Wake Up - 2

-----Kaede's POV

I'm not too sure what we were expecting, but after silently waiting for around 10 minutes for something to happen with my mom, she still remained unconscious, not looking to be getting any better.

Sicily: "Maybe you didn't give her enough?"

I honestly was thinking the same thing, but I refuse to give another drop of blood to my mom. Seeing her not spasm or squirm in pain tells me that things aren't getting worse. Can't say that it'll remain like this if I were to actually give more of my blood. But then again, maybe she'll still be stuck in this vegetative state until I do.

Kaede: "..."

I cut the tip of my finger after deliberating for a moment as I let another drop of blood form on my finger.

Yui: "Kaede?"

Kaede: "Just one more."

Yui went to grab my hand, but gently let go after accepting it. It makes me happy to see her worried for me like this, but I really need to do something here.

And so, I let another drop of my blood slip in between my mom's lips before I quickly heal the cut on my finger. She has to wake up... She saved me back when I was little, so it's finally my time to save mom. I find myself gripping hold of the blanket that's covering most of mom's body as Yui ends up resting her hand on top of mine while leaning on me from behind.

Suddenly, I felt the blanket jerk for a brief second as I quickly look up towards my mom's face. It was a slight movement, but I'm certain I definitely felt something. Everyone else focuses in after seeing my reaction as we all huddle a bit closer.

Mell: "Mom?"

Yui: "Did you sense something?"

Kaede: "...Maybe."

Faye: "Hahh~ We're back... Oh?"

It was then that Fleur and Faye returned inside before closing the door. They both noticed what was happening and quickly made their way over to my side.

Fleur: "Is something happening?"

As if in response to Fleur's question. Mom's head suddenly jerked back, almost like she just got uppercut from a boxer as her back arches a bit. Her face has also become a little contorted. It's the same situation when Yui was like this...

Alenia: "W-woah!"

Rina: "Mom?"

Alenia: "Her body's accepting more of the trees' mana."

Rina: "Really?"

Rina quickly went to her mother's side as she places her hands on my mom's body right next to Alenia.

Rina: "Oh! I can feel it."

And right as Rina placed her hands on my mom, my mom's face began to relax.

Kaede: "Keep your hands there!"

Rina: "Y-yes!"

Yui: "Is she waking up?"

Kaede: "I don't think so... But-"

I had my doubts whether my mom was alive or not. She always looked so pale ever since the crest was removed and I couldn't even feel a heartbeat coming from her. But now...

Kaede: "I can feel it."

Mell: "Ah! I can feel it as well!"

Fleur: "Her heart's-"

Faye: "Beating."

I cannot contain the smile that's steadily growing on my face, knowing that my mom is in fact alive. I end up gripping hold of mom's hand, but her touch is still quite cold, but hopefully that'll change soon now with her heart beating.

Iris: "Thank goodness..."

Kaede: "There's still plenty of mana in the trees, right?"

Rina: "Mhmm! They should be able to handle this."

Natalie: "Ah! I'll go fetch some water."

Before I was about to question it, I noticed that my mom is actually beginning to sweat as beads of sweat slowly form on her face, dripping down her cheeks.

Mell: "I-is Lilith going to become a vampire like us?"

Kaede: "Hehe. No."

Yui: "Wait. Then wouldn't she be like me?"

That actually hasn't crossed my mind until now. Wait, so then mom would need to drink blood just like Yui? It's better than being a vampire, but I wish that she could retain all of her humanity...

Kaede: "Let's just hope it's just that. But I hope mom doesn't need to rely on drinking blood."

Fabian: "Wait. What do you mean by that? Sis, you drink blood?"

Yui: "Oh, I uhh. Sometimes."

Ilfa: "Ohooo~ A human that requires blood. How peculiar."

Kaede: "It was my mistake."

Yui: "What are you saying? If you hadn't done that, then I'd be stuck where I was."

Yui once again shows off her newly found skills, this time creating a small ball of fire. It's much smaller than her small water ball she made earlier, as this little ball of fire is about the size of a fingernail.

Iris: "Ah~ My daughter's first flame!"

Fabian: "Wait, you can use magic now, sis?"

Yui: "Of course. Did you not see the water ball I made earlier?"

Fabian: "N-no. Wait, then you can use two elements?"

Yui: "Haha. I guess."

Their little back and forth makes the atmosphere around us a lot more brighter as it looks like all the pain in mom's face has disappeared. I know that it's impossible, but I like to think that they're helping mom in their own way.

Iris: "Hey. Why don't you tell him?"

Yui: "Hmm?"

Iris: "Your secret."

Yui: "Ah!"

Alice: "I'd advice against it."

They're talking about how Yui can manipulate and take control of other people's magic? Personally, I trust Ilfa, but I can tell that Alice seems to be still on guard.

Yui: "Hmm. Then I'll save it for later."

With a snap of her fingers, Yui's little flame dissipated in the air.

...

Some time passes as Natalie returns with a bucket filled with with water along with some pieces of cloth. She wastes no time to begin wiping my mom down, cleaning her body from all sweat whilst not getting in the way of Rina and Alenia.

Kaede: "Thank you, Natalie."

Natalie: "No problem."

And as she finishes, mom's body begins to look considerably better as I feel like even her complexation has returned to a normal person's. Mom's heart rate has also increased a little which is reassuring. Although it's still quite low when compared to everyone else here.

Yui: "She's looking a lot better now."

Kaede: "...Yeah."

I was stressed on how this would all turn out, but to think my blood actually gave mom the boost she needs in order to heal through this. My blood might be dangerous, almost killing the one I love. But maybe I should learn more about it. In small doses, maybe it can prove to be useful. Hehe, I can already imagine me becoming a guinea pig in a lab, with scientists trying to reverse engineer the properties in my blood. But it does make me wonder if it's possible to extract only the good parts of my blood, and leaving out all the pain and suffering that comes with it.

Mai: "Hehehe. Quite an interesting thought there, Kaede."

Just then, Mai spoke through my mind.

Kaede: "As always, you love to listen in on my thoughts, huh."

Mai: "Can't help it. I'm bound to you after all."

Kaede: "Surely you can turn it off though."

Mai: "Oh? And why would I want to do that?"

Kaede: "...Hah~ Fine."

Mai: "Anyways. To answer your question. I don't think it's possible."

Kaede: "Hmm? About trying to extract the good parts of my blood?"

Mai: "Yes. In order for Yui and your mother to become stronger and heal, they need to let your blood attack them in a sense. So some pain will be inevitable."

Kaede: "That's annoying."

Mai: "Not as annoying as being stuck down here."

Kaede: "Hehe. Come on. I know you're enjoying hanging out with me."

Mai: "Heh."

I've long since realized the subtle changes in Mai. She's become a lot more, open? Before I'm not sure if Mai would ever consider teaching someone magic or wanting to help transport Fabian from Inasdale to Yarene. She's still an anomaly, but I can tell that she's warming up to the idea of being here.

Mai: "Oi. Since when do you know so much about me?"

Kaede: "Maybe I can also read your mind?"

Mai: "Pfft. Well, you can, but I doubt you know how."

Kaede: "Yeah. I don't understand it."

Mai: "But... Yeah. You're right. I will say that I wish to return back, but at the same time... I'd be saying goodbye to all of this."

She looks around the room, watching everyone chatter amongst themselves.

Mai: "So... Thank you Kaede, for trapping me here."

Kaede: "Hehe. Anytime."

She smiles my way as I end up smiling back. Welcome to the human world, Mai.

Lilith: "Mmm...mm"

Suddenly, everyone stops chatting as the person in the center begins to make some noise. It was faint, but it still made everyone shut up nonetheless. I watch as mom's eyes begin to twitch a few times as Yui rushes back over to my side. No one says a words as we all watch mom's eyes twitch more until finally, her eyelashes begin to part, revealing her slightly clouded eyes. But what was relieving the most was that her eyes shown no hint of red. Her eyes wander around as her head remains against the floor. Her unfocused eyes drifts over to me who was closest to her as I end up squeezing her hand a bit tighter.

Lilith: "...S-Selene?"

Kaede: "!"

I wave of emotions floods through me after hearing her voice as I fling myself over her, wrapping my arms around her neck as I lay on top of her. I don't bother to try and hold back as I let my tears drip down from my eyes and onto the blanket my mom's resting on, tightening my grasp around her in the process.

Lilith: "I-it's... Too tight. Selene."

Kaede: "..."

I can't even begin to make words as I continue to embrace my mom, waiting for her to wrap her arms around me. But maybe she has no strength in her to even do that. Thinking that, I loosen up just a little bit choosing to remain where I am, laying on top of her.

Lilith: "...Did we. Do it?"

Yui: "Yes! The crest is gone now!"

Lillian: "I'm glad to see you're alive. Sorry if we were too much."

Lilith: "Heh. I sure wasn't expecting that much pain. Felt like you two were trying to turn me inside out."

Yui/Lillian: "Sorry!"

Lilith: "But thanks to you, I'm now free. So thank you."

I continue to remain where I am, letting everyone else do the talking as I just focus on my mom.

Lilith: "But I feel... Quite strange."

Rina: "Sorry!"

Alenia: "Please keep still, ma'am."

Lilith: "O-oh. Right."

I guess they're still healing mom. Well my blood is still active inside her, so that's to be expected. It took a few or more days for Yui to finally return to a somewhat normal state. So I'll have Rina and Alenia stay here for a while longer. At least a few days.