The path to a chained heart (EDITING)

Light Gives Hope - 17

Drip. Drip. Drip. There was still water in the daemon's hideaway. Only then, it was that they had noticed a damp and musty smell, blocking the clean fresh air they were used to inhaling. Almost was close enough to the smell of mould and it made Himari retch in distaste.

"Himari if you're gonna spew, run as far away from me as possible, then heave your guts. Not. Right. Next. To. Me. You hear?" Asahi wrinkled his nose in disgust, but he and Homare didn't take the smell as bad to how Himari was feeling. Not so luckily, they heard her splatter her contents onto the ground when they were about to continue walking. The sickening smell of stomach acids would've been able to be smelled from many miles away.

"Gross! Himari!! How did you even spew when we haven't even eaten for weeks.. or something like that... anyway, you get the idea! That. Was. Disgusting!" Asahi tried to say, without the infectious vomiting habit passed onto him too. Homare seemed perfectly fine.

"Give me a break Asahi! If you were able to control water, you'd know just how repulsive this place is! It's smells and tastes and feels worse than a carcass! I'm surprised though, I thought you'd be able to tell, judging by how repulsive you are." She groaned in displeasure, trying not to release her still-existing contents onto the ground. It was funny how she actually had something to vomit in the first place - she hadn't even eaten! Homare wasn't able to rub out the possibilities of what could happen and was forever uncomfortable.

According to Himari, she was able to tell how safe water was, and if it was poisoned or not. Judging by her explanation, after defeating one of the Mizukis, the fish had contaminated some of the nearby waters. Homare shivered, as if he was anxious.

"Well, you know, if that happens won't we be responsible for the death of Mizuki if we end up poisoning her instead of saving her? This hero business is annoying." Homare whined.

"I could try absorb the poison and see what it does." Himari hadn't thought this plan out, but if she drew in the poison and Asahi burned it into nothingness at the last second, they might be able to cleanse the water.

"Unholy water I bestow upon you my blessing! Cleanse!" She chanted and the purple dregs in the water floated towards her, and Asahi, reacting quickly, grabbed his sword and turned the water into steam, disappearing into the darkness.

"I don't wanna know what happened to that smoke, so I'm gonna pretend we didn't put ourselves in any danger." Homare stated, originally wanting no part in this disorder. This was much different to Asahi and Himari's similar and outgoing personalities.

Frames. The frames they had first seen when they entered Mizuki's soul had appeared, colouring the walls in several different shades of light and dark, reminding them of the many good memories they all shared. It was a rather long process, but they all picked out the ones they liked the most and shared ideas with their fond memories.

"I remember this! It's when Mizuki and I tried to read your diaries! Teaming up with her is the be-" Homare had just spilled a secret he had been planning to stay hidden for a very, very long time. Extremely long. Too bad that his greatest secret had been released.

"You and Mizu spilled ink on my diary! HOW DARE YOU!!" Himari howled, even though she knew that Mizuki was a huge trickster, going through all their secrets.

"So that's how Mizu made me clean her room! She knew! YOU TWO ARE SO GONNA GET IT!"

Well, that wasn't great news for Homare. Not pleasant, but he did see this coming some day or another. It just sucked for him that it happened right in the middle of what was meant to be their victorious moment after the swift defeat of the tainted personality. How sad. Stop it you psycho author, give them a break.

"We thought we trusted you Homare!" They pouted simultaneously. If things couldn't get any worse, Homare got stung by their words, like an arrow went right through his head. He gulped like a fish, finally unable to find the correct words to prevent being skinned alive by the two menaces in front of him. If only Mizu-nee was there, he'd have a much easier time...

Quite a while passed (if they had any method of counting the time) before Homare was safely able to take a step forward without being murdered. He thought it would be best - and a lot better for his health - if he decided to shut up and not risk uncovering any of his other important secrets. Because that would make his life a lot worse.

Homare hummed a soft and steady tune to himself, which spread across to Asahi, then Himari, and they were all humming along the same tune, of a song they always used to hear Mizuki sing when they first became friends. It was a very happy tune - so uplifting that it made one feel braver and bolder than they did before.

The could soon see a bright glimmer of light in the enveloping darkness, like the resilience they were feeling had reflected on the supposedly steady murky gloom. Venturing closer, they stepped into puddles of water, which didn't smell awfully damp, but fresh and clean. Himari spotted colourful fish of all shapes and sizes dart around in the shallow waters. Himari waded closer and closer until she could see a bright blue gemstone, slightly larger than the palm of her hand and she daringly touched it, wondering what would happen.

It burst into a large glimmer of light, small fragments scattering across in the distance and went to nothing. She took a look on her right hand, and on her wrist, a blue crystal was embedded in her skin. Out of curiosity, she touched it, and it felt exactly like the hardness of the crystal before it went. She didn't know what it was, but something gave her the sense that it was good.

"What's that on you're arm?" Homare asked.

"I... I'm not so sure - but it seems like a good thing, which is strange." Himari was also confused but to Asahi, it was a sign of good luck.

"You know what this means: we're one step closer to our goal! Even if it's taken several years to get to this point... which I have no idea... it shows us we shouldn't give up hope! Light always finds a way through the darkness!"

"Yeah!"

I have practically nothing to say here, except, y'all are lucky that I was dedicated to write this at four am [you liar, you only did that because the sun was burning through your eyelids.]

Ah dammit! Who said that?! Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!

"It's impossible to save everyone, otherwise you'll risk losing them all." ~ Asahi Katsumoto