Endless Embrace

Yahime threw herself in front of me, shielding me a second before Hanabi's foot shot us through Lucinda's door. The wood exploded against my back, shattering on impact and bursting into the village circle. I rolled across the dirt, gasping for air while Yahime blocked and deflected Hanabi's flurry of blows.

"Where is she?!" Hanabi screamed. The same flaming wheels she'd summoned in the cavern while possessed ignited behind her.

"Just calm down so we can—"

Base-ball sized flames fired at us like a machine gun. I managed to roll to my feet, running around to Hanabi's side to try and flank her while Yahime danced through the flames and fended Hanabi off. It was an amazing display of agility I'd never seen in Yahime and if her opponent hadn't been Hanabi I would have watched in awe.

I'd thought I'd understood why Hanabi was considered a folk hero after our fight in the cavern. I was wrong. The feral attacks we'd faced paled in comparison to the surgical strikes she employed, with each fireball singeing my clothes when they grazed by.

She's going to burn the whole village down at this rate! We need to calm her down and explain things to her. Or will that even help? After her last experience with a Dusk, hearing Bixey's soul was absorbed by one might enrage her more.

"Hold her still!"

Hearing my order, Yahime rushed Hanabi and wrapped her arms around her, giving me time to speak the incantation for [ROCK PRISON]. This time the stone casing wrapped around Yahime as well, pinning her and Hanabi together.

"Please just listen! It wasn't our fault!"

I realized my poor choice of wording too late. Telling someone something isn't your fault when they're angry at you is seen as deflecting, even if you're being sincere, so I wasn't surprised when Hanabi spat a slew of curses at me. More concerning were the wheels of fire surrounding her and Yahime.

I didn't have time to think of a proper spell. Instead I used my earth manipulation to throw a wall up to shield Yahime from the hail of fire Hanabi rained down on herself. It bought Yahime enough time to break free and retreat to my side. My MP and END were the issue. We hadn't had a chance to properly rest since returning from the mountain and I was getting burnt out. My head already throbbed from exhaustion and adding mana sickness only exacerbated my headache.

"ENOUGH!"

All eyes turned to the old rabbitwoman stepping from the wreckage of her doorway. Her eyes burned brighter than Hanabi's flames and she stepped between us.

"You need to listen properly, Lady Hanabi. You're too old to be acting so hot headed."

"Stay out of this, Luci! That Dusk did something to my Hana!"

"She did. But it's not what you think. Now settle down and listen to them. If you still want to kill them after, I won't interfere."

Won't interfere?! Really Lucinda? At least we'll be able to explain ourselves. Hopefully Hanabi is sober enough to listen.

"You're such a bother," Hanabi grumbled.

My body relaxed when the floating flame wheels faded. Hanabi's golden eyes were narrowed to slits at me and Yahime, but she remained quiet.

"Bixey was betrayed by a catboy named Shiro," I said. I tried to use the calmest, most soothing voice I could to avoid agitating Hanabi. "She trusted him and he stabbed her in the back."

"My Hana would never be so foolish," Hanabi spat back. "I raised her better than that."

"I wouldn't know. All I can tell you is what happened."

I explained my time with Bixey, from our meeting to her death. Then came the hardest part.

"It was an accident. Yahime wasn't conscious of it. I asked her to help me carry Bixey so we could bring her here… I didn't know her soul would be absorbed."

Hanabi's white ears twitched. Thankfully Lucinda had locked her hand in a death grip to prevent her from launching another assault.

"Can you release her?"

The weight of my guilt crushed down on me and I shook my head.

"I don't know, but I plan to find a way. I want Bixey to see Bixey again, too."

Tears of loss and rage streamed down Hanabi's cheeks, but she didn't have a retort. Instead she gently pushed Lucinda away and turned away.

"I… I need a moment."

Her somber voice cracked my heart. I'd been devastated by Bixey's death and I'd only known her a few weeks. I couldn't fathom how Hanabi felt as her mother.

Hanabi disappeared for several hours. We waited for her return while Taro and his friend, Tapper, replaced Lucinda's door. I could barely keep my eyes open while we waited and I praised every god I could think of when Hanabi returned.

"I'm sorry for 'tacking you," she said. Her eyes were bloodshot and devoid of light. I could smell the booze on her from where I was sitting. We all dealt with loss in different ways.

"It's alright. I'm sorry for what happened to Bix— Hana."

"She was my daughter s'all." Hanabi plopped down on the bend beside me and I raised my hand to stop Yahime from coming to protect me.

"She spoke highly of you. It was always a bit vague and a bit annoyed when she did, but I could tell she respected you."

"'spected… That's the word. Maybe if I'd been 'round more it woulda been 'loved'."

They had a complicated relationship. I wish I knew why. Then I could at least say something to comfort her more."

"She loved you," Lucinda said. She held Hanabi's hand and squeezed it. "She was always reminiscing about you when she stopped by. Talking about the good old days when you took her on your travels and all the things you'd taught her."

"Wasn't enough…" Hanabi mumbled. "If I'd spent more time with her, taught her more. She would have never let her guard down like that."

"I… don't know if it's my place to say, but I think she let her guard down because she wanted to have faith in Shiro. I could tell she wanted to see the good in people even if she always had a sarcastic comment to give. I don't think she had any regrets about how she lived."

"Shtill. I hope neither of you ever have to outlive your child. In all my years I'd never dreamed I'd feel this way."

Hanabi cried until morning, drinking Lucinda's house dry. She passed out just before dawn and we laid her in Lucinda's room. Taro and Lucinda decided to stay at Tapper and Derry's houses respectively and I took Taro's bed. It was less comfortable than Lucinda's and smelled vaguely of old cheese. I barely slept.

"She's pretty amazing," I said to Yahime as we lay in bed next to one another. "I doubt my own mother reacted like that when I died."

"dying… scary?"

I wasn't entirely sure. I'd been at peace when I'd fallen from my office building and the near death experiences I'd had since transmigrating were so quick I didn't have time to consider. I'd had regrets, but I couldn't say I was ever scared.

"I'm not sure. I think if it dragged out it might be. And it was scarier in my world. Here everyone knows what comes next. We didn't have a clue."

"nothing… after?"

I shrugged and gave a wide yawn. I'd never been religious beyond what was expected for shrine visits.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here now and people seem certain Vide and the Twilight exist in this world. You're proof. You might be different from your sisters, but you're still a Dusk."

"scared turning… like sister…"

Me, too. Why was she there to begin with? Did it have something to do with the original inhabitants of Purga? Once Hanabi feels a little better I'll have to ask her. Lucinda said Hanabi had been studying them and exploring ruins since before they'd met. And there's the Essence Stones. They'll be instrumental going forward, but they're useless unless we can find a way to safely use them.

I hated how complicated everything had become. In my mind avenging Aurelie had been simple; gather some followers, assault the empire and kill the main cast. Or at least make them experience the same suffering Aurelie had. I hadn't anticipated the complexities, the individual issues the allies I collected would have. Worst of all my best prospect was mourning her daughter and who knew how long that would last when losing a decade of her life barely fazed her. Was there really any hope for me?