Chapter Text
Emergency sirens called out into the river of traffic as Koshu was evacuated. Yuyu looked to her partner as they stood guard over the bridge, wishing she could have been on the frontlines where the Huge were spotted. She didn't want to see this. Something was unsettling about watching people panic as they left their homes. The way they pushed and shoved people out of their way. So caught up in saving their lives, they left others to die to give them that chance.
She didn't like what that meant for her.
Misuzu smiled at her, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Hey, Yuyu, you worry too much! It'll be just like training." Yuyu tried to muster a reassuring smile in return, but all she could think about was that this was her first deployment away from Yurigaoka. Despite this being all she ever wanted, being here was terrifying.
She was in the attack zone, and while there were still two other squads the Huge had to get through, she couldn't help but worry. This was a level four threat. Her hands trembled at the thought of facing one of them.
As though hearing her line of thought, Misuzu squeezed her arm. "You'll be fine. Alfeim is the best Legion. We've prepared for this. The captain wouldn't have recommended you if she didn't have confidence in your skill."
"And Araya?" Yuyu wasn't only looking out for herself. Her classmate was just as new to their Legion.
Misuzu smirked with a raised brow. "Can you see Araya having any trouble with the Huge?"
Come to think of it; the girl threw herself after the Huge with the same determination she pursued other women. "Well, no," she answered and flushed when Misuzu tugged her close enough that Yuyu could make out hazy glitter in her eyes.
Distracted, she almost missed Misuzu's teasing. "The only time trouble and Araya belong in the same sentence is when she's making it."
Biting her lip in embarrassment, she replied, "You're right. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize, Yuyu. I'm your Schutzengel. I can't teach you if you don't tell me your concerns," Misuzu chided. "And better to say it now than worry about it when we're fighting."
Misuzu pulled away then and released her charm with a sharp gesture of her arm. "Besides, if the Huge get past the first and second squads, Lieutenant Amano will have us fall back and regroup." It was basic protocol, and they trained for it. Yuyu knew. She just had a bad feeling.
When Misuzu glanced at her expression softened considerably. "You'll be alright, Yuyu. I'll be with you the entire time."
Yuyu smiled back, biting back just how much that worried her.
"Chikushō!" Misuzu cursed, parrying a melee attack with shaky arms. Yuyu quickly covered the distance between them with a magie-enforced leap, joining the power of their blades together to send the Huge flying away from them with violent force.
Everything was going wrong. The Huge just kept coming, and for every one Yuyu and Misuzu took down, two more would take its place. The first squad had already signaled that they were falling back. Just when Yuyu thought their combined force was thinning their numbers, Huge reinforcements flooded the village from the mountains.
Instead of working through the Huge from the front to back lines, she and Misuzu were fighting the Huge from two fronts as they came up from behind them. Yuyu had no idea how far they had coincidentally fallen back until a blonde shot between two Huge trying to separate her from Misuzu.
It took her a moment to recognize the blood-stained Lily. "Lieutenant!" She gasped, her eyes landing on the armband that marked her their squad leader. Before she could go to her, a studded arm knocked into her. She flew until she rolled across the cracked pavement. Her blade dug into the road to slow her descent with a hard thrust, the shrieking on the pavement covering her cursing.
"Yuyu!" She heard Misuzu shout.
Her momentum suddenly stopped as a hand grabbed hold of her and steadied her ground. "Careful. You can't afford to lose focus," Niinomi rasped, wiping the blood from her chin. She was hunched over slightly, a dark stain on her uniform revealing her injury.
She tried to shake off her worry, reminding herself of Misuzu's reassurance that her comrades could care for themselves. But why was the Lieutenant here? "Where is the BZ team?" She asked.
The raven-haired girl clenched her jaw, tension radiating off of her. "Akashi was hit pretty bad. Touka had to fall back with her. It's just us here now, Shirai."
Niinomi didn't give her a second to think about what that meant as she charged forward, encouraging her to cover her. Three-meter rolling Huge had gotten through their brethren and quickly overwhelmed Misuzu and Lieutenant Amano, who were now fighting back-to-back.
"Flank, right!" Niinomi yelled and broke away from her in the opposite direction. Yuyu followed her advice, sprinting as fast as possible to shorten the distance between her and Misuzu.
Yuyu gave a wordless battle cry to draw the Huge's attention. She knew she had succeeded when its metallic eyes slid to her and redirected its laser attack in her direction. She tasted copper as she opened her mouth.
Yuyu kicked off the ground, spinning and twisting her arms to propel her body forward and around the attack until nothing showed for the Huge's efforts but a scorch mark on the ground. It paused to charge its next attack, providing the opening Misuzu needed to break away and join her with a backflip. Yuyu smiled as they returned to each other's side. At Misuzu's signal, she feinted behind the Huge until it had overreached, allowing Misuzu to sneak up behind it and deal a killing blow.
Seeing that Misuzu was okay, Yuyu quickly scanned the area. When she found no more Huge in their immediate vicinity, she rejoined the others who had also taken down their Huge. But the Lieutenant was down and, when she approached, found that she was tilting to the side every other moment as her arms barely held herself up.
Her partner Niinomi looked determined as she spoke quietly to her, holding her to the point that the other girl was practically in her arms. "You have a concussion, Lieutenant. We have to fall back."
"I can't leave. We have to get to the bridge," Lieutenant Amano slurred, clenching her fists until her knuckles were white against her skin in frustration.
"Let us go," Yuyu startled as Misuzu came up beside her, her voice calm and reassuring. Niinomi looked open to the offer even as her Lieutenant shook her head. "I'm the team leader. We can't afford to lose anyone else."
"If you stay, you'll die," Yuyu blurted without thinking and instantly regretting her words as Niinomi's expression shuttered. She never said the right things, Yuyu thought with a tight squeeze of her eyes.
"Please, Lieutenant," Misuzu came to her rescue. "You wouldn't let us fight if we had a concussion. You got us this far. Yuyu and I can do this much."
Lieutenant Amano gave her guardian a long look until finally, she gave a terse nod. "Alright," she sighed, one hand behind her back before tugging the loaded belt off her hip.
"Take this," she said as she offered the radio to Misuzu. "Report your position to First Lieutenant Takegoshi when you reach the bridge. They'll know to regroup with you there once they've cleared the zone."
"Understood," Misuzu said as she secured the radio to her back.
Niinomi quickly sealed her charm so she could pick the Lieutenant in her arms. She bowed to them before kicking off into the air, using her magie to leave the battlefield as fast as possible.
"Yuyu," Misuzu said, drawing her attention back to her. "Stay close," she whispered, an unexplainable emotion in her eyes.
Yuyu felt her breath stutter in her lungs at its sight and gave a shallow nod. "Okay."
Nothing prepared her for this.
The thundering sound of her heart as she was separated from Misuzu was by far the worst of it all. The Legion had trained her for months before allowing her to be deployed. She had been tested on every conceivable maneuver and memorized every signal until the answer came instinctively. But she could barely keep up with the pace of battle. There was no time to strategize, to think of a clever way out. She had to act now, on instinct, no thought given to the consequences.
She was surrounded front, left, and center by Huge. She was on the defense, unable to fall back. Unable to push forward. All she could do was parry, over and over again.
Yuyu pushed her magie into every counter-attack, trying to force the Huge back a step – just a step! But, no matter how much energy she put into a swing, she only earned sparks on metal for her efforts. A laser shot close to her feet, and she stepped back, getting closer to the civilians still evacuating behind her. As humanity's last defense, she could not let the Huge pass.
But Misuzu's sharp cry made her lose her focus on her enemy for just a second – and the next thing she knew was the rough texture of gravel as her cheekbone slammed into the road. A metal leg snapped open as its claws were revealed, and Yuyu barely managed to roll herself away before it could strike.
She panted for breath as she stumbled to her feet. She barely found the strength to snap her blade up in front of the other Huge's melee attack. She glanced to the third Huge long enough to see its attention had been drawn to Misuzu, whose strength seemed to waver as much as her own.
Yuyu gritted her teeth and refocused on the Huge closest to her with single-minded determination. At a rare opening, Yuyu lunged onto the Huge's arm the next time it struck at her. She ran up its arm, changing her charm's form to shoot a laser right into its face at point-blank range. She then used the backlash to fling herself higher into the air, angling her blade down as she fell.
Yuyu brought as much of her magie as possible into a final blow and decapitated it in one clean sweep. Her blade pierced through its plated armor, and its death was signaled as electrical sparks shocked her sword. She held tight to its body as it collapsed and used its momentum to leap unto the other Huge, ducking under its laser to hear it scorch its own arm.
As she landed on the ground, she looked up to find that Misuzu had taken care of one of the Huge. The sole remaining one was attacking her non-stop with versatile whip-like blades that never gave Misuzu a moment to escape.
Just as she was about to join her, her eyes focused on the blood that painted half her guardian's face and-
"Yuyu!"
Her eyes snapped back to the Huge as she realized Misuzu was no longer under attack, and instead, its blades were headed right for her. Yuyu's eyes widened, her mind calculating the likelihood of failure to block all the whips even as her body instinctively brought her blade up.
A blur of grey caught her eye as it stood between her and the Huge and-
Her heart stopped. "Misuzu?"
Yuyu could do nothing but watch as her dearest friend, her guardian, her everything, was pierced through and held up limply into the air. A broken blade fell from the same hands that once held her close.
No.
Her chest felt hot and heavy. She heard blood roar in her veins.
No!
She watched the blood fall from Misuzu's body, feeling the anger in her chest twist and burn as her magie ached and changed within her.
She strained her hearing, hoping to hear heavy breaths, groans, rasps – just anything – but she couldn't hear past the groaning metal of reinforcements. Everything had gone wrong. It felt like her blood was burning so hot her skin would soon melt in front of her eyes.
It hurt. It hurt so much.
She screamed, arching her spine out as she felt rage spread through her body like an all-consuming fire. Each breath stoked it and burned hotter, brighter within her body until all she saw was red. Red like Misuzu's blood.
She would make them bleed; she wouldn't stop until they had!
Yuyu screamed as she launched into the nearest Huge, hammering her blade into its chest again and again until its metal finally caved. She beat it down, drawing out its defeat as she tore its limbs from its body before finally removing the head.
At the heat of an approaching projectile, she spun her blade to cover her back. She redirected its laser back at its attacker, killing the Huge with its own weapon before charging towards the rest, screaming to draw more and more toward herself.
It wasn't enough.
Nothing would ever be enough!
Soon, the world became a blur as she swung and swung and swung, hearing nothing but the ringing in her ears. Metal crushed beneath her strength, but she was moving on before she could lose her momentum, using it with crushing force until it became so easy, she didn't feel anything anymore until-
Until she w as stopped.
"Yuyu."
She gasped, eyes clearing as a familiar face stared back at her and in her arms. Her knuckles brushed against a wet shirt, and her eyes widened when she felt the hilt of her charm in her hand.
Her golden blade stuck out from Misuzu's back, slick with fresh blood, and with dread filling her heart and her soul, Yuyu realized what she had done.
"Misuzu!" She pleaded like her name was a prayer. A hope to wake up and find this nightmare, that Misuzu was safely sound asleep beside her.
But Misuzu only pulled her closer until she could feel her stuttering pulse in her neck and blood wet her shirt. Misuzu held her head as her lips grazed her ears, a weakened voice rasping quietly into them.
"Honestly, you're so reckless." Misuzu teased, and she felt her smile press against her neck. It felt like a goodbye.
"Misuzu," she begged, for what she didn't know. All she could do was taste the blood in her mouth again, and she wondered how much of it was Misuzu's.
"Don't overdo it," Misuzu sighed, slightly exasperated, "or your power will destroy you."
Yuyu's hands trembled as she held her still, torn between wanting to bring Misuzu closer and pushing her away. She didn't know what to do.
"Don't worry, Yuyu. As Lilies, this is our destiny," Misuzu breathed. "I'm just glad I had you until the end."
It was said with such content that Yuyu could only breathe through her teeth as she balled Misuzu's shirt in her hands.
The earth rumbled beneath their feet, and their moment was suddenly cut short as the Huge loomed up behind them. Yuyu felt her heart lurch as Misuzu began to pull away from her. When she realized what Misuzu was doing, she tightened her hold. She wasn't going to let her go. Not here.
Not like this.
"Stop!" She was not running. Yuyu would rather die here with Misuzu than leave her to die.
"Yuyu," Misuzu writhed, sensing her intentions. Now she knew why sacrificing herself scared her. But Yuyu felt like she was looking at a stranger when her eyes flashed coldly. "Let go."
Against everything, her mind was screaming; she felt her fingers slacken their hold on Misuzu.
"I'm sorry," Misuzu whispered, taking a tentative step back when the sound of metal caving suddenly shattered their moment. Yuyu stared, dumbfounded, as a girl launched toward them, her fist drawn back from where she punched the Huge.
"What?" Yuyu gasped, unable to believe her eyes.
As the Huge became entirely distracted by the girl who came out of nowhere, whatever strength kept Misuzu standing left her. Only Yuyu's quick reflexes caught her before she impaled herself further on the ground.
This time their roles were reversed as Yuyu held Misuzu close.
"Stay with me," she begged, pressing her lips to Misuzu's forehead.
Misuzu grabbed her hand, trembling too much to have the strength to squeeze it, but her nonverbal reply shook her more than that. She hummed low in her throat, looking skyward to the stars just beginning to peak through the dusk.
"I'm not letting go this time," she swore.
Misuzu just ever so slightly stiffened. Then slumped into her entirely. "Always so intense." She was teasing, but no matter how light the words, the way she choked on her blood to say them ruined the effect. Yuyu could only feel the weight of her heavy, unsteady breathing.
Yuyu could feel the warmth gradually leaving Misuzu. There wasn't much time left for her, and she wished she knew how to make this easy for her.
Suddenly, static crackled. Remembering herself, Yuyu quickly grabbed the radio from Misuzu before tuning into Alfeim's channel.
"Kawazoe, what's your status?"
Hope blossomed in Yuyu's heart at the sound of the captain's voice. She turned on the microphone and held it close, taking a shuddering breath before answering.
"This is Shirai Yuyu. Kawazoe is down. I repeat, Kawazoe is down."
The words physically pained her, but Yuyu had to be strong for the both of them now.
"What's your status, Shirai?"
"Kawazoe is alive, but I can't move her. An unknown is currently fighting the Huge nearby."
"Tell Kawazoe to hold on, Shirai. We'll be there soon."
Yuyu brushed Misuzu's hair from her face, holding her closely until amber eyes focused on her own. "Did you hear that, Misuzu? I need you to stay with me, okay?"
A soft breath against her wrists was her only answer.
Yuyu swallowed the whimper the action caused, wondering if hope could be enough to save her. She pleaded with everything she had that Misuzu would stay with her.
"You have to take it back," she heard and looked down to find Misuzu's hands weakly on top of the one holding her sword. Yuyu shook her head in refusal.
"Yuyu." Misuzu tried to be stern, but it felt weak as she stuttered over her name. Yuyu knew what Misuzu was trying to give her, but she didn't care. She didn't care if her comrades never trusted her again. She didn't care if she was deemed too significant a risk because of her rare skill. Her reputation was not worth a life.
Especially when her sword was the only thing keeping Misuzu from bleeding out.
"No," she refused and realized this was the first time she had said that to her. Regret filled her heart, not wanting to spend their last moments arguing.
"You're staying here with me," she kissed her forehead.
The crack of skin on metal made her jump, and she looked around her in search of another Huge. Yuyu felt the loss of her adrenaline keenly. Her magie was low, and Misuzu's blade lay in two pieces not far from them. She was defenseless.
They were running out of time.
Misuzu was losing blood at an alarmingly fast pace. It was terrifying to watch, knowing no matter how much pressure she put on the wound, it was like trying to stop a flood from entering the cracks of a door.
As she looked at their ally, the girl seemed to have been put entirely on the defensive to keep the Huge distracted. She was weaving between its whip-like appendages but never given enough room to back out.
Yuyu realized then that she didn't have a charm. Whatever shot she got in at the start, she wouldn't be able to take down the Huge. Yuyu knew their lives came down to holding off the Huge until backup arrived, however long that took.
It felt wrong, watching someone else fight for the Lilies. There was no way she was one of them, yet whatever magie technique she was to make herself stronger was the only thing keeping the Huge from slaughtering them and reaching the city.
"Yuyu," Misuzu shivered violently, drawing her attention. She was fading fast. Yuyu held her breath, worried the slightest sound of her breathing would cover Misuzu's following words. Her voice was now rendered quieter than a whisper. It was so unlike her.
"I'm right here, baby," she whispered, wiping her tears away. "Just stay with me," She ordered, pouring as much authority into her tone as possible.
The stranger suddenly had a breakthrough in the fight as she rushed the Huge, recklessly taking a hard blow to her arm. Yuyu thought she had lost her senses until she realized the Huge was backed up against the bridge's railings. With one mighty kick, the girl threw the Huge over the ledge.
Yuyu felt her heart hammer in her chest when the girl didn't waste a second to see where the Huge landed. Instead, she ran where Yuyu was, giving her a clear view of the red blossoming from her shoulder.
"Move," the girl commanded, crouching down and familiarizing herself with Misuzu's state. Yuyu backed off but couldn't entirely separate herself from Misuzu, holding tightly to her hand.
"Can you help her?" She asked, unable to keep the plea from her voice.
The other girl didn't look at her, and after a long moment, Yuyu realized she wouldn't answer her either. A shawl was wrapped around her lower face, completely hiding what kind of expression she could be making. Yuyu felt their chances wither and die.
"We don't have a lot of time," she was told. Without warning, the blade was suddenly pulled from Misuzu's body, who woke with such a painful scream Yuyu found herself reaching forward to shove the stranger away. Her charm was already out by the time she made the distance. She was not deterred even as the girl fell over on her back from the shove.
"Do you want me to help or not?" The girl snapped, pushing her charm away. Frozen by her words, Yuyu swallowed, cowed. She could only watch as the girl's hands lit up green, like no magie she had ever seen. When she pressed the palms of her hands into the wide-open gaping wound, the light entered Misuzu's body.
Misuzu cried out, blood splattering down her chin and neck. Her expression twisted in agony, body writhing, but Yuyu was too busy holding her down to comfort her. Guilt ate at her.
"What's happening?" She couldn't help but ask, eyes on the girl who was entirely absorbed in her efforts.
It looked like she didn't know. Her eyes widened before narrowing in determination, her hands moving to places Yuyu knew internal organs lay. The more she tried to understand what was happening, the more she trembled with terror with how much more she had to lose.
When the green light began to flicker, she watched as the girl wavered unsteadily before backing away. No, that couldn't be it! Misuzu was too still, too quiet. Her skin was ashen, and her eyes were closed. Any color left was the blood that coated every inch of her. Yuyu felt her chest burn at the sight. "No! You'll fix this!" She screamed.
The girl's fists trembled at her side, her eyes turned to the ground. "I did the best I could. I can't do anything more," her voice was apologetic, but it changed nothing.
Yuyu found herself lunging at the girl, hand heavy with the weapon she had picked up on instinct, and shouted, "that's not good enough!" She stopped, startled as she realized she held the charm still dripping in Misuzu's blood. She dropped the weapon like it burned her and pressed her hands into her eyes.
She cried, her voice rising into an agonized scream with every pent-up emotion until she felt something within her change. She barely noticed when the ends of her hair turned white, but when she pulled her hands away and growled at the useless girl, she was unprepared for the fist heading her way.
The last thing Yuyu felt was the explosion of pain in her head.
When she woke up, the floor was rocking.
She groaned at the frankly awful experience and brought her hands up to her aching head, idly noticing that a thick layer of bandages now covered her arms. Her uniform coat had been stripped away, leaving her in a simple white shirt and black pants.
"You're finally awake, good."
Yuyu snapped her head to the side and eagerly drank in her captain's appearance. She looked stressed, with dark shadows under her eyes and her coat almost serving as a blanket from where it hung over her shoulders.
Memories of the battle returned to her, and she found herself sitting up with a sharp jerk, eyes bouncing around the room as she tried to recognize it. Where was her guardian? "Misuzu?" She asked, unable to hide the dread clawing in her heart.
Kaoru pursed her lips and leaned to the side, revealing the other girl lying in the cot across the room. "She's alive." Yuyu relaxed at the news. "But she's lucky to be that way. Despite her injury, her internal organs somehow came out unscathed. Her life is not in danger, but she'll be off-duty for a long time to fully recover from the trauma she experienced."
Yuyu swallowed heavily. "The others?"
"No casualties. Like Kawazoe, however, a lot of people sustained serious injuries. Too many of us will be taken off duty to recover. Alfeim won't be deployed for the rest of the year." Despite her words, it went unsaid that they were relieved by it.
"We'll be back at the academy by nightfall. If you want to sit with your Schutzengel, you can. Just be mindful of her injuries," the other girl went for the door. Yuyu barely paid her any mind as she crossed the room to Misuzu's side.
"Yuyu," she stopped at the captain's frigid tone. She glanced over at her captain, lowering her eyes at the captain's burning gaze. "We will be talking about what happened."
Yuyu nodded even as cold sweat sent chills down her neck. "Yes, captain."
Then she was gone, and Yuyu was alone with Misuzu. Cautiously, she took Misuzu's hand in her own before bowing her head. "I'm sorry, Misuzu," she said, bowing her head as she whispered her promise.
She'll never lose control again.