Part 1Just like she had announced, Angela spent the next ten years living inside of Hana.
Ever since they started to share one body Hana could feel much stronger than before. She could run faster than anyone, jump higher than anyone, and there was no animal that she could not beat in a fight.
The people who declared that Hana wouldn"t make it past the age of ten had their mouths wide open upon seeing such a sudden change in her behavior and health. Hana went from being the weakest person on the village to the strongest one.
She became so famous that every kingdom started to try and reach for her to become the personal knight of their kings.
Her feats included saving a man from a pack of angry lions, rescuing a small kid who was drowning in the middle of a storm, and win the tournament for the best swordsman of the country. People began to call her Hana, the iron flower. A combination of her beautiful figure and her amazing strength.
She was sixteen-years-old currently. She had gotten much taller and her hair was now reaching all the way to her waist, tied up by a long ponytail. People a.s.sumed she was filled with muscles due to how well known her strength was so many were surprised once they saw how slender her figure looked. Of course, they didn"t know her strength actually came from Angela. They simply a.s.sumed that strength was coming from her new silver armor that she would wear on every mission involving combat, which were the majority.
Hana had finally obtained what she desired the most. She finally felt alive.
Right now, she was finis.h.i.+ng up a job to secure a safe travel for a couple of merchants that were delivering a few rare items for the kingdom.
They had encountered a pack of bandits that tried to steal their goods but Hana was simply dealing with all of them without breaking a sweat.
She would grab her opponents with her bare hands and simply thrown them against one another until they got knocked out or ran away terrified.
She didn"t use swords, spears, or s.h.i.+elds, she needed no weapon, her whole body was a weapon.
Her clients, as always, were filled with surprise at the sight of such a young girl performing such an amazing act so easily.
"You guy should be safe for now... Good luck with your business!"
"Ah!! Thank you!! Thank you so much!! We will never forget you!!"
"Don"t worry, it was my pleasure!"
[...]
Hana finally decided to return home. After gaining so much money from her many job offers, she decided to reward herself with her favorite meal while enjoying the nice breeze of the wind while sitting close by the window.
[Hey, Hana...?]
"Oh, hey Angie! You"ve been quiet lately... Something wrong?"
[... We... We need to talk...]
"Ok..."
[It"s been a decade by now...]
"..."
Hana froze for a moment once she realized what it was that Angela wanted to talk about.
"A decade... Are you sure...? Maybe you counted wrong..."
[Hana... I think I"m ready to go home now...]
"..."
[Hana...?]
"Do... Do you have to go...?"
[Sadly yes... I have a job to do remember? I need to observe the progress of all the worlds and report to my superiors...]
"... Maybe they found a replacement for you... Maybe you can stay here forever..."
[Hana...]
"I mean, you like living in here right? We have so much fun together every day!! We can just stay together forever!"
[Hana.]
"It"s not like reporting the progress of a world is that big of a deal... If you decide to take a break for maybe ten more years or so I"m sure they will understand... Also-"
[HANA!!!]
"!!!"
[...]
Angela yelled at Hana for the first time ever since they met. Hana was so surprised that she couldn"t say another word.
[I wanna go home, Hana... I wanna see my parents, my friends... I want my old life back... I"ve been hiding for the last ten years inside of you... I want to have someone to talk to... And I want to return to my job, I want to see new worlds and keep traveling...]
"But... But... I can talk to you! And I can travel with you to new countries!! And my parents are just like your parents!!"
[Hana...]
"Please!!! Please don"t go!!"
[...]
Hana started to notice some kind of energy surrounding her body, and before she realized, the figure of a girl made of fire without a mouth was formed in front of her. Hana could feel the strength she was so proud of starting to leave her.
[It"s time to say goodbye Hana... I need to return to my own life...]
"But what about my life??"
Hana was now on her knees trying desperately to hold her tears. She was hugging her ow shoulders and shaking uncontrollably.
"You... Do you have any idea of what you did?? You gave me hope! You gave me a life!! I was just going to accept my own death before you showed up!! But now?? Now I have to deal with my own weakness all over again!! Right after finding out how strong I could be!! How could you do this to me?? How could you just abandon me like this??"
[Hana...]
"If you really are my friend, then stay with me until the end!!"
[...]
Hana looked at the fire girl without being able to control her cry anymore.
"Angela, please... I don"t wanna die!! I don"t wanna die!! I need you, please!!"
[...]
"Don"t leave me..."
[...]
Angela looked at the sky as if trying to find where her home would be among the clouds and looked at Hana once again.
[Follow me...]
"!?"
Part 2
The fire girl was leading her friend to the middle of the woods. The had reached a hidden pa.s.sage that would be extremely had to get through unless you were someone with as much strength as Hana when she had the power of Angela with her.
[What I"m about to do, I"ll do it just for you, and n.o.body else, ok?]
"...??"
[No one can ever find out about this.]
"What are you going to do?"
[... Probably a huge mistake...]
Angela spotted a berry tree and started to send a bit of her energy towards it by extending her hands and engulfing it with the fire that surrounded her body. But for some reason the fire that would come out from Angela didn"t share the same color as the rest of her. Angela"s fire had the colors of green, red, and white, but only green fire entered the tree.
Hana observed as the berries started to glow in a strange color for a moment and looked at Angela with a confused expression. The fire girl in return grabbed one of the berries and gave it to Hana.
[Try it.]
Hana ate the berry and suddenly began to feel a bit of her strength coming back. It wasn"t as strong as when she was combined with Angela, but it still was a great boost of her body.
"Angela... You..."
[This is my way of proving that we are friends... Ok?]
"!!"
[These berries contain a bit of my power in them... You won"t be as strong as before, but you will still be able to do your jobs and live your life until your final day.]
"Aaaahhh!! Thank you, Angie!!! You"re the best friend ever!!!"
Hana was filled with joy right now, but Angela was looking like she was regretting every second of that action.
[Don"t mention it... Now listen... there are some rules you need to follow.]
"Rules?"
[Number one, only eat one berry per month, this way they will last long enough to last your lifetime.]
"..."
[Number two, do not let anyone else eat these berries under any circ.u.mstance. These were made for you, and for you only.]
"..."
[Number three, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT give birth while under the effect of these berries! I have no idea what could happen to your children if this energy mixed with them while they are inside your belly.]
"..."
[And this is my final rule, once you no longer need these berries, I need you to burn this tree. You hear me? This power should not exist in this world yet. This is just a small gift from me to you, but many things could go wrong if these berries fell into the wrong hands.]
"..."
[This power is not good or bad, it just is... In the right hands it can be a blessing, but in the wrong hands it could be a curse... I need you to promise me you will treat it with care. Can you promise me that you will follow my rules Hana?]
"... Yes!!"
[I"m serious Hana... I can get into a lot of trouble if something bad happens with these berries. People could easily turn these things into weapons.]
"You can trust me! I"ll take care of them for as long as I live, I give my word!"
[...]
"Angela, don"t worry! Everything will be ok!"
[I hope so...]
Angela gave one look at the berry tree that she had energized with her flames and began to wonder if maybe that wasn"t such a good idea after all.
She wanted to make sure Hana would be ok even after she left, after all, it was her responsibility that Hana was who she was today. It would be extremely cruel to just take it all away from her like this.
At the same time, this was a power that this world was still not prepared for. Hana was a good girl but she was still just a kid. If she was careless things could go very wrong. Angela wasn"t sure she could trust someone with this duty, even her own friend.
But the damage was already done. If she were to simply take away the tree from Hana"s grasp now after giving her hope once again, they would just be back at where they started. Hana crying in despair over the fact that her chance of living a real life was taken from her, and Angela being buried under her own guilt.
She decided to make a small gamble and trust the girl with a bit of her power.
[Then I"ll be going now...]
"... Give your parents a hug for me Angie!"
It appeared that Hana"s mood had improved a lot. Angela was glad. She would be able to say her farewells with her friend showing a smiling face.
[Take care my little flower.]
"You too, fire girl!"
Angela started to gather energy around herself and tried to repeat the act from ten years ago. She launched herself towards the sky and unlike before, managed to continue rising until she disappeared among the clouds.
Hana was now alone with her berry tree and thinking about what to do.
She had gained a way to keep part of her power that had changed her life so much. The power that gave her a way to live. She needed to take care of this tree, guard it with her life.
She started to walk back towards her path to return home when she suddenly was. .h.i.t by a small thought.
She looked at the sky once again to make sure Angela was truly gone and approached the tree one more time. The girl picked another berry and after tasting it, confirmed that indeed, her strength had risen once again.
She realized that if she kept stockpiling the berries inside of her, she would gain more and more power. Enough power to make the image of her old self feel like nothing but a memory and not something that could ever happen to her again.
The idea of returning to her weak body was something that terrified Hana more than anything, but she couldn"t just grab all the berries like this. She needed to find a way to make them last her whole life, but also a way to make them give as much power as she had with Angela.
Thus, she picked the seeds of the berries and proceeded to plant them.
"Sorry Angela... I hop you can forgive me..."
Angela created that tree to be all that Hana would ever need, but the girl wanted more, she needed more. The process was repeated time and time again until a large portion of the forest was now entirely covered with berry trees engulfed with a portion of Angela"s energy being channeled through their wood.
Hana now had acquired her own personal garden in the spam of a few years that provided her with the strength and power she loved so much.