Scar

Memories (4)

(based on no episode in particular. Happened in... Merag's memories of her past life (while she was in coma after they returned from the ruins), it might help if you've watched episode 108-109, still partly inspired from im-aggressive's drabble. Any situation you recognize might not come directly from me :p)

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own YGO Zexal, otherwise, IV would be an anti-hero protagonist along with Rio as the heroine, and the anime would be full of dramas instead of card games!

***

Merag flinched slightly when she stepped out of the shrine, immediately covered her eyes with her hand. It was already afternoon by the time she came out, but the sun was still high in the sky. She was only there for a few good hours, but she felt like she had been there forever and she still had to do that for the next two days.

The water priestess changed her water soaked robes into a dry one, then proceeded to have her lunch—which restricted to fruits and nuts—before taking a walk around the shrine. Since she wasn't allowed to touch anyone in the duration of the ritual, she had to avoid places with a lot of people in it; a situation that she dreaded a little since that meant she practically couldn't go anywhere, not even to the castle.

After walking for a while, she saw an awkward looking guard standing near a huge tree trunk. From his relieved expression upon seeing her approaching, she could guess what he was doing over there. He gestured towards the tree and she walked around it. Number 4 was on the other side, resting his back against the tree's trunk, his breathing sounded shallow and she wondered if he was asleep.

"Number 4?" she called.

The young man stirred a little and turned his head slightly. Merag noticed that his eyes looked sunk when their eyes met. "Are you okay? You shouldn't move too much. You're still recovering, you know?"

Number 4 nodded slightly, as if moving too much was too hard for him—which might be the case like she had said. "I just don't like that room, the ceiling's too low..."

"I see..." Merag sat down beside him, carefully spreading the skirt of her robe on the grass and maintaining her distance. "I take it, you don't like closed-up, small space?"

"Pretty much."

"May I ask why?"

"Is this an interrogation?"

For a few seconds, Merag was dumbfounded by that question. The young man certainly couldn't be fooled. She wondered if that was his usual reaction, or just a recent development of defense mechanism against strangers.

"No, I never intended to interrogate, honestly... well, we do need to know who you are, but we can talk about it nicely, I mean, I won't force you if you don't want to talk... So, yes and no... it's an interrogation, but I'm not forcing you to answer..." she fumbled for an explanation, trying not to sound too pushy.

Number 4 furrowed his eyebrows. "Is this country in a brink of war or something?"

"Well, kind of..." she paused, realizing something. "Why do you ask?"

"Before I strayed here, my brother was taken away to join the soldier. They said they were going to attack another kingdom or something—"

"Well, I can tell you that's certainly not our country," Merag interjected, looking rather indignant at the insinuation. "We don't declare war unless we're attacked, and we don't have slavery system here."

The young man shrugged. "It's not like I know where I came from anyway... for all I knew, my birthplace and that dig site were in different countries."