The Spirit Guardians Book 4: Liberated

Chapter 43

"I feel like all these shirts are too big for me," Eiji complained as he tucked one of Conny's spare flannels into his pants. Though he had been putting on weight, he was still incredibly thin, Mitsuki realized. It would be a while until he looked vibrantly healthy again. At least his hair was now cut short, thanks to Mitsuki's steady hand.

"Cherie will buy you new clothes soon enough," Mitsuki told him as she leaned against her dresser. "We can go on a shopping spree together for some sibling bonding time!"

"No, thank you," Eiji replied, eliciting a laugh from Mitsuki. She was glad to have her brother back after so many years. Despite the ten years' difference, he wasn't too different from how she remembered him. Older and more mature, yes, but still the same fun and loving boy deep down. 

Eiji had told her bits here and there about his time in prison. Mitsuki did not force him to say much about it, knowing the mental strain it must have had on him to recall such a torturous time. He told her of how Tomo was taken off to be executed only a few months into their imprisonment after trying to escape. Tomo had been saving his utensils, rubbing spoons down to their base to try to make a hole. He had apparently succeeded in breaking the concrete when he had been discovered.

"He was always the smart one," Eiji told Mitsuki at the time. "I never made an attempt after I saw what happened to him."

As much as Mitsuki had wished her brother had escaped rather than suffer ten years as a prisoner, she was glad to have him back now. He had been staying in Irene's old room, which had been easy enough to clean, considering the girl did not have much belongings to begin with. These days, Mitsuki mostly spent time with her brother, trying to catch up on all the ten years they had missed.

She had offered to do a joint workout sessions with him, but Dr. Bradford advised against it, claiming he needed to get his strength back with simpler exercises first. So Eiji would watch and chat with her while she worked out. In the afternoons, they liked to go through walks in the snow, and they did so with ease, not having to fear being caught by a Preserver on patrol any longer.  Mitsuki had even tried her hand at cooking some old family recipes, though it mostly resulted in Cherie fixing up the dish when Mitsuki had ruined it.

Meanwhile, Lillian had remained in her room.

Mitsuki had not spoken to Lillian in a few days. It had been three days prior when Mitsuki had finally broken, no longer able to see her girlfriend in shambles. After hours of trying, Mitsuki had been attempting to get Lillian to eat a few bites of rice, just to say Lillian had eaten something for the day, but Lillian had shoved the bowl away, thus tumbling rice all over Mitsuki's clothes. Mitsuki didn't care much about the mess Lillian had made, but she wished Lillian would understand that Mitsuki was only trying to help her. It didn't help that envy stirred in Mitsuki every time she walked in to find Lillian curled under the covers, quietly sniffling to herself. The news of Irene's death had made Lillian pass out on the spot, and now, Lillian had evolved into a deep mourning state that it seemed she could never escape from.

"I'm so thankful you were safe during all this time," Eiji said. He sat on her bed, smiling up at her. "This is a nice cabin too. Much nicer than our old home."

"I liked our childhood home," Mitsuki replied. "But it has been nice living here." Just as Eiji had been filling in the details of his past ten years, so had Mitsuki. She spoke of her training days, of moving to this cabin and meeting the others. She had told him bits and pieces of her relationship with Lillian. He had listened intently and spoken of how happy he was Mitsuki had found someone she could love. Mitsuki only wished she felt just as happy. Right now, she was majorly frustrated with her girlfriend. What had happened to that immense joy they were going to feel when they won? It hadn't been much of a victory at all. In fact, Mitsuki was wondering if she would even be able to call Lillian her girlfriend much longer.