III
Place - North District
Time - 9:46 pm
There were many questions that Lucy had on her mind as she flew across the skies, but she hadn't the mental energy left in her to spare any effort to think about it; all she could do now was reminisce about the long gone past.
'The day I ran away from home with Rebecca… I won't ever forget it…how I met Mom and Hiro…the one singular moment which changed everything in our lives…'
(Lucy)
"Young lady, I don't know what you've been through but…it must've been rough, right?"
(Who in their right mind says that to the stranger that just stabbed her in the hand…seriously…and she even patted my head… The look in her eyes…instantly made me tear up…our actual parents themselves never had such a caring look, but this person I'd never met before did…?)
…
"I can't do it! It's so difficult to do this!"
(It took some time, but I opened up to her and…started training…for some reason)
"You can, if Rebecca is able to, then so can you"
"Rebecca must be some sort of genius…I don't get how she's doing it"
"Everyone has their own pace, and takes their time, you too will figure out your own way in some manner or other. After all, the sky's just a limit"
"Sky's just a limit…just saying that alone sounds unbelievable"
"Believe in the unbelievable"
"...what does that mean now…"
"The way I live my life, if you don't believe in what you want to do then how can you even hope to reach it in the first place? So, the first step is to believe in yourself that you can do the unbelievable. Just be crazy!"
"That's just Mom's way of saying that she's insane, don't mind her"
"Hiro…you don't have to be so blunt… Ahem, what I mean to say is, if you have the time to look down and agonize over stuff, better use it to look forward and push yourself ahead instead"
(Believe in the unbelievable…in a way I couldn't have ever thought that I'll actually have a good life…not in that hell where we lived before…but the unbelievable did happen…which was meeting Mom and Hiro… It's so odd to think that if I didn't run away with Rebecca on that night…I possibly might have never met them…but it happened… If only…if only those happy days lasted forever…)
…
(Narration)
"First it was Hiro…" She said in a low tone, floating at a spot mid air, facing the moon with her right hand covering her eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!?"
Just then an image flickered in her mind, it was a memory in which she stood on the ground, looking up at the sky, where a boy of her age was enveloped within flames, burning away, screaming out in agony.
"…Now even Mom, and possibly…Rebecca too…"
"beep…beep…"
Another image flashed, this time of her little sister who was within the healing pod.
"If I knew that day that all of this would happen…" She whispered as she pressed her face, "I should've just killed mys-"
"cy! Lu-"
"!?" Startled by the sudden sound of what sounded like her name, she turned towards it's direction, "That's…"
On the road, someone was waving at her.
"Brax…? What are you doing out here?" She asked as she reached down to Brax who's holding onto Feirin on his left shoulder by wrapping his arm around his stomach.
"Fight…ing…" He replied, eyes half open and wobbling, barely able to stand on his feet.
"Careful!" She exclaimed and caught him just as it seemed he'd fall, "Hand Feirin over, I'll carry him, want me to carry you as well?"
He shaked his head as he gave Feirin over and started walking, still wobbling.
"...How'd just a normal sparring match turn into this…" She said, holding Feirin's stomach to carry him under her arm.
"Th…at…"
thud!
"sigh Don't put up a tough act, I'll carry you" Lucy said as Brax tripped and fell, "Brax?"
(Lucy)
He fainted as well… I left at 7, didn't I? Even if Brax rested for an hour after returning from his training, how'd these two end up sparring for more than an hour…not to mention it being away from the hous-!
This is…he's bleeding through his stomach! There's other injuries as well… Nothing of the sort is visible on Feirin though… A normal sparring match wouldn't have caused all this…what were these two doing… I need to hurry and give some first aid to Brax…
You just do as you wish, don't you? This boy probably hates yo-
Shut..it…
IV
Time - 11:23 pm
(Brax)
Ugh…my head hurts…feels like someone hit me… (I slowly open my eyes…) I am lying on my side near a window (it's open)…is this…my room?
FWOOM
?! What was that sound…I can see something in the corner of my eyes (can't move anything else except my eyes…), there's something in the sky, I slowly turn my face around to have a better look (my head feels so heavy…).
Whoa… What's that…? A bright light in the sky…there's someone standing within its centre… They are saying…something…I can't hear it…but I can see the mouth moving…
Fu…t…ur…e? Is that what they just sai-?
!!
Eh…? What…just happened…(I opened my eyes again and I am lying in the living room beside the table now instead of being beside the window) Was that a dream…? I feel like something similar to this has happened befor-
"Ow!"
(I pushed myself up with my hand but it hurt as soon as I put it down…) What's this pain?! …Oh… I remember now… I fought Feirin in the mountains, but…how did I get her-
"Is your hand injured as well?"
!! It's Lucy (That startled me…she's sitting across the table near the window, Feirin's lying on the left side of the table), there's a first aid kit on the table, the small hole in my stomach…it's patched by some bandages.
clack
"Although it won't be enough, I've done everything that I could for now, better go to a healing specialist or doctor tomorrow" She said, opening the first aid kit, "Let me take a better look now"
…
"Ack!"
"Dislocated bone in hand, small bruise on the knee…and injuries on the back" She said as I sat next to her (the ones I got when Feirin fired a beam in the backyard…and when he threw me into the mountain… I minimised the damage I took with the barrier but I still got a few injuries eh… And then the barrier didn't help at all when he grabbed my hand after entering Focus…), and applying slight pressure with her fingers to see when I make a noise to find out where else I am injured… "Take off your shirt"
"Eh…?"
"Take it off" Her voice…there's none of the usual playfulness within it… The meeting she went to…did something bad happen? It'd be better if I just do as she says then…
"Hmm…this balm should do the job…"
"OW!?"
"Bear it. Now that you are up, tell me, what were the two of you up to? Your injuries don't look like something that would come from just a friendly spar" She asked as she's applying…some paste on my back (It's tingly and…embarrassing…)
'Friendly sparring match'… I too thought that's what it'd be… During the time I was lying in the mountains, waiting to somewhat recover my strength… I thought…about what I should say when Lucy asks this question once we return…
"It definitely…became a bit more than just a simple fight…" I answered, "After our first spar when I first came a month ago, I had been curious to see how I'd perform against him if he were to go all out after all this training, so…"
"You asked him to fight you seriously?"
"...Mm" I mumbled, nodding.
…
"I see"
That's…it? Normally she'd scold me for something such as this…
"I'll go sleep now, you go as well"
"Erm, did something happen?" I asked as she was about to leave, standing at the door.
"...It's a long story…and, it's for the best that I don't disclose those matters…"
"Okay…"
Sounds like important things, if she can't say it then so be i-
"You don't have to call me 'Sis' if you don't wish to (Huh…?)…it was wrong of me to force it on you to call me that…"
Eh…? What is she saying… Is she sad that I don't call her 'Sis'?
(Narration)
'Finally you understand after a month of being told? He clearly doesn't want to be close with you as he doesn't even call you that, not that you deserve to be close with anyone regardless' It's voice continues to echo in Lucy's mind almost as if something keeps whispering to her.
'Perhaps…you are right…' She thought to herself, standing at the door, her back towards the table in the room, her face and eyes soulless.
"But…I do want to…" The one sitting inside said, "I want to call you…Sis…"
The look on her face grew slightly different, the emotion it showed was of surprise and she turned towards the boy.
"Then…why…why do you never say it?" She asked, clutching onto the sliding door with her left hand.
"It's… Is it not obvious? It's a little embarrassing… It's not that I don't want to say it, it'll just take a little while to get used to…and…" Brax said, looking at his hands that were on the table, joined together.
"And…?"
"I missed you a lot…today…" He muttered, lips slightly tilted upwards, blushing a little.
…
"Uhm! I think I said something really embarrassing just now…" He exclaimed as he covered his face with his hand.
"...Brax"
"Y-yes…?"
"What…do you think of me…?" She asked, still standing in the same position.
"Uh…you are very…prett-"
"As a person, your thoughts about me as a person"
"O-oh ahem…as a person…"
'It won't be anything good'
…
"I don't really know how to describe what I feel about a person yet… There's been many emotions and thoughts I've had ever since coming here, whether it's about you…about this new life, food, training, bathing, sleeping on a bed, learning things…just about everything I've experienced… It'd take a lot of time to say all of them now…so, is it okay if I instead say what has been on my mind the most ever since I came here?" He queried.
"Mm" She mumbled, "Go ahead…"
"The day when you brought me here, everything felt unbelievable, all I could think of was whether all of this was even real, or if I really deserved any of this… Now this is a little embarrassing to say, but…the next day when you gave me a name and I started crying…you held my face" He said, touching his left cheek with his left hand, "In that moment, the warmth I felt was unlike anything else I'd ever felt…that was enough to make me realise that although it all feels unbelievable, it is still happening…that moment, it happened because of you and…I wouldn't want anyone else to do it…"
'Believe in the unbelievable…in a way I couldn't have ever thought that I'll actually have a good life'
She got reminded of her own thoughts from a while ago as Brax spoke.
…
"I…have a request…" He said, looking down at his hands.
"What…is it?"
"I know I didn't before, but…is it okay if I called you 'Sis' from here on?" Brax asked, looking straight at Lucy, his eyes softened and his cheeks turned very red.
"...Pfft… You look like a balloon!" Lucy remarked, her expression being the emotion that the boy had been waiting for all this time, a smile, looking at which lit his face up as well, "Mm…you can, I don't mind it, I'll go sleep now, goodnight"
"Haah! Goodnight S-Sis!" Brax exclaimed happily as she turned around and headed upstairs to her room, she stopped for a moment as she heard his voice, but then continued on.
(Brax)
She smiled! Was I the reason for it? If so, that makes me really happ–...wait…but wasn't she also sad because I didn't call her 'Sis' in the first place…? Erm…well she's happy now so it's all fine! I should go to my room and sleep now, she patched my hand and the hole in my stomach with some bandages, and applied some sort of balm on those as well as every other injury…it burns a little but not in a bad way, it's quite relievin-
"Why…did you lie?"
!? That voice…
"You are awake…? Have you been awake all this time?" I asked the only other…boy lying in this room on the right side of the table (more like the right side of me because I switched my position).
"Yes…and no… (What's that supposed to mean…) I've been phasing in and out of consciousness, so I woke up completely just now. Why did you lie?" He probed, pushing himself up and sat up straight.
"About what…? Me and…Sis (hehe) talked about a lot of things"
"What's that smug look supposed to be for…I am talking about the reason for our fight… Why did you lie to Master?" Oh…that's what this is about. With…Lu–ahem, Sis being here now, I doubt he can attack me again…nor does it seem like he wishes to either.
"I don't like you, no, I hate you" I said, which is the truth after today.
"Then wh-"
"But I know what life on the streets is like, about how cruel it is…if I told her what you did, wouldn't she throw you out? I hate you, though not so much so that I get you out of this house" I don't know why she wishes to hide what I saw that day, but it seems to be a very important secret, if it's really that important, then she might even throw Feirin ou-
"...I doubt she'd go to that length" He said… "At worst she'd probably beat me up and make me the chef for a month I'd imagine"
"Eh? Really? That's it? Then…I guess I'll go say it now" I said and stood up.
"Oi! Oi! Wait, stop! Don't!" He said, and grabbed onto my leg just as I was about to get out of the room, "Sorry! I am really sorry! I won't do that again!"
"Really?" I asked, looking at him with…I wonder what look I have right now, probably that smug look which Sis always gives me, I've never blackmailed anyone so I feel a little bad, but heheh…this is nice, I can use this incident against him for some time.
(Narration)
The mood downstairs seems to have changed for the better. However,
clack
thud!
Upstairs, in her room, just as she entered and closed the door, before even turning the lights on, Lucy fell on her buttocks and covered her mouth with both her hands.
"Sob…sob…sniff!" Finally the emotions buried deep within her bursted out.
"Mom…Hiro…Rebecca…sob…sniff! Ugh…agh…!" She whispered, covering her eyes tight and kneeling her head on the floor, wanting to scream out, but suppressed it as tears streamed down her face.
'Finally…you can cry huh…' It said to itself, the one who is within her, whose appearance is just like the day of Lucy's when she came back after her disappearance.
'Crying isn't allowed during work after all, sad emotions getting the better of you during job are a hindrance' It added, looking down at its hands as the constant stream of tears from its eyes fell on it, sitting on a bench, under the shade of a bloodred tree.
'That's why…right now is fine' It went on, tilting its head upwards, looking at the night sky of a crimson moon with an expressionless face.