Chapter 57

Dinner was... well... not very celebratory. Clive and Usa looked exhausted. Melty was sleeping still since she'd stayed up as long as she could to talk to her mother and help heal the wounded. Raphtalia still had a bit of a haunted look on her face, and Tetsu was apparently still sleeping on the pile of dragons the Aotatsu had brought (in her little girl form, so she wouldn't hurt any of them). Only Kunshu (who could 'nap' like a cat and be active until no one needed her) and myself were really awake. And to be honest, I was forcing myself.

"The plan." I said as we nibbled at what we could find in the kitchen. "We get a good sleep tonight, and leave in the morning."

Clive and Usa nodded, Raphtalia stared into her soup, and Kunshu crunched into some bread as if I hadn't spoken.

"The Queen expects us back as soon as is reasonable. Raphtalia?" No reply...

I flicked my hand at her, using the ancient and venerated art of Senjitsu to mimic a spray bottle.

"Ack!" She came back to reality, "What... Oh... I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I said, "I'd like you to talk to Keel. Have her tell everyone to pack up and be ready to move. Van isn't kicking them out, but if this goes how I expect, the Queen will want to hand out gifts."

Clive clicked his lips together and nudged Usa. "Ah, sir? What do you mean?"

"We've just done her a favour by cutting this sickness out of her country and putting her back on the throne. She'll want to say thank you with a little more than words. I'd like you all to think of something small but meaningful to request. Something that can't really be bought, or would need a certain influence to get."

"Like..." Raphtalia regained some of her usual energy, "Land?"

"Exactly." I nodded, "I am almost positive she'll offer it, but if she doesn't, you should be the one to ask."

"What about..." Usa paused, but Clive gave him a pat on the shoulder.

"Yes, think on it, and so long as it isn't dangerous, unreasonable, or impossible, you'll likely be granted what ever it is." I said, "Tomorrow, after breakfast, we should get on the road to return. Tonight, I plan on going to the tree, and if nothing bothers me, I should be able to attempt making the medicine for Usa and Alta on the way there."

"Speaking of them... Where are they?" Raphtalia asked.

That was a good question actually. And to my surprise, Kunshu answered. She leaned over a little and touched her antenna to my closest horn, "tree."

"Oh. Well, it is a very nice tree." I admitted.

Everyone else had declined visiting the tree with me except Kunshu. That was fine, I really did want them to rest and relax as best they could before we once again hit the road. And I suspected the only reason The Silent Spear joined me, was so she could roll around in the dozens of different flowers that adorned the weird amalgam that made up the tree.

I was pleased to note that Van had put the nice red Torii 'gate' at the mouth of the valley. And while it didn't feel like my territory while entering, I could feel a slight shifting towards something 'otherworldly' as I crossed the threshold. This place was special, but the 'rules' of the godless world were still resisting 'true' signs of divinity.

Already there, and surprising me, were the other three heroes. Not surprisingly, the Aotatsu retinue were there as well, having a little picnic under the tree near the spot where I'd interred the corrupted dragon soul.

"Kodori." Motoyasu greeted as I approached him and the other two heroes. "I was just telling them about Fitoria. And I figured you'd be by the tree soon as well."

"Ren, Itsuki, Motoyasu." I greeted them, giving the Spear hero a pat on the shoulder, "Have you told them about our theory?"

"The vassal weapons and the invading heroes?" Ren asked, "Yes, he's told us. But is that really what's happening?"

"It's the best we've come up with so far, and makes sense." Motoyasu shrugged. "Oh, tell them about the other thing. That book."

"Right." I nodded, "So, you played a game similar to this world. So did you, and even Motoyasu. I read a book, or part of one. Each of us has a different version, but all of us found out about it from our own 'worlds'." They nodded, with me so far, "I suspect your games, and my book, were made by 'survivors' of previous Waves. For example, my book mentioned a King of Melromarc several generations before this one."

But to my surprise, they not only nodded in agreement, but Ren said, "Yes. We found out a little about that on our own. Things weren't adding up, and we found our way into a sealed archive in the castle."

"Wait... what?" I blinked.

"Yes. It seems there are records of some previous Waves. But for some reason they are being suppressed or outright destroyed." Itsuki explained, "Shortly after we found out about some of the previous waves and other heroes, we were captured by the Church of Three."

"Forget the history, doomed to repeat it..." I mumbled, "But why... That just doesn't make sense."

"What was it you said? Information saves time and lives?" Motoyasu asked, "Speaking of capture, where did your parties go?"

"We don't know. Some of them refused to go into the hidden archives, so we just told them all to stay outside. They did, but after we were captured we haven't seen any of them." Ren frowned.

"They either ran away, or were captured as well." I said, "So what do you think about the enemy hero idea?"

"It..." Itsuki frowned, "It seems a little out there."

"I'm still wondering how you ended up on his side." Ren said to Motoyasu.

"I was tired of getting beaten up." He shrugged. "And if you think about it, there are no 'sides'. After meeting that scary lady with the Fans, and hearing what happened, well, it just makes sense you know?"

"I'm not convinced, but..." Ren crossed his arms, then attempted the topic change, "So what's with the tree? And the Torii?"

"Ah, so your world hasn't discarded those traditions." I smiled, "I don't know how much your worlds have left of the older religions, but mine version of Japan is seeing a bit of a resurgence, you might call it."

The Bow and Sword looked at me doubtfully, "So you were lying?"

"About what?" I asked.

"You said you weren't from Japan. And didn't mention anything about games." Itsuki replied.

"You assumed, and I kept my secrets." I snapped.

"Whoa, hold on." Motoyasu put a hand on my shoulder, "Calm down. We all have out stories and secrets. That's enough sharing for the moment."

The other two were surprised at him jumping in to keep the peace. "Yeah. Fine." Ren grunted.

"What are the plans from here then?" Itsuki asked, obviously shelving the questions he had in favour of keeping the peace.

"Tomorrow morning we head back." I said, "The Queen has returned to her place on the throne, and has told me she expects us to return, but knows we needed a little time to recover. Van has a nice wagon and the like to get you there in style, so you don't have to walk."

"Huh. More boring speeches..." Ren sighed.

"Duty of a hero." Itsuki shrugged.

"So what are you doing here anyhow?" Motoyasu asked.

"It's a nice tree made up of medicinal plants and a cursed dragon soul." I replied, "I've got to try getting some sap out of it."

"Neat. Mind if I come along?" Motoyasu asked.

"Just get along with the visitors."

"Oh, and why is Kunshu on your back?"

Ren and Itsuki looked at Motoyasu, then me, then my stylish bee backpack, "Because any time is nap time for a giant bee?"

Kunshu, as I got closer to the Aotatsu... monks? Sure, we'll go with that. As I got closer to them, Kunshu unstuck herself from my back, and walked next to me, one of her middle arms gently tugging on my sleeve. The other three smiled at the 'timid schoolgirl' act, and watched her zip up into the tree's branches once I gave her a headpat and the 'okay'.

Now with Kunshu adding an energetic rustling of leaves and branches from above, I greeted my guests. "What do you think?"

I held up a hand so they wouldn't all stand up, so instead they turned to face me while kneeling. "It is a strange and magnificent tree." The one I'd met in Siltvelt said, "And we can hear, even now, its effect in calming the soul of the dragon inside its trunk."

Another spoke up, this one similar in appearance (a demi-human with various patches of scales and reptile eyes) but younger, "How did you manage to wrest the stone from the Tyrant Dragon Rex?"

"Expert planning, brave party members, and specially made tools." I smiled, "But that is not the kind of story I would like to tell withing hearing distance of the deceased."

He looked a little disappointed, but they all nodded. The entire point of sticking it into the tree was to calm it down, not taunt it. "Are you going to attempt to gather the sap you mentioned?" The elder asked.

"I am." I nodded, "While I do, maybe the other three heroes would like to introduce themselves?"

Yes, I just pushed flowery politics onto someone else. No regrets.

Behind me, I heard the three of them try to be all formal and such while introducing themselves. Not wanting to interrupt, or look like I was laughing at them, I walked around the trunk of the big tree, trailing my fingers over the weird smooth/rough bark. Even though I put it here, it was a weird tree. Smooth in places like a birch, rough in others like oak, rounded in spots like vines...

But the energy. The energy the vitality... It was all the same. A great nexus of vitality that rose up from the ground and fed the wide multicoloured burst of branches above. It was that almost overwhelming flow of power that kept the dragon's soul crystal contained.

"Ah, Kodori." Atla's voice pulled me from the inner space of my mind, "Your tree is wonderful."

I looked towards the voice, spotting Fohl sitting on a rock next to her chair, the two of them eating from a packed basket of food. "Thank you." I replied, feeling a weird warm and fuzzy feeling, almost like she'd told me my children were cute or something. "I'm just looking for a good place to make a cut. Oh, and to find you and ask if you wanted to come to Melromarc Castle."

I put my palm to the tree again, feeling with my eyes closed, while listening to Fohl, "It won't be dangerous, will it?"

"You worry too much, brother." Atla sighed, "But... I would like to I think."

"It will be a rare occasion where all four heroes will be travelling together." I said, "I can introduce you to Erhard. If this doesn't work..." I paused as I felt a more tangible energy moving up the tree under my palm. "He can make you a better chair. Maybe help me add a couple of enchantments to it..." I took my all purpose knife from my belt and pulled an empty jar from the Shield's inventory.

"Talking about failure already?" Atla asked.

I paused, the edge of the knife not quite touching a smooth patch of bark. "The recipe says 'sap from a sacred tree'. The tree is sacred, sure. But the recipe is really old, and unless someone else did what I did here..." I looked up, "Kunshu! I need a little stick, dry!"

Aside from the mumble of voices on the other side of the tree, and the wind going through the branches, there was silence...

Then a dry branch about as long as my arm but only as thick as my thumb, flopped to the ground next to me. "Thank you!"

I put the smallest of cuts on the bark, just to mark my spot, then carved a simple 'tap' out of the dry stick. Just a little wedge of wood with a shallow channel in the middle. "I believe in you." Atla said.

That also gave me warm fuzzy feelings. "Me too." Fohl added, "And I suppose we can go with you, if that's what you want."

I was fairly sure he said the last part to Atla, not me. "What of your companion, Usa?" Atla asked, "Surely he is more important for this medicine..."

"His condition is inconvenient. Yours will kill you eventually." I said bluntly. "I can protect Usa from the monsters we face, be his strong arm if need be. But the only thing I can do for you is hope it works." I finished carving, then went to work on the tree, slashing a thin groove into the bark, hoping I wouldn't have to go too deep to reach the sapwood.

"What of the others? Are they staying here?" Fohl asked.

I smiled slightly as I caught the first few drops of sap in the bottle. "Well, this looks like it might be a few minutes. I'll give you 'the plan' as it stands right now."

Van's little network of maids helped me relay messages to everyone so I didn't have to hunt them down before bed. Most of it was just short versions of 'the plan', so we all at least woke up at the same time and got underway all at once. My party, for the most part, were already in their rooms and taking full advantage of their 'day off' to recover.

Sadly, though appropriately, and honestly, thankfully, Raphtalia entered my room about ten minutes after I returned from the tree and getting Van's staff to run messages.

"Raphtalia." I greeted, setting up bits of my alchemy set. "I was just-

"Bed." She pointed at my bed.

I looked at her, and could almost see a tangible aura of big sister energy surrounding her. So, I started putting my alchemy equipment back into the Shield, "Feeling better?"

I wasn't sure what shocked her more, me complying, or the question.

"Not... not really." She finally said. "I think... it's starting to sink in though."

Her eyes tracked me as I got ready for bed, "There isn't really much I can say about it." I said finally. "The 'pope' was a monster. What I gathered from you and some of the mages investigating the aftermath, was those people were basically dead anyhow. They were all showing signs of magical exhaustion, and some had died before you had gotten there."

She sat in the chair while I sat on the edge of the bed, "I'm trying to... why? Why did it even happen at all?"

"Faith can be a good thing. But it can also twist a person into a monster. Power is another one. Some people are granted power, or earn it, and they do great things. Others, take that power and lose themselves to it. He had this all powerful weapon, but to use it, he had to kill the people who followed him. He thought it was a gift from god, then thought he was a god himself because he had the weapon."

"Yeah... It's still..." She sighed.

"Think past that. Because he's gone, and his faith with it, your people are safe. The Queen is back in place. Your friend Sadeena and Keel are still alive. All that's left is putting things back in order." I took the pillow on my bed, and fluffed it meaningfully, "Now, I'm going to sleep, just as you command. It's going to be a long road back."

I flopped onto my side, wiggled my fingers at the lamp lighting the room and snuffed the flame.

A moment later, Raphtalia started to move, and a moment after that, she got into bed behind me. "Don't drool on my tails." I said, knowing she would, but not stopping her from hugging them as she got comfortable.

We left the next morning with very little celebration. For some, the shock was still there. For others, they were still bone tired from the accumulated tension. Some of them still had a look of disbelief on their faces even though everything was quiet.

But, all of them knew I couldn't stay for long speeches or fanfare.

Myself and my party, along with Atla and Fohl, all rode in the wagon behind Tetsu. Motoyasu, or rather, Kuro, was pulling a wagon similar (smaller, but still covered and made to keep the weather off) to mine. In that wagon were the other heroes and some supplies we'd use when camping on the way back.

Around us were Ake's knights, though the two Demi-humans were still back at the fort (to continue teaching some of the demi-human children and to keep watch), as well as Frost's mercenaries. It didn't feel like a victory parade, but I could feel the atmosphere around them perk up a little as we travelled. It was sinking in. The near defeat, the near deaths, the knowledge that something meaningful happened... We'd pulled through and survived.

The first day was spent mostly on travel. Yes, we were in a hurry. No, I would not run us to exhaustion getting there. We did eat while we moved, only stopping at night so we wouldn't risk a pothole or something. I spent the day working on the medicine, letting the others drive, mingle, or just rest while we moved on. Frost's mercenaries and Ake's knights took care of the occasional monster, but there wasn't much in the way of threats so close to the core of Melromarc.

But something was brought to my attention as we got to 'quiet time' after dinner.

"Kodori." I felt my tails lash a little angrily at the voice before I got them under control.

"Elrasla." I replied curtly, willing my hands to move again so I could wash the dishes we'd made. Beside me, Melty remained frozen at my sudden spike in hostility.

"Come with me." She said.

Thinking about it, I hadn't even noticed she was riding with us. Was it that she joined us later? Or did I just not want to see her so much I ignored her?

The second option was outright dangerous. But my loss to her during 'sparring' still stung.

I took a long, slow, deep breath. And only once I'd let it out did I reply, "Fine." I dried my hands, "I'll dry them when I get back." I said to Melty, giving her a pat on the shoulder to try and unfreeze her.

More than a few eyes followed us as I trailed behind the elder martial artist. Almost everyone here was a fighter of some capacity, and I wasn't making much of an effort to hide my hostility towards her. "We're borrowing these two!" She said to a knight tending the filolial.

"Yes'm." He replied smartly.

"Get on, follow me. It's not far." She said to me as she gave the bird she was about to mount a few pats along its feathery neck.

So I did. Not before also giving the filolial some attention for its service. It wasn't much different than Tetsu. Really, it was just feathers instead of scales, though once we started moving I had to admit the riding birds were much less jarring with every step. Tetsu needed to get to speed before her stride stopped rattling your teeth.

We got to a spot just within sight of our little caravan, and knew where we were as soon as we got there.

"Really?" I sighed, slipping off the back of the filolial. The bird caught on to my mood, and the both of us gave the elder martial artist the same glare. "I thought even you had better taste than this."

"Listen girl." She said, "Stop thinking with your ego, and pay attention."

My mount wanted none of that, and turned its head away from the return glare from Elrasla. I on the other hand dragged my eyes away from hers, and looked around. But all I could see was evidence left over from her 'educating' me. A divot in the ground where she'd thrown me. An overturned rock that I'd been thrown in to. A missing patch of grass that still had part of the Shield's imprint on it...

"Stop using your eyes." She snapped at me as I started to open my mouth.

Again I had to take a long slow breath to just... bury the anger I felt working its way up my spine. All the same, I closed my eyes. A few deep breaths later, and I started to feel a chilling calm work through me.

No... Not just 'chilling calm'. But... Actual cold?

The warmth from riding the Filolial was dissipating (another thing that was different from Tetsu's natural 'air conditioning'), but the air around me was colder than it should have been. I opened my eyes, took another look around, then took three steps to my right.

The air here was warmer. Tangibly so. I knelt, putting my palm to the grass, and yes, it was as it should be. But moving back, the dirt was cool. There was even a bit of dew forming on the grass already.

"You did this." She said to me.

I felt my anger at her fade a little, the fascination at the newest 'weird thing that happened to me' far too great. "This shouldn't be possible." I said. I remained kneeling, working my fingers into the soil and closing my eyes again. "But there's no doubt about it." I could feel the twist I'd made here, in the dragon veins. My moment of extreme anger had put a subtle knot in the world itself.

"How?" She asked.

"You didn't believe me then. So why should I bother trying to explain it now?" With my fingers in the dirt, and my senses open, I could feel her moving towards me. "I told you, coming here, no, being stolen from my home reduced my power. Under the right conditions, in the right place, I could do so much more than this." I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Is that it?"

She gave me a long hard look, and with my hand still in the soil I could feel her anger starting to bubble. "Do you have any idea the damage you could-"

"Yes." I said, "Part of a Kitsune's duty, if they hold land, is to groom and maintain the dragon veins. From their seat of power, they could ensure bountiful harvests, or turn tracts of land barren. Pull up, or push down water from the ground. Create places where magic has a hard time functioning." I shook my head, "I'm not very good at it, but for a short time I did hold land. I was only taught the basics, since it was a small area and almost in perfect harmony before I'd even gotten there."

Again, she was silent as her eyes tried to dig holes into me.

"Back up four steps." I said.

"And if I refuse?" This time she was the one being moody.

So I hit her with one of the stored spells from my shiny gloves. Usa's wind spell slammed into her without a hint of warning save that of my pointed finger. I'll admit, I was hoping she'd fly backwards and land on her back, roll a few times, and just... get a taste of what she had done to me.

But as expected she flew back, did a neat flip, and landed smoothly about five paces away. As she started forward to... I honestly didn't care... the area around me, in about a three pace radius, started to become hazy with heat. It was difficult, and the effort made my horns hurt, my skin itch, and my chest feel like someone was hammering the inside of my ribs. But I pulled in... life from around me. Then, like smoothing a wrinkle on a blanket, I relaxed my hold on the local energies and let it resume its natural flow.

Slowly, my limbs feeling stiff and cold, I stood up and bowed to her. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have seen my error, and worked to correct it." I coughed, feeling something wet and coppery come up with the air, and spit out a glob of blood. "Anything else?" I coughed again, but there was no blood this time. Still, I took a healing potion from the Shield and sipped it.

"Fine. I believe you." She said, "You're still an disrespectful brat, but not a liar."

"Shame you didn't do that in the first place. We might have been friends by now." I went over to my borrowed filolial, gave it some attention to show it I cared, then got on its back. "But thank you."

"You're hurt?" Atla asked quietly as I got into the wagon, the dim reflection from her blue eyes feeling almost accusatory.

"Had to fix a mistake. I'll recover." I grumbled, "If nothing goes wrong, I'll be able to make the medicine tomorrow." I started to lay down on the narrow cot, paused, stood, and went over to her.

She was mostly still as I fussed over her. I checked her temperature, listened to her back, put my palm to the side of her throat and under an arm to make sure she was warm enough, and just... fussed. "I'm not a doll." She said, though not with any anger.

"I know." I sighed, stopping her check-up and helping her lay down again. "I just..."

"Needed to feel needed?" She said with a thin smile. "You might make my brother jealous."

"He'll still be your brother. I'm just an adventurer from another world." I sighed myself onto my cot, wiggled around on the narrow space to get comfortable, and tried to sleep.

The next day, I was basically left alone. It was a little odd, thinking on it. The other three heroes had hardly said anything to me. My party was mostly 'absent' or at least 'occupying themselves away from me'. Even when they took turns napping in the wagon, or coming to look for something in the boxes, or looking for a snack, or... anything... They said hello, went about their task, then left again. Ake and his knights? Aside from the greeting at breakfast and a brief 'no problems here sir', nothing. Even Kunshu left me alone!

As I watched the various liquids bubble and simmer their way through my alchemy set, with only Atla for company, I started to wonder why. But then I looked at Atla, and figured it out. They wanted Alta to recover almost as much as Fohl did.

They hardly knew her, but they were each hoping to get to know her better. But for that, the looming death sentence over her head had to be removed. They knew the 'sick' Atla. A young girl who had been enduring this illness her entire life, who didn't have a harsh word for anyone but her brother, who had become friends with everyone not because she was sick and people were pitying her, but because she had a natural gravity to her.

And it was around lunch, with the scent of whatever Clive was trying to cook wafting through the air, that I held up the 'end result' of my work. For a moment, I held it up to the light but didn't focus on it. The colour was good, very faintly blue with nothing floating in it. The smell was almost sweet, like very diluted fruit juice. The liquid itself slid around the inside of the flask like super fine sand, or thin syrup.

Then I actually looked at it, letting the Status Screen over my vision 'notice' it with the auto-appraisal function.

Medicine of Miracles: quality: excellent

I smiled, put the cork on the glass bottle, put it into the Shield, and stood up.

"Why are you dancing?" Atla asked, very slowly shifting herself so she could sit up. "And... it's Sir Clive's turn to cook today?"

I froze in mid motion, my hand upraised as if I were about to spike an imaginary ball. I took a moment to compose myself, then replied, "It's done." I said.

Her adorable round ears twitched, and her tail managed a single excited flop, "Oh?"

"But with most medicines, you don't want to drink it on an empty stomach."

Motoyasu was the only one of the three to join us for lunch. His already outgoing nature and redemption in the eyes of the rest of my party brought out a little more of his social side. To be fair, before he'd screwed his head on straight and stopped thinking with his penis, my party (and I) wanted nothing to do with him.

"Why are you all so... gloomy today?" He asked as he plunked his rear down next to me. "Ren and Itsuki are acting like someone stole their favourite toys, and all of you are... so quiet." He looked to me, and I motioned towards our bubbling cauldron of stew to go ahead. "Thank you." He said in English, handing the filled bowl in his hand to Kuro before serving himself.

"We're hoping it works." Usa said quietly, his bowl being held by Kunshu as he ate.

For a moment, Motoyasu looked confused, then looked between Atla (being fed by Fohl) and Usa, "Wait... Oh! Well, I hope it works too." He nodded. "You think you got it?" He asked me.

"The system thinks so." I said, "And my own skill tells me I have exactly what I should."

"Yet you don't sound confident." He frowned, "That is not the hero I know."

I nearly snorted my stew with a laugh, "Heh, okay. It's just this world being so weird that's making me uncertain. If I were home, we'd go about it a different way. If we were where you're from, it would be different still."

"Weird how you talk about stuff like that so casually." He sighed.

"If you sigh like that, you'll let out all the giggles." Tetsu said cheerfully.

"Good." Kuro said, "He could stand to be more serious."

"You're so mean Kuro-chan..." he pouted.

Right after lunch, we broke camp and got moving again. I told everyone but Usa and Atla to find other things to do for an hour, just so I could treat the two of them without 'extras' peering over shoulders (like Fohl! Go away! Hunt dinner!)

I double, triple and read it out to Atla (while blind, she did know more about the nuances of the language), before I measured a dose out for her, and helped her drink it. She made a bit of a face at the taste (too sweet, feels sand over my tongue), but she got it down.

With the world being so damned weird, I wasn't sure what to expect. She could have glowed with green 'healing' energy. Or white 'holy' energy. She could have suddenly started to emit sparkles (like when I used a buff spell on someone). Or she might have just started to exhibit the usual 'forced healing' symptoms, like a sudden hot flash, a bit of sweating, a chill, mild dizziness...

And just to be as 'scientific' as I could be in this weird world, I watched her stats on the party screen too. It was there, that I saw the first signs of improvement. Every few seconds, her HP bar went up by one. Next were her stats, which also started to go up a tiny bit. It was as if the 'system' of the world was 'correcting' for her...

I think... Have I mentioned how weird this world is?

Thankfully, just for my own sanity's sake, she DID experience the normal signs of accelerated healing. That was mostly solved by a damp cloth over her forehead though.

"Feel anything else?" I asked, fussing over her with little touches and checks.

She was a little short of breath, another sign of the body's resources being used by a potion. "I... Less pain." She said with a huff, "My fingers are tingling a little too." Another pause, "And..."

I caught a little motion in the corner of my eye and I turned my head to look at it.

"My toes?" She said, unsure, as I watched the blanket over her feet wiggle with tiny movements. "Ow..." She added when I gripped her big toe and squeezed a little, "Yes... I feel that." She smiled, though her face showed discomfort. "Oh... Ah!"

She started to thrash weakly, but I could guess what was happening. After so long without feeling anything in her legs, her nerves were waking up all at once. She probably had an absolutely EPIC case of pins and needles.

I put a hand over her sternum to keep her from thrashing off the little bed, and used my other hand to rub the sides of her legs, "Easy easy." I urged, "It should fade in a moment or two."

"I hope..." She 'looked' to Usa, who was in the process of wiping down her face and forehead, "You are paying attention, Sir Usa."

"I am." He admitted, "Sir? I hear..." His long ears twitched a little, and his foot started to tap out a beat, "Her heart is a little stronger now too."

I felt hopeful that it was working, but Atla gave me a bit of bad news as I poked at her legs, "I... I don't feel that." She said, "I feel that... but not that... or there... Just the motion of my leg, not where you're touching..."

She was still wiggling her toes though, so I made my best guess, "You may need a second dose. But it will have to be after a few good meals. Forced healing like this makes big demands on the body, and you are already underweight."

For the first time I can remember since meeting her, she actually blushed. "Well... eating or drinking too much caused problems..."

"I'm not blaming anyone for anything." I brushed the tip of her nose with my fingertip, "But the fact you are able to wiggle your toes is pretty incredible on its own."

She captured my hand, then brought her other hand up as well, "Thank you." She said, "I'll do my best to be a good patient for you."

This of course led to a well deserved headpat, "Good." I turned to Usa, "Alright, your turn."

I helped Usa out of his (now very well worn) Nue cape, leather armour, and all of the 'extra storage' on his lame arm. Since it was still connected to him, we did put armour on it. He mostly used it for hiding extra weapons (like the little stone knife) or potions (like I did sometimes). But seeing it off of him, and him being bare chested, made me realize just how far his good side had developed compared to when we'd gotten out of the Slaver's cages.

"I'm... a little embarrassed." He said, "I know... but I'm not used to being looked at so closely."

Atla chimed in, weariness creeping into her voice, "Even if I am blind to most things, I feel the stares of others too." She yawned, "But I think they look at you now, because you travel with a Hero, despite your arm."

I couldn't help but to give the poor rabbit a headpat as well. "Remember. I showed you how, but you put in the effort. I honour the willing student." I took my hand off his head, then measured out a dose of the medicine. "But since you can see, you can drink this without my help."

He smiled, and I watched as he gave the medicine a bit of a sniff, then upended the vial into his mouth. "Yes... very sweet, and almost rough on the tongue." He shivered a little, "But..." He paused, "oh..."

Like Atla, I watched his status on my party menu. Like her, his HP started to increase a tiny bit, and his stats nudged themselves upwards ever so slightly. Not nearly as drastic, but again, it was like the 'system' was correcting them as their bodies were restored.

It started with a little tremor through his lame arm. I'd seen it happen before, and he himself said he had the occasional uncontrollable muscle spasm. But they were always little motions, a twitch, a finger wiggle, a sudden weak shrug.

Now? His good hand was rubbing and squeezing his lame arm, as it started to wiggle and spasm, "It... It's like cold fire!" He said, one eye squinted shut in discomfort, "But..." He growled as he tried to talk through clenched teeth, "I feel my hand... both hands... warmth from my other hand..."

I had to grab his weak hand, just so he didn't fall over trying to get the random, almost possessed seeming arm under control. It helped, and he used his other hand to keep his elbow close to his body.

"I feel your hand." He laughed.

It took a minute or two, but eventually Usa's arm stopped flailing about, and the pins and needles of nerves waking up faded. It had worked.

Well. Mostly. It had cured his birth defect, but it didn't 'fix' a lifetime of disuse. His arm looked like a twig compared to his muscular weapon arm, and about all he could do with it right now was make a fist only a baby's parents would be proud of. But unlike Atla, his weak arm could feel everything. No numbness, no 'dead spots' in the nerves.

Dinner was much more upbeat. And again Motoyasu was the one to comment. "Like night and day." He laughed, "Success?"

Usa and Atla answered for themselves, while the rest of the party smiled at their good fortune. "Yes." Usa nodded, his good hand holding up his weak arm, while he slowly curled his fingers into a fist.

"I will need a little more." Atla said, "But see?" Today was a day for firsts, since she had a hint of pride in her voice, "They wiggle." She hiked up the blanket over her legs just enough to expose her foot and wiggled her toes.

"I'll buy you sandals." Fohl said from his place beside her, "Nice soft ones."

"Thank you brother." She gave one of his round ears a pat.

"See?" Motoyasu looked to Kuro, "Why can't you be nice to me like that?"

"Because master, you are a dummy." Kuro sniffed indignantly.

He sighed, accepting the laughter from the rest of us, but then asked, "You know what's next, right?" He asked me.

"Weeks of therapy." I nodded, "Though, I have some ideas on how to speed things along a little."

"Uh oh... It's that laugh again." Raphtalia leaned over to 'whisper' at Clive.

"You should really replace your armour." Melty said, "I understand you must take care of your party, but..."

Yes, aside from my 'magic house kimono' almost all the equipment I had been wearing was burned off of me in that fight with the pope. "I have lots of ideas for that. But I'll have to work on it in sections." I sighed, looking at the Wave timer in the corner of my vision.

"Oh, speaking of." Motoyasu nudged me with his knee, "The other two were looking at your party's equipment."

"They can come to me and ask, if they want." I said with a sniff, "Oh, thinking on it. Tell them, very seriously, that if they touch Clive's bow, or Raphtalia's sword, it might kill them."

"You'll kill them?"

"No. We put a dead man's switch on them. If someone other than them tries to use them, they'll explode. The 'weapon copy' function might make a 'too perfect' copy." I explained.

"You don't play around, wow." He chuckled, "Then again, it's not a game, right?"

NOTES!

Okay okay, next chapter, the reveal of exactly what Kodori has in store for 'trash' and 'bitch'.

Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!

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