Sorry this one took so long to get out. I don't really know why, but it took forever for me to write this chapter. And, thinking about it, it didn't turn out the exact way I wanted it to. But I'll take a "it's good enough" check on that one.

I bought the first three volumes of the Love Live Sunshine manga out of curiosity. I think the character writing is significantly better than the anime. I already enjoy it more. But yeah, reading that today made me realize that I should really get to finishing this chapter so I did. Things will pick up soon, so stick around if you so please.

Anyways, enjoy.

…

Darkness. The never-ending darkness that she somewhat expected of the Void. Though the enhanced eyesight Hanayo received from her demon blood would normally let her see in darkness fairly easily, she could see nothing in this place. And that's because, she figured, there was nothing to see. Her knowledge of the Void was sparse at best, but she knew that it was "nothing" and "everything" essentially. That had always been hard to wrap her head around and it's not like she was partnered with Void, so she had no reason to look into it deeper. But now she was somewhat regretting that.

There was no sound. Her footsteps were silent, and no noise came when she tried to call out. Panic was starting to set in, but she tried to hold confidence. Yoshiko was trying to save them so she wouldn't have brought them here if she thought something might happen to them. But where was Yoshiko? Where was Honoka? Why was she alone? Being alone in the Void sent the worst chill through her. She really wouldn't be surprised if something struck out at her from that darkness and killed her on the spot.

But instead, a beautiful girl showed herself. Even though it was a beautiful girl, she still served to scare the hell out of Hanayo who nearly fainted at the sight of her. The girl just gave her a smile and then looked around in confusion.

"Ah, my bad, my bad, ahaha." She clapped and the world shifted around the two. The darkness turned into light, the nothing into walls. Hanayo blinked and looked around. They somehow ended up in a small room with nothing but a table in the middle, a cushion on either side. The girl walked over to one side and sat down, gesturing for Hanayo to do the same. She hesitated, but finally sat. Her voice decided to find its way out of her at that point.

"U-Um… where… are we? I thought… we were in the Void…" The last thing she remembered before being surrounded by darkness was Honoka helping her into the Void. "Where's Honoka-chan?"

"All in due time, she's safe, Hanayo-chan." The girl waved her question off. "I'm here to talk with you after all." Her smile unnerved Hanayo, but she managed to stay straight and keep her eyes locked on her.

Ah… my eyes… they don't hurt anymore.

"That's right." Her attention jerked back to the girl in front of her. Had she just read her thoughts? "In this space you don't have to worry about your eyes hurting. I've stabilized them for the time being. However, I'm afraid that my power only extends so far as this space. Once you leave the Void, I won't be able to help you with that anymore. But, well, that's one of the reasons I called you here."

"In this space? But isn't this…?"

"Mm. You were right before. This is still the Void." She thought for a second. "Matsuura Kanan. That's what you can call me. I'm a former Master of the Void from long ago."

"E-Eh? W-Why are you in the Void then?"

"I am the Void." When Hanayo didn't respond, she laughed and continued. "It's kind of complicated, but I fused with the Void before I died. My real name… is lost to time. But at one time I really was the Master of the Void. Matsuura Kanan was as well, but she died long ago. It's just become something of habit for me to take her form when speaking with people. Not that this happens very often, haha."

Kanan waved a hand and a cup appeared in front of Hanayo and herself, filled to the brim with a light green liquid, steam slowly rising off the top. She reached out and took a sip. Hanayo hesitantly did the same. She was surprised at the super sweet taste that assaulted her tongue, but it wasn't bad. Just to be polite, she took a few more sips before setting it down. Kana wasn't paying her any heed though as she was going through a duffle bag that Hanayo hadn't noticed before. Actually, she was pretty sure it wasn't there before.

"Ah, here it is!" Kanan pulled out a small hand mirror and held it out towards Hanayo. "Take it. And look in it."

"Eh? Eh?" Hanayo was still confused about everything going on but when Kanan made no move to pull the mirror away or to answer her, she took the mirror. After swallowing a lump in her throat, she held it up to her face. Reflected in the mirror were her bright red eyes, practically glowing. No, they were actually glowing though she couldn't tell when she wasn't looking in the mirror. "This is…"

The image shifted slightly, and she felt herself being tugged away, far away.

"Eh?" Hanayo blinked once, making sure she was actually awake and not in a dream. Then again, if she was still in the Void, she wasn't sure she could actually distinguish that from a dream. A field spread out before her, as far as her eyes could see. Luscious green grass tickled her ankles.

Thwack!

A noise some distance behind her made her jump. When she turned, the first noticeable thing was a large tree, devoid of leaves. It was the only tree she could see in any direction… well, the only anything she could see in any direction. That is, expect for the person by the tree. Hanayo cautiously moved closer. As she did, she could make out the beautiful floral kimono, black hair tied in a ponytail, flowing out with every movement. "Every movement" included the quick strikes the girl was launching at the tree with a bokken. As she nears, the girl stops her routine to acknowledge her, pink eyes flaring with anger before relaxing as she took Hanayo in. She let out a long sigh and resumed striking the tree.

"You going to say anything?"

"E-Eh? Ah, um…" The girl looked familiar…. Really familiar. In fact, if she had her hair in a different style, Hanayo would have mistaken her for their friend. Even though she figured it wasn't her, she couldn't stop the name from tumbling out. "N-Nico-chan?"

The bokken stopped right before making contact with the tree and she drew it back, starting a new series of strikes.

"Nico? My descendant, is it? Are you her friend or something?"

"D-Descendant?" The girl looked almost exactly like Nico, even in terms of stature. "I don't…"

"Ahh!" The Nico-like girl slammed the bokken into the tree, a chunk of the tree freeing itself and flying out into the field. "Void needs to learn how to explain shit! Void sent you here, right? That's the only way you can possibly be here!" Hanayo recoiled at the yelling and the girl seemed to relax a bit when she saw the brunette's reaction. "Well?"

Hanayo just nodded.

"Figures. Listen, you can't stay here long, alright? This is… how to say…? This is kind of like purgatory, I guess. A world between life and death. If you spend too much time here, even Void won't be able to help you out." She lightly tapped the bokken against the tree and sighed. "But, well, if Void sent you here, then there must be something…" The girl suddenly squinted at Hanayo, a strange look coming over her. "Ah, I see. I see. You inherited a Demon Lord's eyes? Or maybe they were given to you?"

Chika had mentioned it previously. Eyes given to her by the Fourth Demon Lord, eyes unlike any other partner. It's not like she had anything to compare them to, so she had never noticed anything amiss with them. And neither had Honoka. But Chika knew it immediately. Were her eyes really that special? What does having the Fourth Demon Lord's eyes mean?

"Given… by the Fourth Demon Lord. I-I'm not exactly sure why though."

Yazawa stared into her red eyes for a bit before finally turning her bokken over and slamming it into the ground hard enough that it sunk several inches in before releasing it. "Close your eyes."

"E-Eh?"

"Close them!" Hanayo flinched and did as she was told. "Focus on them. Believe that you want to see. You're not as attuned to the eyes yet, so you don't serve as a threat as the Witness. Focus. Demon blood allows you to feel the mana in the air, to see through it. Because you can see through it, you can see demons. But with Fourth's eyes, you can see more."

Hanayo tried to think about it. But the more she thought about it, the less sense it made to her. Seeing through mana? Was that really the reason she could see demons? She had never heard anything like that before. And what was she supposed to see with Fourth's eyes that she couldn't see otherwise? Would she actually be able to see it? She squeaked when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but kept her eyes closed.

"Have confidence in yourself. You are a fine partner. You wish to help your friend, right? You don't want to be a burden, right?" The brunette nodded. Being a burden to Honoka was the last thing she wanted. "I don't believe she sees you as one. But that doesn't matter if you see yourself as a burden. So, I'll help you with a little something. Don't open your eyes. What do you see?"

"Eh? Um… nothing…" Her eyes were closed, of course she couldn't see anything.

"No. Focus on my voice this time. Listen closely." Hanayo blushed a bit as she felt warm air against her ear. "You can see." A soft whisper, a kind and clear voice, not commanding, but hopeful. "Look ahead of you. If you can't open your eyes to what's right in front of you, then you can't move forward. Focus. Hear my words. Look. See."

A brief shock ran up Hanayo's spine and she couldn't stop herself from shaking. But she relaxed when a hand gently began to stroke her hair. She focused on that hand and the voice that still whispered to her. The instructions felt unclear. Simply telling somebody to "do this" doesn't help them. But she still tried. In the darkness, she searched for something, anything that could help her. Would she see it without opening her eyes? What was it anyways? That question still had yet to be answered by the strange girl.

Then she saw it, for just a brief second. A glimpse of silver, a thread that flowed through the darkness. She reached out for it, desperately trying to grab at it, but it vanished as fast as it had appeared. The voice assured her that it was okay, telling her that she just needed to try again. Could the girl see what she was seeing? Had she seen the silver thread?

Again. Hanayo felt like she was actually jumping at the thread, but she couldn't reach it, couldn't grab onto it. The third time, she felt it. She felt it even before it appeared and she preemptively reached out, her hand brushing against it. A strange feeling filled her entire body. It was warm, comforting, assuring, much like the girl's voice but on a deeper level. It felt right.

The fourth time, Hanayo relaxed and willed herself forward in the darkness, willed herself towards where she knew the thread would appear. And as it came into being, she slowly reached out and caressed it, warmth filling her once again. The thread wrapped around her hand, this time staying. Though it felt like nothing was there, she was sure she could see it.

"Now… open your eyes."

Hanayo had almost forgotten that she had closed her eyes. She opened them slowly and sucked in her breath. Immediately, everything felt different. The vibrant green on the grass felt brighter. The blue sky felt clearer. She turned to stare into the eyes of the girl. Those eyes felt… strange. Deep, pink eyes. They felt almost wrong, out of place. Even though this girl looked almost exactly like Nico, she felt wrong in that moment.

"Who… are you?" She heard herself saying before she could stop.

The girl smirked, something that also looked very Nico-like, and walked over to the bokken, pulling it out from its dirt prison. She examined it and nodded when she determined that the wood was still intact. With a single swing from that bokken, she cut the tree cleanly in half, the top portion falling into the grass but making no noise.

"Me?" She laughed bitterly, but when she turned back towards the brunette, she wore a genuine smile. "I'm just a figment from the past, a soul that never moved on. But, well, I doubt it would mean anything to you, but the name is Yazawa, a former Prince of Blades." Another bitter laugh escaped her mouth and she shook her head. "Give my regards to my descendant. I'm sorry she couldn't inherit my memories since I haven't died. But, well, not like she should mind." Yazawa motioned behind the brunette. "You can leave now. Looks like your time is up anyways."

Hanayo turned around and saw the darkness, the same that she had seen before in the Underworld, the darkness of the Void that she had stepped into. She approached it slowly but turned back to the girl who examined the cut down tree with annoyance.

"Thank you, Yazawa-san."

Yazawa turned to her and smirked. "You're not going to ask more about me? About the Yazawa line? About my descendant?" Hanayo shook her head.

"I'm thankful for what you've done. And… I'm sure you want to have your privacy, right?" Yazawa brought her bokken up to rest on her shoulder and laughed loudly.

"You're definitely something, Ojou-chan." She relaxed into a comforting smile. "You'll be fine now. You can see everything. Remember to always look, to see. It's pointless to stare without seeing. My time is done, but yours is just starting. And uh…" A light red tint came to her cheeks as she thought of something. "Tell my descendant to keep her head up. She has a hard life ahead of her, but I know she can handle it. Everybody is with her after all."

There was a strange pause, Yazawa waiting for the girl to leave but Hanayo stayed, shifting awkwardly, nervously.

"U-Um… Yazawa-san… your eyes… are they…?" The black-haired girl looked confused for a second before laughing loudly once again and walking up to the brunette.

"See? Your eyes are already opening. That's good." Yazawa blinked and when she opened them again, they glowed a bright red. "That's right. But these don't matter anymore. They're stuck here with me after all… and that's how it should be. Now, get going." Yazawa gave her a gentle push and Hanayo felt herself falling away into the darkness of the Void. "Good luck out there, Hanayo-chan."

I don't really have much to say about this chapter. Just a little chapter about Hanayo. I say little, but this chapter is extremely important.

Well, that's all for now.

Till next time. Be seeing you.