Reclaim What's Ours | The Promised Neverland (Emma x Ray) |

A Loser's Game

"And that's that," Emma said with a huff.

After kneeling on the dirt for what felt like hours, Emma stood up, slapping her hands together. Little bursts of debris came with every clap. She watched as it gently falls to the ground, the dirt mingling in with the rest on the ground.

Emma looked down at the work she just did, admiring it. She could feel her sleepless eyes feeling heavy, as if giant boulders were placed on them. As Emma looked down, she gave a little sigh, the air slowly leaving her body.

She stood in a little open field in the middle of the forest, surrounded by trees on all sides. It was a simple run from the barren lands near the shelter. Emma stood up straight, her eyes wandering to stare aimlessly in front of her. She could feel the light breeze rush through her hair as she closed her eyes.

A sense of peace...

For the first time in forever, this is what it felt like.

The girl didn't even need to open her eyes. She could hear rustling from next to her, and without need for a second guess, she could easily tell that Ray stood up too.

"So he's also done," Emma thought to herself as she opened her eyes.

She peered over at Ray. She found that he was doing the exact same thing she was: His eyes closed, his messy black hair swaying in the wind, little strands of it gliding only to fall back into place. Staring at him like this, she noticed just how long his eyelashes are, and how they closed over his eyes, making him look distant to the world as he stood there. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was copying her... But even she knew that wasn't the case. He, too, probably felt the calmness that she was feeling.

They were working on it together for so, so long, after all... It took them the whole night without rest. The sun was slowly coming forth on the horizon, the light of day making its way once more, despite a dark blue still directly above them.

Ever since last night, the two of them searched the whole shelter for more bodies, transporting them to this field a good distance away to give each and every one of them a proper burial. Even their enemies didn't deserve to be buried under rubble after death. Live to forgive, or so they say. So when Emma looked down at her feet, she could see it...

The graves of both her friends and foes...

After working together in silence for so long, Emma finally broke the ever-lasting stillness between them.

"Ray, do you think they're.. happy?" Emma asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

At first, she didn't know if he could hear it. After all, Ray just kept looking ahead at the graves they made, staring at the little flowers the two found and placed on top of each one.

Emma gulped, the tranquility she felt suddenly turning into nervousness. The palms of her hands dirtied with earth suddenly felt very sweaty. She wonders if she interrupted him at a bad time. Even worse, she wonders if he didn't want to talk to her at all.

But then after what seemed like forever... Ray opened his mouth. His few words giving her relief.

"Yeah," Ray said confidently, the word coming out more like a sigh. There was a little smile on his face that Emma could barely see underneath that messy hair. "I think... wherever they are, they'll be happy to know that we did this for them."

Seeing Ray smile, for some unknown reason, made Emma do the same. "How can you be so sure?" Emma asked him with a little chuckle.

To this, Ray gave her a look as if she was stupid. "Well, considering we dragged them all out to this field and buried them, one by one, I would hopethey're grateful," Ray said as he scoffed, clapping his hands together to get rid of the dirt. "I mean... we even made little tombstones and found flowers in pitch blackness. If they don't think that's good enough..." He gave a little shrug. "Well... it can't be helped."