A/N: My second favorite chapter; or rather, my favorite drama chapter and the other one is my favorite humor chapter? Not sure.
Her eyes filled with hatred and rage, but it wasn't her rage. She looked sick, about to throw up, even, and then… she bolted. Gone. Suddenly as she'd started being nice to me, she'd disappeared.
I'm a demon of the mind. Thoughts, impulses, instincts, those I read, but I've never been able to sense emotions on their own, that weren't tied up in thought. The only exception to that rule is anger – it comes from that other half of my heritage, the other side of my family tree, and that registers crystal-clear. I felt the anger coming through her in waves, felt the havoc it was wreaking on her body, and became caught in the tangle of twisted thoughts the emotion brought with it.
Almost on its own, my own body sprang from my seat, slamming out the door, overcome with its own rage that clouded my mind and made it so hard to think straight.
This was just a girl. A human girl, not built to handle such rage as my kind could give. My body ditched the disguise that my mind held in place around it, luckily just after I'd left the area. I felt the pieces of me that I'd held at arm's length settle back into place; horns, wings… I bared my fangs and hissed at the spectre of that darkest, blackest rage.
She lay on the ground, sobbing, curled into a ball as if that would make the pain go away… or maybe not go away… possibly, come back, my mind told me, and I resisted the urge to hiss again. It would only frighten her more.
Before I could stop myself, I was on the ground next to her, pulling her into my arms, making reassuring noises as I folded my wings around her, encompassing her in a thick, leathery blanket. I eased the tears off her face with one claw, delicately, whispering soft reassurances as my eyes closed and I dove deep within her mind.
No one's ever taught you how to protect yourself, have they? I asked within the depths of her mind. The answer was clear, even though she didn't even think it. Of course they hadn't taught her how to protect her mind.
My own anger was my vessel, clear and burning, crystal green fire that purged all traces of that black flame. I touched something vile, a deep, festering wound that sang with his presence – a bond, closed on one end right now, sealed with blood. I could've taken it out, my own blood told me, but I couldn't foresee the consequences of that. I could drive her insane or permanently damage her if I wasn't careful. Besides… if I took it out… she'd probably be furious with me. More than she would be already. So instead, I erected barriers for her, barriers that would block those influences that sought to harm her.
Then I withdrew, quietly, carefully, as though I had never been.
"Shhh," I told her. "It's alright. He can't hurt you right now… Shhh. It's alright, Naminé."
"Why?" she sobbed. I don't even know if she knew she was speaking; she seemed pretty out of it.
"I don't know," I told her, wiping her hair out of the path of her tears. It was wet, sticking to her face. She grabbed my hand.
"Why'd he go away?" she cried, grabbing my hand like a lifeline. "Why'd you go, Angel? Please, let me back in…!"
Closed at one side. And her, made to be dependent on it… my opinion of 'Angel' was going downhill fast.
"Come on. I'll take you home."
"My job."
"Lea'll understand." I stood, pulling her up with me, still held in my arms.
"Not home!" she cried, grabbing my shirt with all the strength she could muster. "Not back there! He'll kill you!"
And me, her thoughts said – but she didn't care about that. Didn't care about herself at all. Why was her mind always in mine? Gorram annoying.
But with her like this… it was better this way.
"Not your home."
"You're not taking me back?" Hope. She hated and loved him. That I could tell without being an empath. Her voice pleaded with me. She should be screaming at me, yelling at me to put her down, threatening to call the cops, but instead, she was… begging. Pleading.
"Back to my place. You can go to work tomorrow from there, if you're up to it."
But the minute I'd given her a negative, she'd lost track of the rest. Her breathing was deep and even; she'd fallen asleep, still clutching my shirt like a lifeline.
Home was a short flight from Veil, especially at the speeds I was flying. I set Naminé gently on the couch, disentangling her from my shirt. Mom was at work, Chika was at a friend's, Dad was out of town. I had the whole house to myself.
She clutched at a pillow the same way she'd clutched at my shirt, and I went to pour myself a bowl of cereal; I knew she wasn't going to wake up in the time it took me to get food and come back. She was too exhausted for that. I plopped down into an overstuffed armchair with my food, watching her. I guess that might sound creepy, but she interested me; plus, I wanted to be there when she woke up, in case she didn't remember that I was taking her to my place. She seemed… not peaceful. But… relaxed. I'd never actually seen her relaxed or having fun before; I guess it had to do with that festering thing that that jackass, quarter-blood, good-for-nothing…
I stopped my train of thoughts before it could get out of hand.
That festering thing that her 'Angel' had put in her skull. I dug my claws into the arm of the chair, like I wanted to dig them into him. A bit savage, but that's half my nature. I've learned to deal with those impulses.
I finished my bowl of cereal, brought it to the sink. Rinsed it, put it in the drying rack. Went to grab a novel. I searched through my (large) collection, finally settling on David Weber's newest fantasy, then went back to the living room. Careful not to disturb Namine, I sat down at the edge of the couch she was sleeping on with my book.
She was pretty cute, when she wasn't screaming at me. Or hitting me with chairs. Or dumping Sprite down my shirt. I sighed, shook my head, went back to my novel.
Somehow, the intricate court politics of a kingdom unknowingly manipulated by black sorcery weren't holding my attention. I sighed, shifted.
Naminé twitched, rolled over, fell off the couch before I could catch her, physically or mentally. I inspected her to make sure she hadn't hurt herself, then hoisted her back up onto the couch again. She didn't even seem to notice falling, but she clung to me and wouldn't let go, as if something in her dreams compelled her to. I ended up with her head in my lap, her arms wrapped around my waist, her leg curled up beneath her.
When she woke up, I was gonna get an earful. In the meantime, her grip was so strong I wasn't going to budge her without waking her up.
I went back to my book, able to concentrate a little better, despite the kind of distraction she should have been posing. By the time the nobly-born warrior maiden had confessed her love for the barbarian paladin from her people's hated neighbors, I had noticed myself gently stroking her hair.
She seemed so… delicate… this way. I allowed myself a faint smile.
About the time the evil wizard was delivering intelligence to the devil servant of an evil god, I felt Naminé begin to stir.
"Hnnnn…?" I heard her mumble as she blinked herself awake.
Our eyes met, briefly, and once again I felt like drowning in them. Just coming awake, they were completely unguarded, and I could see all of her confusion, hatred, and sadness all at once.
Then, she clamped down on those emotions as she recognized my face, hastily let go of me, and gave me a glare that could freeze fire.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Creeper?!" she cried, crossing her arms.
I sighed. "You're the one who couldn't let go of me…"
"Only because you used your demon mumbo-jumbo on me! JERK!" She huffed, and if her arms weren't already crossed, she'd probably have crossed them again. She looked off to the side… then paused.
"…where are we?" she asked.
"My house," I told her. "You… didn't want to go home."
Her pause became a long, eloquent silence. Her shoulders slumped slightly.
"…..y-yeah," she said, before she stiffened up again, putting on that tough-girl image once more. "A-anyway, how do you have a house?"
"…..I grew up here?"
She blinked.
"H-huh?" she asked. "But you're…. y'know…. You're a…"
"A demon?" I said. "Yeah, about that…."
The phone rang; once, twice, three times. Without a second's hesitation, the receiver flew out of the dock and into my hand. "Hello, Sakuraba residence; this is Neku."
There was a sigh on the other end. "Oh, thank goodness you're home," came a voice with a heavy Polish accent. I stood, stretched.
"What's wrong, Mrs. L?" I asked. Mrs. Leibnitz was the mother of Chika's best friend – the same one she'd been staying with today.
"It seems that Chika darling started feeling a little under the weather and Ania and I are worried about her; she wanted to go home but I knew your parents were both out."
Oh, boy. Chika wasn't feeling well – that was bad news. She rarely got sick. So it meant either she'd been in a Crossing and didn't want anyone to know, or it had the potential to be worse than it seemed.
"Well," I said, "I have a friend over but sure, I'm here. Go ahead and bring Chika home, I'll look after her."
"You're such a darling boy, Neku dear. I'll have her home in no time."
"Thanks, Mrs. L; tell her to be good for me, okay?"
"I shall. Goodbye, Neku."
"Bye, seeya soon."
I pressed the end button and sighed; the look on Naminé's face was priceless, though. "As I was saying," I told her, "I wasn't exactly raised a demon. I was born here, on this side. I'm not like the others."
The stunned silence lasted a while; instead of responding, she huffed, stood up, and started pacing around the house exploring things. I left her to it; instead, I continued my book. After all, the subtle posturing of wizard versus devil champion had been interesting. I had barely had a chance to read a little of the next section when the doorbell rang. I carefully concealed my wings and other demonic features, then I opened the door.
Chika, my little sister, hurtled through and clamped like a vice around my legs. I smiled at Mrs. Leibnitz, a forty-something woman whose hair was already turning grey, and she smiled back.
"Thank you for taking care of her," I told her, patting Chika's head.
"Oh, it's always a pleasure, Neku," she said, smiling. "Ania enjoys having her over, it's good for her to have someone her own age to play with, and Chika doesn't let the boys bully either of them. She's a good influence."
"Ania's been a good influence on Chika, too, Mrs. L," I told her. "Have a good day now, okay? And say hi to the boys for me." The 'boys' were twins whose names I couldn't pronounce and who were in my science class and math class, respectively.
"I will. Good day to you too, Neku."
She waved and left, and I closed the door.
I looked down at Chika, right now a bundle of orange hair and black hoodie two sizes too big wrapped around my legs like… some kind of… really, really clingy thing.
"I was so sscccaaaaaareeeedddd!" she cried, huggling me tighter. "And then it it me and it huuuurrrrrttttt! And Ania was scared too, I think she might've seen it but I don't know if she remembersss… and then… and then… we ran away as fast as we could and then Lea appeared and he kicked its butt and then we were okay but it was scary I thought I was gonna die, onii-sannnnn!"
So I was right – it was a crossing. I wiggled out of her grip, allowing myself to be myself once again, and then I drew her into a great big hug, wings and all.
"It's okay, Chika, it's okay," I said quietly, rubbing her hair. "You did the right thing. Where are you hurt?"
"My… my head," she sniffled, and I felt her crown. There was a huge goose egg, but under the circumstances, it was lucky. "I told Mrs. L I wasn't feeling good and that I had a te- tem- temp'ra-tur." She sniffled. "I wanted to be here with Big Brother so you could chase all the, the demons away…."
I held Chika's little, nine-year-old head to my chest, then looked over my shoulder to see Naminé, standing in the doorway with an awestruck look on her face, like I'd sprouted a second head.
"Nami," I said, "this is my little sister. Chika Sakuraba."
Chika looked up from her sniffling, pulling the edge of one of my wings down with her little grade-schooler hand, and peering over it, wide-eyed.
Nami spluttered, more than speechless for the second time in half an hour.
A/N: My first OC introduced here in the form of Neku's little sister, the most adorable thing I've ever created. At this moment in time, she is somewhere between 7 and 9. Also, the book Neku is reading is a real book that I had just finished reading when I wrote that second chapter. Anyone who can name it gets a prize! :3
~Miri
