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[beyondtheblade]

"You've reached Kazanari Tsubasa. Please leave a message after being prompted."

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[voice]

[trustheart]

Senpai, I just found out Maria is gone.

I'm sorry you didn't get to meet her before that happened. She... she left behind a picture for me. I guess that means she might have known it was coming.

...

I don't know what happens to shinki that disappear from The Far Shore, and it hurts to think about it. I kinda don't wanna be alone right now. We don't need to talk about it, but... I'd appreciate it if you could come over and just. Hang out for a bit.

[voice]

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa is listening, but it is ... a good several moments before she can reply. ]

...of course, Yukine. Honestly, that would be... appreciated on my end, as well.

[voice]

[trustheart]

Mm. Thanks. You know where my temple is, right?

[voice]

[beyondtheblade]

Yes.

I will be there shortly.

[It's rather short and to the point, even for Tsubasa.]

[voice]

[trustheart]

I'll meet ya at the entrance when ya get there.

[action]

[beyondtheblade]

[It doesn't take Tsubasa terribly long to get there. She immediately looks tired once in view, even though she's clearly only just learned about this. She gives Chris a small nod upon approaching.]

Are you alright, Yukine?

Re: [action]

[trustheart]

... I could be better, honestly.

[She motions for Tsubasa to follow her inside.] Come on in. Luger made some coffee earlier, that alright?

[beyondtheblade]

[She frowns, but nods again as she follows Chris within her grounds.]

That is fine, yes.

[She lets out a small sigh.]

And the sentiment is the same here.

[trustheart]

[Chris leads her inside, through the altar room, and towards the room in the back that Chris has fashioned into a kitchen/dining room. On the way through, Tsubasa might notice the words "DO THAT AT HOME" marked on a pillar with bullet holes.

Luger is already there. He bids Tsubasa a greeting, remarks that the current pot is fresh, and moves on. Chris walks over to the coffee pot herself, before turning back to Tsubasa.]

You want it any particular way?

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa does a double take at the words shot into a pillar, and is still blinking in surprise by the time they make it to the kitchen. She can't really answer the question because she has to ask:] Yukine, is it a good idea to be defacing your temple so early?

[trustheart]

...

[Chris's face turned red.]

You saw that, huh? I guess it's to be expected. Kinda hard to miss...

[beyondtheblade]

I honestly had given you at least a month before something like that!

[These words just. Spill out of her mouth. Because Tsubasa... sometimes doesn't have a filter, particularly when she's already feeling sort of emotional, no matter how stupid the comment.

She coughs lightly.]

But... I suppose that is not why I am here...

[trustheart]

... Yeah, uh, nope. I did that as soon as I realized what kind of prayers "goddess of fertility and love" would get me.

[She smiles despite herself.]

You're right, it's not. But seriously senpai, how do you want your coffee?

[beyondtheblade]

[...oh.]

Yukine... I- I suppose I can understand, in this instance.

[She shakes her head.]

My apologies. Black.

[Simple and straightforward. Of course.]

[trustheart]

[Chris smiled at her through gritted teeth.]

Let's not talk about that, kay?

[She poured Tsubasa a cup as requested, and made one for herself, with a good amount of sugar and cream. Then, she walked over to the table, setting both mugs down between them.]

So... Maria...

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa opens her mouth. Words amounting to "if it's bother you we could talk about it" falls dead in her throat, and she actually thinks better of it.

She sighs, grasping the mug.]

I had... given thought to it.

The Maria I had known, I had just seen, before I was pulled here. There is a difference of time in your arrival and mine, but... There is little doubt we come from the same time.

[She frowns.] I've had multiple people mention a previous me. I certainly do not recall having been here ever, so... It is apparent that there are other versions of us, other times and worlds. It's the only explanation, but... I am morally certain our Maria is alive and well.

[Thinking anything else would probably drive her crazy.

She bows her head.]

All the same, I hope this Maria either found her way home, or... found peace. I am... sorry I was unable to meet her.

[trustheart]

[Chris's eyes widen in realization.]

So that's what Shikyoin met...

[She nodded, however, and looked down into her mug.]

I figured that out, more or less, yeah. But it's good to be certain of it. But, like... that doesn't change that I feel bad. Whether it was another version of her, she was still Maria. She was someone who fought alongside us. She was still our friend, and as much "our" Maria as any other version of her.

[She took a sip, and looked up at the ceiling wistfully.]

There's nothing we could have done really, but. It's gonna hurt for a while, isn't it?

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa frowns deeper.]

No, I do not mean to simply cast her aside if she is not from "our" time or world. It... pains me a lot. There's part of me that doesn't know how to feel, but... Part of me feels a need to rationalize it. To make sure when we go home, all our friends will still be there.

Of course...

[She sighs. She looks into her mug. She hadn't taken a sip at all.]

This isn't the first time.

So I know this well. I've been blessed that you, nor Tachibana, nor... any of our friends have been lost to us since we came together.

Yet, I know well it will hurt for a long time. Yet, like her...

[She closes her eyes.]

Yukine, not too long ago, you were blaming yourself for Kanade's death. What I didn't say, and I should have then, was...

She probably would have died, no matter what you did. Maybe not then, but if not then, Gungnir would not have been passed onto Tachibana. What I never could admit to myself for some time was that no matter how strong she was, she was pushing herself to use her power.

She was not meant for it. She forced herself to be able to. Her initial exposure to LiNKER was both a testament to human willpower and also... what should have been terrifying to me, yet wasn't.

Maria, Tsukuyomi, Akatsuki... were trained in terrible ways from an early age, but they still had more time and priming before attaining their Gears. They have used their Climax Songs, and lived. Even without Tachibana focusing us.

Like Maria, there was... nothing that could have been done, really. Not really.

Thus, it is our responsibility to remember her, to move on, and hope for the best, wherever she may be.

[trustheart]

... Senpai...

[Tsubasa had picked up on Kanade; not even Chris had realized that was still lingering in the back of her mind. But... she also couldn't really argue with anything her friend was saying.]

You're right. Again. It doesn't make it any easier, but... it's something I needed to hear, I guess. I don't know if I'll ever not feel guilty about what happened to her, or anyone else, but... remembering them is still what I need to do.

And I think it's what she and Maria would want.

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa has to take a longer moment than normal to compose herself after all of that.]

We all have burdens we will always carry. I am determined not to be defined by them, but rather what I do to move forward.

So you're right. But if you have any trouble doing that, just remember.. I'm here, as well. Carrying similar things, along with my own demons.

[trustheart]

And I'm here too, senpai. You don't have to carry it alone, either.

...

You know what? We should just. Share stories, you know? About Kanade and Maria. Remember what we liked about them, any funny stories... you know, that kind of thing.

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa's eyelashes flutter for a moment at that suggestion before she settles down a bit, smiling fondly.]

Ah... yes, you know, that would not be a terrible idea...

[trustheart]

[Chris nodded, continuing to smile.

As they talked through the night, it proved not to be very lonely or difficult at all.]

[march 9th]

[trustheart]

Senpai, I have some important information for you from my shinki, Ginia.

You may remember I mentioned a cult that's been causing trouble. I now have more concrete information that puts us in a serious spot. Ginia knew more than I did, and she's done some things that'd be pretty serious if heaven knew about them.

First of all, the cult wants to overthrow the heavens, and place their own gods in positions of power in their place. Their leader is a man named Imai Takeru, and they want gods that will specifically "fulfill their wishes. They have two gods under their control named Votelli, a forest god, and Sotero, a volcano god.

Sotero was the one who caused the damage in the western district.

But here's where it gets complicated. A few months back, there were gods and shinki who were kidnapped by the cult, and people were sent to investigate. Ginia met Votelli there, and... senpai, she's just a kid. They both are. They look like they can't be older than twelve. Ginia doesn't know where they came from but they're clearly being used by these bastards.

Ginia ended up setting up a shrine for her in the Near Shore under a different name. She's only fought Sotero in the past, but she's pretty confident the same circumstances apply to them.

If the top gods found out about this, it's pretty certain they'd execute her for it, on top of her having more than one God. I think this is pretty bullshit, even if I am annoyed I'm only finding out like this. But not only is the world in danger, so are two innocent kids - and on top of that, the gods in charge think they're the bigger threat than the cult. There was a meeting last night where Amaterasu declared they needed to be brought in, alive or dead, in fact.

Ginia has my support and she told me everything knowing I could easily release her and take this to a higher power. I also let her know I had absolutely no interest in hiding any of this from you or your shinki.

I'm sorry this is something you're having to find out so soon after being here. This is pretty dangerous. But... we're used to that, aren't we? Ginia also gave me addresses for some of the top members... they're all people that even heaven needs to be observed, but one of them, Ota Saburo, has a wife and two kids that need to be watched out for. I can send you all the pertinent information if you want.

Oh, and this is what Votelli looks like.

[beyondtheblade]

[Of course, things couldn't be as simple as they seemed on the surface, could they?]

...understood, Yukine. Thank you for telling me all of this.

Still, I would urge that you need to proceed with caution. Tying so close to this when neither of us has even been around here a month, it could be possible to blindly rush into even greater trouble without even realizing it.