PROTIP: This chapter was originally supposed to be called "Yuuen" because I was going to have that line where Taiga notices how uncanny Yuuen looks to the Yuuen described in the storybook said at a much earlier point in the battle. But I didn't realize how long it would be until I couldn't finally implement that line and now the title has changed since I felt like "Yuuen pt.3" didn't fit. Whoops...
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And finally, she made contact.
All it took was one strike, with the combined forces of Carmen, Petrosinella, and Lunar, to finally put an end to Taiga's tyrannical sense of justice.
The team was Ko'ed basically, Makoto and Morgana fading in and out of consciousness from the extreme toll this fight took on their bodies.
Akira wanted to stay awake, but from all of the physical and mental exertion he'd put himself through, to the relief of seeing Yuuen land the finishing blow, that seemed to be all it took to finally knock him out.
Yuuen made sure the blow wasn't enough to kill him, but just enough to stop this fight.
Somewhat anti-climactic, but I didn't matter to Yuuen.
Settling this once and for all was the top priority.
"It's over." She took a step forward, placing her sword right in front of Taiga's defeated expression.
Yuuen was feeling her power draining, but she had to finish this.
He looked up, truly noticing the girl's new appearance.
She bore an unsympathetic expression, wielding a giant sword along with the knight's armor and broken tiara on her head.
If that wasn't enough, Lunar's dragonlike figure wrapped around the girl, staring him down menacingly as he couldn't help but laugh at the irony.
"You truly..." He smiled, his eyes softening, "Are Yuuen..."
"I never could have imagined that name would fit you so well..." He trailed off, chuckling a bit. Although, he couldn't tell if he was laughing at the irony of his situation, or his own self-pity.
"Dad..." Yuuen's glare softened.
"I know..." He looked down clenching his fists. "What I did was unforgivable, not only that, but I neglected to be a true father to you, especially in your time of suffering."
"Your mother's death hurt you too, didn't it?" He said as Yuuen's face fell, her tough exterior cracking.
"I'm sorry. I was so preoccupied with my own problems about her death, I never even realized how it would have affected you..." He sighed, glancing anywhere that wasn't Yuuen's face.
"You had to go through that all alone. I'm so sorry." He finished, his shoulders dropping.
Yuuen didn't spare another word before engulfing her father in a hug.
It didn't matter if he was distorted, or if this was just a shadow, a cognitive form of his underlying personality.
"I'm... so sorry! It's all my fault this happened!" Yuuen cried, embracing her father tightly.
"W-What are you talking about?" He exclaimed in shock, not prepared for her sudden display of affection.
"I'm the reason Mom died! And I was too much of a coward to stop you from developing a shadow!" Yuuen cried, her bottled up feelings of guilt and sadness spilling out like a waterfall.
"Yuuen..." He paused, shocked at the girl's revelation, "No one's blaming you for any of this... you saved me." He stated lifting the girl of his so he could look face to face with the crying girl.
"Honestly, Yuuen... you were the only thing keeping me alive." He admitted causing Yuuen's eyes to widen in shock.
"After your mother died... I lost my purpose to live. But, you were still there. I had a responsibility to take care of you and I loved you equally." Taiga explained honestly, finally ready to admit his inner guilt, "Protecting you became my new purpose in life."
"It's funny how that became the core of my distortion." He chuckled, Yuuen'a tears slowing down a bit as she truly took in her father's words. "Although, as noble of a cause that was. In all actuality, I wasn't really doing it for you, I was doing it for myself." He admitted, feeling a little insecure sharing the truth.
"I just didn't want to lose my purpose for living, I think that's where my distortion finally took over."
Yuuen chuckled a bit, wiping her tears. "You know, you aren't going to be able to protect me forever." She smiled, feeling warmth in her chest.
This heart to heart with her father was very long-awaited, even if it wasn't the real him. Hopefully, the emotions she showed his shadow could reach him, just like how Lunar's had reached hers.
"I've realized..." He joked back, feeling a few of his own tears fall as he laughed with his beloved daughter.
"Let's go home..." Yuuen smiled, offering her hand.
Taiga gave nothing but a nod, taking her hand before glowing a bright white, fading away into nothingness.
Yuuen smiled.
'It looks like it's time for me to leave as well...' A familiar voice rang in her ears as Yuuen turned to come face to face with the blue dragon. She hadn't realized how Lunar's presence had been fading ever since the battle.
"Mom...you're leaving?" Yuuen questioned, her heart dropping. A part of her wished Lunar could stay her persona forever, but she knew that Lunar's alliance was only temporary.
She just wished it could have lasted longer.
'That battle took the last of my strength, without it, it won't be long before my presence finally begins to fade.' She explained a bittersweet smile adorned on her face.
'Trust me, I don't want to leave either.' She said but it was lighthearted.
'Thank you, for fulfilling your promise, Yuuen.' She smiled one last time, beginning to quite literally fade away.
"Mom! Don't go! I'll miss you!" Yuuen cried, trying desperately to keep her here.
'I'll miss you too.' She smiled sadly, feeling her strength fade as she watched Yuuen.
"I-... I love you, Mom!" She exclaimed, in a final stretch effort to stop time from moving forward.
But her attempt was futile.
Lunar smiled, her presence was fading to fast for her to reply.
But she hoped Yuuen knew,
'Just simply how much you mean to me.'
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Akira groaned, opening his eyes to bright light but gasping once his vision focused.
"Yuuen!" He exclaimed, grabbing her shoulders almost instantly, "You're not hurt, are you?!" He panicked, noticing the cuts and bruises that littered her body.
"Nothing I can't handle." She smiled, glad to see the medicine she had administered to the boy was finally kicking in.
"What happened to Morito-san?" He questioned glancing around to the room, seeing the other teammates slowly recovering from their injuries, but no sign of Taiga.
"He disappeared," Yuuen stated, looking over to the place where she'd last saw him with a bittersweet look on her face.
"Doesn't that mean, you changed his heart?" Akira questioned as the girl gave him a shy nod.
"He should be better now right?" She questioned shyly, fear evident in her voice.
"If he had a change of heart, yes..." Akira trailed off, before noticing the grim look on Yuuen's face.
He smiled lightheartedly.
"I'm sure you did fine, he'll be back to normal in no time." His hand patted her head soothingly as he gave her a warm smile.
"Normal... huh?" Yuuen mumbled but was interrupted by an energetic blonde heading her way.
"Mori-chan! You defeated Morito-san all by yourself!?" Ryuji stomped over, pulling Yuuen away from Akira temporarily as he gave her a noogie. "Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about!"
"W-well... It wasn't all by myself, Ann and Lunar helped me too." Yuuen mumbled bashfully, not used to his rowdy attention.
"Lunar? You mean your mother?" Makoto questioned, walking over beside the group.
"Yeah, she came in at the last moment and gave me the strength to finish." Yuuen smiled before holding out her necklace, "She's gone though..." Her smiled dropped a bit as the team looked down.
The blue gem in which Lunar turned into in her last moments was completely shattered, leaving only a small chip left in its wake.
"I see..." Makoto stated simply, a sympathetic look appearing on her face.
Yuuen's attention shifted to the blonde-haired girl who was approaching the group.
"Ann!" Yuuen gasped, clasping her hands suddenly, "You saved my life! Thank you so much!"
"W-W-What are you talking about?!" Ann blushed bashfully, caught off guard by the girl's sudden actions.
"You used that 'Acquired Skill' or whatever you called it, and it saved my life! Thank you so much!" Yuuen smiled, Ann's gaze softening.
"It wasn't that big of a deal..." Ann smiled lightly.
"Ann... You don't mind me calling you that right?" Yuuen stated as Ann's eyes widened.
"No! Of course not!" Ann stated obviously.
"Then call me Yuuen, or Yuu-chan ok?" Yuuen smiled energetically before Ryuji cut her off.
"Woah, Ann you got one of those 'Acquired Skill' things too?!" Ryuji gasped in awe as Ann just chuckled.
"Yup! And do you know what that means?" Ann smirked confidently, crossing her arms.
Ryuji just tilted his head in confusion.
"It means I'm officially better than you." She teased as Ryuji stiffened in shock.
"It certainly does not!" He retorted angrily, glaring at the blonde, "Just watch! I'll get one of these 'Acquired Skill' things too!"
"Good luck with that..." Mona sweatdropped as the team just laughed at the group's interactions.
"What about the palace though?" Yusuke questioned, noticing the small cracks forming in the walls.
"About that. Ever since my father left the palace, these cracks have been forming slowly. I'm sure once I leave the entire palace will collapse. But I guess if he really did have a change of heart, it's going to collapse on its own regardless of whether or not I leave." Yuuen explained as she stood up, offering Akira a hand as they looked around to the small cracks that are beginning to form.
"We should get going then," Akira stated as the team nodded.
He turned towards the pensive bluenette, her brows furrowed in deep thought.
"It's time to finally go back home..." She mumbled, a little bit of nervousness filling her chest.
"I promised I'd steal you back, didn't I?" Joker teased, as she gave him a light chuckle.
"That you did..." She smiled gratefully, following the team as they exited the palace, it crumbling the moment Yuuen stepped outside.
And in that moment, for the first time in 9 days, Yuuen took her first step in the real world.
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(A/N): The whole thing about the palace cracking slowly isn't canon but I took some artistic liberty because the team wasn't in any shape to run out of the palace full speed as it collapsed.