"Meeting of Destiny" - Hana's Request

Aoi, Jessie, and Sakuya made their way to the park after Mizumi parted ways with them. Jessie tried to give her some peace of mind, but thought it better she takes some time to settle herself. Today is a pretty big shift and talking with Aoi is a great way to become exhausted within minutes. Just keeping up with her on the way to the park was hard, and she was only jogging! Upon arriving, they were immediately bombarded by the ambient sounds of hollering children. It wasn't quite the amusement park, but this was still a literal playground for kids, and they were just as excited as the gumball, though probably not just for Vanguard. Honestly, the more Jessie thought about it, the more he stared at his overactive friend, the more he came to realize a good term for freaks like her was probably a "Vanguard Idiot". It wasn't supposed to be an insult, kind of like calling someone an idiot savant.

Though that was still kind of an insult.

Aoi hopped around like a rabbit, far too excited for her own good as she rushed into the park, seeing a crowd gathered around one of the fight tables in the area. Everyone must've been watching something interesting, it couldn't just be two big kids playing, Aoi tunnelvisioned on her belief as she approached to see a tall girl with long, flowing navy blue hair in what looked like a school uniform. Remembering her appearance from the Messiah Scramble, she could instantly tell this person was Hana Espoir, seeing her play with children as she rode Top Idol, Pacifica - a vanguard with only ten thousand power for a base. It was obvious she was holding back. Like the other young ones about, Aoi gave a curious 'oooo', watching the game between her and a boy who was learning how to use Gold Paladin. Actually, it was a pretty old legacy unit it revolved around too.

Little did she know the boy borrowed Hana's Garmore deck.

The idol's tone was sweet and kind, much different from how she would chew out her sister back at Isle Jigen for the multitude of things that were going on. Much more comfortable in her element, the younger Espoir had a natural air of gentle confidence.

And while being lost in spectating, Aoi felt a gust of wind with a surprising pressure, finding herself as an astral being on Planet Cray. It seemed to be a battle in an area of United Sanctuary, showing Wolf Fang Liberator, Garmore and multiple high beasts including dogs and birds at his side. On the other hand, in the water, that same outdated grade three used by the returning Japanese National Champion suddenly evolved through the miracle of Stride. In the process, Aoi was blown away by the majestic image overwhelming her sight, her ponytail flailing violently in the gale stirred by the resurrected diva. A young, blonde girl surrounded by blue and red penguins in pretty attire draped in ribbons and even adorned with an adorably crooked bow at her torso appeared as the future of the legendary mermaid idol. Twinkle Happiness☆, Pacifica was the potential future in which the charismatic diva took the world by storm, crowned as the highest influence in her timeline. This was not the first Stride the child of potential had seen before, as it was just like The Ace, Aurageyser Dragon, her Admiral Maelstrom, and more that were future possibilities of iconic units - just Strides in general. And yet... the ferocity of Hana's image left Aoi's blue eyes widened in shock and awe. The purity of it was unreal, but it was coated in layers of passionate, heated emotion she had only experienced when watching Isabella fight against the Evil Dragon.

Hana Espoir... Her Vanguard was something Aoi had never seen before, seeing how beautifully her fighting style was as the mermaid divas of Bermuda Triangle joined together in wonderful harmony, all gathered around the mega idol in which she played all incarnations of in her deck. Seeing Pacifica and Hana's astral form, the gumball noticed her eyes illuminated with stars, shining in a way that was completely different from Yukino's when filled with swords.

Aoi, the Vanguard Idiot she was, began to smile with incredible jubilation as the desire to fight nearly boiled over. She didn't even know if Jessie and Sakuya saw what she did, but she was near-literally starstuck by the starry-eyed idol.

Making her way with Aoi and Jessie to the park for their quest, Sakuya was finding it just as difficult to keep up with the gumball as always. No matter what it was- Vanguard, conversation, or even just moving from place to place- Aoi was always plowing right on through. Sakuya did enjoy seeing her friend so happy all the time, but she couldn't deny that it wore her out. By the time they'd made it to the park, she was already feeling a little winded. She had to stop and catch her breath when they arrived, watching Aoi head straight towards two figures that she noticed were playing Vanguard. One of them was Hana, the quest giver, who appeared to be teaching a younger boy how to play. She'd wanted to go over and greet them with Aoi, but a flash and a sudden feeling of weightlessness stunned her for a moment.

Before she knew it, Sakuya found herself as an astral entity, witnessing Hana's and the boy's game playing out on Cray's surface. Knights clad in gold and their companion beasts looked on as one of Magallanica's top idols invoked the power of transcendence, preparing to do battle with them. She noticed Aoi's own astral form a short distance in front of her as well, though the girl was likely too awestruck by the unfolding vision to notice Sakuya's presence. Had Sakuya not been as composed as she was, she probably would've been caught up in the moment too.

But the vision ended as quickly as it began. Sakuya blinked, and she was back on earth, an excited, gushing gumball in front of her, looking ready to (probably literally) spring into action at any moment.

She simply smiled and watched on, keeping to the sidelines for the time being. She felt content watching Aoi fight first, hoping in the back of her mind that fighting with Hana might spark another vision- She was interested in seeing Aoi in action.

"Aw... I lost." The boy had been pretty obviously steamrolled, despite Hana holding back a lot. Aoi didn't even notice the game was over in her excitement, while Jessie didn't see what she and Sakuya had saw through Hana's image. The brunette folded his arms, pretty interested himself, but for a vastly different reason.

Bermuda Triangle... I have no idea what this clan is. Jessie mentally lamented, sweating nervously. He didn't want to embarrass himself, but he had literally only seen this clan when Hana played it! He heard there was someone else back in the past who played it too - played Pacifica even - and he had no idea who this person was. Play it cool, Hakaisha... no one has to know your painful ignorance...

"Me next! Me next! Me next!" Aoi chanted like an actual five year old, getting Hana's attention who stared at her in wonder for a few moments. The boy thanked the idol, returning the Garmore deck, to which she quickly promised to buy him a copy of, but this girl...

"... Hold on, I remember you." Hana said to her. "You're that really hyper one from the Messiah Scramble. That little ball of sunshine. I liked you."

"Hello hello! I am Aoi Undyne, and that's me!"

"Ahaha, you haven't changed, that's good. You and your friends there probably know, but I'm Hana." The idol was plenty humble, trying to stay level and down to earth with people instead of flaunting her very successful career and championship status. She was a lot calming than Aoi, to be sure, but her smile showed some expectation and thrill, knowing how well Aoi performed in the Messiah Scramble. "Are you and your friends here for my-"

"Quest! Yes! But never mind that, I just wanna play!"

"Ah, okay, okay!"

"Geez, you're like a kid in a candy store." Jessie jeered, still feeling the same as Sakuya in being content with Aoi playing first. Other children watched as well, not knowing the champions of China and Japan were about to go at it.

"I'm expecting great things from someone who even my sister talks about."

"Whoa whoa whoa, Director Yukino talks about me?!"

"She said you were... an important player. Also a good one."

"Aw... I am pretty good!"

"Okay, let's see it."


Aqua Force and Bermuda Triangle, a new generation of starting vanguards for the new era, they began immediately with incredible ferocity. It was a naturally good matchup for Aoi as her units played early - namely, Tidal Assault played early. But surprisingly, Hana took charge in playing just as aggressively, but to batter down her opponent's rearguards instead. With the duel taking place on Cray at the waters of Magallanica - under the sea - Hana utilized a unique lineup behind Pacifica with mostly new cards, ranging from Generation Breaks to Friend of the Sun, Malucca. The two started quickly with pushing grade one turns, rushing grade two turns, and Aoi reached grade three first. "Blow away the vice in a revolutionary flood! Its legendary name righteousness! Ride, my Vanguard!" Though she used the Ripple archetype in the Messiah Scramble, she unveiled her true avatar for the coming times: Blue Storm Dragon, Maelstrom as a Break Ride. There was a lot of... things going on as she had it currently, but that didn't matter at the moment. Aoi's slight lapse in exhilaration passed quickly, the wind striking the mermaid idols three times, allowing Maelstrom to fetch for a copy of himself. It was an impressive way of securing Stride Fodder and thinning out grade threes, a little similarly to Hana's deck.

But alas, Aoi's strategy was a bit full of holes that Hana capitalized on. "Ride, precious darling that returns to stage and sing all across the sparkling oceans! Top Idol, Pacifica!" The legendary mermaid diva appeared, flaunting her ten thousand power base as she was accompanied by adorable penguins. That chant and Hana's emotion for it was a bit excessive, considering that was her worst ride, but she had no issue with it as she dropped fodder. "Stride Generation!" Hana declared, her starry pupils flashing for a moment as her image clashed with Aoi's, the naval forces standing prepared against the mega idol sensation that rules the world in another time: "Resurrect, grand diva that transcends the stage, Twinkle Star Happiness, Pacifica!"

"The Stride you used before...!" Aoi noted the obvious.

"By revealing three differently named Pacifica units in my hand," Hana activated her G Unit's ability, showcasing Pacifica's personal growth and evolution as a Top Idol, the Eternal Idol, and then the Planet Idol. "Twinkle Star gets Critical plus one!"

"What the hell?" Jessie chirped. "Critical Two first stride?! That's a little ridiculous, isn't it?"

"And the Malucca I returned from Akari's and Twinkle Star's skills give it five thousand power for both instances, bringing it to thirty six thousand critical two. Your mistake was trying to burst me down without paying attention to being able to guard!"

"Ack!"

"Twinkle Star!" Hana directed the transcended idol to bring Maelstorm down with a violent chorus of an attack Aoi couldn't even dream of guarding at the cost of keeping her offense up. It was extremely lucky that Hana didn't check a single critical, as Aoi was on three damage and would have lost the game instantly. Unfortunately, Aoi was still pushed to five while Hana got to heal, and her hand inflated - even better since she had been thinning the deck of Pacifica units. "Show me how the child of potential won the Messiah Scramble, Aoi Undyne." Hana's aura was incredible and Aoi was immediately convinced she would have easily got to finals - if not won the Messiah Scramble if it wasn't for the presence of the Evil Dragon.

Admittedly intimidated, Aoi still pressed on in her usual optimism. "I'm only getting started! I have all my old moves, with new tricks up my sleeve! Stride Generation!" The original G Unit used by 'Cyan' - the long, last incarnation of the reincarnated seed re-appeared with a vengeance in the new era. A white and blue Tear Dragon of immense size that vastly towered over all others on the battlefield. "Blue Storm Marshal Dragon, Admiral Maelstrom!"

And their fight simply continued like this, with Hana in the lead but Aoi's spirit undying. Children were cheering and Jessie was a lot more intimidated than Aoi was. He was managing to see glimpses and glimpses of the game's image. He couldn't even keep up to recognize when it finished, decisively ended by Hana's devastating Triple Critical.

Oof.

Aoi stood still. wide eyed at her defeat by the hands of someone with much more experience and skill. While some would be devastated by the crushing defeat, her visage lit up like a light show. Her agape maw slowly curving into a big grin as she was practically squealing. Sakuya and anyone else around with the ability to read or have intense images could see the entire fight, blistering hot like the finale of a big tournament, a clash between two longtime rivals, a bout between a hero and their archnemesis in the last battle of a game... "Aaah!! That was great!" The bubbly ball of energy spoke.

"It was! It was!" Hana had gotten herself very much into the game to the point where she had a great time. The two girls were bouncing with glee, hopping to one another and holding hands, jumping like actual schoolgirls. Jessie couldn't help but notice Aoi had certain... features, that made her the more bouncy of the two...

"Wasn't that great?! Wasn't it great?!" Aoi turned to her friends.

Jessie decided to be honest, seeing as he didn't think it'd hurt the atmosphere. "Well... That was the first time I've really seen Bermuda Triangle up close. That game was really something, no wonder this quest is so hard and no wonder people talk about you so highly, Hana-san."

"H-Hana-san... C-Careful, I can get used to that."

Just as she'd expected, the intense fight between the two eastern champions sparked vivid images of their clash in Sakuya's mind, having her witness the entire spectacle from a perspective on Cray. The excitement and energy overflowing from both of them had even Sakuya feeling hyped up for the next play at every turn, despite Hana being at a clear advantage the whole way through. Even when her strength overflowed in the form of a Triple Critical, Sakuya hoped for only a moment that Aoi would somehow hit enough Heal triggers to keep going. But the fight ended there, and the astral visions of the parallel planet ended with it. The two girls were bouncing all around, giddy from their spectacular fight, and Sakuya couldn't help but smile. They were innocently enjoying the game to its fullest, and their respective passions for the game had reached through the stars all the way to Cray. Sakuya hoped she could express anywhere close to that level of passion.

"Yes, Aoi, both of you were incredible! I could picture your fight with perfect clarity the entire time. Thank you for showing me such a wonderful fight." Sakuya bowed her head to Aoi and Hana both before perking back up and standing straight. "Though, now I'll have to work especially hard to measure up to the two of you! I'm eagerly looking forward to our fight, Hana-san."

"It was awesome!" Aoi spoke with glee in response to Sakuya. Her energetic smile rubbed off on Jessie, though his was with a mix of nervousness. The gumball was one of the strongest fighters he knew, next to the titans of course, but she was completely floored by this girl he had only seen once... Well, he can't say he didn't warn her, but she was still happy with the result.

Meanwhile, Hana put a hand to her cheek, fingers sprawled as a nail gently pressed to her skin feeling elated at the respectful honorifics. "Hana-san..." Sakuya only added on to her mix of embarrassment and glee from being addressed in such a manner. Finally... she never thought she'd see the day, but the look in Aoi's eyes confirmed people were looking up to and at her. Sakuya's bow doubled up on that feeling, and kept her beaming. "So am I! I've heard of you too, you know. I'd love the chance to fight another champion from a foreign region."

Ah... right... Jessie felt a little left out when he realized all three girls are national champions.

"Ahaha, I'm glad to hear my reputation hasn't dulled in this region despite my prolonged absence. Well, let us not waste another moment!" Sakuya smiled at her rival champion and laid her cards out where Aoi's had been only moments ago, ready to begin their fight.

And what an incredible fight it was.

Sakuya started off strong, securing rides from her deck through Tsukuyomi's unique Ride Chain on her grade 1 and 3 turns, along with throwing a Psychic Bird into the soul each successive turn, culminating with a rare use of Full Moon Tsukuyomi's skill during the turn she appeared. Hana applied a bit of pressure to keep Sakuya's card advantage in check, calling smaller units to poke at her during the first few turns, though she remained primarily on the defensive.

That all changed, however, when Hana rode to grade 3 and strode. Her first stride was nothing too impressive, but she thinned her deck of a number of Pacificas, and began mounting her offensive on the Moon Goddess. She failed to check any triggers on her first stride turn, leaving Sakuya with a lot of wiggle room for future turns, and on Sakuya's following turn, she completed a full cycle of her deck, looping back around to the cards first stacked with Ichibyoshi. Sakuya swung with her Vanguard, expecting the standard reaction of scrambling to Perfect Guard in fear of the first stack being a bundle of criticals, but Hana showed she was smarter than that: She took the risk and took Tsukuyomi's attack, Sakuya revealing that her initial stack was all normal units.

And with Hana's second stride came the beginning of the real storm. School Etoile, Olyvia began the march of Bermuda Triangle's numerous two-critical Vanguards, with a powerful ability to allow extra attacks in a turn on top of her extra critical. It was times like this Sakuya was thankful she'd gathered every last one of her Perfect Guards to her hand. With her hand acting as an impenetrable wall, Sakuya made it through the first wave, pushing on into her second turn with a stacked deck. This time, Sakuya's own stride, the Deity of the Evening Moon, pulled two of her unique Grade 1 from her deck- Two Handedly Housekeepers- which re-stacked the deck to be more in Sakuya's favor, plowing through ten cards. Rising up from the bottom to the top of her deck almost instantly were a Critical and a Heal trigger, pushing the damage advantage back into Sakuya's favor at three to four, despite Hana guarding all but one of her attacks.

Upon Hana's next turn, instead of striding Olyvia a second time, she instead opted for her legacy stride, the unit that had defeated both Aoi and the young boy from before- Twinkle Happiness, Pacifica. Once again, Sakuya braced for a turn full of attacks, readying a hand supplied with two more Perfect Guards and numerous triggers. Sakuya was pushed once again to four damage, withstanding five attacks in a turn, though it depleted her hand down to only a few cards. When Sakuya began her next turn, she realized her deck was running low- Only eight cards remained. If she wanted to win, she would need to win this turn, or victory would become impossible. She strode Takemikazuchi, another unit with the power to stack cards to the bottom of the deck like Tsukuyomi, thinning down to 6 cards and bringing her final stack to the top. Takemikazuchi, with a Tom on either side, began his assault with an attack from one of the Toms first. Sakuya hoped to push Hana to five damage and force her to guard every attack, given there were two stand triggers on top of her deck. Hana took the fifth damage immediately...

...And damage checked a draw trigger. The sudden power boost Pacifica received forced Sakuya to change her plans, going right into her Vanguard's attack. Instead of Perfect Guarding it, Hana threw out all the triggers that she'd accumulated, having been unable to spend them on guarding Toms on previous turns. An impassible wall of heals and criticals was formed against the Vanguard while Sakuya's drive checks restood the resting Tom column, both of them powering up just enough to hit the powered-up Pacifica. But, once again, Hana was able to guard them all, expending the last Perfect Guard she'd saved.

That should have been the end of the match, but Sakuya and Hana both laughed. The two girls were riding the high of excitement, thrilled to bits by the constant back-and-forth dance they'd wound up in. In the back of her mind, Sakuya also knew that there was no way left for her to win with only three cards left in her deck, but she played on anyways. She wanted to watch Hana fight for just a bit longer.

And Hana's following turn didn't disappoint; Olyvia took the center stage once more, and a flurry of attacks came Sakuya's way, Olyvia's powerful vanguard skill supplemented with two Spicas creating a total of seven attacks in a single turn. Sakuya guarded all but one of them, being left entirely without a hand. All she could do was draw and pass on her following turn, allowing Hana to claim victory. Just for fun, she rode the original form of Pacifica, and had a rearguard copy of Pacifica's final form land the final blow. The last card of Sakuya's deck was also her sixth damage, ending the game in more ways than one.

Sakuya stepped back and let out a huge sigh, leaning back and looking up at the sky, arms outstretched. She was almost giggling from the adrenaline their fight had stirred up. "Wow... That was simply incredible." Sakuya put her hands back down on the table, leaning forward towards her victorious opponent. "Truly, you were an incredible opponent, Hana-san! Why, I haven't had such an intense fight in quite a long time! Despite me not holding anything back, despite all my gimmicks, you flawlessly matched them all! I'm completely stunned, and thoroughly impressed!" The giddy korean champion laid the praise on thick, practically gushing at this point about how much fun the fight had been, and how amazing Hana was.

While Hana and Aoi's face didn't last long, Aoi's deck is designed to play aggressive combo attacks, so Aqua Force and long games didn't mix more often than not. Especially since it wasn't the Ripples the princess had heard of and been expecting. However, Sakuya kept true to her reputation by using Tsukuyomi, which was more in line with the knowledge she had. Thus, a long game between Bermuda Triangle and Oracle Think Tank proceeded due to their inherent sustaining prowess. Jessie was now more intimidated than ever, seeing how the champions fought one another with incredibly clever strategies, capitalizing on their deck's strengths, and watching their opponents for openings. Hana played Aoi easily due to taking advantage of a fatal misplay, which was getting too excited and dropping too much hand. However, here, the brunette could hear the bluenette muttering to herself, counting during numerous turns for some reason.

That reason was the nature of Tsukuyomi. Hana had been counting the stack and counting triggers, focusing on how many copies of Psychic Bird ended up in soul.

Aoi could actually follow it too, seeing Sakuya accelerate through her stacked cards, bombarding the Espoir with massive buildup into triggers galore. It was a hard, uphill battle when she couldn't interrupt Sakuya's divinations. This was worsened by Pacifica's nature of being grade three centric. While Pacifica - with Malucca and Shizuku's assistance - could thin the deck of her incarnations... she also needed them for plays. Managing Strides, having enough for Twinkle Star's cost, having enough to use Malucca, still having attackers... In depth, the gumball and likely the shrine maiden understood the intense skill scaling behind her avatar of choice. Despite that, she performed well against what felt like overwhelming advantage against Silent Toms and drawing near enough five cards per Stride turn. Sakuya was strong and would be incredibly strong against the inexperienced or with decks that couldn't handle the stack once it was reached, showing her status as the Korean champion was no joke.

Not only did Hana endure, but she realized at some point in time she wasn't dealing six damage with Sakuya getting twenty five thousand to thirty thousand shield value in drive checks per turn. Even so, the revived diva didn't dare give in, showing her prowess beyond her sister. Utilizing combination attacks through Harmony, Bermuda Triangle's new power, Critical Two Vanguards, and carefully outplaying Silent Tom, she held on for an entire g zone's worth of turns. Silent Tom was a nuisance, but it was also a eight thousand base with seven thousand powered boosters, making her life of guarding a lot more easier than it seemed. Even better when she would score damage triggers, and hilariously so when hitting a draw trigger at fifth damage. She mentioned a Granblue player who was notorious for doing this, laughing over it.

Jessie was awestruck and kind of scared.
Aoi was in love with the Vanguard of both sides, hopping in place with her mouth open, squealing with joy. The brunette had to put his hands on her shoulders to make her stop.

Isabella's return marked the debut of Project Re:DIVA. While it was a trademark to sell her as a revived idol, it was also the same for her deck, seeing strategies never before performed for the clan. This generation had breathed life into it in a way Limit Break for Duos and Prisms never did. The highlight of the fight for her was probably the death-defying bluff once Sakuya hit her stack, risking getting smacked in the face with three criticals. But, Hana believed she'd lose anyway, and decided to bet on the heal or bet on being wrong - and she was glad to be wrong. Truly, her confident Vanguard came back with her.

The pure, intense Vanguard - the dazzling, majestic image of Hana Espoir came out victorious, and she barely hit triggers that game, even drawing two by happenence of bad luck. Once again, her decisive image blew Aoi's mind as her avatar reached for the final blow against Tsukuyomi.

"Phew... Nice fight!" Hana beamed, giving a breath of relief as she won by the skin of her teeth. The praise was making her blush, laughing bashfully and rubbing the back of her head. Fingers ran gleefully through the ocean of blue hair as the other two chimed in.

"That was awesome!! You two are awesome! Sakuya, you are awesome!! Hana-san, you are awesome!!" Aoi was once again up to her five-year old energy filled dialect, lacking a vocabulary.

"You guys are... really strong..." Jessie complimented, showing obvious nerves.

"Haha, I like you bunch. I love how you two play vanguard."

"I love your vanguard too!!"

"Calm down, dummy." Jessie grabbed Aoi's shoulder again.

Hana grinned, speaking up. "The truth is, I was wanting to meet Aoi specifically, but I actually didn't know you two were with her, and I'm incredibly happy you happened to be, because seeing the Korean Champion's crystal clear, composed, and efficient vanguard is something out of this world...! And Aoi, I wanted to see the innocent charm of your vanguard, pure like a child's... You guys are different from my sister's violent vanguard, and I want to spread feelings like the two you have to everyone."

"Violent Vanguard...? Wait, you like our vanguard! Innocent! Clear! Composed! Pure! Sakuya, we got it good!" Aoi's eyes lit up like a kid in a toy story, pumping her fists into the air and babbling ecstatically. Jessie's unease was washed away by this, and he was glad no one called him out for Bermuda Triangle. He got to see Oracle Think Tank in action too, which was a huge plus since he would need to know more and more if these kinds of fighters were around. He was as thankful to Sakuya as Hana was.

"Worry about what I said about my sister later. I got what I wanted, so I'll close the quest and give you two your reward. In the meantime, I enjoy being around you guys, and would like to hang out if you wouldn't mind...?"

Aoi paused, then nearly exploded with excitement.

"Unlike miss Yukino's violent Vanguard...?" Sakuya repeated Hana's words, giving herself a brief moment to ponder them. She assumed Hana was referring to the war, when they had used Vanguard as a means to combat the Reaper threat. What put Sakuya off was the bitterness she heard in the Espoir sibling's voice when she spoke. It seemed she had some disdain towards the idea of using Vanguard in such a heavy way. But, that made sense- Vanguard was a game intended to bring people together and spread fun and joy to everyone. Hana's games with her and Aoi were proof of that.

But before the shrine maid could think on the topic any further, the Diva waved it off and offered to let them tag along with her instead. Sakuya pulled her phone out of her pocket to check on the time quickly, slipping it back into her pocket and giving Hana a nod. "I don't have to return to the shrine for quite some time, so yes! I would love to spend some more time with you all. It's been ages since I've had this much fun!" And it really had been a long time. She'd gone from her past incarnation to her current one thrown into the middle of a war, to fleeing the country to spending years burying her shame in Korea. Since coming back to Japan, all she'd been met with was kindness and charity, with no one thinking that she needed to be forgiven for anything in the first place. Now, she was laughing and having fun and making new friends like the war had never even occurred. It was almost overwhelming, and the girl had to hold back a few tears.

Overjoyed with the prospect of getting to keep having fun with her newfound friends, the shrine maiden gave her widest, brightest smile yet. If people looked in her direction, they might see her faintly shining with happiness.