Restlessness

Nina Klein was known for her kindness. She was nothing like Inaho or Inko. They were known for their prowess and intelligence. She was barely known. She had tried to get into their bubble, but she was never meant to own a pedestal like that. She found that while the woman she had loved fought, Nina was only able to assist the Deucalion's flight. Her abilities in a kataphrakt was abysmal. It actually burned that she -despite all the practice she suffered through -could never stand by Inko's side in battle. It also burned that when Inko's father died, Nina had been immediately ignored her because her parents were alive. She was told that she couldn't begin to understand. Just because she couldn't empathize, didn't mean she couldn't sympathize. What would it have helped if she could understand anyway? Then she would be forced to watch and personally know how absolutely devastated her girlfriend was.

It helped that Rayet stopped by, that her presence actually did something. Nina wasn't too selfish and self-centered to feel offended that Rayet could get Inko and her mother to eat. What made her angry was that Inko still subconsciously reacted to Inaho whenever Inaho appeared, but couldn't remember Nina's existence unless she was angry. It hurt, a lot. To know that nothing Nina did could ever amount to the things Inaho did, made Nina want to be particularly evil to both of them.

Before dating, Nina asked numerous times if Inko still loved Inaho, and Inko swore she didn't. To know that she was competing for her own girlfriend's affections stung.

She shouldn't have been so surprised that her efforts paled in comparison to Inaho in Inko's eyes. Inko had loved Inaho since they met. It's always been like that. Perhaps it's because she couldn't fight the martians like the others could. Calm couldn't fight either, but he was never shunned like her.

So Nina made Inko and her mother some comfort food. She set the food on a tray, and saw Inko staring blankly at the wall, unable to properly think about where she was. Inko was an extreme mess. Her shirt had belonged to her father. It was most likely from the dirty clothes pile Nina wasn't allowed to clean. She wasn't allowed in Inko's mother's bedroom either. Every time Nina cleaned up the house, Inko's mother sought fit to destroy it. It was as if the sight deeply offended her. Inko had refused to go too far from the front of her father's closet. Nina found her sleeping in it often. It was a relief that Calm decided to handle Inko's work, while Nina tried to help Inko and her mother mourn in a way that wouldn't make Mr. Amifumi upset.

Nina walked through the hallway until she reached Inko, and she set the tray on the floor beside Inko, but it was immediately smacked away. All of the carefully made soup spilled on the floor, promising to stain.

Inko glowered at Nina. Great, she's in a really nasty mood. When Inko got like this, she said some incredibly scathing comments about Nina's intelligence, looks, and worth. Really, it was anything that made Nina feel miserable.

"So that's how you plan on making things better? Using all the food in this place for this disgusting mess? Stop wasting my time!" She shouted, throwing the bowl near Nina's head, making the bowl shatter on impact when it connected to the wall.

Nina flinched at the deafening sound, and the unpleasant feeling of shards of glass in her hair. She didn't dare look behind her for fear of Inko completely snapping.

"Well? Are you just going to sit there, looking stupid? You couldn't begin to understand what real battle is like. The actual fear of losing your life being magnified. So why are you still here?" She sneered, eyes bloodshot and bruised. When was the last time Inko got real rest? When was the last time she bathed?

Nina generally ignored Inko when she became mean. She could understand why Inko only wanted to be alone, but Nina didn't want to leave. She could only imagine the horrible things that could happen. She went to pick up the shards of glass.

"And now you're going to be silent. Where's all that annoying preachy crap you were spewing before? The whole "I just want you to not hurt yourself". Huh? Why do you even bother? I can't hurt myself anymore than I'm already hurt. You're such a-"

The doorbell rang, saving Nina from hearing Inko's next words. Nina stood to quickly get the door so she could thank the person that saved her. She opened the door to Inaho with Slaine. Lately, he hasn't been been away from her for long. The public was eating their constant closeness up. Nina was selfishly happy that Slaine was there. With him around, it made things easier for Nina to douse her jealousy.

"Inaho." Inko murmured, seeming to snap from her angry trance. Nina bit her tongue.

"Let me get you something to drink." Nina said snappishly. All Inaho did was appear, and Inko turned into a sweet angel. As soon as Inaho left, Inko would cry for hours. Nina would have to get water so Inko didn't dehydrate herself. Whenever Nina left to go to the store, she couldn't even get so much as a glance. It was insulting that Nina's presence held no weight. Even Rayet received better treatment than her, and Nina knew Inko longer!

She made the tea, and they all sat, sipping in hushed voices. Inko excused herself after conversing for almost an hour. Inaho stood grabbing the dishes to wash them in the sink. Slaine leaned close to her.

"Nina, are you okay? When was the last time you went outside? Inaho and I wanted to ask if you needed some time to yourself." He looked concerned, which was weird because they didn't speak to each other often, but he and Inaho still spared a thought for her.

She wanted to be prideful, to be the perfect girlfriend that was always there, but this was hard. Being stuck in the apartment with Inko's anger and suffering neglect was hell. She didn't know what to do anymore; she didn't even know if she was doing the right thing. She was done. She wanted to leave so badly. Her throat constricted with a warning of the incoming onslaught of tears. She was done being strong. She'd forgotten that she didn't have to face this alone.

"Yeah, I think I need some time to myself." She needed to recuperate, and reevaluate her relationship. Maybe even wonder if Inko loved her as much as she loved Inko.

After only a night of separation, Nina decided to just stop by and check on Inko. It wouldn't hurt to see how things were going. When Nina knocked on the door, unsure if she was allowed to even stop by, she began nervously fumbling her hands. All last night she fought the urge to call, and eat all of her comfort foods.

She had to wait for three minutes before the door opened to show Inko, freshly dressed and more aware. She still had the bags under her eyes, but the redness of her eyes was slowly disappearing. Of course Inaho's staying would cure Inko of some of her pain. Nina didn't have a chance at helping. Why did she even come by again? She would just make Inko angry and ruin things.

"I shou-"

"Where did you go?" She started angrily, but immediately defused. "I thought you got tired of me. I know I've been impossible to deal with, and I'll start doing better. I'll do better, just… please don't leave me." She whispered, and Nina felt conflicted.

Could she just go back and silently suffer whenever Inko's new epiphany faded away? Did this apology mean anything? Where did it come from? But no matter how much those questions needed an answer, Nina couldn't leave Inko alone.

Nina felt herself on the brink of breaking down in tears. "Okay. I'll stay." She whispered, feeling like she was voluntarily ripping pieces of her heart out. Inko pulled her into a hug as she cried.

"Just say you love me." Nina repeated, clutching onto Inko desperately. She just wanted to hear her, even if it was partially a lie.

"I love you. I love you, Nina." Inko whispered once.