Starry Days & Sunlit Nights: Volume 2 - Haze of Shadows

Epilogue - Uncertainty

Shion Sasegawa opened her blue eyes by a small crack. Her vision was still blurry, her head was aching, and her body hurt all over.

Where was she? What had happened? She vaguely remembered the sky falling around her, followed by a chilling wetness that washed over her.

No one could have survived all that. So, why was she still alive? She couldn't imagine anyone coming to rescue her. She never had any friends, and her whole family was dead.

She still felt drenched. Water that had soaked into her sweater dress dripped down. Yet, she didn't feel cold. Actually, if anything, her normally frigid body felt warmth.

A winter coat draped over her shoulders. How could that have gotten there? That was when she finally realized that her body was upright, her arms slung forward and her legs held up by the thighs.

The Night Witch commanded herself to move. Not a single muscle would respond. The battle had taken too great a toll on her body, and it was unlikely she would be able to do much anytime soon.

The thought of being so powerless made her fearful. Unable to defend herself, unable to sense her surroundings with Blizzard Field, meant that she would be vulnerable. She had no one to rely on, nothing.

Her overwhelming fright compelled her weary arms to move, wrapping around something narrow and warm and soft.

She could hear a faint sound of footfalls below her. Who was this person? Where was he taking her?

She felt afraid, yet it was only for a moment. The way he held her up, supporing her weight, and his gentle grip on her thighs told her that this was not someone who meant her any harm. The warm, broad back she lay her chest on gave her a small sense of security. The feeling was strange and foreign to her, but not entirely unpleasant.

The last time she felt anything like this was over five years ago, with her own father.

Was this a dream? Whether or not it was, she had not the strength to keep her eyes open, quickly falling back into blissful slumber.

Meanwhile, the boy on whom she rode upon kept going, enduring the cold of the night while he wore only light clothing. Feeling the arms around his neck tighten brought a smile to his face. Filled with a new motivation, he continued to traverse the sidewalk in the under twinkling starlight.