Naru

It was way too easy to lose track of time. I welcomed the feeling, it seems like lately time is the only thing I can think about. To have it pass without me worrying about was just… peaceful.

My eyes were closed. My fur was brushed lightly by a gentle breeze, another factor adding to the peace. I had my forelegs wrapped around a soft pillow of fur. My grip was likely tighter than it should have been all things considered, but it was hard to help myself. He felt warm, way warmer than ever before. That may have just been because it's been such a long time though, I wasn't used to holding someone like this.

I laid my head down on his head, nuzzling between his ears. He seemed as if he was resting. I didn't want to disturb him, however I could only hold myself back for so long. We technically shouldn't have been laying down in the open like this. We weren't even in the perimeter of the Nest. Neither of us wanted to move, so we didn't, regardless of our safety being at risk. I think I'll be going through withdrawal for a while…

I kept stroking up and down his back gently, even if I couldn't really tell whether it comforted him or annoyed him. At the very least, he seemed relaxed. His body felt tense, but he loosened up slowly but surely. The moisture on my chest stopped growing, another good sign. I had my own episode too, but I made sure that he couldn't tell. He looked as if he was in no condition to have me sobbing over his head. His body is… messed up. It was even more evident when I started touching him. His fur was singed, as if he slept in a fire. I could feel uneven textures under his fur too, likely more injuries. Not to mention his… his eye. I didn't get to look at it for long, but I didn't need to. It sent a shiver down my spine. As curious as I was, part of me didn't want to know what caused it.

We probably shouldn't be out here for much longer.

I slowly opened my eyes. It wasn't super bright outside, the sun seemed to have just started showing its face. I hesitantly lifted my head off of his, and pulled my forelegs from being wrapped around him. Glancing down at his face, I placed one of my paws on his cheek. It felt warm, like the rest of his body. It was a nice contrast to the cold air around us, despite the cold not really bugging me in the first place.

"Hey there." I said in a quiet voice. I watched one of his ears shake a little. He separated his head from my chest, and opened his eyes. I had a clear view of both eyes. One was the same red shade that the small umbreon had always held. The other was nothing close to that. Both of them traveled upwards as his head tilted, connecting with my own irises. I couldn't help but smile. Being this close to him brought that out of me with ease. "How are you feeling Kuro?"

He stared at me for a few moments, his gaze was filled with disbelief. I didn't push for him to talk, I would wait years if I needed to. However, an answer would be reallllyyyyyy nice right about now buddy.

I heard Kuro clear his throat. His eyes weren't locked with mine anymore, he tilted them downwards."I-I'm alive." He answered. I paused like he did, and nearly snapped into laughter. I suppressed it into a light chuckle though.

"I can see that." My smile grew a little bit. I gently dragged my paw across his cheek, right under his blighted eye. Kuro tensed a little bit, making me feel the slightest tad guilty. The shivers I felt before though, they weren't present anymore.

"A few things have happened while I've been away." Kuro said, sounding almost ashamed. "That's one of them. I can't really… see out of that eye anymore. It's very… noticeable." He still didn't make eye contact. I took a few moments in silence to observe his eye alone, and then his entire face. "Sorry if it's… U-Unpleasant."

"I think it's cute." I said with a giggle. Kuro looked up at me, back to making eye contact. He looked perplexed, as if he was trying to solve a problem.

"You have to be kidding me." He replied.

"Nope. It matches the lighter parts of my fur, how would that be unpleasant to me?" I asked, tapping his nose with my paw. His face being washed with even more uncertainty amused me.

"Y-Yeah, I guess you're right." He said in an awkward tone, before turning his head away and sneezing. There was a long stall before either of us said anything. There was so much that both of us wanted to get out, but neither of us really knew how to. Despite how quiet the two of us were though, the air didn't exactly feel tentious. It's like the two of us were deep in thought. Kuro took a deep breath.

"Naru, I-"

"Hush." I interrupted him, putting a paw over his mouth. "We don't need to push it right now. I think we should… think for a little bit first. Then we can tell each other everything that's in our heads. If we rush it, then we might… overdo it with our emotions." I sighed. "If that makes any sense that is…"

Kuro put his paw over mine, pushing it away from his mouth. "I get what you mean. It can wait for now." He nodded.

"Oh thank arceus…" I let out a sigh of relief. "I don't think I'm ready to hear what you've been through." I stood up and stretched, ready to start actually being productive. For a little bit at least. Kuro followed my motion not too long after, letting out a few small coughs. His head turned from side to side. I don't know how long he's been this close to the Nest, but if it hasn't been more than a day or so, he was probably rusty with the surrounding area. We weren't very far out, but far enough for him to be a little confused and blurry. "Want me to lead the way back? I can picture a certain small creature excited to see you!" I exclaimed with a small giggle.

Kuro silently nodded. A very small smile formed on his face, but not nearly as bright as his typical smiles were. Funnily enough, I think it disappointed me. I shouldn't have expected him to be super chipper, but I couldn't lie, I was looking forward to seeing a goofy smile from him. Although… I was definitely being impatient. Baby steps Naru, baby steps…

With that, we began our brief walk to the Nest. Not many words were spoken, the two of us both seemed to be holding back. I'd love to just speak every word in my mind to him, but that would mean overwhelming him even more than he already seemed to be. I didn't have the details yet, but let me tell ya, that guy didn't hide his internal struggles too well. I could tell right away that there was something bigger in his mind, something bigger than coming back here. I wished that a certain someone gave me more details, but I would have to make do with what I already know. First and foremost, I needed to do everything in my power to get some of whatever is on Kuro's mind as far away from him as possible.

Which will be quite difficult considering that I have no clue what it is… But I can find out! I just need to… do something. I shook my head at my own ramblings. I don't suppose some of the inevitable venting that'll take place in the future will contain it, that would be quite helpful. Assuming I know how to react to whatever it is at least…

My mind wandered from one place to the next. I wish I could say every thought in my head was positive and happy. I'll say that there were certainly more happy ones now, but not all of them glistened. I couldn't tell if any of my more negative thoughts came from me being realistic, or just kind of… preparing for the future. Last time something unexpected happened, it caught me off guard. It really caught me off guard. I can't be that vulnerable all the time. Hopefully I hold myself to this… I really wanted to yell at myself. Probably wouldn't look too good if I started randomly screaming to the umbreon behind me though.

"Are you feeling well enough to walk this much? I know it's not super far, but still." I asked, if anything, in order to secure myself mentally.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." He replied, putting some comfort within me. "I've already walked, well… a lot. This won't be too big a deal."

"Wait wait, you walked a lot before this? In that condition?"

"I did, across a few different landscapes." He replied, as if nothing was wrong with that.

"You're… You're quite something." I sighed. "I'm surprised your legs aren't broken."

"I didn't run into much conflict before making it here." Besides the conflict that took away half your eyesight that is… "I had some help from some unfamiliar faces. They made it a lot easier to progress." He informed.

"I'm glad you had some assistance at a few points, I don't want to think about you being alone in that state…" I shivered. He probably wouldn't have survi- No. Nononono. Bad thoughts. Go away.

I didn't get a reply, though he probably nodded behind me or something. I started to space out a little bit, an image of a large green pokemon popping into my head briefly.

"Who was that guy? The one who looked all tired and attacked you?" I asked, very curious. When I was strolling around close to where I found Kuro and my eyes met that pokemon, I nearly shot an icicle into his neck. I barely held myself back, but dear Arceus, I was on the verge.

"I have no idea." He said, his voice trailing a little bit. "Maybe… a Void member or something?"

"I dunno. Would a Void member run at you and attack in that kind of state?" I questioned. I hated the Void, sure. But they weren't dumb enough to do something like that. Most of them anyway. Other than that idiot at least.

"Good point. He implied that I… took something? I think?" Kuro sounded confused. "It's such a weird thing to hear from someone I don't have any relation to."

"Didja rob a family on the way here or something?" I asked, tilting my head back sarcastically.

"Nobody was robbed by me…" He sighed quietly, which made me giggle. "I'm wondering if he came from a group I've been near. Maybe something was taken and I'm being mistaken for the culprit."

"If it's as simple as a misunderstanding, maybe it's good I didn't- Never mind." I cleared my throat. "Hopefully he's gone for good. I don't want you to be attacked in a place that's supposed to be safe."

"Safety sounds nice…" Kuro said quietly. The way he spoke those words sent an uncomfortable tingle down my body. The outskirts of the Nest came into my vision as my mind wandered. I picked my head up high and stopped walking, turning around to face Kuro.

"You ready to see some familiar faces?" I asked him, smiling brightly. Kuro, instead of replying immediately, dipped his head a little. He took a deep breath, and proceeded to shake his head.

"A-As ready as I'll ever be." He said, his voice almost trembling. I walked towards him, standing about an inch away.

"What in the world have you been through?" I said out loud, accidentally if I'm being honest. Kuro closed his eyes and kept his head slanted.

"It's… a lot to explain all at once." He said before pausing. "I would assume you already know how it started, when I went off the radar initially." I gave Kuro a nod.

"You and Vero got ambushed by the Void, two really strong pokemon." I stated.

"And… Is that all you know?" He further pushed.

"Well… Sort of. I don't know details, but I've heard… some things." I replied, recalling two very important conversations I had.

"Define some things please." Kuro requested, looking up at me with his eyes opened once more. I caught myself staring at his eye for a second, but I swiftly tried to divert my attention back to answering.

"I know you went through some kind of… abuse. I would assume from more than just the one who told me." Kuro tilted his head in a questioning manner.

"You talked to someone who was… participating?"

"I did, the same joke that we ran into when we went back to Myriad. I ran into him, and he tried attacking me, but I got him to spill some-" Before I could finish, Kuro coughed. He coughed harshely, he head leaning forward almost as if he gagged on something. Obviously concerned, I brought a forepaw to his shoulder to steady him. "A-Are you okay?"

Kuro took a deep breath, followed by shallow, light ones. I felt him shaking, and he definitely wasn't standing strangely. I lightly pushed down on his shoulder, encouraging him to sit down. He did just as I invited him to, and sat on the ground in front of me. I followed his motion in front of him, placing both of my forepaws on his shoulders now. Kuro kept his head tilted down until he caught his breath, before finally turning it up to me.

"S-Sorry…" He said, a tired tone in his voice.

"No, no, don't apologize. What's the matter?" I asked, wondering if he was just exhausted, or something else was happening.

"N-Nothing, I think I just… I'm not feeling the best." He answered.

"That sounded worse than just some sort of random cough." I said, putting a paw on his cheek. It was still warm, just like when I felt it before. A thought popped into my mind, causing me to connect a few dots. "You could be sick from something." I suggested.

"Sick?" He repeated, his body feeling tense. "Y-Yeah, I think that's possible. I haven't had much of a chance to take proper care of myself."

"Exactly. Plus your body isn't suited to being out in the cold for however long it has. You haven't been warming yourself up, have you?" I asked, trying to balance Kuro with my paws.

"N-Not exactly…" He replied, averting his eyes. I gave a small sigh.

"For someone who's spent so much time on his own, you don't focus on your health nearly enough." I took my paws off of Kuro and turned around, now facing away from him. "Let me carry you in."

Kuro hesitated. "I-I'm sure I can-"

"Nope. I'm carrying you. Do it willingly, or I'll knock you out and I'll take you in that way." I bluntly stated. Not long after I resorted to threats, I felt Kuro's paws on my shoulders, and felt his weight press against my back. Heh, mission accomplished.

I stood up, lifting Kuro up on my back. His body was warm all over, there was no way he wasn't sick with something. I immediately continued my walk to the violet gates of the Nest, glancing up and down the familiar purple walls. We used to have guards around here, but our new methods of security don't require any Ravens outside. I leaned my forehead against the wall.

"I'm back with another Raven, let us in please."

I felt Kuro grip onto me a little bit tighter than he had been. It was a nervous grip for sure. I thought he'd seem a lot more excited to be back here, but then again, he's sick with something. I stuck that sentiment in my head to give myself an excuse for what was wrong with how Kuro was acting.

A gentle breeze washed over the two of us, coming along with a small feeling of lightheadedness, only lasting for around a second. One moment we were outside the walls of the Nest, the next we were within its interior, courtesy of the Nest's new security system. Surrounding us was a rather blank room, the walls striped with black and white coloring, spreading horizontally on all four walls. It was still a new addition as of now, so we haven't gotten around to decorating. We should hire someone for that.

To our right was a door, made of light brown wood. Once more, it wasn't exactly the most aesthetically pleasing thing as of now. I could feel Kuro's heartbeat on my back, I've been paying attention to it since I picked him up. It was faster now. Something was making him nervous, and I had no idea what it was. I stared at the door for a few moments, not walking to it quite yet.

"Are you sure you're okay right now?" I asked, not turning my head. "Like, other than the sickness I mean. You seem as if you're not up for this yet." I didn't get an immediate reply. I did feel him shift around on my back a little bit though.

"If I'm being honest, I don't really know…" He finally said in a quiet voice. It confused me why Kuro would be nervous at all in the first place, seeing as he wasn't meeting anyone new. As bothersome as it really was in my mind, he didn't seem in the right state to talk about it right now. Sick and exhausted isn't the most optimal feelings to accompany a detailed explanation of your thoughts.

"It's alright. Don't worry!" I said cheerfully. It came naturally to me to show some enthusiasm now that I had Kuro here with me. Not to mention, he really needed it. "At the very least, will you be okay with seeing Shiro? She kinda lives with us ya know."

"I'll be okay. I just…" He paused once more. "I-I'll mange." He shuddered a little bit. I could feel every little nervous motion he made. I looked down at the ground, thinking about how I could comfort him about… whatever he was nervous about. It was a lot harder to do when I had no clue what was bothering him in the first place. Also a lot harder since I haven't, well I haven't had to do it in a while.

"I can get you to our room without talking to anyone on the way there. We might get some weird looks, but we can get there! As long as we don't get spotted by anyone we usually talk to." I suggested, smiling lightly as if he'd be able to see it. "Shiro is gonna be happy to see you back! She might try and, you know, tackle you. I'll try to stop her so she doesn't irritate your injuries." And I'll also have to find an excuse to cover for why Kuro has injuries in the first place…

"That sounds… nice." Kuro said, his body feeling ever so slightly less tense.

"She's missed you a ton, just as much as I have. If you're not feeling well, I'm sure seeing a smile on the little one's face will cheer you up at least a little!" I exclaimed, exciting myself to see the two interact with one another again. Excited for all three of us to be close together again.

Kuro dug his head into the back of my neck. I tilted my head a little, turning it back towards him. I couldn't turn it all the way around without breaking my neck sadly. His breath was warm, and the way he released it felt much more relaxed than normal. I could only hope that he was feeling at least a little bit comfortable.

"It'll be nice to spend time with you two. Really nice…" Kuro whispered, almost as if he was talking to himself. I let out a small giggle and looked forward again.

"Shard wouldn't kill me if I just sort of… pretended that I wasn't supposed to meet with her today I'm sure. I don't want to leave you if I can help it." I felt Kuro nod against my neck.

"I-If you say so."

I took a few steps forward, putting one of my forepaws on the door before us. Be ready to get stared at…

I slowly pushed the door open, walking out into the Nest. We weren't too far from our room, so luckily we shouldn't have to run into too many pokemon on the way there. I hope so anyway. Kuro probably doesn't want too much attention drawn to himself. Nor do I really…

I know that I had never carried Kuro like this before, but he felt… light. A lot lighter than I expected. Granted he was a small umbreon, but it was almost unnatural how light he was. Almost as if he hadn't gotten up and worked his muscles at all, while at the same time not eating regularly. Now that I think about it, the latter sounds… probable.

A small shudder shot down my body. I tried my best to dismiss all of the various thoughts that raided my head over and over. I already told myself that thinking about whatever conditions Kuro was in right after he went missing were… obviously not good. Thinking as to what degree he suffered to wasn't something I should be doing. It didn't help anyone, all it did was make me worry that much more. The damage was already done it seemed. If there's a risk of any lingering effects on Kuro, then that's best diagnosed by a doctor, not me.

"Are you alright?" I heard a quiet voice behind me, coming from the umbreon on my back.

"Yeah… Yeah I'm good." I replied, taking a breath to calm my unintentional shivering. Now wasn't the time for anything but getting Kuro to a place so he could rest. Uggghhh, if only I could drive a nail in my brain to stop it from thinking.

The rest of the walk back was accompanied by silence. It didn't feel awkward or tense, but there wasn't anything I wanted to talk about that didn't involve pouring out half of the thoughts in my head. He needed rest before I took what very well could be hours to get all of this off my chest. As I predicted, we didn't come across too many others, nor anyone we would be familiar with. Weird looks from the few we did pass, but that wasn't a big deal. Just a little… annoying.

Without much time passing, the two of us made it to the door to our room. I pressed a paw against the firm wooden frame, and slowly pushed. Without resistance, the door opened easily. I totally forgot to lock this, didn't I?

I took a step into our room and looked around for a familiar small vulpix, spotting her on her bed. She was curled up into a small ball, peacefully resting. She had been helping with a few small jobs around the Nest, moving all over the place. It was her choice, and she was probably going crazy sitting here and not being able to do anything before that. However, she came back much more tired than she'd usually be. It was definitely good for her in the long run.

I waltzed over to Kuro's bed. It's been empty for ages, not moved or touched since he got taken away. Kuro rolled off of my back, landing on his paws in a shaky manner. He stood beside me and turned his head to Shiro. He blankly stared for a few moments, almost as if he wasn't focused on anything in particular, just looking forward. A small smile crept on his face. Seeing Shiro again had to give him some kind of happiness I'm sure, or at least, calmness.

"She'll be ecstatic when she wakes up, so be ready for an energetic little one to be all over you." I told Kuro in an amusing tone.

"How… has she been? Over all this time?" He asked, his voice quiet.

"Well she's still the same little vulpix. Curious, talkative, energetic, shy, she's still a ball of sunshine." I answered, also turning my head to the resting pokemon. "She's even started doing some work around the Nest so she can stretch her legs a little. Nothing super grueling, just enough to keep her active."

"Anything new about her memories and that like?"

"Nothing. I don't see any of her memories magically coming back anytime soon. This doesn't seem like something time alone will cure." Not so far anyway.

"I see." Kuro paused for a few moments. "I hope it doesn't bother her that much." It never seemed that Shiro's lack of memories was a mental block from her. I was very thankful for that, and I'm sure Kuro would be too. I can't imagine what it feels like to lose memories in the first place.

"Well, there's always time to make new memories to help her!" I exclaimed, though not loud enough to wake the sleepy vulpix. "That's kind of our job, isn't it?"

Kuro tilted his head down a little bit, his smile coming out once again. "You're right."

"I know I'm right. Have some faith in your partner." I put a paw on the back of Kuro's neck. "Why don't you lay down and rest yourself before your fever grows more fervent than it already is?"

Kuro lightly nodded and set himself down on his bed, laying on his side. I took a quick glance at his body, his charred fur looking more visible than I thought. It made me wonder if those burns came from the initial attack him and Vero had to deal with, or something that may have happened after that.

"It's still really early, sooooo doctors probably aren't available unless you're actually dying. I'll have to notify them as soon as I can so you can get checked out." I informed Kuro.

"Thank you." Kuro replied. His facial expression wasn't the same as before. He now looked almost… absentminded. I wasn't expecting him to adjust back to being here immediately, especially since there's obviously more clutter in his head than an ancient trash dump. Before he reached any amount of comfortability, he needed to get that out of his system. Or at the very least, he needed to relax instead of letting himself focus on anything messing with his head. Well, no better time than now to help with that.

I walked over to where Kuro was laying, and plopped myself down in front of him, rolling towards him until I was within an inch. I wrapped my paws around him and set my head against his chest, just as he was before we walked back here. He felt no more or less warm than he was before. At least his sickness doesn't seem to be getting worse.

"Are you okay Naru..?" Kuro asked, likely confused.

"I was jealous of you and wanted to get even." I dug my head into Kuro's chest and smiled gleefully. "This looked really comfortable, I'm happy to know that I was right." I let out a quiet giggle.

I didn't get an immediate reply from Kuro, but I did feel his foreleg settle on my body. He held onto me in the same manner as I was to him, sending a wave of relaxation through me. Now isn't the time to fall asleep…

"I won't force you to talk about anything you don't want to, but if there's any time to go over all the things in our heads; better now than later." I took a breath, resting my head against Kuro as I spoke.

"You're… probably right." He replied in an unsure tone.

"In that case, as much as I don't want to ask this question: What exactly did you go through after being taken away?" Kuro took a moment to gather himself.

"I got taken to some place with a bunch of Void members. It was different from the one we saw on our first task here, I didn't recognize it." As Kuro spoke, I tensed up a little. "It didn't seem like there were a lot of members there, mainly the higher ups."

"Did they just sorta… keep you in captivity?"

"That's only part of it." Kuro took a deep breath. "The one who took me there in the first place, the delphox, she… did a lot of things to me."

"Such as..?" I almost didn't provoke more details, but I didn't want Kuro to feel as if he couldn't be open about anything.

"My eyes." Kuro replied. "That seemed to be her most common target. She just burned them over and over. It seemed like she was taking notes on something as she did it, but I'm not sure as to what she was recording."

"And that resulted in one of your eyes not working?"

"Yes. She burned one more intensely than the other, and well, now I can't see out of it. But I think I'm adapting." He stated. "She didn't only focus on my eyes, but the burns on the rest of my body weren't quite as intense. I might still have scars from it, but nothing more than that."

"Well… at least it wasn't as bad as it could have been." I said with a shiver. "Was she the only one who..?"

"There were a few." Kuro laid his head on top of mine. "The only ones who did anything really bad were her and Luna. The rest was all tolerable."

"Why would even her of all pokemon come out for something like that..?"

"I think… she gets some kind of sick pleasure from it. More so than the rest of the Void. That's what it seems like to me." Kuro held me a little tighter than before. I couldn't tell if he did it on purpose or not.

"What did she do..?"

"She just… re-opened some old wounds. That's it." Kuro spoke fast and concisely. He obviously didn't want to linger on the topic. I didn't need any more details to know what he meant by that, and thus, I wasn't going to pry.

"How in the world did you get away?" Kuro was held in an area with not just Void members, but dangerous ones. He couldn't have fought his way out of that.

"I… I don't know." Kuro sounded confused as he spoke. "I woke up in a different place with much more friendly faces. I was somewhere else all of a sudden. It feels like there's a missing segment when I try to recollect what happened around that time. I have no idea how I ended up where I did." Interesting…

"Where exactly did you end up anyways?"

"In a small group of nomads. I met a few of them, and one helped with my injuries when they were still fresh. I'm thankful that the place I ended up had so many pokemon willing to help." Trust me buddy, I'm thankful too.

"What did you do over there? While you were with the nomads?" I curiously asked. I didn't get an immediate answer though.

"I think… I don't know if I can go over that right now." I nodded.

"That's alright. Work at your own pace." Looks like I found one of the roots.

"What have you been up to?" Kuro asked.

"The usual. Training, random missions, eating, sleeping. It's been boring here without you." I can leave 'moping around' out of that list I'm sure.

"I'm sorry for being gone for so long…" Kuro apologized in a sobre tone. I almost couldn't believe that I'd get any sort of apology after the macabre experiences that he just went through. Then I remembered who I was talking to.

"You've got nothing to apologize for. You say that like this was at all in your control." You don't need to apologize for something so unpredictable.

"Still… I'm sorry." I just let out a small sigh and crawled a little bit, coming face to face with Kuro. I put a paw on his cheek, looking into his eyes. It was strange how quickly I found myself getting used to his new eye blemish. It really was pretty to me.

"Take a second to calm down. Nobody here is ever going to chastise you for any of this. I get that you're feeling guilty, but I don't think anything could have prevented this." Kuro tilted his head down, avoiding my eyes.

"If I had handled the situation better, maybe none of that would have taken place. I could have come back safely with Vero and just… everything could have been normal."

"How could you have done anything different there? Suddenly be immune to fire hot enough to eviscerate someone?" I think it's a miracle you didn't succumb to that fate…

"I don't know, but I'm sure there was some kind of way." I didn't see Kuro as someone who would have such a guilty conscience over an event beyond his control.

"Even if there was theoretically a way to magically get out of that situation with no harm done, that's not what happened, and you can't be blamed for it. You did everything you could, and from what I've heard, you really did help the situation there as much as you could. Nobody could ask for you do even more." I slowly moved my paw from Kuro's cheek to his foreleg. "Nobody is going to blame you for anything that happened. Especially not me."

In a bit of an impulsive motion, I raised my head a slight bit, and moved it closer to Kuro. My eyes slowly closed, and gently kissed Kuro's forehead, holding the position in silence for a few moments. I felt my face warm up almost to match Kuro's fever. I slowly moved my head back down, back to making eye contact.

We just sort of stared at one another for a little bit. Not a word was spoken, nor did either of us move. There was something… calming about it. I felt calm, despite my face likely being visibly red, I felt calm. It's… hard to keep eye contact like this.

"I'll take your word for it." Kuro said, breaking the silence. "If there's anyone to believe, you're the most trustworthy to me. I hope you're right and I'm just… overthinking."

I smiled and nodded. "Good, you better believe me." I giggled quietly and nuzzled against Kuro's cheek. Kuro closed his eyes, looking even more relaxed than before.

"I'm not going to vanish like that again." He said quietly, almost like he was talking to himself.

"Bold of you to assume I'd let you disappear." I replied, rubbing the side of Kuro's head blissfully.

Hello Readers!

It's been a long time for a variety of reasons, but I'm glad to have this chapter that's been in the works for over a month finally uploaded. I had to change quite a few future events in this story from my original draft recently, and let's just say that took a lot of time. A lot of other things have stopped me from making good progress, but I can safely say that rust will be wearing off very soon. I hope so anyway. This is assuming that no more random things pop up that cause me to swap my focus from writing.

I have to give a special thank you to everyone who has still left reviews and also sent me any messages over the time I've been stalled. That seriously helps my motivation more than I can verbally express, so thank you! I appreciate every last bit of critique and support, it helps keep me sane. I'll hopefully get the next chapter out on a normal schedule!

See You Next Chapter!