Hello and Goodbye

The short trek to the cave drained the last of Hanabi's stamina and she collapsed against the cave wall when they got inside.

"Lady Hanabi! Are you alright?"

She nodded and closed her eyes. The villagers were bruised and exhausted, otherwise fine. The boy, Hachiko, had a twisted ankle and some of the ducklings (she didn't know their names) were covered in scrapes, but it was nothing she couldn't heal once she got some rest.

"I'm fine, Luci. Just tired."

"She f-found Vibby."

"How was she?"

Hanabi nodded. "I healed her and tucked her away while she slept. There shouldn't be any monsters prowling around with all the chaos."

"That's a relief." Lucinda's body deflated as the stress left her body.

Who could blame her?

"Did you hear the explosion in the forest?"

"Explosion?" Hanabi's ears perked and she looked out the cave. "The humans didn't attack again, did they?"

"It doesn't seem like it," Billia replied. "The smoke came from the forest."

"Then it was probably Yahime and Kyomi."

"Shouldn't you go help them?" Derry asked.

That would be the responsible thing to do if she had the energy. At present she would just hold them back.

"They'll be fine if they're together. Just believe in them."

Her assurance relieved everyone except Billia. She wasn't surprised; the duckwoman refused to believe anything that didn't see for herself. To her, Hanabi was speaking empty words.

"S-Should we head back to the village? We n-need to get Vibby, too."

Hanabi considered it. The girl would be smart enough to head back to the village when she woke up, wouldn't she? She looked at the ducklings and Hachiko. Maybe not. She didn't know much about the children other than Hachiko was a whimpering crybaby and the ducklings' had crows cawing at them.

"You win." Hanabi used the wall to help her to her feet and stretched. She winced when the fabric rubbed against the shallow cuts and stab wounds covering her body. She would have quite a few scars she could have avoided if she'd had the mana to heal herself. Then again, they all would. At least the ducklings would be easier to tell apart.

"Are you sure you don't need to rest?" Lucinda asked in a whisper.

"I'll be alright, Luci. I'm more worried about you. Did you think I wouldn't notice your knee?"

Lucinda laughed and lifted her skirt to show off her injured knee. It was double the size it should have been and Hanabi could see the black bruises beneath the rabbit's fur. She would be the first person Hanabi healed. At her age it would take forever for her to heal naturally, if at all. The woman already had a limp from her stiff joints.

"Oh, Luci. You used to be a sobbing mess from just a scrape. When did you get so tough?"

The rabbitwoman's ears twitched and she squinted at Hanabi.

"Someone's feeling nostalgic. Old age finally catching up with you, Aunt Bibi?"

"I could say the same," Hanabi chuckled. "Look at those wrinkles. But enough of that. You probably want to check on Taro."

She took inventory of the group one last time. They all looked eager to head back and were waiting on her. Hachiko, Derry, Rikki, Lucinda, Billia and her five… Wait, didn't she have six ducklings?

Hanabi looked to the rear of the cave in case it had gotten the itch to explore. Duckfolk couldn't see well in the dark, so it might have wandered too far down the tunnel…

Her heart froze. She'd been so exhausted she hadn't noticed the back of the cave had been excavated.

"Luci, we need to—"

She fell back as the rabbitwoman tackled her. A sharp twang echoed through the tunnel followed by the sound of heavy boots and yelling.

"Are you alright?" Lucinda asked. Her eyes were heavy despite her smile.

"I'm fine! Now get up, we need to…"

Warmth spread across Hanabi's chest as Lucinda lay on top of her. It pooled on the ground around them. The others were screaming in panic, trying to push the children outside before the human soldiers reached them.

"We have to go, Luci," Hanabi said. Her hand brushed the thick wooden bolt in the girl's back when she lifted her.

"Get the others home," Lucinda said. Her voice was strained, yet for some reason she wore the same smile Hanabi had fallen in love with half a century ago.

Hanabi rested the girl against the cave wall and rose to her feet. Her legs shook beneath her, but nowhere near as much as the rest of her.

"Exterminate the demons!" the human at the front of the pack yelled. "Don't let them reach the mining team!"

Demons? Hanabi's throat tightened and she clenched her jaw tight enough to crack teeth. First Hana and now Luci. It was unacceptable, irredeemable!

A stream of flames erupted from her hand as she filled the tunnel in blue fire. She didn't care that she was drooling blood from mana sickness or that her life force was being drained as a substitute.

When the blue fire subsided, the tunnel had become molten rock. There was nothing left of the humans, not even ash. Under normal circumstances she would have reveled in their deaths.

But Luci needed her and she didn't have another second to lose if she was going to save her.

***

"Kyomi?"

I stared at the Dusk in front of me blankly. Yahime?

ALERT

??? CAN NOW BE REGISTERED AS A [FAMILIAR].

WOULD YOU LIKE TO PROCEED? Y/N

"Yahime?"

The Dusk in front of me seemed to hesitate in answering me.

"Yahime!"

I flung my arms around her and refused to let go. I didn't know what happened and I didn't care. She was alive!

"I was so worried!" My voice cracked as I spoke and my nose was already stuffy. "I thought… I was so scared that you…"

I couldn't bring myself to say the words. To my surprise, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me back.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I worried you."

I loosened my grip on the Dusk and looked up at her. Was this really Yahime? I reread the flashing alert. Why didn't it say Yahime? I wasn't sure I should select yes.

"Are you really Yahime?" I asked bluntly. She looked like Yahime; every almost human feature of her face was identical and her halo eyes had the same glow I saw every morning.

"ACCEPT."

I wanted to demand an answer from Vide, but did as I was told.

??? HAS FORMED A PACT WITH KYOMI

WOULD YOU LIKE TO NAME ???

Yahime.

ERROR

??? COULD NOT BE NAMED

ALERT

FAMILIAR ??? HAS AWAKENED

ALL STATS INCREASED

NEW SKILLS UNLOCKED:

[EARTH MAGIC (MASTER)] [MOON OF THE EMPIRE] [SHADOW STEP] [HUMAN TRANSFORMATION] [SHADOW MAGIC (ADEPT)]

"You awakened again," I muttered. I went to open my status window, but Yahime grabbed my hand.

"Later." She pointed at the blue flames spewing out from several spots on the mountain. "Hanabi needs us."

I looked around in a daze. Where were Richard and Louis? The area around us looked the same as it did when I'd fallen unconscious. Had Yahime killed them?

She's right. Checking on Hanabi and the village is the priority. I don't really understand what's happening, but Vide wouldn't have told me to accept the pact if it was dangerous and it was just as confusing the last time Yahime awakened. Village first. Then I'll figure this out.