Of Love and Death.

The Present Chapter 14: The Past Pt. 1

Death is mentioned a lot, including mentioning that people have died and a tiny bit of grief. Like one line. Also toxic relationships are mentioned, as is being hurt. Like people are hurt in this, some can't really talk. Plus, people having their entire worlds flipped upside down with a tiny existential crisis. Tiredness. Fear that people will have died. Oh, and, someone showing up who people get mad at (maybe a tiny bit of manipulation). A little bit of getting possessed and trauma about stuff that happened in the past. 

Valt's eyes blinked open, revealing a ceiling. It was fairly nondescript, tan and popcorn with a fluorescent light near the edge of his field of view. A few questions popped into Valt's head as he gazed towards the roof. All fairly pressing as well. Where was Shu? Where was he? Was Shu alright? Where had Cold gone? Had she hurt anyone else?

With a slight groan, Valt closed his eyes again, giving himself a second to wrap his head around everything. Because there was a lot of stuff to wrap his head around. In the span of the time he'd been unconscious, which really could have been anywhere from thirty minutes to a few days, he'd learned a lot. About himself, about his friends, about Venus, about how the universe itself worked.

Valt Aoi was not actually a twenty-four year old man.

Yes, that was what Valt physically was. A blader who'd been working since he was a kid to be the best in the world, all alongside his best friend Shu. While that was all true...it wasn't the whole story. In actuality, Valt was Mind. A primordial being who came into existence in the first moments of the universe. A being who'd died and been reincarnated along with Fire. Or, Shu, as he was known in this life.

It was strange. The way that Valt viewed himself hadn't changed. He was still the same person. He still loved beybread and blading. Still hated the cold and the ice. All of his most recent memories, the things he'd look back on out of instinct, were of being Valt Aoi. Of growing up in Japan, going to school, forming the bey club, Red Eye, ect. But if he looked black a little bit farther...

As the son of a freedman in the Roman Empire, Alex had helped Prince Theodore and The Five free a gladiator named Reina. As a striped gray cat, he lived in the attic of a mechanic shop during the early 2000s, joined by another tabby named Twiggy. Or another time, when a wolf named Ash and another called Odysseus had been the right paw guards to King Laban.

Then, when he'd been Mind. When he'd fallen in love with Fire for the very first time. Learning what it meant to exist along with all of the other Forces. Learning what good and bad were. All of it. He'd loved and hated and grieved the very first person to die.

And now, Valt lay here. In some kind of bed, knowing exactly who he was. But also the threat that was looming over his head. Cold was going to come back. If she had wanted to, she could have ended Shu and Valt back in the woods. He'd be dead again. And only a day after his "first" kiss, too.

Opening his eyes again, Valt turned his head slightly to the side. Maybe he'd be able to gather more information about where he was that way? Hopefully. It would be useful to find out where he was now, because Valt had absolutely no idea or game plan as to what to do about a certain shadow.

Immediately after opening his eyes, Valt had his question answered. He was in the hospital. Thankfully, judging by the equipment around him, he wasn't too banged up. There was a heart rate monitor to his side, but nothing else. He was breathing on his own and didn't even seem to have an IV.

Another piece of information the number one blader gained was a surprising bit. He had a visitor. And, judging by the fact that the shadow was alone and in his phantom thief clothes, Nightfell most likely wasn't supposed to be here. A smile crossed Valt's face. At least it wasn't just him and Valtryek right now.

It would appear as though Nightfell hadn't noticed he'd awoken yet. The phantom thief was sitting forward in his chair, looking out what Valt presumed was a window. Although, he didn't exactly look relaxed. Every muscle of the shadow's body was tense, even as he was zoned out. Not even his face was spared, with Nightfell's lips being pressed into a thin line and his brow furrowed.

Hey Form, Valt butted into his friend's thoughts without any warning. It was fun to watch what happened next. Nightfell shot up out of his seat, tearing his gaze to and fro. Apparently the shock of Valt's words had made the thief forget who actually did the telepathy. After a second, his purple eyes settled on Valt's face.

Something akin to tears seemed to well up in Nightfell's eyes. "Mind?" He asked quietly, sliding his mask off his face with a quick motion. That simple movement completely changed the way the shadow looked. Instead of seeming like the put together bandit he normally did, Nightfell looked human. All of his emotion was spread across his face. Fear, hope, anger, regret, all of it.

With some level of effort, Valt slowly sat up. His body did not immediately reject the action, which was probably a good sign. Yeah, it's me, I know about... Valt trailed off, waving his hands in the air. For some reason he sounded sad, which wasn't right. Maybe he wasn't happy, but he wasn't bawling his eyes out. With this realization, he tried to put a smile on his face.

It sort of worked.

The phantom thief gave a smile back, the sly smirk he was known for. It looked a little bit forced, but it was there. "So how are you?" He asked abruptly, putting back on his hat and sitting back down in the chair.

That was a great question. How was Valt? He felt a little bit sore, but in the same way he felt sore after a long day of training. The only place that actually hurt-hurt was the base of his neck, where Cold had hit him. Judging by everything around him, the number one blader probably wasn't too banged up. Then again, the only thing he could say for certain was that he didn't have a concussion. Mainly because he was him, it was about as impossible for him to have a concussion as for Shu to burn in a fire.

Shrugging, Valt waved his hand back and forth. I'm not any deader than yesterday, so I'll take that as a win, he said with a smile. He almost chuckled. Was he dead? It was a question he'd never really been able to answer. On the one hand, he'd died. He had bled out and died. On the other hand, he was breathing and had a heart that was beating. So maybe he was alive? It was blurry. He felt alive, though, even if he would technically be considered dead. But, anyway, what happened to Shu? Is he okay?

The words that Cold emotionlessly related to Valt came rushing back. "He's not dead this time." Which gave Valt hope. He knew his ex. The shadow liked to torture him. So there were two scenarios. The words had been the truth. She hadn't killed Shu, just made it clear that she could. Or, she'd said Valt's boyfriend would be fine just to give him false hope. Now, he'd find out that the sun had died on the way to the hospital. 

Nightfell gave Valt a reassuring smile. "I haven't seen him myself, but I heard he's a little bit more banged up than you," the phantom thief explained. With those words, Valt's heart seized in fear. Shu was more banged up than him? Wha-what had happened? Would he be okay? "But, before you start panicking, Shu's supposed to be on the mend," Nightfell finished.

Oh thank goodness. Although maybe Nightfell could have led with the knowledge that Shu would be okay. But still, relief was the most powerful emotion Valt was experiencing right now. He almost had whiplash from his friend's words.

Then a smirk replaced Nightfell's reassuring smile. The shadow's purple eyes got that glint of mischief in them. A glint that Valt had seen many a time. Normally right before someone got their sandwich stolen out of their hands. "Hey...would you be up for a little bit of phantom thief sneaking around in the shadows of a hospital stealth?" the shadow asked. Valt's mouth twitched.

"Why yes, yes I would," Valt replied with a grin.