Radiance

Confrontation

|Sabre|

"Get up." Tendrils of darkness try to poke me awake, yet I just pull the covers over my head more. Yet this time, they jab and a sharp pain in my chest comes with it. My eyes shoot open as I let out a gasp and bolt upright, breathing quickly.

"What THE- WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT SHADOW!" I grip my shirt with a hand, trying to get a grip again. I could hear my heart in my ears as I gasp for air, terrified.

"It's either you wake up before 8:00 or I wake you. There is no other way." Shadow says with a scoff and stands over me at my bedside. He was a lot closer than I liked this morning.

"Tch- Well Thanks man." I say shakily and slowly get a grip, wiping the edge of my eye of any sort of tears that may be there. With a sigh, I rub the bridge of my nose, trying to still calm down. I didn't want to wake up like this in the morning. After a moment, Shadow sits on the edge of my bed and I look up at him.

"I've been meaning to ask you, Sabre. Why do you not reach out to others? I've spent enough time in your head to gain an understanding of your thoughts, so why haven't you properly opened up to the leaders, Light, and Time? You were close to them before in the past, correct?"

I sigh and rest my hands on my arms. This was unlike Shadow... Was-Was he actually showing care for me? No, I shouldn't jinx it. But... Ugh, he was right. I hadn't opened up to the others about everything yet. I hadn't told them about how much the phantom pains had been returning or my insomnia, much less the nightmares and what had happened with that.

"I..."

"I think I understand now. You're uncertain on how they'll treat you. Hmph. Show some weakness every once in a while Sabre. You'll make things boring otherwise." I shoot a glare at Shadow and then look away. He had nailed what I was feeling right on the head if you ignored his last comment. 

I was unsure on how the others would treat me.

"Ugh- Shadow... Why. You know I still haven't healed fully from the darkness, so why are you bringing this up now? Personal amusement?" I grip my bedsheets then glare back at my phantom who stares back with his pit-like eyes.

"... To understand you more. And to help you understand yourself. You have quite a few demons in here you haven't dealt with, you know. And for a fact, they don't make good company."

I take a minute to look at Shadow's dark face before I sigh and look down at my covers. I didn't even know how to reach out to the others in order to tell them about everything. But... What confused me was Shadow's sudden care about this situation. He never cared before.

"You have company coming soon, but do try to spend some more time with them. If your life is good, that'll make my insufferable prison in your mind less insufferable. So go spend some time with them," Shadow says as I watch him fade into thin air like usual. 

Was that his reason why? So his life was better?

I don't have time to think things over before I hear knocking at my door and a cheerful voice call through it.

"Sabre! Sabre, you awake?" M- Wonder why he was up so early and why he was knocking this early.

"Yeah, I'm up! You can come in," I call and rub my neck, still tense from my abrupt wake-up today. Seriously wish Shadow wouldn't do that. He about caused a heart-attack. I hear M open the door and look up to see him grinning.

"Morning Sabre! I have a-a... Woah..." He stops and I look at him in confusion, then look at the silvery-haired Steve behind him who quickly looked at the ground.

"You have your blindfold off Sabre. I'm guessing you slept a lot with it off?" Light looks back up at me and I face palm with a feeling of dread settling in my chest. Yeah, I did take it off before I slept when I was alone. I mean, it wasn't like anybody could see my ruined emerald green eye when I was alone, so I was comfortable sleeping with it off.

"You- Your eye... What happened to it, Sabre...?" M says in a quiet and mystified tone and I shake my head. It was still a story for another time. "It's not something to be concerned about-"

Out of nowhere, M walks over to me and shifts my hair away from the injured eye, resting his palm on the side of my face. I freeze, staring at him.

"I've... never seen anything like it... It must have been such a brilliant green before, Sabre... What caused it to end up like this?" I watch as M stares at my eye, then gently place my hand on his as I quietly fought down the panic that was trying to settle in.

Pain- Pain in my shoulder, chest, face, a cruel grin-

"You can't Run Sabre~"

I take a deep breath, letting the panic drain from my body. That was in the past. 

Letting M rest his hand on my face for a moment, I relax into the feeling of warmth his hand held. His touch was comforting, despite my initial freeze up. "S-Sorry, I realize that was a very blunt thing to ask you, Sabre. I- Ignore I asked it."

Gently, M moves his hand back and I look up at him. He doesn't meet my eyes as he reaches for my blindfold on my nightstand. Oh no- wait-

Without a second thought, I move my hand to pin the blindfold to the nightstand, then look to M's confused eyes. "Chief, it's ok. I... Look, I may not be able to talk to you guys about what happened to my eye in my past yet, but it doesn't bother me as much letting you guys see my eyes. I won't be showing the entire world them, but with it being you guys..."

My eyes trail back to my blindfold on the nightstand as I swing my legs so I was sitting on the edge of my bed.

"It doesn't make me as uncomfortable as it would in a crowd."

Something about living alone for six years had changed my thinking a bit. Redefined some of my boundaries. But... One thing didn't change:

How much I trusted my friends now.

I saved the world with them; I traveled to different dimensions even. So trusting them about what happened, was within reason. I was slowly working through the trauma of everything as well, so maybe talking about it with them could help... Except... I still didn't know where to start on explaining. 

"Well, if you're ok with it Sabre. I wouldn't want to push you past your limits." M moves his hand back, then wraps me gently in a warm hug, the smell of poppies still lingering on his coat.

"Captain? Pardon my intrusion, but I have a report." The voice comes from the door and M shifts to look, allowing me to as well. Light was facing the Colorless Guard, but I recognized the voice. It was soft and comforting. Like...

"Grace," Light glances back at M and I with a solemn look, then turns back to the helmeted familiar Steve. "Walk with me."

With a quick motion, he's out the door and walking down the hall, the door closing quietly behind him with a click.

"I guess even he can't catch a proper break without duties getting in the way." M sighs and chuckles for a moment before he turns to look at me.

"Well, before Light got whisked off for guard duties, I came in here to tell you something that I know you'll enjoy Sabre." I look up at him as My heart starts to beat fast in my chest and I run though the possibilities of what M could be talking about. What? Something I'd enjoy??

"What... do you mean, M?"

"The Wisdom Festival is coming up soon."