As time went on, the citizens slowly started to stop their riots. A lot of them weren't happy with Dia. They didn't like that she had a child who wasn't normal. A few protests had happened since the big riot. Nothing ever came out of them. Things seemed to be getting better.

It had been almost three months since that day. It was a long journey to get back to normal. Dia had struggled for a while. She didn't like not having Riko around anymore. It hurt a lot.

Her daughter, Rika, was growing up well despite her missing leg. She was acting just like any other kid. She was very fond of Chika. Chika loved to snuggle up with her in her bed. Yō was jealous she couldn't do that yet. She knew she would have to wait until Rika got older.

Kanan had finally gotten the hang of how to be royal. She wasn't as afraid to actually do tasks. She would help out with the meetings now. Her and Mari had officially gotten married a few days back. Everything was going well.

It was just another night. Everyone was gathered in the living room around the fireplace. It was cold in the castle. Ruby was playing with Yō. Kanan and Mari were snuggling. Dia was holding Rika while Chika kept trying to cuddle with her. Hanamaru was sitting by herself and reading something.

After a few minutes, Yohane appeared and made her way to the center of their little circle they had created. Everyone looked up at her. She seemed different.

"Guys… I think it's time." Yohane said, "I'm crossing over."

"What!?" Hanamaru was instantly on her feet and running to Yohane's side.

"Whatever I had to do has been accomplished. It's time for me to go." Yohane said as she hugged Hanamaru.

"No… please…" Hanamaru begged.

"Shh… you'll be okay. I promise I'll still visit you in your dreams." Yohane reassured her.

"But… but I want you to be here…"

"I'm sorry. I can't stop it."

"I need you. You can't go." Hanamaru pleaded as tears started streaming down her face.

"You don't need me. You keep trying to lie to yourself. I know you'll be fine without me." Yohane brushed away the tears.

"I need you." Hanamaru repeated.

"You have them. You'll be fine." Yohane stated.

"You can't leave me…"

"I'm sorry." Yohane stepped away from Hanamaru.

Kanan walked over and held Hanamaru close. Yohane took one last look at everyone. She smiled and started to glow brighter. After a minute, she had disappeared from sight. She had crossed over.

Hanamaru was sobbing into Kanan's chest. She didn't want Yohane to go. She knew it was selfish of her, but she didn't care. Kanan did her best to calm Hanamaru down.

"It's alright…" Kanan whispered, "You'll be okay."

"I want her back…" Hanamaru whispered.

"You can see her in your dreams." Kanan replied.

"I guess… but, it isn't the same." Hanamaru sighed.

She knew she shouldn't be complaining. She was lucky. She was still able to see Yohane. That was why she was whispering to Kanan. She didn't want Dia to hear her.

"Why don't we all turn in for the night?" Mari asked.

Everyone agreed with that and headed off to their rooms. Chika went to stay with Hanamaru. Normally, she liked to be with Dia and Rika. Kanan and Mari headed off to their room. Yō decided she would replace Chika for the night.

DIVIDER--

Hanamaru had a tough time falling asleep. She just kept tossing and turning. Chika was on a pillow watching Hanamaru. She was trying to not get hit as Hanamaru turned.

"What's the issue? You should be excited to sleep." Chika nuzzled into Hanamaru's face.

"I just can't find a comfortable way to lay." Hanamaru sighed.

"Do you want to snuggle with me?" Chika asked.

"I guess." Hanamaru mumbled.

Chika stood up and curled up by Hanamaru's face. Hanamaru placed an arm around Chika and closed her eyes. She managed to fall asleep like that.

DIVIDER--

Hanamaru opened her eyes to a white landscape. She looked around in confusion. She had no clue where she was or how she got here.

"I told you I'd come see you in your dreams."

Hanamaru turned around to see Yohane was standing behind her. Hanamaru smiled and ran over to her. Yohane smiled at her. The two of them hugged.

"I love you!" Hanamaru kissed Yohane on the cheek.

"I love you too." Yohane kissed her on the head.

After a little bit, they separated. Yohane led Hanamaru deeper into the land. Hanamaru stared in awe at everything around. It was so beautiful.

"This is my home now." Yohane said.

"I wish it wasn't." Hanamaru replied.

"So do I. But, there's nothing we can do about it." Yohane said.

"Do you know anything about Riko?" Hanamaru asked.

"Yes. I do know something." Yohane nodded.

Hanamaru's eyes lit up, "What is it?"

"Well, she's still kinda conscious." Yohane explained.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Yohane nodded, "Yes. There is one thing."

"What?" Hanamaru demanded.

"There's a chance for her to be reborn. If someone gets pregnant in a week, I could probably convince the rulers here to make her the child." Yohane explained.

"Really?"

"They said they'd do it." Yohane nodded.

"So… I guess I'll see about that."

"Our time is up to meet tonight. I'll see you tomorrow."

DIVIDER--

Hanamaru woke up. It was still quite dark outside. She jumped out of the bed. Chika startled at the movement. She watched Hanamaru with a confused expression. Hanamaru ran out of the room.

She slowed down as she reached her destination. Hanamaru took a deep breath and then knocked on the door. She walked in the room and shut the door behind her. Yō and Dia were sitting up on the bed staring at Hanamaru. They were both very confused.

"What is it?" Yō asked.

"I talked to Yohane. She told me something." Hanamaru stated as she moved to sit beside them on the bed.

"What did she tell you?" Dia asked.

"She said that Riko is still conscious. And, she also said there's a chance she could be reborn." Hanamaru stated.

"Really?"

Hanamaru nodded, "Yep."

"But, how exactly?" Yō asked.

"If someone gets pregnant before a week is up, she can be reborn." Hanamaru said.

"But who would do that?"

"That's the issue…" Hanamaru sighed, "I don't know who would do it…"

"Maybe you could ask Kanan and Mari?" Yō suggested.

"I don't know."

"It doesn't hurt to ask."

"Alright," Hanamaru said, "I'll go and ask them."

Hanamaru said goodbye to them and left the room. She took her time to walk to the next stop. Hanamaru went back to her room first. She wanted to make the potion needed first. It didn't take long at all. They had been nice enough to set up her room with stuff for experiments.

Chika watched Hanamaru. She was concerned and confused. Hanamaru was acting weird to Chika.

"Maru, what are you doing?" Chika asked.

"Making something." Hanamaru replied vaguely.

"What is that something?" Chika pestered.

"You'll find out eventually." Hanamaru stated.

She finished the potion and then left the room with it. Chika tried to follow her, but she was told to stay. Chika frowned. She was confused. She just wanted to know what was up.

Hanamaru walked to Kanan and Mari's room. She knocked on the door and announced herself. She was told to come in. Hanamaru walked inside and shut the door. She kept the potion hidden in her outfit. She didn't want them to be able to see it.

"What's up, Maru?" Kanan asked.

"There's something we need to discuss." Hanamaru stated.

"Well then, come on and sit down." Mari motioned her over to the bed.

Hanamaru took a seat between them, "So… I talked to Yohane…"

"What did she say?"

"Well, she's doing fine. She also said that Riko is still conscious even without a form." Hanamaru started.

"That's good."

"If someone gets pregnant before this week is up, she is able to be reborn." Hanamaru said hesitantly.

"I assume you're asking if we'll do it?" Kanan asked.

Hanamaru nodded, "Yes… obviously, it's your choice, but you guys are really the only ones I think we could trust with this."

"Can you even get pregnant yourself, Maru?" Mari asked, before flushing red from embarrassment.

Hanamaru shook her head, "No. Magic prevents children from forming. You need to use magic blockers to have a child and those can have some nasty side effects."

"Is the child guaranteed to have magic?" Kanan asked.

Hanamaru shrugged, "It depends on the type of witch. For me, yes, the child would have magic. For someone like Yohane, though, the child isn't guaranteed it, but could get it."

"What about black magic?"

"Black magic isn't something you can be born with. It's something you get by casting forbidden spells often. A spell or two over a few years won't do it, but a spell a day definitely would." Hanamaru replied.

"Can you ever get rid of black magic?" Mari asked.

Hanamaru shook her head, "Not really. If you try, the magic will kill you. You're stuck with it for eternity as a punishment."

"Jeez, witches are complicated."

"You're telling me." Hanamaru rolled her eyes.

"Kanan, can we talk in private?" Mari tugged Kanan into the dresser.

Hanamaru waited. She knew they were discussing if they wanted to do this. She worried they wouldn't. Hanamaru wanted to give Riko the chance to be reborn.

After a while of waiting, Kanan and Mari returned. They sat on the bed.

"We'll do it." Mari said.

"You will?"

"Yeah. I think we can manage it." Kanan nodded.

Hanamaru pulled out the potion and gave it to them, "You'll need this."

"Thank you."

"I should get back to my room. I haven't told Chika what's going on and she's getting mad." Hanamaru left the room.

Kanan held the potion and looked at it, "So… who's going to use it?"

"I think I should." Mari stated, "I don't think it'd be wise for me to get pregnant. You can't run the kingdom well and who knows how long it'll be till Dia is well enough to help out again."

"That's true." Kanan agreed, "I guess we'll do it that way."

"You know, I still wonder why they decided the way they did. I feel it would've made more sense for Riko to be the one who got pregnant." Mari said as she took the bottle from Kanan and opened the potion.

"You do realize that they could've easily just tossed Riko out like trash. It had to be Dia." Kanan reasoned.

"Oh… yeah…" Mari mumbled.

She sniffed the potion. It smelled weird. She took a deep breath and then drank it. Kanan took the empty bottle and set it aside. Mari was flushed bright red as she felt the potion start working.

"It's alright to go slow. Take your time."

DIVIDER--

A few days had passed. Hanamaru was anxiously waiting for night to fall. She was needing the confirmation from Yohane. She said that tonight they would know if Riko was going to be reborn or not. She already confirmed that Kanan and Mari had succeeded in their attempt. Only issue was that it was just reaching midday. She had a while to wait.

Dia might've recovered her mobility within a month, but her strength hadn't yet. She was slowly gaining back her strength. Hanamaru decided to go and see her. She had nothing else to do, so she decided doing some physical therapy with Dia could help make the time go by.

Hanamaru found her in the gardens. Kanan and Mari had taken Rika to go play and let Dia have some alone time. Yō seemed to have taken to Dia. She was always around her. Hanamaru wasn't sure if that was because she wanted to protect her or if she just formed an attachment.

"Hey. How's the new flower patch looking?" Hanamaru greeted them.

"It's off center." Dia stated.

"Oh… yeah, it is." Hanamaru sighed, "I'll tell them to fix it later, then."

"Do you need something?" Yō asked.

"No. I was just coming to see what you guys were up to." Hanamaru said.

"Alright."

"Unless, is there something you need from me?" Hanamaru asked.

"I don't think so."

"Dia, you're doing good? Nothing has gotten weaker, right?" Hanamaru asked.

"I'm good." Dia replied.

"How have you been with walking around?"

"I still have to take some breaks, but not as many as before." Dia said.

"That's good. I should hope by the next month you'll have almost all of your strength back." Hanamaru nodded.

"Are you doing anymore physical therapy?" Dia asked.

"I think so. You still need some." Hanamaru replied.

"Alright… I guess you know best."

"We don't have to do any today if you're not up to it. It's alright to take a break every once in a while." Hanamaru said.

"Okay. Can we skip it for today then? I'm not in the mood."

"That's fine." Hanamaru turned to Yō, "I have a question for you."

"What is it, Maru?" Yō asked.

"How come you've been hanging with her so much?" Hanamaru asked.

"Am I not allowed to?" Yō asked.

"No. You're able to hang with whoever. I'm just curious as to why." Hanamaru quickly stated.

"Oh… um, I don't know… I just feel like I should." Yō tried her best to explain.

"Okay. You can keep hanging with her. I don't care. Chika seems to have gotten clingy with me recently." Hanamaru said.

"Well, it's not like that's a bad thing." Yō said.

"It's not. I just assumed she'd cling to Kanan more." Hanamaru replied.

DIVIDER--

It was finally night. Hanamaru was nervous. She didn't want to face Yohane now. She couldn't get the thought of her saying it didn't work out of her head. Hanamaru was afraid that might be the answer.

"Hey, Maru!" Chika came into the room and jumped on the bed, "Um, do you have a minute?"

"Yeah. What's up?" Hanamaru looked at Chika.

"Um, apparently Sarah and Leah want to come by and visit." Chika said.

"Are they aware of the current situation?" Hanamaru asked.

Chika shook her head, "No. The knight have been very good at keeping this information in the kingdom."

"Go discuss that with Dia. She's the one who really gets a say in it." Hanamaru said.

"Okay. I'll tell her in the morning then." Chika said.

The two of them settle down into the bed. Chika curled up close to Hanamaru. Hanamaru hugged Chika with one arm. This was how they tended to sleep. Chika licked Hanamaru's nose and then settled down.

"Night, Chika…" Hanamaru yawned, "Sweet dreams."

"Night, Maru." Chika replied.

DIVIDER--

Hanamaru opened her eyes to the familiar landscape of white. Yohane was standing in front of her. They hugged and kissed as they always did at each meeting.

"So…" Hanamaru asked.

"It worked." Yohane smiled.

"Really? Oh thank god!" Hanamaru smiled and hugged Yohane again.

"I bet that eases your worries."

"There's something else…." Hanamaru mumbled.

"What is it?" Yohane asked.

"Sarah and Leah want to visit. They have no idea of what has gone down since we've parted ways." Hanamaru said.

"I think they'll be fine. It would be hypocritical of them to have issue with Rika since Sarah technically falls under the same category." Yohane tried to reassure Hanamaru.

"I guess… um, Yohane, can you talk to anyone else?" Hanamaru asked.

"I can. But, only one a night." Yohane replied.

"Oh… maybe you could visit Kanan tomorrow instead? She's always complaining about wanting to see you too." Hanamaru said.

"I suppose I could. So then, I'll see you in two days."

"Yep. Unless, of course, you want to visit someone else."

"I'll make sure to tell you first." Yohane said.

"Okay."

DIVIDER--

Hanamaru woke up late the next morning. Chika was pawing at her face and meowing at her. Hanamaru groaned and opened her eyes.

"Morning, sleepyhead." Chika greeted her, "It's almost noon."

"Oh…" Hanamaru sat up and stretched, "How long have you been trying to wake me for?"

"About ten minutes. I figured it was best to let you sleep in. You've been working really hard." Chika said as she nuzzled into Hanamaru's side.

"Did you talk to Dia?" Hanamaru asked.

Chika nodded, "She said it's fine if they want to visit."

"Alright. I'll send a note to them, then." Hanamaru said as she got off the bed.

"So, what's the verdict?" Chika asked as she climbed onto Hanamaru's shoulders.

"It worked." Hanamaru said.

"That's good!" Chika said.

"Anything I need to do?"

"Um… I don't think so." Chika thought about it but came up blank.