Gentle Green

Chapter Thirteen

Sa Gin stood in her room, eyes locked on the open pages of her father's book. The man's gaze held a yearning that she'd last seen on her mother's face. She could tell that he was trying his best to recall more than just what he already knew, but he was having a hard time.

"His name was San Diya," she said. "He had dark hair, just like mine, and he was just as fair as Mama. A little leaner than you, as you already know from his clothes. He liked to read that collection to me when I was younger and to Ubi when she was just a baby."

"San Diya..." He walked back to her bed, cradling the tome she'd just lent him. "I wish I could tell for sure. I wish I could have seen him while he was..."

Sua swallowed as she watched him sink into the chair he'd been using before. Gin laid her father's book on the sheets, stooped forward, and buried his face in his hands. He didn't want her to see, but it was easy enough to guess what expression he wore.

"Oh, Gin." She braced for the pain as she leaned toward him and reached for his shoulders.

She drew him closer, and he went willingly. Even though her whole body ached from just that short task, she paid it no mind. She let the man lay his head under her chin, just over the chest that held her beating heart.

"I could have saved him," he said, his eyes shut tight and his eyebrows scrunched with regret. "If I'd been there the night he was attacked... but I wasn't. If only I wasn't so selfish. If only I hadn't cast him aside—"

"Then he wouldn't have wandered here and met Mama. Wouldn't have been the happiest man alive after marrying her and having children." She ran her fingers through his hair. "My mother would have become a working girl in a brothel. And I wouldn't be here with you."

Cautiously, Gin laid his arm across her middle. Sua didn't mind. The blankets had fallen low enough to allow it, and she was decently dressed.

"Was he truly happy?" The man's eyes were still closed, but his brows and forehead had smoothed out.

"I've never seen anyone happier in my life." Sua tilted her head, pretending to think. "Well, there was that one time when the baker won a cake-making contest abroad. He looked pretty smug when he got back to boast about his accomplishment. And rather red after drinking his winnings away."

Gin chuckled, and Sua smiled. He'd done something stupid, but that didn't mean he was solely to blame for his familiar's death. Some things were meant to happen, even if they were sad or scary.

"Thank you for easing my anguish, Sua." Gin pulled away from her and fixed his clothes. He peeked at her nightdress too, to make sure he hadn't left any dirty marks on it. "If all this is true, then I think my familiar—your father—did a wonderful job raising his children."

Sua's shoulders sank.

"It's unfortunate that I ended up disappointing him."

"That's not true."

"It kind of is." She picked up the book he'd placed close to her lap and moved it to the nightstand between her and Ubi's bed. "I was supposed to be running Tamisna Inn and helping make Alola more popular throughout the continent. Instead, I'm sitting here crippled after fighting an evil spirit. I'll never regret it, of course, but I'm not happy with it either."

Her companion sat silently for a while, and she mulled over her thoughts during that silence.

Then Gin moved his chair closer and took hold of her hands. His approach would have thrilled her if he didn't look so serious. And if she wasn't black and blue over most of her body, of course.

"Binasa wants to take my soul and possess my body so he can use my powers," he predicted. "And I believe he'll offer to give your mother's soul back and release you from his barbaric deal if I comply."