Hey guys,

Wow, I managed to get this chapter done way before I would have thought. Can't say I'm not happy with that and surprisingly, with this chapter. Usually wrap up chapters or episodes can be really boring because they grab onto plot threads and just kinda try and stick them all into a happy ending slot before moving on. But well, this is my attempt to write an actually relevant ending chapter to the Xenolith arc and I can only hope it works.

I loved getting to further develop Setsuna, who might just be climbing into one of my favorite character slots. I don't think I have a definite top three, but I'm sure I've mentioned that Kenja and Kesai kind of top my list. Hope that doesn't sound hypocritical or egoistic speaking that I created them. Funny story though is that unlike Kimiko and Tsumi, who I developed years ago (back when I was in sixth grade to be honest), I created Kenja and Kesai in the span of five minutes. It's pretty wild how sometimes such a simple idea can culminate into something so impressive or likable.

Anyways, maybe I'm babbling on and on, or maybe it's because I've been gushing over the character development I get to explore while writing these chapters. It's a lot of fun to watch them grow and it kinda makes me a bit more confidant as an aspiring novelist to see what I am truly capable of when it comes to characters.

You know what though? I think it's the continuing support of all of my readers that truly helps me overcome everything and be able to write and create as well as I have been. I love you guys a lot, thanks for being here and helping me grow as a writer.

xKiha

When the panel that had been the battle grounds for Kimiko and Tsumi suddenly began to lower, everybody in the alliance couldn't help but try to swallow all of their fears concerning just who it was that rose victorious. Nobody could be all that positive, after all, the sounds of Kimiko and Tsumi screaming had been heard many times, whereas the sounds of Xenolith and Yuu were never heard.

"They're okay, right?" Kesai found himself asking, clenching a hand into a tight fist. 'Damn it, Tsumi, if you got yourself killed…The first thing I'll do when I get to demon world is kick your ass!'

"Of course they are." Before Kenja could reassure his own partner, it was Kyo that spoke. The light green eyes freshmen seeming pretty on edge, his face as pale as possible. "They're always okay." But with the nervous and wavering tone in his voice, it was pretty obvious that even Kyo wasn't sure what they were going to see.

There was no resounding emotion on this topic, even Aislinn and Cheshire seeming to be on edge as the panel finally had the top come into view.

Xenolith was gone, Yuu sitting amongst the poison wreckage while what seemed to be the destroyed bodies of the poison duo lying feet away.

"No…" Kyo whispered, shaking in his own shoes. "Damn it, no!" The teenager rushing forward and leaping onto the not fully descended platform yet, Yukio and Flynn quickly following behind, the teacher's voice a bit gruff. "Kyo, calm down and be cautious!"

Kyo didn't seem to be listening much, quickly rushing to the side of the freshmen poison bookreader, who at minimum was still breathing. His voice growing a bit soft as he kneeled down, voice quiet and wavering. "Kimi? Hey, are you okay?" He could see all the blood and burns, barely sure how all of this was possible, wiping a bit of blood off her chin.

Hazel eyes fluttered open.

"Kyo?"

Her voice was barely audible anymore, tiny and ravaged with what Kyoshiro Yakage could only describe as burned quality to it. She seemed horrible, condition something he knew even his healing spell couldn't truly heal. All the burns, giant cuts in her back. Not all of it would be something he could fix with ease.

"Yes, it's me." He said gently, seeing Flynn begin to look over Tsumi out of the corner of his eye while Yukio knelt by him and Kimiko.

"We won, Kyo…we really did it."

"Yeah, you did." He said, finding slight tears linger in the corner of his eyes. Kimiko was, at minimum, alive. He couldn't really ask for much more other than her and Tsumi to last through these fights and well, they had done it. "We're all so proud of you, you've done such a good job."

Kimiko seemed to sniffle, her own pure tears beginning to hit the ground, staining the ground in an almost tragic way in contrast to the almost vile way their blood had stained it. "We didn't think we could do it…b-but…but we did." Tears falling while his hands tried to clean her face.

"Well, it doesn't really matter what you thought anymore, now does it?" He smiled, quietly wanting to pick her up and hold her tightly in his arms. "You did it and I don't know if anybody but you and Sumi could have done it as well as you guys did. I know sometimes you don't believe in yourself and even if Aislinn and Cheshire seem to be the strongest, I think even they know you guys really have that title." He stroked her dirty and messy hair gently, as if every strand was made of pure glass. "And you know what I think? I think of all of us, you are going to make it to the very end. That you and Tsumi really have it in you guys to make him the King of Demon World."

He really wanted to kiss her shaking lips, smiling softly as he watched her cry gently, wiping her tears. "Ssh, it's okay now, Kimi. No more tears, okay?"

She sniffled, voice ever so tiny. "Okay." Wanting to hug him tightly, but knowing that she couldn't properly move.

There seemed to be a knowing smile on the face of Yukio Kincad as he looked from the face of one of the bookreaders to the other. "Now then, let's get you all out of here. I am sure everybody is eager to arrive home."

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It was not an easy walk out of the castle, especially for Yukio and Kyo, being that the teacher was carrying his student on his back while Kyo had decided to carry the unconscious Tsumi. It was somewhat hard for Yukio to place Tsumi's book where he had once carried Icarus's, but he knew there wasn't much of a choice as this point when he needed her to hold onto his shoulders with the little strength the girl had remaining.

But eventually they reached the exit of the castle, all exiting to find the warm glow of a rising sun, meaning it was now dawn. But what day it now was nobody knew for sure. But to see the sun, to know they were done, was enough to make the days of every teenager exiting the castle. They were done.

"Kenja…Kesai…"

The sickly blond halted in his tracks at the sound of Setsuna's voice, azure eyes watching the rest of the alliance continue to walk on for a few moments before turning to look at the sophomore, Kesai doing the same while standing at his partner's side.

Setsuna seemed slightly different, as if almost at peace with himself as he stood right at the end of the castle, refusing to let his feet touch the sand and rock that was the island. "I need to ask a favor of you two. A favor that I wouldn't have been ready for, ever, if not for coming here with all of you." His eyes sincere as he spoke to them both.

"What is it?" Kesai nervously asked, ears lowering slightly with concern for what the teenager was about to say. "If you're going to ask us to do something crazy like kill you, you're talking to the wrong people, Setsu."

"No, that's not it." For the first time ever, Kenja Sedai saw Setsuna Yuuki smile and he couldn't help but feel his cheeks light up ever so slightly just at the sight of such a beautiful thing.

The sophomore reached into his bag, removing his completely black spellbook with shaking palms. "I held onto this for so long, carried it like a hateful burden and let it remind me of everything Xenolith did when he took Nora away from me. I let it teach me to hate and to push everybody away…but I never should have done that.

"This book used to mean so much to me, a true friend that was there for me and only me. I used to feel so proud when I would open this book and read a spell to help Nora become stronger when we used to fight together. A-And when Xenolith killed him and the book turned black, I let it turn my heart black with it. I don't want to do that anymore, I want to be able to look at pictures of Nora with a smile on my face instead of angry shouts about how one day I'll kill Xenolith.

"Now that he is gone…I need to move on with my life and let Nora go." Tears seemed to build up in the eyes of the once completely cold Setsuna, holding out the completely black spellbook so they both could get a look at it, his hands shaking violently. "And to really do that I need you to help me. The first step is something I can't do alone…

"Please, Kenja, Kesai, burn Nora's book and set us free."

Kenja felt himself freeze for a moment, seeing the tears and the shaking hands. He knew what this was like, having to pick up the pieces while facing serious consequences or pain. He went through this all the time, reaching into his own bag and removing his orange spellbook, for the first time truly savoring the color of the cover. He always liked the color orange and now more than ever, Kenja couldn't help but feel that orange was the most beautiful color he had ever seen. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"Yes, I'm ready to move on."

Kesai's ears lowered, looking up to his bookreader with nervous green eyes. "Kenja, can we really do that?" Voice wavering, although he already knew the answer.

"Setsuna is our friend and although I never got the chance to meet him, Nora is a friend of ours too. If we can help them, we need to do it." Kenja nodded as he focused his own azure eyes on the black spellbook. It broke his heart to see the hurt in Setsuna's eyes, but with this action, he hoped he could really set him free.

"Hi-ken." Voice somber and respectful as he spoke the word, Kesai holding out his palm as the small flames shot from his palms, seeming to be well controlled as the book dropped from Setsuna's hands. All eyes were on the book, a small red flame beginning to eat away at it, Setsuna watching with a soft smile and a tear beginning to run down his cheek.

"Setsuna…" Kenja whispered the sophomore's name delicately.

"Hey…Kesai?"

The kitsune looked over to the crying teenager, ears pricked curiously. "Yes, what is it?"

"Someday, when you go back to Demon World, can you look for Nora's book?" The teenager asked.

"Look for his book?" The fire demon repeated, a bit confused.

"Someday, do you think you could find his book? It's a red violet color." His voice wavered when remembering the cover his book once was as the blood red flames ate up at the last bits of his black book, of Nora's book. "And when you find it…can you return it to him? I'm sure he'd like to have it back, to know that I was able to move on with my life and get stronger."

Kesai nodded with a soft smile of his own, able to feel the hurt and slight recovery in the voice of Setsuna. "Of course. I'd like to meet Nora and give him back his book, tell him everything his bookreader was able to do when he became stronger." Seeing the smile that spread onto the face of the sophomore and smiling rather widely in return.

"Hey, guys, let's keep going!" Michael shouted, the rest of the alliance basically in the distance.

"Coming!" Kesai called in return, looking to the other two. "Come on, let's go." Heading off before they could respond to his reply.

Setsuna seemed to hesitate for a moment, biting into his lip as he eyed the rest of the island and then the ashes of the black book, feet remaining on the stone.

"Are you scared?"

The sophomore turned to look at the sickly blond, biting into his lip with a soft sigh, trying to wipe his tears away. "Yes."

Kenja didn't need to be told or asked anything, walking over so his feet were also right on the stone, taking his place beside the slightly taller Setsuna Yuuki with a gentle smile. "Then, how about we take it together?"

The sophomore's red violet eyes looked into the warm azure that was Kenja Sedai, not sure what to say as he felt the fire bookreader's hand slip down, fingers sliding into his and holding gently. "Kenja…" He whispered the blond's name nervously.

His grip disappeared, the sickly blond seeming to hesitate. "Y-Yes?"

Setsuna's hand gripped Kenja's tightly, the feeling of Kenja's smaller palm beginning to hold back bringing a smile to the face of the elder teen. "Thank you Kenja." The two taking Setsuna's first step onto the island together.

"Of course, Setsu, I'll always be here for you."

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The group had reached the boat, Kimiko and Tsumi both now out cold and gently placed where they could rest until they could get to the local hospital. Flynn had worked on them enough to know that they would be able to make it there without risking their lives, reminding everybody why having Flynn Fukisa on a dangerous mission like this was always the best course of action.

"Mr. Kincad?"

The teacher had been getting everybody ready to leave when he heard a familiar voice say something he was anything but used to hearing. He turned to see Aislinn Akihira looking back at him, biting back his initial response. "Aislinn?" Unable to hide his surprise, which caused the girl with scars to slightly cock her head at this tone.

"Did I do something wrong?" Even the dream bookreader was hesitant with this response.

"No, nothing is wrong. It's just that…you remembered my name and who I was." He whispered, the look on his face showing just how visibly touched he was by this. He was her teacher for six months, trying his best to always help her do her best and encouraging her when all other teachers wondered if she was a lost cause. He could remember defending her when other teachers thought she was rude because of her forgetfulness even though he knew as the end of the day that she was going to look him in the eyes and bluntly ask who he was.

"I…" Aislinn went quiet for a moment, thinking this over to herself before giving him a light smile at this realization. "I guess I did."

She couldn't say much else, her teacher pulling her into a hug with the glimmer of tears in his own eyes. "Aislinn, I am so proud of you." He whispered, voice wavering slightly. "I am so proud of you."

The girl was surprised by this, looking up at him in a confused way. "Mister Kincad? Are you crying?"

"I guess I am." He chuckled lightly, releasing her as he wiped his own tears away. "But they're of pride, Aislinn."

She nodded, smiling gently at the emotion he was openly showing just because of her. If anything, he was once of her favorite people, somebody she had wanted to remember for so long, but just couldn't remember anything but a voice and a blur of a face. "Thank you."

His smile brightened even more, nodding softly. "Of course, dear." Watching her get into the boat before doing a head count and finding everybody inside and ready to go. He looked back at the castle once more before smiling gently, feeling those tears well up once more, blinking them back. "I'm so proud of you too, Icarus." Then pushing the boat into the water before climbing in

Kyo sat down beside Kimiko, still seeming to monitor the laying down girl's health cautiously, smiling gently. "I know you'll be okay." He continued to smile brightly. "You are my tough girl after all, aren't you?"

All the while, Kenja looked back at the island. "I cannot help but feel that…this part in our lives is over…I'm not sure how to feel anymore. I mean, I'm relieved, of course I am but from here, are we still connected?"

"Don't talk like that." Michael said, seeming to give the sickly blond a slight smile of his own. "You know that we're still connected. Even if there isn't a Xenolith to fight anymore, there is still an entire Demon Battle to worry about. And even after that, we're still going to be friends."

"He's right." Flynn nodded. "We're not just friends because of Xenolith, are we?"

Kenja looked over the group, seeing the sleeping Kimiko and Tsumi and feeling a soft smile of pride spread across his face. "No, no we're not."