"What's the meaning of this?! You said that I would only get this curse!"
"Change of plans, I didn't expect her to recognize you", said the black haired entity, "That's why I will change your curse so it will fit the criteria"
"It's hardly fair"
"I'm not a fair entity", it replied.
"… And about her wish? Why are you sending her to another world? One should be fair enough"
"… Because of her wish", he said, "I asked her if she wished for a power to undo the curse of someone that she cared for"
"And what it has to do with that?"
"Everything", he looked at the cloaked person, "You can see how she is thanks to me, and you saw how she befriended someone there… She undid his curse with her wish and she probably will do the same with others until she arrive in this world to try and undo your curse"
"…"
"She did fairly well and has a great heart", the entity smiled, "No wonder you took a liking to her, let's pray for her, as she will need her heart to pass the next trial"
-00-
It was raining is the grey city, the streets were silent and no one was outside.
…But that wasn't because of the rain.
She gasped while she tried to run, even with the cold rain hitting her body that felt heavy she didn't dare to stop as she was aware that she was being followed.
"I can't let him catch me…", she whispered.
She stopped a bit to catch her breath, noticing that she was in the middle of a bridge; the water running rather loudly.
"What time is it…", she mumbled, shivering because of how cold she felt, "I hope there's enough time until I find a safe place…"
"There's no safe place in this world… At least, not for you!"
She gasped when a tall figure appeared in the middle of the storm, his green and fiery eyes being a huge contrast to the grey scenario, like his blond hair.
"Y-Y…"
"I won't let you live, you're not going to hurt him… I won't let you", the man whispered, taking slow steps while she stumbled back, fear stamped on her face.
"I-I don't meant to! I don't want to hurt anyone!", she screamed.
"Liar", the man spat, holding her by her neck while pressing her body on the edge of the bridge, "I can see how you tremble in my presence… I can see how you plan to escape from this place… You will abandon him and me… You filthy liar!"
"N-No I…"
"Die… ", the blond man said pushing her, "Die like the others liars!"
Haruka gasped, waking up while a cold sweat ran from her face, her heart beating fast like a truck.
'It was… A fake memory?', she shuddered hugging herself.
Or it was a future memory?
"Onee-chan, are you alright?"
Haruka turned and almost fell from where she was.
Golden hair and green eyes.
"Miss, are you alright?", blinked the childlike voice.
'I-It isn't him… The one from my dreams didn't have glasses and looked older', she thought breathing deeply, 'The person in front of me look like a child'
"Y-yes, sorry", Haruka said trying to smile, "I had a nightmare and was startled"
"I see…", the boy blinked his eyes curiously.
"So… Er… Where am I?"
"Hum? Ah, you're in my home", smiled the child, "I found you passed out and brought you here"
"Oh, is that so?", she blinked, looking from head to toe and doubting that he had enough strength to carry her, "Thank you"
"Hehe, you're welcome Onee-chan", he smiled happily again, resting his face on the corner of the bed (that now she noticed that she was on a bed), "Say~ What's your name?"
"Nanami… Nanami Haruka"
"Haru-chan?", he blinked before nodding, "It's a cute name… I'm Shinomiya Natsuki"
"Natsuki?"
"Yep!"
"Nice to meet you Natsuki-kun"
"Hehe, nice to meet you too Haru-chan!", he smiled.
'Definitely there's no way that he's the same person that appeared on my dream', she smiled at the child before looking the room where she was, which was full of cute dolls and toys of many sizes, '… For a boy he sure has a lot of cute dolls'
"Say… One-chan", asked the boy looking at her with curiosity, "Where you was? Your dress is ripped and you have some cuts"
"A-Ah that's… I hurt myself", she laughed awkwardly, "You see, I'm quite clumsy"
"Is that so?", he blinked again before looking at one of his dolls with interest, "Hum… I don't have girl clothes but I think one of my dolls has the same size as you so… I can lend you her clothes!"
"Eh, you wouldn't mind?"
"Nope!" , he chuckled, humming happily, "Besides, I think they will look cuter on you!"
"…You sure like cute things right?", she smiled kindly.
"Yep! They give me warm fuzzies!", he chirped going to the doll and taking her clothes, "Here, you can wear that! Ah! And you feel like washing the dirty from you face I have a bathroom here!"
"Ok, then, thanks again Natsuki-kun"
"You're welcome!"
Haruka bowed and took the dolls clothes, opening the door were the blond child pointed and stripping her old clothes, taking Kaoru's bag and putting it slowly on a hook that was there.
"It feels nice…", she sighed happily when she felt the warm water, flinching sometimes when the hot water ran through her wounds, "My… I think I need to put new plasters"
After she dried her body she put the frilly dress that looked like a Lolita kind, which thankfully, despite the decorations, wasn't that heavy on hard to move.
"Well, at least it's comfortable enough if I need to run", she mumbled, choosing to wear her older shoes instead of the lacy ones, taking the small bag and putting on her back.
"Wow! Haru-chan you really look cute with this dress!", clapped Natsuki when she got out of the bathroom.
"Hehe, thanks", she nodded, before a thought came to her mind, "Say… Natsuki, where are your parents?"
"…I don't have parents, I live alone"
"Alone?", she blinked, "But… Aren't you too young for that?"
"I can take care of myself", he smiled, looking at the floor with interest, "More than a year"
"Is that so?" Haruka whispered, feeling sympathy wash over her.
Growl~
"Huh, what's that sound?"
"I-I think it's my stomach", she blushed feeling embarrassed before an idea came to her mind, "Say, where's the kitchen? I could make a meal for us!"
"Really?", his eyes shined.
"Yes", she chuckled, thinking of how cute he was.
'This place so peaceful… I hope it isn't a dream'
-00-
"Wow! It was delicious!"
"Haha, thanks", Haruka smiled washing the plates.
"Huh…", the boy started to look again with interest at the floor.
"Do you want to ask something?", she said kindly, crouching to the level of the boy.
"I was wondering if you could play with me", he asked, his cheeks with a tint of red.
"Yes, of course"
"Really?", he perked up, "Ah! We could play hide and seek! It's my favorite game!"
"Hum… Isn't this house a bit small to play hide and seek?"
"Oh, but we don't need to play here, we're going to use the entire city!", he grinned.
Entire city?
"What?"
"We can use the library, the apartments, the museum and…"
"W-Wait a second Natsuki-kun", Haruka said trying to process what he just said, "You said the whole city?"
"Yes", he blinked before realization hit him, "Oh… I see… You're new here! Well, I can show you around and then we can play hide and seek tomorrow!"
The cheerful kind took her hand and dragged her outside, holding her bag like a safety blanket she gulped trying to think about what dangers this world had to offer.
…And found nothing.
The streets were empty, the wind being the only sound that broke the unsettling silence that the air held, as the buildings were all dark, like no one lived there.
She found the lack of living beings, besides her and the boy scarier than the monsters of the other world.
"Where… Where's everyone?"
"No one lives here", Natsuki said now walking, "I'm the only one that live in this city"
"But… You don't know where's the others?"
"… When I arrived this place was already empty", he answered, "Some people appear sometimes, but they leave"
"And you?", she asked, "Don't you want to leave too?"
"No", he shook his head, "I like this place"
"…Don't you feel alone?"
"I have Satsuki, he never leaves me alone"
'Who's Satsuki? His brother? His family?'
"Who's Satsuki? Is her your brother?"
"No", he shook his head, "Satsuki is a friend, and he's my best friend and is always with me when I need him"
"Hum… Ok", she nodded not understanding what he was saying.
"Oh! We arrived at the museum!", he grinned, letting go of her hand and spinning around the exhibitions.
Haruka stepped inside the building with caution, not sure of what she should expect in a place full of skeletons, but got surprised to see that the place was rather… Normal?
"The dinosaurs looks cool right?", asked Natsuki, "My favorite is the T-Rex, I call him Taro!"
"Hum… Nice"
"I wish I could show you more but if we don't hurry then I won't have enough time to show you the rest of the unlocked places on the zone north"
"Unlocked places?"
"Yes, strangely enough mostly of the buildings are locked", he blinked taking her hand again and leading her outside, "Let's go!"
They walked a bit more, with Natsuki showing her the toy's, candies and sculpture shops, always running, and looking outside the shop, as if he wanted to make sure of something.
"Hum... Natsuki?", asked Haruka feeling uncomfortable in the middle of so many statues, while the boy looked curiosly at a fountain, "Why do you always look outside? Like you want to make sure of something?"
"Oh, that's… Ah! It's almost twilight!", he gasped, his eyes widening, "Hey, if we're fast enough we can arrive at the library! The place is huge!"
"Nats…"
"Let's go!", he said taking her hand and looking a bit worried, "It's fine if we stay here, but it can be kind of scary when nights arrive"
"What do you mean by that?", she blinked, a bad feeling making her shudder.
"Let's go!", he repeated, starting to drag her as they ran, "We need to arrive at the library!"
She felt as if they are running faster and faster. She didn't know what it was with the night, but by the urgent expression on his face she knew that good thing it wasn't so she kept running, even if her entire body hurt and breathing became hard.
"We arrived", he said looking behind him and noticing that the rays of light were vanishing, "Quickly, inside!"
She didn't object, she entered the big place while the boy closed the bid door carefully, before taking her hand ant taking her to the second floor, guiding her to one of the closed and cleanest windows.
"Phew, we did on time", he dropped on the floor, close to the big window, "I never dared to walk on the street until almost night hehehe"
He looked a bit nervous.
"What happens at night?", she asked puzzled.
"Well…", he trailed off looking as the sun totally disappeared, "There, look at the street"
Haruka got closer to the window and saw a shadow with a gray face in front of the building, I had a big grin and two incandescent red eyes, that emitted a bright and scary light, walking silently on the street.
"…What's that?"
"I don't know", Natsuki whispered, "He appears as soon as night sets and when he people are nearby"
"Are we safe here?", she shuddered when the thing slowly walked away.
"Yes", he nodded, "He doesn't enter buildings, even when it's open…"
"But… Why you said that it would be better if we came here than staying in that shop?", asked Haruka, "After all you said that we took a great risk coming here"
"I prefer to stay in buildings with two or more floors", he replied, "I stayed once in a store and… It was pretty scary, the thing was in front of the showcase and it's red eyes were glued on me… He stayed like that the entire night!"
"I-I see…"
"…"
'So this world has it dangers too', thought Haruka worried, when she felt the boy's hand holding the sleeve of her dress.
"We will be alright… Don't worry, I feel safe", he mumbled.
'What a strange child', she thought, 'Even if it's clear that he fear whatever appears at night he says that he doesn't want to escape… I wonder why?'
"Haru-chan"
"Hum?"
"We're going to stay here right?", he asked tugging at her sleeve, "Could you read a book for me?"
"Sure, I would love to", she smiled.
'It's better if I don't think of it for now', she smiled while the boy opened a smile and guided her to a room with a blanket and pillows (probably he brought it before), 'He looks alone, I should make sure that he feels safe'
"Ah! Here, my favorite book!", he said, giving her a small book that looked like a pocket book with purple cover.
"That is…", her eyes widened.
-The Tale of Purple-
-The Sensitive Purple was shy, and didn't stand much; she liked White the most, because White' powers went well with hers, the soul and the heart-
-She liked Red, so fiery and bright, she didn't like the morning sky or the deep ocean as the colors were silent to her-
-Black was always around her and White, and she liked him, even with him being an entity of sadness, and in the end, only Black and White were there for her, as she couldn't make a choice-
-Purple's still alive-
"…Why did you want me to tell you this weird story?"
"Well… You see, I always felt bad for Purple", said Natsuki, "She's just shy, but was hated just because she couldn't make a choice… Even Red, which she liked, abandoned her"
"…"
"She seems like a nice person", he trailed of looking sadly at the book, mumbling to himself, "What she did to deserve that?"
"The Graceful Blue disliked Purple and White because of pride…", mumbled Haruka remembering the words of the blue book.
Now she wondered why she found the blue book or why she thought about their dynamics so deeply.
…And why she called the strange entity of curses by "Black"?
"… You know what I find strange?", he mumbles looking at her eyes, "That she liked Black even if he was a being of sadness… Why she liked such a dark color? Was that because in the end, Black was a nice person?"
Nice?
"Hum… I don't think it's the case…", she trailed off thinking back to the dark haired man and all of the suffering that he made her and many people suffer.
…But then again, he looked pained.
'Why I can't stop thinking about him?', she shook her head.
"Onee-chan, are you ok?"
"Y-Yes, I'm fine", she smiled, "Do you want me to tell you another story?"
"Hum… Yeah, I like the illustrated book with Piyo-chan, it has cute drawings!", he said patting a big book next to him.
"Haha, I see, I will read it for you", she said picking the book and placing it on the big and fluffy rug, "But first I will switch the light of the others rooms off… Er… Unless you prefer to let it on?"
"No, I'm fine", he shook his head, "But why are you switching them off?"
"Well, because if we feel sleepy we can sleep here", she smiled, "Wait a second, I will be back!"
"Ok…"
First she pressed the switch of the first floor off, and when she did that she saw two red lights.
It was the creature, which was staring her through the window.
She shuddered when she stepped to the side and the creature's gaze accompanied her movement, feeling her heart beating fast she ran through the stairs and decided that she would feel safer if she let the lights on.
"Eh? Haru-chan?", blinked Natsuki surprised to see her, "Didn't you say that it would be better to switch the light off?"
"C-Changed my mind", she stuttered, "You're right, that thing is creepy"
"Oh, you caught it staring you?"
"Yes…", she shivered, closing the door behind them.
Natsuki looked slight indecisive before shyly taking her hand and offering a small and unsure smile.
"Thanks", Haruka breathed, noticing that the small boy was trying to cheer her.
"It feels weird to comfort an adult", he chuckled slight.
"Ah! Sorry, I don't look reliable right?", her gaze dropped down.
"No, I feel safe around you", he smiled before a red tint colored his cheeks, "It's just… That's the first time I felt like 'protecting' someone… I think I like this feeling, it's nice"
"Is that so?", she giggled feeling more at ease, "You're a cute boy Natsuki… Oh, sorry, boys usually don't like being cute right?"
"No, I like it"
"Is that so?", she let a chuckle, while taking the big book, "You sure are special"
Haruka patted lied on the floor and patted the spot right next to her, so Natsuki lied there with a puzzled expression until Haruka took the blanket and covered them, putting an arm around him which made him look surprised.
"It feels more warm this way right?", she smiled opening the book in front of them, using the other arm around him to flip the pages, which made their bodies closer.
She started to read the childish book but Natsuki wasn't paying attention, he was looking at her, his cheeks feeling warm like his heart.
'Don't trust her, she will disappear and abandon you'
'I know but… It feels too nice'
'She will hurt you, it's better if you leave her before she leaves you and make you suffer'
'… I can't help it, I like this warm'
'…'
'Sorry, I know you're worried'
'Fine, but if she does anything wrong I will punish her'
"… Natsuki-kun?"
"Hum?", he blinked, "Sorry, I think I dazed off"
"You must be sleepy right", she closed he book and stretched her arm to take two pillows, "Here"
"Thanks"
"Do you want me to take your glasses off?"
"…No", he shook his head, "I will be looking a bit of the figures, but you can sleep"
"Hum… Ok, then", she blinked, feeling sleepy and closing her eyes, resting her head on the fluffy pillow.
Natsuki stared at her peaceful face a bit more, before deciding that he wanted to sleep, so he took his glasses off.
In the light of the room his body grew to the size of a young man.
"…Huh, it seems as she's already asleep", he said with a deeper voice.
He narrowed his eyes while he took a strand of Haruka's hair, approaching her ear.
"If you hurt him I will kill you", he whispered while a sadistic smile before he reverted back to the small boy, which was lying unconsciously on the pillow.
-0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000-
Hello~ People! Surprised that Natsuki's the next? Hehehe
I was thinking about the other guys but Natsuki was the first that came to my mind, so I decided to go with him next kufufufufu
Poor Haruka, not only she needs to worry about the dangers of the world now she needs to worry to not be killed by her new partner! What new dangers wait for her?
And people, don't worry, besides Natsuki's there's still more Four Paths to go, so we have plenty of chapters ahead! Huhuhuh, now about her official couple~
Dudududu mystery!
…
REVIEW TIME!
Brandnewmelody- I'm bad at those too, and it only make senses because I was the one who thought about them XD, don't worry, this isn't the last as we now started with Natsuki's!
