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Ash

The sleep she got that night was probably the best in recent memory.

Upon waking up, her entire face was going through that awkward part of the morning where it felt like it was frozen and every expression she made was just an effort to thaw it out. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling weight pulling down on both her arms. Looking to the left and to the right, she saw Keiko and Kaori sleeping at her sides, with Kaori slightly snoring. She took a deep breath and raised a hand, absent-mindedly brushing it over Keiko\'s forehead. 

The Zayama shook her head and her eyes blinked open. She and Ash locked eyes. 

"Sorry," Ash said as she watched her yawn. Then, the Zayama scooted closer to her and rested her head on Ash\'s chest. Ash continued to watch her, smirking a little at how adorable the girl seemed at that moment. 

"How long will you be out for?" Keiko mumbled. Ash sighed. 

"I don\'t know. Maybe a few days." 

Keiko nodded. 

"What will you be doing again?" Keiko asked. Ash reminded her. 

"Just looking for a way to close the portals. I don\'t know," Ash closed her eyes, instantly feeling the temptation to go back to sleep. "I don\'t think we\'ll find one but, if we do, it would be great." 

"Yeah." Keiko then looked up at her. Their faces were so close, Ash could almost see her reflection in the Zayama\'s eyes. "Hey..."

"Mhm?" Ash hummed out. 

"Do you still like me?" Keiko asked in her tired voice. 

Ash raised a brow. 

"I think so." 

"You... think so?" Keiko asked. 

"What?" 

"That\'s a weird answer." 

"Okay, then yes. I do." 

"Nope," Keiko looked away. "No take-backs." 

"Fuck off." 

At that, Keiko giggled a little. 

"But... seriously, do you?" Keiko asked. 

"Uh, where\'s this coming from?" Ash countered. 

"Never mind," Keiko muttered, turning away. 

Ash lightly dragged her other arm away from Kaori so she could put her hands on Keiko\'s head and tilt it up at her. 

"What\'s up?" Ash asked. 

For a few seconds, Keiko just looked at her. 

"I just... You and I, w-we haven\'t... Lately, uhm..." Keiko\'s face reddened a little. "I just felt like you\'d... forgotten about me a little." 

Ash\'s eyes half-closed as she yawned. Then, she took her eyes off of Keiko and looked up at the ceiling. 

"Have you ever been in a relationship?" Ash asked. 

"What? Uh, once." Keiko answered. "Why?" 

"Because I haven\'t. I mean, I talk about it all the time but, yeah, you know where I come from and shit," Ash said. "This is new to me. I haven\'t had a girlfriend before, and now, suddenly," she said just as Kaori snored again, "I have two." 

Keiko nodded into her chest, and Ash hugged her tightly. 

"I understand." 

"All I\'m saying is," Ash stated, "give me some time to figure it out." Then, she said a word she simply wasn\'t used to saying. "Please?" 

"Yeah. Yeah," Keiko replied. 

---

Several hours later, Ash was dressed in her Savior Armor, with Satsuhiro outside the house waiting for her. With Lust at her waist, Metsumi walked over to her and handed her a bottle of water. 

"Good luck," Metsumi told her. Ash nodded. 

Kaori and Keiko were standing behind the older woman. The half-demon gave the both of them hugs and walked out. Looking back, she saw Keiko with her hands clasped together in front of her and Kaori waving goodbye at her. Ash felt slightly warmer inside at the sight of this. 

"Sooner we make it there, the sooner we come back," Satsuhiro told her. 

"Alright, let\'s get it over with." 

---

Keiko

Once the midday hit and Ash had already left, Keiko decided it was time to go ask to see if she could be taken to the Zayama castle. Although Ash had reassured her that she was still the same factor in her life, and of course, Kaori still showed her plenty of love, Keiko decided that she needed to deal with her problems directly. 

If she didn\'t do this, she\'d always feel like she wasn\'t enough. In all honesty, there was no guarantee that feeling would go away, even if she succeeded. 

Part of her wanted to let Kaori tag along, but that would defeat the point. She wanted to do this alone to prove that she was still valuable, that she still had a place with the girls around her. If Kaori came with her and just smoked everyone in their path, the victory wouldn\'t mean anything. 

So, Keiko found herself walking to the Zayama Compound. 

On the way, she thought back to her time there, and the dream from yesterday came to her mind.  It was about Honoka, right?  She thought.  She\'d almost forgotten the entirety of it.  Come to think of it... When was the last time I saw her? 

Keiko went through her memories until a slightly painful one came to the forefront of her mind. It was an image she\'d buried so far in the depths of her brain that upon pulling it back out, she cringed. 

Yeah...  Keiko thought.  No need to think about that right now. 

Eventually, she reached the place and stood outside with hope in her heart.  Please, be here and please, help me out. 

Walking past the guards, Keiko went in, in search of her teacher. Looking for that black and gold hair, she walked past many young Zayamas, reaching the training area. Here, a few pairs of warriors were training, and among them was her teacher. 

She wasn\'t fighting at the moment, instead, Haruna was overseeing the students. Giving them instructions after every motion they made. When Keiko walked in, she turned to look at the door and smiled. 

Her teacher walked up to her and Keiko found herself returning that expression. 

"Good day, seiyo," her teacher said, bowing. Keiko bowed back and Haruna raised a brow. "To what do I owe the visit?" 

"Uh," Keiko didn\'t want to get right down to business. It was bad manners. "I was just wondering if I could return the favor. Y-You know, for the tea you gave me yesterday." 

"Hm... I see," Haruna nodded. "Very well, I\'ll take you up on that offer." She turned to the students, "everyone. Keep training, I will be back soon." 

The students all replied:

"Yes, siya!" 

"Wow," Keiko said. "They are all so respectful." 

She noticed that when she was around her teacher, she tended to speak more formally. She couldn\'t help it. 

"Haha, no. They\'re like that because I\'ve made them be like that," Haruna responded. "Respect isn\'t given, it\'s earned. Anyway, come on. How about we take a second round of that sharpgrass tea?" 

---

Once they settled at the same tea shop from before, Keiko felt comfortable letting her know why she\'d really come. She saw her teacher\'s expression change before her, going from one of friendliness to one of serious consideration. Keiko took a deep breath as she saw her teacher ponder the matter. 

"Keiko, I don\'t think you\'re ready for this," Haruna replied honestly. Keiko sighed. 

"I-I... Is it actually that hard?" 

"The Zayama Castle, Keiko... It\'s more of a gauntlet than anything." 

"Huh?" 

Haruna leaned back. 

"Let me explain," Haruna said. "The way the castle works, it is designed to test you. There are 5 floors, each one holding undead warriors of varying skill levels, equipped with different weapons. The stairs leading to each floor are blocked off by old, powerful magic, and can only be removed if you defeat the enemies in each level." 

"So, it\'s an exam?" Keiko asked. 

"Basically. One for warriors, like us." Haruna told her. "Are you still at the same level of skill as when you left?" 

Hearing her ask that, Keiko realized that she\'d focused so much on helping Ash, she\'d never progressed. Not since the start. All she\'d done to improve herself was awaken her Spirit Eye. 

"Y-Yes." 

"Then, at your level, you\'d only be able to clear the first floor," Haruna explained. "It takes a master to reach the 5th floor. I don\'t think you\'ll be ready for that for a long time, Keiko." 

The Zayama looked down at herself. Then, she clenched her fists. She thought of options and one idea came to her. One that she hated, but if it was the only way to do this, then she had to ask about it.

"... What if I\'m not alone?" She asked. 

At that, Haruna raised a brow. 

"Why in the world would you go without going alone?" Haruna asked. "Keiko, the point is to prove yourself. If you don\'t do that, then... That\'s just dishonorable." Haruna explained. 

"Siya," Keiko said, "you\'ve heard about what happened at Pearl, right?" 

"Yes, but what does that have to do with..." 

"I was there." 

Upon hearing that, Haruna stopped. 

"It was where I unlocked my Spirit Eye. I did it while demons were attacking innocent people, ripping them apart just a bit of distance away from me." Keiko stated. "Before that, I had to hide away because I couldn\'t do anything to fight them. I had to sit around, knowing my closest friends were risking their lives for the sake of the city and that I couldn\'t do anything to help." 

"I, I see, but what does this...?" 

"That\'s going to happen again, siya," Keiko said. "The portals are still opening up all over the world. And, if I don\'t improve, and improve  soon,  I won\'t be able to do anything about it. That\'s why I need to do this, and if I have to do it dishonorably to succeed, I will." 

Haruna crossed her arms.

"I..." 

"Please," Keiko leaned forward, "we need this. My friends need this, the world needs this. One more Zayama master could be so helpful in the battles to come, please." 

Hearing that, she looked Keiko right in the eyes. Then, she smiled sadly. 

"... I wish I would have gotten to see you grow up like this, seiyo." Haruna sighed, then she took a sip out of the tea on the table. "You know, no one else saw what I saw." 

"What?" Keiko asked. 

"What I saw in you. The reason I bothered to help you improve. I remember all those times I saw you training alone, and... I knew you had the determination to make things work. Even if you weren\'t born with the same talent as others, your will is special. I\'ve always known that." Then, Haruna sighed. "Fine. I\'ll take you there." 

"Oh, goodness, thank you!" 

"But," Haruna cut her off, "if you\'re going to take on the Zayama Castle, you\'re not going to do it with some random amateur who can\'t tell a lance from a spear." And then, Haruna sighed. "We\'ll do it together." 

And with that, the plan was set.