Event Horizon - Building the Arc, Repairing Bonds - Private

Minstrel:

The trade agreement between Minstrel and Ikuchi, acting in the place of Kaori, was completed. Their politician had been rescued and now they had the item they had come all the way to the fancy country for; the pendant that had some form of power that would allow them onto the Arc of Destiny. There was more to it than just claiming the item but aside from the next phase going back in time Samira was a bit fuzzy on the rest of the details. She was just the tag along and brought in as support. That was a fact regardless of her being sent countless visions regarding Kaori. Samira had been an unintentional cause for the ninja clan leader's current condition. One dream had showed how Kaori's heart had been crushed, indicating that the version everyone knew was long gone. A result that came about from a combination of weaknesses and mistakes. The second had showed signs of Kaori deteriorating, or rather what was left of her, which by the point of the third vision was not much at all. As predicted, the third and last had shown her friend dying, but just dying was not the most troubling part about the vision. Kaori had died the moment she had seen Samira, the Samira that was real instead of the false illusion that haunted her. It had put a lot of worry and more confusion within the celestial summoner. Was she supposed to sit back and wait, doing nothing again as she did back in the shrines that caused the whole mess? Or was she supposed to actually go through with the last phase and see Kaori face to face in her present condition? It was a risk if she took the possibility of the vision seriously. However, so was sitting back and doing nothing as Kaori continued to waste away. Samira was not such a coward that she was afraid to face her. The fear came about from wondering just what the result and consequences would form after seeing her. She couldn't let Kaori die, but both decisions had the possibility of making that happen. What was supposed to be the right choice?

When they made it back to the suite, Samira immediately went towards her own room and closed the door behind her, not saying much of anything. She had been silent ever since they left the salon where the rescue operation for the Minstrel politician had taken place. Her previous jealousy and anger had settled, replaced by anxiety, worry, fear, sadness, and confusion. All emotions she did not enjoy having or even knew how to deal with properly. The only thing she could do was continue thinking and keeping it to herself. Ikuchi had mentioned right after she had the vision that they would talk about it at a later time. It was later but she was not one to go seeking for others to listen to her problems or worries. Her spirits could help with that if she really felt like she needed someone to talk to, and it did not bother her burdening them with her personal conflicts. She hopped right onto her bed over the covers and with her normal clothes still on. There was no intention to sleep, it was just a comfortable way to think. Samira had just got done positioning herself so she was on her side and snuggling against her pillow when a knock was heard on the door. She didn't move considering she didn't exactly have time to react before the door opened. Improvement, but maybe she should have stated before that he needed to wait more than a single second before opening the door. Unfortunately, that probably meant he would wait only a second and a half. There was no winning. At that point though, she just didn't care. She barely even acknowledged him when he entered and began to speak. Only when his voice sounded uncertain did she switch her eye's direction to look at him. That's right. Not only was she the cause of Kaori's suffering she had also set a chain of events that caused his own. Now he was afraid to face Kaori, although for different reasons than she. There wasn't even any point in apologizing for it since it would not help him at all. It had already taken several weeks as it was for him to not hate her completely. "I see," was all Samira said, seeming completely distracted even after his explanation of helping his requip mage friend and traveling to Shirotsune instead of going through with the plan at once. That would at least buy her time to decide things of her own as it did for him.

There was a short moment of silence as Samira expected him to leave the room and she had nothing else to say herself. Instead he decided to take a seat on the bed and asked what she saw in the vision. Samira sighed, not really wanting to talk about it, but he wanted to know and he deserved to know it. As long as he was the one asking she didn't feel as if she were someone laying all their problems onto someone else. "I saw death," Samira said calmly, not showing any signs of the negative sorrowful emotions she was feeling. A breath was taken before she decided to go into more detail. "I was on the Arc of Destiny, walking through the halls with Aquarius leading me to a room. He opened the door for me but he did not even enter the room himself. I could tell it was Kaori's room but it was in complete disarray. Complete and total chaos. Everything was shattered and broken, from the furniture all the way to the stuffed dolls she loved so much. As I got further inside the room I could see someone on the bed of the room. It was Kaori but..." By that point Samira's emotions were starting to leak out. It was easier to keep them bottled up when there was a lid on, but talking about the vision was loosening that lid. Her eyes began to water until tears formed and it was getting difficult to speak without her sentences being broken. "She was so weak and pitiful looking. If I had not known it was her already I would not have even recognized her." Another small pause as Samira recollected herself. "She saw me as real in that vision," Samira said with a small smile. "I was not mistaken for that awful illusion version of me. She was so happy. I had even started to believe the vision was one of her recovery, but she died. Right there. Just from seeing me. I do not understand..." The summoner quickly sat up, now her negative emotions getting the better of her and she becoming hysterical. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!" Samira yelled through her tears as she grabbed onto Ikuchi's arms. "SHE SUFFERS AND DIES IF I DO NOTHING, AND SHE DIES IF I GO TO HER!" Assuming she wasn't pushed away prior or during, Samira allowed her emotional state to get the better of her active mind, resulting in her moving closer and wrapping her arms around Ikuchi in order to seek comfort. His shoulder literally became something to cry on as her face sought refuge against it. Her mind would have known better than to act so distraught. He had enough worries of his own and certainly did not need her carrying on in such a way. "I do not want her to die..." Her voice had quieted down but her fear of making a fatal choice was still strong. "I never wanted any of this."

Present Day:

Samira had arrived at the Hibiscus after being notified by Gabriella of the time. Surprisingly she was to meet within Ikuchi's room rather than some type of office or something. The last time she was there they discussed things right there in the common area of the restaurant. Upon entering she noticed it was tidy enough and contained no evidence that it was commonly used for certain...activities. She took a seat as was requested of her and remained silent as the dog girl left the tea and walked out. "Mother?!" Samira repeated in disbelief. She thought his father was going to do the whole time travel thing. Heck, she thought they would have to travel back to Iceberg in order for him to even do the spell. A woman then appeared, looking quite young and elegant. That shouldn't have been as surprising as it was. If creatures took the time to take a human form it certainly wasn't going to be an ugly one. Samira waved her hand with a small smile. An actual goddess that made her incarnation spirits seem...well hopefully they weren't exactly insulting. Samira begun listening to the plan but her brow arched curiously when Ikuchi mentioned a room no one ever went in. For what reason? A question that would have to be saved for later since it wasn't her part of the plan and he had moved on anyhow. She continued listening, memorizing each detail so she knew it well and would not have to ask again. One hand held the badge she was given and the other the second amulet. Her eyes blinked in confusion though when Ikuchi mentioned she would be going in alone. "Ikuchi..." She could only sigh rather than finish her sentence. Nothing she said was going to change his mind, and he was not going to want her feeling sorry for him. Samira was still afraid to even face Kaori herself, but if he wasn't going to do it then she was going to have to. Everything would have been an entire waste otherwise. She just hoped what happened in her vision did not come to pass because she was there rather than him. "One of those?" What was he even talking about? How were details being hidden from her when she was the one going in? "How does this time travel affect my spirits? Will I be able to summon them if trouble occurs? Or even communicate with them? I do not know if the current versions will be linked with me or if their keys will bring out their past counterparts, many of them being inactive at that point in time." It actually was a serious problem. Even if she did not summon any spirits the mind link still existed. The spirits of that point of time would easily be able to pick up her radar. She could mind block them as she had done before, but it was better to ask anyway just to be sure. "Also, should I be worried about the vagueness of certain details?" The question was mainly referencing whatever "those" meant. She doubted a real description was going to be given since it had been purposely hidden to begin with. However, that did not mean she shouldn't ask if there was a reason to be concerned or not. The genie was capable despite his odd behavior...maybe.

(Word Count: 1860)

Minstrel:

Samira did not recoil or fuss as Ikuchi positioned her across his lap and held her. That had been what she wanted, after all. A form of comfort to shelter her as she let loose her inner pain and heartache. It was humiliating enough to act in such a way, but to be rejected and pushed away would have been even worse. She was grateful for his understanding and kindness despite everything, and she took full advantage of it by continuing her crying while being held that way until she was fatigued enough to fall asleep. Samira felt safe and relaxed while in the tight hold, and it was once more another action that reminded her of Kaori for she had done something quite similar right before everything went downhill. She only hoped it was not some form of bad omen that events were being repeated.

Present Day:

As Ikuchi explained about what "those" were Samira's face twisted as if she were listening to the most creepy horror story ever heard. The silence afterwards only made the creepy factor even greater as she felt chills down her spine. Why was there something so bizarre and creepy on the ship?! What use could they possibly serve?! Her mind started to picture the horrors. His cough may as well have been a "boo" since Samira jumped in her seat slightly, snapping her mind back to reality and out of imagination land. "That was one of my worries. All right, I will mind block my spirits then as a precaution."

Agni: 'Susano isn't going to like that. I know she'll still be in Hargeon but that place is still a little dangerous. Remember that job she took dealing with that weird water arsonist?'

Skadi: 'Susano busy. He not know.'

Ra: 'Chronos, what is your opinion?'

Chronos: 'You believe I would know more than the Goddess of Eternity?'

Ra: 'You were imprinted with the knowledge of the god you represent. You also may know more of how it will affect spirits.'

Chronos: 'Flattering, but no. My opinion is to do as our summoner's ally has suggested. Mind block the spirits of the past. We will barely even notice she was gone. Once her current self disappears the future one, the one completed with phase two and ready for phase three, will appear in our timeline shortly after. As for summoning, I advise against it entirely. Even if the key connected to one of us and we made it to join her in the past, there is no guarantee that once dismissed we will end up back here in the correct point of time. We may even be unable to return to the celestial world entirely. It will be too risky.'

Ra: 'Samira will be on her own then. Send word that if they hear her calling that it should be ignored. Just tell the more...protective ones that it is a test from either Amaterasu or myself. They will not argue.'

Samira heard the sounds of the door opening and she turned her glance to look over and see a familiar little girl she had seen a couple of times before. A small smile was on the summoner's face as she watched the young girl interact with Ikuchi. It was adorable, and she still could not get over how loving of a relationship the two seemed to have. Thinking the two would chat a bit more, Samira grabbed the teapot that was on the table and had begun pouring herself a cup when Ashley came to her. The sleeve of her shirt had been tugged and when Samira looked down at the girl all she could see were big childlike eyes that only cruel and heartless people could resist. "Yes, Ashley?" Samira asked, curious as to what the little girl wanted with her when she had thought she went in only to greet Ikuchi. She leaned over from her seat in the girl's direction and very rapidly found herself being hugged by the little girl. The action startled Samira even though it wasn't the first time the girl had done so. She had even treated Samira in such a kind way back when even Ikuchi treated her coldly. Either the girl knew nothing about some of the major details or she was just completely incapable of hatred and disdain. A kiss on the cheek came next and Samira could feel the hug tighten more before hearing the girl speak quietly in her ear. A thank you? For keeping Ikuchi safe? As much as they were very sweet words that Samira took to heart, she knew all too well that she didn't play any part in his safety. He was quite capable of taking care of himself and more often than not it was she that needed aid. Then again, to ensure Ashley's smile did not disappear was the main reason she even went with him to Iceberg for his trial in the first place. She had to make sure he came back to that little girl.

Ashley let go before Samira could recover from her surprise to return the hug and soon her green eyes noticed the two pastries in the basket that had been made for both Serqet and herself. Time seemed to slow for Samira as she recalled that day they had went to the first phoenix shrine. Both Serqet and herself were given pastries then as well just before everyone left for the shrine. A frown crept along Samira's face as a dreadful feeling began to form within her. It had not better be some sort of foreshadowing or omen that things were going to repeat. Ashley's voice stopped and Samira's mind and focus came back. The frown was forced into a smile as she shoved the bad feeling away. "Thank you for considering even my spirit. I will make sure she gets it," Samira said gently as she took the two items from the basket. When she was hugged once more, Samira made sure to return it as an extra thank you. The fact Ashley went that far to even include Serqet was amazing and she was grateful for it.

Samira had returned to preparing her tea after watching Ashley make her exit, and she listened to Ikuchi's story with one hundred percent focus. She wanted to hear how he had ended up taking care of her, especially given his experiences with the last one. It was a different time though and it was hard to believe Ashley would ever get into that same position. Still, she could understand his original worries. The way she was found was saddening, but the girl seemed to have recovered from any trauma that may have been there thanks to him. By the end Samira was nodding her head at every good thing he was saying about Ashley. He really did sound like a parent gloating over their number one child. Samira herself never experienced having that quality since she had no children of her own. "You could have a grandson instead," she said matter of factly, completely missing the whole sentence at first. She had been taking a sip of her tea and heard the term granddaughter and assumed his mother was teasing on the fact he had no biological children yet. That was common even among humans, and Ikuchi was how old again? With parents that were several thousand years old? Yes, they must of been desperate for grandchildren. She had raised her cup to take another sip of the tea when her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets due to how wide they became. The entire sentence had processed. If there had been any tea in her mouth she likely would have died choking on it. "WHAT?!" First the father thought they were an item and now the mother was asking about grandchildren with her as the mother?! What was with his family?! The comment may have been made to get a reaction out of Ikuchi but it also made it extremely awkward for Samira. Denial, denial, and yes, a little more denial. Children meant being together, being together meant having those lovey dovey feelings, having those lovey dovey feelings meant crossing a border she was not prepared to cross. That wasn't even going into how to even make those grandchildren. No, absolutely not! No way! "Yes, please, send us back." Samira said in a rushed manner, clearly embarrassed with her flushed face and prepared to get out of there before his mother started making the grandchildren time tables herself.

The time travel was done and Samira found herself in a really bad version of the room she had just been in. Wow. She slipped all her items into her bag as she listened to Ikuchi, raising a brow when he mentioned "gorgeous" and rose even further when numbers were added in. Lovely. It was going to be one of those men. Ikuchi then vanished before she could even say she understood everything or ask questions. All right then. Spirit mind lock was the first thing that happened. Next, seeing as how she couldn't exactly jump out windows properly, especially without suspicion, Samira exited the room the normal way. She opened the door and peeked out to ensure no one was there before stepping out. Her exit from the building was made easily and she had even found a cloak along the way. Who's it was she didn't exactly have the luxury of caring. She'd return it...in the future. On the cloak went and she begun to make her way through town. Getting sandwiches should be rather easy! Maybe. Probably. Why was she demoted to sandwich acquisition again?

Eventually the sub place was found, and it was rather annoying having to do it without asking for directions. Samira was afraid to do so due to being worried her interactions would cause some explosion in the space time continuum. The sub guy was likely not so significant that her interactions with him would do much damage. She entered the sub shop and walked over to the ordering counter where a man who's appearance and aura screamed he was the womanizer type. Samira pulled the hood of her cloak tighter over her head as she could tell just from the way he stared at her that she was being undressed with the eyes. Maybe she should have looked for a mask... She took a breath to build confidence and attempted to get down to business. "Excu-"

"Well you're a beauty, aren't you? Haven't seen you here before..." The man began to rub his chin with his hand as he went into thought, likely contemplating if she would make a decent number nine.

Samira's eye twitched as she had been interrupted from her order and was being stared at in a rather uncomfortable manner. "As I was say-"

"I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I’m willing to make an exception in your case."

"No, thank you. Now, for my-"

"Are you a farmer?"

"What? No, of course not! I do not even look like one! Now if you would lis-"

"Then how did you get such beautiful, big, round melons?"

"EH?!" Samira's focus on trying to order one hundred stupid sandwiches was lost as she instantly knew what he meant. It was hard to be naive to the meaning when he reached over the counter, placed his hands on her chest, and started to squeeze a few times.

"Oh, those are real! I was worried for a second there. I think they may be even better than...Say if you look that good in clothes, you must look even better out of them. Why don't I close up shop here and we can get a little more acquainted?" The man still did not take his hands away and seemed to have made himself comfortable with the task of squeezing her chest pillows.

Samira's eyes narrowed into slits. That man was disgusting. Revolting. Insufferable. Idiotic. The nerve! The audacity! She became even more angry than she did even during the times Ikuchi had kissed her. At least with those there was a purpose behind the act. What was going on at that moment was just...ew! The girl could not summon any of her spirits to cut him down, and normally she lacked any true offense. However, a woman generally magically obtained super human powers when angered in such a way. Logic! A slap was made on the man's face that sent him circling and flying sideways, landing on the floor on the far side of the counter. Samira walked around it and reality for the man had turned into a horror flick where a monster was coming to kill him for his transgressions. He backed up as his imagination had turned her from a sweet looking woman into a she-devil with unforgiving eyes full of bloodlust and intent to torture and kill. The man got on his knees and began to pray and plead as Samira prepared to unleash another slap. "Oh, please don't kill me! Those were all meant as compliments! I really don't need a number nine! I'll give you anything you want!"

"Anything?" The man nodded silently while still in his praying position. The anger within Samira instantly vanished and she put on a small smile. "Then I would like to complete my order."

"Huh?" The man stared up, blinking his eyes in bewilderment.

"I require the Dragon Special. Please have it delivered to the ship yard in a timely manner. Thank you." Samira had turned and was about to leave the space behind the counter but stopped and faced the man once more. SLAP! "For emphasis." She then left the sub place and started to make her way to the docks for whatever errand she was supposed to do next.

(Word Count: 2305
Total So Far: 4165)

"I cannot believe I have been downgraded to sandwich ordering. If it was a normal shop owner it would have been fine. Was it so? No. The man had to be a pervert. A disgusting one. That touched my chest. I cannot even take a shower to rid myself of his touch nor can I wash my clothes. Although burning them would be preferable. Those sandwiches better be made properly, or I will return to the shop in the future to slap him again." Samira mumbled to herself as she walked. With no spirits to talk to she was for once actually talking to herself, making herself become some sort of weird crazy lady. She would never classify herself as such though. The explanation of just unleashing her frustrations in a more healthy manner would be used instead.

Before her next set of mumbling could start, she felt her arm being grabbed gently as well as heard Ikuchi's voice from behind her. She turned to see him cloaked liked she was and remained silent as he mentioned some sort of mission that required finding a missing girl and bringing her back. She thought it was strange of him to mention he didn't like being alone, but considering they were in a time travel mess where it was risky to have too many interactions with others his feelings were understandable. Speaking of, him even considering doing a mission caused her to frown. Would that not have some effects that could go into a downward spiral that made the known universe implode on itself? Her mouth opened to say as much but was interrupted by the next question. How many subs did she order? What a ridiculous question! Samira could handle such a simple task as ordering sandwiches correctly! "Do you honestly believe I am incapable of placing an accurate order? Of course I ordered one..." She stopped her sentence short of saying the word 'hundred' as the scenario played out in her head. The sounds of crickets would play as she stayed silent and then at the realization of her mistake she raised her right palm and placed it against her right cheek. "Oh..." No doubt she felt extremely silly for messing up the very first and rather simple errand, but in her defense her order had been interrupted several times. By the time she was able to get it out her mind had neglected that rather important detail. The reasons were obvious. However, it was an excuse, and as much as she wanted to say she was fondled during the order, the fact still remained she had screwed up. Samira put on a small sheepish smile as she tilted her head innocently and brought her hand down to be at her side. "I do not suppose they could split a single sandwich one hundred ways, could they?" As expected, it was a face palming moment for Ikuchi. The young woman sighed, dreading having to go back to the sub shop.

Once the two had reached the shop and entered, the man that had turned her breast into some stress relief ball squeaked and acted as if he were terrified. Samira blinked, astonished by the reaction. She had only slapped him a couple of times. Sure the first one may have been with such force he was sent flying, sure she had an aura set to kill, and sure she had traded his life for fulfilling a sandwich order. That did not warrant acting as if she were some demon coming back to use him as a sacrifice to the dark underworld. Samira stayed back to allow Ikuchi to edit the original order, although she was surprised by how he was going about it. Pinning the guy to a wall was a little much when the error was hers. Her eyes then went wide as the man behind the counter mentioned having taken hold of her breast earlier. That did not need to be stated! At all! She had handled the situation and they were only there for a change to the order! Now she had a reason to feel even more embarrassed. Samira cringed as Ikuchi actually reacted to the comment by punching the man in the stomach. Why he seemed to get so hateful and angry about what the man had done to her she was not sure, but was not going to ask at that point in time. It was best to probably forget such a creep touched her to begin with.

Samira followed Ikuchi out the door once the amendment to the order had been made. Inside she was snickering that the pervert had gotten what he deserved. Perhaps another woman would be spared from his ways. Outside she had a blank expression that did not indicate whatsoever that she enjoyed the fact the man was potentially scarred for life. Hopefully that would not cause issues for their timelime. That did bring it back to her earlier thoughts about the mission, however. "Other people? Do you know the details of why she even went missing? Kidnapping, perhaps?" If there really were other people involved then it was likely they were dangerous, assuming the girl was kidnapped or forced to be away from home. Samira had no way of knowing the actual details of the runaway. All she knew was the vague description of locating a daughter that had gone missing. She had no access to her spirits and therefore lacked any magic capabilities whatsoever, so there was some cause for concern with as little as she knew about the situation. "Is it even wise to do a mission of this nature under our current circumstances? I understand it removes us from town, however, I am unsure of the repercussions we may create by doing it."

(Word Count: 939
Total So Far: 5104)

Samira walked slowly as she listened to the rather long winded explanation of time that would have sent the average person into a world of confusion or boredom. She understood it decently enough, and as long as they did not do anything that would obviously change things around their timeline would be fine. What they were doing were subtle changes that they had already experienced in the past. Or rather, Ikuchi experienced. At that point of time Samira was out of town doing a few menial jobs as well as adding random items into her ownership such as a passport, iLac, and for some reason a driver's license she had not even put to use. At the very least she had it in case it was needed. It was a rather uneventful point of her mage career that paled in comparison to the current scenario. Her past self would remain unaffected from all the subtle changes as far as she was aware. Only a major change such as leaving a note from her future self would make any sort of obvious impact. Maybe. Time was weird.

She had stopped when Ikuchi did as he continued to think and she had remained still even as a magic car passed by and broke down, its tire becoming completely useless. The scene did not matter much to her and she did not desire to meddle further with the timeline. Only when Ikuchi placed his hand on her stomach did she come to a stop with her steps and pay more attention to the man with car. She still was uncertain as to why they were watching the man, but then Ikuchi spoke of his theory and then made himself known. Samira nearly fell over dead when her ears picked up on him actually saying "ahoy" and had even offered to help the stranger. There was understanding of him having to do it to keep the timeline in check, but why was it even done to begin with? What sort of messed up reality rules caused the original ORIGINAL to offer help? There had to be an original ORIGINAL, right? Technically even in the correct timeline they were just past versions of their future versions, but then those versions also had future versions. Then there were alternate versions. What if the man was unusually friendly for some other reason than helping with the car? Thinking about time and its consequences for screwing it up was starting to become a headache. Anymore thoughts on the matter Samira pushed away as she too made her presence known with a smile on her face and a wave for a hello. She stood to the side as the other two handled the car situation, and sweatdropped at the answer given regarding Ikuchi's strength when the task of switching tires had been completed. Yes, ship building and working at the docks was clearly the correct and honest answer. Then the man offered them a ride, although certain words with the offer caused her to frown deeply. "I am not-" Samira couldn't even bring herself to finish the sentence. A deep exhale was made to unleash her slight frustration. What was even the point? Them being mixed up in such a way was turning out to be very commonplace, and she couldn't fathom why. Did they just look good paired together or something? She never had such misunderstandings when around other men. Maybe it was just an Ikuchi thing. Yes, the same sort of comments must of been made when he was around Gabriella and his requip mage friend as well.

Once everyone was in the car and it took off, Samira placed her hands on her lap and leaned back in her seat to get comfortable as Ikuchi went on to explain the small mission further. If the girl truly did indeed runaway then bringing her back would likely be forced unless she was convinced otherwise. That only made Samira frown further since that was something she did not approve of. It was the girl's choice to leave her home, and they had no right to choose for her. She supposed the girl could just runaway again afterwards, but for the moment the summoner was content to see how it all played out before drawing conclusions on the matter. When he went on to mention he was likely the one that wrote the letter that would eventually cause Kaori's second death, Samira looked at him and blinked, astonished that he could say those words with a straight face as well as so easily condemn himself to write the letter while knowing what would happen. He had the power to change that just as Samira herself had the power to make her own warning to ensure her past self never approached Kaori in the first place or even invited her to go to the phoenix shrines. Giving into the temptation was easy, and even she was having difficulties putting the thoughts and motivations away entirely. It was a quality she would have to admire him for since it reminded her of her own place to not alter the timeline with foolish acts. No matter how easy or the reasons for them. "At least we know how the events of the past turn out. It is the future that worries me." Her own tone was low and quiet to match his. There was still much fear and worry within her, and with each passing minute they were getting even closer to stage three. The mission barely counted as a distraction when they were riding in a vehicle silently aside from the music, which was tolerable but certainly not something she would have picked herself.

The vehicle came to a stop at the base of the mountains at which point Samira stepped out and adjusted the straps of her bag around her shoulders. In the distance she could see a hill that Ikuchi would then point to, indicating that was their destination. "I am certain I can handle that much. Thank you." Samira took the bow as well as the arrows. "Now I will trust you to not be what makes the situation go bad in the first place." The girl was a runaway as far as Samira was told. If she did run away to that settlement and was not taken there by force there was little reason she saw to go in there shooting. From past encounters she had witnessed, Ikuchi had more of an attack now rather than talk mentality. The settlement did need to still be standing for certain events to take place, after all.

(Word Count: 1108
Total So Far: 6212)

If only whacking Ikuchi on the head was a guaranteed thing or Samira would have done so after hearing his confused words and the wondering on whether she was suffering from amnesia. For someone that made smart comments a habit and had sarcastic moments her words went way over his head. Or maybe just could not get a handle on her type of sarcasm. It wasn't as if she made comments of that nature common. "I do not suffer amnesia. The memory of how you typically 'operate' is unforgettable by this point," Samira replied with a small sigh. He had even used violence just to make changes to a sandwich order, and that was before he had found out about the groping. Thank heavens he did not bring the rocket launcher back in time with him. She was never going to get that maniacal laugh out of her head from the last time he had used the weapon. The tip of the top limb of the bow was then used to lightly tap Ikuchi on the shoulder. "Now, just do the opposite of that and do not do any unnecessary violent actions. I am without my magic, and I would not count one practice session with this weapon as suitable back up." Technically it was one session plus an interrupted one, but she purposely failed to mention that one due to what that interruption led to. Samira then turned away in order to move forward, not stopping until they reached the top of the hill. There she stayed while Ikuchi vanished to do what he did best.

Samira had positioned herself with bow drawn and arrow in hand, ready to fire in case anything happened. Surprisingly there were no signs of distress or battle within the settlement. My god, he was actually being a sneaky ninja instead of the attack in full force type. Acquiring the woman took little time and Ikuchi soon reappeared with her, although Samira could have whacked him on the head with her bow for causing the target to go unconscious, and to a point of even he was unsure if he had hit her too hard or not. "Ikuchi! Honestly!" The man had some serious selective hearing issues. Did she not just tell him no unnecessary violent actions? Samira lowered her bow, and with a look of concern on her face she turned and was about to make sure the woman was alright herself when the look of concern instantly vanished. Soft green eyes instantly widened before returning to normal a couple of seconds later, but they had become hardened and cold as a result of who she saw. The woman they had been sent to retrieve was the past version of the ninja woman they had encountered while in Minstrel and on other occasions before that. Samira clenched her teeth together to keep herself from saying anything and merely turned away as Ikuchi decided to set the woman down and take a seat on the grass, likely waiting for her to wake up. The current encounter sure explained a lot. Unless the woman woke and started to fight, that was probably the starting point of when she became infatuated with Ikuchi. Not that it mattered much to Samira. Of course not. If anyone were to ever ask why she disliked the woman it would be because she was a top ranking warrior of Kaori's brother's clan or soon would be given they are in the past, who was obviously a great enemy. She couldn't be trusted, and from what Samira had witnessed while in Minstrel the woman cut loyalty ties rather easily. Fate was indeed cruel to have set up that current meeting in their little twist in time. Samira wasn't looking to have any reasons of doubt or a change of opinion on the matter, and therefore was not looking forward to the woman's origin story.

The summoner stood there silently for a while, eventually taking a seat of her own on the grass and laying the bow beside her. "Why do we stay? Should we not complete the task you were given?" The answer she was given was reasonable. She had even disapproved of the mission before due to the woman being a runaway. Forcing her to return to a father that would likely lock her in a room the first chance he got would have been unforgivable. Samira just wished Ikuchi would have been satisfied with just leaving the woman there while they returned to town instead of remaining and communicating with her when she woke.

The woman eventually woke, leading to an interaction between her and Ikuchi. Samira remained quiet as the conversation went along. It was slightly surprising hearing about the woman's goals considering how the future image of herself was. The goal was admirable she supposed, but it only made trusting her less likely if one thought she would do the same if she joined team Kaori. She used the clan she had joined in order to get stronger while at the same time had been stabbing them in the back since day one, or at the least planned to. That was not so admirable. Samira's eyes blinked several times in disbelief when Ikuchi had demanded the woman hit him, and had even jumped in place when he shouted it after the woman showed her hesitance. It worked, although not surprisingly the woman was on the ground shortly after. Samira's face soon went blank and a sweat bubble had formed as she continued to listen to the conversation and see the woman smile. "Good grief, this really was where it originated," she mumbled to herself as she stood up and wiped the bottom of her cloak and shorts of grass and dirt. After kneeling down to grab the bow, she stood up fully and followed after Ikuchi, leaving the woman there and not saying a single word to her. There was little point in speaking to a past version that knew nothing of what she would do in the future, and as tempting as it was to change the direction of events Samira was unfortunately too smart to risk such a thing and was much too resilient to temptation.

The two walked for an hour silently. Not one word of the ninja woman, not a single sentence of what was planned next, nor a conversation about everything in general. Just what appeared to be two people walking along with nothing to say. A patrolman seemed to have heard them and paused, looking for them. Samira could see him clearly even if he had not noticed their location yet. The first thought was to obviously wait for the man to go elsewhere and continue. The next thought was to just find another route. The thought of her current companion was unsurprisingly to just dispose of him. She heard the whisper and was quite shocked he actually had confidence that she could actually take care of the patrolman; a living target. It wasn't exactly the first person she had eliminated from the world. Missions with Kaori had made it impossible to get by without getting her hands dirty, so killing when necessary wasn't exactly an issue. That sort of moral battle wouldn't be a distraction. Although whether it was one of those times killing was needed was debatable. If she didn't do it Ikuchi likely would despite any protest she would have made. The man was dead regardless due to a permanent timeline timestamp. Samira grabbed one of the arrows she had been given earlier and got into the position she had been taught during that single training session. With bow held and arrow aimed at the patrolman, Samira held her position for a few moments as she focused herself and got control of her breathing. Masters of the ranged weapon could fire several shots in rapid succession without requiring that amount of control and focus, but the summoner was still in the novice stages. She needed time to get her aim correct and was a long way away from being quick. Thankfully the target did not move around much and was slow. When she felt he was in a position she could hit without fail, she let go of the string and unleashed the arrow. It went flying through the air and did not stop its journey until it had gone through the patrolman's head. He barely even made any noise of pain as he collapsed on the ground a second after impact. Samira smiled with pride as she came to realize her arrow had hit its mark. The smile turned into a frown near instantly after hearing Ikuchi's surprise by the fact it actually hit. So much for the reassurance. Her eyes closed as she turned to face Ikuchi and reopened them as she poked him in the stomach with the top end of her bow. "You are supposed to say 'good job, Samira', not act as if you expected me to be a complete failure." Samira turned to once again face the direction they were going before the patrolman was spotted and began walking. She had been slightly offended by his surprised reaction. Sure she didn't expect a golden sticker or a medal, but to hear "you actually did it" was a trigger that should have warranted a slap. Damn powerful magical beings and their barriers.

(Word Count: 1570
Total So Far: 7782)

Samira was not able to get very far at all before her hand was grabbed as a response to her previous words. The actions afterwards happened in a short span of a couple of seconds. She had been forced to turn as she was pulled back, and the next thing her mind and body knew she was caught up in a warm embrace. That was not the reaction she had expected at all. A sarcastic or smart remark was a large slice of the pie chart. Ignoring her words entirely was also a big percentage. Maybe even anger since she had seen that side of him as well. To react in such a way that he felt it necessary to embrace her for his, admittedly, small offense? That was what she had assumed to be a very small percent chance if not completely nonexistent. Her green eyes were wide during the initial process of being pulled in and remained so as his hold on her tightened, bringing her further into his chest. "I-Ikuchi?" All sorts of red alerts were going off in her mind that told her to free herself, but the body ignored them, once again overruling the part of her that had any logical sense. The battle between the mind and body was constant when Ikuchi did things like that, and she was beginning to worry she would end up losing herself again.

His apology caused her eyes to return to normal and soften. It was something else that was entirely unexpected. Her heart began racing despite how comforting he was trying to be, and that annoying butterflies in stomach feeling had made yet another appearance. Samira had to wonder if he even knew what he was doing. He had hated her for a long time, maybe even still did to some extent, and yet he continued to do such actions that only caused her more confusion. She didn't even know how to react properly due to her mind and body not being in sync with one another. Samira just allowed herself to stand there, fully caught up in his hold. Her body refused to free herself, but the mind refused to send the necessary signals for her to return the hug. Ikuchi was obviously being kind and had taken her offense seriously, but the embrace and words were almost cruel for someone like her. Each little and kind act in that manner only brought her closer to a border she did not want to cross.

Ikuchi had pulled himself away, and she had been able to look up at his eyes before quickly lowering her own eyes and glancing slightly to the side. Her senses had thankfully reacted quickly enough to avoid the eye staring that she was sure would have been awkward. Then came the couple of pats on her head. The entire embrace did not cause her face to flush, but the moment he patted her the cheeks on her face turned pink. It was the great head patting mystery that plagued media turned real. She stood there for a moment even after he had moved forward, trying to regain her composure and senses while also attempting to convince herself that head pats were degrading. Yes, degrading. Not at all enjoyable. No secret desires to get more whatsoever. Although the question remained, what the hell just happened?

From that moment until a few months later, Samira was kept busy with rather simple tasks. No other actions that sent mixed messages occurred much to her relief. The months were uneventful aside from the ship finally being completed, although keeping up the mind block from the past versions of her spirits was a headache. She had never kept it up for so long before, and aside from a couple of missions she had done with Kaori, the past Samira was always in town. At the very least it strengthened her mind even more she supposed. It was debatable if it ever fell off while sleeping, but since nothing in the universe exploded and she woke with no spirit communication she assumed even if it did fall off the spirits did not notice a second Samira.

On the day phase three would begin, Samira had been alone and just outside of town to gather her thoughts when the scenery instantly changed to be Ikuchi's room. They were back in the present. Or rather, their present.

'Ah, there she is. I was correct with that theory, after all.'

'You were not sure?.'

'The timing could have been off to a large degree. Also, she is technically the first summoner I have witnessed to use any sort of actual time travel. My information was a guess at best.'

'And here I had judged you as someone that did not make baseless educated guesses. I shall correct that mistake. Now we just have the issue of the fact we are being blocked...'

'She remember to take down wall...eventually.'

Samira's eyes blinked as they adjusted to the new location and watched silently as Ikuchi went over to a chest and opened it. She nodded as he mentioned the genie and acknowledged that she would be alone on the ship. So, he was still planning on not going even after all of that time he had to change his mind. It was saddening and pained her considering she was the reason the rift between Kaori and himself currently existed, but she had to respect his decision. He wasn't ready to face his master, and in all honestly she wasn't either. Someone had to go though. The items that were pulled were two small boxes and a bouquet of orchids. Two of those items were certainly familiar as she recalled what the shadow Kaori had told her quite some time ago. They were slid over to her as he said she could give them as a gift to Kaori. It would have been false since she didn't exactly acquire them herself, but she appreciated he had obtained them in advance. The last item was a wooden box that had the letters of nobility they had obtained from both Minstrel and the Pergrande Kingdom. There was also a letter from Ikuchi within it. At least he was able to do that much even if he would not go see her face to face. Samira took all of the items, but blinked in confusion and looked up at him as he said to give Kaori a shot. Did he mean giving her a shot romantically? The circumstances were more difficult than simply giving her friend a shot at a relationship. Before all the chaos at the shrines Samira never thought about such a thing and never would have guessed Kaori's feelings. Then afterwards those dreams and visions from that Dream Dragon became common and were rather influential. She couldn't allow them to dictate her feelings or her choice. Only by getting Kaori back to her normal self and spending more time with her could she figure and sort out that mess of tangled feelings. Then there was... Samira thought her heart had stopped for a moment when her ears heard the nickname of "Sammy." The name had been used by Kaori, although the point of when she started using it Samira could not remember. It had become natural to hear it over the course of time. Ikuchi though...that was unnatural. He had never used it, not once. Not back before the horrible events and certainly not after. Until then. Things seemed to go in slow motion as her eyes widened and watched him walk out the door and vanish. She didn't even have time to say anything, but even if she did she was in a state of speechlessness. Why did he have to add in one final nail of confusion?! The genie's words were barely heard as she was hoping she did not just witness someone else disappearing for several months, possibly forever if he could not bring himself to face Kaori. Her heart sank.

The next second Samira appeared in the so called mysterious and creepy room, and she saw why. Although her reasons were far more different than anyone else's. Normal people would have just thought the old fashioned dolls were creepy and move on with life. For Samira, who was naturally afraid of the delicate looking dolls, it was a scarring. The moment she realized what was in the wooden cases she nearly fainted right then and there. She squeaked as her eyes became small and she began to sweat nervously. The items she held were brought to her chest as she hugged them tightly as if it brought some form of protection or comfort. A step was taken, and then another, and slowly she was making her way through the room. Samira kept looking behind her in case one of the dolls made it out of its case and tried attacking. Yes, that is what those things were capable of! They. Were. Evil! The creaks of the movement each doll made as she walked could be heard. Although, it was possible she was imagining all of the dolls turning their heads in her direction as she passed them. She felt the soul sucking stares, especially of the main one that had the most creepy expression imaginable. Any time now she expected it to transform into some sort of monstrosity to represent the possession of the demonic force within. She paused for a moment as she stared at it cautiously. Spine tingling chills coursed through her and the longer she stood there the more danger she began to feel. Another terrified and low squeak before she took off running for the exit, screaming. There was no defeating that thing! Running was the only option! Forget being sneaky when she was facing such dangerous foes! Clearly they were Kaori's back up weapons!

Samira made it out of that room only to instantly feel a hand on her shoulder. The doll had somehow caught her! The items she held were dropped as she screamed once more, and she had begun to prepare herself for her fate when the voice that spoke was a familiar one rather than belonging to a screechy demonic doll. "Iron Fist?" Slight relief, but not really. The last time she had saw him he had attacked her rather violently and had only been spared due to another of Kaori's spirits intervening. Still better than the doll. Yes, still better. She barely had time to even reclaim the items she had dropped before the newest version of Aquarius pushed her forward. He actually did not seem angry nor was he attacking. A sense of dread started to creep into existence within the summoner. She took note of what she noticed when she glanced out the window, astonished by it, but said nothing. Its importance was rather small at that moment and she desired no explanation. "Yes, quite a few were worried actually," Samira said in a rather nervous tone as she entered the elevator. Why he was allowing her to see Kaori she did not know, and she did not want to make any comments that would change his mind. Everything would have been wasted otherwise.

That feeling of dread grew as her actual life was following exactly how the third vision played out. The walk with Aquarius, the room with her name on it, the completely torn up room, even Mr. Fluffles. All that was left was the final part. Like the vision, Kaori was in a horribly weakened and sickened state. Samira's eyes were already beginning to water as she knew what was soon to come. Everything else had happened the exact same way as the vision. The ending was likely the same as well. Still, the summoner played her role. She could not bring herself to just walk out now. Once she had made it over to the bed she took a seat, setting the items she had brought down on the other side of herself. Kaori leaned against her and grabbed onto her shirt. She had realized she was real rather than some horrible illusion. No relief came to the summoner as it had when she first viewed the vision. One part remained. There were minor differences between the original vision and the real event, but the loud and long beep played. Samira's watering eyes widened and no longer could she keep the tears from flowing down her cheeks. Time seemed to stop as her own heart felt it had stopped beating. The beep drowned out everything and for once her mind was completely and utterly blank. Then the sounds of the beep didn't even register anymore. She may as well have been dead too. It was then her mind became forcibly active again upon realizing something was on her shoulder, as if her subconscious self was telling her active state she was a dumbass and needed to snap back into reality. Her green eyes blinked as her gaze looked towards her shoulder and saw the disconnected cord. She also felt Kaori's grip on her clothing tighten, indicating she was still very much alive. At any other time it would have been a sweatdrop moment for actually thinking Kaori had died without even checking because she one hundred percent believed in the vision she had been shown. For now, Samira forgot about her own foolishness as relief and happiness overwhelmed her instead. Her arms wrapped around her weakened friend and brought her in close for a hug that was as tight as she allowed herself without fear of hurting Kaori. "I am real, Kay," Samira said softly, using the nickname she had not heard herself say since originally asking Kaori to help her visit the ice phoenix shrine. "Please, trust me on that." Samira kept her hold of the other woman and unless she resisted too much would keep her in the hug. There were many things the summoner really wished to discuss with Kaori, but for that moment she thought much of it would have been far too inappropriate. It wasn't the time and the ninja was still unstable. "There is much to discuss, but first I need you to recover. Please, do as I ask. I will remain here with you if you desire, but you are not allowed to die. Recovery is mandatory."

(Word Count: 2399
Total So Far: 10181)

No response had come from Kaori other than what seemed to be further relaxing as the ninja had fallen asleep. Samira removed her arms from their place around the other woman to end the hug so she could confirm, and as Aquarius mentioned it was unlikely she would be released, Kaori's grip on her shirt had tightened, as if on queue. The ninja continued crying even during her sleep, resulting in Samira gently wiping away any tears that were shed with her hand as Aquarius spoke further. The feelings were strong enough for Kaori to call on her during her sleep instead of anyone else. That was a painful fact to be told considering she could do nothing to answer that call until then. She would have come, but Kaori had gone to great lengths to keep that from happening. Samira at one point had even started to move on with life while thinking Kaori had done the same. The actual reality of Kaori nearly dying over everything that had happened was a farfetched thought back then. Slight anger mixed its way into her emotion cycle, combining with the sadness she was already feeling at watching her friend continuing her crying. It had almost been too late to stop the alternative ending. Samira made no efforts to free herself from the god-like grip of Kaori and just continued to sit there beside her. If being stuck there provided the comfort Kaori needed in order to properly recover then she would submit herself for the task. An hour had passed with Kaori saying no words during her sleep, and it slightly startled Samira to hear the words "I'm sorry." Her wide eyes glanced at Kaori, thinking she had woken up, but it appeared she was just talking in her light sleep state. The verdant colored orbs returned to normal size and softened as she let out a small sigh, somewhat relieved. Sleeping was what was best for Kaori at that moment, not waking up and going into a stream of apologies that would further disrupt her stability. Kaori was strong in many ways, but even Samira's mind was known to break down from too much emotional stress. The ninja was much too fragile to think about all of the events that led up to the current situation at that moment, and Samira did not want her to start any explanations before she had gotten proper rest. One hour wasn't exactly enough for even herself.

A couple of more silent hours passed by when a magic circle appeared and with it came Charlotte. The surprise of the spirit was understandable given Samira shouldn't have even known where the Arc of Destiny was and certainly should have been incapable of boarding it and reaching Kaori's room. "It is fine, Charlotte," Samira said gently when the spirit apologized for intruding. Replacing the IV bag was rather important and it wasn't as if Kaori and herself were discussing anything private. The next comment Samira was sure her spirits would understand considering they too were connected rather strongly to a summoner. Their connection with her often drove them to have to seek therapy, but that was likely due to them not being used to Samira's latest adventures and current events. When Charlotte mentioned Kaori's dream that starred Ikuchi and herself, Samira's breath stopped for a moment. The spirit seemed to think it was nothing more than a dream, and she wondered if Kaori thought the same. It was going to be one additional serious problem otherwise. Charlotte was right in saying Kaori would likely be devastated, which was just another thing to push her over the edge while in her current state. Samira turned her head to glance at the wooden box beside her rather nervously. The actions that had occurred would have been impossible to keep from Kaori forever given her powers and the fact she was intelligent. She would likely end up finding out somehow even if she were not told. Her current thought process was whether or not Ikuchi would have said anything in his letter about it. Given he knew Kaori's feelings for Samira, he probably would have felt guilty for crossing several lines and confessed. Opening the letter to read it to ensure the contents did not specify such things was not something she was willing to do nor was it even tempting. The most she was willing to do was keep hold of the letter until Kaori was in a better frame of mind to handle it without breaking down if it did go into those details. She didn't like taking that sort of action either, but without knowing its contents Samira felt she would be doing what was best for Kaori.

The day continued to pass and around lunch time Kaori had fallen completely asleep, releasing her grip as a result and allowing the summoner to move around and actually stretch her legs a bit. First Samira would gently re-position Kaori so that she seemed to be more comfortable while lying on the bed and pulled the covers over the ninja. After she had adjusted the covers around Kaori so she was snuggly wrapped in them, Samira leaned over and kissed Kaori on the forehead before placing her own head against Kaori's. "Sleep well, Kay," she whispered gently before straightening herself and leaving the bedside. The lunch crew came and later on so did the dinner crew. Samira barely picked at any of the food that was left for her, not having any desire to eat or even feeling hungry. The only reason she even picked tiny quantities was because the ship really did not need two weakened mages on board. Throughout the day she realized she could not go far within the room without feeling a major case of panic as well as some other emotions she knew were not her own. As much as she wanted to tidy the room a bit or even attempt at contemplating on how to put the stuffed animals back together, she had to remain close to the bedside. The flowers and chocolate box were placed on the table, but as for the wooden box Samira stood there, holding it and eyeing it with narrowed eyes. She set the box down on the table and then removed the bag straps from her shoulders. As soon as she opened it, the wooden box was placed inside before closing the bag once more. That particular box she would keep hidden until she felt Kaori's mental state was well enough, likely around the same time she voiced her own opinions on everything to her.

Eventually even Samira became exhausted and required some rest of her own. She went to the other side of the bed and took her place in it. Naturally there were other places she could sleep and she did remember there being a futon somewhere in Kaori's closet. However, she didn't want Kaori to wake up and think she had just been another illusion if she was not immediately present. Samira remained over the blankets as she lied down, and she moved herself closer to Kaori before wrapping an arm around her and gently forcing the sleeping woman's head to rest against her chest for added comfort as she slept and as proof she was real when she woke. Samira herself fell asleep after a while but strong and sudden emotions she never usually felt while sleeping caused her to open her eyes sometime later. She could tell Kaori had woken up and the voice entering her mind was further proof of it. The tone of it was almost too much to listen to but Samira remained composed. It was her turn to be the strong one. There was no crying for her nor did any tears even begin to form. She just listened and by the end when Kaori was talking vocally rather than mentally, Samira tightened her hold on Kaori to show she cared but also as an action to keep her own emotions in check and did not cry as well or get too angry from hearing the rather unnecessary apologies. All of that was not what Kaori had to apologize for. There were more significant things than what the illusion lied about and Kaori was completely blind to them. "Shhh," Samira sounded calmly and soothingly as Kaori continued to cry into her chest. "I will not leave you. Now rest." Eventually Kaori had fallen asleep, but Samira remained awake.

Later on, Aquarius had entered the room with a bowl of some soup for Kaori. Samira had been sitting on the bed when he entered and completely free of the hold Kaori had on her previously. She listened to his words, but her eyes blinked in a confused manner when he mentioned feeling her. "Feed her?" It made sense. Kaori probably didn't have the strength to perform simple actions, although she sure seemed to have enough for her god-like grip the previous day. Samira didn't exactly have experience doing that sort of thing though and the idea came off as rather awkward. "I...suppose I can do that properly," she said rather hesitantly as she tilted her head and tapped her cheek with her index finger. Aquarius then left but not before returning to mention her having forgotten something spirit involved. Samira's head drew a blank, wonder what he could mean. Then it dawned on her. There hadn't been any spirit voices at all since she returned to the present. She had gotten so used to the silence that she had completely forgotten the mind block was still up. "Oh..." Samira's eyes blinked several times before sweat dropping. Whoops. The mind block evaporated and instantly she felt the heavy presence of practically all of her spirits. Ah, the return of that feeling that was considered normal until she got a few months of silence. Now it was just a big headache. It was going to take time to get used to again.

'Well it's about time!'

'I say she take wall down "eventually."'

'Yeah, thanks for telling me it was going to even be up in the first place! You know I hate when she does that.'

"It was required. Were you not informed of the plan?"

'I had even informed him of the risks that would be placed on us. He created a tornado that took the building my clock collection was in. I have learned he does not like being told when he is in the wrong. It got even worse during his loss of the drinking match with that ally of yours.'

"He..he still is not over that?"

All spirits aside from Susano: 'No.'

'Oh, don't you dare bring that up! Bacchus mocked me for a week for even trying! I almost had it! That contest was severely one sided!'

'Brother, I never knew you were such a sore loser. You never got so upset when losing to Bacchus or even board games.'

'I am not a sore loser! Now I actually have to call that beast by his name! That is what pisses me off! That damn I-Iku-Ik....' Susano's eyebrows twitched as he continued attempting to say the name from his stuttering. 'Forget it. Where is he?! I am issuing a rematch!'

"He is not here," Samira replied in a rather saddening tone since he could not bring himself to see Kaori yet and also because she was uncertain if he ever would force himself to return. The spirits grew silent for a moment as they obtained her thoughts and felt her emotions. They did not question anything more about it aside from Susano making one final comment.

'Fine, I won't call him beast but I won't call him by his name either. Hey, Kali! You call him "mutt', right? I will settle for Muchi.'

'Brother...is that not some sort of candy from Midi? Do they even still consume such things?'

'...Dammit! Fine, I'll keep thinking. For now, I see you found ninja girl. She looks completely terrible.'

"Indeed. Now if you do not mind, I am supposed to feed her."

'You're kidding? Well this should be fun to watch. I guess. Do we have any books? I kind of completed my crossword puzzle while waiting for the wall to come down.'

Samira just sighed and shook her head. At least that matter was taken care of. Now she returned her focus to the sleeping Kaori. She held the bowl of soup with one hand while the other reached out and poked Kaori on the forehead and then the nose. "Kaori, you should wake up now." If her friend still remained sleeping, Samira would place her palm against Kaori's cheek. "Kay, I need you to wake yourself." Both sentences would be low and gentle and hopefully would be enough to wake her. If she still remained sleeping, Samira would rise and place the soup bowl on the table and wait for her to wake naturally. She really didn't want to shove her awake while she was in that state. No matter which way she woke, Samira would then attempt to feed her while using the spoon to bring the soup to Kaori's mouth. If she refused to eat, Samira's attitude would change from gentle to cold. She would leave the bedside and place the bowl on the table and take a seat there. "If you refuse to eat then I will not force you. Just understand you hurt more than just yourself upon doing so, and I refuse to remain in this room to watch you die slowly."

(Word Count: 2272
Total So Far: 12453)

Over the next few days Samira remained in the room the majority of the time, leaving Charlotte to take over for her if she did indeed leave for whatever reason. It was awkward and uncomfortable since Kaori seemed to avoid looking at her and communication was minimal at best. She endured it though and forced herself to stay at Kaori's side regardless of her presence being slightly ignored. Samira would hold no negative judgement over it or feel depressed. Based on the stream of apologies she had received she could gather Kaori had felt guilty over how things happened and did not want to face her, much like how Ikuchi did not want to face Kaori. There was also the matter of Kaori's pride taking a hit by being seen as so weak, which was something Samira could also understand. As the days passed, Samira saw her friend get some sense of strength back to indicate she was recovering in body. The mind seemed more stable too, which brought more relief to the summoner. Keeping the wooden box hidden away until she felt Kaori was stable enough to read the letter was starting to nag at her guilt. It really should have been read around day three, and yet the fifth day had begun and still she kept it. She was worried about the contents of the letter, not out of fear of Kaori possibly finding out about certain details that happened while she was away, but of how it would impact her, especially if her mind was not all there like it had been during the battle at the guild hall.

Samira sat at the table as Aquarius brought some eggs for Kaori to eat, and remained silent even as he left. Kaori's voice then reached her ears, causing her to blink a few times in surprise at the request before standing up. "Of course," she said gently, ignoring the fact that Kaori wasn't even looking at her. She had grown used to it by that point. Samira walked over to the bed, leaning down slightly so Kaori could sling her arm across her shoulder. Kaori nearly collapsed when trying to stand, but with Samira trying to support her and the woman's own telekinesis any fall was prevented. For how long she wasn't sure, but she was grateful the genie was still around to summon up a wheelchair. Being used for support in that way was not something she thought she could do for very long. Once Kaori sat on the wheelchair Samira had thought to push it along from behind, however, Kaori had already begun working it for herself. She said nothing and allowed it. Kaori had too much pride to allow anymore signs of weakness to show, and as far as Samira was concerned the act of operating the chair herself showed how much she was recovering. That was all that mattered in the end. Samira followed Kaori out the open door without being asked to in case something happened along the way. The intention of doing so even if asked not to was strong. Maybe in another day or so she would accept such requests once her concern over Kaori's well being had passed entirely. That strong determination nearly crumbled immediately the moment Samira recognized the room where the little devil dolls were located. Instantly the summoner became nervous and her steps slowed. If Kaori went in there she was most certainly not following. Samira's heart rate increased as they got closer to the door that may as well have been a portal to hell. Then, Kaori turned to head towards the door across from it. Samira covered her heart with her hand and let out a massive sigh of relief and calmed herself.

"Kali?" A confused expression appeared on her face as she wondered why that particular spirit was requested, or even why a spirit was requested to begin with. "I suppose I could, although I am uncertain if she will answer," Samira added hesitantly, recalling the fact Kali was probably still ticked from events back in Minstrel. Her hand went to the keychain she always had connected to a loop along the hip of her shorts and as her fingers passed over several keys, the one belonging to the Hindu spirit was snapped from the chain. The rift between realms was then created and as Samira said the summoning words it left an opening for Kali to appear. Nothing seemed to happen at first. The rift closed and no spirit had entered the mortal plane of existence. As Samira shrugged her shoulders and was about to apologize for the spirit's rebellious nature, the rift appeared again and from it appeared Kali, grumpy and rude as usual. "I am not here because you called, summoner," Kali immediately said upon arriving as she pointed one of her weapons at Samira. "I am more interested in why this woman desires my presence."

'No, you're not! You're there because I threatened to give Ra the idea of Serqet keeping you company during your tantrum. You can't exactly threaten to cut off her tail anymore with him around. You pretty much had to decide which was worse.'

'Silence, you insolent gust of wind!'

Both summoner and spirit followed the wheelchair bound ninja into the room. In the middle were several weapon racks that made Samira's jaw drop. Was there really a need to have such a collection? It made Kali's brow arch curiously as she took it upon herself to glance around while Kaori went to do whatever she was doing. The spirit didn't exactly care and she did as she wanted. Her own weapons were dismissed and she soon began to remove the weapons on display from their racks and test them out, having her own sense of fun with a devilish smirk. "Kali! Put those back! You were not given permission to wield those!" Samira snapped at the spirit in a whisper, hoping the spirit would put them away before Kaori noticed. "She never said I could not do this either." Obviously the request of her summoner was ignored as she continued her fun. Kali was skilled so there were no worries of her breaking anything or making a mess, and there were not suitable targets to slay. Kaori could have been considered one in the past, and the spirit cared not for her weak state, but there were consequences that would come that would make that action far too annoying.

Eventually Kaori made her way back to the duo with some sort of box. Kali stopped her weapon tests to face the one that had requested her presence and glared suspiciously with her glowing white eyes. An apology for altering her key? Well, that happened quite a bit ago. Kali put the weapons she had been holding away and took the box from the shaking hands of the ninja. The spirit had expected the weapon inside to be nothing more than some ordinary weapon of no value for herself personally, but perhaps it would of been useful to play with. The box was held with her two main hands while the third and fourth lifted the lid. Her eyes flickered in surprise at what she saw inside, but it only lasted a quick second. A khanda. She had expected such weapons in that condition no longer existed. Even if her physical appearance still had its normal scowl she had become calm and felt no traces of her normal everyday anger and bitchiness. She closed the lid and could only say one word before disappearing into magic particles. "Foolish." Even if the word was insulting, it was hard to tell whether she was using it towards Kaori or even towards herself. The tone did not match her normal spitefulness and was quite calm and serene, traits that did not normally go with her at all.

When Skadi was called next Samira got the general idea of what was going on. Kaori was apologizing in her own way and giving gifts to the spirits she felt were impacted the most, particularly those that fought her when she lost herself. She would allow it and called Skadi. The winter spirit appeared as she was called and greeted Kaori respectfully with a smile as she rolled away to get something from the back of the room. In all honestly Skadi was surprised at giving a gift at all. If it were not for Kaori's pleading eyes she would have declined entirely, saying it was unnecessary considering before Kaori lost her mind she had been watching over Samira in her place. The ninja had always protected her summoner even before then and, unknown to Kaori, Skadi had been wanting to give her a gift instead. The winter spirit took the small box gratefully. "I accept gift though is not necessary. You have gentle heart, young Kaori." Skadi had no negative judgements or feelings towards Kaori. Things happened and she knew well enough what had transpired was unintentional. In the end, everyone was alive and safe. She disappeared in a puff of magic particles with the box. Even if she did not open it in the mortal place, she did so as soon as she returned to the celestial world. The spirit was impressed and even her wintery heart felt warmth from the fact she had received such a gift. Now what the hell was she supposed to give Kaori? Perfect mate rock was no longer suitable aside from being a side item.

The genie teleported Kaori and herself to the office upon request. As Samira predicted, Amaterasu was next to be called. Samira went for the key but was interrupted when the spirit appeared herself. "There is no need to waste your energy, Samira," the light spirit told the summoner as she gently placed a hand on her shoulder. The mind link already told her everything she needed to know and she had heard her requested presence, therefore appearing using her own power. The hand was removed from Samira's shoulders as she fully turned her attention to Kaori with an emotionless expression on her face. A proper greeting would have been in order but the ninja woman was already bringing a rather large box towards her. Amaterasu noted the tears but made no reaction to them or changed her expression. When the weak woman stood up shakily, she made no reaction towards that either aside from lifting her arm to block Samira from helping her. As Kaori bowed, Amaterasu gently took hold of the box and opened it, eyes blinking at what she saw inside. She grabbed hold of the hilt of the sword while using her free hand to pass the empty box to Samira without even asking if she would be kind enough to hold it. The spirit observed and studied the weapon with her wide and impressed eyes, looking at it from every angle. It was certainly something she considered high quality and was very beautiful. Although, she would have been ecstatic to receive such a handmade gift regardless. Kaori was important to Samira, so naturally she was also important to Amaterasu. To have something representing the woman's clan and origins was quite significant, and it was something the spirit would treasure long after both her summoner and Kaori had passed from the realm of life. She removed the sword from its sheath, noting how light it was, but more importantly felt the emotion that went into making the weapon. So much hope that it lifted even her already quite happy and hopeful heart to a large degree. The spirit returned the blade to its sheath and she held the weapon at her side. She then wrapped her arms around Kaori to give her a hug. "The honor is mine, Leader of the Lareci Clan." Amaterasu's body glowed a soft golden hue as she allowed her gratefulness and kind warmth to pass from her and into Kaori. She wanted her to know they were not just words with no meaning attached, and that she had no ill will towards her. Her own form of hope also combined with the aura; the hope that everyone could move on from the past and that bonds that were broken would soon reunite and be stronger than they were before. The spirit never released her hug until she was nothing more than particles floating in the air before disappearing.

Samira had thought that would of been the end of it. She placed the empty box on the desk and was about to say something when Aquarius requested for Jing Wei. A blank expression appeared on the summoner's face before turning into outright confusion. What could he possibly want her for? And what on earth did mushy have to do with it? Samira was morbidly curious. She called the spirit and as expected started to get a scolding from interrupting her important work. "Do not look at me. He requested you," Samira replied to the annoyed spirit and then pointed to Aquarius, who had already been walking over.

"'He' who?" The spirit inquired, and as she turned around to investigate she felt a hand on her head that then pulled her into some sort of hug. Blink blink. Blink blink. It didn't take long for her to realize who it was, especially after hearing the voice, although that time it was to thank her rather than threaten her. Jing Wei stood there, stunned, even as he released the hold and left. Blink blink. Blink blink. Her face then turned a crimson shade as both her hands went to each of her cheeks. "Oh, my goodness! He...he just hugged me!" The spirit was absolutely giddy. Her eyes turned to hearts and already she had wished there was some form of recording to prove that it had happened. Being hugged by a Zodiac spirit! She was practically drooling. Samira's eye twitched as she facepalmed at the display Jing Wei was putting on. Were the Zodiacs really that special? Sure, they were powerful and there were only twelve, but good god, they weren't celebrities. Was there some celestial paparazzi that followed them around too? "I do not believe any of my spirits drugged him. They usually prefer avoiding Aquarius due to his usual...nature." Samira said to Kaori given Jing Wei was too busy daydreaming to answer the question. The summoner forced the spirit away before turning to Kaori with a rather serious expression on her facial features. "I said this before, but I do not think you heard me when I brought it up a few days ago. We need to talk, and you are at a point where I think you have recovered enough. I will come by your room tomorrow morning since you should rest from all the movement you have been doing. For tonight, I will be staying in my room." Samira left the office without saying anything more even if Kaori did. She only stopped by Kaori's room to retrieve her bag that had the wooden box within it before going to the room with her own name engraved upon it.

The next day Samira entered Kaori's room, holding the wooden box. She didn't knock or say any sort of greeting. If the ninja was not awake she would wait for her to awaken on her own and take a seat at the table. Otherwise she would set the wooden box on the table and look to Kaori without so much as a smile. "I kept this from you before due to your condition. I apologize for it, but I was unsure of its contents, and your state of mind may not have been prepared for any more emotional stress. It is from Ikuchi. While you were away he obtained two titles of nobility for you in the kingdoms of Minstrel and Pergrande. The other letter is from him directly." Samira then lifted her hands from the box and made her way over towards Kaori slowly. "The flowers and chocolate box were something he gave me to act as a gift from me to you, but they may as well really be from him as well," she said bluntly and as she approached Kaori, Samira raised her hand and placed it against the ninja's cheek and caressed the smooth skin gently. Then the hand retracted and came back in rapidly as a hard smack to the ninja's face. "That is my gift." Her words were blunt and showed no signs of regret for striking the weaker Kaori. Now that she had recovered enough, Samira was able to allow her anger to show without feeling guilty about it. The normally soft and kind eyes were also narrowed into an unforgiving glare.

"You apologized the other day, but they were all for the wrong things entirely. I have been led to believe on many occasions since that day that you have feelings for me, and yet you actually thought I would say such things. So easily you were misled, and you continue to believe them even now. Forget everything you were told by that false impression of me. I find it revolting to even be compared to it." The other hand that had been at her side raised and went in for another slap across Kaori's other cheek. Samira had no intentions on being easy with her scolding. "Then you run away where no one can find you, resulting in you nearly dying. Who exactly benefits from that? Your spirits who can do nothing but watch you die a slow death? Do you even know what they had to do to stop you and keep you living that day? Yourself? I am sure there are faster ways than allowing yourself to turn into a hollow shell. It does not benefit me either. I had been moving on with life thinking you had been doing the same. The fact you were under all of that pain and were suffering was unknown to me for a long time. Do you not even understand how that would have affected me the moment I found out you were dead if I continued being so unaware of your situation?" Samira took a sigh as she wished she had a third hand to come back for another smack. "What I would have felt pales in comparison to the others you abandoned in Hargeon. I had been moving on and would have continued to do so. Them? They may as well have been stuck in limbo the moment you left. Ikuchi, especially. I am only here now because of his help. From what I understand he felt he did not deserve to face you due to what happened that day otherwise he would be here himself. He has done nothing but think of you and your future since and even went as far as working with someone he despised. Someone like that did not deserve to be abandoned." Samira's right hand raised once more, but not to perform a slap. It moved slower and gently touched the cheek that had been slapped first and remained there. "Your apology should have revolved around your cowardice to face us. It should have explained why we were abandoned without a word. You should have said why you were allowing yourself to die in such a way." Samira's tone had changed from cold and harsh to a more soft spoken and gentle one. Unless Kaori resisted, Samira's arms would wrap around her to hold her tightly in a hug. "I do not think you understand how much you hurt all of us by putting yourself in such a state. Trust me when I say you were close to being lost to us forever. I know we cannot always depend on you to be strong, but hiding from us to a point where we can do nothing...that is something I just cannot forgive. Do not ever do that again."

(Word Count: 3333
Total So Far: 15786)

12,500 for solo 100Y Freeform
1500 for solo C rank Freeform
1500 for solo C Rank Freeform

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