Chapter Text
“How did it go, Soraha-nee-sama?” Kusumi asked when Soraha emerged from the door that led to the student council chamber.
Soraha blinked in surprise, then smiled brightly at Kusumi. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Kusumi,” she said. “I guess that means your checkup finished early, huh?” The blonde Lily looked around, but aside from the two of them, there was nobody else in the hallway. “Who brought you here?” Soraha asked.
“Ena-sama did,” Kusumi replied. “Then she asked if she could leave. I told her I didn’t mind, but that if she waited here with me, I was sure that you’d be happy to see her.” The girl cast her gaze downwards, a melancholy look on her face. “She left anyway.”
Soraha let out a strained chuckle, lifting her hand and rubbing the back of her neck. “She’s still avoiding me out of guilt, huh. Even though we’re roommates,” she said, then sighed. “I’m surprised that she’s not avoiding you, Kusumi.”
“I hope you can make up with her soon, Soraha-nee-sama,” Kusumi said, mustering the best smile that she could.
“Yeah, me too,” Soraha agreed. “Want to go see the flowers with me, Kusumi?” Kusumi nodded, her smile becoming warmer, and Soraha took hold of the handles of her wheelchair. The two of them went down the hallway together, in the direction of the flower beds that lay just outside the Yurigaoka school building.
“So, Kusumi, the good news is they’re willing to let you stay at Yurigaoka for the rest of the year,” Soraha told Kusumi. “They’re even willing to let you stay a member of Álfheimr… a reserve member, of course. We’ll have Noa take your place in the main legion.”
“I can’t go with you on any missions,” Kusumi said.
“Well, not into combat, but I don’t see why you can’t come on the gunship with us when we go on expeditions,” Soraha offered. “Uh, if you want to, that is, Kusumi.” For a moment, everything was silent except for the sounds of Soraha’s footsteps and of Kusumi’s wheelchair.
“A legion having a reserve member who can’t go on missions isn’t weird or anything, you know? Sanngriðr’s got one too. That girl who disappeared years ago, before they even formed,” the other Lily said encouragingly.
“I wish I could help you more, Soraha-nee-sama, but I’m glad I can stay with everyone,” Kusumi replied with a smile. “...You said I could stay at Yurigaoka until the end of the year. What about after that?”
She could almost hear Soraha frowning. “Yurigaoka’s policy is that they’ll allow injured Lilies to advance or repeat school years if there’s hope, however slim, of them being able to fight again,” the other Lily explained. “Like how Meika-sama’s almost healed up, or how Touka was out cold for a long time and then got better. But…” Her voice trailed off. There was no need for her to say the rest.
“What did the doctor say at your checkup, Kusumi?” Soraha asked.
“That I’m recovering as well as can be expected. She doesn’t think there will be any more complications,” Kusumi said. She looked down at her legs. “But... she also doesn’t think that I’m ever going to be able to fight again.”
The two of them reached the veranda and stopped. Beyond the edge of the roof above them, it was raining lightly, but they could see the flowers from where they were. They were blooming beautifully, forming a mosaic of color upon the raised bed of soil below them. The other Lily stepped forward, standing next to Kusumi and gazing out at the flowers with her.
Kusumi turned her head and looked up at Soraha. She could tell the blonde girl was struggling to find something to say—something that would cheer Kusumi up. Soraha was smiling, like always, but Kusumi knew it was just out of habit. “Well, I’m just happy you’re here with me,” the other Lily managed after a while. “I only—”
Soraha fell silent. Kusumi imagined the words that her Schutzengel had wanted to say. She had said all of them many times before.
I only wish that you’d let me get hurt instead of you, Kusumi.
But I know that you used Phantasm, and chose one future from among a million others. That you believed this was the best one of them. I’m sorry. I trust you, Kusumi.
After gazing at the flowers for a while, Kusumi turned to look at Soraha again. “What will you do when I leave Yurigaoka, Soraha-nee-sama?” she asked. “Will you stay in Álfheimr?” She knew that some legions had broken apart because the Lilies in them hadn’t been able to escape their past. If Álfheimr joined them, it would be the second time it had happened to a legion of that name. The second time it had happened to Soraha.
Soraha blinked, seeming surprised by what Kusumi had said. “Of course not, Kusumi,” she replied without a moment’s hesitation. “I’m going to retire when you do.”
For a moment, Kusumi was speechless. “But, Soraha-nee-sama, you’re such an amazing Lily—” she started to say.
“I don’t care about being a Lily,” Soraha interrupted, looking straight into Kusumi’s eyes. “I care about you, Kusumi. I was ready to retire once before, and then I met you. If I can’t fight with you—can’t even be in a legion with you—I don’t have a reason to fight at all.”
“What about all the other people you could save?” Kusumi protested.
For a moment, Soraha was silent. Then her expression grew sharp. Having her Schutzengel glare at her was a novel experience for Kusumi.
“Did you ask yourself that question when you decided to save me, Kusumi?” Soraha said quietly.
Kusumi didn’t have an answer. She broke off contact with Soraha’s eyes, returning her gaze to the flowers. Suddenly, she felt a hand atop her head, gently stroking her hair. Her Schutzengel’s hand, reassuring her that the brief moment of anger had already passed by.
The rain stopped, chased away by the sun. Light glimmered off the raindrops where they clung to the leaves, the flower petals, the blades of grass.
“Shall we go outside, Kusumi?” Soraha suggested. Kusumi nodded, and wheeled herself out onto the smooth, paved pathway that wound through the grass before them. She stopped next to the flower bed, and Soraha stopped next to her, having followed behind her.
Kusumi looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful shade of blue, and a faint rainbow traced its way through the expanse. Her eyes followed it until it disappeared behind the school building.
“I’ve told you before, Kusumi, but I’m going to open a flower shop,” Soraha said. “I’ve already saved up enough… and having you around to cook for me has really helped with that, y’know? Before I met you, I spent every last yen I had in restaurants, though of course I didn’t earn nearly as many bounties back then.” She chuckled, amused by the memories.
“I’d like to work at a restaurant,” said Kusumi with a smile. “Especially if you would come to eat there, Soraha-nee-sama. Though I might not see you if I’m in the kitchen.”
“Well, actually...” Soraha began to say. She lifted her hand to the back of her neck, her cheeks reddening ever so slightly. “I’ve been thinking, Kusumi—ever since the two of us took the Schutzengel’s Oath together—that I could really use someone else around to help mind the shop. Otherwise I’ll have to close up every time I need to go do anything,” she explained.
“That doesn’t sound nearly as fun as cooking,” Kusumi said in a light-hearted tone of voice.
Soraha let out a laugh. “How about this, then? You help me with the shop, and then cook for me in the evenings,” she suggested. “We can always go to restaurants, too. The two of us.”
“I don’t know how good I would be at selling flowers,” Kusumi said. “You know a lot more about them than I do, Soraha-nee-sama. But if you’d be okay with that…” Her uncertain voice trailed off.
“You’ll have time enough to learn, Kusumi,” Soraha told her. “I’ll teach you everything that you need to know.” As Kusumi turned to look at her, there was a grin on the other Lily’s face. “Starting right now, because, why not?” said Soraha. “The flowers are right here.”
The light of the sun shined down upon the girl’s hair, making it glitter like gold. As she pointed at one of the flowers, her eyes shining with enthusiasm, those eyes seemed to mirror the hue of the sky behind her. She laid her other hand atop Kusumi’s, squeezing it gently.
“That plant with the big leaves and small purple blossoms, that’s a heliotrope. In flower language, it means devotion and eternal love—”
Kusumi didn’t want to interrupt Soraha. But there was something that she wanted—needed—to say. So, looking into the girl’s blue eyes, she willed her thoughts to reach Soraha. They wouldn’t reach her, not when Kusumi wasn’t using Phantasm. But she formed the words in her mind nonetheless.
Soraha-nee-sama, I love you.