It's like an icy talon is clenched around my heart, digging its claws into the arteries. My hands have never felt more empty than at this moment without Sacchan in my grasp.
Warm fingers suddenly intertwine with mine instead, pulling me back to solid ground. Loraine stares up at me with worried eyes that beg me not to leave her side.
I take a deep breath to calm my nerves and offer a strained smile to the senpai I haven't seen in years. "Anya… shouldn't you be in college?"
She stares at me stupefied, then rolls her eyes, sighing. "Ahh, man. The one thing Chika didn't teach you was manners."
Anya makes herself at home, taking an open seat and filling a cup for herself. She stuffs her face so full of food she might as well be part hamster. All the while everyone else remains silent and standing.
I wave off Yui and Kawa down from their aggressive stance to sit back down. Owyn does the same of his guards and returns to his seat.
"Owyn, I'm gonna need more of this wine. I'm ten drinks too sober to be awake!" Anya shouts to the Emir, ordering him around like he's a lapdog.
"R-Right away." Like an obedient dog, he listens, clapping twice to urge his dancers to fetch more.
First Yui, now Anya. Then it should make sense to assume Chika and the two other queens are here, too. I need to know.
But when I try to speak, Anya beats me to the punch. "You got a lot of questions, I know. Most of them I don't got answers to. I went to sleep one day and woke up frying like bacon in a desert. I'm guessing the same for you two?"
"Yeah. Except unlike you, I had shade. More importantly—" I'm interrupted by the returning dancers, each carrying three steins to a hand.
"Perfect timing. Drink now, talk later!" Anya grabs two then shoves one in my hand. She sees Loraine and gives her the other drink. "Dark elf chick should drink, too. Yui! Come here and get drunk with me!"
"Wait, wait a minute—!" I'm getting picked up by Anya's pace despite all the questions I still want to ask.
***
Anya's intrusion completely shook up the dynamic of the feast for the rest of the night. Good thing because the Emir never found a chance to chime in again. His pompous voice was getting on my nerves.
But that also meant everyone else went quiet. It was just me, Yui, and Anya drinking until we couldn't see straight anymore. Mildred and Frey were more than happy to watch us get sloshed, and Kain didn't speak after that.
We were all given separate rooms in the palace. Mildred followed after Kain despite his insistence that they not sleep together. The rest of us are retiring for the night, too.
"Yui and I will take another room. I'm sure you'd like your privacy with Loraine, nyehehe~" Frey says, picking up the unconscious Yui on her back.
Anya helps carry Kawa to my room while I have Loraine wasted on my back. I half-expected the room to be without a bed after seeing a chairless dining hall, but a round bed of red and gold satin sheets await us. There are more cushions than I know what to do with. I have to throw some off to make room for Loraine.
When I lay her down and pull the sheets over her, I feel her hand tugging on me. She's half asleep, mumbling something I can't make out. Anya lays Kawa next to her and takes a seat on the far wall nursing another drink.
I sit down on the bed, not wanting to wake Loraine up by pulling away.
"You have any regrets?" Anya suddenly asks. "Leaving Japan, I mean."
Looking down at Loraine, I thought the answer would come without hesitation. "The only thing I regret is not settling the score with Chika."
Anya shrugs, turning the stein upside down to catch the last drop into her mouth. "I like it here. No one cares where I came from. No shortage of strong punks to fight. At the end of the day, everyone's just another punching bag."
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Anya clenches her fist so hard, the dragon tattoo on her arm seems to come to life as her muscles swell. Then it occurs to me— I should have guessed when I saw her.
"You're going to be fighting in the tournament, aren't ya?" I ask her.
The smirk on her face answers the question for me. And she knows I'm in it, too.
"We may be in another world, but it doesn't change who or what we are. I'm gonna rise to the top, Micchi. You're just another punching bag for me to get there," Anya says.
A pulsating power similar to Sacchan and Yui's weapon emanates from her. Anya was strong in Japan, strong enough to conquer the entire Tohoku Region. No doubt she's got herself some kind of power when she came here, too.
My blood is boiling again, not out of rage or fear— it's excitement that I haven't felt since facing Yui.
"Welp. Night's over when the cup's empty. We should do this again sometime, Micchi. You're the closest thing to Chika I can drink with. You also don't get wasted after a few drinks like Yui. " Anya heads for the door, waving without turning back.
"Anya, wait. You… really don't know if Chika is here?" I ask again.
She pauses, glances over her shoulder and answers, "Sorry, kid."
The door closes. It's like an emptiness escaped out the door with Anya as she left.
So I haven't gotten over Chika at all.
Loraine's hand squeezes tighter. I turn around to find that she's awake.
"When did you wake up?" I ask, laying down next to her.
"I never fell asleep. I was worried something was going to happen to you, so I stayed awake," she whispers, pulling me into her arms.
Guilt wracks at my heart. A heavy and sinking feeling weighs down on it. "You heard everything then. About Chika… I'm sor—"
Loraine buries my face into her chest before I can finish speaking. Her chin grinds gently against the top of my head, the rhythmic massage and warmth of her body making me drowsy.
"She doesn't matter." I hear her say. "You don't have to apologize for anything when you're with me."
I shut my eyes and drift to sleep listening to the sound of her heartbeat.
***
I wake up the next morning glancing up to a ceiling I don't recognize and remember that we're in Ash'tar, not Cynderace. Loraine clings to my arm, her sleeping face so close that I can grow addicted staring at it. She isn't even awake and can still make my heart skip a beat.
Slowly, I pull my arm away without waking her and sit up on the bed. Something— several things roll off my chest. I glance over to see a dead snake, an owl, and a random shoe next to me.
"Ka… KAAAWAAAA!"