Chrono X Angel, Book 6: Branching Paths

Chapter 5

The return trip to the Inn was slower than the initial trek out, despite being a mostly downhill venture, as Misato was limping and needed support from the Tachibana siblings. Charles had offered to use a levitation spell to float her in close, but Usoko had declined as they could not risk being seen by anyone. By the time they had returned, Cassie had already regained consciousness somewhat, and was incredibly confused as to what she was doing out in the snow in her nightgown. A couple cursory questions later proved she had absolutely no memory of anything that had happened since the previous night, since just after speaking to Kuroko. It was chalked up to a case of too much to drink and some sleepwalking, with a dash of luck for her not being buried in the blizzard.

"You really saved my bacon lil miss Tachibana," she smiled weakly to Kuroko, who Emiko told her had been the one to find her, "When we get back, lemme see if I can't reward ya with somethin' more than just an autograph huh?"

Kuroko blushed from the praise her idol was giving her, but was also a bit worried about the bottle now attached to Charles' belt that held Tamamo. Already the plastic seemed to be warping in some places, and tiny spiderweb cracks could be seen in others.

"Father, maybe we should try to move her into something stronger," whispered Kuroko to the man, "I mean it, I don't think that's gonna hold much longer."

Charles just shook it off though, explaining that the magics used created a sort of inner shell within the sealed object and as long as that and the seal itself remained intact all would be well.

"Alright Misato, just hold still okay? This might sting a little..."

Misato Tachibana was laying topless on her stomach in her bed, atop several layers of towels to catch any blood that might drip down from the slash wound in her side. Her Oni regeneration powers had managed to mostly staunch the worst of the bleeding, but the wound itself was having a hard time closing. As she lay there, her mind travelled back to a time yet to come. Her past, in the future...

"Jeez Misa," groaned the green haired individual, placing a sassy hand on their hip as the half-Oni limped her way into the resistance base after a mission well done, "I know I said 'with gusto', but I think that was a lil too much gusto don't you?"

"Can it Jessie," groaned the injured Misato with a weak laugh, "Just get the regenhypo and stick me already."

"Yeah yeah," they laughed, twirling their verdant locks as they grabbed one of the pink syringe-like objects off a nearby shelf.
"A gift from 'mommy dearest' huh? Jeez... like I hate the bitch, but you gotta admit some of this stuff wouldn't be possible without her. You know, if you didn't dye your hair we might be able to pull something off here. Have you take her place or something."

Misato shot her partner a glare that nearly froze their blood. They had forgotten how much Misato hated being compared to her mother. That they looked alike was hard enough for her to deal with, and the comparisons were never welcome.

"S-sorry love... just trying to bring in a little humor. Anyway, brace."

Jessie jammed the hypo into Misato's right bicep, the pink fluid draining into her arm quickly. Quicker still did the various bullet and stab wounds on Misato's body begin to heal and close up. Regenhypos were something "President Tachibana" had come up many years prior, trying to discover a way to heal her then-teammates when she could not be near them. Over the years the recipe, of which an original main ingredient was Oni blood, had changed and improved to the point where it could heal practically any wound. In some cases it could even reattach a lost limb, assuming it was still in one piece and had not gone necrotic. Really anything short of decapitation or bisection was within the realm of possibility.