Part 2 - Once again, Night

I shot upright, gasping for air as my chest heaved, heart racing. My eyes darted around the unfamiliar room, struggling to make sense of my surroundings.

"Where... am I?" I mumbled to myself.

I was tucked into a bed, the room dim and foreign.

What happened... Wasn't I fighting Bronwen...?

Then a voice I knew well cut through the haze of my thoughts. "Kiara... you finally woke up."

I turned sharply. "Konota...? Why are... Why am I here?" My voice trembled, and I instinctively reached for my head, trying to steady the storm brewing inside me.

Konota's face was solemn, her usual sharpness muted with worry. "You... you were knocked unconscious," she said softly, her gaze lowering.

I... I lost...? 

My jaw hung open, disbelief choking me. How could I have lost? I grabbed onto Konota's shoulders, my grip tight and desperate. "What?! What happened?!" I demanded, my heart pounding against my ribs.

Konota still couldn't meet my eyes. "You were hit... straight at the neck. And then... you collapsed. You didn't get back up."

No... no... I couldn't have lost to him! 

I scanned the room again, trying to ground myself, but everything felt wrong. My thoughts scrambled. A wave of dread washed over me, "Where is Luna? Is she okay?"

Not a single word.

I shook Konota, harder this time. "Hey! Answer me!" My voice cracked, louder than I intended.

Konota took a deep breath, steadying herself. "She left," she finally said.

"Left... like she went somewhere? To the bathroom?" I asked.

Konota's lips pressed into a thin line. "No... as in, she's leaving the academy."

The air was sucked from my lungs. My body went cold, rigid as a suffocating silence filled the room. My chest tightened, panic bubbling beneath the surface. A drumming headache pounded in my skull, and the room began to blur as my eyes stung with the pressure of tears.

I wiped at the corners of my eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop, "I'm goin... going a-after her..." I choked my words out.

But before I could take more steps, Konota stepped in and blocked the way.

Thud.

"H-hey... w-what are you doing? Move..." My words came out in a weak, breathless stammer.

Konota stood firm, her face unreadable, eyes still averted. "I'm sorry, Kiara. I can't. Luna... she asked me to stop you if you tried to go after her."

I blinked, disbelieving. I tried to push her aside, but my strength was gone. My hands shook uncontrollably, not just from exhaustion... but worry.

I grabbed onto her hakama, my fists clenching the fabric. "Move! Please, move!" My voice cracked, my forehead pressing against her chest as sobs fought their way up my throat.

Suddenly, Konota's hands clamped onto my shoulders, gripping tightly. She pushed me back, forcing me to look at her. Her eye locked onto mine, intense and blazing. "Don't you understand?!" She shouted, her voice raw with emotion. "You still don't get it, do you?! Why Luna told me to stop you?!"

I flinched, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. I was... scared.

I shook my head frantically. "But... I need to stop her! What if something happens to her?! What if she gets hurt and I'm not there to—"

Konota cut me off, her voice erupting in a way I'd never heard before. "That's exactly why! Don't you see, Kiara?!" Her grip tightened as her voice cracked. "That's why she doesn't want to see you! Because if she does, she'll change her mind! SHE SEES US AS FAMILY!"

Her words hit me harder than any physical blow. The weight of them sank into my chest, stealing the air from my lungs. My hands fell limp, releasing their grip on her hakama.

Tears spilled down my cheeks, unbidden and uncontrollable, as the truth finally settled in. My legs gave out beneath me, and I sank to the floor, my body trembling with the force of my sobs.

Konota knelt down beside me, her voice softening. "I'm sorry, Kiara. But this is what she wanted... For your sake. For hers. She doesn't want to drag us down, nor does she want us to continuously protect her. She's doing it for us, Kiara."

I buried my face in my hands, the weight of it all too much to bear.

"Why... Why didn't you stop her?" I asked, my voice muffled, face still buried in my arms.

Konota stayed silent for a moment, then her voice came, soft but steady. "As a fighter... and as her friend... I couldn't stop her. Because... the look in her eyes—it showed struggle, yes, but it also showed resolve."

Her hand rested on my back, offering a gesture of comfort that barely registered through the numbness spreading within me, "I'm sorry..."

I shook my head, lifting it just enough to look at her, tears blurring my vision. "So... it's really just gonna be the two of us now?"

Konota bit her lower lip, her gaze drifting away from mine. "Uhm..."

No...

She couldn't even meet my eyes as she spoke, her words like a blade twisting in my chest. "I... I'm leaving too. To Forgtal. To the Mountains of Reprise."

Her hand instinctively went to her bandaged eye, and my stomach dropped. The tears came faster, blinding me. I couldn't stop them, couldn't wipe them away, couldn't move. My body felt like stone.

"P... Please... Why?" I managed to choke out, my voice breaking.

She let out a deep breath, ""Kiara... after everything that's happened, and what Luna did... I've had a lot of time to think. And in all of it, not once did I regret being with the both of you. But... I do regret not being able to help when it mattered most." 

She sat down next to me on the cold floor.

"Kiara," She began again, "Right after you were knocked out, Luna... she panicked. She couldn't control herself, and I... I didn't know what to do. If it had been you at that moment, you would've said something, or done something to help her. You would've known. But I—" Her voice faltered. 

"I'm just not that kind of person. I froze. I didn't know what to say, or what to do." She then looked at me.

"That's why I'm leaving, Kiara. I'm leaving so I can become strong enough to protect you both. So that no matter what happens, neither of you will have to go through something like that again. But... as I am right now... I can't even win a single fight."

Her words hung in the air, and I felt the emptiness growing inside me. I couldn't think, couldn't speak. The pain of losing Luna had already ripped through me, and now, the idea of Konota leaving too... it was too much. Too much to bear.

She leaned back, her eyes closing as she seemed to brace herself for my reaction. "I'm sorry, Kiara. But this is something I have to do."

I wanted to scream, to beg her to stay, but the words wouldn't come. All I could do was sit there, the world blurring further with every tear that fell, the weight of everything threatening to crush me.

"But." She held me in a tight embrace, my tears dripping onto her shoulder, "We'll meet again. And then, we will become the strongest trio to ever exist. We won't be able to lose to anyone." 

She then pulled away and took my hand in hers, "Promise me Kiara. For this selfish request, let's all train and become our strongest selves."

With all the strength it took, I managed to utter, 

"I promise..."