Yasha sighed heavily, feeling her lungs tighten to their full capacity before taking in another breath of fresh crisp air. Though she liked her peace as much as the next individual, she felt empty and tiny in such a large space. Tatsuhiro’s dojo was like a castle, and during her first few exciting nights here, she had found enjoyment in the different rooms and colorful gardens. Tatsuhiro had once told her that this was only one of his many living areas and that his clan migrated each season to another house. The castle was empty save herself and Tatsuhiro due to the conclusion that the clan were occupying another house elsewhere leaving this one abandoned and free for their uses.

Sent into hiding, Tatsuhiro felt this place was best because it touched all familiarities with himself and was high on a mountainside; no mortal could ever reach it. The air was chilling, even for Yasha, who herself enjoyed the cold. She carried around a velvet drape to cover her when she took walks in the garden and down the long wooden halls. It were times such as this that Yasha felt lonely and restrained. She was wild and free, like the child of Spring, she needed to engage in spiritual fleets across a terrain. Wanted so badly to feel the cool silk of water running about her body like living flesh. What Yasha wanted the most, was to be around familiar faces and warm smiles.

She really missed her friends.

That wasn’t to say that Tatsuhiro didn’t give her a boundless amount of care and affection each day. In fact, everyday he would grace her with his attention and teach her new and exciting things about his past life and the history of her favorite garden in the temple. At night, when she would shiver from the chill of the still lingering auras of his clan, he would wrap her drape around her and hold her close, never attempting to comfort her with his own body due to it’s low temperature.

She enjoyed the small chats they shared, and savored the bitter sweet moments of his humorous laugh. Yasha felt she could live through the pain of near solitude when moments like these occurred.

Though, even through all these precious moments, she became ill.

Tatsuhiro knew that Yasha was growing sick, and he knew that the cure was to be back out in the familiar territories of her previous dwellings. It pushed him to near madness when he realized he could not move from his position. If he were to allow Yasha to roam the earth below the mountain, the Dark Angels would surely have their opportune moment and snatch her away.

He sat against the wall in front of her as she sat on the balcony, looking distantly at the earth below with painful longing in her eyes. To him, it was like keeping a bird locked away into a cage and placed in front of a window. Torture; that is how he perceived it. He was torturing her by keeping her here. Though, what could he do besides wait for the return of Chadd and Neko.

They had left to request guidance and assistance from the White Angels. It wasn’t a task to take lightly because for one, Chadd was a Dark Angel.

Tatsuhiro decided to drop it, coming to the realization that it was raw and meaningless at the moment. What mattered to him the most, was Yasha.

She had been dreaming, with eyes open, when she felt his cool presence behind her. She turned her head, and smiled longingly into his pale white face. He really was beautiful. “The sun is so warm.” She said, voice small. Tatsuhiro regarded her for a moment to stare at the sun that was both adoring and painful to him. It was a dull pain of course, never truly causing pain, but it was there no less. True, he did not find it as warm and endearing as she might have, but he still held some silent respect for it and its obligations. After all, it was the one who created new life everyday.

“Yes it is.” He said, wondering if it was his own voice he was hearing. He just felt so tired, a dull aching that he felt everyday. Was it because he was lifeless? He never really needed to sleep, except during the summer when the heat was at its maximum, but other than that, sleep was not required.

There was silence, and then, “When are they coming back?” She ask, with longing. Although she didn’t want to make it sound like she actually was ready to leave, she couldn’t help the eagerness in her words and her anticipation for an accurate answer.

Tatsuhiro shrugged his broad shoulders. “I don’t know.”

Yasha seemed to look at him desperately, “Tatsuhiro…please.”

His frozen unmoving heart jerked and he winced at the pain and longing laced in her voice. She finished, almost to the point of breaking, “I want to go.”

Before he could answer, there was a sound of fluttering, and the whispering of wings gliding through the air. And then there was a loud thud as a body, or two, hit the ground in the room next to theirs. Tatsuhiro and Yasha stared at each other for what seemed like hours before Yasha scrambled to her feet and threw the screen doors opened and walked into the hall. Behind her, Tatsuhiro watched as she slid the door connected to one of the more smaller guest rooms open.

Yasha’s face of joy suddenly fell and was replaced by a look of horror as the site of dark blood that slapped the screen door leading to the guest balcony, white and black feathers caught in its sticky trap. A dark silhouette behind the screen doors caught her attention and she dashed across the room, nearly knocking the screen doors out in her hurry.

Chadd was trying to regain what little composure he had left as he stumbled to sit up, wings still open for he could not find the room in the small balcony to close them. Black shimmering feathers floating like cherry petals and landing gracefully next to a body Yasha didn’t recognize at first glance. The body, laying motionless under the frantic Chadd was the body of Yasha’s dear friend, Neko.

Blue and brown marks covered Neko’s face, and dried blood was gathered at her nose and her bottom lip which was split open to reveal red. At the site of her right arm, Yasha turned her head and retched, finding Tatsuhiro by her side to hold her up when her knees became suddenly weak. Neko’s arm barely contained skin and was missing chunks of precious meat and muscle. And there was a shine of white ivory bone visible.

To make matters worse, Chadd was in no better of a condition, a large gash on his cheek ran clean across his jaw, open for the world to see. What was worse, he was still awake, and he was delusional at the moment, unaware of where he was and what was happening. His dark blood dripping to shower Neko in soft patters.

A flutter of cloth, and Tatsuhiro was moving towards them, almost gliding calmly. When he took a step too close for Chadd’s comfort, the Dark Angel sprung backwards, taking the limp Neko with him, wings fluttering madly, hitting the walls and screens like a mad bird trying to escape a narrow chute. He didn’t recognize Tatsuhiro’s presence, but he did recognize the familiar chill of a dark creature as it clicked into his mind, telling him of danger.

Tatsuhiro reached out a hand to try and calm him but Chadd hissed, long fangs glittering in the sunlight. With a nice display of his pearly whites, Tatsuhiro might have mistaken him for another vampire if he hadn’t already known Chadd’s status as a Dark Angel. A hoarse, broken sound erupted from Chadd’s throat, “Stop! Just leave us alone!”

“Chadd,” Tatsuhiro stated calmly. “It’s okay, you did it, you made it back. You’re safe now.”

Tatsuhiro’s voice seemed to register in Chadd’s mind and he stopped all movements and looked at Tatsuhiro, but Tatsuhiro knew he wasn’t actually looking at him, but at something he recognized and trusted. Chadd’s eyes glazed over and he fell face first onto the floorboards of the dojo with a loud crack. Yasha gasped and rushed over to him, taking his head into her arms and resting them on her knees. “Chadd?” She noticed his wings were still uncomfortably spread and she gently worked on the one closest to her and maneuvered it to fold gracefully at his back. As she worked on the other, Tatsuhiro stalked slowly towards Neko’s unconscious form sprawled in a pool of dark red blood.

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. When had his body become so hot? Turning away from the fresh blood oozing from Neko’s arm, Tatsuhiro’s eyes ran into Yasha’s. There was silence between them. Yasha spoke, “You okay?” She asked that question, knowing the answer already, but having the need to speak, as if it would help lift this tension. When was the last time he had a feeding? Yasha could no recall a moment that past by that Tatsuhiro was not by her side between the long weeks of staying in the temple. He was probably dying with uncontrolled need.

His voice had a slight edge of something Yasha didn’t recognize, “yeah.”

A flash of dark cloth, and Tatsuhiro was standing, Neko in his arms, swaying peacefully. This caused Yasha’s insides to recoil, but she merely stared up at him, curiously, a small fearful hand waving at her from the back of her mind. He finally broke her gaze and began to walk down the hallway, “Stay with Chadd.” He opened the slid doors and looked over his shoulder at her one last time, “Don’t come in.”

Then he disappeared, along with Neko behind those doors and Yasha watched him, mind racing and thoughts pouring into her hazed brain. Did she truly trust him? What’s truth?

“I trust him,” She spoke out loud, almost scaring her with her own voice. It was weak and trembling instead of confident. A sigh escaped her lips, hand going to rest against her forehead. ‘If this relationship is going to work, I must trust him.’

She remembered Chadd who was curled on his side, hugging her legs, hair ruffled and crusted with blood and other things Yasha didn’t want to know about. His wings quivered from being used for such a long period of time with twice the wait they normally carried. His wounds were slowly closing, leaving bruised and bloody skin in its wake. Deciding to wait, Yasha relaxed against one of the wooden posts and slowly ran a hand through his silk curtain of midnight hair, despite the blood. Minutes passed by and soon rolled into hours. Deciding waiting was too much tension, Yasha busied herself with cleaning Chadd’s wounds.

Making a decision, she dragged the wooden bucket of water towards her and placed a cotton towel at its edges. She lowered his head until his neck rested comfortably at its edge. She made sure to wet all of his hair before adding some scented shampoo that Neko had given her and lathering it up, massaging his scalp. She felt a jerk and looked over to see his warm eyes staring up at her. Freezing her movements, she stared back blinking thoughtfully.

He tried to shift but found it painful and groaned, teeth clenched. Finally deciding moving wasn’t the best option at the moment, he just lay there and looked at her again. Noticing she wasn’t moving anymore, he blinked at her and narrowed his eyes. His voice was rasp and scratchy, “Finish what you started.”

She huffed, “I see your crappy attitude hasn’t changed.” But he was right, she couldn’t just leave him with soapy hair, and it had been her who started washing it. She quickly rinsed it and helped him sit up. Taking the soft towel, she helped him dry his drenched hair and then pulled back, letting the towel drop off his head and hanging off his shoulder. He didn’t move to take it off, instead, he only stared at the floor.

And then, “Where is she?”

Yasha froze again, and her voice became caught in her throat. When her silence finally caught him, he turned his head to lock eyes with her. It broke her heart to see hurt and fear swimming in his usually strong and determined eyes. She was about to say something, when the slid doors opened and Tatsuhiro stepped out, hands and clothes covered in crimson blood. He looked at Yasha first then at Chadd before walking away down the hall. Yasha sputtered, not knowing what to do or say, and gasped when Chadd began crawling towards the opened room.

By: MGN

Chapter one: Gone and Taken

The room was chilled, not with a low freezing temperature, but with a deathly silent as a plump, small man hung heavily over the bed. His equipment bag lay open, its contents scattered around him. He held his stethoscope to the women’s chest, listening closely. Two small boys stood near the edge of the bed, both watching in anticipation. The oldest had long black hair that ran down his spine and ended at the back of his mid thigh. His eyes were a clear ice blue. His hand squeezed lightly around the smaller boy’s hand who was about two years younger. The boy sniffled loudly, holding his stuffed pillow close to his chest. Unlike his calm and collective older brother, the youngest was unable to hold his tears.

Finally, the doctor pulled away, a grim look on his face. He cleared his voice and looked at the two. “I…I’m so sorry. She’s gone.”

Tadd’s small hand jerked out of his older brother’s and he dashed to the side of his mother’s bed and held onto her limp arm. “Momma!”

Chadd watched his younger brother cling to their dead mother, his eyes had turned cold, and red. The doctor looked at him, seeing that he was easier to talked to at the time. “Young master, there was clearly nothing I could do. The cancer spread faster than expected.”

The boy remained quiet. Again the doctor spoke, keeping his eyes away from the seven year olds’ deadly gaze. “There are no other family members if I‘m correct. There is the possibility that we will have to send you and your brother to an orphanage.”

Tadd cried out from his mother’s side, “No!” He sobbed. He didn’t want to be separated from the only person he had left: his brother.

Chadd glared at the doctor for suggesting such a thing and took a step back shaking his head. The doctor advanced holding out his hand, “Chadd, young master, please don’t make me have to call the police for assistance. If you come nice and calm, I assure you everything is going to be okay.”

“Shut it old man!” The boy growled and jumped inhumanly around the doctor and grabbed his brother’s arm. Tadd was reluctant to leave his mother’s side, not fully understanding she was dead, and tried to push Chadd away. The plump doctor grabbed at Chadd, but the boy turned and dug his teeth into his fat hand. Letting out a yelp, the doctor grabbed Chadd by his sensitive hair and dragged him towards the door. Tadd finally realized what was happening and ran towards his older brother with open arms, but someone came up behind him and picked him up. Tadd let out a howl and kicked only being driven by his older brother’s own actions. Chadd thrashed, surprisingly strong for a seven year old, and was able to knock down the doctor. He advanced the nurse and clawed the women who was struggling to keep Tadd still. By this time, workers and other nurses were coming into their mother’s room.

Chadd pulled Tadd behind him, who dug his small hands into his older brother’s shirt. “Get out of our house you bunch of filth! How dare you disrespect our mother‘s death bed!”

The fat doctor, the workers, and the disheveled nurse made a circle around the two boys, Chadd jumped into a fighting stance while his brother cried, clinging at his clothes. Just as they moved in, the doors slammed open revealing a dark silhouette. Everyone turned towards the disturbance to see a tall, cloaked man enter the room. “Cease your actions.”

Chadd narrowed his eyes at the strange, unknown person and had the urge to run and rip his throat out. The man walked towards the deceased women lying peacefully on the bed and lay a hand on her cold forehead.

“Who are you?” The doctor asked, out of breath.

The man turned towards them. “I am, as of now, the guardian of these two boys.”

“Where is your proof?” The doctor asked, rather annoyed at this point and dripping sweat. His chubby fingers reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief.

“Hn, you said you were to send them to an orphanage? I will buy, or what other’s may call, ’adopt’ them.” He moved away from the bed and moved around. “And this house, I will buy it as well.”

“What? You can’t just decide this!” The nurse bellowed from behind the doctor. “This house isn’t on the market yet, and these boys will be sent to an orphanage soon.”

The man huffed and pulled out a brief case, “Fine, I didn’t expect you to suddenly bend to my will so easily, so I brought something to convince you.” He opened the case and stacks of rusty green dollars were squeezed in the compact space. The doctors greedy eyes looked on in hunger and the workers and nurse were also speechless.

“I think, this should cover things.”

Chadd watched the greedy doctor slowly glide to the man, Tadd’s fingers clenched his shirt tightly. After the doctor and nurse were satisfied with their ‘pay’, they left both brothers and the man alone. They stood there staring at each other for what seemed like hours, when finally the man spoke.

“My name is Yoritomo. I have one two sons of my own. Their names are Tatsuhiro and Akito. Tatsuhiro is your age Chadd, and Akiko, my oldest, is nine.” He moved to the window. “They will also be living here.”

Chadd was infuriated. “You dare come into our house, claim us as your property and take our home! Who are you?”

“I’ve already stated my name boy.” His silver eyes glinted. “For a fact, I know you two are no ‘normal’ human boys.”

Chadd froze. ‘This man…’

Yoritomo turned towards them, arms open wide, cloaked pulled back to reveal silver hair and chalk white skin. His eyes were a glittering silver-blue. He was haunting, but also alluring. Chadd couldn’t look away. “I, my boys, am the only one who will accept you for what you truly are. Freaks, as they say. With me, you can live a normal life, but secretly, I will teach you to use and to control your powers.” He bowed towards their mother’s corpse. “It’s, something your dear old mum would probably hope for.”

Chadd lowered his head, ‘Freaks…’

Tadd looked questioningly up at his elder brother’s face. “Chadd, I’m scared.”

Red eyes met blue-gold, Chadd sighed, defeated, unable to change the past few moments of his life. “It’s fine Tadd, this man stopped them from taking us. We won’t have to leave our house…and…” He looked towards Yoritomo, eyes hard, but not threatening. “This just might be for the best.”

Chapter two: Sleeping Maiden

Chadd dodged the few very expensive vases that were flying at him, one whizzing by his head and another grazing his arm. “Gah! Stop it you ugly whore!”

The maid, who’s temper was testable, was over the edge with her master, Chadd. The eighteen year old was rude, and sluggish, never thanking the poor girl once in her busy life serving him. Now she would get her revenge. “You prude, despicable, smart mouthing, impudent BRAT!” She threw another vase smashing the ground at Chadd’s feet.

He gave her a sly smile, “You know you’re going to pay for these.” He dodged a couple more before finally deciding that there was no way to calm his raging maid. She was overly infuriated with him and didn’t seem to be calming down one bit. Retreat was a lovely option.

He dashed down the hallway, conjuring a pretty amount of acrobats before finally reaching the door and through the garden. Tadd’s head popped out from under a patch of large lilies. Chadd disregarding him, huffing loudly, before it finally dawned on him and he turned slowly to look at Tadd, an eyebrow raised. “What…are you doing?”

Tadd chuckled and pulled up a bouquet he had been designing and Chadd wondered if his brother was, a little strange in the head. “I’m making a bouquet. What else does it look like?”

“To me, it looks like your gay.” Chadd said, speaking his mind clearly and truthfully, which is what he was known for.

Tadd rolled his eyes, “Tch, it’s not for me. It’s for…a girl.”

Chadd nodded his head a little before pointing out, “At least your not as gay as I thought.” He caught Tadd raising a suggestive middle finger at him. Ignoring the rude sign, Chadd continued. “So, who’s the girl?”

Tadd made his way out of the garden, dodging the radiant colored plants, not wanting to crush them with his heavy leather boots. “Yasha. Fifteen, blue hair, golden eyes. You know.”

Chadd nodded, remember the loud mouthed girl. He had to admit, she was quite good looking and good at arguing and bad mouthing, but he never really saw her more than just another classmate of Tadd’s. “Yeah, I remember her. The one that nearly made me a women?”

Laughing nervously, Tadd was recalled to the day that Chadd met Yasha. She was nice and polite, but Chadd was the other way around, bad mouthing her once he saw her. She was quick to react and threw her leg up, hitting his upper thigh and almost smashing his precious manly part. “Y-yeah…that would be her.”

“She’s definitely not your type, why are you--” Chadd began before the doors opened and revealed a very disheveled maid, she looked almost red with fury as she locked onto her target: Chadd.

“Uh, I gotta go!” Chadd said before running out of the garden and through the front gates into the street. When he was certain, he slowed to a jog before finally submitting to a walk. He almost wanted to laugh at himself for running from a middle aged, women, but she had some bite in her that he didn’t want sinking into his flesh.

Before he even realized, Chadd found himself walking through a park. Kids were throwing Frisbees for their dogs to catch, middle aged people who were looking to lose weight where jogging along the cement sidewalk. There were children riding their new bicycles and teenagers roller-skating skillfully along the cement trails. He spotted a couple of lovers sitting on a plaid blanket, eating sandwiches and chips, and laughing at jokes, and sometimes sharing a gentle peck on the lips. Chadd’s heart nearly sank, but he shook his head and looked away.

‘How could I even think of such a thing…no women would ever want someone that’s a freak.’ He reminded himself.

He continued his leisurely walk through the park when suddenly, something caught his eye. On a small bench, there was something similar to a body. Curious beyond help, Chadd slowly stepped over to examine the lump. When he got closer, he found that there was hair, and not only that, it was as red as blood itself. Unnatural. Probably dyed.

He was close enough now, standing next to the bench. It was indeed a body, and by the looks of it, a small teenage girl. Her eyes were closed, and she made no sign of moving or gave him any indication that she was alive. He almost felt bad for her, she was really pretty, even in her muddy and clearly abused body. A couple of elderly folks walked by and saw the dead girl and gave her a gruesome look. “Such a tragic thing indeed. Someone needs to clean up that mess.” They said holding their noble noses in the air. Chadd had the urge to beat them senseless, death was nothing to laugh about.

Knowing there was nothing he could do, now that the girl was already dead, Chadd began to walk away. A flash of moment caught his eye and he stopped and looked back at the body. He couldn’t have imagined it, her fingers had definitely moved. Finally deciding it was just nerves giving off their last signals, he was contempt to leave when it happened again.

He wanted to leave, and just to be done with it instead of harping over a clearly dead girl, but he wondered if maybe, she wasn’t actually dead. Her appearance sure gave it off, but when Chadd finally approached her a second time, her closed eyelids fluttered, and then there was green meeting red.

Nearly jumping back with surprise, Chadd stared wide eyed at her half closed eyes. She was looking right at him. In fact, when she had opened her eyes, she didn’t have to look around to find him, it was like she knew he was there, even in her deep sleep. Her white hands trembled lightly from where they dangled limply off the side of the bench. Her mouth moved a little, and Chadd had the instinct feeling that she wanted him to help her. To save her life.

When that realization clicked in his brain, Chadd felt as if his body was moving before his brain, and he threw the blankets off that some kind people might have left her when seeing her in that state. He carefully picked her up, seeing that she was definitely lighter than she should be and totted her, to make sure she wouldn’t slip away.

Not really knowing what to do, he tried to communicate with her. “What do I do?” He felt silly asking her that when she was the one almost dead, but his brain was racing and he felt he just had to save her no matter what. Becoming frantic, Chadd looked around for someone to help, but people didn’t seem to want to be involved, instead, they just continued their daily life as if nothing was happening.

There was a tap on his shoulder and he turned to see a middle aged man with shoulder length curly brown hair. His goatee was the same color, but held some grey telling his age. His aura was brighter than others around him and his smile left Chadd confused yet drawn. There was definitely something strange about this man, but the man spoke, interrupting Chadd’s thoughts, “There is a hospital, not far from here. It’s down the main street and two blocks from Mary’s Superstore. There, to your right, is the hospital.”

Chadd seemed momentarily stunned, “O-oh…um…thank you.”

The man nodded, still smiling. “Hurry, if you don’t she may not make it.”

Turning to follow the man’s directions, Chadd looked back to see that the mysterious man was gone, as if he had never been there. Finally able to regain some of his own conscious, Chadd ran down the street and towards the hospital, the red headed girl secure in his arms.

Chapter three: First Words

Chadd hurried through the slide doors, cold strange smelling hair hit his face as he entered the hospital. The glossy floor tiles and windows reflected the white plain walls. He didn’t stop to take closer measurements and found a women behind a desk.

“Hey you.” He said. The women cocked her head up and glared at him for pronouncing himself so rudely, but let it slide when she saw the bundle in his arms. She slide her chair backwards and found a folder, “Alright sir, can you tell me what happened?”

“I found her, outside on the bench. I thought she was dead, but she moved, and opened her eyes--” Before he could finished, the women raised her hand to stop him. He glared at her overly red fake fingernails as she looked at him from behind her glasses.

“Are you telling me, that you ‘found’ this women?” She asked.

“Yes!” He said through clenched teeth. “Are you deaf or are you just dense?”

She put away her folder and gave him a serious, humorous look. “We don’t treat homeless people with no money. And I don’t see why you would want to help a complete stranger.”

Now that she had mentioned it, Chadd wasn’t sure either, but he felt infuriated none-the-less. “I have the damn money, SO GIVE HER SOME DAMN TREATMENT!” He bellowed, it echoed off the stone walls and the women fell silent. People sitting in the lounge turned their heads to look at them. Feeling slightly humiliated the women gave him a skeptical look and spoke below her voice. “You’re going to waste money on a girl who you don’t even have the slightest knowledge of? She could be a villain!”

“Are you going to waste your damn time giving me a ‘mommy’ lecture when you should be bending to a paying patient’s will?” He said back, his eyes glaring daggers at her. Finally, clearly defeated, she picked up her phone and called for a stretcher. When the stretcher came, Chadd didn’t even bother thanking the stupid women and allowed the doctors to take the girl from his arms and lay her on the stretcher. Not knowing why, Chadd followed them until they got to the medical room and he was unable to go any further.

“Right this way sir.” A kind, older doctor said, leading Chadd down a long narrow hall towards a door. On the small name plate, it read, ‘Waiting Room.’ Chadd could have just paid for what he was going to owe and leave, but something kept him from leaving and he slowly opened the door and stepped in. It was a lot warmer than the crisp hallways, and there were comfy padded chairs around a table. On one row of chairs, were four people, sobbing and holding hands. Feeling a little ridiculous, Chadd sat silently away from them. They seemed to be praying and Chadd wondered if they had a family member in critical condition. Deciding not to meddle, Chadd picked up a magazine that said “Time Line.” On the front was a picture of a shark and a title that said, ‘The Summer of the Sharks.’ He sat back comfortably and opened it.

Chadd was shaken awake from his sleep and he rubbed his eyes looking around confused. A small women with blond hair tied back in a clip was looking down at him with a smile. “Hi there, I’m doctor Eve.” She sat on the small table in front of him and took off her stethoscope and picked up her clipboard. “May I have your name?”

He yawned, “C-Chadd, with a double D.” He finally recognized that he was still at the hospital and was fairly surprised he had fallen asleep. She scribbled away, “And your last name?”

“Dark.”

She continued to question him with his birthday, age, name, family, residence, and all those things that doctors ask before finally putting a way her note pad to pull up another clip board, but this time, she didn’t need her pen. “Chadd, you brought in a women this morning didn’t you?” Chadd nodded wondered how long he actually slept.

“Alright, your friend is this way.” She said and stood up. Chadd stretched as he stood upright. His arm was rather sore and he knew he must have rested his arm there the whole time. Walking down the halls almost gave him a headache with all the bright white colors after waking up. When they reached the girl’s room, they entered. The red head was on her side, sleeping peacefully, Ivy’s were attached to her arms and he could see her more clear now that the mud was gone. She had a shade of pink to her skin, and she looked delicate and almost breakable.

“She was overly dehydrated and fatigue. It seems she’s been in this state for a couple of days.” She moved so that Chadd could stand next to the bed. “We washed her up and got her on stable conditions. She will be able to go home tonight, but she will need some medication.”

“It’s fine, I can pay.” Chadd said not taking his eyes off the sleeping girl. Yoritomo, his guardian was overly rich, giving Chadd and Tadd money almost every day. Chadd usually works to feel like he’s earning it, but the pay is way too much and he found himself unable to use the money. The doctor nodded and left the room to handle her other patience. Chadd felt a large doubt swell up in his chest. What was he going to do with a girl he had never met before, but just saved her life. He couldn’t take her home like a pet. Could he?

A noise caught his attention and he leaned on his foot to get a better look at her face. She was awake, her eyes half closed and she seemed to be calmly taking in her surroundings with curiosity. Chadd made his presence known by lightly placing his hand on her side. She made a move to look over her shoulder and watched him carefully, as if she had never come in contact with another human before.

He spoke, his throat strangely dry. “My name is Chadd.”

She was remained quiet and just continued to stare at him. He tried again. “Do you have a name?”

Suddenly, his heart leapt, she was smiling at him. Where they suppose to do that when meeting complete strangers? And were they suppose to be that pretty? “Hey! You had better stop playing around women! I’m trying to have a conversation with you and you won’t even--”

“Nya…” A small child-like voice whispered. Chadd noticed it was the girl who said it.

“So you can speak. What is Nya?” He asked raising an eyebrow. She rolled onto her back, her thin nimble arms outstretched to him, her mouth open in a toothy grin and she spoke louder. “Nya!”

It suddenly dawned on him, that this girl he had went through all of this trouble to save, could not speak.

Chapter Four: Taking the Kitty Home.