Here we are at Chapter 38. It's the start of the final part of this story. I do not own Code Vein. They belong to Bandai Namco. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 38. Enjoy.
Chapter 38: A New Ideal
While the girls were all at the academy going about their lessons, Fuyumi, Hikaru, and Emilia held a private audience with the king. There, they discussed the medicine Veronica showed them and the effects it can have. Suffice it to say, the story they told was an incredible one to be sure. The king had a little hard time believing it.
"I must confess this story the demon princess told seems to be a bit much. Can this medicine of hers really help two women conceive a child together? Not even magic has been able to do something like that," King Mikhail notes.
"We understand your hesitation in this matter, Your Majesty. However, despite who we got this information from, we believe her statements to be true," Emilia says.
"Besides, you believed me when I told you the truth about me being a Revenant and the origins of my people. Personally, I think that story is much more far-fetched than Veronica's story about her medicine," Fuyumi adds.
"Okay, okay. But, do we even know if this medicine of hers works?" King Mikhail asks.
"Well, Emilia and I have already tested it ourselves," Fuyumi places her hand on top of Emilia's, who merely nods.
The king blushes a little at hearing this, "Y-you mean you... no, I'm not going to finish that sentence. But, are you sure it was safe?"
"We're still here, happy and healthy, aren't we?" Fuyumi smirks.
She's pretty much the only person in the kingdom outside of the royal family who speaks to the king in such a manner and can get away with it.
The king sighs, "I wish you would be a little more cautious in matters such as this. So, I guess I'll ask... did it work?"
"Well, we don't know yet. Veronica said we would see symptoms early on, but it's not like Emilia will give birth within a week or so. We have no choice but to wait for the time being. In the meantime, we have other matters to attend to. Have there been any news about Jorus or any of his remaining followers?" Hikaru asks, the conversation taking a more serious tone.
"As of right now, we have not seen nor heard anything related to him. I've kept security up in the capital since the last attack, but even with the extra eyes in the city, we have not found anything. There's a distinct possibility that he's left the city, or maybe even the country. If he's gone to another kingdom, there's little I can do if he's not found," King Mikhail explains.
"How could that be possible? He must've left some traces behind," Emilia says.
"Even if he did flee the capital, I highly doubt he's given up on Yukitsuki. He went to great efforts to go after her and kidnap her the first time. Not to mention the schemes her had for her even before all this began. There's no way he won't come after her again," Fuyumi notes.
"Indeed. And the next time he rears his damn head, I'm going to burn him alive to such a degree that there won't even be any ashes left to bury," Hikaru lets her rage be known.
"I understand your anger, Princess Hikaru, and when we do find him, he will pay for his crimes, but only in accordance with the law. However, the key point right now is finding him. Perhaps Lady Veronica might have some leads we could use in this matter?"
"We asked her before and she hasn't found anything. Plus, she's been a little busy with other stuff like the academy. Another question is why we haven't seen any sign of Jorus this whole time? It's been some time since the attack on the school and yet he hasn't made any more moves. We did kill or capture a large number of his cohorts, so that may have limited his options. If he hasn't tried to recruit more, then maybe he's planning something else," Fuyumi says.
"The other issue with that is how desperate he'll be when he does make his move. In my experience, desperate people are unpredictable and even more dangerous at times," Emilia adds.
"You are correct in that regard. I'll have my men double their efforts. For now, I suggest you stay close to the royal academy to watch over your daughter. Her friends are there by her side and are capable fighters. Even if somehow things go wrong, they can at least buy you all time to get to Yuki before something terrible happens," King Mikhail says.
Fuyumi sighs, "I suppose that's all we CAN do for right now. But, that doesn't mean I have to like it,"
...
Meanwhile, at the academy, Yuki is in the middle of her combat class. Today, students are going through some one-on-one sparring matches to see how far they've come in their training here. Some have shown strides in their lessons, while others still have signs of needing further improvement. Yuki was also curious to see how far she's come in her training. One duel had just finished when the instructor stepped forth.
"Alright, good enough. For our next match, we'll have Yukitsuki Crystalglove spar against... Hiei Mamoriko," Captain Cruz announces.
Now that's a pairing no one was expecting. Especially since the two names picked out are engaged to one another. While Hiei hesitates, Yuki does not and steps into the sparring circle.
"Yuki?" Hiei mutters.
"It's okay, Hiei. It was bound to happen eventually, and it's our class assignment for the day," Yuki says without worry.
Hiei slowly walks forth, "But what if I hurt you? I don't want that,"
"If you try to forfeit the match, I'll be seriously angry with you, Hiei," Yuki pouts for a second. "Besides, I've actually always wanted to spar against you,"
"You have?" Hiei wasn't expecting that either.
"Yes. I've seen how skilled you are. I've always wanted to see who was stronger: me and my ice magic, or you with your sword skills and fire magic. Which will come out on top?" Yuki says.
Hiei sees Yuki's determination and understands now. This is a talk between warriors. Who's the best? Yuki wants to know, and Hiei will not deny her that answer.
"Alright, then allow me to oblige you," Hiei steps forth and draws her sword, her hesitation gone now.
"And... begin!" the instructor shouts.
Hiei makes the first charge, but Yuki raises her hand, "Ice Shard..." she conjures several ice shards and fires them.
Hiei jumps back, swinging her blade through any shards that get close. Hiei's role in the group has been the attacker, the fighter on the frontlines. Meanwhile, though Yuki has trained with a sword, she's always been stronger with magic than with steel, so the magic caster was her position. Hiei knows that when it comes to magic, Yuki has a major advantage. If she wants to win this duel, she'll have to get in close and force Yuki to fight on her terms. Of course, Yuki has no intention of letting that happen.
"Freeze," Yuki steps on the ground and ice shoots out across the dirt.
Hiei steps on the ice too late and loses her balance. Falling onto her backside, Hiei rolls quickly out of the way of a few incoming ice shards. She manages to roll off of the ice and readies her sword. Flames spark around the blade.
"Spirits of fire, burn through my blade... Flame Slash!" Hiei swings the blade down.
An arc of flames burns through the ice towards Yuki. Yuki raises her hand again.
"Blizzard," Yuki sends out a gust of freezing wind, freezing the flame arc in place. "You'll have to ty harder than-," Yuki stops when the ice in front of her suddenly shatters.
Hiei ran down the line between the ice on the floor that was melted, right behind her flames. When they got frozen, she shattered the ice with her sword, using the confusion to get close to Yuki. She swings her blade down, but Yuki isn't done yet.
"Ice Blast," Yuki fires a blast of frost from her hand, hitting Hiei in the stomach and sending her flying back. "You surprised me for a moment there, Hiei. But, don't think you'll win this match simply by getting close to me. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve... Ice Golem," she snaps her fingers.
A few seconds later, two golems made of ice and twice as tall as her sprout up from the ice on the ground. Their bodies are coated in icy spikes.
"Okay..." Hiei mutters, not expecting that.
It seems Yuki's been practicing in her off-time just like Hiei. Yuki snaps her fingers, and the golems charge at the kitsune.
"Spirits of fire, burn upon my blade... Flame Blade!" Hiei coats her sword in flames.
One golem throws a fist, but Hiei nimbly dodges it and slices the arm off. The second golem attempts to smash her with both arms, but she jumps out of the way. The one-armed golem attacks with its remaining arm, but Hiei ducks under the blow and passes by, slicing it in two as she does. The second golem goes for another punch, but Hiei jumps onto its shoulder and impales her blade through its head and body. The two ice golems collapse into pieces as Hiei stands above them.
"My turn," Hiei mutters before charging at Yuki again.
Yuki conjures an ice sword in her hand and blocks a strike from Hiei's blade. Hiei pushes her back. As they both push, their elements push as well. Hiei's flames attempt to melt Yuki's ice while Yuki's ice attempts to freeze Hiei's flames. Though Yuki's ice has the edge against Hiei's fire, Hiei has the edge against Yuki in terms of physical strength.
"Care for a little wager?" Yuki mutters.
"Huh? A wager?" Hiei cocks an eyebrow.
"The winner can make one request of the loser. Sound fair?" Yuki suggests.
"Fine by me, since I'll be winning," Hiei smirks.
"We'll see... Blizzard," Yuki creates her ice gust again to blow Hiei away.
Hiei regains her balance and aims the tip of her sword at Yuki, "Sprits of fire, strike swift and true... Fire Javelin!" Hiei fires off a precise bullet of fire at Yuki.
Yuki blocks with her ice sword, but the fire shot destroys it and flies past her head.
Hiei smirks and raises her blade, "Spirits of fire, unleash your hellish torrent... Flame Tornado!" she swings her blade wide, unleashing a twister of flames.
"Ice Tornado," Yuki matches it with a tornado of ice.
The two magical attacks collide and end up cancelling each other out. Hiei bursts through the smoke while Yuki prepares several more ice shards. She fires the ice shards, but Hiei cuts them all down. She gets close, but Yuki taps her foot on the ground and two ice pillars shoot up to block her advance. Hiei cuts them down as well, only to see Yuki's eyes glowing faintly. She's starting to get serious. It seems Hiei will need to get serious too. If Yuki wins, who knows what kind of request she'll make. Will it be cruel or heinous? No; Hiei knows Yuki to be better than that. But, could it be something embarrassing? Knowing Yuki, she would definitely do something like that. Hiei's pride won't allow that to happen.
"Sorry Yuki, but I can't afford to lose this match," Hiei raises her blade.
"Neither can I, Hiei," Yuki raises her hands.
Hiei concentrates and four fox fire tails sprout out from her back. Meanwhile, Yuki creates two glowing circles of ice in front of her hands. This next attack would finish it.
"That's enough!" suddenly, Captain Cruz calls a stop to the match.
"Huh?" both fighters are left confused.
"I'm sure you two would love to settle your match here, but need I remind you that we are in the middle of class, which is almost over. More importantly, if you two go all out here, you may end up destroying the combat field before the remaining students have a chance to fight. We'll call it a draw and both of you will get passing grades in light of the progress in your training. For now, return to the others. The duel is over," their teacher says.
"Aw," Yuki pouts, looking forward to beating Hiei and making her request.
The two return to the others and the class finishes up not long after that. Once it's over, the girls move on to their next class.
"So, since neither of you technically won or technically lost, does that mean the bet is voided?" Hana asks.
"Um... wait, does it?" Yuki wonders.
"I think it cancels each other out," Hiei thinks.
Hana smirks, "Then why not make it fun? Since neither of you lost, that means both of you won. So, you both can make a request from the other!"
"Hana!" Hiei shrieks, feeling betrayed by her old friend.
"My request is I want to pet Hiei's tail for two whole weeks," Yuki doesn't even hesitate.
"What? Again with my tail?! Wait, no, only one week!" Hiei shoots the time frame down.
"Okay, fine. Three weeks," Yuki says.
"That's even longer! Fine, two weeks," Hiei gets backed into a corner.
"Four weeks," Yuki changes it again.
"Two weeks. I said two weeks. Please, have mercy!" and now Hiei is practically in tears.
"Okay, two weeks. What do you want for your request, Hiei?" Yuki asks.
"Uh, my request? Hold on, let me think for a moment..." Hiei trails off.
"Wait, you agreed to the bet without considering your price if you had won? Talk about a lack of preparation," Hana shakes her head.
"Hey, I was more focused on winning the duel itself than winning the bet. I forgot, okay!" Hiei retorts.
This little discussion continued on for a while until Hiei finally figured out her side of the bet. It was something simple, but cute: a lap pillow and head pats from Yuki along with her scratching and massaging Hiei's ears. Soon enough, they split for their next class of the day. Nothing big happens in Yuki's etiquette class. After that, it's time for her performing arts class.
"Alright students, today we will be practicing our duets. However, the difference here is that the pairs must use the same tool together. If you want to sing, then both of you must sing. If you want to play an instrument, then both of you must play instruments together. Now then, please partner up and prepare a plan for your performance," Professor Artwell explains.
Yuki and Hana partner up as usual and come up with a plan, "So, what do you want to do? I would suggest singing, but I have a feeling that's not what you want," Hanazuki says.
"No, my signing is average at best. I don't want to be the reason you fail. So, can you play any instruments?" Yuki asks.
"A few. Most of them are native to the Dragon Alliance, which they don't seem to have here in this class. But, they have one that is close enough," Hana picks up a violin as her choice.
Of course, Yuki will stick with the harp. The pairings get their plans and steps in order and are called up one by one to make their little show. Eventually, Yuki and Hanazuki are called up for their turn. Yuki takes her seat with the harp and Hana stands with her violin at the ready. Yuki starts playing first with Hana starting her role a few seconds after. The two create a wonderful melody together. While Hana's skills with the violin are nothing compared to her incredibly singing, she still does well enough. They end up having one of the best grades in the class. It certainly helps that the rest of the class are practically enamored with the two of them whenever they perform. Once that class ends, it's time for dinner. At the cafeteria, they link up with Hiei and Sophia. Even Princess Iris joins them which has become pretty normal at this point.
"You know, it always surprises me that, despite being so gifted in many subjects including with music, you're not good at singing," Princess Iris says.
"Well, no one is perfect. I mean, I'm not as good as Hiei when it comes to fighting with a blade," Yuki notes.
"Still, I think that makes you even more charming. Someone who is perfect without any flaws would be too boring if you ask me. It makes you seem more normal too," Sophia adds.
"Well, I highly doubt you could call Yuki's family normal," Veronica notes, earning nods from the group and a slightly blushing Yuki.
"More importantly... I heard about what your parents wanted to speak to my brother about from Veronica. Is it true?" Princess Iris leans into whisper. Yuki replies with a small nod. "Incredible. If that is the case and what we expect to happen actually happens, it would change the face of not just the country, but the whole continent as well,"
"There would most likely be some opposition to it, though," Hiei says.
"Yes. Men who see themselves superior to women and see women as nothing more than objects to possess and produces heirs. Then there's the church and all those who follow their teachings. This will become a very difficult path for you and your family, Yukitsuki. Should your mother Emilia become pregnant with Fuyumi's child, there will no doubt be those who will accuse her of being unfaithful to harm her image or the Crystalglove name. I'm sure some of the men would even go as far as to make up stories, saying that they're the real father of the child, that they are in a relationship with Emilia, and try and make claims to the Crystalglove name and dukedom. Some people will hate you and your family, and others might even attempt to harm you all," Princess Iris notes with a hint of worry.
"Um, people have been trying to harm or kill them for quite a while now. Hell, there were people doing that even before Yuki was adopted into their family. It's kind of like a past time of theirs now," Veronica notes while munching away.
"Not helping, Veronica," Hiei groans.
"I appreciate your concern, Princess Iris. Truely. But, nothing worth venturing towards is without risks or dangers. If we can succeed in this, it will help many women who have hidden their true selves because of fear or for what society demands of them. It would help them believe in love more and in themselves. I want to see what kind of future that idea will create," Yuki says.
Princess Iris smiles, "Then just know that I'm with you all the way, Yuki,"
Yuki smiles back, "Thank you, Iris,"
...
Meanwhile, in an unknown underground location, Jorus stands before a magic circle as it glows with an eerie red light.
"Have the rest of the preparations been set?" Jorus glances back at Ookami and Margaret.
"Everything else is finished, Master," Ookami says.
Jorus smiles evilly, "Good. Then it's time to settle this little game... and my revenge. Once and for all," he says as the magic circle glows brighter.
And that's the chapter. Yuki and her family make preparations for their big reveal of Veronica's medicine. Meanwhile, Jorus makes preparations of his own. What will happen next? Until then, please Read and Review.