"What are you doing?" Lilly asked me the next morning as I looked at her scarred hand.
"Just looking at it. I might draw on it," I said, smiling. Lilly gave a confused look.
"Why my hand though? Doesn't everyone usually draw on each other's faces?" she asked. I laughed a little.
"That's for when people are asleep, Lilly," I said, "Besides, scars are cool, and I have a way I can make it look cooler."
"Why can't you just draw on Kai's face instead?" Lilly asked as I drew a triangle on her hand.
"I don't feel like running from a flaming porcupine today," I said, adding little stick arms and legs to the triangle.
"I suppose it wouldn't be good to tick him off today," I heard Lilly mumble to herself as I added a top hat and an eye to the triangle, finishing the drawing. I watched her look at the drawing.
"Is that the Illuminati?" she asked, confused. I giggled a little bit. I have no idea what a "Illuminati" is, but it sounds like something silly. With a name like that, it has to be.
"Nope. It's a thing called Mr. Triangle. He was in a show I watched as a kid," I informed her, remembering the show. I loved that show so much, it's a shame I've forgotten most of it. I'm surprised she didn't know who he was. The show used to be really popular.
I saw Lilly smile a little bit. I could tell she liked it, but at the same time I thought her smiling was...odd. I thought she would have been paralyzed in a sense by whatever Misaki showed her. Instead, she's been acting like her usual self. The only thing out of the ordinary? She hasn't left this room at all, except for food and bathroom breaks. It's like she's avoiding everyone, which is really weird.
It seems so weird because everyone who has been messed with by Misaki avoids one person. Jay is avoiding Cole and Kai is avoiding Nya. I thought Nya would have been the only one who's avoiding multiple people. I kinda feel bad for Jay and Cole, since she is avoiding them. I wonder what Lilly saw when Misaki messed with her. I wonder what everyone who was affected saw.
While I was taking a walk around the Monastery, I found Lloyd sitting by door outside. He had his eyes closed and looked to be deep in thought, so I didn't bother him. Instead, I kinda watched him. That's not creepy, right? Then again, I've always kind of liked to watch people do whatever. I'm weird...I know.
"Trying to sneak up on me?" I heard Lloyd ask suddenly. He didn't even open his eyes. I'm surprised he knew that I was there.
"Oh, no. I was just...admiring the forest in the distance," I lied. It'd be awkward to tell him that I was watching him.
I saw Lloyd open his eyes, revealing their emerald green color. He smiled. "Yeah, it's pretty, but I've seen better sights."
"Like what?" I asked. I'm sure he's seen many beautiful places. Lilly has said they used to travel a bunch.
Lloyd looked at me and smiled. "I may have seen a bunch of beautiful places...but there was this one place in the mountains that my dad took me to, and it was absolutely breathtaking. I really want to go there again someday," he said. It sounded cool. I've never really been to the mountains. I've only seen pictures and videos on TV. In fact, I've never really been to any beautiful places, except for the village where my Grandmother's home is located. The cheery blossom trees there look so beautiful in April, the time when they are in bloom.
"Hey, could I ask you a question?" I heard Lloyd ask. Yeah, Lloyd, I'll listen to what you have to say, but why ask if you could ask a question if you're already asking one? Just a random thought.
"Sure," I replied. Why does he even need to ask if he can ask a question?
"You mind accompanying me to a shop in the village? I need to go pick up something for my uncle, and I thought you'd probably like to see the village or something," Lloyd said.
I nodded. "Sure. I haven't really gotten to see much of the village since I got here," I said. It was true. I've only seen the parts of the village I could see from Lilly and I's window.
"Alright. We should probably get going then. My uncle can't go without tea for a long time," Lloyd said, starting to walk towards the village. Of course, the thing Sensei Wu wanted was tea. It's literally almost the only thing I've seen the old man consume.
"Is tea what keeps him alive or something?" I asked, following Lloyd. He shook his head.
"No. My mom says he goes through 'tea withdrawal', and evidently Uncle Wu looks and acts really scary during that," Lloyd explained. I tried to imagine Sensei Wu as a scary person, but I couldn't really see it. Old people can't even pull off looking scary anyway.
As we walked through the village, I noticed how different the houses looked to the ones in the village my grandmother lives in. The ones in my grandmother's village looked much older than these. I suppose this village doesn't look old because it was probably build at the same time the Monastery was built.
As we walked, I noticed two boys that looked to be my age kicking around a soccer ball.
"Did you see my 'Super Starlight Kick'!?" one boy asked the other, excited. The other boy rubbed his chin. He gave a thumbs up.
"I give it my seal of approval," he smiled. I laughed to myself a little bit. They kinda reminded me of my sister and I. Then, I felt a pang of sadness. They remind me of my sister and I. They remind me of my sister. I gradually felt more upset the longer I stared. I started to miss my sister even more.
"Hey, Karma, are you okay?" I heard Lloyd ask, snapping me out of my sadness. I shook it off.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, forcing a smile so he wouldn't be so worried. I didn't want him to ask why I was down.
"Oh, okay. You just looked a little upset," Lloyd said, looking slightly concerned.
"I'm alright. Don't worry, okay?" I smiled, just to reassure him. He nodded.
"By the way," Lloyd said, "Have you noticed how the people who have been attacked by Misaki avoid certain people?"
I nodded. "Yeah. It's strange. Do you think they have huge fears about the other person?" I asked. If so, that would technically mean Lilly is afraid of everyone but me. Weird.
"I doubt that, considering the relationship between Kai and Nya. I think that Misaki is trying to turn them against each other so the bond of this team can be broken," Lloyd said, rubbing his chin. But why would Misaki want to destroy the team?
"Why would she?" I asked.
"If she destroys this team, we won't be in her way anymore. Whatever plan she has will succeed, and if she chooses to, she could make one of us join her," Lloyd said. It sounded frightening. Just having the power of fear can do that? Misaki's much more powerful than I thought. Though, hearing that Misaki is turning us all against each other, that means she's now targeting Lloyd, Cole, and I.
We approached a small shop near the end of the village. I noticed a girl, with hair that was a mix of the colors black and blue, sitting behind the counter, looking quite bored. Business must be slow at this shop. A cheerful smile grew on the girl's face as we walked in.
"Hello! Welcome to Ruby's Tea Shop!" the girl waved. I was a little surprised at how the girl could go from bored to cheerful in one second.
"Yeah, I know, lame tea shop name, right? I should have taken that stranger's advice and named it 'Shake Your Bootea'," the girl said, giggling nervously. She must have noticed my surprised expression.
"No, no, Ruby, it's very unique," Lloyd smiled. Ruby blushed and murmured a thanks.
"So, what brings you and your friend here?" she asked.
"I came to pick up the tea order for my uncle," Lloyd said. Ruby rose from her seat immediately.
"I forgot!" she yelled as she dashed into the backroom of the tea shop. She returned almost immediately with a bag marked with Sensei Wu's name.
"I added something extra, just in case your uncle runs out of tea early, that you won't have to be running to this place and back a whole ton," Ruby smiled.
"My uncle will be grateful. Thank you, Ruby," Lloyd said, then walked out. I followed him, feeling uncomfortable with Ruby staring at us as we walked out. No offense to her, but staring is creepy.
"Hey, Karma, could I ask you another question?" Lloyd asked as we walked back to the Monastery. I nodded.
"Could you accompany me on another errand? This one is a little more important," he said, looking a little more serious.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I thought about visiting the building where Misaki is, just to see if she's actually there," Lloyd said. I nearly froze. Is he crazy!?
"Kai mentioned the idea, and it actually didn't sound too bad for once. We do have to make sure Alex didn't scam you," Lloyd said. He had a point.
"Uh, sure," I said, making sure I didn't sound too scared. Now, I know what you're thinking. "Karma! Why are you so scared of Misaki!? She's just a freak that wears Halloween costumes!" is probably what you're thinking, right? Despite Misaki actually being a bit frightening, she's not the thing I'm afraid of. What I'm afraid of is Lloyd getting hurt, physically or mentally, by Misaki. It sounds weird, I know, but you'd want to protect one of your best friends from a whacko lady in a vampire costume too, right?
I just want to make sure Lloyd doesn't get hurt at all during this errand.