The Green Light Part 3/6
Title: The Green Light part 3/6
Pairing: Sakumiya
Length: Divided into 6 parts
Genre: Sci-fic, romance, adventure, action
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I only borrowed their name for this fic
Summary: Nino was just an ordinary programmer who suddenly involved in a danger adventure. He woke up in a strange room and met a man who could produce fire by clicking his fingers. He was brought to a strange place and met the extraordinary people - without knowing the fact that he was targeted…
Warning: Character’s death, some aspects were taken from ‘One Piece’ and ‘Gantz’ but the story is original. The setting is in a fantasy world and I took the title from Arashi’s song, one of my favorite.
Beta reader:
ladygiggles, I can't thank you enough for betaing this for me, you're awesome. Thank you for enjoying the story as well, kiss and hugs for you ^_^
Sho wasted no time, he dragged at Nino’s hand while running on the bridge of ice that Ohno had made for them to escape from the middle of the ocean. It was dark and windy, but Nino had no time to stop or look back towards the ship. Sho kept on running, ignoring Nino who was almost out of breath. They heard gunfire from the direction of the submarine, but Sho didn’t give Nino any chance to look back.
“This bridge will soon melt, so the enemy can’t follow us, we must hurry!” Sho said between his breaths. “Run! Nino!”
Nino’s side hurt like hell, his muscles protested, his feet were freezing, but he kept on running. It felt like forever until they reached the nearest land which was a cliff without a beach, Sho jumped first and extended his hand to help Nino, but what happened next was too fast. The ice bridge melted completely and Nino had no time to grab onto Sho’s hand. He fell into the cold sea; he kicked down to keep his head above surface, but the water was too cold and he was too tired. He slowly drowned, his body wouldn’t listen to him. He gave up, perhaps this was the furthest he could go.
***
The first thing Nino saw when he opened his eyes was the blue flames around him. They kept him warm, but gave not enough light. The surrounding area was pitch dark and the quietness felt like he was in a vacuum space.
Nino shifted and pushed himself to the sitting position, someone had covered him with a jacket and wrapped a bandage around his head. The last thing he remembered was he fell down into the sea, it seemed that his head knocked into something.
He slowly looked around, he was in the middle of a jungle, far away from city lights and video games. The worry started to crawl into his heart, what if there was a tiger behind the trees, ready to pounce on him? Or perhaps a huge snake?
Sho was nowhere to be seen, but he must be the one who wrapped a bandage around Nino’s head and created this strange blue flame. Nino touched his head lightly, it wasn’t that hurt which meant he wasn’t badly wounded, but when he managed to stand, his right leg wouldn’t support his weight.
“Stay still, your leg is sprained.”
Nino looked towards the direction of the voice; Sho was standing beside a tree, his left hand producing fire, his other hand held a bottle of water. He walked closer and made a small bonfire from the flame on his left fingers.
“Here,” he said, handing Nino the bottle. “Drink.”
“Thank you,” Nino said, taking the bottle and sipped the water which was surprisingly cold.
Sho’s eyes locked on the fire, deeply in thoughts. Nino wanted to start a conversation with him, anything would be fine, and he didn’t like this heavy quietness, not even a single insect around. The fact that they were alone bothered Nino; he indeed felt a weird attraction towards Sho, but this man was way too cold and being alone with him was the last thing Nino could imagine.
“We’ll depart tomorrow at dawn,” Sho said, his eyes still looking at the fire in front of him.
“Okay, but we have to find a stick for me to help me walk,” Nino answered.
“That will slow us down, we need to reach the Green Light as fast as we can,” Sho snapped.
“Oh, so how do I walk? Can you lend me a pair of wings then?” Nino asked sarcastically.
“I’ll carry you,” Sho said precisely.
Nino could feel the heat on his cheeks which had nothing to do with the flame. This iceberg-mountain-guy said that he would carry him on his back? No way. He must have lost his mind. Nino sighed deeply, trying not to make a comment. It was Sho’s duty after all, it was his beloved Captain Ohno’s order to deliver him safely to the unknown Green Light State - there was nothing personal in carrying Nino on his back.
“You’d better sleep,” Sho said after some time.
Nino didn’t answer; he lay down again and closed his eyes. It was just a series of a bad dreams, he would soon wake up under his blanket in his living room and get ready for work. He heard Sho click his fingers behind him; the man also lay down, but Nino could tell that the other didn’t sleep for the whole night.
***
“I’m heavy,” Nino said to Sho as the other was about to lift him in a piggyback.
“We have special equipment in our arms and body, so your weight doesn’t matter. What do you think this costume for?” Sho replied with a frown on his face.
“Well, then,” Nino shrugged, letting Sho lift him. Both of his hands touched the bottom of his butt and he couldn’t help but blushing hard. “How long it will take to reach the Green Light?” Nino asked.
“Two weeks,” Sho answered briefly.
“You will carry me on your back the whole time?” Nino asked in surprise.
“I have no choice, now stop talking and asking stupid questions. I’ll run, so you’d better hold on,” Sho said.
“How?”
“Wrap your hands around me,” Sho impatiently replied.
“Er-, okay,” Nino did as Sho told him, he wrapped his hands around Sho’s body tightly as the man started running through the morning mist.
Nino affixed his body as close as possible to Sho’s to reduce the shaking, he buried his face in Sho’s nape and couldn’t stop thinking of the wild tigers and snakes. He peered into the forest; they were surrounded by bushes and trees and Nino couldn’t tell which direction they were heading.
The sun light was blocked by the trees; the forest seemed to possess some power to slow them down since Nino felt that they were going nowhere. However, Sho knew where he was going, he kept on running with Nino on his back, sometimes he would slow his steps and look around to make sure that they were on the right track.
He stopped around noon and told Nino to wait while he went somewhere and came back with a dead rabbit. Sho made a bonfire and skinned the rabbit for their lunch - a horrible one since they had nothing to make it tastier. But they couldn’t complain, especially Nino as he was too useless with his dislocated ankle.
Sho tore the toasted rabbit and handed some to Nino. “It will keep us full until evening, bear with it,” he said as if reading Nino’s mind.
“Thanks,” Nino replied, taking the meat from Sho. He forced his mouth to chew and gulp it down. He couldn’t imagine how he would survive the upcoming two weeks with the same kind of food. He thought of the hamburger he always had for lunch and the soba from the nearby shop for dinner. That world seemed already sunk somewhere in the Atlantic and Nino would never be able to go back there, no matter how much he begged for it.
Sho finished his lunch quickly and checked on his weapons. His guns were still fully loaded; the knives were still properly sheathed inside their scabbards, Sho inserted the guns back to the handle on his waist and looked around to confirm their safety. The absence of the transmitter meant Sho couldn’t contact anyone in the Green Light State, but perhaps he had another way of communicating, something like long distance telepathy with Ohno.
He waited for Nino to finish before continuing their trip. Sho didn’t run this time, he just walked in high speed. Nino had just realized that Sho had horrible sloping shoulders, but of course he didn’t voice his observation. He wrapped his hands around Sho’s chest and tried to keep his face away from the man’s nape.
Their trip went slow and on the second week, Nino was finally able to walk by himself. They didn’t talk for almost the whole trip, sometimes, Nino would bump into Sho accidentally when he suddenly stopped to recheck their track. Sometimes, Nino would wake up in the middle of the night when he heard Sho’s loud snore and mistake it for the sound of a tiger. Sometimes, Sho would hold Nino’s hand to help him cross a river or climb a small cliff. Nino at least felt glad that Sho was no longer dragging him by his elbow.
“Sho-san,” Nino tried to open a conversation when they walked among the line of ferns. “I can’t be a Konseki like Ohno-san said and the power I possibly have may never exist.”
Sho gave no reply, until Nino thought that perhaps the man didn’t hear him.
“It’s because your kind is a battery,” Sho finally answered after a long pause.
“Sorry?”
“A battery,” Sho continued. “Something within you could power a huge weapon to be used for a war. The world is experiencing a cold war right now and kidnapping your kind is becoming the most essential way to get a great amount of energy without the need to pay.”
Nino tried to digest what Sho told him, but he couldn’t. It was too difficult for his tired brain at the moment.
“My kind? Do you mean there are others like me?”
Sho’s face turned into a dark expression as he answered, “Unfortunately, you’re the last one. Your kind is called ‘Konseki’ by the Doctor who created you, the others didn’t survive. The world we’re heading to is in war. The place you’re living in is the only place which stays out of conflict. Meanwhile we’re fighting for peace, that’s why we want to take you back to Green Light before the others find you to make sure that they will not make you the battery for a destructive weapon. And now, you have two choices, hiding for your safety, or fight together with us.”
Nino gulped, this wasn’t the answer he was expecting. He didn’t want to be killed and used to power up a weapon. He didn’t want to hide either, the only choice was to fight together with Sho, Aiba, Jun and Ohno.
“I want to become stronger,” Nino said after a long pause. “Train me.”
Sho’s hardened expression didn’t change as he heaved a deep sigh. “It isn’t easy, the training to become a soldier is ten times harder than what you did with me.”
“I don’t mind,” Nino replied. “It’s the only choice I have.”
“The decision isn’t on me,” Sho shook his head. “We have to reach the Green Light and you can ask the General to include you in the junior troop.”
“It’s still three days ahead,” Nino said tiringly.
“You’re counting correctly,” Sho said without a smile on his lips.
***
That night they slept close to each other.
Nino didn’t really remember how he ended up resting his head on Sho’s sloping shoulder and it was even weirder that the man didn’t push him away. Despite the fact they travelled alone, Sho never once showed any affection to Nino; on the contrary, he looked at Nino as a nuisance, someone who slowed down their journey. Nino had gotten used to Sho’s frowning and he didn’t expect the sudden change from the man. He had tried to minimize the questions before because Sho only answered curtly and mostly ignored him. Sometimes, Nino really wanted to tell a joke, just for self-entertainment since he was very desperate at the moment, but he refrained himself from doing so since Sho would probably toss him into a ravine.
But now, he found himself close to Sho, the man was sound sleep, which was rare. It was the first time Sho showed tiredness and somehow it made Nino relieved that Sho was still a mere human who needed rest. Sho’s body was warm and it was comforting for Nino to lean on for warmth since Sho had forgotten to light the blue flame around them.
Nino closed his eyes again, there would be three days more until they reached their destination. He had been missing a warm bath and bed so much and hoped that the ancient place still possessed them.
Sho seemed to change a bit (at least to some degree) in the last three days. He helped Nino climb the hill which separated the Green Light from the outside areas. He kept on clutching Nino’s hand until they reached the flat ground. Sho didn’t talk to him, but it didn’t matter to Nino anymore, perhaps the man never liked the chit-chat thing and their current situation was too serious to talk about random things.
“Aiba is waiting for us at the gate,” Sho said shortly.
“We made it, Sho-chan,” Nino replied.
Sho was taken aback when he heard how Nino called him; the latter covered his mouth when he realized it, but there was no way he could take it back. It was probably just his imagination, but there was a weak smile on Sho’s lips.
They saw Aiba approaching, for a cheerful person, he looked somewhat gloomy.
“Welcome home, Sho-chan, Nino,” he said rather confusedly as if wanting to tell them something important.
“Did something happen when we left the submarine?” Sho asked.
“Ohno-san, he’s…” Aiba couldn’t continue his sentence, he looked down at his shoes.
Sho didn’t react, he just tightened his fist while heaving a deep sigh as if trying to get hold of himself. Nino looked at Aiba, but the man said nothing more. The man led them past the gate, towards a truck which was parked nearby.
“Both of you need a proper rest,” Aiba said as they got in the truck. “We’re safe here, you don’t need to worry, Nino.”
“Do I need to meet someone to introduce myself?” Nino asked.
“You can do that later,” Aiba replied. “You look awful, both of you do,” he added, glancing at Sho whose expression was still very dark.
The Green Light was nothing like the city Nino had left; it reminded him of the ancient places he had seen in history books. All of the buildings almost had the same height with the tall-narrow glass windows all around them. The street was wide enough for two trucks, there was no shops, no restaurants, let alone a simple ramen shop. Nino couldn’t imagine himself living in a gloomy place like this and thought that he would die from boredom instead of being killed by the enemy.
The people they passed wore the same jumpsuits as them, but with the same orange color or dark blue or white. They walked in a rush while talking to their friends. Nino leaned back deeper in his seat, closing his eyes. He couldn’t believe this; he was a battery - what nonsense.
He stole a glance at Sho every now and then, but the man seemed not in the mood to talk. Nino really wanted to ask what happened to Ohno, but he restrained himself. Whatever happened to the captain must have been bad and it seemed that Sho had already guessed it from what Aiba had told them.
They arrived at the biggest building at the corner of the city, Aiba stopped the truck and told Sho that he and Jun would meet him within two hours to report. He waved good bye and disappeared at the first turn. Nino felt lonely, more than what he felt when he and Sho had travelled through the forest for two weeks.
“Follow me,” Sho said to Nino.
Nino walked behind the man and wished Sho held his hand or even dragging him by the elbow would be enough. But Sho didn’t do that; he stepped very quickly towards complicated corridors which made Nino think that he would need a special map to find the way out from this building. Sho stopped in front of a door, he entered the code and gestured to Nino to enter first.
“It’s my personal quarters,” Sho explained. “You can stay here for the time being until they find you a room.”
The room was terribly messy, there were dirty clothes everywhere, a few books scattered on the floor, empty cans on top of the table and an ashtray full of ash and cigarette butts.
“It’s…”
“Dirty, I know,” Sho finished Nino’s unsaid sentence.
“I mean it’s comfortable, compared to the cold grass in the forest,” Nino grinned.
“You’d better take a bath and sleep,” Sho said shortly. “I will have someone deliver you dinner.”
“Maybe it’s better for me to help you clean this room,” Nino said but soon regretted it when he saw Sho’s expression.
“You can wear my clothes,” Sho gestured towards the closet at the corner of the room. “I have a few beers left inside the fridge, you can have them and if you need something else, just push this button,” Sho said, pointing at the red button near the side table. “Tell them that you do it on my behalf, and someone will deliver what you order, got it?”
“Wow, it’s pretty convenient, isn’t it?” Nino said, sitting down on the armchair after getting rid of Sho’s dirty t-shirt.
Sho didn’t reply; he headed towards the bathroom to take a shower, meanwhile Nino rested his head on the armchair. He was sleepy and tired; Sho was right, he needed sleep the most right now - Sho’s horrible room could wait to be cleaned. His eyes were as heavy as steel and he didn’t know whether it was real or just his imagination when Sho gently wrapped him with a blanket.
TO BE CONTINUED
A.N: I will be leaving for Japan tomorrow night, let's hope I can write more fics while I'm there ^_^
Pairing: Sakumiya
Length: Divided into 6 parts
Genre: Sci-fic, romance, adventure, action
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I only borrowed their name for this fic
Summary: Nino was just an ordinary programmer who suddenly involved in a danger adventure. He woke up in a strange room and met a man who could produce fire by clicking his fingers. He was brought to a strange place and met the extraordinary people - without knowing the fact that he was targeted…
Warning: Character’s death, some aspects were taken from ‘One Piece’ and ‘Gantz’ but the story is original. The setting is in a fantasy world and I took the title from Arashi’s song, one of my favorite.
Beta reader:
ladygiggles, I can't thank you enough for betaing this for me, you're awesome. Thank you for enjoying the story as well, kiss and hugs for you ^_^
Sho wasted no time, he dragged at Nino’s hand while running on the bridge of ice that Ohno had made for them to escape from the middle of the ocean. It was dark and windy, but Nino had no time to stop or look back towards the ship. Sho kept on running, ignoring Nino who was almost out of breath. They heard gunfire from the direction of the submarine, but Sho didn’t give Nino any chance to look back.
“This bridge will soon melt, so the enemy can’t follow us, we must hurry!” Sho said between his breaths. “Run! Nino!”
Nino’s side hurt like hell, his muscles protested, his feet were freezing, but he kept on running. It felt like forever until they reached the nearest land which was a cliff without a beach, Sho jumped first and extended his hand to help Nino, but what happened next was too fast. The ice bridge melted completely and Nino had no time to grab onto Sho’s hand. He fell into the cold sea; he kicked down to keep his head above surface, but the water was too cold and he was too tired. He slowly drowned, his body wouldn’t listen to him. He gave up, perhaps this was the furthest he could go.
***
The first thing Nino saw when he opened his eyes was the blue flames around him. They kept him warm, but gave not enough light. The surrounding area was pitch dark and the quietness felt like he was in a vacuum space.
Nino shifted and pushed himself to the sitting position, someone had covered him with a jacket and wrapped a bandage around his head. The last thing he remembered was he fell down into the sea, it seemed that his head knocked into something.
He slowly looked around, he was in the middle of a jungle, far away from city lights and video games. The worry started to crawl into his heart, what if there was a tiger behind the trees, ready to pounce on him? Or perhaps a huge snake?
Sho was nowhere to be seen, but he must be the one who wrapped a bandage around Nino’s head and created this strange blue flame. Nino touched his head lightly, it wasn’t that hurt which meant he wasn’t badly wounded, but when he managed to stand, his right leg wouldn’t support his weight.
“Stay still, your leg is sprained.”
Nino looked towards the direction of the voice; Sho was standing beside a tree, his left hand producing fire, his other hand held a bottle of water. He walked closer and made a small bonfire from the flame on his left fingers.
“Here,” he said, handing Nino the bottle. “Drink.”
“Thank you,” Nino said, taking the bottle and sipped the water which was surprisingly cold.
Sho’s eyes locked on the fire, deeply in thoughts. Nino wanted to start a conversation with him, anything would be fine, and he didn’t like this heavy quietness, not even a single insect around. The fact that they were alone bothered Nino; he indeed felt a weird attraction towards Sho, but this man was way too cold and being alone with him was the last thing Nino could imagine.
“We’ll depart tomorrow at dawn,” Sho said, his eyes still looking at the fire in front of him.
“Okay, but we have to find a stick for me to help me walk,” Nino answered.
“That will slow us down, we need to reach the Green Light as fast as we can,” Sho snapped.
“Oh, so how do I walk? Can you lend me a pair of wings then?” Nino asked sarcastically.
“I’ll carry you,” Sho said precisely.
Nino could feel the heat on his cheeks which had nothing to do with the flame. This iceberg-mountain-guy said that he would carry him on his back? No way. He must have lost his mind. Nino sighed deeply, trying not to make a comment. It was Sho’s duty after all, it was his beloved Captain Ohno’s order to deliver him safely to the unknown Green Light State - there was nothing personal in carrying Nino on his back.
“You’d better sleep,” Sho said after some time.
Nino didn’t answer; he lay down again and closed his eyes. It was just a series of a bad dreams, he would soon wake up under his blanket in his living room and get ready for work. He heard Sho click his fingers behind him; the man also lay down, but Nino could tell that the other didn’t sleep for the whole night.
***
“I’m heavy,” Nino said to Sho as the other was about to lift him in a piggyback.
“We have special equipment in our arms and body, so your weight doesn’t matter. What do you think this costume for?” Sho replied with a frown on his face.
“Well, then,” Nino shrugged, letting Sho lift him. Both of his hands touched the bottom of his butt and he couldn’t help but blushing hard. “How long it will take to reach the Green Light?” Nino asked.
“Two weeks,” Sho answered briefly.
“You will carry me on your back the whole time?” Nino asked in surprise.
“I have no choice, now stop talking and asking stupid questions. I’ll run, so you’d better hold on,” Sho said.
“How?”
“Wrap your hands around me,” Sho impatiently replied.
“Er-, okay,” Nino did as Sho told him, he wrapped his hands around Sho’s body tightly as the man started running through the morning mist.
Nino affixed his body as close as possible to Sho’s to reduce the shaking, he buried his face in Sho’s nape and couldn’t stop thinking of the wild tigers and snakes. He peered into the forest; they were surrounded by bushes and trees and Nino couldn’t tell which direction they were heading.
The sun light was blocked by the trees; the forest seemed to possess some power to slow them down since Nino felt that they were going nowhere. However, Sho knew where he was going, he kept on running with Nino on his back, sometimes he would slow his steps and look around to make sure that they were on the right track.
He stopped around noon and told Nino to wait while he went somewhere and came back with a dead rabbit. Sho made a bonfire and skinned the rabbit for their lunch - a horrible one since they had nothing to make it tastier. But they couldn’t complain, especially Nino as he was too useless with his dislocated ankle.
Sho tore the toasted rabbit and handed some to Nino. “It will keep us full until evening, bear with it,” he said as if reading Nino’s mind.
“Thanks,” Nino replied, taking the meat from Sho. He forced his mouth to chew and gulp it down. He couldn’t imagine how he would survive the upcoming two weeks with the same kind of food. He thought of the hamburger he always had for lunch and the soba from the nearby shop for dinner. That world seemed already sunk somewhere in the Atlantic and Nino would never be able to go back there, no matter how much he begged for it.
Sho finished his lunch quickly and checked on his weapons. His guns were still fully loaded; the knives were still properly sheathed inside their scabbards, Sho inserted the guns back to the handle on his waist and looked around to confirm their safety. The absence of the transmitter meant Sho couldn’t contact anyone in the Green Light State, but perhaps he had another way of communicating, something like long distance telepathy with Ohno.
He waited for Nino to finish before continuing their trip. Sho didn’t run this time, he just walked in high speed. Nino had just realized that Sho had horrible sloping shoulders, but of course he didn’t voice his observation. He wrapped his hands around Sho’s chest and tried to keep his face away from the man’s nape.
Their trip went slow and on the second week, Nino was finally able to walk by himself. They didn’t talk for almost the whole trip, sometimes, Nino would bump into Sho accidentally when he suddenly stopped to recheck their track. Sometimes, Nino would wake up in the middle of the night when he heard Sho’s loud snore and mistake it for the sound of a tiger. Sometimes, Sho would hold Nino’s hand to help him cross a river or climb a small cliff. Nino at least felt glad that Sho was no longer dragging him by his elbow.
“Sho-san,” Nino tried to open a conversation when they walked among the line of ferns. “I can’t be a Konseki like Ohno-san said and the power I possibly have may never exist.”
Sho gave no reply, until Nino thought that perhaps the man didn’t hear him.
“It’s because your kind is a battery,” Sho finally answered after a long pause.
“Sorry?”
“A battery,” Sho continued. “Something within you could power a huge weapon to be used for a war. The world is experiencing a cold war right now and kidnapping your kind is becoming the most essential way to get a great amount of energy without the need to pay.”
Nino tried to digest what Sho told him, but he couldn’t. It was too difficult for his tired brain at the moment.
“My kind? Do you mean there are others like me?”
Sho’s face turned into a dark expression as he answered, “Unfortunately, you’re the last one. Your kind is called ‘Konseki’ by the Doctor who created you, the others didn’t survive. The world we’re heading to is in war. The place you’re living in is the only place which stays out of conflict. Meanwhile we’re fighting for peace, that’s why we want to take you back to Green Light before the others find you to make sure that they will not make you the battery for a destructive weapon. And now, you have two choices, hiding for your safety, or fight together with us.”
Nino gulped, this wasn’t the answer he was expecting. He didn’t want to be killed and used to power up a weapon. He didn’t want to hide either, the only choice was to fight together with Sho, Aiba, Jun and Ohno.
“I want to become stronger,” Nino said after a long pause. “Train me.”
Sho’s hardened expression didn’t change as he heaved a deep sigh. “It isn’t easy, the training to become a soldier is ten times harder than what you did with me.”
“I don’t mind,” Nino replied. “It’s the only choice I have.”
“The decision isn’t on me,” Sho shook his head. “We have to reach the Green Light and you can ask the General to include you in the junior troop.”
“It’s still three days ahead,” Nino said tiringly.
“You’re counting correctly,” Sho said without a smile on his lips.
***
That night they slept close to each other.
Nino didn’t really remember how he ended up resting his head on Sho’s sloping shoulder and it was even weirder that the man didn’t push him away. Despite the fact they travelled alone, Sho never once showed any affection to Nino; on the contrary, he looked at Nino as a nuisance, someone who slowed down their journey. Nino had gotten used to Sho’s frowning and he didn’t expect the sudden change from the man. He had tried to minimize the questions before because Sho only answered curtly and mostly ignored him. Sometimes, Nino really wanted to tell a joke, just for self-entertainment since he was very desperate at the moment, but he refrained himself from doing so since Sho would probably toss him into a ravine.
But now, he found himself close to Sho, the man was sound sleep, which was rare. It was the first time Sho showed tiredness and somehow it made Nino relieved that Sho was still a mere human who needed rest. Sho’s body was warm and it was comforting for Nino to lean on for warmth since Sho had forgotten to light the blue flame around them.
Nino closed his eyes again, there would be three days more until they reached their destination. He had been missing a warm bath and bed so much and hoped that the ancient place still possessed them.
Sho seemed to change a bit (at least to some degree) in the last three days. He helped Nino climb the hill which separated the Green Light from the outside areas. He kept on clutching Nino’s hand until they reached the flat ground. Sho didn’t talk to him, but it didn’t matter to Nino anymore, perhaps the man never liked the chit-chat thing and their current situation was too serious to talk about random things.
“Aiba is waiting for us at the gate,” Sho said shortly.
“We made it, Sho-chan,” Nino replied.
Sho was taken aback when he heard how Nino called him; the latter covered his mouth when he realized it, but there was no way he could take it back. It was probably just his imagination, but there was a weak smile on Sho’s lips.
They saw Aiba approaching, for a cheerful person, he looked somewhat gloomy.
“Welcome home, Sho-chan, Nino,” he said rather confusedly as if wanting to tell them something important.
“Did something happen when we left the submarine?” Sho asked.
“Ohno-san, he’s…” Aiba couldn’t continue his sentence, he looked down at his shoes.
Sho didn’t react, he just tightened his fist while heaving a deep sigh as if trying to get hold of himself. Nino looked at Aiba, but the man said nothing more. The man led them past the gate, towards a truck which was parked nearby.
“Both of you need a proper rest,” Aiba said as they got in the truck. “We’re safe here, you don’t need to worry, Nino.”
“Do I need to meet someone to introduce myself?” Nino asked.
“You can do that later,” Aiba replied. “You look awful, both of you do,” he added, glancing at Sho whose expression was still very dark.
The Green Light was nothing like the city Nino had left; it reminded him of the ancient places he had seen in history books. All of the buildings almost had the same height with the tall-narrow glass windows all around them. The street was wide enough for two trucks, there was no shops, no restaurants, let alone a simple ramen shop. Nino couldn’t imagine himself living in a gloomy place like this and thought that he would die from boredom instead of being killed by the enemy.
The people they passed wore the same jumpsuits as them, but with the same orange color or dark blue or white. They walked in a rush while talking to their friends. Nino leaned back deeper in his seat, closing his eyes. He couldn’t believe this; he was a battery - what nonsense.
He stole a glance at Sho every now and then, but the man seemed not in the mood to talk. Nino really wanted to ask what happened to Ohno, but he restrained himself. Whatever happened to the captain must have been bad and it seemed that Sho had already guessed it from what Aiba had told them.
They arrived at the biggest building at the corner of the city, Aiba stopped the truck and told Sho that he and Jun would meet him within two hours to report. He waved good bye and disappeared at the first turn. Nino felt lonely, more than what he felt when he and Sho had travelled through the forest for two weeks.
“Follow me,” Sho said to Nino.
Nino walked behind the man and wished Sho held his hand or even dragging him by the elbow would be enough. But Sho didn’t do that; he stepped very quickly towards complicated corridors which made Nino think that he would need a special map to find the way out from this building. Sho stopped in front of a door, he entered the code and gestured to Nino to enter first.
“It’s my personal quarters,” Sho explained. “You can stay here for the time being until they find you a room.”
The room was terribly messy, there were dirty clothes everywhere, a few books scattered on the floor, empty cans on top of the table and an ashtray full of ash and cigarette butts.
“It’s…”
“Dirty, I know,” Sho finished Nino’s unsaid sentence.
“I mean it’s comfortable, compared to the cold grass in the forest,” Nino grinned.
“You’d better take a bath and sleep,” Sho said shortly. “I will have someone deliver you dinner.”
“Maybe it’s better for me to help you clean this room,” Nino said but soon regretted it when he saw Sho’s expression.
“You can wear my clothes,” Sho gestured towards the closet at the corner of the room. “I have a few beers left inside the fridge, you can have them and if you need something else, just push this button,” Sho said, pointing at the red button near the side table. “Tell them that you do it on my behalf, and someone will deliver what you order, got it?”
“Wow, it’s pretty convenient, isn’t it?” Nino said, sitting down on the armchair after getting rid of Sho’s dirty t-shirt.
Sho didn’t reply; he headed towards the bathroom to take a shower, meanwhile Nino rested his head on the armchair. He was sleepy and tired; Sho was right, he needed sleep the most right now - Sho’s horrible room could wait to be cleaned. His eyes were as heavy as steel and he didn’t know whether it was real or just his imagination when Sho gently wrapped him with a blanket.
TO BE CONTINUED
A.N: I will be leaving for Japan tomorrow night, let's hope I can write more fics while I'm there ^_^