The Feeling of a Mouse

Chapter Four

After the Nomicon closed Randy's wounds with the art of healing, they left the school, before McFist had a chance to attack. For a while, Randy protested to being carried, until he realized how exhausted he felt. His body was becoming fed up with the lack of sleep, and was now finding new ways to make its message heard.

When they finally made it to Randy's house, the last hints of sun were fading, the sky almost pitch black now.

The Nomicon set Randy down on his feet, but held on to his school bag.

"Where are your keys?"

Randy's heart skipped a beat as his thoughts scrambled back to this morning. He had been running late, again, and had been too busy rushing out the door to bother grabbing his keys from the kitchen counter.

When he had realized that they were still inside, he decided not to go back to get them, assuming that he could just go to Howard's house after school.

Randy bit his lip.

"I, uh. I may have, um, sort of left them, at home?"

When he saw the scowl that had formed on his teacher's face, he knew his own face was beginning to resemble the redness of a tomato. Randy grimaced, placing his hand against the back of his neck. The coolness emanating from his chilly fingers felt nice against his burning neck.

"Sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his feet. He noticed a dab of mud on the white of his shoe that reminded him of a lopsided star. "What do we do now?"

The Nomicon let out a deep sigh. He put Randy's bag down beside him.

"Do you know when your neighbors come home from work?"

"Wait, what?" Randy was caught off guard by the seemingly random question. "I-I mean, no, not really."

The Nomicon frowned, silent in deep thought. He looked at the house to their right, then the one to their left. Randy looked too, noticing that only one of the houses had a car parked in the driveway.

"I don't think my neighbors have a spare key," Randy said.

"That won't be necessary."

Randy raised a brow, his thoughts seeming to blur as he tried to wrap his head around the odd statement. The subject of his thoughts, the oddity of the statement, appeared to be there, but it was suddenly very difficult to put his fractured thoughts into words.

"So why did—"

Before he could finish, the Nomicon charged at the door. With perfect precision, his foot collided with the lock of the door. There was a loud thump as he hit the door, before it gave in beneath his weight, opening up into the house.

Randy's mouth fell open, and he stood there, gawking at the redhead. The Nomicon turned back to Randy, picking up his bag.

"Let's go inside," he said calmly, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "We need to make sure your wounds aren't critical."

Randy continued to stand there, blinking, his mind simply unable to handle this bizarre day any longer.

"I must be hallucinating," he blurted out.

The Nomicon smiled.

"I don't think you hit your head, Randy. And I promise you that I'm real."

His teacher stepped into the house. Randy followed, and closed the door behind him. Curious, he checked to see if the door was locked. To his amazement, it was still locked, and apparently not even broken.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Randy asked, still staring at the door.

"From a book. Come sit down on the couch."

Randy tore his gaze away from the door and did as he was told, going to the couch.

"You stay here. I'm going to get supplies from the bathroom."

The Nomicon put Randy's bag beside the young teen on the couch, before leaving the room. Randy watched, fascinated that his teacher already seemed to know where the bathroom was.

He reached into his bag and pulled out his phone. There were two missed calls from his mother. Letting out a groan, he dropped his phone back into his bag. Although he knew that he should call his mother back, he didn't want to do so. It seemed as if it would be too much work, especially since she would probably fail to pick up, and he would be stuck waiting to see if she would call back.

Randy pulled his phone back out and unlocked it. He quickly sent Ms. Cunningham the message "call me later, in shower" and put his phone away again. That would probably buy Randy the night, until his mother came home.

Despite having one less thing to worry about, he still felt a pressure hovering in his chest. He sat tensely against the back of the couch, his shoulders hunched close together, as he remembered everything that had happened today.

First, his thoughts travelled back to Howard. Thinking about Howard gave him a strange sense of both guilt and anger. He felt guilty, because of how busy he had been, but at the same time, he felt hurt, because he couldn't help being so busy. Of course it sucked to be forgotten, but Howard wasn't exactly helping the situation either. It was not just Randy who was always cancelling. Howard had also been making lots of excuses not to hang out over the last several weeks.

Then he remembered that he had science homework that was due the next day. Before the monster attack had happened, he had planned on attempting the homework that night. At least enough to know what kinds of questions to ask Mr. Dildine. He knew that he still had time to attempt the work, but it seemed like a lot of mental work that he just didn't have the energy for at this point. He was sleepy, and his body was sore and weak.

Randy huffed, then took a deep breath, trying to contain tears of frustration.

He tried to tell himself that one more missing assignment didn't make much of a difference. That he could always try again the next day. But it still bothered him. He hated not being able to turn things in. The only reason he didn't was because he never had the time. There was never enough time.

Randy wished he could stay home tomorrow. If he wasn't the ninja, he would have tried to fake a sick day, so he could try to catch up.

Sometimes he wished there were more hours in the day. If he just had more time, his life would be so much easier.

The Nomicon stepped back into the room, his arms filled with first aid supplies, including a bottle of ibuprofen, a small wash cloth, a bag of cotton balls, white linen bandages, a box of latex band aids, and a paper cup filled with water. Randy couldn't figure out what the water was for, until he noticed something else.

"You know, we do have peroxide," Randy said.

"Water is better. Peroxide damages skin tissue and slows down healing."

"Oh. Really?"

The Nomicon nodded, sitting down next to Randy, and turning to face him. He carefully organized the supplies in front of him, holding the cup of water in one hand.

"Okay." The Nomicon picked up the bag of cotton balls. "I know I healed some of your wounds before, but only enough to stop the bleeding."

"Can't you just use the art of healing again?"

"Not really. I can't completely heal you. The art of healing takes a lot of energy out of you when you start to heal larger injuries. If you're really not careful, you could kill yourself while healing someone else, in extreme cases."

Randy winced.

"I probably should have told you that when I first taught you the spell," the Nomicon added, uncomfortably. "Sorry."

"Oh, um, no. It's okay, uh, Nomicon. I haven't used it much. It's not a big deal."

The Nomicon shrugged.

"So where did you get hurt?"

"Oh. Right." Randy paused for a moment, before carefully slipping out of his sweater and t-shirt. The t-shirt was torn and stiff with blood. He threw both garments down at the floor, before looking down at the large bite marks on his belly. "This one was the worst before you healed me."

The Nomicon frowned, his eyes fixed on the bite, brows knit tightly together.

"Hm. I might have to heal it a little more."

He put the cotton balls down on his knee, then carefully reached out to touch the gashes in Randy's belly. Randy bit the inside of his cheek in discomfort as his teacher gently prodded around the gash with his thumb, which was cold. Randy let out a pained grunt when he felt the thumb press a little harder.

"It doesn't seem to be that deep," his teacher muttered to himself, drawing his hand back. "How much does it hurt?"

"Uh, well, it doesn't hurt as bad as it did before. It just stings when I move, but it's not that bad."

"I think it's okay then."

The Nomicon picked up the wash cloth. After dipping it in the cup of water, he began to dab at the gash. Although this wasn't as painful as it would have been with peroxide, Randy couldn't help but squirm uncomfortably as his teacher worked to rub the dirt and fuzz from Randy's shirt away. Every stroke created a terrible stinging sensation that made Randy want to push his teacher's hands away.

Finally, after what felt like several hours, his teacher was done with the bite wound. As he began wrapping the white bandages around Randy's belly, Randy opened his mouth to speak, his thoughts starting to work up again, no longer focused on the pain.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"This might be a stupid question, but are you human? Or are you like NomiRandy? Like, a magic hologram or something?"

The Nomicon let out a small laugh as he finished covering up Randy's wound.

"A magic hologram?"

"Um, well yeah."

The Nomicon let out another chuckle, smiling. Randy felt his face beginning to burn up again. He didn't see what was funny about a magic hologram, but now he felt silly for saying it.

"Well, to answer your question, yes, I am human, and I was born as a human," the Nomicon said, still smiling. "But I am also a book, or as you know me, 'the Nomicon'."

"How is that possible? Is it like a spell?"

The Nomicon's smile faded from his face.

"Something like that, yes."

Randy blinked, startled. From the way that the Nomicon visibly tensed up, Randy could tell that he was uncomfortable. But he couldn't help but ask another question.

"How did you do that? Could you teach me how to do that?"

"It's a long story, but I can't teach you." The Nomicon picked up the cotton balls, avoiding Randy's gaze. "You have some cuts on your arms."

"Oh. Right."

Randy stopped asking questions. For several minutes, the room was filled with a stifling silence, as the Nomicon cleaned and patched up Randy's arms. Eventually though, Randy couldn't keep quiet any longer. His mind was racing, because he was thinking about how weird it was that he was referring to his now human teacher as if he were still an object.

"So, do you have another name, or is your name really 'Nomicon'?"

"Well, actually, my real name is Nomi," his teacher responded, the tension from his voice gone, replaced with a natural serenity. "But I don't care what you call me."

"No, I like Nomi. It's, uh, it's nice."

Nomi chuckled.

"Thank you."

Randy nodded shyly, looking down as Nomi finished putting the last band aid on his arm. He stared down at his covered torso in curiosity. Although his body still ached with cuts and bruises, Randy was starting to feel much better.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Nomi asked.

"Nah."

He didn't mention that his legs were sore, finding no real need to. He was pretty sure those were just bruises.

"Good." Nomi picked up the band aid wrapping paper scraps, balling them up in his hand. He put them and the cup of water on the floor and picked up the bottle of ibuprofen. "You can take two or three of these, depending on how much pain you are in. Do you need water?"

"No, I've got a water bottle in my bag."

"Okay."

As Randy took two ibuprofen tablets, Nomi cleaned up the scraps, gathered up the first aid supplies, and took Randy's discarded clothes, before leaving to return them to their proper places. He came back a few minutes later with a long sleeved black shirt. Randy remembered that he had left that shirt on his desk chair last week.

"You should probably put this on." Nomi handed Randy the shirt.

"Thanks."

Randy put the shirt on, being careful not to irritate his wounds. Nomi didn't sit down, his arms crossed tightly.

"I should go," he said quietly. "Back into the Nomicon."

"What? Why?"

Randy felt a tight knot beginning to form at the bottom of his stomach. He didn't want Nomi to leave. Despite the fact that he was very much used to being alone in the house, he had been excited with the idea of having someone to talk to. Usually his mother arrived home very late, and he always felt lonely when she was gone. Although he had grown accustomed to the long hours of alone time, he liked the idea of company.

"Ah, well, I'm not sure it would be such a good idea," Nomi replied, looking down. "I don't want to get you in trouble when your mother comes home. Besides, it is not in my place to make myself at home in your house."

"I promise, it wouldn't be bad if you stayed here for a while," Randy insisted. "My mom doesn't get home until like one in the morning, and you're completely welcome here. Isn't it boring being a book?"

"Not really. You've been inside the Nomicon. It's quite comfortable."

"Please?"

Nomi looked up at Randy, dark red eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Do you actually want me to stay? You don't have to be polite."

"I'm not being polite. You would be doing me a favor. It's boring here with nobody else to talk to."

"Er..."

Randy suddenly felt a pang of guilt ring in his chest.

"I mean, I don't want to force you either. You don't have to stay if you don't want to."

Nomi paused.

"I wouldn't mind. At least, as long as you don't."

"Seriously, I don't mind at all."

Randy buried his hands in the baggy sleeves of his shirt, grabbing at the material and balling it up in his fists. He became momentarily distracted by the new warmth the sleeves provided to his hands.

Nomi finally spoke.

"Okay. I guess I can stay. At least, until your mom gets home."

"Bruce!" Randy bounced once in his seat excitedly, but then squawked, his bite screaming angrily in response. "Ow!"

"Careful!" Nomi sat back down on the couch, facing Randy. "Are you okay?"

Randy laughed, grimacing in pain. Sometimes he was able to laugh at his own clumsiness. There was just something amusing about the fact that it was so easy for him to get hurt, when he wasn't even intending for it to happen. Randy had grown used to being able to laugh at himself. It was either laugh with everyone else, or feel even more different from everyone else.

"Yeah dude, I'm okay," Randy grinned. "Happens all the time."

Nomi sighed.

"Yes, I noticed. You're as much of a clutz as my brother. It's amazing that neither of you have…" Nomi stopped. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. "...ah, nothing."

"Wait, what?"

"Hey, don't you have homework?"

Randy's thoughts were immediately occupied by the stated fact. He let out a helpless whine.

"Ug. Yeah." Randy leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes. "Too much homework."

"It can't be that bad."

"Maybe for a smart person," Randy said miserably. "Or at least the average person."

Randy meant what he said. He was hopelessly aware of how easy it was for everyone else around him to keep up. That only made school that much harder for him to face. It was hard to stay motivated when he knew he was going to fail. Even when he tried to keep up.

"You say that as if you think you're stupid," Nomi pointed out.

Randy kept his eyes closed, too drained to open them.

"Well, you've seen how long it takes me to figure out your ninja riddles."

"It doesn't matter. You still learn from them."

"Haha. Right."

"I mean it, Randy. You've come a long way from when you first got that mask."

Randy took a moment to run Nomi's words over in his brain. When he thought back to the first month of his ninth grade year, he became embarrassed with how immature he remembered himself behaving.

"I guess you're right," he admitted. "But still, that's ninja stuff. It's easier to punch things than to study."

Nomi chuckled dryly.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah! I mean, at least there's not as much thinking involved when you're fighting."

"That's because you already practiced beforehand."

Eyes still closed, Randy ran his fingers through his hair. It was starting to get greasy again. He wondered briefly if his mother would notice.

"I've been taking the same science class for almost two years. You'd think by now something would have stuck."

"You're that behind?"

Randy sighed. He opened his eyes and looked at Nomi. Instead of looking upset or disappointed, like most adults he talked to, the boy was simply frowning at him, appearing simply curious. It made the tension ease from his shoulders.

"Yeah," Randy admitted. "I'm really confused."

Nomi was silent for a moment. He seemed to be in deep thought, brows tightly knit together.

"If you are interested," Nomi started slowly, "I could try to help you. I know biology pretty well, and it's not like I'm busy."

Randy looked up at the ceiling. His instincts told him to scream 'yes', but he held himself back, unsure.

"You don't have to do that. I'm not very easy to tutor."

"I'm your teacher, Randy. It's no trouble."

Sitting up, he turned to face his teacher once more.

"I mean, that would be great, but I'm literally clueless. Are you sure you want to do that to yourself?"

Nomi scoffed.

"I've been teaching students for centuries. It shouldn't be that hard to tutor you. Nobody is unteachable."

Randy grimaced.

"If you say so."

...

AN:

Ahh. Well, this was fun. I like writing about Human!Nomicon. Fun. ;)

Gah. Life has been crazy. I hit another block again, and my anxiety has been awful! Even though I've had the majority of this written for a while now, I was so on edge that I couldn't even think straight. These last few weeks have been pretty uncomfortable. I'm so glad I seem to be doing better now.

By the way, I keep forgetting to use a disclaimer for Nomi. Obviously, the idea for a human Nomicon was not my own. We can all thank NotNights (that's the name, right?) for this wonderful character.

Although, I will say this. Mikoto, who is Nomi's brother, and also the result of a Human!Tengu design (it may be hard to tell at this point because I've only mentioned him having feathers, but yes, he is part tengu) is my own character. I don't know if anyone else has had the idea of a human tengu, but I wouldn't be surprised if I wasn't the first one to toy with that idea. And actually, if you know of another fic with this concept, please tell me about it in your reviews! I'd love to see another interpretation of a human tengu! :3 There's so much you can do with that, and I'd love to see what someone else has had in mind!

However, please do not use my character without my permission. I've been working with Mikoto for a really long time now, so I'm pretty protective of him. Yet, I'd be happy to help anyone brainstorm about their own characters. We all need a hand now and then! ;)

So, thoughts? What do you guys think?

I've got a fun challenge. I've given a few hints so far about the pasts of certain characters, and about what may happen later in the fic. If you guys can point anything out, or predict anything from my foreshadowing, maybe I'll do a little one-shot story request or an art request for those of you who guess certain details first! (I'm a pretty okay drawer. My profile pic is an example of what I can do, although at this point it's a tiny bit old, considering my skill and style has changed since I drew it.)

So, just a heads up, I expect to be slow getting chapter five together. I've been out of school for over a week now, and although I'll be excused from some assignments, it's still gonna be a bit of extra work catching up. So the next chapter may not be ready until maybe mid November, worst case scenario.

Well, take care now! ;) Hope you all enjoyed! Don't forget to review! And thank you for those of you who have followed and reviewed so far! Your support is very helpful, and definitely gives me a bit of a boost on my lazier days! Sometimes we all need an extra kick to get us off the couch and away from Nutella. (Okay, lies. If I see Nutella, I'm going for it no matter what. XD)