Burn The Ashes: New Normal (Patreon)

[New Normal]

“Come on, kitty cat! You won’t catch anything moving like that!” There was a rush of air, and then a giggle. “Aww, what’s wrong? I thought you wanted to play with me—put in a little more effort, why don’t you?”

​Kuroka swerved in the air, glaring at Bambietta who stared back with a wide smirk and her hands on her hips. Wind whipped past them both so high in the air, playing with Kuroka’s hair and throwing the Quincy’s skirt about her thighs. Kuroka’s wings flexed, and Bambietta responded with a wider smirk and a beckoning motion, taunting her.

​Kuroka launched herself towards the woman, reaching out with clawed hands to peel the smug expression off of her face. Bambietta tilted her head back and flipped with the motion, ending up behind Kuroka. She planted a heel against the Nekoshou’s back and kicked away with a laugh. “Too slow~”

​Whirling with a growl, Kuroka waved a hand and sent two bands of demonic energy twisting through the air. They were so weak they probably wouldn’t even tickle if they actually hit the woman, but they were fast, and that was the whole point. Bambietta’s laugh cut off as she dashed backwards, energy gathering in her palm which she let loose in her wake.

​An explosion lit up the sky, blowing the woman’s hair back. She squinted through the dust and heat, before throwing herself to the side as she saw something. Kuroka flew past her, fingers narrowly missing the edge of Bambietta’s cloak as she reached out.

​“Oooh! Almost–huh?”

​Bambietta’s taunt broke off as Kuroka’s form dissolved into mist and shadows. The smoke cleared and there was no sign of her enemy anywhere. “What the hell?” She turned around, a scowl on her face as she looked for Kuroka but failed to find her. “Hey! I’m the one who’s supposed to be running! Get back here!”

​A pair of feet planted in her back was Bambietta’s answer. She bent in half at the spine, spittle flying out of her mouth, before she was sent rocketing back down to the valley below. A laugh came from up above and that fuelled Bambietta through the shock. She corrected her course just above the treetops and shot back into the air with a scowl on her face.

​Kuroka met her with a smirk mirroring the one she’d worn earlier. Bambietta wiped away the spit with the back of her glove, muttering, “Dirty trick.”

​Kuroka’s ears twitched and her smirk widened into a grin. “Oh? What’s that?” she put a hand up to her ear, “You’re the one who told me to try a little harder, right? Do you really have any right to complain about getting smacked in the mouth when you’re talking shit?”

​“Grr, fine!” Bambietta threw her cloak aside with a flourish, pointing at the girl. “Let’s go again! This time, it won’t be so easy to get your hands on me.”

​Kuroka tapped a finger on her lip. “Hmm… No.”

​That took the wind out of Bambietta’s sails. “Huh? Whaddya mean, no? You’re supposed to be helping me train, kitty cat! So come on, let’s go!”

​Kuroka sighed. “Look, we’ve been doing this for hours. I’m tired, so I’m taking a break. Don’t get your panties in a twist, okay. It’ll just take like an hour or two, then we can go back to chasing each other around.”

​It was clear from the first word that Bambietta wasn’t going to accept her explanation. Kuroka hadn’t known the woman long, but she knew that the woman had a petty streak that could rival a child, and she was proven right as Bambietta’s face screwed up as her short fuse was lit.

​“I still need help training; there’s no time to take a break.” She shook her head with narrowed eyes. “Come on, let’s go again. Maybe if you can hit me faster this time, I’ll let you—Hey!”

​Kuroka flew down to the forest below, landing on a hill at the edge of a river. She sat down with a sigh, rubbing the soft grass underneath her palms. It was kind of wet and squishy, and it felt really good against her hot skin. She leaned back, putting her head on the ground and closing her eyes with a sigh.

​She didn’t open them as someone landed next to her, even as a pair of shoes came dangerously close to stepping on her head. She could feel Bambietta’s irritation leaking through the air between them as the woman leaned down, glaring at her.

​“You can’t just ignore me! I’m in charge of you!”

​Kuroka did just that, completely tuning out the woman’s whining as she basked in the nature around her. Rolling hills and mountains stretched in all directions. This valley they were in used to be one such mountain, brought low by the water rushing through the river right in front of them. Kuroka could feel it all, from the smallest blade of grass to the thickest roots of the trees drinking deeply from what nature provided them. It was  so incredibly peaceful, that she found herself dozing off even with the woman basically yelling at her to get up.

​She could feel when Bambietta reached her limit. There was a spike of genuine animosity underneath the childish angst, and then a swell of holy power as Bambietta prepared to  do something to make her follow her orders. Kuroka didn’t move an inch, not worried in the slightest.

​“Insubordination, huh? Fine, I’ll just show you how—”

​“What are you doing?”

​Bambietta’s angry muttering sputtered out as another voice joined the conversation. Kuroka finally opened her eyes, turning her head toward the other presence that she’d felt coming from a mile away. Meninas was giving Bambietta an angry pout, arms crossed under her breasts as she stared down at them from above. Left holding a ball of crackling energy, Bambietta looked like a deer in headlights as she looked up at her friend.

​“We’re not allowed to hurt her, remember?”

​Meninas’s pink hair caught the light as she landed between Bambietta and Kuroka’s prone form. Her expression was set in stern disapproval that seemed almost comical coming from someone who looked so soft. 

​Bambietta glared at Meninas and then looked away, clicking her tongue as the convulsing ball of holy energy in her hand disappeared.

​“Whatever.” She backed away, flipping her hair over her shoulder with an irritated expression. She glared at Meninas, and then at Kuroka. “When you’re done being a pussy, then maybe we can enjoy some real training. Next time, I’m gonna go even harder on you.”

​Her piece said, she turned and skated into the sky, quickly disappearing into the void of blue.

​Meninas watched her go and sighed, her shoulders drooping. “Oh no. She’s totally gonna go blow something up. I need to go find Gigi.”

​The woman took off after her friend and Kuroka let out a long, slow breath as she was finally left alone to enjoy her peace and quiet. She stretched out on the side of the hill, grass tickling her calves and the heels of her bare feet, and let out a satisfied sigh as the warm sun caressed her face. This was the most at-peace she had felt in a long time.

​When she decided to kill her master, escape into solitude or a quick death were the most she could have possibly hoped for. Yet here she was, basking in nature with barely a care in the world.

​Life as a prisoner of the USB was so far removed from her existence under Naberius that comparing the two felt almost obscene. There were rules and restrictions, the most annoying of which being that she couldn’t leave Phenex lands or USB territory and had to be watched*  pretty much twenty-four-seven, but compared to what she had suffered before, this was paradise.

​A shadow passed over Kuroka’s face, blocking the sun. She squinted, and then opened her eyes.

​“Hey.” Liltotto leaned over her with a blank expression, her short blonde hair framing a face that gave away nothing. “So you are still alive. You were so still I was starting to wonder if Bambi killed you.”

​Kuroka snorted, ears twitching. “I’m sure she thought about it.”

​Liltotto smirked. “She’s thought about killing all of us before. Doesn’t mean she can actually do it.”

​She took a seat a little further up the hill. Kuroka glanced at her before turning forward to watch the sky. Liltotto stretched her legs out in front of her and put her bag in her lap, digging into it. Despite being on duty, she seemed completely unconcerned with actually performing said duties.

​The Quincy girls were all executive members of the USB. They all ranked just below Tanya in the organization, with Giselle and Liltotto sporting the highest authority due to being part of the girl’s peerage.

​They were also really fucking weird. Like, their whole dynamic was super strange and completely dysfunctional. Bambietta seemed to think she was the leader of their little group, though Kuroka was fairly sure that she was the only one who actually put any weight behind that idea. None of the others seemed very inclined to listen to her—hell, she and Candice got into a fist fight every other day.

​If anyone’s the leader…  Kuroka glanced over at Liltotto who had pulled out a bag of beef jerking and was munching on it. She chewed a mouthful for maybe a second before swallowing it down and replacing it, and Kuroka watched as her mouth stretched unnaturally as she filled it beyond what should have been possible.

​That was another thing, even if they weren’t all zombies, Kuroka couldn’t call them normal. Bambietta was a hot-headed brat despite her age, and Candice wasn’t far behind her. Giselle was a freak who was obsessed with all of her zombies but mostly Bambi, and Liltotto always seemed to have something in her mouth. Really, the only normal one seemed to be Meninas, but she struck Kuroka as kind of ditzy so maybe there was something there.

​“So what’s up with that?” Kuroka asked. Liltotto glanced at her stoically, still munching away. Kuroka pointed. “The food, I mean. It feels like you’re always eating when I see you, but you’re not six hundred pounds.”

​Liltotto stared at her placidly for a moment, then swallowed. “God hates me or something so he made it so I’m always hungry. Been like that since I was a little kid.”

​“I thought Quincies were Christian.”

​Liltotto just shrugged and shoved another handful of jerky into her mouth. Like, a literal handful. Her entire hand disappeared into her mouth with a fistful of jerky and came back without it as she resumed chewing. Kuroka stared for a moment before deciding to ignore it and close her eyes again.

​“You gonna sleep here all day?” She heard.

​“Got a problem with that?”

​“Maybe. I didn’t bring that many snacks.”

​Liltotto was clearly intending to stick around, probably to keep an eye on her since she ran Bambietta off. Kuroka was fine with her hanging around. Out of the entire group, Liltotto was the coolest. At the very least, she wasn’t… that one.

​Kuroka shuddered, before settling back into the grass with her hands on her stomach. She basked in the peace around her—the beauty of nature only slightly ruined by the sound of Liltotto’s  eating. Slowly but surely, she drifted off, her breathing evening out as she fell away from the waking world…

​Only to be suddenly and violently dragged back into it by the ground shaking underneath her like the underworld itself had been tilted on its side.

​Her eyes snapped open to find her view slightly spoiled by a massive pillar of fire rising over the mountain surrounding the valley. It twisted up into the sky like the heavens above had been the ones to call it forth, before disappearing in a flurry of smoke and ash that lingered as clouds in the cloudless sky.

​“They’ve started going at it,” Liltotto said, and Kuroka turned to her in slight alarm.

​“What? What’s going on?” Kuroka demanded as an explosion sounded in the distance, followed by a wave of warmth that rolled over the mountain and into the valley itself. Liltotto didn’t seem concerned, glancing up at the sky as soot rained down like snowflakes.

​“Tanya and Connal are getting some training in. She mentioned she was coming out here sometime today to do it, but I figured we’d be long gone by then. Too bad. My jerky tastes like ash now.”

​Despite her words, she didn’t hesitate to grab another piece and chew on it. Kuroka stared at her, then slowly turned to look at the smoke, her eyes wide. “That’s… Tanya?”

​Liltotto nodded. “Pretty intense, huh? She’s really letting loose.”

​Intense was an understatement! They were so far away but this heat… it felt like she was standing next to a bonfire! Her skin was tingling from the magical pressure alone!

​This power, Kuroka thought, sweat breaking out on her brow. It has to be at least Ultimate Class!

​Planting her hands on the ground, Kuroka climbed to her feet and spread her wings. Liltotto glanced at her and sighed. “Really? I was just getting comfortable.”

​Kuroka ignored her, climbing into the air as she headed in the direction of the fight. She didn’t fly fast—she wasn’t stupid enough to get anywhere close to what was going down; she just wanted a view.

​Kuroka hovered over the mountaintop, overlooking a vast forest that seemed to go on forever. The river in the valley continued through it to pour into a wide open lake only a mile or so away, and that was probably the only reason everything wasn’t on fire.

​But the lake was. The lake was on fire.

​Kuroka felt Liltotto come up behind her as she stared, slack-jawed into the flames. As she watched, they suddenly gathered into a thin pillar which burst upwards with a scream, glowing white-hot as they were fed more magic than Kuroka would ever dare waste on a single spell. They coalesced into the form of a flaming serpent, clutching something in their jaws.

​The snakes slithered into the sky, carrying the thing away or at least trying to. Kuroka’s hackles raised as a foreign power washed over her, driving away whatever peace she’d retained from her attempted nap. The snake’s white head suddenly flared blue, flames changing hues to match the summer sky. The transformation climbed down its body, and then suddenly it transformed, curling in on itself and then spreading out once more, this time in the shape of a flaming lion of brightest blue.

​The fire remaining on the lake flared brightly before swirling inward like they were being sucked into a vacuum. They formed a pair of wings so massive that they nearly eclipsed the lake itself, and attached themselves to the back of a figure floating on its surface. Water steamed and boiled as Tanya gestured, and a glowing magic circle formed under her feet.

​“We should probably go somewhere else.” Liltotto suggested, and Kuroka nodded as the lion roared in silent fury and bounded down from the heavens. She closed her eyes just before it landed, yet the light seared her irises regardless.

​That little girl, Kuroka thought as she turned and fled the sheer scope of the battle. What a monster.

​In the sprawling study of Phenex Castle, Shirone sank into a cushion that was softer than anything she had ever felt in her life. It squished around her like a giant ball of jelly as she shifted the book in her lap to reach for another cookie.

​“You really shouldn’t be eating in here. It’s not proper.”

​Shirone smiled as she shoved the cookie in her mouth, chewing deliberately loud. Across from her, Ravel rolled her eyes good-naturedly, returning to her studies with a small smile.

​This was a familiar situation for both of them. They were holed up in the study as Ravel poured over the dusty book that had been assigned to her for today’s learning. Shirone herself was reading a fantasy novel. Or, well, she was skimming it. Mostly, she was just enjoying the cookies that she wasn’t supposed to be eating in here.

​Shirone licked the crumbs from her fingers and turned a page in her book, reading as a knight tried and failed to get the attention of a princess. Meanwhile, Ravel’s pen scratched a line against her parchment, pausing periodically as the girl’s hand cramped.

​Shirone looked up and watched her for a moment. “Ravel?”

​“Hmm?”

​“Do you know when I get to see my sister again?”

​Ravel’s pen paused and she glanced up, her blue eyes meeting Shirone’s for a scant moment before returning to her page. “You saw her earlier today, remember? She’s allowed to come here for a few hours everyday.”

​Shirone’s ears drooped and she sighed, looking despondent. “We used to be together all the time. Now I can only see her for a little while...”

​Her finger curled around the edge of her page as she whispered, “I miss her.”

​Ravel’s pen stopped moving entirely, blotting the page with a deep stain that grew larger with every passing moment. Shirone sniffled, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. Ravel sighed.

​“I know how you feel.”

​Shirone looked up, confusion plain on her face. “Huh?”

​Ravel wasn’t looking at her, her gaze fixed on the ink blot spreading across her parchment. “You should be glad,” she said. “You get to spend time with her every day. It’s not a lot, but it’s still better than nothing... I only get to see my sister for a few hours a week.”

​Shirone blinked, the tears clinging to her lashes. “What?”

​“Mm.” Ravel lifted her pen and moved the page to the side, starting a fresh one. “Tanya is always busy with the USB and father and the Military. We used to come to dinner every day, but this year she’s been spending more and more time away. She doesn’t even sleep in her own room anymore, usually.”

​Her tone was light, but there was a bit of sadness in her eyes as she looked up at Shirone. “Your sister loves you. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes that she’d spend every second of every day with you if she could, she just can’t right now because she has important things to do. But she still comes to see you anyway.”

​Shirone stared at her friend, drinking in her words. Slowly, her eyes moved back down to her boom, and she smiled. “You’re right. I guess I didn’t think of it like that.”

​“I usually am,” Ravel smiled, happy that her friend was cheered up.

​The mood lightened considerably after that. Ravel’s pen resumed its scratching, and Shirone returned to her book and cookies. Minutes passed like seconds, but something nagged at the back of Shirone’s mind.

​“Ravel?”

​“Mm?”

​Shirone hesitated. Her ears twitched nervously, before she came out and asked it.

​“Do you miss your sister?”

​Ravel’s hand stopped and she went still. Shirone’s ears flattened, wondering if she had said something wrong.  They were friends, right? Friends could ask things like that, right?

​After a long moment, Ravel spoke. “Yes.”

​Shirone blinked, watching as Ravel sat her pen down and gently adjusted her papers, smoothing them so the corners aligned. “I miss sister a lot, but I know she doesn’t have a lot of free time anymore, so she can’t always make time for me.”

​She looked up, smiling softly. “But when she does have time, she always tries to do something with me. We went to Lilith to try pastries last week. It was a waste of time and she could have been doing other stuff, but she took me anyway because I said I wanted to go.” Her smile grew a fraction at the memory. “So… yes, I miss my sister. But she’s not gone for real, so there’s nothing to miss, really.”

​Her voice lowered into a conspiratorial whisper, her eyes mischievous. “And one day, I’m going to be strong enough to join her peerage. Then we’ll always be able to spend time together, even when she’s Asmodeus.”

​She sounded so sure of it that Shirone had no choice but to believe her. There just wasn’t another option.

​She smiled. “Then I’ll become strong enough to get my own peerage and get my sister to join! That way, we’ll always be together too!”

​“We’ll get stronger together then,” Ravel nodded, her hair bobbing with the motion. “And then they’ll always have time for us no matter what.”

​“Yeah!”