As she looked around, Fae could notice the populace doing their day to day activities, the clanging of a blacksmith melted with the yells of prices that came from Fae's right, it seemed like it was the marketplace of the town while the left was more of metallurgy she assumed?
"Ow!" Fae heard behind her while feeling like a very light weight collided with her and even before she could turn around the child that bumped into her passed by her running
"Sorry miss!" He exclaimed loudly to her while it seemed like him and his friends were playing tag as they passed by Fae running
And as soon as the children mixed in with the crowd, that discomfort in Fae's chest turned into an asphyxiating lump that spread up her throat
"Yuna you're hurting me, please calm down..." Fae muttered under her breath while pressuring her chest with a hand as she went so far to grip her cloak tightly
With those words spoken it miraculously felt like a big chunk of that choking feeling vanished out of nowhere
Prompting Fae to cough a couple of times and let out a sigh, realizing that the connection she had with Yuna's soul wasn't just a one way, Fae became Yuna's sixth sense yet the latter could affect the former in ways that none knew until now
"Your face went back to normal" Ichiya remarked as she kept a sideglance on Fae to check on her wellbeing, receiving an appreciative nod from the latter
Both of the women walked through the slightly busy roads of the town, arriving at the wall that surrounded it where Fae could see three carriages next to a couple of guards and coachmen
"Alright, I'll go see if any of them can take us to the capital" Ichiya told Fae who gave yet another thankful nod for her help, she made a mental note to do so not just in gestures
And so Ichiya went on to discuss and possibly bargain the price with the coachman that she walked up to while Fae took in a deep breath and turned behind her to gaze at the road they walked up, gaze at the wooden buildings and the people that wore garments and clothing fitting of an eastern Asian country
"Do you feel better?" Fae whispered
"I don't know" Yuna answered her with a voice so soft it would be impossible that it would've belonged to such a renown soldier
"I used to think that emotions were so simple, that I should only pride myself in my fighting prowess" She added on with a sorrowful tone
"And now" She heard Yuna take a deep breath inside her mind
"I don't know what I'm feeling, it's..." Looking for words that she didn't possess yet, Yuna left a second of silence hanging in the air
"It's painful" She spoke, while Fae pursed her lips and looked down
"I should feel relieved, happy even" Yuna continued
"Yet I'm not, why?" She asked a question that Fae had no answers for, and that brought her deep hurt
"Ichiya's grandfather might bring you some solace" Fae spoke up
"He'll explain things better than anybody" The woman added to comfort her friend
"He may" Yuna answered as a long exasperated sigh accompanied those two words
"But I shouldn't be arrogant as no matter what happens at the end you still came this far just for me, you have my gratitude" Fae smiled
"Don't worry about me, you focus on yourself" And conveniently enough right after she finished her words Ichiya called out for her, and before she knew it they were already on their way to the capital aboard the carriage that Ichiya chose
"How long will it take until we reach Nagamiya?" Fae asked Ichiya seemingly not of her own will, prompting her to arch an ever so curious eyebrow
"That reminds me, how come you know both names of the town we arrived in and of the capital?" She asked her travel partner who didn't look as if she herself knew
"I guess a part of Yuna's knowledge is getting passed to me?" She replied with Ichiya's question with one of her own alongside a shrug
"Well that sounds like a good thing to me" Ichiya replied before seeing Fae let out a sigh and wipe the sweat off her brow with her right arm
"It would be if it excluded the pain I'd feel every now and then" Ichiya grimaced in empathy while sucking in air through her gritted teeth
"Yeah guess you're right"
However Fae knew that deep inside the pain she was feeling was linked to the emotional pain that Yuna kept repressing back inside of her, that theory was to Fae the most probable since the two women now are linked in ways more than the human mind could comprehend
With a sigh as she looked around her, Fae took a relieving pleasure at admiring the trees around her as the carriage took a path that seemed as if trees lined up to each side like soldiers to salute passersby
"Are the roads safe or do you just like living dangerously?" Fae asked with a smirk as to lighten the mood and it seemed that Ichiya took it gladly with a soft laugh
"Well unlike a certain nation the empire’s roads are relatively safe" She gave Fae a small smile as she spoke
"Since punishments here are very severe and the military much more present and active, few people turn into the life of crime" Letting out a sigh as she had both hands stacked on each other rested on her lap, Ichiya continued
"Honor is everything here, tarnish it slightly and you'll become an outcast" Fae could tell that those words had a little bit of rejection to those ideas
Ichiya then looked back at Fae's eyes with a warm smile that took Fae with surprise
"Nagamiya is a couple of hours away from here, you should probably try to take a nap if you can since you couldn't really sleep well during the trip here, right?" Finishing that single word with a such an aloud smug tone and a full grin that it prompted Fae to snort before lifting an eyebrow
"Didn't know you were this sharp" Fae answered her friend with words held together by a nervous laughter
"I'll take the compliment" Ichiya replied to her with narrowed eyes and a smile before she decided to look elsewhere, leaving Fae to her own thoughts as she knew that it was already hard for her to sleep, let alone in a bouncy and uncomfortable carriage such as this one
And so the journey carried on, seconds passed followed by minutes and before Fae knew it, hours already flew by without her knowing since her mind was too distracted with the pleasant small talk she was having with Ichiya, mostly centered about the empire as Fae wanted to keep her own background to herself, at least for now
And so they arrived at the front gates of the capital of the empire, Fae already saw a huge palace taking the highest point of the city as it's nest, surrounded by its own walls that donned the same architecture as the rest with dark colors and defined shapes
She stood inside the gates, waiting for Ichiya to pay the coachman while staring around her as she realized that the capital had a charm of her own, a flora compromised of cherry blossom and maple trees that added a certain unique flair to the capital that couldn't be found out of the empire
"How are you feeling?" Fae whispered to herself as softly as she could, hoping for Yuna to catch her voice
"Nostalgic" She replied with, a tone of remembrance filled with happy memories enrobed her voice
"I used to escape from the palace alongside my brother and we would see if we could touch the gates before we get caught by the guards" Yuna said, a wave of warmth seemingly hitting her ghostly heart
"The punishments we'd get afterwards made me doubt the goodness of our 'fun' ideas many atime" A soft chuckle resonated inside Fae's mind as she swore that she hallucinated for a second
"But those moments were what made our bond so strong, and although I didn't believe him on how valuable those memories would be when we'd be adults" She added
"Here we are, proving me how wrong I was" Yuna took a deep breath in to then continue with a last word
"Again" Fae could imagine Yuna smiling as she spoke that last word by the sheer softness of the tone that she used, as mellow as honey
She was glad Yuna was slowly moving towards the other side of the spectrum and as she turned around to see whether Ichiya was done talking to the coachman, she caught that same woman talking with one of the guards but before Fae could even say trouble, the guard bowed to Ichiya who immediately chuckled and dismissed his sternness
"You certainly are popular" Fae elbowed her friend as both walked down deeper into the busy streets of the capital, carts were moved around and children were playing while both men and women walked in complete safety and order
"Haha, yeah I sure am popular aren't I?" Ichiya replied in such an obvious way of playing dumb that just the action alone couldn't help but slightly offend Fae as she gave her narrowed eyes and unamused pursed lips
And just the reaction she got from Fae was enough to please Ichiya as she warmly laughed behind the back of her hand
Fae on the other side gave up on trying to figure out who her newly made friend was, she would know sooner or later so trying to knock down the facades Ichiya had set up would be both troublesome and tiring
"Don't worry, after we reach our destination both you and lady Yuna will get your answers" She told Fae accompanied by a small yet genuine smile
"Hopefully they'll be nicer than the one giving them" Fae had her laser eyes set on Ichiya's laughing face
"I am hurt you would even say that" Her sarcastic and slightly mocking tone didn't really support the authenticity of the words she said but it certainly amused her
And after a walk that seemed much shorter to the duo than how it really was, they finally arrived at their destination, high stone walls rising from the earth and forming the outer shell of the palace
"Well Fae, this is where we'll be in quite a pickle" Ichiya exclaimed as both stood in the shadows of a small building, eyeing the entrance of the palace that was guarded by two men that seemed far more equipped than guards, each holding a spear and a curved sword was attached to their waist while their body donned armor that was almost identical to the one Yuna wore
"Why? I thought you were popular" Fae replied with a smirk that made Ichiya nervously chuckle
"Come now, popularity can only get you so far" She answered back to then slowly look back at the entrance, letting out a long exhale
"I can get myself in, but there's no way I can get an outsider in the royal palace" What she said seemed to be amusing to Fae as Ichiya heard the former laugh softly, prompting her to look at Fae
"And here I thought you were the empress all along" Fae seemed slightly relieved at how wrong her doubts were, but Ichiya was more than glad to rekindle them
"Oh no that would be my grandfather, he's the emperor" She said in such a casual manner that Fae finished her laugh with a sigh, holding a pained smile on her face
"Ahhh, why am I not even surprised" Fae's misfortune seemed to please Ichiya with how genuinely she chuckled
"He fought when Yuna was still alive, is he really more than a hundred years old?" She continued with a question, Ichiya chuckled
"Heh, he certainly is" her eyes suddenly had a warm touch to them
"And healthy enough to loudly lecture me whenever I mess up too" Arching one of her eyebrows in curiosity as she smiled, Ichiya followed her words
"Makes me wonder what kind of diet he has to be this energetic at his age" Fae could but smile at how warmly Ichiya was speaking of her grandfather, it reminded Fae of her own grandfather and how much of a father figure he played in her own life
"Anyhow, we still need to find how to get you inside the palace without the Ayashi knowing" Ichiya informed the curious Fae who wanted to inquire her about it
But it seemed unnecessary as out of nowhere like a divine message of knowledge dawned on Fae, explaining on how the Ayashi were an elite guards of sorts, the best of what the Empire of Blades can offer in terms of both swordsmanship and marksmanship
Yet she knew where that knowledge came from, Yuna's own knowledge slowly merging with Fae, that answer was a bit less spectacular than divine intervention, or depends how you look at it it might actually be even more fascinating
But the problem was still there, no matter how much brainstorming Fae did, they had to find a way inside the palace but she wasn't sure whether trying the patience of elite guards was a relatively safe nor healthy idea
"I might be of help with that" Words that resonated inside her head relieved a little of her worries as Yuna spoke with a confident tone, appearing at the left most corner of the walls that covered the palace and it's gardens
"Ichiya, let's go there" Fae mentioned where Yuna's blue and see through silhouette appeared
And so the two women did their best to change position swiftly and most importantly, as quietly and discrete as possible
The left side of the wall wasn't guarded unlike the entrance but Fae still had no idea of how they'd be getting inside, merely following her spectral friend that caressed the wall with her right hand until she suddenly came at a stop
Turning to Face the wall, Yuna put her other hand on the wall but her hand only went through
"I think this is what I'm looking for" She whispered softly while her head looked up and then slowly back down at eye level, seemingly piercing the stone with her gaze alone
"Peace is what I fight for" Yuna spoke loudly enough for the two women next to her to hear and understand her words, both of their pair of eyes strictly locked with Yuna as interest was brimming on where her actions would lead to
"Yet what is peace for a soldier?" The voice that spoke back to Yuna wasn't Fae's or Ichiya's, it was the wall itself
Pursing her lips, Yuna looked down at her feet before replying
"When children only play with their time, on their worries naught but their bed time" And she had no more words to say after that, nor did the wall
After a single silent second the wall creaked before it's mechanisms fought back and led to what seemed like an underground tunnel
Yuna smiled of sorrow before she looked at the speechless Fae and Ichiya
"After you" Gesturing elegantly towards the entrance of the tunnel Yuna invited the both of them to enter first, and so they did with the wall immediately closing behind Yuna
Within the dark tunnels walked the two women and their ghostly guardian, the path illuminated by Fae's flashlight
"What even was that?" Ichiya asked Yuna who was walking behind her
"An emergency tunnel my brother made after our parents were assassinated here in the palace" She replied to Ichiya who was more surprise about the former information than the latter, unlike Fae however who didn't know the fate Yuna's parents had
"I'm sorry about what happened to your parents Yuna" Fae said with a soft tone wrapped around with a neat ribbon of empathy
"My parents do not deserve your sympathy, as much as they didn't deserve the crown" Yuna replied with a stone-cold tone that even made Fae think twice about the words she just heard
"Let's just say that Yuna's father's performance as a ruler was sub optimal at best" Ichiya said with a nervous chuckle while Yuna had her own reply she wanted to exclaim
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"You call a tyrant's rule, sub optimal?" Yuna seemed to hold no emotional attachment whatsoever to her parents with how clear she made it seem that they weren't the greatest of people
"But you did compensate for it" Fae replied to Yuna with a smile as she looked over her shoulder for a second
"She's right you and your brother changed the empire of blades for the better, and for that everybody is forever grateful" Ichiya added on while Yuna seemed to have given up as she looked to her side
"Actually, I'm also curious about what is that magical tool" Ichiya inquired Fae as her finger pointed to the flashlight that enlightened the stony path ahead
"Well it is what it looks like, a tool from my homeland that is used as a light source" Fae answered
"So just like a lantern?" Ichiya questioned further on while Fae gave her a slow and smiling nod
"That's fascinating"
Yuna on the other hand seemed uninterested in whatever Fae was holding because in a few minutes, she'll have the answers she was waiting a century for and just that thought alone was enough to shake the heart of a warrior of her caliber
And just soon afterwards, it seemed like they have reached the end of the tunnel
Fae raised her hand slowly before she touched the aged wall with the tip of her finger and as soon as it came into contact with the cold stone, it opened with the same mechanism as the last one
She moved forward and entered what seemed like an office that had a desk and papers of all sorts neatly stacked on it, documents and reports while a fresh quill was next to them
"This is my grandfather's office" Ichiya spoke with shock and surprise as she didn't once in her life think there would be a tunnel leading here of all places
But as Fae wanted to examine her surroundings the door opened slowly making her freeze right in place as if caught in a crime red handed which wasn't too far off what she was doing
"Ichiya?" An old man slightly shorter than Fae entered with an arched eyebrow, his short hair was of a grey tone and seemingly very well present for a man of his age, a light moustache that linked with the slight goatee he had on his chin while his neck and cheeks were cleanly shaven as Fae could also notice the brown traditional robes he was wearing, a stamp of royalty from the empire she assumed
His eyes were sharp and his brow looked as if it was stuck furrowed and his cold gaze alone was enough to pin Fae right in place
"What are you doing here?" He questioned further on with his deep voice, hands behind his back
"And who is this?" Those fearsome eyes fell next on Fae as they prompted her to gulp but neither Ichiya or Fae had any words to reply with, and they didn't need to as a blue silhouette started forming out of seemingly thin air between the old man and the duo
Yuna appeared with her hand on her chest and the expression that was borderline pleading for answers
"Do you remember who I am?" Yuna asked with a soft tone and raised eyebrows
The old man had to narrow his already narrowed eyes just to put Yuna's face in focus and only her blue translucent face, and with each silent second, Yuna's heart sank deeper
But his eyes widened and his mouth opened to complement the shock he received
"Lady Yuna... is that really you?" He asked her with a voice that differed from the one Fae first heard, it was much more softer
"Yes, I came for answers" Yuna told him a slight trace of hope appeared in her tone
"Answers about what happened after my death in Yokohama" Staring right into his surprised eyes, and for Ichiya, his out of character expression
"Could you please tell me about it?" As Yuna seemed to have no words to say with the passing silent second, it took the old man out of his confused state as he blinked hard to bring himself back
"Of... of course my lady" He replied to her, having to wipe his brow with his hand before he looked up and into Yuna's impatient eyes
"Do you at least remember me?" He asked her
"My name is Ichikawa Aoki" He asked her as he hoped sincerely her answered would be a resounding yes
Yuna took one second to take a good look at Aoki's face before memories slowly started to defragment inside her mind, a warm smile appearing on her face
"The 17 years old Ayashi that I've put in charge of the evacuation, correct?" She asked him back, receiving a small smile in return and a slow nod
"Thank you for listening to my last demand that day, you've helped a lot of people go back home" Yuna said in a mellow tone that only confused him
"My lady, pardon me but" He looked at her with slightly furrowed eyebrows as he took on the same soft tone
"Gratitude should only be given to you, your brother, and the Ayashi that sacrificed themselves for the rest of us" His eyes seemed unwilling to accept any argument against what their owner said, Yuna could but give a small smile
"Then tell me all of it" She replied
"After the war broke off and we went to help our citizens in Yokohama, after my brother went to try and talk with the Aralian officers" Her fists suddenly clenched while her lips pursed for second before having to part again to speak
"After he was murdered by the comrades he swore to protect under all of our eyes to see, after the best of our troops died alongside me" Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as she had to take a deep inhale just to repress her emotions
"How did we come victorious at the end?" She asked him
And with the soft smile he wore, it seemed he was more than glad to answer her as he scoffed and looked down at his feet
"I guess no matter how strong the warrior, they always have shortcomings" He then kept his smile unwavering and locked eyes with the confused Yuna
"Do you know yours, Yurashi?" He asked her, Fae was confused for a second until she remembered that Yuna told her she was often addressed as Yurashi
"I do not presume so" Yuna replied to him with slightly furrowed eyebrows to give while he only seemed to have the warmest of smiles to give
"Yours, my lady" He then took to an even softer, slower tone as he spoke each word with all of his heart
"Was that you never knew how much your people loved you"
Yuna could but lower her head slightly as she sought comfort from the hardwood floor to find none but reality
"When I came back from Yokohama and spoke to the people on what happened" His eyebrows arched while his heart ached, his expression was that of remembrance yet it seemed so painful
"Our whole nation was sent into grief" Lowering his head, Aoki continued on
"Parents felt like they have lost a child while the children knew they lost an older, loving sibling" Putting a hand on his chest to try and provide comfort for his weary heart, he lifted his head to lock eyes with Yuna
"And for the young women, and the young men like me" He told her
"It felt unfair, why would people like you and your brother get such a fate" His eyebrows furrowed for a second as he spoke those words
"You were role models to many, me included, living your life with spreading as much fairness and kindness to your people no matter their background" Aoki said
"And as we harbored such sentiments, our grief did naught but swell" Looking away for a split second as he remembered the lows of the war
"But that swelling eventually reached it's limit" He then looked back at the attentive Yuna
"And when it exploded" Furrowing his eyebrows slightly, Aoki continued
"The grief turned into anger, I'd say even wrath" He told her
"The amount of people who raised their weapons in the name of The Naginata was just..." He slightly shook his head in what seemed to be disbelief, but he was there himself, he knew that it wasn't too good to be true, it did happen
"Young men and women from all ways of life wanted to contribute in the war" He told her
"Even old veterans from the campaigns of your father wore their armor once again to defend their nation" A warm smile surfaced on his face as he remembered more and more
"Hell, we went from undermanned to underequipped overnight" Aoki chuckled before locking eyes back with Yuna
"And those who couldn't be soldiers, helped just as much" He said, slightly furrowing his eyebrows as he started counting
"Whether they contributed by building logistic lines, treat the wounded, make weapons and armor or instruct the untrained" He then looked back at her blue eyes
"They all did together, for you, my lady" The speechless Yuna felt her lips shiver
"We all did it for you and your brother's legacy" Putting his hands behind his back
"We did what we knew was right, and we got the invaders out of our lands" Aoki smiled while Yuna could barely keep eye contact with him as she lowered her eyes to look down at her own feet
"That's..." Feeling her voice give up on her, Yuna cleared her throat before she looked back at him with a smile
"That's wonderful" Even her own words trembled
"It was a brutal war" He said, looking away for a single second
"But it was one everybody was willing to be the cost of" As he looked back at her, he gave her that same small yet so comforting smile
"And that was how we defended our homeland" His smile still unwavering, Aoki continued
"Through camaraderie that birthed from the hope you left behind" Yuna had her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pursed into a thin line yet she had no words to give
"And after we won the war, we rebuilt everything that was lost, little by little" He then took a deep breath
"Although we could never rebuilt the lives that were lost, we did the least we could do" A small smile appeared as he spoke the next words
"We built two memorials, one in Nawakani where the most brutal battle of the war had happened, A statue of a farmer helping a masked soldier stand up, it represented the effort the people of all kinds put into the war" His smile then grew warmer
"And the second one, was a stone made out of Fyndril" He told her
"Each lost soldier at Yokohama had his or her name engraved in that stone" Aoki added on while Yuna could but lower her head and rest a hand on her chest that felt closing in on her heart with each word
"And that stone was placed in a field of flowers next to your hometown, my lady" The hand that was rested on her chest gripped tightly on anything that it could grip on as she took in a deep breath, lifting her head to reveal pursed lips and meek eyes
"Could I see that stone?" She said with a soft tone that prompted Aoki to nod immediately
"Of course" He then looked past the vanishing Yuna that only left a thankful smile behind her, Fae and Ichiya both had speechless expressions yet they were filled with so much empathy
"Ichiya would you mind guiding her to that place? I will join you soon after" Ichiya gave her grandfather a small smile as she nodded
"Will do"
He then finally gave Fae a curious gaze
"And you, who might you be, outsider?" He asked her
"My name is Fae Walker, I freed Yuna from a dungeon and that's when her soul was bound to me" She replied to him with a serious tone, bringing him to let out a deep hum as he rubbed his chin
"She asked me if she could come back to her homeland when Ichiya told us it was still standing" Fae gestured to her Bladen friend who nodded in confirmation
"And since her soul is bound to me, I had to come here as well" Fae had no more words after that
"That's a mighty kind gesture, Fae" He told her with appreciative eyes that brought flattery to the woman as she didn't imagine she'd be complimented by an emperor of all things
"You're permitted to wander around the lands of the Miyakashi islands" He said, hands sternly behind his back as he walked towards his desk, pulling one drawer and grabbing what seemed to be a little engraved wooden plate attached to a necklace to then hand that to the curious Fae
"Show this to any guards that bother you" He said alongside a small smile
"Or if you want to ask for help from The empire, keep it at hand" Fae returned his smile with one of her own
"Thank you sir" She still felt tense from talking to the emperor of a country, but him returning her kindness brought a little relief
"Don't act haughty now, the only reason why I gave that to you was because of Lady Yuna" His sternness and sudden lack of deserved praise didn't offend Fae, on the contrary she felt very nostalgic
"You're right" She said with a big smile while Ichiya chuckled
"And you" He then looked at his granddaughter who immediately picked up her composure
"It seems your trip outside has been very fruitful" He told her while his hands yet again were put sternly behind his back, Ichiya could but only reply in a smiling nod
"I'm glad I wasn't wrong about my decision" He then smiled
"We will discuss of your voyage over tea later, but for now, you two have a place to be" He told both Fae and Ichiya as he looked at the former and then the latter
"I have some preparations to make and then I will join you shortly, get going for now" Ichiya immediately gave him a quick bow of her head only while Fae merely smiled and clutched the previously given necklace tightly
"He reminds me of my own grandfather" Fae said as both her and Ichiya were in yet another carriage to go to yet another place, but the silver lining was that this one was much more comfortable than the previous which was a given since it was transporting royalty, a couple of Ayashi accompanied the carriage with their own horses to protect if the need arises
"I'm glad to hear that" Ichiya replied as she gave back the same warm smile Fae had
"I guess you also got your fair share of lectures huh?" Ichiya asked Fae with a smirk as it prompted her to laugh and with the warm expressions he made, she could tell that Fae had as good of a relationship with her grandfather as Ichiya did with her own
"You don't even know, sometimes I wonder if he just enjoys it" Fae answered the question given as Ichiya chuckled
"How could he not, your reactions are so amusing" She then gave her a cunning grin with narrowed eyes that made Fae roll her eyes
"Man, when I think about Royalty the last thing that comes to mind is somebody like you" As Fae said those words it immediately made her friend laugh loudly
"My my, are you finally fighting back?" She said with a challenging smirk but Fae merely imagining having a passive aggressive battle with Ichiya stole the life out of her, there's no way she could handle her mischief, or at least for now
"Yeah yeah, anyway" Fae changing the topic made Ichiya grin as to her, that was a clear win
"Where's Yuna's hometown?" She asked Ichiya who was more glad to answer
"One hour or two away from the capital, it's a humble village but one that has some great sceneries" Ichiya told Fae, who would think that the birthplace of such a renowned warrior would be something else than a calm and peaceful village
"If I remember correctly there was a hot spring there, do you want to check it out after we're done?" Ichiya invited Fae who even though never went to one before, felt slightly flattered that the former would want to actually spend more time with her, it made Fae feel really nice
"Sure, might feel nice after such a long trip" Fae said to then give her an appreciative smile that Ichiya returned with a yet warmer one
....
"Alright then, we're here" Ichiya said as she dismounted the carriage helped by one of the Ayashi that gave her a hand, they were right next to the village that was Yuna's birthplace and before Fae wanted to ask for it's name
Nadoshi
That word resonated inside her head
"Thank you" Ichiya told him
"We'll need some privacy from now on, we'll be back shortly" The Ayashi had no words to say but a slow understanding nod as Ichiya gestured for Fae to follow her
"It'll be a ten minute walk from here" Ichiya said while Fae walked alongside her as they took an informal path to say the least
One that led into the forest that neighbored the village itself, Ichiya and Fae both side by side as they had some small talk that was surprisingly enjoyable for the both of them, or maybe it was each other's company that they enjoyed
"We're here" Ichiya exited the forest and gazed down, soon followed by Fae who did the same but unlike Ichiya, it was the first time that the beauty of the hills down struck her
Her eyes widened as she could see fields of flower covering the age of the hills under, the flowers formed rows of colors, some were blue, others were purple, and the rest was red
And beyond them was a hill that only had pure unstained white flowers covering it, and at the center of that same hill rose a void black stone that caught Fae's interest
"Well Fae, let's get down" Ichiya smiled warmly as she started to walk down soon followed by her friend who was still stuck in a trance of sheer awe from the sight laid down under her eyes
As she walked through the field of flowers, Fae gently felt their petals caress the tip of her fingers as she gently lifted both of her arms
She walked behind Ichiya and kept her words to herself since she was still enamored by the beauty around her, how defined and healthy the flowers were but also how vivid their color struck Fae's eyes
And then they left the colorful fields to enter the pure one, the one that was like a brand new sheet of paper ready for creativity to be poured on it
Yet the only thing poured on it was a stone with the color of sheer darkness surrounded by the polar opposite, a stone that was the only thing left of men and women that put their lives on the line for the sake of their country, and as Fae stood in front of the stone she only then realized how big it really was
More than double her height and it's surface was filled with engravings, names she didn't recognize
Without a single word spoken, Yuna appeared next to Fae as if her own blue atoms were carried here by the silent wind
Both Fae and Ichiya looked at Yuna approach the stone, lifting her right hand to gently touch it with her fingers that merely phased through it
But her eyes... her eyes started reading the yellow names engraved, some she could recognize while others she unfortunately couldn't
And when her eyes went up, she could see two name engraved next to each other, in bold for everybody's attention to catch
Naginata Yuna was on the left
Naginata Yune was on the right
She felt a shiver run through her nonexistent spine, and her spectral skin crawl
Yuna went down on her knees without a word but her eyes couldn't stop reading the hundreds of names written
"Looks like I came here right on time" a Male voice was heard behind the trio as all of them looked over their shoulder to see Aoki
"What's that?" Ichiya asked, hinting at the covered things Aoki was carrying in his hands, rested flat and covered with a black piece of cloth
He merely smiled and walked next to Yuna to then slightly rest the covered trinkets he had between Yuna and the memorial stone
And her eyes widened as he uncovered them, revealing a very long bow that had a piece of ancient blue cloth tied around the upper side while next to the bow was a curved sword similar to the one Yuna had, yet its scabbard was dark red
"This is his bow" She said with a tone mixed with happiness and shock
"How did you find it?" Her head snapped to her side for her eyes to lock with Aoki's who could but give her a comforting smile
"Even though the Aralians were our enemies, during the war we came to an agreement to exchange the bodies of each side's soldiers and their weapons" Aoki told the wide eyed Yuna as she pursed her lips to look back at the weapons laid down in front of her
"Your brother was buried in the capital, his birthplace" He told her, seeing Yuna clench her fists
"While your body was never found, I'm sorry" She then scoffed before looking up at Aoki's sorrowful gaze
"You did more than I could ever expect out of anybody, thank you" She told him as those mere words turned his frown into a smile
Her eyes then turned yet again to the bow, staring at it for a couple of seconds before they switched to the blade
"And this" Her tone seemed to be much burdened as she addressed the sword
"This is the sword that killed my parents, I remember it" She muttered as her ghostly fingers traced down the scabbard to feel nothing
"That's a magical sword that gets stronger when it tastes the blood of the Naginata" Ichiya leaned on to whisper to Fae who widened her eyes at the information, before giving her friend a thankful nod
"And the one you carried into battle" Aoki replied to Yuna
"And since it cannot be more than a regular blade now, it felt wrong to dispose of it" Yuna gave his words a small smile
"You're right" She whispered, with seemingly no more words to say as her eyes only stared down at the two weapons laid down until Fae came and gently dropped the broken curved sword that she was carrying this whole time, Yuna looked up at her and gave her a warm smile alongside a slow nod before going back to staring at the weapons
Ichiya weakly elbowed Aoki to attract his attention
"Grandfather would you like to take a walk with me?" He looked at her for a fraction of a second before he smiled
"Looks like you've grown into an adult" He told her with an even warmer smile
"Let us go" And so Aoki and Ichiya both walked away to explore the fields of flower, giving Yuna some alone time with Fae
And that same Fae didn't know what to do anymore, she stood up behind Yuna with her eyes glued on her ethereal friend
"We did it" Yuna spoke with a tone that wasn't louder than a whisper
"We did it, brother" She then narrowed her teary eyes and furrowed her eyebrows
"Our death wasn't in vain" With each tear that ran down her cheek, another came out of her ocean blue eyes
"We passed the torch, and-...and-" Her mouth couldn't even speak the words her mind had from how her lips shivered and how erratic her breathing was, but she didn't even want to control it anymore
"And they kept the flame burning" She bit on her lower lip as hard as she could to try and speak
"Even the children are playing in safety" She said, a chuckle briefly taking the place of her sobbing before it overpowered her yet again
"Having to worry about nothing" She narrowed her eyes as she forced her face to bear a smile through the tears
"Just like you always wanted it to be" And the smile disappeared, leaving behind it even more tears that drowned her face, but even though Yuna was crying like Fae never saw her do, it didn't feel like it was a bad thing
Yuna finally decided to let go
She finally lifted the cap out of her pressurized soul and each tear that came out of her eyes carried a little bit of the pain and emotions that she repressed for so long
Yet Fae still didn't know what to do and it didn't feel right, she couldn't even comfort her with a hug seeing on how their bodies wouldn't even be able to touch
And suddenly, Fae felt the wind hit her with all it's might as she had to shelter her eyes with her arm, but after it it quickly died out
And her eyes widened as she looked to her side, seeing a man standing with his eyes glued at Yuna, he had dark black hair and blue eyes while he was wearing similar armor to the crying woman yet he had no weapons
But the thing that made Fae's heart skip a beat was that the man that was staring at Yuna with a smile filled with such warmth, that he too, was a ghost
A white ghost with light phasing through him
And then out of nowhere, those ghostly blue eyes looked at Fae with the same warmth that he gave to Yuna
"Thank you" His words were mellow and soft yet before Fae could even reply, the wind struck again and dispersed the ghost, leaving behind only particles that were saying their goodbyes to this world for ever
And when she looked at Yuna, Fae widened her eyes as her heart sank
She was hugging the bow in her arms as she cried, touching the physical realm just like an alive person would
But Yuna's blue silhouette slowly started to shine, the ocean blue dying and losing it's color as it gently turned into the pure white of the flowers that surrounded her
"Yuna?" Fae tried to speak her name, but she couldn't attract her attention, was the fate of the ghost that appeared going to happen to Yuna?
"YUNA?!" Was she too, going to disappear forever?
Fae tried to reach out for her friend, but couldn't, her whole world turned to black