After Camp... || N x Uzi ||(Human Version)||

10. Feeling or fear

Uzi slowly opened her tired and heavy eyes, her head still aching, but slightly less than the previous night. She looked at Doll nestled against her and smiled faintly. Uzi slowly lifted Doll's hand from under her head and sat up. She rubbed her tired eyes and stood up slowly. Exiting the room, she headed to the kitchen with unsteady steps. Uzi retrieved painkillers from the cabinet and poured herself a glass of water. She swallowed the pills and sat down at the table. She reached for her beanie, but it wasn't there. Uzi couldn't remember if she took it off or if Doll did, but she didn't dwell on it too much. She ran her fingers through her tangled hair and closed her eyes. She was very tired from yesterday's events, not even thinking about school. Uzi glanced out the window; the weather was gloomy and rainy, making it difficult to determine the time, but she had probably missed the first few classes.

After a moment, she heard footsteps approaching her, so she looked in that direction. It was a sleepy Doll, who smiled faintly at Uzi.

D: Hi... how are you feeling?

U: Not great... but I took a pill, so it'll get better...

Doll nodded and sat down beside Uzi. They sat in silence for a while.

D: Hungry?

U: Not really...

D: Will you at least eat a bit?

Uzi shrugged gently and looked blankly at the table. Doll looked sadly at Uzi and rested her head on her shoulder. The short-haired girl smiled sadly and sighed loudly.

D: Maybe I'll make breakfast, and you'll eat as much as you can, okay?

Uzi nodded, and Doll took her head off her shoulder and stood up. She headed to the fridge and took out cheese, ham, and bread. Uzi watched her for a moment before lowering her head. She raised her legs and hugged them. Uzi was very tired, although she had slept quite long.

U: What time is it?

Doll looked at her watch.

D: 10:30

U: Why didn't you go to school?

D: I didn't want to leave you alone.

Doll smiled at Uzi, who returned the smile sadly.

D: Uzi...

U: Yes?

D: M-maybe you'd like to go for a walk? I could... show you around the neighborhood or something...

U: Sure...

Doll nodded, and they left the house. As they walked, Doll suddenly saw a shop with figurines. Uzi was surprised by her reaction but smiled after a moment, remembering Doll's passion for collecting figurines.

U: Do you want to go in there?

D: U-uh... y-yes

Uzi chuckled, and they entered the figurine shop. It was very cute, with all the figurines packed in boxes and some displayed outside the boxes, not for sale. Doll's eyes lit up at the sight of the figurines, although she probably already had most of them in her collection.

D: Wow...

U: Do you like them?

D: Very much... look!

Doll gently took Uzi's hand and led her to a small nendoroid figure from a game Uzi didn't recognize.

D: I would really like to have it... but unfortunately, I don't have enough money...

Uzi smiled amusedly and examined the figure.

Skip Time

Uzi and Doll entered a fancy-looking drugstore that Doll had talked about. Inside, there were lots of hair dyes, nail polishes, contact lenses—just a lot to choose from. Uzi's attention was immediately drawn to the many hair dyes, so she approached them. Doll, noticing Uzi's interest, came over and grabbed a purple hair dye from the shelf.

U: Is this the one you use?

Doll nodded and handed the package to Uzi. Uzi reached for the box and examined it.

U: How much is it?

D: $150

Uzi choked on her saliva at the price. Her hair dye costs around $15, and this one costs 10 times more... Uzi put the dye back and scratched her head, immediately readjusting her beanie.

D: Yeah... these dyes are really expensive, especially the colorful ones. The natural hair colors cost around $125.

U: I'm not going to spend $150 on a hair dye just for the tips!

Doll laughed softly and pointed to smaller boxes of dye.

D: Here are smaller ones that are cheaper. Perfect for just the tips.

Uzi began to search for the smaller version of the color Doll had indicated. She picked up the box and examined it.

U: How much is this one?

D: Let me check... This is the smallest version, so $45.

U: Okay... better.

Still, $45 for hair dye was a lot, but it was definitely a better price than before. Uzi bought the small tube of hair dye and left the drugstore.

During their walk around the city, Uzi and Doll talked a lot, laughed, and enjoyed each other's company. Uzi felt that Doll was the one... the one person she could trust despite their short acquaintance. She was her salvation, feeling more comfortable around her than she did around N or anyone else.

Both stood facing each other, gazing at each other. Uzi began to think deeply about her relationship with Doll. She wasn't sure what she felt about her—did she like her, love her, admire her? She didn't know.
"I think I like her... no... I can't just like her. I think I'm just afraid, afraid of getting hurt again. Doll isn't like that, I think."

 "She's my salvation, nothing more..."