Hikaru made it in time to say goodbye.
Norishigue looked peaceful in his death, lips turned up in laughter over some parting joke Hikaru had made. He couldn't remember exactly what it was he'd said, but it had made Nor laugh, so what else mattered. It was easier to ignore the black harrowing marks that covered most of his face a body. The marks that had ultimately killed him.
Hikaru had left the meeting early, knowing that time was short for his friend. Cain had everything handled anyway. They'd moved from discussing border security and military tactics to the topic of the Shueman's rot. Hikaru wasn't needed for that discussion, so he'd excused himself only to bolt the second he made it out the door. Which was a good thing, otherwise he'd have been too late.
Hikaru bowed his head, mumbling a pray of thanks and safe passage for his friend as tears rolled down his face.
"You helped save them. Thank you."
He wasn't one for composure, sniffing openly despite the other people in the room. It was full of physicians and of the disease and other brave enough to visit their dying loved ones in the last stages of the disease. Norishigue wasn't the only one who would die that evening.
With a final sniff, Hikaru alerted the physician of Nor's passing, walking out of the room with a personal promise to tell Nor's family of his bravery. In the twilight of his life, Norishigue had chosen to trust him. To bust Kyoko out and be part of the insane plan to rescue an Accursed.
He crossed through the other side of the city hall, trotting down toward the lower levels. The meeting should still be going. Rather than rest, he wanted to know everything that was going on.
He reached the bottom step and saw a few people milling about in the halls. They had their heads down, eyes shifting back and forth as they hurried away. Hikaru recognized them. They were the people Hikaru and Cain had painstakingly dragged into the meeting hall. That meant the meeting was over.
A woman with straight brown hair caught his eyes. She held a few leafs of parchment, eyes glued to them as she sifted through its contents.
Hikaru hesitated for a moment, his heart fluttering nervously despite his muted mood. He wasn't used to this sort of thing. Talking to women who were interested in him romantically. It was very disconcerting.
Itsumi noticed him before he could convince his legs to move toward her. The crease between her eyebrows lessened as she approached.
"Did you make it on time?"
Hikaru nodded, the pain of losing his friend sobering his nerves. "The medicine helped him go peacefully."
"That's… good at least. I'm sorry." She brushed back a strand of her hair, the movement causing her sleeve to shift showing more of her upper arm. Black marks scarred the area. Marks of the rot.
"I knew he was a good friend. Your best friend here, actually." She shifted the papers in her hands, not making eye contact. "That's why I approached him to help free you. And I knew he was close to the last stage so I thought he may be more willing to help because of last acts and all that… Which I recognize was very manipulative of me. But I think he might have done it anyway, Shueman's rot or not. He was a good friend."
Now that just wasn't fair. Hikaru had only finally stopped crying minutes before. Tears poured down his cheeks and he had to quickly look away lest she watch him bawl.
"H-Hikaru?" her voice sounded panicked. "I'm sorry, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
He took a few seconds to dry his nose before turning and giving her a smile. She just stared at him in bewilderment.
"Thanks, I feel much better," he said. "I'm sure I'll see him again one day."
She blinked a few times before smiling herself, though it was muted compared to Hikaru's. He nodded toward the room.
"I take it the meetings are all over?" he said.
"For now," said Itsumi. "Cain wants progress reports each night and for me to stand in as the official scribe for all the meetings. I think he doesn't trust anyone else to take accurate notes."
"And speaking of trust, why don't you have a guard?" said Hikaru with a frown. "There's no way you're not a target." Anyone that openly sided with Cain would be.
She eyed the people still milling in the hall before jerking her head toward an empty room. He followed, closing the door and watching as she wove a spell to defend against evesdroppers. The second it snapped into place, she whirled on him.
"You knew!" she hissed. "You knew this whole time. That's why you were so sure. That's why you trust them so much."
Taken aback by the glare she was leveling at him, Hikaru promptly forgot about scolding her and deflated to defending himself.
"Yes, I'm sorry. Please forgive him? Just… what did I do wrong so I can apologize for it?"
Itsumi's ire paused. Why was she giving him such a befuddled expression?
"About Cain," she said. "About him being Prince Kuon."
Ah. That.
"Not the whole time," said Hikaru. "I only guessed it at first. I asked Lady Kyoko who told me everything."
"Right, because she trusts you so much."
"I'd like to think so."
Itsumi chewed on her lip, not mollified by his response. "I'm still wrapping my head around it. The prince is an Accursed? And one fighting the Dark Djinn as well? There's got to be some crazy story behind all this."
"I'm sure there is," said Hikaru, smiling at just the little he knew. Then it stopped as he thought of something else. "I think Duke Takarada knows that Cain is Prince Kuon. That whole thing about Cain leaving the Accursed because of Lady Kyoko. That's a lie. He was never a part of them to begin with."
"He explained it to me before he left, along with a few other things." She rubbed a hand across her eyes, weariness in every move. "Are we doing this right? Letting Cain threaten people into following them? People respond to fear only for so long and it could go terribly wrong. It helps a lot that we've got some prominent people following him but I'm still not confident. Add that I've technically committed treason by helping Cain overthrow my father… Wow and that all just hit me at once."
"It will all be fine, you'll see," he said. "Have some—"
"Faith?" She sent him a fond smile. "You seem to like that word."
He grinned. "It hasn't failed me yet."
"No, I guess not."
She flipped through the notes, scanning them eagerly. "Honestly, after ten minutes I could tell he wasn't just some normal Accursed. Or a normal noble. He's used to leading. I was taking notes more for myself by the end. It was so educational to watch. They plowed through so many topics in a single evening my hand was cramping through most of it."
"Is it okay?" he asked earnestly, already mentally running to ask a physician to massage her palm for her. Perhaps if he were braver, he would offer to do it himself. That sounded like a manly thing to do.
She waved it to show it was unhurt. "It's well worth it, and good practice."
Now that she wasn't angry at him anymore, Hikaru remembered his previous grievance. "You really shouldn't walk around without a guard."
"Then how about you become my guard?"
Hikaru's face erupted. Perhaps he should have expected it from her as she had so boldly confessed to him earlier that day, but it still surprised him. He was apparently slow on these sorts of things.
"I, uh..." he said dumbly.
Itsumi giggled at him. At him. Women didn't do that. They giggled about other men and other things and not at him.
"I'm teasing you," she said. "I know you'll want to guard Kyoko now that she's free."
It was the way she said it that made Hikaru pause. Though she smiled, it didn't reach her eyes.
"Yeah," he said, wondering why he felt like he'd done something wrong. "I swore to protect her after all."
The smile vanished. It was now impossible for Hikaru to make out what she was thinking with the neutral expression she was giving him.
"You swore… like an oath?" she said. "Or like, 'in my heart' type of promise?"
"I pledged my life to her and Prince Kuon."
Itsumi's face twisted into something. She broke his gaze, instead glaring at the floor.
"Lady Itsumi?" he said, concerned.
"I'm trying. Really. Hard," she said through gritted teeth. "To not be jealous. To extend faith. She's the Prince's wife. You're being loyal. Brave. She's the Prince's wife."
Hikaru scratched his chin in embarrassment. "Um, she's actually not his wife. They just pretended to be married to make it less scandalous they were traveling together."
"You're not helping!"
"Sorry!"
She didn't move, the papers wrinkled beneath her grip as they shook. He let a few seconds stretch, unsure what he could do to alleviate her worries. Had it been Kyoko, he's have made some quip about food or asked her a question about medicine and she'd be off. But he didn't know Itsumi. He didn't know how to cheer her up. That was a problem.
"What if I walk you home tonight?" he said. "I'm sure Prince Kuon will want to visit Lady Kyoko, and Kanae said she'd guard her for the rest of the night. I can see her tomorrow." It would both ease his conscious for her safety as well as give him an excuse to talk with her.
He was rewarded for his thinking as Itsumi finally looked at him. Her eyes shone with restrained excitement as the crease in her brow disappeared.
"Well, if you're offering," she said. "I accept. Just for tonight. It would be scandalous if we spent too much time together without a chaperone."
He tilted his head. "It would?"
She nodded seriously.
"Thank you for accepting then," he said. "I don't really want to be alone right now after… I'm really going to miss Nor." Losing friends was always hard. And this one was going to take a while to numb.
Itsumi stepped up beside him, demurely tugging at his sleeve.
"You can talk to me about him," she offered. "I don't mind listening."
He smiled, grateful to talk her ear off about the virtues of his late friend as he took her the long way home.
Kyoko had awoken a long time ago. She still didn't open her eyes, drifting between realms of consciousness as the rustle of papers kept her company. She should sleep. Her body needed the rest, but her mind was determined to stay active, even if only partially. The exposure to Cain's relic, however brief, had not been good for her health.
Touching on that memory brought it to the forefront. It twisted, vivid in the way only dreams could be. One moment she was seeing Cain. The next, he'd transformed into his armored self, claws speeding toward her.
This time when she woke it was with a fully conscious mind. And a jolt.
The rustling of the papers stopped.
"You awake?"
Abandoning her pretense, Kyoko sat up, wincing as skin tugged on the crystalline marks on her shoulder. They still felt unnaturally warm from her contact with Cain. Another reason sleeping had been difficult.
Kanae sat at a table, pen poised over what was probably the fiftieth sheet of paper on her desk. They were stacked haphazardly on one side, complex diagrams and charts decorating every inch. They were the plans for the inhibitors.
"Can't sleep," said Kyoko. "My mind won't shut down."
"You still need to try," said Kanae. "I can get a sleeping potion if that will help."
"No, thank you."
Kanae regarded Kyoko as if she wished to press the option. Kyoko had no reason to reject it. A sleeping potion was what she would have prescribed in the same situation. Yet she rejected the proposal all because of who it had come from.
Wishing for a distraction, Kyoko shifted her attention to the papers on the desk.
"Is that almost all of them?" said Kyoko. "You've been at it for, what, two hours?"
"Three." Her attention didn't shift away from Kyoko. "Hiroaki's already started working on the first half. I just need two more pages."
"Three hours." Kyoko shook her head in disbelief. It looked like she had managed to doze off for a bit. "That has to be an insanely difficult composition of spells. It's a good thing you were at the capital when you were. Otherwise these plans would have been lost forever."
Kanae grunted, the sound laced with irritation. She snatched another leaf of parchment from the stack, starting another set of notes and circles. Though her eyes remained on the paper, her attention hadn't wavered from Kyoko. From the weird, something that hung between them. Or maybe it was the lack of something. The absence of familiarity.
And it was Kyoko who put it there.
No, it was Kanae. Kyoko's hands skirted the hem of her sheets, mind buzzing. She tried to take me away from Cain. She tried to abandon him. She tried to—what am I saying? She saved us. She put her life on the line. But still…
Her heart wouldn't let her forget that betrayal. She could see Kanae yelling at her that Kuon was dead and they had to leave them behind. That was not what Kanae should have done. She shouldn't have forced Kyoko to abandon her heart. She should have listened. Tried to come up with another plan.
But what could have been done?
Nothing, and that was the truth. Going back would have been suicide… except that's exactly what they'd done. Gone back with Cain leading them. Stars, this was too much thinking for her foggy brain.
She forced down her unease, focusing on here. On what was happening now.
"Has Cain been in the meeting this whole time?" said Kyoko.
"I'm not sure 'meeting' is what I would call that forced cohesion," said Kanae. "For the most part, yes. He did have to knock a few heads in but from last I heard, he's talking to the generals."
"Is it working? Are they actually going to listen to him?"
"Listening and obeying are two different things. We have quite a few influential people on our side which increases the chance of them obeying. I guess it will depend on a lot of things."
Kanae drummed her fingers on the table, pen stopped as something else claimed her attention. Whatever it was, her thoughts remained with her as she frowned at a corner of the table.
"What?" said Kyoko.
"It's nothing."
The dismissal irked her. Kanae was hiding something.
"Tell me," said Kyoko. "There's more to it. Don't keep it to yourself and make decisions for me."
The last bit was probably unneeded, but it had come out unbidden to Kyoko. It made Kanae's frown deepen.
"You're still mad at me," she stated. "About trying to escape without Kuon."
An obvious observation, one that once said left the speaker distinctly uncomfortable. Strong beautiful Kanae shifted in her seat with unease, resolute in her unrepentance yet also vulnerable. Kyoko hated seeing her like this.
"I don't want to be mad at you," Kyoko admitted. "I missed you. A lot. And you risked your life to save mine, much like you always do. I shouldn't be mad at you."
"But you are," said Kanae, her voice strained. "It's… understandable."
"But it's not."
She rubbed her arms, fingers tracing the line where the marks ended and skin began. The entire thing was uncovered, Kyoko wearing a strapless top to prevent her clothing from irritating the marks. It had spread further, now encompassing her whole shoulder and part of her bicep. It crept under her collar and almost reached her neck.
That wasn't even the worst part. No longer was this just about Kyoko getting better. It was about the demi-goddess taking refuge within her essence.
"You did the right thing," said Kyoko. "It was important to get me out of there."
I need to tell Cain.
The sooner she shared her secret, the less she'd feel like she was going crazy.
This time Kanae put down her pen. She stared openly in confusion.
"Okay, what is wrong with you?" Though firm, her tone wasn't accusatory. "You're not the type to place their life above others, even if it did make sense. What's going on? What do I not know?"
Kyoko looked away.
The bed dipped as Kanae sat beside Kyoko. A rough hand patted her back, awkward yet sincere.
"You've been through a lot," said Kanae. "You've been on the run from the whole kingdom, imprisoned by some idiots on a power trip, gotten seriously sick… and then you were hurt." By me was left unsaid. "It's not strange that your feelings are disjointed."
Feelings bubbled into Kyoko's throat, clogging the tears that didn't come. Her body and mind felt so tired.
"I don't know if I should tell you," she managed. "It's really really important. But I'm afraid…"
Kanae would try to make her leave Cain. She'd say keeping Kyoko alive and reviving the Phoenix was more important than Cain's sanity. But Kyoko had promised to be his light. She was not backing down from that.
Kanae was awkwardly patting her back again. "Look, uh, I'm sorry I had to do what I did."
"But not that you did it?"
"Hell no. You're more important to me than that Fruity Prince."
Kyoko grimaced. "Even if it makes me hate you?"
Kanae stood, grunting as she stretched out several kinks in her back.
"I don't think you could hate me if you tried," said Kanae, her voice flat. "I'm your 'best friend', remember? It's not a real friendship if we don't butt heads at least once or twice, especially if it's over a man."
Kyoko stared.
Had… Kanae just made a joke about friendship? Despite herself, Kyoko felt some of the heavy feelings lift as she gaped.
"Moko-san. It's official. You've spent too much time with Shin. He has clearly rubbed off on you."
It was with immense pleasure that Kyoko was here to witness this moment. With one arm stretched high over her head, Kanae froze, eyes bulging as her lips drew into a comically thin line. It took a few moments for her to remember how to untangle her arm from over her head. By then she'd mostly reverted to her usual cool indifference.
"He hasn't done any sort of ru—! We don't have that sort of…" She cut herself off, eyes narrowing. "I'm not doing this boy-talk with you."
"Clearly." She felt better. More like her usual self. Kanae was right. They were best friends and though it may take a while for Kyoko to get over what happened, Kyoko couldn't throw away their friendship. It was too precious to her.
Kyoko flopped back onto the bed, feeling drained after that emotional spending, but content. "I missed you Moko-san."
Kanae grunted, not truly annoyed. "You already said that."
"But I really missed you. A lot." She still felt a pang of anger every time she remembered Kanae forcing her to abandon Cain, but it had significantly lessened.
Kanae hummed in response, returning to her desk. She wasn't even in her chair before Kyoko finally fell asleep.
Night had fallen hours ago and there was still so much to be done. Cain had just finished a meeting with the generals, spending more time arguing than planning anything.
One of the generals had decided that if they could annoy Cain enough, he would drop his act of pretending to help. Though what the idiot general would have done when Cain decided to do just that and massacre them all was beyond him. Unlucky for Cain, he was committed to help, and for his pains, he endured an endless stream of asinine questions, diversion topics, and irrelevant points. A lesser man would have cracked hours ago, which is exactly what had happened.
Kuresaki had snapped, threatening to strip the man of his rank as he clearly had no idea what he was doing and needed to take some remedial training on basic war strategy. It was thanks to him that Cain finally had a break.
He dismissed the meeting, ordering them to enact their changes and report back the next day. He was hopeful that twenty percent of them would actually listen. Any changes would be good at this point. The defenses were a mess. Between the rot and the increase in monster activity, they were short staffed. It was going to take some very advanced strategies and spells to make up for the lack of manpower.
Cain entered a small study. The room was enchanted with dozens of wards preventing others from even finding this room. Maru had done a good job locating this place for him.
In the center of the room was a metal basin. A relaywall with a direct link to Kouki Takarada. Hopefully, the ArchDuke was still awake. Cain didn't have to wait long to find out. Within minutes of activating his signal, the water swirled, showing Kouki's face reflected on the surface.
"How's the sand?" said Kouki immediately.
"Tasty," replied Cain, answering the coded message properly. Shin had been the one to come up with it, refusing to answer to anything but that exact message. They'd kept it as a backup code, which had inevitably turned it into one of their safest.
Kouki let out a breath, some of the tension falling away.
"It's great to see you again, Koun," said Kouki. "You look… well, not exactly healthy, but alive at least."
Koun didn't respond, overwhelmed by the peace he felt from seeing a face from home. It came crashing down on him at the moment how truly homesick he felt. He missed his dad, his doting mother, and even his obnoxious cousin. But most of all he missed the familiar city, the feeling of belonging somewhere. Of having a purpose.
"It's good to see you as well," Cain croaked. "My father—"
"Is asleep," said Kouki. "And only because dad forced him to. They're leaving in a few hours for the city and won't stop until well past nightfall. You look like you could use the rest as well."
"As do you." Cain felt himself smiling. Really smiling for the first time around someone that wasn't Kyoko. Considering how little he got to see of her recently it was a precious thing.
Kouki hummed in response, eye roaming his face. That's right. Cain looked different than Kuon. If Kouki thought it was odd, he didn't comment on it. No doubt he understood the importance of a disguise considering the situation.
"How are you?" said Kouki. "Really. Let's hear the truth about it. About the changes now that you're…"
"Now that I'm tethered to the Dark Djinn?"
Kouki looked uncomfortable. "Dad was surprised you managed to break out of your rage at the palace. If Kyoko hadn't… bless that woman, she probably saved all our lives."
Kouki didn't say it to be cruel. He was a factual man. One who could look objectively at a situation while also understanding the emotions behind it. He was reminding Cain of their situation. Of how precarious it all was.
"It's gotten easier to keep my rage at bay," said Cain slowly. "I don't push it unless I need to, and Kyoko has always been there to hold me back."
"I'd rather she didn't have to."
"I would as well."
Kouki grimaced. "Kuon, there's… the amount of information we need to get through is staggering. I'm going to have to summarize a lot of it until we can communicate at another time."
"I'll be doing the same. I plan to sleep once we finish our conversation." Not that he wanted to, there was still so much to do. But he had to be strong enough to defend himself, and right now, still weak from being removed from his relic for three days. He was vulnerable.
"I'll start," said Kuon. "Then you can tell me how things are going at him."
So he talked. Not for long, but enough to update Kouki on the finer points of their predicament. He'd naturally heard much of it from other sources in Mosall, but Cain held a unique perspective. Kouki offered advice every now and then, but mostly he listened.
Cain reviewed the rot, the tree, Kyoko's illness as well as the conditions of the city. He concluded with the huge mess of a meeting Kouki had interrupted, waiting for the man to respond. Kouki had lowered his head halfway through, no doubt writing detailed notes.
A pen entered the image a moment later, scratching at the side of Kouki's head as he sighed.
"Shit," he mumbled. "Well, there goes that plan."
"What plan?"
"The one where we sneak both you and Kyoko out of the city to meet up with Kuu and Dad."
Why would that be a plan? "We can't just leave Mosall to be overrun by the Accursed."
"It would be better than the alternative of you and Kyoko being caught or killed."
Something was wrong. Kouki was a brave man and a veteran fighter. He'd never suggest fleeing from a battle like this. Yet here he was, telling Cain that desertion had not only been considered, but preferable to any other plan. Cain's trepidation grew when Kouki raised his head, meeting Cain eyes across the slowly rippling waters.
"Sebastian turned out to be a spy for the Accursed."
From there, Kouki proceeded to outline in detail why Kyoko's safety was their top priority. Cain hadn't thought it was possible to feel more concerned for his beloved, but the longer Kouki talked, the harder it felt to breathe.
Someone was brushing her cheek.
Kyoko woke slowly, practically purring under the caress. She wanted to continue lying there, wrapped in warm feelings and blankets, but the brushing wasn't stopping. Was someone trying to wake her? She opened her eyes.
Cain sat on her bed, fingers brushing aside her bangs. The room was dark and empty of anyone but them. Cain must have swapped places with Kanae as she slept.
The remnants of her warm feelings drained away when she got a look at Cain's face. While his gaze was wonderfully tender, a tightness pulled at his eyes. The sort of weighty unease that tended to eat him from the inside out.
"What's wrong?" she said, now fully awake. "Cain?"
"How are you feeling?" He was deflecting. She moved to sit up, but a hand on her forehead kept her down. "Please. I don't think you should be moving. I… didn't really mean to wake you."
"Then what were you doing?"
"…Worrying."
Kyoko snorted. "So, same as usual?"
A fleeting smile curved the edge of his lips. It was gone just as quickly as he nodded.
"Share them with me," she said, situating herself in the covers. She gave him an encouraging smile, hoping to help lift his mood. It was comforting for her that he was there. She wanted to do the same for him.
His fingers shifted their route, brushing down her neck to rest on the crystals that lined her shoulders. Any other time she might have blushed as how exposed her outfit was, but not right now. Not when she was still reveling in the knowledge that he was by her side again.
His eyes lingered on the gems, tracing their outline without directly touching them. He was gathering his thoughts. His courage.
"I talked with Kouki alone through the relaywell," he finally said.
"You did?" said Kyoko, excited. "How is everyone doing? Did you get to speak with your dad? How is Queen Julie? Did… is she alright after what happened?"
"She's walking again, though not well. No, I didn't get to see dad and… they found another traitor."
"Oh." Was this what had him so worried? "Who was it?"
"Sebastian."
Kyoko's eyes widened. "Wasn't that Duke Takarada's right-hand man? His most trusted spy!? How in the world has Ashuron not been overrun?"
"Apparently he was working both sides," For such an incredible development Cain had a steady handle on his emotions. "He withheld information as he wished, but before he was killed, he revealed where his information was kept."
"He was killed?" Poor Lory. She knew they had been old friends. It was hard to imagine someone you trusted with your life and your secrets to stab you in the back like that. She shuddered at the possibility. "I guess it's good we found him. It's about time we got the upper hand. Was there anything of use to us?"
"There was."
Cain fumbled, both for words and her hands as he grasped them gently. She felt a slight tremor running through his whole body.
"Ren?" she whispered, feeling herself still at his behavior. Something was terrifying him, causing him to shake not only physically. She hoped his true name would anchor him.
It seemed to help as he finally found his voice.
"Do you remember when Rosa died?" he said. "It was in your arms, was it not?"
Kyoko nodded, thinking about Rosa resting within in her essence.
"What about it?"
"Rosa takes the form of a Phoenix," said Cain. "Which means she can rise from the ashes. But Dad and the others couldn't find them to resurrect her. It wasn't until they found Sebastian's notes that they found out why. The Accursed have a theory that the reason her ashes are nowhere to be found is because she's already found another vessel to hold her form. Something to tether her weak state to this earth. Specifically, inside the person that held her as she died."
Ah.
They had already figured it out.
That explained Cain's forced calm, the stress in his eyes as he gazed at her. He was worried for her safety. He'd sought her out even as she was asleep, reminding himself that she was alive and… well, not healthy, but mostly okay.
This time Kyoko sat up despite the pointed look from Cain. This was not a conversation to have while lying down.
"They're right," said Kyoko, watching Cain's expression closely. "Rosa has taken refuge inside of me."
"K-Kyoko that's—" A wild look entered his eyes as if all his fears had come true. His skin turned ashen, bringing out the black circles under his eyes. Whatever calm he'd caught hold of before was gone.
He loves me so much.
Probably not the most helpful thing to notice, but it was what helped her stay calm. What stopped her from succumbing to the same fear that had taken hold of Cain. If she wanted to help, she needed to be strong. To not break even as she felt warm pricks gathering behind her eyes.
"Kyoko," he whispered, voice hoarse. He leaned closer to her, as if to gather her near him.
She strained to give him an even smile. "It's a good thing, right?" she said. "We know where Rosa is. Now we can resurrect her. Turns out she was the one giving me nightmares. She appeared to me in a dream a few nights ago, so, yeah. It's not that I didn't tell you. This was the first chance that we've had to talk privately. But now you know, so we can do something about it. Resurrect her before the Accursed come. Does Duke Takrarda know something that could help? It sounds like they had a plan of some sort."
She was babbling. And badly too. It was a mark of how worried Cain was that he didn't so much as smirk knowingly at her.
"How did the Accursed even figure that out?" she continued, her nervous chatter a barrier between her fears. "Only a few saw Rosa disappear in my arms. Ah, unless Duke Takarada reported it to Sebastian or something after Moko-san told him. Or maybe they had other spies that saw what happened. Or—"
"There was something else." Cain had pulled himself together. Partially at least. Enough to continue even if was painfully obvious he was forcing himself. "When you first arrived at the palace, remember how I had Lory do a background check on you?"
Kyoko stared. Then burst into laughter.
Cain gave her a wary look, apparently concerned for her sanity.
Kyoko couldn't help it. She'd forgotten about how their relationship had started. Kuon suspecting she was connected to the "specter" that had appeared that day. How things had changed.
"Sorry. I was just thinking about how we acted when we first met." He smile was wide now. "I never would have guessed that I'd end up falling in love with the man that forced me into his harem."
That got a response from him. He turned sheepish as he said. "Not my finest moment, I'll admit. But it did secure you by my side."
"That it did," she chuckled. "Not that you knew what would happen."
"No. I had no idea."
His expression turned warm, the sight so precious that Kyoko beamed in pleasure. The room felt lighter. The heavy pressure on her chest lifting somewhat. She hoped he could feel it as well.
"As I was saying," he continued. "Lory had Sebastian look into your background personally. We didn't know it at the time, but he actually withheld information from us."
"What sort of information?"
His smile disappeared. "The sort that explains why you're able to house Rosa in your essence."
He was being weird now. Gentle in the considerate way that said he had another bomb to drop into her lap. She folded her arms, waiting for the blow that he seemed to think would be significant.
"Is it odd?" said Kyoko. "Why wouldn't she be able to?"
"Because," said Ren. "Rosa is only able to reside within sources of light magic."
He paused, waiting for the significance to sink in. He'd be waiting for a while because Kyoko was stumped.
"But I can't use light magic," she said eventually. "How does that even… wait. You said Sebastian withheld information about me…" Was there something about herself that she was unaware of? "Ren, what did he find out? How is this possible?"
It was his turn to be strong for her because right now Kyoko was completely freaking out.
"You were not born in Nembu," he said. "Your family moved from Mosall a year after you were born. They did it to escape a scandal. The scandal of you being born with the ability of light magic."
Her mouth turned dry.
"Neither of my parents can use light magic." Her voice sounded distant, like it wasn't really her own. "And light magic is only passed down through blood… which means…" Hot tears gathered in her eyes. She let them fall, too caught up in her reality being shattered to care. "Mom cheated on dad. Then I was born and exposed her with my sheer existence."
Of course it would be that. Of course it was all her fault. No wonder her mother had abandoned her. No wonder dad spent so much time working instead of taking care of his health. They were both avoiding her, the embodiment of Saena Mogami's shame.
Kyoko scrubbed at her eyes, a constricting awfulness building within her chest. It made her feel dirty. Unwanted. She struggled against the urge to regress back to when she was a little girl sobbing in her hidden oasis because no matter what she did, her mother didn't love her, and her dad wasn't coming back. What kept her anchored was the hand running through her hair. The quiet murmurs of comfort from Cain.
"It's okay," he said. "I know this is a shock and… I know you loved your father very much."
She nodded, wishing she knew if he had felt the same. There were other questions as well. About love, motivation, how all this had accumulated to their family breaking apart. Was that why mom and dad hadn't gotten along very well? By reflex, she blamed herself for what had happened between them. Though she knew the thought to be unfair, it didn't stop herself from feeling that it was true.
"I-I always wondered what I had done to make m-mom hate me so much," she sniffed. "I tried so h-hard to-" The rest of her words stuck tight in her throat as it fought with years of suppressed emotion. "so hard" was all she could feebly manage.
This time Cain gathered her in her arms and Kyoko let herself crack. She cried and sniffed. Mourned her existence one second and chastised her mother's pride the next. She rode out the roller coaster of emotions knowing that she was safe here. That someone else was there to help her through it.
Eventually, the tears stopped. She remained seated against the bed's headboard, nursing a small mountain of tissues, and a crying headache.
"Thanks," she muttered. The shock was gone, leaving her with a dull emptiness. She wondered how long it would take for the awful feeling inside of her to dissipate. Probably a while, based on past experiences.
Cain gave a comforting smile in response, still holding her hand. It was incredible the calming effect skin-on-skin contact had.
"So, what happened?" said Kyoko. "How did I lose my light magic?"
"We're still not sure," said Cain. "Lory has noted before that you had a mark on your essence. But it's not uncommon in people who have gone through trauma, so he assumed it was associated with your past. Now we know better. Sebastian managed to determine that the disruption happened sometime during the journey from Mosall to Nembu."
"Mosall," muttered Kyoko to herself. "So I was born here. Wow. I had no idea. I wonder how life would have been different growing up here instead of at Nembu."
"You wouldn't have met me."
That was a thought. And one that did help. Had she not moved to Nembu and met Sho, she'd never have had her heart broken and taken the reckless trek to the Capital. She'd never had run into that ornery prince and hollered at him for being a reckless driver.
Kyoko gave a breathless laugh. "I guess it was all necessary to get us to where we are right now."
"Yes, it was." Cain's gaze was loving, though not without a heavy amount of trepidation. It wasn't like their current situation was anything close to ideal. But they had each other, and that made all the difference.
"So, something happened to my ability to use light magic," said Kyoko, thinking about what Rosa had told her in her dream. "Is that what Rosa meant by saying I had to get better? In the dream I mean."
"Maybe. What else did she say?"
"I'm trying to remember." Rosa hadn't been speaking very clearly in the first place. "I think she said something about needing to destroy all the relics. To defeat the Dark Djinn. Maybe?"
"It would make sense. Reduce the enemy's power so we can finally defeat him."
"And you think that's possible?"
The pause was as telling as an audible answer. They were having problems dealing with just a few Accursed, let alone the heart behind the mess. Aiming for the end boss was just not a viable option right now.
And suddenly Kyoko was feeling very tired. The energy she'd spent crying had left her exhausted.
"This… is a lot to take in," she said
"I know," said Ren, voice patient.
Something in the detached tone made her examine him, trying to imagine what he was feeling.
Ren was driven to a fault, always putting the welfare of the kingdom first above all else. She guessed this was probably born out of a combination of love for the country, duty to his lineage, and guilt from his past mistakes. Now here he was, trying to save this city while fighting with the very people he wanted to protect. And all of it was made that much more difficult because of the relic on his arm. Not to mention he had her, Kyoko, sick due to the injury he'd given her, now housing the kingdom's deity in her damaged essence.
He's going to push himself too hard.
It felt inevitable at this point. She squeezed his hand to gain his attention.
"Ren, are you going to be okay?"
The question surprised him. He regarded her with thinly veiled amusement.
"I'm not the one who is sick," he said.
"Yes, but you're the brooding idiot with a hero complex." She folded her arm, unamused by his mocking tone. "Have you even slept since you got out of captivity? Or eaten? Because I'm sure they didn't feed while you were in that cell. I bet you're going from one meeting to the next without stopping until you finally die standing upright. Where is Yukihito when we need him? He'd have carted you away to bed three hours ago."
"I'm going to bed the moment we're done talking," he said, unruffled by her chastising.
"Good, because we don't need you getting sick as well."
This was all so messed up. Wasn't there more she could do than chastise him? Her role as his light felt so inconsequential. What was it compared to Kanae who could actually fight? Or Hikaru that could help gain the trust of the people? Sure, Rosa was within her, but it wasn't as if it was something she was actively participating in. A storage gem could have fulfilled the same role for all the difficulty it presented.
"It's going to be okay, Ren," she said, the words as much to reassure to herself. "We're going to get through this."
"I know."
The lines around his eyes had finally softened. There was no smile or twinkle in his eyes to dismiss their worries. The future held some real and dangerous obstacles. But it was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.
"I love you, Ren," she said.
Ah, there is that smile again.
"I know," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. "And it gives me strength."
Thanks for reading!
It's so good to see you all again. : )
Funny enough, this whole thing with Kanae taking Kyoko away from the "demon" that was hurting her is somewhat similar to the prisoner arc in canon, just with the roles reversed. Just saying! XD
Next Update: In two weeks!
-Blushweaver
I, the most beloved Imouto, have torn myself from the three essays and midterm I have due on Tuesday to ensure that you receive your chapter on time. Feel free to praise my heroism. I accept ballads as well as oil paintings of me.
Rejected titles: "I don't know, crap, I need a chapter title." "The Most Unhelpful Hikaru." "Wow, I want to try those pants on." "Born a Crime." "These pants are too short for me." "The Most Unhelpful Imouto." "Some Chapters we Have a Harder Time Titling Than Others." "When Did I get A Big Butt Blushweaver?"
-Imouto