To Butterfly: These two are pretty adorable together, aren't they? :D

As if in slow motion, Viperion watched in horror as Ryoku fell over backward, her head caved in from the hammer blow. Blood poured out, more than any human body could possibly hold, all the same color as her suit, staining it crimson. He fell down at her side and slapped her cheeks, staring into her sightless eyes.

"No…"

He looked down at his wrist. Second Chance was inactive.

"No no no…"

Kamiyama loomed over them, a malicious look in his eyes, brain matter coating the head of his hammer. Then before Viperion's eyes he transformed into Night Bat, his hammer morphing into a sword, and stabbed Ryoku in the gut. "Save her from this," he hissed viciously.

Viperion desperately twisted his miraculous to activate Second Chance, but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't go back far enough to stop Ryoku's death.

And then the figure in front of him shifted into Il Pirata. Again Viperion stared as the villain cut Ryoku's head clean off, sending it sailing across the fog-covered yard as her headless stump began to de-transform. Only this time he could not undo it, he could not fix it.

"No!"

Luka's eyes shot wide open, flitting around the unfamiliar room in a panic. He felt a pressure on his lungs, something was tickling his chest, a damp spot on his sternum! He – oh. It was Kagami. Breathing evenly. Sound asleep, her unbroken arm wrapped around his chest, her head resting over his heart. Slowly he wrapped his arms around her, cradling her to himself securely, her cast cradled between their chests, taking comfort in her presence. She was still alive. She was healing.

It had been four days since the fight. Kagami had spent the last three days in the hospital before the doctor was satisfied that her concussion had healed enough to be released. Her arm was beginning to heal, though she still had a cast immobilized against her chest. Their original flight home was supposed to be the day before, but the doctor had warned against flying too quickly after a concussion. Instead, Luka had rented them a hotel room a few kilometers away from her father's old apartment building where Kagami's aunt and cousins were still staying and brought Kagami there. Thanks to Kagami's injury they had missed Eiji's wake last night, but they would still attend the funeral today; tomorrow they were going to return to Paris.

Unfortunately, Kagami hadn't been able to see all the clients she was supposed to meet on this trip, but that was perfectly fine. Kagami's health was all he cared about right now. Sitting in the hospital and watching her sleep, he had called the Tsurugi office to explain, and both clients had accepted Kagami's injury as a reason they couldn't meet. And if meeting with the last two Japanese clients was really that important, Tomoe could just send Kagami back again some other time when she wasn't nursing a broken arm and a concussion.

He glanced over at the bright green numbers on the alarm clock. Four in the morning. He would have to wake up in another couple hours so they could get ready. His head fell back onto the pillow, and he groaned.

"Having trouble sssleeping?" Sass asked, his soft whisper sounding unnaturally loud in the silent room. The Kwami glided across the pillow to hover right above Luka.

Luka frowned. "You can say that," he agreed.

"Ssstill the sssame dreamsss?"

Luka nodded. "Or variations on the same theme." He sighed heavily. "I don't know if I can take them anymore."

Sass hummed. "Thisss isss a difficult burden to bear," he admitted. "Not many have the ssstrength to watch all posssible outcomesss – even knowing that any missstake can be corrected. It can be enough to drive one mad." The Kwami patted Luka on the cheek. "You are a good Sssnake, Luka. You have borne thisss power well for the passst two yearsss."

"Sometimes it's easier than others," he whispered, looking down at Kagami, tracing his finger along her arm, stopping at the edge of her cast. "I don't like watching the others get hurt… but it's so different with her."

"She trusts you completely," interjected Longg, appearing from the other side of the bed. "And she knows how much you trust her. That is why you are such a strong team, why you work together so fluidly, Luka-san."

Luka stared at his hands. She trusted him… but could he trust himself?

"I know you are quessstioning yourssself after lassst week," Sass told him, patting his cheek gently. "You doubt that you can continue to ussse my miraculousss. That isss normal for a Sssnake."

"What if I made the wrong choice?"

"Your question assumes that there was a right choice," Longg pointed out. "Some problems have no good solution. But Kagami would have accepted your decision, whatever you chose."

Luka nodded. "I know." He sighed heavily. "But I don't know if I wanted to accept it."

Sass hesitated, his brows knit together in concern. "… Do you wish to relinquish my miraculousss?"

"I…" Luka hesitated. Did he? He finally shook his head. "No. I don't want to relinquish you. I know this is important. I know this is how I can keep the people I love safe. I just…" He ran his fingers through Kagami's hair, and she sighed in her sleep, snuggling into his shoulder.

"You both survived," Longg reminded him. "Kagami survived. Thanks to you. That is not something I take lightly." His shoulders slumped. "I have lost enough holders over the years to be grateful to you for that. I am glad that the two of you have this level of trust."

Luka patted the Kwami's head. "Thanks, Longg… I promise I don't take it for granted. Any of it." He fell silent, closing his eyes. Maybe he could be grateful for what he had. All three of them had survived the fight. They had stopped the Yakuza – or at least that clan. They had captured two of the Kami-gumi. Kagami was safe. She would heal in time. Her family seemed to be out of danger for the moment. Maybe that could be enough.

It was a few hours later when he finally opened his eyes again to find the sun streaming through the window. Kagami had shifted in her sleep, her cast sticking to his chest, her head fitted into his shoulder, her breath tickling his cheek. He twisted his head to press his lips to her forehead, and she hummed in her sleep. His stomach rumbled. He would have to get up eventually if they were going to have coffee or tea – or breakfast. And according to the alarm clock Eiji's funeral was in only an hour. Carefully he peeled her cast off his chest – the pattern of the cast left an impression behind in his bare skin – and slid away from her before laying her arm back down. He sat up on the edge of the bed.

Kagami's eyes opened wide, and she stared up at him.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, resting his hand on hers. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"I was already awake," she replied, sitting up and shifting to sit next to him, leaning into his side, cradling her broken arm against her chest. "I was just thinking."

He raised an eyebrow as an invitation for her to continue.

She sighed, placing her head on his shoulder. "Even after everything that happened… I'm glad I was here," she told him. "And I'm even gladder that you were here with me. I–I don't think I could have handled any of this alone."

Luka wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, resting his chin in her hair. "I'm glad I was here with you, too." They sat like that for several minutes, until Luka's breathing had slowed and relaxed. Finally he gave her a gentle squeeze and pressed another kiss to her forehead. "Tea?" he asked her.

"Please." She shivered. "But first, could you help me dress?"

Luka nodded and carefully helped her change out of her sleeping pants into leggings and a black skirt before helping her get her arms through the sleeves of a black long-sleeved blouse. Then, while they waited for their room service breakfast to arrive, he sat on the bed, pulled her onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest, listening to her heart. The song that had been playing in his heart for so long, so sweet and delicate, with just a hint of vulnerability that she would never show to the rest of the world, continued to sound through, just as clearly as it always had.

Maybe she had gotten hurt. But she was alive. They were together. Maybe that was enough.

"Where is my daughter!?"

Luka sighed and turned around on hearing the familiar voice, shivering a little in the cold, standing outside the Buddhist temple where Eiji's funeral was to take place. Since the Yakuza had killed Okamura, they didn't expect them to come after Shiro and his family again, but they couldn't be sure. And since he wasn't really family, he could wait outside to watch without drawing undue attention.

He should have known he'd have to face her sooner or later…

Tomoe Tsurugi stood in front of him, a severe expression on her face, her mouth set in a thin line. She held her cane in a white-knuckled grip, the end planted on the ground. And despite her blindness and dark glasses, Luka could swear that she was glaring at him. "She is inside with the rest of the family, Kagami's mother," he told her as calmly as he could.

Tomoe's nostrils flared. "Very well. I am bringing her home the moment this is over."

Luka cocked his head. "But the doctor said that she can't travel until tomorrow night at the earliest," he objected. "He said with her concussion it wouldn't be safe."

"That does not matter," Tomoe replied sharply. "She was injured here on this trip, and I am going to ensure she heals properly. At home."

"I'm taking care of her," Luka assured her.

"Like you took care of her five days ago?" demanded Tomoe.

Luka glared at her. "I protected her! I got her medical care!"

Tomoe harrumphed. "After this, I am not allowing you anywhere near her again! I am bringing her home, and that is final."

Luka pursed his lips. "Well that really isn't up to you, is it?"

She froze. "What?"

"Kagami's contract," he reminded her, folding his arms. "You agreed not to interfere with her social life. So it is up to Kagami whether she returns with you or follows the doctor's orders to stay another full day."

Luka didn't turn around on hearing footsteps behind him. "What on earth is going on out here!?" demanded Kagami, stopping on the steps directly behind him. She gasped. "Mother?"

"I've been here for two days already without your Obasan knowing where you were, and that's all the greeting I receive?"

"I apologize, Mother," Kagami replied, dipping her head obediently. "With everything that happened, we thought it would be safer to avoid communicating more than necessary. I meant no disrespect."

"Very well." Tomoe's mouth set in a thin line. "However, after the funeral we are flying home tonight."

Kagami frowned. "But Luka and I already changed our tickets to tomorrow," she told her. "The doctor–"

"Yes, Luka told me all about that doctor," Tomoe interrupted. "But I am your mother. I know what's best for you. The two of us are leaving – the sooner we are back in Paris, the sooner we can put these Yakuza behind us."

"But Luka–"

"–can stay as long as he wishes. We are leaving one way or the other."

Kagami exchanged a look with Luka, whose mouth turned down in worry. If her mother was going to insist…

"No." Kagami's voice dropped to an ominous level. She placed her hand on Luka's shoulder. "You can return tonight if you wish, but I'm staying. We're going to stay as long as the doctor says we have to."

"But if you have complications…"

"Mother," Kagami began, "Luka has taken good care of me. Believe me when I tell you that I am only alive right now because of him. I trust him to keep me safe."

"You would trust this boy and not your own mother?"

Kagami's grip on his shoulder tightened, and he covered her hand with his own. "Yes, I do," she replied firmly. "I trust him, and I trust the doctors."

Tomoe sighed heavily.

Luka's eyes widened in realization. He could hear the strains of music warring in her heart. "You were scared." The strain lines around Tomoe's mouth deepened. "You're frightened and confused and grieving. You're afraid for Kagami and want to know that she's safe."

"How can you presume?" Tomoe demanded, her nostrils flaring.

"It's what he does," Kagami answered, pride in her voice.

"Believe me, I know what you're feeling – I felt the same when she was injured." Luka took a breath. "I promise you, I will always keep Kagami safe. I will always watch out for her – as much as she needs me to," he added, giving Kagami a sheepish grin.

Kagami smiled back.

Tomoe fell silent, all her attention focused on him. "Swear it to me," she told Luka sharply. "Swear that you will protect her."

Luka nodded, his grip on Kagami's hand tightening. "Always."

Tomoe finally nodded. "Very well. I suppose in that case you may call me 'Mother'." She cocked her head, listening intently. "They are beginning. We should enter." Kagami let out a relieved breath and went to follow Tomoe inside. Luka paused, watching them enter. Tomoe stopped in the doorway. "Well?"

"Isn't this just for family?" Luka asked.

"It is," confirmed Tomoe. She paused. "And I have decided that you are now family."