Arya wandered the market, glancing at the clothes around. She found a cute shirt and held it up for Kharis to see, "Do you like it? I think you'd look good in it."
"I don't understand why we're here." He surveyed the area with a wary look.
"To get you some stuff."
"I do not require anything. You already feed me and give shelter when it is not required of you." He said quietly.
"I know but you should have more clothes."
"These are sufficient. I will not be needing any more where I am going." He replied as he followed her.
"Where are you going?" She asked quietly.
"Tarvium." He gazed at her unflinchingly.
"Tarvium?"
He frowned for a moment. "The afterlife. Do you call it something else?"
"Well, I know a few human words for it. Don't remember a Fae word." She paused, "Why are you talking about the afterlife already? Don't you have some time til then?"
"It is why I have isolated myself. I do not wish to infect anyone." Kharis raised an eyebrow. "You never wondered why I was sent into battle so young?"
She frowned, "Never thought of it. You know I can help try to heal you, right?"
"You should not waste your gift. I merely informed you so you would not be surprised."
"It wouldn't be wasting it. You're my friend and I care about you."
"Care? About property?" He looked puzzled. "I have done nothing to be cared about."
"You're not property, you're a person."
He shook his head. "I am a poor weapon as evidenced by my capture. I will be tortured for my failure in Tarvium. I am not a person. I was cursed at birth with Saralen disease and will die unmourned befittingly."
"We're going to mourn you. And I'm going to help heal you. You're worth it even if you don't see it."
"It is incurable. You will merely waste your time." His eyes landed on a blanket. "That would make a nice shroud however."
"I've healed the incurable before." She grabbed the blanket and paid for it, handing it to him. "But we'll get you this just in case."
"You will not listen to me, will you?"
"No," she shook her head.
He half smiled. "Now I understand why your family rolls their eyes so often."
She chuckled, "Are you sure there's no clothes you want?"
He considered her for a moment. "That shirt was nice..but I don't deserve anything for keeping things from you."
She rolled her eyes, "Come on, we'll get the shirt." She started heading back but suddenly felt a prick in her arm. Her eyes darted around quickly.
Kharis snarled as he scanned the market. Then he cried out as three large darts hit him in the chest. He looked at her, his eyes unfocusing before he fell and lay still.
Arya grew dizzy. She looked around further before another dart hit. She focused her thoughts to Shouma, "We're under attack.. I don't know who..." she fell to the ground, her eyes blurring together.
"Just hold on. We'll find you as soon as we can."
She passed out before she could respond.
She woke feeling pain. She was confused until she managed to unfurl her wings which were snapped. She rolled over and looked for Kharis.
He was unconscious, his hands bound behind his back. He'd been beaten viciously, his breathing shallow and labored.
She moved closer, holding her hands out to try to heal him. Nothing happened. She looked around in confusion, unsure what was going on.
There was the sound of laughter, then a man appeared. "How does it feel to be just like us? Or almost like us anyway. You're not human, after all."
"What do you want?"
"Nothing." He crouched to her level. "Just doing my job and keeping the world safe."
She sighed and tried to move but soon noticed her wings weren't the only things broken.
"Sorry, but I can't let you escape. You have to stay here. But don't worry, you'll be reunited with your monster family soon." He laughed and walked away.
"Shouma?" She focused, hoping to get through to him but doubting she could.
Only silence answered.
"Leave me. Get out of here." Kharis wheezed quietly.
"I don't think I can get far," she admitted, rubbing her ankles.
"I am sorry. You should be at home right now. Yet another thing I will have to atone for."
"This isn't your fault."
"If I wasn't here, you would be safe at home. I have... robbed your family." Kharis coughed wetly, blood trickling down his cheek from his mouth.
She shook her head, "It's not your fault. Just rest and don't worry."
His eyes cracked open. "I am sorry. I did not wish to die in front of you." He rolled onto his stomach and tried to crawl away. "I will spare you."
"It's alright. I'm sorry I can't heal you."
"I was already dying." He rested his head on the ground. "If you get free, will you do something for me?"
"Of course."
"Don't forget me?" He coughed again, then began to shiver.
"I could never forget you."
He turned his head to look at her with a small smile. "Is it too much to ask one final thing?"
"Not at all, what's up?"
"I.." He shook his head. "It is not allowed. I am sorry."
"Ask."
"Would you hold me? I don't wish to be alone." His voice was sad.
She moved closer, wincing as she did. She gently cradled him, wishing she could heal him.
He gave a tiny smile, his breaths getting farther apart. "I..hope you..get free.."
"If I do, I'm going to do everything I can to help you." She said softly.
He tried to smile again, but his breath hitched. His eyes slid closed and he went limp.
She took a deep breath as she tried to fight the tears filling her eyes.
She gently laid Kharis down and moved against the wall. She stared at the wall for a while, wondering what was going to happen. She'd been held captive before but usually there was more torture by now.
The aching in her body grew but she managed to fall asleep for a while. She woke a few different times, still having no idea what was going to happen. There was no clock or window to show movement of time, so she just continued to sit, leaning on the wall.
There was a sound of a portal opening, then her name being shouted.
Her eyes opened and darted around.
"Arya! Daigo, she's over here!" Shouma raced to her side, his face concerned.
She looked up at the voice, staying silent as she tried to make sure he was real.
"Arya? Are you with me?" Shouma gently took her in his arms. "I'm so sorry we didn't come sooner."
She nodded slowly, "It's alright."
Daigo approached, his red light enveloping her. "She needs healing. Kharis is dead. I will open the portal." He muttered under his breath as Shouma picked her up.
Arya winced before whispering, "If I can heal, I want to help him.. but I couldn't do anything.."
"Shhh." Shouma took her through the now open portal. "Rest."
She closed her eyes, not wanting to argue.
"We can't lie to her." Kaien's voice was soft as it broke through the darkness.
"She's not well enough to know everything." Shouma argued back. "It would kill her."
She struggled to open her eyes again, "Tell me."
"Hush, Arya. You need to rest." Shouma ran a hand through her hair with a shaky hand.
"I'll be alright.." she tried to push herself up.
"It'll hurt you too much." Shouma's eyes glittered with tears.
"You have to tell me eventually," she reminded.
"The house was attacked." He squeezed his eyes shut as the tears fell.
She nodded slowly, "Who was hurt?"
"Yamae and Ely are the only ones left. They were over at the orphanage with Daigo when it happened. Toya and Zal were gone with Toshi. They haven't returned."
"Can I see them?" She asked quietly, trying not to cry.
"They're in the ballroom." Shouma lifted her from the bed and carried her out into the hall. His steps faltered as he neared the room.
She closed her eyes for a moment, struggling to control her emotions. As they entered, she opened them back up, looking around slowly.
Six coffins lay in front of her, their tops open.
"They sent gas through the air conditioning system. Then they broke down the door. Ryon and Taren fought alongside Ryu and Kimito. But it wasn't enough." Shouma ran his hand over Azra's head with a sob.
Arya struggled to stand. She limped her way around, looking at everyone. She then closed her eyes and focused. A burst of energy shot out into them all before she collapsed to the floor.
"Arya!" Shouma cradled her as Kaien came running.
She struggled to open her eyes, finally focusing on him a moment before they rolled back and she went limp.
"Take her back. I'm going to check on them." Shouma told Kaien. He rose as the hunter took Arya back to bed.
Shouma let out a sob as Azra's voice asked "Is Mommy back yet?"
He quickly picked her up. "She's asleep right now. You can see her in a little while." He looked up to see Ryusei beside him. "Let's get them situated."
Arya woke slowly, trying to focus on everything.
"How do you feel?" Daigo asked from his seat beside the bed.
She nodded slowly, "Better. Wings are still sore, but most of the other pain is gone."
"That pleases me. Your daughter has quite a temper when she is denied."
"Azra? What did she do?"
"She hit both her uncles, bit Ryon and kicked Kimito in a particular area repeatedly." Daigo chuckled. "Haru bribed her with ice cream."
Arya chuckled before taking a deep breath, "Have Zal, Toya, or Toshi come back?"
"No. I retrieved Kharis and healed his injuries. He has been laid in his room. Jack is resting due to his illness."
Arya nodded slowly, "I'm going to take care of them, then if Toya and the others haven't come back, I'm going to find them."
"Arya, we don't believe they will return." Daigo stood slowly. "I am sorry."
She took a deep breath and headed to Jack's room first. She spent a long time working on healing him before moving to Kharis's room. She was in there a while working on checking his disease over, healing any damage she found from it before reviving him. She then slipped from the room, heading to the front door.
"Arya." Haru's voice was subdued. "Where are you going?"
"Finding the others."
"We haven't been able to find them. What makes you think you can?"
"I don't know, I can't just sit here and do nothing though."
He stood and moved to her. "The men who attacked were Hunters. I doubt we'll ever find their bodies."
"I just.." she looked down, "I need to try." She sighed, "Were the hunters taken down? Or are they still out there?"
"The Council authorized their executions. I did it myself." He dropped his eyes.
Arya nodded, "Alright. I'll be back in a bit. I just need some time."
He nodded. "I feel fucking useless." He took a drink from the bottle he held. "I should be dead too."
She hugged him tightly, "It's alright. You are alright. Just try to relax."
He sighed, then moved away from her and toward his room.
"No matter what happens, Toya wouldn't want you thinking like that. He'd want you to be as happy as possible and to move on. I can't say it's easy, but you have to try." She said before slipping out of the front door. She headed to the car and drove away. A few minutes later, she came to a stop sign and halted. She took a deep breath, starting to cry. She stayed there for a while before continuing on.
Tomoya tried to will his vision clear as he cradled Zal's body. He glanced across the pit they were buried in and finally began to cry as he saw Hitoshi's unmoving form. He sat sobbing a moment, then gasped as his lungs began to burn. "Guess you two are the lucky ones."
Arya stopped the car, closing her eyes and trying to focus on Tomoya. She was quiet for a while until she opened her eyes and followed a side road for a few miles. She climbed out of the car and began looking around.
After a while, she found a patch of freshly moved dirt. She focused her power for a moment, the dirt moving away.
Tomoya blinked slowly as he saw light above him. "Guess I'm finally dying.." He coughed softly and began to close his eyes.
"Toya?" Arya climbed down and went to his side. She looked at Zal then noticed Hitoshi. She knelt down, checking over Tomoya and pushing light into him.
"I wish this was real. You're so beautiful. I'm sorry to leave, but there's no air…" His voice was almost inaudible as he gasped from oxygen deprivation.
"Hun, this is real." She forced air into him and healed his lungs with her light.
He tried to smile, but failed as he slumped into her.
She continued to heal him then carried him up out of the pit. She went back for Zal and Hitoshi, healing them up and forcing energy into them, reviving them. She put them in the car and began the drive home.
"Mom?"
"Yeah, hun?"
"What happened?" Zal's eyes met hers in the mirror.
"I came to save you guys." She said softly.
"Is everyone else safe?"
"Yeah." She said quietly, "They're at home." She was about to turn when the car was slammed into. It began spinning out of control until it came to a halt as the front end smashed into some trees.
Arya struggled to breathe as the air filled with sulfur from the airbags deploying. The belt was tight against her chest and she struggled to pull it off. She was about to check the others when her door was ripped open and she was pulled out. She looked up and saw a hunter standing above her.
"You're still alive, huh? Well, I'll fix that. After we have some fun, that is."
"Take me instead." Zal's voice was firm. "She's too hurt. I will come willingly."
Arya growled, "Shut up, Zal." She pushed herself up, unfurling her wings. She used them to force herself forward faster, stabbing the man in the abdomen.
He screamed and backhanded her as Zal jumped on his back.
Arya pushed herself up and approached, pulling the knife from him and aiming at him again.
He snarled and kicked her before ripping Zal off by the throat and squeezing.
Zal thrashed helplessly for a minute, then went limp as the man laughed. He didn't move as the man dropped him.
Arya growled, trying to move closer as she struggled to breathe.
The Hunter pulled a gun, aiming at her.
She moved faster, slicing his throat as he fired. She backed up slowly, blood beginning to pour from her chest. She moved to Zal and fell to her knees, pushing her energy into him as the stain on her chest began turning gold. "Shouma.. I found them.. make sure they get home safe.."
A portal suddenly opened behind her and she felt warmth envelop her.
"Don't you dare die on us!" Shouma cradled her as Ryusei took Zal from her. Daigo pulled Tomoya and Hitoshi out, then vanished.
Arya blinked slowly, "At least they're alive."
"Don't talk." Shouma pushed his light into her as he rose and entered the portal.
Seconds later, they were in the house. Shouma took her to bed and pushed the energy faster as he laid her down. "Just rest."
She nodded, closing her eyes and falling asleep.