"Yes, Crim?"
"I'm okay," I reassured him. My gut told me that he was scared. Afraid I'd vanish from his life.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Thanks, Crimson," he replied in a hushed tone.
I smiled at his answer. I wasn't in the state of mind to give him the reassurance I would have wanted to normally, but the least I could do was remind him I was alive and okay, to give him some peace of mind.
Aki began to walk and the swaying motion helped ease my mind. There were so many unanswered questions about everything from Storm's memories to the weird dreams I'd been having lately. But I knew I was forgetting something important.
I didn't know what it was and thinking about it only made my head pound. I'd just have to wait and hopefully, my memories would return to me before it was too late.
That's all I could pray for.
My eyes burst open and I jolted forward in panic. I quickly scanned the room, looking for the man in black who'd been chasing me.
Urufu lifted her head from my lap, tilting it to the side. "Woof?" she asked.
I smiled, petting her gently with my left hand while I let my right glide through my hair. Just a dream. Fuck.
I took a shaky breath as I laid back down on my half of the bed. I turned to see Aki's hair ribbon on the counter, but he wasn't next to me.
I'd woken up twice since we'd left the crime scene that was now surrounded by officers. We got out of there before my father had arrived. Quil said he'd been notified and the Emperor had specifically requested for him to check out the scenes of all three attacks.
I'd woken up when Quil was bathing me, but fell back asleep in less than a minute. The second time was in the middle of the night when I had a dream I was falling off the building, but I wasn't caught by Malachi this time.
Aki had calmed me down and encouraged me to go back to sleep, but I was terrified. It took him holding me in his arms and a warm cup of milk, courtesy of Haru, for me to relax enough to go back to sleep.
I wasn't a fool to think my dream was just a dream. I knew it had already happened, but there was still a lingering fear inside me telling me I was missing something big. Haru said to give it a few days, but did we have the luxury of such time?
I tried to fall back to sleep, but the eerie feeling lingered and I was scared to be once again in the memory of being chased and falling to my death. I got out of bed, making sure the thin white t-shirt I knew was from one of the guys covered my butt before I peeked into the hall.
Both doors to the guys’ rooms were closed which told me they must have been asleep. During my recovery from the breakup, they had fixed up both rooms so Aki, Quil, and Yoshi had one room and Haru, Itsuki, and Malachi stayed in the other.
I'd noticed that if one of the guys was watching over me and planned to stay the night in my room, they would close the door for the night. But if they left the room at any point, they left the door slightly open like I normally did when it was just me.
I walked down the hall into the living room and spotted Aki who stood in front of the piece I'd been working on for A.T. Green. I needed to add some finishing touches before I applied a special clear coat to seal the artwork and make it waterproof.
Aki's arms were crossed over his chest and his hair wasn't glowing like last time. It was loose in its colorful gold and orange glory and his tails shifted back and forth slowly as if he was deep in thought.
Uru sat by my feet and glanced up at me excitingly. I smiled down at her before returning to stare at Aki.
Akihiro had always been handsome and attractive, but his Kitsune form always left me in awe. I noticed the white ears on his head were twitching slightly. He slowly looked over his shoulder and his bright green eyes met mine.
A smile formed on his lips and it made my stomach flip with excitement. Urufu plodded over to him, stopping at his feet before using her paw to tap his leg over and over again.
He chuckled, leaning down to pet my familiar who wasn't afraid of his Kitsune form like she was last time. He was less intimidating now that he wasn't upset.
I walked over to him and didn't hesitate, walking right into his outstretched arms.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Bad dream," I whispered, tightening my hold around his waist. His arm tightened around my waist while his other hand went through my hair.
"Sorry. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd admire the final product." He gestured over to the painting.
I looked up at him. "Do you like it?"
"Very much. You did an excellent job." He pulled out of the embrace, but kept his arm securely on my waist as he glanced back at the piece of artwork.
"You drew Storm beautifully and you're just as gorgeous," he whispered in my ear.
I blushed at his comment and then strode over to the painting. "Does it look like me?" I inquired, pulling out one of my clean brushes and a palette. I squeezed small amounts of the remaining colors I needed to add the finishing touches to the image and began working. I didn't need an apron since I knew it wouldn't get as messy as starting from scratch.
"From a perspective of someone who doesn’t know you? No, it doesn't. But I can tell immediately that it's you. Though, I'm surprised your hair in the image is past your shoulders," he pointed out.
I glanced over my shoulder to see the smirk on his lips. "I still like short hair," I mumbled, returning to focus on the canvas in front of me. I could grow it out just a little if the guys wanted me to.
"I like short hair on you. Don't need to change it on my behalf, or for the others," Aki reassured me as if he'd read my thoughts.
I looked back and saw him sit down on the sofa where Urufu was curled up asleep. "Do you mind if I finish? I don't wanna go to bed yet," I confessed.
"I don't mind. I'm not sleepy either."
We shared a smile before I got back to work.
Once in the zone, I added the final touches quickly, adding little stars and cherry blossoms to complete the image. I took a step back to view the final product and sighed in relief that I'd surpassed my expectations.
On the left half was Storm Yuna; her long silver locks were flowing in the wind that was filled with cherry blossoms and stars that twinkled in the night sky above her. The background was the cliff where the cherry blossom tree stood proudly in its glorious beauty and I'd made it so it looked illuminated even without the last effect that I needed to apply.
She wore a beautiful white kimono and Urufu sat at her feet proudly. Storm had a joyful smile on her face as the last droplets of tears floated with the wind that blew her hair and carried little balls of souls in the background. I'd added magic circles in silver, white, pink, and blue and they intersected one another as if she was casting a final spell.
I glanced to my right to see the image of me. The representation displayed my slightly tanned skin, which looked striking next to Storm's pale complexion. I had made the hair go just past my shoulders, unlike my short hair that just reached the base of my neck in reality. My silver highlights were present but in the painting there were twice as many, making it so my hair went from solid black to the wonderful silver and white color in an ombre effect.
The background on my half shifted from the dark blues and purples of Storm's side to a beautiful transitioning sunset which I always loved to watch when I finished my painting for the day. The oranges, yellows, and reds blended so perfectly as little blackbirds flew in the sky above and cherry blossoms flowed through the breeze that lifted my hair up in the opposite direction of Storm's.