Chapter sixteen:
#Millia:
Any minute now and I could practically feel the
body falling.
I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies, but this
anticipation was…
Interesting.
The first thing that hit me was the smell of mold
and… Death…
”No! she’s dead!”
I gasped and looked down, there was no dead
body.
No dead human anyway.
“Damn.” Sol cursed and put a hand on his hip.
You can say that again.
A dead cat lay in the closet, four small dead
kittens were around her. poor mother.
I sighed and covered my nose, out of pity
more than the smell.
Sol shook his head and knelt down, thankfully they were in a box, I guess it was their home. He made a grunt and pulled the
box up, slowly. I saw a moth fly away.
I was startled when Sol passed by me, I
thought I heard a whine! “Sol wait!”
He scrunched up his nose in disgust. “What?”
I took a step forwards and looked at the
kittens, they were motionless… I blinked. “Sol, one of
them is alive!”
He looked down, then looked back at me. “No.”
“Yes.” One of them was breathing, very slowly and weakly, but it was alive!
“Just stay put, I’ll be back.” He started to walk.
“Sol!” I don’t believe it! “You’re just going to
leave it! just like that!”
“Its dead without its mother anyway.” He narrowed
his eyes, the blue barely visible under the curtain of dirty, unkempt hair.
“I don’t believe you!” How do you live knowing you’ve killed an innocent
creature!! “Sol!” my face probably betrayed shock, I
was. “You can't just kill it!”
He scoffed and started to the door.
Oh my god, he really doesn’t care! What kind of
person would just leave it to it’s death?
I’ve assassinated a lot of people, but they
all had done something or another to deserve it. or
at least that’s what I’ve been told.
I frowned at the closed door and sat down
on the floor, my leg was aching…
But Sol… it’s just a shock… I thought bounty
hunters weren’t supposed to kill. Then again, I’ve
never known him that much, I shouldn’t be surprised with the way he was
treating me.
”Are you okay?” “Need help washing your face?” “You should accept my help.”
“You’re an assassin.”
He always acted tough, mean and angry. I knew
there has to be some humanity in him, but I guess I’m not the one who is going
to make that surface.
I need somebody to make my humanity
surface. I haven’t laughed, really laughed in a long
time.
Then again, I don’t remember the last time I had
smiled or laughed.
I just remember the blood.
Oh the blood…
I sighed and rubbed my toes.
Then again, Sol probably hates animals, that’s why
he’s not letting me have it. or maybe I’m just
thinking childishly. I mean, its too small and would
probably die in my hands anyway, right?
I took a breath, the air didn’t smell of mold
anymore. I lay back on the cold floor and closed my
eyes.
For a long moment, I couldn’t think of anything
but the silence around me, it was uncomfortable. The cold morning air felt like
it was weighting down on my chest.
My ribs ached.
My hair formed a small pillow and slid under
my head.
“Thank you.” I said quietly, hearing the lonesome
echo of my voice.
”You are welcome!” Zato smiled, and
brushed back hair from his red eye band\cover.
”So, do you think I can take it all?”
”Of course, Millia, darling. You are
the only one who deserves it all.”
”Sigh.”
”On one condition.” Zato smiled, unable to see her tense expression..
“What?”
“You have dinner with me, tonight.” He reached carefully and touched her
hair. “I have something to tell you.”
My eyes opened slowly, remembering what
occurred that night. I rolled to my side and narrowed
my eyes at the cold reflection of my hand on the floor. Why did I let him?
“Rage,” I looked back at the door and saw Sol with
a cigarette and a paper cup in his hand, one gloved hand on his hip. “You like
looking like a beggar, get up.”
“I’m not a beggar.” I frowned and sat up,
electricity shooting up my arm. The sling was uncomfortable on my right, and my head hurt.
“Che.” He walked
over to me and motioned with his free hand. “Get out,
I’m pulling furniture in.”
I’m not even going to ask him what he’d
done with the dead cats, I don’t feel so good.
I sat up and put the crutch under my arm, I
really didn’t feel like going anywhere, so I just sat on the couch. It was
covered in an old bed sheet.
I watched him absently, he worked lazily, like he
had all the time in the world. Sol was just putting the double bed together
when I asked. “Where will I sleep?”
He worked silently. Is he ignoring me?
“Sol, why exactly are you allowing me in here with you?” I
shifted uncomfortably, staying in a closed place with him again felt… wrong.
“I’m not.” He stood up to look at his work before unbuckling the belt on
his shirt and throwing it over his head, the headband fell off as well.
I thought for a moment. “Isn’t it cold?”
He just worked, his tanned arms rippling as he lifted a small nightstand.
Girls actually like this? I remember back when me and the
girls would hang around the café at the guild, the girls would start
talking about guys. Zato always had the number one,
they said because he rippled.
I’ve hated him.
“Throw me that lamp.” He stood in the door way, arms lazily stretched.
I lifted a brow, “Are you sure?”
He rolled his eyes, and put his hands on his hips.
I held the lamp in one hand, it was almost
too-heavy, almost. I threw it at him and I almost
cried for him to watch it, he caught in the last second.
“Showing off isn’t going to collect shattered glass!” I
scolded.
“Whatever.” I sighed and closed my eyes, laying
down on the couch and stretching my legs as far as it allowed. He is
incorrigible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#Sol:
She was sleeping on my couch God damnit. Why couldn’t she do something useful?
Che.
I dropped the live kitten to a veteran, it
should be okay, he said. Needs some time. I can't believe I spent 30 of my own money on a cat!
This woman is getting on my nerves.
She’s going to use me up until I’m broke and then
she’d leave, just like the rest of them.
She had already started to succeed. First my old
place, then the hotel room, then the motel. And now this
place. I’ve wasted too much money, and the
bounties have been slow lately.
I know that If I wanted, I could live in a mansion
that looks out on the ocean, have any girl I wanted and live in luxury. But
come on, what's the fun in that?
I have already been through that, it only
brought me misery.
That’s why when Rage is capable of walking on her own, she’s out.
I’m out.
Whatever.
“Don’t, please don’t.” Damn, she’s dreaming again.
I put my hand on the wooden doorframe and
watched her squirm, on my couch.
“Stop…” she breathed.
Should I wake her?
“Zato, don’t! stop!”
Nah.
I got back to working on the wire of the
lamp, the darn thing refused to slide into the plug. There was a gasp behind me but I just ignored.
Electricity increased on: fingers.
Guess I should be lucky I don’t get electrocuted.
Then again, that only happened because if a lot of program upgrading,
mainly by working on furaiken.
“Sol?” she called me, like I was her dad or
something.
I’ll never get anything done around here.
“What?” I frowned at her.
“It’s cold here, isn’t it?” she held herself, oh yeah its
definitely cold, your shirt gives it all off.
“Not really.” I scratched my head, the shirt and
headband were in some forgotten universe in the other room. I should get the
head band on, I don’t need any more broken walls.
“Well, where is the blanket? I think I’m getting cold.” She rubbed her arm.
I could warm you up in more than one way, I just
don’t feel like it. “Its in the cleaners.” I crossed my arms.
She looked down, her hair wrapping around her neck. “You don’t have another
one?”
“No.” I pulled up a pack from my back pocket and
put it in my mouth. She looks younger when she’s cold, all flushed and pouty. I flicked the lighter a
few times and then threw it on the floor with a clink. I
hate cheap lighters. I walked up to her, chewing on
the filter.
“Sol.” She looked up at me, her face emotionless.
“Will it be better if I stayed with the Jellyfish pirates?”
“Yeah.” Better of for you, better off for me. at least I wouldn’t worry about
you getting killed in my place anymore.
I think I probably hurt her, she glared at the
window and bit her lip. I knew I didn’t care.
Much.
“You get better, you’re out.” I stated simply and
spat the chewed cigarette to the floor. “In the mean time,” I
studied the scattered living room set. “Make yourself useful, get off.” This
goes in the middle… hmm…
“I have a broken leg,” she whined, “And its cold.”
“Its just fractured,” there is a difference,
woman. “ Soldier, get your ass off my couch.”
At the mention of soldier, she stiffened and stood up. I
knew I caught the misty pain in her eyes but pretended to not care, at this
rate her leg would really break.
“I’m not a soldier anymore.” She whispered, and rubbed her arm.
“Whatever.” As long as you are off my couch.
“I’ve ran away from it, you cant drag me back, you
just cant.” She rambled on and walked over to the window. “Don’t ever call me
soldier again.”
I scoffed, “Soldier, you ask for too much.”
I took a step towards the couch, meaning to lean down
and push it, but I only found myself falling to the floor.
Damn!
Exactly how I trained a million times, I flipped
over, bent my knees and pulled at whatever was entangled between my legs. You
see this only works when my thumb is not in my
pocket. In a quick movement I pulled the thick rope and
flinched when my head banged at the marble floor.
“Ah!” I glared up to see an angry Millia with her head pulled back, her hair in my fist and a
tear crystallizing in the corner of her eye. She was on top of me.
“Now what?” I frowned,
completely aware of the suspicious way that position looked like.
“Let go of my hair!” she tried to pull her hair but only ended up hurting
herself more.
I don’t make fun of myself. “Why the
hell are you attacking me?”
Silence.
“I told you not to call me soldier anymore.” She was quiet, “You didn’t
obey.”
What the hell. “So.”
“So.” She leaned down slowly, the iron grip on
her hair unwavering. “I got angry, is there something wrong with that?”
I smirked in triumph. “You’re blushing,
Rage.”
“I’m not.” All it took was a single nervous flicker in her eyes, I knew it,
she was embarrassed. “Let go of me.”
I put a hand on her lower back. Warm.
“You said it was cold, didn’t you.”
Silence.
“Its not cold anymore.” Her
There was fear.
I looked into her eyes, purposely narrowing them into slits for added
effect. “Do you fear me, soldier?”
One minute her small hand was on my chest the other it was fisted on my
jaw.
Damn, she wants a fight.
I rolled over and popped my knuckles, she was readier than I was, already
passing her fingers through her hair.
I was waiting for the perfect split second when I’d jump on her and beat
the crap out of her pretty little ass, nobody smacked Sol Badguy and lived to
tell about it.
Warning
Unable to find Gear-Control device, please install that
I sighed.
She’s female.
“What’s wrong?” her eyes shone, her hair prickling into sharp darts. “Why
aren’t you fighting, soldier?”
I scratched my scalp, “You’re broken.”
“I’m a soldier,” she scowled, spitting the word soldier like poison.
I shook my head, I’m just wasting my time. I pushed the couch with
both my hands, ignoring the frustrated growl behind me.
WARNING!
My hand flew behind and grabbed the thin rope of hair before it dug in my
back, “Don’t push it, Rage.” Fun’s over, get lost. Sit your ass somewhere and
let me work.
“You don’t make fun of me, Soldier.” Her eyes were empty, it made something
in my chest sink.
Exactly the same eyes I saw every morning.
Exactly.
“Cut it out.” I crossed my arms and busied myself in counting the small
bruises on my forearms, there is no way I’m looking
into those eyes again.
The damn woman bit me.
“I’m a soldier.” She stated and took a wobbly step towards me. Her hair
obviously keeping itself from strangling me.
“Then obey, soldier.” I frowned.
She took a
“Fight me, Badguy.” Empty, miserable eyes.
”Daddy, I love your eyes!”
“No.” my gaze wandered down to where I had a good look down her shirt, but
looked back up before she noticed.
“Prove to me that I once was a soldier.” Something flickered in her eyes,
something dark and… Scared.
It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
It was supposed to be funny, I thrust a finger at her ribs, intending to
mock her and then go back to my work, but she curled over as if I had thrust
Fuuenken in her stomach.
The room was filled with her heavy
Areyouokaydamnit…
End of chapter sixteen.