8.

After Centuries Passed

The house was small, a tiny two bedroom structure behind Mrs. Mancini’s own huge home. The small Italian woman had approached Verden with the offer of letting him and his family stay in the extra house in her back yard. Verden soon found out she opened the doors of her giant house to anyone that needed a place to stay. When she saw Verden took care of Anna, Diorela, Michael, and Ayame, it caught her attention. Though Mrs. Mancini gave Ayame’s clothes an odd look, she probably took Verden to being a saint of sorts to put up with so many bei bambini, as she called them.

The tiny living room was full. Dante and Reyna were visiting and sat on the love seat, the only couch in the room. They laughed as they talked to Diorela and Michael. The two teens sat on top of an oversized rug on the concrete floor. There was a giant paper bag torn in half spread before them. On it, were several up–rooted fruit and vegetable plants, a plastic bag full of soil, and plastic bins, given to them by Mrs. Mancini so they may start their own garden.

Anna’s big eyes gazed at everything in wonder, plants to her as whimsical as dragons. She kept plucking the strawberries from their stems and stuffing them in her face when Diorela wasn’t looking.

Verden couldn’t help but smile.

He sat on the floor, a few feet away from everybody, Ayame next to him. He had his house back. Anna, Diorela, and Michael were under his roof, and even Reyna and Dante were with him again. The only thing that dulled his content was the fact that Jean and Abdon would never be part of this, having been killed by Blethinette. But at least not all of them were taken away from him. At least these that were here were safe. For now.

“Let her have some, Diorela,” Dante said as she took away a strawberry from Anna’s pudgy hand.

“No. If she leaves it bare, then they won’t grow,” Diorela said.

“As long as the roots are intact, the fruit should grow, right?” Reyna asked.

“But don’t you need to have some fruit on it too?”

“I’ve never heard that,” Dante said.

Everyone turned to Verden, the person who would know. He smiled. “If we want them to even have a chance at growing, we need to plant them in these pots soon.”

Anna nodded, as if she knew that all along, and grabbed a handful of dirt from the bag. Reyna and Dante sat on the ground to help. Verden saw Reyna reach out to a plastic bin with her right arm. When fingers she didn’t have never reached them, her smile faltered and so did Verden’s.

He hadn’t known he still had Magika. He hadn’t known within the turmoil of Blethinette’s head rolling on the ground and lightning falling to crack the land he was the sore guardian of it. All he could think about was getting Anna, Michael, Diorela, and Ayame to safety.

By the time he realized his Magika was still within him, Reyna’s arm had disappeared into one of the growing fissures that blistered the land. All he could do was summon open a portal to the human world to transport everyone to safety. He made sure his family, Reyna and Dante included, had maintained physical contact with each other when going through the gateway, so they would arrive at the same timeframe as him in the human world. When he saw Mundus, Auronmar, and the rest of the demons on the other side with them, he realized they had been thinking the same thing.

Verden sighed, staring at Reyna’s grave expression. He saw Dante place a hand on her shoulder and handed her a plant to hold upright while he poured soil into the plastic pot. Her face lit up as she did her task and soon she was laughing along with the others when they saw Anna sneak another strawberry when Diorela wasn’t looking.

Verden stood.

“Verden?” Ayame said.

“I’m going to check the food,” he said and went to the small kitchen.

Mrs. Mancini had also shared some food and vegetables with them. Since there was no stove available, he had manifested a small, two burner solar powered one, something he was glad he still had the energy and Magika to do. He found out each time he used his Magika, it drained out of him and he had a little less to use.

Verden went to the portable stove where he had set to boil homemade marinara sauce with cut up dried meat and noodles. He gave both pots a stir with the same wooden spoon and turned around to see Ayame had followed him.

It was odd having her wandering around with her memories, and her bold and blunt nature was the opposite to the playful but caring Ayame he had grown so close to. Verden had never had a problem with Ayame constantly hovering around him, but now, he felt like he was walking on eggshells. He wasn’t sure what to expect from her or how she would react to his words. Still, her face was a warming sight as always, even if her eyes had a more hardened look to them.

“Ayame,” he said. The memory of her kissing him in the spirit realm flashed through his head, as it always did when he saw her.

She smiled at him. “Need help?”

“You can get the plates.”

Ayame nodded and opened three cabinet doors, all of them empty, as she searched. “Damn dishes. I’m going to find you.”

Verden smiled as he stirred the sauce. Sometimes Ayame’s familiar quirks would surface through. Her tapping her foot with a side pout on her face was one of them. 

“Ah!” she said when she found the dishes. She took out mismatched plates and cutlery and placed them on the counter since there was no table. “There are only spoons. Probably should’ve checked that before making spaghetti.”

“It’s better than nothing.” He counted the plates. “Put one back. I’m not going to eat.”

A slight scowl formed around her eyes. “You have to.”

“I’m alright.”

“No, you haven’t eaten at all since we got here.”

“The Magika helps.”

Ayame slammed the cabinet door shut. “The Magika isn’t always going to be there, Verden. You know it’s waning away, and then you’ll be more human than anything. Humans need to eat.”

He keep his sights on the pots in front of him, silent. That was what made him feel so strange around her. He was used to taking care of people, not having someone take care of him. Ayame in her spirit form had helped in that endeavor, but this Ayame was bent on only taking care of him.

“True. But for now, I am fine,” he said.

  Verden felt Ayame’s dark eyes burn into him as he drained the noodles and mixed them in with the sauce. He placed the pot next to the dishes and served the portions. He stopped himself from over serving one of the plates, Dante’s, when he remembered his Berserker powers that brought him such a huge appetitive were gone.

“Help me take these to them,” he said, the heating plates warming his hands.

Ayame seemed about to say something, but instead reached for the remaining dishes and walked with him into the living room. Verden set the food on the floor, away from the now potted plants.

“It seems everyone is going to have to wash their hands,” Verden said, noticing the dirt that seemed to have gotten everywhere.

“Yes, mom,” Dante said, igniting giggles from everyone.

“You all looked like you rolled outside in the dirt,” Verden said. He pointed towards the kitchen. “Go wash up.”

“Sure, mom.” Reyna continued the joke as she and everyone else came to their feet.

While they filed into the kitchen to clean their hands, Verden picked up the potted plants while Ayame swept whatever dirt and other trash she could onto the paper bag and threw it away.

Verden sat on the floor, staring at the spaghetti. Ayame took a seat next to him, legs crossed, and picked up a half–eaten strawberry she missed during her sweep.

“Anna,” she said with a smile.

“Ayame,” Verden said without looking at her, “you’ve been angry at me lately.”

“Really? Was it me yelling at you that helped you figure that one out?”

“What I want to know is why.” He felt the need to look at her.

She met his stare and leaned back on her arms. “Well to begin with. I don’t like your new haircut.”

He ran a hand through his hair, only to have it stop by the nape of his neck. His long bangs returned to frame his face after he retreated his hand. He remembered how sticky and clumped his long hair had been with blood. Whose, he wasn’t sure, but all he wanted to do was cut it off, to cut off the memories of seeing Anna and Diorela’s scared faces, of seeing Michael’s solemn eyes, of seeing Reyna’s arm fly through the air, and of seeing Ayame’s face which was and wasn’t her own.

“You helped me shape it. You could’ve said no,” he said with a forced, small smile.

“Well—”

“Yattamo!” Anna came running into the room and straight to a plate of spaghetti. She picked it up and sat next to the spirit. Her first slurp of noodles left sauce on her cheeks. Ayame laughed as she cleaned it with her sleeve.

The rest came into the living room, grabbing plates with words of thanks and sat next to the couch, using it as a table. Verden watched as Michael and Diorela ate as they talked, a conversation that had Michael grinning. Reyna and Dante were facing each other, but Verden saw Reyna was having trouble eating her food. It was inconvenient enough eating spaghetti with a spoon, but for Reyna, it was twice as hard doing it with her left hand. 

“Here, Reyna.” Dante chuckled as he put his spoon down. He picked up hers and cut the noodles until he could scoop them up without them falling. “Open,” he said, lifting the spoon to her mouth.

Reyna turned the same shade of red as the sauce. “I can eat it just fine by myself.”

“Anna is eating the spaghetti better than you and her face looks like she dipped it in sauce. Now come on.”

She rolled her eyes and met his grinning face. “Fine.” She opened her mouth.

Dante smirked. “Don’t worry. I’ll think of some way for you to return me the favor. I like that red cami you used to wear to bed. I’m sure we can find you something similar.”

Reyna shooting her eyebrows up and almost choking on her food at Dante’s words amused Verden. He gazed at everyone eating, smiles on their faces, and for the first time since arriving at the human world, felt complete. His eyes darted at Ayame. Almost complete.

He sighed. It was time to put an end to this foolishness.

“Ayame,” he said, “I believe we have to talk.”

She faced him, surprised. “Of course.”

He stood up and went to one of the small rooms, the clank of Ayame’s shoes following him. Verden closed the door behind her.

“What do you want from me?” he asked her, getting straight to the point.

She, however, seemed to want to take her time. She strolled to the cot on the floor, circling it. Her steps agitated him in a way he didn’t comprehend. It was like beating a drum, each vibration that rippled across the stretched skin adding to his anticipation.

Ayame stopped. “You’re smart, Verden. I think you know.”

He shook his head. “You’re not exactly the Ayame I know.”

She crossed her arms, the long sleeves of her short kimono flapping by her legs, and took slow steps up to him. “Verden, the world is coming to an end around us. I just want to know how you feel about me. Back in the realm, you didn’t tell me anything.”

“I felt I didn’t have to.”

Ayame began to walk around the room again, quiet. Verden watched her, realizing that was her nervous tick. She settled on leaning against the wall in front of him, refusing his eye contact. 

“I loved you ever since Nadya left,” she said.

Verden tensed at the name he hadn’t heard it in a long time. It belonged to a face. To a person. To an essence. None of which he could—to his shame and disappointment—recall. That fact cut him to his core, igniting in him a sadness that consumed him like fire on a gasoline soaked rag.  

“It pained me to see you like you were when she had to cross to the human world. I hated how her absence seemed to drain everything from you. It was like you were…gone.”

He exhaled and tried to swallow, but his mouth was sandpaper, tongue a dried out piece of leather.

Ayame continued. “It wasn’t your fault that you fell in love with one of them. It would only make sense to.”

“Ayame—”

“That’s why I fell in love with you.” Her voice rose in volume to show she wasn’t done speaking and he would listen. “Because if you fell in love with me, then you would know I would never leave you. I would stay with you for all your life, and you would never feel that sorrow again.”

Verden remained quiet, his sight framed by his bangs as he bowed his head. His chest ached. It wasn’t till he felt Ayame’s hands on his that he realized they were in fists. It wasn’t that he couldn’t recall Nadya’s face anymore. It wasn’t that he had lost a love a long time ago.

It was that he couldn’t give his best friend what she wanted most.

Verden, who was always in the position to give anyone what they wanted out of thin air, found himself unable to help the one person he cared about the most. The reality of it shocked him, creating spider web threads of confusion in his mind. It was an alien sensation, one that took him a moment to recognize.     

He gazed at Ayame, and she pushed his hair behind his ears. One stubborn strand remained by his face. She hugged him, pressing her cheek on his chest. He had never had her this close. Ayame had sat next to him plenty of times, but never had he felt her pressed against him.

She felt whole but fragile. Her warmth trickled into him, making his head spin. A long sigh drew out of him, but it felt like something poured into him, down his throat and to his toes. It filled his body, spreading through his nerves and into his muscles, exhilarating him in a way he both recognized but did not understand.

Verden didn’t know why, but he recalled Dante feeding Reyna her food, their grins and blushes, and thought about doing the same with Ayame. It felt bizarre, as if he were feeding a child. But what if he imagined himself doing something more romantic?

Before he knew it, he grabbed Ayame around the waist and tipped her head up to his to kiss her. It was a simple touch of the lips, but Verden found himself lingering more than he thought he would.

Ayame stared up at him with an expression he didn’t understand. It took him a while to realize that he had broken through her and she looked at him with her entirety exposed, afraid to process what his kiss meant. Guilt bit at him at what his experiment did to her. He stepped away from her vulnerability and stood in silence, his gaze on the floor. He felt her shove him and though it did nothing to unbalance him, he took a step back.

“Why did you do it, then?” Her voice was brash and demanding, but Verden heard the hurt undertones that accompanied it.

He didn’t want to answer. He wanted to just leave the room, but he knew he owed her more than that. “If me loving you makes you happy, I care enough about you to try and do it.”

Ayame’s scowl deepened. “That’s not how it works, Verden! You can’t just make yourself love someone. You either do or you don’t. You can’t just gauge how you feel on a kiss!”

Verden’s jaw clenched. She saw through his action. Usually he was the one catching people in their deceits. How odd and embarrassing to be on the receiving end of it. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Ayame, I am sorry, but…”

She crossed her arms. “But what?”

He sighed, knowing what he was about to say would hurt her. “But even if I did love you, it wouldn’t be you. The only Ayame I know is the one that is my spirit. She is not you. She is herself, different than the blunt and strong Ayame I see before me now. I would not love you. I would love her.”

“So it’s her you love?” Ayame’s words came out slow.

Verden shook his head, the whirlwind of emotions from earlier shut off and gone. “If. Don’t misunderstand me, Ayame.”

“I’m going to forget this eventually. I’ll forget all of this, but if you can love her, then I don’t care. You’ll be loving an essence of me, and that’ll make me happy.”

“Ayame…I didn’t say—”

She laughed. “It’s okay. You don’t realize it now, but you will soon. Make sure not to mess it up like Mundus did.”

He sighed, frustrated at how she was not listening to him. “Ayame. Stop this.”

Someone knocked on the door.

“Verden,” Diorela said, “Auronmar is here.”

He glanced at Ayame before opening the door and stepping outside the room. He walked past Diorela and into the living room. The laughter had died out. Michael’s face showed his hesitant fear, but Anna looked past the demon king, and Verden knew she was expecting Gahn. Dante and Reyna were the only ones that appeared calm. In fact, they had visited for that reason: Auronmar’s arrival.

“Michael,” Verden said, “take Anna and Diorela to Mrs. Mancini’s. Thank her for me for all she has given us.”

He nodded and it wasn’t till the front door closed behind them that Verden breathed again.

“What is this plan you thought up?” Reyna asked.

Auronmar sighed, his shoulder heaving like they held the weight of both the worlds he worried about. “I had spoken to Verden yesterday, and we came to an agreement. I figured it best if you heard it from us.”

“Now you decided to tell us of your plans?” Reyna stepped up to him. “Now after the fact?”

He exhaled another heavy sigh. “I can not apologize enough, Reyna, but unfortunately this has come to be. It is best we try to move forward and do what we can to save our future.”

She seemed like she wanted to say something, but Ayame coming into the room interrupted her.

“Don’t bother, Reyna,” she said coming to a halt next to Verden, “This so called king failed as well. It seems to run in the family.”

Auronmar appeared surprised to see the spirit. “Ayame. I had not had the pleasure when I last came.”

“I didn’t want to give it to you.”

“It may not mean much, but I do apologize for my son’s actions. They were…unspeakable.”

“You’re right. Your apology doesn’t mean much.”

Verden’s irritation started to grow. Around Auronmar, his calm and collected demeanor disappeared. “Ayame. Stop.”

She turned to him, and he saw the red in her eyes as if she had been crying. It weighed his heart.

“Where is Gahn?” Dante asked, driving the conversation elsewhere.

Verden was thankful for the change. He was eager for this discussion to be done with and for Auronmar to leave, but he knew the king would not be leaving his side any time soon.

“I sent him to find Radi. She is to be the next queen,” Auronmar said.

“What? But she doesn’t even have a flower,” Reyna said.

“We can obtain one for her from the duplicate fountain I created.”

“Go into the demon world? From what portal?”

Dante crossed his arms. “Wait. What exactly is the plan?”

“Once Gahn brings Radi, she, myself, and Auronmar will cross into the demon world through a portal I will create to find the Aqua Oscura fountain he created. Hopefully the world has not totally crumbled and our journey will be quick. Once we reach the fountain, it is there where Radi and I will become the new king and queen and bring back the Magika,” Verden said.

Ayame frowned at his words.

Reyna and Dante stood quiet, their eyes darting between Auronmar and Verden as if they were hiding something.

“But wouldn’t it be easier for me to just do it? I already have a flower. Just revive it for me!” Reyna’s hand went over her pocket, and Verden realized she was carrying it with her now. That she probably carried it with her wherever she went.

“Reyna. Don’t.” Dante grabbed her arm.

“No, Reyna.” Auronmar shook his head. “Your sacrifice would be in vain. I do not believe the demons would accept two humans as their rulers, despite the Dark Blood in their veins. One of them must at least be a demon. That is why Radi is needed.”

“When do you plan on doing this?” Reyna asked.

“As soon as we possibly can. There is another problem we will soon face that may arrive to us before the imbalance’s total destruction. Without the Magika’s flow, the demons are slowly dying. They feed off of it from the land, but now that the essence has disappeared, so has their food. Superior demons will be able to hold out against the hunger longer, but the lesser demons are not as patient. Their desperation will grow, and with it they will more than likely attack the humans in their attempts to stave their hunger. I do not need to explain how disastrous this can become.”

Dante ran a hand through his hair, eyes pensive. “Can’t we just give Radi Reyna’s flower?”

“No,” she answered. “It was given to me. I am the only one that can obtain its power.”

Auronmar nodded, the action slow. “That is why we must obtain one for Radi.”

“Who else knows about this plan?” Reyna asked.

“No one but us and you two now,” Verden answered. “I wanted you to know. That was my side of the bargain to go through with this. In case anything were to happen, I didn’t wish to leave Anna, Diorela, and Michael alone without them knowing the truth. I would not want them to think I abandoned them.”

“You won’t. You’ll come back,” Reyna said.

“Yes. You will,” Dante added.

Verden gave a small smile, touched by their expressed sentiment. “I have one more favor to ask of you.”

Reyna nodded. “Anything. We’re here for you.”

“Gahn should be back soon. If we do this tonight, I rather do it without having Anna and the others around. Would you please keep them entertained for the rest of the day? Take them by the river. Anna likes it there.” Verden felt his throat close as he spoke the last word of his sentence.

Reyna and Dante gazed at Verden for a second before they stepped up to him. Reyna’s arm wrapped around his neck and Dante’s giant frame enclosed them both.

“Please be careful and come back soon, okay?” Reyna said.

“Yeah, we know your portals run linear with the flow of time. You can’t use that as an excuse,” Dante said.

Verden stood shocked a moment before his arms came around his friends and he buried his head into Reyna’s hair. The hug warmed him more than he cared to admit. “I will come back,” he said.

“We’ll go now,” Dante said as he stepped away. “Good luck.”

Verden saw him grab Reyna’s hand and it made him happy. It was such a simple emotion, but to see them together brought a sense of content. It made it easier for him to leave.

Reyna and Dante looked at Auronmar.

“Thank you for taking us in when you did…I guess,” Reyna said.

His smile showed he took her words to heart. “I have come to care for you, Reyna and Dante too, more than I had wished to do. I was pleased to have you in my castle.”

Dante nodded. “Thank you.”

“Take care of Verden, Auronmar. He is your son too,” Reyna said before she and Dante left.

Verden sighed. He wasn’t surprised Reyna said what she did—after all, she was a descendant from Ayame—but he wished she hadn’t said it. Auronmar looked at him with such heavy eyes full of pleading that it was making his chest hurt.

“Reyna does speak the truth. You are my son,” Auronmar said.

“It doesn’t change anything. The past is the past. I was left for dead,” Verden said, a tightness in his chest he couldn’t explain.

“I thought you had died. I had seen your tiny corpse. I had held your lifeless body in my arms, yet…I know now it was Blethinette’s Magika that had tricked me.”

The knot in his chest grew, but he remained silent.

Auronmar placed a hesitant hand on Verden’s arm. “You are my son, Verden, and I cared for you so much when you were born. My love for you has not changed even after all these centuries that have passed.”

Verden was still, not feeling the hand on his arm. All of his concentration and senses were focused on the words Auronmar had just said.

It’s the same. It’s the same how I would feel if I came across those I cared for. If I saw Anna or Diorela or Michael…Rashad, Xiang, Hanna, Bruce, Diana…any of the others I had helped after hundreds of years, I’d feel the same towards them as I did the first day they smiled at me.   

Verden walked away from Auronmar and saw Ayame had sat on the couch, silent, allowing them their conversation. He turned back to his father and was about to say something to him, to speak words he had kept inside of him for centuries, when the door to the house opened and Dante and Reyna walked in. Puzzled, he stared at them. Dante appeared furious and frustrated and Reyna’s face was stoic.

“What happened?” Verden asked, alarm racing through him.

Did something happen to Diorela and the others?

He then noticed Mr. Guerrero standing behind them. Verden had only met him once. It was usually Auronmar that talked to him, but of what, Verden didn’t know. Mr. Guerrero was the closest thing this town had to a leader, and for a man who only knew two languages to manage a human economy that represented almost the entire earth meant he was probably seen more as god than anything else.

“Mr. Guerrero,” Auronmar said. “I did not expect you here.”

“That’s exactly why. You were not expected here either,” he answered in his Spanish accent.

Verden frowned as did Auronmar.

Ayame sprung to her feet. “Verden.”

That was when he noticed the gun in Mr. Guerrero’s hand.  

*******************************
Author's Note: So guys...looking for something else to read while you wait for an update? o.o

Try @Annany 's Colorless

I think if you like my characters, you'll love hers. If you like my Magika, you'll love her magic filled world. If you like blood and creepy stuff and crazy religions mixed in with vibrant but mysterious characters, you'll love Colorless.

You can search for "Annany" or find her story under my "Reading..." reading list.

Give it a try while you wait to see if anybody gets shot here. :3