Nyaaa I teased this chapter a bit on my dA and my Tumblr :3 It's getting more funny, but slowly... jumping right at the weirdness again would be too strange. Kidding. It gets pretty weird.
Sieghart had left me alone after some time and I must have fallen asleep while I was wondering about how to get a Job. The day had been so stressful and annoying that I was glad to be alone and able to rest. The couch was more comfortable than I wanted to admit and the warmth of the blanket around me made me want to stay there forever.
Someone placing a hand on my forehead made me flinch and my eyes shot open, glaring at the immortal for disturbing my sleep.
"Get lost old man..." I growled, my voice scratchy and low.
"You're burning up." He stated.
That was to be expected after that day. Stress always strained my body quite badly.
"Let me sleep... It'll go away on its own..."
"If it's not gone by tomorrow morning, I'll call Lire, got that?"
I just nodded and closed my eyes again, hoping it would be gone by that time. A hand brushed over my hair, but I was too tired to react to that.
When I woke it was dark outside. The TV was on but no one watching, it was so silent I could barely hear it. It was also the only light source. The clock below told me that it was almost eight, making me sigh. I had missed that chance to talk to Lime. Slowly I sat up, looking around once more. I still felt terrible and the fever wasn't gone either.
There was a glass with water on the table, a plate with neatly arranged fruits next to that. I wondered if that was for me and lied back down. The TV was showing something about ducks with hats, so random that I wasn't sure if my fever had taken over my mind or if that movie really was that weird.
Footsteps made me freeze. I knew I was probably allowed to sleep here, but it still didn't feel right to me. Pretending to sleep I waited. A hand on my forehead, then on my hair. Only for a second. Whoever was there moved the blanket back over my shoulders and continued to do whatever they had been doing before. I slowly opened one eye to see who had been there. As expected it was Sieghart who now sat in front of the couch, watching the movie. I wondered why he had touched my hair like that. Was he getting ideas? Fear spread inside of me. What if he would use this situation to his advantage? But was that really what he would do? Then again, I had the body of a female now and he was still a pervert.
"You awake, Kid?"
I flinched. "Y-yeah."
"Feeling any better?"
"Not really..."
Silence. It was rare that a conversation with Sieghart would just end like that, but the immortal probably had something on his mind himself. While wondering what that was I was drifting into sleep again, but Sieghart's voice kept me awake.
"I spoke to Ley earlier." He told me. "She said you can start working at her nightclub whenever you feel like it."
Work huh? With Ley of all people... I couldn't stand that woman back then... did he think that this was any better now? But what choice did I have? No one else would hire someone with an identity crisis who was dwelling on the past and unable to let go.
"I think about it..." I muttered.
"You get better first." He demanded as he turned to me. "Lime was here earlier... He told me to let you sleep."
"Yeah so he doesn't have to talk to me..." I growled back.
Sieghart shrugged. "He seemed like he really wanted to say something."
"Then why didn't he wake me?"
"He was sitting in front of your for a few minutes but you never reacted to his voice. So he left you alone and told me to let you sleep until you wake up on your own."
I was sure Lime had acted on instinct. I often was exhausted after missions and when I ended up stuck in bed with a fever she never left my side. Maybe this Lime was reminded of that. I doubted that there were any feelings involved though.
"Why does Ley work in a club...?" I knew the answer, but I wanted to change the topic.
"She married a rich guy and he gave her a club. End of story." Sieghart seemed a little irritated, almost as if he didn't want to speak about it at all.
"Dressing up means... short dresses and high heels... huh?"
"And make up and jewelry..."
Great. What kind of club was that?
"I don't have any of that..."
"That's pretty obvious."
I sighed, already giving up on that idea. I really didn't want to do things other women did. I needed the money though.
"First you get well, then you speak to Ley. Everything else will work out in time."
"I was supposed to stay at Zero's place..."
"She changed her mind." Sieghart sighed.
Before I could even start getting angry Sieghart continued. "She didn't want you at her place because you still think like a guy. She thought it was better if you were around men."
Smart move, Zero. She was right and I was strangely grateful for that.
"You don't mind me staying here... right?" I silently asked.
He shook his head. "Kid, you need a place where you can relax for a while..."
"How do you-"
"You often ended up like this back then..." He muttered, sighing again. "Especially after stressful missions."
I scoffed. "So you can actually use your brain... shocking..."
"Isn't it?" He laughed.
I felt a small smile creep on my lips. Still, despite the company I felt strangely alone. It wasn't the feeling of solitude that I enjoyed. This time it felt like a hole in my chest. It was uncomfortable and painful, giving me the impression of being unable to breathe at times. That probably added to my current condition.
Sieghart told me that the water and the fruit were for me, like I expected, then he left the room and I drifted into sleep once more.
This time I woke because I heard voices. It was still dark but the sun was about to rise. The TV was off, plate with fruits gone. Only the glass with water remained and a bottle with what seemed to be some sort of alcohol. Of course. Sieghart wasn't in the living room but I could hear him talking to a woman. Figured.
Slowly I sat up, taking the glass of water. My body felt heavy and weak. The fever wasn't gone yet but it wasn't as bad as before. I took a sip, then tried to read what was written on the bottle on the table because I had nothing better to do.
Someone soon joined me. It was a woman with long, bright red hair, braided to a lose ponytail that was hanging over her shoulder. Elesis? But She would be a guy now... She lifted her eyebrows when she noticed me, smiled a little. Golden eyes were staring at me, the smile never touching them. I quickly skimmed her for anything unusual because it was a habit. She was wearing a wedding ring and formal clothing. Her makeup was smudged and she looked tired.
"Rufus, huh?"
I froze, then nodded. If it had been anyone outside the chase Sieghart wouldn't have told them my real name. So who was this?
"Jin." She muttered when she noticed I couldn't figure it out.
Jin... that hyperactive guy that always woke the whole house when he was training. Also the only one who was of any use without weapons. I was shocked. If Zero was right and everyone was their opposite, Jin would be someone really lazy now.
"Morning..." I muttered, not sure what else to say. Jin and I had rarely spoken to each other.
She nodded and sat down on the armchair. "Siggy told me about it."
Siggy. Sieghart?
"You probably have questions." She muttered, staring at me.
"Nothing I should stick my nose into." I replied.
"If you want to work for Ley I can lend you some clothing until you're able to buy your own." She offered.
That was pretty generous, but I still wasn't sure if I should really work there. Thankfully Sieghart entered the living room then. I couldn't say why, but Jin made me feel nervous.
"You're up." He noticed. "Feeling any better?"
"Not really..." I muttered.
He smiled and sat on the ground. "Lime told me to just wait until you got better, seemed like he knows what's going on."
"Of course he would know!" I hissed at him.
Lime and I had been together for years before all this had happened, we pretty much knew everything about each other. Or She knew a lot about me... I wasn't sure anymore if her stories had been the truth or made up. Why had I been so foolish to tell her all these things...
Jin then stood again and left the room, not without planting a kiss on Sieghart's lips. My theory was confirmed. They were married. While it wasn't my place to say anything about that, I was really weirded out anyway. If Jin was with Sieghart, what had happened to Amy? Jin used to be obsessed with her.
"You look pretty disgusted." Sieghart noted.
"Just weirded out..."
"It's a long story."
"Give me the short version."
"We got drunk, she got pregnant."
I could totally imagine that happening. It made me wonder if the other chasers were still attached to their old loves or if they had found new people. Was this another woman thing? Suddenly being interested in the love lives of people I never cared about?
"You're not surprised, eh?" Sieghart asked.
I shook my head. "What about Amy?"
"She is now a gloomy guy that rather draws depressing comics for some newspaper."
"Quite the change..."
He shrugged and my stomach growled. I hadn't even noticed that I was that hungry. It was still embarrassing and I hoped Sieghart hadn't heard that. Being a demon always sucked when it came to food. It was needed to stay alive, yet tasted like the remains of some disgusting creature.
"Hungry?"
I felt my cheeks heat up and nodded slightly. He laughed and left, leaving me to dwell on my embarrassment. It was just past six in the morning and I could hear rain outside. Sieghart returned with a plate, handing it to me with an exaggerated bow.
"Here you go, 'princess'." He snickered.
I glared at him but took the plate anyway. "Drop that princess shit."
"Topaz is convinced that you are one. You're not even that pretty."
"He's just a kid, let him think what he wants."
Sieghart laughed more as he sat down and turned on the TV. "You secretly like it, don't you?"
"Like hell I would!" I yelled, but Sieghart stayed silent.
So he had actually called Lime even though he had told him that I would be fine before he left. Was that old man that worried? I couldn't find a good reason for that. Sighing I inspected the food, noticed that it was yet another thing I didn't know, but the taste was awful anyway. It got rid of the hunger though.
Jin returned at that time, carrying clothing in her arms. "You better change your clothing."
I knew she meant no harm, but it was making me nervous to have to wear women stuff again. Reluctant I took the clothing she offered and thanked her, putting it beside me, never to be touched again. This looked like a nightgown. Jin smiled and headed back upstairs, while I was glaring at the clothing.
"If you don't want to add a cold to that fever you should change." Sieghart muttered as he stood.
My cheeks heated up again and my hands started trembling once more. Why couldn't Sieghart just give me something of his clothing... I felt humiliated and sort of like a child that didn't get what it wanted. It was strange and terrifying. Hating myself for it I changed into the nightgown, surprised at how uncomfortable a single piece of clothing could be. It was worse than the dress Lime had given me. Scratchy, short and almost too small. It felt like Ice on my skin.
And to add to the humiliation I had to fulfill a basic need. Fast. Growling to myself I stood, the pain in my ankle shot up my leg, making me cringe. It was healing at the usual pace, but the continuous strain wasn't going to help with it. I couldn't let anyone see me like that, so I limped through the apartment, realizing I had no idea where the bathroom was. Slightly worried I just opened every door I could find until I found it. While I was at it I also took a shower to warm myself up. My shoulder wasn't healing for some reason though. It still hurt and the bruise was still more than visible. Magic? But that didn't exist anymore...
After I was done I wandered around, covered in the blanket and limping. I was almost glad that no one seemed to be home, even though I wanted to know where they all had disappeared to. Even the kids were gone.
"You shouldn't run around like that." A female voice sounded behind me. I spun around immediately grabbing my eyeteeth before realizing that I didn't have them anymore.
The blanket fell to the ground.
Jin began to laugh.
"I'm sorry, your face was priceless..." she grabbed my bruised shoulder to hold her up while laughing. I didn't find that funny at all.
"Let go." I growled at her.
Her laugh vanished into thin air and she took her hand away, only to whack it on my forehead a second later. I stumbled backwards, questioning my reflexes and landed on my rear.
"Why are you even up here with that fever, go sleep!" she scolded.
"I'm not tired." I growled back at her, trying to get up again. My body felt heavy and slow, made moving a hassle.
Before I had a chance to realize what she was doing she had slumped me over her shoulder and carried me back to the living room, I barely managed to grab the blanket. Despite her frail looks she was quite strong. It was Jin after all... I was wondering if she had changed at all. She did seem less active though.
"And you stay there!" He ordered when she placed me on the couch.
Was this how a scolded dog felt? "You're not my mother."
"I can tie you to the couch if you like that better."
I crossed my arms and glared at her, her eyes focusing on my left arm. I wasn't thinking much of it, they all knew what the blue marks meant after that encounter with Berkas. Lire wouldn't stop pestering me about it and in the end I had enough of it and just told them. Maybe it was at that time when they stopped being wary of me.
"Your shoulder looks really bad..." Jin stated, crouching down in front of me to get a better look.
"It's just a bruise..."
"A bad one."
"It'll go away."
Jin scoffed. "You can walk already, and as far as I know that ankle was broken. That bruise should have healed by now, don't you think?"
"It just take-"
"Who hit you?" Her voice was firm and didn't allow any back talking.
I frowned at her. Sieghart had been so overly concerned too. Was there something they didn't tell me? The distrust was flaring up and I was thankful for it. That finally gave me something to do.
"Some thugs or Arme, I don't know."
She nodded and stood without saying another word. Whatever was going on here, I wanted to find out. From what it sounded like Jin was on the phone, yelling at someone. I couldn't understand anything, but she seemed really angry.
I stood, sneaking around silently wasn't easy with that limp, but I managed to get to the kitchen without making too much noise. I was pretty sure that Jin wouldn't have heard me over the yelling anyway. I could see her furiously pacing in the kitchen while she yelled at the phone.
"If you had raised your kids better this wouldn't have happened!" Jin shouted. She looked a little like back then. As if she was fighting.
"If anything happened to my son, I will beat you up with my bare hands, Arme" She growled.
Her voice made me shiver. She seemed dead serious about beating Arme up, and even though Arme looked stronger I didn't doubt that Jin would succeed.
Jin threw the phone on the counter and slammed her hand into the dining table with a yell. I should have been surprised at the table breaking, but I wasn't. This was Jin after all and she still seemed to have this inhuman strength.
"Not again..." She complained.
"Trouble?" I asked as I entered the kitchen.
Her eyes darted to me and for a second I thought she would attack. I was already moving into a defensive pose when she relaxed.
"Yeah..." resigned she slumped down on a chair. "This stupid kid..." Her anger seemed to be gone and now it looked like she was about to cry.
"What happened?"
She scoffed. "Were you always this curious?"
"Depends on the situation." I limped over to the closest chair and sat down.
She watched me for a moment, then sighed once more. "Sapphire, Uriel, and Eleazar fought pretty badly. Lass had to take Eleazar to the hospital... Siggy went there for now. They wouldn't tell us anything over the phone."
Her hands were shaking and she seemed pretty nervous. So that was why no one else was here. I knew I should have said something to comfort her, but my mind was blank. Nothing I could say to her sounded right.
"Why are you still here then?"
She scoffed. "We only have one car."
For some reason I was getting nervous. I wasn't sure why as I didn't really care but Sapphire seemed like the guy to do that. But Uriel? They boy had been pretty shy when I had seen him.
"Are you getting worried?" Jin asked with a frown.
I shrugged, wincing at the pain in my shoulder. Was it getting worse for was that just imagination? "It's none of my business."
"But you care anyway." She smiled.
"Sieghart said something about the chase being a family... that would include everyone."
"The chase has stopped being a family. The chase doesn't exist anymore..." She laughed silently and stretched. "But there were always people I liked better than others."
"Wasn't it like that for everyone?"
"Nah, you hated all of us."
"In the beginning." I corrected her.
She laughed more. "Yeah you only joined because of the reward money, I remember how you yelled at Knightmaster after the first mission because the payment was slow."
"Tell me one person that likes late payment."
She looked away. "There were pretty bad rumors going around about you."
"I didn't care much."
"I started one too..." She chuckled.
"The one about me owning pink underwear with ribbons?"
She blushed as her eyes widened in surprise. Seemed like she hadn't expected me to know that. It was pretty obvious.
"But after a while we got used to you!" She quickly said, trying to change the topic.
"Humans get used to just about anything after a while."
"But only Lass and Lime trusted you... until..."
I glared at her. "Until these idiots ran into Berkas."
Jin bit her lip and nodded. "That fight was tough." She admitted. "I'm glad you were with us."
I barely remembered the fight. My arm had been hurting so badly that I was barely able to think straight.
"Elesis was so angry when you took her place." Jin smiled at me. "You were barking orders as if we were kids..."
I had told them once or twice to take cover... I didn't want anyone else to lose any limb to that monster... or their live. Facing that giant makes it so clear how short a life can be, how small and insignificant it is and how badly someone can fight when they are scared.
"...I'm sorry for bringing it up." Jin apologized and sighed.
I wanted to reply when I heard the front door opening. Sieghart was carrying Eleazar into the Kitchen, the boy obviously asleep. Jin stood, hurried over to them.
"Sprained wrist and a concussion. They wanted to keep him there for the night, but he didn't want to." Sieghart explained.
Jin sighed in annoyance. "You're both so stubborn... get him to the couch... if he wakes up in his room he'll run around."
Sieghart nodded and complied, not without glaring at me. "Why are you up?"
"I was bored."
"Keep Jin from killing Arme then."
I frowned and turned, noticed that Jin was putting shoes on.
"Why?"
"Well If you want to watch my son I do it."
Sighing I walked over to Jin, not sure what I was supposed to say to her anyway. At the moment I hated Arme so badly that I didn't really wanted to stop Jin from what he was planning.
"Don't try to stop me." She growled at me.
"I don't really want to stop you... But do you really think you can take Arme down?"
"You saw what I did to the dining table."
Good point. I sighed and blocked the front door, crossing my arms.
"Move or I'll make you." She got into a fighting pose.
Sighing I did the same, once more noticing that I couldn't summon any weapon. Silently begging that she wouldn't aim for my head I waited for her to charge.
