To Lyger 0: Fair point, but they didn't exactly have time to question the appearance of a random Lion while it was trying to turn them into lunch!
To yellow 14: Compared to some other ones, that was actually pretty light! It took over 40 in "Tokyo"!
Hato Gozen slumped against Ryoku and Bengalia, allowing them to support some of her weight. The last time she could remember feeling this tense and exhausted after a fight had probably been over the summer, when they were ambushed by the Bat and his minions. That time, both Ryoku and Miss Pinky had been severely injured. This time, however, a glance around the circle of her friends showed that everyone was on their feet. Ryoku and Miss Pinky looked none the worse for wear. Viperion was calm, breathing slowly. Bengalia trembled against Hato Gozen's side; she put and arm around Bengalia, holding her up. Onça Feroz, however, wore a pained expression on her face. Hato Gozen narrowed her eyes, examining Onça Feroz closely. A thin trickle of dried blood down her chin from her ear.
"What happened?"
Onça Feroz looked around, blinking, seemingly ignoring Hato Gozen's question. Finally she noticed Hato Gozen staring at her. "What!?" she yelled, rubbing her ear and wincing.
Viperion grimaced. "She was using Spot-Senses when that… thing… roared," he explained. "It must've ruptured an eardrum."
Hato Gozen brushed away from Bengalia and Ryoku, standing directly in front of Onça Feroz. With a frown she placed her hands on either side of Onça Feroz's head. Onça Feroz started, staring at her in confusion. Closing her eyes, Hato Gozen whispered, "Tamadui," letting out a breath. Her hands glowed a soft white.
Onça Feroz yelped, pulling away from Hato Gozen as the magic took effect. She shook her head from side to side, yawning to pop her ears. "Ohhh," she groaned, stretching her neck. "That feels so much better…"
"You're welcome." Hato Gozen rolled her shoulders, twisting her head from side to side, trying to steady her heart rate after the exertion of combat. The fight was over; they had won. But won against what? This Lion had been unlike anything she had ever encountered before, and had emerged from the ground as if by magic. In all her years of travel, she had never seen anything quite like it before. Clearly it had not been set there by the Bat – his ability to conjure monstrous beasts did not extend to animals such as the Lion.
"Ahem." Miss Pinky folded her arms, staring at Hato Gozen, pursing her lips. She raised an eyebrow expectantly.
"Thank you," Hato Gozen finally whispered, looking at the others and letting out a relieved breath. "For coming to find me, I mean. I… don't think I could have beat that thing on my own."
Ryoku started, turning to look at her in surprise. "Of course we came to find you," she told her, putting her hand on Hato Gozen's shoulder. "You're our friend. You're family. We were worried about you. If something had happened – if you'd gotten hurt when we weren't there…"
Hato Gozen nodded, flushing. "I'm sorry," she confessed. "I didn't want you to get hurt by my mission, either! You are the first real friends I've ever really had, and I was worried that if all of us fought the Bat together, maybe someone would get hurt – maybe even killed. If that happened, I–I don't know if I could forgive myself. Especially since the Bat is my problem in the first place."
"Well, he's not just your problem anymore," Bengalia pointed out, folding her arms. "I'd say he's pretty much all of our problem now. As long as he's threatening our friends and working with the Lynchpin in Paris, he's going to be our problem, too."
"And not just the Heroes of Paris' problem, either," Onça Feroz interjected, clearing her throat. "Considering that two of your Murciélago's minions are using miraculous stolen from my team…"
Hato Gozen nodded reluctantly. "That's true… I just–"
Viperion let out a breath. "I know what it's like – more than most. I know you want to keep everyone safe, no matter what. If I could, I would do the same thing so I never had to see my family die again. But it just doesn't work like that. We really are better off when we are working together. No matter what. There is so much more that we can do when we are a team."
Ryoku grinned. "Besides," she added, "you don't get to fight him on your own; I owe him a beating, too!"
Onça Feroz frowned, looking around the clearing. "So where is Murciélago, anyways?"
Hato Gozen shrugged helplessly. "I… I don't know. I thought this was where the illness started… But after all of this, no Bat."
"Could he be in the village?" asked Viperion.
Hato Gozen shook her head. "I mean, maybe…" She let out a heavy breath. "Or he might not even be here anymore." Her shoulders slumped. "As much as I hate to admit it, Doves aren't exactly right every time… I looked, and I couldn't see any magical trace of him."
Ryoku hummed. "You know, he might never have been here in the first place," she pointed out. "People do just get sick. It doesn't have to be Night Bat."
Onça Feroz nodded contemplatively. "Perhaps he is back in the city. The others may have seen some trace of him."
Hato Gozen pursed her lips. "I hope so."
"We probably should return anyways," Viperion decided. "Whatever happened here, it's over now."
Bengalia grinned. "If we're in time, maybe we can see some more of Carnival!"
"That was half the point of coming, wasn't it?" mused Miss Pinky, stifling a laugh.
Hato Gozen let out a quiet snort. "I suppose it was, wasn't it?"
"That and being together to do it." Miss Pinky threw her arms around Hato Gozen in a tight hug. "After all, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us!"
Walking down the streets of Rio later that evening with her friends, Mira couldn't help the smile splitting her face. She had thought that she needed to finish her mission on her own, that if she tried to let her friends help, they would get hurt. But far from it, her friends would have her back no matter what. Yes, she had been in Paris for a year now. She had been working with the Heroes of Paris, helping them with the Bat – her family's ancient enemy. But for the first time in all that time, she could say that she really was one of the Heroes of Paris. She was absolutely a member of a team. She wasn't fighting the Bat by herself – her new family wouldn't let her.
On their return to Rio, Paola had dropped them off at the hotel for a few hours to recover while she checked in with Alpac-Man, K-Man, and O Brasileiro. After they had all showered and taken a nap, Paola had called to let them know that the others had seen no trace of the Bat all day. Mão Curadora reported that there were fewer illnesses in the city now than the beginning of Carnival. Based on her projection, Paola considered the epidemic to have broken. Since they hadn't found anything to suggest that the Bat was in Rio, Paola had decided they didn't need all ten of them on patrol for tonight. "You are free to return to Paris now," she had told them, "but you are also welcome to stay for the rest of the festival."
It hadn't taken much convincing for them to decide they wanted to see the sights of Rio before leaving the next day.
Turning in all directions to take in the costumes, Mira munched on a coxinha, picking off pieces of the breading and slipping them into her pocket for Paxx. Kagami had bought a bag of bolinho de bacalhau, of which she and Luka had only eaten a couple before their Kwamis had descended on them ravenously. A few paces ahead of them, Juleka and Rose had stopped in front of a small brass band, listening to a song. Rose placed her hand on the small of Juleka's back, and Juleka wrapped her arms around Rose's neck. Rose coughed into her hand, but the two girls started dancing together to the music, following the crowd samba dancing around them. Mira smiled fondly as she sidestepped around the crowd and continued down the street.
Banners streamed from one side of the street to the other, enormous decorations – most looking homemade – hung from the apartment buildings all around them. Mira stopped at a stand in front of the closest apartment building, gave the man behind the table a couple bills, and took a cup of beer.
"Are you really going to drink that?" observed Paxx doubtfully, poking her head out of Mira's pocket. "Alcohol and miraculous don't mix too well, remember."
Mira shrugged and took a tiny sip. "After the day we had today…" she noted. "And anyways, I don't think we have to worry with so many heroes around!"
"I told you it was good to have a team and trust other people!" Kagami sidled up beside Mira, an impish grin on her face. Swiping the cup out of Mira's hand, she took a quick swig. She puckered her lips. "I don't think beer's my drink," she decided.
"I guess you were right," Mira acknowledged, smiling. Kagami arched an eyebrow. "Thank you."
Kagami shrugged. "After growing up without any friends, I just don't like the idea of you living your whole life that way.
"Not anymore," Mira promised.
"Good." Kagami chuckled, nodding her head back the way they had come. "I guess this was a good trip in that case. And even if the search for Night Bat didn't pan out, I think the others are enjoying themselves!"
Mira hummed. "There is something to be said for traveling somewhere new and doing something other than tracking down the Bat while I'm there!" She frowned. "But there's still something I don't get," she admitted. "If Night Bat wasn't here, and we haven't seen him in Paris in months, where is he?"
AN: The unanswered questions in this story do get answered soon enough, but not yet. The next major story will be "Encounters with Nature," but there will be a couple one-shots and an "SLD Case Report" before then…