The Loud House: Afterlife

Afterlife Chapter 6

Following his first excursion back to Earth, Lio was filled with hope. He still only had a few memories to work with and felt like an alien in a strange new world, but at least he felt some comfort in the fact that he had people that loved him. At the same time, that revelation made Lio a little more bitter about being deprived of that. Lio felt an emotion that seemed foreign to him, a desire for revenge. Lio was used to experiencing anger, such as the anger he felt towards Jeff and his friends for beating up his brother, but the desire for vengeance was completely new to him. Lio felt that if he ever got the chance, he'd give Jeff a proper thrashing for what he'd done. It wasn't a matter of avenging his death, it was a matter of getting back at his murderer for thrusting him into a new unlife where he was on his own for the first time in his existence. Sure, Lio had Kori, but that wasn't the same as having his actual family around and she could only do so much. Not to mention that Kori would likely have to leave him alone once he regained his memories so that she could take on another client. Lio's anger must've been fairly noticeable as Kori picked up on it right away when she came by Lio's place to check up on him.

"Good morning, Li-," Kori greeted him before noticing the sour scowl on his face. "What's wrong with you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lio said, trying in vain to hide his anger, ultimately failing to fool Kori, "why do you ask?"

"You look like you wanna kill someone," Kori said, joking "like seriously, if looks could kill (and if you could die in the afterlife), I'd be six feet under and might finally be able to take a well needed vacation."

"I'm sorry," Lio apologized, "I'm just as little ticked off right now."

"I don't blame you," Kori said, taking a seat in front of Lio, "I know that you must be agitated at not having your memories and still having so many questions about yourself that you don't know when they'll be-,"

"It's not that," Lio said.

"Oh?" Kori asked.

"Just yesterday, I found out just how loved I was," Lio said, "I found just how much I meant to my family. Sure, I can barely remember anything about my life, but I know for a fact that they made my life worthwhile. I had that loving family taken away from me and I don't know when I'll get the chance to see them again."

"Well technically you can see them everyday," Kori reminded him.

"I know," Lio said, "but I want to be able to hug my brother again. I want to be able to play with my baby sister again. I want to spend more time with the rest of my siblings and remember what they loved. I can't do that anymore."

"So that's what's upsetting you," Kori said, "believe me, I understand your frustrations, but trust me when I say that you'll get to embrace your family again someday."

"But when will that be?" Lio asked, "I'm not so selfish as to wish my family could be here right here and now, I want them to get the chance to fully live their lives... but at the same time, I wish I wasn't so alone."

"Is there anything else that's making you angry?" Kori asked.

"Yes," Lio said, nodding his head, "right now, I wish that I could get my hands on that weasley coward who took everything from me." Lio looked at Kori and asked "That won't get me kicked out of this place and sent to be rehabilitated, will it?"

"No, you have nothing to worry about at all," Kori said, "I mean, we're not the thought police or anything. It's okay to have negative thoughts and feelings, it's only natural."

"That's a relief," Lio said, slumping in his chair. "Because right now I feel like I could slap a tornado."

"Are you going to be alright?" Kori asked.