Love Far Beyond the Ashes

Sick Hope

Irys pov: "Ugh... where am I?" I mumbled in pain as I sat up. I wiped the sweat from my head and looked around.

"You are back at the house," Sana told me. I looked at her and saw Bae sitting across from me.

"You let her back here?" I asked

"It was Mumei's idea," Sana stated softly.

Bae began to cry. "You had me worried!" She yelled, "You bitch!" She added, which was less nice.

Sana got a washcloth and began to wipe the sweat off my face. "Why are you sick?" She asked me

"I'm not sure the last time I felt like this was when the world lost all hope," I said to her.

Bae glared at me and said, "Who has hope?" She asked

I tried to get up but felt dizzy, almost passing out. "Shut up," I mumbled.

"Don't stress yourself, Irys!" Sana said with worry

"Don't worry, Sana, I'm fine." I panted

"You don't look fine!" Bae hissed I stood up and grabbed her by the shirt, pulling her close to me.

"What do you know, rat?" I yelled

Sana ran in between us and pushed me away from her, glaring at me angrily and with concern, "Don't be mean!" She said

"I'm sorry..." I told her

I don't know why I am so angry all of a sudden; it must be because I don't feel well, and I think a lot of people have lost some form of hope.

"Irys, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be making jokes at a time like this. You have every reason to be mad at me." Bae mentioned

"Wait, Bae, you don't need to apologize," I told her, but she shook her head. She wants me to be mad at her for some bizarre reason.

"Irys, I'm so sorry for not being able to help you right now!" Bae said

"Shut up, don't say that stupid..." I said

Sana grabbed a bowl of soup and placed it in front of me. "Eat well," She stated.

"I'm worried; I sense Ina and she's hurt, and I don't sense Gura anymore," I told them.

Yes, we are aware that is one of the many problems we have." Sana said

"I think I'll be better soon, so don't worry about me," I said to them.

Sana sat down across from me, watching me more intently. "No," she sternly said, making it clear that she wasn't going to abandon me.

"You just need to feel better, I guess," Bae said with little care about what that actually means.

"That is easier said than done; we don't even know why I'm sick in the first place; it could just be because of the hope thing or something much more sinister," I claimed.

"Like what?" Sana asked.

"Who knows? Usually my demonic side would come out more if something evil was on its way, so I really don't know," I sighed.

Sana didn't seem to be worrying too much since we have beaten worse before, so anything new may not be a challenge.

"Omegaα has put the end of the world on the table," Sana said calmly.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Bae screamed

I took a sip of the soup and sighed after swallowing, "So what if the world ends?" I said

"How can you say that!?" Bae yelled

"This goes to show you that even after a world with no conflict is made, the world is still doomed." I claimed

"That is true; humans are truly stupid creatures, but you are hopeful; you should at least have some hope in humanity!" Bae said

"You think that is so simple..." I growled

Bae fell silent, as she clearly didn't understand what was wrong with the planet.

"Look, we are council; we need to at least try to better the world!" Bae stated

"Yes, the six of us may be council, but that doesn't change the fact that everyone but Mumei and I are seen as failures!" I yelled

Bae stopped arguing with me about that since she knows I'm right about how Omegaα feels about her, but at the same time she didn't agree about how relaxed you were by the prospect.

"Sana, talk sense into her!" Bae yelled

"No, she's right; why should we really care? But at the same time, we do need to prepare because as long as we can prevent it, everything will be fine," Sana said.

I drank the soup in one fell swoop, much to Bae's disgust: "I need to eat my...my...achoo!" I sneezed. I felt snot run down my face, so I sniffled.

"Gross!" Bae gagged

"I'll give you that one." I laughed.

"So, do you think you will be able to recover soon, or should we hold down the fort?" Sana asked

"You say that, but we haven't been to the council room in like a day," I said.

"Shut up..." Bae groaned

The three of us sighed, not really knowing what to do next. "Are you queasy?" Sana asked me

No," I said.

I will admit my stomach is in knots right now, but it's not like I'm going to throw up or anything. I'm not that sick, but I still need to rest since I don't feel that well.

"What are you really doing anymore?" Bae asked

"Well, you see, we are trying not to succumb to whatever gets thrown at us," Sana told me.

"this sucks..." I mumbled

"What does?" Bae asked

"Being sick does not make me sick; why do I have to be sick when everything good seems to be happening soon?" I said.

Bae seemed shocked that I thought that what we just talked about was good, even though I told her why I don't think that way, but who cares?

"Irys, can we cuddle?" Bae asked

I glared at the rat. "No, I'm sick," I replied.

She began to pout, but I have no sympathy. I'm not risking making her sick; actually, it may not be contagious.

"Are you alright?" Sana asked again.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so—" I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my head and fell over onto the couch passing out right there.