Chapter 23

It was where Sunny had lived for three years. The underworld. It wasn't just a fixed location, rather it was an intricate web of underground buildings, factions and even sewers that criminals had managed to make their own and thrive in, without fear of repercussion.

Thankfully, Morgan had seen to it that the underground had been cleaned up. Once dirty and filled with mould, the sewers had become almost pristine. White marble tiles which were continuously stained with blood spanned farther than the eye could see, they almost vaguely resembled Nephis own home if not for the blood that soaked them.

Nephis however, had no idea where this place was. So it was up to Sunny to give her the entire explanation, all while forcing himself to not melt into her arms and forget all the worries of today. After about five minutes of explanation, something outside the large window caught Sunny's eye.

Looking up at Nephis, who was still idly running her hands across his chest beneath the hoodie, Sunny offered her a light smile. "I need to do something, I'll be back in under ten minutes." Sliding her arms away from his chest with a disappointed groan, she planted a kiss on his forehead before watching Sunny slowly glide through the swarm of people.

'He disappears so easily.' Despite having just eaten there, there were no signs of his existence. Barring the chair that he had moved, there was nothing. No loose hairs, no slight stains on the table from his fingertips. His ability to turn himself into a ghost, disappearing from the earth almost seamlessly always continued to amaze her.

Turning around to look out the window, she saw that Sunny had just crossed the street. Truth be told, Sunny had noticed Cassie meandering through the vast array of noises and sounds the street offered a while ago. However, the sight of a man, pocket knife in hand preparing himself to rob her could not go unpunished.

Cassie's pale golden hair shook idly with the wind as she wore her characteristic smile on her face. Despite the fact she was blind, she was happy. Although she couldn't see, her hearing and sense of touch were greatly enhanced. It allowed her a form of vision in a unique sense, that nobody else shared. The unique feeling of power granted by such different senses never failed to bring a smile to her face.

'If I take the shortcut, I'll be able to get to school in half the time!' Swinging her walking cane in a wide arc to make sure nobody stood in front of her, she gracefully turned the corner. However, she was stopped in her tracks as the stench of alcohol hit her in the nose. "Hey pretty lady, you got any money?"

'Prejudice be damned, I'm about to get robbed aren't I?' Cassie thought to herself. She remained silent, hoping her lack of reply would put off her would-be attacker. Instead, it only served to enrage him further. "I asked you do you have any money you wench!" The sound of a knife cutting through the air became all too audible as he spun the knife in his hands dangerously.

Cassie moved to scream, however a hand pressed itself against her mouth from behind. The hand was relatively small, yet the strength in which it possessed only served to elicit greater fear within her. "Calm down Cassie, you'll be fine," Sunny whispered from behind her. Unbeknownst to her, he was restraining the bile that rose in his throat at the contact as he slid out from behind her.

Before Cassie's potential attacker could say another word, he found that he had been slammed into a wall, leaving an indent that held his body in place for a while. The thud was silent, the squelch of his bones breaking nearly inaudible to most people, but not Cassie. "Sunny, is that you?" Thankfully, Sunny was able to nod in response without giving her an auditory answer to dispel his defect before grabbing her walking stick.

Grabbing her shoulders would be too much for him, so instead he gently guided it out the alleyway, with Cassie following obediently behind him. "I know it's you Sunny. You're the only one I know who doesn't make a sound when he walks." Sunny glanced backwards, it would be too conspicuous to suddenly begin making noise after the accusation, so instead, he kept walking.

Finally, they reached the exit of the alleyway. Sunny turned around to see Cassie idly staring at where she suspected his face was. "Be safe, don't take a shortcut next time," Sunny mumbled, before walking past her. Cassie unexpectedly grabbed his arm with Sunny's eyes shooting open as he resisted the urge to punch her instinctively.

"Please, just tell me where you and Nephis have been. I've been so lonely without you two." Biting his lip, hoping the pain would quell his reaction, Sunny forced a smile onto his face. "We'll be back I promise, there's just something I need to take care of. Thank you, Cassie, for being my friend." And with that, Sunny gently pried her hands off his as he briskly walked away.

Nephis, who had once been sitting in the restaurant, couldn't help but worry for Sunny. Despite all his strength, there were several things in the real world Sunny was unprepared for. How would he even react if a woman touched him on accident? Let alone grab him intentionally. Would he become violent?

All of these thoughts motivated Nephis to walk out of the restaurant and begin her search for Sunny. After all, compared to most people in the world she was quite sure she knew him the best. Sunny would never be the type to make his presence known to the world, preferring to live life like a ghost. So moving through Main Street was nearly impossible.

Fleeing to the rooftops was also an option, but from the looks of it Sunny didn't see the issue at hand as urgent enough to do such a thing, hence why he was fine with leaving her alone in the restaurant. Which only meant that he was in one of the many alleyways. Peering into one, Nephis was graced with the sight of a middle-aged man indented into a wall. He held a pocket knife in one hand which twitched in pain every so often and was surrounded by bottles of alcohol with brand names Nephis had never seen.

"This is Sunny's handiwork." She sighed to herself, before walking briskly past the man. After a few moments of walking down the alleyway, which seemed oddly long for reasons she couldn't explain. She was graced with the sight of a hunched-over figure. Raven black hair stuck out from the sides of their hoodie as their body weakly shivered like a child who had been caught in the cold.

'Sunny!' In one movement, she surged to his side as she knelt next to the figure. "Sunny, is that you?" Upon hearing her voice, Sunny spun and leapt backwards, lacking his usual grace as he fell onto his back with a horrified expression on his face. "Stay away from me Morgan!" He exclaimed, tears pouring from his eyes as he continued to shift backwards away from Nephis.

"It's not Morgan, it's me, Nephis! What happened to you, Sunny!?" Nephis exclaimed, slowly reducing the distance between her and Sunny before enveloping him in her arms entirely. Sunny weakly shivered in her arms as he wiped tears away from his eyes, a broken smile appearing on his face as he sighed to himself. "Shit. And here I thought I was getting better." Sunny mumbled.

Turning around in her arms, Sunny pressed himself deeper into her embrace as his melancholy mood only deepened. "Cassie was about to get robbed, I saved her. She grabbed me by the arm, and I had to touch her too. I thought I was getting better at this, but I've made no progress!" Running a hand through his hair, Nephis waited for him to calm down slightly before pulling back and planting a kiss on Sunny's lips.

Her lips connected with his like a flame, his entire body lighting up with energy as her tongue wrestled with his own. Finally, she pulled back with a satisfied smile on her face. "You did get better, usually I have to stop you from hitting people randomly. But this time, you even initiated contact! Don't downplay your achievements, you're doing so well I'm always amazed!"

A small smile tugged at his lips as he slowly made his way to his feet, shaking every moment. Nephis helped support him, holding him in her embrace till he was able to balance himself once more. 'He still smells amazing' she thought to herself as she inhaled his scent. Leaning against Nephis chest, Sunny sighed to himself, thoughts of the future lingering in his mind and robbing him of rest.

"We'll go in a month. I think that's all the time we need to get stronger. And we need to be prepared too." Sunny said, his eyes focused on Nephis as she nodded slightly. "The underworld, how do you plan on getting these?" She asked, ever curious about Sunny's plans. Smiling at her, Sunny shrugged slightly before offering a reply.

"It's simple, just punch a hole through the ground and dive in." 

"Punch a hole through the ground?" Nephis asked curiously, Sunny nodded sheepishly before staring downward at a pothole which was next to them. "They're everywhere, entrances into the underworld that nobody notices or they've been paid not to notice. All you need to do is jump in and raise hell."

Tilting her head to the side, Nephis smiled at the passion in Sunny's tone before shrugging. "Well, we better get to work then. In a month, we need to be strong enough to handle this all on our own don't we?" Sunny nodded firmly, his eyes sharpening as he glanced back at the pothole.

"In a month, I'll need to return to how I was three years ago. But I'm afraid if I do I'll end up killing people again." Sunny's eyes dimmed at the prospect of killing once more, yet Nephis grabbed his chin and pressed his cheeks from both sides with her hands gently forcing him to pout. "You won't kill anyone, if you try I'll stop you. So you can go all out freely!"

Nodding gently, Sunny took Nephis arm in his own, his movements were slow and clumsy as he gently pressed her against the wall of the alleyway, frowning that his hoodie inhibited his ability to feel her warmth. Looking up at Nephis, he pressed his lips against her own.

"Thank you, for everything."