Ori and the Spirits Within: Revitalized

Chapter 12: Rescue Plan

After her rude awakening from the Spirit Tree, Ori and Sein took a seat on the small couches in the treehouse, with Sein having snagged a couple of grapes she had for a light breakfast. They shared some pleasantries with one another while Sein had her breakfast, but once Sein finished, she decided to get down to business. She had a formal plan on how they were going to rescue Ori... or at the very least, a clear idea on the process...

"So in order for us to save Ori," she started. "We need to return Ori's soul to its rightful place in his body, and I am positive that we can accomplish this... r-relatively quickly."

"A-Alright," the lost soul replied with a nod. "But b-before you continue, can I ask something?"

"S-Sure," Sein nodded.

"How do you know so much about this stuff? Like, I'd assume you're well-versed in the many magical arts of this world, but... from what I've learned of spirits so far, soul manipulation seems very... off note for spirits. How do you know how to do this sort of stuff?"

"Well... you aren't wrong when saying that," Sein chuckled. "The main reason I know about it was to help create this new body for myself. I had to extract my soul from the catalyst and place it into one of the Spirit Tree's leaves, and after enough research, I did just that."

"Ok, but... why?" he asked, scratching the side of his head. "Why did you want to get out of the catalyst and become a spirit?"

"W-Well... uh... i-it's... it's n-not th-that important," Sein replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Mm?" He could tell that question made Sein nervous. "I... Judging by your reaction, I don't think it's as unimportant as you make it out to be."

"I-It isn't important! It's just... w-weird... and I don't want to talk about it," she replied.

"Sein," the Spirit Tree spoke up, floating beside her. "It isn't weird to feel that way. You shouldn't be flustered by it. It's natural..."

"I-It's not natural f-for a catalyst!" Sein rebutted. "L-Let's just focus on rescuing Ori, o-ok?!"

"I... Well... I-I'm honestly a little curious now," he chuckled, amused by Sein's embarrassment.

"Wh-Wha-!? I-It's n-n-not big d-deal, ok!?" Sein stammered, a blush steadily growing over her cheeks.

"Then why don't you tell me?" he chuckled.

"I-I-I...! Damn-!? I-It's, um... I...?" Sein was embarrassed beyond belief right now. The soul was persistent in his line of questioning, and while she has grown to accept what feelings she had, it still wasn't easy to admit it to other people. Furthermore, given the circumstances, it might make the conversation a little... awkward. So, she just decided to keep her secret shut, and-

"I-I just w-want to move on! C-Can we just-?"

"She is in love with Ori,"

"AH-! T-TREE!!!" Sein shouted, immediately slapping the orb floating beside her, making him laugh at her reaction.

"O-Oh...!" he smiled at her reaction. "Well... cool. That's nice. Good for you."

"Mmmmm...!" Sein covered her blushing face with her hands.

"And she wanted to become a spirit so that Ori could see her as one of his own rather than an orb of mystic light... and to show him actual love instead of just hovering over him all the time."

"Well... I think she looks nice as a spirit," he chuckled.

"Mmmmmmmmm...!" Sein put her knees up to her face, grumbling in defeat.