Aiko didn't know how long she knelt there, clutching Ryou's lifeless body as the weight of the world collapsed around her. The battle was over. The curse was broken. And yet, none of it mattered—not without him.
The power of the Ninth Tail still roared inside her, whole and unrestrained, but she felt empty. She had won. She had saved them. But at what cost?
A whisper of wind curled around her, carrying the remnants of their shattered prison. The void trembled, the space around them shifting, bending. Aiko barely registered it until she felt the pull—the undeniable force dragging her back.
"No," she whispered, tightening her hold on Ryou. "Not without him."
But the world didn't listen.
Light exploded around her, and suddenly, she was falling.
She hit the ground with a gasp, the weight of the real world crashing into her all at once. The cool night air burned her lungs, the scent of damp earth and fire filling her senses. For a moment, she was disoriented, her body trembling from the overwhelming shift between realms.
Then she heard Mei's voice.
"Aiko?"
Aiko barely managed to lift her head before Mei was there, dropping to her knees beside her. Panic flashed across her face as she took in Aiko's disheveled form, her wide eyes darting over the blue fire still flickering along Aiko's skin, the faint glow of her nine tails curling behind her. But then Mei's gaze landed on the unmoving figure beside her, and the color drained from her face.
"Ryou."
Aiko couldn't speak. She could barely breathe. The sight of his still form, his dark hair fanned against the ground, his chest unmoving—it tore at something deep inside her, something she wasn't ready to face.
Mei reached out hesitantly, pressing trembling fingers to his neck. Seconds stretched into eternity before she pulled back, her jaw clenched. "There's no pulse."
Aiko flinched as if she'd been struck. "No. No, he's—he's not—"
Her hands hovered over him, unsure, desperate. Her fire could heal, it could protect—it could bring balance. But when she reached for the bond, the thread that had always connected them, she found… nothing.
The connection was gone.
The realization sent a fresh wave of horror crashing over her. She had always felt him, even in silence, even in distance. But now… there was only emptiness.
Her breath came in shallow, broken gasps. "I don't understand."
Mei swallowed hard. "Aiko… the bond—"
"He's not gone!" Aiko's voice cracked, wild with desperation. "He can't be gone."
Her hands burned as she pressed them against his chest, sending fire into him, commanding him to wake up. The flames danced across his skin, but he remained still. Cold.
Aiko shook her head violently, refusing to accept it. "It's not working. Why isn't it working?"
Mei grabbed her wrists, forcing her back. "Aiko, stop! You'll burn yourself out!"
Aiko's vision blurred. She had given everything. She had broken the curse, rewritten fate. And still… still it had taken him from her.
A sob tore through her, raw and aching. "I can't do this without him."
Mei's expression tightened. "You might not have to."
Aiko barely registered the words before Mei was moving, pressing her palm over Ryou's heart. "The bond is gone," Mei murmured, closing her eyes. "But something else… something is still there."
Aiko's breath hitched. "What?"
Mei's brows furrowed. "It's faint. Like—like a thread barely holding on." She met Aiko's gaze. "His connection to the Kyūbi is gone. That's why you can't feel him."
The words settled over Aiko like ice. The Kyūbi was whole again. Ryou had been tied to its fragmented state. But now, with the curse broken, the power was no longer divided.
And neither were they.
Her heart pounded. If the Kyūbi's influence had left him… then maybe, just maybe—
She reached for him again, but this time, not with magic. Not with fire.
With him.
She pressed her hands over his, fingers curling around his wrist, her forehead lowering against his. "Ryou," she whispered, her voice shaking. "Come back to me." Aiko gives Ryou a gentle kiss.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then...
A breath. Shallow. Weak. But there.
Aiko's head snapped up, a strangled gasp leaving her lips as Ryou's fingers twitched beneath hers. His brow furrowed, his breathing slow, unsteady. His chest rose and fell once, then again. His eyes fluttered open, dark and dazed.
Aiko's tears fell freely as she let out a broken, disbelieving laugh. "You idiot," she whispered, cupping his face. "You scared me."
Ryou blinked sluggishly, his gaze searching hers. His voice was hoarse, barely a breath. " I told you I will protect you."
Aiko let out a shaky sob, pressing her forehead to his. "We won," she whispered.
The bond they had once shared was gone, but something new had taken its place. Something real. Something theirs.
The cycle was broken.
And Ryou had lived.