Fall What May - Part 3

My worry over Kay's disappearance insures that sleep doesn't come easy tonight. Things get even worse when I sense Kay returning to her room. I want nothing more than to storm into her room and demand answers but I know that’s the wrong way to go about it. Kay isn’t the kind of person who would simply spill herself to anyone. Come to think of it, I know even less about Kay than even the others. Perhaps I should change that, and soon, before it’s too late.

With those kinds of thoughts weighing on my mind, I fall into a fitful sleep.

It’s only the commotion outside of our house that awakens me. The alarm is ringing and people are outside their homes and in the streets looking around in worry. The guards are directing people to be calm.

My door slams open and Mimi rushes in to basically tackle me as Rose and Kay enter in behind her. “What’s going on?” I ask while trying to straighten myself.

I try shifting my weight in accommodation for Mimi’s weight only to see her looking up to me with her beautiful amethyst eyes, her hair dangling unkempt to its side, tickling my chest.

“A high profile royal was found dead in his home last night,” Rose tells me in a hurried tone while Kay seemingly guards the door. Mimi glances over to Kay briefly before returning her gaze to me.

“That's a shame. It amazes me that such actions exist in, seemingly, all worlds.” I reply while stroking Mimi's hair.

“Are you feeling alright Zero?” Mimi asks me. I give a nod and she gives me another squeeze before letting me go.

“Breakfast is almost ready,” Rose informs me before giving my knee a squeeze and then leaving. Mimi follows Rose out of the room, leaving Kay and me in the room. She’s staring at me with unusual intensity. But I ignore her and get out of bed, giving a nice stretch, and a yawn.

I start to take my top off but hesitate and turn around to meet Kay’s gaze. She's no longer staring at my face, but instead, my exposed midriff. I freeze when I realize this- I don't know how I'm supposed to act, catching her like this. I begin to lower my shirt and can see her face fall. I hesitate for a moment and raise my shirt back up some, only to see her eyes gain a sparkle. This is...

I lower my shirt again. Then back up, then down again. Her face keeps switching between downcast and a near wonder. This is far too fun, but all fun things must come to an end. It's not long before Kay seems to catch on and tugs her eyes up to my face. Per usual, Kay’s expression changes in incredibly subtle ways; but it's clear she’s annoyed with me. So I give her a half-smile and pull my shirt all the way off. My breast hang in full view for her to see. What wrappings they do have in this world that pass for a brassiere, are far too uncomfortable to sleep in.

I would never be so bold in front of someone like this, but her expression is exactly what I hoped for. It takes her a minute to register- really register what it is she’s seeing. But once she does, the expression on her face is more true than any I've seen before. Kay’s beautiful, hazel eyes widen, her mouth falls open, and her face turns absolute scarlet.

She stands there stock still, while I slowly move towards her. Kay’s eyes keep flicking between my face and my chest, her jaw finding it hard to stay on its hinges. For every step I take towards her, she takes one back- eventually hitting the wall. I slide up in front of her and stretch my arm out to the wall, effectively locking her in. Her panic has completely taken her over and I see her eyes start to glaze over.

“What's wrong Kay? Am I not your… Zero?” She gives me a wide-eyed nod. “Then…” I whisper into her ear. Kay sucks in air and freezes as I lightly slide my lips down her neck. This seems to snap her out of her daze and she shoves me back, putting distance between us.

“Yeah. That's what I thought. Now get The hell out while I dress.” Kay apparently didn't need to be told twice, she bolted out of the room.

I slam my door shut hard enough to rattle the hinges. In a fury, I dress myself. Before long I'm making my way down stairs and to the dining area. Rose turns around and gives me a small wave before turning back to her cooking with a hum on her lips. Mimi comes into the room from a side room and hops over to me.

“Heya,” she says with a little wave. I give her a nod and take my seat. Before the breakfast is laid out, Kay joins us.

“Oh, good of you to join us.” I say in her direction. Kay hesitates, chair half pulled out before realizing that everyone's eyes are on her. She gives a curt nod and sits at the chair. I'm so aggravated right now. But whatever, I don't care.

I eat the breakfast Rose sets out in a flash and make myself scarce from the house, going out towards the place Mimi usually trains at.

When I get to the clearing, I give in to the rage inside of me and punch a tree with all of my might. Much to my surprise the tree cracks as my fist sinks four inches into it. When I remove my hand, it doesn't hurt. So I punch the tree again and again.

By the time it cracks and splits in two, falling into the clearing, I'm panting on my knees. Goddamnit all, and goddamn this world and these fucking people. I'm sick of it all. I want out. I'm so ready for Nina to finish her machine- shit Nina, everything this morning made me forget all about that. I stormed out on her. I might have ruined everything between us. I have to apologize to her.

I let out a sigh and rest against the fallen tree. I call for Rei but she doesn't reply. I miss her in a way. I suppose that's weird to think about, but I do. I can only hope that she isn't really gone, but instead is, I don't know, resting or something. I hold my arm out to my side and stare at it. Now that I think about it, to take down this tree would obviously require power I could never normally wield. I don't know where this power is coming from because Rei is M.I.A right now.

“I wonder if I could…” I mutter to myself before picturing my sword in my mind. The air in front of my hand begins to shimmer and twirl. The very fabric of space before me begins to open. I'm able to peer into a limitless void, but just as before the amount of information staring back at me was simply too much.

All I could do was try to focus on the one thing I desired as I reached my arm inside the tear. Before long I'm met with something physical and I grasp it. Then with surprising strength, I give it a yank. My arm slides out of the void, plus a couple of feet of sword. Once the sword is present in reality the tear shimmers away. Immediately the sword gains physicality, and as before it's weight is too much for me. It stabs into the ground tip first.

I scramble to my feet and try to hoist it up, to no avail. Surprising still, the sword starts to fade into dust, unable to maintain its physical structure. I'm not really sure why, but it's probably got something to do with Rei. I stare at my hand, wondering if it is really mine- was any of what is left of me, mine? Where do I end and the forces of this other world begin? I can only shake my head in dismay.

Before long I hear Mimi’s voice- she's calling for me. When she enters the clearing and sees me, her face widens and glows. In a blink of an eye, she’s in front of me. “I thought you might be here. Everyone's looking for you, but I recognized that look. I figured you'd be blowing off steam here.”

Mimi turns her head to look at the fallen tree and gives a whistle. “Guess I called that right.”

She grabs my hand and entwines her fingers with mine. I look at our hands and she says, “You can talk to me about anything Zero.” I give a dry laugh and start my way back to the manor, dragging Mimi with me. She clearly wants to say something more, but refrains.

I can not believe she has this fake concern for me. It's maddening to think that someone could seem so genuinely concerned even though they hate you, her acting is amazing. Yet that's exactly what it is, because I'm the Zeroth- her executioner.