The Demon Rose and The Bright Princess

     It had started with a knock on the door, a certain Demon Rose standing outside of the area where Asuna was staying at the moment. Be it house, or room in the scale emblem HQ or ... wherever it is! After all, Asuna /had/ invited her (Among others) to come to dinner, and honestly the thought of meeting Yui was also rather pleasant. Who doesn't like children, after all??? ... ... ... Okay a certain watery tart comes to mind but this story isn't about her.

     Honami is wearing something a ~little~ bit more relaxed than normal, instead of her usual 'armor' (if you can call it that) she's wearing a nice thick knit sweater (With appropriate black-and-red-rose designs on it of course) and some comfortable jeans that she'd gotten at some point from Gwen's shop. Just to make it a bit awkward, she is still wearing her armored boots though. Because frankly they're comfortable and /thoroughly/ broken in, in spite of being armored boots.

    The place is technically Klein's home in Tolbana. This is the real house, rather than the apartment that Asuna keeps in Mac Anu. Which means Honami gets welcomed into a real home! But not before she hears, on the other side of the door, a soft (but excited!) voice calling out.

    "Mama! Someone is outside!"

    Asuna needs a moment to get come out of the kitchen to the front of the house. She peeks out to see who it is before opening the door with a smile.

    "Honami! Hello!"

    The smell of pasta pours out the door moments later. Not fake pasta. It smells exactly like the real thing.

     A proper house is always nice! Warm, cozy, and ... with the smell of food cooking? Yes, Honami is definitely here for this and rather happy. "A pleasure to see you once more, oh Lady Asuna! I presume the soft voice I heard was the young princess?" She asks with a smile, there was this edge that maybe she was hamming it up on purpose instead of out of habit.

     "Your home smells delicious, is that italian food?" She asks curiously as she dips into a half-bow towards Asuna. "May I enter?" She asks, presenting a small box with one of her signature black roses tied into the ribbon that held it closed. "I do hope I did not show at an inconvenient time?"

    "Please come in!"

    Asuna is all smiles to have a guest. She's pretty much always happy to have company, honestly. Once inside, that scent only grows more powerful. And there is something sweet in the air, too. She's a very busy baker and chef today.

    "It's lasagna, our little princess loves it."

    Yui, being super curious and excited, is not far away. She walks up with a nervous smile and ducks half behind her mother's leg, peeking around and up at Honami. She's a bit shy at the moment, and her cheeks are a little red for some reason.

    "Yui, this is Honami! Honami, this is my daughter, Yui."

    Asuna reaches down in an attempt to gently nudge her daughter to step forward for a proper greeting. Which fails, honestly. At least at first. Yui needs a moment before she steps out a little bit more from behind Asuna.

    Her voice is now so soft it's hard to hear! "Hi, um. I'm Yui." A pause and she looks up with wide eyes. "You're really pretty!" And then she ducks behind Asuna again, overcome with shyness once more.

     After the invitation to come in, Honami steps through the door relatively ... simply, while she tended to have an air of grace and power, she'd forgone it for instead cozy and comfy. "Hm! I don't believe I've ever had that. I partook of a few different things growing up, however it was largely relatively simple meals. Stir fries, ramens, fried fish, and of course, one cannot forget sushi or sashimi. But never Lasagna, it shall be an experience to savor and cherish, no doubt. Especially if it is something that your little princess loves."
     The curious, yet excited Yui gets a warm smile from Honami. A pleasantly kind and gentle look gracing her face, something that people rarely get to see as usually she is off tinkering with something, writing, or adventuring and putting on a face. "Ah, and this must be the little princess here. Yui, is it?" She steps forward towards Yui, disappearing for just a moment in a burst of fluttering black rosepetals, only to appear next to Yui, kneeling down towards her with her head bowed, a single (de-thorned!) black rose held up towards her as she says softly, "It is a pleasure to meet you, I am Honami, the Demon Rose of the Forgotten Legion, angel of darkness, scourge of darkness, and member of the Scale Emblem Alliance, much like your mother. Hello, Bright Princess. You are quite pretty, yourself. You must put great effort into your appearance to be so radiant." She says sweetly towards her, waiting for Yui to either accept the rose, or possibly hide in a burst of shyness, before she slowly stood once more.
     "I lack much in the way of cooking skills within this world, but would you like me to help out in any way?" Honami offers towards Asuna.

    "Well, you are in for a real treat, indeed. And I tend to have a lot of those things you mention, too. Sashimi is excellent! And good for us, too."

    Asuna laughs at the theatrics of her friend. It has quite an effect on Yui, too. She gasps, in shock as Honami is gone one moment, back the next. Without much time to even process what she just saw, she accepts the rose.

    "Wow. You are amazing!"

    She has no title to answer all that with, but she does blush bright at the compliments, not to mention being called a princess. She looks down and smiles, still shy, but obviously pleased, too.

    "Oh, if you could keep an eye on Yui for a moment, that would be perfect. I have to get things out of the oven and to the table. But I've got it all set. Klein is off doing... well, whatever Samurais do when they are off. Probably fighting some dungeon or other. That's what I'm usually doing."

    With that, the Flash is off to ply her trade. Which requires removing the pan from the oven just about now. And taking a cake out, as well. That requires a bit more of her attention. And the use of wave artes to ensure everything cools at the proper rate.

    This leaves Yui behind. The little girl is holding the rose close and looking up at Honami in awe. "You are going to stay with us tonight?" she asks hopefully.

     "Yes, yes it is! I was not brave enough, should I have had the chance, to try anything similarly dangerous to Fugu though." Honami says with a bemused look towards Asuna, her gaze shifting back towards Yui. "Hm~? My my, amazing? Most of that is..." She flips her hand upside-down once that rose is accepted, her hands closed as she murmured something softly under her hand, a single rune appearing on the back of her hand, before she turns her hand back up, a butterfly in her hand. "Mere illusion, such as this butterfly." She releases the spell, the butterfly breaking away into motes of light that float away, only to disappear. "I'm sure you could do this too, possibly with a little bit of practice, if not already skilled enough."
     A request to keep an eye on Yui gets a nod from Honami. "Ah, as you wish, my Lady. It would be a pleasure to do such! Perhaps she could show me to the gathering hall?" She says, smiling back down towards Yui. Questions of if she would stay the night gets a soft laugh from Honami. "Ah, perhaps, perhaps, that would be up to your mother though, more than myself. Perhaps if we both sweeten her up with kind words and sweet requests, she would allow such?" She says, offering a gloved hand towards Yui. "Now then, young princess. Would you tell me what you like? Perhaps I could entertain you with stories, or perhaps share with you some other fun illusions. After all, the darkest of magicks can show many beautiful sights for those who wish to seek them out."

    From the kitchen comes the sound of humming, scraps of song, and yes, talking. Asuna is keeping herself busy. Andd appears to be having an animated conversation with... pasta. And dessert. She really gets into her work.

    Yui, though, is quite focused on Honami's demonstration. Her eyes go so very wide at the sudden appearance of the butterfly. Her fingers extend to brush through the motes of light. "I don't know any of that kind of thing. Not yet." She lowers her voice, looking towards the kitchen for a moment. "I want to be a Samurai someday. Mama seems to be nervous about it, though. She probably thinks I'll get hurt!"

    She takes Honami's hand with a smile and says, "I think if we ask nicely, mama will say yes. She likes guests. And you are nice!" There's that blush again. "Umm. Oh, this way!" She will lead the way not to the dining room table, but the washroom. "We have to clean up, first! Mama's rules."

    Soap is there, as are some towels and washcloths. Yui steps onto a little stool and washes her hands. She also uses a washcloth to clean her face.

    "I know adventurers can just be clean, which seems very neat! It's funny though, because mama still likes to take a bath every night. Oh, and I'd like a story! I heard at school that adventurers used to see stories with pictures and music. Did you do that?"

     "Hmm... A samurai? No doubt your mother would be nervous. The life of a samurai is dangerous." Honami responds to Yui with a somewhat serious tone. "Adventuring is a life of danger and a potential death at all sides. We do this because we must, but we also have some protections. Should we die, we return to the church, though a Cost is exacted upon such a thing. There are great wonders we see, and wondrous items we find, but do not forget that each of those great wonders and wondrous items comes with a rather high chance that such things could end our lives, as it tends to be behind terrible traps or awful monsters." Honami gently squeezes that hand.

     "I do not mean to scare you, of course. Simply caution you -- all things come at a cost, and your mother likely fears, not for injuries, but instead for the highest price for all involved: The loss of a bright spark within this world." Honami walks alongside Yui after this, remaining largely quiet to let her absorb the information as she washed her hands slowly with the soap. She does comment, though, "Adventurers can just be clean, yes, but it lacks the pleasant feelings of a bath or even simply washing your hands like this."

     The question of pictures and music gets an amused look. "Ah, yes, we did have such things. These boxes with illusions within them held behind a sheet of glass, using electical magicks to fuel said illusions. I did not ever create such things, but I did write. In fact, I wrote stories of the woman standing before you right now, The Demon Rose of the army of darkness, the one who would eventually destroy the world -- along with her her greatest enemy and dearest friend, the hero of light who eventually would be her defeat."

     Honami smiles as she dries her hands. "Still, I believe I can tell you a story, yes. But I feel something... new could be quite fun. The story of a bright princess, with her hero mother."

    The serious conversation is listened to attentively. Yui nods slowly, accepting the facts as Honami lays them out. She keeps nodding throughout. She finally says, "I don't think I want to go looking for treasure. I just want to protect people. My.. first mama. She didn't know how how to be a samurai, but maybe if she did..." The pain lasts just a moment, and Yui is smart enough to know she has to turn the conversation away before the tears come.

    "So, I want to learn. To be strong and brave. Because sometimes you have to protect things. Sometimes there are things that are worth it." There's a sense that she's quoting someone, though it isn't terribly clear just who. It does not sound very much like Asuna, anyway!

    "And that story sounds a bit scary! But how can a friend by your enemy? And why not just be nice and not try to destroy the world. I mean, without the world, what do we have?"

    Yui will lead the way out towards the dining table. But there is one more brief detour. Right before they reach a table, Yui stops by a cabinet.

    She looks up at Honami and says, "You want to see something cool?" Her voice makes it clear it is a BIG SECRET! She can't even wait for a reply, though. She carefully opens a cabinet door. Inside, a dagger rests in a beautiful sheathe, all held in a rather fancy stand.

    "Mama and papa say that when I'm ready, they will teach me how to use it."

    She turns a bright smile up towards Honami. With a guilty grin she admits, "I'm kind of excited and look at it often. But I don't touch it. Hm. Oh, and I guess I should explain. I'm not really a princess."

     Honami reaches her other hand to gently pat the top of Yui's head. "You do not have to continue. I know the pain of losing those closest to you." Honami says gently. "A noble goal, to want to grow and become strong and brave to protect things." Honami shifts down slightly, shifting into a proper gentle hug wrapped around Yui, working on gently banishing those tears.

     "No doubt you will be quite strong and brave when the time comes, and perhaps we can find ways to make sure that you shall be safe while doing so. After all, you have members of a powerful alliance surrounding you." Honami gives a wink towards Yui, standing up straight as she's lead to the table.
     The questions of the story gets a soft laugh. "Ah, well, you see. Honami was a villain in her story, a general of an army at the behest of a great and evil person, and though she was the one who would destroy the world, she was not unkind in doing so. She wished to give everyone the gentlest end possible, everything gone in an instant. No fear. No pain. Simply a soothing darkness. It was that gentleness that the hero managed to seek out within her and begin to grow a spark of light within a heart that had fallen wholy to depair and sorrow throughout her life beforehand."

     A mirror to how she'd felt in the past, but she doesn't mention that. "Something cool? Of course." Honami looks curiously towards the cabinet as it's opened. "Hm hm. I see, that dagger looks rather elegant and befitting of a princess." When Yui attempts to deny being a princess, Honami simply gives a smirk towards her. "Oh? You aren't? Why, the way you talk and carry yourself, I expected you to be no less than a warrior princess. And who best to know such things than a dark general of the forgotten army, hm?"

     After they move on, she gives a thoughtful hum. "I do not believe looking at it is a bad thing to hold guilt about. Simply looking is harmless, after all. And that you do not touch it means that you have the restraint not to fall to your temptations. Your parents are wise though, you are a bit young for a proper weapon. Something carved of wood would better suit you, something harder to be harmed with." Honami swirls one of her hands, before placing her hands together. As she pulls her hands apart, between her hands slowly builds an ornately-carved wooden dagger, inlaid with several beautiful onyx gemstones, which she holds out towards Yui. "Such as this, perhaps." Was that an air of mischief on the face of the dark knight?

The hug is of course returned. Yui likes hugs a lot. She doesn't like letting go, but if she got one hug, surely more can follow!

    Then there is that offer of a wooden weapon that gets her attention. It looks very safe! She reaches out with a grin that is a mix of shy, uncertain, and yes, mischievous. But it sure doesn't feel dangerous! "This can't cut me, but it is very pretty."

    She looks at it closely, holding it up so she can stare at the gems. "You know, that general who was surrounded in sadness and darkness. She just needed someone to hug her and tell her it'll be okay. And to promise they'd never leave her."

    Yui speaks very earnestly about it, "I learned that at my school. People need to be shown kindness and love when they are hurting. And sometimes, if someone hurts a lot, they do bad things. So we should always try hard to help others and never leave anyone alone."

    Nearby, Asuna is setting out the lasagna on the table. There is also a chilled salad, a vinaigrette dressing, and garlic bread. Probably the only garlic bread in all of Yamato.

    Asuna says calmly, "If I can pull my two lovely queens away from their most serious conversation... dinner is served."

     Upon taking hold of the wooden dagger, there was a flurry of magical motes once more, this time surrounding Yui herself, and moments later she was now outfitted in a set of (illusion) armor befitting a warrior princess, as Honami smiles warmly. "No, it cannot cut you. Sadly, at least for now, it is simply illusion, as I would not dare give such a gift in real without your mother's permission. So it will not last forever, but for now, it can be fun to play with that."

     The talk of the general and how she just needed someone to hug her and tell her it will be okay gets a soft chuckle from Honami. "Ah, but the general had gone through many times where she was passed from hand to hand, seen as little more than trouble that could not be taken care of, until she ended up in the hands of evil who gave her a purpose. Sometimes, it is hard to escape those cycles of pain." Honami says softly.

     "Still, eventually, she did find that peace in the arms of the hero, yes. Gentle love and kindness that she'd not expected to ever feel after everything." Honami twitches her ear at the sound of lasagna being placed on the table. "Ah, but such serious things should not be talked of at the dinner table, we shall have to resume our conference of ... queens? My, my, it seems we've been promoted, dear Yui. Regardless, we can play after dinner, yes?" She gives a simple nod, looking up towards Asuna.

     "I feel as if it were she that entertained me, more than I who entertained her in the end, Asuna. Though it seems to have worked out in the end. It all looks and smells delicious, my friend. Do you have any pre-dinner rituals you observe? I know some likely still observe rituals of the old world."

    "Nothing so elaborate," admits Asuna. "We just say thanks for the food and then dig in. I tend to keep things pretty informal." The Flash ponders for a moment. Hm. Well, there was nothing more she did in the real world, either, come to think of it.

    "On those rare occasions when the whole family was around the dinner table, my father was pretty relieved, though I got the sense business was always on his mind, too. And my mother, well, so long as everything was perfect, she was quite pleased."

    Yui will examine her armor for a bit, and her magical (if short-lived) dagger. She rather loves it, obviously. "I thought armor would be so heavy! This is very light!" she says playfully. But it is time to get to the table, and so she does take a seat, but not before pulling the seat out for Honami. She's seen her papa do that many times for her mama. It seems very nice.

    Asuna in turn helps the little girl into a seat, which is raised so that she can see above the table. A moment later and Asuna is serving food. Salad and lasagna. There is a kind of sweet tea to drink, as well as barley tea.

    "I hope you do like it. I missed these flavors, and Klein is very fond of them, too. It was fun to bring them into this world."

     "Ah, still, that is good to know. I honestly normally forgo them as I occasionally get distracted and forget to eat until I am hungry enough I neglect to remember such things." Honami admits with a soft chuckle. "Tinkering with my accessory forging or practicing my writing are quite distracting at times."

     Talk of the father gets a soft nod from Honami. "Ah, yes, the distracted parents who often are overworking or overbearing, unfortunately common in our old world. Though I feel it is sometimes even more pronounced in this one as well... especially among those nobles." She muses out loud to herself.

     "Ah, real armor actually is, once again, that one is mere illusion. Still, it is not so heavy as some people believe, otherwise one would suffer in combat due to the loss of mobility." Honami nods simply towards Yui. "It is also designed as a somewhat lighter armor, something more befitting a samurai who must keep mobile in the face of their enemies, but require enough protection to stop oncoming blades."

     As food is served, Honami carefully pours herself a cup of some barley tea, and a cup of the sweet tea for Yui. Once she's properly settled in, she closes her eyes and dips her head in preparation of giving thanks, before beginning to eat the lasagna. "Mmm... the discovery of proper cooking in this world that does not taste of soggy crackers is truly the greatest achievement of adventurers." She says cheerfully.

    "The soggy stuff was the -worst-!!" Asuna agrees energetically. "I could not handle it. So bad!" She laughs softly.

    Yui looks confused by the reference, then Asuna says, "One of the weird things we Adventurers can do is make ourselves food. But that food tastes like.. nothing. Just this wet, yucky, kinda salty stuff. Like if you poured water on bread and crushed it with a spoon."

    The child wrinkles her nose and giggles. "That sounds like papa's cooking!"

    Asuna's jaw drops, but she does not scold her daughter, she laughs! "Well... papa is you know, trying! Very hard!" There have been no fires lately! It's progress!

    "But yes, umm.. armor. Armor needs to be light for some fighting styles. I can't do what I do if I'm covered in heavy plates."

     "Absolutely awful and terrible, yes." Honami says amusedly, her eyes half-lidding as she slowly enjoys her lasagna. Mmm. Delicious, delicious. "Hmmm." She looks towards Yui. "We have this thing called... uhm. Menu crafting. It... technically works, but it makes really really bad versions of whatever you're doing. It's like taking a short cut and it making something worse than if you put a lot of effort into it. For instance..."

     She lifts her hand, tapping the air a few times, and brings up the menu crafting interface. "Let's see... ah, this here..." She taps a few things, before activating an accessory forge menu craft, creating a basic ring that doesn't use any important materials in her inventory. "There. This looks like a pretty good ring, right? Well..." She holds the ring up and gently squeezes it in her hands. "...It's very, very, very weak." It soon is broken down into red motes of a destroyed item. "LIke so. ...So if your papa doesn't have the skills at cooking, we can't as easily get around that like you could by simply learning."

     She sips at her tea lazily, her ears twitching amusedly at the continued talk. "Some of us use very minimal armor, as well. Such as your mother, or myself..." She takes a bite of garlic bread, giving a happy little noise. "Mmm... gosh I bet you'd be able to make something ridiculously good with access to more ingredients, too." She murmurs out loud to herself.

     The chuuni seems to have mostly faded away to her more, normal personality. At least for now. "Anyway, even heavier armor isn't as heavy as it looks -- usually -- sometimes adventurer armor is made out of weird stuff that makes it extra heavy though. It's strange."

    "I have no idea what Curtana wears, but I like hiding behind him," Asuna says. "Those guys and gals with the heavy armor and the huge shields are the best! So much better than getting stuck trying to blink tank a boss or something crazy like that." The Flash off-tanks a lot, honestly, but it doesn't mean she loves it.

    "Wow, that ring just vanished! That's so weird!" Yui watches Honami not suspiciously, but curiously. What else is she going to produce from thin air? "Do you use a lot of magic?" she asks suddenly. "Mama uses some magic, but she doesn't make rose petals. That's so pretty!"

    Honami has to face the facts. She has a six year old child totally crushing on her. In fact, "Mama, can Honami stay tonight?" she asks gently. Her eyes somehow get much bigger and she has pouty lip ready to go. It helps that she's focused on eating her salad. She knows what's she is about here.

     "Dodge tanking is the worst. I've had to do it a couple of times when soloing or with weird groups, and I'm a DPS class for the most part so I have a pretty rough time doing so whenever I have to." Honami shudders slightly. "Not as bad as some, but my build accidentally ended up min-maxed for sure."
     The question of the ring gets a slight handwave of Honami. "No, I just broke it. Its durability reached zero because it had an extremely poor durability. If it were handcrafted, it would have taken much more than that to break it." Honami says off-handedly, as if crushing any form of ring in one's hand is a completely normal thing to do. Adventurers, right? "I do weave a lot of sorcery into my fighting, yes. Much of the time I fight wielding a giant sword or a scythe which I imbue with runes or augment my attacks with song magic to bolster my strength or agility." Honami says softly.

     The question of if she can stay the night gets a soft laugh from Honami. "I must warn you, I am somewhat of a noisy sleeper. The darkness within me likes to manifest itself quite noisily." She snores, maybe? Definitely probably just snores. "I am sure your mother could make rose petals if she so chose, but she is a different kind of flashy, clean efficiency is its own kind of flash."

    "Well, in that case, you can stay in Yui's room," Asuna says. She cannot really deny Yui anything that isn't dangerous. And Honami is another layer of satefy! So that's enough to make her happy. Plus, if Klein doesn't show up, it'll be especially nice. Asuna doesn't like being the only adult.

    Yui cheers immediately, "Yay! You can stay! We can play and tell stories and draw pictures and eat snacks and I can show you all my dolls!"

    She is on a roll here. Which just gets her mother laughing. "That's a pretty packed agenda, honey. You may need to save some for the next time, right?"

    Asuna looks to Honami, "Thank you. I mean, if you do want to stay. I understand you may have plans that take you off on some exciting mission. Maybe something to do with the clear or whatever else we're up to lately. I'm... rather out of the loop on all that kind of thing."

     "I call the floor." Honami says jokingly after the suggestion she should stay in Yui's room, smirking at the child bemusedly, leaning slightly against the table as she listens. "Yes, we can do many of those things, I am sure." She reaches a hand out to playfully ruffle Yui's hair lightly, not quite enough to mess up her hair.

     "And as you sleep, you shall have something scarier than any nightmare to guard your dreams~." Honami jokes. Yep. A woman wearing jeans and a comfy sweater was scarier than any nightmares. Definitely. "I believe probably a good story would be a good start later, but first..."

     She glances towards Asuna. "No, I do not have any particular plans. I do not have many overly pressing objectives I'm working towards at the moment, to be honest, beyond that I somewhat desire to hunt down some more pieces of the magitech, but a night at a friend's house shall no doubt not hinder that much." Honami chuckles softly. "Either way, I believe we should enjoy the rest of our dinner, and while we do, perhaps think of your favorite story, little warrior princess. And as we wind down to rest, I can illustrate it for you." She does send a quick chim, murmured quietly under her breath to her friend. <Be forewarned, by darkness I meant I semi-frequently have nightmares. My parents did not survive the Flash of Death, and I barely did. If you hear crying or screaming, it will be fine, but I worry slightly for Yui if such happens. I doubt it will, but I would like you to be ready. Just in case. It is not as common as it once was, thankfully.>

    Asuna listens, but answers clearly, without tipping the nature of that chim. "Since you are staying, you should know that... I sometimes have trouble at night," the Flash admits seriously. She looks from Honami to Yui.

    The child's smile is put away for now, and she gets serious. "Mama has bad dreams sometimes. But it's okay, because in our home, we take care of each other. When one of us is scared, another of us will be brave. When one of us needs a hand, we are there to offer it. When one of us cries-" and here, Asuna finishes the sentence, "Then one of us will put our arms around them and tell them it'll be okay."

    Yui smiles at this and nods. She explains softly, "That's what family does. And whoever is here with us is family. We all take care of each other."

    She manages all this serious conversation with a bit of red sauce decorating the corner of her mouth. She really loves her mother's cooking.

     Honami's gaze shifts a little bit away as she listens to Asuna talk about the trouble at night, giving a small nod as Yui starts to talk. "Ah, that is good then. ... Then everything should be fine." Honami says softly, one hand lifting to rub at one of her eyes. She was definitely just tired. That wasn't a tear. Nope. Not at all.

     "Ah, sorry. I just got to thinking of my foster family. They're very similar to you." She says softly, quietly reaching out with a handkerchief to dab at the corner of Yui's lips to remove that little bit of red sauce. 'Foster family', a pair of words Asuna is likely to immediately understand, even if Yui possibly doesn't. "A very healing space, for sure." She takes a deep breath, before looking directly to Yui. "I apologize if I wake you tonight. I struggle, much like your mother, with nightmares. Memories, really." She says softly. She wasn't entirely sure what to say after that, so instead just quietly focuses on eating for a while. Talking about her 'real' feelings and troubles was hard. So much easier to hide behind the chuuni.

    Asuna nods slightly, smiling at Honami's very honest emotions. It's really sweet, honestly. "I started having them after becoming stranded here," Asuna offers. "I was very afraid. I was alone. Things tasted bad. Nothing was right. This was the first time I ever did anything like this. My mother forbade games. I still struggle, thinking how angry she must be at me."

    As she speaks, Asuna deflates emotionally. It's hard. She's not sure where's she going with this. She doesn't talk about this, either. Cause it only seems very hard, very awkward, and very painful. It's her turn to struggle with tears.

    "But.. but.. then there was Soujiro. Who just cared for me. And Klein, who was always so supportive. I wasn't so alone. I had people who were trying to help me and who weren't always judging my actions. People that didn't need me to be perfect. And then, finally, most importantly of all." She looks at Yui, and Asuna's smile is fragile, and a tear slides down her cheek. "I found my Yui, my Taka (treasure), my precious one."

    Asuna lifts a hand, trying to brush away the tears. "Sorry! I.. should not do this! My apologies."

     "It... was... somewhat similar for me. Though, it happened before I came here." Honami responds quietly. "After the Flash of Death did its thing... I... just..." She pauses, and then just shakes her head. "I was not okay." She says quietly. That scared, lost, 8 year old girl who ended up shuffled from foster home to foster home as her sheer inability or unwilliness to even try made several foster families just give up on her. "An empty shell would not be far off." She adds quietly.

     She reaches a hand out quietly towards Asuna's, intent on simply quietly taking it as she shares her story. "It is okay to hurt." She says quietly. "And it is okay to cherish those things that have come to help that hurt. ...It is hard to share those burdens sometimes, easier just to bear it on your shoulders." She says quietly. "...And I have nearly a decade of experience trying to cope with it." She looks towards Yui. "And I didn't even have a treasure to help me, though my sister was close." She winks.

    Asuna looks at Honami with gentle eyes and nods in understanding. "I.. understand. That must have been so hard. And I'm so happy you shared all this with us. It is okay to hurt. And you don't have to hurt alone." She doesn't bother hiding a few more tears, reaching instead to put a hand over Honami's. "I'm really happy you are here tonight."

    Yui notices that things are getting serious, but even as a child, she feels that there is a warmth in the air, too. Something nice. And having Honami here makes her feel happy, too. Being done with her food, she gets permission to get up, then heads right over to hug Honami from the side. "You have treasure now," she says simply.

    But all this is so very serious. Asuna doesn't dispel that, not completely, but she does draw things back into a positive light.

    "I have another idea. Nobody is going to sleep by themselves tonight," says Asuna. "We will grab the futons and have a sleepover in the living room! We can eat cake and tell silly stories." She gives Yui a warm smile, "And bedtime will be.. you know, a bit more flexible."

    And so it is, that the meal is finished, leftovers (a small item) are put away. Cake is had. And then there is a time to rest, with light dancing on the ceiling and stories to be shared. If any bad dreams should intrude for anyone tonight, they won't have to face them alone.