On The Side Of The Pitch With You

SIDE CS: Nameless

His first memories were simply of darkness.

Cold. Empty. Darkness.

Who knows how long he had been there.

All he knew was that, whenever his eyes opened, there was always nothing but destruction around him. Loud sirens would then fill the air, people in red and blue surrounding him. He could escape by simply letting out a war cry. The energy that burst out of him would take care of the rest.

So it surprised him when he suddenly woke up inside a cottage. What was he doing before that...?

Oh, right.

He had raided one of El Dorado's machine caches. After that, he was chased out. He tried to retaliate with his powers, but their numbers were too great. They were all too prepared to go against him too.

He managed to escape thanks to the sphere device he took. Checking his pockets, he let out a sigh when he felt its retracted form inside one.

But as he recalled, he teleported himself to a forest... So why was he in―

"Oh, you're awake!" A blonde woman came into the room, smiling wide. "Thank goodness! You've been out for quite a few days, you know!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And who are you?"

"Haha! I knew you were going to say that!" The woman placed a tray on the counter beside him. On it was a plate full of food and a bowl of soup. "My name's Kimetha Avalon. You can call me Kia. And before you ask, yes, this is my house."

"And why―"

"'Why am I here' is what you want to ask next, right? As well as 'What do you want from me', and perhaps also 'Is the food poisoned'?"

His eyes narrowed further with every word that came out of her mouth.

She chuckled. "Don't worry, don't worry! I'll answer them. First of all, you're here because my husband and I found you laying in the middle of the forest path a few days ago. Of course we couldn't leave a boy passed out in the open like that, so we took you back with us. Second, we just want to make sure you're alright. And third, no, it's not. The cream soup's my best dish actually, and I am very proud of it!"

"And how do I know you're telling the truth?" He asked.

"Well, if we were planning to turn you in, we'd have taken everything you owned and left you for El Dorado to take."

"And how do you know El Dorado's the one after me?"

A holographic screen appeared between her hands. On it was a picture of his face with quite a sum of money below it.

"And as for why we decided to help a wanted criminal..." Her smile seemed to turn brighter. "Let's just say you aren't the first child we came across who was running from them."

"And what happened to them?"

"Oh, they all have their own paths they want to follow." She chuckled. "Some want to create a haven for other children like them, others want to live while quietly blending in, and so on. None of them took a liking to this little cottage in the forest, though. Then again, children do tend to prefer places with a big space to move around in, so I apologize in advance if you find this place to be cramped too."

"That's not... Nevermind."

It was clear that she really didn't have any intention of harming him in any way. He also had to commend her courage in letting herself get involved with people like him.

... Or perhaps it's naivety.

Well, I'm not in a position to comment either way.

Looking up from his thoughts, he finally noticed the woman staring at him expectantly. She was waiting for him to try her food.