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"Where are we?" Yuna asked.
Togo looked around. "We're a long way from where we entered the battle. What happened?"
"Wasshi," a soft voice called out. "Is that you?"
Yuna and Togo navigated the roof to find the source of the voice. A girl about their age in what looked like a hospital bed, most of her face and head covered in bandages. A heartbeat monitor connected to her right hand, and an IV was further up her arm - the only limb that extended out from her gown.
The girl smiled. "Finally. I've been calling to you for so long..."
Yuna turned to Togo. "Is she a friend of yours?"
"Sorry." Togo shook her head. "I've never seen her before."
The girl's smile remained, but a sad look appeared in her one visible eye. "Oh. Well... I'm Sonoko. And I know you're both part of the new team of heroes."
"Ah!" Yuna exclaimed. "I'm Yuna, and this is Togo. But... what do you mean by the new team?"
"I was part of the team before you." Sonoko explained. "I guess you could call me your senior."
Togo wheeled herself closer to Sonoko, her expression worried. "What happened to your team?"
Sonoko looked away. "My teammates were... Wasshi and Gin. We fought the Vertexes, just like you two. But eventually..."
"Oh," Yuna realized. "Is that... how you got injured?"
Sonoko's eye returned to meet Yuna's. "Not in the way you're thinking. You've both seen what happens when you use Mankai, right?"
Togo touched her ear. "You mean..."
"Yes," Sonoko confirmed. "The withering that follows the bloom."
"The Taisha said our injuries would heal soon," Yuna said. "Was that... not true?"
"Did they?" Sonoko asked. "They must have thought you weren't ready to know. But... I wish they had told me sooner. I don't regret anything I did, but even so..."
A chill sunk into Yuna with the implications of everything Sonoko has said. Togo's expression turned hard - anger that wasn't directed at anyone here, Yuna was sure, but at those who weren't.
"Will we just keep having to fight?" Yuna asked. "Until we end up as hurt as you?"
"I don't know," Sonoko admitted. "In my last battle, I used Mankai twenty times. Afterward, the Taisha told me I was past the point where the Shinju would ask any more of me. Maybe you'll find a way to stop the Vertexes before you reach that point, or maybe the Shinju will stop you sooner than it could stop me. Or, if you don't want to keep fighting for that long... you could try to convince the Taisha to look for new heroes to take your places."
Yuna shook her head. "I don't care what it costs. I won't ask anyone else to do this for me."
"Why do they do this?" Togo asked.
"It's the only way the Shinju could offer us enough power," Sonoko explained. "To avoid... what happened to Gin. But the Shinju values what we do for it. Its magic and the Taisha's help have let me survive, even though my body should have stopped working. They've said I should be able to live for as long as if nothing had happened."
Yuna looked around. "Do you stay here all the time?"
"I've had to stay in the Taisha's compound," Sonoko replied. "It's not too bad, but... it can get boring sometimes. And lonely."
"I'll come back to visit," Yuna promised. "And if anything like that happens to us... we'll be here together, won't we?"
"Yuna!" Togo shouted. "You shouldn't say something like that so casually!"
"This is what it means for us to be heroes, right?" Yuna realized she was trying to convince herself as much as Togo, but... this was what a hero should say, wasn't it? "We knew we might get hurt, and... maybe it's worse than we thought. But it doesn't change what we have to do!"
Sonoko's soft smile returned. "I'd love it if you were to visit. But if you do end up staying here, I hope it doesn't happen too soon. And I hope you make the most of whatever time you have away from here."
"I still don't like this," Togo said. "We'll have to be careful, and see if we can find anything better to do."
Yuna nodded. "Yeah. Of course."
Yuna tried to be careful. She really did.
But she had more than herself to look out for. And if she hadn't used Mankai, Itsuki would have.
When the wilting began, something grabbed her right leg from within and unraveled it up to just below the knee. The lower half disappeared, and a prosthetic appeared in its place. For a moment, she thought she could feel what the prosthetic did, but she realized it was a trick of her mind - echoes of what her leg should have felt.
In time, the battle came to an end. Each of them dismissed their hero forms, and as Yuna's faded, so did her prosthetic. She tried unsuccessfully to regain her balance before falling onto her butt.
"Yuna!" Fu called out. "Your leg..."
Itsuki held out her phone, a message typed onto it: I'm sorry.
"It's okay," Yuna said. "I'll manage. But... I might need some help getting back to the Taisha."
At the mention of the Taisha, Togo once again looked furious. Karin wore a guilty expression - she was still the only one who hadn't used Mankai.
"Come on," Karin said. "Let's help you get back."
Karin and Fu braced Yuna between them as they returned to the Taisha. The Taisha had confirmed what Sonoko had said, and they accepted Yuna's predicament with little comment. They took a series of measurements of both of her legs, then gave her a pair of crutches and instructions for using them, along with a promise to prepare a normal prosthetic.
From the sound of things, the prosthetic wouldn't work as well as the magic one, and she wouldn't be able to wear it all the time. This would take some getting used to. But... it was all part of her duty as a hero. As soon as she could, she returned to the compound where Sonoko lived.
Sonoko's eye immediately went to Yuna's crutches, then her leg. "You used Mankai again, huh?"
Yuna nodded. "I guess I'm not very good at holding back."
"How do you feel?" Sonoko asked.
"It's a bit weird," Yuna admitted it. "It... still doesn't quite feel real. But I know I did the right thing."
Sonoko smiled. "Yeah. I remember feeling the same way. Will you keep fighting?"
"I will," Yuna confirmed. "I meant what I said. I can't ask someone else to take my place. I don't know what I might lose next, but I'll keep fighting as long as I can."
"Okay," Sonoko said. "I... Please don't take this as wanting you to get hurt. But I'm glad you understand how I see this. That... it can be worth it. I don't think Wasshi believes me."
"Wasshi... That's Togo, right?" Yuna asked. "She said she lost her memories..."
Sonoko's smile turned faintly guilty. "Oops. I didn't mean to let that slip."
"I can try to get her to visit again," Yuna offered. "Maybe she'll remember something?"
Sonoko shook her head. "Don't push her. She's... not really Wasshi anymore. If she comes back, she'll just keep getting angry at the Taisha for letting this happen, and at herself for not remembering."
Yuna moved closer. She lifted her arms to offer a hug, and Sonoko accepted it, returning the hug with her one arm and taking care to avoid snagging the wires attached to it.
"Thanks, Yuyu," Sonoko whispered. "I... needed this."
After the next battle, Yuna's right arm ended at the elbow. She returned to Sonoko, leaving the crutches behind in favor of her artificial leg.
"Are you going to get a new arm, too?" Sonoko asked.
Yuna's left hand squeezed the nub of her right forearm, trying to settle the thoughts of her missing hand. "I tried a prosthetic the Taisha had, but I don't like it as much as the leg. The magic one works fine, but I can only use it while I'm transformed."
Sonoko nodded. "I see... I've been bedridden this whole time, so I never had the chance to try anything like that. How are you handling things?"
"I've been having to learn to do things with just my left hand," Yuna explained. "But I keep wondering... what's the point, when it might be the next thing I lose?"
Yuna paused to inhale a breath, shallower than the ones she was used to. "I went Mankai twice in that battle, actually. The Taisha said one of my lungs stopped working too. So... that's another thing to adjust to."
"Oh," Sonoko said. "That must have been a tough fight."
"It was," Yuna confirmed. "Karin went Mankai twice, and Fu and Itsuki both used it for the second time. I... don't know how they're all handling it. Fu is worried about Itsuki, and... I can't tell how Itsuki feels. But I think Togo is the most upset of all of us."
Sonoko's eye closed, then returned to Yuna. "If you're seeing this out... are you using your time left to do whatever else you might not be able to?"
"I tried to," Yuna admitted. "But it felt... forced. Like I was making myself do things just because I was supposed to. I don't think I could go back to seeing things the way I did before. It feels like my body doesn't really belong to me anymore. Like I'm just waiting to see what I'll be left with."
Sonoko frowned. "You can still ask to leave, right? It sounds like you've given up the most of your team. I don't think anyone would blame you..."
"I'd blame myself," Yuna insisted. "I'd feel like whatever I kept was something I was stealing from whoever fought in my place. I could never turn back, I just... wish I could know what else it will cost."
"I think I understand." Sonoko's face relaxed. "I guess that's why the Taisha didn't tell us about this, huh? However it happens, it won't be easy."
"I guess so," Yuna agreed. "But I think it's better that we know. Sono... thanks for telling me."
Sonoko smiled once more. "Of course. I'm glad we can help each other through this, Yuyu."
It took a few days from the next battle for Yuna to make the trip back to Sonoko. When she did, her left leg was as short as her right. She was using crutches again, her right one modified to accommodate her missing hand.
"I guess we match now, huh?" Sonoko remarked. "Sort of. We're like mirror images!"
Yuna laughed. "I guess so."
It wasn't really true, but there was a kind of warmth in the perspective where it was.
"Do you want to sit next to me?" Sonoko asked. "This bed has plenty of room, and... you're probably tired, right?"
"I..." Yuna wanted to argue, but it was true. Two missing feet were a lot more of a challenge than one. "Sure."
Yuna sat down on the right side of Sonoko's bed and took off her artificial leg, then laid down next to her. Sonoko's hand reached for hers, and the two of them threaded their fingers together.
"Apparently my kidneys shut down, too," Yuna explained. "I've had to learn a lot about dialysis the past few days."
"I don't know much about that," Sonoko admitted. "My kidneys are one thing I haven't had issues with."
"It's such a pain," Yuna groaned. "Every couple of days, I have to spend hours hooked up to a machine to filter stuff out of my blood, the stuff the kidneys are supposed to handle. I... guess that's a bit like how you've been living, huh?"
Sonoko smiled. "Pretty similar, yeah. I bet I could convince the Taisha to set things up so we can be together while it happens."
Yuna squeezed Sonoko's hand. "I'd love that."
Sonoko shifted herself to lean against Yuna, and Yuna did the same. She let her eyes fall closed, trying to set aside everything except this moment.
When Yuna returned after her final battle, she didn't bring any prosthetics. It didn't feel like they were worth the trouble anymore, not unless she really needed them.
She drove an electric wheelchair to Sonoko's room, operating the controls with the nubs of both of her forearms. It couldn't go everywhere, but it was nice to always have a place to sit.
Sonoko's expression looked sympathetic, but also relieved. "Hey, Yuyu. I heard you're finally done fighting?"
"I could still fight!" Yuna insisted. "But... the Taisha said the Shinju won't let me transform anymore."
Sonoko laughed. "Nothing keeps you down, huh?"
"I... want to keep supporting them," Yuna admitted. "Them and everyone we've been fighting to protect. I... hope they'll be okay without me."
They wouldn't, Yuna realized as she said it. Even together, they hadn't been staying safe. But... maybe they'd be as okay as they could be.
"How many times did you end up using Mankai, by the end?" Sonoko asked.
"Eight," Yuna replied. "Along with my arm, something happened to my pancreas. The Taisha said I have diabetes now."
"Oh, I have that too!" Sonoko remarked. "Better get used to a lot more trouble with food, huh?"
"I already got that from the kidney failure!" Yuna complained. "And losing my sense of taste from the first Mankai, and now this. On top of not having any hands now!"
"Ooh, right," Sonoko acknowledged. "Well, if you need a hand, I've got one to offer while you're here."
Yuna smiled. "Thanks. I guess we both have things only one of us can do, now."
Yuna drove up to the side of the bed. At Sonoko's approving nod, Yuna crawled up into it, then dropped down to Sonoko's side.
"I really would keep fighting, if they'd let me," Yuna admitted. "But... part of me is glad to know that I won't have to go Mankai again. Even though another part thinks it's horrible to think that way when I still haven't gotten hurt as much as you."
Sonoko turned to look at her. "Yuyu, you know that's stupid, right?"
"I-Is it?" Yuna asked.
"Yes, it is!" Sonoko insisted.
Yuna sighed. "I guess it's kind of stupid."
"There you go!" Sonoko agreed. "Do you know what you're going to do now?"
"I'm not sure," Yuna admitted. "But... I want to keep living by the Hero Club's tenets."
She breathed as deep as she could, then continued. "Number one! Give people a good greeting. Number two! Try not to give up. Number three! Sleep well, eat well. Number four! If you're troubled, talk to someone. Number five! You're likely to succeed if you try."
"That's a good plan," Sonoko said. "I... want to do more writing sometime. I haven't been doing it much lately since I've been so exhausted, but... having you around helps. Have you ever written any stories?"
"Not really." Yuna lifted both of her arms. "I guess the time for that would have been when I still had hands, huh?"
"You don't need hands to write!" Sonoko insisted. "Your phone should have speech to text. I could help you with it! I bet you could tell some great stories... or we could work together on one!"
Yuna smiled. "That could be fun. What sort of stories do you write?"
Sonoko blushed and looked away. "Um... romance novels, mostly."
"Ooh!" Yuna exclaimed. "Do you think I'd make a good romance novel heroine?"
Sonoko's blush deepened. "I, uh, that's..."
Yuna moved her right arm to touch Sonoko's left shoulder. Sonoko smiled and turned back to her, the visible parts of her face still red.
Yuna propped herself up to lean over Sonoko. Sonoko met her gaze, and Yuna bent down and kissed her.
Eventually, Yuna broke the kiss and withdrew. Sonoko's eye followed her, then turned worried.
"A-Ah!" Sonoko stammered. "Yuyu, I haven't brushed my teeth or anything!"
"It's fine," Yuna assured her. "I can't taste anything, remember?"
"Oh, right." Sonoko laughed. "Well, I hope sometime you'll kiss me when I have brushed my teeth, anyway!"
Yuna smiled. "I'd be happy to, Sono."
She was done with fighting as a hero, and with the way she had been living before that. But... she would keep living in a way she could be proud of. She was sure of it.