I'll Be Back, My Love

You found yourself staring at your makeshift "garden". You never had one while you were on Earth, but you always wanted one, and you always researched how you'd go about it.

Who'd have thought it would come in handy when you're stranded on another planet?

You took a few of the mystery seeds you'd found in the land's ground and buried them in the fertilized soil. You then took a bit of water that you had melted from ice and poured it over the seeds.

It seemed to line up almost too well. You were stranded on a different planet in the middle of nowhere, sure, but… it just seemed too lucky. I mean, not only did you find safe food and water sources in the form of the strange seeds and some ice reservoirs here and there, but the mere fact that you were able to breathe there was a miracle. Of course, the oxygen was a bit dense, but that was nothing you weren't able to get used to.

In all honesty, you were quite happy with the way things turned out, how you were able to survive despite difficulty.

But someone else wasn't. You knew that for sure. You found her sitting on the cliff outside of the cave you both took refuge in. You sighed, took two of the strange vegetables that you had grown, and headed over.

...

"H-huh?!" Kiara stepped back, "Come on, Ame, you're joking with me right now, right?"

"Takanashi Kiara, you are hereby arrested by the Time-Keeping Foundation of Oddity Management for general time misconduct," Amelia said, almost sounding like an automated message you'd get when you get home and check the home phone, "The laws of time were updated recently, and I'm afraid what you do can no longer be ignored."

"What I do…? What do I do…?" Kiara asked, this time a bit more fearful.

"Due to your status as a phoenix, when you die, you merely turn to ash and rise again," Amelia explained, "This has been ruled as time misconduct, as they believe you are cheating death and, by extension, defying time.

"Defying- I can't control the fact I'm a phoenix! There's nothing I can do about it!" Kiara flared up. Amelia sighed.

"I know…" the detective looked down, "You know, my mission was actually to take down and arrest all of HoloMyth, but I was able to convince them to let the others go because Calli's a god of death, which can partially classify her as a god of time, and Ina and Gura's lifespan are technically mortal…

"But I wasn't able to save you.

"I'm sorry."

Kiara nearly fell over when she said this. Everything was going blurry and the only thing she could focus on was Amelia's last two sentences.

'But I wasn't able to save you.'

'I'm sorry.'

"What… are you going to do with me…?" Kiara asked slowly and lifelessly, all color drained from her face.

"I have two options," Amelia replied, "One, I could bring you to Time-keeping HQ, which probably wouldn't be good for anybody, or I could banish you to a place where you can't cause any trouble."

"Don't do either of those things," you finally stepped out of the shadows and got in on the conversation.

"(Y/N), please stay out of this," Kiara shook her head.

"You're… kind of stupid, (Y/N)," Amelia stifled some laughter, "If you hadn't revealed yourself, you would've been off the hook. But now you know too much, and you're gonna be banished along with her."

"Amelia, I know you don't want to do this. We've been friends for a while, I know you well enough to know you don't derive pleasure from others' misery," you said to the time traveler.

"You're right," she nodded with a pang of regret, "I hate this. I hate the fact I have to betray my best friends like this. But it's my duty as a time-keeper. And if I go against this order, I'll be killed on the spot."

"W-wait, Ame," Kiara stammered as Amelia began to fumble around in her pocket.

"Bye. you two," she flicked a switch on her pocketwatch, sending the two to a place where they couldn't cause any problems... And a place where they could probably never return from. A single tear trickled down her face.

"I'm sorry things had to turn out this way."

...

"Kiara, I'm getting… really worried about you…" you said, legs dangling as you sat down on the cliff next to Kiara, "We've been here for a month and you haven't eaten a thing."

"Not hungry," she shook her head.

"That's a lie," you chuckled sadly, "Tell me what's going on, Kiara."

"Heh…" she giggled, perhaps in self-pity, "We've got a limited supply of food, don't we?"

"Well, yes, we do," you admitted. While the seeds you had found were plentiful, they were far from renewable.

"Then you need food more than I do," she grinned, hiding her pained expression, "When I die, I'll just come back. You don't have that luxury. So let me just die and I'll come back with no issue."

"Wh-no, I can't let you do that," you shook your head and motioned one of the vegetables towards her, "Here. Eat it."

"Nuh-uh! Not happening," she refused, this time opting to use her cheery voice. You grinned. She really does know how to get you on her side. You shook your head and took a bite from the veggie.

"So, when are you going to die?" you asked.

"Honestly, probably sometime today," she responded nonchalantly.

"I… see…" you stammered.

If only you had helped her sooner.

...

It was a few hours later, and you hadn't left the phoenix's side. It was then that she clutched her chest and groaned.

"It's time…" she managed to make out. You nod unsurely and clutch her hand.

"Goddamn it…" she stammered, her breath running a bit thin, "Dying of starvation hurts, haha… I haven't died this way in a while…

"(Y/N)... you're listening, right?" she asked. You nodded,

"I'm right here," you reassured, clutching her right hand in both of your hands.

"I need to ask you something…" she murmured, "When Ame was talking to me… why did you interrupt her…? You could've gotten out of this whole situation if you just stayed quiet… why didn't you?"

"That's simple, Kiara," you laughed, "I care about you. I didn't want to see you go."

"I… care about you, too…" her voice trailed off. In time, her voice was replaced by sobs.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm right here," you consoled, gazing into the phoenix's rose eyes now wet with tears.

"I want to go back… I want to see them again…" Kiara cried out, "Calli… Gura… Ina… even Ame… I want to go back and continue being their friend…"

"Kiara…" you muttered to yourself.

"Please… (Y/N)... hold me…" she pleaded. You gulped.

The two of you shared an emotional embrace, one symbolic of understanding, one symbolic of true camaraderie, perhaps even more than friendship. She cried into your shirt, dampening it with her teardrops. After some time, she pulled back and forced a brave smile onto her face.

"I'll be back…" she said, "My love…"

And, just like that, her body turned from flesh to ash, and from ash to flame. You began to cry as well.

"I love you too, Takanashi Kiara."