.

  "You don't actually need my strength any further, right?" said Erina. Her faint voice was as fragile as the thinnest glass. Her grip tightened on her sleeve. "Or rather… No. That's not it. You never truly needed my assistance from the start, did you?"

  "…Erina." Akira's voice was stern. "What are you—"

  "Whether I'm here or not doesn't matter. The truth is there's nothing I can really do to change things, isn't it? Not someone like me." Erina hugged her aching body tighter. "Please, Akira… I want to go home."

  "Oi." Akira began pacing back. "After everything I've done for you? When your superior tells you to jump, you say how high. You think the world of yakuza is one where any kid who gets cold feet gets to—"

  "I never wanted to become a part of this world!" Erina shouted over her. She looked up, and now Akira could see those green eyes of hers. The dam broke. All of the emotions Erina had bottled up from the day she awoke—they finally overflowed, no longer possible to contain. "I never asked to fight anyone. From the beginning, I only ever wanted a normal, quiet life. But what I wanted never mattered, did it? I didn't want to be involved in any of this. I didn't want to come here. I didn't want to risk my life again and again, not knowing whether every second was going to be my last! I don't want to die!" Erina got to her feet and shouted, "Is that too much to ask?!"

  A terrible silence fell over them. Erina's chest rose and fell in short, shuddering breaths. Akira's gold eyes were the same as they always were—filled with vigor, burning with intensity. She stepped forward. "Erina—!"

  Akira stopped in her tracks.

  Erina had raised her sights, leveling two fingers at her. A spell circle glowed at her fingertips.

  "Erina." Akira's voice fell to a low, lethal whisper. "What, exactly, do you think you're doing?"

  "Please… let me go." Erina's rapid breathing hitched as she swallowed, her aim slipping down. She brought her sights back up to bear on her patriarch. "I beg of you… please let me go."

  There was no reply coming from Akira. Only a cold, stony silence.

  "On the day you found me… I died." Erina tried again and again to steady her shaking voice. She failed again and again. "When I fought Patriarch Kirigami for the first time, I know I died. He killed me." Those wide green eyes weren't seeing Akira anymore. "I was so scared to walk in there again. Every second, I felt so scared I thought I was going to throw up. I'm scared every time I have to fight. I'm so, so scared to go up this mountain any further."

  Erina's head was shaking. Her hand was shaking. The battered uniform for a school that didn't exist was covered in scratches, dust, and dried blood.

  "I'm so scared of you."

  Akira shifted. Erina couldn't make out anything else through her blurry, watery vision.

  "I beg you," she whispered. "I can't go any further. I can't do this. I just can't."

  Akira didn't even look like she was breathing.

  "Please, Akira. I'm not strong like you." Erina blinked hard over and over, trying to keep it in. The first tears slipped free, tracing wet trails down her cheeks. She took a shaky breath, but she couldn't hold them back anymore. Another tear fell, and then another. Her voice broke, crumbling away to nothing but a hoarse whisper. "…I'm not ready to die like you."

  Akira opened her mouth—and then closed it again. She was silent for a long time, her eyes on the hand raised against her. She looked away, one hand in her pocket as her gaze settled on the landscape below.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  A cold wind blew over them. The ends of Akira's jacket swayed with it. Long dark hair fluttered in the wind, briefly revealing both of Erina's eyes. Tears ran down her face, every breath she took quick and empty. Even through her tears and her shaking hands, her aim remained fixed on her patriarch.

  "I get it," muttered Akira. She still wouldn't meet her eye. "Longing for a normal life, huh…? Yeah. I totally get it."

  It was a soft, honest tone Erina had never heard before.

  "Goukei's planning on tearing down the border of Surface and Reverse," said Akira. "He wants to reintroduce his golden age to the modern day—a world where youkai and myths of old are freed from lurking in the collective unconscious to run wild across the planet. The way the world worked before humanity developed their understanding of the universe, and moved on from the need to explain away things that scared them as acts of youkai or gods." She ran her hand through her hair. "Sorry. I should've briefed you before coming here. That's my fault."

  Erina's aim didn't lower one inch.

  "…You want peace? It's out there, that's for sure. But the road to it is forward, not back." Akira finally tore attention off the landscape. She brought those golden eyes back to the poor lost girl who was only here because she had nowhere else to go. "My hands are tied too. The family's big on responsibility. If I let you walk, others will come for you, even if I don't. And Goukei over there will put an end to that peaceful life as quickly as you find it. I can't just let you walk away after signing on… but I can protect you from the worst of it."

  Akira took one slow step forward. Erina shook, the tears still flowing as she did everything in her power not to sob aloud.

  "That's why," said Akira. "For today, I need you to grit your teeth and bear with it just a little bit longer. I'll get you out. Promise."

  She took another cautious step closer. Erina really did sob, almost tripping over herself as she backed away in turn. Her sights never left her.

  "Don't forget—you're not alone today. I'm right here." Akira spoke slowly and softly. These were the words Erina needed to hear, not harsh admonitions. "I've got your back, okay? I'm watching over you. All you need to do is keep your eyes forward and your feet moving." Akira's shoulders fell from their high, tense position. The caution fell with them, and she simply walked. "I'll take care of everything else."

  Erina's breaths came out in short, sporadic bursts. She swallowed as hard as she could, trying to force down the emotions that just wouldn't stop. Her feet didn't move.

  "…I know it's hard," said Akira softly. Her boots moved quietly across the earth. "You've held back so much, hiding how you felt and what you thought—forcing yourself to be something you aren't. Feeling cornered and lost, with nowhere to go and nothing in your control."

  Erina's lip trembled.

  "I get it," whispered Akira. "I get exactly where you're coming from."

  "Then why?" Erina's voice was hoarse and cracked. "Why all of this?"

  "Because it's the only way to make sure you…" She trailed off. Gold eyes flitted aside briefly as she shook her head at herself. "That ain't it."

  Akira slowly walked right up to her. Erina's fingers hovered inches away from her face, her spell circle casting a pale green glow over her.

  "Erina. I didn't look out for you enough. I pushed you too hard, too far, for too long."

  She reached up. Her gloved hands wrapped around Erina's. Golden eyes remained joined with green.

  "I'm sorry. From here on out, I'll look after you. For real this time. Promise you that."

  Slowly, gently, she guided her hand down. Erina didn't resist. The spell circle stopped rotating and faded to nothingness. Akira watched Erina's eyes well up. The lost girl looked down, and Akira lightly tugged her in, supporting her as she fell to her knees. Erina nestled her face into Akira's shoulder, her tears staining her jacket.

  "It's been so long," murmured Akira. "I've been in the deep end so long, I forgot… End of the day, you're just a normal girl. You don't deserve to end up in a place like this." She let Erina squeeze her hand tight, gently patting her back with the other. "And that's okay."

  Akira didn't say anything else. She stayed with Erina just like that, and let her cry. For now, it was okay for Erina to be overwhelmed with fear and confusion. There was no need to choke it back and put on a brave front. Akira allowed her to shed all the tears she'd held back, and silently accepted them as her responsibility.

  Gradually, bit by bit, the shuddering and the panicked breaths grew fainter. The shaky draws of air slowed and deepened. The tight grip on her hand lightened, and the face buried in her shoulder drew back slightly. The tight heart that raced to the verge of breaking now eased and settled.

  When Erina spoke, her distant voice was muffled by the fabric. "…You're so unfair."

  Akira smiled over her shoulder. "Now you're being a little more honest."

  "I'm sorry." Erina lifted her face and sat up, sniffling. She wiped her face, offering a brief glimpse of both eyes before her hair fell back into place. "And… thank you, Akira. I'll do my best. For you."

  "That's all I'm asking. And if that's not enough, I'm here for you." Akira got to her feet. She extended her hand to the girl. "Shall we?"

  Erina looked at the offered hand. Gradually, for the very first time, Akira saw a faint smile form on her face.

  She reached out and took her hand.

  "Yes, sir," said Erina.