Chapter 45

Kill the Heart

The bright white light of the moon illuminated the small town where the remnants of Night Raid remained. A cold wind swept through the buildings on the rather warm night, making the ground frost over and the air to become almost freezing cold. A familiar clicking sound made its way through the town, the cold seeming to follow the noise. As people were awoken from their slumber, they peered through windows and doorways, seeing a tall, pale woman with ice blue hair slowly making her way through the town, towards the barn that had been attacked only a few days before.

Skyrah opened her eyes to meet the eye that had haunted her for years. The eyes of Esdeath.

Her sword was jammed deep into Skyrah's chest, the wound gushing blood up and around the blade. She reached for Akame, but just when she was about to touch her, she turned her head to see Murasame had impaled her and stuck her into the ground, black markings from it's poison still lingered on her cold, lifeless skin.

Skyrah felt the cold blade in her chest, she saw the look of glee and accomplishment in Esdeath's eyes. She couldn't believe she had let this happen.

"It didn't have to be like this." Her haunting voice made Skyrah tremble in absolute terror, she couldn't even move her body. She wanted desperately to scream, but it was like no sound would come out of her.

Skyrah jerked awake, immediately met with the scared and tired eyes of a perfectly safe and alive Akame.

"Skyrah?" Akame said, holding the side of her face with her soft hand, feeling the warm tears on her palm. "What's wrong, Sky?" She asked.

Still shaking, Skyrah pushed up, grabbing Akame into a tight hug, which was quickly returned.

"Oh my god…" Skyrah whispered, her voice shaky. "I thought she killed you…" She stopped herself, sighing in relief that her dream wasn't reality.

Akame squeezed tighter. "I'm fine, babe." She said in consolation. "Everything is fine."

The two remained there for a few minutes, happily spending what little bit of quiet time they could have together.

"It didn't have to be like this." Skyrah could hear the words leave Esdeath's mouth like it was reality.

After a few more minutes, the couple got up and began getting ready. The sun had risen high in the sky and they had both slept in far more than usual.

As they both got dressed in a closed off stall, Akame found herself eyeing her girlfriend's body, even catching herself staring more than a few times. Her smaller frame and many scars were no distraction to her gorgeous features.

"See something you like?" Skyrah raised her eyebrows and smirked when Akame looked up into her eyes.

Akame nodded slowly, pulling her underwear up and walking over to Skyrah, pecking her on the lips and backing away. "How can someone get punched in the face thousands of times and still be as beautiful as you?" She said, looking deep into Skyrah's eyes.

The assassin blushed hard, even from Akame that compliment felt great to get. "Um, makeup." She laughed.

"You don't wear any." Akame grabbed her by the waist, pulling her close and looking slightly down at her. "Have you gotten taller?"

Skyrah immediately slapped Akame's hands away, pursing her lips. "You were getting real close, then you blew it." She said, turning away and starting to put her clothes on.

A sudden smack on her backside made her jump, then turn around, giving a glare to the grinning Akame. "I'm sure you'll get me back." She said, putting her minidress on and the rest of her clothes. "See you outside." She pushed her lips out and made a smooch sound, teasing Skyrah as she left.

"Rude." Skyrah said to herself, smiling and shaking her head, quickly dressing herself and slipping out to find Akame.

As she walked through the barn, she happened to catch a glimpse of light reflection from something in her sleeping bag. She raised an eyebrow and walked over to it, reaching towards it and pulling her blankets away, seeing a piece of paper sticking out of a glass bottle. When she reached down and grabbed it, she shuddered. She slid the paper out and unrolled it.

Meet me at the old man's temple. Bring no one.

Skyrah's body shook. Her body pounded in her chest. Her dream of Esdeath coming into the barn, it wasn't all fake. Esdeath had been there that night, and she had placed this for Skyrah to find. She had been able to sneak past both Leone and Akame, two of the most elite members of Night Raid without either of them waking up. She had the chance to kill all of them, but she hadn't taken it. Why?

Whatever the reason, Skyrah had to find out. She crushed the ice rose in her hands, throwing it aside and kicking dirt over it. If anyone were to find out about it, they would tail Skyrah, and that was the last thing she needed, especially in a situation like this.

/

Yuki clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, swinging her legs as she sat up on what used to be a monument over one of the stone pathways leading to the main temple. She knew Skyrah had walked this path hundreds of times, and also knew she would take it.

It had been bothering her that she could remember doing all these things, but also knowing it wasn't really her that did them. She didn't know how to handle it, but she knew she had to speak to her original self. A drive to kill Akame still remained in her brain, but the memories of her kept her from seeking it out.

She began thinking about Diane, her voice, face, and the things she said to Yuki.

"I care about you."

Yuki blushed hard and shook her head, trying to get the memories to go away.

"What are you doing here?" Yuki looked up, meeting the eyes of a clearly upset Skyrah.

She hopped off of the statue, landing on the stone path a few meters away from her original mind and body.

"I remember running this path, with Mia and the old man." Yuki said, looking around. "I remember how all these buildings used to look, I remember going in all of them, running errands for the master whenever I could." She looked back at Skyrah, who had her arms crossed, her index finger impatiently tapping on her bicep.

Skyrah sighed. "I did those things. Not you." She tugged on the strap of her tank top. "Who's been telling you that?"

Yuki rolled her tongue around in her mouth, trying to find the right words. "It's strange, I can remember doing all of these thing, but I know I never did them." She said. "I was created using your DNA, but my memories were wiped away, recently they started coming back."

Skyrah put her hands on her hips now. "Why should I believe you?"

"The first day back in Japan you killed a man who held a bunch of girls captive." She spat. "The first time you kissed Akame you tasted strawberry, You look up to Leone because you can't remember your older sister."

Skyrah grit her teeth, fired forward and slugged Yuki across the face, sending her tumbling backwards.

"Shut up!" She shouted, holding her fist out to her lookalike. "You proved your point!"

Yuki rubbed her jaw, her first instinct was to attack her, but she held herself back. "Sorry." She said, spitting out blood. "But you have to believe me, I'm not your enemy." She went to get to her feet, but Skyrah stomped down onto her chest, holding her down.

Skyrah had to force back tears, thinking of what happened the last time they met. "Then why did you beat Akame?" She was furious. "If you are me then why would you hurt her of all people?!"

Yuki frowned, not feeling the love that Skyrah apparently did. "Because that's what I was made to do." She answered, still trying to get up.

Skyrah didn't let her up. "And what if you attack her the next time you see her?" She jammed her foot down harder.

Yuki was getting angrier by the second. "I can remember everything now... everything you and her have been through." She grumbled. "I'm not going to hurt your precious girlfriend!" She snapped.

Skyrah didn't exactly trust what she was hearing, but she pulled away from her. "If you're really not on their side…" She began, watching Yuki get to her feet and brush herself off. "...Then why is Esdeath and the rest of her team still alive, holding the Princess and King hostage?" She growled, keeping her fists clenched.

"Diane is fine, I'm not going to let anyone hurt her." She said, thinking about the Princess. "But I can't get her out without help."

Skyrah raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want my help?"

Yuki scratched the back of her head uncomfortably. "Well, I have a pretty distinct memory of flying, but I can't exactly do it myself."

Skyrah was quiet for a moment, and Yuki awaited her response.

"Why should I trust you?" Skyrah finally questioned.

Yuki already knew her answer. "Because if you don't more of your friends are going to die by Esdeath's hand."

Skyrah's eyes widened when the words left her mouth. She finally closed her eyes and nodded her head. "So what's your plan?"

/

Princess August sat at her desk, tapping her nails against the wooden surface. A small leather book with the word 'Diary' sewn into the front lay under her small reading light, still unopened since she had risked her life to get it. She already knew what she needed about both Yuki and Skyrah, so there was no reason for her to go snooping through her personal belongings. However, that alone didn't satisfy her curiosity. She took a deep breath, and opened the book.

November 23, X694

Dear Diary,

Hello there, my name is Yuki Skyrah Nashi. I'm 14 years old, and I just arrived to England from Japan to begin my training under Grandmaster Wu. My new prosthetic or, 'Teigu' as they call it, has worked better than anything I have ever seen. I owe thanks to the best dad ever for giving them to me before I left! Budo I know you're reading this, so thank you very much for everything you've done for me in the past few years, I couldn't have done it without your help. You saved me from that horrible orphanage six years ago and turned me into everything I ever wanted to become. I guess that's all for today, I need to get back to work!

Diane felt like she had just done something wrong. Like she had just peeped into a part of someone's life that she wasn't supposed to know about. As she continued to read, she began to learn about Skyrah's time before being adopted, and what she remembered of her parents and siblings.

"Skyrah lost her arms and legs when she was five… she was in an orphanage for three years?" Diane whispered to herself, trying to imagine how painful it must have been for her to be given up simply because her parents didn't want her.

As she skimmed through the pages, she eventually realized a single date was skipped. May 2, X695. The day her father had hired her to recover the artifact.

She flipped the page to the next day, and was met with barely legible scribbles.

May 3, X695

Dear Diary,

I don't really know how to begin. Claire, the doctor I've talked about, told me writing in my diary might help me cope with what happened yesterday. So, I guess that's what I'll try.

That bastard of a King knew exactly what he was sending us into, he knew people were going to die in that fucking hole. We didn't even have a chance to get through without losing people. There were thousands upon thousands of ants from sizes of small boots to medium-sized dogs, with teeth sharp enough to cut through flesh like butter. Some of the older men protected me as we ran through the cavern, and they were immediately swarmed and ripped apart in seconds. I haven't ever heard people scream like they did, they only stopped screaming when the bugs crawled down their throat or tore through their neck. And, to top off everything, even after we got the book and made it out, not a single person could read it. We had lost almost our entire group for a book no one can even use.

I don't want to be in this country anymore. I want to see Budo.

I want to go home.

Diane closed the diary softly, feeling pain in her heart. The things written in this book never should have been seen by her eyes, they were too personal, too powerful for someone like her.

She stepped out of her chair and away from her desk, walking over to the hole in her wall and looking up into the beautiful, starry night sky.

"I guess I understand why you acted so tough." She said. "You've lost more in this lifetime than anyone ever should."

A twinkle of light in the night sky suddenly caught her eye. What she assumed to be a star was the brightest one in the night sky, and it seemingly had come out of nowhere.

"As a matter of fact…" Diane thought, narrowing her eyes. "It looks like it's coming closer."

What she thought had been a star suddenly shot to the left, leaving a trail of orange flames as it streaked across the night sky. Whatever it was, it looked like it was starting to circle the castle.

Someone suddenly burst into the room behind the Princess, as she turned around, she recognized the face of the young man Yuki had protected her from. He ran over to her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her along with him out of the door.

Just as her bedroom door closed, she heard a voice come from behind it. Much like Yuki's voice, but a bit higher pitched.

"Help me!" Diane shouted.

As Lubbock continued pulling her along down the hallway and eventually to a flight of stairs, his hands started trembling with fear as her bedroom door was blown off the hinges by a burst of flames, which quickly began racing down the hallway.

"Come back here, Lubbock!" Whoever had come shot down the stairs like a bullet, grabbing Lubbock and smashing him into a wall like a rag doll.

Skyrah turned around, pulling the hair out of her face. "Nice to see you again, Anne." She said with a smile.

"Skyrah?!" Diane was in shock.

The green-eyed assassin gave a thumbs up and an even bigger smile. "Can't say I'm a big fan of your new bodyguard." She said, looking down at an out cold Lubbock.

Princess August dove into her arms, planting her lips right on Skyrah's cheek and giving her a big smooch. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again!"

Skyrah stumbled over her own words, not really knowing how to react. She eventually just took her by the hand. "We need to get you out of here, Yuki should already have the rest of your family."

Diane nodded, not able to keep a smile off her face.

Skyrah swept Diane off of her feet, holding her bridal style. "This is gonna feel really strange at first, but you should be fine when we get out in the open."

"What are you talking abou-!"

Skyrah shot up the stairs, down the hallway, through her room and out of the wall faster than Diane ever imagined being able to go. She felt like she was going to be sick for a few seconds, but as her body started to acclimate to flying high above the city, she felt amazing knowing she was finally away from her captors. As she looked over the city she noticed the flames coming out of Skyrah's feet, propelling them forward.

"How can you do this?!" She asked, shouting over the wind.

Skyrah smiled, shaking her head. "It's a long story, Princess."

Princess August was in awe that someone she had known when they were barely teenagers had transformed into such an amazing young woman with more power than she could imagine.

"We're going to land pretty soon, hold on." Skyrah said, feeling sweat start to build on her brow. Her body was tiring fast. "Yuki should be here soon." She said, slowing them both down until she was able to land along the side of the road.

Skyrah sat herself down, exhaling deeply from the flight, the Princess sat down next to her.

"I'll tell you what, flying is really exhausting work." Skyrah said, falling onto her back, putting her hands behind her head, and closing her eyes. "Makes me want to take a nap."

Diane smiled. "You haven't changed a bit." She said, looking down at the girl who used she used to see almost every day for a year. She suddenly noticed something about her that strangely hadn't changed. "Did you get taller?" She asked with an uncomfortable laugh.

Skyrah opened one eye, glaring at her old friend. "Don't you dare." She said, closing it again, clearly annoyed by the question. "What about you? How's life been?"

"Different. The past few days especially." Diane said slowly.

Skyrah sat up suddenly. "Sorry, shitty thing to ask." She apologized, pausing for a moment. "I'm sorry about your mom."

Diane shook her head. "That's not for you to be sorry about, Skyrah." She said, rubbing her eyes before a tear could come out. "How is everything back home?"

Skyrah smirked, kind of staring off into the distance. "Different." She answered quietly.

A snap of a whip in the distance made them both turn in it's direction, seeing a carriage speeding over a hill and towards them. Prince August was driving, while Yuki sat next to him on top, and King August was inside of the carriage.

"There's our ride." Skyrah said, getting to her feet and pulling Diane up.

As the carriage came to a halt next to them, Skyrah helped Diane inside, then climbed on top with the other two. "Have any trouble?"

"Other than them whining, no." Yuki answered.

"Skyrah!" Prince August threw his arms up, leaning into Skyrah and embracing her. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Skyrah pulled away from him as quickly as she could, helping Diane into the carriage and quickly joining her, closing the door and coming face to face with King August, still struggling for breath after having to run with Yuki. He was clutching something to his chest, but Skyrah couldn't tell what it was.

"Your highness." Skyrah greeted sarcastically, nodding to him.

"I should have known... you would have something to do... with this." Each time he paused he took a deep breath and pat his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. "Thank you for saving my family."

"I came for her, thank the other one." She responded coldly. "I see you haven't changed a bit." She said, looking over his fat body covered in outlandishly expensive clothing.

King August chuckled. "Why thank you." He said with a smile, thinking it had been a compliment. "I've actually made quite the breakthrough, recently." He said, pulling out a book and handing it to her. "The woman with the blue hair was able to translate this for me, she can read this old language. It gave her quite the scare, for some reason."

Skyrah felt a fire inside of her ignite when she saw the book, remembering what had happened all those years ago. "That doesn't bring back the people who died." She growled, tossing it into the seat beside her.

The King was confused. "Well aren't you interested in what it says?" He questioned.

"Not really." Skyrah said, leaning her head back and resting it against the back of the cabin, closing her eyes. "It's not mine to read, only to retrieve." She whispered slowly, remembering those were the exact words he had said to them before they began their death mission of finding it.

"Whatever you do, you are under no circumstances allowed to read the book." King August said, pointing his fat finger down at them from his throne. "It is not yours to read, only to retrieve." He finished, before sending them on their way.

The rest of the ride was quiet, Skyrah was able to fall asleep for a few hours, remembering taking this exact road many times before.

When she awoke, Akame was at the door, relieved that Skyrah was okay. As she was helped out of the carriage, Skyrah saw Yuki not fighting back as Mine placed huge restraints around her neck, wrists, and ankles, all linked by thick chains. Tatsumi's sword was still in her hand, but she was easily moving the restraints one-handed.

"She's on our side." Skyrah said, pulling away from Akame.

"How can we know that, for sure?" Mine wasn't really listening to her.

Skyrah raised an eyebrow. "She just helped free three prisoners from Esdeath." She said, grabbing Leone by the shoulder. "You can't-!"

Mine whipped around suddenly, smacking Skyrah across the face and making her fall down to the ground. "She helped kill Chelsea and Tatsumi!" She roared, glaring down at the shocked Skyrah. "You should be chained up with her!"

Skyrah jumped up, clenching her fists.

Akame and Leone jumped in, Akame holding back Skyrah while Leone held back Mine. Yuki only watched, she could only remember Skyrah having good memories with Mine, they were really good friends, as a matter of fact.

"Let go of me!" Skyrah shouted in anger. "If she wants a fight she'll get one!"

"I'll kill you!" Mine screamed, gritting her teeth.

"Stop it! Listen to what you're saying!" Akame shouted at both of them.

Leone activated her Teigu, trying her hardest to contain Mine. "Akame… I can't… hold her!"

The royal family and the rest of Night Raid, as well as a few people from the town were watching as the events unfolded.

"What?" Akame was struggling to hold Skyrah back, but she didn't have any clue how Leone could be struggling to hold onto Mine. She had a significant size and strength difference, especially with her Teigu.

"Something's wrong!" Leone said, her grip becoming more and more loose by the second. Her eyes were panicked as she looked around. "Everyone get away!"

Skyrah watched in confusion as the tassel from Incursio suddenly wrapped around Mine's forearm, and the much smaller girl was easily able to rip away from Leone, who had a look of horror on her face.

Mine's eyes suddenly became a shining red with a black cross in the center, much like Tatsumi's had when he transformed into his Incursio armor.

The armor that had once saved Skyrah's life wrapped itself around Mine, evolving in seconds to fit her body. As her face was covered by the Teigu, the helmet became what looked like the opening to a dragon's mouth, being lined with teeth and casting a shadow over the infuriated face of Mine.

Akame pulled a Skyrah out of the way as Mine charged towards them both, smashing both of her fists down and blowing a huge crater into the ground where they impacted. Once she realized she missed she ripped her arms to the side the couple had dove to, dragging her arms through the ground and making it explode underneath them both, throwing them both backwards, forcing Akame to let go as they impacted the ground again.

"Mine, stop!" Leone shouted.

Mine didn't hear a word she said, her mind blocked out everything except Skyrah, who had just activated her Teigu to 500 percent.

As she launched towards her, Skyrah pressed herself off of the ground just as Mine crushed the ground where she had just been with a simple punch.

"Cut it out!" Skyrah reared back, changing her arm to metal and slamming her fist into the side of Mine's new helmet. The girl was thrown across the field like a rag doll, tumbling head over feet until she finally came to a stop.

Mine sprung to her feet, firing off to the side and grabbing her own Teigu before jumping into the air. She pulled a lever on the side of Pumpkin, making it split down the middle and revealing a huge barrel that was charging some kind of energy.

"You're gonna get yourself killed!" Skyrah shouted up at her, knowing the girl couldn't handle using two Teigu. She jumped up right at her, rearing her fist back again, this time to knock her out of the sky.

"Skyrah, no!" Akame screamed.

Just as Skyrah got close, Mine pulled the trigger as far back as it would go, releasing a monstrously large beam of yellow that completely swallowed Skyrah whole, carving a massive rut into the ground as it impacted the earth below. All other light from the morning sun seemed to darken as the weapon continued firing.

Akame and the others could only watch as the beam continued, destroying the ground below and trapping Skyrah inside of it.

Yuki raised her arms, snapping the chains like strings and ripping off her bindings.

She jumped off of the ground, reaching Mine in less than a second, kicking her out of the air and back to the ground. Pumpkin, however, was still being fired as she fell, and the beam was jerked to the side, carving through the town and leveling homes like they were nothing before it crawled up the side of a hill then into the sky, eventually stopping.

Skyrah fell to the ground in a heap as she was finally free from the weapon's devastating attack. Her body was smoking and the tips of her hair were blackened from being burned, as well as her clothes being almost completely destroyed at the same time.

"Sky!" Akame started running towards her, but Skyrah threw her bloodied arm out to the side, making her lover stop in her tracks.

"Stay away!" Skyrah said, looking over at Yuki, who simply shrugged.

"Incursio is adding to her anger, that's why she hasn't been able to let go of it!" Leone shouted. "It lost Tatsumi and is trying to bond to her!"

Skyrah looked back to Mine, who was quickly getting to her feet.

"How can she use two Teigu?!" Skyrah questioned.

King August stepped forward, holding up the book. "It's Teigu Plus!" He shouted. "It's an ancient technique!"

Mine suddenly crashed into Skyrah, carrying her across the field and dragging her along the ground as she flew just above the ground.

"Tatsumi and Wave had mastered Teigu Plus when training with Esdeath." Leone said, shaking her head. "I don't know how, but Incursio must remember how to do it, even though Mine never knew."

Akame turned to Leone. "The demon that lives in the sword… it's taken over Mine."

"Tatsumi always talked about how Incursio would take control of his fighting when he got angry, it must be feeding off of Mine's grief and amplifying it." Leone was in awe. "Damn it…"

Skyrah and Mine were in the heat of battle, skating across the open field as they traded blow after blow. As they fought hand-to-hand, Mine's close combat training she had always done with Akame and Skyrah really shined. Each fighter tried to counter and parry every attack, but were ultimately blocked time after time, only landing a few punches and kicks.

Dirt and dust was thrown up with each impact, showcasing just how much power was clashing at once.

Akame watched from the sidelines, noticing how lightly Skyrah was actually hitting Mine, she would begin her attack with as much speed as she could, but then slow down at the very last second, making sure not to really hurt her friend. It really was incredible how hard she was fighting, yet still making a conscious effort not to really hurt Mine.

"What's the matter, Skyrah?!" Mine's voice was mixed with something deep and demonic. "Hit me!"

"Shut your mouth!" Skyrah really put power into her next punch, stunning Mine and allowing herself to grab the inside of the helmet, pulling either way on it, trying to force it off of her.

When Mine started to reach up at her, Skyrah's hands glowed orange and detonated at once, causing a huge blast of wind and a thick cloud of smoke around them.

When the smoke cleared, Skyrah was still pulling on her helmet, trying to force the Teigu off of her.

Mine blasted Skyrah with Pumpkin again, throwing her off and onto her back.

Just when Skyrah was about to get up, Mine's feet came crashing down onto her stomach, knocking all the wind out of her and pinning her to the ground.

Skyrah lifted her arm, pointing her palm at the girl with a small flame in it, but Mine slapped it to the side just as it launched, flying out of Skyrah's hand and making a small explosion when it landed a few feet away.

Mine grabbed Skyrah's wrists with each hand, pulling them up above the girl's head, pinning them there and roaring in her face, terrifying the now stuck girl.

Without wasting any time, Mine used her left hand to hold Skyrah's arms in place, rearing back her right arm, making a fist and getting ready to bring it down on her face. Her whole body felt stronger than ever before, she felt like she could move mountains, and best of all, she could kill Skyrah.

She pushed her arm down with all of her might, ready to end the fight right there.

"This one, for sure!" Something made Mine freeze in place. "It's perfect!" The diamond ring on the chain around Skyrah's neck had caught her eye. Her chest rose up and down rapidly as she tried to push out of Mine's grasp. Her face was angry, but her bright, forest green eyes were unusually sad.

Mine tried to force her fist forward, but her body wouldn't move. Her mind wandered, when she closed them to try to cast off the memory, she was suddenly in a jewelry store, watching a starry-eyed Akame happily show off the ring she was getting for Skyrah.

"I went to this same shop when I got Mine's ring." Tatsumi responded, looking back at Mine with a beautiful smile on his face. "She really loves her a lot, you know?"

Mine felt strange, she had never seen Akame act so happy and childish.

"Can you make two? I'd like them to match." Akame said with a big happy smile on her face. "It's for my girlfriend."

The jeweler was a bit surprised, but smiled and nodded her head. "Of course, miss."

Tears came to Mine's now pink eyes. She lowered her fist and the armor on her body glowed a shimmering pink color, slowly disappearing and returning her to normal, Pumpkin absorbed the light, which eventually faded and left the symbol of Incursio on the side of the completely transformed Teigu.

"Your friends hadn't mastered the real Teigu Plus, ladies." King August said, stepping forward as the events before him unfolded. "Teigu Plus is when two Teigu permanently fuse, because the bond of the users is so powerful they physically cannot stay apart, sometimes even their bodies can be joined."

"Mine and Tatsumi…" Akame felt her heart skip a beat. "Their Teigu were connected because of their love."

King August smiled, nodding his head.

Mine stood up, looking around with wide, tear filled eyes. She saw families leaving what remained of their destroyed homes, children clinging to their parents in fear as they watched her from afar.

"What… have I done?" Mine said, looking down at her hands.

Skyrah chuckled. "Mine, don't even say it." She said, slowly getting to her feet and throwing her arms around the girl, embracing her tightly. The cuts on her body smeared blood on Mine's pink dress, but she didn't care, she clung onto Skyrah like her life depended on it, eventually breaking down and crying loudly in heartache and pain of her lost companion. "We love you, and so did Tatsumi, we don't ever want to lose you." She said softly, holding her sobbing friend as she cried up at the sky as the sun finally peered out from over the horizon.

"Tatsumi!" Mine cried, her tears burned her face as they traveled down her face, but she felt like a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off of her chest that she couldn't explain. "I'm so sorry!" She squeezed Skyrah as tight as she could, now crying into her shoulder.

Skyrah fell to her knees with Mine, holding her and patting her back. "It's okay, Mine." She reassured her. "It's okay."

Night Raid, the royal family, and even the some of villagers couldn't help but tear up at the scene. The pain before them was unspeakable, but the hope alongside it was nothing short of magical.

Skyrah smiled, crying with her friend.