Song of the Heart Redux (G Arc)

by zeroblackdragon15

(Story adopted from Ada1229) "Believe in the song of your heart." Finé's words on that day continue to drive Hibiki forwards. This is my view on how Symphogear G would have changed if Hibiki had been warned of the FIS' attack on the Queens of Music concert, as well as their plans for world domination. Pairings in Chapter 3; Interlude 2 uploaded 3/9/2018.

5. G Chapter 4: At Deception's Gate(Part 1)

Song of the Heart: Redux

Author's Notes: Welcome back to "Song of the Heart: Redux". There's gonna be a lot of action going on this time, as the re-emergence of Hibiki sends things at the concert into chaos. Speaking of chaos, what about the revelation of Tsubasa as a Symphogear-wielder to the rest of the world; what are the consequences of her decision, necessary as it was? I would like to once again thank the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Aya1229, for allowing me to adopt this story and proceed to make it my own from there.

We have a lot of ground to cover this time, so let's not hold off on starting any longer. Time to get started and I hope that you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Senki Zesshou Symphogear or Senki Zesshou Symphogear G. It is owned by those who own it. I also do not own any music used as insert songs here; they are owned by the respective songwriters and artists.

Please note; the record label used in this, Galactic Music Japan, is NOT a real music label as far as I know, but is a parody made solely for the purposes of this story.

Acknowledgements: Once more, I would like to thank the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Aya1229, for her support in adopting this idea and making it my own. I would also like to thank a couple of friends of mine outside of (they know who they are) for acting as sounding boards when I have ideas for this that may seem a bit on the wild side.

'Insert thought here'=character thoughts

Flashback Is in Italics

-Song lyrics are shown in italics between dashes-

Chapter 4: At Deception's Gates (Part 1)

(Last Time…)

"I can't hide anymore. There's no going back now, so I might as well go full throttle," the girl said, as she brought her hands to her hood, before pulling it back off of her head, revealing her scarlet red hair, kept in a ponytail. One hand then proceeded to her mask, removing it from her face and tossing it to the side. "I swore that day that I would protect everyone, including you, Tsubasa-san," Tachibana Hibiki spoke, her eyes a gleaming orange as she smiled. "I'm sorry I took so long to come back."

Tsubasa's swords clattered to the ground in shock, her eyes clearly not wanting what she was seeing to be a dream. "Hibiki…it's about time. Welcome home," the older girl said, a smile coming to her face from the sheer emotion she felt at her teammate, her partner, finally appearing in front of her after two long years.

"I'm glad to be home, Tsubasa-san. But, now it's my turn to protect you like you did me," Hibiki said, before reaching up to her neck and pulling out a pendant from under her hoodie. At this, Tsubasa's eyes widened in shock. 'Wait, I thought she only had fragments inside of her body…where and when did she get the completed relic?!' And then, Hibiki began to sing.

"Balwisyall Nescell Gungnir Tron..."

An orange sphere of light erupted from Hibiki's now revealed completed Gungnir, surrounding her in its energy, bright as the sun itself. Mere seconds later, Hibiki reappeared from within the sphere, fully garbed in her Gungnir armor. And as she opened her eyes, an aura of power seemed to exude from within.

"Now...Maria, let's see how you do against me!"

2nd Division Headquarters

Alarms were blaring throughout the base, and yet Kazanari Genjurou could barely hear any of them. However, who on active duty at that moment could really blame him? The moment that she had appeared on their camera feeds, the entire base froze in shock. And after hearing the familiar chant to activate a relic that they had thought long gone, it didn't take long for analysis to begin.

"Impossible. How did we possibly miss her? Damnit Tsubasa, you were right after all," Kazanari Genjurou managed to speak, voice quite and barely able to be heard over the blaring of the alarms. It didn't take long for the alarms to go silent as a final result appeared on the biggest screen in the room, the analysis of the Aufwachen Waveform completed. The result would erase any and all shadows of doubt from Genjurou's mind, as it stared at him in big red letters.

"Gungnir…I guess that proves it,"he whispered, looking up at the restored camera feeds where his protégé stood, now fully clad in her Symphogear Armor. "You look like you've gotten stronger, Tachibana Hibiki. Now, show us just how much so," he spoke, watching with renewed interest as she seemed to slide effortlessly into a natural fighting stance. "Give me an ETA on Yukine's arrival to the Stadium! It's time that we even the odds of this fight."

"Tomosato says they're less than 3 minutes out of the drop zone! Yukine is wondering just what's going on, she says," one of the deckhands reported, causing Genjurou to nod as he took his seat, arms crossed as he prepared to observe the battle about to spring forth.

"Good. Tell her to get down there as soon as possible; we have a playing field to level," he ordered, the deckhand returning to his console's headset and relaying the information. 'Alright, my student. Show us the fruit of all this time you've been away. Let's see what you've been working on since you've been gone. After all…no one goes missing only to reappear without having learned some new tricks. White versus Black…how fitting,' Genjurou thought as he, along with the rest of HQ, watched eagerly. The showdown was about to commence.

In Stadium, On Stage

To state that Maria Cadenzavna Eve was angry would be the understatement of the night. Not only was she on the verge of obtaining their objective only to be interrupted, but then the absolute LAST person she wanted to see that night had been the one to do the interrupting. After all, Tachibana Hibiki had to have been responsible for her sister's death those eighteen long months ago, right? However, this also presented an opportunity to Maria, as well as to Shirabe and Kirika; an opportunity for them to get their revenge.

"You have some nerve making an appearance in front of me, Tachibana. To just up and leave…it's all YOUR fault that SHE died that day," Maria declared, her voice shaking with ill-concealed venom. Besides her, Shirabe and Kirika glared at the newcomer, the scythe-wielder grabbing her weapon tighter as the twin-tailed girl growled.

"Save it, Maria. Serena was one of the best friends I had while I was there. Why would I want her to die?" Hibiki asked, voice determined as she slid into a stance she had seen in the movies she had watched with her sensei those two years prior. Her answer had gotten the attention of Tsubasa however. 'Sounds like there's some history here…and part of the mystery of where you disappeared to, Hibiki, just got revealed…' she thought, before Hibiki then proceeded to fire another salvo.

"Besides, what happened in the past is over. I'm here to stop you from hurting Tsubasa-san and anyone else any further, Maria. Get ready," the now-redhead said, before springing forwards, her right arm cocked back as the armor on her lower back revealed a pair of rocket engines that propelled her faster still. "Here I come!" she said, throwing her fist downwards towards Maria from above, only to miss as Maria jumped away and over her head, the impact from her fist leaving a small crater in the stage and causing the platform to shudder.

"Such power…"Tsubasa whispered, as the redhead turned quickly to block a return thrust from Maria's cape, her left arm knocking it to the side before Hibiki punched towards Maria's stomach. "She didn't even activate her armed gear. That was all pure power. Hibiki, how far have you come?" she spoke, as Hibiki proceeded to block a return kick from Maria, who had dodged the orange-armored girl's fist. She then noticed the two younger wielders trying to sneak up on Hibiki's blind side. "Hibiki! Look out!"

This got the redhead's attention, as she spotted Kirika approaching out of the corner of her left eye. She quickly ducked under the blonde's swing, barely avoiding a blade aimed clearly to try to cleave her in two, just to stumble into the path of the pink-armored girl's buzz saws.

'Shit, gotta move,' she thought, leaping backwards and flipping in midair to land on her feet across the stage and back in front of the Bluenette Symphogear-wielder just in time to avoid her legs getting taken out from under her by Shirabe's saws. She smiled, before wiping a small bead of sweat from her brow.

"Too close," Hibiki said, before noticing Maria eject her gauntlet from her arm as it transformed into a black spear. "Looks like this is going to get serious..."she whispered to no one in particular, her voice quiet enough that Tsubasa could barely hear her.

"She hadn't even used her armed gear until now, and you're just calling this getting serious?" she asked, causing Hibiki to nod before the younger girl closed her eyes in concentration, her right arm stretched out in front of her with her palm open. Slowly but steadily, an orange glow appeared in front of her open hand, before Hibiki reached over with her left hand, tapping her right gauntlet briefly as it released a metal handle from within, which proceeded to expand quickly into a staff, before finally expanding into a full-fledged Gungnir spear which the redhead grasped tightly, spinning over her head before pointing the head of the spear towards Maria.

"Wait…I thought your armed gear…isn't it your hands? I thought that since your hands were empty, you could connect people," Tsubasa asked, eyes wide opened in shock. 'Since when can she use the Gungnir spear? Hibiki…what happened to you to change you this much?'

"You're right, Tsubasa-san," the redhead said, strain coming through in her voice as she spoke. "My hands ARE still my armed gear. But, how could I really try to connect people when I didn't have the ability to protect the people I care about, let alone everyone else?"

Tsubasa nodded in understanding, before drawing a fresh blade from her armor and taking a stance of her own, her new blade converting into form as she reared back and unleashed a shockwave of azure energy at the 3 dark Symphogear wielders, causing them to scatter. While she did this, Hibiki tracked Maria with her eyes, before leaping away in pursuit of the Black spear-wielder. Unfortunately for her though, the green-armored girl had followed closely behind, leaving Tsubasa all alone with the saw-wielder, who proceeded to try to slice downwards at the Katana-wielder, who raised her blade to block the saws.

"No way are you getting through," Tsubasa said, face concentrated on blocking. "I'm not going to let you get to Hibiki! She's my partner, and I'm not letting her get hurt this time!" she shouted, before deflecting the saw blades away from her and leaping into the air. "Have a taste of the force of a true guardian! Thousand Tears!" she called, summoning a rain of energy swords and sending them falling from the sky at her opponent, who nimbly dodged them all before responding.

"If you knew just how much of a 'protector' your friend is, you wouldn't be so willing to stand in our way!" Shirabe called, summoning forth her saw blades as battle was joined once more between her saws and Tsubasa's swords.

Back with the spear wielders, things were deadlocked as Maria and Hibiki had begun a dance of slashes, parries, stabs, and blocks. Neither side gaining ground, but neither side losing much either as the sound of musically-enhanced weapons clashing filled the air. And as Hibiki and Maria continued their dangerous dance, Kirika saw her opportunity, as she leapt up into the air, her scythe expanding for another attack.

"Take This! KILL-Whoa!" she said, before being interrupted by a volley of bullets raining down from above and forcing her to dodge away from the lance users, as Yukine Chris entered the arena.

"Consider us even, Hibiki," she said, before turning to look at the scythe wielder. "You wanna play rough? I can play rough! Billion Maiden!" she cried out, her Gatlings coming forth and spewing forth a rain of firepower Kirika's way before she jumped away from the area, Chris in hot pursuit. Hibiki nodded briefly, before returning her attention to the battle at hand, continually blocking against a fresh wave of Maria's attacks. Before long, however, Maria began to speak.

"Hypocrite…You're such a DAMN HYPOCRITE!" she calls, the end of her lance splitting open and firing a beam of dark light at Hibiki directly, the redhead barely dodging out of the way. Maria then proceeded to fire again, the second blast being blocked by the girl in orange. "Why…why, if you really wanted to protect everyone, weren't you there? Why couldn't you save her? Why couldn't you save Serena?!" She called out, before unleashing a stronger blast that knocked Hibiki backwards towards where Tsubasa and Chris caught her, the three Symphogear-wielders regrouping as their opponents regrouped as well. "It's your fault that she died! It's all because you left!"

At this, Hibiki stood up, her bangs hanging over her face and covering her eyes. Even as Chris and Tsubasa looked on, their friend stood tall, tears slowly gathering in her eyes before she spoke.

"Maria…I couldn't have stayed. I can't say why, but I couldn't have. In regards to your sister, I'm sorry about your loss. I know it hurts. Serena-chan was one of my better friends too, you know? I just wasn't strong enough…I wasn't strong enough to save her, just like I wasn't strong enough to save Tsubasa-san's music today," she said, before stepping forwards again, her eyes still hidden by her bangs, as she continued.

"I may not have been ready at the time to protect those I care about. I wasn't ready to accept that role," she said, before looking up towards the darker-armored girls. "And if my actions then compared to now make me seem like a hypocrite to you, then that's your opinion. If it makes me a hypocrite, then so be it. But I'll keep following my heart's song, no matter where it leads me!" Hibiki exclaimed, looking up at Maria with sadness in her eyes being replaced by determination.

"I'll protect those I care about while finding a way to help everyone understand each other!"

Tsubasa's eyes rose at this, before she smiled. 'Hibiki…you've definitely grown up a bit…still, for you to have met these 3 before…what happened back then?'

Chris, however, had much more on her mind. 'Hibiki…looking at you now…why do I feel like I'm seeing someone I want to be? Or am I seeing something else? I wanted to stop war, I want to protect those important to me, but how does one develop the strength required to do so?' she thought, her eyes turning towards the ground as she thought about it. Shirabe though, cut her out of her thoughts in a hurry.

"That's something I'll never get about you, Tachibana. You're a living contradiction! You want to connect people, you want to protect people, but yet you let Serena die? That's why fighting for platitudes like those is POINTLESS! You are the definition of a hypocrite! Now FALL! Type Alpha 100 Samsara!" The shorter girl cried, as a rain of discs flew down at Hibiki, who proceeded to leap away from the discs before speaking.

"Shirabe, you make it seem like I don't understand that sometimes to protect people you need to fight! I only wanted to be able to help people in trouble at that time!" she shouted, ducking under the relentless assault from the younger girl, who replied with venom.

"You don't understand ANYTHING about the pain that Maria went through! You don't know what it's like to lose someone that important to you! Type Gamma Swastika Firewheel!" Shirabe cried out, enraged, before flinging her saw blades at Hibiki, who had landed with her back turned to Shirabe after jumping away from her briefly. At this accusation, images from a time she wanted to forget popped into the redhead's mind, reminding her of the past before she closed her eyes and shook her head. As the buzz saws closed in, she quickly spun around and performed a perfect counter kick, knocking the discs away and back to Shirabe, before speaking back in a shaky tone of voice.

"Shirabe, I understand that more than you think, you know-"

"LIAR!" Shirabe called out, while Maria kicked Tsubasa towards the Duo, Chris landing nearby while Kirika rejoined the other dark wielders. Chris looked at Hibiki with a look of concern, having overheard the latter end of the conversation, while Tsubasa was helped up by the orange-armored girl before all 3 turned towards the dark symphogear wielders. And just as both sides were preparing to go another round, Maria and her companions heard a voice in their earpieces.

"Girls, at the rate these numbers are going up, we'll never reach the goal. It's time for us to use that. Maria, get ready to withdraw," the voice spoke, before a Green light burst from the central platform where the singers had stood not even an hour earlier, a gigantic green blob of a noise emerging from the area and revealing itself, to Tsubasa & Chris' shock.

"What type of Noise is that?" Chris said, backing away slowly as the noise continued expanding. Suddenly, Maria pointed her Speak at the noise before charging up an attack.

"A Multiplicative Growth type," Shirabe said, before Kirika joined her, her scythe collapsing into a more convenient to carry form.

"No one said that we even had that type of thing! That's too weird!"

"Understood, Mom. We'll withdraw," Maria said, as she continued to charge her attack before backing away and taking aim at the giant blob. "Kirika, Shirabe, we're leaving! Horizon Spear!" the Rosette called, blasting at the Noise and doing damage to it, nearly destroying it.

"Get back here," Chris called firing a rain of energy arrows at the clearly retreating trio, the light from the explosion making her task difficult. By the time though that the explosion had faded from view, they were gone, all of Chris' arrows having missed their mark. "Damnit…they got away…" the snow-haired girl said, before looking over at the orange-armored Hibiki, who was looking downcast compared to how she had been earlier. 'Whatever that twin-tailed bitch said, Hibiki didn't deserve it…' she thought with a frown on her face, before a noise in all three girls' earphones got their attention.

"Girls, listen to me. HQ says that if that thing continues to grow, then it's going to eventually overflow into the city itself. You need to destroy it here and quickly. It's expanding WAY too fast, especially after that blast," Ogawa Shinji said, speaking from inside the control room. This shook Hibiki out of her stupor, almost refocusing her as she nodded, while Tsubasa responded in kind.

"Understood. We'll take it from here," she said, quickly assuming command of the situation, as the three proceeded to quickly judge the situation. Ogawa was right on; the Noise had not only regenerated, but had gotten bigger and more menacing, growing by the second.

'No time…I guess there's no other option. I just hope that I can pull it off like she said I could…' Hibiki thought, before looking towards her friends.

"No other options left. Tsubasa-san, Chris-chan, do you remember what we did two years ago?" she asked, returning her summoned spear to its storable state and doing so. This got Chris and Tsubasa's attention.

"Are you really suggesting that we do a Zesshou right here? Something like what we did that day nearly killed us! Any other bright ideas Supergirl?" Chris said, looking in outright disbelief before Hibiki smiled.

"There's no other option, Chris-chan. We just won't be able to do enough damage otherwise. But if we all do separate Zesshous, that won't work either…no, we need to combine them…" Hibiki said, before realization dawned on Tsubasa's face at what she was suggesting.

"So you're suggesting that if we combine our Zesshou into one, and channel it through, then it should have enough power?" the bluenette asked, a look of skepticism on her face. "For some reason, I highly doubt that will work, but it does sound like a plan that only you would come up with."

"We don't have the time to come up with any other plan right now. We have to move quickly and overwhelm it with raw power. Please, Tsubasa-san…Chris-chan…if we're going to protect everyone out there, we have to do this," Hibiki said, looking at the other two with a determined smile on her face.

'Why can't I look away from that smile? It's like her confidence and belief makes me believe that it's possible…' Chris thought, before nodding along with Tsubasa, who had noticed Chris' face turn red at the thought.

"Alright, let's do it then. One of you grab one hand, one grab the other. We've only got one shot at this, I think," Hibiki said, before Tsubasa grabbed her right hand, Chris her left. Together as one, they turned to face the rapidly-growing noise, and began to sing.

-Gatrandis Babel ziggurat Edenal.

Emustolronzen Finé el Balal zizzl.

Gatrandis Babel ziggurat Edenal.

Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl.-

Upon completion of the song, three pillars of light erupted from where the girls stood, their powers slowly beginning to combine. And while the sheer force from their Zesshou would alone be strong enough to hurt them badly, because of this idea, Chris and Tsubasa both were feeling less stress than normal.

"Superb Song!" Tsubasa called out, the words for the combination attack coming to mind instinctively, like they were always there from the start as her hair blew straight skywards from the power being channeled and released.

"Combination Arts!" Chris continued, as she channeled the power needed even further towards the middle of the three Symphogear wielders, who would by default feel the most strain out of all three girls.

Hibiki though was really feeling the strain of the technique. The strain from the battle before, along with having to combine the powers of not one, not two, but three Zesshou at once was proving to push her to and past her limits. 'Gotta…keep it…together…' she thought, face contorted in pain as she finally managed to get the energies to harmonize.

"Set Harmonies!" the redhead called out, voice strained from the toll it was taking as the energies finally blended together, her relic flashing a bright orange as their energies combined. The power unleashed a rainbow-colored dome of light that expanded throughout the stadium, eliminating the Noise as it went. 'Just a little more…'Hibiki thought, as she cringed outwardly, holding in a pained scream.

"Hibiki…hang in there!" Tsubasa called, noticing the redhead's pained expression almost feeling the heat rising off of her from the sheer power she was struggling to compress. "Is it too much power?"

"No…I can't stop now. Not when we're this close…" Hibiki said, before continuing to have a pained expression while beginning the next step. 'Gotta…channel it…into one strike…' she thought, before letting out a scream.

"Please, hang in just a little longer. We're almost there, I can feel it…" Chris said, concern etched on her face. The Gungnir-wielder nodded, letting out a small pained sound as she slowly brought both arms together, combining her gauntlets into one as the skeleton of the giant Noise was finally revealed.

"Now, Hibiki!" Tsubasa said, one hand on Hibiki's shoulder as support while Chris did the same for her other shoulder. The redhead nodded, before a determined look emerged onto her face, and spoke.

"Ready..." she spoke, as her Symphogear armor opened up slightly, letting excess power flow out and channeling the energy into her now combined gauntlet, which deployed 4 golden claws in an X pattern. As the rainbow energy receded into her gauntlet, a powerful turbine within started to spin, crackling prismatic energy generated as Hibiki brought her fist back into position.

"Hit it!" Chris yelled, almost acting as all the encouragement Hibiki needed. With a reassuring nod from Tsubasa, she proceeded to launch at the Noise, rocket engines firing from her waist armor as extra push as she approached. Finally, she impacted the Noise, uppercutting it skyward as the claws deployed, latching on.

"THIS IS OUR TRUE ZESSHOU! S2CA TRI-BURST!" the orange-armored girl cried out, as her gauntlet spun, releasing a tornado of rainbow energy into the sky and obliterating the Noise, its ashes being erased form existence. The light, however, went higher still, soaring through the clouds and blowing them away.

Immediately afterwards, as Hibiki fell towards the ground, she flipped forwards gently. And while she had no trouble landing on her feet, she quickly collapsed to one knee, panting from exertion as the other two girls rushed up to catch her. Her symphogear armor fading off of her body and back into the relic crystal hanging around her neck, Hibiki gave her friends a smile, before staggering to her feet and walking towards them.

"Tonight's not the best time for answers. Sorry Tsubasa-san, Chris-chan, for not saying anything much sooner. If you still want answers, I'm not going anywhere. Next time you see me, we can talk then, okay?" she whispered into both girls' ears, before hugging both tightly and walking away towards the exit leading southwards. And as she walked off, Chris and Tsubasa had one shared thought on their minds.

'Why did she look so broken just now?'

Unknown Vehicle, Nearby Stadium

"It's finally ready…we can now begin to proceed," an older woman's voice said, looking over a data screen. A strange heart-shaped object was on this particular screen; primarily white, with a red pulse beating within it, this object was the key to this person's plans. And as the individual read through her data, a text box popped up over the object, indicating that a Process was complete. "It's time to proceed to the next phase," she said, smiling grimly as she shut down the panel she was looking at and left the room, a motor whirring as she did so.

Tachibana Hibiki's Apartment, Shinjuku, 1 hour post S2CA event

One of the perks of her contract with the record label Ogawa worked for was that they were generous enough to provide a small apartment near the recording studio for their artists as a part of their initial contract. Sure, some artists, for example Tsubasa, didn't take advantage of this; after all, they had family that was close by, and could stay with them. However, for Hibiki, this was a blessing; it would allow her to have a place to get away to after a day of work, or a place that, in cases like this, would allow for her to vent her emotions after a frustrating experience.

Having returned from the concert venue just outside of Shibuya to where she called home, Hibiki walked into her bathroom, a saddened look on her face. While she had really tried not to show it back at the concert, the words said by Maria and Shirabe had definitely had an effect on her, dragging her back to a place she had never thought she would go to, one that she had thought she had learned from and moved past.

"How could she say that? She knows that I had dealt with pain like that before, back after that day four years ago," Hibiki muttered sadly, as she stepped into her waiting bath which she had started upon returning home. "Back then, after that ZweiWing concert, people attacked my family and I. Sure, it wasn't physically painful, but the sheer isolation, with everyone…classmates, neighbors, strangers thinking that I was a monster…it really hurt. I tried to put on a smile, I tried to tell myself that everything was fine, that it was all just fine, but it still hurt. The name calling, the signs people put up outside my family's home, the insults thrown at my mother, saying that she was a monster for loving someone like me…" she trailed off, sinking down into the steaming tub as low as she could, the water covering all but her upper neck and head.

"It was so bad," the redhead spoke, bitterness entering her voice as she struggled to hold her tears in. "In all honesty, if not for the support of Miku, I don't know where I'd have ended up. There were days, even while in rehab, that I felt like giving in, felt like saying that it's not worth it. I'm glad I didn't do so," she muttered, the tears beginning to fall as she looked down towards where her scar was on her chest.

"For Shirabe to say that I just let Serena die that day hurts. I didn't know what was going to happen that day, I had just gotten my Symphogear ability back after that time, and I was told not to go near that part of the facility by Nastassja-san. How was I supposed to know that that cursed THING would cause her to die, to give up her life?" Hibiki asked, frustration seeping into her voice. Tears continued to fall from her eyes before she stood up and punched the wall nearest to her, ignoring the dull ache the impact caused her hand.

"Miku…Tsubasa-san…Chris…Everyone…am I really as ready for this as I thought I was? As Kanade-san thinks I am? Can I really be the one to stop this disaster we seem to be heading right towards?" She asked, sinking back into her tub with her head hung down. "It's fine, it's all fine…right, papa?" she whispered, looking out the nearby window at the night sky over the city. It would be another two hours before she would get any sleep, and what a restless sleep it would turn out to be.

Kazanari residence, Meditation room, 4 hours after S2CA Event

Hibiki wasn't the only one having a tough time getting to sleep that night. Kazanari Tsubasa, the idol singer who had been the co-star that night during the concert, had a ton on her mind as well. After watching her newly-returned partner walk off and out of the arena, she was reminded quickly of another problem that she would have to deal with. During that night's events she had been forced to reveal herself as a Symphogear wielder, something that she herself was proud of being. However, it would come at a price: the government had done everything it could to try to keep Chris, Hibiki, and her own identities as wielders secret so that no one could either take advantage of them, as well as to avoid people attacking them or making people close by into targets. For someone like Tsubasa, that was a price that was unavoidable.

"What should I do," the bluenette spoke quietly, lying on her back under her futon's covers as she stared at the ceiling. "Maria's actions tonight put the entire audience in danger. And although I wanted to help them, there's no way to know that she wouldn't have ordered the Noise to attack the audience if I transformed sooner. So many people could have been killed, and the blood from their deaths would have been on my hands just as much as it would have been on Maria's."

The risk was always out there, even from the beginning. She had dreams of being an idol, but Kazanari Tsubasa had envisioned herself to be the protective sword for others ever since the fateful concert over four years earlier. She had trained her body, her mind, into that of a warrior, someone who could handle the burden of being a protector. 'And yet,' she thought, a frown working its way onto her face, 'tonight I couldn't do so. Now that my identity is out there, who's to say that others won't try the same thing at another concert, another public event that I perform at, just to get to me or those I care about? If I couldn't protect them, the blood of the innocent victims would be on my hands just as much as it would be on those who attacked…I couldn't live with myself if that happened…'

Tsubasa had been well aware that once she transformed on camera, there would be no going back. She knew that doing so would inspire some, but also would cause others to wonder why she hadn't acted sooner. Ogawa's words echoed through her brain, trying to tell her that her songs weren't just swords for protecting others, but also an inspiration to others, including her teammate Hibiki, who was another source of frustration for the bluenette.

"Damnit Hibiki…ever since you left, I've really tried to be the inspiration to others that you've said I am to you. But now that it's out in the open that I am a Symphogear wielder, what should I do?" she thought, her hand subconsciously clenching at where her Ame no Habakiri rested while she wore it. The answer would not come easily that night.

Lydian Music Academy, Cadenza Dorm Building, 4 Hours after S2CA Event

Yukine Chris was exhausted. Between the early morning mission, the brief skirmish at the base after delivering the Staff of Solomon, and the battle at the stadium against the dark Symphogear users, Chris was physically drained. However, as she opened the door to the dorm room that she shared with one Kohinata Miku, her mind was running a million miles an hour with thoughts about one event that had been a positive throughout it all; the return of one Tachibana Hibiki…and the implications that it had for her roommate, who seemed to finally be getting her life back to normal.

'Miku was a mess for so long after Hibiki's disappearing act. Can I really tell her that she's alive and well, now that she's finally getting herself put back together?' the snow-haired symphogear wielder thought, as she placed her bag on the ground by the door, announcing her return to the room.

"Welcome back, Chris-san," Miku said, leaning out of their shared bathroom, a toothbrush in her mouth as she was getting ready for bed. "I'm glad that you're okay…is Tsubasa-san okay as well?" she asked, noticing the glum look on Chris' face. Chris looked up, a confused look flashing across her face as she was broken out of her thoughts before she smiled at her roommate, giving her thumbs up.

"That lying Maria stood no chance once I got there. The present she left behind wasn't even that tough either," she said, stretching her arms out over her head as she tried to present a brave front. 'At least, it wasn't once Hibiki did THAT…she looked so hurt though…' she thought, a concerned look briefly flashing across her face. Miku had noticed it though; the two girls had roomed together for the past year, ever since Chris had enrolled at Lydian. They seemed almost like total opposites when one looked at them from outside, but after how Miku had helped Chris out two years ago as she ran from Noise sent after her by Finé, they were close friends.

"Chris-san…It's okay, you don't have to hide it if something happened. I can handle it," the green-haired girl said, having exited the washroom and entered the shared living area of their room.

'Can you, Miku? Can you handle knowing that your best friend, someone who you had told me directly that you had fallen for, has been alive all this time and avoiding not just you, but all of us?' Chris thought, taking a moment to think before speaking.

"Tsubasa-san…she was forced to transform tonight on camera. She seemed really torn about what to do afterwards; she had been told that under no circumstances was she to transform, because if her name got out there as a gear-wielder, her reputation could come under fire or worse. I don't know what to tell her, Miku," Ichaival's wielder spoke quietly, her voice showing signs of the tiredness she felt. 'Not to mention that Hibiki looked broken at the end of it all tonight…when I get my hands on that BITCH who did that to her…' she thought, surprise flashing onto her face at her own thoughts. 'Since when have I been this protective of her?'

Miku nodded, a frown coming onto her face. That Tsubasa had been forced into a compromising position by Maria's actions had bothered her since she had returned to Lydian for the night; it had looked like Maria was looking to flat out bully the blue-haired idol, as well as the rest of the world, by holding the entirety of the audience hostage.

"It wasn't right. What's the point of Hibiki's sacrifice if people are going to keep trying to start pointless battles," Miku spoke, walking over to the window of their shared room as Chris listened attentively. The city lights sparkled in the night sky as she continued. "All she wanted to do was help people, Chris-san. It's on us to try to honor that memory, right? We have to try to connect people. Besides, you heard Maria's declaration. She said that if Tsubasa-san had tried to do anything, she would have unleashed the noise on all of us there…" the green-haired girl trailed off, tears slowly falling down her face, her reflection revealing to Chris the distraught look on her face. "Tsubasa-san did the best she could, and it got us all out of there. That's what a true guardian does, right? Get those they protect out of harm's way safely?"

'Yeah…' Chris thought, nodding as her mind flashed back to the fight on top of the train where Hibiki had acted as her guardian, remembering how she had saved her from being blindsided by multiple Noise. This caused a blush to appear on Chris' face, as she remembered the close proximity the two were in when Hibiki had prevented them from becoming pancakes on the mountainside. At this, Chris shook her head quickly, trying to take her mind off of the day's events.

"Yeah…you're right, Miku-san. That's what a true protector does, no matter the cost," Chris said, getting up and patting her friend on the shoulder before lightly hugging her. 'I can't tell her that Hibiki is back…I can't do it. That'd break Miku-san's heart all over again. But next time I see her, Hibiki had better have some damn answers,' she thought, before heading to the washroom and grabbing her toothbrush. After all, despite it having been a long day, it was a school night.

Galactic Records Japan Tokyo Studios, Shinjuku, 3 Days after S2CA Event

Tsubasa took a deep breath to calm herself as she stood outside of her label's studios in a pair of blue jeans and a white blouse, Ame no Habakiri hanging around her neck and in the open. It had been a few days since her identity had been revealed to the world as a Symphogear wielder, and the guilt she had been feeling about what had happened had intensified overnight, keeping her wide awake and causing her to miss school for the first time all year. In fact, she was missing class again today to be here. However, she had taken her time, thinking it all over, before coming to the decision she was about to reveal to her label. 'It's too bad that Ogawa-san is helping another client record this morning. It would have been nice of him to be there as support,' she thought, before opening the door to the building.

Inside, the cleanly-polished floors of the label's recording studio stood as a reminder to the bluenette of all the great times she'd had in the past, just coming here to record and take her mind off of things even if the songs wouldn't ever be released. And as she walked towards the front desk, Tsubasa took another deep breath, trying to steel her resolve for one of the biggest moments of her young career. Tapping on the receptionist's desk quietly, she waited until the receptionist was off the phone before speaking.

"Excuse me, Nanami-san," she said, voice serious as the receptionist looked up, almost jumping out of her chair at the sight of the label's biggest star. "Is Ogawa-san available at the moment? There's something I need to talk with him about," she said, face a picture of patience. 'I might as well try one more time to see Ogawa-san. Just as expected of me, I'm sure,' she thought, while the young receptionist checked over the monitor she was sitting in front of for Ogawa Shinji's availability. Fortunately for Tsubasa, the young woman didn't disappoint.

"Ah…yes, Kazanari-san, he's actually in studio number 12 right now. Looks like they're about to go on lunch break," the receptionist said, before looking up at Japan's number one idol singer, who in turn let out a sigh of relief. "Do you want me to call him and tell him you're here?"

"No, I'll go see him myself. Arigatou, Nanami-san," the idol said, heading towards the elevators on the right side of the lobby. After a brief wait for the elevator to arrive, the bluenette entered the elevator, hitting the button that would lead to the correct floor. 'Studio 12…ironic how that's the studio I used when I first started,' Tsubasa thought, waiting patiently as the elevator made its journey to the correct floor.

"I still wish they would change the elevator music to something more conductive to having a good recording session," she said, the elevator coming to a stop on the Sixth floor of the building. Each floor had two recording studios on it, one on the eastern half of the building and another on the western half. And as the elevator doors opened, letting Tsubasa out into the main hallway of the floor, a sense of nervousness suddenly washed over the normally unflappable singer. "Take a deep breath, Tsubasa. This isn't like going on stage before forty thousand people."

With that, the idol turned towards the western end of the building, before walking down the hallway to where the recording studio was set up, the "Recording" light above its entranceway shining brightly to indicate they were still in the middle of the song. Blinking quickly, the blue-haired girl proceeded to knock on the door quietly, hoping to get someone's attention.

"No going back now. As Hibiki said, I just have to go full-throttle…" she muttered to herself as she stood outside the door, waiting on someone to answer the door. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity that really lasted 30 seconds, someone came up to the door and spoke.

"It's unlocked, but please be quiet," the familiar voice of Ogawa Shinji spoke, causing Tsubasa to smile. 'Same as always; when it comes to this part of the process, always so concerned with utmost focus.' With that, she opened the door as quietly as possible before entering the studio. Inside, she found Ogawa-san, along with a pair of audio technicians helping to balance the audio on the piece. And in the recording booth was none other than Tachibana Hibiki, singing with a voice Tsubasa hadn't known she had as her song came to an end (a/n: Hibiki's singing voice is slightly higher than that of Maria from Garnidelia. And no, I don't own any references to that group or its songs either.).

Tsubasa's eyes widened at the level of maturity that Hibiki's voice had taken on over the past two years. 'Impressive…' her inner singer caused her to think; even Tsubasa herself had a tough time with some of those notes, and the younger girl in the booth was able to reach them seemingly almost without any effort at all. Smiling, she turned and looked at Shinji with an amused smile on her face.

"So, Ogawa-san, when were you going to tell me that your new protégé Sora was Hibiki?" she asked, her usual confidence starting to resurface. The recording studio felt almost like a fourth home to her, behind her home itself, the 2nd Division's headquarters, and Lydian Academy. As long as she was there, she felt like she was able to spread her figurative wings. Ogawa sighed, face palming and shaking his head.

"I should have figured that you'd eventually figure it out, Tsubasa. Just thought it wouldn't be this soon. Anyways, what brings you here? Aren't you supposed to be in school? I know that you missed class a couple days ago," he asked, curiosity getting the better of him as Tsubasa became all business.

"While you're right that I should be, I felt as though this is too important. Can you please have the techs here leave? I need to talk to you alone if possible," she said, face settling into a focused demeanor normally only seen on the battlefield or as she was preparing to start a concert. Ogawa nodded, sending a signal to the audio techs before leaning to the intercom to the booth, where the redheaded Hibiki was looking at the booth in confusion.

"Hibiki, we're going to take a bit of a break, okay? You can come out and get some lunch if you want," he said, as she nodded, grabbing her blue jean jacket off the stool in the corner of the booth, before emerging from the booth wearing a yellow and orange t-shirt over a pair of white jeans.

"Oh…Tsubasa-san…what are you doing here? I thought I told Ogawa-san to not tell anyone that I was signed up here. Then again, after the other night, it's not as if you didn't know who I was anyways…"the redhead spoke, taking a sip from her bottle of water, causing Tsubasa to sigh.

"Yeah…well, I didn't exactly come here hoping to find you, but it does give us a change to have that conversation you promised the other night. Ogawa-san…I can't do this any longer…" the bluenette began hesitantly, the words she spoke causing Ogawa and Hibiki's eyes to widen slightly, the latter frowning slightly before Tsubasa continued.

"Maria…the other night, when she forced me to transform…she had said earlier on that if I had transformed while the audience was there, she would have the Noise attack the audience. And even after she let the audience go and I transformed, I still felt guilty because I let those people be placed into danger. You know I've trained so hard to become a warrior who can protect people with my songs…I felt powerless. And after the concert, after the battle, I couldn't stop thinking 'What if someone else attacked the audience in order to get to me'," the bluenette trailed off, Hibiki nodding in saddened understanding while Ogawa's face seemed to reflect understanding of his biggest star's dilemma.

"I would never be able to live with myself if that happened, Ogawa-san. And you know as well as I do that now that my identity is out in the open, for all the people I inspired, there will be those who would stop at NOTHING to get their word across, even holding my audiences hostage. I would never be able to forgive myself if something would have happened to the audience the other night…their blood would have been as much on my hands as it would have been on Maria's," Tsubasa said, her face set into a grimly determined look.

"Tsubasa-san…" Hibiki whispered, guilt lacing her voice as she realized where Tsubasa's words were going, her eyes widening in comprehension and a sad smile coming up on her face.

"I won't be responsible for that, Ogawa-san. So I made the decision. I, Kazanari Tsubasa, am retiring from performing, effective immediately. I just…I refuse to allow those who are inspired by my songs to be hurt by those trying to get to me."

At that moment, Ogawa Shinji realized that nothing he said would convince Tsubasa otherwise. 'Her mind is made up…Tsubasa has decided that for all the good she brings, she wouldn't be able to fully protect those people anymore. It's sad to hear, but probably inevitable,' he thought, eyes closed as he nodded in understanding. Hibiki, however, had another idea, getting up from her chair with a sad smile, before hugging Tsubasa briefly.

"I'm sorry, Tsubasa-san…I wasn't able to protect your songs. I couldn't protect you or those who look up to you. Just another thing I've failed to protect, it seems…" the redhead trailed off, before looking at her teammate with a guilt-ridden look on her face.

"The only question I have for you, Tsubasa," Ogawa said, looking at his now-former client with a smile, "is what are you going to do now? You can't only focus yourself on being the sword to slice through Noise, you know that."

Tsubasa nodded, face solemn. Truth be told, she wasn't sure. Sure, there were things that she wanted to do, but she wasn't sure how to get there. Then Hibiki spoke up, her words cutting through the clouds of uncertainty in Tsubasa's mind.

"Tsubasa-san, follow what your heart tells you to do. Mine hasn't led me wrong yet," she spoke, a determined look emerging on her face. "And right now, it's telling me that I want to have you still be here to help me out, Tsubasa-san. I have a lot more to learn, and I want to learn from the best. Would you be okay with being my assistant manager?" the Gungnir wielder spoke, her question catching the older girl off guard.

Tsubasa paused. 'Follow my heart, huh…' she thought, closing her eyes and listening to the rhythm her heart presented. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity for those in the room, she opened her eyes, a smile making its way to her face as she prepared to reply…

End Chapter 4

Author's Postscript: A lot of ground covered, and the ramifications of some decisions start to appear. Next time, we find out Tsubasa's decision, as well as get after the FIS. Read, review, and we'll see you next time!-ZBD15