Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 6 [COMPLETED]

[Oldmansour]

>"Yes? Is... something else wrong?"

>"No. No, it's nothing. Never mind." She starts to turn away, but pauses. "It's just, since you were out there, I thought..." Then she shakes her head again. "Forget it."
>But Reisen doesn't want to forget, and grinning, she asks, "You were worried about them?"
>"I was not." Patchy replies quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. The question seems to almost embarass the fledgling mage.

[DracoOmega]

>Then we'll try not to rub it in
>"Well, we're fine in any case. I'm just a bit tired."

[Oldmansour]

>Then we'll try not to rub it in
>"Well, we're fine in any case. I'm just a bit tired."

>You're not the sort anyway.
>That does not mean, however, that Reisen is not, as evidenced by her grin. It's not as angular as Marissa's would be, but it's a worthy imitation. "Patchouli-sama was worried."
>"Quiet, you." the mage says hotly, her cheeks turning a very very faint shade of pink. You catch Rin trying not to chuckle.

>"Well. Glad to hear it." Patchouli replies, trying to maintain her composure while she glowers at Reisen, not entirely succeeding at either.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I think I'm going to go collapse into a chair. Good luck with what you're working on."
>Let's go home

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, I think I'm going to go collapse into a chair. Good luck with what you're working on."
>Let's go home

>"Thank you."
>"And welcome home." Reisen calls after you as you and Rin take your leave of the pair and head upstairs.
>Rin automatically heads to the fridge after you get inside. "What can I get for ya?" she asks.

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm not feeling picky; whatever takes the least effort."
>Let's take off our coat and flop somewhere convenient

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm not feeling picky; whatever takes the least effort."
>Let's take off our coat and flop somewhere convenient

>"Understood." the kasha says, rather brightly, despite the fact that she has to be fatigued as well.
>"Mistress, can I ask you something?" she asks as she puts the kettle on, as you sink into one of the chairs in the main room, with some gratitide.

[DracoOmega]

>"Yes, of course."

[Oldmansour]

>"Yes, of course."

>"What happened to us after Satori caught us?"

[DracoOmega]

>"If I may, first... how much do you remember? I was already unconscious when you were captured, I think - or at least I never saw what happened to you first."

[Oldmansour]

>"If I may, first... how much do you remember? I was already unconscious when you were captured, I think - or at least I never saw what happened to you first."

>"Well, you said that you were talkin' to some kinda spirit. After that, I started to feel kinda weird, like I couldn't work right. I tried to call out to you, but I couldn't get my thought-talk to work either. Then it all went black, and the next thing I remember clear is wakin' up in that cave, wit' you standing in front of me."

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh. Then perhaps it was before me, and I just never realized.... I still don't know precisely how things happened. In retrospect, the voice speaking to me feels like it must have been Satori, though I know not how she could have done this - we had chosen this time specifically so that she would be otherwise engaged during it. Or for that matter why the flame turned black the other day in the first place, if it was only the power within her that had done so. So much I would have liked to ask, if we'd had the chance to do so tonight...."

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh. Then perhaps it was before me, and I just never realized.... I still don't know precisely how things happened. In retrospect, the voice speaking to me feels like it must have been Satori, though I know not how she could have done this - we had chosen this time specifically so that she would be otherwise engaged during it. Or for that matter why the flame turned black the other day in the first place, if it was only the power within her that had done so. So much I would have liked to ask, if we'd had the chance to do so tonight...."

>"Bright side." Rin replies as she cracks open some eggs. "We got the chance ta ask later, after Satori pulls herself together. Kiku'll make sure of that."

[DracoOmega]

>"Yes, I cannot complain about how things ended, given how they began...."
>"In any case, while I was conversing with the flame, some manner of spider snuck up and bit me. Its venom was somehow magical - made it hard to think or even remember where I was, and I could feel myself quickly slipping away. I tried to use my powers to purify myself, but a second force intruded upon my mind - Satori herself, I now think - and disrupted what remained of my consciousness. I... actually don't recall it very well, even now - like fragments of a half-remembered dream, so absent was I from myself. And then I was gone."
>"I'm still not sure how much time passed before I regained consciousness, in that room underground where you came back to yourself; I was very foggy-headed even then, though Satori seemed impressed I could even speak. Apparently the spider that bit me was a pet of hers, one she had used in a similar manner against others from time to time, over the years. I wonder how many others have woken up in a similar state.... Though I suppose she would have had little need to question them as she did me - I gathered that the only reason she was doing so now was that she couldn't read my thoughts directly."

[Oldmansour]

>"Yes, I cannot complain about how things ended, given how they began...."
>"In any case, while I was conversing with the flame, some manner of spider snuck up and bit me. Its venom was somehow magical - made it hard to think or even remember where I was, and I could feel myself quickly slipping away. I tried to use my powers to purify myself, but a second force intruded upon my mind - Satori herself, I now think - and disrupted what remained of my consciousness. I... actually don't recall it very well, even now - like fragments of a half-remembered dream, so absent was I from myself. And then I was gone."
>"I'm still not sure how much time passed before I regained consciousness, in that room underground where you came back to yourself; I was very foggy-headed even then, though Satori seemed impressed I could even speak. Apparently the spider that bit me was a pet of hers, one she had used in a similar manner against others from time to time, over the years. I wonder how many others have woken up in a similar state.... Though I suppose she would have had little need to question them as she did me - I gathered that the only reason she was doing so now was that she couldn't read my thoughts directly."

>"Or mine I guess." Rin replies. "Or she wouldnt'a needed to question you either. Unless she fixed on you and ignored me?" she asks, though she doesn't sound too convinced of that prospect.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, not entirely..."
>Frown slightly
>"When I woke up, I was tethered to some kind of mystic spider web that prevented me from moving or drawing on my own power in more than the smallest amounts, and kept my mind... hazy. I was... fairly close to completely at her mercy, I am afraid. She wanted to know all that I knew of her, and I did share with her what I thought was safe to say without endangering anyone else - though many times she refused to believe me anyway, regardless of how true my words were. You were..."
>Pause, take a deep breath. Though things somehow worked out in the end, this is still a painful memory.
>"I did not notice you at first, and I had even hoped you might have evaded their notice and were still out there somewhere, safe, even if I was not. But... but you were there as well, standing upright in the corner of the room, under your own power, eyes open, but... it was as though there was no consciousness within you. Nothing. Just... blank, like some kind of living mannequin."
>"Oh, Rin, I'm so sorry.... I don't even know if I can properly articulate the sinking dread I felt in that moment, to see what she had done to you. I was overconfident. I'd thought I could handle whatever lay in wait for us at the shrine. And if I had to bear the price of this mistake, then... well, so be it. But for you to bear the price of my mistakes as well...? If I hadn't been able to undo what she'd done to you, I don't know how I could ever have forgiven myself."

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, not entirely..."
>Frown slightly
>"When I woke up, I was tethered to some kind of mystic spider web that prevented me from moving or drawing on my own power in more than the smallest amounts, and kept my mind... hazy. I was... fairly close to completely at her mercy, I am afraid. She wanted to know all that I knew of her, and I did share with her what I thought was safe to say without endangering anyone else - though many times she refused to believe me anyway, regardless of how true my words were. You were..."
>Pause, take a deep breath. Though things somehow worked out in the end, this is still a painful memory.
>"I did not notice you at first, and I had even hoped you might have evaded their notice and were still out there somewhere, safe, even if I was not. But... but you were there as well, standing upright in the corner of the room, under your own power, eyes open, but... it was as though there was no consciousness within you. Nothing. Just... blank, like some kind of living mannequin."
>"Oh, Rin, I'm so sorry.... I don't even know if I can properly articulate the sinking dread I felt in that moment, to see what she had done to you. I was overconfident. I'd thought I could handle whatever lay in wait for us at the shrine. And if I had to bear the price of this mistake, then... well, so be it. But for you to bear the price of my mistakes as well...? If I hadn't been able to undo what she'd done to you, I don't know how I could ever have forgiven myself."

>"Don't you say you're sorry." Rin answers in a surprisingly firm voice. Turning the heat down on the eggs she is preparing, she wipes her hands on her skirt and walks towards you. "I should be the sayin' I'm sorry, Mistress." The kasha kneels before you. "If I wasn't strong enough to protect you. Your health, your safety, means more to me than anythin'. I took this power to protect you, keep you safe. And I failed."

[DracoOmega]

>Shake our head
>"No. No, no, no. You stood up to an incarnation of death itself, stared into an abyss far darker than most will ever see in their lives, and did not falter an inch. The courage and dedication you showed in the face of such terrible pain and horrible power were truly remarkable. You gave more than anyone could rightly ask, and we could not have prevailed without you. If what you did tonight was a failure, then I think no one in the history of the world must ever have truly succeeded at anything. Please, Rin..."
>Lean forward and hold her close
>"I could not ask for a better companion. Never for a moment doubt how important you are to me. That I can even sit here in the warmth of my own home and discuss such things is because of you."

[Oldmansour]

>Shake our head
>"No. No, no, no. You stood up to an incarnation of death itself, stared into an abyss far darker than most will ever see in their lives, and did not falter an inch. The courage and dedication you showed in the face of such terrible pain and horrible power were truly remarkable. You gave more than anyone could rightly ask, and we could not have prevailed without you. If what you did tonight was a failure, then I think no one in the history of the world must ever have truly succeeded at anything. Please, Rin..."
>Lean forward and hold her close
>"I could not ask for a better companion. Never for a moment doubt how important you are to me. That I can even sit here in the warmth of my own home and discuss such things is because of you."

>The young kasha resists for only a moment as you pull her into your embrace. "But... you had to save me." she protests meekly, quietly.

[DracoOmega]

>Gently: "We all need saving from time to time. I saved Kiku from Water, she and Lily saved both of us from Satori, and then all of us together saved everyone. On our own power, I think none of us would have survived this night."

[Oldmansour]

>Gently: "We all need saving from time to time. I saved Kiku from Water, she and Lily saved both of us from Satori, and then all of us together saved everyone. On our own power, I think none of us would have survived this night."

>Rin doesn't seem to know quite how to reply to that for a moment, but then you see her smile bittersweetly. "Guess it was kinda silly a me ta think I could protect you all of the time, right?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I am afraid that these threats we are facing are bigger than any of us. But, at least tonight, they were not bigger than all of us."

>"I was scared tonight, Rin. Scared that I had lost you, scared that I had failed you - failed all of us. Scared that even all our powers combined might not be quite enough against so pitch black a darkness. That's why it means so much to be able to have you here with me now. After all we've been through tonight, I just want to be close to someone I care about."

[Oldmansour]

>"I am afraid that these threats we are facing are bigger than any of us. But, at least tonight, they were not bigger than all of us."

>"I was scared tonight, Rin. Scared that I had lost you, scared that I had failed you - failed all of us. Scared that even all our powers combined might not be quite enough against so pitch black a darkness. That's why it means so much to be able to have you here with me now. After all we've been through tonight, I just want to be close to someone I care about."

>That puts the strength back into your Rin. She grips your hand tightly, and her deep red eyes look into yours. "You'll never lose me, Byakuren. No deadly creature or evil miko can decide when I leave you. Only you get to decide that."

[DracoOmega]

>"If only it were truly up to me, I should never need fear for the safety of anyone in the battles to come. But for as long as both of us are able, I should consider myself blessed to have you at my side, and you will always have a home here for as long as you wish it. Thank you, Rin, for... well, for being you. Each of my days are a little brighter because you are in them."

[Oldmansour]

>"If only it were truly up to me, I should never need fear for the safety of anyone in the battles to come. But for as long as both of us are able, I should consider myself blessed to have you at my side, and you will always have a home here for as long as you wish it. Thank you, Rin, for... well, for being you. Each of my days are a little brighter because you are in them."

>The kasha's eyes moisten. "I can't tell ya how happy that makes me." she mangages to say after one or two false starts, failing to keep herself from smiling in the doing.

[DracoOmega]

>Hard not to get misty-eyed ourselves... This is what we've been fighting for. After all the struggle and pain we went through today, to see that kind of joy on the face of someone we care about so deeply.... To know that it was possible only because of what we overcame. No matter what we will have to endure in the days to come, surely it must be worth it, for all the smiles that can be saved. For this smile.

>Squeeze her tight
>"Your smile is words enough. This is what I fight for."

[Oldmansour]

>Hard not to get misty-eyed ourselves... This is what we've been fighting for. After all the struggle and pain we went through today, to see that kind of joy on the face of someone we care about so deeply.... To know that it was possible only because of what we overcame. No matter what we will have to endure in the days to come, surely it must be worth it, for all the smiles that can be saved. For this smile.

>Squeeze her tight
>"Your smile is words enough. This is what I fight for."

>What a moment.

>The redheaded kasha's cheeks flush a pale rose, and she appears to try to avert her gaze from yours, but your loving eyes hold her as tight as do your hands.

[DracoOmega]

>Is our own face feeling a little flushed too now? It is, isn't it...
>"Rin, if what I am about to ask in any way makes you feel uncomfortable, then I beg you to say so. Can you promise me this?"

[Oldmansour]

>Is our own face feeling a little flushed too now? It is, isn't it...
>"Rin, if what I am about to ask in any way makes you feel uncomfortable, then I beg you to say so. Can you promise me this?"

>Well it certainly is now.
>"Yes." she breathes, the nervous anticipation in her voice sending a thrill across your skin.

[DracoOmega]

>We're really going to say this, aren't we? We're really going to.
>"Would it be okay if I kissed you?"