When Natsumi awoke she momentarily felt like she was back home and expected to hear the sound of the mailman delivering the daily mail, a dog around the corner barking as he passed by, the television running downstairs as her mother made morning coffee. When she stat up in her bed and saw a small red being sleeping in a chair at the edge of the room reminded her of otherwise. Her heart was sad but her body felt light and free of her usual aches and pain.
Natsumi's attention was quickly drawn by a sudden thud; she sat up fully to look towards the source of the sound. What she saw made it very difficult to stifle an outburst of laughter. Giroro, the super strong and tough soldier had let his guard down so much during the past evening that not only had he fallen asleep, he had just barely fallen out of the chair he had been sleeping in. After struggling to keep herself from laughing she climbed out of bed and walked over to him, concerned that he may have hurt himself.
"Hey are you ok?" Natsumi asked as she rolled him over. she sighed heavily when she saw he was both uninjured and still asleep.
She lifted him up and carried him to her bed. She placed him down gently and pulled the covers over him. He continued to sleep soundly and curled himself up in response to the sudden comfort. Natsumi leaned forward looking at his face, she felt his breath on her skin as he slept. His sleeping face seemed so peaceful, even for a hardened soldier. Natsumi wasn't sure what had compelled her, maybe it was gratitude or maybe curiosity, whatever it was she leaned forward and briefly planted her lips against his forehead.
She stood up and watched him a little bit longer before she headed out of the room and down the hall. She headed into the restroom and began to wash her face. As the water dripped from the wet strands of her hair she looked at herself in the mirror, raising her hand she touched a few fingers to her bottom lip remembering the strange sensation of his skin. Shaking her loose red hair around her face she continued to stare at herself and wonder to herself. He had become so much kinder to her, hell he even built her old room for her.
Natsumi remembered the delicious taste of sweet potatoes and how they reminded her of home. Who would have thought that a simple earth grown vegetable that could be baked over a fire in her backyard could end up becoming something so meaningful to her? For a race that seemed to demean all others it's surprising that one of them could love an earth food so much. Then again there is no greater warrior than the stomach, she giggled when she thought this.
Natsumi locked the door (making sure she wouldn't have any sudden visitors again) and prepared a bath for herself. As she floated in the water she tried to let her thoughts go to nothing but caught herself thinking about home, talking with Giroro about Earth made her miss her family. She thought about the sky and the air, she wondered how long it had been on earth since they had all been taken. A week at the most she figured, she wondered what the weather was like that day.
When it was time to get out of the bath Natsumi wrapped herself with a towel. She realized she had forgotten to get a change of clothes, and she had already sent hers down a clothing shoot. Her face turned red with frustration and she walked out of the washroom, when she reached the room she had originally come from she slowly and quietly peeked her head in the doorway. Looking towards the bed she hoped for some sign that Giroro was still asleep, when she decided that it was either make it or break it time she slowly snuck into the room and headed for the dresser. Of course the clothes would all be the same plain white outfits but she needed to put SOMETHING on at least.
As she walked past the bed she glanced over at Giroro's sleeping form, his small chest rose and fell rhythmically. That little pause cost her dearly; she lost her grip on her towel sending it cascading down onto the floor. She flushed, her eyes darting to Giroro and then making a break for the dresser she grabbed some clothes and turned around when she heard movement. Thankfully Giroro had only rolled over and was now facing the other way. She slipped on some undergarments and walked out of the room as she slipped a shirt over her head, heading down the hall to brush her hair and teeth.
Giroro lay in the bed his face burning red as beads of sweat ran down his face. His jaw hung open as he couldn't believe what he had seen. He didn't dare move in case Natsumi returned and realized he had been awake since the moment that she had entered the room. After years of learning how to lure his enemies into a false sense of security he was glad he had been able to fool Natsumi into thinking he had still been asleep. He didn't dare try and imagine what she'd have done to him had she figured out that he was actually awake.
When he deemed it was safe to get up he sat up and slapped himself in the face to snap out of his initial shock. He walked out of the room and stretched himself with a large yawn. Further down the hall Natsumi was walking back towards the room, her red hair all straightened out from brushing it. They both paused to engage in idle chatter. They decided on simple rice omelets for breakfast. They sat down and ate together, this time they began with silence about half way through Natsumi paused and looked at Giroro. He stopped holding his omelet just in front of his mouth before biting in it.
"What is it?" he asked her.
"I…. Well the other day I told you about my planet and what I loved about it… So I was kinda hoping that maybe you could…. Tell me about yours? I didn't see any of the planet itself when I arrived. I went from one cold metallic room to another till I ended up here." She requested.
The little red frog waited for a few moments before he responded, collecting his thoughts and planning what he would say.
"Well to start, Keron has green grass and blue skies like Peko- like Earth. However, the masses of land are all shaped like stars, even the clouds. There are civilizations and cities on most of them." as he spoke Natsumi watched him closely.
"Each building is different but the most of them are white blocks in stacks with circular windows on each side. I guess you could say they resemble the little cubes you call dice. In the less populated areas, the houses often resemble fungi; mushrooms. Although some of the more well off families' houses are designed like the 'mansions' of the high class people on your planet." Giroro paused for a moment and readjusted himself. Natsumi leaned her cheek on her hand with her elbow on the table as she listened and imagined the world.
"The oceans aren't salt water like yours. They're mostly fresh water and have a green hue, and all of the sand is a soft pink. We have a white sun that turns the sky into a cream color when it sets and rises." He paused to look at Natsumi's face, his heart catching in his throat. She was smiling peacefully as she imagined the scenery.
Natsumi peaked with one eye to see Giroro watching her in his silence; she could see a hint of surprise on his face. Nothing stood out more about his demeanor than the deep shade of blush covering his face. She avoided making eye contact with him and closed her eyes again. Giroro continued to tell her about his world and she in turn told him more about hers. Neither of them really looked at each other, but if they had they would have both seen the other's face was covered with a deep blush.
-To Be Continued…