“Are you by yourself?” Yuki asked.
She stood in the middle of the forest, arms around Akira as Akira’s arms were wrapped around her. They stood there, neither one wanting to be the first to let go.
“No, but I went on ahead,” Akira replied. Her voice sounded a bit embarrassed. “They should be here soon.”
“Did you bring Yuna?”
“I did. Why?”
“Some things popped up,” Yuki said.
“I see. Yuki,” Akira said, “is that a friend?”
Yuki didn’t need to turn around to know who Akira was referring to. She could feel Ember hanging back, partially hidden by the trees of the forest.
“She is,” Yuki replied. “There’s a lot that we need to catch up on. How long was I gone?”
“Almost a year,” Akira said. With a hint of reluctance on her face, she separated herself from Yuki. “How long do you think you were gone?”
“In real time, probably half that,” Yuki said. “But it felt much longer.”
“It did,” Akira sighed. “But here we are now, so everything is fine in the end. You’re right that we need to catch up. There are things going on outside that you need to know.”
“Alright, Let me introduce you to my friend. Ember, you don’t need to be shy.”
Yuki turned around and smiled at Ember as she poked out of the trees. She gave Akira a curious yet wary expression. Akira gave her a kind smile though Yuki could tell she was a bit confused by Ember’s reaction.
“Hello, I’m Akira.”
“Hi.” Ember fidgeted with her hands. “Um, nice to meet you.”
“And you too. Thank you for caring for Yuki. I really appreciate it.”
“Oh, it was no problem. No problem at all,” Ember replied. “Um.”
Akira raised a brow and waited for Ember to say what was on her mind, but Ember kept hesitating. The way her eyes periodically flickered towards Yuki told Yuki what she wanted to say.
“Akira,” Yuki said. “What Ember wants to say is during our time in the arena, some things happened between us. She’s a part of our family now.”
Akira’s brow rose higher as Ember began to blush at Yuki’s words. A small smile spread across her lips. She appraised Ember with a critical eye before giving a nod.
“I see. I have no complaints,” she said. “You helped my Yuki. If Yuki likes you, and you like her, then there’s no reason for me to object.”
“Really?” Ember asked.
“Why would I?” Akira said. She giggled at Ember’s shocked face. “Isn’t this normal for demons?”
“I guess,” Ember frowned. “Though, dragons are a bit more monogamous compared to others.”
“You’re a dragon?”
“She’s a fire dragon,” Yuki answered. “A strong one as well.”
“A rather apt name then,” Akira smiled. Yuki laughed at that.
“I thought so as well,” she said.
“You’re going to be in shock when you learn about the names of other dragons,” Ember said. “A name like mine is pretty common. Guess what a dragon named Spark would be?”
“A lightning dragon?” Akira smiled.
“Exactly.”
“Let’s go someplace nicer to talk,” Yuki said. “We’ll wait for the others to come. Who did you bring?”
“Yuna, as you know. Erica, of course,” Akira replied as she walked beside Yuki. “You know, she was the one that searched the hardest. I’m glad she was with me and Yuna. Without her, we might have given up hope.”
“I see. Anyone else?”
“Mathali came. He’s been a good help. With his knowledge and Erica’s help, we actually found one of the Fiddler’s locations. She came back one day after being gone for almost four months to take us there,” Akira said. “It was the wrong one though.”
“What happened to it?” Yuki asked.
“Well, Erica happened.”
“What?”
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“She got angry and destroyed the place. Then went right back to looking for you.”
Yuki took that news with silence. Erica being angry wasn’t something she had seen before.
[Also. Yuki,] Akira said, touching the link between them.
‘Yes?’
[Remember that I was your first,] she smiled. [And Erica. How do you feel about her?]
‘I think you know how I feel about her,’ Yuki replied. Her feelings about Erica had become very apparent during her time in the Coliseum.
[So are you going to bond with her?]
‘I should.’
[Well, if you do, make sure it’s in a good place. Make it romantic. I’m sure she’ll love it. If you need help setting it up, just tell me.]
‘Thanks,’ Yuki said with a small smile. ‘Problem is, I don’t know how to do any of it. Isn’t there some sort of ceremony?’
[I think?] Akira said. [You know I don’t have much experience in this as well. It’s not like we did it properly.]
‘True. You at least know how to do the spell though, right?’
[Of course. I’ll teach you. Then we can come up with something. Remember, don’t leave Erica waiting too long.]
‘I’ll try not to.’
They stepped into the clearing where the Fiddler’s box building stood. With a wave of her hand, Yuki began to create furnishings for them all to sit on. Akira helped and in a matter of seconds, an ornate meeting table complete with six equally fancy chairs was created.
“You killed him, I see,” Akira commented. Yuki turned to see what she was looking at. “The Fiddler.”
“With Ember’s help. We broke out then slayed him,” Yuki replied.
“It’s a bit of a shame you could hold him for a bit so that I could watch,” Akira said. “Erica would have loved to watch him die.”
“Got a bit caught up in the moment.”
“Speaking of Erica, she’s almost here,” Akira said. “I can feel her getting closer. She’ll be here any moment now.”
“You can feel her?” Yuki asked.
“Mhm. Like I said, there’s a lot of things we need to catch up on,” she smiled.
“Hmm.”
Yuki heard Erica before seeing her. The sounds of feet drumming along the ground, snapping twigs and crushing leaves, as they hurried towards the clearing caught her attention. She saw her burst out of the trees, her head looking around until it locked onto Yuki.
“Yuki!” she shouted, running.
Smiling, Yuki met her with open arms and gave her a hug. Erica cupped her face and looked at every part of her before letting out a relieved sigh.
“It’s really you,” she whispered.
“It’s really me,” Yuki replied. “I heard you’ve been looking for me. Thank you. I never gave up hope, and I’m glad that you didn’t either.”
“I never would have. Akira too.”
Yuki smiled again and peeked past her to see Yuna coming out from the forest, Mathali right behind her. She waved at Yuna, one arm still around Erica. Yuna’s eyes widened when she saw Yuki.
“Yuki,” Yuna said after she caught up. “Are you okay?”
“I am. I’m happy you’re all here,” Yuki said. The Fiddler’s words appeared in her mind, dampening her mood a bit. “We have some things to talk about though before we can really celebrate. Come, you two. Sit. Mathali too.”
“As you wish, my lord,” Mathali bowed. “I’m glad to see you in good health. Rather, you seem to be in even better shape than before.”
“That’ll be explained during our little meeting,” Yuki said. “A few other things will be explained as well along with some news.”
They all took their seats around the earthen table that Yuki had erected with Akira. Taking a look around the table, Yuki took in everyone’s faces. A sense of relief and joy filled her. At last, she was with family again.
“Let’s get started,” Yuki smiled.