LOYAL [TWD] (third book to TROUBLE)

catching up

"Maggie and Glenn?" she repeats.

"Yeah. Me amd Martinez got caught in some shit. Luckily, they were there and saved us."

"Are they coming, too? Where did they go? What did they say? Did they-"

"Whoa," Nanami holds a hand up, "At least one at a time."

Sakiko's mouth opens, though no sound comes out.

"They told me what they did. They're fine, they've been travelling. They were with that Georgie woman for awhile."

Nanami looks around, suddenly aware they'd stopped in the middle of nowhere. He scratches the back of his neck, figuring what to say next.

"Hershel's gone. They said it was quiet and peaceful, though. Natural."

Sakiko frowns, a pained look taking over her face.

"Little Hershel is good, though. Josie, too."

"Josie?"

"They had a daughter," Nanami smiles a bit, "Maggie said another on the way, too."

Sakiko's chest clenches and her stomach flips.

"They told me that you were hopefully leading Hilltop. That things were probably different."

"So, what? You're gere because they asked you to come?"

Sakiko wasn't sure what she wanted the answer to be.

If they did send him, she would feel like they were looking out for her. But, that Nanami was here against his will.

If they didn't send him, Nanami would've came back on his own. She wasn't sure what kind of weight that possibility held, either.

"They said it might be for the best but.. I'm here because.." Nanami shrugs, "Cause I wanted to be."

Sakiko really didn't know what weight that held. She forces her feet to move once more and Nanami follows.

"What's this fair? Are things good between everyone?"

Sakiko sighs. She tries to figure that out and put it into words.

"Hilltop is cool with Kingdom and Oceanside."

Nanami frowns. Alexandria wasn't in that. He wanted to ask. But, he also didn't want Sakiko to think he came back just for Carl or Michonne. He wanted her to know he was back for her and Daryl.

Despite the distance, Sakiko could see right through him.

"Not long after.. everything," Sakiko says in regards to Negan and Rick's deaths, "Things were just.. shit."

Nanami could imagine.

"Michonne came to Kingdom one day looking for me because she found Rick's gun. She was gonna shoot me with his weapon."

Nanami flinched like he got shot.

"They tried escorting her out and she nesrly killed Ben. Had Jerry not moved her arm, she would've shot Ben."

Sakiko sighs once more, combing back through her memories.

"We tried setting up a trade after. It was supposed to be Aaron and Jesus making the trades happen. She tagged along after having the baby just to get out. I went because we had a flu going around Hilltop and I was one of the few not sick."

Nanami had almost forgot that Michonne was pregnant when he left.

"Words were said.. She hasn't been able to find his body, so she said that she might not look at me as a murderer. I was a little bitchy and said that he probably turned and wandered off somewhere."