Love Far Beyond the Ashes

True Wings

Zeta pov: Azure-papa walked up to me and tapped my shoulder, gaining my attention.

"Mumei seems happier with you around," he said.

I didn't really know how to respond to that, but I bowed to him and said, "Thank you for raising her!" I said

"Now there is no need to thank me for raising her or helping conceive her," Azure-papa said.

Selen walked up to him and began to size him up. "You don't look too tough." She commented

Azure-papa laughed and nodded. "I'm not," he said.

To be completely honest, I don't trust that he has some sort of presence; he exudes pressure.

Selen suddenly went in and attacked him with a right hook. Azure-papa caught her dragon arm effortlessly and then tapped her forehead. I watched as Selen suddenly coughed up blood before falling over, seemingly passed out or stunned.

Mumei walked over and stood Selen up before slapping her silly until she woke up.

"That was horrifying..." She said

"Don't mess with my father, idiot," Mumei said.

"He just looks weak!" Selen said

"He is stronger than me," Mumei said.

"What?" Selen said in horror.

"Really, senpai, are you sure about that?" I asked

"Yeah, you try to hit him," Mumei-senpai told me.

I nodded and rushed him, beginning to try to hit him. He kept dodging me effortlessly and then tripped me a bit. I quickly turned around, going for a kick, but he bent over, dodging it. He then shot up and hit me with the same forehead poke as Selen. I instantly felt sharp pains shoot down my body. I don't understand what the hell this feeling is.

"Oh, you withstood that attack?" Azure Papa said with shock and awe

"I'm not as pathetic as Selen..." I said to him:

To be honest, I was trying to stay standing but that one attack pretty much paralyzed me. I was on the verge of collapsing on the spot.

"Damn it..." I wheezed

He glared at me and then at his daughter. "Help your friend," he said, but Mumei-senpai shook her head.

"She wants to beat you," Mumei-senpai said.

I nodded and tried to walk forward, but I still couldn't. Her papa just sighed.

"You need to learn when to give up. Know your limits. You can't keep going on. You're lost," he said to me.

I was frustrated that this wasn't a fight. I pretty much lost immediately. I didn't even get a chance to really fight back. I don't want this to be the end.

Mumei-senpai looked on and gave me a thumbs up, and then Ela did as well. I smiled and pushed forward, catching him by surprise. I punched his body slightly.

"That counts," Ela said.

"Why weren't you this strong when we fought?" Finana asked

"Please, I kicked your ass on land," I said.

Finana fell silent. She knew it was true; she wasn't that strong when she wasn't in water. It makes sense; she's a fish after all.

"You are strong," Azure -Papa said

"Yes, she is; after all, Zeta is my wings!" Mumei-senpai said

I was shocked to hear Mumei-senpai say that I expected the Fauna-senpai and Kronii-senpai to be her wings. This means she relies on me, and I was happy to be so reliable to her.

"Mumei-senpai, am I that important to you?" I asked

Mumei-senpai smirked at me and nodded. "You are," she said.

My heart began to beat quickly with those words. Ela took notice: "Don't have a heart attack." She said

I took note and tried to calm myself down. Selen seemed to be pouting.

"Am I your wing?" Selen asked

"No, you are more like the clip to my wings," Mumei said.

Selen hissed at Mumei-senpai, and the brown-haired woman looked at her. She never stopped smiling.

"Look, a bird needs a good challenge like you," she said.

Selen knew Mumei-senpai was right; she was a good challenge for my senpai, but she doesn't want to be called a clip for her wings. To be honest, I thought she would like being a clip for her wings.

Kiara came back over with Pomu, who seemed beat up.

"She whipped you into shape, huh?" Selen laughed

"I don't want to talk about it." Pomu mumbled

"Don't yell at me then!" Kiara said

"I'm so delirious, I think I see Finana." Pomu said

"You do!" Finana said

Pomu jumped into Selen's arms in fear. Finana glared at them; her expression was almost jealousy.

"Mumei-senpai, you should go see what's wrong with Kronii-senpai and Fauna-senpai," Kaela said.

"Yeah, that's probably fair," Mumei-senpai said.

"I need to go back to Kobo and Clara since I can't trust Calli and Irys," Kiara-senpai said.

"Yeah, trusting Calli and Irys seems like a bad idea." Mumei-senpai said

"Mumei, I'm pretty sure Calli is kind of responsible, but Irys will ruin it all." Kiara-senpai stated

We all agreed that Irys probably should never have children because she is a safety hazard.

"Zeta, you need to stay with Kaela and show her the thing I gave her in private," Mumei-senpai said.

Selen looked at me. "What did she give you?" I was asked

"Why would I tell you!?" I asked

"Because I want to know!" Selen said

Mumei-senpai shook her head slowly. "You will never know," she replied.

This made Selen want to figure it out more, and I knew that this would now be the game I had to show Ela without Selen seeing it. Mumei-senpai knew I'd have to test myself with this and is excited about it because she'll have to see me try to solve it.

Where could I go that Selen couldn't reach? I couldn't think of anywhere to go.

Mumei-senpai glared at me. She read my mind, and she moved her head around, looking at a certain spot, and I knew I had to bring Ela there.