Under the Crimson Star

~What's This?~

I take out a pair of keys from my back pocket and insert one into the keyhole of the entrance. I twist the key and the door opens with a creak. "After you, Hopkins," I gesture Nina to go in. "Thanks," she goes in and I follow behind, closing the door. "Mi casa es tu casa, I guess."

Suddenly, something started to run towards us at an incredibly fast speed. It had such strength that it knocked Nina over, making her fall on her butt. It then also made me stumble down and started to lick my cheek. I start to laugh because I realize that it's just my dog welcoming me back home.

"Smile! Get off me, ya mutt!," I say between chuckles as I pet the back of his canine neck. I look to my side where a window was on the wall. What the?... I saw a dark silhouette of what appeared to be a guy. He had glowing yellow goggles. As soon as he noticed me staring at him, he disappeared. How weird... I've never seen someone else here in the woods...

I glance at Nina and she smiles. "I didn't know you had a pet..." She seemed a bit startled. Well, of course she would be; it's not common to see a red dog with a huge grin. "Yeah, I forgot to mention... This is Smile dog. I found him when he was scaring an old couple. It was love at first fright."

"Do you mind if I pet him, Jeffy?," Nina asked with a small sparkle in her eyes and I passed Smile to her. Smile barked at her and started to sniff her, since he was reluctant about her. He sat next to her, giving her the approval to pet him. My dog is like me in that way; we don't just trust anybody. Nina began to pet him softly while giggling. Seeing Nina happy like that puts a smile on my face for some reason. Goddamn it!

"Listen, it's already dark outside so we ain't gonna practice today. Also, there's only one bed so... You can sleep in it while I sleep on the couch."
"O-oh... Are you sure it isn't any problem that I sleep in y-your bed?," Nina gulps nervously. I shrug to let her know that I don't care.
"Thank you, Jeff..." She kisses my cheek. Right then, my stomach started to grumble. Fuck, why now?
Nina chuckles, "It's okay, I'm kinda hungry too..."

I feed Smile and make us some sandwiches to eat, since I'm not really a cook (I'm a killer, I don't belong in the kitchen). After finishing our food (which wasn't that bad, honestly), Nina turned to me with a small smile. "Where's the bathroom?"
"Bathroom's at the end of the hall, to the left."
"Thanks," Nina leaves.

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After a while, Nina and I are sitting on the couch in our PJs. She's wearing a black and blue striped tank top and red cozy pants. For the first time since I met her, she had her hair loose and without her bow. I'm in black pants and a random T-shirt. Smile was already in his little dog bed across the room, asleep.

"Can we start my training tomorrow, pleaseeee? I want to learn from you as soon as possible!"
"Sure, whatever," I scoff at Nina.

The TV was playing the late news network right now. The reporter started to inform the viewers about a burnt down house with two corpses found. One of a female and one of a young male. "I can't believe I won't be able to go back to my normal life... I'll miss my house and Chris," Nina sighed with anguish. "I'm gonna be alone in this world now."

I shake my head, "No, now we're partners. They're looking for you and me so we might as well team up for our own benefit. Plus, you should cheer up, you're with your hero, after all." "Jeff..." Nina smiled blissfully and hugged me. "You're softer than I thought." "I'm not soft at all, I'm a KILLER!!!," I growl menacingly. Nina stood up snickering and ran as I threw my knife at her. She managed to dodge it and the sharp weapon stabbed the wall. That sneaky little bitch. "Goodnight, Jeffy~!," she went to my room. I chuckle a bit "Yeah... Goodnight."