Chapter Text
"A ninth card!" Illya wailed, slamming her fist hard on the ground. She pressed her forehead so deep into the grass as her whole body trembled, it earned her pitying looks from Miyu and Chloe alike. "Why a ninth card!? Wasn't the eighth one bad enough!? When should I expect a tenth!? GAAHH!"
"Oh, come now!" Ruby scolded. Her accessories were visibly smoking from the difficult battle they'd just barely roughed through. "You're a child acting like a child! How very childish of you, child! Stop being such a child right now! It's unbecoming of a magical girl who claims she's not a magical girl!"
Illya, however, only continued to wail. She sobbed into the grass of the forest with Miyu's comforting hand on her shoulder and Chloe's half-sympathetic, half-disgusted gaze averted. No amount of scolding was going to lift her spirits after this catastrophe.
But Gil honestly didn't care about any of that right now. Yes, yes, Illya had every right to cry. He wasn't arguing against that. She had once again proven herself a selfless hero, after almost losing all of her friends yet again, and watching Rin and Luvia, currently unconscious under Sapphire's watchful not-eye, be violently knocked out. That was all well and good, and later, maybe he'd praise her on her tenacity. Or not. He hadn't decided yet. But in a time like this, only one thing consumed his mind, one thing that made certain nothing else mattered to him.
Gil still couldn't believe even they had a card. They had originally incarnated in their bestial form and, per original programming, had attacked him right from the beginning. However, much like him, the incarnation had been incomplete. Thanks to the battle here tonight, though, they'd since restored their corrupted mind. Yet they'd also been blown back by the weight of Illya's final blast, and Gil had not seen them since.
Where in this whole forest could they have gone? Gil knew they were still here. He could feel it in his bones; the two of them had been too close in life for them not to sense each other. If they were both alive, they knew where the other was. Always.
Except he couldn't pinpoint their exact location right now. And that was the problem. If he couldn't sense them, he thought with anxious dread, then that might mean -
Wait.
Gil swirled his head around quickly as what felt like lightning suddenly struck him. His whole face brightened, a beaming light in the dark night of the forest. He spread his arms out in elation and booked it for a far off bush.
"ENKIDU!"
Gil scooped up the small being twitching in the foliage. He hugged them tight to his chest in both arms, closing his eyes with a wide, boyish smile. They had found their way back to him after all!
"W-what?" a watery voice sniffled from across the battered clearing. "What did you s-say?"
Gil spun on his heel, opening his eyes in excitement. "I said, I found Enkidu! My one and only best friend! They're smaller than I think they ever were in life, but that's probably due to half-incarnating like me."
With merriment, he ran back over to the group and held the small creature up at arms length. Enkidu had never been a beast that humans were familar with, but in life, they could have best been described as something between a deer, with those antlers, and a man, with the size and general shape. Now, though, they could best be described as something between a deer and a rabbit.
Illya jumped up, her knees knocking together as she clutched her fists to her chest. Beneath her tears, she wore an angry expression. "THAT was the thing that almost swallowed Miyu and Chloe!? It's too cute to be a flesh-eating monster!"
"Careful, mongrel," Gil warned, doing everything in his power to keep still as he glared at her, "who you call a 'thing.' Enkidu is a person and my friend, and therefore deserves respect."
Before Illya could respond, the creature in his arms suddenly shifted form. Gil's arms buckled and collapsed under the heavy weight of their new form, sending them both crumpling to the ground hard. Mouth full of dirt, he heard Illya squeak and shriek as she, too, fell over.
"I'm sorry," a familiar, yet higher pitched voice said. Gil shot up instantly, spitting the dirt out. "I did not think through my transformation. Please forgive me, Illya."
Looking at the situation in front of him, there were a couple facts Gil immediately understood upon standing up.
1.) Enkidu had assumed a fully humanoid shape once more. They had the appearance he most remembered them having, that of the priestess Shamhat. They were younger than he had ever known them in life, though, about his age here in this era. Their clothes matched what he remembered as well, an off-white white dress over white pants, plus their overly long cord. Their green hair was long as usual, though one strand hung over their bangs and face haphazardly - likely from the fall.
And
2.) They were lying on top of Illya. Their chest was on her stomach as they lay propped up on their arms, the rest of their body flat between her legs. Illya blushed a fiery red, eyes tearing up in embarassment, completely frozen in her predicament that Enkidu didn't seem to notice at all.
Poor Illya, something resembling sanity whispered in the back of Gil's mind. He liked to pride himself on being more mature than his older self, and he knew this wasn't her fault. She had done nothing wrong here. But when it came to Enkidu, regardless of age, Gil went completely feral.
"Hey, mongrel," he snapped, stepping around them to the side, bending down to let Illya get a better view of his barely constrained rage. "Get out from underneath my friend. That's my spot."
Illya took one, slow turned look at him. She shrieked again, and quickly used her legs to crab walk (run?) out from under Enkidu at light speed. She didn't stop until her head banged against a far off tree.
"Ow!"
Miyu stared at her blankly while Chloe rolled her eyes.
Enkidu sat up on their knees, blinking in confusion.
Gil didn't give them time to voice whatever question they had. It had been far too many millennia since they'd last reunited. Despite how much pride he had in his own maturity, at the end of the day, he was still a kid. Really, he was lucky his utter happiness at the whole situation outweighed the part of him that wanted to cry.
"Enkidu!" he exclaimed again, and glomped them with full force.
They both fell to the ground a second time, this time rolling over the forest floor. They burst into laughter and held each other tightly.
"Gil!" Enkidu giggled in his ear from above, igniting a special warmth in his chest. They nuzzled their nose against his. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you. I don't know why I did that. You're so little here, it doesn't make sense to attack you!"
"Hahaha, I'm going to pretend like I understood that and you didn't say it," Gil chuckled happily.
He rolled them over again so they were both on their sides. They grinned wide at each other. There was no joy quite like being reunited with each other, at long last.
"Okay, I'm confused," Chloe huffed loudly.
Gil and Enkidu frowned as they looked up at her, spell broken.
"What?" Gil asked flatly.
"What is it?" Enkidu inquired calmly.
Chloe pointed an accusing finger at the two of them. "First of all, how the hell do you of all people have a friend, and second, what on Earth are you!?"
"Well," Gil rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "it all started when older me went to a wedding..."
"I'm a clay doll," Enkidu explained, unperturbed. "I was created to kill Gilgamesh, but I broke as a weapon and became his friend instead."
Chloe stared at them in judgemental disbelief. "...You know what? I change my mind. Don't tell me at all. I have a feeling I don't want to know where this story goes."
"Hmph, whatever." Gil grasped Enkidu's hand in his. They stood up, keeping their fingers locked together. "Anyway, I think it's about time we headed home. Enkidu and I have sooo many things to catch up on! See you guys later! Oh, and thank you so much for saving them! I owe you guys one big time!"
"Wait!" Illya sat up, holding her head in alarm. "Where are you to guys go- !? ...ing?"
But they had already disappeared into the trees.
Illya's mouth dropped open in flustered shock. Her tired mind raced as her sniffles returned. "But...I...There's two of him now? Is that what...happened? I don't get it!"
Miyu put her hand back on her shoulder and shook her head. "It's probably best not to think too hard about it."
Then she pulled Illya into a hug.
Illya sobbed dramatically into Miyu's neck. "But ONE of him is bad enough! I don't want another Gil! HE'S SO ANNOYING! And please, no tenth card. No tenth card with another giant, unstoppable monster! My heart can't take it a third time...!"