A/N

I'm back with another chapter of this AU after almost a month! I've been waiting for summer vacation to begin, and finally it has. Now since my exams are over I can focus on this as well as other fanfics I'm working on. I don't think I'll be able to update this weekend but maybe I can update next week on weekends like how I used to do. This chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones.

"Pigyah!" Ruby hid behind Leah as the abandoned village came into view. The village looked gloomy and dark as if it was hiding some secret as it loomed over them. The thought of entering that scary place made Ruby trembled in fear. All she wanted right now was her sister, telling her she would make out safely, or maybe a pat on the head by her sister telling her that she did well. Ruby had been stuck in her train of thoughts till she heard Umi clear her throat continuing whatever she was saying before. "-if you go through here you will most likely reach the other side." Umi said as she pointed to a path that led into the right side of the village out if the three paths. "What do mean by most likely?" Leah asked. "The paths change. Usually it's this one that leads to the other side." Hanayo explained leaving Leah and Ruby absolutely terrified. "What happens if it doesn't lead to the exit?" Leah asked tentatively. "You wouldn't want to know nya." Rin stated. Ruby didn't even want to know if that did happen, all she knew was whatever would happen wouldn't be good.

"It's a risk that you must be ready to take." Umi continued, "You will not be able to get on the other side if you back out. The village tests you. If you back off then there is no escape, but if you show that you are ready to face anything the exit will be shown to you, though this happens to a handful of people."

Ruby shuddered in fear as she heard the words flow from Umi's mouth. It was all a game of chance. She held on to Leah tighter. If Dia was here she would help her get out of this mess. Sure she had Hanayo, Rin and Leah whose presence comforted her but she missed Dia's. A horn blew from afar. Ruby had no clue what it meant except that it was some kind of battle cry like when the bandits attacked the forest the previous night. Umi seemed to panic. "Kotori..." Umi's eyes widened. Ruby did know it wasn't a good sound. "I knew I should have stayed with her." she muttered as she took her bow in her hands from her shoulder and gripped it tightly. "I'm sorry I can not guide you through the village but I need to go." Umi bowed. "Go nya." Umi ran as fast as she can back to the Forest of Birds.

"We should be moving before the paths change nya." Rin said as she rushed into the village. "Wait Rin chan!" Hanayo said as she ran behind Rin signalling the two to follow. Ruby held Leah's hand tightly and followed Hanayo. The journey to their friends and sisters' was not going to be easy.

"Y-Yoshiko chan!?" Hanamaru turned around as she heard a thud. "I'm fine." she chocked holding her neck. Hanamaru kneeled by Yoshiko. Her skin was burning hot. 'It wasn't like this a few moments ago zura!' Hanamaru tried to cool her nerves. This was just bad. Her friend now had a fever that came out of the blue and she had no clue how she could help. Maybe those books that she read would help her. "No your not zura. We should stop for sometime zura." Yoshiko tried to pick herself up, "Nonsense. A fallen angel won't be affected by-" Yoshiko fell flat on her face. Yoshiko groaned as she sat on her knees rubbing her nose. Hanamaru sighed as she shook her head to her friend's vain display of determination. "C'mon Yoshiko chan let's stop I'm hungry zura." it wasn't really a lie, Hanamaru was really hungry. She needed to feed her huge stomach with some noppo bread ."Zuramaru you have a stomach as big as the underworld. And it's Yohane!" Yoshiko broke into a fit of coughing. "Careful," Hanamaru patted her back, "let's sit down zura."

They headed to one of the houses near them. Hanamaru supported Yoshiko's weight as she limped to the house. 'She smells like ashes zura.' Hanamaru thought as she relished the fact that Yoshiko was so close to her. This may have been the closest Hanamaru had been to Yoshiko, physically, in ages, not like she hated it though, even if Yoshiko was as hot as a furnace.

Hanamaru gulped as she saw the creepy house. There was something about this house that disturbed her. In fact the whole village disturbed her. A chill went down her spine as they entered it silently. Something was going to happen but she didn't know what.

The house seemed like it was for a family of four. In the middle of the house was a dining table with four chairs. Close by was a small empty kitchen. Behind it was a bed and beside that was a mirror. All of the things in the house were covered with dust. 'Seems like they left a long time ago zura.'

They stumbled across the house to the bed where she laid Yoshiko after coughing while wiping the dust from the bed. Her shoulders hurt and so did her legs which felt as if they were as heavy as lead. She wanted to complain about the pain but she kept quiet knowing that there was someone else who was suffering even more than she was. To reduce the pain she set down the heavy bag full of supplies down. Her aching shoulders thanked her for her generosity.

"You want anything to eat zura?" Hanamaru asked looking up at Yoshiko as she kneeled by the bag. "Ah yes I can feel the flames of-"
"Here zura." Hanamaru placed some bread on her lap knowing that Yoshiko would be hungry, the last time she ate was in the morning before the left for the village. "I wasn't done!" Yoshiko glared. Hanamaru sat by Yoshiko munching on her bread. She could feel her stomach thanking her for finally putting some food inside the energy drained system. "I wonder how the others are doing zura..." Hanamaru said, her mouth full, staring at the empty table. The group had to split because they were met by crossroads. Chika, Riko and You going on one, Mari, Dia and Sarah going on the other and the final one was them. "They are my little demons, of course they are alright. They are strong just because we were separated from them doesn't mean they will fall into the clutches of Hades' wrath." Yohane said before coughing again. "I hope so zura." Hanamaru said biting once again into her bread.

You dragged her feet on the gravel path. She wanted to be at the beach and be one with ocean and swim to the depths of the ocean. Right now even the deepest darkest places of the sea seemed brighter than this place. She hated anything dark and gloomy including this abandoned village. She had never really liked the place from the start and now she was hating even more. No it was not because of suddenly falling ill just like Yoshiko and Sarah for no reason, it was maybe because of what she realized.

Never had she realized it before, till this very moment. Even when the three of them went on a quest she hasn't realized it, but when she remembered the quest it only fueled her emotion of jealousy.

All that Chika did was spend her time with Riko, talk about Riko, Riko this, Riko that. Chika was stuck to Riko as if the two were two opposite poles of magnets. It started to get on You's nerves. You wasn't a person who would easily have such feelings but losing her childhood best friend for a person who came out of nowhere, hurt her. Chika meant so much to her and she was drifting away from her.

Riko wasn't a bad person. You knew that like the back of her hand. In fact You liked her, a lot. You admired the red head yet she couldn't help but feel jealous. Why did she spend so much time with her? Wasn't You good too?

You had always taken pride in her tattoo. Yes, her tattoo. She had gotten it a long time ago when she was just a kid. It was of an orange, obviously meaning it was Chika, right? Then why didn't Chika look at her the way she did? They are soul mates, right?

You looked at the duo who was walking in front of her. They were talking happily, busy in their own world, completely ignoring the existence of her. Even if she neared them they would stop talking about whatever they were talking about. It hurt her. She didn't want to be ignored. She didn't want to be forgotten.

She heard something fall behind her. Curious, she turned back. There was nothing. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for what ever it was to strike. Chika and Riko hadn't gone much farther ahead but didn't care at that point. She needed to get out of here alive. Suddenly from behind she was assaulted by a pair of dexterous hands that covered her nose and mouth. You struggled against the grip but he was just too strong. She struggled and struggled. She tried to use her powers but the man deflected it. She tried to scream but her throat and lungs burned from the lack of air. What ever the man had rubbed on his hands was blocking her airways. She began to wheeze for air. She moved her mouth to speak but no words would leave her mouth. The man suddenly turned them in front where You could see her friends. She watched as the two girls in front moving ahead without her. 'No don't leave me...' she thought as her legs gave in. They still hadn't turned around, even though she fell with a thud, holding her throat. Her vision was becoming hazy. The last thing she knew was she was picked up and taken away by him.

Hanamaru's breath was erratic and her eyes were wide open. She turned to Yoshiko who had a faint smile in her face. "Thanks Zuramaru." she said before closing her yes and immediately drifting off to sleep. 'Yoshiko chan has faced a lot zura.' she looked at the girl who looked peaceful in her sleep unlike what she had faced. Hanamaru had no clue how she ended up over there but she did.

She had been absorbed in her book when Yoshiko began screaming in her sleep. Hanamaru was startled. Thinking it was a bad dream Hanamaru decided to use an trick that they use in books. She gave Yoshiko a hug and said some pacifying words.

She stayed like that till Yoshiko calmed down. 'Yoshiko chan is so cute zura.' she smiled sweetly as she got up, picked up her book and went back again reading her book. The book was about medicine. One might find it boring but Hanamaru found it interesting. With just a few ingredients you could cure then smallest wound to the biggest one. She was reading one that may help reduce Yoshiko's fever and it just so happens that she had all the ingredients in her bag.

Mentally fist pumping she picked up her bag from the ground and searched for the ingredients checking each one off the list as she placed it down near Yoshiko on the bed. All she needed now was to crush the ingredients and pour it on it her mouth.

With hope, Hanamaru went into kitchen in search of a pestle and mortar to grind everything to make the concoction. Maybe it was her luck but she did find it but it was dusty, that wasn't a problem though because she washed it with a bit a of water from the containers in the bag.

And then she was done. A wonderful concoction that would help Yoshiko feel all better. Hanamaru did feel bad seeing her soul mate suffering. Well she was going to end it with the help of medicine and books!

"Open wide zura." she said as she slightly parted Yoshiko's lips filling Yoshiko's mouth with the medicine which she gulped down almost immediately. She was confident Yoshiko would feel better. Just before she could pick up the book she heard Yoshiko wail again. Hanamaru's eyebrow twitched as her hand hovered over the book. She really wanted to know what would happen if you were to add a drop of dragon's tears to a wildflower.

Hanamaru had only touched Yoshiko's arm and bam, Hanamaru had suddenly entered Yoshiko's dream. Hanamaru stumbled back startled by the sudden change. A pair confused pink eyes looked at her. Hanamaru thought it was a magic trick. "Zuramaru what are you doing here?" Yoshiko asked wide eyed. "You were screaming and I tried to calm you down and here I am zura." she remembering Yoshiko had a streak of bad luck when it came to her magic at times, her eyes narrowed as she placed her hands on her hips and had a teasing smile in her face. "Is this one of your magic tricks?"
"I have not summoned you my little demon. And my magic is not what you see in a kid's magic show!"

"One day I'll return back home to the heavens away from this lowly land." they heard a voice from behind had cut off what Hanamaru was going to say. It was from kid Yoshiko in her dream. She was standing on the roof of a cottage surrounded by people who were asking her not to fall. Hanamaru had to stifle a giggle. The real Yoshiko glared at her with pout. Her face was as red as Ruby's hair. "Can they see us zura?" Hanamaru asked. "No."

"Good. I don't want them to hear me of I laugh at your antics zura." Hanamaru snickered. Yoshiko slapped her lightly on the shoulder. "My life isn't funny." Yoshiko grumbled. They stood quietly after that watching the dream Yoshiko go on about the heavens. From behind her mother approached and grabbed her, absolutely annoyed with what Yoshiko had done. Hanamaru giggled again at the scene.

The scene began to fade and behind them they could hear dream Yoshiko and now a dream Hanamaru as well. "Zuramaru we're going to build a castle." the dream Yoshiko announced. "Zura?" the dream Hanamaru looked up from her book.

"This was at preschool wasn't it zura?" Hanamaru asked, a small smile growing in her face. Yoshiko hummed. Hanamaru remembered what happened after that. They built a small castle out of sand. Then the wind blew it down to dust again. Yoshiko had began to cry but said it was the curse of the Gods that brought the fortress of Yohane down. It was one of her fond memories. "You were so cute zura."
"Shut up."

The scene changed again and this time they were a bit older, maybe around five or six years old. The dream Yohane cackled. "My oldest littlest demon I give this feather of darkness as a symbol of our contract." dream Yoshiko pulled out the feather from her hair and placed it Hanamaru's. "I will protect it with my life zura!" dream Hanamaru said with a promising look. Hanamaru remembered that feather even now. She could feel it within the pocket of her robes. She had always kept it safe, carrying it along with her where ever she went.

The real Yoshiko clutched Hanamaru's hand. And started to run in the dream. "Where are we going zura!?" Hanamaru asked as they passed through the people minding their own work. Yoshiko didn't say anything but whatever it was, made Yoshiko cry. Hanamaru could see the tears fall down from her face plopping on the ground as they ran. Hanamaru guessed that she wasn't going to answer anything at that moment. She felt like stopping Yoshiko and hugging her but she didn't want to stop Yoshiko in her tracks. With a heavy heart she beared the pain of seeing the one she love cry.

They stopped in front of the door of a small cottage just like any other in the village, just that this was in front of the royal training grounds. "Zuramaru we're going in." Yoshiko said with a determined look. Tears had stopped flowing but there was still a sad expression on her face. "Zura?" Hanamaru still didn't get what was going on.

Hanamaru yelped as Yoshiko left her hand and walked right through it like a ghost. "C'mon Zuramaru we don't have time." Yoshiko peeped out from the door at the scared Hanamaru. Hanamaru prayed before tentatively putting her foot through the door then her whole body. 'I am never going to become a ghost zura.' she shuddered at the feeling of walking through something solid. "Zuramaru stop daydreaming and help me create a distraction." Yoshiko hissed. "Why zura?"
"We are going to save them."
"Who? No one's here zura." Hanamaru scanned the empty dining room. "My mother is along with her students in the bedroom."
"What's going to happen zura?" Yoshiko chocked on a sob before telling her, "Ragnarok. The celestial beings of the universe would destroy it all." Hanamaru sighed. Why did she evading? Hanamaru knew something was going to happen, Yoshiko usually would say something like this whenever something bad was going to happen.

Hanamaru tilted her head. "We don't have time for this. Help me." Yoshiko said desperately moving around the house in hope of being able to grab anything. Hanamaru sighed. She had no clue what was going on but she had to go with it.

As she was doing so there was a window that overlooked the royal training grounds where she could see a familiar looking figure facing a target that was close by the house but wouldn't affect it unless you missed the target.

Hanamaru squinted, in disbelief. 'Is that... Ruby chan zura?' Hanamaru shook her head. No she might have been hallucinating. She looked again this time the red haired girl let out a column of fire at the target but missed it completely. The only people in the kingdom who could control and create fire like that was the Kurosawa clan and as far as she knew Ruby was the only red haired female in the family.

The fire ball was headed straight towards them. "Y-Yoshiko chan!" Hanamaru scurried to Yoshiko who was about to enter a door. Yoshiko gave her a irritated look before looking at the window that Hanamaru was pointing at. It was almost there.

Her eyes widened as she cursed under her breath, hugging Hanamaru protectively, to which Hanamaru let out a "Zura".

The next thing she knew was that there was a deafening explosion and everything around them collapsed as it burnt to ashes. As they were ghosts the explosion didn't affect them, just that there was a tingling sensation. Hanamaru was now more than sure that she would complete whatever she needs to and then die so she won't become a ghost.

"No... no, no," Yoshiko said repeatedly, hysterical as she released Hanamaru looking around her, tears flowing down her cheeks like a river. She clutched Hanamaru's hand and went in the direction where the door stood. Yoshiko looked around desperately in the debris but whatever it was, it wasn't there. Hanamaru turned her head back in the direction where the girl had been standing. The girl was no where in sight but the grass in the path of the fireball was charred. She turned head head back when she felt the strong grip on her hand leave her.

Hanamaru felt like her heart was breaking into a million pieces as she saw the girl who put a strong front in front of others break down into tears and fell to her knees. 'So this is how the angel had fallen zura...' Hanamaru kneeled by Yoshiko hugging her by the side, mourning with her. She knew that this pain had no cure unlike her fever. "I could have saved her..." Yoshiko said between sobs after a while, "if I came a little earlier... it's all my fault."

"You're absolutely wrong Yoshiko chan zura." Hanamaru was determined to help her. She couldn't stand to see her cry like this, it was just unlike her. Yoshiko looked at her in disbelief. "It's not your fault," She looked directly into her eyes and spoke as softly as she could. "it was an accident hat no one expected, not even your mother zura. Don't blame yourself for this zura."

"But I... I..."

"Shh... it's alright zura..." Hanamaru wiped her tears. "I'm sure your mother would be proud of you zura. You rose from this state to where you are now, you've moved far ahead Yoshiko chan zura. You've become not only become an amazing sorceress but a beautiful lady as well zura." Hanamaru kissed Yoshiko on her forehead.

Yoshiko gave her a thankful look before sobbing again in her shoulder. Yoshiko could feel a huge weight off her chest. She hadn't felt so relived in ages. She missed her mother a lot but Hanamaru was right, she had grown. She met people, learnt new things and most importantly met her soul mate whom she left ten years ago. Yoshiko closed her eyes with a slight smile, relieved.

Hanamaru didn't know how the scene around her changed, but she could only guess it was connected to Yoshiko. It was what happened afterwards. Meeting Nozomi in the forest as a defenceless six year old, learning magic as she traveled, all of it seemed to be shown to her. Yoshiko was revealing everything to her. Hanamaru only felt touched by the gesture and overwhelmed by the memories. Yoshiko had faced so much, much more than a normal girl of their age. She became determined to support her no matter what. Hanamaru felt a boiling pain in her back as she saw all of this and she knew it meant one thing.

And then again Hanamaru was sent back to reality. Gasping, she sat up straight, holding her spinning head. It was dizzying to take up so much in such little time.

Back to the present, it was silent and calm unlike her mind which was stuck in the memory of the dizzying experience. But she needed to check something. She stood up abruptly heading up to the dusty mirror. Not caring one bit, she used her robes to dust off the dust from the mirror. It was the time of truth. She hesitantly hiked up her robes, turning her back towards the mirror, shivering a bit as the cold air hit her skin. And there it was in it's full glory, her soul mate tattoo had finally been colored in. It was the wings of a fallen angel, black yet elegant and slightly detailed. Every long feather was outlined with a thin silver line and some feathers were falling from the wings. It had been ten years since Hanamaru had seen it like this. She had no clue what she did, or how she deserved such an amazing girl but she was happy, happier than she had ever been other than seeing Yoshiko in the forest after ten years.

Letting her robes down she settled back on the bed. She was finally going to read about what happened if a drop of dragon's tears were added to a wildflower.

Nothing had attacked them yet as they walked through the path quietly, their footsteps echoing. Every sound that wasn't their footsteps or breathing made Ruby jump and almost burn everything in front of her. She didn't like it, not one bit. She hadn't left Leah's comforting warm hand but she longed for her sister.

From afar they heard a thumping noise. The four immediately huddled uup back to back, ready to attack. Leah and Ruby still held hands and in the other held balls of ice and fire respectively, Rin had partially transfigured into a tiger and Hanayo was... ready to grow a huge rice field.

"It could be the bandits." Hanayo said steadying her staff. "Why would the bandits be here of all places?" Ruby asked, not so happily. She despised those bandits, always bothering everyone around them for those swords. "They love isolated places nya."

Ruby gulped visibly. "L-let's do our R-Rubesty then." she could feel Leah clutching her hand tighter sending Ruby a rush of feelings which she promptly ignored. They had to fight and for that she needed to focus. She needed to make sure she didn't burn the wrong thing just like that time.

Suddenly they heard screaming. "Pigi!" Ruby squealed and jumped onto Leah who was also screaming. Hanayo ended up growing a huge blade of rice and Rin transformed completely into a tiger and growled. "MAAAARII SAAAN!" they heard a voice yell. "It's joke Dia."

"Kurosawa san please calm down."
"I will if she will stop."

"Onee chan?" Ruby said wondering how her sister was here. Or was it an illusion? "Onee sama?" Leah said as equally as confused as Ruby. They glanced at each other. Their doubts were cleared when an fiery explosion occured which was extinguished by a white cold snowy blast which was followed by a "SHINY!"

"Onee chan!"
"Onee sama!"

The two ran at full speed, forgetting they were leaving two other people behind them. They didn't even care at that moment as they saw their sister's. They tackled their sister's in a bone crushing hug.

Ruby was overjoyed. She was finally in the embrace of her sister. Tears flowed from her eyes, like a waterfall. 'Are these the tears of happiness?' she felt a hand pat on her head as she sobbed into her sister's shoulder. "Ruby, you've done well." she sister complimented, patting her head. She was finally in the presence of a person who comforted her (including Leah).

She left her sister, sniffing but had a bright smile. "Ruby, I'm glad you're safe." Dia gave her a quick hug, smiling before her face contorted as she saw what Ruby was wearing. "Ruby what is this... thing you're wearing." Dia pointed.

Ruby began to explain. Kotori had fixed their old robes and made new clothes for them, effortlessly. "Your robes were easy to fix especially since the knights of your kingdoms only wear these kind of armor unlike others." Kotori had said as she handed them their fixed old robes and their new ones and asked them to wear theirs. Both of theirs were different from each other but Kotori had also made ones for their sisters which were similar to theirs. Dia and Ruby's was called the Inferno Phoenix and Sarah and Leah's were called Cold Blizzard.

Ruby's was much more revealing than Leah's. Ruby was similar to belly dancer costume. It was a fiery vibrant red and orange clothing which had tiny ornaments and sequins that reflected light. A translucent fabric similar to that of a shawl hung from the ornament on her hands and covered the rest of her body, yet it gave her free movement and added protection as the fabric was strong enough to stop any weapon striking it. It was as if Kotori had attempted to recreate fire but in the form of clothing. Ruby hoped that one day she could become her apprentice; the dresses that Kotori made had moved her and she hoped that one day that she too would reach that level.

"Ah I see..." Dia looked at her uneasy. Ruby looked to the side curious of how Leah was fairing up. Leah was crying ugly, still hugging her sister tightly who rubbed her back to calm her down. It was a heart warming sight that made Ruby's eyes well up with tears again. Ruby had suddenly got the feeling to protect this wonderful girl no matter what. It was a strange feeling but she welcomed with open arms.

"Onee sama..."

"Leah..." Sarah caressed Leah cheek lovingly before asking how she was. "Ruby, she acted nice to you, right?" Dia asked oddly calm but Ruby knew that Dia would rampage like fire if Ruby were to get hurt. Meanwhile Mai was asking her to clam down, earning a glare. "Yeah she's sweet though she hides it often." Ruby giggled as she glanced at the girl. Leah had helped her a lot and Ruby had no clue how she was going to repay her but for some reason Ruby had strange feelings that she felt for her that made her heart do somersaults whenever they had held hands or any other simple touches or if she were to talk or look or even think about her. Clearly she knew if she were to ask Dia she would dismiss it so she would have to ask another person she trusted dearly.

"Ruby, are you alright you're face is red." Dia raised her hand to check her temperature but Ruby back off saying she was completely fine to which Dia gave her a puzzled look. "Ruby san," she heard a voice calling turning her attention form her sister to her. "thank you for being by my sister. I will be grateful for what you have done." Sarah bowed. Ruby felt it to be awkward for such a renowned person bowing, so she made her stand straight. "Actually... I'm happy Leah chan was there for me. So I should be the one who has to say thank you." Ruby said, her lips curving into the littlest of little smirks, making Leah blush.

"Ah Ruby chan!" she heard a voice behind her call. She turned around at such a speed she almost cracked her neck. She could see her two friends running towards her hand in hand, Hanamaru dragging a pale looking Yoshiko behind her. She couldn't help but grin at the sight, for more than one reason. How much she missed them! "Ah Hanamaru chan, Yoshiko chan!" she half jogged to them and gave the two a hug. "I knew my little demon was powerful to shake the other celestial spheres and come on top." Yoshiko said after Ruby released them, giving a creepy laugh earning a nudge from Hanamaru. Ruby had no clue what that meant but thankful Hanamaru translated what she said. "I'm glad your safe zura." Hanamaru had tears in her eyes. She then neared Ruby's ear then whispered, "Did that girl treat you properly zura? Cause if she didn't I can ask Yoshiko chan to teach her a lesson zura."

"Hanamaru chan that's not needed," Ruby chuckled waving her hands in denial. She couldn't but wonder why everyone was asking her this question. "she treated me well, trust me."
"If you say so zura."

She took a glance at Leah who looked awkward as her sister was making sure she was alright. Leah had a slight blush on her face rolling her eyes as her sister freaked out as she saw a small scratch. It reminded Ruby of her own sister, who would also do the same.

Behind her she could hear Rin and Hanayo cry. "This such a heart warming scene nya." Rin sniffled. Hanayo hummed as she wiped the tears off her cheeks with a smile. "Maru chan, Yoshiko chan-"
"It's Yohane!"
"-Yohane chan I'd like you to meet them, they saved us." Ruby glanced at them. They were hugging each other as they cried even more. "You mean the crying couple?" Yoshiko asked looking at them raising a brow. Ruby nodded, taking their hands, bringing them to them. Yoshiko rolled her eyes earning herself a smack from Hanamaru.

Rin and Hanayo left each other as the three stopped in front of them, Ruby introducing her friends, or more precisely Hanamaru followed by Yoshiko blabbering about hell and her status as a fallen angel and appointed Hanayo and Rin as her little demons in her army. "I-I see Yo-ha-ne chan?" Rin as I uneasy with the fallen angel's behavior. "I'm proud of you my little demon for pronouncing my name properly. I-"

"Actually her name is Yoshiko zura, she just calls herself Yohane." Hanamaru said, smiling kindly at them. "Shut up mortal!"

The rest laughed at their antics. It was funny to see Yoshiko trying to show herself as a fallen angel, from the deepest darkest place in hell and be proud of it only to be brought down to her feet by her oldest little demon Hanamaru.

Ruby felt something tap on the back of her shoulder. Ruby jumped as she screamed "pigya", almost making her incinerate Yoshiko, making the rest of the group turn around at her. Yoshiko was about to say something when the person, that was Leah, told the group to follow them back the Dia, Sarah and Mari because it was important.

Giving each other looks, the group followed Leah to Dia, Sarah and Mari who had their jaws wide open. "This is not shiny." Mari muttered under her breath.

Ruby looked at what they were looking at and her eyes widened at the sight. She held on to Dia who immediately put an arm over her. It was Chika and Riko. Both of them were covered in battle scars and bruises, limping their way towards them, supporting each other as they came closer one step at a time. Chika's eye had been blackened, Riko's arm was bleeding so much that the blood dripped on the ground making a trail. Tears flowed from Chika's eyes washing away the dirt on her face. "It's like they have been attacked by the griffins." Yoshiko said but this time Hanamaru didn't do anything. She was wondering what had happened to those two. Was it something similar to what she had Yoshiko had experienced before?

Dia managed to regain her composure and opened her mouth to ask them what had happened to them, but Chika had cut down to the chase, sobbing harder than before. Riko looked down at the floor with a frown. "We lost You chan to some bandit!"