Chapter Text
"Sonoko?" Togo asked. "Could you repeat what you told us?"
Togo's wheelchair sat next to Sonoko's bed, joined by the other members of the Hero Club. They were indoors, this time, rather than on the roof where Togo and Yuna had first met Sonoko, but this bed was almost as massive as the one there. It looked particularly large in comparison to Sonoko's tiny form, the folds of her gown giving no suggestion of legs or a left arm beneath them. Togo sat on the far left - something she was learning to make a habit of doing, to keep people on the side where she could still hear them.
Itsuki and Karin's expressions suggested they had already guessed where this was going, while Fu was clinging to the last scraps of denial. Yuna looked as nervous as Togo had ever seen her.
Fu had wanted to wait before telling Itsuki and Karin, but Yuna and Togo had insisted. The Taisha had sent them to fight over and over again without explaining what it meant. They couldn't let that happen again.
Sonoko inhaled, the visible parts of her face forming a soft smile as her unbandaged eye passed between each of them. "Of course. I was one of the previous heroes, before your club took over. Technically I still am, but I haven't transformed in a while."
She followed that with a gentle laugh. No one else seemed to see the humor.
Itsuki wrote a message on her notepad, then held it up. Is that how you got hurt?
Sonoko's expression turned serious. "Yes. But... it wasn't from the Vertexes themselves. It was from going Mankai."
Itsuki and Karin went still. Fu was the first to respond. "We... were fatigued after we went Mankai. The doctors said that was all that happened to us, nothing serious or permanent. It can't do something like that... right?"
"They lied," Sonoko said. "The Taisha didn't tell us what it meant, either. I guess they didn't think we could handle knowing. But I don't think it's right to hide something like that."
Fu's visible eye darted to Itsuki, then back to Sonoko. "It wouldn't be right even if they told us! Why would they want this?"
"It's the only way the Shinju can make us strong enough," Sonoko explained. "That power comes from the things we sacrifice. We didn't have that when we first fought, and..."
Karin spoke up, quieter than usual. "How many of you were there?"
Sonoko's expression turned wistful. "There were three of us. Gin and Wasshi... they're both gone, now."
Her eye returned to Togo. A chill went through Togo, cold enough she could almost feel it in her numb legs. She had suspicions of what Sonoko meant by gone, and they were different for each of those names.
Itsuki held up another message. Will we have to fight until this happens?
"I don't know," Sonoko admitted. "Maybe the Vertexes will stay gone. But I can feel a bit of what's happening out there, and... I don't think things have settled down."
Uneasy glances spread throughout the room.
After a pause, Sonoko continued. "But even if the Vertexes do come back, it doesn't mean you have to be the ones to fight them. The Shinju chose your Hero Club because it thought you were the best option, but there are others. If you refused to fight, it would have to call one of them to stand as heroes instead."
Karin's eyes widened. "I could never run away like that!"
"Neither could I!" Yuna agreed. "We're supposed to be heroes! I don't want to push that burden onto anyone else!"
"Yuna, do you understand what you're saying?" Togo asked. "This is coercion! Everyone else may as well be a hostage the Shinju is using to demand that we get ourselves hurt! Are you really okay with that?"
Yuna's eyes dropped. "It's... the only way, right?"
Sonoko nodded. "Yes. I... wish things had gone better for me, but it's what it took for me to save the world and come back alive. I don't regret it, and I don't blame the Shinju for any of this."
What's it like? Itsuki asked.
"It's a bit boring," Sonoko admitted. "Especially when the only people I see are the Taisha. I can't do much on my own, but the Taisha's medicine and the Shinju's power have kept me alive even after my heart stopped working. They said it should be enough for me to live about as long as if I'd never fought at all."
"We'll keep coming back," Yuna promised. "And... if this happens to any of us, at least we won't be alone, right?"
Togo's breath caught in her throat at the sight of Yuna's determined expression. She would go to any trouble, if she thought it would help someone. Togo didn't think she'd intentionally get herself hurt, but even so...
Fu swallowed. "We won't have to go this far, will we?"
"I went Mankai twenty times," Sonoko explained. "All in one fight. Afterward, the Shinju called for me to stop fighting and stay here. I think it didn't want to ask for anything more from me, and... it was worried about how powerful I'd become. I don't know how many times it took for me to reach that point. If it happens slower for you, maybe it will stop you earlier."
Twenty times. Togo looked down at herself. If her suspicions were correct, she had gone Mankai three times, and that had already changed her life a lot.
Yuna spoke up again. "If it stops us, that means making others take our place, right?"
"I guess so," Sonoko admitted. "It's the same burden I've passed on to all of you, isn't it? But I hope none of you will think less of me for that. And whenever you stop, one way or another... I hope you won't think less of yourselves for it, either."
"I... I'll do whatever it takes!" Karin declared. "I haven't sacrificed anything yet, but there's no way in hell I'll run away without doing my part!"
"Karin, this isn't a competition!" Fu shouted. "We should all try to avoid getting hurt!"
"I don't want to get hurt," Yuna said. "But... heroes are supposed to take risks to help people, right?"
Fu put her face in her hands. "When I encouraged you all to become heroes, it wasn't supposed to mean this!"
Yuna's expression was firm. "If it wasn't us, it would be other people! Would that be any better?"
"We shouldn't have to make that choice in the first place!" Togo snapped.
"You're right," Sonoko agreed. "I wish none of us had to think about this. But... we do."
Sonoko's words hung in the air. Karin's eyes darted back and forth, while Fu lowered her hands. Itsuki stared at her notepad, writing nothing.
Fu broke the silence. "Sonoko... I'm sorry we had this argument in front of you. Maybe we should go, and... take some time to process this."
"It's fine," Sonoko assured her. "I'm grateful for the company, and... I'm glad I could make sure you're better prepared for this than I was. I hope you'll be back!"
Yuna clasped Sonoko's hand. "We will. I promise."
As the other four stood to leave, Sonoko's gaze fell on Togo once more. She didn't say anything, but Togo could hear the echo of the name she was sure Sonoko wanted to say. Wasshi.
Yuna leaped forward, towards the Vertex falling down towards Itsuki. This would cost one of them, she could tell. And what kind of hero would ask anyone else to pay that price?
Yuna's Mankai flared to life, two gigantic fists appearing to her sides to grab the Vertex's long body and throw it to the ground. Its sheep-like appearance looked familiar - it had been part of the largest Vertex group, Yuna remembered. But she and Togo had destroyed it. Why was it back?
It just meant she had to do it again.
"HERO PUNCH!" Yuna shouted.
Itsuki's vines wrapped around the Vertex, holding it in place, and Yuna's fists came down on it over and over. After enough hits, the Vertex crumbled to pieces.
Yuna dropped down to where Itsuki stood. Itsuki met her eyes with a panicked expression, her mouth opening to silently call out to her.
"It's fine, Itsuki," Yuna assured her. "I'm just glad you're safe."
Itsuki's arms wrapped around her in a hug, and Yuna returned it. To her sides, the giant fists faded away. Then something else did.
It felt like a tug, starting at the heel of her right foot, then unraveling everything around it like a loose thread. The spiral spread deeper and wider, up to just below her knee and out to the skin of her leg and foot. And then it was gone.
"Ah!" Yuna cried out as she began to tip to the right. Before she could fall, something appeared under her knee, pushing her back up.
Yuna and Itsuki released each other and stepped back to see what had happened. Below the knee, Yuna's leg had been replaced with a gleaming white prosthetic. Itsuki's hands went to her mouth.
Yuna lifted her leg and set the artificial foot down, first to the front, then to the side. She couldn't feel anything from it, but she could feel echoes of what her foot should have felt. Did Togo get the same thing with her legs?
"Imagine that!" Yuna declared. "It's like nothing even happened!"
Itsuki pulled out her phone and typed out a message. I'm sorry. If I'd been more careful....
"I told you, it's okay!" Yuna replied. "It's nothing compared to... oh, hey, there are the others!"
Yuna waved to the descending forms of Fu, Karin, and Togo. They landed nearby, Fu and Karin standing while Togo held herself up with her ribbons. Their eyes widened as they saw what was different.
"Yuna!" Fu called out. "Your leg!"
Yuna smiled. "This has to get the doctors to stop lying about it, right?"
Worry spread across Togo's face. "Yuna, this is serious!"
"I know, I know," Yuna admitted. "But it's... I'll be okay! Really!"
She could handle thinking about it seriously, right? She'd still be able to do most things, knowing Togo told her that much. Losing her sense of taste was a bigger inconvenience, really.
So it was just two little things to deal with - except she'd probably lose more, and then...
Yuna felt dizzy for a moment, long enough for her hero form to vanish. The prosthetic disappeared with it, leaving Yuna a moment to try to regain her balance before falling onto her butt.
"Aah..." Yuna groaned. "Okay, it's a bit troublesome. I might need some help getting back to the doctors... The battle's over, right?"
Before anyone else could answer, the world did. The forest faded, returning them to the park where they'd been.
Karin stepped towards her, wearing a guilty expression. "We beat the others, yeah. Come on, let's get you up."
Karin supported Yuna's right side, Fu took her left, and the three of them walked together to the nearest bench. Togo called the doctors, then joined Fu in staying by the bench, while Itsuki and Karin held a quiet conversation too far away to hear Karin's words or see Itsuki's.
Fu let out a long breath, then spoke. "Yuna... please be careful, okay?"
"I had to do it!" Yuna insisted. "If I didn't, then..."
She thought better of finishing the sentence, but she'd said enough. Fu straightened, then looked away.
Before long, she was back in the exam room. The doctors didn't ask or comment on how she'd lost her leg, only saying it had healed enough to look like she'd lost it weeks ago. They took a number of measurements, then offered crutches, a wheelchair, instructions on using them, and a promise to prepare a prosthetic.
Her parents visited, their faces serious. She could tell that they'd been told enough about what happened, and that it must have included a request to avoid discussing the specifics. She kept the conversation as brief as she could. It felt like a pane of glass separated them, and she already knew the barrier would only grow.
The doctors recommended a break from school, to give her time to recover. The part they didn't say was that spending time away from people she knew would be a way to avoid questions about how she had healed so fast. Her parents agreed, and Yuna reluctantly acquiesced. When they left, she had them take the wheelchair home with them. It would have uses, she was sure, but for now she wanted to get used to the crutches.
Her parents, the doctors, the Taisha... none of them were really part of the world that now claimed her more than ever. And talking about it with the rest of the Hero Club was complicated in its own way. But there was one person she could speak freely with.
She convinced the Taisha to take her back to the compound where Sonoko lived. They escorted her to Sonoko's room, then left the two of them alone.
Sonoko's eye went to Yuna's crutches, then her leg. "You used Mankai again, huh?"
Yuna smiled sheepishly. "I guess I'm not very good at holding back."
"How do you feel?" Sonoko asked.
"It's a bit weird," Yuna admitted. "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?"
"Of course!" Yuna insisted. "I meant it when I said I couldn't ask someone else to take my place. I don't know what I might lose next, but... I'll keep fighting for 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."
Every time Sonoko used that name for Togo, it sounded less like a mistake. Togo had said she'd been hurt in an accident, but she also said she'd lost her memory of when it happened...
"Wasshi... You mean Togo, right?" Yuna asked.
Sonoko's smile turned faintly guilty. "I guess I haven't been very subtle. I think she's figured it out, too... but I don't think she's ready to talk about it."
Yuna nodded. "I hope she finds a way to open up. It's... really important, being able to talk about things. That's the Hero Club's fourth tenet! If you're troubled, talk to someone!"
"It really is," Sonoko agreed. "Speaking of which... thanks for coming, Yuyu. It means a lot."
Yuna moved closer. She lifted her arms to offer a hug, and Sonoko accepted it, returning the hug with her one arm while taking care to avoid snagging the wires attached to it.
"I'll keep visiting," Yuna promised. "Until... it isn't a visit anymore."
Itsuki joined the others in transforming, and watched as Yuna's usual artificial leg was replaced with her hero form's prosthetic. The injury she'd taken to protect Itsuki from... whatever would have happened if Yuna hadn't been there. But learning the cost of her own second Mankai was only a matter of time, wasn't it?
The Vertexes were attacking about once a month, now. Always ones they remembered defeating, somehow healed of any injuries. Unlike them.
This time, eight Vertexes appeared - the largest group yet. Itsuki, Fu, Yuna, and Karin each took two head-on, while Togo fired on them from a distance. Before long, a glance in Karin's direction sent her stomach sinking at the sight of a new Mankai - four giant arms, a katana in each hand. Shortly afterward, she caught sight of Yuna's Mankai once more.
Itsuki held out as long as she could. But if she didn't keep up, one of the others would have to rescue her again.
Her Mankai blossomed, countless vines emerging to snare the pair of Vertexes to her sides. She pulled them down against the ground and squeezed, but the horned one thrashed against the ground, freeing its bell to ring with a sickening sound.
A giant sword came down, cleaving the Vertex in half. Fu's blade - but not her normal one. She'd gone Mankai, too.
For a moment, Itsuki prepared to blame herself, before remembering how the other fights had gone. In the direction Fu had come from, the bodies of two other defeated Vertexes showed the enormous slash marks of the blade she now held. It was... just what each of them had needed to do.
Fu gave her a worried look, and Itsuki used her hands to sign a reply. I'm okay. Recognizing her condition as permanent had been... upsetting, but once it sunk in, she and the others had worked to learn more ways for her to communicate in silence.
And now there would be another. She had a better idea of how Yuna must have felt, now. The temptation to tell herself that the cost must have been something small, at least until her body could prove otherwise.
The forest faded, and their outfits returned to normal. Her stomach churned - something inside her had changed, but she wasn't sure what. Fu blinked, looking just as uncertain.
Fu let out a sigh. "Let's... find the others. Then we can get things looked at."
Yuna and Karin were sitting on a bench, Karin's right hand gripped in Yuna's left. Togo's wheelchair sat next to them. All three of them looked up as the sisters approached, but Karin's expression was... odd. Her eyes were unfocused, staring blankly in their general direction.
"It's them," Yuna told Karin. "They both look the same as usual."
"Ah..." Karin's voice was unusually quiet. "That's good."
"Karin?" Fu asked hesitantly. "What happened?"
Karin turned away. "I went Mankai. Twice, actually."
Karin's left hand went to her right thigh. Her left leg was shaking, but her right was still. A closer look at her blank eyes revealed tears dried beneath them.
And Yuna had gone Mankai, too. She was breathing unusually heavily, and... her right hand and forearm were gone. Itsuki's eyes widened, and Fu let out a gasp.
Yuna met their gaze with an unconvincing smile. "I guess this will be a bit of trouble, huh?"
Next to them, Togo's expression darkened. She didn't show any signs of injury, but she looked furious. Not at anyone present, Itsuki was sure - but at those who weren't.
Itsuki didn't need a more detailed answer from Karin to know that she wouldn't be able to read sign language or written notes. She pulled up her phone's text-to-speech mode and typed out a message, then played it. "Do you need anything?"
"I guess we'll need to go back to the doctors," Karin admitted. "But... I'm not sure I'm ready to see them yet."
"They shouldn't have put us in this position," Togo growled.
Yuna looked like she wanted to say something, but stopped. Itsuki could guess why - Yuna must have been torn between declaring her own willingness and avoiding saying something that might upset Karin.
When Karin was ready, the five of them returned to the clinic, so the four who had used Mankai could be examined. This time, Togo had been the only one to avoid it, while Yuna had joined Karin in using it twice.
According to the doctors, Itsuki had lost her ovaries and uterus. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She'd never really thought having kids sounded appealing, but apparently plenty of people felt differently as adults. For now, the only real changes were not having to deal with periods, and the pills they gave her to replace the relevant hormones.
Fu had lost hearing in her right ear, and in addition to her arm, Yuna had lost use of a lung. Yuna was told to take another break from school, and so was Karin. Itsuki wondered if they would come back.
She found Karin sitting alone in the clinic, a walker next to her. Karin looked up as she approached. "Itsuki? Is that you?"
"It's me," Itsuki confirmed. "How are you feeling?"
"...Not great," Karin admitted. "I thought I'd feel like I'd gone back to pulling my own weight, but this is... a lot."
"Yeah," Itsuki agreed. "Do you want some music?"
Karin nodded. "Now that you mention it... yeah. What do you have?"
"Let me check." Itsuki pulled up her phone's music files, then went back to its speech mode. "The most recent ones are... me, sort of. I can't sing anymore, but I had enough recordings to train a program to sing like me. It's a bit silly, but I like getting to at least hear how it might have sounded."
"Oh!" Karin said. "I... are you okay with showing me those?"
"Sure." Itsuki smiled, even though Karin couldn't see it, and sat down next to her. She took out her headphones, and passed one end to Karin. "How about..."