I slowly wake up, the pain across my entire body helping in that regard. I turn my head to the side, ignoring the cracking sound.
"Your finally awake little dude! This is totally tubular!" The buff, tan, blonde doctor(?) says. I swear I can almost hear the waves. No!
Don't be mean Haruo!
"Wh-where am I?" Talking feels strange. Is my jaw still broken?
"You probably shouldn't talk yet, those punks really did a number on you." Punks? That's a weird thing to call the rangers. But he's not
wrong about the second part. I got thrashed, couldn't do anything. The instructor clearly deserves her rank. Wait a sec. What if he doesn't know about that? I don't think anyone there would have wanted more people to know about it. Maybe Allister? Even if he doesn't know I shouldn't mention it.
"Lasers hurt." Gosh darn it!
"Ha! Don't I know it." Is that a regular thing doctors hear? His shirt is unbuttoned on the top half, so maybe he thinks lasers are like a
tanning booth. My mind is acting weird today. Why am I thinking about his tan and not… oh. Lilith actually was doing what she said she was. I think. Even after all that I still barely understand anything. But she said she did all
those things on the wall. Plus Misty, her best friend and accomplice stopped my heart. I really want to give them the benefit of the doubt but I'm not really seeing how I can do that. Even without that, I actually fought against a gold ranger, she broke several of my bones. It's a bit weird to think that this had me shaken more than big turtle. I guess that's because even if a mountain sized turtle creates a hurricane that almost killed me, I at least won that fight.
"Where am I?" I ask more clearly this time. He didn't answer the first time.
"Isn't it obvious? Your in the zone G hospital. The most bodacious hospital ever!" He does what I think is a surfer sign with his hands.
I don't know I draw things and make Kaiju I know nothing of surfer culture. I live by the beach and I have never seen a single person surf. I only know of the concept from books.
"Oh cool." I take a second before I say anything else, I have to get used to taking like this. "Where's my stuff?" It would be very bad
if someone else had the wand. Although maybe that would be for the best, I can't seem to do anything right with it. I think I also became an enemy of the government so it might not be the best idea for someone else to wear that outfit.
"Your friend took it back to your place. At least I assume. To be honest I forgot to do the paperwork and just gave your bag to him. My bad dude. That was not tubular of me." He scratches the back of his head in
embarrassment.
" what did he look like?" I try to stay calm. This could be really bad.
"He had cat ears. Figured all you Kaiju children knew each other." Is that racist? Allister isn't even a kaiju child. Is that just me
being pedantic? Am I being treated by a racist doctor? "Anyway, your injuries were pretty bad, you must have had those guys pissed to do this to you. You've been out of it for 4 days. But with dr sunshine on your side, your nearly at full health!" 4 days?! What's happened since then?! How will I explain it to everyone?! What will Satoshi think?!
"Heh." He gives me a quizzical look. "Sorry. Thought of something funny." He won't even know I was here. "Anyway. Can I go then?" His eyes nearly pop out of his skull.
"Absolutely not! Dude, you still need a few more days, your bones haven't healed yet." Hm. That's annoying. I can heal others but not myself. Whatever I guess.
"This is the first time I've been here." I say for no particular reason. Well that's a lie. It's so I can get more comfortable talking.
"First time in a hospital?".
"First time in this hospital. I used to volunteer at a different 1. I can heal people with my ability.".
"That sounds amazing. Why'd you stop?" I never said I stopped but he's right so I'll keep going.
"It was very impractical in the long term. I got tired after just a few heals. It could only do so much for longer lasting injuries. After a while the head doctor told me I was giving the doctors and patients unfair hope. Dr Kaito said he was blacklisting me from all medical practices and that I should focus on trainings against Kaiju." I think that might just be the
prime example of how bad I am and why I need the wand. Even when my power is
literally to heal people, I still can't live up to the task. On the upside, it seems I can talk better now.
"Now I'm no expert, but that sounds MEGA illegal.".
"Not like I'd know. It doesn't matter now anyway.".
"Well ok, I'm probably still going to look into that. Anyway, I'm gonna go out to the club tonight, wanna come?".
"I don't think I can given…" I indicate to the bed I'm on.
"Oh right of course. I knew that." I don't think he did. Is this what it's like talking to me? Those poor people.
"But don't worry little dude. This is gonna be the most exciting hospital stay of your life." What followed were 3 boring days of recovery. Not for lack of trying on the doctors part, it's just that there's only so much to be done when your stuck in bed. But eventually I'm given a clean bill of health and am allowed to leave. I give a wave to dr sunshine and spot a familiar cat nearby.
"Do you know how hard it is to bluff that you can heal?" He asks.
"I'd imagine quite difficult.".
"It's next to impossible. Looking like you is hard enough. Now everyone thinks your in the hospital for a horse flu. That's not even a real thing!" He probably could have phrased that first part better but ok.
"I think it is, it just isn't called that." He looks at me surprised. I doubt either of us was expecting that I'd know something he
didn't.
"What's up with you? You seem really bummed out for some reason.".
"Well I almost died and my friend has been taken by the government to who knows where.".
"Because she was a terrorist. I hate to say I told you so." I know for a fact that he does not.
"Whatever." Is all I say as we get on a train.
"Please don't feel too bad about this." The train is mostly empty so I suppose he's being less cautious. I would say that's not like him
but then I remembered the fashion shop. "You're a hero chosen by Louhi herself.
You were always going to have to stand against those who do evil." He curls up in an empty seat.
"She isn't evil." I look out the window at the blurry city.
"She seems pretty evil, but I guess we can agree to disagree.".
"Feels like a pretty massive thing to disagree on but ok." I whisper without looking at him.
"Well it doesn't really mater now. She's gone, best not to torture yourself by thinking about it.".
"Yeah." My throat hurts when I say it. As much as I hate to admit it, he's not wrong. Even discounting that I'd be sticking my neck out for a terrorist, what would I even do? I don't know where she is or if she's even still alive. I'd also be opposing the entire ranger force which has its own set of problems. Namely that I already lost horribly to a gold ranger. There just doesn't seem to be much I
can do. Allister looks around for a moment before speaking.
"I heard that Lilith stole from bakery's. That's why she's so fat." I give a chuckle even though I know I shouldn't.
"That's so mean. There's no way she did that.".
"She absolutely did, that's the real reason she needs to be locked up. It'll be good for her diet.".
"Lilith isn't even fat, she's in great shape.".
"All that buzzing around sends it all to the right places if you know what I mean.".
"Have you been going online too much?" He looks away.
"No." He says, lying.
"Kinda seems like you have. Besides, that rumour makes no sense. She's too small to eat all of them in that kind of time.".
"That's what she wants you to think.".
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't like Lilith.".
"I've not exactly been subtle about it." Has he not? I hadn't noticed til now. "I don't like what she does to you. You have an important mission with the future of mankind in the balance. Your going to make some really painful decisions and all of a sudden some ugly fairy has you looking at her with goo goo eyes!" Goo goo eyes? "It doesn't help that she herself has done some horrible things.".
"She doesn't use her telepathy on me so I think I'm fine.".
"That is in no way what I meant." His ears perk up when I rub his back.
"You're a real softy aren't you?" It's weird for me to think that a while ago I'd probably avoid conversations like this like some sort of
plague. I feel the twitch of a small smile on my face.
"Shut up. Stop being an idiot." He really is fifteen. Wait a second.
"What exactly did you mean by goo goo eyes?!" I can feel my cheeks grow warm when I ask. He just blinks at me confused.
"Are you serious? I wasn't exactly being subtle. Did you not notice that your helpless when it comes to her?".
"I'm not helpless." I turn away.
"You literally wore a cheerleader outfit because she and her friend asked.".
"SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!" I yell before walking to the other side of the train car.
"You can't deny the truth!".
"Yes I can! Because it's not true!" I put on my headphones and play 'Kaiju today'. Hopefully they have something a little more sensible to
say.
"Ding dong the kaiju boy is dead!" Oh boy.
"That hasn't been confirmed yet Derek.".
"A man can dream Dolores.".
"I just think maybe you've been milking this.".
"I won't deny that. My integrity is the only reason I haven't sponsored a public roast of the guy." I'd hate that but I don't deny that it would be very funny.
"I somehow doubt getting the attention of the supposedly evil guy who summons Kaiju is a great idea." I mean, from everyone else's
perspective that's not the worst point.
"Well, as has been proven this week with the battle at zone G, he's not quite as strong as we've made him out to be." Ouch.
"Your not wrong there I guess. But now we have to look at the other side of that situation. What do you say to the rumours that Kaiju boy killed insect queen?" What?! I didn't do that!
"Obviously false." Wait really? "Kaiju boy is nowhere near tough enough to pull that off. Insect queen is a shining beacon of our first
generation of Kaiju children. Obviously this is actually a conspiracy by the government to supplant the basic human rights all Kaiju children are owed!" He'd sound kinda nice if he didn't hate me. Guess that's just my bias talking.
"I wouldn't recommend talking like that. Might tank out ratings.".
"Nah. Ever since Kaiju boy was finally beaten like the menace he is, our ratings have only been going up!" Good for them.
"Really?".
"Really.".
"Then the ranger force can go jump off a building for all I care." She says in an unnaturally happy tone. That certainly took a turn. I switch it off once we reach our stop. We
both step onto the platform for zone W and walk back home. As I walk through the market I bump into a few people, luckily nobody seems to spare a thought for me. I think mr Ryuji and his assistant call out to me but I just keep walking. If I keep my head down then I don't have to explain where I've been. That's how that works. I think it is at least. I walk up the hill and into the house. I walk over to the staircase, Satoshi is making a sandwich and doesn't have a shirt on. He doesn't even notice me. Just like old times. I slam into my bed with the force of a bomb. For a brief second I think my bones will break again but I guess not. I reach for a book without changing my position until Allister takes pity on me a nudges 1 In my direction. I look and see that it's code creatures volume 27.
"That's the worst 1." I say into my pillow, in effect barley saying anything at all.
"Well I'm hardly an expert on these things." He responds, clearly annoyed while he curls up on his pillow on the floor. "Couldn't you get
me 1 of those cat beds?".
"I asked you 2 weeks ago and you just gave me a triple eye roll." I turn to him. "Something about 'how are you going to explain that you
have a cat?'" I repeat back to him in an exaggerated gravely voice.
"I don't sound like that.".
"You sound exactly like that." That's a lie of course but that's not the point.
"Whatever." We both turn away from each other for a few minutes. I know I should probably say something since I'm older(?) but he's being a real jerk so I won't. I read through code creatures even though it's
bad. The plot for this arc is stupid. If Lilith had brought up this arc she may have had a point. No! Stop that! Don't think about her! You'll just feel worse!
"I'm going downstairs." I say hurriedly as I get up.
"Whatever.".
"Don't be like that." I tell him as I leave. I walk down the stair and tip toe towards the kitchen. This is the delicate part, Satoshi is watching an old spy film and is pretty enamoured with it. If I'm quiet I'll be able to get something to eat without him noticing. After everything that's happened I don't really want to talk. I continually whisper 'don't be suspicious' to myself to improve my stealth. I even do a little roll to optimise my sneakiness. I make it over to the kitchen when a thought crosses my
mind. Could I make a bunch of Kaiju chameleons and cover myself with them to
make myself invisible? Further testing is required.
"Oh hey Haruo." Nooooooooooooo! I was so close!
"Hey." I respond in a totally natural way. Does he know I was gone? How long could Allister keep the disguise going for? How does someone explain something like that? 'Oh that wasn't me you saw it was my magic cat.
Only it wasn't a magic cat, just a kaiju that happened to look like a cat. No that doesn't mean you have to kill him. The witch in my head says he's nice.' Probable not the best way to go.
"You doing ok?" Why does he still not have a shirt on?
"Yeah. Just heard about Lilith." I try to sound honest while I pour some orange juice. I consider the apple juice but then remember that apple juice is horrible.
"You mean insect queen?" Wait a minute. Does he not know that me and Lilith know each other? I'd never really thought about it.
"Yes. Isn't she missing or something?" Satoshi should be pretty up there in the command chain. Maybe he knows something? Not sure what I'd even do with that information but whatever.
"Not a single clue bro." He casually says as he stretches. "Major shame though. She was really good at killing Kaiju.".
"Yeah, I mean, she was at the top for a reason." I take a sip of my orange juice. This is pretty awkward.
"The worst part is I never got to fight her." He looks right at me, the lighting from the tv plus the few strands of dyed hair making him look a little deranged. Not that I'd ever tell him that. "The amount of blood we could have spilt…" I feel like he and Shen would get along really well.
"By the way, how long are you off work?" I ask, changing the subject. Feels like I should at least ask.
"Until tomorrow morning. Then I've got the next 3 months working." I just sigh and walk back upstairs. "What's wrong?".
"Nothing." Typical.
"What was that about?" Allister asks as I slam the door shut.
"How am I supposed to save humanity if I can't fight the ranger force?".
"That feels like a contradiction. You can save humanity by not dying at the moment." That's a very frustrating answer but it makes sense.
"This is all so confusing!" I yell into my pillow. I don't even think that was the question I meant to ask but I can't put it into words.
"Louhi has plans that are quite complex. But as a hero, your integral to them. Don't worry about all of this. For now, keep doing what
you've been doing and everything will sort itself out." I guess he's right. Louhi has been kind to me so far. I should trust in her plans. It still hurts though. "We should get to sleep. Tomorrow you've got to explain why you no
longer have horse flu.".
"Could you not have thought of a better excuse?".
"No.".
"Aren't you a ninja?".
"Go to sleep.".
"Ok I guess. Love you." I get no answer to that. He really is a 15 year old boy cat Kaiju ninja. I wake up the next morning surprisingly
early. If nothing else, that hospital stay gave me a decent sleep schedule. I get out of bed and consider for a moment how happy I am to be back in my own bed. The ones in the hospital was clearly not made for someone of my… unique stature.
"Have you come up with an excuse yet?" Allister asks, already ready. To be fair, how much preparation does a cat really need? I'd ask but it may be a touchy subject.
"No. I'm just not going to acknowledge it, even if people ask about it." I respond in a flat tone as I quickly hop in the shower.
"That sounds like gaslighting.".
"Don't even know the meaning of the word." I feel like I do but I can't remember.
"Your doing it right now." I am? Fascinating. "Anyway, you ok now? Someone might ask about Lilith. Are you going to be able to be able to handle that." I try to have a relaxing shower but I can't stop thinking about everything. Lilith wouldn't be gone if it wasn't for me. I turn the shower off and step out.
"Can we just stop talking about that? There's no point now." I brush my teeth and shine my horns before covering them with my hair as best as I can. Meaning not very well. I swear I see him roll his eyes at me again. I'm tempted to get a squirt bottle. Once I've put my military uniform on I grab my bag, cat included, before heading out the house. If Satoshi is still there it would hardly make a difference. I get on the train which takes us to the facility. This is probably going to be very awkward. I feel the wand vibrate slightly in my bag, Allister mentioned when we fought that I had some 'automatic defence' so maybe that's what the wand is trying to do. Because I'm
going to the place with the lady who broke my jaw. It can't really do much when I'm not transformed. I think so at least. I don't know the rules.
"Drug guy!" Boba yells as soon as I step off the train. But I'm experienced with him and his sister by now so I simply take another step forwards to avoid him tackling me. I give a slight smile when I see him. I may not know Lola, Boba and Howlett that well, but they seem to be the only people I'm on good terms with that have no baggage attached to that relationship. They paid attention to me beyond my ability. Well not really. Lola and Boba literally always call me drug guy because they are addicted to the feeling of
healing. But it's the thought that counts? I place my hand over his head after he crashes and heal it. I probably shouldn't indulge him but whatever. Not like I know what I'm doing anyway. "Oh yeah. That's the good stuff." I pull away before the healing finishes because that time was just really weird. It's like the time when he talks to Howlett. I'm not Howlett. Am I?
"I'm going inside now. Just cool off for a second ok?" I start to walk away.
"Wait a second! I've barely been healed by you in ages!" He clings onto my ankle but I persevere. "Every time I ask you for healing I get zilch! Now I only get a drop?! Are you starting up a drug trade or something?!" I turn down to him in surprise.
"Why would I start a drug trade? HOW would I start a drug trade?" It's odd to be talking to just him and not also his sister.
"Well if you need advice I could help." I try and get away even harder as I get more embarrassed.
"At least someone's distracting him from that ugly fairy." For someone who doesn't want me to think about her he sure does bring it up a lot. Eventually we make it to the training room for today. Apparently we're doing theoretical study in 1 of the facility libraries today. As I enter the first thing I notice is instructor Audrey. It's almost like time stops for a moment when our gazes briefly meet. Her eyes are always serious so it's impossible to tell what she's thinking. Calm down Haruo. She doesn't know it was you. If she did you wouldn't be here right now. Just stay calm and don't do anything to blow it. I take a look around as we enter so I look less suspicious. From everyone else's perspective I've been coming here but happened to get horse flu. Which apparently they believed. The library itself is fairly standard, with absolutely huge book cases lined up against the wall the shows the cliff side. The only other super notable thing was that Misty wasn't talking to Lilith. Because Lilith isn't here. She appears to be talking to Sam of the high rankers. They seems to be discussing her belly sword since it's being held up. I'm honestly surprised she's still allowed to be here. Wasn't she an accomplice? Maybe they consider Misty too valuable to lose. Would be a bit strange since Lilith was the number 1 but what do I know?
"Glad that we're finally all here. With insect queen indisposed it's up to you all to pick ilup the slack." The way she talks makes me almost grind my teeth. That's the first time I've ever felt like that. I don't like it. "Ah glad to see your back 476." OH NO SHE NOTICED ME!
"Ye-yep, sorry for the trouble." Everyone for a brief moment looks at me before going back to their business. But for me that moment was like a full minute of wanting to sink into the ground.
"At least your finally over your horse flu. How'd that even happen drug guy?".
"Couldn't tell you if I wanted to Boba. And I REALLY don't want to.".
"With Kaiju boys attack on insect queen her condition is inconclusive. With the clear and rising threat he presents, you'll be studying more organised tactics to combat him. No more of this individual fighting nonsense."
That is really not good. I didn't do that! I don't want to hurt anyone! ARGH!
"Why would Kaiju boy go after insect queen?" Shen asks while leaning on a bookshelf. EXACTLY! THATS AN AMAZING
QUESTION!
"While she's not dead yet, it's entirely possible that she will succumb to her injuries. What's important is that Kaiju boy did make an attempt on her life. I'd suggest you keep that in mind." She folds her arms behind her back. I DON'T WANT TO FIGHT THESE PEOPLE!
"You ok dude?" Boba asks me. I turn away.
"Yeah." I focus on keeping myself from shaking out of panic. This could be really bad. The instructor gives us a list of material to be
studied. We aren't allowed to leave until it's all been completed. We are all given special tablets for this task. They scan a book and then it downloads the contents. Apparently they're only used here for training purposes and I can't say I'm too shocked, these seem really inefficient. We are at least allowed to
wander the library as we like so I take a seat by a table on the 3rd floor. The books here don't exactly inspire much confidence. Such wonderful subjects as Kaiju mass extermination, prioritisation of targets and even how to make home made nerve gas. This is getting really dark. "How many of these did you read?" I seemingly ask my bag but in reality it's the talking cat inside the bag.
"I got through about 50%.".
"Um, thanks.".
"Your welcome." Some of these seem right up his alley but I'm not going to tell him that. I hear the scraping of chair legs against the
floor and look up from my bag. Misty has taken a seat across from me. Why is she sitting there? There are other seats. She shouldn't know that I'm Kaiju boy. At least I think she shouldn't.
"Shen hasn't taken Lilith disappearing very well." She casually says while looking at her tablet.
"Didn't he bully her? Shouldn't he be happy?" I try to hide how nervous I am. She just looks at me confused for a moment.
"Well he still wanted to beat her. Can't exactly do that when she's missing." She gets back to reading on the tablet.
"Right. That makes sense." Don't look at her too much. If you do you'll remember how she stopped your heart. WAIT NO! I JUST DID! I
THOUGHT THAT WAS MEANT TO BE ROMANTIC!
"Anything else you want to talk about?" Misty leans back on her chair, her tails bending around the edges.
"N-not really." What do I even say here?
"Can I be blunt with you?" She asks with what I can only describe as weirdly empathetic eyes.
"Sure." Don't maintain eye contact.
"I know your Kaiju boy." She whispers.
"No I'm not." I immediately respond. Nailed it. She doesn't seem convinced though.
"Should I kill her?" Allister asks but I ignore him.
"Don't worry, I'm mostly sure no one can hear us." She leans forward and crosses her arms. That surprisingly enough wasn't what I was
worried about. Shows where my priorities are. But still, what can I say? She seems pretty certain and I don't know how I could argue against this without coming across as more guilty. "I'm sorry I stopped your heart." She says with a bashful expression like she's talking about something completely different.
"It's ok." I say without thinking. I think it's natural to not want people to feel bad. Until it clicks. "Wait no it isn't!".
"Shhhhh!" She quickly covers my motifs with 1 of her hands. For a moment I think she's going to zap me or burn me or freeze me but no. She does something so much worse. She reminds me how short I am! I only come up to
her chest gosh darn it. At least most of these other Goliath's aren't physically restraining me! After about 10 seconds she lets go. "Please keep it down. Neither of us really need the trouble right?" I get the feeling she isn't used to talking to people other than Lilith. There's something awkward about the way she speaks. Like she really doesn't know what she's going to say until a second before it's said. Then again, it's not like I can judge.
"Sorry. But working from the completely made up scenario we both happened to come up with, shouldn't you have been arrested?" If Misty was working with Lilith why would they not both be taken away? Why just Lilith? Her 9 tails swish back and forth for a second before she indicates for me to follow
her, so I do. Allister grunts as I put my bag on and we walk past bookshelf's.
"Lilith is able to use all insect based abilities through insect queen, the strongest of these abilities being a telepathic one based on queen bees and ants." Misty looks at a few books to not look too suspicious. I do the same thing only much less effectively. "She needs some sort of point of contact though. Either through actually touching them, her needles or her gold dust. Since I had traces of gold dust in my system I was able to play it off
like I was controlled by her. As the number 3 I'm considered just a bit too important to lose. At least alongside the number 1.".
"That makes sense. I think. But why tell me this?".
"Because I need you to help me rescue her. Kaiju boy might be the only shot we have at it." Misty looks me dead in the eyes with her
primal eyes. I look away for my part.
"I'm not Kaiju boy." I whisper in a vain attempt to hide my identity.
"Yes you are. And your also friends with Lilith. Don't you want to help her?".
"Of course I do. But I don't know how. Even if I could fight the ranger force, Lilith may not be any better." I fidget with my hands. I feel horrible for saying it, especially to her best friend but I'm not exactly the best with my words.
"Even if she is isn't really the point. I know your conflicted about everything we did, believe me I get it. Frankly we betrayed you and I nearly killed you.".
"Lilith said you held back.".
"Oh I did. That's why you don't have a hole in your chest. The difference between nearly and did.".
"Right. That makes sense, that's how I was able to beat you." Her eye twitches for a moment before she takes a deep breath.
"Yeah, you did. That was quite a hit." She gives an honest smile.
"But I still don't really understand why you attacked me." I place I finger on my chin and try to piece it together in my mind. That did
seem pretty extreme. I even tried to deescalate. Misty rubs the back of her
head in embarrassment.
"To tell you the truth, I was meant to just restrain you but I got a little carried away. I was really on edge with all the projects we were doing that had the government cracking down on us. It wasn't until halfway through that I'd remembered not to rip your heart out." I process this for a moment before it clicks into place.
"I nearly died because you got carried away?!" I try and get in her face about it but I'm too short. I quickly realise that I just yelled at someone in a library. The external factors plus my internal introversion make me quickly step back.
"Yeah. It was stupid." She stares at the ground like one would do if they were caught stealing. Not attempted murder!
"Oh my witches she was only normal by comparison." Allister says to himself in bewilderment. Not entirely sure what he's talking about but I'm not too focused on it.
"As long as you don't do it again I guess." I also look at the floor.
"I promise I won't. Lilith would ACTUALLY murder me. Also, you know, it would be wrong." Glad we sorted that out. Wait. What was that last bit? "So then, will you help me? I can't save her without Kaiju boy." She holds
out her hand for me to take. I hesitate though. I mean, this is crazy. I can't go against the government like that. Running from them is 1 thing but actually breaking out a terrorist? Or criminal? Either way, it's not really something I should involve myself in right? Even if I do like Lilith, am I really willing to risk it? Would Louhi be ok with that? Shouldn't I focus on lord star fall? They don't seem to be connected. Would saying no make me a bad person?
"Your not actually considering it are you?" Allister pops his head out of the bag.
"Is that a talking cat?" Misty asks blankly as I turn to hide him from her and any cameras.
"What are you doing?" I ask in a hushed yet panicked tone as I try to shove his head back in.
"Is that talking cat?".
"This idea is both poorly thought out and highly illogical. I'm simply trying to confirm that you won't be going along with it." He really doesn't want to be in the bag anymore.
"…" I move my hand past him and reach for the wand.
"You can't be serious." He says dumbfounded.
"Is that a talking cat?".
"I think I have to do this." I pull out the wand.
"No you don't. You think you do. That's different. Please don't do this." He stares at me dead in the eyes. A strange experience given that he has an extra 1.
"I know this is a bad idea. But I like Lilith. I don't know if what she wants to do is good or not, but I want to talk to her about it." I hide the wand in my pocket.
"Your being blinded by your affection for her.".
"Yes. Ok? I like Lilith. She's my friend and she's out there a-and she's probably scared and alone. I want to help her. I want to be a hero like mariner satellite. The hero I want to be wouldn't ignore that." I gently place the bag in the ground.
"But you are a hero. A hero chosen by the winter witch Louhi. It's your duty to save humanity from destroying itself at the hands of lord star fall. You can't throw that away." He practically pleads with me. And now I feel bad for this as well.
"And I'm so grateful for that. Louhi is 1 of the only people who straight up called me a hero. But I can't let her completely decide what
kind of hero I'll be." I stand up and feel just a little lighter. I try and give him a light smile to reassure him but I don't think it's very convincing. Truth is that I'm super scared.
"What does that even mean? Your supposed to save the world.".
"But I can't save the world if I leave someone behind when they need help. I think you'd do the same, grumpy as you are." Maybe adding
some humour will help. I don't think it did though. He looked pretty shocked by the second half of that sentence.
"Is that a talking cat?".
"That's asinine! You'll die! We can't lose a hero when lord star fall approach's. What will we do?! What will I do if you die?!" He stops
as soon as he says it. I bend down and rub his head slowly.
"I promise you, I won't die. But I need you to use that trick so that no one knows I'm gone, ok?" He doesn't respond but I think he'll
do it. I stand back up and look at Misty's very perplexed face. "Let's do it." I try to say confidently, but even I can tell how scared I already am.