Kurama stared wide-eyed at the unconscious Riya on his arms. Soon after, he looked at the silver rose in the glass case followed by certain words flooding into his mind.
"You must find the one item which will become a trigger for those memories to return. And you must give it to her on the eve of this month's second full moon..."
"By the time she would call you by your demon name will be the day she would finally remember everything else that is connected to you and this war..."
After recalling those words said by Riya inside that illusion, he looked at the maiden with soft yet sad eyes as tears began to fall from it.
"So you finally remembered me..." he muttered before he gently embraced Riya. His body slightly trembled before he managed to stop his tears from falling.
Soon after, Hiei arrived with a slight confusion on his face at the sight that greeted him. It was later followed by the arrival of Yusuke and the others, particularly the Wielders who had immediately sensed the return of Riya's familiar power signature.
"What happened?" Yusuke asked.
Kurama just heaved a sigh as an answer and carried Riya after he took the glass case on the ground. The gang faced one another with confusion before Soujiro touched the gift wrapper on the ground and closed his eyes. Yumi remained silently watching the Water Wielder while the others were busy talking as they kept on wondering what could have happened. After a few seconds, Soujiro opened his eyes and faced the gang.
"I think we need to be with Mistress Riya right now," Soujiro said as he took the wrapper and the ribbon.
"Onii-chan, what's wrong? What did you see?" Yukari asked her brother.
"We'll find out once we get to her," Yumi said. "And don't forget to prepare yourself. This is where the true battle will begin..."
xxxxxx
A few hours later...
Riya found herself lying on the bed of her hotel room as soon as she opened her eyes and looked around. She sat up soon after and scanned herself. She wasn't wearing her gown anymore and her hair was tied loosely. Instead, she saw herself wearing a plain white sleeveless night gown. No one was inside the room when she looked around even further. Sighing, she decided to get up from her bed.
But before she could even take a step, the door opened and revealed Mari entering. The maiden's eyes widened at the sight of her awake.
"My lady, you're awake!" Mari exclaimed and immediately approached her. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"
Riya reluctantly smiled. "I'm alright, Mari-san. By the way, what happened at the party? I've been unconscious for hours, haven't I?"
"Don'g worry. We devised a plan for your disappearance not to be noticed by your schoolmates, though the clan elders knew you're here and they understood."
That was when Riya sighed of relief.
"My lady, what happened for you to go unconscious? Kurama doesn't want to tell us about it and Soujiro-kun seems to have an idea but he's not telling us anything," Mari said in a worried tone.
It took a while for Riya to decide. She subconsciously held the side of her head before closing her eyes as she tried to remember what happened. Her mind was focused on remembering the events, that was why she didn't notice the others had entered the room. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see her friends, her mother, Kurama's family, her sister-in-law, her nephew and her nieces. But what really surprised her was when she saw Kurama's emerald eyes looking at her with worries, hesitancy, longing and joy in them. He slowly approached her and slightly crouched down so that their faces were on the same level.
They only stared at each other for some seconds before she decided to break it off with a sweet gently smile. Kurama was startled when he saw that.
"Riya, are you alright?" he asked reluctantly.
The girl nodded and lifted her hand to touch his face. The face she had longed to touch once again.
"Yes, I am. Don't worry about me," she answered. "I'm sorry..."
Kurama was surprised to hear that but didn't show it, though Riya felt it and so she looked at him apologetically.
"I'm sorry... for giving up my feelings for you like that. I just did what I thought I could to revive you," she continued, followed by tears leaking on her face.
Kurama couldn't take it anymore. He pulled Riya's hand as he straightened himself before embracing her tight.
"What matters is that you're back. Thank goodness you're back..." he muttered as he inhaled the scent of her hair.
Riya smiled despite the flowing tears and embraced Kurama in return. "You're right. I'm back..."
The people in that room watching them were still puzzled as to what was really going on. When Ayako glanced at a certain glass case placed on a table beside the closet, she decided to approach it and examine the object. But what she saw inside of it came as a surprise to her.
"This is... Riya-chan's Snow Rose?" Ayako muttered in surprise.
Unfortunately, the others heard that and so they approached Ayako.
"What do you mean by Snow Rose, Ayako-chan?" Kuwabara asked.
"The Snow Rose I destroyed back then. The rose that Riya-chan treasured so much since Kurama gave it to her almost five and a half years ago. But if this is here... then that means..."
"That means?"
Ayako took the glass case and stared intently at the silver rose inside of it before speaking. "This silver rose... was the item that triggered to let Riya-chan's memories to return. This is the item that started their relationship in the first place."
After saying that, Yusuke and the others looked at the reunited lovers after full 3 weeks of longing (on Kurama's part). They were still at the hold of each other, as if afraid that if one would let go, the other would disappear.
"They're finally together..." Shiori said teary-eyed as she stared at the joyful face of Kurama.
"But still, there's something that bounds to separate them once again," Haruna stated seriously.
"The Blue Moon War..." Ritsuko whispered. "But will she have the power to defeat the true source of evil?"
But no one answered that. After a few seconds, Riya released her hold on Kurama and faced the others.
"Sorry, guys... for leaving you out in the blue like that," Riya said apologetically before she approached Yumi.
The blonde smiled gently and embraced the maiden. "Silly girl. We're the ones who were supposed to apologize and not you. We understood why you did that; Keiko made us do so." Soon after, Yumi pulled away from Riya. "That's why it's alright. With or without your memories, we'll always remain by your side as your warriors. I can promise you that."
"Thanks, Yumi," Riya said teary-eyed.
"We'll remain by your side, as well," Misako, the girl with blue eyes and long curly black hair, said with determination that made Riya change her focus. "That's why you don't have to do something like that again, Onee-chan. No matter what happens, we'll stay with you and protect you."
"Misa's right, Onee-san. We'll protect you and Kurama-niisan so that no one will be sad anymore," Sachiko, the girl with blue eyes and long straight black hair, added to what her twin sister said.
"Onee-san? I thought Riya-chan's your aunt. Why do you call her Onee-san?" Botan finally asked since she was confused.
"Because she looked too young to be an aunt so we just decided to call her Onee-san. That's how she is to us besides being our father's sister," Satoshi (Riya's nephew) answered.
"I see."
Upon facing the rest of the group, they all hugged her one by one. Hiei just stayed on one side, though and said something to her mentally.
Good thing you're back. Now Kurama won't have to be so cold anymore, Hiei said.
Riya just smiled at that and gave him a small bow. I guess you're not used to that part of Kurama. But still, thank you for being with him and Yumi. I wish I had heard your love confession to her. She giggled as soon as she said that in her mind, making Hiei slightly blush, something she had never seen.
When she looked at the glass case, which was on Ayako's hands, she decided to take it from her. The brunette complied to that and gave it to her. After looking at it for some seconds, her eyes narrowed at a certain realization that hit her mind.
"Umm... will it be okay if I ask you to leave me alone for a while?" Riya asked without looking at them, her eyes still fixed on the silver rose.
They all exchanged hesitant glances to each other before they obliged to the maiden's request. But Kurama stayed there for a while.
"Don't worry, Kurama. I just need to think things by myself," Riya said with a reassuring smile. Kurama just sighed and kissed her lips before leaving the room. It was later followed by making a telepathic message to Yumi.
Yumi, can you get the gift that Hiei gave to me? I really need it.
The blonde frowned at that. For what? And to think you would specifically ask for the gift that Hiei gave to you. Do you already have an idea what it is?
More or less, yes. I do have an idea. Can you get it for me?
Sure thing. I'll hand it to you as soon as I get it. But why do you need it for?
Riya sighed silently before responding. It's something important. I'll let you know soon.
With that, the Fire Wielder headed to the room adjacent to Riya's without the gang's knowledge. Using a translocation ability that she learned from Haruna, she transported the said item to Riya's bedroom. It appeared in front of the Wielder's mistress and Riya took it.
After heaving a sigh, Riya laid the gift on the bed before she sat there. She opened the glass case on her hands and took out the silver rose. Riya took Hiei's gift on the bed and unwrapped it. The gift was wrapped in a special type of fabric which was silver in color. It turned out to be a sword- a long sword with blade measuring two meters in length, the hilt and sheath colored in blue and silver mainly. Soon after, she made both the sword and the rose disappear after being surrounded by white light.
Riya stood up after that and had a change of clothes. She chose to wear a pair of black pants, green jacket over a powder blue turtle-necked sleeveless blouse and a pair of sneakers. A quarter amount of hair was tied with a thick white ribbon at the back of her head. The ribbon's strips were lengthened that reached her thighs. And when she was satisfied with her looks, she looked at her reflection on the mirror sadly. Shortly after, she took a piece of blank paper and a pen from the drawer of the study table.
Taking a deep breath, Riya gathered her thoughts and began writing. After a few minutes, she was done writing and folded it before she placed the letter on top of the empty glass case on her bed. She glanced to the door with sad eyes one last time before shutting her eyes tightly to prevent her tears from falling and left that room through the hotel window. Thankfully, the window was facing a six-storey building so she managed to land to the rooftop of that building with ease.
As she faced the silver moon with such a determined look on her face, she clenched her fist and closed her eyes. It was later followed by conjuring a silver-colored sigil beneath her.
"Open, O Gate that leads to the Crystal Valley. Reveal to me the path to the Alyssum Castle," Riya uttered. Shortly after that, the sigil glowed brighter as ribbons of light, having the colors of the rainbow, rose from the edge of the sigil and surrounded her as they formed several helixes of light. It surrounded her fast and in a few seconds, she vanished.
When she opened her eyes, she saw herself standing on the courtyard of the fortress. What greeted her as she looked up to the sky were the two moons- one blue and one silver- almost in their perfect alignment to each other.
"You've finally come, my lady," a voice said that made her look at the castle's main door. Riya smiled when she saw Carissa floating towards her.
"I guess you waited for a long time, huh? I'm sorry," Riya said with an apologetic smile.
"It's alright. All that matters is that you're here," Carissa said before looking at her with a sober expression. "Is it time already?"
Riya nodded. "The two moons are almost in perfect alignment. Soon, Erithea's seal will be completely broken. So before that would happen, I need to have the power that I could use to defend this realm and finish this war once and for all."
"I see. Then we need to head to the Sacred Heart Room."
The Wielders' mistress complied to that and they rushed to the castle.
Just wait a little longer, everyone. We will be finishing this war once and for all. Kurama... This is where your final trial will be set. And I may not be there to support you. I'm sorry...
xxxxxx
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, it was only a matter of minutes before the team and the wielders sensed that there was something wrong. In order not to create a panic, Ritsuko decided to check out on Riya. But as soon as she touched the door, she felt a huge power signature just beyond it. With that, she didn't knock at all and entered Riya's room, only to be surprised to see that there was no sight of her daughter in there.
The window was opened and the wind blew the curtains, a sign that Riya used the window to escape.
The others rushed inside to see what was going on, but they were surprised to see that Riya was gone.
"Where did she go?" Noboru asked as he looked around.
"I can't sense her spirit energy," Keiko stated. "That means she had gone somewhere extremely far."
"Yeah, but where?" Yusuke asked.
No one answered that. When Kurama glanced to the bed, he frowned at the sight of a folded paper on top of the glass case. Beside it was the silver fabric that he knew was used to wrap Hiei's gift for Riya. But if the fabric was there, then that means the sword was-
Before Kurama could conclude to that, he rushed to the bed and picked up the folded paper. He was surprised to see the silver rose was gone after he took the paper.
Riya, where have you gone? Do you really have to do this alone? He asked in desperation before he decided to unfold the paper and read what was inside of it. Even though there was no name written outside of it, he had a feeling that it was somehow meant for him.
Kurama,
I know I should've said something regarding this but please forgive me, still. I must do this on my room in order for me- for all of us- to finish this war once and for all. Where I'm going, there's no need for you to know. All I can tell is that I must return to my past to retrieve what I had originally lost a long time ago. That way, I could be of help to you and to my fellow Wielders to defeat Erithea. I should've let you know this and tell you personally but I don't have the guts. I don't know why but that's what I'm feeling. I took the rose with me to serve as a reminder that I will do what I can to return to your side no matter what happens. Same goes to the sword that Hiei gave me. That's why you don't have to worry about me. Facing my past would only help me find my true self and my true powers so that I could move forward to the future with you. A future where I don't have to worry about a prophecy or a curse to keep us apart. I love you and please understand.
Riya.
Kurama remained staring at the letter for some seconds before he folded it and placed it on the bedside table. After that, he took the glass case from the bed. His grip on it tightened at the thought of Riya before his eyes softened as he looked at it and heaved a sigh. As he looked out the window, he saw the moon's almost full shape and his eyes widened at the sight of it turning blue.
"Is it starting already?" Kurama couldn't help but to ask as he was still looking outside.
"Kurama."
He turned around as soon as he heard someone called him. But then he was surprised when he caught clothes on his hands. He looked up to see Haruna looking seriously at him. When he looked around, the rest of the group were also holding clothes (with the exception of Hiei, of course) before Haruna spoke.
"Better get ready. Any minute now, Erithea and her demon shinobis will come out to defeat Riya and all those who opposes her. And whether you like it or not, you'll be having an urban battle on your hands. You may need to get your trump cards ready, as well. I'm sure this battle will be even tougher now that we need to ensure the safety of the people in this city."
They complied to that and proceeded to the unoccupied rooms individually to change. Ritsuko and Shiori approached Haruna who was staring at the blue moon.
"Haruna, are you sure about this?" Shiori asked worriedly.
Haruna sighed. "This is the only way. Because of this war, our family and many others were forced to live our lives like this. I know those kids will do everything to fight the present and change the future. Having faith in them is the only thing we can do."
The rise of the blue moon... Koenma thought upon hearing that from Haruna, making him look at the sky and to the moon. The phenomenon that doesn't only indicate the start of the true final battle but also releases some of the universe's most destructive powers... I wonder how will they all handle this.
But as of now, the only thing they could do was to wait for the signal that would mark the beginning of that predicted war.
xxxxxx
Sacred Heart Room, Alyssum Castle...
Eight-pointed star with a circle inside of it appeared beneath Riya as she materialized the Crystal Spear on her hand. The star was inscribed in two circles, runes written between those circles. It was a different sigil compared to the one she usually conjured. Each of the points of that star represented her and the other seven Legendary Weapon Wielders, though only five of the weapons had found their masters so far. The remaining two- the Rose Daggers and the Lance of Snow- were still in their respective regions and shrines.
The sigil glowed brighter as it continued to spin in a steady rate. In front of Riya was Carissa who had now taken a much smaller (about 11 inches) and younger form. The Crystal Spear glowed in a rainbow color before it morphed into an orb just about the size of a tennis ball. Riya faced Carissa with a serious and determined look on her face.
"We better hurry up and help the others," Riya said.
"But Lady Riya, are you sure about using this?" Carissa asked in a concerned tone.
"I have to, Carissa-chan. Besides, I don't want to reserve powers that I could've used and regret it later. This is my true, final trump card, after all. It's the only way for me and the others to settle this matter as quickly as possible."
Carissa sighed audibly and faced her. "As you wish, my lady," she said before glowing and vanished.
Riya took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Forces of the four elements from the four corners of both heaven and earth... My Crystal Spirit, Carissa... Come to my side and be my guide as you grant me your mighty powers." Upon uttering that, the rainbow-colored orb glowed brighter as she raised it. "Here I summon the ultimate form of the Crystal Spear from its own shard, the Elements of the Silver Dragon Gem." Rays of rainbow-colored light were released by the orb as rushes of fire, stars, wind, water, petals, music notes and snow started to surround it. "Come forth, the holy weapon of the ancient world, Silver Staff of the Three Realms' Ancient Spirits!"
As soon as it was shouted, the entire room was surrounded by blinding light as the rushes of the Wielders' powers continued to hover before being absorbed by the orb. Thd orb started to morph into its physical form before Riya held it and the glow surrounding the form "shattered" to reveal itself.
xxxxxx
Some of the lines here were actually from the anime "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS".
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