Chapter 3: Affection
Several Hours have flown by since the incident Liza encountered several blocks away from her current home with the croc and turtle mutants. Liza letting out a small sigh glanced over at the window, noticing the sun was coming up as she could see the clear blue seeping through the blinds.
She couldn't sleep the entire night at all, even at this point she still felt wide awake. She then directed her glance over at the turtle, still unconscious and badly hurt on the couch and hasn't moved a muscle at all, Liza had already wrapped bandages and applied the medicine that Jean told and gave her to, even unknowingly throwing a blanket on him.
Liza let out another sigh, moving her look back at the Television she has been watching all night and sitting on her side sofa chair, munching away on some snacks watching a strange movie she didn't even know about.
A large sound came from the front door, causing Liza to immediately jolt around frighteningly, though also immediately calming down when she realized who it was. "Jean!" Liza said surprisingly, completely forgetting she was coming by this morning.
"You forgot that I was coming by this morning like I said more than once last night, didn't you." Jean said with no amusement at all, Liza instantly hesitating, "Nooo…" Jean only sighed as she took her jacket off and lowered her bag next to the door, "How is he?" She questioned Liza.
"Still unconscious and still breathing, hasn't moved a muscle at all during the night." Liza said, tossing a chip into her mouth and munching it. Jean walked over at the back of the couch, leaning over it and staring down at him, "You stayed up all night?" She questioned as she glanced at Liza.
"Couldn't sleep." Liza remarked, "Aww, you even gave him a blanket, how sweet." Jean said sarcastically, "Shut up! It was getting cold ok!" Liza growled embarrassingly, she was also wrapped up in a blanket of her own.
Jean glanced back down at him, confusement on her face, "Wonder where he came from, you know his name?" She questioned, "No idea, like I said, he fled from me twice, he's being distant with me." Liza said, she figured he had a reason on why he was being so distant, let alone not even telling his name, though it was honestly starting to bother her.
"I'm not even going to question how you even managed to get him in your own home." Jean said, Liza almost choked on the chip she was chewing on and coughed once, "Y-yeah… Best you don't know. Want some breakfast, I was about to make some." Liza said, placing her snacks aside and standing up with a stretch, changing the subject quickly.
"Just some pancakes will do." Jean said, moving over and stealing Liza's chair and turning on the news. Liza didn't care, she only got started towards making some breakfast.
"Liza, check this out." Jean shouted slightly for her to come over and see the TV after several minutes, Liza was literally done and walked over, standing next to Jean and handing her the plate of pancakes she wanted while staring at the TV for the news.
"An unexpected turn of events wilds up in New York City after an unexplained explosion occurs in a nearby abandoned building near the tower of Alcan!" The News Reporter said, images of the abandoned building on fire and the explosion taking sudden effect from camera's that caught it.
"Take a look at what one of our camera's have also captured!" The Reporter added, Liza instantly almost dropped her plate. It was footage of that croc mutant, it wasn't clear as he was traveling through the explosions dark fog, running and laughing away and only the sight of his dark figure.
Liza shot a worried look at the turtle, it was clear to her that this croc was in search of him and most likely her too. Alcan tower was a mile or two away from her apartment, this croc's search pursuit was going the wrong way, further away, clearly destroying anything he suspects is a hiding place most likely, but for how long.
The stab wound inflicted on him was fatal and pretty bad from what Jean said, and how she seemed to react towards it, he was in no condition to be out and about, let alone moving.
"Seems there's more mutants, you knew about this?" Jean questioned as she munched on the pancake, glaring slightly at Liza who immediately removed her look from the turtle and down at Jean hesitantly.
"Just him, other mutants I wasn't aware of, he's been alone." Liza said, slightly lying, Jean could be scary if she knew everything, especially her veterinarian instincts and habits, it would also be best if she didn't know about the croc and the incident with the turtle between them.
Liza wasn't entirely lying, now that she thought about it more, he did seem lonely and… scared. He also seemed empty inside, was he wanting to die, he clearly still was rejecting and being distant with her in offering help to treat his injury and he clearly had no one else to help him to do so and it seemed her pleading had convinced him which is why he was still breathing now, and in her apartment.
She was slowly putting the pieces of the puzzle together, though she still was entirely clueless. He had to have a reason for coming into combat with that Croc she accidentally wandered into in pursuit of him, though again, he saved her by helping her escape and erasing her scent with the teleportation he was apparently capable of doing, when that croc could've most likely easily tracked her down if she just ran and left. "Liza."
He was protecting her, knowing that keeping himself distant and the less she knew was the best, now she understood, she wasn't entirely sure herself if she was accurate, but… was he being hunted down? Or was it something else with other mutants?
"Liza!" Jean shouted, snapping her fingers in front of her face. Liza jolted upward frighteningly a bit, shooting a look at Jean with surprise, "Jeez, I've never seen you lost in thought this much before. Does he intrigue you that much?" Jean said, raising an eyebrow.
Liza's expression dropped to a saddened one, "Yeah…" She admitted it, it's just been her and Jean most her life, Liza has never really been very intrigued with anyone before like she was with this mutant and it was most likely because he wasn't human, or he was being distant and clearly wanted nothing to do with her unlike all the men in her life who have just wanted to hit on her.
The more she thought about it and him, despite all this, he actually was a sweetheart, even if he didn't realize it himself. Eitherway, she didn't care, it was the main fact he helped her that she realized immediately and understood. Liza wasn't going to let her frightfulness take advantage because of someone's appearance, mutant or not.
Jean gave a small sigh, brushing it off, in fact she seemingly didn't care much in regards to the croc and the news. She stood up from the chair, still not saying a word and leaving Liza to only follow her with her eyes in confusement.
Jean walked over next to the turtle, only crouching beside him to get a better look at him. "Seems you're intrigued too." Liza stated, slightly having a small subtle smirk on her face.
Jean peered over her shoulder, glancing at Liza, clearly unamused. "With his colors, aren't they… very familiar?" Jean remarked, unsure exactly as she clearly forgot.
"You too huh." Liza subtly remarked, "It's a myth, Jean." Liza added. Jean squinted at her with a subtle glare, "Sometimes myth's can come true." Jean stated seriously, standing back up with a small stretch.
Liza noticed that Jean hardly even had touched him, all she did was close the stab wound with a heated butter knife of all things. Unlike Liza who didn't mind at all, she didn't hesitate to help him and in the process to this point now, she did touch him a few times, though unsure why Jean subtly kept her distance.
"I'm tired as hell, so I'll head home and be back tomorrow." Jean stated, walking towards the door and picking up her bag she left when she arrived. "Wait, you sure? You can stay and sleep here if you want." Liza offered.
"I'm sure, I better not come back and see you dead next visit." Jean remarked, Liza gave a subtle child-like pout on her face, "If he wanted me dead I would be already." Liza growled subtly. Jean only smirked, waving her off as she left out the door knowing she was only being sarcastic.
Liza let out a small sigh, glancing down at the plates in her hands and bringing them into the kitchen, tossing them gently into the sink. Liza figured since she couldn't sleep at all, she would distract herself with doing the dishes considering the sink was semi-full currently.
"You're strange…" A voice came from a distance out of the kitchen, Liza immediately dropped the fork she was getting started on washing and immediately realized the voice. "Jesus!" Liza yelped, glancing over at the turtle who was weakly limp over the top of the couch, hanging over slightly, staring at her with an awkward look.
"You're the strange one here." Liza remarked, gently placing the fork back down into the sink and turning the water off. She glanced back over at him, he layed back down onto his uninjured side. Liza walked over and hovered over the top of the couch, glancing down at him, "So? Have I earned the right to know your name now?" Liza questioned him.
He had his eyes closed and was most likely trying to rest more, but clearly was in pain and was preventing him. He was silent, ignoring her which immediately made her realize the answer was a solid no still. She let out a small sigh with a stretch, "So be it, I'll be taking a quick trip to the store, i'm out of snacks."
"Going out is a bad idea." He remarked, still hardly moving from his position, let alone opening his eyes. Liza was starting to wonder if he was purposely hiding his eyes for a specific reason, though she didn't bother to question it. "Because of that croc mutant that hurt you, huh." Liza said, semi-unamused.
The turtle's subtle sigh told her she was correct, "Relax, it's pouring rain outside, and that croc mutant is far off at the moment, I'll be quick too." Liza stated, it had just began raining outside about an hour ago and she honestly didn't notice it was until several minutes ago before Jean left.
Liza grabbed her cloak, putting it on and her small bag with just about everything in it that she always kept next to the door. She was about to leave out the door, only to stop and peer around it at the turtle who still hasn't moved an inch.
"Please stay put… you're more than welcome to leave, only once you're healed." Liza stated worriedly, almost begging for him to stay due to how badly hurt he was. The turtle peered over his shoulder as she finally closed the door and left for a short while, he then glanced over at the table behind him, immediately noticing all the snack wrappers and bags that were empty laying around.
He painfully staggered his way into a sitting position and turned around as he immediately kept a tight painful grip on his injury, glancing around at all the empty bags still and then at the blanket she had previously given him for warmth even though he knew he didn't really need it. He immediately came to the conclusion she was up all night, munching away on junk food in the chair next to the couch, monitoring him. "Stubborn...but patient…" He remarked weakly with a small sigh afterward, giving up.
Liza gave a small sneeze, she wished she had a car but she never really got into driving and learned anything about cars, let alone how to monitor them. She honestly preferred walking anyway like she always has, she's somehow managed just fine with walking as well so much.
Liza quickly entered the grocery store that was only a few blocks away from the apartment, she lowered her hoodie pleasantly. It was raining very hard, she was honestly surprised it wasn't hailing with how bad it looked and was quickly seemingly becoming worse.
She quickly grabbed all she needed and wanted as she fast paced throughout the entire store, quickly checking out and paying for it all after only several minutes. Liza took her leave out of the store, back on the streets and heading back home, she could clearly feel the presence of many men eyeballing her as she walked by.
New York was an extremely busy city, even if the weather was bad. Liza stopped in her steps when she quickly felt a familiar presence, she didn't know how she did or why, but it was… gentle and soft. She immediately looked up at one of the rooftops, quickly noticing the same turtle she left back in her home, he was standing at the peer edge of one of rooftop buildings close to her and was clearly staring down at her as he only stood there.
He was very high up and it was hard to tell his expression, but all that came to her mind was the fact he had taken his leave out of her home despite trying to keep him there to rest and heal. Liza only gave him a sad look, she remembered what Jean had said about trying to convince him to stay put, but she just couldn't force him, it was his choice if he wanted to stay or go.
Liza could also clearly tell he didn't care if she saw him or not, he removed his look away from her as he turned around and disappeared out of sight. Liza only sighed sadly, continuing her way back home and entering the apartment, always having to take the elevator up to get home.
Liza unlocked and opened the doors to her apartment after finally returning from her shopping snack spree, she solidly froze when she immediately noticed the turtle on the couch, soaking wet just like her due to the heavy rain.
She quickly realized now, why she saw him out on the rooftop, thinking only negatively. He was sitting criss-crossed and slumped over slightly on the couch, still grasping his side painfully and most likely will be for a long while. Liza only gave a subtle relieved sigh, she was honestly happy to see him still here.
Liza walked next to the counter of the kitchen to set down the bags, grabbing something out of one of them and putting it into her pockets before moving over to grab something else. She walked over in front of the turtle, crouching down to his level due to the couch being pretty low down and gently placing a long towel over top of him which clearly somewhat spooked him.
The towel rested over his head and shoulders as Liza was gripping it and keeping it over him, giving him a small smile as he quickly looked at her in the eyes finally. "You followed me to make sure I would be ok, didn't you? That's why I saw you." Liza said, giving him a grateful look.
She immediately reacted hesitantly now that she finally realized and noticed his eyes since he finally looked at her with them for once, especially with how close she was, now she knew why he was clearly hiding them, though she wasn't going to say anything about them just yet despite how gorgeous they were.
The turtle didn't say anything in return, he only looked away from her shamefully, as if a child that got caught and thought was in trouble. Liza only reacted with a small relieved sigh, glancing back up at him, "Thank you." She said gratefully and gentle.
Liza knew he wasn't much of a talker, he always seemed to give her the silent treatment and she honestly didn't mind it all. He was clearly still hiding a lot and being distant with her, though she was slowly figuring him out and trying to help and slowly let him grow accustomed to opening up to someone he could trust.
He glanced up at her, looking at her in the eyes once more, only to let out a small subtle sigh that confused her as she let loose of the ends of the towel. "Naru." He said, Liza was still confused on what he meant and he clearly noticed this, "My name, Naru." He added seriously as he glanced away from her still giving a somewhat ashamed expression.
Liza gave a gentle smile, finally earning to hear his name. "Well then, Naru, dry yourself." She said, pointing at his injury that he still had a tight painful grip on. "Don't want you getting sick too, I'll change your bandages soon too." She added, clearly noticing the bandages currently on were soaking wet as well and needed changing.
Liza stared at his eyes for a second, she immediately realized and remembered now with his colors and why they were so familiar, his eyes were honestly the most gorgeous and gentle one's she has ever seen in her whole life to this point. She quickly remembered what Jean had also said before, and seemed she was right, myths can come true.