Bit of a shorter chapter, but it's a transitional chapter between one arc and the next so it makes a certain amount of sense.
Tired.
She was tired, and she missed Blossom.
They were here, even here, all the way across the ocean.
How had the sickness gotten ahead of her so quickly?
Had it gotten ahead of her? Or had she brought it with her? She'd checked… hadn't she? She'd taken precautions, hadn't she?
No… she'd asked a healer who didn't know the situation to check for something that, as far as she knew, had never happened.
Maybe it was selfish. Maybe she should have warned someone, but who?
… She was so tired.
When had her bow gotten so heavy? Even the quiver felt like someone had hung a chain from her shoulder.
When had her club gotten so cumbersome? She could barely keep it lifted, and it seemed like every time her attention wandered, it was dragging its edges through the dirt.
… She didn't want to do this anymore.
She didn't want to be the one to make the hard choice, she didn't want to be the first to draw blood, she didn't want to kill, she just wanted Blossom and she just wanted to sleep.
She didn't know if she had been complaining out loud or in her head.
Because the only ones to hear her were the dead, or the soon to be.
She wanted to be with Blossom, and Blossom was closer than she had ever been.
She didn't want to be with Blossom, because if Blossom was close then Blossom wasn't safe.
She just wanted to see her.
She just wanted Blossom to be safe.
She probably just wanted to be held in Blossom's arms.
...
It was silly. It was irrational. She was probably losing her mind.
She knew it wasn't Blossom, knew it couldn't be Blossom.
But when she saw that shock of blonde hair out of the corner of her eye, the hope and the fear and the hurting and the exhaustion made her hesitate, just for a moment.
It was enough.
Enough for Rika to realize that more than tired, heartsick and lonely, that she was hungry.
So very, very hungry.
And they were going to keep biting her like that…
It was only fair she started biting back.
With a luxurious yawn and a flutter of long lashes, Shizuka awoke to find her face inches from that of a blissfully sleeping Saeko. As the warm pillow they were resting on continued to rise and fall, Shizuka was able to identify said pillow as Takashi's chest.
Smiling delightedly, Shizuka gently rose from the happy tangle of bodies and into a sitting position. Stretching her arms above her head in a pleasant, languid stretch, bare breasts shaking enthusiastically with the motion, Shizuka let out another long, silent yawn, long ears wiggling playfully.
As she dropped her arms though, she noticed something curious. Her cheek was wet, and that wasn't all that strange given how she, or rather they, had fallen asleep.
But, her cheeks were also kind of cold.
Shizuka rubbed away the cool, salty trail leading down from her eyes and stared at the moisture in quiet concern.
… It wasn't exactly fair to be thinking of someone else when she was being intimate with the young couple, but…
She was a little worried about Rika, now that she thought about it.
She didn't want to be nosy, but Rika was pretty close, close enough that she might even be in… where was here again?
Anyways, she was probably only a few days' travel, and Takashi and Saeko didn't really seem to have had any destination in mind, so…
Maybe she could be just a little nosy after all, and go check on Rika, since she missed Rika.
Hopefully she could convince Takashi and Saeko to travel with her for a bit, she liked them, and didn't like the idea of leaving them alone when they were hurt.
Yeah, that idea made the strange lump in her chest go away, so it must be the right choice.
Rei remembered it from a painting she'd seen once, in an old, decrepit church.
Monsters as hideous as the ones of today were beautiful, as bloodthirsty as the ones of today were lustful.
A vague memory became crystal clear, as the flames crept higher and the screams grew louder.
Once upon a time, humanity hadn't known of Demon 'Realms'.
Demons, monsters, had had only one realm.
Over a thousand years before her birth, there had only been Hell.
A place of madness and flame, overflowing with unspeakable horrors eagerly awaiting the day they could inflict their malice upon mankind.
Honestly… Rei had never really believed it.
Until today, when the Hell from the old stories came to Earth.
What had started as a dockside brawl turned bloody had spread like wildfire.
Men and women, humans and yokai, turning on one another, beating, biting, clawing, ripping each to other bits and devouring one another.
Someone, or maybe several someones had knocked over a lantern, stumbled in a fire-pit, knocked over a stove… who knew what had happened, but in mere moments the city drowning in blood was now swimming through flame.
All while that… mist coiled and weaved through the streets, beneath the smoke and through and around the flames.
So far, everyone it touched went mad.
So far, for some inexplicable reason that even Saya was too stressed and horrified to puzzle out… the only ones who had resisted the effects of that clinging ugly vomit-colored haze had been herself, Saya, and Kohta.
An entire night. An entire city full of people.
… They hadn't managed to save anyone.
Not a single soul.
Just what were they… just what was she fighting for, again?
When the flames had raged too high for even Heroes to endure, and the… infected were burning as they tore each other apart, Kohta pulled them from the streets, dragged and pushed as they choked and stumbled through the smoke.
… In the end, Rei was grateful that someone had the courage to leave.
She couldn't save anyone when it mattered, so at least she didn't want to stick around and watch yet another failure slip like ash between her fingers.
… No, that was wrong.
They were okay.
Saya and Kohta were… no, perhaps not okay, but at least alive.
That was something.
She just needed something, anything at all to justify taking another breath.
Just one thing that she wouldn't allow herself to fail, no matter what.
Somehow it came as little surprise to her that when the chips were down, and there was no other choice, she was the first to cross that line.
To Rei's eyes, the red blood running down Shiro's haft looked an awful lot like tears.
… At least someone had time to mourn.
She hadn't told Takashi, and she never would; but when Saeko had awoken on the canyon floor and found herself so painfully sensitive that even the breeze against her skin was overwhelming, she had wondered if she was being punished.
If it was a reminder that any happiness she'd managed to claim for herself was borrowed at best and stolen at worst.
… It had also been dreadfully unfair how dashing Takashi had been. Her heart beat faster every time she remembered being swept up into his arms.
Oops, she was getting distracted… it was Takashi's fault really, she'd have to thank him later.
She really had worried that an ending of sorts had happened; that the best moments were behind her, and that the only direction left to travel was downhill.
Saeko had been wrong though, and in the best possible way; the strange and nerve-wracking symptoms of what she would learn to be 'mana overload' were not a sign of bad things to come.
They were a sign that she really had found 'the one', that she'd found something so miraculous, so perfect that it was almost too much for her to handle.
She'd nearly been physically overwhelmed by love.
How beautiful was that?
Saeko wasn't worried about whether or not she was deserving of that miracle, not anymore.
That was simply due to her suspicion that no one could possibly be worthy in the first place.
… Except Takashi, of course.
She wasn't going to budge on that one.
Takashi woke up to the sound of a gentle breeze through leafy trees.
Then he opened his eyes all the way, and Takashi proceeded to fully wake up to his heart skipping a beat.
… Make that several beats.
Having just lifted her head from where it rested against his chest, as naturally as if it was always meant to rest there, he found Saeko smiling down at him.
Smiling as if she truly believed that every good thing in the world began and ended with him.
He must have been making quite the expression in response to that, because Saeko took one look and burst into a fit of giggles that made her body vibrate against him.
Helplessly, she hid her face against his chest, and Takashi squirmed and laughed as her muffled voice tickled his chest.
It wasn't like he could complain though; ordinarily one would shy away from the person doing the tickling, but even if she wasn't on top of him, wrapping his arms around Saeko just seemed the thing to do.
The laughter trickling from her voice only to dance whimsically across her clear blue eyes, Saeko lifted her head and to meet his eyes.
"Hey." She whispered, an entire love letter written with a single word.
"Good morning to you too, Saeko." He grinned playfully.
She dipped her head down, but not for a kiss, at least at first; cutely scrunching up her cheeks, Saeko pressed her nose against his and gave it a silly little wiggle.
Takashi laughed again, and Saeko's smiling lips closed the rest of the way.
It didn't take them long to wonder where Shizuka had gotten off too, but when she returned, she returned with breakfast.
A lot of breakfast, and a cheerful, knowing smile upon her lips as the very sight of food caused not one, but two stomachs to rumble.
Loudly.
The breakfast she had made consisted of rice, grilled fish and vegetables, more or less the traditional Zipangu breakfast in rural areas.
Them being in Zipangu was coincidence, as the airheaded Titania had already forgotten that little (?) detail, however she had remembered that the two of them were born there and had made a meal to suit them.
Shizuka was a lot less forgetful when it came to people she liked.
After they'd finished eating and had settled in comfortably on the blanket they'd slept on (which seemed to have cleaned itself from the aftermath of their lovemaking, despite Takashi and Saeko not having gotten off it), Shizuka wasted no time in bringing up the topic on her mind.
"Sooo, the two of you said you were traveling with no destination in mind, and I'm gonna go track down a friend I think would really like the two of you!" Shizuka brightly declared. "So if you don't have any other plans, how about it?"
"... You want us to travel with you?" Takashi guessed slowly, a bit taken aback but not quite sure why.
Shizuka tapped a finger to her lips and stared upwards with a thoughtful hum.
"Well, more like I really want to travel with you, but I also want to see Rika and introduce you!"
"Then… where is this Rika, if you don't mind me asking?" Saeko asked, just as confused and just as unable to place her confusion.
"I have no idea!" Shizuka proudly exclaimed. "But she's a three day walk that way!"
They followed the confident point of her finger and looked to the southeast, before looking at each other and sharing a shrug.
"That's the most specific 'no idea' I've ever seen." Takashi admitted dryly.
Shizuka giggled and replied, "I've known Rika a long time, so even when we're far away I still can tell where she is!"
"Oh. Ohhhh…" Saeko gave a knowing nod. "So you want us to meet your lover."
"Yep!" Shizuka replied without hesitation. "Rika's kind and cute and sexy and you two are kind and cute and sexy so of course you'll get along!"
… Somehow the way she said it left no room to argue.
"So then we help you find Rika, and then go our separate ways from there I guess?" Takashi assumed, Saeko seemed to have the same line of thought, from the glance she gave him.
"Well, we can if you want to, but I don't." Shizuka replied. "I like the two of you, and I want to get to know you better, and traveling together is the second best way to do that!"
Shizuka didn't think she needed to explain what the best way was, after the events of yesterday.
But it seems her worries had come true.
She wondered if they even realized they'd done it, but both Takashi and Saeko had closed off a bit the second she admitted to wanting to know them better.
… Wary looks like that had no place on anyone with so much life left to live.
The hesitance deepened as her demeanor shifted, but even still, they found themselves hanging on her next words.
"You're probably wondering what it is I really want, huh?" Gone was the exuberance, Shizuka's voice came through in slow and calm like a softly flowing stream trickling past.
"Well, what I said before is true, but the other reason is that I just want to see more of you." Shizuka gently explained. "I want to see the Takashi, and the Saeko that others miss when they turn away."
There it was again, that strange tightness in their chests that came when Shizuka saw right through them with a smile on her lips.
Meanwhile, Shizuka had been struck by an experience entirely different and almost wholly foreign.
Hadn't she just said something super embarrassing!?
'I want to see you'!? What did that even mean!?
When was the last time she'd even been embarrassed, what was she supposed to do!?
"..."
"..."
Takashi and Saeko were left staring in amazement at a Titania with hands clasped to her furiously blushing cheeks, as she stared at her lap and squirmed to and fro while muttering.
"... Saeko, wasn't the conversation kind of heavy like five seconds ago?"
"... Yes?"
"..."
"..."
"Yeah, I think so too." Takashi admitted as they gazed into each other's eyes.
… Leaving the ditzy blonde on her own would only lead to worry, and...
It was a little scary the way she seemed to see right through them without even trying.
In a good way?
… It was just that, she hadn't looked away.
She'd seen them, really seen them, and all she had done was hold out her hand.
"You know, Takashi, the forest roads are surprisingly wide in places."
"Huh, come to think of it, you're right, Saeko. Could probably walk through them comfortably with a group of three or four no problem."
Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw glittering amber eyes watching them excitedly.
"So, whaddya think, Shizuka?" Takashi asked with a playful grin.
"Going our way?" Saeko finished, her tone just as mischievously casual.
They could see the way Shizuka seemed to swell up, and concluded that their teasing was about to backfire in the best possible way.
"YES!"
Before they knew it they were on their backs, a delightedly laughing fairy on top of them with an arm (and a wing) squishing each of them into one happy naked group hug.
… Wait, naked?
"Hang on a second, weren't we…?"
Takashi was cut off by the sound of muffled thumping fabric all around them as clothing fell to the ground all around them.
Naked and lovely, a smirking Shizuka lifted herself above them on all fours.
"Oops, we seem to have lost all our clothing." She chuckled, a bewitching glimmer in her eyes as she stared hungrily down at them. "Well, I suppose there's no helping it, then."
Licking her lips, Shizuka leaned back in.
… The three of them didn't make it out of the glade until early evening, but some things just couldn't be helped.
Hungry. Hurt. Angry. Hungry. Hurt. Scared. Angry, hungry, angry, so angry, she missed Blossom where was Blossom she was so hungry-
It wasn't safe, it wasn't safe here? There? She was hungry, Blossom wasn't safe.
She needed to protect Blossom, it wasn't safe. She was so hungry she could barely think, but Blossom wasn't safe so she needed to make Blossom safe.
She needed to… protect? No, she was hungry, where was Blossom?
She needed to… Blossom wasn't safe, what if Blossom got hurt?
Blossom getting hurt made her angry, Blossom getting hurt made her hungry.
Blossom was making her hungry, being hungry made her angry because Blossom wasn't safe.
Blossom made her angry, she was hungry because Blossom wasn't safe.
She was going to protect Blossom because she was hungry.
Blossom would make the hunger go away.
… Yeah, that was it.
Everything would make sense again if she found Blossom.
She was so hungry.
They'd slept in turns, and that had been a struggle in and of itself; Saya had needed to cast sleeping spells on whoever was sleeping, and they were all wound up to the point that it was a challenge to cast a harmless spell upon herself.
Normally, a 'friendly' spell would largely bypass a willing target's innate resistance to magic, but the key issue there was the mentality of the target.
Even if the target was Kohta or Rei, if they were nervous about falling asleep, they would subconsciously resist a magical compulsion to sleep even if Saya was the caster.
Rei had the worst go of it, being the most resistant to magic; just for distraction's sake, Saya had spent her turn on watch trying to theorize how well sleeping magic would work on a worked up Takashi.
He'd probably fall asleep instantly, and sleep a solid few seconds before waking up as if nothing had happened. Takashi's resistance to mind affecting magic was horrendous to the point where Saya was pretty sure he was right at the bottom, as far as Heroes went.
It was just that unless the spell was 'friendly' (she'd helped him sleep in the past, he used to get night terrors when they were younger), Takashi's Blessing would kick in; it was like trying to cover a bonfire with a blanket. The blanket might obscure the flames for a brief instant, but then all that was left would be ash.
In a sparring match once, he'd caught her off guard, and a panicked Saya had hit Takashi with a sleeping spell, one which caused him to keel over in an instant.
… He'd also woken up in time to avoid planting his face into the floor, and she'd still been trying to process that when he stood up.
Needless to say she'd lost that one.
Takashi was doing good work, Saya decided. Reminiscing about how unreasonable he was served as an excellent distraction; she was aware that she was too tired and stressed in order to come up with any meaningful theories as to the utter insanity of last night.
… She really missed him.
She might love Kohta as a woman loves a man, and she didn't feel any guilt from admitting that Kohta was the most important person in her life, but that wasn't to say she didn't love Takashi; it was just in a different way.
Takashi was family, like the big brother she'd never had, though she'd probably never admit it. He'd grown up in an orphanage sponsored by her parents, and he'd also been the first one to see through her, to realize that little Saya watching over children the same age as her from a distance wasn't just her 'sense of responsibility'.
He'd been lonely because his parents were dead, she'd been lonely because her parents hardly paid any attention to her.
She'd never tried to make a comparison, but Takashi couldn't be bothered with stuff like that to begin with; he'd realized she'd needed a friend before she realized she needed one herself, and simply dragged her into a fun childhood, listening patiently all the while to the many objections he was blatantly ignoring.
She also wanted to tell him that he'd been right; Takashi had figured out that she was crushing on Kohta before she'd figured it out herself (there was a trend there, she'd noticed), and…
… He was definitely going to laugh at her when he found out that turning into a monster had been the tipping point, wasn't he?
… It would be worth it, even if she was already embarrassed just thinking about it.
She wanted to see Takashi, wanted to know her first friend was okay, and tell him she'd succeeded and found her 'forever after',but…
It was too risky; there was no way of knowing how Takashi would handle the sickness, and him being almost certainly capable of shaking it off was far too much uncertainty for her liking.
If the odds weren't one hundred percent they may as well be zero.
The three of them had avoided infection, true, but she didn't know how or why; soul reflected body and so any abnormalities should have leaked through into their mana, but there were more questions than answers. She'd witnessed two methods for the infection to spread, but there was simply no guarantee that there were only two.
Kohta, Rei and herself would need to avoid… just about anyone for a week at the bare minimum (two was preferable) before they could ensure that they weren't carrying the infection despite not showing symptoms.
Whether that was even possible was theoretical to begin with, but certain kinds of illness could be passed on by clothing- she'd already burned the clothing they wore into the city- so there was simply no way to tell if it was safe for them to be around other people.
Or even animals for that matter; she'd never heard of an affliction that could cause people to… hurt each other, and usually an illness that affected humans wouldn't affect mamono to begin with.
Though it could be the other way around, some things that worked on mamono worked on humans, it was the reverse that was more difficult, given the generally more robust nature of monsters.
Which brought up another issue on the subject of monsters; where were the Banshees?
Banshees were quite literally charged with heralding death and tragedy (in order to prevent it, usually), and a city with thousands of people going up in flames should be precisely the sort of thing where a Banshee would appear in order to prevent it.
Unless the Banshees simply didn't have the leeway, they had been present at the epicentre of where the infection began spreading in this city, but that did not mean that it was the first city to experience it.
In fact, given the location of the initial outbreak, the illness had likely come from the sea, whether carried by an aquatic mamono or carried by a ship, in which case it could be from, and could have spread anywhere in the world.
Saya had read about 'plagues' in her studies of white magic; a horror story of the distant past; an illness so widespread and lethal that it was comparable to a natural calamity.
Legend had it that some Demon Lords had even wielded sickness against humanity in ancient times; the Demon Lord Pestilence had nearly extinguished humanity on the mainland with something known only as the Black Death.
But that had been almost fifteen hundred years ago, and there had never been anything like it ever since- the legends of 'plagues' were just that, legends, cautionary tales impossible to prove by mortal scholars.
It was also true that all legends came from somewhere, and that's what frightened her the most.
The idea that the legends of 'plagues' had their basis in fact.
"Elder Sister, are you sure this is wise?" She asked hesitantly.
"Frankly? No, not in the slightest." The speaker was a tall, stately Banshee, her bone white skin barely visible behind the floor length shroud she was wearing, a smoky veil that hung almost to her shins and writhed with shadowy runes of civilizations long dead. "But it must be done."
She swept her arm out towards the shadowy room whose threshold they stood upon- a room filled with rows and rows of beds, every one of them occupied by a pale body belonging to one of her kin…
Both the barely living and the recently deceased.
"Dozens upon dozens of our sisters laid low by visions of death, of a tragedy to come that even witnessing it was enough to overwhelm some of the younger and more frail of heart." The Banshee solemnly reminded her younger sister.
A Banshee was always meant to herald a coming tragedy, but prophecy was a fickle thing and sometimes, it did not arrive swiftly enough to prevent what it foretold.
She had raised and tutored many of the women before her, and in her long life had both witnessed and averted many a tragic end.
… Never in all her many years had the tragedy she'd been called upon belonged to Banshees as well.
"This has… something like this is completely unprecedented." She whispered slowly, the sorrow in her voice so thick it was almost palpable. "We simply must know what it is our sisters have seen before it is too late, if it isn't already. If simply witnessing a possible future can cause such tragedy, how much worse must that future be? I have made every preparation, but I dare not endanger any more of our sisters."
And so she was left with no choice but to peer into the memories of the recently deceased; such a task was trivial to the Heralds of Death herself.
Only the faint whisper of thin fabric against stone to mark her passage, the Banshee made her way to the closest bed to contain a body grown still and cold as her younger compatriot watched on in silent fear.
"Forgive me Sister, but your task is not yet done." Came the mournful apology as she pulled away the funeral shroud, revealing a young and lovely visage mercifully unscarred from the horror that had crushed her mind and soul.
Tenderly she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the brow of her fallen sister.
The room fell away as the blackness of dead memories engulfed her senses.
Hunger.
H̛͖͈̫̩̗̹̗̉ͩ͆̀̏͋̐́̈́̂ͬͤų̸̪͙͍̮͈́̈ͣ̅̓̾̃̋ͥ̓̾̒͘Ņ͈̹͎͍͗̍́ͥͭ̅̆͛̑͒̃͊̈́ͩͅg̷̰͕ͣ̅̈ͤ͝͝͏̢̝͙͛̊̐̒̕͜͞ṙ̸̷̢̥̩̥͉͉̉ͧ͆̍͑́͆͂͆̈̎Y͈̠̩̆͂͊ͦ͂̂͡͏̸̷̲̬͎̯́́͠
Everything was hunger.
Hunger and pain.
Maddening, ravenous desire, she wanted to s̜̃̓̀͠ẖ̦ͦͣ͜ẻ̡͔͓͑ ̲͍̤̬͟w͎͈̐́ͅa̴͙͎ͬ͡s̵͔̣ͩͦ ̘̩ͬ̕ͅs͒̉͑͝͡o͈̙̓̃̔ ̷̗̹͇̉h͏̢̬͈́u͉͓̓́͜n̏̄ͨ̃̓g̹͛́ͣ̊r͍̦̱̆ͣy̹̝̏́ͧ ̞̠̅̌ͥw̹̓ͭ́͞ḫ̪̹ͤ͝e̶̛͉͚ͭr͕̼̓̈́͠e̢͚͔͡͠ ̩ͬ̇͌̑w͚͙͑́ͨā̷͕̤̓s͏͈̮ͦ͠ ̫̩͂̃̚h̫̤̜̟ͬe̴̥̭̣̰ ̶͈̱͠͞s̫̫͏̓̀h̛͔̣͌͟e͒͞͏͓̹ ̬̦̳͢͡ẁ̻̘̭ͬa̶͔͔̒ͅn̡̨̋̃ͧt͕͎̀̄̅e͉͑̈̒ͤd̀͑̅ͩ͢ ̵ͧ̑̌͏t̡̟̯́͠o̼̲̹̓ͣ ̤ͩ̈́͟͢t̝̠̀̄̽o͍ͨ͐̈̇ü̢͉̎́c̊̾̏ͪ̆ĥ̸̭̋̈ ̶̮̦̓ͮh͇͔̔̏͌i͔̼̺͎̓m̰͉̝ͦ͝ ̷̩ͭ́ͮ ̧̮̰͇̂
̣ͭͥͩ̚s̗̞̻̾͡h̘͂ͧ̊̍e̷̼̰ͦ͑ ̸ͩ̇̐͟w̙͇̖͗̓ȁ̖͆̌͊n̟ͣ͗͑̎t͍̱͋͛͟e̴͍̖͈̋d͉ͭ͂̅͟ ̺̓̂̾̍t̛̞̝͇̃oͫ̏̓̑̕ ̛̬̬̏̓l̡̥̞͏͐ö̸͗̓̕v̯̏́̑͝e͎̖̭͔͚ ̞̤̔͏ͤḧ̨͎́̀͠i͙̳̓̍̕m̱̗̌̇̇ ̟̄̉͆̚s͈̮̯ͪ̊ḧ̴̼͓̎e̳ͫ̎̃͢ ͏̩̦̩͗w̧͍ͭ̄̆a̙̓̐͊ͅǹ̢͈͇̔ṫ̥̋̅̏é̳͒̉͌dͭ̂̔̾͘ ̝̯͙̔͠t̷̳͂̌͢o̼̣͎̼ͫ ̛͔̆̉̊ḙ̸̿̈͗a̖ͭ̀̉̅t͔̃ͩ̇͝ ̴͔̆͘͜h̛̀ͥ̊́į̪̱̻͢m̱͎͕͐̽ ̨͇̪̀́s̰̜̙͌̌h̷̥̞ͤ͒ē͇̄̃̚ ̤̟ͨͨͧw̶̵̦̘̒a̢͖̟ͤ̒n̼͕̦͗ͨt͖̙̽̐̀e̛̩͓̻͘d̸̷̥ͫ̕ ̡̼̗̎͐t̅͏̺̂̿oͪͮ̀̈̽ ̗̪ͭ̋̚f̧͙͎̩͜ṷ̜̼̎͠c̠̬̊ͧ͜k̳̞̠ͥ̚ ̧̤͉̀ͮh̶̻͍̽͊i̳̯̝̎ͩm̰͍̩̻̀ where was he?
Why was she doing i̺̹̜̳̒̃̊́̀͠͝ţ̶͖͉̥̍̆͛̋͘͝ ͎̫̠̙̋͂̑͑ͫ͢͠h̛̳̗̮̠͔͖̾̂͊̚u̴͙ͬ͒͌ͪ̓͒ͨ͘͜r͇͙̞̲̰͆̀ͩ͛̋ͬt̵͙͚̩͍͚̫̫̱̄ͩ ̶̲̟̲̱̱̻͇̿̌̊ş̵̖̝̖̝̎̅͒̋͘o͖̣͇ͩͥ̽ͦ́ͮ̾̏ ̛̯̟͍͑ͤ̔̇̿͛͢m̛̘͓̂ͨ̾ͧͤ͜͜͠u̧͙͇͖̽͡͏͏͙͓̍c̛̰̺̽ͨͩͮ̽̎͘͝h̬͇̋ͬ̈́̽͗͊͌ͫ̈́ this to him it hurt, it hurt it i̺̹̜̳̒̃̊́̀͠͝ţ̶͖͉̥̍̆͛̋͘͝ ͎̫̠̙̋͂̑͑ͫ͢͠h̛̳̗̮̠͔͖̾̂͊̚u̴͙ͬ͒͌ͪ̓͒ͨ͘͜r͇͙̞̲̰͆̀ͩ͛̋ͬt̵͙͚̩͍͚̫̫̱̄ͩ ̶̲̟̲̱̱̻͇̿̌̊ş̵̖̝̖̝̎̅͒̋͘o͖̣͇ͩͥ̽ͦ́ͮ̾̏ ̛̯̟͍͑ͤ̔̇̿͛͢m̛̘͓̂ͨ̾ͧͤ͜͜͠u̧͙͇͖̽͡͏͏͙͓̍c̛̰̺̽ͨͩͮ̽̎͘͝h̬͇̋ͬ̈́̽͗͊͌ͫ̈́
She wasn't the one choking- b̷̗̟͚͙̱̲̣̰̖̰̓͗̄́̂ͦ͜͜͠ļ̶̛̳͈̮̞̦̱͈͓̽ͪͭ̿̃͑͋̏͢ò̬̲͓͓̱̜̯̤̺͗̍ͫ͐ͪ̏̄̓ͮͫo̸̜̳̼̹̦̾ͣ̅̋̋̿͐̒̀̒̍̈́ͦ̾d̸̦͇̺̼̤̥͚ͪ̒̈ͭ͒ͬ͗̑́̕͟͟y̡̛̠̮̥̟͖̝̋ͪ́ͮ̊̿͌̆̑̇͘ͅ ̵̛͔͖̦͕̗̺͓͍̐̓ͪ̓͂̉͘͢͜͡m̨̬̼͉͕͙̺̮͔̍̿̽̊̄ͤ͗̃͆͘͞ę̸̶̮̠̼̟̯͂ͪ͑ͬ̏́̂͌̃̉̽͌ḁ̴̻̜̝͚̲͇̝̼̠ͩ̿ͫ͑̓̓̇͘͡t̟̫̝̝͎͊ͫ͏̸̷̗̭̰͈̝͓̌̒ͬ͡, she waschoking from swallowing
down all that b̷̗̟͚͙̱̲̣̰̖̰̓͗̄́̂ͦ͜͜͠ļ̶̛̳͈̮̞̦̱͈͓̽ͪͭ̿̃͑͋̏͢ò̬̲͓͓̱̜̯̤̺͗̍ͫ͐ͪ̏̄̓ͮͫo̸̜̳̼̹̦̾ͣ̅̋̋̿͐̒̀̒̍̈́ͦ̾d̸̦͇̺̼̤̥͚ͪ̒̈ͭ͒ͬ͗̑́̕͟͟y̡̛̠̮̥̟͖̝̋ͪ́ͮ̊̿͌̆̑̇͘ͅ ̵̛͔͖̦͕̗̺͓͍̐̓ͪ̓͂̉͘͢͜͡m̨̬̼͉͕͙̺̮͔̍̿̽̊̄ͤ͗̃͆͘͞ę̸̶̮̠̼̟̯͂ͪ͑ͬ̏́̂͌̃̉̽͌ḁ̴̻̜̝͚̲͇̝̼̠ͩ̿ͫ͑̓̓̇͘͡t̟̫̝̝͎͊ͫ͏̸̷̗̭̰͈̝͓̌̒ͬ͡
Screaming who was H̛͖͈̫̩̗̹̗̉ͩ͆̀̏͋̐́̈́̂ͬͤų̸̪͙͍̮͈́̈ͣ̅̓̾̃̋ͥ̓̾̒͘Ņ͈̹͎͍͗̍́ͥͭ̅̆͛̑͒̃͊̈́ͩͅg̷̰͕ͣ̅̈ͤ͝͝͏̢̝͙͛̊̐̒̕͜͞ṙ̸̷̢̥̩̥͉͉̉ͧ͆̍͑́͆͂͆̈̎Y͈̠̩̆͂͊ͦ͂̂͡͏̸̷̲̬͎̯́́͠ screaming shut up she was H̛͖͈̫̩̗̹̗̉ͩ͆̀̏͋̐́̈́̂ͬͤų̸̪͙͍̮͈́̈ͣ̅̓̾̃̋ͥ̓̾̒͘Ņ͈̹͎͍͗̍́ͥͭ̅̆͛̑͒̃͊̈́ͩͅg̷̰͕ͣ̅̈ͤ͝͝͏̢̝͙͛̊̐̒̕͜͞ṙ̸̷̢̥̩̥͉͉̉ͧ͆̍͑́͆͂͆̈̎Y͈̠̩̆͂͊ͦ͂̂͡͏̸̷̲̬͎̯́́͠ shut up hate you shut up kill you
hate you ̘̂̌̑͑ͭs̟̳̫͈͂͝h̨̩͈͑̎͡u̖͚͌̎ͮ͏t̩͕̬̄̊͞ ̴͓̙̑ͨ͟u̱ͨ̃̄͐ͩp͐̋̈ͫͪ͒ eat you kill you ̘̂̌̑͑ͭs̟̳̫͈͂͝h̨̩͈͑̎͡u̖͚͌̎ͮ͏t̩͕̬̄̊͞ ̴͓̙̑ͨ͟u̱ͨ̃̄͐ͩp͐̋̈ͫͪ͒ so hungry
H̛͖͈̫̩̗̹̗̉ͩ͆̀̏͋̐́̈́̂ͬͤų̸̪͙͍̮͈́̈ͣ̅̓̾̃̋ͥ̓̾̒͘Ņ͈̹͎͍͗̍́ͥͭ̅̆͛̑͒̃͊̈́ͩͅg̷̰͕ͣ̅̈ͤ͝͝͏̢̝͙͛̊̐̒̕͜͞ṙ̸̷̢̥̩̥͉͉̉ͧ͆̍͑́͆͂͆̈̎Y͈̠̩̆͂͊ͦ͂̂͡͏̸̷̲̬͎̯́́͠
… What a blunder; the vision nearly consumed her. It was necessary for a Banshee to experience a prophecy without living the prophecy.
But it came as no surprise her sisters were unable to handle these visions... What in Hel's name was she seeing?
Humans and Yokai killing one another other, devouring one another? Even a Holistaur-!?
No, cease that once- that man is your husband!
What madness… no, not madness, sickness?
This was an... illness?
Where had it come from…?
Circular patches of grey were spreading across the sky; like drops of blood staining old parchment.
Hemming in those holes in the sky was a strange, sickening to look at haze, one that drifted earthward like mist and spread across the ground.
… The source of the illness, perhaps? How did one prepare oneself for a sickness from another world?
But it was what could be seen through the portals that was the most bizarre, the most unsettling.
The corpse of a once mighty city, lifeless glass towers stretching skyward like the rib bones of some great beast.
Crowds of people milled about the bases of these great towers… no, 'people' was perhaps too generous a term.
They were shaped like humans, yet shuffled about aimlessly, dragging legs like leaden weights, tattered arms reaching out limply towards a sight only they could see.
… They reminded her of the Undead, the freshly risen who had yet to recall how their bodies were meant to move in life.
Usually she found it cute, but here it was unsettling. Undeath was meant to be a gift, a boon to those cheated by life.
But she could not bring herself to think that that was the case, not here.
The sun was shining brightly upon that strange land.
Shining brightly upon a world of the dead.
Which begged the question, where were the living?
No… that question was easily answered.
H̛͖͈̫̩̗̹̗̉ͩ͆̀̏͋̐́̈́̂ͬų̸̪͙͍̮͈́̈ͣ̅̓̾̃̋ͥ̓̾̒͘Ņ͈̹͎͍͗̍́ͥͭ̅̆͛̑͒̃͊̈́ͩͅg̷̰͕ͣ̅̈ͤ͝͝͏̢̝͙͛̊̐̒̕͜͞ṙ̸̷̢̥̩̥͉͉̉ͧ͆̍͑́͆͂͆̈̎Y͈̠̩̆͂͊ͦ͂̂͡͏̸̷̲̬͎̯́́͠
If the sickness acted there like it did here…
Then…
S̹̗̫͈̀̂̆̾̑͞O͢ͅ͏̵̟͇̒ͤ͗͡ ̖̜̹̮̹̤̄̀̿͡ḫ̶̙͆ͬ̑̀̐̓ͪU̴̡͕̘̦ͦ̓̄̌͞Ņ̞͎͓̟̋͐́̽͢g̙̱̤̳̰ͭ̍͆̎͠r̶̨̪̳̺̗̎͒́̏Y̡̬̫͕̺̓͒̄̿͛
… She could hear them.
She could hear them screaming.
The dead were not silent.
The silence of the grave was reserved only for those who welcomed it.
S̡͍͉͔̮̀̓ͭͨ́h̙͓̠̐̒̒͌ͧͧ̕ẽ̘̼ͩ̽̕͝͡͞͝ ̳̭̋ͤ̈ͦͮ͊́͡c̷̨͓̀̉ͣͭͬ́ͣo̝̹͈̮̤͆̀̽̂͟u̗̳͜͏̸̢̰̉́ͦl̵ͧ̎͞͏̹̓̔ͪ͊ḑ̢̛̪͇ͥ͋ͭ̉ͅ ̲̟͈̋̽ͥ̒̂͢͞ĥ̵̵̛̞̙͒͐̇͠e̳̬̎̽ͪ̓̓̈̔̓a̧̪ͣ̅́̅̽̃̚̚ȓ̬̜̗̘͙̟ͩ̊̄ ̢̺͈̫̠̘͎̫ͥ̊ẗ̶͚͔͙̤̰́́̈̀h̢̢̥̙̪̑ͨ̈̚͢ḙ̞͓̆̎̔̆ͩ̿͜m̡̘̟̲̪̘̝̌̍ͅ ̶̢͓̜͗ͪ̅̔͑͗ŝ̸͓̲̰̱͔͛̂̃ç̖̜͖ͩ͐̽ͫ̿̇r̡̜̠̊̂͑̋ͧ̅̔e̵̤͔͉͇͑͂̐̓̑a̡̬͓̠̅́̂̄͒̕m̴̯̰̬̪̋ͧ̉͡͡i̢̜̺̥ͧ̐ͦ͗̌͠ņ͚̰̣̀̋͌́̌͝ǧ͎͑̋͋̉̚͘͢͠
She could hear them crying.
And so she screamed with them, cried with them until she could scream no more, until she could cry no more.
S̹̗̫͈̀̂̆̾̑͞O͢ͅ͏̵̟͇̒ͤ͗͡ ̖̜̹̮̹̤̄̀̿͡ḫ̶̙͆ͬ̑̀̐̓ͪU̴̡͕̘̦ͦ̓̄̌͞Ņ̞͎͓̟̋͐́̽͢g̙̱̤̳̰ͭ̍͆̎͠r̶̨̪̳̺̗̎͒́̏Y̡̬̫͕̺̓͒̄̿͛
The Banshee's wail heralded one final tragedy.
This time, it was her own, and of the world's worth of sorrow that buried her.
Blissfully unaware of the tragedies occurring in the world beyond the calm quiet of the forest, Takashi and Saeko travelled side by side with their new companion.
While it had been obvious enough from the very beginning that Shizuka did things at her own pace, there was something harmonious and unobtrusive about her presence that easily endeared her to both of her younger companions.
Something they were both grateful for, as neither of them had figured out what Shizuka was 'to them'.
Definitely a welcome presence, they both liked her, were grateful to her, and more than a little attracted to her (they wouldn't have gone that far with her if they hadn't been), but…
A friend, a lover? Was she a temporary companion, or would she be a part of their lives from then on, even though they might not necessarily remain side by side?
Neither of them had any idea, mostly because neither of them really understood what they wanted from her.
Both of them had, until a few short weeks ago, been resigned to a life of 'just me', both too afraid of themselves to attempt to connect with anyone else. Then they had met each other, and with a bewildering, wonderful sort of immediacy it had become 'just us'.
A world that was only the two of them, until a wayward fairy queen lured them into her enchanted forest for no other reason than to help and to heal.
It had made them both realize that there was 'more out there', that maybe the world was a wider and more beautiful place than they'd ever imagined.
They had started to hope, and it scared them both more than they cared to admit.
After all, no matter how deeply she looked, there was no way for Shizuka to know the things that they'd done.
What kind of expression would she make when she learned?
Would she hate them? Fear them?
Would she-
"... No good, huh?"
They stopped suddenly in their tracks to find Shizuka standing in front of them, a solemn cast to her gleaming amber eyes that seemed to glow even brighter in the slowly darkening woods.
… When had it gotten so late?
In that brief moment when their eyes had wandered, Shizuka had closed the distance, and they were in her arms again.
Someone went to speak, only to be cut off with Shizuka's firm voice.
"Hugs first."
It took her more effort than she cared to admit, but Saeko uncurled her shaking fingers from the hilt of her sword. She hadn't even realized she'd reached for it.
"It's scary, isn't it? When you've been hurt, and betrayed, it makes every act of kindness something to fear, makes you look past every outstretched hand to look for the knife held in the other." Even as her words cut into them, she kept her tone airy and light. "I don't know what it is that you regret so deeply that you can't even hide the scars from it. And honestly, I don't really care."
… Was that good or bad?
"After all, even if I did want to judge you for whatever it was, what could I possibly say to you that you haven't already told yourselves?"
That was the thing with being alone; no one to keep you from dwelling on unpleasant thoughts, no one around to interrupt the sound of your own voice.
They didn't need to be judged, they didn't need to be punished.
They could do that just fine on their own.
They had accepted each other, flaws and all, and they already felt like that was more than they deserved.
It was a feeling they just couldn't shake.
Or so they thought; when they awoke that morning in the glade, for the first time, not just Saeko, but Takashi had been willing to believe that there was nothing wrong with the happiness they'd found.
And with Shizuka's cheerful fondness, they'd seen an opportunity to make that happiness grow, and naturally aimed to take that opportunity before they could doubt themselves.
But the doubt had caught up to them, and dragged them right back to the beginning.
'Selfish. You don't have the right.'
"You're wrong, you know." As if she could hear their every thought, Shizuka chose right then to cut in.
"It's okay to want things, and it's okay to question why you want things." Shizuka told them as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "But you can't let that doubt control you if you ever want to let it go. Which is why I've decided to tell you the last reason why I want to be with both of you."
"... The last reason?" Saeko managed to get out slowly.
"Yep!" With that, Shizuka broke the hug but didn't quite let them go, taking them each by the hand with a bright smile upon her face.
Whether she'd meant to or not, they'd never know.
Walking backwards, Shizuka pulled them along down the trail a few steps, and before them the trail dipped sharply, leaving them at the crest of a long hill.
Beyond her, the forest opening up, and as the last of twilight trickled away, tiny twinkling points of light began to appear on the darkened sky-
But between them and the open sky were the gossamer expanses of Shizuka's great butterfly wings, and Takashi and Saeko could only stare in wonder as starlight danced across the soft colors of her wings.
Unaware of just how thoroughly she'd stolen their breath away, Shizuka's warm voice echoed through the deepening night, drifting around them on a warm breeze.
"I want to show you that the world is still beautiful." She gently declared. "That everyone has their place in it, and that the two of you are no exception. You've learned to smile for one another, and I want to help you learn to smile for yourselves, as well."
"Why would…" One of them began.
"You go so far?" The other finished, and neither knew who had said what, but it ended with the same words left unspoken;
'For someone like me?'
"Because I love you both, that's why!" Shizuku smiled, answering the whole question without needing to hear it.
Her delighted laughter filled the air as Takashi and Saeko stared at her in stunned disbelief.
"Eehee~ see, some monster girls love one person their whooole life, but me, I fall in love all the time!" Shizuka paused for a moment with a thoughtful hum, and then leaned in to whisper. "But don't worry, I might fall in love but I've never fallen out. I still love the very first person I fell in love with just as much as I did the first time we met, no matter how many other people I've loved since then."
For a moment, they were both a little worried, her smile had turned wistful in a heartbeat.
"Are they… still around?" Takashi hesitantly asked, not wanting to drag up bad memories but not able to stop himself.
"Yep, which is why we're going to go see her!" Shizuka exclaimed happily, completely destroying the earlier mood.
Saeko let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding, smiling ruefully.
"Sometimes loving someone means knowing when to part." Shizuka confided, smiling fondly as she thought of her darling wild cat. "And sometimes you come back, and find that the cute couple you slept with has grandkids for you to spoil!"
"... Does that happen often?"
"... Nope, not at all because I'm not that old." Shizuka insisted after a suspiciously long pause, puffing out her cheeks in protest when Saeko averted her gaze with a smirk and Takashi definitely didn't struggle to hold in a snicker.
One thing they were sure of was that that 'young couple' had still been just as happy to see her, even if they'd made a life without her.
"So what you're saying is that you come and go when you're needed?"
"Yep! So I'll be here as long as you need me, and even if I do leave, it won't be forever."
It seemed like a strange way to live her life, if they were being honest, and maybe it only worked for someone as ageless as a Titania.
… Even if she still loved them, it must have been true that Shizuka had lost many lovers over the years; time waited for neither man nor monster.
Somehow though, it seemed unlikely that Shizuka would ever regret the time spent with others, or that they would ever regret the time spent with her.
So after a brief, wordless conversation, Takashi and Saeko agreed that for now, they'd simply enjoy the time spent where 'they' meant 'three' instead of 'two'.
Before they knew it, Shizuka had tugged them along to a clear open field, illuminated by laughing starlight and the soft crescent smirk of the pale moon.
There the three of them danced the night away, blissfully unaware that they were dancing their way past the world they'd known.
Takashi would always remember dancing in that quiet forest meadow as the world was ending around them.
Like I said last chapter, big difference in tone depending on which group we follow, and all the cast is involved in the chaos except for Takashi's little group.
No prize for guessing how long that will last, since they're heading through the forest towards Rika who's totally fine… and Rei's group is mostly just heading away from populated areas…
So yeah, things are gonna get a little crazy, but that's where all the fun starts.
Speaking of fun, the Banshee's vision was suitably chaotic mixture of vague and specific, but I hope you guys realize the implications of 'where' the infection originates from. If not, I'll probably clarify a bit in the AN next chapter.