It had been a couple of days after Zalgo had made his threat, and the house that had been full of life suddenly seemed to be drown in tension and a sullen outlook. You had begun wandering through the household, some times thinking back to when BEN would make Jeff furious by the amount of times that the smaller male would win, or how Masky would begin to chase Toby out of annoyance. It had all almost become routine, and you missed you; you missed it to a point that you started to live more in the past. You simply didn't want to deal with the present.
You were currently standing in the doorway of the living room. You smiled lightly as you thought back to the days that led to you slowly warm up to the people in the mansion.
"BEN! You're such an asshole!" Your [eye color] orbs slowly trailed up from the book that you were reading before Jeff's angry voice rang through the room. Toby was on the floor, rolling around and clutching his sides from his laughter. "I have told you before that it is cheating, even if it comes naturally to you!"
"How about you don't kill innocent fangirls. Have you ever thought about that?" the blonde snickered, as if he had come up with the best come-back of the century. You couldn't stop yourself from facepalming as the argument continued.
"They're not innocent! Have you seen the fan fiction and art? They know nothing about innocence!" Just as had finished his statement, a vibration stirred in his back pocket, and he pulled out his black, cracked phone and tapped some numbers in. He clicked onto his messaging app, and rolled his eyes almost immediately. "It's like she's telepathic, or something..." he muttered. Toby's head tilted with curiosity and he pulled himself over to see what was on his phone. You watched him in confusion. Was it just you, or did he seem to smile a little bit more after seeing the message? If he was, than it didn't last long since Jeff hit him in the back of the head. "Don't look at my phone, dude. I don't care if she texts me or not," he groaned. Toby pouted and turned his back to the other two males, tracing circles on the floor.
"Jeez, you two are so easily side-tracked," BEN stated with a Dorito hanging out of his mouth as he played a round of Super Smash Bros.
"What did you say, elf?" the black-haired male growled, his eyes staring at the back of the gamer's head.
"See? You just proved my point," he shrugged. You could tell that Jeff was getting ready to take a page from Toby's book and tackle the short male, so you stepped in.
"Just try to play me, either of you," you sighed, closing your book in annoyance. All of them turned to you in shock, which you rose your eyebrow to. "What? Is that so surprising?"
"Well... You just seem so...emotionally steady?" BEN stated, stumbling over his words with uncertainty. Your eyes simply bore deeper into him, seemingly darkening as if they were about to target a prey that you would soon pounce and destroy. "Hehehe? Isn't it a compliment...?" he asked. Jeff sat in between the two of you, and, at this point, he simply shook his head.
"BEN isn't just pervy, but also awkward!" he laughed. The blonde young man slowly turned to him.
"... I will kill you," he eventually growled.
"I'd like to see you try," the grinning killer smirked. You could sense the anger welling up in the smaller male, so you quickly shoved a game controller in his face. He blinked a couple of times in surprise before his usual Chesire-Cat grin returned to his feature and he grabbed his controller.
"I hope you're ready, because I'm known of the king of games around here." You rolled your [eye color] hues before choosing your character.
"Yeah, sure. Let's see how you act on the field, Yu-Gi-Oh-geek."
You couldn't help but giggle as you remembered how you started to rage about how he obviously glitched the game. He would only snicker and turn away from you, saying something, such as, 'Guess you really suck at games,' or, 'Maybe you should try again when I sleep.' You began to rage, and when Liu got home--
You stopped yourself as the name rang through your mind.
Liu.
Liu.
Liu.
You started to chew on your lip as such cheerful memories that the two of you came flooding into your mind. Times that you would slowly begin to lower your guard, and act bashful about it when you realized it. He would laughed and hold you, telling you that it was alright, and he would be waiting for the day that you wouldn't get flustered about showing all of your emotions.
You continued to stand in the doorway until you felt a familiar poke on your shoulder. You jumped a little and turned to the male. He tilted his head in curiosity, but you simply turned and ran down the hall. You honestly wished that it confused him, but the truth was that you had been acting this way for a few days and the other pastas were becoming quite used to it. You were grateful that they were still being understanding.
Your footsteps thumped down the hall and against the wooden floor. You took a sharp turned in front of the large door. You thought it over a couple of times -- you thought over what you would say. You stared at the door, as if it were the threat and uncertainty that towered your emotions. You felt your hands tremble before you slowly reached up and knocked on the thick, dark door. After a couple of moments, you heard a voice answer. "[Name], come in, child." You took a deep breath before walking in.
It had been the first time that you were really able to focus and observe the room. Most of the furniture was built to accommodate his height. The bookshelf reached the high ceiling, and its shelves was filled with books that seemed to be varied in languages. There were characters that looked like Chinese and Japanese, while others seemed to be in assortments of random letters that could possibly be Swedish. There were a couple of books and scrolls that were open on his desk. You didn't really know what those -- wait a minute... Was that a Gamma sign? Holy shit!
You stood there, gawking in complete shock. You were interrupted by a polite chuckle. "[Name], is there something I can do for you? Perhaps I can teach you how to read the Iliad in its original language?" You blinked once, twice, thrice. You then shook your head and turned to Slender.
"I am sorry for interrupting you, sir. I know you are busy." He simply waved his hand dismissively.
"I am here to help, child. I know you have been going through a hard time. The rest of the proxies and pastas have been through similar things, so they are usually mentally prepared. You are still new to all of this, so I suspected some shock." You couldn't help but bite your lip lightly.
"My sister... Has she been through things like this?" You question hung in the air, and a soft sigh could be heard from the father-like figure before he slowly nodded his head.
"One day, she and Jeff were sent on a recon mission. There were too many people poking around the forest, and they usually had some kind of symbol on one of their belongings. We would usually have one of the people 'disappear', even though they usually found nothing." You leaned forward, waiting for him to continue. "BEN had been tracking their devices and it eventually gave us a lead, because they always seemed to go to this place often. We learned their patterns and sent the two out. They are a very powerful duo because they would refuse to let anything to one another. They were excited to get one their own for a little bit. We don't have the option to live normal lives, and it is usually a better idea for there to be back up for everyone.
"The mission was supposed to be no longer than two weeks. Once the third week began, we all started to worry. We had no idea if they had reached their destination, or if something stopped them midway. We were planning nonstop. Toby was ready to go and try to save [Sister's Name], since they have become like siblings over the time she has been here. Masky tied him up, which wasn't ideal, but at least it kept him safe.
"We continued trying to come up with plans, but we were at a large disadvantage due to our lack of knowledge. We were in the middle of a heated discussion when the door was kicked down. Jeff was on [Sister's Name]'s shoulder, unconscious and bleeding profusely. She wasn't in any healthy state, either. In fact, she was covered in dried blood, and she looked incredibly exhausted. Everyone quickly got them to lay down, and Eyeless Jack put his skills to work. Without him, I doubt they would have survived." You stared at him, anger growing inside you at the thought of your sister having to go through that.
"What happened to them?" you asked through clenched teeth, your hands digging into your thigh in rage. His stared at you before answering:
"Zalgo. He attacked them before they were able to get halfway there. They were brought to a place that they didn't know about, but it sounded like a pocket dimension. He used them in sadistic games, much like how the gladiators were forced to perform in Rome." He sighed a little. "They don't remember much about their stay there. Their memories seem almost broken. It could be for the better, or the worse. Either way, they're safe now." You looked down.
"I don't want my sister to have to go through things like that alone ever again." You slowly lifted your head, staring at him. You felt determination burn inside you, now. You felt anger flaring through your senses. "Sir, please! I want you to train me so I can help protect my sisters and the others in this house! I'm here for a reason, and I will help defend those while I can!" Once more, silence filled the air.
"Are you sure about this? Training alone pushes people to their limits."
"I don't care," you stated. "It's come to the time that I help protect the people that I love and care for." Even though his face didn't change, it felt like he was smiling proudly.
"Very well. We'll start tomorrow, then." You bowed.
"Thank you, sir," you stated before turning to the door.
"You know, though," he started. "You could have something similar to [Sister's Name] and Jeff. You just have to know that there will be mistakes. Killers make mistakes at times, and I know that you may not be able to forgive him for that. It's okay. Just know that there will be mistakes and hardships in every relationship." You froze at his words, not sure what to think about it. You took a deep breath, slowly turning to him.
"Sir.. I do appreciate your worry and reassurance. I do suspect that you understand my reasoning and emotions towards Liu at the moment. Perhaps there is a future for us... but maybe it should be left in the past. Either way, this isn't the time to think of romance. This is the time to focus on the protection of this family." You two seemed to stare at each other, and the silence seemed to be flowing easier than words were. A soft chuckle slowly made its way into the silence.
"Very well. Now, why not go relax for the night? Tomorrow will be tiring." You nodded and turned your heel, walking out of the office. After closing the door behind you, you sighed to yourself. You were partially in shock that you took the initiative to make such a crazy change in your life, another part was confident that did what needed to be done. The tiniest part of you screamed that you were insane, bug you ignored that part, knowing you would most likely agree with that part later on. You walked down the hallway, and green eyes followed you as you passed them.
'This isn't the time for romance. This is the time for action.'