|| Chapter 3 ||

"Gah!" I gasped. Someone was leaning over me. They had bronze hair that curled. He had thick lashes and blinked at me, his EYES. His eyes were a color so vibrant, that at first, I couldn't tell what color they were. But then when I looked, I saw the color. Blue. Such a beautiful blue. His pupils were weird though… Suddenly, the boy jerked his head up and his brilliant eyes locked on something I could not see. Then he stood up straight and-Oh, gosh. I thought as he stood up. Wow, was he tall. He extended a hand. Taking my own shaking hand, I placed it on his and he yanked me up. He let go and narrowed his eyes at the river. I stumbled forward but caught myself before I face-planted. My leg screamed in pain.

Embarrassing.

Then he glanced down at me. That's right, down. That made my ears burn. Short. That was one thing I didn't want to be. Short.

Ugh.

"You all right?" He asked. His voice was deep and rich, it made shivers crawl down my spine. I found myself speechless and nodded vigorously. I didn't want him to think I wasn't okay! Don't ask me why, I guess I just wanted to prove I wasn't weak. "Good. Come on." He turned and headed towards the forest. Dumbfounded, the only thing I could think of doing was following him. So I did.

"Wh-what's your name?" I asked, instantly regretting it as my voice quavered.

He glanced back at me and the side of his mouth kicked up. "Touma."

Touma.

I tried the name out in my head. Cool.

"What is your name?" Touma rumbled.

"Nisshoku," I murmured.

Suddenly, Touma veered side-ways and I followed, stumbling a little, due to the pain.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Somewhere," He grunted. I stayed silent after that, trying to take in everything in case I needed to run away. If I squinted, I could see a city in the distance. Was that where we were headed? As the sun slid behind the trees, we did not stop. Hours passed and it felt as if my legs were falling off, my left leg in particular was causing lots of problems.

"We are here, Nisshoku," Touma said, ruffling his bronze hair. Raising my head, I took in a shuddering breath. In front of us was a dark building. At some point in the journey, we entered a city. I peered closely and the sign read, 'Gods' Place'

"This is my home," Touma smirked.

"You…you live in a…whatever that is?" I asked, confused.

"I own this place," Touma looked at me, his beautiful eyes blazing.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" I snarled.

Touma chuckled long and deep. And for some reason, it annoyed me.

"You don't have to, but it looks like you already do."

That made me uncomfortable, so I just stared at my feet. He grabbed my arm suddenly and yanked me into the shadows.

"Shh-" He hissed as I yelped in alarm.

What in the world? I thought, furious.

I began to say something, but Touma covered my mouth with his hand. Putting a check on my anger, I peered into the shadows of the night and saw three figures stalking towards the building we were just at. The tallest stepped forward and banged his fist against the door. "Open up, Touma!" He rasped furiously.

"Stay here-" He paused and gave me a withering glance. "And I mean it."

I nodded, dumbfounded once again.

Uggggh. I was so weak around him!

Who was this guy? Why did he make me so nervous? Touma's jaw flexed and his eyes shone with a hatred so strong as he gazed at the three people. Growling to himself, he slithered forward and snapped, "What did I tell you, Matevž? Stay. Away." The tallest of the three-Matevž-whipped around and hissed to his companions, something I couldn't hear. I was too far away to hear anything. So I decided to take a risk. I tip-toed from shadow to shadow until I could hear.

"-need help." One of Matevž's companions was saying.

"And why should I help you?" Touma glared at them.

Matevž muttered something. I was still too far away! Sneaking forward once again, my foot hit something and it broke with a loud-and I mean, LOUD, loud-snap. Touma stiffened and the three people all stared off into different directions. Except for Matevž. Matevž was staring right at me. Moving as quickly as a flash, Matevž rushed towards me and grabbed my neck. With a wail of surprise, I tried to call out. Yet with my oxygen blocked off, it was impossible. Fuming, Touma took a step towards me and Matevž. When he did so, Matevž tightened his grip on me and I clawed at his hands in desperation. Touma stopped when he saw the fear in my eyes. Matevž loosened his grip on me just the slightest. Enough for me to breathe, though. Gasping for tiny gulps of air, I barely heard Matevž snarl at Touma, "One more step, and the girl dies."

"Do you want to play that game, Matevž?" Touma asked quietly. Every word in that sentence dripped with malice, though. I thought I saw uncertainty flash in Matevž's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that I had no idea if I imagined it.

"I'm still here, so, yes." His voice shook the slightest as he met Touma's challenge.

"This is your last chance to walk away unscathed…"

Matevž stayed put. "I need help. You will help me-or else."

"I don't have to do anything." Suddenly, Touma was in front of Matevž. His eyes blazed furiously. Touma thrust his hand out, catching Matevž by the throat. In doing so, Matevž dropped me while trying to tear Touma's hands away from his own throat. Then Matevž's companions leaped at Touma.

"Don't," Touma snarled, tightening his grip on Matevž. "Even think about it." They stopped footsteps away from Touma. Touma threw Matevž against the wall and whipped around, now facing Matevž's friends. "Get out of here!" He roared at them. They both turned and fled, leaving Matevž to fend for his sorry self. Touma's angry gaze turned on me as he spat, "I told you to stay put!"

My heart was beating fast, but I still stood up straight and said, "I know, but-"

"You could have been killed." He hissed.

"Yeah, but I wasn't-"

"But you could've."

"But I wasn't."

"YOU COULD'VE DIED."

"Yet I didn't!"

"You can't die!"

I sucked in a quick breath, "Why…why do you care?"

Touma sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "Don't you want to prove to everyone that you aren't evil?"

"But why do you care?" I whispered.

"Because I am a good person." He snapped.

I narrowed my eyes and my shoulders sagged, "Whatever…"

Touma cleared his throat, "Okay, there's someone I need you to meet," He beckoned for me to follow. I glanced behind me at Matevž, who was limping away.

We entered the building and after walking into a dark room, I saw a figure. They were tall and didn't seem to notice me. "Touma, they didn't make it." The person's eyes were somber as they slumped down in a chair.

Touma slammed a fist down on a counter. "Dang it!" He cursed.

"Who?" I whispered. The person who was in the room snapped their gaze towards me.

"Touma…" they snarled. "I thought we agreed to not involve her."

"What? You guys have been talking about me?" I squeaked. They paid no attention to me, though. "That's beside the point, Skylar," Touma growled. "What happened? Why didn't they make it?"

Skylar ignored his questions, "What we need to talk about is her."

"The patients are more important!"

"I thought we agreed!"

"Focus."

"I am focusing!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON?" I screamed. They both silenced and stared at me.

"Nothing. Stay here." Touma said. He turned back to Skylar. I blinked at Skylar, they seemed to be around the same age as me. Maybe a year older? Touma, though…he looked to be 17.

"Where are they?" Touma demanded. Skylar glanced at me before answering. "In the room they were staying in before…" They swallowed. "Before they p-passed away."

"Who died?" I asked.

"My hermano and mamí." They whispered, glancing a pale eye at me. I gasped. That's so terrible! "I'm so, so, sorry,"

"Thank you," they sighed sadly. I didn't want to be rude, but I was curious. Too curious. "How? How did they die, I mean."

Their eyes glistened and they heaved a depressed breath. "A…a sickness, querida." I shifted, uncomfortable. It really is sad, having family members lost because of sickness. Suddenly wary, I backed away.

They barked out a harsh laugh, "Do not worry, tonta, it is not contagious." My cheeks flushed and I cleared my throat, "Uh, actually, I-I wasn't leaving because of that…" That was definitely a lie. A bad one, too.

"Sure," They arched an eyebrow then turned to Touma.

"I do not want the girl to hear this, Touma." He hissed at Touma.

"Fine,"

What were they planning to do? Put earplugs on me?

"Detalles, Skylar." Touma said in another language. Spanish, I guessed.

"Empezaron a... sus ojos se volvieron plateados y empezaron a llorar…" Skylar replied. What were they saying?

"¿Y?" Touma snarled.

"Las lágrimas no eran... normales, Touma. Eran negros. Como tinta, casi. Y su piel era gris." He seemed to choke on the sentence and sympathy clogged my throat. Poor Skylar.

"Well, what was wrong with them? Aren't you a healer? Shouldn't you know?" Touma roared, his voice catching as he said it.

"JUST BECAUSE I'M PART GOD DOESN'T MEAN I CAN SAVE EVERYONE! I LOST YOUR FATHER." Skylar screeched. Silence. Touma's eyes glittered and I felt uncomfortable. "I'm not like Alex or Felix, I'm not… good enough, I can't save lives…" Skylar added, his tone rough and sad.

"You…you lied t-to me?" Touma whispered. "My father…he's dead?"