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.

9. G Chapter 8: Fragile Peace

Song of the Heart: Redux

Author's Notes: Welcome back to "Song of the Heart: Redux". Last time we saw the return of the Nephilim as it went into battle against Tsubasa and Chris. Even those two weren't able to really do much to the thing, however. Today, we see Hibiki take her turn at facing the beast, as well as a few other events that could change the picture of things drastically. I'd like to once more thank the author of the original "Song of the Heart", Aya1229, for allowing me to adopt her story and idea and make it into my own from there. We do have a lot to cover, so let's get started!

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. The same goes for JAM TV; as far as I know, it's not a real music channel on TV, again a parody made up for the purposes of this story.

Also, no music quoted within the story belongs to me. The rights to any and all pieces used belong to their artists and record labels. I did buy a copy of the single CDs that the songs are from though, so thank iTunes for most of that.

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 8: Fragile Peace

(Last Time…)

"The Nephilim…that thing…" she trailed off, gently setting Chris' unconscious form down next to Tsubasa as she quickly stood, eyes narrowing as a chilling fire seemed to enter her eyes. "Tsubasa-san…please, keep an eye on Chris for me…please, try to help her wake up…" she said, a cold fury having entered her voice as she turned to face the monstrosity.

"What are you going to do though, Hibiki…nothing Chris or I did was working on this thing…we tried every attack we had…" the bluenette said, maneuvering the snow-haired girl's head so that it could rest on her lap as she noticed the pure rage enter the younger girl's voice.

Hibiki didn't smile or anything of the sort. Her next words would send chills down the spines of everyone listening, including those at the 2nd division.

"This thing…I'm going to make it pay for what it did…and it will pay dearly…"

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge

Kazanari Genjurou was as stunned as everyone else on the bridge. While the fight had not been going very well at all against the creature on his screen, it seemed as though odds would be evened out since Hibiki had arrived. However, it was her words that were the source of the silence in the room. 'Hibiki…those words are so unlike you. However, now that the Nephilim has evolved, and Chris has been hurt...While you've become stronger for sure, this thing appears to be on a whole other level than what we've dealt with. We all have seen your actions around Chris-san…we all can see how you're feeling. Just don't lose yourself,' he thought, a frown written on his face as he watched on. The memories of a similar time began to emerge in his head, as the image of a similarly angry Amou Kanade popped into mind. 'Don't lose yourself, Hibiki. You're not the type of person to let your anger drive you like this. Kanade-san was able to overcome her anger…show me that you can as well.'

"Kazanari-taichou, Chris' vital signs are stable and she looks like she's just unconscious. Should we relay that to Tsubasa?" a staffer asked, earning a nod from the commander, whose eyes remained locked on the screen. The tension seemed to be permeating the room, as no one had seen Hibiki so seemingly angry, not even when she had gone berserk two years prior.

"Hibiki, be careful. Don't let your anger control you. Don't do anything that could cause you to have regrets," Genjurou said quietly, his voice being picked up throughout the room. They had other problems as well, as the news presented by Doctor Ver about the moon was of urgent importance. "We have other issues to watch as well! Don't let what's going on up there be the only thing you pay attention to! I want updates on the moon situation, ASAP!"

Those words sent the room back into motion, as a number of staffers returned their attention to their screens. The news that Doctor Ver had provided about the moon still falling had been terrorizing to the staff; many of those in the room could not believe their ears. However, it still presented a big issue. And while the staff on the bridge went to work, the action on the screen began to move.

Kadingir Ruins, Special Sealed Zone, Tokyo

Tension was thick in the air as Tachibana Hibiki stepped forwards. Behind her Kazanari Tsubasa sat, her eyes widened at the Gungnir wielder's words. 'She's never been this angry in a fight, not even when she was berserk back then...Hibiki, don't lose yourself to the anger. If Chris saw you, what would she think? I know you're doing this for her; just don't lose who you are,' the bluenette thought, eyes narrowing as she held the Ichaival wielder's head in her lap. Silence didn't rule the battlefield for long though; the Nephilim's roars echoed around the area as its master, Doctor Ver, began to speak.

"Well…look who finally decided to make an appearance. I was beginning to wonder if you even cared about your friends over there. Or is that snow-haired girl even more important than that to you? Not like it matters that you made it; the Nephilim made easy work of those two, so what makes you think that you have any chance? The almighty power of the Nephilim is greater than anything you've ever seen," the mad scientist proclaimed, a vicious laugh escaping from him. In front of him, the Nephilim stood, growling at the slowly approaching Hibiki, who only narrowed her eyes in response before responding, her footsteps coming to a halt.

"Nephilim, huh? All I see in front of me is someone who is using a tool of murder. And I won't allow you to use that tool against those I care about, especially not when that tool was responsible for the death of a very close friend of mine," Hibiki said, her eyes ablaze with anger as she looked at the scientist. "You know very well by now what happened with Maria-san's sister. For your group-Nastassja, Kirika, and Shirabe included-to use this thing is more hypocritical than ANYTHING that I could have ever done. And tonight, I have an opportunity to allow both Serena's soul and Chris to rest by taking out the very MONSTER that killed them," she continued, before sliding into an easy stance. "Ver…your organization is scum. Both you and your pet are going to PAY for what this thing has done both to Serena and to Chris!" Her words concluded, the redhead sprung forwards, her right gauntlet crackling with energy before she slammed her fist right into the creature's stomach, sending it stumbling backwards.

The creature didn't take being hit very kindly however, as it quickly stepped back in front of the Gungnir wielder with its right arm already in motion for a vicious overhead hammer blow. Before it could hit however, the redhead blocked upwards, deflecting the blow as she stepped in and delivered an even harder elbow to the stomach of the beast, causing it to double over as the redhead stepped backwards. She then launched into a flip kick, sending the Nephilim flying back, crashing into the nearby rock wall. Upon landing, Hibiki stood, eyes focused on where the relic creature had landed.

'She's already hurt it more than both Chris and I did combined...' Tsubasa thought, her eyes narrowed as she followed the fight. Briefly the Ame no Habakiri wielder looked down to where Yukine Chris' head was resting in her lap, the unconscious girl having bruises visible on her arms and face. 'Chris-san…if you woke up now, I'm not sure that you'd see a side of Hibiki that you'd want to see,' she thought, before the roar of the angry Nephilim returning to its feet drew her eyes back to the fight.

"Looks like your so-called unstoppable Nephilim isn't so unstoppable after all," Hibiki said, a small smirk finding its way to her face. The creature hadn't taken getting sent skidding away very well; it had clambered back to its feet before seemingly vanishing from sight. "Tch…predictable," the redhead muttered before dropping down, dodging the outstretched arm of the Nephilim above her as it swung its fist at where her head had been. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hibiki's gauntlet charged up quickly as she began to spin, her right arm crackling with a golden yellow lightning. Quickly she sprung upwards, her right arm outstretched as she caught the Nephilim with a spinning uppercut to the jaw, causing its head to snap backwards. The redhead then landed, immediately launching into a three punch combination that sent the creature flying backwards once more due to the raw power in each blow.

"No way in hell are you getting away!" Hibiki yelled, following the reeling Nephilim quickly with the rockets on her skirt armor before dropping an axe kick right into its face, knocking it back onto the ground as it roared in pain. As the monster in front of her bounced back upwards, she danced away quickly, before springing back forwards, her body doing a complete flip in midair as she kicked the Nephilim back to the ground, before rolling back to her feet immediately. On her feet once more, Hibiki turned, her eyes looking directly onto Doctor Ver once more as he stumbled back slightly.

"Impossible…the Nephilim has the ability to devour the relics' power. Why are your attacks doing so much damage?" the doctor asked, his voice shaky with disbelief as he saw his creature struggle to get off the ground.

"I already told you, Ver. You and your organization disgust me. For Nastassja, Kirika, and Shirabe to have fallen so far as to use the very thing that killed Serena is unforgivable to me…and for what you did by unleashing it tonight on Chris, you'll pay dearly for it," Hibiki said, her steps slowly starting to turn towards the doctor. The Nephilim on the other hand disagreed with her direction, climbing back to its feet as it tried to sneak attack the redhead from behind. Its presence did not go unnoticed, however.

"Like I'll let you," Hibiki muttered, spinning around as she proceeded to perform a perfect counter kick to the Nephilim's upper arm, causing the monster to roar out in pain as its left arm was left to hang at its side uselessly. She followed up quickly, leaping into the air as her skirt armor's engines fired, propelling her forwards while her pile bunker gauntlets expanded at her slightest touch. Her gauntlets crackling with orange lightning, she unleashed, rapidly landing punch after punch to the monster's face before she pulled back briefly, right gauntlet crackling brighter still. She then shot forwards once more before unleashing a punch right to the stomach of the Nephilim, launching it backwards all the way across the area and out of sight.

"The Nephilim is needed for the new world. You can't…you can't seriously be trying to destroy it, can you?" Ver asked, a horrified look on his face.

"I'm going to finish the job Serena started eighteen months ago, and you can't stop me!" Hibiki declared, ignoring the doctor's cries as she grabbed her right gauntlet. Immediately she closed her eyes in complete focus as her entire body began to glow a radiant orange, while she mentally focused back to what she had figured out from another dream, trying to remember the feeling within her. Mere seconds later, a blinding orange light filled the area, before fading to reveal Hibiki, her right arm encased in a wickedly long spear whose golden-orange blade tip was almost as tall as the girl herself was.

"Now then, Nephilim…This is for Chris and for Serena!" Hibiki called out, raising her spear covered arm to point at the direction the Nephilim had been launched towards. A roar emanated from the area as the creature appeared nearby, its lone good arm pulled back in an attempt to punch Hibiki into the ground head first. But the redhead was faster, spinning in place with the spear arm pulled back before stabbing it straight through the Nephilim, causing the loudest pain-filled roar of the night as the beast was impaled, its blood spraying out into the night sky.

-SotHR-

Nearby, Kazanari Tsubasa looked on, a look of sheer horror and amazement both on her face. The display put on just now of the almost comical ease with which Hibiki had utterly embarrassed the Nephilim had caused her some pause, as well as some of the words spoken. 'Hibiki mentioned Shirabe-san and Kirika-san. But, why didn't she mention Maria-san? What's going on here?' she thought, a frown coming to her face. What she heard next however, would bring the bluenette some relief.

"Ugh…my head…" Yukine Chris said, her eyes slowly opening towards the starry night sky. Almost immediately upon saying those words a sharp, pain-filled gasp emerged from the snow-haired girl, causing her to instinctively grab at her side.

"Chris! You're okay," Tsubasa said, giving the younger girl a brief hug and causing her to wince.

"Tsubasa-san…it hurts," the younger girl said, before the Bluenette nodded and let go, allowing the younger girl to breathe. After a moment to catch her breath, wincing the whole time, she spoke again. "What happened to the Nephilim? Where'd that bastard go?" she asked, eyes darting around looking for the beast. Her question drew silence from Tsubasa however, the bluenette looking away from her as a loud pain-filled roar filled the air.

"Tsubasa…tell me, what's going on here? What'd I miss?" Chris asked, the older girl sighing carefully as she turned her head back towards the direction the roar came from. Chris followed the Ame no Habakiri wielder's gaze, her eyes falling upon the sight of the Nephilim impaled on a gigantic spear held by Hibiki. 'Hibiki…you made it…' she thought, a small smile and blush coming to her face at the thought of the redhead. However, her eyes noticed something wrong in Tsubasa's face as the bluenette began to speak.

"Hibiki…she was the one who saved you. But when she saw how hurt you were, she just snapped, almost as if she became a different person," she began, eyes locked on to the sight of the Nephilim struggling on the spear summoned by the Gungnir wielder. This drew Chris' attention once again to where the redhead stood, an almost satisfied expression on her face as she pushed the spear further into the Nephilim's torso, drawing herself closer to its chest.

"No…something's not right. What is she doing," Chris began, eyes widened in horror. "That can't be her. That can't be my Hibiki…not the idiot Hibiki I'm…" she trailed off, voice cracking. Her heart was screaming in confusion at the sight. 'That's not the Hibiki I've fallen for. It can't be her…Do I really want to be with someone who is this dangerous?' she thought, tears slowly starting to come to her eyes at the actions of the redhead in front of her. This was noticed by the bluenette in front of her, who began to speak.

"She's doing this for you, you know that? Chris, Hibiki thought you had DIED in her arms. She fought that thing ALONE as a way to deal with the grief," Tsubasa began, her words slowly causing the snow-haired girl to smile. "She was broken when you were unconscious, Chris. If there's anyone who can help, it'll be you."

"Hibiki…you idiot…" Chris whispered, her heart pounding at the information that she was hearing. 'She's doing this because of how worried she was about me? Because she thought I was that badly injured, or even dead? Hibiki…have you been feeling the same way I have?' she thought, a blush rushing to her face as she tried to stand. "Tsubasa-san, please, help me get up. I have to go to her…I have to get some sense into her..."

At this, Tsubasa nodded, helping the snow-haired girl get to her feet before she started on her way to where Hibiki had further impaled the Nephilim on the spear she had summoned forth. As she watched Chris make her way over to the redhead, her speed increasing as she went despite her injuries, the bluenette smiled softly. 'Chris…we all can see how you feel about Hibiki. It's because that's the case that I'm not as worried about her as I would be otherwise. You and I…we won't let her handle everything on her own,' she thought, before moving to try to catch up.

Meanwhile, Hibiki had finally pushed close enough to the Nephilim to allow her to continue her dismantling of the beast. Using the spear's blade almost as a sort of crow bar, she started to pry open the spot where she had impaled the creature. 'Finally…after I'm done, they'll be able to rest,' she thought, de-summoning the spear back to its normal pile bunker gauntlet form. Looking at her work with a satisfied smile on her face, the redhead spotted a red glow before reaching in and grasping at the glow, pulling it out of the Nephilim's body with ease before looking over at Doctor Ver.

"Well, so much for your so-called invincible Nephilim. Do you have anything else to say?" she asked, looking directly at the doctor while holding the Nephilim's still-beating "heart" in her hand. The appearance of the redhead holding the Nephilim's heart in her hands was enough to cause the doctor's face to go white as a ghost, fear written across his features as he watched the creature's body dissolve rapidly.

"Damn you…DAMN YOU, TACHIBANA HIBIKI!" He screamed, summoning more noise in front of him and sending them in Hibiki's direction, causing her to tense up before throwing the Nephilim's heart over her shoulder, not caring where it went. As Hibiki prepared to deal with the noise however, a rain of Energy Swords fell from the sky, destroying all of the noise in a flash of light as a familiar voice began speaking, a pair of arms wrapping around the redhead's waist.

"Hibiki, calm down. Please, Hibiki-baka, I'm right here, I'm fine…" the voice said, dispersing Hibiki's anger and causing the Gungnir wielder to almost collapse to her knees. 'Chris…it can't be…I made it in time?' she thought, slowly turning around to see the form of Chris pressed against her, arms wrapped tightly around her in a hug.

"Chris…" Hibiki whispered, before the wall inside her finally broke down, tears flowing from her eyes as she returned the hug, arms wrapping around the snow-haired girl's shoulders. "Chris…I'm just glad you're okay," she whispered out, emotions being barely constrained within her as a blush rose to her face from the closeness of the Ichaival wielder. 'If she saw me like that…oh god, I could have scared her away…'

"I'm sorry I took so long to get here," Hibiki whispered, the snow-haired girl nodding into her chest. "I almost was too late to get here."

"You still made it though, and that's what counts," Chris replied, her face feeling on fire, before she collapsed to her knees in pain. 'Damnit…those broken ribs…great time for them to catch up…did it hurt anything else?' she thought, her mind foggy from the pain as Tsubasa landed nearby.

"Chris? Hey, Chris! Stay with me," Hibiki said, her voice almost cracking as she held the snow-haired girl closely. Turning to Tsubasa, she continued. "Tsubasa-san…we need medical out here…please, help her!"

"Already called them, Hibiki…" the older girl spoke, a small smile coming to her eyes at how the redhead was acting. "They're on their way now. Still, we have another problem. Ver got away while you two were having your moment," she said, causing Hibiki's eyes to narrow slightly as she nodded in response. They had just missed an opportunity to put a major wrench into FIS' plans, and who knew when or if they would get another opportunity like that.

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Bridge

The Bridge was buzzing with activity as Genjurou sat in his seat, eyes staring directly at the monitor in front of him. As he sat, the battle replaying on his screen, his eyes widened slightly at what he was seeing. 'For Hibiki to have utterly defeated the beast that nearly took down both Tsubasa and Chris can mean a lot of things,' he thought. 'But the most unbelievable of them all is the sheer ease by which she did so. That's yet another thing for me to add to the questions I have; what did she do to become this strong?' While everyone on the bridge had seen the battle taking place, there was much that needed to be done. Doctor Ver's announcement of how the moon was going to fall just didn't seem to make sense, something that was also on Genjurou's mind. 'Still, even though his speech doesn't make too much sense, it's something that we need to look into. If the moon really is falling, we need to be prepared to try to stop it.' Eyes looking out over the bridge, the commander stood before speaking, his voice echoing out over the chamber.

"Get me the status of the medical group! I want to know where they are, and when they'll be back here with those three! And what is the update on what Doctor Ver said? Come on people, we have serious work to be done!" Genjurou said, his voice filling the room with tension and causing the rate at which the personnel worked to increase. "Get me Tomosato on the line! Where are she and the medical team we sent out there?"

As if to answer Genjurou's request, a message on the screen appeared, displaying the aforementioned bluenette's name on screen. Reaching over and touching the line to start call, the commander began to speak.

"Give me an update, Tomosato. Where are you?"

"We just got back to base, sir. But, there's a problem. If you're wanting to meet Hibiki-san that badly, it's going to have to wait," Tomosato Aoi said, her voice quiet as she stood down the hall from where the redhead sat, eyes closed as she leaned against the wall behind her.

"Oh? Why's that?" the commander asked, eyebrow raised at the news. As far as he'd known before their cameras had cut off, the redhead was in great physical condition, and hadn't even been touched by the Nephilim during the fight. 'So there has to be another reason then…'

"Hibiki-san…she passed out on the way here. She's resting peacefully enough for sure, but she just seemed tired after that fight for some reason. Tsubasa-san made the guess that it may have had to do with the light show she put on before summoning that spear."

"Right. And how are Chris and Tsubasa?" Genjurou asked, nodding as he continued to look at the main monitor. The moon's projected orbit was displayed, along with a number of other possible orbits as the 2nd division technicians worked to rapidly gather information and make projections.

"Chris-san…she was hurt pretty badly. Three broken ribs, bad bruising on her back…we have her in treatment right now, and if Hibiki-san wasn't passed out right now, I get the feeling she'd be right there near her. Before she fell asleep, she was literally right by Chris' side the whole time. As for Tsubasa-san, she took her fair share of hits as well, but she'll be okay. Nothing major injury-wise. What do you want me to do, sir?"

"Stay down there. Keep an eye on Hibiki and let me know when she wakes up. Has Miku-san been informed about Chris' injuries? I would think she'd want to know about her roommate. Where's my niece? Who's with Hibiki now?" Genjurou asked, eyes narrowed at the reported injuries to the Ichaival wielder. 'Looks like we're going to have to have Hibiki rejoin us. I wasn't looking forwards to asking her to do so, but I don't think we really have much other choice.'

"We did try to call Kohinata-san, but she didn't answer. Tsubasa-san said that she's usually asleep by now though. As for your niece, she's getting Hibiki-san something to drink for when she wakes up. And quite frankly, with how quickly she conked out, she's probably going to need it. Do you want me to have her contact you when she wakes up?"

"No. Keep me updated, Tomosato. And tell Hibiki when she wakes up that I'm glad she's home," Genjurou said, a bit of relief entering his voice before he ended the call. Genjurou couldn't hold off from having the conversation for too much longer though; while the medical team was back with their symphogear users, he could only imagine how it would have been if Hibiki hadn't left. 'Who knows…she could have had her arm bitten off of something…'

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Medbay, 3:00 am the next morning

Hibiki's eyes crept open slowly, her mind waking up from her dreamless sleep. 'How long was I out for? And where's Chris? Please tell me that she's okay…' she thought, a yawn escaping her mouth. Looking around, she was quickly able to determine where she was; the waiting room of the Medbay at 2nd Division's Temporary Headquarters. 'At least we made it here…and I was able to get there in time to save her…' the redhead thought, her eyes looking over to where the "No Visitors" light shined above the doorway.

"Please, Chris…please be okay..." she whispered, her eyes catching sight of a note left on a nearby table. Grabbing it, she opened it up before reading carefully.

"Hibiki…Sorry I couldn't stay down here for when you woke up. Chris-san should be fine-the doctors don't want anyone disturbing her rest tonight, so they're keeping her from taking any visitors overnight tonight. We would have told you when they told us, but you were so sound asleep that we didn't want to wake you. Genjurou-taichou wants to chat with you when you wake up; just ring the bridge and he said he'd be willing to come down and talk whenever you're ready. There's an Iced Tea in the fridge for you if you need it; just ask the nurse on duty to get it for you if you want it. I know that you, Ogawa-san, and I have a lot to discuss in relation to your single coming out, but I get the feeling your mind is somewhere else. Sincerely, Tsubasa…" the redhead whispered, a small smile coming to her face as she placed the note on the table. 'If he really wants to talk, then I can do it...but I can't until I know that Chris is okay, can I? I have so much to tell her…I need to tell her how I feel.'

"Tsubasa-san…thanks for writing me that," she whispered, before pulling out her phone to see if she had any messages, only to find nothing there. "No messages from Maria either…"

Stretching as she stood up once more to relieve the tightness inside of her body, Hibiki caught a glimpse of where the nurse on duty was stationed. Walking over to the desk, the redhead took a deep breath, her mind racing at what she was about to do.

"Excuse me, nurse…can you please get the drink that Tsubasa-san left for me? She told me that I should ask you for it when I woke up…" Hibiki's words caused the nurse to look up in surprise, before the older woman nodded.

"Ah…Tachibana-san. Yes…just give me one moment. Do you want me to contact the bridge? I know that this isn't the best time…" the nurse replied, standing up from her desk. At those words, Hibiki frowned, before beginning to reply.

"Before you do that, can you tell me when the doctors think Chris will be able to take visitors? I…I have to tell her something," she began, her voice trailing off as she blushed, thoughts of the snow-haired girl filling her mind. This brought a smile to the nurse's face; she could see the signs of someone in love.

"Let's see what we can do…It looks like it'll be another couple hours before the doctors come down here and check on her again. I'm sure that they'll be happy to let you know when she can take visitors when they've done so," the nurse said, before smiling. "Chris-san will be fine, Tachibana-san. They already said they took care of the worst of it, so all she needs to do is rest and not push herself. I'll go get your drink, and then if you want to talk to the commander we can call up to the bridge, okay?"

At those words, Hibiki nodded quietly, her hands entwined together out of worry as she stared at the room whose doors were under the "No Visitors" sign. Her thoughts were much more focused however. 'Looks like I don't have any other choice…This is a conversation that I wasn't looking forwards to having, even though I know I was planning on having it anyways. Just not this soon…and not when Chris is hurt like she is,' she thought, before taking a deep breath to try to calm herself. As she did, the nurse returned, Hibiki's iced tea in hand.

"Tachibana-san, give me one second to contact the bridge and see If the commander is here," the nurse began, handing the younger girl her iced tea before sitting back at her desk and pulling up the display that would allow her to contact the bridge. As Hibiki sat down at the booth she had read Tsubasa's note in, she finally reached someone. "Ah, Ookami-san, is the Commander available? Yes, she's awake…I just told you that she's awake…yes, she can meet with him now…have her meet him at the observation area? Fine, will do…yes, I'll tell her right away. Thanks, Ookami-san," the nurse continued, before ending the call, causing the redhead to look in her direction.

"So I take it that I'm going to meet with Genjurou-sensei at the observation area? Where is that, anyways?" Hibiki asked, head tilted slightly sideways with an inquisitive look on her face. Seeing this, the nurse smiled and chuckled softly. She had been one of the staff members of the second division who had been there two years earlier, when the redhead had just joined the then-section 2.

"You'll want to go to the mid-deck area. Once there, just follow the signs, you can't miss it. And Tachibana-san…welcome home," the older woman said, causing Hibiki to blush in embarrassment and nod before she turned to head towards her meeting.

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Observation Area

Kazanari Genjurou stood in alone the room, the image of the broken moon dominating the screen on the wall. His thoughts were split; half of his mind was focused on the situation developing with the moon, while the other was thinking forwards to the conversation that would be occurring. It had been two years, after all. 'Hibiki…you've definitely changed since we last talked. But, the question is what happened, and why did you just leave? What could you know that would have caused you to suddenly not trust everyone you were close to? So many questions…and yet, I don't think we have the most time in the world to get the answers needed. Ryouko, how can I do this without alienating her,' he thought, eyes locked onto the moon on screen as he took a sip of the coffee he had with him.

The sound of the door to the observation area opening shook the commander from his thoughts. Looking up to try to see who had entered the room, he saw the symphogear wielder he had been waiting to speak with.

"Hibiki…I see you're awake," Genjurou began as the redhead walked across the room to take a seat at the table nearby, can of tea in hand unopened. "There are a number of things that I'd like to ask. I'm sure you already are aware of some of them, but at the same time, I have to say that I'm happy to see that you're alive."

"Yeah…this isn't exactly the conversation that I was hoping to have right away. No offense Genjurou-sensei, but I apologize if my mind is elsewhere right now," the Gungnir wielder said, voice subdued. This got a nod from Genjurou, who paused before issuing his next reply.

"I know that this isn't the conversation you wanted to have, and I do understand why. By no means should you feel as though you have to answer every question that I ask here. It's been two years, Hibiki. I can't expect you to trust me the same amount that you did then, not after how long it's been. But I guess the best place for me to start is to ask how have you been, and why did you leave that day? We were all worried about you, and Tsubasa even spent a year off from school and idol work trying to find you," the commander asked, eyes showing concern for the redhead in front of him. "Basically, why did you feel as though you had to leave without telling anyone?"

This question caused Hibiki to pause. 'How can I tell him that if I hadn't, we'd be in even more danger than we're already in? And how do I do so without telling him that Kanade-san showed me the future to an extent?' she thought, eyes facing away from the commander as she thought. Turning to look towards the image of the moon on the screen nearby, she began.

"I don't really know how to explain why I left without telling anyone. Have you ever had this feeling that something horrible was going to happen, and you would do anything to try to stop it? I felt the same way that day when I left. All I knew was that I wasn't going to let Chris, Miku, Tsubasa-san, or anyone from here get hurt, not after what had happened. My heart was telling me that I needed to get stronger, and so I listened…I left so that I could protect all of you," the redhead stated, eyes staring at the image of the moon in front of her. At this, Genjurou nodded, his thoughts a whirlwind at this info. 'Hibiki…what could you have possibly been thinking could happen that you needed to try to take it on all on your own?'

"Understood, but at the same time, you know that we would have tried to help you. While I agree that you've become a lot stronger, you know that we have your back."

"Yeah…I know that, and I appreciate it. Still, I just didn't want any of you getting hurt more than you had been. Look at Chris, for example. She had been betrayed by someone who she thought cared about her, and then went and took the brunt of a laser blast from Kadingir…I wasn't going to just let her get hurt any further than she already was," the redhead replied, her eyes downcast.

"Hibiki, everyone here thought you were dead. Maybe the only person who didn't think that was Tsubasa, and even she just about gave up on the search after a year. I'm just glad that she was proven right," Genjurou stated, eyes closing before he tried to continue.

"Still, I have to ask. Where did you go all this time? For you to avoid being found…it's impressive. This also leads me to wonder about how you met Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika; from the way that you four have interacted, it's easy to tell that you've met them before," Genjurou asked, gaining a nod from the redhead.

"You're right...I didn't just meet them recently. Maria and the others were some of the best friends I've had," Hibiki began, her mind drifting to a different time as she spoke. "After I left the country almost two years ago, I was in a foreign place with no one there to support me and no idea where I was going. All I knew was that I had to get stronger so that I could protect those I care about…and that I couldn't fail to do so," the redhead continued, her mind taking her back to her arrival in California. "I had flown to the US, thinking that maybe by getting away I could try to learn to protect others with my own strength. It didn't take me long to run into trouble though; literally the day I arrived overseas I ran into a swarm of Noise. I had to do something to stop them…there were people getting hurt. So I transformed…and that's when I met them. Maria, Dr. Nastassja, and Maria's sister, Serena…" she trailed off, before looking away, causing Genjurou to nod.

"That wasn't the easiest fight in the world; I wasn't the best at speaking in English, so talking with them was difficult for a little while. While we won and were able to save a lot of people, the fact that I had a Symphogear led them to ask me to come with them, and that I could stay with them. I had nowhere to stay, sensei…no one to trust, either. So, I took the chance, and I'm lucky that I did, too. If not for them, I don't know if I'd even be here today…or that I'd even have been able to save Chris…" Hibiki whispered, her body quivering at the memories and threatening to cause her to break down.

Genjurou frowned at her words, his thoughts racing to try to understand what she could have meant. 'There are a couple of things that could mean. One could say that without anyone she knew there, she wouldn't have been able to last long on her own overseas. But, I don't think that's the main reason…could it have to do with how the fragments that were there two years ago aren't there any longer?' he thought, his eyes trying to read the body language of the girl seated nearby. Taking a deep breath, he spoke up.

"You're lucky that you met them? I'm afraid that I don't quite understand, Hibiki-san. Why would you not know if you would even be here today if not for meeting them?"

"Sensei…you remember the fragments that were in my body, right?"

"Yeah…what about them?" Genjurou asked, his mind immediately starting to put together what had happened. 'Those fragments…something happened with them while Hibiki was overseas, and I get the feeling that if she hadn't run into Maria-san and her family that things could have taken a disastrous turn…'

"I didn't know it at the time, but the more I used my symphogear back then, the more they spread. And the more they spread...Genjurou-sensei, I used to wonder why no one told me that the more I used my Symphogear, the more I ran the risk of killing myself in the process," Hibiki began, her voice cracking as she started to sob. "Sensei…my own power would have killed me, and I wouldn't have even known why…"

Looking over to the crying girl with concern on his face, Genjurou couldn't help but wonder just what the toll of that would have been. 'If she would have actually died…and no one would have known about it…Tsubasa and Chris would have been crushed…and Kohinata-san would have been completely shattered, possibly beyond repair. The price that we all pay for the power to protect others…Ryouko, did you know that she could have died?'

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Medbay

Kohinata Miku walked towards the reception desk, eyes bleary from waking up so early. However, it didn't matter how tired she was. 'Chris…please, be okay…' she thought, mind swimming in worry. Miku hadn't heard from her roommate about even the possibility of there being a fight between her roommate along with Tsubasa against the two girls who had interrupted the contest earlier on, but the thought of it didn't surprise her. What did surprise her was to wake up at 3:30 am to find that she had a missed call and a voicemail from Tomosato Aoi saying that her roommate was in the Medbay with broken ribs. And so she hurried down here, despite the fact that she had to be in class at 7:00 am.

"Are you sure that she can't take visitors yet?" the green-haired girl asked, her voice laced with worry. This caused the nurse at the desk to shake her head.

"The doctors haven't been down yet to give the okay for Chris to see visitors, Miku-san. You're not the first one to ask that this morning, either…and you both were acting quite similar about it," the older woman said. It had been literally all of a half hour since Hibiki had gone to her meeting, and now she was speaking with the redhead's former roommate. It wasn't much of a surprise then that they were acting similar. Her response set off alarm bells in the younger girl's head; she didn't know that someone else had been there.

"Wait…someone else came by? Can you tell me who it was?"

"Unfortunately I don't have clearance to do so, Miku-san. I can say though that she was just as upset as you are, maybe more so."

Those words got the younger girl's attention. 'It wasn't Tsubasa-san…no one else that I know is part of the 2nd Division...it couldn't be Sora-san, could it?' Miku thought, a sick feeling rising in her stomach. 'Sora-san, the more I hear about you and the more I see you in person, the more I wonder just who you are. I just can't shake the familiarity I feel when I'm around you…like a part of me that's been missing…and yet I still can't help but feel jealous of Chris…' she thought, a frustrated look rising to her face while she looked at where the "No Visitors" sign continued to glow.

"Can you at least leave this with Chris for when she wakes up?" Miku asked, handing the nurse a get well card that the green-haired girl had made. Getting a nod from the nurse at the receptionist, Miku turned to leave, knowing that she had to get back to Lydian for classes. As she started to leave though, she heard the nurse speak once again.

"Miku-san, keep your head up. Chris-san will be fine; she just needs her rest. We'll let you know when she gets out of the Medbay, okay?"

Miku nodded, before going to leave. She just couldn't shake the feeling as though she was being left out of something, and she wasn't enjoying the feeling. 'I haven't felt this in the dark since before Hibiki saved me from the giant Octopus Noise that one day…Hibiki, wherever you are, please watch over Chris…' she thought, her legs carrying her towards the elevator leading out of the base.

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Observation Area

"Hibiki…as close as you came to dying, you're still here, right? So it doesn't matter how close you came; you're still here, and still able to protect those close to you. That's what matters," Genjurou began, the two having sat in silence for a few minutes while the Gungnir wielder tried to deal with the emotions of what she had just revealed. "Still, I have to wonder just how they caught onto it. None of us had any idea that was happening to you."

"It was luck, more than anything. When we got back to their research facility, I met Kirika-san and Shirabe-san. They weren't like they are now back then…it's hard to be the same as they were after what happened. We all hit it off, and I would go so far as to say that Maria was like an older sister to me, just as Serena was my best friend…We all did everything we could together. It was during an average training session that something first felt wrong though…" Hibiki began, her voice trailing off slightly.

"We never really went all-out during spars, you know? They were still relatively new at using Symphogear, and we both know how much experience I had. But one day our training just went harder than normal. Shirabe-san and Kirika-san had asked me to let them join me for my morning training…and while I allowed them to do so, they wanted to try to do everything that I did. I think it was a thing where they wanted to prove themselves," the redhead continued, her hand slowly reaching up subconsciously to trace the outline of where her scar rested on her chest. "We sparred towards the end of it, and things got pretty intense. I remember dodging an attack from Kirika, and starting to counterattack…then pain just burst from where my scar is. I tried to keep going, but I felt like I was on fire…and even stopping didn't help at all. I was lucky that there was a pool in the next room; they threw me in there, despite the pain I was in…and while it caused the pain to stop and knocked me out of my symphogear, it didn't change the fact that something just felt…wrong. It didn't help that the heat caused the whole pool to be vaporized pretty much. That was three months after Kadingir," the girl concluded, her hand having returned back to the table to grab her can of tea.

"I don't mean to pry, Hibiki, but what happened next? It doesn't sound like it ended there," Genjurou said, his face taking on a softer tone. 'Tsubasa…I remember you telling me that something didn't feel quite right at about that time. Was Hibiki's incident what you meant by that?' he thought, mind flashing back to when his niece had called him after having flown to the US in an attempt to locate the missing symphogear wielder.

"Dr. Nastassja and the doctors there…they ran so many tests, tried so many things to try to help contain the relic's spread once they found out about it. None of it worked though. They had all of Ryouko-san's, no, Finé's notes on me...it was kinda weird, to be honest. Still, none of what they tried worked. Eventually they just about forced me to agree not to transform. They told me that the next time I did, I could run the risk of the relic running too far out of control…and that I would more than likely die from it or be taken over by it."

Hibiki's words caused Genjurou pause. 'That explains where her research notes went to…at least, those on Hibiki. If she hadn't gone missing, FIS could have used those against her. As is, I guess I need to thank this Dr. Nastassja for keeping Hibiki alive…although it now leads me to wonder just how she's now completely clean of the fragments…' he thought, one hand stroking the underside of his chin in thought before he spoke.

"Something about this bothers me…I'm glad that it's the case, but how are you able to use your Symphogear again after they told you not to? What happened to the fragments of the Gungnir that was inside of you? Something's obviously changed; I mean, you even have a full relic pendant Gungnir now, so what happened?"

Hibiki's eyes darted back towards the display of the moon, mind racing as it flashed back to her accident. Taking a deep breath, the Gungnir wielder began to speak.

"I really don't know how it happened, or even why…to be honest, I'm just glad that it did. Not being allowed to transform for the better part of three months, to protect people...it was painful to me to see that. Maria and Serena did the best they could to encourage me, but it didn't really help. I felt lost, but I had to do something, you know? So I helped out around the research facility, trying my best to learn what I could, but it didn't feel the same…I want to protect those closest to me, and sitting there helpless didn't help. It was tough. I worked as hard as I could to get stronger without transforming, but I still wasn't myself…the only real things that made me happy while that happened was training, spending time with Maria and Serena, and singing. It was that time that got me thinking about becoming an idol," Hibiki said, her face downcast as she spoke. She then turned and looked at Genjurou in the eye, before continuing.

"Do you remember the jet that FIS used to escape at the bridge?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with how you don't have any trace of the fragments inside of you?"

"It has everything to do with it…that jet's stealth system is powered by a relic called the Shen Shou Jing…but the relic pendant powering that is the only thing left of that relic," Hibiki stated, her downcast voice causing Genjurou's eyes to widen. 'She can't be talking about the incident at the research lab outside of San Francisco just over five and a half months after Kadingir, is she?'

"Judging by the look on your face, I think you can figure out what happened…we were there for a test of the stealth system using the Shen Shou Jing as the main power source, or at least Nastassja was there for that. Serena, Maria, and I were just there to get out of the research facility for the day; I think they all knew just how stir-crazy I was going by then," she spoke, a small smile coming to her face. "It seemed like Nastassja had everything under control. Maria, Serena, and I were by the lab's recreation building, just using the pool, when there was an explosion. We ran over to try to help; Maria and Serena used their Symphogear while I tried to see who I could help. I remember walking near the plane, trying to find a way to get to a voice that I heard nearby. I had found a way, and I had transformed, taking the risk when all of a sudden there was this blinding purple light…All I remember is this pain that felt like something being ripped out of my body, and then just passing out," Hibiki said, her eyes narrowed in regret. "I was the lucky one…no one else within 300 feet of that plane survived that day. I wasn't able to protect them…" she trailed off, voice slowly starting to crack.

"I didn't wake up for a week, sensei. And while I was happy that all the tests they ran showed that I'd be okay, it still felt hollow. That light that I saw that day…it destroyed the fragments inside of me and saved my life. But to lose even the ability to have the power to protect others made me feel like a bird unable to fly. Yet again, Serena and Maria tried their best to keep me upbeat about it, along with Kirika-san and Shirabe-san, but it didn't help. I felt so empty, sensei…I was so happy when Serena gave me her get well present to me that I must have looked like a five year-old," the redhead said, a small laugh escaping her as she spoke. "That present…it was to give me my Gungnir back. To give me back my wings, the power I needed to fully protect those I care about was the greatest present I could have asked for. Serena told me to keep it a secret; no one was supposed to know about me having it, and it was supposed to be hers. She said something along the lines of how she thought that it'd be better off with me…it's the last happy memory I have of her. I failed to protect her, Sensei…I wasn't fully recovered after what happened with the Shen Shou Jing, and I wasn't able to get there in time…" Hibiki finished, her voice sounding hoarse at the emotions raging inside of her.

"Hibiki…it sounds like you two were close friends. I'm sorry about what happened, but I still have to ask; why did it take you two years to return? Again, we would have all been here to support you," Genjurou stated, sympathy in his voice as he spoke. At this, the redhead nodded, before speaking once more.

"If you ask Ogawa-san, he'd tell you that it was because I didn't want to be found. I wasn't strong enough to protect Serena from that thing, the Nephilim…I decided that I wouldn't be left that helpless again, so I followed what my heart's song said and left Maria and the others. I didn't want to be found…I didn't want to come back until I felt that I would be able to protect everyone close to me, no matter what," Gungnir's wielder spoke, a conviction entering her voice. 'Chris…I was able to get there in time to save you…I need to tell you how I feel. I love you too much not to tell you…' she thought, her mind flashing to the sleeping snow-haired girl in the Medbay.

"And do you feel as though you can do so? Hibiki…if I was to ask if you would rejoin the 2nd Division, formerly Section 2, would you do so?" the redheaded commander asked, face set in a serious position as he spoke. It didn't take long for him to get his response.

"Hai, sensei…I want to do so. But, there is one thing I want to ask for in exchange."

"And that is?"

"Please don't let Miku know…not yet. She's just as important to me as ever, and I don't even want to think about the possibility of her getting hurt because of me," Hibiki said, her voice firm as the image of the green-haired girl joined the snow-haired girl in her mind, equal in significance, but still so different.

"Are you sure about that? Hibiki…if anything, not telling Miku-san might be worse for her than telling her would be," the redheaded girl's sensei asked, his eyebrow raised. "And what about Chris? Hibiki…we all see the signs. We can all figure out how you feel about her without much effort…"

"Please, sensei…please don't tell Miku yet. It's something that I want to do myself, in my own way. As for Chris…Chris makes me feel complete to an extent, Sensei. I love her…there's no other way to describe it. Seeing her on stage…seeing her smile, as long as she's happy, I'm happy. I'm happiest when I'm with her," Hibiki began, her voice shaking. "I felt like a part of me broke when I saw her unconscious out there earlier tonight. I swore that I'd protect those closest to me, and yet I almost failed to protect her, just like I failed Serena…"

As the Gungnir wielder's voice trailed off, Genjurou looked up, the door to the observation area sliding open to reveal a tired-looking Tsubasa. Entering the room, the bluenette yawned briefly before smiling at the sight of the younger girl in the room.

"Hibiki... Just the person I've been looking for. The Nurse downstairs wanted me to tell you that the Doctors have cleared Chris for visitors now."

Those words got the redhead's attention, shaking her out of her downcast state. Shooting to her feet, Hibiki'sturned to the door, a smile slowly emerging to her face. 'Chris...' she thought, before racing towards the door.

Before she could even blink, Tsubasa was smothered in a hug from the redhead, causing her to blush gently in surprise. Taking a step back, Hibiki smiled before bowing to Tsubasa and Genjurou.

"Tsubasa-san…thank you for telling me. Sensei, we can talk more later if you want; I'm sorry, but there's somewhere I want to be…somewhere I need to be," she said, before turning and taking off in a dead sprint towards the lift that would take her to the Medbay.

"How much of that did you hear, Tsubasa?" Genjurou asked, an inquisitive look in his eye as he looked at his niece.

"Only the end…I've only been awake for fifteen minutes. Looks like you owe me some money, Uncle Genjurou," Tsubasa replied, her hand out towards her uncle. "Pay up."

Grumbling slightly as he pulled out his wallet, Genjurou sighed. 'This is what I get for betting my niece about her own teammate's feelings...It's a hard path we travel. Those three, Chris and Hibiki, along with Miku-san…they deserve some happiness,' he thought, before placing the money he had just lost in his niece's waiting hand.

2nd Division Temporary Headquarters, Medbay, Two Hours Later

The room was quiet as Hibiki sat, her chair directly next to the bed in which the snow-haired girl slept. Upon hearing from Tsubasa about how Chris could have visitors, the redhead had raced to the Ichaival wielder's hospital room, almost refusing to move from her side in the two hours since. And while everything was quiet on the outside, Hibiki's face hid the storm of emotions raging inside of her that threw her thoughts around like a storm.

'Chris…I don't really know where to begin about how I feel,' she thought, her mind flashing back to all the moments she had been around the snow-haired girl since she had returned. 'I've fallen for you so fast…yet it feels right, just like it does with Miku. It's like just being with you lights up my world...but I'm still worried that what you saw during the fight against the Nephilim…are you scared of me because of it? I wouldn't blame you if you were,' she continued to think, her hand slowly lacing with Chris' own. 'You're the most important person in my world…I don't know if I could forgive myself if I hurt you. I was so scared when I saw you there, unconscious...I just couldn't handle even the thought of losing you.'

Hibiki was shaken from her thoughts by the feeling of the hand she was holding squeezing her own gently. Looking up with her eyes wide, the redhead saw Chris' eyes staring into her own with a look of concern written within them.

"Chris…I'm sorry…I wasn't there quickly enough to keep you from getting hurt," Hibiki began, before a shake of the head from the snow-haired girl cut her off.

"Hibiki…I'm right here, you idiot. I'm not going anywhere…I'm fine, really, I am…" the snow-haired girl began, her heart racing at the proximity of the Gungnir wielder as well as the way she was holding her hand. 'Hibiki…you look so upset…and it's hurting me to see you like this…'

"I know that you're here and that you're fine. Still, I failed, Chris. I couldn't protect you, and it was luck that I showed up when I did…" the redhead began, her voice cracking with guilt. The snow-haired girl frowned at this; while she knew her own feelings, she still wasn't completely certain of the other girl's own.

"Hibiki, while we did get a little lucky, you still managed to save me, didn't you? I'm here and I'm not going anywhere," Chris said, trying to reassure the girl in front of her. 'Hibiki, please…don't blame yourself for me being in the hospital right now. It's no one's fault other than that bastard Doctor Ver; none of us expected that thing to be that strong. Seeing you like this is hurting me so badly…I don't know what to do to help you feel better,' she thought, slowly reaching over and encasing the redhead's hand with her other hand as well.

"Chris, I thought you could have been killed…when I saw you there, I just snapped. I couldn't stand what it had done…not to you," Hibiki said, her voice shaking slightly. "Then when I heard you, I thought I had scared you away. I don't ever want to do that, not to you. I can't lose you, Chris," she continued, causing Chris' eyes to widen, a blush crossing her face as the words hit home. 'Hibiki…what are you trying to tell me? Do you feel the same way I do?'

"Hibiki-baka, you weren't going to lose me…you didn't lose me at all. I would have been there, no matter what. Someone needs to keep you going the right direction after all," Chris said, a small smile coming to her face as she closed her eyes, finally piecing things together. "Hibiki, there's something I have to tell-mmph" the snow haired girl continued, before being cut off as her mind went blank, fireworks erupting from her lips as she felt the Gungnir wielder's lips pressed against her own.

'Raspberries…her lips taste like raspberries…' Hibiki thought as she slowly pulled away from the snow-haired girl in front of her, a heavy blush adorning her face as she broke the kiss. 'That's one way to start, I guess,' she thought, a smile coming to her face as Chris sat eyes wide with a blush on her face as well. 'Here goes nothing…'

"Chris…You're the most important person in my life. I can't lose you. I…I love you, Chris. I don't know how you feel, but I just had to tell you…" Hibiki said, a serene smile on her face as she sat down on the edge of the bed next to the Ichaival wielder. Chris sat there in silence, her fingers tracing her lips before she began to respond.

"Hibiki, that was…wow…" she whispered, a small smile coming to her face. 'I feel like I'm in heaven. If I'm dreaming, please don't wake me up…' she thought, before looking at the redhead in front of her and continuing.

"Hibiki, you don't know how happy I am right now, you idiot. I…I love you too, Hibiki-baka," Chris said, the joy she felt spilling into each word she spoke. 'That was real…it felt so much more real than anything that Finé could have said or done. Is this what it means to truly be in love with someone? To be happy when they're happy, to be upset when they're hurt? That felt so much different from, so much better than anything I've ever felt before…' the snow-haired girl thought, her smile growing as she squeezed the other girl's hand. After a few moments of silence, she continued, interrupting the silence around the duo and in the room.

"Still…I wonder just how Miku is going to react to this. Hibiki, she doesn't know that you're alive, does she?" Chris asked, her words causing the girl next to her to shake her head. "Why haven't you told her yet? Shouldn't we tell her about us? I mean, I'm sure she'll be happy about it; she and the others have been getting on me for weeks about if I was seeing anyone. It's been kinda getting on my nerves," she said, the annoyed look on her face making Hibiki laugh softly before she replied.

"Chris, as much as I want to tell her about us, I don't want her to know that I'm alive quite yet. Not until we've been able to stop whatever FIS' plans are," the Gungnir wielder spoke, her tone of voice almost shocking Chris. "Believe me, I don't like doing it…it hurts that I have to lie to her again. I'd be perfectly happy to tell her about us, though..."

"Yeah…" Chris said, her voice trailing off as she leaned over towards the other symphogear wielder, resting her head on her shoulder. As Hibiki wrapped her arm around her shoulders, Chris continued. "Still, promise me that when we finish things with FIS, you'll tell her. Hibiki, Miku was broken after you left. It took almost a year for her to even be somewhat back to normal. Please, promise me…" she continued, closing her eyes and relaxing. 'This feels so natural to me…being here with Hibiki like this…'

"I promise, Chris. I'll tell her when we've finished things with FIS…" the redhead whispered, before turning towards the snow-haired girl and smiling at the sight. Her head resting on Hibiki's shoulder, the Gungnir wielder had only one word come to mind at the sight. 'Beautiful…' she thought, before she continued. "So I guess that makes it official then…Chris, would you go out with me?" she asked, her question stirring the snow-haired girl out of her peaceful state.

"How's this for an answer?" Chris asked, before leaning up and kissing the Gungnir wielder on the lips, causing fireworks to erupt in both girls' minds at the sensation once again. 'Strawberries…' she thought, eyes closing before she released the kiss, sliding her head back to the redhead's shoulder and resting it once more. "Yes, Hibiki-baka…of course I'll go out with you. You may be an idiot sometimes, but you're my idiot, and I wouldn't have you any other way."

A sudden coughing sound coming from the doorway drew both girls' attention away from the moment however, as a slightly red-faced Tsubasa was revealed to be standing at the door. Shaking her head as she smiled in amusement, she spoke up.

"I was wondering when you two would finally just admit it...did I interrupt something?" the bluenette asked, causing both of the other symphogear wielders to blush in embarrassment. Laughing at the reaction, Tsubasa tossed a black and orange jacket at the redhead in the room, which was caught easily. Unfolding it, it revealed a black quarter-zip jacket with orange trim.

"Tsubasa-san, what's this for?" Hibiki asked, an eyebrow rose as she held up the jacket in front of herself, getting a nod of approval from Chris in the process. "I just asked Genjurou-sensei to reactivate me this morning, didn't I?"

"You did. He just had me give that to you as his way of saying 'Welcome Back' to the team. That's not why I'm here though; Hibiki, Ogawa-san asked me to tell you that he wants you to meet him at the studio this morning. You've got interviews today-your first single comes out later this week, after all."

FIS Stealth Airplane, Location Unknown Near Tokyo, 2 Days Later

The movie playing on screen almost seemed unbelievable to see, as the footage from earlier that week replayed itself. To Akatsuki Kirika, some of what was being shown almost seemed unreal, with the level of brutality shown by the Nephilim almost being ripped from one of those horror flicks she had seen in the past.

"That lunatic! He's lucky that we can't find him right now…" the blonde girl said, her eyes narrowing as she punched the wall of the room she was in. Alongside of her, her best friend Tsukuyomi Shirabe nodded, fists clenched tightly before the Igalima wielder continued. "Just how far is he willing to go? To allow that…thing to almost kill someone without obtaining the relic…That's just cruel!" she continued, as the video showed the creature knocking Chris out cold and sending her towards seeming death.

"That's what he had meant by feeding the Nephilim a relic fragment...to let it devour part of or more of a Symphogear itself…if Yukine-san hadn't have pulled back, she would have lost more than just her weapon. She could have easily lost her arm along with it," the twin-ponytailed girl spoke, eyes widened as the scene in front of her unfolded with Hibiki leaping in and catching the unconscious snow-haired girl. While the quartet in the room didn't have audio of what was said on the battlefield that night a few days prior, the images on film were more than enough to get the basic idea of what was going on. 'Looks like you really did mean it when you said you would protect everyone close to you, didn't you, Hibiki-san? It still won't be enough for you to regain the trust you threw away...' she thought, her eyes staring at the screen.

"Damnit…that Doctor Ver…all he did out there was try to play with a human life…" the voice of Maria Cadenzavna Eve spoke up, drawing attention to her. Standing in the back of the room, the pinkette had returned to their location earlier that day clad in a new primarily silver hoodie and jeans. And while both Kirika and Shirabe were happy to see her back, both of them could sense a different air to the older girl. It was almost as if something had changed within her during her time alone. "There's no way that this is what we're meant to be doing, mom. You know that Serena wouldn't approve of this…"

Nearby, Nastassja sighed, drawing attentive looks from the other girls in the room. While she knew that the Black Gungnir wielder was correct in how her sister would have viewed this, now was not the time for this. Maria's statement however had drawn the effect that she had wanted to have though, as both Kirika and Shirabe's faces fell.

"We're doing the right thing, aren't we?" The blonde girl asked, her eyes barely being able to look at the video on screen as Hibiki began her dominance over the Nephilim. "Are we really doing the right thing by following this plan? There has to be another way to stop the moon from falling, isn't there?"

"And if we are doing the right thing, then why do I feel my heart calling out at this?" Shirabe asked, her eyes downcast and looking away from the screen. 'Tachibana-san...no, Hibiki-san, you're powerful, but you still haven't shown me any regret for what happened. Until you do, I wont be able to forgive you for what you've done,' she thought, eye locked onto the screen. The video showed Hibiki's counter kick to the Nephilim's arm, breaking it and leaving it hanging useless as the trio of symphogear wielders in the room tried to process what they were seeing. It didn't take long for Nastassja to respond however.

"All three of you have to throw away that gentleness, that weakness that you all share. And you have to do it right now," she began, her words drawing a frown from the pinkette in the back of the room. "We have no need for smiles, not where we are now. Not when we're this close to reaching our goal…not when Frontier is this close…" she stated, her words causing Maria to turn and leave the room. And while the pinkette had a frown on her face, it wasn't just one of displeasure at what Nastassja had said.

'Serena…I don't think that I can keep doing this. I can't keep going along with what Doctor Ver is planning, with what he and Mom are leading us towards. This isn't the way to save everyone…I'll do everything I can to keep Kirika and Shirabe safe from this, just like you would want me to do. It's what my heart is telling me I need to do, and I'm going to follow it no matter what, just like how Hibiki-san has been following hers,' Maria thought as the door to the room closed behind her, her thoughts turning to the conversation she had with the Gungnir wielder earlier that day when she had returned to her apartment after two days away. 'Hibiki-san…I know you'll do everything you can to protect Chris-san, Tsubasa-san, and everyone else close to you. I'm glad that we've been able to become friends again, and I won't waste this second chance.'

Maria's thoughts were cut off however by the voice of Kirika coming from the speaker system near her, the words themselves causing her to snap into action immediately.

"Maria! Please, get in here fast! It's mom…she's having another attack!"

Galactic Records Japan Tokyo Studios, Shinjuku

Kazanari Tsubasa was bored. While she understood the importance of the day-before release interviews, that didn't make them any less boring for her to sit through, especially now that she was on the management side of things and had other things to think about. 'It doesn't help that Uncle Genjurou told me how Hibiki had met with Maria-san in the past, as well as how she's lucky to even be alive right now…for the fragments that were inside of her to have been destroyed…' she thought, a brief shiver passing down her spine. Shaking her head, the bluenette spoke up, her voice cutting off the media member conducting the interview.

"I'm sorry Tabata-san, but I'm afraid that's all the time that Sora-san has for your interview today. If you want to schedule another interview for next week, I'm sure we can arrange for that; just speak with Yukimura-san at the front desk or contact Ogawa-san about that directly."

Nodding briefly, the media member stood before shaking hands with both the former idol and her rising star. After saying his well-wishes, he left, leaving both Tsubasa and Hibiki in the interview room by themselves.

"Tsubasa-san, please tell me that was the last one for today," Hibiki said, her eyes darting to the watch she wore on her left wrist. "How did you handle doing these types of interviews so well? They all ask the same questions over and over again. I'm surprised that Ogawa-san has you basically overseeing everything leading up to the release tomorrow, since you're still in training…"

Those words got the bluenette to laugh briefly, before she went back into her serious mindset. Even after having retired from actually performing on stage, the manager in training still had a difficult time letting herself relax. Taking a moment to smile, Tsubasa began to speak.

"Yes, Hibiki, that was the last one for today. And to answer your question, I wasn't the greatest in the world at these things either," she said before pushing herself up from the table and stretching, her navy blouse restricting her movement slightly. "However, as much as I know you don't want to be late for your date this afternoon, there's something that we need to talk about, Hibiki."

This got the redhead's attention in a hurry. Blushing as red as her hair color, she looked over at the bluenette with an impatient look on her face, before speaking up.

"Tsubasa-san…I told Chris that I'd meet her at 3:30. Do we have to talk about this now?" Hibiki asked, before noting the grim look on the older girl's face and reconsidering. "I guess we do, don't we? Looks like it's unavoidable, isn't it…" she continued, causing the bluenette to nod, a grim look on her face.

"I'm sure your girlfriend will understand, Hibiki. After all, she and I are both in agreement on this, as is Genjurou-taichou," the Ame no Habakiri wielder began, a tone of utter seriousness entering her voice. Taking a deep breath to gather her thoughts, she continued. "Hibiki….while I'm glad that you're back, you have to stop thinking that you have to do everything on your own. We're a team now, and I don't just mean professionally. We're partners again, just like two years ago. I have your back now, and so does Chris, just like you have both of ours."

The words from her teammate and assistant manager caused the Gungnir wielder to frown. 'While I know that Tsubasa-san is right, I still won't let either her or Chris get hurt…I won't let anyone I'm close to get hurt. As long as I'm the biggest target for FIS, the others won't get hurt…' Hibiki thought, eyes looking away from the older girl as she began to speak once more.

"Listen, Hibiki. Before you arrived at that fight the other night, Ver mentioned that the moon is going to fall, and he's unfortunately right about that. While he said that they're going to try to save as many people as they can, he sure didn't act like that's what he meant…" Tsubasa began, drawing a bigger frown from the younger girl at the news. "If they're serious about using the power of the Nephilim to create a new country and stop the moon, then what kind of country would that be? They talk such a big game about saving everyone, but then their actions go completely against that. So which is it? It can't be as simple as Ver wants it to seem. Hibiki, if we're going to stop whatever their real plan is, then we have to work together as a team. You're not alone out there, not anymore. So please, let us help you."

At those words, the younger girl sighed. 'Tsubasa-san's right, that can't be their real plan…not from how Ver is acting. But I would never forgive myself if Tsubasa-san, Miku, and Chris were put in danger because of me…Is my going it alone only putting them into more danger?' she thought, eyes narrowing in determination. Gathering herself, she started her reply.

"Tsubasa-san, I'm happy that you're so concerned. But still, if I'm their biggest target, then I don't know if I could protect you and Chris if we're all out there. What if they go after you two, or even Miku, in an attempt to get to me? I don't know if I could ever forgive myself for that," Hibiki whispered, her voice haunted as images of what happened to Serena flashed through her mind. "I failed to protect Serena, and I almost failed to protect Chris. If we're all out there, and one of you two took a major hit meant for me, I don't know if I could handle it…" Her voice trailing off, Hibiki closed her eyes, trying to find a way to calm down.

'Hibiki…you must really be torn up about this, aren't you?' Tsubasa thought, her eyes softening at the sight of the younger girl in front of her. Walking over to the younger girl quietly, she wrapped the Gungnir wielder in a hug, surprising the younger girl as well as herself. 'I have to at least try to do something to help her. If she tries to carry the burden of all this on her own…she could break as a result of that. I won't let that happen, and neither will Chris...'

"Hibiki…I heard about how you survived the Gungnir fragments spreading within you. It's an amazing gift that you not only survived, but have come back stronger than ever since. Please, don't waste the second chance at life you've been given as a result. Let Chris and I protect you too, just as we both know you'll be protecting us," the bluenette whispered, her voice calming. Letting go of the younger girl, she smiled before continuing. "Feeling better, Hibiki?"

"Hai, Tsubasa-san," Gungnir's wielder said, nodding and smiling in gratitude. 'I won't let them get hurt…I have to do everything in my power to protect them, just like they want to protect me…' she thought, her mind summoning forth her resolve. The bluenette nodded in response before starting to speak once more, pulling her phone out and pulling up a specific text message.

"Good. Now, what's this I hear from Miku-san about how you had told her that Chris and a friend could come visit you in studio? I already told Ogawa-san about it, and he ran it by the higher ups and got it approved, but how are you planning to go about this? Your single does come out tomorrow, after all."

Needless to say, when Hibiki finally left the studio, she was running late for her lunch date.

Kadingir Ruins, Special Sealed Zone, Tokyo

Doctor Ver had not been having a good time of things over the past couple of days. First the Nephilim, his prized creature, had been utterly destroyed singlehandedly by Tachibana Hibiki. Then the main part of it, the Nephilim's Heart, was simply thrown aside, leaving it to be who knows where. And now he's been out here by himself for the past two days straight wandering around and trying to find the damn thing. Cursing to himself, the doctor continued to walk, using the Staff of Solomon as a cane.

"Damn that Tachibana…her destroying the Nephilim puts a serious delay into my plans," the doctor stated, limping along. He had seen the Nephilim's Heart land somewhere in this direction; however, there was a lot of ground to cover, and he was running out of time with which to do so. "It's only a matter of time as well before the rest of FIS comes looking for me. If I don't have the heart back by then, there could be problems."

Continuing to stagger along, the Doctor finally made a misstep at the edge of a rocky hill. Quickly losing his balance, he fell over backwards, beginning the long painful slide to the base of it, rolling and tumbling as he fell. 'Oh SHIT!' He thought as he fell, screaming the whole way down. After what seemed like hours in his mind, he finally reached the bottom of the hill, landing face down on the ground.

"That…didn't…tickle…" he groaned out, pushing himself off the ground and reaching for the Staff of Solomon. As he did, however, what he saw in a small alcove made him positively giddy.

"Hahahahaha…Tachibana…I may have a chance to pay you back yet. As long as I have this, I'll be a hero!" the Doctor stated as his eyes rested on the glowing form of the Nephilim's Heart, its red core pulsating with a sinister red light as he picked it up from its resting place. Quickly turning to leave the area, a plan started to formulate in the Doctor's mind, one that would allow him to hopefully get his payback on the redhead who had humiliated him previously.

FIS Stealth Airplane, Location Unknown Near Tokyo, Medical Room

Maria Cadenzavna Eve sat in the medical room of FIS' stealth airplane, silently humming to herself. The song she was humming, "Ringo", was one that both her and her sister had been taught by the woman lying in the bed nearby. Looking over to where Nastassja was laid up in bed after another attack of her illness, Maria found her thoughts drifting to where things had seemingly gone wrong. 'Mom…I just don't get what you're trying to push us towards. The actions that you've taken are wrong, and I think that you know it, so why? What we've been doing isn't right; I know it for sure now. The only question is, what can I do next to continue to try to make things right? I've already started to patch things up with Hibiki-san, so what's the next step? I told Hibiki-san that I'll protect Kirika and Shirabe, and to leave that to me. For now though, I'll have to be patient, and keep following the song of my heart,' she thought, determination entering her eyes as the voice of the woman in the bed got her attention.

"Maria? What are you doing here? Where are Kirika and Shirabe?" Nastassja asked, trying to climb up on her elbows as she looked at the pink-haired girl leaning against the wall. 'She's such a gentle girl…but yet she seems to have found something that she wants to fight for. What could have changed, what did you find while you were away, Maria? And it's not just her…I've given all three of these gentle girls such a heavy cross to bear. I wonder at times if it's just too much for them to handle, too much of a burden for them to bear. And yet Maria seems like she has a different outlook on things, a new burden to bear now. I wonder…Hibiki-san, did you have anything to do with the change in Maria?' the doctor thought, finally sitting up. 'I may have been doing the wrong thing after all. Serena…I know you would be ashamed of my actions up until now. But with Frontier this close, all I can do now is keep pushing ahead, and do what I can to save the people of this world. There's no other option; Frontier is our only chance at putting the moon back into its correct orbit,' she thought, her being seated finally drawing the pinkette in the room's attention.

"Mom…you shouldn't be up right now. You're still sick. Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Maria asked, concern entering her voice. Nodding briefly, the older woman replied, no coughing needed.

"Maria, I'm doing fine. I think the worst of it is gone now. Where are Kirika and Shirabe?" the older woman asked, a questioning tone in her eyes almost challenging the pinkette to give her the wrong answer.

"They went out to look for Doctor Ver. I may have been able to do first aid, but I can't treat your illness myself, you know that," the Black Gungnir wielder stated, an irritated tone in her voice. Before Nastassja could ask however, the communication system beeped, signaling an inbound call.

"It's me, go ahead," Nastassja said, her voice somewhat serious. It wasn't a very long delay before she received a reply.

"Mom? You're awake? Are you feeling better?" the voice of Kirika asked, as Maria walked over to where her mother was sitting up.

"I was able to get through the worst of it with Maria's help. Have you been able to locate Doctor Ver?"

"I'm glad that you're okay," Shirabe's voice spoke coming through from the distance. "I know we were supposed to be standing by, but we haven't been able to locate him yet."

"I see…did Maria ask you to go find the doctor?"

"No….we did this on our own. Although I think she would have eventually told us to do so anyways," Kirika said, a clear sigh coming through the audio feed.

"Only the doctor can help you get fully better, and we know that. So we decided together to go find him," Shirabe's voice spoke, drawing a smile from the bedridden woman.

"Thank you, both of you. Although there's something that I do want the three of you to do, if you can," Nastassja spoke, gratitude entering her voice as she spoke. "Please try to forgive Hibiki-san for what happened back then. I was the one who told her to stay away from the test area that day, so it's my cross to bear for not taking enough measures. I can't expect you to do so right away, but at least make an effort," she said, causing Maria's eyes to widen slightly.

"Hai, mom….we'll try…" Kirika said, before ending the call. Maria's thoughts however were slightly different. 'Mom, where did that come from? I don't understand you…you can say that we need to be tough about this, and yet now you're asking them to forgive Hibiki-san? What's going on? I don't think that we're out of the woods yet. I still can't forgive you for the actions you've taken, at least not very easily. Hibiki-san, please be careful…I think I just figured out who the true mastermind is here, and I don't like it one bit. I won't let you get hurt again, along with Kirika and Shirabe, so please be careful…'

Tokyo, Akihabara

"I didn't expect mom to pick up. She's supposed to still be resting," Kirika said, letting out a sigh of relief. Besides her, Shirabe nodded, a small smile coming onto her face as she looked at her best friend.

"I'm really glad that she did though. It's a relief to see her at least being able to talk for the moment," the twin-ponytailed girl said, drawing a nod from the blonde. Just then a growl emanated from Kirika's stomach, causing her to blush. 'Kiri-chan…she looks so cute when she blushes like that…' the shorter girl thought, before shaking her head quickly. 'Wait, where'd that come from?'

"Guess that this is what happens when you relax for even a minute while you have a job to do, isn't it?" Kirika said, one arm behind her head as she laughed sheepishly. Shirabe shook her head in reply, an amused smile on her face before she responded.

"You're always hungry, you know that? But you're right this time. We haven't had a single thing to eat all day," Shirabe said, before turning to look around for any sort of restaurant in the vicinity. "Should we try to at least find something to eat around here?"

"Yeah. I don't think we'll be able to find anyone if we keep going like this. And what do you mean I'm always hungry? I'm a growing girl, you know!" Kirika replied, fake indignation in her voice before both girls laughed. After a couple minutes however, they stopped laughing, as both girls' stomachs growled once more.

"We should try to find something quick then," Shirabe said, before a more serious look emerged on her face. "We do need to hurry and find the doctor, after all." This got the blonde next to her to nod, before taking Shirabe's hand and starting to run. They had some serious ground to cover, after all.

Lydian Music Academy, Classroom

It had been another long and busy day of classes for Chris, but as the bell rang signifying the end of her final class of the day, she let out a sigh of relief. While she had tried to pay attention in class, her mind was elsewhere; she had just gotten out of the Medbay that morning, and still hadn't had the chance to talk to Miku about her new relationship. 'Not to mention that I have to get ready; I said that I'd meet Hibiki at 3:30,' she thought, as she raced to put her class materials away. She was interrupted by an unlikely source however.

"Ne, Chris-san…We were going to go to Flower after class today. Do you want to come with us?" Andou Kuriyo asked, her other friends standing with her as she approached the snow-haired girl's desk. Looking up in surprise, the Ichaival wielder smiled softly, before shaking her head and replying.

"Ah…I'm sorry, Kuriyo-san. I said I'd meet someone for a late lunch in about an hour or so. Maybe next time though?" Chris said, getting a nod from the girl as she put the last of her materials away and closed her school bag. "Miku, I'll probably be back later tonight, so don't worry about me, okay?"

The question drew the aforementioned green-haired girl out of her own thoughts. Looking up at her roommate, she managed to force herself to smile, before nodding.

"Just be careful, okay? You just got out of the Medbay this morning," Miku said, causing the Ichaival wielder to nod, before running out the door of the classroom. Eyes rotating away from the door, where she had been staring as her roommate left, Miku looked at her friends, before nodding. "Are you guys ready to go? Just one more class, then we get to go to Flower."

"Yeah, but I have to wonder why Chris looked like she was in such a rush? Does she have a date or something today? I wonder who she's in such a rush to meet with," Terashima Shiori said, her hand under her chin while she had an inquisitive frown on her face. "I know I haven't seen her with anyone on campus, have any of you?" As the other girls shook their heads, Miku was only able to frown. She had seen her roommate with someone on campus; in fact, it was just that morning. But what she had seen had caused her stomach to curl up in knots.

'I know I shouldn't be this…upset at who Chris is seeing, but I still just don't like seeing her with Sora-san of all people,' she thought, images flashing through her mind of the new couple pulling up to the school gates on the idol's motorcycle early that morning. 'I still can't help but have this weird feeling that I know Sora-san from somewhere…it's like a part of my soul is telling me that I know who she is, but I just can't quite put all the pieces together. I should be happy for Chris, after she's been alone for so long. And yet I can't help but be jealous of her, and of Sora-san as well. They looked so happy this morning,' she continued, eyes narrowing as the images changed to how she had seen the redhead kiss her roommate out in front of the dorm at sunrise, still too early for anyone else to be awake. 'I can't believe I missed my chance to tell Chris how I felt…'

"Yoo-hoo…earth to Miku! You in there? You look mad about something," Miku's third friend, Itaba Yumi, spoke, causing the green-haired girl to nearly leap in surprise. "Jeez…if I didn't know any better, I'd say someone's jealous…" she continued, poking at Miku's side, getting an annoyed look from Miku in reply.

"I'm not jealous, Yumi-san…I mean it! I'm really not!" Miku said, her friend giving her a dismissing look as the quartet began to leave the classroom for their walk to their final class of the day.

"Yeah, sure, tell that to someone who you haven't told that you're crushing on Chris, Miku-san," Miku's friends all said in perfect unison, causing the green-haired girl to flush in embarrassment.

"It's not funny, you guys!" she said, before they all laughed. It would be one of the last laughs they would have as a group that day.

Tokyo, Shinjuku, Outside of Restaurant 'Nagareboshi'

Looking at her watch, Hibiki stood outside the restaurant, waiting nervously. 'Looks like we're both running a bit late. I hope she likes this place; if not, then I'm never asking Tsubasa-san for restaurant suggestions again,' the redhead thought as her eyes darted around, searching for any sign of her date. She didn't have to wait too long though, as the snow-haired object of her affections came running up to her.

"Sorry I'm late…did you have to wait too long?" Chris asked, panting briefly. She had run all the way from the train station to the restaurant, no easy feat. As a result, her crimson dress looked a bit unorganized. "I got held up after class…wait, you wanted to come here? Hibiki, I can't afford this type of place, you know that!" This caused Hibiki to laugh softly, before smiling.

"Who said that you had to pay, Chris? This one's on me. And you might wanna ask Tsubasa-san why here; she told me about it, and said that it would be a good place," Hibiki began, before stepping away from the wall she had been leaning against and offering the shorter girl her hand. "

"Hibiki, I swear if this doesn't go well, this is your fault. Don't try to pass it off onto Tsubasa-san," Chris said, shaking her head while smiling softly before grabbing the offered hand, a jolt of electricity passing through her as she did so. 'I just can't actually stay mad at her, can I? I can't even pretend to be angry all that well…' she thought, as the duo entered the restaurant.

-SotHR-

"Your order will be out shortly, you two," the waitress said, before heading to the kitchen. Nodding briefly, Chris looked around at the interior of the restaurant she was seated in, taking in the area before returning her eyes to the redhead in front of her.

"I have to say, this place is really nice. I'm still not letting you off the hook for this though," Chris said, eyes narrowed playfully as she took a sip of her raspberry iced tea she had ordered. Laughing softly, Hibiki smiled, before squeezing Chris' hand.

"I don't expect you to, Chris. Still, at least you look like you're having fun with things," the redhead replied, drawing a smile and a blush from Ichaival's wielder. The couple had been sitting in the restaurant for a good fifteen minutes already, and had been trying to catch up on things.

"I am…I'm just kinda nervous, you know? I haven't really been out on a date like this before, and you're taking me out to this type of place on our first date? You're setting the bar awfully high, Hibiki," Chris said, smiling at the girl in front of her as she nodded. 'There's nowhere that I'd rather be right now, though. Miku and her friends are nice, but at the same time…' she thought, relaxing a bit in the booth they sat in.

'You're not the only nervous one, Chris,' Hibiki thought, absentmindedly stirring her lemonade with a smile on her face. 'I don't even know where to start talking right now…' she continued to think, her eyes staring at the snow-haired girl's violet orbs. 'I can get lost in those so easily…'

"Hibiki, what? Why are you staring? You're making me anxious here," Chris said, noticing the redhead. Grinning, the redhead shook her head, before replying.

"It's nothing…just thinking about how deep your eyes are, that's all," Hibiki said, a genuine smile emerging on her face as the snow-haired girl blushed. "It's been so long since I've gotten to really do anything normal. And yet it's only made better since you're here, Chris," she continued, before their conversation was interrupted by the return of their waitress with their meals.

-SotHR-

"Well, that was a good lunch, but what do you have in mind now, Hibiki?" Chris asked as the duo exited 'Nagareboshi'. Looking over at the shorter girl, Hibiki smiled, her eyes hiding a bit of mischief, before responding.

"I was thinking maybe a movie…anything out that you're wanting to see, Chris?" she said, a smile on her face. "I don't really care what we see…what matters is that we're together to see it," she continued, her hand slipping into the Ichaival wielder's own and causing both girls to blush gently. Before Chris could respond however, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of an explosion from nearby. A sense of dread sinking in, both girls turned in the direction the explosion had come from.

"Sounds like that movie might have to wait a little while," Chris growled out, a snarl on her face. 'Whatever that is, it's gonna pay for interrupting my date…' she thought, as the duo shared a nod before running towards the source of the explosion.

"We've gotta hurry…I have a really bad feeling about this…" Hibiki said, her eyes narrowing as she spoke. 'Whoever or whatever did this has the worst timing ever…I have this sinking feeling about it, too…'

Tokyo, Shinjuku, Near Restaurant 'Flower'

"I still wonder when someone asked Chris out though," Kuriyo stated as Miku and her friends walked down the steps from the train station. While they weren't all that far away from their destination now, there was still a little walk left to go. And the topic of conversation had barely changed once since they had gotten out of class for the day.

"Forget about when, I wanna know who! And why wouldn't she have said anything about it?" Yumi asked, an inquisitive look on her face. "I know, maybe it's like something ripped out of one of those romance anime! The need to keep it secret from everyone else only draws the two closer!"

'If only it was that simple, Yumi-san,' Miku thought, her face downcast as she walked at the back part of the group of friends. Her thoughts turned quickly to the bitter twisting feeling in her stomach she had gotten when seeing her roommate and the rising idol "Sora" kiss in front of their dorm building. Miku had been just returning from her morning run when she saw the duo. 'I had made up my mind that I'd try to tell her soon. And yet, seeing those two, I can't help but feel like I missed my chance before the festival,' Miku thought, hands curling into fists subconsciously. 'Damnit…I should be happy for her, not upset about my own failing or upset at her or even at Sora-san. Chris…she deserves happiness, no matter who it's with.'

"Miku? Hey…are you sure you're okay? You've been acting weird all day," Shiori said, looking at the dark haired girl with concern in her eyes. "I'm seriously worried you guys…Miku's been so quiet today."

While the trio of girls with Miku all knew that she was attracted to the snow-haired girl, they also had known her for long enough to remember just how badly she had been affected by the death of her prior roommate, Tachibana Hibiki. Miku had been pretty obvious about how she had fallen for the cream-haired girl, and it seemed as though Hibiki had at least felt something for her as well. Her death had caused Miku to become completely withdrawn, and it wasn't until she had become roommates with Chris that she began to recover.

"It's nothing, really. I just wonder if I've missed my chance again, just like I did with Hibiki," Miku said, her voice quiet as they walked towards where the last set of stairs awaited. The thought was not a comforting one to the green-haired girl, and if anything it only made her stomach roll even further. "Can we please talk about something else?" she snapped, before catching herself and letting her face fall.

"Miku, we're your friends. We're here for you, you know that," Shiori stated, turning and smiling at her friend. "It's okay for you to let it out. We'll support you no matter what. That's what friends do, right guys?" behind the blonde, both Kuriyo and Yumi nodded, before smiling at the green haired girl.

Finally reaching street level, the quartet of girls prepared to walk down the street towards their destination: the okonomiyaki restaurant 'Flower', where they were among the restaurant owner's favorite customers. Before they could get too much further however, the sound of sirens caused the girls to freeze, as a number of all black cars raced by.

"What's going on?" Yumi stated, as Miku's eyes narrowed, head turning to follow the cars as they raced by. 'Those were 2nd Division personnel…what are they doing out here right now? Is there an attack?' Miku thought, before the roar of an explosion filled the air, smoke and flames billowing out from just around the corner. Dropping her schoolbag against her better judgment, she ran, her friends proceeding to follow her after Kuriyo picked up the green-haired girl's bag.

What they saw when they rounded the corner was what looked like a warzone. Cars were overturned, fires burning from their engine blocks as some vehicles looked like crumpled soda cans. On the ground, some of the 2nd division men were clearly out cold, injuries from the crash being easily visible. However, what else was there was what got Miku's attention.

"Noise…they're here too?" She whispered, a horrified look on her face as she caught sight of the noise nearby, carbon ash piling on the ground slowly. And behind them all, Doctor Ver stood, a crazed grin on his face. Finally noticing the newcomers, the madman laughed, a bundled object cradled under his left arm.

"You…I recognize you…" Ver began, taking a slow step forwards towards Miku. As she took a step back in surprise, he continued. "You're the friend of those brats who slaughtered my precious Nephilim the other night, aren't you?"

Hearing those words, Miku's mind raced. 'The other night? Is that why Chris was in the hospital? Because of this 'Nephilim' this madman's talking about?' she thought, eyes widening in fear as a devilish smirk emerged onto Ver's face.

"It doesn't matter who comes after me, I can't let them have this. But if I use you…yes, I can use you as bait for those red, blue, and orange brats. Or if I kill you, I can begin to have my revenge on them for what they did to my precious Nephilim," Ver continued, before raising the Staff of Solomon in his hand and pointing it at Miku and her friends. A moment later, he issued his order.

"Kill them. I want their screams to draw them out."

Time seemed to slow down for Miku as she stumbled, falling backwards over the dying body of a 2nd division suit. As the noise prepared to attack, lunging forwards, she heard their songs, one of which she hadn't expected to hear ever again.

-Killiter Ichaival Tron-

-Balwisyall Nescell Gungnir Tron-

Suddenly, a rain of crimson energy arrows flew out of nowhere, impaling a number of the approaching Noise and causing them to shatter. Looking to her right quickly, Miku saw Chris rush up to the scene, sliding to a stop nearby. The snow-haired girl had missed one however, and as it crept closer to Miku's face, her eyes widened and mouth opened in a silent scream. 'Hibiki…I'll be with you soon…' Miku thought, preparing herself for her end.

But that end was not to come. Rushing up from behind Chris, an orange and white blur leapt into the air over the Ichaival wielder's head, before landing just in front of Miku. Moving faster than Miku could keep up with, her savior landed a punch straight to the onrushing noise, destroying it with ease as her scarf's twin ends fluttered in the air. As the redhead slid into a defensive stance in front of the green-haired girl, Chris began to speak.

"Doctor Ver, you're not getting away this time. I've said it before, but we're taking the Staff of Solomon back, and you're not going to stop us! I won't let that thing be out there in your hands anymore, not after what it's caused," she said, an angered tone coming into her voice as she pointed one of her crossbows directly at another group of noise. Before Ver could respond however, a low tone came from the girl standing guard in front of Miku.

"Again…yet AGAIN you put one of my important people in danger, you bastard. First you hurt Chris, then you ruin my date with Chris, and now you attack Miku? Doctor Ver…I'll make you PAY!" Hibiki cried out, left arm instinctively tapping her right gauntlet and activating it as she sprung forwards, revenge in her eyes.

Miku was in complete shock however. As she sat there on the ground, she could feel her heart almost shatter into pieces as everything fell together in her mind, the realization of what it meant leaving her cold and empty inside. 'I knew it…I don't know why, but I knew it…' she thought, tears coming to her eyes as she looked at the Redhead close ground on the insane doctor.

"Hibiki…Why didn't you tell me?"

End Chapter 8

Author's Postscript: Sorry for the long delay. We have finally reached the end of the first half of the season, and things are only going to pick up from here. Pieces have fallen into place for Miku now; the reaction will be the spark that ignites the flames for later. Thanks for your patience, and I'll see you next time.-ZBD15