edelweiss - &team

18

As the afternoon faded into early evening, the immortals rested and recharged, all pondering on today's events. Maki ordered room service for the nine, determined to max out Yudai's credit card, it seemed. After some time, Fuma and Euijoo's wounds were all healed and their skin was smooth and unscarred. Euijoo immediately spent his time tending to the still-unconscious Yuma, wiping his sweat, checking for fever and staying by his side.

Exhausted, Maki flung himself onto the second bed in the room, falling asleep almost immediately and Fuma shifted the youngest to make space for himself as well. Yixiang slipped into the washroom to clean up and Jo followed after, needing to shed his blood stained shirt.

Riki was nestled on a sofa, staring out the window as his muscles ached. "Hey...wasn't it terribly convenient that he found us in this city, when we had chosen it randomly, and we were attacked not only by humans but by Hayate too? I mean, what are the odds?" He mused.

Yudai frowned, "If he had possessed humans, I suppose it's relatively easy for him to just, you know." Yudai made a wild waving gesture that managed to elicit a laugh from Riki.

They became quiet, the duo remembering the tension they felt on the mountains, the palpable distance between them.

"You should rest," Yudai suggested gently, "You must be tired."

With no complaints, Riki trudged to a bedroom and dropped to sleep on a soft, plush bed.

-

When Maki woke up, it was late in the night. They were incomplete darkness, not a single street lamp illuminated outside their windows. He shoved Fuma's arm off his body, careful not to touch his previously-wounded arm, even though it seemed to have perfectly healed already.

Once his feet touched the icy cold ground, he scoured the room in search of water, before he noticed that outside the bedroom, a small light was turned on.

Euijoo was awake, reading a book by the light of a tiny table lamp. Yuma had woken, apparently, managed to move out of the room but was now sleeping comfortably leaning on Euijoo. The older immortal was careful to remain still so as to offer Yuma the most restful sleep.

"Not sleeping?" Maki's whispered voice scared Euijoo, who miraculously did not budge an inch. Once he composed himself, Euijoo replied, "Someone needs to keep watch, even though we're in a hotel. My animals are out and about, my little eyes and ears. Plus, I'm not tired." They both knew that was a lie, but Maki politely ignored it.

As Maki got himself a glass of water, Euijoo yawned delicately, then set his book down. He shut his eyes but his spine remained straight. After a while, his eyes flew open. "We're all good," He assured Maki, "My birds have seen and heard nothing for the past few hours."

"That's great," Maki remarked, noting the slight awkwardness that hung between them. That was understandable, after all. They had been living in different countries for some time, and even their maturities were on different levels.

"What's on your mind?" Maki asked after a few minutes of seeing Euijoo nervously chew on his upper lip. Euijoo swallowed, then said softly, "Yuma must be in a lot of pain right now. Since he's connected telepathically with Death..."

Maki was silent, then sighed, "That ass...if Yuma was really his favourite, he would have been kinder to him."

Then, Maki asked, "Was it nice? Being mentored by Life."

Euijoo smiled softly, a twinge of sorrow in his voice as he said, "I haven't heard that name in a while."

"You don't have to talk about it."

"Then...forgive me, but I won't."

Yuma slumped a little lower on Euijoo's shoulder, the other quick to carefully adjust him. "But I envy him, just a bit," Euijoo whispered, "He gets to see her again."

-

In a desert, tucked away in a place no mortal will ever find, was a small hut. The hut was deceiving, for it appeared smaller on the outside, but was massive inside. And inside this quaint little hut was a little, slightly odd family, led and raised by Life and Death themselves.

It was uncertain what their relationship was, Life and Death. Even after spending years with them, the children couldn't tell if they were siblings or partners. And the two were very secretive as well. They were content to use the nicknames the children had lovingly christened, never once divulging their true names, if they had one.

The only thing the children knew, for sure, was that there was no one like Life and Death.

Life could summon tendrils of plants right from her palm and stop a crying child with just a smile. Death could turn his body into different things, much to the amazement of the children.

At night, when the children were put to bed, the duo would sometimes tell tales of their adventures, experiences and lessons. Life claimed she and Death were the creators of the very planet they resided on, every living being and every natural event specially curated by them but the children, being young and sleepy, always had a hard time wrapping their minds around that thought.

As most of the children slipped into a sweet, deep sleep, Life and Death retreated into their own room. However, a few of the children had not fallen asleep. Yuma and Yudai, two of the more grown-up and courageous ones, tip-toed after their caretakers, eager to listen to some secrets.

Life stood at the window, gazing out into the star-studded sky. "We created it, yet every time I see it, I think it is so beautiful," Life breathed. Death frowned for a second, "We see it all the time."

Life made a noise of disapproval, and continued to admire the glittery spots on the inky-black sky. Death settled into a chair and began whittling a piece of wood. As he carved, he asked, "When will you turn them?"

Life twisted to face him, pondering for a moment, before saying, "Soon. I want them to grow and mature a little. I believe it would be good for them to experience teenagehood. Also, I think a better question to ask is who will I turn, and who will you turn?"

When met with Death's perplexed expression, Life continued, "I don't think I have enough energy in me to turn all of them. We must have...twenty of them by now. We'll have to split, won't we?"

Death stayed silent, toying with the idea. A radiant smile spread across Life's face, "You'll pick Yuma and Yudai, won't you? You're the most fond of them."

Sparks of electricity ran through the two eavesdropping kids' veins, sharing excited glances at the sound of their names.

"What about you?" Death asked, his mildly satisfied expression confirming her guess.

Life hummed, she took a few dainty steps around the room, before she said, "I'd like to have Jo and perhaps Euijoo. Of course, I already said I would turn Harua. They will grow up wonderfully."