They had traveled all throughout the night and as the sun rose, they reached the station where the two of them had ordered for the carriage. Asuka was still asleep reaching the station but feeling the carriage stop made her wake up. Slowly she sat up on her seat and looked at her mentor who seemingly had stayed up without rest.
Seeing his student had finally woken up, Ichigo gave a small smile before speaking.
"You sleep well?"
Still feeling a little drowsy, Asuka only nodded at the question.
"Good. We've got a lot of walking to do from here. But we should get some food first."
Hearing this, Asuka slowly stretched letting out a yawn.
"Then we'd better get going," said the girl, "I can't wait to get back to the orphanage."
Having said that, they got out of the carriage and waved farewell to Carter. They walked to a town near the station. There, they found a simple tavern where they had a simple but filling meal. There were of course stares from people due to Ichigo's presence. But nobody bothered them and they finished their meal in peace.
The walk back to the orphanage was silent. Ichigo wanted to speak with his student but one look was all it took to see that she was in no mood. Despite all the hours she slept, she had a tired and distant look in her eyes. He desperately wanted to help the girl, but knew making her relive whatever she had gone through right now would only make her worse. So he decided to wait until her mood improved to start helping her.
But there was something else within himself as well. A deep guilt knowing that he was the reason for her experience. If only he hadn't decided her fate for her, maybe she wouldn't have suffered. Maybe she would've lived happily with Martha, Arthur, Granny Thalia and the other children in the orphanage. Maybe she...
"Now isn't the time to doubt yourself. You made a choice and now you need to accept it and move on. And in my opinion, you made the right choice," said a voice.
Taken a bit by surprise by the sudden voice, Ichigo quickly turned his head startling his student beside him.
"Uhm...you okay Ichigo," asked the girl.
"Oh yeah...I just...uh...thought I heard something. Sorry about scaring you," he replied scratching the back of his in embarrassment.
Asuka looked at him with a confused expression before shrugging and continued walking.
"Do you know how freaky it is hearing yourself from someone else. You should be more careful when suddenly talking especially if its after a long while," Ichigo thought to himself.
"Well, if you talked to me more often you wouldn't have this problem now would you."
"Don't act like you aren't the one who killed me more than five thousand times."
"Oh come on. I already asked you to forgive me. And it was like twenty years ago. I thought you would've gotten over it by now."
"I have. But I'd rather not be reminded of it."
"Well whatever. Like I said, you made the correct choice. If you're right and something big is coming, things could've been a lot worse if she wasn't prepared."
"Yeah. I know you're right. But I still can't help but feel that way."
"Well that only shows how much of a good person you are. Just don't end up like how you were before please. That was a real pathetic look for you."
Ichigo chuckled quietly at that remark.
"You don't need to worry about that. I've got plenty of people to help me if that ever happens."
~
After walking for a couple hours, the orphanage finally came into view and a look of relief crossed Asuka's face. They walked up to the house and Martha was playing with the children outside. As soon as she noticed who was approaching the house, she gave a bright smile and pointed to her so the other kids could see. And seeing their elder sister, the children beamed their way over while cheering at the top of their lungs. They all hugged the girl and Asuka looking at them, began to tear up and tried her best to wrap her hand all around the kids.
"Wow Asuka you're finally back!"
"What was it like?"
"Did fight any bad guys?"
"Did you get us any gifts?"
Being bombarded with questions Asuka was at first overwhelmed from them all but Martha soon came over to calm them down.
"Now isn't the time for questions. Asuka must be exhausted by now. She needs to first get inside and rest. Am I understood?"
The kids all groaned but understood and went back to playing with one another. Martha then walked up to her younger sister and looked into her eyes. She pursed her lips and embraced her in a tight hug.
"It's alright now. You don't have to worry about it. Just rest okay," Martha said in a gentle tone.
Asuka finally reciprocated the embrace and a few tears fell from her eyes as well. When they finally pulled away from one another Martha wiped the tears from her face and looked at her with a sympathetic look.
"Come on inside. I already have your room prepared."
"Thank you sis."
Martha then wrapped her arm around her back to grab the opposite shoulder took her bag and guided her inside while Ichigo remained outside.
Inside, Arthur was coming downstairs looking like he had just woken up from a nap. He had opened his mouth to speak but as soon as he saw Asuka was there, he immediately stopped himself. Seeing each other both their faces lit up but before either of them could speak, Martha interjected.
"Not right now Arthur. She needs to get some rest first," she said firmly.
Both of them at first were a little disappointed but Arthur looked closer at the girl and realized that Martha was right.
"R-right. It's good to see you Asuka."
Asuka hesitated for a second but soon responded.
"It's good to see you too Arthur."
Martha then took Asuka up the stairs passing Arthur and leaving him on the stairs. As soon as they passed, he looked back with an expression of concern on his face.
Entering Asuka's room, Martha dropped the bag and sat her on her bed.
"Just get some rest alright. Once you wake up we can talk about it."
As soon as she said that, Asuka put on a brave face and forced a smile.
"Please Martha, I just got back and you're already all over my back. I know I don't look it, but I'm alright. I just need to take a nap and I'll be good as new."
Martha said nothing. She simply cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead. She then stood and walked towards the door. Before leaving the room, she looked back and gave Asuka a small smile and then left.
Finally alone, Asuka covered her face and let out a large sigh while she fell back on the bed. She remained that way until the stimuli of the outside world faded and she fell into sleeps warm embrace.