To Heal An Injured Soul
By Red_Dragon_Ruby
NOTE: Now I wanted to write a story about my second-fave Ronin-guy, Roan! A little shameless self-insertion of a pink-and-yellow-haired girl named- guess what?- Ruby. But, only a little bit of romance. This stars our favorite ill-used and abused Ronin, but I think you know who he is. Oh well. Anyway, hope you enjoy it! -Red_Dragon_Ruby
PART ONE
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The boy stumbled to the doorstep and knocked on the door. He needed help.
It had been too much this time, and he hadn't been able to handle the beating.
He collapsed on the door-step; even the energy of knocking on the door was too much for him at this point.
His last conscious vision was a girl with bright hair- he couldn't tell what color- gasping as she saw him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The girl was looking down at him again when he woke up.
He weakly raised a hand to swipe at a loose strand of his blue hair.
"Hey, be careful. You'll hurt yourself again." The girl said, her red eyes wide, "And that wouldn't be good."
He was finally able to see what color hair she had: it was pink with bright-yellow streaks in it.
Looking around, he realized that he was in someone's living room. It was furnished nicely, if a little exotic, sporting an unfinished mural on the wall of the night sky and a cliff with a wolf howling on it, among other things. The couch he was laying on had a tiger-fur print on it, though he could tell that it was fake. There were several pictures lying about, on top of things, on the walls, or just stashed places.
"H-how long was I asleep?" He asked, trying to sound okay.
"It's been two days." She replied, "My name is Ruby Kaisenda."
"Roan Hashiba." Roan said simply.
"So, where are you gonna be going, anyway? You were saying some name in your sleep.. Sag? Sage? Something like that. Friend of yours?"
"Uh, yeh. Sage Date. My best friend." Roan said, "Can I use your phone?"
"Sure thing."
"Thanks." He said, dialing the number.
"Hello?" Sage's voice came on the other end of the line.
"Sage?" Roan asked.
"Roan! Where are you?! Your mom thinks you ran away."
"I did. I got hurt. This girl.. Uh... Ruby Kaisenda, helped me out."
"Ruby Kaisenda? The artist?"
"Oh, that'd explain the mural.."
"Huh?"
"Nevermind."
"When are you going to be back?"
"As soon as I can be."
"That's good. Kento was about ready to send out the Search And Rescue squad on you."
"Was he really? Heh, good to know I've got friends who care, anyway.."
"He's getting a bit extreme."
"Oh. Well, yeh, I'm okay. I'll be back soon."
"See ya'." Sage said.
"Yeah, I'll see you soon." Roan replied, hanging up.
"So, you'll be going back to your friends soon?" Ruby asked him, putting the phone away.
Roan stood up shakily.
"Yeah, I'd better. Sage said that they were thinking on sending the Search And Rescue after me." He replied, smiling at her. She smiled half-heartidly, looking down at a sketch on a pad of paper in her lap.
"I guess I'll be seein' ya'." He said, "By the way, my friend Sage and I love your paintings."
"Thank you." She replied as he walked out the door, then whispered to his departing back, "And goodbye..."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
One week later, Ruby Kaisenda stood in a room with red-painted walls and wooden flooring, an art easel in the middle of the room.
She stands back, analyzing her work.
"I miss you, Roan." She whispered, "You have a kind heart."
Then she looked at her latest work.
A teenage boy with wild blue hair and blue eyes laughed as he ran through the busy park she had painted as a background. The colors mixed a little on the people in the background's faces, where her lonely tears had fallen.
She took out a thin brush and dipped it in the black paint, then moved to the painting on the easel.
There she signed the corner:
For Roan, who's star shines bright, for lessening the loneliness of solitary days.
Much Love, Ruby Kaisenda
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
NOTE: Well, there's part one and it's good, no? Well, anyway, I tried to capture how Roan made Ruby feel in the story. BTW, Ruby is only my character's name. I don't mean her to be me. But that is no surprise, is it? I don't enjoy self-insertion, although this is a good exception. Anyway, here goes nothing with part two! -Red_Dragon_Ruby
PART TWO
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few weeks later, Roan and his friend Sage had gone to an art exhibition featuring Ruby Kaisenda's works. Looking around, Roan was amazed by the variety of animals and scenes portrayed in the paintings, but there were no people.
"Roan." Sage tapped his friend's shoulder, "Roan, come here.."
"What?" Roan asked, confused.
"The only picture with a person in it. It's dedicated."
"Probably to some boyfriend.." Roan muttered, then looked up.
Hanging on the wall in front of him was a painting that looked remarkably like him, right down to the stubborn bang in the center of his forehead and the light-blue headband he wore.
Then he read the writing in the corner, aloud.
"For Roan, who's star shines bright, for lessening the loneliness of solitary days. Much love, Ruby Kaisenda." He said aloud. Sage looked at it for a moment.
"She definately liked you. That picture is the only one here with a human on it." Sage commented.
"Uh-huh..." Roan said, sighing, "Too bad I can't go out with her, huh?"
"Why not?" Sage asked, curious, as he looked at a picture of a pouncing white tiger very resemblant to WhiteBlaze, their friend Ryo's pet tiger.
"We're the Ronin Warriors, remember? I don't want to hurt anyone if I get killed, ya' know?" Roan whispered in his friends ear.
"Oh, other than me, you mean?" Sage asked sarcastically.
"Well, yeh." Roan replied with a short laugh.
"Very funny."
"Well, I thought so!"
"What's the REAL reason?" Sage asked his friend.
"I guess... Ah, Sage, I can't hide anything from you, can I?" Roan complained.
"No." Sage replied, "Continue."
"I guess I'm just afraid that she'll say no." The blue-haired boy revealed. Sage nodded.
"You should ask her."
"No way! What if she doesn't like me that way?!"
"I think she does."
"Argh! Okay, okay Psycic Boy, we'll do things your way."
"I thought so."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Man, I hope Sage was right about this.." Roan muttered as he walked up to Ruby Kaisenda's door a few hours later. He knocked on the door lightly, praying that no one was there.
But, sure enough, the door opened. Ruby peered out, her pale face framed by pink hair with bright yellow streaks in it, and featuring large red eyes.
"Roan!" Ruby called as she saw him, "Hi!"
"Hi." Roan said nervously.
"What brings you here, anyway?" She asked. He looked down.
"Uh... I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime?" Roan asked quickly.
"Let me think..." She said slowly.
Roan stood there, thinking that there could be no worse torture than this waiting.
"So, what do you think?" He asked. He looked at him, smiling.
"I'd love to."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hi! Well, that's it for TO HEAL AN INJURED SOUL. I bet you thought that it was Roan's soul that needed healing, didn't you? Well, instead I went the unexpected way and had the lonely artist as the one who needed healed by Roan. Originally I was going to have it be Roan, but I only have so much time between getting home from school, reading some of the fan-fics I haven't read yet that I uploaded to my computer (via many floppy disks and much time on the school's computer's after school) and going to sleep, so it had to be a short fic and I figured that since that was true it couldn't be incredibly in-depth- but, hey, you do what you can with the materials (and time) given, right? Well, it's 7pm and it's about time for me to see what magics I can perform with my other in-the-making fics, don't you think? Oh, and before I go, shameless spoiler: READ FALLON SANADA'S STORIES! Because I am she and she is me, and I'm doing a lot, like "WHERE DID TOUMA GO?" (Touma's gone and Seiji has to cope), "A PASSING GLANCE" (one year after Tulpa, two Ronins meet up again), "SEIJI WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" (Seiji can't take it anymore. Can Touma dissuade him from making a wrong choice?), or "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT UNTIL IT'S (ALMOST) GONE" (Touma gets hurt! What the other Ronins learn about life and living. Alex, from "THE ARMOR OF ORION"-Finished version pending- narrates it), lists like "HOW THE RONINS WOULD GET ON IN MY HIGH SCHOOL" (If the Ronins were stuck in North Country Union High School), "HOW TO ANNOY TEACHERS- RONIN STYLE!" (Heh heh.. Funny ways to get in trouble and annoy teachers), or "THE RONINS SUGGESTIONS FOR WHEN YOU ARE STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR" (the best 50 things to do to annoy people in elevators!)!
Unfinished but coming projects include the list "HOW TO ANNOY PEOPLE AND/OR MAKE THEM THINK YOU ARE CRAZY" (exactly what the name implies) and stories like "ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE... AND WAR" (the Dynasty has a new warrior.. A girl named Lucia! Can the Ronins actually fight against the girl who has captured Roan's heart?!), "EARTH'S FOUNDATIONS" (Three warriors decide the fate of the universe as we know it when an evil monster tries to destroy the three fighters who are the lifeblood of the planet! The first is Cye, but who are the others?), "THE ARMOR OF ORION" (A new girl named Alex arrives at the warrior's school. She seems to have special powers! Is she friend.. Or foe?), "A WARRIOR FALLEN" (Sage has been injured by the Dynasty, but still wants to fight! How can the Ronins win with a loss on their side?), "CHILD OF LIGHT" (About how Sage, called Seiji in the story, met the other Ronins), "SAVING SEIJI" (Seiji has been captured by the Dynasty and his armor stolen! Can the others rescue him? Plus, the Warlords are evil again! Uses Japanese names!), and "THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS" (Actually not by me. By my friend Mithra Dawncloud. The Dynasty returns and Sage and Cye are the only ones who can fight it!).
Okay, I think that's enough of this shameless self-promotion.
Please, please, please keep reading my stories! One of these days I'll make banners!
Much Love,
Red_Dragon_Ruby
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Hiya! I'm the editor and it's my job to clear everything up. Ruby would like to thank her family (little good they did!) and her best friend Sol (aka Sukishue), and the other fic writers she is friends with (Mithra_Dawncloud, SS4Vegeto, TygerEyz, and a few others), and finally the fan-fic writers who inspire her (Mirror and Image, Juuhachigou and Mirai Bulma, Seiiroku, etc.).
I guess that's about it.
Thanks A Bunch,
White_Dragon_Nall
By Red_Dragon_Ruby
NOTE: Now I wanted to write a story about my second-fave Ronin-guy, Roan! A little shameless self-insertion of a pink-and-yellow-haired girl named- guess what?- Ruby. But, only a little bit of romance. This stars our favorite ill-used and abused Ronin, but I think you know who he is. Oh well. Anyway, hope you enjoy it! -Red_Dragon_Ruby
PART ONE
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The boy stumbled to the doorstep and knocked on the door. He needed help.
It had been too much this time, and he hadn't been able to handle the beating.
He collapsed on the door-step; even the energy of knocking on the door was too much for him at this point.
His last conscious vision was a girl with bright hair- he couldn't tell what color- gasping as she saw him.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The girl was looking down at him again when he woke up.
He weakly raised a hand to swipe at a loose strand of his blue hair.
"Hey, be careful. You'll hurt yourself again." The girl said, her red eyes wide, "And that wouldn't be good."
He was finally able to see what color hair she had: it was pink with bright-yellow streaks in it.
Looking around, he realized that he was in someone's living room. It was furnished nicely, if a little exotic, sporting an unfinished mural on the wall of the night sky and a cliff with a wolf howling on it, among other things. The couch he was laying on had a tiger-fur print on it, though he could tell that it was fake. There were several pictures lying about, on top of things, on the walls, or just stashed places.
"H-how long was I asleep?" He asked, trying to sound okay.
"It's been two days." She replied, "My name is Ruby Kaisenda."
"Roan Hashiba." Roan said simply.
"So, where are you gonna be going, anyway? You were saying some name in your sleep.. Sag? Sage? Something like that. Friend of yours?"
"Uh, yeh. Sage Date. My best friend." Roan said, "Can I use your phone?"
"Sure thing."
"Thanks." He said, dialing the number.
"Hello?" Sage's voice came on the other end of the line.
"Sage?" Roan asked.
"Roan! Where are you?! Your mom thinks you ran away."
"I did. I got hurt. This girl.. Uh... Ruby Kaisenda, helped me out."
"Ruby Kaisenda? The artist?"
"Oh, that'd explain the mural.."
"Huh?"
"Nevermind."
"When are you going to be back?"
"As soon as I can be."
"That's good. Kento was about ready to send out the Search And Rescue squad on you."
"Was he really? Heh, good to know I've got friends who care, anyway.."
"He's getting a bit extreme."
"Oh. Well, yeh, I'm okay. I'll be back soon."
"See ya'." Sage said.
"Yeah, I'll see you soon." Roan replied, hanging up.
"So, you'll be going back to your friends soon?" Ruby asked him, putting the phone away.
Roan stood up shakily.
"Yeah, I'd better. Sage said that they were thinking on sending the Search And Rescue after me." He replied, smiling at her. She smiled half-heartidly, looking down at a sketch on a pad of paper in her lap.
"I guess I'll be seein' ya'." He said, "By the way, my friend Sage and I love your paintings."
"Thank you." She replied as he walked out the door, then whispered to his departing back, "And goodbye..."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
One week later, Ruby Kaisenda stood in a room with red-painted walls and wooden flooring, an art easel in the middle of the room.
She stands back, analyzing her work.
"I miss you, Roan." She whispered, "You have a kind heart."
Then she looked at her latest work.
A teenage boy with wild blue hair and blue eyes laughed as he ran through the busy park she had painted as a background. The colors mixed a little on the people in the background's faces, where her lonely tears had fallen.
She took out a thin brush and dipped it in the black paint, then moved to the painting on the easel.
There she signed the corner:
For Roan, who's star shines bright, for lessening the loneliness of solitary days.
Much Love, Ruby Kaisenda
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
NOTE: Well, there's part one and it's good, no? Well, anyway, I tried to capture how Roan made Ruby feel in the story. BTW, Ruby is only my character's name. I don't mean her to be me. But that is no surprise, is it? I don't enjoy self-insertion, although this is a good exception. Anyway, here goes nothing with part two! -Red_Dragon_Ruby
PART TWO
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A few weeks later, Roan and his friend Sage had gone to an art exhibition featuring Ruby Kaisenda's works. Looking around, Roan was amazed by the variety of animals and scenes portrayed in the paintings, but there were no people.
"Roan." Sage tapped his friend's shoulder, "Roan, come here.."
"What?" Roan asked, confused.
"The only picture with a person in it. It's dedicated."
"Probably to some boyfriend.." Roan muttered, then looked up.
Hanging on the wall in front of him was a painting that looked remarkably like him, right down to the stubborn bang in the center of his forehead and the light-blue headband he wore.
Then he read the writing in the corner, aloud.
"For Roan, who's star shines bright, for lessening the loneliness of solitary days. Much love, Ruby Kaisenda." He said aloud. Sage looked at it for a moment.
"She definately liked you. That picture is the only one here with a human on it." Sage commented.
"Uh-huh..." Roan said, sighing, "Too bad I can't go out with her, huh?"
"Why not?" Sage asked, curious, as he looked at a picture of a pouncing white tiger very resemblant to WhiteBlaze, their friend Ryo's pet tiger.
"We're the Ronin Warriors, remember? I don't want to hurt anyone if I get killed, ya' know?" Roan whispered in his friends ear.
"Oh, other than me, you mean?" Sage asked sarcastically.
"Well, yeh." Roan replied with a short laugh.
"Very funny."
"Well, I thought so!"
"What's the REAL reason?" Sage asked his friend.
"I guess... Ah, Sage, I can't hide anything from you, can I?" Roan complained.
"No." Sage replied, "Continue."
"I guess I'm just afraid that she'll say no." The blue-haired boy revealed. Sage nodded.
"You should ask her."
"No way! What if she doesn't like me that way?!"
"I think she does."
"Argh! Okay, okay Psycic Boy, we'll do things your way."
"I thought so."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Man, I hope Sage was right about this.." Roan muttered as he walked up to Ruby Kaisenda's door a few hours later. He knocked on the door lightly, praying that no one was there.
But, sure enough, the door opened. Ruby peered out, her pale face framed by pink hair with bright yellow streaks in it, and featuring large red eyes.
"Roan!" Ruby called as she saw him, "Hi!"
"Hi." Roan said nervously.
"What brings you here, anyway?" She asked. He looked down.
"Uh... I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime?" Roan asked quickly.
"Let me think..." She said slowly.
Roan stood there, thinking that there could be no worse torture than this waiting.
"So, what do you think?" He asked. He looked at him, smiling.
"I'd love to."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hi! Well, that's it for TO HEAL AN INJURED SOUL. I bet you thought that it was Roan's soul that needed healing, didn't you? Well, instead I went the unexpected way and had the lonely artist as the one who needed healed by Roan. Originally I was going to have it be Roan, but I only have so much time between getting home from school, reading some of the fan-fics I haven't read yet that I uploaded to my computer (via many floppy disks and much time on the school's computer's after school) and going to sleep, so it had to be a short fic and I figured that since that was true it couldn't be incredibly in-depth- but, hey, you do what you can with the materials (and time) given, right? Well, it's 7pm and it's about time for me to see what magics I can perform with my other in-the-making fics, don't you think? Oh, and before I go, shameless spoiler: READ FALLON SANADA'S STORIES! Because I am she and she is me, and I'm doing a lot, like "WHERE DID TOUMA GO?" (Touma's gone and Seiji has to cope), "A PASSING GLANCE" (one year after Tulpa, two Ronins meet up again), "SEIJI WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" (Seiji can't take it anymore. Can Touma dissuade him from making a wrong choice?), or "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'VE GOT UNTIL IT'S (ALMOST) GONE" (Touma gets hurt! What the other Ronins learn about life and living. Alex, from "THE ARMOR OF ORION"-Finished version pending- narrates it), lists like "HOW THE RONINS WOULD GET ON IN MY HIGH SCHOOL" (If the Ronins were stuck in North Country Union High School), "HOW TO ANNOY TEACHERS- RONIN STYLE!" (Heh heh.. Funny ways to get in trouble and annoy teachers), or "THE RONINS SUGGESTIONS FOR WHEN YOU ARE STUCK IN AN ELEVATOR" (the best 50 things to do to annoy people in elevators!)!
Unfinished but coming projects include the list "HOW TO ANNOY PEOPLE AND/OR MAKE THEM THINK YOU ARE CRAZY" (exactly what the name implies) and stories like "ALL IS FAIR IN LOVE... AND WAR" (the Dynasty has a new warrior.. A girl named Lucia! Can the Ronins actually fight against the girl who has captured Roan's heart?!), "EARTH'S FOUNDATIONS" (Three warriors decide the fate of the universe as we know it when an evil monster tries to destroy the three fighters who are the lifeblood of the planet! The first is Cye, but who are the others?), "THE ARMOR OF ORION" (A new girl named Alex arrives at the warrior's school. She seems to have special powers! Is she friend.. Or foe?), "A WARRIOR FALLEN" (Sage has been injured by the Dynasty, but still wants to fight! How can the Ronins win with a loss on their side?), "CHILD OF LIGHT" (About how Sage, called Seiji in the story, met the other Ronins), "SAVING SEIJI" (Seiji has been captured by the Dynasty and his armor stolen! Can the others rescue him? Plus, the Warlords are evil again! Uses Japanese names!), and "THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS" (Actually not by me. By my friend Mithra Dawncloud. The Dynasty returns and Sage and Cye are the only ones who can fight it!).
Okay, I think that's enough of this shameless self-promotion.
Please, please, please keep reading my stories! One of these days I'll make banners!
Much Love,
Red_Dragon_Ruby
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Hiya! I'm the editor and it's my job to clear everything up. Ruby would like to thank her family (little good they did!) and her best friend Sol (aka Sukishue), and the other fic writers she is friends with (Mithra_Dawncloud, SS4Vegeto, TygerEyz, and a few others), and finally the fan-fic writers who inspire her (Mirror and Image, Juuhachigou and Mirai Bulma, Seiiroku, etc.).
I guess that's about it.
Thanks A Bunch,
White_Dragon_Nall