The Lantern Bearers

chapter 16: stuck between a rock and a hard place

We sat in the hole for around thirty minutes.

It was cold, damp, quiet.

The only sounds that was heard, was mind and yui's faint breathing, the building above settling, and the sounds of the surface crackling with heat.

Me and yui sat beside each other in silence. I was irritable because i forgot my cigs and had nothing to drink. They were the only things that kept me from being nervous.

Yui would pat my thigh.

"Hm?"

"Master, i wish to talk about something." She said, looking down at the dirt.

"What is it?" I asked, shifting myself to face her.

"Master, i have been processing emotions as of late... so many i have experienced, but the main one being, happiness." She said with a smile, still looking down.

"Well, I'm happy for you that you feel happy with us!" I said with a smile, taking off my pack and setting it to the side.

"Heh....but....one still confuses me, master." She said, hugging her legs and resting her chin on her knees.

"Can you describe it?"

"It's....something like an urge. Like when i see you, i don't want to leave your side, i want to be closer on a metaphorical level and a physical level. I get these feelings of anxiety, but it's happiness infused. When I'm around you master, i feel this happiness you describe, but i desire more and more from you. Help me decipher this emotion, master." She explained with a nod.

I took a moment to break down what she said, cupping my chin in thought.

This emotion was something that seemed both simple and complex. During my days as a strider, emotions was something unorthodox and a hindrance if anything. I only knew the basics from what I've seen, heard, and experienced, but this one was something strange.

I shrugged and gave her my best answer.

"Attachment!" I said.

"Attachment?" She said with a tilted head.

"Yes, because of our time we have spent together, you have attachment to me and our friends! You want more closeness, because you are attached to me on an emotional level. See, when your attachment to someone is strong, you'll have unexplainable emotions tied in with it and it can be confusing! It's natural and shows how strong our companionship is!" I said with the best explanation i could conjure up, not wanting to look like a fool to her.

"Attachment.....hmmm..." she said, deep in thought.

After a moment, she looked at me.

"Do you, feel the same way towards me master?" She asked.

"Well, not the same way as you described, but yes, i am very attached to you." I said with a smile.

She met my smile with a smile of her own.

For some odd reason, i started to chuckle and she mimicked me by chuckling too. I found it so hilarious, for some odd reason, that i started to bust out laughing. She would start to laugh too, it was a cute kind of laugh too. We would laugh on and on for no reason, but we were unexplainably happy to the brim.

An hour or so would go by, i was laying down with my head on my back, but it was starting to get uncomfortable. I would toss and turn, adjust the clothes in the bag, but nothing worked. I was tired, aggravated, and annoyed.

Suddenly, my head was lifted up and set on something warm and soft. I looked up to see yui looking down at me with a smile. She put my head on her lap. Furthermore, she was stroking my hair gently as i laid there, puzzled as to what's going on, but what she was doing was very soothing, so i laid still.

As she stroked my head, i would fondly remember how i met her in that abandoned building. She saved my life that day, even got the bullets out of my wounds, applying first aid when it was all said and done. When she noticed i was in danger, she didn't hesitate to slaughter the ones that killed my comrades. She has stuck by my side ever since, all on the notion that i "claimed" her. She has helped with zeus and willow too. I can't help but feel attached to her too.

As she brushes my hair, i felt my body relax, making me get sleepier by the second.

Before i knew it....i started to doze off into one of the best naps i have ever had....