《• ʀ ᴇ ʙ ɪ ʀ ᴛ ʜ •》[ ᴍᴜᴢᴀɴ x ᴏᴄ ]

C46: ☆The Living Dead☆

My writing style depends on my mood, lolololllll.

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This isn't how she imagined they would meet. Her fantasies often included sunshines and rainbows over a warm cup of tea, talking and catching up as though they have never been separated. That, and he wouldn't be so horribly pale and sickly like this.

Can he see her? He's looking at her though the gaze just feels questionable to her. They're so close but so distant. It's as if this man is a stranger, not her brother.

She's always adored him, to the point of obsession and could be called unhealthy. Even now, she's itching to touch him.

But she can't. She's too worried he would be repulsed or disgusted after finding out the truth. What would he think? What would he feel? Would he care? Silly. Of course, he would care. He's always been caring and filled with understanding.

But would he be understanding enough of her situation? (No. That's the answer that often graces her head while the hopeful, naive part of her yearns for a 'yes')

What would she tell him now? How would she start? She can't even speak. Her voice was betraying her. Why isn't a sound coming out of her mouth when she's bawling and crying her eyes out just a few hours ago when Shinazugawa found her? She was so loud, so relieved that she didn't even care about the eyes upon her.

(The restaurant owner must've been shocked.)

Now she's so quiet. There must be something wrong with her. Is she scared?

"Mimi.. you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

She stiffened like rock. She's scared now. Scared of what he would think of her. He's staring, his lips are frowning. He looks worried.

'Don't be', she wants to say because it wasn't worth it. She isn't worth it. She's betrayed him!

"I understand that you must've been through a lot." His voice is gentle, soft and kind and ah.. it's like this. He's always like this. It's strangely refreshing to hear it again.

"But Mimi.." He calls out, reaching for her. "You're home now. You are safe here. "

She doesn't blink. She stares at her lap instead.

Home. What a strange word. He's always been her home but he was no longer that. Not for the past eight years when he assumed his duties until they separated.

She understood now. He must've been through a lot. She must've been a burden to him. He only wanted what was best for her. But she misunderstood him and the rift between them grew overtime until it was almost irreparable.

She still loves him, of course. Always and always. He's her only brother and family.

But Nao is guilty.

She can't face him when she's so, so guilty she can't even speak a word or make a sound.

"Mimi..you can rest as much as you want. You don't have to worry about anything anymore. "She should nod. Do something. An eep or a yes. But she isn't moving. Her body isn't responding.

She doesn't want to make a mistake because he'll hate her. He sounds affectionate right now but once he learns the truth, he'll be so disappointed that he won't even look at her.

Nao doesn't want that. She wants to explain it to him but something is holding her back, as though there was something blocking her voice from surfacing.

She isn't mute. She knows how to speak. So why can't she utter a sound?

"Well then. I'll take Nao-sama to the Butterfly Estate, Oyakata-sama. She'll be cared for and treated well until she can recover. "

"Please." A nod. An exchange in words and courtesy.

By now, Nao has stopped hearing anything. She's stopped paying attention to what they were saying. She doesn't even meet any of their gaze.

What's the point? She'll be too terrified to do anything so it's best not to act at all.

"Nao-sama, you have nothing to worry! I'll take care of you!" Nao doesn't understand why she's smiling. Is she happy? She must be. What's there to be happy about? She wants to know. Maybe she'll feel something other than the pain of her guilt being carved deep inside her.

Ah. But she can't talk. She doesn't want to talk. She's too afraid.

Briefly, she sees a pair of blue eyes staring at her. How nostalgic. It's making her heart flutter. Weird.

There must really be something wrong with her.

"Mimi, come visit me soon. I'll be waiting." It's her brother. There's a soft expression on his face. He looks relieved and hopeful.

'I will' is what she wants to say but her lips remain shut, sealed completely with an invisible glue. What kind? She wants to know. Maybe she'll be able to talk.

The scenes blur and mix up. One moment she's the center of attention and the next, she's staying inside a room, food served infront of her.

A smiling face, a cheerful voice. A shade of blue and cute little pigtails. "Here it is, Nao-sama. You must've been hungry. Shinazugawa-san said you haven't eaten since he immediately brought you to headquarters. "

A green leafy vegetable. Soup. Tea. And some kind of fish.

She's supposed to eat it. She should eat it.

'I can't eat all of this food'

"I wasn't sure what to get you so there's a little bit of everything!"

'I would be surprised if Nao-san did. But all of this food was prepared so that you can choose whichever dish suits your palette. I don't know Nao-san's taste in food so I resorted to this. '

Nao stared. It's cold again. Like a bucket of ice and cold water was dumped on her.

"Umm.. Nao-sama?" She leaned.

"Is there something wrong?"

No. Yes. No. Yes! What is she supposed to say?

'Nothing's wrong', would she believe her?

The girl reached out, placed a hand on her forehead. It sent a cold chill down her spine. She doesn't look like a girl now.

Nao's eyes immediately dilated. She slapped the hand faster than the eyes could see.

"Ah!!" The girl cried out while Nao stumbled backwards. Blue eyes were staring at her with surprise, shock and disbelief. (Are you crazy?) They were judging her.

Her eyes fell on her hand. It's turning red. It would probably bruise. It's going to bruise. And Nao doesn't even know she could move that fast.

Strange.

She did that?

This girl was going to touch her and for a second, she saw someone else. Someone with red eyes.

Her face paled.

"Nao-sama.. what's w-wrong? Is it because of the food?"

(There's so much to say, so much to do and so many things she wants to clarify but-)

She nods.

"Ah..so it's the food. I thought for sure it was me! Hehe!" She's smiling now. As if nothing happened.

"Don't worry! I'll join you! So you won't feel alone!"

Ah.

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So Nao's traumatized. The end.

No, lol. There's more. I'm still curious what she's going to say once she's back to normal.

Let me know what you think♡