**P.O.V. Kairon**
I awoke with a horrid pain in my everything. I steadily grow more aware of my surroundings as I find myself in a recovery ward. I look to my left to see Hannah sleeping in a chair, resting her head on the bed and holding my hand. I smile at the adorable site."I hope it isn't illegal to look that cute." I say quietly to myself.
"If it was, you would have already been locked up long before me." She softly replies as she stirs from her slumber with a happy expression. "Welcome back to the mortal plane." She continues softly as she plants a kiss on my lips. I feel a positive wavelength flow through me, taking the edge off the pain. "How ya feelin?"
"Not gunna lie, I feel like hammered shit, but each second with you makes it better." Attempting to smile as I speak, trying to put her mind at ease.
She chuckles at my words. "Well that's kind of expected when you take on the insane version of Crona twice, not to mention the Blackstar clone."
A look of surprise overtakes me, "Wait they we're Digi'clones?"
"Yup, I struggled to forgive them at first but we hashed things out." A proud smile painted on her face as she spoke.
"Oh?" My curiosity couldn't be overstated. "Shareth thy tale my Battle Maiden." My request is soft spoken, in a chivalrous and gallant manor.
She chuckles and blushes at my choice of tone and words. "Well, after we got to the recovery ward. Alix and I had a little chat. We wanted to get even with Blackstar and Crona, or at least make them aware of the pain they put us through. So after we recovered our strength, we challenged them to a two on two sparring match."
"Wait, recovered? How long have I been out?" I interrupt in confusion.
"About a 48 hours." She states rather nonchalantly with a smile.
"Oh, well that explains the pain." Hannah's face displayed confusion as I began moving my arm and hovered my palm over my chest. A green magic circle appeared comprising of healing runes and symbols. The circle suddenly and quietly shatters as a green aura glows around me and then fades. I let out a relaxing sigh as turn once more to Hannah. "Sorry, thought i'd enable my regen, carry on."
With her confusion cleared away she continued her story. "Well, it turns out the teachers were planning something along these lines for our final evaluation. I had to fight Crona, Frost had to fight his dad and Sal had to fight Blackstar, all as one on one fights. They all happened at the same time so I can't tell you about their experiences, but mine was a roller coaster." She pauses to quickly sip some water. "When I arrived at the combat arena where you did your entrance exam, I thought i'd put what she did to you behind me. But when I saw her, something seemed to posses me. There she was, donning the same cloak and battle armor as her madness consumed doppelganger, happy to see me. How could she look at me with such a gleeful expression. It was then her expression shifted, she looked at me and said. "I guess your not in a talking mood. No words then, we'll let our blades sing for us." The only words I could muster in response was, "I couldn't agree more" as I summoned my Void Katana. I charged her without a second thought, fueled by instinct and rage. It was a symphony of violent chaos. After what felt like an eternity of back and forth trade-offs, Crona manages to destroy my Katana and forced me back with a hard kick to the chest. Her battle cry echoed as she jumped to fall upon me with devastating force. I weaved a discrete magic circle into the ground which then faded from vision as I rolled back to avoid the attack. Crona's blade buries itself half deep as she lands. The circle quickly appears and swells to its full blast radius then explodes, forcing her from the ground. Pressing my advantage, I summoned my void bow and released an arrow. Crona quickly swung her blade upward to deflect the shot as it races upward to meet the ceiling. I fired another two in a double helix pattern as I charged up a Void Thorn and fired it through the middle. Crona's feet found the ground as she lined up her sword to block. "Shatter!" I shout, causing the lesser arrows to explode and force her guard open for the Void Thorn to find its mark. The explosive force shields Crona from view, but she tore through the smoke like paper, slicing my Void Thorn to ribbons as she rushes me. Barely managing to avoid fatal injury, I dispel my Void Bow and summoned my Void Katana once more. Stopping her sword felt like stopping a train, but when I did something seemed different. I could feel Crona's thoughts, hear her feelings."
I smile as I spark a cigarette while Hannah continued, lost in her story. "Her attacks on the surface felt mournful, but underneath there was something else that I couldn't quite grasp. I snap back to reality as Crona begins to shift her blade. I jump back to gather my thoughts but she chases me down, refusing to give me an inch. I struggle to keep my guard up against her relentless assault, until in a moment of desperation I dodge roll left and put everything into a swing at her mid-section. The blade shatters on contact with her armor, but I gather the energy from the swords hovering remains and bring my open palms together. The Void Blast hits her pretty hard, pushing her back and shattering some of her armor. I launch a pair of fireballs as I jump back, but she was ready for me. Crona swings her Great-sword and screams "Screech Gamma!" The black energy wave had a purple aura and had a face that screamed as it chased me down. My fireballs were destroyed by the energy wave and I barely had the time to make a barrier. The wave shatters my feeble defense, knocking me back and almost knocking me right out. I slam into the ground with a harsh force. Struggling to my feet, I prepare myself for round two. If I could feel her soul I was sure as hell gunna make her feel mine! I throw on a First Aid spell and bring my palms together in front of me. A three tier magic circle appears around me, with a fourth being drawn as I chant my spell. I see her point her sword in my direction, but as my chant finishes and my fourth circle is complete I shoot her a determined smile. "Void's Gate!" I scream as the beam shoots forth in a cacophony of violence only to be met with an equal force. A ruthless screaming pillar of black and purple divided us and exploded as we released them simultaneously. I see her readying to charge through the smoke. I summon a Void Katana and split it into three, driving them into the ground. They form a barrier which I enchant with a razor hail mod. As she charges into the barrier I force her back with a knock back spell. Her sword connects with the barrier, shattering it and activating the spell mod. The energy shards hover for a moment before rapidly accelerating towards Crona, forcing her to guard. Pressing my advantage, I charge forward through the void hail. "Soul force!" I screamed as I slammed my open palm into her breastplate. The hail stops as my wavelength explodes into her. Crona's breastplate breaks apart as she coughs, but is otherwise unfazed as she brings he sword above her head. With a look of sheer disbelief I dive left to avoid her attack. She points the sword downward, "Screech Omega." Crona whispers as she plunges her sword into the ground as a ring of black screaming energy shot out from the ground and rapidly expanded. The shock wave knocked me off my feet and forced me back. Barely keeping my balance and feeling like I had nothing left, I struggle to ready myself for her charge. As the dust settles she looks to me with a proud smile. "Well done, Hannah!" Crona and I are both struggling for breath but she somehow can still shout with infectious enthusiasm. "Seriously, for a glass cannon you have some serious fight in you! It's not often I get pushed this far!" Her words give me such fulfillment and pride. "Your pretty great yourself! Didn't think i'd hold on so well but i'm starting to run on empty!" I summon my Void Katana as I make my declaration. Crona met my gaze with a determined stare. "Me too, how about we put everything in one last strike and call it there!" Crona readies her Great-sword and shifts her stance. I feel her resonance increase as her soul explodes into vision. I respond in kind readying my charge and using Wavelength Surge spell."
She pauses as sudden confusion blankets my face. "Sorry, Whats a Wavelength Surge?" I have a feeling I know but I feel the need to confirm.
"Ah, It's a utility spell of sorts, It has a low cost and simply allows you to self-resonate or power-up much faster and grants Casting Haste on your next spell." My confusion is cleared as I feel like I've seen it used but never known it's name. Hannah takes a quick sip. "So we power-up, both of us screaming out our fiercest battle-cry! The force begins to shake the arena and as our power reaches the peak of what we can muster, The arrow which had embedded itself in the ceiling comes loose and begins to fall. An eerie silence falls upon the arena as we wait. The arrow finally lands and shatters. The signal heard, our eyes snap open and we charge and strike in an instant. The deafening silence returned as we held post-strike stance for a moment. The rest of Crona's armor shatters as she collapses to one knee, using her sword to help support her. Not long after, my blade shatters and I also fall. After we caught our breath and I could feel my legs again, we had a pleasant conversation over some coffee, oh she told me I passed too. Not gunna lie though, I completely forgot about the exam as soon as the blades were drawn."
"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me." I jokingly jab and we start laughing together. "Getting lost in the fight, we're the same like that." I struggle to hide the admiration in my voice as I softly place my hand on hers.
She slowly leans in for a kiss and as I do the same the door opens. I see a white lab coat stepping through the door but the figure is not Stein. It was Mira Nigus who walked into the room, wearing a white nurse coat and matching plimsolls, her beautiful dreadlocks bouncing as she walked. She chose not to wear her signature mummifying bandages, allowing her face to be seen. She shares a smile with me that shined like a star. I suddenly feel her warm and calming soul fill the room as her turquoise orbs met my gaze. "Glad to see your awake, how are you feeling?"
Her question snaps me back into the room as I shake myself out of my relaxed daze. "Sorry, I'm getting there. A little achy all over but i'd say i'm pretty lucky for that to be my only complaint." I laugh a little and suddenly wince from a pain in my ribs. "Well, that's still a little broken." I think to myself.
"Better take it easy big guy or half of you won't go back together." She jokingly says while giggling at my answer, though I can tell she means her words.
"I'll make sure I do Professor Naigus." I respond as I lean into the backrest. "I'm guessing your the one whose been looking after me these past three days. Thank you for your care." My words are sincere as I give a friendly smile.
"Well it's part of my job, but you're welcome." She jokes with a smile as she grabs a folder from the table and sits in the office chair next to it. " I've just been popping in to check on you, Hannah there has been doing most of the work." Naigus give Hannah a wink. "Thanks for that by the way." I squeeze her hand softly and raise it to kiss the back of her hand, Shooting her a smile as I lower it softly to the bed. "Good news is your going to make a complete recovery and you should be in fighting condition in another day or so, though now your awake it may be faster with your regen back in action." She pauses and looks up from the folder. "However," a bead of sweat forms on my forehead as I prepare for the worst, "there is some bad news. Stein and I have been running some tests on your blood and have found something rather shocking. A slow acting neurotoxin designed to attack human soul wavelengths. Though we were successful in finding it and figuring out its effect, we haven't had time or the equipment to remove it."
A look of horror washes over Hannah. "Is it fatal?" I feel her wavelength pour into me, like she is looking for it.
"From what we can tell, no. It only seems to restrict the flow and siphon human wavelengths. So it's working to repress Kairon's wavelength and force him to use the demonic wavelength instead. Which lines up with what you told Stein, how your body is getting stronger but your soul is getting weaker." Hannah begins relaxing her wavelength, but I can still feel it, flowing through me as she heals what she can.
"Is there anything that can be done?" My question is to the point and matched with a determined stare. "I will not let this beat me." My victory already visualized as I make my vow.
"That's the spirit." Her cheer is enthusiastic and encouraging. "Making an antidote will not be easy, especially since the toxin has been bio-engineered and we have very limited information on it, but we have something that should help for now." Naigus grabs a bottle from the shelf with a paper note inscribed "Kairon", tied to the bottle neck with string and gives it to me. The white, plastic bottle was labeled "Soultricide" and had various medical information, including the mg per pill, side effects and dosage recommendations. "These will help boost your souls natural regulation, combating or at least reducing the effects of the toxin. Come back to me in a few days and we'll see how your holding up." She pauses for a moment as a look of genuine sadness comes over her as she stands. "I'm sorry there isn't more I can do for you currently, but please come to me if there is anything you need."
"It's okay." I state with a smile. "I know we'll beat it." I look to Hannah giving her a confident nod, the sadness in her face vanishing as my warm smile meets her gaze.
Naigus smiles once more and turns to leave the room. "Well I know your in good hands here so I will get out your collective hair. Oh, feel free to head back in you want to, but your to take it easy for two days." She pauses as she steps out the door. "That means no training, Doctors orders." She smiles and waves as she closes the door behind her.
I look nervously over to Hannah with a smile. "So uh, I'm free for a couple days if you wanna hang out?"
She flips open a note pad. "Ah, no can do man, I gotta look after this cute guy I know for a couple days." She states with a smile and a wink.
"Oh." I look downwards and pretend to be sad.
"You know I mean you right?" She says with sadness in her voice as she gently cups my cheek and leans close.
I swiftly and gently steal a kiss from her lips. "I know." I whisper with a smile and kiss her again. "So, do you wanna get outta here?"
"Can do, Your place or mine?" Her question suddenly alarms me at the thought of upsetting Maka and Kid.
"Yours, I'm living with Frost at the moment." I blush in embarrassment.
"Nothing wrong with living with family." She states warmly and kisses my cheek. "Shall we?" Hannah stands from her chair and offers me her hand. I accept it and step out the bed. The tired sun is beginning to set on the horizon as we leave the academy and have a rather romantic walk holding hands to Hannah's abode.
What Uuuuuup!
I return again got in a bit of a tail spin in life and it left me rather stunted creatively but i've managed to sort myself at little, or at least stop getting worse haha XD
We finally know whats eating away at Kairon's strength but only time will tell if he beats his burdens, might do a couple slice of life chapters but either way ill see you in the next one, as always happy to hear and constructive critics.