Hope might be a fragile thing, but Kyoko was already constructing a hard cage around it in her heart as she looked up at those unfamiliar stars. It might not be able to grow in there--and maybe that was for the best, lest it flare up too high too quickly and then burn itself out--but nothing would be allowed to distinguish it. She would protect it for as long as she had to.

This was her resolve as she quietly made her way back down the steps, more slowly than she climbed them even though gravity was on her side now. Her legs ached so much, and she was trying so hard not to let her heart weigh her down. The searing heat of the charm clutched against her palm almost went unnoticed--was that actually even coming from it, or was it just the warmth collected from her own hands?