Haki was sick?

Hiskaya stared at the strange demon in front of her as her mind worked feverishly to comprehend the words she had just heard. How long had it been since she had seen Haki? A few days. How had she gotten so sick in such a short amount of time?

Her gut clenched when she realized. Haki must have been sick when she stayed at her place to help take care of her when she was hurt. And she didn't notice.

Some girlfriend I am, Hiskaya thought sadly.

She was uncharacteristically silent as she followed Yoshua to the castle in the Underworld. When they were walking through the castle, Hiskaya feared that she was being rude to their guide and attempted to make small talk, but she was only paying minimal attention to what was being said. There was an uncomfortable feeling in her chest, and it did nothing to alleviate her concern.

By the time they finally reached Haki's room, Hiskaya's heart was pounding. She knocked, but no response came. Despite Yoshua's concerns, Hiskaya gripped the doorknob. She had absolutely zero intention of turning away without seeing Haki and making sure she was okay. So, she turned the doorknob.

"Haki, we came to…" she began.

Only to find the scene of her girlfriend kissing her sister on her bed before her.

Hiskaya's jaw dropped and she began sputtering. "W-what's going on?" she asked.

Behind her, Yoshua poked around, observing the scene before them. "Oh, I think she's giving Haki her medicine," she commented mildly.

It was then that Hiskaya calmed her racing thoughts (and momentary panic) to take in what was going on. Even from across the room, Hiskaya could see that Haki was feverish. Haki's face was simultaneously pale and flushed, sweat making her dark hair stick to her, purple eyes glassy. If Hari hadn't been supporting her, Haki would very likely not be able to lift herself off of her bed.

The sight of the woman she loved looking so weak made Hiskaya's eyes sting.

Hari, the doting older sister, slowly eased Haki so she was resting back on her bed. "Easy," Hiskaya heard Hari whisper from across the room. "You'll feel better soon."

Unable to stay away any longer, Hiskaya slowly approached the bed. "Hari," she said softly. "Haki…she looks really sick."

Both sisters looked over at their group, noticing them for the first time. To Hiskaya's relief (and slight confusion), Haki's complexion was evening out and her eyes were starting to clear up slightly.

"When did you get here?" Haki asked as she weakly lifted her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't notice."

Hari stood and faced them with a tired smile. "Sorry that I couldn't come tell you myself," she said apologetically. "I've been a little busy."

Knowing Hari, she was probably spending all of her time tending to Haki. It bothered Hiskaya slightly that she hadn't been told sooner that Haki was sick. And it bothered her even more that she hadn't sensed that something was off earlier.

I should've been the one taking care of Haki, Hiskaya thought bitterly.

Hari slowly approached her and gave her a kind smile. "Hiskaya, will you stay with Haki for a while?" she asked. "I'll be back soon."

Hiskaya nodded. "Right," she agreed immediately. She frowned in concern as she looked at Hari's tired face, her right eye still scarred shut. "Your eye is still…" she broke off uncomfortably.

"It's getting there," Hari assured her. "Don't worry about me."

Nodding uneasily, Hiskaya rushed over to Haki's bedside. She vaguely heard Hari leave the room with Shan following shortly after. Hiskaya smiled at Haki and sat on the side of her bed.

"How are you?" she asked as she gently pushed a strand of sweat-soaked hair behind Haki's ear. She could feel the heat radiating off of the demon, more so than usual, and frowned. "You should have told me you were sick," she whispered.

Haki smiled tiredly. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I started getting feverish the morning after I stayed at your place. I came home and took some medicine before resting, but it came on very quickly."

Yoshua approached the bed. "I'm going to start preparing your next dose of medicine," she said. "It should be ready for you in a few hours. And I'll bring up something for you to eat."

Grimacing, Haki shook her head. "I don't think I could stomach anything now," she admitted.

That didn't ease Hiskaya's concern. "When was the last time you ate something?" she asked worriedly.

"She's been spending the past couple days mostly sleeping," Yoshua said quietly. "Only Hari has been able to coax her into eating anything."

That stung. Yet another thing that Hiskaya should have been the one to do herself. She looked at Yoshua and smiled at her.

"Would you please bring something?" she asked politely. "I'll make sure Haki eats it." She looked at Hanulim. "Do you think you can heal her?" she asked uneasily.

Her friend approached the bed and looked down at the dazed Haki. Hanulim bent over and pressed a finger to Haki's forehead. There was a look of concentration on her face and she then gently cupped Haki's cheeks with her hands. Hiskaya held her breath as she watched the familiar glow of Hanulim's healing magic surround the healer's hands before melting into Haki's flushed skin. Haki groaned uncomfortably and closed her eyes. A moment later, Hanulim removed her hands and stood back.

"I cannot heal her completely," she said in fascination. "I do not know if it's because she is a devil, or if it's the nature of her illness. Or perhaps a combination of both." She turned to Hiskaya. "I managed to remove some of the illness, but I'm afraid that this is something that your girlfriend will have to fight off on her own."

That wasn't what Hiskaya wanted to hear. She bit her lip and looked down at Haki who was looking at her in confusion. "Then I'll take care of her until she's well," she said firmly.

"I'll go talk to Miss Noel about sending up something easy for Haki to eat," Yoshua said as she retreated for the door. "Then I'll begin the next batch of medicine."

To Hiskaya's surprise, Hanulim began to follow her. "If you don't mind, I am interested in seeing this medicine," she said. "An elite healing angel such as myself couldn't cure her, so I am curious to see how a low-level demon such as yourself expects to."

"Hanulim, that's rude," Hiskaya chided. "She's helping Haki, so please, be nice."

Without a care, Hanulim followed Yoshua out of the world and they were left alone.

Hiskaya sighed and looked back at Haki. She smiled tiredly and tried to sit up, but her arms wouldn't support her. Without a word, Hiskaya wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her sit up. She grabbed pillows with her free hand and arranged them behind Haki before she helped her to lean back.

"Thank you," Haki said breathlessly. "And thank you for coming."

"Of course I came," Hiskaya said indignantly. "I would have been here sooner if I had known." She frowned and took Haki's hand tightly in her own. "I'm sorry that I didn't realize."

Haki looked at her thoughtfully. "Realize what?"

"I felt something was off, but I didn't realize that it meant that you needed me," Hiskaya said softly. "I thought when we…" she huffed in frustration. "I should have known."

Needing to assure herself that Haki was here and was going to be alright, Hiskaya held her hand tighter and inched closer. It hurt more than any punch when Haki removed her hand.

"Hiskaya, stop it," Haki commanded quietly.

"Stop what?" Hiskaya asked, eyes wide. Was Haki upset with her over her negligence? She didn't know what she would do if that was the case.

But Haki didn't look upset. Her purple eyes were shining with concern as she held her hand to her chest. "You keep getting closer," Haki protested. "I don't want to get you sick, you idiot."

Relieved that Haki wasn't mad at her, Hiskaya smiled. "Idiots don't get sick," she said cheerfully. "Since I'm an idiot, then I'm okay."

Haki blinked in surprise. "I've never heard of that before. So, you won't ever get sick?"

Chuckling, Hiskaya inched forward again with a smile. "I heard it in the human world. Anyways, I'm strong. I'll take my chances."

"Don't get too close," Haki protested. "I don't want you to catch this."

"Sorry, but I can't stay away when I'm this close to my beautiful Haki," Hiskaya said happily.

Haki arched an eyebrow. "Always a perverted angel," she said.

The sight of Haki's clear eyes looking at her lightened the uncomfortable feeling in her chest. Hiskaya beamed. Though Haki was still flushed, she wasn't looking lifeless as she had been shortly before.

"You're livelier now," Hiskaya commented. "That helps ease my mind. Does this mean that you're healing?"

Haki smiled softly and reached out a hand to cup Hiskaya's cheek. "My sister has been giving me some of her energy," she explained. "It helps me to feel better for a while." Her purple eyes were gentle as she stared into Hiskaya's silver ones. "His, you always know how I feel about you, right?"

Love for the woman filled Hiskaya's chest. She closed her eyes and leaned into Haki's touch. "Of course I always know," she said. "You are my everything, just like I am yours." She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Haki's. "Your life is mine, and my life is yours," she said, repeating those treasured words from so long ago.

They sat together for a while. Yoshua returned with a tray of warm broth and handed it to a grateful Hiskaya before making her exit. Though Haki was looking better, she still scrunched her nose at it. It took a lot of pleading and her best puppy-dog eyes for Hiskaya to get Haki to grudgingly open her mouth and accept some mouthfuls. Inwardly, Hiskaya was beginning to worry. It had only been about an hour since Hari had given Haki both her medicine and more energy, and Haki was already beginning to look worse. She sagged against the pillows and looked up at Hiskaya with tired eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can eat any more," Haki said apologetically.

Hiskaya looked down at the bowl in her hand. Her worry increased when she realized that Haki hadn't even been able to make a dent in it. But she kept what she hoped was a cheerful smile on her face as she set it aside, though her chest was twisting uncomfortably yet again.

She was saved from her thoughts when the door opened and Hari poked her head in.

"Hiskaya, can I talk to you for a second?" the princess asked softly.

Hiskaya's eyes widened. "Of course," she said instantly. She waited until the door closed before she turned back to Haki. "I'll be right back," she said before she placed a kiss to Haki's clammy forehead.

Leaving Haki to rest, Hiskaya exited the room. She found Hari standing in the hallway with a frown on her face. Shan was by her side, looking distracted.

"Hiskaya, I need to go to the Northwestern part of the Underworld," Hari said once the door was closed.

That was unexpected. Hiskaya gaped. "But I thought that part of the Underworld was incredibly dangerous," she said in confusion. "Even the royal bloodline isn't safe there."

A grim smile creeped on Hari's face. "You're right," she conceded. "But the medicine that I've been giving Haki is the only thing that's working, and it requires a very particular herb. One herb can create many batches, hopefully enough to get Haki completely well again." She hesitated. "Unfortunately, Yoshua just told me that she's used the last of our stores, and she can't make any more medicine now."

No more medicine? Haki's pale, and exhausted face flashed through Hiskaya's mind. If Hanulim couldn't heal her, and there was no more medicine, then how was Haki supposed to recover?

Could she recover?

Fear clutched her heart and Hiskaya had to swallow thickly to keep the panic off of her face.

"I'm asking you if you're willing to go with me," Hari continued gently, her one good eye shining kindly. "It's not a difficult herb to find, but I'll feel better knowing that I have someone to help watch my back."

Hiskaya nodded. "I'll join you," she agreed immediately. She frowned in confusion. "I don't think I've ever seen healing herbs there before."

Too late, Hiskaya realized that she had said too much. Hari's good eye narrowed in disapproval as she quickly deduced the meaning behind her words.

"Uh, not that I've ever been down there, and especially not with Haki," Hiskaya stammered. The glare from Hari increased and Shan just sighed. "I'm going to go talk with Haki so she doesn't worry," she said in a rush.

She entered Haki's bedroom and shut the door firmly. When she realized that Hari wasn't going to follow her, she sighed in relief.

"What did you do?" Haki's voice asked.

Sheepishly, Hiskaya turned around and grinned. "I may have blabbed that we've been to the Northwestern part of the Underworld," she admitted. "I'm sorry."

She approached the bed and saw that Haki was losing what little energy she still had, fast. Her face was bright red and she was breathing heavily as the fever began to retake its hold on her. Hiskaya bit her lip and quickly rushed to the bathroom to refill the basin that had been left behind. Once it was filled with cold water, Hiskaya grabbed a clean towel and returned to Haki's bedside.

"What's going on?" Haki asked faintly as Hiskaya dunked the towel in the water and wrang it out. "Why did Unnie want to talk with you?"

Gently, Hiskaya wiped the sticky sweat off of Haki's face. "Yoshua is out of the herbs she needs to make your medicine," she explained. "And apparently, it only grows in those woods."

Haki frowned. "His, those forests are very dangerous," she said. "I don't want you and Unnie risking yourselves like that for me. I'll get better, even without the medicine."

Hiskaya scowled and continued to press the cold towel to Haki's feverish face. "I'm not going to risk it," she said firmly. "I said that I'm going to take care of you, and that includes making sure you have what you need to get better."

It might have been because Hiskaya was being unnaturally serious, but Haki didn't argue. She reached out a hand which Hiskaya immediately took in her free one. Tears began to gather in the corner of Haki's purple eyes, and Hiskaya gently wiped them away with the towel.

"Just, please be careful," Haki whispered. "You and Unnie."

"Of course," Hiskaya promised with a loving smile.

They talked for a few more minutes, but Haki's strength faded fast. Her glassy eyes began to droop close and she was still breathing heavily. Hiskaya set the towel down before she removed the pillows from behind her girlfriend and helped ease her so she was lying comfortably on the bed. She sat beside Haki and gently traced circles on the back of her hand while Haki watched her. Soon, Haki's eyes drifted shut and she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Tears filled Hiskaya's eyes, and this time, she couldn't stop them from falling as she looked at the woman she loved. She didn't feel concerned over her own well-being, all her thoughts were on Haki. With trembling fingers, Hiskaya gently traced over the black earring that she so proudly wore.

"Without you, I have nothing," Hiskaya whispered. "I won't let this illness take you from me." She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Haki's lips. In her sleep, Haki mumbled, but didn't wake. "Rest, and I'll be back soon," Hiskaya promised. She took in a shuddering breath and hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. "I love you, Haki, so you need to focus on getting better."

When she returned to the hallway, Shan gave her a sad smile. Hiskaya figured that the general had immediately deduced that she had been crying. Not much got by her. After she gave a worried Yoshua an update on Haki's condition, she approached Shan and Hari.

Hari held out a hand. "I'll take us to the entrance of the woods," she explained.

Shan's head twisted to look at her with a frown. "Won't that drain even more of your energy?" she asked. "You said that this forest will affect you, too."

"It will, but we need to move fast," Hari explained. "I should be okay getting us to the entrance, since I'm staying within my kingdom's borders." She frowned. "But I don't know if I'll be able to take us out of the woods," she admitted.

"We can worry about that later," Hiskaya said firmly. "Haki was getting worse when she fell asleep."

That was all that needed to be said. Hiskaya and Shan each took one of Hari's hands and held on tight while she used her magic to teleport them.

Traveling via devil magic was a lot more uncomfortable than using her own. While her magic brought warmth and comfort, dark magic made her feel wary and on edge. Kind of like things were crawling under her skin that she couldn't see. She briefly wondered if Hari and Haki found angel magic to be just as uncomfortable.

Searching through the forest brought them little luck, much to Hiskaya's frustration. Apparently, the herb was scarce at the entrance to the forest and was only commonly found deeper inside where the swamp rested. It didn't matter to Hiskaya where the herb was, because she fully intended on grabbing it, regardless of the danger.

The deeper they went into the forest, the more it weighed on all three of them. Shan was hit the worst by the forest's dark magic. Though Shan kept a smile on her face after her tumble, Hiskaya could see that her face was paler than usual. Her own body felt more exhausted with each step they took, so she didn't even want to know how tired Shan was currently feeling at the moment.

Despite her own fatigue, Hari led them calmly through the forest. They finally reached the swamp, and Hari sighed in relief.

"There, on that small island," she said as she pointed. "The white flower is what we need." She inched closer to the edge of the water. "I'll fly over and grab it."

"Wait," Hiskaya protested. "You're already tired, and you need to save your strength for when we return. I'll get it."

Before Hari or Shan could protest, she summoned a portion of her magic power. She only needed her smaller wings to make the twenty-foot flight over the water. Once her feet were on land, she crouched down and began to pull out the herb they needed.

Only to find out that it wasn't an island after all. It was a monster.

Hiskaya yelped as she was thrown back and almost off the monster's back. She clutched at the grass and managed to hold on. Back on land, she could hear Shan and Hari calling for her to return, but she ignored them. Haki needed that herb, and she wasn't going to leave without it.

Pulling herself up with the grass, Hiskaya reached the white flower. She grabbed the stem and resumed pulling.

"I'm sorry," she shouted to the monster. "But I have to take this flower by any means necessary!"

Beneath her, the monster roared angrily and Hiskaya flinched. She looked over her shoulder and saw the massive tail coming her way.

"Don't be so upset," she said nervously. "It's just a flower."

Clearly, the monster didn't agree as it slammed its tail right where she was crouched. Thankfully, she was able to roll to the side at the last moment, though dust erupted from the collision, and it obstructed the flower from view. Hiskaya coughed and crawled back over to where the flower had been. She fumbled around blindly for a few moments until the dust cleared and she saw it. This time, she grabbed it and pulled firmly, taking it roots and all. The monster roared again, but Hiskaya summoned her wings and quickly took flight.

Her heart was pounding when she rejoined Shan and Hari who were finishing off their own monsters. They looked at her with relief and smiled.

"Let's go," Hiskaya panted. "We gotta go, now. Hari, can you teleport us out of here?"

Hari paused. "I think so," she said. "I'll get us as far as I can."

Before Hari could reach out, another monster leapt from the woods to attack Shan. Shan merely smirked and prepared to strike back, but Hari had other plans and literally swept her off her feet and sprinted away before the monster could take Shan's head off. Hari reached a hand out to Hiskaya who darted forward, the giant monster right on her heels.

"Shit!" Hiskaya shouted.

Then she grabbed Hari's hand, and they were gone.

Surprisingly, Hari was able to get them close enough where they could see the castle in the distance. Once their feet were on solid ground, they all dropped Hari's hands. The princess groaned, and her knees buckled.

"Hari!" Shan gasped as she caught Hari's body before she could collapse. "Are you alright?"

Hari looked awful. Her face was as white as a sheet, and she was sweating profusely. Her entire body was shaking and couldn't support her, causing her to rest all her weight against Shan. But she lifted her head and managed a small smile.

"I'm alright," she wheezed. "Just…I'm spent." She looked at Hiskaya. "We'll be right behind you."

After hesitating for a moment, Hiskaya nodded. She summoned her wings and took off flying to the castle in the distance. It took her a few minutes, and by the time she landed, she was exhausted herself. The day's events were quickly catching up with her, but she wouldn't rest until she was with Haki.

Thankfully, the guards let her in without a word. She sprinted down the halls to Haki's room. Once outside the room, she paused for a moment to catch her breath. If Haki was awake, she didn't want to frighten her by being frantic. But even so, Hiskaya couldn't stop her hand from trembling as it opened the door.

"Haki?" she whispered as she entered the room.

Yoshua stood up from beside the bed in surprise. "Hiskaya," she gasped. "Is everyone okay?"

"You look awful," Hanulim commented from where she was sitting on a nearby chair.

Hiskaya glared at her for a moment before she approached the bed. Haki was sleeping, but her face was still looking a little flushed and her breathing was still uneven. Not comforting at all.

"Hari exhausted all of her energy getting us back," Hiskaya said softly while she held the flower out to Yoshua. "She's with Shan right now. How's Haki doing?"

Yoshua took the flower and cradled it in her hands. "I gave her the last of the medicine I had about an hour ago," she said. "And she managed to eat a little. I'm hoping that this means she's starting to turn the corner, but her temperature is still high." She smiled kindly at Hiskaya. "Why don't you rest here, and I'll prepare more medicine."

Nodding tiredly, Hiskaya barely registered when Yoshua and Hanulim made their exit. Now that she was back, she couldn't deny that she was absolutely drained. She pulled a stool up to Haki's bedside and sat down on it before resting her head on the bed. Her eyes began to droop close and she felt her body slip into the embrace of sleep.

All too soon, she felt her body begin to awaken. She grumbled slightly in protest. Was something touching her head? Groggily, she opened her eyes.

"What…?" she groaned. "Haki?"

And there was Haki. Sitting up on her own, eyes clear and full of love, staring down at her as her hand continued to gently caress her head.

Instantly, Hiskaya was awake. She sat up and absolutely beamed.

"Haki!" she cried in relief while she gently gripped Haki's chin. "When did you wake up? And why didn't you wake me sooner? How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Did you rest well?"

Stunned at the rapid questions, Haki blinked at her. "I'm alright, don't worry."

"I'm so glad!" Hiskaya cried. She reached forward and gripped Haki's hands tightly. "I was so worried," she admitted.

Haki smiled back at her. "It's weird, even though I'm sick…seeing you smiling makes me feel so relieved."

Grinning mischievously, Hiskaya leaned forward. "That's because you really love me," she teased.

Now Haki's face was flushing because she was embarrassed. She covered her face with her hands. "Must you be so blunt?" she groaned.

Unapologetically, Hiskaya giggled. "You're so easy to tease," she said happily. She leaned forward. "Haki," she breathed. "I really love you, too."

Then she leaned closer and captured Haki's lips in a tender kiss.