Cure Narrative 55: Price

Season: Healin'Good

Characters: Nodoka H. Daruizen

Summary: What more did she have to lose when she already lost 8 long years?

A/N: Please note, this is an imagined AU where Daruizen usurps King Byogen's throne. It deviates from the canon so far (posted on 9/1/2021).

Sickening. As if the air itself desired to herald his presence by pricking at her lungs. The sunlight was filtered out by a revolting red, the sky weeping murky black rain as if to mourn the impending demise of this world.

Byogens were parasites feeding on life, Cure Grace, of all people, thought she would never forget. Alas, as the new king who devoured the remnants of the previous one stood before her, luscious greenery dying in his wake, she wondered why this knowledge was of no help before all this devastation.

"Daruizen!" she exclaimed through gritted teeth, "What have you done...!?"

"What have I done?" he repeated absentmindedly, preoccupied with firing a blast of contaminants at a fleeing bird just to try out his new powers. "What I had to do to survive of course."

She had every intent to rush to the poor creature, yet every cell in her body seemed to freeze in his proximity.

He grinned, flaunting his fangs, "There is a price to pay for living organisms to exist, and if I've no interest in becoming your currency in this trade then... Heh."

Her vision could not follow his speed, but she could certainly hear the screams behind her, no doubt from her friends, every bit as fatigued as she was from the previous battle.

Her throat felt tighter and tighter as they clashed out of her sight, as if the despair clasped her neck in an attempt to suffocate her. And in a mindless endeavour against it, she dared to turn and look.

With his head held high, towering over the fallen warriors, he sighed in pleasure,

"Aah, I feel so alive."

Then it dawned on her. Those were her words. Her hope to not succumb to her former ailments. Her desire to feel alive. He had stolen them from her like how he had stolen her strength and energy during all those years she spent immobilised and powerless, all those years she spent cultivating him unknowingly.

She pursed her lips. Something must've gone wrong. If her recovery had been traded for his completion — the start of the countdown for this catastrophe, something must've gone very wrong.

She was a flower in all her glory, rooted in a field of the decayed.

Then she regretted having wished to bloom.

That was when a thought hit her, perhaps a silly — absurd even — notion, yet it shimmered like hope in her eyes. It whispered in her ears an invitation to a future, a destination.

And she followed it down the path of dying greenery, her footsteps a ritardando in sync with the fading heartbeats of the land.

"Ho? Cure Grace," Daruizen addressed her, shifting his attention from tormenting her companions to her, "I don't take you as a fool. One needs far more than 'courage' and 'will' to survive a malady, you know that better than any of them."

"Of course," she nodded, breaking into a confident smile, "'There is a price to pay', right?"

She inserted the Leaf Element Bottle into her Healing Stick, at her command, contaminants in the surroundings gathered at her feet, diving into the ground.

"What are you—!" before Daruizen could finish his sentence, his powers began flowing out like a river through his palm as well.

Grace spoke, her head lowered, "Byogens... pathogens... in other words, seeds of diseases, correct?"

A sprout popped its sinisterly crimson tip out from the soil. Grace then inserted the Flower Element Bottle, cultivating it into a short shrub. Soon it flowered, a lively blossom adorning its leaves.

A lively blossom of death.

The finishing touch was the Harvest Element Bottle, the crimson plant bore a fruit, a jewel of colours found in the poisoned sky and the wilting land.

"Tch...!" Daruizen tried keeping his composure despite losing his powers, "So what? You can't seal them forever."

"No," her fingers reached out to the fruit ever so gingerly, almost without trembling, "That was never my intention."

"Grace, no! Don't do it-rabi!" Rabirin screeched. She was the only one who saw Grace's glass smile from below.

"Don't worry, Rabirin. Remember your mission as a Healing Animal."

A smile so firm.

"Your mission to heal this world."

A smile so fragile.

"Not heal me."

She nullified the transformation and pushed the fairy away.

Then, as if a naive princess believing a Poison Apple would grant her greatest wish, Nodoka sank her teeth into the fruit with hope fluttering in her heart.

One bite. Her knees thudded against reviving grass.

That was fine. Strong legs to dash through gentle breezes were never a luxury she should've enjoyed.

Two bites. Her voice faded among the crescendos of the winds.

That was fine. A bright voice to sing of her mirth was never a luxury she should've enjoyed.

Three bites. Her breaths became shallow despite the air becoming fresh.

That was fine. Healthy lungs that enabled her to soak up all the vitality of mornings were never a luxury she should've enjoyed.

Four bites. Her sight blurred as the sun retrieved its throne in the sky.

That was fine. Unclouded eyes to gaze upon the beauty of the world were never a luxury she should've enjoyed.

She spent 8 years without any of them, and she survived, didn't she? Who is to say she couldn't afford another 8? 10? Maybe 20?

But she knew, not everyone can afford that price. Not everyone can afford to forgo the same amount happiness she received in this 1 year. Some just have better dreams to make real, better aspirations to pursue, better purposes to fulfil, they have more people who depend on them for help and support. They cannot afford to be powerless. The world cannot afford to be immobilised.

It's a deal then. She had nothing left to lose.

Last bite.

An ordinary life was never a luxury bestowed upon her, she never should've asked for more, never should've wished for more. But that was fine. As long as her heart beats, she would still be 'alive'.

The guiltless flower has fallen. The decayed land was reimbursed with life.

End of Chapter 55

A/N: This idea came from a conversation with my friend Cure Chronos on quotev. It was supposed to be angst but now it turned out to be more dark than sad... maybe I'm losing my angst writing capabilities to exam revisions _:(´ཀ」 ∠):