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Often Akari dreamed of fire. Sometimes fire burst free of her body, burning everyone and everything around her, and other times fire consumed her, dark and twisted, and still the voices of the Daemonia filled her mind. Tightly she gripped her sword with both hands, trembling, a blade of fire that could cut through any darkness, but as long as there was light, there would always be darkness.
She fell through the flames, into the endless darkness below. Her mirror image, a boy with silver hair and the inverse of the sun itself, mocked her, but he too was consumed by the flames. She reached out her hand, the shards of her broken sword falling all around her. She might've screamed, if she still had a voice.
All around her the Daemonia cried and screamed, their words jumbled and meaningless. She could write down everything they said, but she still came no closer to saving them. But why did she think she could? Elemental Tarot Users had been fighting the Daemonia for centuries. If there was a way to save a human turned into a Daemonia, to restore them without erasing their existence, wouldn't someone had already found a way? Was it really so special she could hear the Daemonia's voices? It was only because she was half-Daemonia herself.
She was always just one step away from turning into a Daemonia. But Luna had done just that, and had also managed to hang onto her humanity long enough to be restored as human. It wasn't impossible.
Soon Akari lay upon soft grass, and a gentle green light began to seep through the crystalline darkness. Vines embraced her body, and the pain began to ease. She was always so tried lately, fighting and traveling, but she couldn't stop either. No Daemonia truly wanted to hurt others. They wanted to be stopped, even if it meant their deaths. All Akari could do was listen to their voices and grant them a merciful end.
A flower brushed against her cheek, and she shut her eyes a moment. Etia and Ariel often cautioned Akari and the others against thinking of themselves as mere saviors. Even if it was in the name of protecting the innocent from the violence of Daemonia, they were still executioners.
For long as she could, she would listen to the voices of the Daemonia, their anger and their regrets, their sorrow and their wishes, and after that…
A gentle, hesitant hand touched her face, and she opened her eyes, and saw Luna sitting beside her. A familiar glow lingered about Luna, still in her Tenebrae form, and when the glow faded, she was a normal girl again. Smiling weakly, she asked, "How are you feeling now, Akari-san?"
Akari carefully sat up, and saw that she was lying in an infirmary bed. "What… happened?" she forced out. "We were fighting a Daemonia, and then…"
"You took a rather nasty blow, but Seira-san and Ginka-san managed to finish it off." Luna bit her lip. "It didn't seem so interested in talking to you."
Akari let out a heavy sigh. That happened every so often, a Daemonia too consumed by rage or hate to share its true feelings. This Daemonia had burned particularly viciously, and vaguely she remembered being struck by a tendril of fire before everything went blank. "I worried everyone, didn't I? Sorry about that."
Luna shook her head. "You're safe now, and that's what matters."
Despite herself, Akari managed a smile. Her heart had begun to race whenever she was around Luna lately, she had noticed. "Thanks, Luna-chan."
When Akari was finally cleared to leave the infirmary, night had fallen, and Luna insisted on accompanying her outside. This branch of Sephiro Fiore was in a more rural area, so there was less light pollution, and Akari followed Luna up a small nearby hill, and the sight of so many stars took her breath away.
For a while, they lay together on the soft grass, a chill night air sweeping over them, and neither spoke. The moon was half-full, giving off a gentle shine but not enough to obscure the stars. Back in Nagataki, she'd never seen the stars so clearly.
Her heart twisted at the thought of Nagataki. She missed her fortune-telling aunties, and although there was much she couldn't tell them, she still wrote them letters whenever she could.
"The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" Luna said, gently breaking the silence.
"Yeah, they really are," Akari replied. "I've never seen them so clearly!"
"Neither have I."
"The moon is really beautiful too."
For a moment, Luna's eyes went wide, and worry creased her brow. "You've been down lately, I've noticed."
Akari let out a weak laugh. "That obvious, huh?" She held out her hand, toward the half moon. "I say I want to save the Daemonia, but I haven't gotten any closer to finding a way how."
"You saved me." Luna's voice was so low, Akari almost didn't hear her. "I was weak and hurt you and Seira-san, but you didn't give up on me."
"Of course I wouldn't give up on you!" Akari shot up, her heart racing. "We've fought together for so long, and when I first came to Sephiro Fiore, you were the first one to greet me, and…"
Luna also sat up, raising a gloved hand to Akari's face, and so easily could Akari picture the mark of the red crescent moon on her skin. "I don't want to be scared any longer. I believe in you, Akari-san. You will find a way to save the Daemonia."
Akari let her gaze fall. "But it might take a while, won't it?"
"It might take a very long time." Luna's thumb brushed over Akari's lips. "You've only been with Sephiro Fiore a year. But I'll be with you every step of the way."
"That's…" Akari hesitated, seeing how gently the moon illuminated Luna's face. That Daemonia had raged and screamed at her, and Luna had healed her. She couldn't save everyone, and she could never forget that. But if she could save one person… She leaned forward, pressing her lips to Luna's.
It was only a brief kiss, and Luna drew Akari into her arms. "You really are brave, Akari-san," she muttered softly.
"So are you, Luna-chan," Akari said, her voice equally quiet. "I'm glad I met you."
She couldn't forget the scent of fire. She couldn't forget Fuyuna, or how she had failed to save her. But still she wanted to keep moving forward, and save those she could, no matter how long it took.