Unfortunate Mongoose
Chapter III
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"You had a friend named Maria?" Mina asked, biting into the bread roll carefully. Shadow did the same, staring up at the sky above him. He seemed lost in the grey clouds for a moment before he turned to the mongoose to answer, "Yes. She was the one who took care of me... Anyway, what about you?" he swallowed down the bread roll and lied back on the bed of lilies.
Mina leaned forward and hugged her knees. "I don't know. But tell me more about Maria."
Shadow closed his eyes, "There's nothing to talk about then. She's gone now." he said.
"What happened to her?" she asked.
"She-" Before Shadow could continue, his ears twitched. Mina froze immediatly. Shadow looked to his right; Ash. The mongoose was standing only a few feet from them. He carried a look of hurt and anger. But his gaze returned to Mina.
"M-Mina... You told me you were over that hedgehog!" he shouted, approaching closer.
Mina stood up just when Shadow sat up. "N-no! Ash, it's not-"
Ash glared, "I was looking for you when your mom told me you were out. I decided to look in the one place no one could ever think of but you. Mina, why? I thought you were done with Sonic?!"
Mina smiled softly, "Ash... This is Shadow." she said. The mongoose looked down at the dark expression Shadow held; staring suspiciously at him in anger and annoyence. "Shadow...?" he questioned, obviously unfamiliar to the name. He took another step back and looked Shadow up and down. This wasn't Sonic. He felt his face grow hot, "Uh... Hey..."
The young mongoose frowned, "Me and my mother are taking care of him until he gets well again. That's why I couldn't go out with you today. You see, my mother wanted me to show him around."
For a moment, Ash didn't seem to understand but when he met eyes with the mongoose, he realized how stupid he had been moments ago. The hegehog before him didn't respond to any of this. It was possible he was waiting for the idiot to leave.
"Then why-"
"Ash, I told you. I'm over Sonic... I..."
As Mina continued on, Shadow felt a sudden pain in his chest that ran up to his head. He felt his ears ring for a second and his vision became a blur.
"Mina, it's fine. It's my fault... I just came to ask if you'd like to..." Ash took her hands in his and whispered, "Go out with me to the Carnival..."
Before Mina could answer, Shadow stood up, gripping his head. "Kid... I'm heading back." he said, barely hearing his own words through the loud ringing.
Mina stared at him, "What's the matter?" she asked.
"Nothing." he answered, falling flat on the floor. Mina gasped and ran to his side. He listened as Mina cried out his name as she rushed to him. After that...
Damn.
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Isabella shut the door to Shadow's bedroom, holding a few sheets of blood in her hands. Mina sat in the hallway, her face buried in her hands. Her mother gave a reassuring smile, "He'll be fine, Mina." she spoke softly, setting her robotic hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You can take a break from all this tomorrow, alright?"
Mina looked up, eyes completely watered, "I should have been careful. Now... Shadow-"
"No. He's fine. I gave him some medicine, okay? Relax and enjoy yourself with Ash."
"I can't... I told him that I'm taking care of Shadow. I even told him I couldn't go to the Carnival with him..." Mina sniffled.
Isabella smiled, "A Carnival? Well now, he's very sweet. You can go and I can take care of Shadow-"
"I'm still taking care of him... It's fine." Mina wiped away her tears and hugged her mother.
Isabella returned the embrace, "Just make sure you tell me if it becomes a little too much. Now, I have to clean these sheets before they stain..." the woman walked away in a hurry.
Mina looked to the crack of the door and frowned.