Author’s Note: EXE manga based.

Butterfly

By Atreyu452

Meijin never got a chance to say it. He always knew that he should have said it, and sooner rather than later, but he never got around to it. Sooner had been the goal. It just ended up being later.

The hospital was choking to stay in. At least he could use his wheelchair now, although the garden just outside was small and worried nurses darted about the flowers like oversized, oddly colored bees.

He should have seen it coming. That was what got to him, really, that was it. Serenade was powerful, but nothing - no one - lasted forever. He assumed life would go on, despite its dangers, as it always had. Heck, look at that Hikari kid. He faced terror after terror, and still managed to remain the same. Why couldn't that apply to everyone else?

The doctors, after long silence on the matter, assured him that he would one day regain the use of his legs. Modern technology was a miracle, they insisted. Sure, his injuries were unique - one of the few survivors of the attack - but they were hopeful. Then they were silent again. That said far more than words, really.

It wasn't just Hikari. Ijuuin had the same resilience, although far less innocence than his fellow hero. Pain, no matter how great, could not stop him from seeking power, but it was a good power. It helped, Meijin thought, that he was young, and there was still a piece of him that was still innocent. Most others who sought power ended up like the evil that landed him here in the first place. Twisted, broken.

It was warm today, although the sky was clouded. He could see the damage still, repairs to the city that were in progress. So many had died that day. So much had been destroyed. The wrecked buildings had jagged scars, ugly gashes in the structure that doomed many of them. They could be rebuilt - they would be rebuilt - but they would never be the same.

He found out how it had happened, although that itself took some doing. Not many knew of the Lord of the Undernet, even though it was by his power that victory was achieved. No, Meijin corrected himself, his power that helped lead to victory. Bt his power... the power so great... could not save Serenade himself.

Something landed on his hand, and startled, he almost brushed it away, worried that it was a bee. He looked first, and froze in mid-action. The butterfly perched on his knuckles danced slowly, seemingly confused at the lack of pollen, but even after it figured out that Meijin's flesh was not a flower, it stayed, the blue wings shimmering as they were flexed back and forth. Maybe. Just maybe... he could still tell the truth, if only to the butterfly.

He got the feeling that Serenade would know.