“Hey!”

I could hear a voice, a young girl’s voice.

“Mister, are you still sleeping.” she continued, her high pitched voice had pulled me out of slumber.

I slowly opened my eyes. I couldn’t open them well because it hurt every time I tried any more than a certain level. I lifted my hand and touched my forehead feeling what seemed to be a bruise on there.

‘W-What’s going on?’ I thought as I tried sitting up straight.

I felt what I was lying on, it was soft and fluffy for a hard floor. ‘I’m on a bed?’

‘Didn’t gramps say he would kill me?’ I mused.

I turned to see a young girl, she seemed about eight years old or so. She had emerald eyes and long green hair that was braided on one side almost like she made the hair herself. Her white cotton looking dress was covered in purple splatters of paint.

“Wow mister, you’re finally awake!” She exclaimed excitedly.

“W-Where am I?” I pondered out loud. “Heaven?”

“Ehh? No, you’re in my house.” the girl said a bit alarmed by the question.

“Huh?”

“I found you in the woods by yourself,” she explained as she pointed to a window beside my bed which revealed a large forest. “You were on the floor really injured and bleeding. Soooou, I patched you up and brought you to my house.”

“W-What? How long was I out for?”

She looked up pondering the answer to my question. “A day… or two give or take.”

“That bad huh?” I muttered to myself looking down at my hands.

“Hey, are you from Raiba mister?” she questioned, “You look like one of them.”

“Not… anymore.” I replied gritting my teeth due to both my boiling anger, and attempt to stop myself from crying.

“Ohhhh, well… what if you stay with me!?” she suggested “I need some help with what I’m doing here, and you can’t go back home. So why not?”

I shrugged my shoulders while I was looking out the window. “Sure.”

“Really?! Thank you” she squealed “Just wait right here, I’ll be right back.”

‘It’s not like anyone cares about me anymore.’

The girl was away for a while. So before she came back, I looked around the room she put me in. it was quite small (Same could be said about the bed). Its walls were covered in pink and its ceiling was white in colour. The door leading out of the room was clearly shorter than me, there was a table filled with makeup accessories (I think), and a closet that had a weird symbol on it. The floor was also covered in this symbol.

“Weird, I’ll ask when she comes back.” I muttered to myself.

Just as I said this, the room door opened. “YOOO!”

“H-Hi.” I sheepishly replied.

“Relax, I don’t bite y’know.” She seemed to be wearing the same dress as before. “FYI, Not the same dress!” She exclaimed.

“O-Ohhh. OK” my voice was cold and emotionless like Grandpa’s was. This was the first time I talked to anyone remotely near my age other than Rai of course, so it was quite difficult to speak normally.

“Geez…”

“Sorry, I’m not used to talking to people unless I know them, or they've tried to kill me.”

“Okay?” she responded a bit bamboozled “Anyway, what’s your name? I won’t be calling you mister forever right?”

“Oh of course” I replied “my name is Kai.”

“Nice to meet you Kai, I’m Kiko” she said with a big smile on her face.

“N-Nice to meet you too.”

“Mhm” Kiko responded “Rest for today ok? We’ll get started tomorrow” I nodded. Kiko seemed like a nice person. But any time I thought that, grandpa’s words would remind me the painful truth.

“You shouldn’t take any man’s words to heart boy.”

I kept thinking about what he said. I couldn’t trust anyone no matter who they were or how nice they seemed. ‘She’s a child though soo that’s gotta be an exception right?’

“Here.” Kiko said as she brought a tray of nectar and bread “You should eat.”

“did you make this?” I asked shocked that such a young girl could cook.

“Yup. Why, you jealous?” she replied with a gleeful look on her face.

“No, I’m just shocked that an eight year old knows how to make things like this better than me.” I explained, my mouth full of the bread.

Kiko laughed as I said this before replying, “I’m from the fairy clan.” I looked wondering what difference that made.

“Fairy clansmen don’t age as fast as other big Clans y’know.”

“I still don’t get it” I said as I scratched my head in confusion.

Her face was now in her palm. She couldn’t believe I still didn’t understand her. “I’m older than I look genius.”

“W-Wait wait, What?!”