Inside a bedroom, a thin crack suddenly appeared in the middle of the air.
The crack slowly expanded, spreading across the empty space before it shattered with a sharp sound, creating a physical hole in reality.
From inside the hole, a woman stepped out onto the floor.
She was a strikingly beautiful and mature woman with an attractive, curvy figure. Her long silver hair flowed smoothly down her back, falling well past her waist, and her bright blue eyes looked around the room, still carrying that faint, playful charm she always had.
She stretched her arms, letting out a long, tired sigh as she looked around the familiar bedroom. Her bed, her desk, and her clothes were completely untouched, sitting in the exact same spots as when she left.
Then her eyes caught the small clock on the nightstand.
"As expected..." Reina muttered after seeing the time on the clock had barely advanced an hour since she left.
She stared at the clock for a few seconds before letting out a dry laugh and shaking her head.
The apartment was still completely empty. Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were still out at the hospital visiting Yuna, and Himeko was busy with academy work, meaning no one even realized she had been gone.
In this world, only an hour had passed since her experiment incident. But for Reina herself, she had literally spent years stuck in the Date A Live world, dealing with those people and trying to get enough energy so she could return here.
"So time barely moves here compared to that world, huh..." Reina chuckled with a wry smile, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I spent literal years over there, and time barely moved here, so my suspicion was right."
She then turned around and looked back at the hole before lifting her right arm toward it.
"Time-out Bubble."
Her blue eyes shifted to purple as she used her power, and a small bubble started materializing above her right palm.
The bubble swirled with multiple colors and symbols of different elements that contained every Primarch's power.
With a casual flick, she sent it toward the hole.
The moment the bubble got close, it was immediately absorbed by the hole, and both disappeared from the bedroom.
"With that, the time over there should slow down and follow the same dilation as this place."
Reina didn't want to go back there and find her daughter Mio suddenly turned into an old woman, or her son-in-law already dead.
She had already spent years there, and of course she was attached to them. But she still had work and relationship here, so she needed to leave them for now since DEM was finally gone.
"If I remember right, Kiana and the others are still visiting Yuna. It's been years since I saw them. I miss them so much," Reina said with a soft smile.
She turned around and walked toward the bedroom door. As she walked, her clothes from the Date A Live world faded away, seamlessly replacing themselves with the exact same outfit she was wearing before she got transported.
Meanwhile, at the St. Freya medical bay, which was located in a separate area from the main classroom buildings and dorms.
"I'm glad you are okay, Yuna," Mei said with a relieved sigh, having just heard from the nurse that their friend was fine and simply exhausted.
"Yeah! I was really worried something bad happened to you. We have Reina, but still, I'd be so sad if you got hurt!" Kiana said, hugging Yuna tightly against the hospital bed.
"If subject Kiana continues to aggressively squeeze a recovering patient, you are only going to make her condition worse," Bronya pointed out, her voice completely flat and emotionless.
"Ah, right! Sorry about that!" Kiana immediately let go and waved both of her hands in apology.
Yuna just stared at them. She already knew what happened and why she woke up in this room. Before the three of them arrived, Yuna had met someone who looked like a little child but was actually the principal of this academy.
The principal had explained everything to her about the recent events and told Yuna that she could never return to Nagazora again.
Of course, hearing that made Yuna panic on the inside. Her mother was still in Nagazora, and she was terrified about what had happened to her. Yuna's very last memory of the eruption was her mother trying to protect her, getting badly burned and injured by the falling missiles.
Fortunately, the principal's explanation did not end there. Yuna also learned that her mother's injuries were completely healed. Thanks to Reina, the entire city was restored, and everyone who had died or turned into Honkai beasts was brought back to life.
Her mother was now living safely in the coastal town right next to the academy. Once Yuna was discharged from the hospital, she could go there anytime she wanted to check on her.
"Yuna?"
"Ah—yes?" Yuna snapped out of her thoughts as someone gently shook her shoulder.
"Are you still tired? We can leave and let you rest if you need to," Mei asked, a worried expression on her face.
Yuna looked at Mei, then turned toward Kiana, seeing the exact same worried look on her face as well.
There was another small girl in the room with twin drill pigtails that Yuna did not recognize, but her focus was entirely on her two friends.
"Are you two..." Yuna wanted to ask if they hated her. Because of her, they were forced to leave Nagazora. So many people were injured and even died when her power ran completely out of control.
During that entire berserk state, she actually saw everything. But from her perspective, she could not control her own body at all, and she had no control over the things she said.
The memory of her plants attacking Mei and Kiana, and the moment Mei almost died from her poison, made Yuna bite her own lip hard.
"Are you two... not mad at me?" she finally asked. She felt terrified that they would hate her. Back when she was being bullied by her classmates, they were the ones who saved her.
Reina, Kiana, and Mei all became her true friends. Reina even directly threatened the students who bullied her, and since that day, every single day at school has been fun.
But now, she has hurt both Kiana and Mei. If not for Reina stepping in, Yuna didn't even want to think about what would have happened to them.
"Huh?" Both Mei and Kiana seemed confused about what Yuna meant as they looked at each other.
"What do you mean, Yuna?" Kiana asked, tilting her head to the side.
Yuna wanted to continue speaking, but seeing the small girl she didn't recognize sitting in the room made her hesitate.
Bronya quickly noticed that Yuna was uncomfortable because of her presence. "The Bronya will wait outside," she stated simply.
"Having too many people visiting a patient at once is not good for recovery." She then floated toward the door and went out into the hallway.
"She is really perceptive," Kiana said, watching the door close.
"[Unlike you]"
"Shut up,"
"I feel bad making Bronya wait outside alone like that. Maybe I can cook something for her later," Mei added with a soft smile.
"Do you two know... that girl?" Yuna asked, feeling a little curious about the floating girl who just left.
"Oh, yeah! We met her during the... outbreak? Basically, we ran into her that day, stuff happened, and now she joined our group," Kiana explained as simply as possible.
"She is our new friend," Mei added, gently bringing the focus back to the conversation. "But for now, that doesn't matter. What did you want to say, Yuna?"
Yuna still struggled to find the right words. She fidgeted with her hospital blanket a few times before taking a deep breath. She gulped and looked directly at them.
"I... I want to apologize to both of you," Yuna started, her voice shaking a little as tears pricked the corners of her eyes.
"For everything. I caused so much trouble back in Nagazora. I went completely out of control, and my plants... they attacked you both. I almost killed you, Mei. If Reina wasn't there..."
Yuna squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head, gripping the blanket tightly. "I am just so sorry. I was terrified that you would hate me for what I did to you, and for destroying the city."
"..." After saying all that, Yuna waited for their response, but both Kiana and Mei remained completely silent.
Yuna stayed quiet as well, keeping her eyes tightly closed. She didn't want them to hate her, but after everything she had done, she would completely understand if they did. She half-expected them to yell at her or even slap her.
"Pfft—! Ahahaha!" The tense atmosphere was suddenly broken by Kiana, who burst out laughing and held her stomach. "Ahahaha! Wait, are you serious? Why are you suddenly saying that?! That is so funny, I really didn't expect that!"
"Kiana, shh!" Mei nudged her side, trying to make her stop laughing.
"But Mei, when we came here, did you honestly expect Yuna to suddenly say something like that? It's just really funny!"
"I didn't..." Mei admitted with a soft sigh. She then turned toward Yuna, who was staring in pure disbelief at Kiana's reaction.
Mei stepped closer and slowly raised her right hand toward Yuna.
Yuna tensed up, watching the hand move toward her. But instead of being hit, she suddenly felt Mei's hand gently rest on top of her head.
"Yuna, you don't need to apologize to us," Mei said softly, gently stroking Yuna's hair with a warm smile. "We all know that you couldn't control your power during the outbreak. It wasn't really you doing all those things."
"But... because of me, you almost died..." Yuna whispered, her voice still trembling.
"But I didn't. That is just something in the past, and you don't need to carry that guilt with you," Mei replied, keeping her tone gentle and soothing.
"And didn't the principal tell you earlier? Nobody died when you went out of control. The city was completely restored, and I am sure everyone has already gone back to their normal daily lives there."
"Why would we ever hate you, dummy? You're our friend! It's not like you wanted to turn into a giant weed and wreck the mall on purpose. Besides, you know how strong Mei and I are. As if some plants could get rid of us that easily!" Kiana added as she stepped closer, stopping on the opposite side of the hospital bed.
"Also, I never told you this, but a couple of years ago, I went completely out of control just like you did, Yuna," Kiana whispered, leaning in close to Yuna's ear.
"Eh? You lost control of your power too? But you can use it so smoothly now, even working together with Sora," Yuna said. She really didn't expect to hear that.
Because Kiana and Mei controlled their Herrscher forms so perfectly, she thought they had always been like that.
"Yeah, like four years ago, I lost control and burned down an entire forest. If not for my dad, the whole town we were staying in probably would have been destroyed too... Well, I did accidentally take my dad's arm during all that, though, hahaha," Kiana rubbed the back of her head with a nervous laugh.
Mei shook her head after hearing Kiana laugh about it, but then she looked back at Yuna with a soft expression. "We are not perfect, Yuna. We make mistakes too. If not for Reina, I am sure I would have lost control of my power as well. But I didn't, and you won't either. If you want to learn how to control your power, we can ask Reina to help you together."
"Yeah! So don't think too much about it," Kiana said with a bright smile.
Hearing those warm words, the tight knot in Yuna's chest finally loosened. The deep fear and guilt she had been carrying all day completely washed away.
Tears quickly welled up in her eyes, spilling over her cheeks as a loud, messy sob escaped her lips.
Before she could even try to wipe her tears away, Kiana and Mei both leaned in and wrapped their arms around her in a tight, comforting hug.
"Waaaaah!" Yuna cried out, burying her face into Kiana's shoulder. She let out all of her pent-up sadness and relief, crying loudly while Mei gently rubbed her back, silently letting her know that she was safe and surrounded by friends.
~~~
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~~~
Outside the hospital room, Reina was happily hugging Bronya tightly.
"I see you are letting them have their time together while you wait out here," Reina said, squeezing the small girl against her chest. "Ah, Bronya is just so adorable! You are really understanding, huh?"
Bronya flailed her arms around, trying her best to escape the tight embrace. "Let go of the Bronya!"
"Hehe, sorry. You are just so cute, I couldn't hold myself back," Reina giggled. She finally let go, allowing Bronya to safely float back down until she was hovering slightly above the floor.
Seeing her floating like that, Reina unconsciously looked down at Bronya's legs. Remembering exactly why the young girl couldn't walk on her own, Reina silently clicked her tongue in annoyance. 'Tch.'
"The Bronya understands, but please do not hug the Bronya tightly like that again," Bronya stated as she adjusted her clothes.
"So it is fine if I hug you normally?" Reina teased.
"Rejected."
"Ehhh?"
After that, they fell into a comfortable silence. Reina casually leaned her back against the wall next to the door, while Bronya just looked at her.
"Does Reina not want to enter?" Bronya asked, tilting her head slightly in curiosity.
"No, I don't want to interrupt their bonding moment right now," Reina smiled softly. "Plus, I felt bad leaving you all alone out here."
"The Bronya is perfectly fine waiting outside. Bronya is not close to Reina and the others yet," she replied simply. Since she had only met the group a few days ago during the Nagazora outbreak, it made sense. The rest of them had already been together as a family for a long time.
"Hmm, I understand what you are feeling," Reina nodded thoughtfully. "It is like when your friends are already drunk together at a party, but you just arrived. So it is kind of awkward because you are the only one in the room who isn't drunk."
"The Bronya has no idea what that means..." Bronya just stared at Reina with a completely deadpan expression, entirely unamused by the terrible example.
Reina just laughed. "Anyway, because of that, I am going to stay here and keep you company. Don't worry, Bronya."
"The Bronya has no objections," Bronya replied, quietly turning her gaze back down the hallway, though a very faint, almost invisible hint of warmth settled in her chest.