A Bequest

Sea birds chirped high into the air as they passed them by. The rustling of the waters touching the sides of the ship spread their salty dew into the deck in a light spray that glistened in a prism of colors due to the light of the sun touching it. The wind accompanying the waves surged past them while a young boy stared at the knot that he was tying through his modified, enchanted glasses.

It had a sheen that was purple for the most part but could accommodate turning into visible light that allowed him to see in full color the world around him. A complete mercy to all the things he had ever done thus far. He didn't deserve this item, nor the people that gave him a second chance, if anything he was surprised that this whole journey was him being put into exile, away from people that he could harm with even just a gaze.

At the very least, that's what his mind seemed to understand. He may not have the full vocabulary or knowledge to put his feelings and emotions into words, but the guilt and shame in his being were enough to exude that.

Still, as much as the shame in his heart riddled him, he did not wish to disappoint the people who saved him. Especially the man who took him in, along with many other people who gave him such kindness that deep in his heart he felt shameful for receiving it.

In particular, to a certain woman, who as best as she tried, wanted to cheer him up.

"…stupid… I'm stupid…" he kept muttering to himself while he tied the last of the knot that he was working on. The slight wetness of the material made him frustrated a bit due to his hands and grip slipping. Even with his… abilities… he felt useless. These same abilities were the ones that made him lose his mo-

"…stupid…" he muttered again, trying to shove that memory away, even if it was painful.

The self-deprecation he was feeling was quite known to the people that took him in and he knew deep down that they noticed, but he was still unsure as to how to get out of it. How to let go of the memory that was so deeply ingrained in him due to the trauma. How he would learn to accept himself again and his… legacy after the suffering that he had experienced.

For ever since that day, he had shunned that part of him. That part of him that he wished so much to learn, to adapt, and be better with. That part of him was given form by the adoration, love, and care that a certain man promised him to have.

He was a liar. Plain and simple.

He knew the truth now. He knew even in his feeble understanding, what and why he and his mother were placed in that setting. As well as why every person in that neighborhood was so kind and accommodating to him.

All for it to be a sham that ripped his heart into pieces.

It was a wake-up call that came late to the heart of his soul. Its consequences still linger within him. Its far-reaching effect on his persona already cemented.

He just wished that whatever hope his mother conjured in her last moments would be made a reality moving forward…

"Hey kid…" a voice said, taking him out of his concentration as he quickly tried to finish the knot that he was tasked with. One of the men, working under her walked near him without any fear whatsoever and still made him flinch, given his experience on the matter. Yet these men were kind people, and from what he heard from Europa, someone who was probably the kindest and prettiest person he had seen alive, assured him that they were all once outcasts, deprived of purpose, finding such again by helping the world in any way that Olympia could. Voluntarily they were more heroes than the kind that he used to tell him.

Apprehension aside, they were all very good people. The kind that had no intention but to be honest aside from a few things that were relatively harmless in nature. They had a different rhythm when it came to how they acted, and how their hearts managed to beat through the subtle enhanced hearing that he had. The people in the setting, or as Atalanta called it, 'The Compound' where the man who saved him eradicated, had a fickle strange rhythm to their hearts and they kept smiling to fulfill the illusions that he was so foolish enough to believe. Illusions that his mom saw through and could only helplessly fight back against.

It was only through meeting the people of Olympia that he understood what being genuine was. The subtler details were now clear to him. How their hearts would transpire when seeing him, how they acted with more honesty than plastic indifference and vain curiosity….

"…you feelin' okay?" the man asked, Jory, Ryan remembered his name to be.

…and lastly how they sought to feel more normal and real compared to the perfect reality that they wanted to craft for his upbringing.

These people, even the ones that were similarly doubtful or at least apprehensive of him, were more honest than the people that he had interacted with before. Many like Miss Lucy, who was more loyal to Miss Drake and the other Heroes than she was to her comrades, admitted it with reverence, and she told him with pure honesty what she felt about him given her past of being affected to near death by an event he once took part of.

Not all were like Miss Lucy, but when prompted, Miss Lucy would tolerate his presence, to the point that were now amicable in most cases nowadays.

"I'm fine… sir. Just finishing up." He said to Jory as the man nodded, though concern showing on his features. If these were the people in the compound, they would shrug it off while trying to best 'help' him in any fashion they can. The small glint of concern in Jory's eyes already showed the degree of empathy that a child like him wouldn't understand conceptually but could feel the difference just through emotion and feelings alone.

They were, like his mother, real people.

People who didn't cater to him as if he was that important of a person. People who didn't rush to his aid just so they could understand him. People who acted… as humans.

It was refreshing if not for the pain of all the guilt that he knew he deserved.

"Hey… if you need someone to talk to, I'm sure the captain's always ready to listen. I'd… well, I'd wish to volunteer myself, but people say that I'm rather too blunt to be someone that you can feel comfortable talking with." Jory suggested as Ryan smiled back.

"I always talk to Miss Drake, Jory. Don't worry about me," he said.

The man looked hesitant at his response as the sound of seabirds up above seemingly reflected the feeling of unease from the boy's clear melancholy, at the same time, he didn't want to press further as Ryan himself wanted to change the direction of where the conversation was headed to already.

"Is… there something you need, sir?" the boy asked. Ryan knew that despite his special case, he didn't want to hold rank over these people, even if Miss Drake subtly alluded that he had some form of command.

"Ah… sorry for spacing out a bit there, but yeah… I think you kinda forgot what time it is."

Ryan then realized that with the sun's position and that of the watch on his wrist, he did forget something important, one drilled to him with care by the ship's captain. One that had Jory laugh knowing the look on his face.

"Here kid, don't forget to get your fill as well when you go meet the captain." He said as he took out the container that resembled a mechanical box beside him where it showed two packs of lunch tailored according to the others, to be based on what they 'wanted'.

With Miss Drake's privileges, she can even ask for more, but Ryan knew what the man was going at. "I'll go send it to her, thanks."

"Much appreciated kid," Jory said as he patted him on the back before gently putting the lunch packs into his hands. Ryan quickly nodded in appreciation as he watched Jory walk away while he steadily left himself towards Miss Drake's quarters.

It was in the heart of the ship near the wheel, like an office to Ryan's understanding. It was probably the most important place within the ship aside from the adjustments and 'additions' technologically that the boy kept hearing from the crew on the admittedly classical-looking ship from the Age of Pirates. The reddish color of the mostly wooden construction of the ship and its ornate golden-laced trimmings invoked a feeling of authority and respect. It looked well-maintained and pristine compared to any of the ones Ryan saw on TV or on film, which made it a whole lot cooler if only his mood wasn't as low as it was after so long.

Reaching for the final few steps to knock on the woman's door, Ryan hesitated. His hand was just a few inches from the door when his own enhanced hearing was able to pick up something from the sounds inside the office. It made him pause, as anxiety and gloom started to bloom within him again.

"-don't think I was the right choice for this, respectfully, Europa." Miss Drake said with a voice tinged in defeat. A far cry from the kind of tone that she was known for. The undefeatable Miss Drake who laughed against adversity and reveled in a challenge of astronomical proportions, was sounding like she was at her wit's end.

Wit's end in the form of guilt and self-doubt over something that Ryan now understood.

"…I like the lad. I really do. He reminds me of the sons my cousin used to have, but… I'm no mother. I've never had a child myself and I've… admittedly told myself again and again when I was alive that I would have been a shit parent and I think that hasn't changed yet." Miss Drake said, her tone had a hint of self-loathing as if a memory from her past was uncovered. A terrible memory in the likes that perhaps equaled his own.

His hands started to shake. The build-up of emotions within him caused him to slightly stagger as he took a step back while he could still hear the frustration and defeat in her breathing.

Ryan wanted to run away and cry at the defeated tone of the one who was supposed to take care of him, but he stopped when Miss Drake continued again…

"…but, I do care about the boy. I want to help him. He deserves it. He needs it. Even if it doesn't have to come from me, I want to make sure that he's able to get some semblance of normality back into his soul. I want to see him happy."

Miss Drake's words and conviction beyond her frustrated tone spoke forth and it made Ryan pause as she continued on, "…but I don't know what to do."

A sigh could be heard enough even to just a simple man's hearing from outside her door.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm… lost."

The longing in her voice made Ryan press his head on the door to Miss Drake's room. Leaning against it his eyes started to turn wet.

"Drake… I chose you for a reason." Miss Europa's voice said.

'Well, it could have been a bad choice considering-

"Let me finish…" Europa for the first time, firmly said as even Ryan went a bit rigid due to the suddenness of it all. "…dear Ryan, even if I and dear Atalanta wish to take him into our arms and give him the love that's lost from his heart, is unideal for his condition."

"Unideal?"

"Yes… we would only cover in part the glaring wound that now exists in his soul. He would only be superficially happy, without having to recover or even understand what it means to come back and find true joy again."

"I… I don't really get it." Drake admitted.

A soft, motherly chuckle reminiscent of Ryan's own mom resonated from within.

"In simple terms, dear Drake, the boy is like you at this current moment. Completely lost with a problem that seems insurmountable and sorrowful. Support and love can only get you both so far, but finding your way back in a manner that would return that spark of life again, that measure of hope is what you both need. Is what the boy, needs."

"Are you sure? Really, about me? About this choice of yours?"

"I am… you are, after all, Francis Drake. Conqueror of the seas, Mighty Dragon of England. There is no quest great or small that you can't overcome… and right now, that boy needs you. Right now, the boy needs a hero who will give him that light of hope again. A Hero that can show him the way back to being himself again."

"God, you're not making this easy on me."

"Nothing simply is, dear Drake… and despite everything you've said to me, the fact that you care so much about wishing to help the boy and make him happy is the most simple reason alone that I think you were the best choice for this."

"And if I'm not?" Miss Drake suddenly said with a tinge of self-doubt in her tone still. The kind that made Ryan wish he could run inside, to barge in and apologize for all the pain he's caused.

"I've never seen you fail yet. Not even in your lowest moments, from a memory a world away, did you back down without making sure that you have at least made sure that you left a mark. That you could assist in any manner that would best help those that you cared about."

"I… t-thanks, I think." She heard Miss Drake say with finality as a second later, the soft farewell of Miss Europa was heard and what came after was silence.

Ryan finally sighed one last time as she knocked on Miss Drake's door. She bid him to enter as he held the two lunchboxes in his hands and greeted her with a functional enough smile.

Miss Drake looked at him with a strained enough greeting as well as he placed the two on her desk. With Ryan standing in front of it, waiting for her to say anything.

"How's your day been, kid?" Miss Drake asked as she straightened herself on the seat. "…and don't just stand there, take a seat." she urged supportively as Ryan pulled the closest chair and moved it in front of her desk, now facing her fully without any distraction.

"I've been… fine."

"You're… 'fine', huh?" Miss Drake prompted as she sighed while rubbing her temples. "I'm going to warrant a guess that you heard everything…"

The sudden change in her tone and the exact, correct guess got him to look down in shame and guilt while his sham of an attempt at looking okay fell. It made him remember that day when he snapped back at his mom, saying unfair and painful things to her just because he wanted to prove to himself that he mattered, that he, had the right to anything because he deserved it.

What a fool he was, to even attempt it, and now, even if it was just a simple mistake it tore at him that he couldn't just try to be better with how he acted and used his powers.

Yet before he expected her to say anything, to correct him, to maybe even discipline him for trying to listen in on what was probably a private conversation, like his late mother was met with this…

"C'mere…" Miss Drake said as she stood up from her chair and stood right in front of him. As close as possible before kneeling in place and gently taking his arms into her own. Squeezing them with reassurance that felt so gentle, that even if it was different than what his mother showed in terms of affection, he could still feel the genuine emotion behind it.

"Look at me, kid." She urged as he met her eyes, their stormy quality betrayed the frustration she was feeling yet the care in her eyes still pushed forward. Ryan then felt her lightly tap the side of his face with her hand in an awkward but unfeigned attempt at trying to cheer him up. "You've done nothing wrong at this moment to warrant you to be nervous around me… alright?"

He nodded slowly as a tear started to trickle down his cheek while Miss Drake wiped it with a rather musty handkerchief from her pockets. Her touch, while a bit different from his mom's, still made Ryan's breath grow calm as she tended to him.

"…and I know for a fact that I'm not really good at this, which is probably a disservice to all the effort your mum had to raise you…" she said with remorse as Ryan's eyes widened in worry.

"-wait, Miss D-Drake you d-don't need to-

"…but by God, for her memory, I want to try."

"W-why?" he asked, surprised even if he had heard her earlier in her conversation with Miss Europa. It was still surprising and jarring to hear it up close.

At the same time, hearing that response from Ryan's mouth made Drake pause a bit.

"Truth is, I don't know myself, kid, I kept… asking almost daily the day you arrived in my crew why exactly Europa chose me of all people. The person that I assume most people would think to be the least appealing choice." She admitted with brutal honesty that even Drake while shocked at herself for saying it, was completely accepting of its merit.

"I know I fumbled every step of the way; I also realize that my own actions might come off as neglect, or even just barely meeting the ends that would make up trying to make you happy…" she continued in a solemn tone before becoming firm again when she squeezed his hands. "… but damn it, I don't want to give up. Because I know for a fact that after everything that's happened, I can see it in within you, that you… are a good kid."

She then pointed her finger gently into his chest as she found herself encouragingly smiling at the boy. "… That you like every single kid out there, deserves to be happy."

"R-Really?" Ryan found himself asking, both to himself and to Drake.

"Yeah kid, because you, much like anybody else in the world, matters."

"B-But… I made mistakes… I k-ki-

She then grabbed him with a bit of urgency into her, welcoming him into a soft, caring embrace. While a tad bit forceful due to Drake's inexperience in handling children, Ryan did not mind it, he just melted into her arms as Drake gently rubbed his back and head.

"None of that now, you hear me? As your captain and caretaker, I ask you to just listen, and know that you, brave boy, matter. I don't care what circumstances brought you here today, but by the honor of those who believe in me, and by your mother's memory, I will bring back that smile on your face again."

Ryan sniffled into her embrace, as he heard her words. An undeniable thanks through Ryan's slight giggle was acknowledged by Drake as she smiled back, squeezing him tighter into her arms.

"But can I ask you for just one thing in exchange, kid?" Drake started.

Ryan closed his eyes as he mumbled in response to her question.

"…that you help your Captain as well, in seeing this quest through?"

Ryan with a gentle snicker found himself the rare opportunity to genuinely smile again after such a long time of feeling in pain. It wasn't perfect per se, nor did the journey between them reach its definite objective, but it was a start.

A start that would find them trying to learn with each other to earn that destination.

That treasure.

"…no drinking, mom hated that." Ryan suddenly whispered.

"Ugh, for crying out lou-

"…language…" he corrected her with a giggle as the woman while slightly irritated started chuckling as well before they peacefully experienced a rather silent but lovely lunch together afterwards.

It was a start indeed.

Drake took a deep breath as her preparations were finally realized.

The little 'heart-to-heart' as Europa described it when they called each other again gave the mighty captain of the seas some much-needed confidence again in this venture. She also immediately thanked the boy that despite her failures and flaws, which admittedly was a lot more than he would admit on her part, he also felt comfortable in her presence.

It was a sentiment that Drake herself shared, much to her inadequacy.

She wasn't sure if it was the Francis Drake part of herself that was thinking of that, or of the certain queen that was linked to her history. Perhaps it was both. For the two lives, intertwined in some fashion to make up the memory that existed within her, both corresponded to the same conclusion that left them without much of a familial legacy.

Drake was without an heir. The Queen also ended her reign, without an heir.

Compounded with the theories, rumors, and such as to why, many in that cacophony responded to a single memory of being alone at the railing of a ship, looking nowhere into the horizon, thinking of what was lost.

A memory that beckoned to her as to why the two historical figures connected to her existence never seemed to have produced a child of their own.

Deep down, she may never know that answer, only that she prided herself in never accepting defeat nor bowing down against any challenge posed before her, and by the Gods above, she wouldn't surrender to this one as well.

She wasn't doing this just for her master's sake, or for her comrade's sake. She was doing this because part of her believed in the boy. She saw the makings of a great man within him. A good, loyal man who can be nurtured to be as better than her or leave a legacy equal to or greater than even her own comrades in Olympia.

A handing of the torch per se.

Her own nature, despite some of its more morally ambiguous lot, was something she was always honest about and she by and large not the best role model, but she did believe in people. She believed in potential, and she saw it within the boy.

The only thing left was to make sure that the fire of hope, of greatness was nurtured.

She approached him as he slept on her cot. Her mostly messy cot that the boy comfortably laid in. A small smirk playful smirk appeared on her face as he was thankfully no longer mumbling in terrors in his sleep. Many of them previously, she had to fix by laying him on her lap and singing a random tune that seemed to make him calm down.

Which in itself was surprising. Her voice was horrendous.

Even her own crew, old and new, were honest enough to say that given most of them were terrible singers as well. A symphony of loyal, but professional misfits that gravitated to each other to once be a menace on the high seas. Now, there were good men and women aboard her ship, dedicated to the cause of helping humanity grow.

Returning her focus to the present, Drake gently ruffled the boy's shoulder.

It was gentle enough that a certain Cat Girl wouldn't be angry at.

He started moaning awake slowly. His eyes opened to look up at her, calming down from the initial surprise in his wake. "S-something wrong?" he asked.

"Yer captain needs you to join you on deck and before you ask, that's an order so you ~can't disagree, alright?" she teased as a small smirk appeared drowsy smirk appeared on his face.

That small smirk, again, was a start. She felt elated from that alone.

Offering her hand, he took it without question as she led him outside. It was still at the perfect hour. The sun was still hours away and the clouds were not as voluminous as they were in the daytime. The moon was at its zenith.

"Why are we heading outside?" Ryan innocently asked.

"You'll see kid. Oh, you'll see indeed." She said as she gently opened the door to their quarters and welcomed the chilly, yet calming site of the great sky in its dark blue, almost painting-like quality. The moon, shining upon them with all its borrowed light from the sun, elicited an ethereal, ghostly, but awe-inspiring color.

Ryan's eyes widened as he saw it all. As he took it all in.

Normally, Ryan found himself slightly apprehensive of nights in general, mostly due to the time of day when he tragically rampaged against those innocent people in that town while he ran away from his pursuers. The only thing he could remember was red and its tinge of color permeating against the black. Creating a dreadful memory that only made him wish to quickly sleep away to forget it.

This on the other hand? It was like he never saw the night as beautiful and lovely as it was before. The relatively clear skies as they soared across the clou-

Ah, he finally realized it, Drake thought.

People often forget that her vessel could fly…

Ryan looked towards the left and eventually towards the right. Audibly gasping at the sight as he watched clouds pass by. Their gentle quality resembled that of cotton as if they were solid enough that he could sleep on them. They even let a small enough cloud pass them by as Ryan tried to reach it, its dew wetting his hand and he watched in awe.

The innocent little interaction brings a feeling of happiness within her.

"Wow…"

She then knelt beside him as he looked in her direction in slight surprise. The beautiful scenery around them continued to awe even her as the stars, twinkled at them, almost in delight at their time of bonding.

Drake then tapped her own shoulders. Urging him to climb on her back as he slowly did so. As he settled in Drake stood up without much hassle as she held the boy secure with her arms holding onto his legs. She then started walking towards the front of the ship.

He was cautious and concerned at first, but the moving sight around them made him calm. As well as her presence. The trust was already there. Budding, but strengthening as the two smiled and just let the moment speak for itself.

Their shadows cast behind them, the light from the moon encircling them, as if giving a blessing of some kind.

Ryan even put one of his arms forward, as if hoping to reach one of those stars, to grasp it in his hands, yet they were far away, at the same time their light made him feel reassured.

"Y'know something kid?" she started.

"Hm?" he hummed.

"When I get lost at something, whichever reason it was, good or bad… small or large… I always walk outside into a night as perfect as this… seeing the stars. Seeing the moon in all its glory. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

She then started pointing towards a random star, Sirius, if an astronomer could name it.

"Because they tell me that even if I can't find my way, I can always look up to them and think of the direction where I need to go. That somewhere out there, there's always a path, a sign, a semblance of hope that I could reach my destination… in whatever form it ends up to be."

"R-Really?"

"Yeah, really. Think of them as your… guides. Angels, whatever… concepts that in what shape you desire them to be, who exist so that you could never be lost again. So that you could never be hopeless again…"

Ryan looked up again, into the stars, his own thoughts thinking of his mom. The smile, the loving light, and the unbound love of trying to guide him whichever path he took. That same aura of the moonlight, of the stars was felt by him and he… could never forget it.

He always wondered how it was to experience flight. To fly amidst the clouds in peace.

To feel the tranquility of their dreamy existences.

And now, he would always treasure it from this point on…

"They're beautiful," Ryan whispered as a tear, recalling the embrace of his mom manifested in his unfiltered joy against the somber sadness. But it felt right. It felt… earned, and he could only cling to Drake's shoulders tighter as the woman calmly smiled in response.

They didn't need to thank each other that night.

The silence was just enough.

The joy of them experiencing the moment was enough.

Even as the hour passed, Drake continued to tend to the kid as she lay on the deck of the ship, a set of bedsheets below them from her cot while Ryan slept at her side. Both snoring loudly into the air against the peaceful scenery.

Well, peaceful enough that Jory and some of the crew took a picture of them to prank their captain by the morrow.

For now, they would both rest peacefully until morning.

For now, they would just enjoy the rewarding embrace of sleep.

Raikou finally arrived at the doorstep of what she considered to be her new home. She wouldn't dare call it that at first, for to her perspective it would be trampling the memory of those who once lived there, but her two new charges insisted. Her two new children wanted her to be with them.

Their lost home, now rebuilt from the ashes of where it once stood.

A peaceful home by the trees and nearby shoreline where Kimiko and Kenji were born.

But first things first, Raikou walked towards the memorial, one that honored the graves of the fallen that once graced this household. She gave her prayers, hopes, and wishes as she lit the candles to their honor. Their souls, hopefully looking back, were happy that their children were home and safe. A sentiment that Raikou shared.

Eventually, she resumed her walk back to the front door of the house where Kimiko strangely invited her even amidst the many busy things that they were working on, and was greeted by something she did not expect the moment she opened the door.

"Happy Birthday Okaasan!" Kimiko said out aloud with her brother as a smiling Kintoki with his arms crossed grinned behind them. Confetti and other assortment of decorations flew into her face as Raikou stood frozen in shock, surprise, and… love.

"W-What? O-Oh my…" Raikou started as Kimiko and Kenji laughed in delight seeing her face.

The two, despite being adults with their age rushed to her like children who had yet to see their parents after such a long time. They clung to her, holding her in a near bone-crushing hug that would kill any normal person but proved nothing to Raikou as the woman merely continued to take in what was happening. Yet the joy she felt was so immense that she started to cry.

"O-Oh dear… y-you all shouldn't have… I didn't need-

"But you do okaasan. You deserve everything after saving us…" Kenji started…

"…okaasan deserves all the love for taking us in…" Kimiko finished as they clung to her harder.

Raikou, still processing everything started to lose strength in her legs as she teared up. Clinging to her adopted children with all the love she could muster, she weakly kissed the top of their heads. "I… I didn't imagine this… oh dear. Thank you… you two… t-thank you…"

The two were on the verge of tears as well as Kintoki approached them, grinning.

"B-But it isn't even my birthday… why would you all make this party for me?" Raikou asked.

"Do we need a reason to?" Kintoki said. "Besides, I think this is enough of an occasion, all of us here together, to celebrate and have a good time."

Raikou smiled deeply as the two, still nestled in her embrace, began laughing together.

"And what about you, ~Kintoki~? Your okaasan also wants you to join…" Raikou said, pouting to get the golden-haired son of hers to relent.

Kintoki bellowed a laugh in response. "Aw come on, I don't think it's needed to-ACK!"

He was promptly cut off without much resistance even on his part as Kimiko and Kenji pulled him down by his collar to join them.

Inevitably they were bundled into a mass of love.

Love that Raikou happily teared up in thanks.

…

The rest of the day was handled with celebrations. From eating outside where Kimiko and Kenji's family once bonded, to Kenji and Kintoki singing karaoke while drunk (to which Raikou eventually stopped), and to Kimiko and her helping cook for their makeshift family and bonding further in the process.

It was a wonderful night.

A night of unbridled happiness as they were even able to coax Raikou to sing in the karaoke. Sadly, she didn't know any of the songs, making her fail while her children helped her along.

Even Kimiko was able to sing, simple as a song it was while mumbling through most of it while Kenji and Kintoki laughed.

The joy was almost never-ending, yet as all things were, it eventually simmered down.

Kintoki and Kenji were tucked into their bedrooms drunkenly snoring as Raikou lifted them in her arms together and settled them in. They would snore until the afternoon the next day, but she didn't mind, they deserved the rest.

Kimiko on the other hand, only wished to sleep right next to her as she tucked them both in.

The peaceful up-and-down motion of her adopted daughter's chest made Raikou smile as she stroked the girl's hair.

"Mmmm… okaasan… l-love you." She muttered.

Raikou kissed the girl's cheek with genuine love as she started closing her eyes as well.

A servant never needed to sleep nor eat, but she wanted this night to matter. She wanted to make this night memorable, even for her existence on the Throne. It was an impossible dream of course, but she would be a fool not to pray for its reality.

Even if part of her was still acknowledging that she wouldn't measure to the original parents of these two children. She never forgot that it was through their memory that she wanted to keep them safe. It was through their memory that she would make sure they would live happy, peaceful lives.

For her part, she merely wished that she could watch them, every step of the way.

"This place looks like a piece of shit." Butcher provided as he watched through the window of the black van he was in and saw the farm, the place where the 'meeting' was supposed to happen.

"As much as I don't share your avid use of colorful language, William, I feel the same." Grace Mallory said as she and Susan Raynor looked at the destination that they were about to arrive at.

Aside from the many agents that consisted of their security detail, Butcher and MM were the ones from their team that came along. Mostly because Frenchie and the dame were told to guard the fort and there wasn't any need for them all to come along.

For now, at least.

"Olympia tell us why they chose this place for the meeting?" MM asked.

"Not really, this Wodime fellow is a bit cryptic in his words, even as gracious as he is in even accepting this plea of ours in the first place," Susan said.

"Yeah, but why this place?" Butcher asked only to be met with the answer a second later.

The driver of the van suddenly hit the brakes when an object, coming at high speeds was about to hit their windshield until it stopped as abruptly as they could. Butcher cursed out aloud in exasperation as the group of people inside the van were then greeted by the sight of a green-haired little boy clinging onto a literal flying sheep while a smaller golden sheep clung to his head.

The odd, strange sight alone gave everyone pause as the wailing kid was then followed by other flying sheep now circling the farm at high speeds.

"Yep… this is Olympia alright," Mallory said with a tired tone.

A sentiment that was shared by everyone in the van.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AN: FINALLY! And I hope you like the good vibes in this chapter. Aside from the surprising amount of background research on Francis Drake and Queen Elizabeth I (which both did not have any children, allegedly), I had fun with this chapter.

If only for the moments that mattered, that resonated with the fluff I wanted to tell.

I hope you all enjoyed, as we approach the next V-Line interlude and closing in for the HL arc.