Kiara slowly woke up, fumbling around in Rory's arms as they laid together. Rory's face was nuzzled into Kiara's back, though, she was clearly still awake, taking in the woman's scent. Kiara flipped around, looking down at Rory who looked back up at her.
"Hey, Kiara..." Rory murmured, her arms still wrapped around Kiara. Kiara was noticeably taller than Rory, and generally more bulky, and thus, Kiara always enjoyed it when Rory would do this... It was cute to look down at her, in a way.
"Hey, Rory...!" Kiara said, slowly getting up as she stretched out, holding Rory's hand after the woman had let go of her.
"So... I know you're just waking up, but, are you gonna explain why Gabriel and Terevion had to haul you back to me...?" Rory asked, her grip around Kiara's hand intensifying as she looked her wife in the eyes, awaiting an answer as it was evident Kiara had begun to stumble on her words.
"A-Ah- Oh- Uh.... I... Went to check on David... And uh... I guess I had an episode... he... did to..." Kiara said hoarsely, turning away from Rory as if on instinct.
"Damnit...!" Rory exclaimed, causing Kiara to flinch. "I... I should've come with you... I don't even know how I let you convince me to leave you alone..."
"R-Rory, it's fine. Gabriel helped me out... And... I'm feeling a lot better now that we're together again..." Kiara said with a smile, turning back over to Rory. "I was just... worried about David."
Rory sighed, just moving over and pulling Kiara in for a tight, passionate hug. Both of their tension visibly melted away, it was clear they were both enjoying this, even if the conversation topic was a little... heavy, per se.
"I know you and him are... close..." Rory said, "It's sorta hard to believe... You and David were really at each other's necks when you first met..." Rory said, chuckling unintentionally.
"Hehe...!" Kiara chuckled as well, but more audibly, clearly amused by Rory bringing that up. "Yeah, I guess I was inexperienced back then... I should've kept a better eye on Akari before we... yknow...!" Kiara said, causing both of them to softly laugh simultaneously, their hug still not breaking.
"Regardless, though... He's a good guy... A great guy, even... I look up to him, yknow...? I know he's given up on his dream of being a hero but that... doesn't make him not a hero, yknow?" Kiara said, the intensity of Rory's hug seeming to lessen a bit as she stayed silent for a few moments.
"Yknow... Back in the day, before I met you, they used to call me the Hero of the Dream World..." Rory said, causing Kiara's eyes to light up.
"Really!? Oh my gosh, that's so cool!!" Kiara said, "I never knew you were that kind of type, Rory! Nowadays, you just seem sorta-"
"Disconnected? Cold?" Rory asked, causing Kiara to flinch.
"Rory, I didn't mean it like tha-" Rory cut Kiara off.
"It's fine, Kiara... Like you said, David's changed and... I've changed. I learned about my fate as the Apoptosis and I... No, even before that, I hurt my friends, and I did a lot of cruel stuff. I don't think I deserve the title of hero anymore, Kiara." Rory said, finally breaking away from their hug.
"N-No..!! No no no!" Kiara said, shaking her head as she held both of Rory's hands.
"I think you're still a hero, Rory! And I think David's a hero as well! Through these Lostbelts, and even before that, you guys have... saved a lot of people, yknow? Without people like you around... fighting against people like Adam... A lot of innocent people would die." Kiara said, causing Rory to remain silent.
"Maybe you're not the Hero of the Dream World... Or the Invincible King Tiger... You're just... Rory and David. And Rory and David can still be heroes-" Rory cut Kiara off once more.
"....Please... stop..." Rory murmured, trembling.
"...Just... stop..." She asked, "Please..."
Kiara nodded, "I'm... I'm sorry, Rory..." Kiara pulled Rory in for another hug, the swordswoman continuing to tremble as Kiara spoke.
"I want to go talk with David again later... To... I want to see what I can do to help him... I know he's hurting, and I... Rory... I know you're hurting. Maybe for different reasons than he or I are, but, you're hurting..." Kiara murmured as Rory ceased trembling at Kiara's touch.
"....H-How can you..." Rory murmured, nuzzling her face into Kiara's chest, her voice muffled. "Maintain such a good relationship with David... with... with people... Throughout all of this...?"
Kiara smiled, thinking of what she should say for a few moments. "I... uh... just... Go to talk, every once and a while..? I just uh... Help them out... Or I try to... help David when I can... And yknow I just... let them know I care... Why are you asking...?" Kiara asked.
"......" Rory remained silent for a few moments. "N-.... No... no reason... I just... I guess I'm impressed you can maintain such positive relations through all this pressure, yknow...?"
Kiara chuckled, "It isn't easy, but... I try to manage... I should probably see how Lance is doing later..."
Rory nodded lightly, "Alright, Kiara... You're a good person.... A lot better than somebody like me... I don't deserve you... No no, you're a Goddess, Kiara..." Rory said, causing Kiara to blush profusely.
"H-Hey... Don't start being romantic now...!" Kiara exclaimed, pushing Rory away from her gently, but she just held onto Kiara, her face still buried into Kiara's chest.
"I love you, Kiara... My radiant supernova... My rising star..." Rory murmured as Kiara was able to feel something soaking her shirt, Rory letting out a few hiccups.
"Rory... Are you... crying...?" Kiara asked, trying to push Rory away again, but she didn't let go.
"Just... let me stay like this... A little longer, Kiara... Please... don't make me let go... Please..." Rory murmured, her voice filled with sadness and desperation as Kiara smiled, placing her hand gently on Rory's head, running her hand through the swordswoman's pure-white hair.
"Alright, Rory... You can stay like this for as long as you want..." Kiara said softly, gently running her hand through Rory'a hair.
"Thank you... hk... Thank you..." Rory murmured, simply leaning completely into Kiara, holding onto her as tight as possible as she was clearly crying and crying profusely.
"It'll be fine, Rory... I love you, to..." Kiara said, "Just... go to sleep..."
"...O...kay..." Rory said, eventually going completely limp in Kiara's arms. "I... love... you..." She said before swiftly passing out in Kiara's arms.
"I love you... to..." Kiara said back, looking down at Rory's unconscious body, and hugging it as tight as she could, breathing heavily.
"I love you to..."
Ythala moved her head, leaning it into Okita's hand as she laid it on her. She smiled simply enjoying the women's touch for a few moments.
"...A-alright..." She said softly.
Okita would then try to get up, "Would you like to... get something to eat with me...?"
"I still... can't... talk about it." Cullthane, his voice becoming even more strained
Gabriel let out a sigh of frustration, forming another piece of paper.
"...Alright. Just tell me when you're ready or, well, when you can." The Paper said.
