Y/N P.O.V.
I wake up from my slumber next to the witch who tried to kill me. She's unconscious, and I'm alone in the tent with her. I notice the bandages on my torso, and make a note to myself. I'm going to have to thank them for patching me up. I get up from my sleeping bag, and get dressed, wrapping my lightsaber braces onto my wrists, and attaching the lightsabers to the braces, allowing my baggy sleeves to hide the sabers. I can't help but think about my short lecture from my ancestor about my crippled connection to the force. Darth Revan was right. I have allowed my fear to thin my connection to the force. I feel weaker. I've been feeling weaker ever since the beginning. I've allowed my connection to start breaking. I have to do something to fix it.
The girls come in just as I finish getting dressed. They look at me in mild shock before smiling.
(Y/N) - Good evening. It feels good to be among the living again.
(Kurumu) - Y/N! You're awake!
(Mizore) - That's good. I was starting to get worried.
They surprisingly refrain from hugging me. Likely to remain aware of my recent injury.
I can never figure it out. What do these girls see in me? What, out of all the other students at Yokai, makes me so special?
(Y/N) - Out of curiosity, what happened after I passed out? I remember feeling pain in my back, and then... nothing.
Better not tell them about my lecture from my ancestor. I don't want to worry them. Besides, I have to keep up this facade. If they find out I'm human...
Don't get me wrong, I've faced long odds before. But these girls aren't stormtroopers. They're monsters. All of which could put me down with ease. And I wouldn't be able to come back.
(Yukari) - I think we overcharged her. When monsters fight, they release energy, as per the nature of their powers in one form or another. Their energy output is affected by their emotions. When Ruby hurt you, everyone got really angry, and a large flow of energy just spilled out as the dam broke. Large amounts of energy came from Moka, as her monster side made a lot of attempts to escape the rosary.
(Y/N) - Interesting...
Moka hands me a canned iced coffee. She must have pulled it from the cooler before I woke up.
(Moka) - I thought you'd be thirsty when you woke up.
I take it from her, and crack it open.
(Y/N) - Thanks.
I take a large swig, before taking a breath.
(Ruby) - Ngghh... Where...?
We all turn to see Ruby stirring from her light slumber, and try to give her some space while she reorients herself.
(Y/N) - Good evening. How was your rest?
She looks at me in shock, before a look of realization dawns on her face, she tries to get up, only to feel the cool tea can against her forehead. A little sleight of hand never hurt anybody.
(Y/N) - We thought you'd be thirsty, so we got you some tea.
She gingerly takes the tea, and... doesn't open it. She's cautious, I get it.
(Ruby) - If you think you can buy me off, you've got another thing coming.
(Y/N) - If I wanted to buy you off, I'd have gotten you more than tea. We just wanna hear your story.
She looks at me surprised.
(Ruby) - You... do?
(Y/N) - I mean, why the hell not? Tell us about that hill. It seems like a nice place. You made it obvious that it was important to you.
(Ruby) - ...That hill is a place where witches have lived for a long time. We never hurt anybody, we were just minding our own business. It was peaceful. We never had a problem with anybody else... well... until THEY came barging in on us. They destroyed everything in sight. They ripped it all to shreds, treating our home like it was nothing! Explain this to me!
...I can't. I don't understand other humans that well. I don't ask for their stories. That usually just gives me more trouble than I bargained for.
(Ruby) - The human scum! Why should be trust them?! What possible good could that do for us now?! We will never trust the humans ever again!
(Y/N) - ...
(Ruby) - Please, Yukari... You of all people should know what I'm saying! We witches called this place home. In order to protect this place, the only option is to destroy them all!
(Yukari) - But I... I don't feel that way...
Many thanks, Yukari. Many thanks.
(Ruby) - But... we have no choice!
(Y/N) - False. Incorrect.
They all turn to look at me.
(Y/N) - Don't misunderstand, I get why you're upset. The vast majority of humans only think of themselves, and the advancement of their society. There are few that actually appreciate the value - the TRUTH of life: an invaluable, finite resource. People matter. Monsters matter. WITCHES matter. There are so many who don't accept that, but there are others who DO.
She looks at me, thinking about what I've said.
(Ruby) - Yukari... we have to kill them!
(Kurumu) - Oh, come on. Do you really think it's okay to kill off everyone just for a hill?
(Y/N) - Even the ones who have never wronged you?
(Ruby) - The only ones that kill are humans. What's so wrong with a little retribution!?
(Mizore) - Like Y/N said: Everyone matters. Wether you're a monster or a human, there's no difference in the value of someone's life.
(Y/N) - THANK you.
Ruby looks at us all, shocked, and shaking.
(Ruby) - What's so wrong about killing humans? So what if I kill them all?!
She chucks her unopened tea can at me, only for me to dodge at the last moment.
(Ruby) - Who cares about stupid humans?!
...me.
(Moka) - Isn't there something else? Some other way to go about it? A peaceful solution?
(Ruby) - No way. There's no other alternative for us. Her Ladyship will bring about retribution.
(Y/N) - Hol' up. Who's this 'Ladyship'?
(Kurumu) - You can't be serious. That's rather arrogant of you, saying that it's fine to hurt other people, as long as it serves your own purpose.
(Mizore) - No kidding. That's very selfish.
(Kurumu) - That's just going to make you no different than them.
(Y/N) - I mean, stoop to their level? Why bother?
(Yukari) - I think that it's-
(Kurumu) - So that's the WITCH way, huh?
(Mizore) - You witches are a scary lot.
(Yukari) - Hey, no we're not!
(Kurumu) - Yeah, yeah, yeah, all of you kiddie witches aren't.
(Yukari) - There you go again...
(Ruby) - All of you shut up! If they take that hill away from me, I'll be left with nowhere else to go!
(Y/N) - Well, if that's all this is about, you could come with us back to Yokai.
She looks at me shocked.
(Moka) - He's right. It might be lonely being uprooted from the place you grew up, but Yokai Academy has a lot to offer for a girl like you.
(Y/N) - So, what do you say?
(Moka) - Let's get her to join the newspaper club, too!
(Yukari) - Good call, Moka!
(Kurumu) - So now we'll have... two witches?
(Yukari) - That's right, we will.
Yukari gets closer to Kurumu, as if trying to goad her into a brawl.
(Y/N) - Knock it off. Give her a chance to speak before we decide anything.
(Mizore) - You want me to cool them off?
(Y/N) - NO!
(Kurumu) - No, don't! You'll end up freezing everyone solid!
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Y/N P.O.V. Timeskip.
I awake with a start, a feeling of impending doom shadowing my mind. I turn to see if everyone is still here. I begin to panic. I gotta get everybody up without making them panic... How do I go about doing this?!
(Y/N) - Kurumu. Kurumu! Wake up!
I nudge her shoulder in an attempt to wake her.
(Kurumu) - Ohh... Please... Y/N... Don't stop...
What the hell kind of dream is she having?!
I'm running out of ideas, and I have to get her to wake up. In a last ditch effort, as the last idea I have, I kiss her. On the lips. ...Her lips are so soft...So alluring... No! Keep your head in the game, Argus, you have a job to do!
Her eyes flutter open, and widen in surprise, as she sees me so close, and a blush spreads on her face. She covers her mouth with her hand as we disconnect, and she looks at me before giggling.
(Y/N) - Wh-what?!
(Kurumu) - To think you'd be so forward...
(Y/N) - I... I'm not going to lie to you. To say it was... pleasant would be an understatement.
(Kurumu) - Aww... I'm touched.
(Y/N) - I did it to wake you up though. I was... getting unnerved by the dreams you were having, and I was running out of ideas.
(Kurumu) - How did you know what I was dreaming about?!
She looks at me, surprised.
(Y/N) - I've only got a vague idea, but you talk in your sleep.
(Kurumu) - O-oh... So... why'd you wake me up?
(Y/N) - Cause we gotta get everyone else up. Ruby's gone.
(Kurumu) - Oh, crap... Hey, Y/N...?
(Y/N) - Y-y-yes?
(Kurumu) - Was that... your first kiss?
Yes.
(Y/N) - I-I'm not o-obligated t-to answer that.
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Kurumu P.O.V.
I'll just... leave it at that for the time being, then. I hope he'll tell me though...
(Kurumu) - Oh, and Y/N?
(Y/N) - Wh-what?
Time for a little tease.
(Kurumu) - You're cute when you stutter.
A massive blush spreads across his face, and he grips his head with his right hand.
(Y/N) - W-we can talk about this later... Come on...
After he recovers, we proceed to wake everybody up.
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Y/N P.O.V.
I... I'm cute... when I stutter?! Does she take pride in my embarrassment, or is she just trying to tease me?!
...likely the latter, given her succubi nature.
We've all grabbed flashlights, and started running through the forest to look for Ruby. My feeling of unease only gets worse with each step I take.
(Yukari) - WAAAAAH!
(Y/N) - Yukari!
She's had her feet taken out from under her, and is being suspended in midair by vines. No, don't tell me-!
Suddenly, vines ensnare Kurumu, Moka, and Mizore too. I'm left on the ground, holding the flashlight, and my worst fears at that moment come to life. Ruby's back with a vengeance, and six jet-black wings protruding from her back. My hand is twitching. Avoid using the saber at all costs. It will only proceed to blow my cover.
(Y/N) - Ruby!
(Ruby) - Get back! No-one is allowed on this hill! No matter who you are! Leave or perish!
She levels her wand at us. What can I do without my sabers?!
(Moka) - Ruby, stop this! I'm sure we can find another way!
(Yukari) - Please, listen to her! If we work together, we can figure it out!
(Ruby) - I've heard enough!
She raises her wand, and more monstrous plants burst from the ground. I hear a chuckling from above us. She's laughing at us.
(Y/N) - You've been cultivating this under the sunflowers the entire time?!
(Ruby) - What you see are her Ladyship's brood. An army of plant soldiers, raised and grown to defend Witch Hill.
A thunderous roar rings through my ears, shaking my very being.
(Kurumu) - Y/N! Get out of here!
I look up at her, to see her fingernails extend into the full-blown talons I saw when she tried to kill Moka and I a few months back, and she cuts her way out of the vines. Before I can move to follow her order, though, I am surrounded by these beasts, and drop the flashlight in my shock. They've been frozen solid, and Mizore stands behind me, her hands encased in claws made of ice.
(Y/N) - Thanks for the save.
Numerous cards fly in front of my face, as Yukari prepares her defense against the agricultural horde.
(Yukari) - Stay back! It's too dangerous!
(Y/N) - I can't just leave you all behind!
(Kurumu) - Oh, shut it. You're just a kiddie witch, who do you think you're impressing?!
(Y/N) - Are you really going to start this now?!
(Mizore) - If they hurt you, they'll answer to me!
(Y/N) - Mizore, I- what the hell makes you think I can't defend myself?!
Other than the tendency that every fight I'm involved in is usually over so fast that I don't have the opportunity to do anything, and the fact that I'm trying to keep from blowing my cover?
A small horde of plant soldiers emerge from the ground behind me, and in a fit of frustration, I flick my hand upwards, and use the force to ignite my lightsaber's blue blade, and bring it across the ones closest to me, before deactivating it again. The plants that made contact with my blade crumple to the ground, and the others back away, taking caution. I look back at my friends, who all look at me, shocked.
(Yukari) - What the hell was that?!
I look back at my wrist, surprised that I could activate my saber while still in it's holster, and wrap my hand around my wrist.
(Y/N) - Trade secret. One I don't like using often.
(Moka) - AAAAAGGHHH!!
I turn to the scream, seeing Moka being further constricted by the vines of the soldiers.
Moka. No. Not again.
I break into a run, not noticing that Ruby has sent another horde after me. Master. I'll not fail you again.
(Moka) - Y/N!
(Y/N) - No... NO!
As the plants wrap themselves around me, I become deaf to the world. I feel their pain. They're scared. Worried. I'm too tired to pull off a repulse. Moka... Where are you?!
I feel her presence not too far away. I manage to fire off a grappling hook from my lightsaber holster, and just my lucky day. The hook wraps itself around Moka's rosary, and I give it a tug. It comes off with little resistance. A flash of light rings out, and the plants that once imprisoned us are blown away, and frozen in place by the energy she gave off. The awakened Moka stands atop a small tower of the frozen soldiers.
(Kurumu) - Moka...
(Yukari) - She looks mad...
(Inner Moka) - You fool. Doing too much, just as usual. Still, you saved my ass.
I assume she's referring to me, who is lying next to the short tower she's standing on, holding her rosary in my left hand.
(Y/N) - Well, unfortunately, the times I like to go the distance is when our lives are at stake. Hey, look out!
Five of the soldiers rise on her left, and as expected, she obliterates them with one kick. Ruby flies up to meet her, and starts launching spikes from her wings. Moka dodges every single one until she's close enough to deliver a downward kick to Ruby's face.
(Moka) - ...I'll take blood over peace.
Yeah, no shit. Ruby flies downward, and into a pile of her own allies. That had to hurt. Wait... uh-oh.
(Y/N) - Moka! She's on her feet!
We all turn to see Ruby, obviously not struggling at all to stand.
(Y/N) - Ruby!
(Yukari) - Ruby, please, stop all of this!
(Ruby) - No. I can't! I'm going to defend witch hill. Because it's my wish. Also... because her Ladyship demands it!
She raises her wand, and it begins to glow. The fallen monsters begin to merge with the other pieces, and recompose themselves into larger, more horrifying forms.
I was wrong. This is NOTHING like the Ibdis Maw, and it's a lot more handsy. It begins to wrap itself around me again, this time squeezing even harder. I can't move. I can't breathe.
(Yukari) - Oh, no! They're even bigger than before!
No shit. Can I get some help?!
(Yukari) - Y/N!
Ruby begins to laugh, as if this is the funniest thing in the world to her.
(Yukari) - Please, Ruby, I'm begging you! Let him go! Don't do this!
Moka leaps over to Ruby in an attempt to knock her block off, before being ensnared by the vines as well. Everything is chaos. I can't keep track of all of it. All I can hear is laughter, and voices.
(Ruby) - Her Ladyship wants this, so it must be done! I must do everything she desires! My only purpose here is to execute her every request!
I've had enough. I need answers now.
(Y/N) - Who?! WHO IS 'HER LADYSHIP'?! Tell... me...
As I'm struggling to breathe, I notice a house in the distance. It's not much of a clue, but it's a start. I can feel the pull. The force has confirmed it.
(Y/N) - AAUGH!!
I feel a razor-sharp wing pelt my face, rending a small tear on my left cheek. I can feel the blood flowing. I can hear her laughing, and it's pissing me off.
(Moka) - You little bitch!
She spins her way out of the snare of vines, and kicks Ruby back to the ground, as I activate my blue saber, and cut my way out of the vines, and deactivate it again. I hit the ground running. I have to get to that house!
(Moka) - Take care of him! I won't be too long here!
That's the problem. I want a peaceful solution to this hellish situation. I keep running. That house is my primary objective. I know firsthand that my friends can take care of themselves.
Dammit. Where the hell's Gin when you actually need him?
(Kurumu) - Y/N!
(Yukari) - Wait! Where are you going?!
I turn my head for a moment to respond.
(Y/N) - To find Ruby's boss!
(Yukari) - Yeah, but you...
(Kurumu) - Y/N!
(Yukari) - Kurumu, wait!
This 'Ladyship'. She's gotta be at that house. Thanks to my tutelage under Master Kestis, I'm clearing ground in record time. One of those monsters tears itself out of the ground in front of me, and stares me down. I'm about to draw one of my sabers until Kurumu comes flying in, kicking it in the face, with Yukari following fast behind her, with a bunch of flying cards.
(Yukari) - Y/N, it's really dangerous!
(Kurumu) - You're the one in danger! Kids should stay out of the way!
Aaaaand, she just goes back to gutting the beast, as a stream of mystery fluid flies out of the open wounds of the monster plant.
(Yukari) - Oh, give it a rest! Y/N, here's your chance! GO!
(Y/N) - THANKS! I'LL BE BACK!
I kept running. After awhile, another one rose from the ground, until a bunch of large crystals of ice put it back in the ground. Too winded to speak, I turn back to Mizore, who had followed me, and give her a thumbs up. She smiles, and I start running again. I eventually make it to the house, and am surprised by the lines in the ground. Are those... tree roots? I open the door, and it's practically pitch black. I flick my right wrist to release my Power and Control saber from it's holster, and into my hand.
I activate it as the door shuts behind me, and everything around me is shown in an iridescent blue gleam. Waving it from side to side to see more of my surroundings, I allow it's comforting hum to flow into my ears. My sabers always made me feel safe for some reason. I could never figure out why.
Every interior surface is coated in roots. The walls, floor, and furniture, all of it. Made it a lot harder to find a foothold. I hear another dying roar outside, and notice one of the roots on the wall wither.
(Y/N) - Fascinating. I'll have to come back here with BD-1 sometime. It seems these roots control those monsters. Each one that falls causes a root to wither... There are thousands more here, and I can sense the life behind all of them. I've gotta make this fast, or my friends are gonna be swamped.
I gingerly make my way up the stairs, the only sound being my activated lightsaber, and the creaking of the floorboards under my weight. Why is it always the old houses that do that? This is a rather... interesting development.
(Y/N) - So the roots control the monsters. Meaning the source of the roots must be controlling Ruby.
As I ascend the staircase, and walk through the empty halls, I notice a door that seems to have been forcibly ripped open. Larger roots stem from the inside.
(Y/N) - Okay... Boss room? Likelier than a kind old lady baking cookies in the candlelight.
I flick my other wrist, releasing my Scorpion saber from it's holster, and my thumb resting on it's switch.
I use the force to push away the broken bits of door, and enter the room. I see a woman in a hooded robe, sitting in a chair in front of a mirror. I decide to push my luck.
(Y/N) - Hey. You this 'Ladyship' woman that Ruby's been going on and on about?
Nothing.
(Y/N) - I've got a request. Call off your plant demons. My friends and I don't want to defile your hill. We just wanted to admire the view. Let Ruby make her own choices. She feels as if she owes you something when all she's doing is robbing innocent families of their loved ones.
Still nothing.
(Y/N) - Hey, you alive in there?
As I get closer, the curtains seem to pull themselves back, and in the light of my saber, I can see the mirror she's been staring into. I feel dread creep up my spine, as a sinister-turned-peaceful aura passes through me. I stare in horror at the mirror. This woman has been gone for some time now. Ruby...
SHE'S BEEN TAKING FAKE ORDERS FROM A PERSON WHO LIVES NO LONGER.
In an instinctive movement, acting on my horror, I activate my Scorpion saber's red blade, and bring both red and blue down on the mirror, avoiding the poor lady's dead body. The slightly charred pieces of mirror fall to the floor, and break. Saying nothing, I leave the house, deactivate my sabers, slip them back up my sleeves and into their holsters, and bolt for the battlefield. What I see next doesn't scare me a bit in comparison to a few minutes ago. Ruby, her lower half wrapped in vines, with a deranged look on her face, and my friends, wrapped up in a large ball of weeds.
(Ruby) - This is payback for defiling Witch Hill! NOW LAUGH IT UP!
(Y/N) - STOPPIT!
They all turn to face me. Ruby still looks insane, Moka looks surprised, and Mizore, Kurumu, and Yukari look horrified, as if I've just stepped into a Venus Flytrap. Don't worry, I don't know what I'm doing. It always seems to work better that way, when I'm dealing with the supernatural.
(Y/N) - Cease this, Ruby! Let them go!
(Kurumu) - Y/N!
(Yukari) - Y/N, no!
(Moka) - Get out of here!
(Y/N) - Ruby. You have to stop. Nobody's gonna care anymore-
(Ruby) - Shut up! Everything I'm doing is for her Ladyship! I do-
(Y/N) - Who THE HELL are you kidding?! I stopped by the house! There was nobody there!
(Ruby) - HAha! What are you TALKING about? Her Ladyship IS IN THE HOUSE!
(Y/N) - LISTEN TO ME! I SAW HER! SHE'S GONE! SHE'S BEEN DEAD THIS WHOLE DAMN TIME!
Her deranged look turns to a look of horror, and my friends all look shocked.
(Ruby) - ...That can't be... no...
(Y/N) - It's too ironic to be funny! You've been killing innocent people! OVER A CORPSE!
She stares off into space. It's as if she's reliving the memories.
(Y/N) - I get it. She's no longer with us. You knew. You just didn't want to admit it. And all those feelings, memories, all of it. Your mind created a false image, and it's been haunting you ever since! Right?!
(Ruby) - no...No... NOOOOOOOOO!!!
She begins to swing her wand around, and it begins to shine brighter. More monsters rise from the ground.
(Yukari) - No, Ruby! Please don't do it!
(Kurumu) - Wait! What are you talking about?!
(Yukari) - If she uses that forbidden spell, she'll never return to her old self ever again!
(Kurumu) - No way!
(Y/N) - Ohhh... fuck.
A pillar of light emanates from Ruby's wand. I can't believe this is happening.
This is too crazy. And it has to stop.
I can barely stand against all this unleashed energy. I... won't... be blown... away...
(Yukari) - Ruby, NO!!!
Once the light fades, all I see where Ruby and her soldiers once stood is a monster with several large heads, and a fifteen-story tall body, rippled with a plant's excuse for magic muscle. Tendrils emerge from all around the body, and only three words come out of my mouth.
(Y/N) - what the hell...?
(Ruby) - Hahahahahah! DIE, ALL OF YOU!
Weedy tendrils tear through the ground, narrowly missing me. Ruby's laughing grows more and more maniacal as the seconds pass. If what Yukari said can actually be credited - which it is, most of the time - then we are on a race against the clock. I have to do something! Wait... is that-? It is.
(Ruby) - EVERYONE! TIME FOR YOU TO DIE!
(Yukari) - Do you know you just went off the deep end, Ruby? What are you gonna do? Don't you understand? It's over for you now... No one will be able to help you anymore...
The beast just keeps smashing away at it's surroundings. This isn't Ruby anymore.
It's something far worse.
I pick up Yukari's wand off the ground, and call out to my friend.
(Y/N) - YUKARI! CATCH!
She looks towards me as I chuck the source of her power at her, and she catches it.
(Yukari) - Thanks! Kurumu, you ready?
(Kurumu) - Yeah! Go for it!
Yukari waves her wand, and Kurumu's shoe comes right off. I'm confused for a moment, before a set of talons rip through her sock. She can do that with her feet, too?! Talk about slightly overpowered. She uses her talons to cut through the vines, and once her hands are free, and two more sets of talons grow from her fingernails, she begins cutting away at the vines faster than ever. She cuts everyone else free, and almost all of them land on their feet on the ground. Moka was no such case. She was being suspended in midair, a vine protruding from her arm. This monster is using Moka's vampiric powers as it's own. Wait... that's it!
(Y/N) - Yukari, this monster was made of magic, right? Ruby's magic?
(Yukari) - Yeah, she channeled magic through her wand to create this thing! The magic flow from her wand is fueling the monster, and the witches' wands have a near-unlimited supply of magic energy! The only limits are the imaginations, and the strength of the minds and bodies of the witches that use the spells! Why?!
(Y/N) - So the wand is the source of it all?
(Yukari) - Yeah, so what?!
(Y/N) - ...Kurumu, I need some help.
(Kurumu) - Why?!
(Y/N) - I've got a plan, but I need to be airborne in order to make it work, and I need to get close enough to have a clear shot.
(Mizore) - What are you going to do?!
(Y/N) - Take advantage of the exposed weak point, and cut off the energy flow. Simple logic.
(Yukari) - Oh! That might work! What can we do?
(Y/N) - Keep her occupied. It'll make our job easier if you can keep the heat off of us.
(Yukari) - Okay!
(Mizore) - Got it.
Kurumu grabs me from under the arms, and gets us both airborne. As Mizore pummels the beast's side with pillars of ice, Yukari blinds Ruby with her cards. Kurumu decides to ask a question as we get closer to our goal.
(Kurumu) - How are you going to pull this off?! We don't have anything that works at a distance!
We get close enough for me to play my part.
(Y/N) - You'd be surprised as to how many problems just a grappling hook will solve.
I fire off my cable, aiming for the crystal at the center of Ruby's wand. The cord wraps around the intricate frame of the mystic tool, and Ruby realizes about twenty seconds too late, as I give a violent tug on my cable, causing the crystal to crumble to bits, and the wand to snap at the centerpiece. Ruby cries out as the overflowing energy no longer has any means of containing itself, and just like that... it's over.
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Timeskip. Y/N P.O.V.
This vacation... REALLY passed by faster than it should have. It's been a few days since the 'Witch Hill' incident, and we just spent the break relaxing after the whole fight. It was intense. I haven't fought something that big in a long time. Truth be told, that fight actually kind of scared me. It's not that the size bothered me too much, size doesn't matter. What bothered me is that, after Ruby's forbidden spell was cast, she took a dive off the deep end. A desperate person is a dangerous person. Especially when they think they have nothing left to lose. That's what bothered me. The original Ruby had some doubts, and hid them to make herself believe. The monster Ruby turned herself into? That was different.
(Moka) - In the end, we just couldn't do anything else, could we?
(Y/N) - I doubt it. I just wish I could have done something before she turned.
(Yukari) - Y/N, what happened wasn't your fault.
(Y/N) - Technically it was. I could have knocked her out first. Maybe taken her wand before telling her.
(Kurumu) - Hey, nobody blames you, Y/N.
(Y/N) - ...Thanks.
We're just waiting at the bus stop, for the bus driver to come and pick us up. Ms. Nekonome comes up behind us, carrying a crapton of fish on her back, and apologizes for taking so long. I couldn't care less. Ruby could be alive or dead right now, and I wouldn't even notice.
(Nekonome) - Oh? Time to go back already?
(Y/N) - Uh, yeah. You missed a lot.
The bus comes by, and a familiar face gets off.
(Gin) - Sorry I'm late.
(Y/N) - Say it like you mean it, Furball. We could have used some help a few days ago... Gin... How the HELL?!
(Gin) - Woah. What's with the deer-in-the-headlights looks? Your prez just freed himself from summer-school hell, so try looking a little excited, huh? What the hell's with you guys?
He's holding Ruby in his arms.
(Y/N) - Gin. About the little lady in your arms? You've got a lot of explaining to do. And so do we. We'll talk about this later, but I'm too tired.
(Gin) - What, you all know this girl?
(Y/N) - Yes. We'll explain our end tomorrow, and then you can explain yours, sound good?
(Gin) - Yeah, sure.
(Y/N) - Great.
I file myself onto the bus, and snag a seat in the back where I can lie down, and take a nap. I'm still exhausted from the incident involving Ruby.
Ruby Tojo... you're an enigma wrapped in a riddle...
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Kurumu P.O.V.
After we all file onto the bus, I decide to interrupt Y/N's nap for a short bit.
(Kurumu) - Hey, Y/N?
He turns to look at me, kind of upset, kind of surprised, and with a blush on his face.
(Y/N) - ...Yeah?
(Kurumu) - Can you tell me now?
(Y/N) - I told you, I'm not obligated to answer that question.
(Kurumu) - Please?
(Y/N) - If I tell you, will you let me go back to sleep?
(Kurumu) - Yes.
He pauses for a moment before turning back to the seat.
(Y/N) - Yes, Kurumu. It may have just been to wake you up, but it was my first kiss. Now good night. I'm going back to sleep.
He nestles back into his bag, using it as a pillow. I can't help but smile at his honesty. I feel proud, honored, that my destined one would bless me with his very first kiss.
(Kurumu) - Sweet dreams...
(Y/N) - mmmm... thanks...
He mumbles, sleepily.
I wonder...
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Y/N P.O.V.
I can't help but think...
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BOTH: What awaits us in our futures? What trials will we have to face?
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almost 5500 words. I'm proud of myself. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll have the next one posted within the month! Have a wonderful (time of day)!