My Muse || READER X RAY || The Promised Neverland

⭐️ My Muse || Chapter 100

I yawned loudly, too lazy to cover my mouth. Gilda glared at me. "You're going to teach the little ones bad table manners." I shook my head loosely, throwing my forehead onto the table. Emma on the other hand was wide awake and quite fidgety. "How much- How much coffee did you drink?" Nat asked, poking her shoulder. She yelped, jumping out of her chair. "I drank no such thing. I feast only on the tears of orphans and broken hearts." The red haired boy tilted his head quizzically, walking away. "Anna, you might wanna check up on her later." He mumbled, touching the girl's long blond hair. Everyone seemed to be settling well.

Everyone except Nigel and Gillian, who kept their guards up.

They ate their breakfast in the living room, whispering to each other quietly. What kind of conspiracies were they creating? Well, whatever. This morning... was going to be a slow one for me. Everything that happened last night was still burning in my head. Yuugo's pistol, Lucas' gun. Why would they be here? In the rebel hideout? We were attacked by poachers. We saw them on the security camera, right?

We never... We never saw what alliance that small army pledged to, nor did we see a leader. And... when I got here... Norman caught me as I fell, like he'd been waiting. Or he'd just arrived. That clean white tuxedo... I was tired and dizzy. Was it as pristine as I thought it was? Barbara, Cislo, Zazie, and Vincent, I hadn't met them when I met Norman. They were nowhere to be seen. If Norman had sent someone to save us, why wouldn't it be those four? The four who can fight? Why did he send two messengers who cowered at the sight of a demon? Things just didn't make sense. I had to figure this out.

"Hey, you five." I was wide awake at this point, glancing at Emma, Gilda, Don, and the two secluding themselves in the other room. "There's something I have to tell you."

"What?!" Everyone except Emma nearly shouted, jaws dropping as I finished my story. "A- Alive?" Don stuttered, clenching his fists. "You think they're alive, y/n?" I nodded, touching his hand. "Where?" Nigel was pulling his hat, hands intertwined with Gillian's. She was speechless, tears running down her face. "Pepe, Zack, Oliver, Lucas, and Ray." Gilda muttered, cleaning her glasses. "How does someone hide five grown men?" I had an idea. "If we want to find out, there's one place we should check first. The place where it all started. The shelter." They all nodded in agreement, some life coming back to Emma's beautiful green eyes. I touched her hand, squeezing my fingers in between hers. "Oliver is alive, Emma. Don't you want to find him?" She nodded tearfully, sniffling.

"First, let's talk to Jin and Hayato. They might know something."

The nervous blond boy pulled on his bangs, genuinely confused. "Boss, I mean, Mr. Minerva, told us to take a specific route to this area... B06-32, I think." Jin continued his thought, pulling down his mask. They were boxing in the gym, Emma and at ambushing them in the middle of their match. "He said that a shelter would be in that area, where his friends were staying. Boss instructed us to find you and bring you here." "How long has Norman been staying here?" I found it strange that he only decided to come get us after all this time. The moment he escaped Lambda, why didn't he look for us? "Hayato and I have been here for over six months," Jin said, pulling off his gloves. "So I guess Boss has been here for at least that amount of time." "Do you still have the map?" Emma asked, nervously clutching the hem of her shirt. Jin glanced at Hayato, an eyebrow raised. The blond boy gave him an equally confused look. "I thought you had it!" He seemed to say. Jin shrugged, glancing back at the two us. "You can check our drawers. One of us should have it."

"Second, find a time to go the shelter without ticking off Norman or anybody else."

"Hey, what're you doing in Hayato's room?" A girl's voice asked from behind me. It was Barbara. I whipped around, smiling. "Running an errand for him. He told me to get Gillian's hairpins, because she let him borrow them earlier." She giggled, leaning on the doorframe. "I had been telling him he needed a haircut. Glad he's suffering the  consequences." I nodded, turning back to the drawer. It was here! The map! I folded it as small as I could, half listening to Barbara's rant. "I'm sorry for... freaking out during that... attack. It's just... life has been so difficult, and I don't- I don't know why I'm here a lot of the time." I took a pink hair tie and the paper, shoving it into my pocket. I stepped towards the girl, hugging her tightly. "Barbara, you're here because you're a hero. I don't understand your pain or your experiences, but that doesn't mean I invalidate them. Although it's dirty work, it's because you don't want another child to end up like you, right?" Tears started to run down her cheeks, as she nodded vigorously. She sobbed into my shoulder, mumbling a 'thank you'. Surely, I would find a way to save Barbara too.