Archive of Our Own ^beta

Natsuko was gone.  

Natsuko was.... gone.  

Luke stared at the grass beneath him as his body refused to move. That feeling was in his stomach once more, the one that twisted and cut into his soul.  

“Natsuko....” He muttered, hands twitching, her body felt so warm. Her eyes, as lovely as they always were, was more beautiful than any sunset or dawn. “I love you...” He repeated. “I love you.... You...”  

Its only then, he screamed.  

No word left his mouth other than her name. She was back. She was back! She had filled his heart and saved him. He wanted to run his fingers through her hair, to spend the soft sunlit days by her side. Fist meeting the ground over and over again, he let out a whimper. No. She was right HERE!  

“Natsuko....” He wouldn’t let her name evaporate like her body did. Perhaps she was just resting? For how many days' worth of conjuring did she give up to stop...him. Will her energy be back within a week? Two?  

...  

....Three?  

...  

A month?  

Luke opened his palm, clutching at the grass like a lifeline. It was soft and through the tears streaming down his face he spotted the tiniest of bugs crawling through it. Bugs. Void.  

Oh Void, the world was at peace.  

It was only then he was able to move, looking back up at the new Soul Future that spawned from where they were. Was there a name for such a place? Where starlight was reality, and peace surrounded his very soul? If there wasn’t, he could only describe it as Natsuko.  

“Luke....” He heard a familiar voice call out.  

“U-Unio...?” His voice cracked as he turned around. His brother in all but name was sitting a few meters from him, “Unio!” He yelled, opening his arms. Before he could blink, he was holding his friend and fellow hero in his arms. “You’re alive! You’re....” He hiccupped, his shoulders trembling. “She was right here...”  

“I know,” His friend’s body trembled as his tears met Unio’s fur. “She.... I was... “Words refused to leave his mouth as the unicorn stuttered over and over again. “I tried my hardest to protect her.”  

“I did this,” Luke hissed,  

“Luke!” Unio snapped. The blond flinched as the warrior glared at him, “Don’t you dare say that!”  

“But I did!” he glared, “I became... that Thing! I did it of my own volition! I... I....” He let out another whimper as he hung his head low, “It was cold.”  

“....”  

“It was so cold. It was so dark, my friend.” He continued, unable to look up. His fingers ran down Unio’s mane as continued, “I couldn’t hear much after you and her were devoured by that void! The townspeople were yelling. I drew my sword at them! Yet they didn’t stop. They did not care if you died as long as Natsuko also perished!” He weakly yelled. “You were murdered as well as she and there was nothing I could have done. I don’t know how long I walked. None of the void attacked me. I felt this... thing in my chest. It pounded and pounded, raging like a tempest. It was....”  

“The ultimate void.” Unio finished for him.  

Nodding, he closed his eyes, “It was angry. Angry I had to suffer for something like this. That you had to suffer for something like this. A future? What a lie. Memmeln’s words from so long ago was echoing in my ears and I thought of her. How Natsuko would never be able to see the sun ever again. How I could never make food for her or you or anyone of our friends. How they all perished when I could have been-”  

He feels something burn against his cheek. Touching it, he looks at a Unio who just slapped him.  

“I hate to play this card but would Natsuko want you to blame yourself? You saw such a despair take everyone! There wasn’t a way for you to-” the unicorn’s tail twitches, “She would never want you to cry like this.”  

“... but I caused her this pain.” He replies, falling back onto the grass. His gaze drifts to the clouds ahead, soft and fluffy like how Natsuko makes his chest. “Shes dead. She may have come back but if only I waited a couple more minutes then she wouldn’t be gone.”  

“...” Unio stares at him as Luke lays down.  

“It felt so nice,” He can’t stop himself from saying, “To be there in that abyss. Time wasn’t passing to me. I was simply no longer existing. And... and I can feel a part of that urge inside myself. I can feel that calling in my ears and Natsuko isn’t here anymore. Am I going to have to kill another one of my friends? Will I be the cause of your death, Unio? Its going to happen again. Its going to be summoned again. I can’t-” he clutches his chest, “I can’t stand to see anyone else die!”  

Wind blows across the land as he feels the fellow hero stare at him. It was disgusting. It was wrong. He wanted to become such a creature again, to tear this wretched land apart.  

“Natsuko...” He muttered, “I love you. I love you. I love you.”  

“Luke...”  

“I never got to say it enough,” He doesn't look at him. “I want to say it to her face again. Oh. Oh....Unio.....” he hiccups, “We have a portrait of her, right?”  

“Ah?”  

“She was always drawing us,” He sits up, “Is her sketchbook anywhere? She-”  

“I don’t think she was the type to illustrate herself...” Unio mutters.  

“Right,” He stills, that feeling bubbling up inside him again, “Natsuko always preferred....” He looks down, pulling at a small flower that bloomed alongside him. He smiled, “Her eyes are something special. I bet she could make something like this appear life-like on a single page without a revision. Oh, how she would....” His body shuddered. That’s right. He won't be able to witness her memorize details anymore. He won’t be able to see the way she got excited over blades of grass blowing or the perfect composition of the kingdom’s architecture. Natsuko wasn’t here.  

Luke lets out another sob.  

“She’s not here, Unio.”  

“She isn’t,” his friend pats his back as Luke clings to him.  

“Not a single hair. Not a single drawing left behind. She only exists within our hearts.” He hissed, using his free hand to grab his chest. “And if I could tear it out to bring her back I would.”  

“You love her.”  

“I love her!” He yells. “And she... did you hear what she said?” He doesn't wait for a response, “I’ll love you forever.” Unio’s hoofs still at his words. “How could she do it? To be gone and to save us and to be... be....” Luke’s vision blurs, “I love her.”  

“Luke...”  

“I....” He wipes his tears away, “I want to see her again. I will see her again.”  

He awaits for his comrade to laugh like he always does. To say some silly joke to make the day just a bit brighter. He hesitates before looking at Unio’s concentrated face.  

“While you were...” Unio looks away for a moment, “Natsuko was telling me and Mel some things about the vision she saw. I’ll tell you the rest later, but it reminds me of that one bird that was annoying her for days.”  

“The creepy one?” he asks.  

 
“Yeah, that one,” Unio replies, “Natsuko seems to respect the bird, calling her a ‘creator’ or something similar. Do you think she has the same power as Natsuko? Or if not, then something better?” 

For the first time in a long time, hope blooms in Luke’s heart.  

 
“Let's go talk to that bird.” 

Happiness could not describe the emotion he felt as he spotted his friends.  

The rest of the nine heroes were talking with Memmeln when the duo spotted them. Unio cried as he hugged Admiral and General. Luke shred more than a couple tears as they spoke of their own experiences.  

When they perished, either from void or from external injuries, they slept. It sounded like a nightmare, something completely different to the angering peace that Luke felt. Yet Unio only nodded, so the blond surmised it must have been what was the standard.  

Bit by bit, Memmeln was able to explain that a person from another kingdom showed up, predicted the future with a high accuracy, and then saved them all.  

He watched as his friend’s tears started again, himself joining soon after.  

“This person... saved my kingdom when I could not..” He hears Admiral mutter under their breath, “I owe her more than anything else.”  

“Your kingdom is back?” He exclaims.  

QJ beeps happily as he hovers in front of the hero, “Indeed! Scans indicate that fellow Soul Futures have appeared alongside distant scans of life! Estimated 80% likely hood that approximately everyone who perished within the length of our adventure and a month or so before it have been revived! It aligns well with previous population charts as well as leeway for flora and fauna reemerging!”  

“Oh!” His face lit up, causing the rest of the heroes to smile, “She really did all that....” He wiped his face, glad he didn’t tear up again. “She’s so extortionary....”  

“...” Memmeln placed a hand on his shoulder, “She believed in you til the very end.”  

“Yeah! Did you see all the drawings she made of him while I was shielding her!” Unio shouts.  

QJ beeps, “Able to continue drawing you even after visibility became low”  

Luke blushes as the heroes who perished catch onto what the three were implying. General and Ganger laugh as Chingosman hides a smile.  

“What was her name again?” Chingosman asks, tilting his head slightly.  

“Natsuko Hirose,” Luke immediately replies.  

Ganger raises a stony brow, “What an interesting name. Is that standard in her kingdom.”  

His face softening, “Tsuruyama was the name of her idol,”  

“Ah? Isn’t that what she referred to the bird as?”  

 
He jolts, “She did?” He turns quickly to QJ, “QJ could you please scan for that bird? Unio and I need to ask her some questions.” Thoughts race through his head. This was another string tying her to Natsuko.  

“Error...” QJ muttered, “It would appear that my scanners need to be re-calibrated.” The robot sighs, “Being factory reset must have adjusted my setting.”  

“Oh no....” Luke mutters, “You are going to be okay, right?”  

“Need estimated time to optimize but yes. Percentage chances high for safety.”  

He lets out a sigh of relief before steering his gaze, “Well then, fellow soldiers! Its clear what I need to do!” They all turn to the warrior who carried the tone he thought he lost, “If you may accompany me on such a trek, will you assist me in confronting that bird? Unio and I believe that she may have a way for us to see Natsuko again.”  

Justince smirks, “Already got a plan?” she leans back, “its nice seeing you with that light in your eyes again.”  

Memmeln nods, “With everyone back, my old connections to the other kingdoms should be up and running within a couple of weeks so as soon as the world readjusts it will be no issue having old friends keep an eye out for such a distinctive bird.”  

“Then this isn’t the end!” Unio stands proud, “No need for another funeral- we will see her again! Even if it takes a while!”  

The rest of the nine soldiers smile at their companions. The sunlight gracing their features like the shining beacons of hope they were.  

“I will need some time to take care of everyone in my kingdom,” Admiral mutters as they nod, “But I assure you I will help you as much as I can. I owe her for this.”  

Chingosman nods a similar sentiment, “I miss my village. My partners must be worried sick. I need to see them as soon as possible but if your travels ever bring you near, do not hesitate to make yourself home, dear friends.”  

General looks away, a soft smile on his face, “My weary bones need some rest. I am sorry little ones but I can not accompany you on such a travel as well.”  

Luke nods, “I wish you and your daughter the best of luck. May you reunite soon.”  

“So this is it then?” Ganger asks, “One final party then we are all on our own ways?”  

“Yeah, I’m sick of funerals,” Unio jokes, “But with the soul future shining brighter than ever before, I know it in my heart that we will all meet again!” He laughs, “And next year! We should all meet again at this spot next year! Bring something from your homes! I would dieeeee for some Whetherirs wine!”  

“Already planning on getting tipsy?” Admiral playfully sighs as Justice shouts; she’ll drink to that. “But an anniversary sounds splendid. Perhaps this will unite the nine kingdoms more than it ever has before this.”  

Luke grins as plans are made.  

Looking up into the blue sky, so reminiscent of her eyes, he vows, “My love, even if it takes years I will find a way. I promise.”