The Other Side

Eliza: Numb

I tied my hair up in a ponytail. It had been a week and a half since my sister found her bond. I smiled at myself in the mirror and spun around, giggling. I always seemed to have more energy the days Kyojin was "supervising" my trainings. I walked to the kitchen to see Lilith opening the door.

"Heading out?" I asked, smiling.

"Yeah." She said, not glancing at me before slamming the door behind her.

"Alright there, be a priss." I mumbled to the air.

"You really shouldn't talk like that." An all too familiar voice spoke out.

"Kyo!" I squealed. "When did you get in here?" I took a few deep breaths to steady my heart beat.

"Like two seconds ago. You should be more careful." He chuckled.

"Well, anyways, I dunno what bug stung her but she wasn't herself." I muttered, opening the door and walking out with him.

"Hey, cheer up, she'll be fine tonight." Kyojin shoulder bumped me.

I chuckled and we small talked our way to the training court. We were in advance, so we sat on a rock and waited.

"What group do you have today?" He asked smiling. "The 9 year-olds?"

"Nah, I wish. I have the 15-16. I hate teens." I remembered how cute and cool the 9 year-olds were. Then I remembered that Marika was in the group I was teaching and that she was one heck of an entitled child, always throwing me ugly glares.

As if on cue, a few of the first trainees walked in, chatting. I stood up and dusted my pants.

"Well, I guess I have kids to train. See ya, Kyo." I walked off to see the people I was training. Just as I was giving them a few kicks to practice in small teams, an obnoxious voice rang out.

"Oh, Kyojin! You're the one supervising us today!"

I rolled my eyes.

"It's Captain Soji for you." He replied, his voice as cold and stoic as a brick wall.

"How come Eliza gets to call you Kyojin, then?" She asked.

I felt my insides cringe and I fought the urge to roll my eyes again. I was about to give her one of my snarky replies, but he beat me to it.

"Because she's my bond and you're not." My eyes widened.

"We were not supposed to say that!" I exclaimed.

"I don't care. This brat is not going to be disrespectful towards me or you." He replied.

"So the rumours were true." Marika said shooting me a dirty look.

"I thought I gave up teenage drama when I dumped Ikken for the third time jeez." I sigh.

"Who?" Kyo raised an eyebrow.

"A dumb Sylphee." I replied.

"Oh, him. Well today's training is dismissed if you wanna complain, complain to Marika. And have a good day." He said, getting up.

The lot of grumbling teenagers filled out of the training ground. Kyo took my hand and we started walking towards the forest, when a scream echoed through the grounds.

"That was-" his hand started shaking in mine.

"Kyojin!" Captain Shi called out.

"What happened?" He whipped around.

"I don't know, but that was Hime, wasn't it?" The younger replied, panic reflecting in his eyes.

They both took off in a run towards the source of the scream. I quickly followed, struggling to keep up with their pace. I dodged rocks, following their trail. We got to another training ground, bigger than the one we were in. Hime was down on her knees, sobbing. She let out another scream between her sobs. I noticed Zack and Jules, eyes wide, standing off to the side. I jogged to them.

"What happened?" I inquired.

Zack gave me a panicked stare.

"Lilith... she..." the male Sylphee tried to speak.

"What happened to my sister?" I asked, dread flowing through me.

They both looked down.

"What happened to my sister?" I raised my voice.

"She.. the king... he killed her." Jules informed me before breaking down, crying and clenching onto Zack's shirt.

My whole body went numb. A single tear streamed down my cheek. My sister was gone. My big sister, my loving sister, my mama bear sister, gone in a second. I barely felt the hand that laid itself on my shoulder. I barely heard Hime's screams echoing. I barely felt my feet being sweeped off the ground. I barely felt anything. I used to think that one would mourn a lost one, but I didn't. I thought I'd cry, but I didn't. I just felt empty, as if nothing was worth anything now. I thought of Kati, who probably wouldn't learn the news before a while. I thought of Hime, who had just lost her bond. Her soul was shattered. I was just an empty bag of flesh.

"Why?" I muttered. "Why her?" I inhaled his scent to calm myself.

"Shh" He replied. "Ask questions when you'll be out of your state of shock." He softly pet my head.

I looked up at him and saw his eyes, which reflected how hurt he was. I fell limp in his arms.

"Ne, I'll bring you to my room. You shouldn't see her things yet." He murmured in my ear.

I didn't feel the strength to even nod, but I knew he felt my gratitude. I knew that if I saw her things, I'd probably fall deeper into whatever state I was in. I wasn't sad. I was just... not alright. Or maybe I was sad, but I felt none of it.

I eventually fell asleep in his arms.

The few next days went by in a blur. I spent all of them in Kyojin's room. I'd sleep, then wake up, take a shower: nothing could take me away from my hygiene, somewhat sometimes eat some food he brought me and sleep again.  He was worried, I could see it, but he still tried to get on with his daily activities. I envied him. He was so strong. I just felt like letting myself slowly die.

"Is it even worth it?" I asked him one night when he came back from whatever he was doing during the day.

"What do you mean?" He replied with a question.

"Living. Is it worth it?" I repeated myself more precisely.

"Please." A tear fell down his cheek. "Please don't say that. I know it's hard to loose someone you love, but don't say things like that. It may sound selfish, but can you live for me? If you don't have your sister to live for anymore, then live for me."

I hated the sight. He was crying and I was the cause. I realized what I must've put him through. Guilt washed over me like a river. I threw my arms around him.

"I'm so sorry. I'll live. For you. For everyone who cares about me." I kissed his forehead.

He chuckled.

"We're so cringeworthy oh my gods." He mumbled, his head still buried in the crook of my neck.

"That, we are." I agreed, a giggle escaping me.

"You laughed!" He said, smiling. I smiled back.

That, I did.

☆☆☆☆☆
Wow that hit me in the feels. Oh my macaroni...

~Elo ☆