Chapter 4: Hello, Nurse!
Sasaki looked around the clubroom, feeling sick to her stomach. It was, in many ways, identical. There was her Gamecube, and here were two of her friends, Fujiwara and Tachibana.
And everything was wrong. Especially her. She wasn't a her right now, she was a him, and she had just killed the man who had been inhabiting this body. She didn't know if she wanted to vomit, cry, laugh, or do all three. Being trapped in that space without time, without sensation, it had been horrific.
Nearly as bad as...that other place. That other time. But Sasaki flatly refused to try to remember that.
But she had no one to blame but herself for that. She should have known not to egg on Haruhi. She had thought this was a chance to have the normal world she wanted. Everything had gone so, so wrong though. She hadn't understood how to use her powers, and neither had Haruhi. The song they had sung had become discordant and garbled, and they had ended up nearly destroying the world.
Well, in a way, they had. All of Sasaki's friends were gone. Or were they?
Gingerly, Sasaki knelt by Tachibana, who was weeping as the rude, overly violent girl twisted his arm. "Tachibana. What do you know?"
"I know you appointed me the guardian of this world, that I was supposed to keep it, and you safe. To keep things ordinary. So we could live quiet, peaceful lives," Tachibana gasped. "But that's all ruined. You were never supposed to find that game. I didn't even know it was here. If I had...I would have dumped it into the sea or something. After all these years...I failed."
"Protect this world? What are you babbling about?" the rude girl snarled.
"Ow! Why are you helping them?! Are you from the Old World too?" Tachibana demanded.
"No, I'm from here. But I remember...things. And Aquarius is gone, somehow. So I have to send this bozo who's taken his body back to where he belongs."
"Kazuma, I…" the boy, who was far, far too pretty for his own good, licked his lips. "I'll try. I… I want my Kazuma back, but...I'll try to find Aquarius. I hope...I hope he likes you as much...as much as I like my Kazuma."
"He doesn't like me, he loves me," Kazuma snarled, her face contorted with anger even as tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. "And I love him!"
"Um, well, we found half of what we need, right?" the short boy who was so adorable Sasaki half wanted to pinch his cheek asked.
"Look, who are...you people?" Sasaki demanded. "And what is it we need to find?"
"I'm Aqua, and this is Mikuru. We need to find the Chief's power," Aqua explained.
"You mean Haruhi's, don't you?" Sasaki asked, her heart sinking. She squared her shoulders and nodded. "I suppose I can't fix this all on my own. Alright. So how do we find this power?"
"Well, the first place to look is back at North High," Kazuma grunted. She glared down at Tachibana. "If I let you up, you're not going to do something foolish, are you?"
"I will stop you. Someone has to save this world," Tachibana growled.
"Yeah, that's a no," Kazuma muttered. "Anyone got any duck tape?"
"Why would you need tape for a duck?" Aqua asked, frowning slightly.
Kazuma glared at Aqua, then shook her head. "You know, you MUST be an alternate version of Aquarius, because no one else is that dumb."
"Here," Sasaki said, pulling out a roll of tape from a cabinet. She briefly wondered why her alternate self had put the same tape in the same drawer, but gave up.
"Help, help there's intruders, they-!" Tachibana yelled, but a few quick applications of the tape rendered him silent. The job of wrapping him and Fujiwara up took only moments, then both were stuffed in the corner behind a shelf. Hopefully, no one would find them for at least a few hours.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Sasaki muttered. "I should want to stay here."
"Um, well, if it's all the same to you...I'd prefer to go back to being a girl," Mikuru said, giving Sasaki an awkward smile.
"Ah, yes, that's why," Sasaki agreed. She wished she could blame THAT wrinkle on Haruhi but… she figured they shared that responsibility equally.
"Let's go," Kazuma ordered, pointing to the door. "We've got to find that McGuffin and fix things."
"But what about the pizza?" Aqua asked. "I'm hungry."
"This is not the time to-" Kazuma started, but then her stomach growled loudly. "Ok. One slice. Then we go."
Pizza wasn't really Sasaki's favorite, but she was used to it. She'd traveled overseas with her parents enough to sample all sorts of dishes, and pizza was far from the worst or most exotic thing she had tried.
"Never save the world on an empty stomach!" Aqua declared, then managed to eat three slices of pizza in the time it took the others to finish one. It would have been more impressive if it hadn't been very gross.
Fortified with food, the brave party ventured forth. Sasaki mentally kicked herself. She wasn't some otaku like her uncle. Playing the occasional video game did not count. Still, it was exciting to be going to save the world, even if it did feel extremely awkward to be with three total strangers wearing the bodies of people she knew.
Hopefully this wouldn't end the same way saving the world had last time. But once more, Sasaki forced that from her mind. She couldn't dwell on that.
"Come on, Haruhi. Time for you to remember and help fix this mess we made," Sasaki said through gritted teeth as they snuck off campus.
Back in the Paranormal Investigations Club room, a girl with long dark hair peered inside. "Hello? Sasaki? Fujiwara? Tachibana? Sorry I'm late, lunch is almost over, but I found this really interesting insect, and I'm nearly certain I could understand what it was saying I- oh! Pizza! I do love pizza, did you know that pizza was originally served in many ancient cultures, although they didn't call it that? Flatbread with cheese on other toppings was always popular, but true pizza came about after the Columbian exchange. It was likely first made in Naples, Italy, sometime in the 16th century and-"
The girl paused in her ramblings, cocking her head to one side as an odd thumping sound. She hurried over, gasping to find two of his friends tied up. "Oh, oh, what happened? It's ok, you can tell me! Use morse code, I love to communicate with morse code! Did you know it was invented originally by Samuel Morse to-"
After several loud thumps, the girl frowned. "That's not morse code at all. How are we supposed to communicate if you don't know morse code?"
The tied up victims groaned, then Tachibana let out several loud muffled sounds.
"I can't understand you! Oh, it's so frustrating when I can't communicate!" the girl sighed. "Let's just take that off and try again."
Once the gag was removed, Tachibana spat, then cried, "Suou! Get us untied! The fate of the world is at stake!"
"Oh, is it? How exactly? Is there a nuclear missile? A plague of some sort? Or perhaps an alien-"
"Stop talking and get this tape off me! I have to call the Nurse," Tachibana ordered.
Reluctantly, Suou shut up and got to work untying her friends. She would really rather just chat with them. It was so much fun to talk to people, you learned all sorts of things communicating with them!
Aqua looked up at the North High buildings and swallowed. They hadn't seemed so big before, but now...now they seemed enormous. How was she supposed to find the hidden power here? She had to be close to sense it, within a meter or two. Sasaki might be able to help, but...who knew?
"How are we going to look for Haruhi's power? School's still in session for a few more hours," Sasaki said, nodding to the building.
"Well, us three are students, so we can just walk onto campus. They might not want us just wandering around though," Kazuma muttered, rubbing her chin. She glanced at Sasaki, then back at the building. A slow grin spread over her face. "Say. Your parents are rich and famous, right?"
"Yes," Sasaki ground out.
"Well. What if you were touring North High as a transfer student? That would be quite the feather in the school's cap," Kazuma sniggered.
"That's...not the worst idea I've ever heard," Sasaki admitted.
"Great. We'll go to the office and let them know we're showing you around. Gives us an excuse to tour the school," Kazuma said confidently.
"Will they really let us do that? We're supposed to be in class, and we're in trouble for cutting school…" Mikuru said, looking very nervous as they walked towards the building.
"Relax. Sasaki, can you do a good rich snob impression, or at least a good arrogant superstar bit?" Kazuma asked.
"Well, you see, at Koyuouen, they just didn't appreciate my unique talents. Father believes that I need a more...plebeian experience, to truly broaden my horizons. Mother has been discussing making a donation to my school as well, perhaps for a new science wing. In the family name of course," Sasaki drawled in an overly snooty Tokyo accent.
"Perfect. You'd almost think that you were actually a stuck up rich kid," Kazuma said, earning a glare from Sasaki.
Aqua just followed after Kazuma. Even if this was the wrong one, she still trusted this girl. And was very, very jealous of Aquarius. She wished her Kazuma felt the same way. Even if that would make her feel guilty about Megumin.
Aqua was also becoming less certain that being a pervert and a mortal-lover was such a bad thing.
Inside the school office, the receptionist saw them coming and called for an administrator, who met the group with a stern look on his face. "Sato. Mizu. I'm not surprised. But you, Asahina. I thought you were more aware of your duties as a student here. And who's this? Not one of your hoodlum friends, Sato?"
"This would be my good buddy Sasaki," Kazuma said confidently, giving the administrator a wide smile. "Son of the famous Seika Sasaki and her husband Dr. Tony Sasaki. We were just chatting, and he's considering changing schools."
"You don't mean- the five time gold medal winner Sasaki?" the administrator gasped.
"Yes, well, mother always did say the one from Athens hardly counted, as her competition was injured that day," Sasaki said in a nasally tone. "But yes, I've been hearing about your program here. I'd like a tour with my good friends Kazuma, Aquarius, and Asahina."
"Er, why, um-"
"He was talking about making a generous contribution to the school. Perhaps for a new gymnasium?" Kazuma prodded.
"Why of course we'd be happy to give you a tour!" the administrator declared, going from glaring to beaming happily at Kazuma. "Why, Miss Sato here is one of our finest students! We'd be delighted to show you around!"
After that, it was a breeze to get a complete tour of the school. Sasaki droned on about her parents, though there were several times that she slipped up, referring to her father as the athlete or her mother as a doctor. Aqua didn't notice, and the admin had too many yen signs in his eyes to really be paying that much attention. They scoured the school, looking through the sports fields, the various classrooms, and even the teacher's lounge Aqua sensed nothing the entire time.
At last, even the Administrator was growing peevish after two hours wandering the school. Sasaki finally decided she wanted the paperwork, and had the gleeful admin draw up transfer forms for her after promising she would take them home. Just as they were talking things over in the office, there was the sound of crashing footfalls, and a furious Haruki stormed into the office.
"What is he doing here?" Haruki snarled, pointing angrily at Sasaki.
"I'm...signing up for school?" Sasaki offered, looking a bit nervous. "Suzumiya, what's the matter? You, er, remember what happened?"
"Remember? REMEMBER!? Of course I remember! You have a lot of nerve coming around here after that!" Haruki snarled.
"Now, wait just a moment, Mr. Suzumiya, how do you know-" the admin began, but Haruki stomped forward and thrust his face into Sasaki's making her jerk back. Despite both of them now being tall, well muscled boys, Haruki was obviously intimidating Sasaki to Aqua's eye, likely because she still thought of herself as a slim girl just under 160cm.
"What is my cousin doing at this school?" Haruki hissed. "After the last time we talked, I didn't think he'd have the balls to show up here."
"Wait, you mean- you don't remember?" Sasaki asked, sweat beading on her forehead as she leaned back over the counter in a desperate attempt to get away from Haruki. "Suzumiya, please, you have to help-"
"Young man, this might be a family matter, but we won't tolerate such behavior here at North High," the admin piped up. "You will return to class at once or-"
Without warning, Haruki took a swing at Sasaki, who deftly countered. The next thing Aqua knew, both of them were grappling and grunting.
"Kazuma, Kazuma do something!" Aqua wailed. "We have to have both of them or this is all ruined!"
"Alright you two, break it up!" Kazuma barked, and waded into the melee while the school administrator could only goggle at the sudden and egregious breach of behavior.
Unfortunately, the addition of Kazuma to the scrap only meant that there were now three fighters, none of which seemed to think that fighting dirty was anything other than completely pragmatic. Hair was pulled, eyes were blacked, and Sasaki learned why most male fighters wear a cup.
The administrator ran off shouting for assistance, while Aqua could only stare in horror. Mikuru, however, let out a cry and jumped into the middle of it all.
"STOP! Please, stop, you can't all-"
Haruki's elbow collided with Mikuru's cheek, sending the poor girl tumbling to the ground, where she sat stunned for a moment. This, at last, put an end to the brawl, as all three fighters froze, looking on in horror as Mikuru sniffed and fought back tears.
"Mitsuru! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Haruki began, only for Kazuma to shove him roughly away.
"Oh back off bozo. Shit, Mitsuru, you OK?"
"W-why are you all fighting?" Mitsuru whimpered. "W-we need to save the world I-"
"Oh my goodness, what's happened here?" Itsuko gasped, hurrying in with Kyonko. "Oh no, Mr. Asahina, you're hurt! Please, come with me, we'll take you to the nurse."
Kyonko glared at Sasaki, but didn't say anything as the group trooped ashamedly out of the office.
"Mr. Yamamoto, I'm taking this lot to the nurse, you understand, don't you?" Itsuko said as they left.
"Well, I think that we-"
"Good, good, we'll talk later. Come along. Ah, Sasaki, you're limping. Hmm, I think you'd best come along and see the nurse too."
Sasaki nodded, wincing and gingerly stepping along. Aqua felt a surge of sympathy and was grateful she hadn't been hit there. It did not seem like it would be a pleasant experience.
Thankfully the nurse was just down the hall, and Itsuko smiled, motioning to Asahina. "You first. The nurse will take care of you."
"But I think Sasaki-" Mikuru began, but Itsuko shepherded her inside, then closed the door.
"Wait a second," Kazuma said, suddenly looking up from fussing at her own injuries. "What was it that guy who attacked us at the other school said?"
"That we should go to the nurse…" Sasaki said slowly. She jerked up, looking panicked. "You don't think-"
"I think maybe we shouldn't let Asahina go around unescorted," Kazuma growled. "Aquarius, or whoever you are, back me up."
The door was locked, but Kazuma produced a paperclip and a hairpin and had it open in only a matter of moments, as school locks are not typically high security. Inside, they found an unconscious Nagato laying on a bed, his glasses off his face.
"What happened to him?" Haruki demanded, sticking his head in. "What's going on?"
"Just a moment, we'll be right out," Itsuko's called in a cheery tone.
"Itsuko, what's going-" Kyonko began, but froze when she pushed aside the curtain to the rear of the nurses office.
A wide eyed Mikuru was strapped down in a chair, a gag in her mouth. Itsuko was holding up a silver device much like a pen, with a glowing red light on one end. Next to her stood a smiling woman in a regulation nurses uniform. What was not regulation was her blue hair, and the wide assortment of knives she was carrying.
"My my, so many patients! And Kyonko! You're not as good as Kyon, but I would so like to see to you," the blue haired woman purred, stalking forward, knives gleaming.
"Nurse Asakura, what's going on?" Haruki demanded, stepping forward with a raised hand.
"Don't you idiot!" Kazuma snarled, and pushed Haruki away just as Asakura lunged, knife pointed forward. Kazuma tried to dodge, but screamed as the wicked blade sank into her rib cage.
"Damn you all, why isn't this working?!" Itsuko snarled, whirling with the pen pointed at them. "I'll just have to try a mass neuralization. Asakura! Do not seriously injure or kill them!"
"Oh, first you wouldn't let me experiment on Nagato, and now that? You're no fun-"
Asakura cut off as Haruki and Sasaki dogpiled her even as Kazuma managed to grip her arm and twist, forcing the knife out.
"Silly children, I'm not still human," Asakura giggled. "Or did you forget what a humanoid interface looks like?"
"Oh no," Sasaki groaned.
"Humanoid wha-" Haruki managed, and then Asakura tossed them both off of her as if they were two year olds instead of ten centimeters taller than she.
"You're all going to be treated," Asakura purred. "This world will never end. There is no going back!"
"No!" Aqua wailed, and charged forward, fists swinging wildly. Asakura battered her aside easily.
"Itsuko, do your little flashy thing. I don't know why I didn't work on Asahina, but it will work on them surely," Asakura said, taking a menacing step towards Kyonko. "I'm going to kill Kyon. Just like I always wanted."
"NO KILLING!" Itsuko roared. "THAT'S NOT WHAT YOU'RE HERE FOR!"
Itsuko attacked, but Asakura backhanded her and kept moving forward. Kyonko tried to run, but the murderous nurse grabbed her ponytail and cruelly jerked her back.
"No Nagato to save you this time," she purred, bending to retrieve her knife. "Too bad. I'm cutting her...him? Open next. I wonder, is he still a humanoid interface? Only one way to find out."
"No!" Haruki cried, and tried to crawl forward as the knife slashed down.
There was a blinding flash, and Asakura froze, her eyes glazing over.
"You have no intention of murdering my friends," Itsuko panted. "You are a simple nurse. To aid me in my duties of defending this world. Not a...whatever you are."
"Simple nurse," Asakura muttered. "No, I-"
There was another flash, and Aqua blinked her eyes in pain.
"You. Are. A. Simple. Nurse," Itsuko ground out, putting the neuralizer right in Asakura's face and activating it again. "You will not kill anyone. Understood."
"No killing, simple nurse," Asakura repeated stupidly.
Koisumi sighed and lowered the neuralizer, running a hand through her hair. Kazuma and Kyonko were standing with glazed eyes, apparently taken in by the neuralizer.
"Great. This is going to be a huge mess. Guess I'd best start with Suzumiya. He's the one who can't remember," Itsuko muttered.
"Remember what?" Haruki demanded, getting to his feet, eyes full of rage and confusion.
"This was a normal school day. You had fun with your friends. Kazuma was hurt in a simple accident, and Nagato is tired," Itsuko stated, pointing the neuralizer at Haruki. It flashed, and Haruki blinked. "Good, now I-"
Haruki's hand shot out, grabbing the neuralizer and wrenching it from Itsuko's grasp. "What is wrong with you!? I thought you were our friend, Itsuko!" Haruki snarled, then shoved the girl roughly from him.
"Kazuma!" Aqua cried, forcing herself back into motion to grab the dazed looking girl.
"Aquarius? I...what happened? Why am I bleeding?" Kazuma whimpered.
Panic rose in Aqua as she looked at the wound. Despite being an excellent healing goddess, she knew almost nothing about more normal methods of seeing to wounds. Rista was the one who was interested in the mechanics and subtlety behind healing, Aqua was just worried about the magical aspect of it. She knew you were supposed to put bandaids on bleeding though, and easily ripped her clothes to put an improvised wrapping on it.
"Shh, it's OK, it's OK Kazuma, I'm here," Aqua assured her bestest bud. Well, a version of her bestest bud. This wasn't her Kazuma, but she was a Kazuma, and that was what mattered.
"Always...can always count...on you…" Kazuma gasped, wincing as the wrapping went on. She leaned heavily on Aqua, standing and looking around. "Well this is an unholy mess. What happened?"
"Something isn't right," Haruki grunted, using Asakura's knife to cut through Mikuru's restraints. "The nurse was always a bit weird, but trying to straight up murder people? Sheesh, I wanted to find aliens, espers, and sliders, but I didn't think doing so would involve turning up a massive conspiracy. We need to call the cops."
"Don't do that! Haruki, listen to me, if you go with these people, it could destroy the world, AGAIN!" Itsuko begged, tears running down her face. "My other self failed in the other world, but I won't let that happen!"
"Neither will I," Aqua said, feeling suddenly certain. "I've created worlds before. Or, um, helped. I'll restore this world with the Chief and Sasaki, then remake our world. I'll get our world back, and restore this one."
"You?" Itsuko demanded, looking baffled. "How? You're a useless pretty boy."
"I AM NOT USELESS!" Aqua shouted. "I AM A GODDESS! Come on, Kazuma and you ladies. We're going to find the Chief's power and remake the world."
"Suzumiya, I don't know what happened between you and...this version of me, but...we screwed up. I thought to remake the world so it was more ordinary, but something went very wrong. Especially with...her...here," Sasaki said, pointing to the drooling Asakura.
"She was supposed to be a guardian, like I am," Itsuko said, going over to study Asakura. "Something went wrong. I don't know. I only received my charge three and a half years ago. She was there too and...it doesn't matter."
Itsuko produced another neuralizer, turning grimly to face the group. "I shall not allow you to-"
A looming shape appeared behind Itsuko, who tried to spin around only for Yuuki to grab her and lift her up, pinning Itsuko's arms to her sides.
"I do not remember what you did to me, but I did overhear some of your statements. I do not believe you should be allowed to continue to use that device," Yuuki stated grimly.
"Let me go! Nagato, don't you understand!? They could destroy everything! The whole world! It's happened before and it could happen again!" Itsuko ranted. "Our friends could all die! Tachibana could die! I'll erase all our memories before I allow that to-"
"Shut her up," Kazuma grunted, handing Aqua a roll of medical tape. "Then tie her up where she had Asahina. I'm getting sick of these villainous monologues."
Soon they had Asakura and Itsuko gagged and restrained, while Kyonko was laid down to rest and recover from her neuralization.
"I'll stay and watch over her," Yuuki vowed. "And ensure those two don't escape. Go. You must save the world, Haruki."
"I don't understand what's going on, but...I think I can trust the rest of you. You're not all going to try to murder Kyonko, right?" Haruki asked, sparing a special glare for Sasaki.
"Please tell me I didn't try to do that," Sasaki groaned. "I had a crush on Kyon all through middle school. But I never wanted to kill him...her...we really need to change things back."
"No you...never mind. I think it actually wasn't you, was it?" Haruki asked, his brow knitting in consternation.
They exited the nurse's office, Kazuma leaning on Aqua and breathing a bit hard.
"Are you ok?" Aqua asked.
"Fine, fine. Just...take it slow," Kazuma assured her.
"So where do we go now?" Sasaki asked. "We searched the whole school and found nothing. Where would Haruhi have hid her power?"
"Haruhi? Is that some alternate female version of me?" Haruki asked, sounding very interested.
"No banging yourself, pervert," Kazuma snapped, causing Haruki to give her a disgusted look.
"Three and a half years ago," Mikuru said, tapping her chin. "That reminds me of...oh! That time I took Kyon back to the past! To the football field at Haruhi's old Junior High!"
"What, you mean that place I drew those weird symbols on the grass?" Haruki asked. "That was where I met Kyonko for the first time."
"You did?" Asahina gasped. "But...how?!"
"Well, I found her on the way there, and sort of roped her into helping me," Haruki admitted. "We kept in touch, and decided to come to the same High School to try to find more weird things." He grinned. "Seems like it worked! Um, maybe a little too well."
"That's where we look then," Sasaki stated. "Lead the way."
The middle school had let out not long before the group arrived there. Aqua ended up having to carry Kazuma, who was breathing hard and looking pale. "You'll be OK soon," Aqua promised.
"Yes, as soon as I get my Aquarius back," Kazuma agreed. "Now shut up and find that power or whatever it is."
They searched the area, and Aqua soon located a source of godly power in the maintenance shed by the field. Haruki was able to pick the lock, explaining, "My mom taught me how."
"Smart woman. That's a useful skill," Kazuma gasped.
Aqua felt Kazuma's forehead and gasped. "You're burning up!"
"Doesn't matter. Find that thing and fix the damn world already, then worry about me," Kazuma ordered.
Aqua found a Gamecube with two controllers sitting in a dusty old box labeled "grass seed." She pulled them out, and sensed a sleeping power within them.
"Chief?" Aqua whispered.
Mom? Help! I'm trapped, and I'm scared!
"It's me, Aqua. I'll get you out, Chief," Aqua promised. She hurried over to Haruki "Here. It's the Chief's power. You're the one closest to her, so…"
Haruki extended a hand, looking nervous. "This, er, won't kill me or anything, right?"
"We'll get you back. Don't worry," Sasaki promised.
"Ok. Well, here goes." Haruki grabbed the controller, then froze as a blue light flashed around him. A second later, he slumped down, Sasaki barely catching him.
"Kiriko...what did we do?" Haruhi croaked. "I...I remember singing, then…"
"Blackness. Being trapped. For what felt like eternity," Sasaki agreed, a tear appearing in her eye. "I'm sorry, Haruhi. I thought...I thought I could make an ordinary world, one where we were normal. I never...I didn't want this."
"You...knew?" Haruhi asked, blinking in confusion. Then her eyes went wide and her lips parted in a snarl. "YOU KNEW! This entire time, you knew about our abilities?!"
"Not the whole time. I didn't find out until three and a half years ago," Sasaki said quietly. "You remember? The night we had our fight? That was the last time we saw each other for a while…"
"Yeah, I ran away that night and came here, to this field. That's where I met John Smith. Only...it was Kyon."
"Haruhi, that fight...it wasn't just us pulling each other's hair," Sasaki said quietly. "It was the first time our powers were activated. I don't fully understand them, but...we're dangerous. Unstable. We shouldn't exist."
"What?! No! You're both goddesses, you're perfectly natural!" Aqua protested. "Humans need goddesses!"
"Why? Aren't we just unstable accidents waiting to happen?" Sasaki asked bitterly.
"No, we're the chance for something better! A more amazing world! Think about it, Sasaki! We could eliminate sickness, disease, poverty, we could create a utopia!" Haruhi protested.
"I tried that, you dumbass! You know what I did?! I created horrific disasters! Nothing went right! I tried to give a poor family money, and they ended up being investigated for insurance fraud, I ruined their lives! I tried to end a drought, and I sent a downpour so torrential it swept away people's homes! No one should have power like we do!" Sasaki ranted angrily.
"Hey, dumbasses. Maybe focus on fixing your screw up," Kazuma said tiredly. She was sitting down, leaning against the shed. "I just want Aquarius back. I don't give a shit about anything else. He's all that matters to me. Be really cool if you could bring back my other friends though. And maybe stop me from dying."
"Kazuma!?" Aqua wailed, and rushed to the girl's side.
"Hey," Kazuma groaned, coughing slightly. There was blood on her lips when she finished. "So I maybe lied. Might need to go to the hospital after all. But first. Aquarius. Bring him back."
Aqua nodded frantically and hurried back to Haruhi and Sasaki, seizing their hands. "We have to fix this, now!"
"How?!" both nascent divinities demanded.
"I, um...I can't explain. I never learned how, I just...did it," Aqua admitted. She took a deep breath. "I've never led something like this before, but...I can do it. The Chief always said I was the strongest goddess in our pantheon if I would stop being so lazy."
"Um, alright," Haruhi agreed. She reached out a hand to Sasaki, who reluctantly took it.
"Just sing along with me," Aqua instructed. "We have to save Kazuma, and everyone else. This will be a long song. Mikuru?"
"Yes?" Asahina asked, looking up from tending to trembling Kazuma.
"Take care of her. She's not my bestest bud, but...she's still Kazuma. I...I'll try to bring back her Aqua, or Aquarius or...I'm just going to do my best, OK? Pray for us."
"Um, alright," Mikuru agreed, and bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut, lips moving.
Aqua could feel the prayer, and it steadied her. Mortal faith was always important.
"Let us sing once more the song of creation," Aqua intoned, raising her hands as they gripped the other two goddesses.
Then she started to sing. After a few moments, Haruhi and Sasaki joined in, just right. They were the harmony to Aqua's melody, three voices singing the same song.
Together they sang of a world that was, a world that had been, and two worlds that would be. The song had to encompass everything just right. All of time, all of space, on and on, forever. They sang in and out of time, weaving together the fabric of reality as they did so.
Haruhi sang of her longing for a world of joy and adventure, and of a bright future full of wonder. Sasaki sang longingly of the past, of a time of comfort and growth, of steadiness and unchanging foundations. Aqua sang of the present, of what was: the thrill of creation and rebirth, renewal and flowing waters.
And of her love. For the first time, Aqua sang not just of water and art, but of her deep and abiding love for her friends. First she sang about Eris, her first and oldest friend, the mortal girl who had become a goddess, forsaking all Earthly pleasures to accept her divine duty. She sang of her friend Ristarte, who had abandoned the mantle of eternity for the love of one man. She sang of her friend Darkness, who struggled daily to put aside her fleshy cravings for the duty of a noble and a knight. She sang of Megumin, who ignored all else in pursuit of a single, undivided passion that nothing could dim or extinguish.
Last, longest, and deepest, she sang of her love for Kazuma. Of the boy who had taken a goddess from the heavens and seen her, Aqua. Not the goddess, but the person. Of hard days of labor in the sun together, and long cold nights shivering in a haystack. Of weeping over his dead body and frantically bringing him back to life. Of nights of drinking, and days of arguing, a time that had been only two short years in the life of a being so old she remembered when the first human had sang the first song, and made the first painting, and by that called the spirit of water and art that would become her into existence.
But those two years with Kazuma had been worth more than all the millenia in heaven that had come before them.
As she sang, Aquarius stepped back from Aqua. She saw now the man whose body she had taken. He ran to his Kazuma, picking her up as she opened her eyes, healed by the song that had renewed their world. Their passionate embrace was all that Aqua wanted.
And everything she could not have.
After ten thousand years had passed in no more than an hour, the song came to an end. Aqua sank to her knees, even as Haruhi and Sasaki collapsed to the ground, utterly spent. She blinked away the tiredness, trying to focus her mind. Kazuma. Was he…?
"Aqua?! Aqua! What happened, what did-"
Aqua looked up to see Kazuma. Her Kazuma. She smiled as her vision faded, and reached out for him. "Hey."
Kazuma caught up Aqua as she sagged, unable to keep her head up.
"You're back," she whispered.
"Yeah, I am, but what was that!?" Kazuma demanded.
"It doesn't matter. You're here," Aqua told him. She gently pressed her lips to his. "Thanks. Love you."
Then she knew nothing more for a time.
The End of the Disappearance of Aqua Mizu
Author's Note:
It's not the end of the story. But the next update we'll go into a 10 day update cycle instead of the previous one as I work to complete the story.