Author's Note: I edited this story a little bit. OC (Skyrah) is now 16 at the start of the story and turning 17 within a month. Sorry for any confusion this is making. I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think.

Chapter II

Monster?

I few weeks flew by as I went in and out of sleep as my injury slowly healed one day at a time. In that time, Hero had taken really good care of me as I could really do much myself without reopening my side. He had kept feeding me and tended to my wound. My assumption in the earlier days had been right. He was a really kind person. I wasn't sure I would have made it out alive without him. In this time, he had started to talk a little bit more to me. I now knew that we were in a large cave, that there were villagers living here as well but Hero lived in an area away from them all. There were things he was not telling me but I wasn't going to pry. He would tell me when he was ready.

Anyways, I was now able to sit myself up without too much wincing. It was a nice change because I wasn't used to being taken care of. I was used to taking care of myself. Ever since I was a small child, it was me against the world. But now, this boy had taken upon himself to take care of me as best as he could.

"By the way, Hero. How old are you?" I asked as I mentioned on some sunflower seeds, giving some of them to Ao. Ao and I had grown pretty close. In fact, whenever the small squirrel wasn't with Hero, she was with me. Yes, the squirrel was female. I was a tad bit surprised at that fact. Anyways, it was as if the both of them were looking out for me.

"18," he quietly said from beside me. His hands were on his lap as he sat cross-legged, staring ahead of him. I was able to see him more clearly now because he had brought a candle in the 'room' we shared. I remembered the first time I really saw him with a light on. The blue hair stuck out but it seemed to suit him. I only wished he would take off the mask so I could see his face. What did his eyes look like? I bet they were nice.

"Really? I'm 16," I informed him, taking another seed and handing it to the happily eating Ao on my lap. "I believe I'll be turning 17 in a month or so. But the accident that got me here has got my timing a little wonky."

I heard the bells, letting me know that he had turned his head in my direction, "I'm sorry."

I blinked a few times in confusion before I turned my head in his direction, "What? Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything wrong."

He shook his head as his lips twisted in a frown, "Couldn't protect."

I stared at him for a few beats, letting his words sink in before I smiled gently up at him, "Don't say sorry for that. It's not your job to protect me." I couldn't believe that the boy I had only meant would say something like that. "I'm just glad I got to meet you." I couldn't see his reaction but I felt him tense at my words. "I'm glad we could be friends."

"Friends…" he let out, as if in disbelief.

I tilted my head to the side, nodding, "We are friends, aren't we?" Suddenly, his shoulders began to sag as they shivered. I heard soft sobs coming from him. "Hero, what's wrong?" I questioned, peering at him in worry. I saw the tears falling down past his chin. Why was he crying? Had I said something wrong? "I'm sorry if I said something wrong." The bells sounded as he shook his head back and forth, unable to speak as he bit his lower lip. I felt a pain in my chest as I couldn't do anything to comfort him. I gingerly moved around, carefully not to startle him or irritate my side. I wrapped my arms around him in an embrace in an attempt to give him as much comfort as I could. His whole body had tense at my touch. But in an instant, his arms were gripping tightly at my clothes at my back as he placed his chin on my head. He had taken over the embrace as I now had my face in his chest as his body shook from the quiet sobs. "I'm right here, Hero. I'm not going anywhere." And that one was true as I had nowhere to go. But if I had to be honest with myself. There was nowhere else I'd rather be than by his side. He had become so dear to be in the last few weeks. It hurt simply thinking about not seeing him again. His arms had tightened around me as I spoke as if he didn't believe I would stay and had to hold on.

"I almost forgot…" he whispered in my hair. I stayed silent to let him continue, "That I always wanted a friend."

My heart both ached and warmth at his words, "I'm sorry it took so long." I gently pulled away so that I could look at his face, "But I have to be honest that I feel a little bit selfish." I smiled at him, "You've done everything for me but I haven't given anything to you in return. Saying thank you just doesn't seem like enough anymore."

"You're enough," he said so softly I felt I didn't hear right.

"Huh?"

He patted my head as if to comfort me which I felt was suppose to be my job, "Your company. It's enough."

I couldn't help but to smile and shake my head, "I swear. You really are the nicest person ever." I heard a squeak from Ao, "Yes. And nicest squirrel." I rolled my eyes but smiled at them both. These two had become so very dear to me in this short time. I looked up at Hero with serious eyes, "Whenever you feel sad again, just find me. I'll try to comfort you as best as I can. Okay?" And I added, "I don't want you to be alone when you are hurting." I shook my head, "I'd rather you not hurt at all though."

He stared at me for a few seconds, causing me to flush in embarrassment before he finally spoke, "Thank you."

I blinked at him before I laughed, "That's my line. I should be the one thanking you. After all, you saved my life and pretty much took me in. Seriously, I'm really grateful to you. I'm really happy that it was you who found me." I still had yet to understand the reason behind me appearing in a dark cave in a world that seemed to not be my own. But I really meant every word I had said to him. No one else would have taken the time to take care of me the way he did. I didn't understand why he was alone, other than Ao of course. He never spoke about anyone in his life. We spoke briefly about the villagers and he told me about the importance of them not finding me. But why?

I let out a large yawn which told me it was time for me to get some more rest. I shifted around Hero to lay next to him on the makeshift bed. I pulled the fur up to keep myself warm but moved it for an invitation, "You coming?"

I had started to realize that sometimes, Hero was shivering. It seemed he didn't take the cold to well. And so, I had started to make him sleep next to me so that we can share heat. At first, it was awkward and he protested that he didn't want to accidentally hurt me. But I had been persistent and soon he let himself lay next to me. Now, it was a little less awkward and more natural.

He nodded his head as he moved to lay next to me but not before blowing out the candle so that he can take off his mask to sleep. I still wondered what he looked like underneath. Did he have a scar? Some burns? Whatever it was, Hero would always be handsome in my eyes. He was a caring person and a feeling of warmth.

He awkwardly shifted to make himself comfortable but still trying to maintain the distance between our bodies. I rolled my eyes in the dark before I slid closer to his side. I placed an arm around him and laid my head on his chest. He stiffened from my actions. "Relax. I'm not going to eat you," I joked as I felt myself be oddly comfortable there. He still wouldn't relax. "I trust you. I know you won't hurt me." This had caused him to slightly be less rigid. "You're so warm," I mumbled in his chest as I felt the tiredness try to take me away. "And… safe…" I could hear his heart beating in his chest, lulling me to sleep. "Goodnight…" It was strange that I would willingly be close to a member of the opposite sex but I knew he was different from everyone else. I felt that I could trust him.

"Goodnight..." he whispered out, letting out air as if he had been holding it in. His body soon relaxed from underneath me. If he said anything else, I missed it as my mind drifted off to sleep.

I woke up only to find out that I was laying on the makeshift bed on my own. It wasn't the first time I had woken up alone. But it was the first time I had decided to pace around the room to get some much-needed exercise that I had been lacking the last few weeks. It was nice to get moving again even if it was in a small room. I couldn't wait to start running again and really start to exercise. I suppose you could say that I was a real tomboy growing up. I always enjoyed the physical activities over any of the other subjects in school. Keeping active was my favourite pastime and it also proved to be useful for living a life of a homeless teenager. My experiences had made it more bearable to live in the darkness of a cave. Before when I did live on the streets it would take days to get a shower unless I went to the youth centres which wasn't as often as I would have liked. And eating was done every few days as well. Not much had changed since then with the exception that I was being taken care of by another.

I looked down at my tattered, bloodied clothes as I paced around in the candlelit room. I noticed that my black leggings were ripped everywhere and my washed out shorts wore worse for wear. My navy blue t-shirt had a hole and dried blood in the area I had been stabbed. I would miss my leather jacket, my iPod and the acoustic guitar that I had left at the abandoned building.

If I wasn't working out, I was always either listening to music or playing my guitar. I couldn't help but feel a little lost without my music with me. I could deal with the dark, the lack of food and no proper hygiene but the lack of music and expression was a little much for my liking. My eyes wandered around the mostly emptied room only for my eyes to shift to the fur that he had generously shared with me for warmth. And in turn, my heart felt the warmth as I smiled to myself at the thought of the older teen. I may never be able to have my devices again but at least I had great company.

I heard the sounds of bells as I turned around to see the boy standing there. His lips were in a thin line as he looked at me. Wordlessly, he moved to pick up the fur and attached it to the mask. I couldn't help but watch him with curiosity. He slowly walked beside me, gently grabbing hold of my hand. He looked down at me for a moment before pulling me along behind him.

"Where are we going, Hero?" I asked him, shifting my hand so that if fit more comfortable in his own with our fingers intertwined.

His fingers twitched before his soft voice spoke, "I want to show… To show you something…" Ao made a sound as she suddenly jumped onto my shoulder. I giggled as her cheeks rubbed against my own.

"Good Morning to you too, Ao," I said with a smile. I could tell that Hero was watching us from over his shoulder. I often found myself wondering what was going through his mind. He was so mysterious and I knew there was a lot I still didn't know about him. The one thing I did know was how thoughtful and caring he was. He was currently keeping a slow pace and held my hand with such a gentleness as if he were afraid I would break. I looked up to his face and sent him a smile which caused him to quickly turn his head away to look forward. This boy was adorable in his behaviour.

After walking around in twists and turns of the maze like caved, we finally came to a large area which had taken my breath away. It was an absolutely stunning sight to see. There were luminescent flowers of all different colors all around, making the area glow like a beautiful rainbow. There was a stream flowing at the farthest side with a small waterfall, my ears picking up the calming sounds of it. There also were stones that seemed to glow over top like stars. Overall, this place seemed so magical and tranquil. I was completely stunned at the sight and even more so that he would share this with me.

I felt his eyes on me as I had paused in the middle of the area to take in the sights. I slowly moved my eyes to meet his and smiled tenderly at him as I spoke, "Thank you for bringing me here, Hero. It's really beautiful." He stared at me for a few more seconds before nodding and pulling me along once again. This time he was directing us towards the stream. That is when I noticed that there were hand-made soaps, a large piece of cloth that could be used as a towel as well as a change of clothes laying on the ground waiting to be used. I turned my attention back at the boy to ask him, "Is that for me?"

He hesitant let go of my hand and nodded his head. He stretched a hand up to point at a large boulder a few meters away, "Call me… When you are done…" Without another word, he quietly walked behind the boulder to sit down. He was going to wait there to make sure I was okay but give me privacy at the same time.

I couldn't help but smile in the direction he was hiding. He really did think about my wellbeing. He even went off to prepare this all for me. Without any protest, I quickly undressed myself and walked into the stream to get myself cleaned up. The water hitting my skin was somewhat cold but welcoming. It was nice to feel myself be cleansed of the dirt and blood that I had clung to me. I traced a finger at the tender scar at my side, thankful that it had mostly all held and didn't need more bandages.

As I bathed in the stream, making sure to clean every area and my hair, I couldn't help but think up ways I could repay his kindness. He had already done so much for me yet I had been nothing but a kind of burden on him. Why was he so kind to me when I had done nothing in return? I had no money to offer and he hadn't try anything indecent. He never asked for something in return.

As I was in deep thought, Ao kept a watchful eye on me from the bank of the stream. Even the small squirrel seemed to be caring for me in her own way. How had I gotten so lucky? I thought this as I carefully got out of the water, grabbing the large cloth to wrap it around my body. I sat down at the bank, ringing out my brown hair of all the water. It had grown again, now falling at my butt. I combed my hair with my fingers, bringing it forward in my vision. In this light, you couldn't see the ting of red in it. It was just regular brown color. I wondered what color my eyes were in this light. Were they their regular sapphire eyes or did they pop less in this darkness? I shook the thoughts away as I continued to dry myself and get myself dressed with the rather too large men clothing that were offered to me. But I wouldn't complain. It was nice to be in something that was not reeking of weeks old sweat and dirt.

"I'm done," I said, directing my voice towards the boulder over my shoulder to be sure he heard me. I heard the calming jingle of the bells as he stood up, his head peeking over the boulder. He slowly walked around to come over in my direction. Without saying a word, he started to place my dirty clothes in the stream and scrub them. I watched him in silence as he cleaned my clothes for me. He knew that the clothing he had lended to me were going to be too big. Yet, he offered them so that i wouldn't be nude while he took care of my own clothes. "Thank you," I said once again. I was beginning to think that was going to be part of my daily vocabulary when it came to him.

He rigidly tensed up before looking over his shoulder at me. I offered him a smile but he quickly looked away to scrub the clothes even more rigorously. I chuckled at his shyness and how endearing it all was. Ao had made herself comfortable on my shoulder, munching of some leafs from the flowers all around us. I wished I could offer my help to Hero but every time I had ever offered it he would shake his head back in forth quickly. I wondered when he would ask me to leave. I secretly hoped he wouldn't. Even if this wasn't my home and didn't seem like my world, I still felt like it was. It was odd to think this way but I had never felt as much at home as now.

Hero plopped himself down next to me once he was done with cleaning my clothes and making a small fire to warm me up and dry my clothes. Ao had made herself comfortable in his lap, happily nibbling at his fingers of one of his hand. His other hand was up as he seemed to stare at it intently. It was the hand he had used to hold on to my hand. He moved his hand to hold it up in front of my face. His own face now in my direction. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what it was that he was doing. Was he asking to hold hands again? I blinked a couple times before taking his hand in mine. His hand were just as gentle as before as it held on to my own. I shifted my body so that I was closer to his side, our joined hands in between us.

He was the one that shifted our fingers so that they were intertwined again. I couldn't help but feel secure all over again at the sweet gesture. I shifted again to leaned up to plant a soft kiss on to his cheek just below the mask, "Thank you for everything, Hero." His fingers seemed to tense along the rest of his body. I chuckled before I sat back down, comfortable leaning my head on his shoulder to stare at the fire dance in front of us.

"Will you…?" he paused as he spoke, "Leave...?"

I closed my eyes as I knew that this day would come that he would ask me to go. I had overstayed my welcome. But I had been happy just to have met this boy. It was nice to know that good people still existed somewhere. "If you want me too," I answered as honestly as I could.

"No," was his reply, causing me to open my eyes wide in shock. Did he not want me to go? But I had taken so much from him already. "But I can't ask you to stay," his grip on my hand tightened as if he were afraid I'd simply disappear.

I lifted my head from his shoulder to peer up at his face, searching him, "What do you mean? Why not?" He looked away from me as if in shame. "What is it, Hero? You can tell me."

"You will run. You will hate me," he told me, "You'll be scared of me."

"I don't think that is even possible," I replied, completely honest with my words. I really didn't see a way to ever see him in that light.

He shook his head so quick that I thought he would break his neck, "I'm cursed. A monster."

I quickly let go of his hand at his words and wrapped my hands around his shoulders to pull him into a hug, careful not to hurt myself from the horns of his mask. I ignored how tense his body became at my touch, "Never say that. You are not a monster. You are the most amazing person I have ever met. You've been nothing but nice to me this whole time I crashed your home uninvited. I don't know what made you believe that lie but I don't believe it even for a second. I care about you, Hero." More quietly, I added, "I'm sorry I have nothing to give back for everything you've done for me." I pulled away once he started to shake his head in protest, "Can you tell me why you think that?"

"I killed…" he started, looking anywhere but at me, "Soldiers. When I was younger. My power is a curse." I had to admit that it sounded ridiculous to me that he would ever kill someone. He didn't seem like the kind of person to do that. I couldn't help but think that there was something more to it than that. Maybe the soldiers weren't friendly?

"What power? What are you talking about?" I questioned him, sitting back down on my knees in front of him. I really wanted to understand his story and I would listen.

"That's why I know you aren't an enemy. You don't know," he ignored my question. Once again, I was left confused and with more questions.

"Know what? What are you saying?" I was beginning to feel worried. He seemed to be struggling and in pain.

"My power is dangerous. I've killed..." his voice held so much pain in it. He placed a hand on top of his mask, "I am a monster." It unnerved me that he would call himself that.

I didn't know what to say to him. My words didn't seem to reach him at all. "Not to me," I said, attempting it again. This caused his head to jerk up to look at me in what I considered to be surprise. "I don't believe for a second you did it on purpose. If you did, you must have had a reason."

He looked back down at his lap, where Ao was looking up at him in concern, "For the villagers."

"You did it to protect them from the soldiers?" I asked to be sure. He nodded his head, bells ringing. "That doesn't make you a monster." I let out as I reached my hands to his face to make him look up at me, "You were protecting people. A monster kills just because it can and wants to. You didn't." His gloved hands lifted up to grasp my wrists but he he was gentle about it. I decided to say the words that the villagers must not have told him back then, "Thank you for saving them." His breath caught in his throat as if in shock. He must not have thought he would ever be thanked for that day. "Just don't get hurt when you are being the tough guy, okay? Last thing I want is for you to get hurt," I smiled at him before letting him go, his hands dropping back down to his lap at the same time. I realized that I was giving him something in return. Even though I was useless at the time, I could always try to get him to see himself the way I did. It may not be as much as he gave me but it was a start. There was no way I'd let him think so poorly of himself and be alone. He deserved much more than that. "Can I stay?" I asked him. He stared at me for sometime, as if trying to figure out if I had really asked him that. "Can I stay with you?" I asked again, to make sure he heard me.

His lips pursed together before his head nodded in agreement, "Yeah." Little did I know that this would be the moment where he would always remain by my side. It was also the day that I had finally put my trust in someone for the very first time. I didn't know what it was about him that had made me feel that way. Ever since I was a small child, waiting for someone to trust, I had always been disappointed and hurt. But for some strange reason, he just felt life the safest person to be around. I couldn't quite describe it but the feeling was there.