Who I Have Become

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko sat on an all too familiar rooftop, lighting a cigarette and soaking in the view of the city. Her eyes drifted across the city skyline as the city itself drifted off into yet another peaceful slumber. Below she could see the ramen shop she used to frequent, though since her trip with Kureji or Raizo it hadn't been the same to eat alone at the shop. She sighed and laid back on to the roof, looking up at the stars as the orange embers illuminated her face. She was bored, or was it lonely, eitherr way it didn't really matter to her. She knew this wasn't how it used to be up here, like that time she met the strange Anbu up on this exact roof.. 'What was her name again? Silent? Silence?' She couldn't come up with the exacts.

She couldn't help but let her mind wander to her academy days, one's that seemed like both yesterday and yet so far from today. She knew that if she kept on this path, she'd remember that one mess up during her exams. She couldn't help it, after all she wore that around on her face now like a badge of honor. She flicked of the ash of her cigarette and sat back up taking a long drag, 'Fucking snakes, can't stand the thought.' Her mind played those images so often when she closed her eyes, how could she really expect anything else though?

She was wondering how Kazuma was doing now, she hadn't seen him since that day and really, he could be doing anything by now. 'He was always so kind and... no stop shut it enough we don't have time to get lost in childhood crushes or stupidity, we are supposed to be training.' Her exterior may have changed, but her cold logical mind certainly hadn't. She wanted to be normal and fit in, sure, but she also had zero interest in being anything but who she was now. She had grown comfortable in her skin, partly due to her sister's insistence on that.

Still, a tradition kept since her youth was sneaking up here, only now it was for a quick smoke away from the mundane life in comparison to the snuck ramen of her younger self. She slowly lowered her head to think a little more, she had come so far, and the next steps were coming fast on her heels. Would she even have time for the little luxuries of life anymore? Would she have time to simply enjoy a smoke and conversation? It didn't bother her until now that she had truly isolated herself for so long, now she felt that choice was for the best, but it came with its own weight.

"Huh... Maybe one day..."

 

[Okami Roku]

"Excuse me-"

From an opposing rooftop, there would be a fellow teenager with pinkish hair. He would give a wave, but there would be a rather serious look on his face.

"-but what are you doing on that roof?"

What are you doing on a roof?

The voice within would seem to want to turn the question back on him, but he would not allow it to get to him at this moment. That said, why was he on the roof? Well, the answer was rather mundane, but while he was walking around he had the sudden thought; wouldn't it be easier if I just hopped roof to roof? What had spurred this line of thinking? Well, he had bumped into several people and their belongings, had been trapped within large currents of moving groups, and had been coughed or sneezed on at least four times. He could not bring himself to continue through such a slog, so he opted to try something new.

You could have just killed them

Shut up

Ok, but if you killed at least one of them the rest would have scattered... so there you go, an outcome with minimal death!

Placing his left foot up on the slightly raised ledge of the roof, he rested his left elbow on the now propped knee and soon after his chin upon his left enclosed fist. He was now comfortably perched upon his roof looking at the smoking girl.

"Smoking is bad for your health, right?"

Sousuke didn't smoke so he was genuinely interested.

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko, who was still seated on the edge of the building, looked over her shoulder and smirked. "Oh is it now? Hadn't heard that." She took a slow and methodical drag from the cigarette before turning her face back toward the city.

"Consider it .. day dreaming? No that wouldn't be it. Sight seeing is probably a better answer for your question."

She laughed a little and adjusted her hair, the length was something she was still getting used to. She didn't know this kid, but he seemed alright enough. Though he had an interesting air about him, maybe it was that she was sensitive to chakra and his was.. Well certainly unique.

"You come here often? I don't imagine you jumped up here for little ol' me, that wouldn't be it.. let me guess, trying to move quickly? But the real question then is.." She stood up and turned her back to the city, the illumination casting her silhouette across the roof top, only her pale green eyes cutting the dark. "Why you need to move so fast? Life's too short to miss all the fun after all."

 

[Okami Roku]

"Humans in large groups are annoying and kinda gross."

He really didn't think, the response came out.

Wait, does that sound like I am implying that I am not also a human or that humans are something different than me?

About time you started talking like someone with some sense.

"What I mean is, crowds just aren't really my thing."

She would turn to him and he would once more say something that would just immediately come to him without putting any thought into it.

"Your eyes are a really cool color."

What. Am. I. Doing.... did I learn nothing from the dinner party!?

Ugh, you had such a promise but now back to nonsense...

In response to her standing up, he would remove himself from his propped-up stance and would return to a normal stance. He would take his right hand and begin to run it through his pinkish hair as he started to look around the village.

"You aren't wrong; this is a good sight and life is too short. My name is Okami Roku and I am part of this village!"

He would pause for a moment as his mind would retrace everything he just said.

It started good, in the middle was good, but the ending... what the hell am I saying? Of course, I am part of the village, why is that the trait about me I'm mentioning?!

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko was half paying attention until his choice of words made her brow raise instinctively. 'curious..' She thought to herself while he continued to speak, backpedaling with an explanation. The brow only lifted more as he paid her the compliment, shed had a few comments but never "cool". Once he announced his name, the brow settled back into its normal resting place. She would tilt her head slightly, the way a dog does when it's unsure it heard you correctly.

"Mmm mkay, I am Tanatsu Neko.. Also.. Of this village, I assume you meant that you're a Shinobi? Or is that just a generous take given your.." She waved her hand up and down in reference to his physique, "build we will call it. A little too muscley for your age, dead give away."

 

[Okami Roku]

"Oh, you think I'm too muscly? The people at The Community thought I could have added more muscle--oh, I mean thank you for the compliment."

He would pause for a moment.

Was that a compliment?

He would look to move past it, "Yes, shinobi. Actually, I think I am supposed to report to someone about my rank or some business. It sounded more difficult than what it should be" he would finish with a shrug.

Looking her over once more he would notice the scars upon her face.

"The scars."

He would pause for a moment as his head would mimic her previous motion, turning slightly to the side like a curious dog.

"I think they like cool as well."

This time he had put thought into it and was confident with not only his assessment but his statement. He really didn't know this Neko, but she seemed confident. He was part impressed, part envious, and part unsure just how he felt about it. He had scars, but because of his body, most of them had faded. The scars he bore were more internal, metaphorical. Was she the same? Did she gain those scars through harsh treatment like him? Or was it something else?

"I suppose you are a shinobi too? Most normal h---people don't just scale buildings around this village I have noticed."

There would be another pause.

"Did you attend the academy?"

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko's eyes pinned on him for a moment, any movements of the eyes, any oddity in his demeanor. It was obvious she was studying him, but the motive behind it was unclear even to her. Something seemed off, and he kept doing that "human" thing when talking. It just wasn't adding up in a way that sat well with her, but she was going to leave it be. It had been far too long since she had a normal conversation so even if it was with some weird kid, that was fine to her.

"Ya academy, but I've been scaling buildings long before that. Alleyways are faster and less populated by the way, it'll save you time and effort. Just my experience, As for the scars I guess.. thanks? I once again am left confused by that.. cool? How?"

 

[Okami Roku]

Tapping his chin he would begin to hum as his eyes scanned up into the sky at first. They would then drop back down to the female and scan her once more.

"Sorry, I'm not the best at small talk or talking to people... so if I offended you by mentioning them, I'm sorry."

He would go back to tapping and humming before finally coming to not only stop in the behavior but a stop in his thought process.

"My... huh, I'm not really sure what I would consider him--dad? uncle? teacher? master? the Steward?--anyways, the person who has been helping me get accustomed to this village told me that calling something cool was youthful slang for meaning that you liked something--though to be fair I'm not sure if I should be taking 'cool advice' from him--anyways, so I think they are cool not because you have them but because how you wear them."

Pausing, he would begin to think about something again before finally having an 'ah-ha' moment with a goofy grin on his face.

"Apologies, I was wrong. It's not that I think the scars are cool, I think they are part of the coolness, but it is more so that I think you look cool. You are cool. Something about you" he would wave his hands in her general direction, "seems cool, at least to me. You look like someone who knows themselves. I think that is a very valuable thing to have accomplished."

It was true. That did seem to be the thing he found 'cool' about her once he had a chance to reassess it. She had something he didn't; an understanding of herself.

"So you went to the academy... was it fun? Did you make friends?"

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

She tilted her head a little confused by all the information she was learning about this kid, she might not know him but he wasn't exactly holding back information about himself. It was surprisingly refreshing, it almost reminded her of a time not so long ago where she'd have done the same. Unfortunately thought that's not who she was anymore, she had grown a bit more concealed with herself and a bit more paranoid of others. Since Kureji had vanished without saying much to her, she had not really felt called to making closer friends, something about it left a rotten taste in her mouth toward people and a distrust that was for the most part unwarranted.Even still, nothing was triggering that response in this conversation, so maybe she could just be herself for a bit. Unwind that which had tightened around her heartstrings just a little, but then again not too much.

She absorbed his commentary again with confusion, not so long ago she'd have been lapping up the compliments like desert water, but now she was less interested in that sort of thing. His were genuine though and not looking for something in return, which made her gaze soften a bit. She had been judging him this entire time, but for what exactly? He was just being a sweet kid, and he was pretty close to her age. Maybe, just maybe, she could actually walk away from this with a friend.

Her gaze hardened as quick as it had faded to those soft puppish eyes, and her throat cleared. "Yes, I went. Did you not? How on earth can you be.. " She paused catching herself, taking a breath, "Listen.. you don't have to pay me compliments, or make small talk, you did your job. You don't have to keep up the whole," she waved her hand to gesture at him, "You know ..thing.."

The confidence he once saw cracked for a moment in this space, she was much softer then she was letting on. She had made a clear effort to put up a wall upon his arrival, but the longer he stood around and poked, the more easily she slipped back into her old habits. Now, she was looking rather awkward and oddly a little sheepish, if this kept up she knew she'd end up being too nice, too open, she needed to shut this down before that could happen.

She took a puff on her smoke and her face illuminated as the air pulled through, highlighting her features once again. She was just trying now to avoid eye contact.

[wc 432]
[mft]

 

[Okami Roku]

His brow would arch a bit. It was less at her words and more at her demeanor. It was subtle, but it changed. He was an observer, watching people had been his hobby since first joining the village. Less a hobby, and more like a goal. He was told to observe and understand this village so he could fit in, and while he had done a lot of observing, the understanding was proving to be a bit trickier.

Did I say something wrong?

Who cares... this one, one over there on the street, a boy version, a dog, a cat... all of it is truly inconsequential. Their feelings towards you... well, they will always be skewed right? You will always be different, and wrong... just need to finally come to grips with it and move on. I feel like we've laid in this bed of being a child for too long...

Shut up.

Trying to trace through his previous words he would search for what might have caused her to falter in her appearance, even if for a moment.

Had I said something that recalled a troubled time? Was it the scars... was it the academy... was it friends... no, move ahead, maybe it will clear up with time.

Ignoring the small, but quickly walked-over, question about his own academy experience, or lack thereof, he would instead lean into the rest of her words.

"I disagree, small talk seems like a vital part of finding friends. That is a goal of mine, one which I have been pretty miserable at so far-" he would say thinking about the humiliation he suffered at the Sennin Games dinner, "--Compliments don't need to be paid but a pleasure to receive--I guess some people don't like compliments, I'm sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable, but"

He couldn't help but smile as the perfect thought came to his mind at that very moment.

"...life's too short, right?"

​

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko was surprised at the insistence on continuing to chat with her, especially with her current attitude. But he was right, as much as she hated to admit it this was the way you made a friend. The real question for herself was if she was going to pursue that now. But then he did it, he said her own words back at her and it was the icing on the cake. Her wall cracked once more, her rugged frame that she had put on since the exams became soft and kind, her eyes softened back to that puppyish look, and her face almost looked like it was going to crack as a smile formed on it. It had been some time since a genuine smile had formed on her face, too long if she was going to be honest with herself.

"Right, seize the day and all that then? Did.. Did no one tell you this is a bad place to make friends? not" she gestured to the rooftops around them, "but like our line of work.. I haven't really made it an importance in some time.. They all wind up dead or you do, ties lead to hesitation, hesitation leads to an opening, and an opening leads to the rest." She took another quick puff from her smoke, "You get lost in your own head a lot, having a different conversation or just trying to figure me out? I don't bite often, though.. if you were my age maybe."

She let out a small laugh signaling she was joking, but she did lock onto his eyes with hers as she spoke. Something was definitely off about her in this moment, was this her being happy, flirty, or just trying to gauge his reactions. That might not have even been clear to her, but either way she watched his face expectantly. She'd look over her shoulder to the city behind her once more and soak in the view from here, the city always looked better at a bird's eye view.

 

[Okami Roku]

Laughter would be his response, because of the threat to bite or maybe the reference to the age where he, from his judgment, did not think there to be a larger difference between them.

Biting, huh, maybe you should let her bite you. Maybe you should... try... to... bite... her...

Huh? That's a really weird thing to say.

Is it? Humans eat another organism, you devoured a chicken-

It was cooked.

-the other day, that doesn't matter! What matters is consuming life is a thing... and this girl seems to indicate it might be a pleasure. Maybe you should try that pleasure...

You've gotten weirder lately.

Heh... we are only going to get weirder from here on out.

It was strange that the voice used 'we'. That wasn't common, but neither was this sort of conversation between them.

Maybe I am hungry and it's messing with mine, and your, minds.

Oh, we are hungry. Have been for years...

He would dismiss the voices in his head for a moment.

"You know, I understand what you mean. This world is harsh and unfair, life can be taken in an instance, people you once thought were there to take care of you are merely placing you in a cage... or worse... love, life, joy... it can all be fleeting."

He would turn his head to look over the city he was trying to escape the hustle and bustle of just a few moments prior.

"Yet... what is strength comes from building those bonds? What if those bonds, if even reduced to nothing but memory, could be precious enough to keep you moving forward... I think isolation is a path forward for some, but I have a sister... somewhere--"

Pausing, his eyes would loosely fixate on the crowd below, causing it all just to fall out of focus and into a blur. A solemness would now be etched upon his face.

"--actually, never mind. That is a weirdly personal thing to drop on someone you meet for the first time on a random rooftop adjacent to the one you just scaled. Ultimately, I will say this; I think I would like to attempt a route with friends, with bonds, first to see if it is truly something worth holding on to. There is a fear of being wrong, there is a fear of what it means if I am wrong... but yea, damn, that seize the day line you dropped earlier just keeps circling back, huh?"

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Neko felt a sudden rush in her chest as if her heart beat for the first time in a long time. The idea of losing her sister, her only real friend, filled her with such immense dread. She couldn't imagine, and for him to offer it so willingly it was very clear he really just needed someone to talk to.

"I uh.. sorry for the comments, I was trying to avoid.. well this." She let out a sigh and turned her full attention to him, "I really didn't mean to be.. well a bitch to you. Just kinda.. speaking from what little experience I have on the subject of friends."

She put her cigarette out and sat back down on the edge. Her legs dangling over and butt just perfectly on the balance of it, so much so a strong wind could take her right off to the street several stories below. But even still her grace in that moment was anything but nervous, in fact it looked at home. She had lived on the edge of life for so long before find her home, that now it was still the feeling of being alive like this that really brought back that warmth only home could. She'd almost completely forgotten the reason she came up here, but it really couldn't have been that important.

"Tomorrow isn't guaranteed, so why don't you go have a little fun then tonight? Go, I don't know, meet a girl, dance in the street, or even just go listen to a band or something. Point is you're wasting you evening here, I'm not company someone like yourself needs, even if it is just idle chit chat. You should be having fun and I should be, well busy.."

 

[Okami Roku]

"I think your company has been nice. You are... cool."

I might have used that word too much, but it felt thematic, right? Another call back.

Why are we thinking about this nonsense?

No one asked you to listen in on this! I am talking to a girl who didn't just walk past me like that medical lady!

Oh great, we are thankful for scraps tossed to us. What standards.

I don't know what that even means!

"I don't think I have ever danced, definitely not in public, that actually sounds terrifying! Beating up weird creatures out in the desert, fighting people, doing magical chakra stuff... all of that sounds less threatening then the idea of dancing in front of people."

Tapping his shoe upon the ground he would watch her take a seat back on the roof's ledge.

We should take a hint, no?

She likes the view, which doesn't mean--

That she didn't like your view

Ugh, the worst.

"What about you? Shouldn't you be doing some of that fun stuff instead of sitting up on a roof and talking to some random guy with an innate fear of gyrating his hips-" even if she weren't looking, he would mockingly swing his hips around to show just how bad of a dancer he could be, "in front of others? Oh, also not a fan of people who don't cover their mouth when they cough. Not sure why those two are now being lumped together--what I was trying to say, is shouldn't you be out having fun?"

In his eyes, she was still a bit of an enigma. He wasn't quite sure if there was more to her than what her exterior was showing or if this was her on full display. His eyes allowed him to see a lot of things, even the minutest of details at times, but she was a bit tougher to crack. He would continue to keep his eyes on her, trying to see if he could gain anything else from her nonverbals.

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Her body language was distinctly different than when they first began their conversation on top of this roof. Her eyes were not scanning the view simply looking cautiously his way. As if intentionally waiting with bated breath for what he had to say next.

Once he addressed the fact that she should be doing the same, her cheeks almost had a little rose to them. By all accounts he was correct as she should also be out having a good time at their age. But instead she was sitting in isolation upon a roof, simply people watching as the night progressed. Part of her felt that maybe he was right but the other half of her was hesitant.

But then he said something that triggered and immediate smirk and chuckle from her. He had never danced and that simply could not be true. She had done a good job at pretending not to notice a few details about the boy standing at her side, but the reality was she had made comments already. She turned to look at him, her eyes lit by the street lanterns almost appearing to dance.

" I know that can't be true, look at yourself. Somebody has to have already taken you up on a dance once or twice. I mean we had formals occasionally at the academy."

She stood up and faced him holding out her hand, " I'm not buying it, prove it right now."

 

[Okami Roku]

He would look down at himself, at her request, and then would look back at her puzzled.

"I look like someone who dances?"

It was not a compliment he had ever been paid, nor was it something that Sousuke had ever told him. There wasn't an overwhelming amount of people in his current life who would have said such a thing to him. So it was a bit puzzling what, if anything, gave the impression he would either dance or be asked to dance.

Maybe youthful slang... damn, I know Sousuke's tutelage would eventually hit a stopgap because of his age.

...

Huh, nothing to say?

She is approaching.

His eyes would cut to her once more, after getting lost in his mind, and would notice her approaching with an arm stretched out. Without realizing it, his body would instinctively tense up.

"I... ah.... I... wait... what... there is no music?"

Is that the best excuse you have... you know that's not her point.

"Oh-oh-oh my look at the time, haha, what a strange time it is currently. I think I hear someone calling for you--" he would then turn his head to the side and begin to attempt to mimic someone yelling from a distance, "Neko! Neko! Where are you?"

This can't possibly have been something you thought would work, right? Ugh, fine.

While he would still look mildly panicked and trying to process a way to stop this moment, one of his hands would seemingly begin to move on its own.

Wait... what are you doing?!

What you should be...

He would watch on in terror as his hand would reach out and take hold of hers.

If you want, let me take over.

His mind was overwhelmed, he wasn't able to fully process this moment as it seemed to be happening too fast and yet in slow motion. If he had been able to calmly think in this moment he would have questioned a couple of things, with the most prominent question being about why The Hunger was now showing interest in taking control. He would also have spent more time thinking about Neko, her hand, her smile...

Instead all of these thoughts, and more (such as questions about the typical weather in Suna and how much force would be required to even smudge Takahashi Steel), would all come cascading at once.

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

She would laugh at his comment on looking like the type to dance, "No.. that's not what I meant. There's not a thought between those eyes is there?" She would watch him make an attempt at changing the topic but his hand still went to hers, slowly admittedly but it was an interesting development given the outward effort to avoid it.

"I meant you're hot darling.. so don't pretend that no one has sat in a chair drawing hearts around your name. We all were kids at one point and I know if you.. anyway my point is what I said. You're hot, you're a bit of a dork, and that combo is.. well it works on most girls. So, prove me wrong then."

There was a long pause as their hands met and her fingers interlaced with his, she was surprised clearly that what she was doing had worked. Especially since there was such a protest, yet their hands were now interlocked and her eyes slowly drifted to his. She could see the conflict in them, as if something was holding him back and something screaming for him to go for it. That was something she was all too familiar with.

However once their hands touched Neko felt a rush off of his hand toward her, a distinct shift in chakra that made her eyes look to his hand and then back. She hadn't a clue what it meant, but it was different than his energy feeling far more primal and old than possible from the boy standing in front of her.

'oh.. oh shit.. I don't want to ruin this but.. damn it Neko let it go just..'

She waited, in that moment, frozen in place with a rush that she had not felt up until now. Curious to see where this lead, what happened next, all of her moves and chatting were a bluff, she had no idea what she was doing outside of books she had read or what she had heard from her mother and sister. She was holding some boys hand, her cheeks were fully flush, and her mind was simply screaming.

'what.. what am I.. doing?'

 

[Okami Roku]

"I mean I do feel hot--I don't know if that's what you are meaning--and I didn't go to the academy with kids--"

His protest was cut short with their hands locking.

At that moment, there were no thoughts in his head. No words coming from his mouth. No voices manifested that he called 'the Hunger'. There was nothing. There was only silence. In that silence, as if living outside of his own body and merely watching. He would look down at their interlaced fingers, their clasped hands.

He could hear his heart beating. He could feel his heart beating. No sounds were coming from the rest of the world, just the pounding of the organ in the center of his chest pulsating within his ears. He felt warm, but it wasn't uncomfortable. In all honesty, he did not know how to describe what he was feeling.

His eyes would raise and would catch hers, the mysterious green orbs, looking at him. His eyes were an amber color, but she might notice some red slowly starting to appear within the gold. He, however, did not notice this. Even if he could have physically felt the change, he still might not have noticed it. The reason for that? He didn't want to miss her eyes. Her look. Her. If he was able, if he could have had a choice in the matter, he would have not opposed to simply staying frozen into this moment for all eternity. He hadn't truly known intimacy, in really any capacity, so there was no real foundation, outside of Sousuke's books in his library, to even begin to rationalize what he might have been experiencing. Also, it didn't matter. He liked it.

"Neko..." The name would gently tumble out of his mouth as if there was more he wanted to say but drifted because he still wasn't sure what it was that he should say.

His hold on her hand, this time of his own choosing, would grow a bit firmer, as he was now truly holding her hand. He had completely forgotten what he should have been doing, that she had asked him to show his dance move or anything else of the sort. Instead, he just held on to what part of her she offered to him. A hand. It was powerful. He felt both strong and weak at this moment.

You sure you should get any closer to her? Are you sure you want her to see who you really are?

 

[Tanatsu Neko]

Her name. He simply said her name. There was more behind it sure, but in that moment she didn't care what else followed. It was a wild rushing feeling as he spoke her name. She just wanted to hear it again, but she couldn't figure out why. He wasn't trying to dance, he just formed his grip, her hand felt like it had found the final glove it needed for these cold nights.

What was she doing, she didn't even know. But she couldn't pull herself away, she couldn't stop herself from speaking. "R.. Roku.. You.. I'm.. you.."

Her eyes met his and her pupils pinned as she was lost in the waves of crimson mixing into the grain that stood against the paling glow of the nights light. She was stunned, this wasn't her plan, this wasn't what she thought would happen. She had practically shooed him away the entire night until now, but now she would give anything to just have him stay here, in this moment, just a little longer. She felt her heart rushing, as if she was running in a full sprint while her body remained completely still.

She finally pulled herself out of her stupor, only so she could speak in Shakey and desperate words. "You.. said my name.. did you want something?"

She had no thoughts, Neko who had the most chaotic brain of anyone you could meet had silenced the proverbial demon that was her mind. It was just too perfect, like a scene from a play that she would have desperately wanted to be in. He made it feel perfect, and her feel alive.

One moment, when strangers passing could have done anything, these two found this moment. Every fiber of her being was screaming, looking for any excuse to run. She couldn't do this, but.. she couldn't fight this. It was the most human she had felt, and she would do anything to keep it this way. The conflict caused her to stay in that limbo, stuck between embracing the pull and running for the hills. But her eyes, they couldn't begin to lie to him. Pleading for something, unknown and frankly different than she could put to words.

 

[Okami Roku]

"You.. said my name.. did you want something?"

He didn't know what to do. The voice within had asked him a question, and it was fair and one he should have paid some mind to, but at the moment he couldn't.

Why ruin this moment?

That's all he could think about. He knew, or maybe it was better to say he feared, that after this moment there was no way it could have gotten better. After this moment, he could say the wrong thing, she could say the wrong thing, something could happen, feelings could be wrong or change, there was just so much that could happen, so much uncertainty, so much that could have gone wrong. None of that, however, could infect this very moment. This was their moment. He wasn't entirely sure if she felt the same way at this moment that he did, so it might have been more appropriate to say that this was his moment. He never sought out this moment, but he was glad it found him.

"You..."

This wasn't necessarily the answer he wanted to give her to her question of 'did he want something', but it was a piece of what he wanted to say. In his mind, there should have been more words associated with it. There should have been words that followed it. Instead, there were no more words. Instead, he would find himself, with the hand holding hers, pulling her closer to him. His eyes never waver from her eyes. The piercing green eyes. The eyes he found to be so cool at the beginning of their interaction, he now found himself experiencing them differently. They were more than cool. They were stunning.

If she followed his gentle pull and moved closer to him, he still would be unsure of what to say or do. Instead, he would just keep holding this moment, and her, for as long as he could.

His left eye was now completely red while his right eye was still a mixture of gold and red.