New Dawn

Consciousness wasn't immediate; it weaved in and out of Itsuki's mind between darkness like waves on the shore, like he was floating in the sea of his own mind. Memories and his sense of self surrounded him on the surface.

Grey eyes, warmth, and everything else from his former and current life bobbed around him in the water. It was like a living photobook had been dumped around him, with uncertainty waiting for him across the horizon.

As he stared, golden threads began to weave upward into the sky and around him, linking him to other souls within the sea. He couldn’t quite make out who they were, but eventually, the entire sea became lit. Each new wave beneath him brought wholeness, piecing together context to form a grand picture.

Eventually though, all of those faded to darkness: the waves, memories, and light. The world came to instead, rising up to meet him, and then…

***

Itsuki groaned as his eyes lifted open.

It was quiet now, and the room he was in was mostly dark. Stone walls surrounded him except for a banner of the triumvirate and a window to the early dawn sky. He felt the soft give of a mattress beneath him, and a cool breeze across his skin as he shifted.

Most of his clothes looked to have been shed save for his pants, his chest half-exposed to the air besides some bandages.

He looked upward as he woke, trying to remember what happened.

Several fragments slowly came from the effort: saving sisters, the dukedom's forces, defying death, the Diluvian cult, and their flight from Reathe. They sorted into place as he forced himself to sit up. What happened last still felt foggy to him though—once they'd made it to the cathedral. He remembered chains and a lot of pain, but the rest eluded him.

"…Kisaragi?"

As his brain booted up, he saw Sayaka, stirring at the same time he was. Unlike him though, she was sitting on a chair right next to the bed, eyes tired yet relieved in the dim light.

"U-Usami?"

He tried scooting himself upward to better talk with her, but pain struck in the chest at his attempt.

Crap.

"K-Kisaragi?! Are you okay?" Sayaka said as she helped steady him. "Do you need more healing? Maybe some water? You've been out for a while now."

"I-I'm fine," he interjected. "Just a little pain… give me a moment."

He tried shooting a smile her way as he stuttered out some breaths, though the end result might've been more gritted teeth than his intention.

"See? I'm good."

He steadied himself as he lied against the bed's headboard, getting a better look at her. Just then though, as the dawn rose behind her to bathe the room, the remaining fragments of his memory flooded back into place.

The chain's hold, his life picked apart, Sayaka and the golden glow that'd saved him. His heart quickened as he remembered the words uttered to pull him from the brink within her grasp, grey eyes glowing with light and voice full with conviction.

'I don't want to be left alone anymore.'

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You seem red."

He nodded as soon as it was pointed out, desperate to contain the heat rising to his face.

"Y-yes. I'm just remembering what happened before this, that's all. Sorry."

He tore his gaze from hers to look over her body, both distracting himself and searching for any injuries she might've had. She looked mostly the same. The only exception were a few bandaged burns and where she'd been slashed by the knight-earl, its fabric mended right above her modest chest.

"…" Damn it. Just what was going on with him today?

"A-anyways, how are you doing?" He had to fight back not to stare, coughing as he diverted his gaze back up to her eyes. "I just remember you passing out on top of me and—"

Pain jabbed his heart before he could finish, flinching his back violently against the headboard.

"Kisaragi?!" Sayaka exclaimed, concern growing as blood blossomed anew from his chest. "I knew it, you weren't fine. You had a chain and stake through your heart for crying out loud. Now stay here, let me get someone to help—"

He raised his hand to stop her. "No, don't waste their time. I can just heal myself, remember?"

"I… I suppose so." She calmed down slightly as he said that. "Then hurry up please and do it. That really doesn't look good."

He nodded in thanks as his hand rose to grip his chest, bracing himself for regeneration. He still didn't know exactly what had happened to the town yet, but he imagined others needed healing more than him, especially after a Diluvian raid of that size.

However, something different happened than expected.

Nothing.

Well, it wouldn't be fully correct to say that. There was something going on. Heat sputtered like a dying flame in him, like half its source had been snuffed out.

"How is it?" Sayaka asked, noticing him still sitting there in pain. "Is it working?"

He tried responding to her, but it trailed off unintelligible, and he began to wobble in bed.

He focused on his power like before to see if that would help, but while it forced something out, it wasn't enough. Blood still seeped with the warmth, and his head grew lighter. At this rate, he would pass out.

"Kisaragi?" His shoulder shook. "Kisaragi?! Answer me!"

Sayaka looked properly panicked now, her eyes scanning over him unsure of what to do. Though once it was clear that his power wasn't working, she stood up and went for the door.

"J-just hold on. I'll be back. I'll find someone and then—"

"W-wait!"

The moment she turned away, he reached out and grasped for her, not wanting her to go.

"!" A burst of warmth immediately responded.

Half-healed wounds stitched back together in an instant, and a new glow shone from his hand as the healing spread. It bathed each part of him in a soft gold as it swept through his entire being, then escaped to fill the rest of the room.

"…" His hand cautiously unclenched once it was done, heat and energy lingered where'd it been, like he'd somehow become stronger than before.

"W-what just happened now? Was that your power? Are you okay?"

Sayaka turned back around toward him and hurried over to his side. Her free hand trailed to his chest as she leaned over the bed, eyeing where blood had once been seeping through the cloth.

Without thinking, she unwrapped him, moving his bandages off to the side. In just a few seconds, she had her answer.

"Thank goodness." Her shoulders dropped in relief.

"Y-yeah," he said, bashfulness combining with bewilderment as he looked down, flexing a few muscles to test for pain.

Nothing hurt.

"No idea what that was, but… I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. I'll just think of it as a 'level up'."

"…" She didn't respond, only softening her expression as she sat back down and gave him a look.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, just… never mind."

It took a few minutes for the adrenaline to wear off as he continued to stretch, still basking in the heat that remained. Eventually though, he realized Sayaka was staring, and he immediately withdrew in on himself.

"S-so… what about you?" he asked, trying to get conversation flowing again. "How have you been doing, I mean? I don't think you've answered that yet."

"M-me?" She gestured at herself. "Oh. I'm doing fine, I think. Just a little tired. I recovered a few days ago."

"…A few days ago?" He blinked at the comment, surprise returning to his face. "I-I was out for that long? What happened?"

A breeze blew in from the window and ruffled hair as they looked at one another. Sayaka sighed.

"It's been three days to be exact. As for what happened though…? There's quite a lot." Her expression dropped slightly. "I'll try to sum it up the best that I can if you'd like though."

"Please do."

She slowly nodded at the affirmation, looking out over the town as she spoke.

"I'll start off with the beginning then. After passing out we were saved by Githl—the head-ward in charge of the cathedral—and someone who calls herself Tehera. They managed to repel Reathe together before dragging us inside, sealing the barrier back up once we were safe. You'll meet them later once you're ready. Both are… quite a handful."

"…Interesting," Itsuki said thinking back, briefly remembering the shield of light and arrow of ice. "What happened next?"

"A lot of fighting. At least from what I heard. It went all the way until dawn of the next day, but eventually the Diluvians were repelled. The problem is that a lot of damage was done to the town, and both Kiaki and Velena were wounded heavily in their fight."

The image of those two fighting against the minotaur-man and the tiger-woman popped into Itsuki's mind.

"Hold on. They were wounded? Are they alright?"

Her face dropped slightly. "Sort of, it's complicated. They and the guards pushed themselves to the limits, so much so that they're still recovering now. Velena had it worst, and she's bedridden now."

She gripped her wrist. "There were a lot of injuries and many missing, but a majority of the townsfolk are okay. Refi and Eflam are fine too, and Kiaki has been trying to run things in Velena's stead, but…"

A pause. "Let's just say there's a lot to worry about."

"No kidding," he muttered, trying to wrap his head around everything that was being said. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

She briefly smirked at his earnestly before it faded. "Of course you would say that."

She gestured toward the town. "I've already been trying to help as much as I can since I woke by looking into something big: the Diluvian's plan, an artifact they plan to use, and the consequences if they end up succeeding."

Itsuki's brows raised upon hearing that. Plan? Artifact?

"How's that been going? How many are in danger?"

She sighed. "We don't know yet. Velena and Kiaki learned some things through their fight, and I've been helping them look through texts. However, everything we have now is mostly just deduction."

The chair creaked slightly as Sayaka shifted, palming her cheek.

"I've been trying my best—really—and I know that this is probably why we were sent here in the first place. But… so much of this is over my head, and it's hard to keep up. I just can't play the hero role like you do."

Itsuki noticed as she looked away and toward a tray of food next to the bed, fidgeting with her dress. It didn't seem like she was focusing on it though, but seeing past it, her eyes boring into the void.

"…" He leaned to pick up one of the flatbreads on the tray and offered it to her, waving it slightly in the air.

"?" She gave a bittersweet chuckle once she noticed. "I-idiot, this is supposed to be for you, you know. But… never mind, I guess that's just how you are."

She gently took it and looked it over.

"…I've actually missed this, you know? You being annoying and all… the past few days have been bleak without you."

He scratched his cheek. "Sheesh, I appreciate the flattery, but to say that? You don’t have to go out of your way to make me feel giddy."

Silence followed for a moment, Sayaka's eyes glistened as she gazed back.

"I'm being serious you know."

"Oh." His expression dropped upon seeing her watery eyes. "S-sorry, that was just a little quip. I didn't mean—"

She leaned in closer until she was in his space, practically breathing the same air.

"I know, Kisaragi. It's just… on top of everything that's happened, you had a literal hole in your chest. So when three days passed of you muttering in your sleep and you still didn't wake… well, I think you get the point."

He gulped as he raised his hand in a placatory gesture, trying to lighten the mood.

"I, uh, think I do, and thanks for worrying about me. But as you can see now, I'm alright." He motioned at himself. "In fact, I think I might be feeling even better than before, so don't—"

She abruptly pulled him into an embrace.

"U-Usami?"

His heart jumped before settling, almost melting in her arms. It wasn't a delicate hug, but full-bodied, close enough to where he could feel her heart beating steadily from their contact.

It was an experience that he'd nearly forgotten about since Kaede.

"…" He trembled slightly as he hugged back.

Something like guilt lingered in his heart from the comparison, yet now it felt different than before. It was less like an echo and more like a reminder, and that feeling only grew deeper and more complicated as the seconds ticked on.

Eventually though, the hug had to end. Sayaka pulled away, her warmth fading slowly.

"I hope that wasn't too forward," she muttered, face reddening slightly. "It's just… with everything going on right now and whatever lies ahead, I can't bear to think about going through it by myself."

Her cheeks blushed pink as she smiled at him, the sunrise now arriving to light the world.

"…I'm just glad that you're still here."

Speech momentarily left Itsuki as she cleared her throat and looked away. "A-anyway. Now that you're up, I should probably tell the others. There's a lot of stuff that needs to be done and… well, you probably want to be ready for it."

As she went for the door, though, words returned to him.

"Usami? Hold on just a moment, I'd like to say just one more thing before you leave."

The urge to admit something faded as she turned. With everything going on, it could probably wait a little longer, when they had more time.

Instead he returned the smile.

"Nothing much… just thanks for saving me back there. I appreciate it a lot."