The Oracle

Chapter 50: Dynamics

AKARI

"So, if you don't mind me asking, where exactly is it that we're going?" Kaito asks as we travel through a jungle-like area, having been on foot for several hours now.

"Well," Nikita hums thoughtfully, and for the first time since I've met her she seems slightly abashed, "my husband moved out here after I left Elvenowl and being a shrine maiden for my own practice of alchemy in the ravine, having made a partnership with Aria."

"Your...husband?" Sander's eyebrows raise. "You're married?"

"Well..." Nikita smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of her neck, "yes. I've been married for almost ten years, since I was sixteen. I married him before I left."

"Didn't you ever miss him, being all alone by yourself for all these years?" Evory frowned.

"Of course I did," Nikita smiled sadly, "but I chose my research over my relationship. He understood that what I was doing could save countless lives, so he didn't mind as much as he probably should have. After all, running away from your husband doesn't seem like the best choice if you have a loving relationship."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Evory asks.

"I try to visit him at least every three months," Nikita frowns, "but of course that never feels like enough. We ended up having a daughter together almost four years ago, and I left her with my husband in order to keep her safe. I miss both of them very much, and I hope that they can still find it in their hearts to miss me..."

"I'm sure they still love you," I say softly, giving Nikita a reassuring smile, and Nikita smiles back.

"I know," Nikita sighs. "I just wish I was there for them more than I've been."

"Well, maybe you can be," Evory suggests, catching Nikita's attention. "I mean, look at you now. You never would have abandoned your castle entirely. People can change, you know, and that includes changing for the better."

"Yeah," Nikita smiles softly at Evory, making Evory smile back in return. "Thank you."

"Hey, Akari," Kaito clears his throat and jogs up next to me whenever I stop walking to look back in his direction.

Thanks to Nikita's upgrades, Kaito finally received proper equipment that suits him better than his previous ever did-- a black hoodie with cut off sleeves and a silver chest plate, a green arm band around his right bicep, stone grey ripped jeans, and black Timberlands. Also, Sora even gave Kaito the Staff of Envy, something Kaito felt like he didn't deserve but Sora insisted because it's rightfully Kaito's, even though Envy was his mother. So, Kaito humbly accepted and decided to put his arm-blades in retirement, keeping them with him just in case.

"Don't make the wrong choices," Sora said seriously as he handed Kaito the staff, his eyes locked on Kaito's as Kaito's hand slowly came to wrap around the part of the staff Sora wasn't holding.

"I won't, I promise. Not anymore," Kaito said firmly and Sora nodded as he let go of the staff, a small smile forming on his lips.

"I told you there was something more to you," Sora grinned teasingly, leaving Kaito with a small smile of his own, before he headed off down the hall in Nikita's castle to get ready for his mission.

"Yeah...I guess there is," Kaito had breathed out as he watched Sora walk away, and I smiled at the interaction between the two before I went back to my business.

"Your new look looks nice," Kaito says before he clears his throat and rubs the back of his neck as I raise my eyebrows slowly. "I mean, it suits you. I mean, not that your old one didn't but..."

I glance down at my new outfit, which consists of a dark brown corset with gold strings, gold gauntlets, black leggings with a brown belt with gold hoops that lays across my waist, and tall brown Victorian styled lace-up boots with heels, my scythe strapped to my back. Also, my normally let down long and wavy blonde hair is pulled up into a loose ponytail with braids that run around the side of my head.

"Thanks," I grin teasingly at him and he coughs before he looks away, but not before I catch the red dusting across the bridge of his nose. "Hey, Kaito? How're your wounds?"

"Oh," he glances back at me, his eyes widening slightly in surprise at the mention, "they're a lot better. I...thank you."

"For what?" I furrow my eyebrows and glance over at him as we walk side by side through the greenery.

"For not leaving me there..." Kaito clears his throat. "You could've...you could've left me there to die, but you didn't. Goodness knows I would've deserved it."

"That's not true," I frown, reaching out to gently touch the side of his arm, his breath hitching in the process as our eyes lock. "You know it's not, and if you don't know that, then I do."

"Akari..." Kaito breathes out.

"So, remind me again why your brother needs persuasion again?" Sander asks Miroslava as we travel.

"Although my brother is not bad, he is not necessarily good either. Asking him for help is a risk, depending on whether or not he deems you worthy," Miroslava says.

"And he doesn't see you as worthy? His own sister?" Sander frowns.

"I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that," Miroslava also frowns. "Not only that, but just to get to him is a challenge. My brother locked himself away in a butterfly garden in our home, Auriel. I've sent Merrick to try and reason with him, and Merrick managed to gain some progress before I sent him back to find Gambit and the others."

"Wait," I start, glancing over at Miroslava. "That's where Merrick went? You knew where he was all this time and you didn't tell anybody?"

"I couldn't," Miroslava shakes her head and sighs regretfully. "If I had told you where he was, his safety may have been compromised."

"How?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"Because you never know who's watching," Miroslava says as she meets my gaze, and I inhale sharply, reading the meaning between her words.

"I guess that's fair..." I breathe out, walking slowly as I process her words.

Does Miroslava really think we're being constantly watched or was she implying that one of us isn't actually on our side? Whatever the case may be, it sure seemed like the latter. If that's true, that's...deeply unnerving. All I can hope now is that Merrick is safe and reunited with Gambit and the others, which of course includes Sora. The thought of Merrick and Sora reuniting brings a smile to my face and I manage to pick up my pace before I fall behind or my missing presence gets noticed.

After three more hours on foot, we finally reach a medium sized white wooden house with a dark brown wooden porch and stairs that lead up to the front door, the house itself surrounded by a plot of grass as trees continue in the distance, the tan pathway we're on winding ahead and out of sight.

We all give Nikita reassuring looks and she gives us a wary smile before she takes a deep breath and we all walk up the porch stairs. Upon reaching the top of the stairs and making our way over to the door, all crowding together on the porch, Nikita hesitantly reaches out a hand and knocks on the door a few times. After a few moments, a creaking sound emits in the air as the white door opens slowly, followed by the screen door, revealing a man around Nikita's age with spiky blond hair and soft blue eyes, as well as a small girl around the age of four standing by his leg.

"Nikita?" The man's eyebrows raise in surprise.

"Hello, Nikolai," Nikita smiles sadly, her eyes meeting her husband's before she looks back at all of us and then back to Nikolai. "It would seem...some things have changed."

"Yes," Nikolai's eyebrows raise in curiosity as a smile threatens to tug at the corner of his mouth in amusement. "It would seem so."