As I jogged down the pathway, I noticed someone. I peeked my head out more, seeing the bright red of the hair. I frowned, seeming like it was familiar to me. I kept on going towards the light of hair, thinking it was Shura. When I finally emanated from the forest, I found myself at the fountain; at the center of the town. I saw the girl, her hands clutching a slip of paper. I sat down next to her, slowly, as if not to startle her.
“When someone is in distress or in fear,” Mama always said, “Never startle them. Slowly show them that you’re there.” I remembered her tell me, poking my nose. It was when I was two, learning to tame creatures.
I slowly touched her hand, leaning forward to look over at her face. She jumped, then glared at me. Her eyes softened, then she turned back to the photo.
“D-do you know this man?” She asked, holding up the photo. “The four-eyes and the tail guy wouldn’t tell me. He’s my uncle.” She blinked, showing me the photo. When I looked at it, I frowned a little, seeing that it was Shiro. Shiro Fujimoto. My ‘father’.
I nodded, closing my eyes. Tears involuntarily filled my eyes, and I blinked them away.
“How?” She cocked her head to the side, not noticing how I tensed up, how my hands had been filled with the hems of my shorts, how my knees were trembling. They weren’t very distinct features, I knew. Rarely anyone noticed my emotions. Other than my happy ones, at the least. The only person who could were Shiro, Rin, and Yukio. My parents added, of course. But they’re...not here.
“H-He was my adopted father.” I murmur, and bite my lip until it starts to bleed. The girl frowns, confused.
“What do you mean, was? Mama and Papa said that he was here… He’s the Paladin here! I’m supposed to live with him for the time being until I get a dorm.” She starts, and crosses her arms. My emotions finally take their toll, and I stand up, barely able to stand without my knees trembling so hard that I would fall back.
“I-I mean...he’s gone.”
“G-gone?!” The girl’s eyes fill with tears, and she shakes her head. “No...No! You’re lying! You’re a liar! He’s here!” She yelled, the photo floating out of her grasp and onto the cobblestone ground.
“W-Why would I lie about that...when he was my own ‘father’.” I whisper, and look at her with a tear slipping down my cheek. “Why would I lie about that when he was the person who raised me!” I yell, and then stop. “G-gomen.” I mumble, then turn and start to run, run away from the girl whose eyes were wide, her mouth gaping open. I ran away from Haru, who looked confused then followed. I ran aimlessly, not knowing where to go, or why I was going the way I was going.
I found myself breathing heavily at the boys’ dormitory-to be exact- Rin’s dorm. I blinked a few times, not sure how I even found it. I slowly knocked on the door, looking at the stars and seeing that it was about 2:00 in the morning. How long was I running? I asked myself. I’m not much of a runner… I sighed, and knocked again on the door.
Rin came out after the third knock, his hair up slightly in his hair clip, his eyes bleary and his hair tousled like he could not sleep.
“N-Nat?” He started, rubbing his eyes. “Nat, what’re you doing here?” He asked, frowning. I just shook my head, and I could feel the tears coming. I hiccuped, then just wrapped my arms around him, the feelings erupting like a volcano.
“Gomen.” I whispered in his chest, before feeling tears slip from my eyes, down to my cheeks, dripping off my chin to the floor. After a moment of hesitation, he smiled softly, wrapping his arms around me.
“It’s okay, Nattie-chan. I was worried about you.” He kissed my head, and closed the door, letting me climb into his bed. It’s what we did when we were kids; when I had a nightmare, I would go to Rin’s room and knock on the door. He would let me in, and we would huddle on his bed, just talking. It was like a natural instinct. Maybe that’s why I came here. I thought to myself.
“A-Arigatou, Onii-chan.” I smiled a little at him, looking across the room and gave Yukio a light pat on the head, though he did not stir as I did so. I smiled, and giggled softly, wiping my eyes. “He’s a deep sleeper as ever.” I murmur, and then sit back on the bed.
“What happened, though, Onee-chan? You look like you saw a ghost.” Rin blinked and then chuckled at his unintended pun. I shook my head, and sighed, letting my hair out of its bun. Slipping the band on my wrist, I looked over at him sadly.
“It was about Shiro. A girl asked about him, and I just…” I couldn’t finish, and so I just trailed off the sentence, knowing that he knew what I was saying. He wrapped his arms around me, and I snuggled into his shoulder, hugging him back. After about five minutes of not saying anything and just hugging him, I felt my eyes droop down as I felt my head nestle tightly in his shoulder, letting myself fall asleep.
