Kibishi's POV

  With the final blow I had just given to the monster, I could see it forming inside around my hand.

  The monster didn't move. It didn't respond to my attack after that.

  All it did was growl very softly.

  With me hitting the fme with the bright ball inside of it, I assumed from that moment on, I had severed the mind, body, and soul of that beast.

  I slowly took out my knife and stared at it coldly.

  I didn't pity it.

  But...

  At the very least, I could say that it was finally over....

  How did I feel about it? How did I feel about finally being able to beat that beast of a monster? Well... I felt... I felt...

  Static!

  My mind... throbbed....

  I felt...

  "Empty..."

  I whispered out and then slowly backed away from the monster. The monster shook as it slowly held its chest.

  Thump!

  The monster went on its knees, holding its chest while growling some more. Suddenly, I saw the monster was glowing with a soft light. A darkish purple surrounded it alongside the igloo it had created.

  Wow.

  Looking at it at that moment, you wouldn't have thought that it was no stronger than the other creatures. Yet, that wasn't the case. It was thanks to everyone's efforts that this beast would finally pay for what it had done. I didn't want anyone else in that yer to suffer any longer. With the monster of that yer gone, the soldiers could finally search in peace without being worried about being killed.

  I closed my eyes and slowly turned around.

  "We're done here..." I whispered as I slowly walked away.

  I opened my eyes and saw the igloo dissolving like water when the heat of the sun dries it up. The funny thing about that was that the igloo wasn't leaking anymore.

  Well, at least it was over-

  BA-DUMP!

  "Ngh!" I clenched my chest tightly as I felt my heart on fire.

  What was going on?

  Ba-Dump!

  Everything started to become blurry. I could barely hear anything anymore. The world around me wasn't familiar to me anymore. It was almost as if my body was rejecting my very soul.

  Thump!

  Going on my knees, I let my body fall on the once icy floor and pnted my face first.

  With a heavy thud, I colpsed, and everything turned bck.

  I could hear screams all around me. I could hear footsteps coming my way. I couldn't really tell the real reason for this turn of events. Why did my body suddenly decide to give in despite the hardship so far?

  I suppose I didn't know my own body's limit. And now, I was paying the ultimate price...

  Would I wake up, or would I sleep forever?

  Those thoughts... lingered until my consciousness faded...

  .

  ..

  .....

  ...............

  ..................................

  A Week Later

  Kibishi's Room

  "...Ngh..." I groaned in pain.

  Slowly, I opened my eyes after seeing darkness for so long. How long was I out for?

  Where was I?

  How did I get here?

  Once my vision became stable, I started to look around the room I was in.

  Ah.

  It seemed to be mine.

  Realizing that, I noticed that I was in my pajamas and not in my Super Code. I gnced to my left and saw my dressing table with my Super Code folded neatly.

  I shook my head and held it.

  "What in the world happened?"

  The st thing I remembered was me giving the monster the finishing blow and then retrieving my knife. After that, everything else became a blur.

  I shook my head and saw Tao sleeping right beside my bed.

  Something told me that she had been there for a while now. With the bags under her eyes, Tao must have stayed all night to watch over me. I couldn't really prove that, but it was just a small feeling I was having.

  I chuckled.

  Looking at Tao's sleeping face really warmed my heart. I gently patted her head and then followed up by pying with her orange hair. That took me back to the good old days. Tao would wait for me to wake up, and we both would follow those creatures' orders.

  Thinking about it then, I wasn't sure how in the world the creatures knew how to run such a pce. After all, not all of them were pretty smart if you asked me.

  My hand wandered, and I gently rested it on her forehead.

  It wasn't my intention, but my hand moved to her cheeks, and I rubbed them. Doing it made my body hot, and I couldn't really think straight. I could feel my cheeks burning as well. More than my whole body combined. But still, I couldn't stop-

  "Hmm?" Tao sleepily raised her head.

  That made me take back my hand and look away in embarrassment.

  I looked back and saw Tao gently rubbing her eyes.

  "Kishi...?" Tao bobbled her head back and forth as her eyes closed once more.

  "Good morning!" I greeted her with a smile.

  "Good morning..." Tao slowly climbed on top of my bed and then rested her head on my shoulder. She followed that action by clinging to my arm and groaning in a sleepy way. "Did you sleep well?" She gently asked me.

  "I did." I nodded.

  "Good... now I can sleep well-.... Eh?!" Tao widened her eyes in shock and suddenly got on top of me.

  She pced her face closer with a worried look and pced both hands on each of my shoulders,

  "Kishi?! Are you okay?! How do you feel?!" Tao suddenly unbuttoned the first three buttons of my pajamas, which caused me to blush madly. "Here! Let me check your heartbeat!"

  "H-hey! Tao, not so rough!" I tried to keep a cool head, but having Tao rest her head on my chest without a second thought made my world spin! I knew we did that all the time, but these days I was starting to be cautious due to where we were!

  "Hold on. Let me check, Kishi!" Tao said with determination.

  "But if you do it here, then you'll get in trouble with-!"

  Cree!

  I suddenly heard my door open widely.

  I turned my head and saw Kuma holding the door with Yosei, Jir, David, and Riley at the doorway in regur clothing.

  "Yo, Kibi! I heard your voice, so I decided to bring the gang to celebrate our-....eh!?"

  Kuma's face turned from smiling to red as she saw Tao on top of me, with her head resting on my chest. Kuma, Yosei, Jir, David, and Riley blinked twice as their faces turned red as well due to the turn of events.

  "U-um..." I slowly sweated intensely as I tried to make up an excuse for what was going on.

  "O-oh! W-we were just, um...!" Tao's eyes suddenly turned into swirls since she understood the situation we were in.

  "Understandable. Have a nice day." Kuma said in the most monotone voice I had ever heard from her.

  "Have a nice day." Yosei, Jir, David, and Riley said in unison.

  Kuma slowly closed the door behind her as the rest of the gang followed her.

  "WAIT! Y-YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I reached out my hand as I could feel the embarrassment exploding from inside of me.

  "HOLD ON! W-WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING THAT WOULD GET US IN TROUBLE! LISTEN!" Tao shouted with tears in her eyes.

  Oh great. Some time to wake up on, huh?! What was going on here?!

  How did it come to this?! First things first! We HAD to clear this misunderstanding up!