…
The time seemed to move much slower that night...
"Can't sleep?" Lucifer asked as he looked at Juin nonchalantly. He was floating above Wesley and reading the manga that Wesley was reading. The manga was about a boy who somehow ate a special fruit that granted him rubber powers.
Wesley was supposed to be staying at his friend's house, but during dinnertime, he felt uncomfortable when eating with his friend's parents, so he called Juin to pick him up.
And from the time he reached home, he had been reading mangas the whole time, completely ignoring Juin's attempts to question him on his reason to return home.
Juin glanced over to Wesley who was completely focused on reading the manga, and he immediately activated the piece of wood with "Silence" engraved on it. Once it was activated, he replied Lucifer, "Yeah… I was just… thinking. It's been years since I last visited the orphanage."
"Don't overthink things. If we can find something, then it's good. If we can't, I'll figure something else out…" Lucifer said. He then frowned and looked at Wesley as he said, "Hey, I haven't read the last part! Go back! Go back!"
Unfortunately, Wesley could not hear him, so his request was completely ignored.
Juin sighed as he turned onto his other side and looked at the wall. He was worried about what cans of worms would he find at the orphanage. As he closed his eyes, he could only pray and hope that whatever it was that he found, it would be something good for him.
…
The next morning, Juin woke up early, and he quickly dragged his sore body to the shower and back. Once he changed into a fresh set of clothes, he went down to the kitchen where Mrs. Martin had already prepared breakfast for him and the other kids.
"Oh, I didn't expect you to wake up this early…" Mrs. Martin said as she placed a few pieces of bacon onto the greasy pan. "But good for you. You would be able to have the first pick of bacon."
Juin smiled, and after taking the plates and helping out with setting the table, he sat down.
Mrs. Martin placed the plate that was full of bacon in front of Juin and said, "Eat more… You've been exercising so much lately, you need the meat to build your muscle. I'll fry a few more eggs for you."
Even though it hadn't been that long since Juin started exercising, there were already some changes in his physique. His arms and legs were more toned, and Mrs. Martin could see more muscle on them, and he was also more tanned now, giving him a more healthy complexion.
"It's fine, Mrs. Martin," Juin said as he looked at the table. There was already a lot of stuff on the table, such as pancakes with maple syrup, slices of bacon, toasts with peanut butter, a jug of fresh orange juice, and a jug of fresh milk. It was their usual Sunday fare.
Mrs. Martin was one of the rare types of carers who actually used all the money given by the government on the kids instead of using them for her own benefit. That was one of the reasons why the kids living under her all mostly refused to be fostered or adopted by someone else.
"It's alright, it won't take long anyway," Mrs. Martin said with a smile. She quickly washed the pan, and after a few minutes, a plate with 8 fried eggs was placed in front of Juin. She then sat down next to him and said, "We better start eating before the others wake up."
Juin chuckled and nodded. As the two of them ate, Mrs. Martin remarked, "I'm glad that you are slowly changing…"
Juin was cutting his pancake when he heard her words. His hands stopped in midair as he looked at her. With a curious smile, he then asked, "What do you mean?"
"You're working out, and I saw that you are reading and studying more often now… I like these changes in you," Mrs. Martin said as she picked up a fried egg and placed it on a toast. "You are more alive nowadays…"
When Juin continued to stare at her with a confused expression, she explained, "You used to look as if you were just living, but not really living… if you get what I mean. You breath, eat, sleep, and go to school, doing everything that you were supposed to do, as if these were all life had to offer. You don't really show any emotions to doing anything, but now…"
She smiled and patted his head as she continued, "Now, you're like a real boy. You actually enjoy things more, and unlike before where you barely talked, you're more open to conversing now."
She then chuckled and added, "Even Wesley mentioned that you're more fun to bother nowadays."
Juin thought about it and realized that lately, he had indeed been speaking more, both at school and at home. He just didn't realize that others had noticed it as well. Glancing at Lucifer, who was just floating at a corner while staring at the food longingly, he wondered if all these changes were due to Lucifer's appearance in his life or if it was caused by the broken shackle.
"I'm sorry to have caused you to worry about me before, Mrs. Martin," Juin said with a gentle smile. "I'll try to be better…"
"Hey, you don't have to be like the others, just be the better version of yourself…" Mrs. Martin said with a kind smile. "So, what's your plan today? More exercising?"
Juin shook his head and said, "I'm going back to the orphanage to take a look."
Mrs. Martin's smile froze on her face. "W-what? Why?"
"I just want to know more… Like, how did I get there? Was I abandoned there or did my parents die? I… have never asked about these questions before…"
Mrs. Martin slowly nodded, and she looked at her own full plate of food and slowly moved things around with her fork.
Juin noticed that her expression was slightly different than usual, so he asked, "Is it alright?"
Mrs. Martin smiled and looked at him. "Of course… I was just worried… Sometimes kids want to find out their past, their origins… and sometimes, they get hurt in the process… I don't want you to get hurt."
Upon hearing her words, Juin gulped as he thought, "I don't want to get hurt either…"
The entire night, his emotions had been… unstable. Even Lucifer mentioned it to him this morning, when he woke up, that his dream was slightly different. Whenever he dreamed about Ashton, he would be standing by the cliff with either a blank or sad expressions.
But last night, Juin had a somewhat different dream. He was running in the woods while constantly glancing back at complete darkness, and from Juin's expression, he seemed to be extremely frightened of whatever it was chasing him. Unfortunately, Lucifer could not see who was chasing Juin since Juin he himself could not see anything.
When Lucifer told Juin about it this morning, Juin was confused. He could not remember the dream, nor could he deduce what or who it was that was chasing him.
"Juin?" Mrs. Martin called out when she saw that Juin had spaced out.
"Huh?" Juin looked up from his half-eaten pancake, which was completely drenched with maple syrup, and said slowly, "I'm old enough now… No matter what, I would be able to handle it."
As he raised his head slowly to look at Lucifer, he then added, "And I'm no longer alone now…"
Whatever it was that caused his behavior to change, Lucifer was there with him the whole time.
Mrs. Martin looked at him and noticed that he was staring at a wall as he spoke, and she could not help but think if Juin was starting to see spirits again. His action now reminded her of back when Juin first came to live with them.
When Warlock helped Juin before, he told her not to mention anything unless Juin asked about it, and the second thing that he told her was that the protection would not be permanent.
Mrs. Martin wondered if the earthquake at St. Dexter High School had somehow broken whatever protection Warlock placed on Juin.
She was about to ask something when Juin said, "Mrs. Martin, I don't think I have said this enough, but…"
He smiled at her and said, "Thank you for everything that you've done for me."