Neo stared at the concoction that he currently held in his hand. He was apprehensive at the moment. The young girl had prepared the medicine for him, but he was unsure of swallowing down the dark substance in the glass vial. Not that he was picky, it was just that human beings had a natural aversion to any substance that was dark and red. Like a natural instinct. The smell was another powerful factor that prevented the young boy from haphazardly downing the medicine in his hand.
The auburn girl that stood in front of him stared at his face with a frown. Her face was deadpan at first but after she noticed his hesitation and the buzzing in her ears, she began to feel annoyance brewing in her chest.
"Are you going to drink it or not?"
"Well…the thing is, this uhh…how do I say this"
The young girls frowning face slowly began to change into a gentle smile, but that change hardly curbed the sharp aura she began to emanate. Neo felt the earlier coldness on his back. His instincts and his intellect began fighting on whether to ingest the medicine. On one hand his body's natural reaction was aversion, on the logical hand however, his mind was telling him that ingesting the dark red liquid was the lesser evil between disgust and death. Steeling his resolve, Neo pinched his own nose and quickly drank the entire dose in one gulp. To his surprise however, the disgusting aftertaste he was bracing for did not come. Instead it was a cool but sweet and slightly sour taste, similar to that of green apple that coated his tongue. The young girl noticing the confusion in the young boy's face, felt pride before feeling annoyance prompting her to harrumph.
"Idiot"
"I ALREAD DRANK THE THING YOU-"
Neo's raging words halted abruptly after the auburn haired girl shot him a glare. Neo coughed to reign himself in before relaxing his frown.
"What I meant to say was, I'm not an idiot"
"Yes, idiot would be too much of a compliment. An idiot would at least have a functioning brain"
"I have a functioning brain mind you!"
"Your functioning brain doesn't display the prerequisites of being called functional. If anything it just has a lot of space. Which is most likely why you took staring at nothing as your favorite hobby, it's the result of your empty skull"
Neo's once calming mood once again began to slowly boil. The young girl in front of her was infuriating to say the least. The continuous berating and insults almost made Neo regret that he saved the annoying little chicken.
The young girl's brows twisted into a nasty frown out of nowhere which greatly terrified Neo. The sudden fluctuation in her mood almost seemed to affect the air around him. He felt stifled as if the air was becoming heavier.
What is it now?!?
Neo's stiffened body almost made him look like a raccoon caught in the act of stealing trash.
Does this girl just have frequent mood swings or does she have a loose screw somehow? How come she's the one going crazy, I'm the one who just got transported into a different world! Crazy girl!
As Neo continuously repeated the word crazy in his head, the auburn girls face continued to distort in fury. Neo's previously cold back was now damp with sweat. He was bewildered and quite frankly terrified and about to soil himself.
"H-hey you should probably calm down"
"I am calm"
"THIS DOESN'T FEEL LIKE CALM!?"
Neo gawked at the auburn haired girl in exasperation before taking a deep steadying breath. He began thinking of a way to calm the young girl down and prevent her from possibly going super saiyan. After running ideas one after another, Neo finally came up with the most basic solution. Accompanying his 'good idea' was an imaginary bell sound and light bulb. Neo took on a serious expression and looked her straight in the eyes. His eyes gave off a glint.
They began to stare straight at each other. Neo however, was unaware of the buzzing noises that were slowly but gradually becoming clearer, in the young girls ear. As she listened to the buzzing sounds, the young girls face only got more furious. This was occurring all while they were staring at each other.
Neo's idea was basically to stare at the young girl until she felt awkward enough to stop glaring. He thought it would work since her sister also liked to glare at him, and his most effective method to stop her was staring back impassively. That worked very well against her sister, but there was a variable to this girl that was unknown to him. Finally unable to endure the coldness creeping up his spine, Neo looked away with his forehead and back drenched in sweat.
I feel like I just courted death for the past 5 minutes.
Neo who was looking away, didn't notice the veins appearing on the young girl's forehead and the twitching of her facial muscles. She was beginning to feel really irritated, not just because of the Neo's behavior but also because of the buzzing she had been hearing. She had been hearing the static like sounds since he met the infuriating boy in front of him. So she naturally attributed the sounds to his presence. If she wasn't grateful for being saved the other day, she would've already kicked him out.
"Fuuuu, Hey…umm"
The auburn girl snapped out of her daze and she looked up at the frail boy sitting on the edge of the bed. He was scratching his head, clueless as to how to proceed. The girl raises one of her brows and quietly waited for him to continue. Neo feeling her less fiery gaze continued his words.
"I don't know why you're so aggressive towards me but, I'm sure we just got off on the wrong foot"
As he spoke, he watched the expression on her face slowly soften. He also felt the stifling air around him slowly ease. He took his time, piecing together what he believes should be the best thing to say, in order to avoid angering her.
"Maybe we should just start over, maybe we can be friends"
"Why would I want to do that?"
Neo took a deep breath to reign in his emotions. He closed his eyes and exhaled audibly before opening his eyes that were now glistening with unshed tears.
"So that you can have someone who has your back. I can tell that you don't have many friends…ehem…I also don't have many friends…In fact I don't have any at all"
He coughed to hide his embarrassment and averted his gaze from her still raised brow. Unsure of how to continue, Neo exhaled and offered his hand to the girl, before introducing himself.
"My name is Neo, Neo Pawnsworth, You can call me Neo"
The young girl looked down at his offered hand, and hesitated. She looked at him awkwardly and looked into Neo's eyes before calmly speaking.
"I don't have one" She spoke in a flat tone.
"Pardon?" asked Neo.
"I don't have a name" She replied in an even flatter tone.
"Ahh…Hah?" Neo exclaimed in bafflement.
A dozen thoughts suddenly began surging through his mind. This current situation was not how he imagined his introduction would go. He stared at the clearly downcast and embarrassed auburn haired girl before thinking out loud.
"What if I just name you then?" Neo murmured to himself
"Excuse me?" she asked, her eyes widening with surprise.
"Ahh shi-I mean, you wouldn't mind if I named you myself?" Neo inquired to gauge if she was fine with the idea.
"You would do that for me?" she asked in response, a clear tremble in her voice. Excitement began to color her cheeks with a light pink blush as her heart beat swiftly.
"Well, yeah I mean why not?" Neo tilted his head in confusion, he knew naming a person wasn't a casual thing in comparison to naming a pet, but her reaction was akin to that of an orphan about to be adopted.
Now that I think about it, I kind of am adopting her if I name her. Isn't that what they do when adopt children? This feels weird.
"Yes!! Please name me!!" She shouted eagerly and jumped up to him with eyes brimming with excitement. The expressions on her face earlier in comparison to the other expressions she had right now was simply stunning. Even Neo had to admit that his heart skipped a beat when she saw her excited face.
Your enthusiasm is dazzling but please don't stick too close to me, it's uncomfortable.
Taking a deep breath, Neo closed his eyes and held out his hand to stop the excited little chicken from coming any closer.
"Alright, alright I'll name you but you have to calm down first or else I'll accidentally give you a really bad name. It's hard to think properly when you're standing too close to me" Neo scratched his head and sighed.
The young girl immediately stepped back as if scared that she would indeed be named terribly. She then tried to put up a stoic expression, but the clear shimmer in her eyes and the fidgeting of her fingers gave off her barely restrained excitement. Neo watched her closely, amused that the easily triggered rooster was replaced with a cute and charming hen. He then stood up and looked out the window while resting his chin on his palm. The thoughts that accompanied him whenever silence was his companion slowly flowed through his mind. This time he looked through his thoughts for names. He looked for mythological names, names of characters from legends, famous people from back on earth, and even names of friends and family. He then began mixing them and matching names, turning them into new ones, as if he was master building l*go sets. He continued to stare at the clouds as he tried to come up with a unique name. That was when it clicked in his head. His eyes lit up and he looked at the young girl's hair. The color reminded him so much of autumn, when the leaves would turn different shades of orange, yellow, and red. Then rain to the ground like golden flames when the wind blows.
And so he decided to name her something after the fall. He looked her straight in the eyes and said in a solemn voice.
"Your name is Aki"
and watched in amazement as her eyes glowed in a golden light, at the same time as her hair blazed into a fiery flame of golden yellow and fiery orange. But that did not take away the beauty that came from her dazzling smile.
"Nice to meet you Neo...I am Aki"
Smiled Aki as she held Neo's hand.
Smiled Aki as she held Neo's hand gently. Her face seemed to radiate an ethereal glow the moment she smiled. Neo's heart beat swiftly at the change to her ambiance.
"Ahh…Y-yeah nice to meet you too" Neo said as he gently shook her hand and withdrew his own hands. He scratched the back of his head, his ears tinged with a slight blush.
What is going on with me…my ears are so warm and my head feels like its floating. I need to calm down.
"Fuuuuu…" Neo exhaled in an exaggerated manner before shaking his head.
"Well, what now?" Aki asked as she fidgets her fingers. She looked up at him expectantly as if he was a magician about to perform his next trick. Neo's eye twitched at the thought and imagined himself with a black suit, a top hat in hand, pulling out a white fluffy rabbit from inside the hat.
"What do you mean, what now?" Neo asked and scratched his hair absentmindedly. Confused by the question.
"Well, you don't exactly come from around here do you?" Aki gestured to his clothing. Although they were torn, the unique design stood out in comparison to the clothing that she was wearing. It was a design she had never seen before. At the mention of his origin, Neo stared at the clouds through the window. It was only now that he truly realized it, he was not home. His chest suddenly felt heavier, but the light in his eyes seemed to sharpen. Neo took a deep shaky breath to calm his nerves. If one didn't know him well enough, they would say he looked quite menacing right now, with his face darkening and eyes looking colder than ice. However it was truly the opposite of what he was feeling inside. He was afraid, very afraid, and his emotions were beginning to run wild. Not only was he afraid of not being able to return home, but he was also afraid of losing grip on his emotions.
The last time that happened…
Neo shook his head at the sour memory. He suddenly clapped as he came to a decision. With firm eyes, he looked at Aki.
"What else, we're going…to find other people" Neo muttered with a dark look on his face.