic to watch as the result."
Yuna closed the folder and bowed. "I won't let you down."
Margaret nodded. "I know."
OOOOOOO
Yuna knew long before she opened her eyes that she was in a hospital. Maybe it was the never ending beeping that perfectly matched her own heartbeat. Or the lingering smell of sanitary bleach and an air of sweaty anxiety. Or maybe it was the needle in her arm, scratchy gown rubbing against her skin, and sheets that felt just a few hours smoother than parchment paper. No matter the reason, she was less than thrilled to be there.
Hearing that annoying nurse's voice again didn't help.
"I saw your fingers twitch." Satoki said. "But if you want to fake it a bit longer I can send that cute guy home and you can hang out with me instead."
Yuna opened her eyes just enough to glare at him. Satoki chuckled and scribbled a few notes on his clipboard. "I'm so glad they brought me all the way here just to be your patient." Yuna said. She was trying to sound sarcastic, but her voice was so weak it came off as more of a pathetic whisper.
"I'm the only guy in a 60 mile radius that Ms. Kirijo trusts with such delicate matters." He said as he put the clipboard down on the counter. He whipped his stethoscope over his head, tossing it into his ears with impressive speed. "Are you able to sit up on your own?"
Yuna nodded. Slowly, she pushed herself upright. The room they had placed her in was small, but comfortable. A large, green curtain was pulled across the front of the room, most likely to block anyone who may have snuck into the room without permission. It was identical to the room that Fuuka had been in two weeks ago, down to the slightly off-white walls and small, curtain covered window. She was grateful that the florescent lights had not been fully turned on. Her vision was struggling to recover as it was.
"I need to listen to your heart." Satoki said. Yuna nodded. Although she was aware of her surroundings, she felt weak and groggy. The cold metal of the stethoscope on her bare skin didn't even phase her. "Sounds great to me." Satoki said a few minutes later as he tossed his tool back over his shoulders. He placed his fingers against her wrist, glancing at his watch for what felt like an eternity. "Pulse is good." He said with a grin. "I'd say you're awake and healthy."
"Thanks for that riveting diagnosis." Yuna said. She rolled her neck slowly, trying to pull herself out of haze in her brain.
"You've been out for two days." Satoki said.
"Two days?" That woke her up. "Where's Uncle Dojima? He must be freaking out by now." She groaned. Her head was pulsing, a dull pain of annoyance.
"He doesn't know you're here." Satoki said.
"What?" There was no way Dojima of all people wouldn't know that Yuna was confined to a hospital bed for two days. Even if someone had tried to cover it up, her friends would have clued him in on it. Yasuko alone had probably blown up every phone in the house trying to contact her, much less the rest of the group.
"Where's my phone?"
He handed it to her. As expected, she had missed nearly 50 messages total, half from Yasuko, the rest a variety of get well messages from the rest of her friends. Surprisingly, there was not a single missed call or text from Dojima. "Your friends out there were quick to cover all this up." Satoki said. "On paper, you were brought in for dehydration and symptoms of the flu." He picked up his clipboard and jotted down a few more notes. "I'll be able to send you home after a few more hours of observation. Don't want you passing out on me again." He winked.
"Do you know what happened?"
He shook his head. "They pay me a lot not to know." He tucked his clipboard under his arm and bowed to her. "If you're comfortable, I'll let your visitors know that you're awake."
"Is Akihiko okay?"
Satoki chuckled. "He was a tad hypothermic when he came in, but nothing too serious. That boy refused treatment until we knew you were okay. When we did finally discharge him, he resorted to camping out in the waiting room until you woke up. Stubborn bloke. I had to fight with him for nearly an hour just to eat, and he only did so because I threatened to stick a needle in his arm to do it."
Yuna smiled. "I'm just glad he's okay."
Satoki pulled the curtain back as he opened the door. "Trust me. He'll be thrilled to hear you are too."
Barely a minute passed before the door burst back open. "Yuna!" Fuuka practically dove on the bed, embracing Yuna before the later had a chance to react. "I'm so glad you're okay!" The older woman sobbed once before laughing to herself. "I was so worried we wouldn't get to see you again."
"Sorry to scare you." Yuna said. Akihiko and Shinjiro followed after, closing the door behind them. Akihiko was back in his normal red vest and pants, with a few extra bandages on his faces and hands. As he wandered to her bedside, Shinjiro hung back, pushing against the door in his usual arm crossed, angry at the world pose. He looked perfectly fine, and Yuna wondered how he could have possibly gotten out of the fight against Zayne without a scratch. "I'm not totally sure what happened myself."
Fuuka leaned back and sighed. "We have a lot to tell you."
"But not here." Shinjiro grunted. "Too risky."
"He's right." Akihiko said. HIs voice sounded hoarse. He hadn't been crying - his face wasn't blotchy and he didn't seem like the kind of guy to cry over anything - but he was clearly exhausted. "Your friends have been worried sick for days, and I"m not sure we can lie to your Uncle much longer."
"You need some rest yourself, Senpai."
He shook his head. "I'm fine."
Yuna didn't believe him, but let it go. "Promise you'll tell me. I think after all this I deserve to know." She wasn't usually the one to try and make demands, but she had almost died (mostly her fault), and she was certain that the crazy woman had probably escaped her persona's rampage easier than her and Akihiko had.
Fuuka took her hand. "Next Sunday. Same time, same place. I promise I'll tell you everything I know."
Yuna felt bad. The older woman looked like she was about to cry. Just as she was about to apologize, the door swung open, smacking Shinjiro in the back. THe man stumbled away, glaring at the intruder. Satoki didn't seem to notice. "Miss Fuuka?" He said. "Miss Kirijo said you would be able to take care of all the paperwork…"
"Yes." Fuuka jumped away from the bed and joined the nurse in an instant. "Aki make sure she's ready to leave when I get back okay?" The woman took Shinjiro's hand and the three left the room, leaving Akihiko and Yuna in uncomfortable silence.
Akihiko spoke first. "How do you actually feel?" He said, pulling up a set next to her bed.
"Overwhelmed." Yuna couldn't lie to him. "Physically I'm fine. Mentally I'm exhausted."
He nodded in understanding. "When I first summoned my…" He paused. She nodded, filling in the blanks herself. "I was out for nearly a week. The mental stress was so overwhelming. Nowadays it's easy." He pulled his gun out and rolled it in his hand. It was the first time Yuna had really been able to study it. It looked like any other pistol, silver and shiny, with black padding along the handle. The barrel was rectangular, and she knew that no normal bullet could ever be fired from it. On the side in black were the letters S.E.E.S. "It's called an Evoker." He said quietly. "A reminder of our own fleeting mortality." He put the Evoker away and sighed. "In order to access our power, we have to succumb to this primal fear that most of humanity tries to run away from."
"Death?"
Akihiko nodded. "It's not a fear of mine anymore. I could probably summon without it but," He shook his head. "It's a reminder that, at the end of the day, I'm powerful, but not unstoppable. One wrong move and I may lose myself, and everyone I love… again." He balled his hands into fists and stared down at his knees. "You should never have had to go through that for me."
"It's okay, Senpai I…"
"No it's not." He took her hand suddenly, staring her down. His gaze wasn't angry. More… frantic. He was scared. Of what, Yuna wasn't too sure. She didn't know the details, but she was certain he had been in those kind of situations before. Clearly he knew what personas were, and had summoned his own an insurmountable number of times in order to feel "comfortable" with it. So why was he afraid? For her? If he knew what happened in the other world… "I'm sorry." He said quietly, pulling his hand away. "It's just…"
Without thinking, she leaned in and kissed his forehead. The blush on his face was instant, and she was surprised he didn't fall out of his chair in shock. "Thank you for protecting me." She said. "And I'm glad you're okay."
"You're…" He stuttered a moment before catching himself and taking a deep breath. "You're welcome."
Her phone rang in her hand. "Yasuko." She said as she flipped open the phone. "Hey."
"Yuna!" She pulled the phone away, wincing as her friend's voice blared way louder than she expected it to. "I'm so glad you're okay!
"I'm fine." She said with a smile. "Just tired."
"I'll stop by your house tomorrow. It's midterms week and we've got a lot to talk about."
Yuna groaned. Mid-terms. It felt like years since she had last thought about school, much less studied. "I"m so not ready." She said.
"That's what I'm here for!" Yasuko said.
"You know I"m in the hospital, right?"
"Yes but Sanada-Senpai promised that you would be as good as new tomorrow morning." Yuna glared at Akihiko, who chuckled and shrugged lightheartedly. "Don't worry. I'll pick you up before school tomorrow and we'll do a cram study session at June's after school. The team is really excited to see you again."
Yuna smiled. "Fine, but no handlebar riding this time. I'd like to avoid ending up back in the hospital."
She heard Yasuko grumble in agreement.
