{Date: 10/12 - Wednesday}
{Time: 6:15 PM}
We made it to downtown Fujitori, a more slower pace side of Fujitori. It wasn't as grand as the main streets of the city, but big enough to be a cozy side of the city. The three of us walked down a sidewalk toward a hospital named Fujitori Medical Center, making our way inside and checking in at the front counter.
While waiting for a nurse to respond to Yusa about visiting hours, Orika and I sat in the lobby together, holding each other's hands gently. Sounds of a show playing on the television and soft coughs filled the air, the background filled with noises of sirens and cars driving back and forth.
{Heart to Heart Sequence Activated.}
{Goal: Raise Orika's Bond Meter to 85%.}
Bond Meter: 70%
Status: Platonic Soulmate
Orika's Mood: Neutral
"Remember when I told you about when I became a Valkryia...to get stronger?" Orika asked, her tone soft as she played with my fingers.
I watched as she played with my fingers, recounting the conversation we had in the past about her life before being a Valkyria and her reasoning for becoming one. "Yeah, I remember it. Why?"
"Well..." She began, her voice trailing off for a moment. She stopped fidgeting and rested her head on my shoulder. "There's more to the story..."
I looked down at her, raising an eyebrow and wondered what else she could add to her story. I sat still for her, giving her my full attention and held her hand tightly in mine. I was ready to listen to what she had to add.
"So when I got evicted with my cousins, we were homeless for quite a while and we weren't in any academy at the time so we didn't have much beyond my job," She began, closing her eyes as she recounted the memories in her head.
"One day while bringing my cousins to work with me, we were attacked by Judgment members. I tried to fight them off, but I was so weak...my cousins even tried and I couldn't do anything but watch them fall one by one..." She continued, her voice breaking slowly and her breaths became more shaky at the memory.
I stared at Orika, noticing how much telling the story hurt her. I let go of her hand to wrap my arm around her shoulder, holding her close and gently resting my head upon hers. Orika sniffled softly, keeping her tears inside and leaned against me, closing any small gap there was between us.
"I'm sorry..." Orika apologized, her voice barely above a whisper.
I shook my head, rubbing her shoulder gently. I gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head to keep her emotions at bay, my own eyes beginning to water. "No, no...you're okay. Take your time..."
{Bond with Orika increased greatly.}
Orika took a gulp and exhaled softly, her breath coming out in a shaky manner. She opened her eyes, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. "It was the scariest moment of my life because...we had nothing. That was when Headmistress Yusa and Vice Headmistress Sayoko came to save me, took me under their wings and even saved my cousins."
"Without them, I don't know what would've happened to us. Yusa and Sayoko are like maternal figures to me...they trained me and taught me how to be a Valkyria and how to be strong," Orika finished, her voice a mix of pure devotion and gratefulness for my mother.
I took in every word she spoke, and definitely knew of the attack she went through as I was at that very attack. Her memories were my own, and even though I didn't partake in harming Orika, the guilt was always still there. Genesis noticed the guilty expression I had, understanding why I felt guilty.
"Orika...do you remember when I said I used to be in Judgement as the Top Agent..?" I whispered, holding her tightly.
"Yeah," She nodded slowly, feeling my hold on her tightening and felt something was wrong.
I closed my eyes, my own tears finally spilling out, the dam within me slowly beginning to crack and the walls weakening. "I...was at that attack..."
Orika's eyes widened immediately, her entire body freezing and tensing at my revelation. For a moment, Orika's world froze and she stood still in silence, save for the background noise in the hospital and outside.
"I'm sorry...I was there and saw everything. I'm part of the reason you and your cousins got hurt. I could've stopped them, and I'm the one who left you with those scars," I confessed, my voice trembling with guild.
Orika listened to me closely, never backing away from me. Instead, she took my hand in hers, holding my hand tightly. There were a few moments of silence between us, our confessions finally weighing in on us.
"I don't blame you...you never attacked me nor my cousins and I can't let you foster the blame. I understand you were once with Judgement but that's not the Hisumi I know now," Orika said, moving her head to look up at me.
I looked down at Orika to meet her gaze, my eyes locking onto hers for a moment. "But—"
"No buts...sure, it's shocking to know you were there, and I'm sure if you could've did anything differently you would've. You didn't do anything to me, so I don't have a reason to fall away from you," Orika interrupted, smiling softly at me, her eyes lingering on mine for moments longer.
I couldn't help but to smile warmly back at her, but even with her forgiving me, the guilt still never went away. The guilt of everything I've done wrong when I was with Judgement, and the guilt that the scars Orika has will always remain despite the change. Forgiveness might come from others, but earning it from myself felt like an impossible battle.
"I'm glad you still trust me, it actually means a lot that you do," I said, finally speaking up and smiled sweetly at Orika.
Orika nodded, her fingers interlocked with mine then she closed her eyes, letting out a soft exhale. "Of course...you're my partner. Partners always trust each other.."
"Right," I said, nodding at her with a soft tone.
{Bond with Orika increased significantly.}
{Goal Complete!}
{Reward: Team Resonance with Orika increased.}
As we continued to talk with one another while snuggled with one another, Yusa finally walked back toward us with a smile on her face. She held a visitor's pass in her hand, giving us the right to finally visit Orika's grandmother.
The two of us noticed her and stood up nearly immediately, ready to see the condition of the woman Orika cherished more than her own life. We traversed the halls of the hospital, walking toward the elevators to ride up to the third floor.
We entered the elevator, Yusa pressing the button with the number three on it to ride up to the third floor. Soon, the doors closed and the ride to the third floor began. The ride to the elevator was a bit silent, Orika's nerves becoming bad which caused her to involuntarily lower the temperature in the elevator with her energy alone.
I could feel the cool air nipping at my skin, causing me to shiver slightly then I glanced at Orika, noticing her visibly shaking with nervousness. I wrapped my arm around Orika, pulling her toward me to comfort her. "Orika, are you okay..?"
"I don't know.... It's just, this is the first time in a long time that I've seen my grandmother and I don't know if her condition has gotten better or worse. I hope she's been getting better," Orika said admittedly, her voice soft as she spoke with a bit of uncertainty in her tone.
"Trust me, Orika...your grandmother is a fighter. She won't kick in the towel this early," Yusa said, trying to give Orika some form of hope.
Orika smiled sweetly at Yusa's words, lowering her head slightly as she shifted beside me. "I trust you...I know Grandma won't quit, but it still is hard to see her like this..."
Yusa nodded at Orika, understanding where she came from. She gently caressed her hair, helping me keep her calm and collected. A small ding sounded once we made it to our floor, the doors opening in front of us.
The three of us stepped out of the elevator, Yusa leading us to the room once more and we followed quickly behind. After a moment, we made it and had to wait for a nurse to answer the door so we could walk inside.
Soon, the doors opened, revealing the nurse that just finished taking care of Orika's grandmother. She smiled at us, bowing down then allowed us inside the hospital room. The room was full of medical equipment, a TV, and had a few seats for us to sit down.
"Grandma," Orika whispered, walking forward and gently held her grandmother's hand in hers. She closed her eyes and gently kissed her knuckles, happy to have been able to see her grandmother again.
There, on the high tech hospital bed, Orika's grandmother laid. The sounds of medical equipment beeping filled the air, the familiar scent of the pleather floating in the air. Yusa stood at the back of the room, leaned against the wall, watching over me, Orika, and Orika's grandmother.
I glanced around the room, noticing multiple pictures of her days when she was younger. Many of her important medals and awards sat on her nightstand, each one shimmering with life as if they were being taken care of since the beginning.
"Her name is Tsubaki Chiba. She used to be a hero back in her days. The Diamond Storm as her supporters would call her," Yusa said, chuckling softly as she watched me inspect the medals and awards.
I looked at one picture, a picture of her and her grandchildren, specifically of her, Orika, and Orika's cousins. They seemed so happy in the picture, I could feel the happiness in the portrait, but reality has its ways of making you see it.
Orika held her grandmother's hand tightly, sniffling softly as she gazed upon the weakened state of someone she loved the most. As Orika watched over her, she felt a twitch in her hand, her eyes widening a bit.
"Nana?" Orika gasped softly, her soft tone filled with the melodic sound of hope.
Both Yusa and I looked over at Orika and Tsubaki, noticing Orika's face light up. Soon, Tsubaki let out a soft grunt, feeling Orika's hand holding hers.
"Orika...? Is that you...?" Tsubaki asked weakly, her breathing shaky and slow but her body finding the strength to keep going.
Orika's eyes watered with tears of joy, unable to form a single word due to her emotions taking over her. She leaned toward her grandmother, hugging her and letting out soft cries. Tsubaki felt Orika's touch, her body instinctively moving to hold Orika in her arms, her hold firm despite her frail body.
Genesis watched Orika and her grandmother, a smile forming on her face then she turned to me, noticing me staring at Orika and Tsubaki. My heart slightly dropped at the sound of Orika's crying, understanding how much Tsubaki meant to her.
After a moment, Orika pulled away from Tsubaki, sitting back down. "Grandma, you're still fighting..."
Tsubaki took a shaky breath, turning her head weakly to look at Orika, her face trying to smile. "I...I told you and your... cousins, I will keep fighting until...I pass the mantle."
Orika smiled at her and glanced at the inactive V.O.I.D System on the nightstand. "I forgot that you still had Selene..~"
"Hey!~ Selene! Wow, another System like me. It's rare to ever see us," Genesis giggled, hovering over Selene to scan her for data.
"Oh yeah, I want you to meet someone very close to me!~" Orika said excitedly, pulling me away from the nightstand and closer to her.
I grunted softly as Orika pulled me closer to her, stumbling to the side to get in the field of view of Tsubaki's gaze. I awkwardly waved, putting on an equally as awkward smile. "Hi. Uhm...I'm Hisumi. Orika's girl— Uh— I mean!"
"Sh-She's my close friend...!" Orika squeaked, her entire face as red as a tomato.
There was a bit of awkward silence following Orika's words. Yusa lowered her head, her shoulders moving as she suppressed her laughter while Orika and I were completely flustered.
Tsubaki glanced at Orika, noticing behind her flustered expression that she liked me a lot and I meant a lot to her. She turned her gaze back at me, a gentle smile playing on her lips. "Hisumi...that name sounds quite...familiar."
My heart seemed to stop from those words, but as I looked at her, trying to suppress my guilty expression, I could see a gentle twinkle in her eyes. There was no form of hostility in them, only genuine kindness.
"I can see that you make Orika very happy...please take care of her," Tsubaki finished, passing on Orika's safety to me.
I nodded slightly at her, clearing my throat then bowed toward her. "I promise to keep her safe no matter what, Ms. Chiba."
Tsubaki smiled at me then laid straight on her back, her energy already spent and she closed her eyes. "Orika..."
Orika looked at Tsubaki, her gaze zoned in only on her grandmother. "Y-Yes..?"
"If...if you want to wield Selene and my battlesuit Diamond Storm...you have to do only one things. Test Your Spirit...you must defeat your cousin alone..." Tsubaki said, finally going back to resting.
Orika nodded at her words, lowering her head slightly. There was so much she wanted to say and talk about, but she knew in the condition that Tsubaki was in right now, she couldn't.
"I love you, grandma...and I do want Selene, but even if I don't get her, I will make you proud," Orika said softly, standing up from her seat and leaned down to kiss her grandmother's forehead.
Yusa watched with a smile, getting off the wall then watched as Orika and I left the room first. She walked to the door last, looking back at Tsubaki and exhaled softly. "Rest well, Diamond Storm..."
Yusa closed her eyes, leaving the room and closing the door gently. The three of us began making our way to the elevator, steeping inside to ride back down to the lobby and leave the hospital.
The three of us left the hospital, Orika and I walking ahead hand in hand while Yusa followed behind. As we pushed forward, a familiar figure caught Orika's eye, causing her to stop.
I stopped as well, wondering why Orika stopped. "Orika? Are you alright?"
She didn't answer my question, her gaze fixated on the person she was staring at. I turned my gaze, noticing a young woman around our age leaned against a pillar of the entrance of the hospital with her arms crossed.
The young woman exuded a chilling aura, her eyes and energy as cold as ice. She had pale skin, straight, snow white hair reaching down to back length, her eyes were an icy blue, and a Marking Vow on her right hand.
She wore a black, victorian-esque dress, a bridal glove to conceal her Marking Vow, and a black rose hair accessory on the left side of her hair. Beside her, a familiar sat beside her, a striped feline creature with white fur and gray eyes.
"You didn't tell me you were in town...I guess once you became a Valkyria, you seemed to have forgotten about us," The girl said, her gaze as cold as winter storm toward Orika.
Orika couldn't break eye contact with her, the sight of the girl surprising to her. "Yukito..."
Yukito stared at Orika then got off the wall, walking toward her then stopped as she was right in front of us. "You've gotten a little taller since last time. A lot can change in four years right, cousin?"
Orika gulped softly, shying away from Yukito a bit, inching her way behind me slightly. I could feel how uncomfortable Orika was by her demeanor, stepping forward to stare face to face with Yukito.
"And you are..?" Yukito asked, staring at me with the same ice cold stare.
I thought about how to answer for a moment, knowing if I outed myself to Yukito, more problems would arise. I stood my ground and kept eye contact, not backing down from her chilling gaze. "My name is Jane Doe. You're making Orika uncomfortable and I would like for you to stop."
Yukito stared at me for a moment longer, her gaze never leaving mine. Soon, she closed her eyes and began to walk off. "We both know you only came to try to claim the mantle for yourself. You may be grandma's favorite grandchild, but favoritism doesn't win the battle."
"That's not even true..." Orika muttered, glancing down and sighed from the hostility from her own cousin.
I glanced back at Orika, holding her close to me in my embrace, feeling her body was very cold due to her emotional distress. "Hey, hey...Orika, it's okay."
"I know...it's just...it's been so long since I've seen my cousins and—" Orika paused, closing her ryee and shook her head. "Everything is just so different now..."
I understood where Orika was coming from, understanding how change can affect one in a heartbeat. I glanced at Yusa, noticing her watching and she glanced back at me, holding her arms under her chest.
Orika put a smile on her face, glancing at me and held my hand. "Let's go back to St. Fraskia. We have a long day tomorrow..."
I could tell she was still hurting, but I just smiled along with her. "Okay, let's get going..."
With that, we all continued toward the station to board Valkyrie Express. Once we made it, we stepped inside and the train took off back to our haven and our outing officially came to an end.
The train ride was silent save for Orika's soft snoring, sleeping with her head on my shoulder. There was a lot to think about from today, a lot learned but most importantly, a lot gained. I closed my eyes, deciding to get some rest while returning home.