Love Far Beyond the Ashes

True Power

Reine pov: "What do you need us to do?" Kiara asked

"It's hard for me to say, but I need to kiss you. " I said

"Well, if you need to in order to wake up, then go ahead!" Kiara said

"Wait, this is cognitive," Mumei suddenly said.

"Woah, her presence completely changed!" Kiara said in amazement.

"This is how you perceive me-as a strong yet gentle owl," Mumei laughed. "I do have a dark side, yet I am innocent," she added.

"Then why was Suisei-senpai acting normalish?" I asked

"Maybe because you have actually never met her, it had to draw from her actual personality or what you thought it would be like," Kiara said.

"That could be it," Mumei told me.

"So what kind of world did my mind make?" I asked

"It's odd that you have made a world that has more imperfections than usual; for example, my feathers are a little thinner," Mumei said.

"I've noticed some oddities as well. What's wrong, Reine?" Kiara asked me

"I just don't think I deserve the things I'm given..." I said

"Huh?" The two spoke with confusion.

"I am supposed to be beautiful, but I can only see ugliness." I told them

"Reine, I've also had trouble processing my self-worth, and that was worsened by Calli, but because of you, I feel like I've grasped what I want to be, and I no longer hate myself," Kiara said.

"I helped you." I said

"Of course, if it weren't for you and Mumei, I would have given up!" Kiara said

"That's-how could I have so much impact on you?" I asked

"We all have suffered, so we built a family on that, and the fact that you've shown us kindness changed our lives," Kiara told me.

"But I'm just a nobody; I have no marketable skills. I can even protect you and Mumei if something happened. I'd just run away!" I cried

Reine, we don't need you to protect us. As long as you tried, we'd be happy. And if you just stay with us, we'll be happy," Mumei said.

"You two..." I said softly.

I could feel myself tear up as they both hugged me.

"You don't have to be a fighter, just be yourself," they said.

"You two are too nice," I said.

"Just continue to be nice, and we'll respond," Mumei said.

"Thank you guys again!" I said

"I can sense a huge power coming your way from the outside world." Mumei commented

Reine, I'll help you out; just promise me that next time you see me, give me a huge hug! Kiara said

"Okay, I'll make sure to hug you both," I said.

Kiara nodded as she stepped forward, quickly pecking my lips. "Wake up safely," she said.

"I will," I told her.

I opened my eyes and jumped up to my feet, "What the hell happened?" Mio-senpai asked.

"Nothing really," I told her as I let out a sigh.

There was really strong energy incoming. This isn't good.

"Mio-senpai, I'll fight you in a minute." I said

"Wait, are you going to ignore me now?" She asked

I glared at her and sighed, "Yeah, sure." I told her she gritted her teeth, but not in anger.

"You aren't ready to fight!" She said  I just looked at her and smirked.

"I don't need to be a fighter," I said nonchalantly while snatching Iofi-senpai's anti-gravity device.

"Where are you going?" Risu-senpai asked as I jumped into the air and began to float.

"To confront the huge power coming this way," I told them as I flew away.

This power was off the charts. The thing is, I could tell it was Roboco-senpai, but robots shouldn't be sensible, so how was she being sensed by me right now?

I pulled out a feather blade and flew faster. As soon as I saw her, I went for a quick slash. The blade hit her body but didn't cut into it.

"Analyzing: Pavolia Reine. Status: Enemy..."  Roboco-senpai said as she went for a punch to knock me out of the air. I evaded

"I can't win, but I can buy time." I panted

I thrust the blade, trying to pierce her metal exoskeleton, but it wouldn't go into her.

"You never stood a chance," Roboco-senpai said while blasting me.

"You are right." "I don't stand a chance, but even so, even though I am not a fighter, I need to hold you back!" I said

"You are going to lose, so why?" Roboco-senpai asked

"You need to understand, "I know I will lose, but that's okay!" I said

Roboco-senpai shot a barrage of blasts, hitting me all over. I felt as if I was going to pass out again as blood dripped down my face.

"Move..."  Roboco-senpai said

"No..."  I said

"Stubbron woman!"  Roboco-senpai growled

"You are the stubborn one," I told her.

"Come on, I just disposed of my teammates, and they are a million times stronger than you, so move." Roboco-senpai said

"You may think you've disposed of your teammates, but I'm sure they're fine," I said.

"Who cares..."  Roboco-senpai said

"I care?"  I said with a confusion-filled voice.

"Well, I don't care that you care..." She said

"Well, I don't care that you don't care that I care," I said.

"What the hell are you on about?" Roboco-senpai asked

"By the way, you should probably move," I said.

"Why would I move?" Roboco asked

"There is a girl behind you," I said.

"I doubt it," Roboco-senpai said.

Suddenly Fauna crashed into Roboco-senpai and wrapped her up in vines, then Kiara and Mumei flew in and knocked Roboco-senpai to the ground.

"You okay?"  The two of them asked

I just smiled and hugged them both. "Thanks to you," I said softly.

"Mumei, who is that?" Selen asked

"Oh, this is Reine, my sister," Mumei said.

I smiled at that and am happy that that is the case.