Pruned Trees Re-Sprout!! ~ Ragazza Volpe Magica ~

Deeper and deeper she sank into the abyss. This was really it huh? To say there were regrets was an understatement. It was so unfair, so early. She barely had the chance to live! To see the world! To find love!

Why? Why did it have to end this way?!

What’s more, why was she seeing him in her last moments? They had known each other for what, like six hours tops? Yet... in that time she finally had found what she had been looking for. Her Resonator friends always made it seem like Maestros were slave drivers and constantly disrespected them.

But there was something different about him. The way he spoke, the way he acted. He saw her as a person, not a thing.

“I want to be with him.”

Her descent into the darkness slowed. “I think... he needs me.” She began to swim up, back towards the light. “I’m not giving up!”

Gradually the weight on Pacifica’s eyelids began to ease as she returned to the waking world. She found herself suspended in some kind of liquid; various diodes and their accompanying wires stuck to her body. Whatever was in this solution was charged with rhythm – she was able to breathe the same way she could in water.

The glass tube she awoke in let her see the world outside, it was some kind of doctor’s office, that much she was certain of.

But how did she get here? Last she remembered she was being attacked with Shouri. They were bound by those horrible roots. Had someone saved them? Was he okay? She had to know.

She was still so tired. So very tired. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to sleep just a little bit longer...

When her eyes opened again some time had passed. She wasn’t sure how long, but with a new presence in the room, she knew she had at least gotten some sleep.

Floating to the wall of the tube, she knocked on it, drawing the attention of the other presence in the room. “Oh!” The Resonator jumped at the sudden noise, turning her attention to the occupant in the tube.

“How are you feeling?” the Resonator asked. She was in some kind of uniform, with a little stylized ‘MA’ pin adorning the collar of her shirt.

The otter-girl attempted to say “I feel fine”, but it just came out as unintelligible bubbles. Seeing the blank smile of the other woman, Pacifica instead opted to give a thumbs up and a toothy grin to convey her condition.

“Good! Let me get you down from there.” She heard the other Resonator say. A couple of taps of the keyboard on the attached computer engaged the draining process. Gravity was something Pacifica had to get used to again – how long was she out for?

Once fully drained, the tube sunk into the base of the device she had been in. Pacifica studied the platform of the device she was standing on in awe. The other Resonator girl stepped up and began removing the wires and diodes affixed to the otter. “First time?” she asked.

Pacifica nodded uneasily. “Y-yeah.”

“Lotsa other Resonators have told me it’s pretty jarring. But you can’t argue with the results. These Viva Units do a real good job of healing you up from the brink’a death,” she told Pacifica, handing her a towel.

The water element accepted that explanation along with the towel. As she dried herself, she noticed the cuts from the Foglie a Lame cast on her had been completely healed. Even the bruising from where her wrists and legs had been bound was healed up. She didn’t even feel hungry anymore, just content.

Well, maybe content wasn’t the right word. There was a new concern the otter-girl had. “Where are we?” Pacifica inquired of the attendant.

“This is the Mount Wynding Maestro Affairs Office,” the woman spoke with the usual pep she had when greeting guests at the front desk. “You were brought in by the Maestro in Room One,” she clarified. “It was certainly a frightening set of affairs. I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that. To think that we have a kidnapper in this sleepy little town.” The other Resonator trembled. “It just gives me the shivers!”

Pacifica nodded slowly, taking this all as she finished drying off. “Did you catch him?” Was her primary concern.

“Not yet, but there is a warrant out for their arrest,” the attending Resonator informed the otter.

That didn’t help ease the worry in Pacifica’s heart. “I see,” she spoke quietly.

“But you should be fighting fit once again. Just try to eat slowly for the next day while your system gets back used to solid foods again,” the attendant Resonator advised.

“I will, thank you,” Pacifica said absent-mindedly. Her mind was focused on finding Shouri as soon as possible. “The Maestro that brought me here-” she spoke up.

“Yes?” The attendant turned back to the otter Resonator.

“Is he still here? Has he left?” she asked.

“He has not left; he is still in room one.”

Pacifica’s face lit up. “Thank you miss!” And with that, she rushed out of the room.

Though she immediately found herself lost, after all, she had never been in a Maestro Affairs Office before. “Room one, Room one,” Pacifica said to herself as she wandered through the halls. “This place wasn’t that big,” she fretted as she tried to find her way. It didn’t help that the halls were pretty samey, with no real differentiating markings outside of the number plates adorning the walls next to each door.

The prowling otter was about to give up and find her way back to the front desk when she noticed something. “Wait.” The room numbers were starting to decrease. “Ah!” She wore a big dumb grin as her pace increased to a run.

Nine, Seven, Five, Three, and finally One

The otter slid to a stop. She adjusted her hair and clothes making sure she was presentable. Taking in a deep breath she held it for a moment before releasing it. With preparations complete, she raised her hand and gently knocked on the door. She practiced what she wanted to say when he opened the door. Going through it over and over again didn’t prepare her for the door opening.

Shouri stood there, taken aback by her sudden appearance. “Pacifica,” was all he could manage to utter.

Her heart hammered in her chest seeing him once again. “Sh-Shouri.” She stepped forward and hugged him tightly. That certainly wasn’t what she had practiced in her head, but it was definitely what she wanted. “Thank you.” She couldn’t help the tears that flowed so easily. Releasing him, she held his shoulders. “You saved my life.” The outpouring of emotions continued, as she had completely lost control of her tear ducts at this point.

“You’re welcome,” he replied warmly. “Though, I really should thank you as well. We got through that together,” he spoke so honestly that Pacifica couldn’t handle it. She wiped away the tears, still wearing a big smile.

There was so much she wanted to say to him, but found her lips moving before she could properly hash out what she wanted to express to him. “I want to be your Resonator!” she exclaimed.

“Wha-?” Shouri blinked.

“WHAT?!” Taika shrieked from deeper in the room

The otter girl’s face rapidly reddened as she realized her inner thoughts had just slipped out. “I just really felt like I clicked with you, ya know?” She fretted sheepishly, trying to regain her cool.

By this point Taika had now perched herself on Shouri’s shoulder, glaring at this interloper. “Come in.” He decided this wasn’t a conversation to be having in the hallway and stepped back to allow the other Resonator in.

The room was like any hotel room, Pacifica noticed pretty quickly. Maestros got to stay in nice rooms like this for free? Her gaze drifted towards the Resonator Shouri already had, Taika. No, it wasn’t just Maestros; Resonators shared rooms with their Maestros in these places. It was the only way they were allowed to stay. After all, this was the Maestro Affairs Office.

The three took a seat around the coffee table. Shouri and Taika were on the small couch, with Pacifica opposite them on one of the loveseats. “I’m sorry to suddenly push this on you,” Pacifica spoke first.

Shouri scratched the back of his head. This certainly was a situation. He glanced over at Taika who was fixated on Pacifica. “I’m not that strong of a Maestro you know, you could do better,” he told her.

This was met by a slow shake of her head with a smile. “No, that’s not right,” she retorted. “None of those other Maestros saved my life – you did,” the water element paused, considering her own thoughts and feelings. “That puts you leagues ahead of them in my eyes; I could never do better.”

Taika hummed irritably. She stood up suddenly. “Taika?” Shouri looked to his current Resonator. Stepping around the table, she stood in front of Pacifica. The Maestro wasn’t sure what was about to happen, Taika had been irritated by Pacifica’s presence the entire time. Right now though, the two blue-eyed girls locked gazes.

“Stand up,” Taika demanded gruffly.

“Taika?” Shouri repeated uneasily, sitting up and ready to bolt at a moment’s notice. Pacifica was apprehensive, but conceded to the other girl’s request, and rose to her feet. She stood as tall as Shouri did, looking slightly down at the shorter Taika.

The next motion was one nobody expected: the lunar Resonator hugged her water counterpart tightly. “Thank you so much for saving him. I know I wouldn’t have been able to go on if I lost him,” Taika admitted through her quavering voice, squeezing Pacifica tightly.

The little fox turned her head back to her Maestro, tightening her grip around the other Resonator. “If it’s her Sho, I think it’s okay.”

Shouri let out a held breath, leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed. After a moment of rumination, he slowly opened his eyes, head still leaned back. Taika having released Pacifica, the two Resonators stood side by side, both wearing determined gazes. With a sharp exhale, he sat up. “Are you both absolutely sure? We’re going to have to train twice as hard so I can properly utilize both of your skills,” he warned them.

“Yes.”

“Si!”

“We’re also going to have to work harder in hunts now too since we’ll have another mouth to feed,” he added, knowing very well what the two girls would say.

“That’s fine.”

“I’m okay with that.”

Another sigh, but his lips had turned up to a smile. “Well, if you really are okay with traveling with a third-rate, poor Maestro like me and a lunar Resonator, then I suppose I’ll be your Maestro Pacifica.”

“Thank you Shouri! I’ll do my best!”

“I guess the next step is to make this thing official then.” Shouri got to his feet.

It didn’t take long to get Pacifica chipped and bound to a tuner. It was the same process Taika had gone through just over a month ago. While Shouri disapproved of the clinical nature of it all, he was happy to have the blue tuner in his possession now, properly binding Pacifica to him.

“Urgh, that was awful...” Pacifica groaned, being supported by Taika as the now trio walked back to the fated room one.

“At least she was gentler with you than Taika,” Shouri told the water Resonator, regarding the new tuner with a small smile.

“I heard the stories, but I didn’t think it was this bad,” Pacifica slurred her speech ever so slightly. She turned her head to Taika. “They were rough when you got chipped?” she asked.

“I didn’t notice; I was too excited about Sho taking me in,” Taika told her new friend.

Pacifica smiled back feebly. “I suppose I can respect that feeling.”

Shouri was glad they seemed to hit it off. Truth be told, having Pacifica around was reassuring. Despite what she may or may not think of herself, she was pretty strong. She survived that horrible ordeal and was still able to put up a brave front when he got thrown into the mix.

Idrante

Pianissimo – Piano (New!)

Ghiacciolo

Pianissimo – Piano (New!)

Mani Nell'acqua

Presto – Allegro (New!) - Moderato (New!)

Manga de Agua (New!)

Pianissimo (New!)

L'onda di tempesta (New!)

Meravigliare Bolla (New!)

Presto (New!)

So many new spells Pacifica couldn’t cast before, it spoke volumes of how much that situation affected her. Dismissing the spell screen, he stared at the summary screen

Shouri

Resonator: Pacifica

Species: Demi-Human (Otter)

Element: Water

Attribute: Piercing

Rhythm: 75%

But now she was his. He’d have to study hard to learn the effects of Water spells now alongside his studies of Lunar ones. They certainly had more options in battle now and they would be able to take down enemies much faster than he and Taika alone. With twice the firepower, they’d need twice the ammunition though.

“Sho are you okay?” Taika asked.

“You seem distracted,” Pacifica added.

Even with all his new worries, it was nice having people who cared. “I’m fine,” Shouri reassured them. “We’re gonna need to decide on battle tactics and such.”

“Oh yeah. What’s your element attribute thingy?” Pacifica asked Taika.

“I’m a Lunar-Healer, what about you?”

“That’s so cool! I’m Water-Piercing.”

Reaching their room, Shouri held the door open while Taika and Pacifica limped on in. “Where do you want to sit?” Taika asked the taller girl.

“Bathtub. Just dump me in there and turn on the water. I’ll be fine in like twenty minutes.”

The pair remained silent for a moment. “Dici sul serio?” Taika uttered after a moment.

“Yeah, I’m serious. Waters heal fast while being exposed to water,” she told the uninformed Maestro and Resonator. Shouri committed that to memory. He vaguely recalled there was a rain spell, it’d probably come in handy if it ever came down to a battle of attrition.

And so, Taika helped Pacifica into the bathroom. They stood before the bathtub and shower combo.

“Help me in,” Pacifica requested.

“Uhhh, you’re gonna get your clothes wet,” Taika noted.

The water element giggled. “I’m always in swimwear. I want to be ready to take a dip whenever.” So with that in mind, they just let her be while she soaked in the shower.

“How do you really feel Taika?” Shouri questioned his original Resonator while they had a moment alone.

The girl’s face immediately contorted to one of unease. “I did just want it to be us,” she admitted to him. “But there’s a part of me that knows I can’t protect you from everything, and it scares me.” The lunar fox paused, mulling over her thoughts. “I’m still not very strong and we’re all on our own. People still hate me for who I am.” Fiddling with her jacket zipper, she continued. “At the very least, I can trust Pacifica to be with you when I can’t be.”

Shouri reached out and hugged the girl, a gesture that instantly warmed the girl to her core. “Sh-sho?!” she squeaked.

“I’m not replacing you,” he reassured her, stroking the back of her head. “You’re both important to me, I don’t want you to forget that.”

Pacifica, having decided to eavesdrop a bit, stood against the bathroom door, a splash of red on her face. She truly struck gold with Shouri.

The trio sat in a circle on the bed. Shouri and Taika recounted their story and their current situation for Pacifica’s edification. “Ah, that is a tricky situation.” The otter nodded. “Your parents are a piece of work,” the Resonator scoffed. She looked at Taika. “She’s such a sweet thing, they’re just picky assholes.”

Taika couldn’t help grinning sheepishly, averting her gaze from the rest of the group. It was nice being around people who genuinely seemed to like her.

“Yeah. They haven’t tried to pull anything yet, but it’s only been a few days. My dad doesn’t take losing very well.” Shouri frowned, humming in thought. “He’s a bit of a man-child in all honesty.”

“Well if it wasn’t suicide at this point, I’d say we march right up to him so I could put him in his place myself.” Pacifica nodded, arms folded across her chest.

The Maestro chuckled a bit at the idea of the otter girl chewing out his father. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I think the further we get from them, the better.”

“What about you Pacifica, what happened to you?” Taika chimed in curious about their new friend’s origins.

“Oh! I was adventuring on my own. My mom and dad were a little apprehensive to the idea, but they let me go on my own regardless,” she told them. “For the most part, the people in the towns I visited were super nice to me, but I ran out of rubato crystals faster than I imagined.” Pacifica frowned.

“Rubato… crystals?” Taika furrowed a brow. She had some idea of what Pacifica was referring to, Shouri having explained the Rubato modifier to her before, but she just barely missed understanding the connection.

“Solid rhythm basically, mined from deep within Riterra. Resonators can use their spells by holding one, though like their namesake being the Rubato modifier, the entire crystal is drained in the process,” Shouri clarified for the fox.

“And they’re super expensive!” Pacifica chimed in. “Though, I guess I had some lower quality ones which broke after one use,” the otter added as an aside.

Taika nodded, she did recall seeing some glowing crystals change hands in the past but didn’t know what they were for. It certainly added some context to certain events now that she thought about it.

“Anyways!” Pacifica continued with her story: “I ran into some trouble and those men kidnapped me. I tried to get them to let me go if I gave them my money, but that just made them greedier and they were trying to get more money out of my parents.”

She paused for a moment. “At least that was their plan. I never told them who my parents were and they were trying to starve it out of me.” She grinned proudly. “I wasn’t gonna let them have it, they’d get it out of my dead body.”

Shouri was not impressed. “They almost did,” he said grimly.

Pacifica’s smile faded. “I-I guess... it was stupid.”

“Don’t do that again. Your life is more important than some stupid money,” he scolded her.

She averted her gaze shamefully; reconsidering the situation, it was kind of stupid of her to be so bull-headed.

A hand was placed on her shoulder. The girl perked up, tracing the hand to Shouri. “Don’t dwell on it – some good came of it.” He smiled at her.

“Eh?”

“We got to meet after all because of it, right?”

Blush. “Y-yeah!” She laughed loudly, this time turning away to try and hide the ever-growing red on her cheeks.

“So how long did they keep you for?” Taika asked, re-focusing the conversation

“Uhhhh... good question...” Pacifica trailed off thinking about that. “Ohmygosh!” She jumped from the bed in a panic, though had no actual destination in mind.

“What’s wrong?” Shouri asked, brows raising with concern.

“I was so wrapped up in the whole kidnapping and becoming your Resonator thing I totally forgot to check in with my folks!” she exclaimed. “Ah, what do I do?!” she fretted, trying to figure out how to reach them.

“I guess we could just call them now,” he suggested. “I saw some video phones in the common room we could probably use.”

“Oh really? Good idea!”

Pacifica took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply before reaching out to dial her parent’s number. “Here I go.” Dialing the appropriate digits, it began to ring. A woman appeared on the screen.

Shouri, who was standing just out of view of the camera, raised a brow – for some reason, this woman looked familiar, but he just couldn’t place where he would have seen her. Mistaken identity probably; there’s no way he had met Pacifica’s mother.

“Hello, Pacifica! How are you doing!?” a bubbly voice asked from the other end.

“I’m doing well!” Pacifica smiled at seeing her mother once again. “Is dad around?” she asked.

“Sure is.” Her mother moved the camera to show an Otter-eared man waving.

“Hi my little pup, where are you calling us from?” The otter's father wore a big silly smile.

Pacifica stroked her chin, looking to the ceiling as if it held all the answers. “Ah right, the lady said it was the Mount Wynding Maestro Affairs Office!”

Her mother took back the camera. “Wait, Pacifica honey, how are you in a Maestro affairs office?” she asked the pressing question.

“I got a Maestro,” Pacifica said pulling Shouri into view of the camera and holding his arm.

“My little pup is growing up!” Her father could be heard crying off-camera.

“Jack, behave.” Pacifica’s mother turned her attention off-screen for a moment to pacify her husband. “That’s wonderful dear. And who might I have the pleasure of speaking to?”

The Maestro shirked away from the judgmental camera. He wasn’t good at this sort of thing. “Shouri,” he said simply.

“Well Shouri, we’ll need to talk at some point. Though I’ll let you off the hook for now, it’s quite late,” the woman said.

“My name is Priscilla,” she introduced herself. “As one Maestro to another, I think you have great eyes. I’m sure my little otter is in good hands.” There was a red, rhythmic glow to the woman’s eyes as she said this. “Don’t disappoint me.”

There was a certain weight to those words; however, given everything he had already been through with Pacifica in the short time he had known her Shouri was confident that there wasn’t any feasible way to disappoint the older woman.

“I’ll let you go for now for real – though, if you two end up with a little miracle of your own, let us know and we’ll be there in a heartbeat!” Priscilla simpered knowingly.

Pacifica caught exactly what her mother was implying and turned completely red. “G-GOOD NIGHT MOTHER!” And with that, the connection was cut. “I’m so sorry about them.” The otter-girl held both of her hands over her heart trying to calm it.

“They seem fun.” Shouri laughed sheepishly, having also caught the implication.

“What did they mean by ‘a little miracle’?” Taika asked innocently.

“Nothing they’re just dumb!” Pacifica shouted.

“Parents, can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.” Shouri shrugged.

“So uhhh, how are we doing this?” Pacifica asked as the newly formed trio stood in front of the bed.

In all honesty, the bed was hilariously big, they could all fit on it with relative ease. It was just the nerves between the three that were stopping them from just diving in.

“I can sleep on the couch if that’s fine.” Pacifica regarded the ‘guest area’ with intentions of utilizing its services. She didn’t want to, but in the same respect, she also didn’t want to cause a stink and disrupt the status quo.

“Oh no you don’t,” Shouri decided, grabbing Pacifica’s shoulder as she tried to walk away from the bed.

“Wuh?” Pacifica was spun back around to face her Maestro, bewildered.

“Taika had horrible nightmares for the first few nights we were together.”

“So what fixed it?”

“Etude, specifically overnight.”

“Etude?”

Pacifica wasn’t familiar with the term. Despite her parents being a Maestro and Resonator pair, she didn’t know that much about it. Her mom was a bit of a tease in all honesty and just told the young otter: “You’ll find out when you’re older”

Well, she was older now and felt like an idiot having to ask her new Maestro what he was talking about.

“When a Maestro and Resonator share rhythm, by touch. Balances you out,” Shouri stated.

“Touch huh?” Pacifica gulped trying to maintain her cool.

“Given everything you just went through; I know you’re going to probably have nightmares.”

The otter nodded slowly. “R-right. I’m sure it’ll be okay.” She certainly didn’t want to lose sleep over her previous near-death experience, but she could handle a little nightmare, right?

“Indeed.” Shouri frowned. “Well regardless, you’re not sleeping on that couch.” There was no arguing with her Maestro on this and she submitted to his demands.

With that out of the way, the trio crawled into bed. Shouri was in the center with Pacifica and Taika on either side of him.

It was so silent, yet they could each hear their own hearts hammering away as they remained frozen. “G-good night,” Pacifica braved saying.

“Buona notte,” Taika added.

“Sleep well you two.” Shouri closed his eyes, hoping to not think about the situation he was in.

Gradually their nerves calmed and the three tired young adults drifted off to sleep.