[center][img]https://i.gifer.com/2r5w.gif[/img]
[img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/494317685505523714/823259742830985276/273ed93d3c2e62af897c584f10452877.png[/img]
Level 4: 36/40
Location: On Shippy.
Word Count: 720
Points Gained: 1
New EXP Balance--- Level 4: 37/40  [/center]

	He wasn't here. Sakura put a hand up to her head. [color=f49ac2][i](He's dead. He's dead! Oh, God!)[/i][/color]

	[color=f49ac2]"Shippy, I'm sorry!"[/color] Sakura said aloud, but she doubted the ship could hear her. Tears were streaming down her face but she tried to wipe them away so she could focus. There were too many dead people. It wasn't fair.

	Sakura began to fire Hadokens over the side of the ship, blasting any remaining Abyssals away from them so they could escape. She also helped push Shippy in the water. Thus she didn't see what exactly happened with the Harbor Demon, but she could gather from the Midway Princesses mournful screams. Guilt yanked Sakura's heartstrings. If only she had gone to help...could the Harbor Demon have been saved? Like Bella? 

	[color=f49ac2][i](Probably. Almost certainly.) [/i][/color] Sakura thought bitterly. She climbed ontop of the ship with the others and soon, they were away.

	[color=f49ac2]"Geralt-san! You're okay!"[/color] The tearful street fighter hugged the Witcher. Soon, they were clear of the fighting. There was another brief scuffle, but it wasn't much. Their part in the battle was over. 

	A few minutes later, Sakura was sitting on the deck of Shippy. She had her knees clutched against her chest and she was crying, trying to come to terms with what she had just experienced. That tightness in her gut hadn't left her, but her hands had stopped shaking. 

	[color=f49ac2]"Rika...I'm so sorry. That must have been awful for you."[/color] She said to the ex-Abyssal who had descended down with Bowser to help. 

	[color=f49ac2]"That was all so terrible."[/color] Sakura mourned. She was never one to keep her feelings hidden. [color=f49ac2]"This must be the kind of thing that gives people nightmares. Just... death and near-death experiences. Losing friends and loved ones. Lives torn apart on both sides. And why wouldn't it? All the killing and bloodshed and no way to stop it."[/color] She grimaced and covered her eyes with the palm of her gloved hand.

	[color=f49ac2]"Killing for peace seems so ironic. A real...bitter pill to swallow. I don't think I ever will. I don't think I [i]want[/i] too. Even the Harbor Demon had family. I just wish we could have saved her, too."[/color] She put her forehead against her knees and thought about all the people that were lost.

	[color=f49ac2]"And now...Mr. Brineybeard. Does Shippy know? Can someone tell her? Someone that knows her a little better than I do?"[/color] She inhaled a shakey breath. [color=f49ac2]"There's too much loss to even fathom. I knew it would be bad, but now I've experienced it. It's different."[/color]

	She wiped her eyes.[color=f49ac2] "I hope you guys don't mind if I try coming up with some wisdom. It's not good to keep feelings bottled up inside. Some people I know do it a lot, and it hurts them. Have you guys ever heard the phrase, 'no pain, no gain?'"[/color] She asked. Everything, it seemed, came back to her favorite hobby.

	[color=f49ac2]"Well, it's a phrase for excercise. Basically, if your muscles aren't hurting, then you won't get stronger. No pain, no gain. I think the same thing applies to the heart, too."[/color] She put a hand on her chest. [color=f49ac2]"If you stop trying because you're afraid of getting hurt, you'll never get stronger."[/color] She didn't bother to wipe away her tears. [color=f49ac2]"Without sadness, there is no joy. If you stop trying to feel sadness, eventually you won't be able to feel joy, either."[/color] She shrugged, sniffing.

	Sakura closed her eyes and leaned back against the railing, exhaling. Finally, she wiped away her eyes so she could see better. Sakura felt better, too. Now that she had voiced herself and her emotions, she could concentrate on the task ahead. Healing was important, physical or mental. Perhaps the spiritual side of the martial arts she had practiced her entire life had prepared her for this kind of thing better than she expected. The tightness in her stomach was gone. Thankfully, she didn't feel empty. She just felt tired, sad. There was relief, too. In the end, they had won. They had made progress in saving the world. She raised her eyes and took in the strange, alien scenery. Purples and blues, lush foliage. The animals here could ignore the sound of distant warfare.

	She smiled, a small, genuine little qurk of her lips. [color=f49ac2]"It's beautiful here."[/color]