*three months later*
{MIHO'S POV}
We're in the audience hall of Wistal castle. When I say we, I mean myself, Asahi, Kazuma, and 100 other Zoralites who arrived in Clarines today as part of a two year foreign exchange program between our now-allied kingdoms.

A few days before I left, in Aoi's office, he and I made a promise—he's going to mop up all the filth in his country and I'm going to return to Zoral with the exchange students in two years.

Asahi is talking with Uncle Izana right now. He sits in his throne on a slightly raised platform.

"103? I thought only 100 would be arriving." Uncle Izana says.

"Our apologies. Along with the 30 pharmacist, 30 farmer, 20 scientist, 10 construction, and 10 undecided students who planned to attend, 3 more have been added. I will train as a pharmacist, and Kazuma-san here wants to study under a surgeon."

"A surgeon?" Uncle Izana eyes Kazuma, with all his old scars. "Impressive."

Kazuma bows. "Thank you for your praise. You'll find I'm excellent with small knives."

I slap a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing, drawing Uncle Izana's attention. I suppose I stand out, as the only one in the group with a black cloak covering my appearance.

"And the last?"

Asahi's eyes flick to me. She shrugs. "A soldier. Though I doubt there's much you can teach her."

"I've... come to intrude." I flick off my cloak. There's a gasp amongst the guards in the room.

Uncle Izana wraps things up quickly. The students will spend one month in the castle, in order to get used to the kingdom's ways before they're shipped off to wherever they'll be studying for the next two years.

They're escorted by maids to their rooms in the palace. I decline help, since I know my way.

Passing through the halls, I get many second abrupt glances from maids and guards. It's claustrophobic and stifling, like being a bird in a cage.

I hear the thud-thud-thud of running footsteps approaching me, but sense no malicious intent. I release my unconscious grip on my rapier's hilt.

I turn around, just in time to get tackle-hugged by my big sister, Akegi.

"Miho!" She sobs, squeezing me tight enough to break ribs. Her monstrous strength has increased.

"Ane-sama!" I protest to being squished. Tears prick the corners of my eyes. I've missed Akegi and Shiro, and Mom and Dad.

I think of Shiro, and sure enough he's hot on Akegi's heels. Shiro peels me from his twin's arms just so he can smother me himself.

"Aniue!" I gasp when he picks me up and spins me around in the air.

"Look at you, Miho! You're so big!" He laughs.

"I'm seventeen, don't... treat me like a little... kid anymore! Put me... down!" I wail.

Shiro obliges, but Dad picks me up! Will the spinning never stop? I didn't even hear him approach! Mom at least hugs me normally, without making me dizzier. There are tears on all accounts.

"I'm so glad you're back!" Akegi's face is an undignified, snotty mess. She honks into a tissue.

Mom observes me with watery eyes. Her eyes fall on the pale scars from the battle at Citadel and the tape wrapping my bad ankle.

"They're... fading." I reassure her. "I'm safe... now."

She hugs me again. "I know."

"And you can speak!" Shiro keenly observes.

I slow clap for him, deadpanning, "Excellent detective... work. Please enlighten me.... how did you reach that... conclusion?"

Akegi laughs hysterically.

"Oh, hush you." Shiro scolds her lightly.

Akegi doesn't listen. She slings an arm around my shoulders, still cackling. "Great to have you back, Miho. Now we girls outnumber the boys again."

She pumps her other fist and winks at me.

I grin. "I... missed you all... so much."

I have another round of hug-fest when Mitsuhide, Kiki, and Obi come running. Aunt Haki and my cousins—Hiiro, Hikari, and little Yui—are slightly more calm in their approach. They also express relief that I'm back safely.

By the end of the day, my eyes feel dry from all the crying I've done. My tear ducts haven't worked so hard since I was a baby.

I sprawl out spread eagle on top of the plush comforter. Around this time normally, Aoi would be brushing my hair. I don't feel comfortable around the maids just yet, and I can't ask them anyway since I don't want to be a bother.

I want to see Aoi.

I slap myself on my cheeks. "It's barely... been a day, Miho. Restrain... yourself for 729... more days."

My pep-talk gives me enough strength to pull myself under the covers and fall asleep.

I immediately wish I hadn't. Living under the constant stress of war, my body never had time to process all of what I was seeing. I became truly desensitized to death.

But now that the war is over, my body has relaxed and I've had a chance to digest and process. With that comes the nightmares.

Stinking heaps of flesh and bones rotting in mass graves. They knit themselves together, but whatever consciousness they have clearly doesn't know what a human skeleton looks like.

Ulnae attach to tibiae as femurs try to articulate with scapulae. No two are exactly the same. The result is a seething mass of vaguely humanoid creatures with maggot-infested flesh sloughing off and vultures picking at their eye sockets.

The group shuffles towards me on whatever attached in the normal location of the feet. I see feet, hands, patellae, even long bones being used.

"You did this to us." They hiss in the voices of a dozen people I know I killed. "You did this to us!"

They grab me. I try to shake them off but their numbers are too great. The corpses pull me down into the dirt, burying me alive. Dirt fills my lungs.

And I'm on the battlefield again. Surrounded by enemies, all fighting each other to the death. Where's Aoi? I look for him, but he's not here. Finally, I spot Aoi meters away.

There's a gaping hole in his stomach. Asahi is trying to stop the bleeding, but he's dead.

She looks up and makes eye contact with me. Her eyes are dark, cold, accusatory. "He died protecting you. It's your fault, you damn outsider."

"Asahi?" My voice cracks. "No... I—"

"Your fault." The voices of my victims echo. "You did this to us!"

"No." I whimper. The knights on the battlefield are falling apart, becoming the same mismatched, grotesque corpses.

They converge on me. Asahi and Aoi join the mob, their distinct voices meshing in.

"You did this to us!"

"It's all your fault!"

"You did it!"

"Outsider!"

"It's your fault we're like this!"

"No!" I scream, sitting up bolt-right in bed.

I hear unfamiliar footsteps and someone rattles the doorknob. My body immediately enters high alert. It's an intruder, an enemy.

My battlefield reflexes take over. I crouch behind my biggest source of cover: the giant bed in the center of the room. I grab for my rapier but it isn't by my side. Panic floods my mind.

When the door opens, the enemy pokes their head inside. "Miho-sama?"

I lunge at the intruder, hitting them hard with a surprise attack. I land on their chest, knocking us both into the light.

The maid tries to scream, but I wrap my hands around her windpipes so she can't make a sound. She's blue in the face and half dead by the time I regain control of my senses.

I gasp, quickly getting up and backing away from the poor woman.