The rest of the day went by as planned. After spending hours at the library, it was time for dinner. At one point, Pyra was called over from the children's section by the librarian who welcomed them in in the first place. Frankie, Miko, and Kaito thought it was odd at first until the blade came back with an upbeat smile, revealing that she was given a job as a library assistant on the weekdays, just around the time the rest of them had to go to work. Frankie was about to press on about what she'd do about the whole computer situation until she pointed out how the supervisor had made it a point to mention she'd stick her with more general assistance, and of course, storytime just like earlier. The group was happy for her, and Frankie especially was relieved as he hadn't thought of what to do with her when he had to leave for work on the weekdays.
Right… work… those cameras. He was not ready to try and make an explanation about what had happened without coming across as creepy or just plain evil. That thought pestered his mind throughout the entire rest of the night, even when they had all sat down to eat their lovely fishy dinner, although something did happen that took his mind off it for a little bit. At one point, Pyra, as innocent as she was, noticed a couple feeding each other pieces of sushi with their own chopsticks, not like she could've picked up on any romantic cues, she just saw it as a friendly gesture, and as such, turned to Frankie, expecting the same thing, eyes shut and mouth agape. The young man blushed and shifted his view to Kaito and Miko, both of whom had corny smirks on their faces, as if they were both saying collectively,
"Come on, Romeo, your Juliet is waiting."
It was a silly situation to be put in, but he obliged regardless, he didn't want Pyra to be upset, so he sheepishly picked up a salmon roll dipped in soy sauce and plopped it into her mouth with his own chopsticks. She was thoroughly pleased and the moment passed. Though he wouldn't admit to it… he didn't exactly mind doing that in the first place.
The rest of the weekend came and went in no time at all, as was usual for Sundays on a working schedule. There wasn't any time for Pyra to really spend learning about the ways of the new world, as she had work the next day too, but it was simple work she knew she could handle, and her confidence really put Frankie at ease. Then she brought up how much gold they'd be paying her in and it was right back to square one.
—————————————————————————
The work day came and went quickly, Frankie was on his way to pick up Pyra from her job at the library but he just could not shake off the reactions he got at work. From that first moment the manager called him in with security, he already felt his heart sank, this wasn't exactly something he could explain away easily. Upon closer inspection, the girl seemed satisfied enough, so nothing really came of it aside from a terrifying confrontation; no points docked, no penalty, just a horrible misunderstanding, that is until the security officer reported Frankie with a ticket detailing a trial addressing Pyra's sudden appearance in the room in court. Even with the idea that neither were in trouble, per sé, this thought put him on edge… what a lovely day to spend a Monday afternoon.
The employees themselves heard about the incident and were either awkwardly quiet about it or teased him jovially about it. The black haired young man he worked with praised him for "Getting a girl for his birthday" it made him sick. He only got through two databases that day as opposed to the usual five. Maybe Pyra would take his mind off the ordeal for a while… then he realized how goofy that sounded and tried to shake off the feeling, leaving him even more embarrassed than before. When he finally got to the library, he excused himself in and started looking for Pyra, and there she was like last time, reading a bunch of kids a lovely bedtime story.
"And so… Simba took his rightful place as the Lion King, and once again the land flourished. One dawn, the animals and birds made their way again to the foot of Pride Rock. Rafiki picked up a tiny cub. He showed the new prince—the son of King Simba and Queen Nala—to the cheering crowd below. The Circle of Life would continue." She lightly finished, just out of earshot of Frankie. The kids were all slumped over each other, trying to stay awake to hear the ending, or already fast asleep, sucking their thumb. Their parents were nearby and picked them up, thanking Pyra for being such a good caretaker for the time being. She bowed gracefully just as a little girl came up to her and tugged on her skirt.
"Um… Pyra…" she said in a soft, nervous voice. Pyra smiled gently and squatted down to her level.
"Yes, Sally?" She asked sweetly.
"If…If I bring my own book from home… will you read it to me…?"
"Of course, dear, just make sure you bring it to me before morning or afternoon storytime. Pyra's got other work to do sweetie." Pyra affectionately patted the small child on the head, who was absolutely beaming now.
"Okay! Oops… I mean… okay…" She cried before remembering to hush herself in the library, putting a finger to her mouth as Pyra did the same, giving her a wink and thumbs up in approval. The little girl ran to her mom's side where Pyra could still hear her whispering. "Mommy, did you hear that?"
"I sure did, honey, good job."
Frankie was overlooking the scene with a warm smile on his face. Already, Pyra was making a bad day better and he hasn't even seen her all day. There was just something about her motherly nature that attracted- er, connected with him. Whether it was because he missed being coddled by his own mother after a tough day or just appreciated her mature and calming presence amidst the hustle and bustle of the workforce, he wasn't too sure, but it was something to appreciate nonetheless.
"You did an excellent job today Pyra, you really surprised me." The supervisor said with a smile.
"Oh. Well, thank you. It's been my pleasure." Pyra responded as she picked herself up.
"Don't forget to clock out…" She handed Pyra a pen and clipboard with her clock in time on it. The blade complied quickly and thanked the supervisor for taking her under her wing once again. "…It's our pleasure as well, Pyra. You have a good night."
"I will, thank you." Pyra said with a bow, then as she turned to leave, she instantly noticed who she was waiting for. "Oh, Frankie! Hi!" She called out to him, instantly him snapping out of his daze and causing him to look away a bit shyly. Her excited expression and spring in her step as she saw him certainly didn't help matters. "Here to pick me up? I'm off work!"
"Y-yeah, Pyra, let's get a move on." Frankie answered.
"Perfect! Ladies first!" She exclaimed as she walked ahead of him to the sliding doors. Frankie smiled once again as he followed her out, she was a sight for both sore eyes and heart alright… in a manner of speaking, of course.
"Uh… Pyra… there's… something I gotta tell you…" Frankie began.
"Hm?" Pyra stared at him with her big ruby colored eyes, the vaguely innocent look of which made Frankie recoil a bit, as if he wasn't already uncomfortable enough to break the news.
"Remember how you showed up to me in a big glowy light the night we met…?" He started, sheepishly stroking the steering wheel.
"Yeah?"
"Well… they aren't really all too… pleased with that and… in two days they're gonna be holding a trial focusing on you because… well… they don't trust either of us right now…" Frankie flinched and waited for Pyra to react.
"Oh. Is that all?" She asked
"'Is that all?!'" Frankie mimicked. "Pyra, this is serious! If they take you away, I don't know where they'll send you! I don't want you to be put in a bad part of the neighborhood! Do you know how lecherous men are these days?! I don't want you in that position! Your only saving grace is gonna be going back to the core crystal after that month long period you mentioned, that's not what you want, is it?"
"No, of course it isn't! I guess you could just say I'm rather… confident!"
"…Confident?"
"Well, the only thing that happened on that first night is that I gave you a little scare, isn't that right? It's not like I was haggling you for the prices of the office supplies, now was I?"
Frankie chuckled half nervously and half in amusement, Pyra was adapting pretty well, all things considered.
"Well… I guess not…"
"Alright then, so we can just clear this mess up and be done with it, no worries, or should I say… er…" Pyra mumbled a bit to herself, catching Frankie's attention, he couldn't really make out what she was saying, but it did sound like she was trying to pronounce something a bit dodgy, he did manage to hear her eek out something that sounded like 'harpoon and a enchilada', but even that was hard to tell, much less understand where she would've gotten those words from. "A-anyways, it's not important! It was just a thing from a story I was telling the kids!" Pyra and Frankie both chuckled in amusement before taking back the matter at hand.
"Okay, Pyra, we can… take it as it comes if that's the way you wanna look at it, I guess there's not really a whole lot that we can do otherwise." He said.
"Of course! Now let's get a move on!" Pyra demanded. Frankie still wasn't totally sure how to take this whole situation, and even with Pyra's reasoning, he couldn't help but feel this was all rather… unwise. But she did have some semblance of a point. In an effort to lower the tension, he changed the subject.
"So I take it story time is your favorite part of the day?" Frankie asked.
"Three times a day, one hour for each, it's so relaxing… and I just love seeing all the children having fun while I act out all the parts, that's what I love the most! When those little furry guys laughed, I couldn't help but scare 'em a little bit with a spooky laugh of my own… I'm terrible, I know…" Pyra scratched her cheek nervously as she admitted that.
"Little furry guys?" Frankie asked.
"Well, the book did call them something one of the kids was happy to help me pronounce, it's just a little bit Mousey to me because I've never heard it before…" Pyra explained as she got in the car and buckled herself in with Frankie as they drove off. "It was something like… hiiii… highlander… high and mighty… hiyehhh… hiyooo…"
"…Hyenas…?" Frankie helped.
"Yes! That's exactly what it was! Hyenas! Aww they might've been the bad guys, but they were so cute… in an ugly kind of way." Frankie felt himself tense up as he grew a bit suspicious of exactly what story Pyra was referring to.
"What uh… what book were you reading to the kids that had hyenas as the bad guys in it, exactly…?" He nervously asked.
"Oh, that's an easy one, it had a really simple title, it was called uh… The Lion King!" Frankie slammed on the breaks, causing them to screech, and Pyra to fall back in her seat a bit so suddenly. "Frankie!" She scolded.
"Sorry. The light turned red all of a sudden. I mean- uh- what? Are you okay Pyra?" He asked in an almost stuttered fashion.
"You-" Pyra sighed as she rested her head on the seat. "Yes. I'm okay. But next time, be more careful, please. I still don't know how these things operate, I thought we were about to explode."
"I know… I'm sorry Pyra…" Frankie sheepishly continued driving as the light turned green again.
"It's okay, really it is. You just scared me for a second."
There was a bit of silence between them as they both tried to shake off the awkward tension in the air, which was broken by Frankie clearing his throat and leading in to a question.
"So uh… you… wouldn't mind telling me about that little book you read those kids, would you?"
"Awww, well it was a sweet little story, it moved a little bit too fast in some places for my liking, but it was really nice. I never knew there were so many different species of animal out there in the world- and on one continent no less!" Pyra chuckled to herself. "I liked the little piggy too. He almost reminded me of you in a way."
"Hey!" Frankie shot back. Pyra laughed heartily before continuing on.
"I think someone really should look into it when they get the chance, with a little bit of expansion, it would make an absolutely charming play." Frankie's iffy frown turned into a wide and smug grin.
"Well… it's funny you should say that." He said cheekily.
"Hm? It's been done already?" Pyra asked.
"Well… yes and no, but mostly yes." Frankie answered. "You see, that book you were reading is actually an abridged version of a movie that goes by the same name. Which itself was turned into a play. The highest grossing one of all time! And I myself have seen both multiple times… the movie uh… well… it's not a bad thing to have every line and music note memorized by heart, now is it…?" He sheepishly admitted.
"Mo…vie…?" Pyra asked curiously. Frankie frowned once again and his glance turned steelcold.
"Pyra. Pick up my phone." He ordered.
"Uh-oh- okay." She timidly responded, taken aback by his cold tone all of a sudden, opening it up as she would see him do.
"Okay, good, now you see that icon called Disney on the screen?"
"Yeah…"
"Tap it…"
And as she did, Pyra's amazed wide eyed expression let Frankie immediately know what plans they had for the night, and he couldn't be more excited. They say could at least be washed away.
—————————————————————————
It was 12:00 midnight. Frankie and Pyra were fast asleep at this point, both ready to take on their work days tomorrow yet again. In Kaito and Miko's house, however, things were a bit… different.
Kaito stretched and yawned loudly as he exited the restroom, heading down the kitchen to get himself a drink of water. As he did so, he heard a "ticky ticky" noise from not too far off. Turning the corner, he saw Miko, rapidly tapping away the the keyboard to her laptop on the dining room table.
"Miko…" Kaito said with a yawn. "It's the middle of the night… what are you doing up so late…?"
"The night had yet to finish at this time for the both of us just a couple of years ago, Kaito, I'm simply holding on to my youth." Miko pointedly responded.
"Okay… so what are you doing…?" He asked again.
"I can't sleep barely knowing anything about these stupid blades and these stupid drivers we couldn't find stupid squat about in the stupid library with stupid no recollection. So I'm taking things to the next level. As a matter of fact, I think I found a video that might explain just what we're looking for. Come here."
Kaito obliged and joined his girlfriend by the dining room table to check on her research… that's when he noticed the URL.
"Uh, Miko, is that web address supposed to have three "x's" in it or-"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" Miko hollered in surprise and embarrassment as loud, horrific sounds of yelling and thumping were heard from the monitor. The couples' eyes had turned as big as dinner plates and their mouths swung wide open with shock as they watched the screen. "TURN AROUND THIS INSTANT, KAITO, TURN AROUND! THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO SEE HERE!!!!!!" Miko screamed, pointing behind Kaito frantically as he did so with his face turning a massive pink hue, Miko's was a much deeper red as she frantically closed the video and slammed her head down on the table.
"Why does this keep happening?" Kaito asked calmly. Too tired to really notice the uncharacteristically harsh swearing of his girlfriend.
"J-just… shut up… and look at the screen… NOW you can look at the screen…" Miko said dejectedly, pointing at the monitor.
Kaito calmly and warmly swung his head back around and politely sipped his water as if to completely ignore what had just transpired for Miko's sake.
His tired eyes shot open when he saw the video though.
On the surface it didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary, it was a simple "uncovering history" vlog-style video where the uploader was going through a preserved ancient Greek temple and making note of the interesting symbols and hieroglyphics.
But the part Miko had scrubbed to caught his attention, because the vlogger had now gone outside to a somewhat densely wooded hiking area, which was odd at first until he came across what was likely his prize, a giant, oddly shaped stone sticking out of the ground.
It was odd. The details were hard to make out from the video, but the material the stone was made from seemed…unnatural in a way. But what was much more absurd was the shape of the stone itself.
"That…that's it!" Kaito nearly spit out his water.
The cross.
The cross-shape of Pyra's crystal, this stone was shaped in the exact same way. Minus the obvious lack of emerald glow and the size, it was practically identical.
"Yeah…I noticed that symbol on Pyra too, so when I saw this I knew it might be important." Miko put her hand to her chin in thought, "But…what does this mean?"
"Where is this? Is there any more info on it elsewhere?" Kaito further asked.
"That's…where it gets difficult. Nothing is really known about this stone, and most posts or discussions about it are blocked by the site. I assume the only reason this video is still up is because they only show it for less than a minute here." She rested her cheek on her fist with her elbow to the table. "As for where it is, all I know is that it's close to this place called the 'Temple of Apollo' and-" She yawned.
Kaito put a reassuring hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.
"You did great, Muffin. We can think of where to go on from here tomorrow. For now let's get some rest."
"Okayyyy…" Miko rubbed her eye as Kaito directed her to their bedroom.
—————————————————————————
The next day, after work, Miko had called Frankie and Pyra to the house to tell them more about their findings, well, Frankie, anyway. Miko made up an excuse that Kaito was feeling ill and suggested for her to go grab a face mask from the restroom, posthaste. With the directions that Miko gave her, she was gone, and that left the three plain humans to discuss their findings. As well for Frankie to tell them about the incident at work, detailing what exactly needed to be done, he turned to law student Miko, who had just finished a smaller scale trial with her superior that day, and hearing of her passing with flying colors, he knew she'd be perfect for the job, and Miko picked it up in a heartbeat, making phone calls and gathering all the necessary information as they discussed their issues. Though even when she worked, that didn't mean her attention wasn't given to Frankie at all, as he did have a few words to say on Kaito's research.
"So, you think getting a ticket to a one-way trip to Greece- EUROPE'S Greece…" Frankie began, "Is just gonna be that easy? Do I have to remind you this is a work week that we aren't even halfway through? And Pyra certainly isn't getting any time off, she's still on probation, so a vacation is absolutely out of the question. Besides, she's supposed to read the Lion King 2 storybook to the kids tomorrow and I kinda wanna stop by and catch it if I can." He admitted.
"Awwww does her bedtime story voice make your little heart flutter, Frankie?" Miko teased.
"THAT ISN'T WHAT I MEANT, CERDA RÚSTICA!" Frankie shouted with a furious blush.
"Well, no, of course not, everything you've said is completely valid, and I sure as heck don't have the money to pay for all four of us." Kaito explained.
"Yeah, even if you did, there's, like… a 1000% chance we're gonna get detained because that crystal on Pyra's chest is gonna set off all the metal alarms in the building." Frankie added.
"Oh- so- you've been taking notice of her chest too? How scandalous, big brother~" Miko continued.
"MIKO, I SWEAR-" Miko wasn't frightened one bit at Frankie's outburst, she just playfully stuck her tongue out at him.
"Frankie, come on, go easy on her, she's just teasing you." Kaito excused his girlfriend.
"Y-you don't think I know that…?" Frankie asked in frustration.
"She just likes the idea of you two starting up something in the future, if you catch my drift. And I gotta say… I agree with her 100%" Kaito's comment made Frankie blush even harder.
"You-you do…?" He asked.
"Oh, of course I do, Frankie. The library stuff on Saturday? The cooking talk and sushi thing at the restaurant? And don't think I didn't catch you making googly eyes at her when she was reading to those kids before we left for the day. 'Heaven, you say?' Yes, Frankie, I do say, and clearly, you like the sound of that!" Kaito's giddy laughter broke Frankie's embarrassment a little bit before he glanced over to Miko.
"And really, Frankie… she makes you so happy, Kaito and I can see that, plain as day. It wouldn't hurt to just… ask her about it one day." She said.
"W-well… I mean… Sh-she's my blade and I'm her driver. I don't know about you, but that sounds like a pretty strict professional relationship to me!" Frankie nervously stated, blushing even more than before.
"Maybe… but what little we did read about blades and drivers in our first batch of research, we did find out that there are plenty of instances of blades marrying their drivers." Kaito explained.
"Err………." Frankie looked down unbelievably embarrassed, his whole body turning red as he shifted in his chair uncomfortably.
"You don't have to do it right away, Frankie. I know you two just met and you wanna take things slow, is that it?" Miko asked.
"There's also the matter of the trial at hand, feeling stressed about that too, big bro?" Kaito added.
"Well you keep that head screwed on to your shoulders tight, big brother! Baby sis Miko's on the case and the results are coming back with just enough for her to work with!" Miko proudly showed Kaito the contents of her phone, a police report and even a copy of the video taken of her, courtesy of her superior.
"Ooo, now that's some good TV right there…" Kaito intoned.
"Indeed, but back to you, Frankie… you haven't answered either of our questions yet…" Miko smiled cheekily at him as she waited for a response.
"Well, I mean… y-yeah that's true, but… well… it hasn't even been a week yet… b-b-b-but it's not just that… I just… don't want her to think I'm some kind of creep or anything like that… she's too good to be in that state of position… plus… well, the initial shock period of seeing her come to me has pretty much gone away already, s-so I doubt these feelings will last for a whole lot longer." Frankie answered.
"And yet, she's living, cooking, and eating with you at the same table. You said she was reading Lion King right? Well I say you're just one pillowfight away from 'continuing the circle of life', so to speak…" Miko drank a bit of tea indignantly as Frankie's entire body flushed a crimson color that was deeper than Pyra's.
'If she makes a comment about how we even look the same, I might just die…' he thought to himself.
"If we can get back on topic…" Kaito started, "I'm not quite keen on the whole concept, but from what I read in Heart Snackers…"
"Heart Snackers? Kaito, that's a manga, this is real life." Frankie said dryly.
"Yeah, it's almost as silly as a magical girl coming out of a cross after being touched by the fingers of a white collar Database Designer, huh?" Miko shot back.
"Well played…" Frankie groaned.
"There's this one character who's able to at least… see to wherever location they're wishing to locate, I think that's all we need at the end of the day." Kaito continued.
"That's… really specific… I mean, how do we even know Pyra has that power in the first place? Wait, why are we assuming Pyra has powers at all? The one crazy thing she did was pull a blade from out of nowhere, but I don't see how that-" Frankie was suddenly stopped by a random fire ball being flung in front of his face, the gang all turned to face a pleased, if a bit smug, Pyra looming over them.
"You were saying? She cheekily asked.
"Th-that- that's uh… wow…" the fire was so close to Frankie's face that he was really starting to sweat.
"Taking the meaning of a smokin' hot dame to the next level, aren't we…?" Miko couldn't stop herself. But to avoid making his brother mad, or his blade confused, Frankie held back a comment and instead, growled lowly at her like a little dog.
"Don't get burned…" Pyra teased before putting it away. "I couldn't find any face masks, Miko, I looked everywhere, I'm sorry…"
"Oh, it's okay, Pyra. It probably isn't too contagious. You just take a load off right there next to Frankie why don't you?" The smaller lady suggested.
"Of course!" Pyra cheerfully remarked, doing just that, scooting closer to him excitedly. Kaito and Miko exchanged knowing looks before grinning widely at Frankie in anticipation.
'Don't you dare…' He thought to himself, shooting a grimace back.
"Pyra, we're in a bit of a jam. You think you could help us out?" Kaito asked.
"Of course! I'd be happy to! What did you need?" Pyra pumped her hands downward to assure him she was ready for anything.
"Well… we were just wondering if… maybe… if at all possible you'd be able to show us a location and its surrounding area we wanna get a closer look of…"
"Oh, well that shouldn't be an issue! But I need Frankie to help me out, in that case." Pyra turned toward her driver, who scooted back in his seat a fair bit in a nervous bout.
"M-m-m-me?" He stuttered.
"Oh, but big bro, Frankie… we're ever so worried about you and we do believe all of this will help us understand what's going on with you and we just want our dearest wonderful big brother to feel better about the whole situation he's found himself in…" Miko feigned concern, even though there was quite a bit of truth to her statement.
"What situation? Are you feeling okay, Frankie?" Pyra asked in genuine concern.
"I-" Frankie couldn't even really start his thought, as Pyra placed a hand on his forehead to get his temperature. Kaito and Miko exchanged sly looks with each other as Frankie turned a bright red that matched Pyra's own color. "You don't seem to have a fever, is it a stomachache? Or something a bit more private you don't wish to disclose? You don't have to tell me if it is, I'm sure Kaito and Miko will be happy to rush you to get some medical attention."
"N-n-n-no Pyra, I-I-I'm fine…" He said, still blushing profusely. 'If you could not stand so close to me like that, that might already make things a whole lot better… I mean… notthatimcomplainingoranythinglikethat'
"Oh, good, then listen carefully. If we're to succeed in this mission, I need your full concentration and attention." Pyra announced.
"She's saying that like she doesn't already have it…" Miko snided to Kaito, who snickered mischievously under his breath.
"O-okay, Pyra, what is it?" Frankie asked.
"Put your hand on my chest."
Frankie felt his insides explode. What. In the world. Did she mean by that??? Again, his whole body was a deep dark crimson color as he just stared at her in complete disbelief. Her genuine and innocent smile didn't help at all, he wondered if she even realized what she said in the first place. The young man barely managed to sneak a peek at Kaito and Miko behind her. Kaito was pretending to cradle a small baby as he tickled the nothing that was enveloped in his arms like he was a mother of some kind, while Miko danced around playfully and continuously made smooching gestures to the air, directed at him, intended to be about his and Pyra's relationship.
"On my core crystal, if I wasn't clear enough." Pyra added. Though considering how close the crystal was to her… very generous features, that certainly didn't make things any easier whatsoever for Frankie. He very timidly obliged and shakily held out a hand to do as he was told, placing three fingers right in the center of her core crystal, very careful to make sure they didn't slip downwards. "Now… close your eyes… take a deep breath… and just… think… think very hard of what it is you envision."
Frankie followed Pyra's instructions carefully. The Temple of Apollo in Greece. That's where he needed to think of. Scrubbing his mind of anything else… he closed his eyes alongside Pyra… and just thought… thought so very long and hard to imagine where he wanted to go. The space around the four of them began to distort ever so slightly, with Frankie and Pyra's heads pointed up towards the sky with their eyes gently shut as the two of them pondered so very hard… they were there. Now the rest was up to Miko and Kaito.
"Oop-well alright, guess we're doing this now-" Kaito slowly stood up as the world shifted around the four of them like an odd hologram. It was dizzying, and frankly overwhelming.
"Uh…huh…" Miko stood up, also quite dazed, "It's not like I didn't believe Frank when he said Pyra was magical but uh…"
"This is more than you expected?"
"Yeah. I hope I don't run into something…"
"I'm just glad no one's gonna see us fumbling around like idiots."
They both stumbled their way around their chairs and observed the expanse around them.
It was remarkably close to what they had anticipated, the renowned Temple of Apollo was towards their right, just as ruined and eroded by time as it was in the photos. It was also surrounded by tourists, although none of them seemed to notice their presence in the slightest.
They'd do more thorough investigating, but another trait of this vision was that everything was covered in a deep haze, making perception of smaller details nearly impossible.
"Uh, it's like staring through molasses…" Miko squinted her eyes and looked around, already starting to feel queasy.
"I'm not one to complain about this stuff, but you'd hope magical holograms would have a better resolution than this, man-" Kaito was also squinting his eyes and struggling just as much, to the point he was already developing a headache.
"Please hurry!"
The both of them spun around as the voice drew their attention. It was Pyra's.
"I-I can't hold this vision for very long, you have to find what you're looking for soon, or you'll be forced out!"
"Right-o, sister! We'll get on that!"
"S-S-SISTER? Wherever did you get that from, me and Frankie haven't- I mean I wouldn't mind- in fact it may be quite nice to-"
"It was just an expression, Pyra!"
"R-right! Get going then!"
Kaito and Miko darted around, trying to find the wooded area with the stone. With the haze clouding their vision however, that proved to be a more difficult task than anticipated.
"Ahck- the harder I try to look the worse it gets!" Miko winced in pain as it felt like a migraine was coming on.
"I-I-I'm sorry, but please hurry!"
"Kaito… look…!" Miko pointed behind her worriedly. Kaito followed her to find Frankie straining and groaning through gritted teeth and a pained expression on his face, and judging by the way his chest contorted, he was having a hard time breathing too.
"What the- what's going on? Frankie? Big brobro?" Kaito's mostly welmed demeanor shot through the floor as seeing his brother in pain was causing him more pain than anything the hazy vision could give him.
"Kaitooooo…" Miko looked up at the small young man in great concern as Kaito redirected his attention frantically to the task at hand. Now's not the time to worry, if they mess up, all of this struggling will have been for naught.
"I've gotta…think of something…" Kaito looked around for a hint, but he was likely even more lost than Miko on where to look. If only there was a way to help one of them focus-
"That's it!"
"What's it, Kaito? I can barely see a-" Miko was cut off by Kaito gently and lovingly wrapping his arms around her from behind.
"H-huh?" Miko gasped as he slowly moved to comfort her, hugging her in all the places he knew she liked to be hugged. He also whispered gently into her ear words of warm encouragement, as well as general compliments.
"You're so pretty… and you work so hard… you're so incredible…"
"W-W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING? It's hardly the time for…that sort of thing you guys!"
Pyra shrieked in her hovering voice as if she had witnessed something unfit for the faint of heart.
Suddenly, as a result of their mutual comfort, Miko and Kaito sprung into action, their focus heightened to an extent beyond what most could conceive. They scanned the area again, the haze still affecting their vision but with the pain and dizziness feeling like a distant memory.
"Kokonut, there!" Miko pointed to a wooded area to their left. She noticed the pattern of their arrangement matched the one in the vlog.
"Let's do it, Koko Puff!" The two sprinted towards the forest, following the path they recalled from the video as exact as they could.
"I…uh…g-good work you two!"
Kaito, having experience in running sports as a soccer coach in his spare time, quickly out-paced his girlfriend, but she still was able to direct him.
"Just past that set of three trees to the right!"
"On it!"
He turned on a dime and pressed to the right like he was in an action flick.
"We can't…We can't hold on for much longer!" Pyra strained.
"I can see it!" Kaito spotted the stone and rushed ahead at top speed.
"Almost…there!"
He ran so fast it felt like he was flying.
"Goooooo!" Miko cheered him on.
His speed increased even further. A bright light flashed before him, forcing him to close his eyes, but he still kept going.
"LET'S GOOOO-"
His rush ended prematurely when he collided head first with the wall of their home, sending him tumbling backwards to the ground.
Pyra, Frankie, and Miko all practically collapsed themselves, heaving as they were all similarly spent of their energy.
"What…happened…?" Miko asked, leaning on the table for support.
"We…had to let go of the vision…" Pyra was gasping for air at almost every other word, "I'm…sorry…"
She fell against Frankie who, much like her, was panting and clearly exhausted.
"P…pyra?" He held her close with what little strength he had left.
Miko, slowly but surely regaining her balance, looked at them in confusion.
"I…kinda get why Pyra's so wiped but…why are you tired Frankie?"
Frankie just looked around, trying to find an answer to Miko's question, to no avail.
"I'm…not sure…"
"It's cuz you're her 'Driver', remember?"
They turned to Kaito who was slowly making his way up too, holding his forehead in pain. Miko walked over to him in concern.
"Oh Kokonut…you're not hurt that badly are you?"
"Heh, nah I'm fine. I've taken soccer balls to the head from fourth graders that hurt worse than that." He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, clearly not boasting as he was otherwise the least physically affected of the group.
"A-alright…" Miko, clearly still feeling guilty, held him close regardless.
"Heh, you dork." He looked over at Pyra and Frankie, the former clinging to his brother like her life depended on it, the latter not doing too much better.
"Let's…get them to a bed, Miko."
She nodded in agreement. The two of them propped Frankie and Pyra up on their shoulders and took them upstairs carefully, plopping them down on Kaito and Miko's bed.
"Well… guess we're sleeping on the couch tonight…" Miko intoned as the two of them overlooked the blade and driver sorrowfully. A little bit of their unease was quelled when Pyra reached over and held onto Frankie closely, shaking and breathing heavily while the young man slept with a frog in his throat.
"They need it more than we do, come on, Kokonut… let's… try and relax until bedtime." Kaito advised
"Yeah… let's do that…"
Frankie's house was completely empty with him and Pyra staying at Kaito's house for the time being. Blade and driver stuck together closely, their breathing finally having calmed down to a steady pace. Frankie in particular was fast asleep peacefully… until the alarm blared out and interrupted his slumber. The young man glared at the clock and angrily shut off the sound, evidently, Miko forgot to undo her study alarm. Pyra stirred in her sleep as well before letting out a yawn and slowly waking up herself.
"Frankie…" she murmured groggily, "Is it morning already?" She asked, unaware that she was nestling up to Frankie's chest.
"It's 4 o'clock, if you wanna get technical, sure but…" Frankie let out a yawn himself. "Work isn't for another six hours…"
"Okay…" Pyra sighed as she rested her head back on Frankie's chest absentmindedly. "I really wish you could be at work with me, Frankie… there's plenty of lovely children's stories to tell tale of… I'm sure you'd enjoy it…"
"Hah… I'm not missing this Lion King 2 one tonight… that movie came out the same year I was born, you know…"
"Ha ha… you're so old…" Pyra chuckled, instinctively hugging him as she did so.
"You're one to talk… five century old grandma." Frankie hugged back just as absentmindedly both with their eyes gently shut now.
"Hmmm… you've still got a long way to go before you know a thing or two about the way the world works like me, kid… so hush up and just… make yourself useful as my driver, okay?"
"Okay, Pyra… and… if I can be honest… I always did kinda like older women…" Pyra was fast asleep as he said that, whether it was a failed confession on his part or just a silly thing to get a reaction out of her for the fun of it, he was too tired to make hide or hair of it, so he followed suit and joined Pyra in her deep sleep… leaving behind the adversity of their past mistake…s.
