Nezumi's POV
I wake up from the dream. It's an odd feeling. I haven't seen him for 2 years and my heart aches for him already. The red snake still wraps around his body, it seemed, and I nearly couldn't control myself and nearly gave him a kiss. But I managed to pull away at the very last moment.
His hair was still white, so it seemed that his hair will never return to its original pigment, though I don't really mind. His white hair symbolizes that he had won a fight, and it's the symbol of a warrior. I think I actually like his white hair more. It makes him look charismatic in a way.
He sure has gotten bigger, well, just a little bit, but his eyes show a loneliness that breaks my heart. Maybe it was a bad idea to leave him? No, it can't be. We both had to grow before we could see each other again. We had to understand our situations more before we are allowed to be together. The destruction of No.6 showed us that.
I sit up on the bed, feeling a horrible urge to pack things up and move towards the wall of No.6 right here and now. But not yet, I still have Nana to take care of. I still have other responsibilities to take care of.
But what if once I get there, will I hesitate to enter the city and turn my back to it again? What if my cowardice comes to the surface and I'm afraid to enter the city of No.6? What if my hatred for the walls floods me? I can't possibly handle those emotions. But, thinking about finally seeing Shion again, my heart races and I feel the urge to head for the walls.
I take in a deep breath and release it after counting to three. I need to calm down first and think.
I let out a small sigh and head for the restroom to wash my face. I slowly run my hands through my hair and tie it up in a ponytail with a hair tie. My hair has grown long again and it reaches my shoulders; I might ask Nana to help me cut it soon.
As I walk out of the restroom, I see Nana entering the house.
"I'm back," Nana says cheerfully.
"Where'd you go?" She wasn't here when I fell asleep and she wasn't here when I woke up. Where could she have gone for so long? And for the whole night too? Unless if she came back when I had fallen asleep and went back out before dawn. But that shouldn't be possible, I'm a light sleeper so I would've woken up if someone had come in.
"Oh, I fell asleep at Sat-chan's place. Her mom didn't want to wake me up because she said I looked so peaceful when I had my eyes closed. When I woke up, her mom was staring at me like I'm a baby. Am I a baby?" Nana asks curiously.
I pretend to be thinking and answer, "Hm, I guess. You are like a baby sometimes," I teased.
"Hey!"
"Well, who's the one asking me to sing for her when she has nightmares?" I joke.
Her face flushes red and she pouts, and I chuckle.
-----
We are eating at the table and Nana moans in delight when she takes a huge bite out of a chicken leg. "Dish ish sho good," she says with a mouth full.
"Don't talk when you have a mouth full of food," I scold.
"Whute'er," she say, waving me off.
I let out a sigh and let her eat.
Quietly, I debated on whether to tell her or not about my plans on going to No.6. I had spent a whole afternoon thinking, and I thought that it was going to be worth it.
Truth is, I don't really want her coming with me. The risks are an unknown variable and that makes me worry. I can't risk putting her life in jeopardy just when she had found a safe place to stay. Maybe she can stay with Sat-chan if her mom would allow it. I'm going to have to talk with her mom...
"Hey, Nana?" I say quietly when she's washing the dishes. I sit at the table with a cup of water in my hands.
"Yeah?" Nana says without turning to look at me.
"I'm thinking of going back to the city of No.6" I try to say nonchalantly so she isn't bothered too much about it. "I was thinking if you could stay with Sat-chan for a while."
"What? No!" Nana exclaims as she turns to me and closes the running water. Her full attention is turned to me now. "I'm coming with you wherever you go! I don't want to be left behind again! And what the hell is up with that attitude of talking?! Do you not care if I'm left behind again?!"
I stare at the cup of water in my hands guilty, not daring to look at her. Should I take her with me though? But what if those parasitic bees show up? But if I don't take her with me, she'll be mentally unstable. Taking her with me might cause her her life, and not taking her with me will be a mental strain for her.
I reach a final conclusion. She won't be coming with me, after all, it's better to have a mentally unstable girl than a dead one, right?
"I'm sorry, you can't come with me on this one," I try to say gently. "The risks are too high. Plus, I swear I'll come back for you." Damn, meeting Shion has turned me too soft... but I guess that's the only way I can try to communicate with Nana right now. She won't budge if I force her to do anything.
"That's what momma said!!" Her fists are clenched now. "She said she'd come back for me too!! She told me to wait there! But she never came back!"
I stand and walk over to her. I gently place a hand on her shoulders and say in the kindest voice I can muster. "I'm sorry, but you can possibly die if you come with me. You remember those parasitic bees I told you about? They were there, and it doesn't mean they aren't anymore." I try to reason with her but she slaps my hand away.
"You are the only one I can trust. You are the only one that's willing to be by my side. You were there when I needed you, please don't leave me. I need you!" She says as tears roll down her cheeks. She quickly wipes the tears off in frustrated.
"But I can't risk you dying." I try to convince her. "You can stay with Sat-chan in the mean time. Plus, I told you already, I'm not abandoning you. I'll come back for you once I finish what I have to accomplish."
Nana looks up into my eyes and I see disappointment in it. "I thought you were the only one that wouldn't leave me..." she says quietly and turns back to finish washing the dishes. "I don't care if I get hurt, I just want to be by your side."
I'm filled with a sense of guilt, but I can't let that take over me. I need to go back so I can finish what Elyurias had started. Whether she's an entity that had once protected my forest or not, it's not up to her to decide who to kill.
It was actually a couple of months ago that I had noticed the change in the environment and unusual death. As I travelled, I witnessed several deaths caused by increasingly fast aging and a small black being at the nape of the victims neck. I thought that the egg was originally there from the first time Elyurias had planted in the people, but I was wrong. I noticed more and more deaths so I realized that it couldn't have been caused from what had happened in No.6.
-----
After dinner, I went to the bathroom to take a shower. As the warm water runs down my scarred body, I'm left with too much time to think.
Once I get back to No.6, what will happen? I'm most definitely sure Shion would come hugging me the first thing he sees me, then moves on to hammering me in the next moment. I won't blame him though, after all, I am the one who left him behind.
But damn, I'm leaving too many people behind. First Shion, now Nana.
I make a mental note to myself that there won't be a next time where I leave anyone behind.
I close the running water and dry myself with a towel. I take a quick glance at the mirror and the bullet scar looks a lot more noticeable. It sure has faded over time, but after showers, it always seem somewhat more noticeable.
On cold days, the scar tissues tighten up and my chest would ache. It's a bit of a pain to deal with it sometimes since it hinders my movement, but I somehow manage.
I quickly pull on a plain navy blue shirt and some jeans, hiding the scar from view. Truth is, I don't think Nana knows about my scar. She knows that I get pains in my chest on cold days, but she doesn't know the full story about what had happened, or about the scar. I don't think I'll ever tell her though. I think it would be best if she doesn't know about it.
And the burns along my back. She's seen it once when she walked into me changing, and being the curious girl that she is, she asked me what it was. Of course, I never told her the truth. I made up a lame excuse and lied to her.
If she found out about the stories behind my scars, she might end up crying.
I exit the bathroom with a towel placed on top of my head, drying my hair.
-----
"When are you leaving?" Nana asks in a hushed voice in the doorway of my room.
"As soon as I can, but I need to take care of something before I head to No.6." I explain to her, taking my eyes off my book. She still seems shaken by our conversation earlier.
"Oh, okay." Her eyes are focused on the floor, as if she was afraid to talk to me.
"Are you okay?" I ask. Damn, I'm such a softy.
"Yeah," she answers quietly and starts to head back to her room.
Seeing her so down is unusual for me, as she's always a bright and happy girl. It's been a long time since she's had such a sad look on her face. I guess me leaving does have a really big influence on her.
I internally sigh. Better make the girl happy again before I leave, I guess. I seriously can't leave her when she's in such a sour mood.
Before she's able to leave my room, I call after her. "Hey, do you want to sleep with me tonight?"
She whips her head back, eyes sparkling. "Can I?" She asks hesitantly.
Watching her like this reminds me so much of Shion. I already have some clue that Nana has a crush on me, but I can't seriously tell her that I'm interested in guys. And that I already have someone on my mind.
"Yeah, unless if you want to sleep in your own room, then you are free to pass up this chan-" I'm cut off before I finish my sentence.
"Hold up, I'm bringing my pillow," Nana says before running off to her room to grab her pillow. I smile to myself and shake my head slowly as I think about how stupid this seems. I'm actually trying to console someone.
She returns moments later, hands full of stuffed animals and her pillow. "Um, I don't exactly remember asking you to decorate my room with teddy bears." I raise an eyebrow mockingly.
"I feel more comfortable sleeping with something to hug on to," she says, obviously embarrassed.
"But you can always hug me," I tease.
Her face flushes tomato red. God, this girl is adorable. "Um..." she starts. But I don't give her the chance.
"Oh, I understand. Your teddy bears are more comfortable than me. I totally understand. I mean, you're already a full grown girl, you don't need someone to latch onto anymore," I say in a playful tone.
She's burning red now. Her eyes are filled with embarrassment and a hint of frustration. "Shut up," she says through gritted teeth.
"Oh, but I can't. If I don't use my voice often enough, my throat won't be warmed up for your lullaby." I smirk in her direction.
She's now full of rage. She throws her stuffed animals and pillow at me but I grab the first stuffed animal thrown my way. I use it as a shield for the rest of the stuffed animals thrown at me.
Good. She needs to run out of fuel first. She'll never be able to forget a grudge if she doesn't let it all out. She needs to let those negative emotions out before she'll feel even the slightest bit better.
"Oh, it's on!" I say, trying to fire her up even more. I close my book and toss it on my table care-freely, running around the house like a mad man.
Nana grunts with every throw she tosses at me, it's clear that she's throwing with every bit of strength she can muster. Those poor stuffed animals though.
"Are you sure you want to hurt your stuffed animals like that?" I ask her, and the look on her face fills with guilt.
"You," Nana starts. "Are. So. Going. Down." She pauses at every word to emphasize her rage and I simply laugh at this game of stuffed-animal fight.
I quickly run to the entrance of the house, slip on my shoes as fast as I can before she reaches me and head out. Nana catches up to me fast, visible that she's tossed her stuffed animals aside. She probably doesn't want her stuffed animals any dirtier than it already is.
I guess one last training session couldn't hurt.
Nana charges at me in full speed, jumps a few feet before reaching me and lashes out a vicious kick. I dodge it the very last moment before her kick is able to connect with my face and her own momentum sends her rolling in the sand.
It's already dark out, so we can only see as much as the moon light allows us to see. The moon hangs high up in the sky, only lighting very little. But it's okay. It's enough for us to see each other's movements, and that's enough. The air is very still, making it easy to sense each other's movements.
Nana grunts before she's up and charging again. Damn, a mad girl sure is hard to handle. Her moves are more bold this time. She tries to hit me right in the stomach, but I side step before she can make contact.
I grab her extended arm and her shoulder, trip her legs and flip her. She lands hard on the ground, making a choked grunt.
Nana's quick to think. Since I'm bent over from flipping her, she uses both her legs to wrap them around my head and uses her hand to push herself off the ground. She ends up on top of me, and since it was an unexpected attack, I lose my balance and fall face first. Her weight keeps me pinned down for another second until I'm able to squirm my way out. My face is officially covered in sand, but the pain keeps me awake.
"Nice one," I say as I get up and off the ground and wiping the sand off my face. She doesn't reply. I guess it's my turn to get fired up now.
I give her a roundhouse kick, right at the chin, but Nana is able to block it with her arms crossed. I aim low, trying to trip her foot, but she jumps.
"Nice reflexes, gotta give you that." I try to encourage her. Nana is really doing good. It's as if she was born to be a fighter. She has the physics, she has the agility, she has the talent, and she's able to think on the go.
Nana keeps a stone face and stays silent, but I know that she's happy about my compliment.
As I had planned, she goes for the punch to my left, my I quickly dodge further to the the right. She picks up her left foot and continues to aim for my left. I duck, move towards her and wrap my arms around her waist. I flick her forehead.
"Ow, what the heck?!" Nana exclaims, blushing.
"You can't just stop your attack once a good looking guy wraps himself around you" I say in a professional voice, but she lightly punches me at my chest.
She pouts.
"Okay, okay, okay," I say, letting her go. "Let's head back in; it's getting pretty late."
She stays silent, but follows me when I head to the doors of our cabin.
I go to the washroom to wash any left over sand from earlier. I checked to see if there was any sand in my hair, but thankfully, there was none. I change into a clean shirt and throw the dirty one in the small basket for dirty laundry.
When I finally get back to my room, I find Nana sound asleep on my bed, cuddling with one of her stuffed animals. I guess she's let out her anger enough because she's still willing to sleep in my bed.
Speaking of stuffed animals, there are still a bunch of them laying around the floor in the cabin. Guess I'll need to get them cleaned up.
I walk around the cabin, picking up any stuffed animals laying around in the floor. I head towards Nana's room and toss all the stuffed animals on her bed. I don't exactly know where they go, so I'll let her organize that. If I had started putting them at the wrong places, I would wake up with her scowling at me. Not exactly how anyone would want to wake up.
I take another round around the cabin to close any lights that were still on and head back to my room. I lay down on the bed beside Nana as quietly as possible without making too much commotion so I don't wake her up.
I turn to look at Nana's sleeping face. She's so relaxed when she's asleep. She looks so innocent... just like how Shion used to be.
I close my eyes and fall asleep, hoping that I'd get a good night's sleep for once. As much as I want to see Shion right now, I can't.
The next time I see him, it has got to be face to face, in real life. But I guess no one wants to listen to my wish, because I dream of him once again.
Author's Note
Wow, I'm getting really bad at updating...
Anyways, I will do an even worse job now because I have exams coming up. So... I won't be updating much anymore in January, but I will start again after the exams.
Edit: Original word count: approximately 2750 words
Edited word count: approximately: 3300 words