|Grand River of Malistia| 24.03.1178|
Naomi's gaze hardens when she sees him walking toward her.
Yuki—the guy she's known for just a few hours, talked so little with, and yet knew one thing for sure.
Something about him feels... off.
There was something in the way he spoke earlier that unsettled her. Like he was reading from a script. That smile of his—it never quite reached his eyes.
She couldn't deny it: when she first saw him, fragile and oddly beautiful, her instincts kicked in. She felt a need to protect him. He looked so weak. So breakable.
But when he questioned her motives not long after, reading her like a book—it clicked.
He's not just some half-naked idiot who wandered into the mountains. He's someone—or something—completely different.
"Still not interested in a chat, huh?"
Yuki's voice breaks through her thoughts as he stops a few meters away.
"My god, this place is beautiful, isn't it? You know, I get this weird feeling every time I look at mountains—well, okay, not every time. I've only seen a mountain once or twice in my life. But still. It's like this warmth in my gut just... shows up."
He turns toward the water and sighs softly.
Naomi exhales shakily. She couldn't take this—not right now, not after the storm of emotions she just went through.
"What do you want? Did Tom send you?"
She tries to keep her voice steady, but Yuki shakes his head, hands tucked in his pockets.
"Nope. He's taking care of the cows," he says, closing his eyes like he's soaking in the breeze.
"I came to talk to you."
Naomi bites her lip, irritation flashing in her eyes. He just saw her like that—vulnerable—and now he's... trying to have small talk?
> > What's wrong with this guy? <<
"Talk about what?" she breathes, a little too harshly.
Her vision waves for just a second, but she covers it well.
Yuki opens his eyes again.
"The near-panic attack you just had," he says plainly, stretching his arms behind his head like it's no big deal. "Would that be worth a chat in your book?"
Naomi could feel that there was an underlying sharpness in his voice.
"I mean, a girl with your background and personality doesn't just go to a place so fundamental to her past—in fact, so fundamental that she never even visited it before—just to enjoy nature."
He moves his hands back into his pockets, turning to her.
"It wasn't really hard to understand the type of person you are after our little chat last night, you know. Someone so impulsive, so deeply sensitive in every way, and still playing the tough one."
His eyes remained in their deadpan state, his lips fitting them now for the first time.
"In fact, if it weren't for his dementia, I would have seriously questioned Tom for not noticing your weird behavior. There's something bugging you. And as that is bugging me, I want to know if there's anything you want to talk about."
His voice grew soft and understanding at the last part. Oh, what a honey-sweet voice he possessed. But Naomi's suspicion didn't waver. The coldness in his eyes remained, his lips curling up only ever so slightly.
"I don't think you should worry about that," she says.
He, however, raises his eyebrow.
"I know I shouldn't be silly. Don't think I don't notice you already thinking about whooping my ass just to get out of the conversation."
He takes a few careful steps toward her, his arms freeing from his pockets and gently hovering a little above his thighs.
"But when someone is acting the way you do, there's no place for me to just let you be. There's something inside you that wants to be shared, something so burdening it can't be processed at all. I can feel that…" His voice takes another soft note, his smile growing warmer. "And I think I can help you."
Just as those words leave his lips, Naomi dashes at him, her hand gripping his shirt's collar and pulling him close to her face.
"Now listen here, Mr. Smartass. If you can read me so well, then you should know how badly I want to see you laying on the ground and vomiting your bullshit words out of your mouth," she snaps, her cheeks flushing with annoyance.
Yuki, however, remains completely calm… not even in a way that proves composure, but in a dangerously careless way.
"I understand that the idea of talking to a complete stranger makes you uncomfortable, but—"
Before he can finish, she leans toward him, instantly causing him to lose balance and fall to the ground.
"One more word," she starts, her left palm pressing against his chest. Her breathing is harsh, her ears twitching in alarm and her nose scrunched.
She felt hesitation in her mind, not really believing in her determination to actually harm him. She bites her lip, almost chewing it bloody.
"I do not want to hear one word from you, you cocky bastard. Why couldn't you just stop it, huh? Why didn't you just, for one time, do something other than questioning the things keeping you stable, huh?"
Yuki's lips part, but he remains silent—until he nods.
"So, that's it, huh?" He starts his words carefully, as he can hear the sound of Naomi's fists clenching already.
"You really wanna beat me up because I wanted to help you? You know that your punches will probably kill me, don't you? Is this another one of those impulsive decisions?" he asks, his breathing calm, even with her weight on his chest.
Naomi's teeth let go of her lip, instead gritting together.
> > Gross, sounds like those 'ASMR' water globes, << Yuki thinks to himself while gazing at her slightly longer fangs.
"Well, if you just wanna intimidate me—which I think would be the best solution from your perspective—I must disappoint you. I am gone—"
A loud crackling sound fills the air as Naomi's fist smashes into the ground, missing Yuki's ear by only a few centimeters.
She breathes heavily, her face partly covered by her hair as she hovers over him.
"What is wrong with you?" her voice shaky for several reasons.
Yuki's face has not wavered a bit—not even a flinch at her punch. His eyes are still on her, making her feel like she's staring into the depths of an ocean.
"Let's just say my mind is a little weird sometimes," he says, a soft, breathy chuckle escaping his lips.
She lifts her knee from his gut, raising her upper body and looking down at him. She brushes the dirt off her fist, still cautious of the boy beneath her.
"And that would be?" she asks, still not standing up yet. "I'm not stupid. You only want to help me because you want something in return. So if I should listen to you, tell me what is up with you."
She speaks, feeling a strange warmth in her gut all of a sudden.
Yuki nods, tapping her shoulder gently, to which she helps him up. He turns back to the river, brushing the dirt off the back of his shirt and pants.
He reaches his right hand up to his chin, his left arm crossing his chest and resting his right elbow on it.
"Phew… now that I think about it, I really have no right to criticize you for closing up. After all, it took me quite some mental effort to tell Tom about my background," he admits, turning his gaze back to her.
"Since I don't think you're a fan of my yapping, I'll make it quick. I guess you've already heard the term 'living corpse,' right?"
It took Naomi a few seconds to process the information he had shared.
> > Living corpse... <<
Of course, the phrase seemed familiar to her. It instantly rang a bell. However, she didn't entirely know where it came from.
It was something she definitely heard Tom say once or twice when he was talking about his experiences in the capital.
Then it struck her like lightning. Of course, she had heard the phrase before… well, more the urban legends of it.
People from Erude, whose souls were so resistant that they shifted worlds.
She shakes a little, recognition and realization overwhelming her already weakened state.
"In other words… you are from another world," she mutters, her hand running through her hair for the third time or so.
Yuki coughs a little, taking a few steps towards the river.
"Exactly, and because of that...I am gone."