A Day With Hope

Yuna stood there like a deer in headlights. 

"A date..." she repeated, trying to absorb the thought. "A date...a date...a date..."

With each repetition, her posture continued to change. She got stiffer, her eyes widened more, and her face became redder and redder. 

"Unless you don't want to?" Itsuki asked. 

"N...no!" Yuna blurted out. "I mean...yes! I mean...what do I mean!?"

She looked to Itsuki and met his gaze. Despite her frantic reaction, he seem so composed. He was just smiling and waiting patiently. 

"How are you so calm about this?" she finally asked. 

"Great question," he admitted, looking to the sky. "Prior to coming to the Fallen Lands, I was terrified to ask someone out. Maybe it's just everything that's happened has shifted my perspective. Or maybe I just feel comfortable enough with you to be that direct?"

"What about Amane, though? Isn't she...you know..."

"I truly don't know. Before coming here, Amane had turned down my advance. With everything that's happened, I'm not sure how I should feel towards her. But you, Yuna - have been by my side through this entire thing so far. I'm lucky to have you by my side, and I don't want to lose that..."

This was uncharted territory for Yuna. Growing up, she had always been a tomboy. She had plenty of friends that were boys, but they didn't really see her in the same sense that they saw other girls. Before she got old enough to grow interested in romance, she was captured as a slave for Brightmoor. 

She'd barely known happiness in her life, let alone something as monumental as love. 

"I...don't even know where to begin..." Yuna admitted, summing up her thoughts. 

"That's fair. How about we just start with exploring town together and see if we find anything fun? That shouldn't be so bad, should it?"

"No..."

Itsuki came a bit closer, and it made Yuna's heart pound. She refrained from letting out an 'Eep' as her nerves boiled up. He came to a slow stop, and held out a hand. 

"Let's go, Yuna."

He stood there and waited for a response. Yuna looked from him to his hand and back to him. She was having a hard time believing that this was happening. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt, and it would take some time to process, but she knew one thing. 

The thought of spending a whole day with him - having fun and being regular people - filled her with joy. 

"Sounds good."

She then took his hand, and allowed him to lead her into the city. 

***

The rest of the day and afternoon was one of the greatest days of both of their lives. 

The city was entirely different than the rest of the Fallen Lands. It seemed like a paradise tucked away within the craziness of the world. It wasn't quite as monumental as a city from Itsuki's world, but it was far beyond anything he expected to have found. 

The two of them took their time to enjoy it to it's fullest. They wandered a small shopping district, looking at different things that were available within them. Itsuki tried to see if he could find something that Yuna wanted, but she was adamant about traveling light. 

"Besides," she said. "Today will be a big enough gift for me..."

They then found a large theatre in a separate section of the city. They stayed their for a couple of hours and watched the provided entertainment. It reminded Itsuki of the 'Plays' they used to do in school. For Yuna, who'd grown up in the middle of nowhere, it was like a whole new world. 

As they spent time together, they slowly became more comfortable. Yuna's nerves quelled over time, and she realized that Ituski would support her regardless of how nervous she was. That gave her a lot of comfort, and she readily embraced it. 

At the start of the date, she had barely managed to hold onto his hand without being nervous. By the time the play was halfway over, she was fully leaning into him and using him as a pillow while she watched. 

Itsuki was almost the one becoming nervous at that point, but he saw how comfortable she was. It made him happy to see someone enjoy spending that much time with him. 

After the play, they proceeded to find a restaurant that had good-smelling food. They got a table and ordered some of the items that were available. It tasted surprisingly good to Itsuki, and Yuna nearly had her socks blown off. 

"I've never had anything like this before!" she exclaimed, almost drooling. 

"Well if you grew up focused on survival, it makes sense that food prepared like this would be different. With the amount of resources they have here, they can afford to make it taste really good."

They both enjoyed their meal thoroughly, Yuna gorging herself a bit too much. She eventually had to stop, because more food would've caused her to get sick. 

"Can I ask you a question, Itsuki?"

"Sure, what's up?"

Itsuki watched Yuna and waited. Her expression wasn't negative, but it did have a hint of solemn energy to it. 

"I don't want to sound like I'm getting ahead of myself..." she noted. "Let's say, though, that we get through all of this. We get to the end, and you make your decision about the Fallen Lands. What happens then? Will there be an 'after'... or will you end up leaving?"

It was a great question, and one Itsuki hadn't really thought about. For him, it seemed pretty unlikely that he would survive that long. Part of his ballsy attitude with asking Yuna on a date came from the fact that he didn't expect to live much longer...

Yuna, though, clearly saw it differently. Maybe that was the 'Hope' aspect of her, but she was already thinking about a world where they were victorious in achieving their goal. If that did happen, what then? What would come of him?

"I don't know..." Itsuki admitted. "The Dragon of Wisdom clearly has a plan, but I don't know where that plan leads. Will I go back home after it's done? Remain here? Or will I simply cease to exist..."

"It's terrifying," Yuna chimed in. "The last few weeks have been so happy for me, and it's all thanks to you. To have that taken away..."

She tried to finish her sentence, but it was getting caught in her throat. Tears began to well up in her eyes. 

"Let's not focus on that," Itsuki suggested. "It'd be the same as focusing on death. It is terrifying to think about, but dwelling on it ends up ruining the time that you do have. I'd rather enjoy every moment we get and then face that hurdle when it arrives. It at least sounds better than spending all my time worrying and then regretting the worry later, don't you think?"

Yuna wiped away her tears, collecting herself. 

"You're right," Yuna admitted. "Thank you, Itsuki. For both those words and for today. It meant the world to me...you mean the world to me...and I want to enjoy that as long as I can."

Itsuki smiled. He stood from his chair, having finished his own meal, and held out his hand once again. 

"Alright, then. The afternoon isn't over yet. Want to keep exploring?"

"Yes!"

With that, the two of them left the restaurant and continued their date - making the most of their time together. 

Observing from a distance - far above in Evermere's central tower - was Amane. Her gaze was fixated over the city, but her vision was focused on the Yuna and Itsuki. 

--I see you haven't changed a bit, Itsuki. But I have. I am not the same girl that I was back in our world. I hope you don't think that I'll let you slide away quite that easily...