Soza & Shoko - The Escape

Chapter 3 - Embrace

Nina and Fumiru rushed down the hall and quickly slammed the door open. They walked in, seeing Shoko crying and screaming in the corner, black smoke surrounding her, while Soza was holding her. They stood frozen in fear, unable to process what was happening. Soza noticed them, and his eyes widened in realization.

"Why are you here?!" He glanced at Shoko, the black energy growing stronger as Shoko's sobbing grew. "Shoko! Look at me." He turned Shoko's crying head to face him. Her eyes were wide as tears rolled down her pale face. "You're gonna be fine. I'm here with you. Everything's going to be alright. I'm not going anywhere," He brought her to a tight embrace until all the black energy dispersed. Then, all they could hear were Shoko's sobs as she cried into Soza's chest.

...

After Soza cleaned off Shoko's tears, and assured her, Shoko was back to her smiling self, but this time, the smile was a little more sad and weak.

"So...I think you gotta explain all that." Fumiru said.

"Let's just move to the living room." Soza stated.

Soza started to leave the room with Fumiru and Nina. Soza gently grabbed Shokoʻs hand.

"I-Iʻll stay here." Shoko said softly.

"I said I would stay with you."

Shoko was a bit hesitant, but she nodded.

Shoko walked closely to Soza, still holding his hand, with her head down. They sat on the bright yellow couch as Fumiru and Nina stood in front of them, arms crossed.

"So first, what was the black aura thingy?" Fumiru asked while making weird gestures.

Soza's grip on Shokoʻs hand tightened. Shoko could tell he couldn't trust them too much yet, his guard was still up.

Soza would say that if anybody saw that black energy, they would attack, report, or kick them out. But they didn't.

No, not again.

Soza's eyes narrowed on the two girls. The black sweater and blue jeans that they gave him started getting hot. Shoko wore a black oversized shirt and pink shorts. Soza started to sweat a little, Shoko noticed.

"I'm sorry, but it's my fault." Shoko started as Soza turned to her. "We're-We're not comfortable with sharing about our past. If you're not comfortable with us, we can leave." Shoko said as she stood up.

Fumiru and Nina looked at each other, and a silent message went through.

"If you can't explain about your past then, it's okay. We'll be willing to trust you, but you have to promise us something." Fumiru said.