Currently working on the ninth chapter of Mysterious Warrior, so I'll have three chapters (at least!) out by January third. I'm getting back into the swing of things, got my grades up, organized my life, and now I'm ready to get raring again. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
P.S. I've decided Kirei looks like Brigid from the Maximum Ride manga, just with longer hair.
I open my eyes and find Kirei half on me, half on the ground. I smile and look around, seeing a bird to my right and the morning sun just fully showing itself. I groan and stretch my hands up over my head while I sit, Kirei on my lap. I smile and pat her head lightly, waking her up.
"Hmm, huh?" She flutters her eyes open and looks at me. I smile warmly at her.
"Wanna go to the city today? We're gonna get you a mirror so you can look at that pretty face of yours." I smooth her fly away hairs down with the back of my hand and help her off the ground.
"Is that where people are?" She brings her hands to her face and chews lightly on her knuckles.
"Yea, there's lots of people, I guess. It's not even eight yet though, so there aren't many people there yet except for the ones running the stores."
With conflict in her eyes, she nods, then looks to me with determination.
"Let's wait until there are more people." Without another word, she makes her way back toward the house. I jog up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you sure? You're not going to be nervous?" She turns around and looks at me desperately.
"Of course I'm nervous. What if no one likes me, just like Bulma? I haven't seen anyone nice except for you in thirteen years!" She begins to tear up, and I immediately hug her in close to me, whispering.
"Look, Kirei. Bulma loves you. Just like I do, okay? And everyone will love you. You're beautiful and nice and smart and amazing, okay? We won't even have to talk to many people. Only a couple, okay?"
Nodding lightly, Kirei agrees.
"Wanna lift?" I crouch in front of her to invite her onto my back. She climbs on and clings her arms around my neck, stray hairs tickling my neck.
The flight back home was short, and once we made it through the door, I lowered Kirei down and head the the bathroom by myself.
"Hey, I'm gonna shower, okay? You can get in after me." I don't look back, but I hear Kirei agree quietly.
I go in the bathroom and strip down quickly, a little nervous about being naked for some reason. I've always been very shameless, but now I just feel dirty. I shrug it off and get in the shower, hastily turning the water on and cleaning myself absentmindedly.
My mind wanders to random things, as it usually does in the shower. A two second vision of myself showering with Kirei shoots through my mind, and I feel my face instantly heat up and a warm stream start under my nose.
I move my hand to my face and wipe my upper lip, pulling away thick red blood.
I blush harder and shake my head, banning the image from my brain unsuccessfully.
After washing myself I get out of the shower and dry manually, shaking my head like a dog to dry my hair. I feel uneasy, but wrap my towel around my waist and leave the bathroom.
"Kirei? Showers open, if you want." I feign disinterest and head to my pile of clothes on the floor. I begin to rifle through the clothing but I don't hear the bathroom door close. I stand up, confused.
"Kirei?"
She stands in front of the bathroom door, not facing me. The tenseness in her shoulders gives way as she pulls my hoodie and shirt over her head in one motion, her thick braid slapping against her rear. She tosses the warm bundle to the side, looking over her shoulder at me. I feel my eyes widen and my face heat up.
"Would you take care of that, love?"
As soon as I snap back into my right state of mind I quickly look away, and hear the door close. I shake my head and rub my face of blush, hoping to not get another nose bleed.
After I hear the water start, I get dressed in a loose t-shirt and jeans, and pull Kireis original clothing from the dryer.
I slowly open the bathroom door and lay her clothes on the sink, leaving before she has the chance to step out. I throw the dirty clothes in the washer and move to the kitchen to make breakfast.
I throw quick egg sandwiches together, setting them on the table just as Kirei walks into the kitchen.
"Hungry?"
She sits quietly, nodding.
"Kirei, whats wrong?"
She shakes her head, not seeming sad or agitated, just thoughtful.
"Are you still nervous about going to the city?"
"Of course."
"Well, you don't have to be nervous. I'll be with you the whole time."
She slams her hand down on the table half way through picking up her sandwich.
"You know what, Goku? I don't care. That's not why I'm upset. I'm not even upset! You're assuming that I'm sad or angry when I'm just thinking!"
I throw my palms up defensively, closing my eyes and being sure to use a quieter voice.
"Okay, okay. I understand. But what are you thinking about? I can't stand all day without knowing."
She crosses her arms and sits back down, avoiding eye contact.
"I just had a dream last night, and it kinda screwed me up. I'll get over it."
A flash of my dream from the nap yesterday went though my mind and my brow furrowed.
"What kind of dream?" I found myself staring at the floor.
"Just... A dream." "
"But what happened?"
She sighs and looks to me, and I quickly look at her with my shoulders hunched.
"Just some stupid dream. I found you in a closet or something," Kirei blushed and looked away again.
Closet?
Pantry?
I stand up quickly and sweep Kirei off her chair and throw her on the bed, crawling over top her, kissing her neck and rubbing her face with my thumbs.
"Wh- Goku!"
"I had the same dream. I know I did," I look up at her to find her staring wide eyed at the ceiling.
"Y-you did?"
I lie next to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close to me.
"Mhm. I remember all of it. And I think you do too."
Kireis cheeks flush and she glances at me.
"Yeah. Yeah, I do."
I nuzzle my nose into her neck, raising goosebumps there.
"Tell me what happened."
She turns toward me and whisper screams at me.
"You told me you had the same dream!"
"Well, yeah, but I want to hear it from you perspective." I gain an uncharacteristic smirk and Kirei sighs, lying on her back again.
"I don't know, It was so weird. I found myself in a huge bedroom with this little girl right next to me, sleeping. And she looked just like you," Her face heats up again, glancing at me. "But not just you. She looked like someone else too, and I'm guessing that other person was me. I looked at her and she woke up, and she smiled and called me 'Mommy'. I knew it was a dream, so I went along with it. She asked me to make breakfast and she was going to go find 'Daddy', and play hide-and-seek. I brushed it off and went to the kitchen. Somehow I knew where that was." Kirei reaches over and grabs my hand, squeezing it a little. "And I go in the pantry and there you are. You know what happened from there."
I nod and hug her close to me, burying my head in her neck.
"You think it means something?" She asks me shakily.
"I guess we'll find out eventually, I guess. Listen, we have a couple hours until the city gets really busy. You wanna nap with me?"
She smiles and kisses the top of my head. "I thought you'd never ask."
We dozed off.
I feel like I always end chapters the same ways. I was gonna make his one longer, but it's already long compared to the other chapters. Anyway, one down, two to go! Hope you liked it!
~MVO