Miko
After a few minutes of paralysis, I was finally able to talk to the guards. Angry at me for my continuous attempts at entering the church, the guards fixed these binds around my hands.
"Hey sir, I'm sorry," I muttered.
All I got in return for my apologies was a huff.
"No, really. It won't happen again sir, I promise! A promise given directly to you from the savior himself!"
The other guard turned to me with an accusatory glare. "Savior?"
Smiling, I said, "Yea, the one and only Savior who inherited the system!"
My smile dropped as he reached into his pocket. Not the taser again!
I was about to scream out sorry when I saw that he had pulled out a pen and some kind of book.
The Adventures of Miko.
Who's profiting off of my likeness?!
"Uh, can you autograph this, please?"
"Only if you let me free!"
The other guard rolled his eyes, mumbling something about his coworker being a pushover. My bindings were finally free, so I stretched before signing his autograph.
Then I promptly fled, not risking a change of heart.
A few hours later, I saw Aruna and Kile exit the building. Kile looked more or less the same as always, except maybe a bit more muscular. I wondered if he got a girlfriend since my disappearance. Hopefully, he didn't take that part too hard.
Once Kile's eyes laid on me, the relief that shined through his expression told me there would be no need to worry. Our eyes welled up with tears, and we ran to each other. At this moment all of our burdens disappeared, replaced with an unending light of happiness that shone through even the darkest shadows of darkness.
We held each other for a few eternities, glad that both of us ended up ok.
Eventually, Kile's timid voice broke the quiet. "Uh, so why do all the aliens look like us?"
Laughing, I said, "Will Smith was right. You can't even trust little girls here man!"
Aruna chuckled herself without much understanding as to why we were on the ground and clutching our stomachs from laughter.
...
I showed Kile where I was living. During our short trip here we were both burning with so many questions that we ended up interrupting each other more than actually answering each other. Aruna couldn't help but laugh at us the entire way home.
It was ok though, because when Kile told me she thought Subway was the public transit system we both took our opportunity to return our own laughter. She said that she knew her way around Earth!
When we entered my house we were met by a jovial Farv and the usual emotionless Roan.
Roan was wearing a nice suit, whereas Farv was protesting the need for one.
"C'mon Roan! Who cares if I wear a casual shirt!"
"I do, and you should too. Appearances are important, especially ours."
"How about we meet in the middle? If I wear nice pants, I can wear a casual shirt."
"How about you just wear proper clothing instead of behaving like a devil spawn delinquent."
Noticing our arrival, the 2 turned to us for assistance.
"Hey Miko, help me out."
"He's being irresponsible. Tell him to act in the way his position demands."
Ugh, I knew Roan was going to force us to wear nice clothes. Looking to Kile for assistance, I saw that he had already changed into a fancy suit. That fast!?
And although Aruna was in a simple dress right now, I already knew her outfit for tonight would be beyond outstanding.
"Sorry Farv, I think we're alone here."
"Shi- Well, I actually don't have a suit so I can't!"
As Aruna laughed and Kile did his best to hide in the background (sorry my new friends are psycho!), Roan procured a magnificent suit out of thin air.
Making an exaggerated wave of disbelief, Farv exclaimed, "I hate your magic!"
Finally succeeding in his attempt to make Farv wear a suit, Roan turned his attention to us. "Who's the kid?"
Kile timidly waved his hand, saying "Hey, I'm Kile. Don't worry, I'll wear my suit!"
As a strange sound boomed from Roan's lips (laughter?!), he patted Kile's shoulder, saying "Good, glad to see someone still has sense."
Turning to me, he said, "Everyone looks their best at the festival. So I'm expecting you to at least wear a nice shirt. Preferably one without any stains."
Leaving before I could even make a retort, Roan left me only able to defend myself in my mind. Hey, I'm not that lost! I know to wear a suit!
Aruna left too, saying that she had to get ready. We still had 4 hours left until the Festival started, but knowing girls that's probably not enough time.
Looking at my mess of a closet, I gulped, realizing that the same could be said for me. When did it get so messy?
Rummaging through my clothes, I quickly found that I didn't have a single article that could pass as remotely formal. I guess it never crossed my mind to buy something like that. I preferred buying sweets, to be honest.
Looking at the last few coins I had left (we all got some money from Nola just for existing, but I also get paid by neighbors and such to help them out), I wondered if I had enough to buy a suit.
"Hey, you guys want to help me buy a suit?"
Farv shook his head no, saying, "I'd rather just forget the whole ordeal of 'suits.' I hate them."
Kile laughed, saying "Sure, I always look out for you anyways Miko. Glad to see that hasn't changed."
Farv poked me, chuckling as he said, "Yeah, every time you turn around Miko needs help."
So it was just Kile and me walking down to the local tailor. We were silent for most of the trip, taking in the fact that we were able to spend this little bit of time together.
Little.
It was sad, but there were 2 problems. 1, the portals close shortly after the festival, so Kile would be stuck here, and 2, this world was far too dangerous for him. It would be selfish of me to want him to stay.
But no need to dwell on that now! The only thing I wanted to focus on was enjoying my best friend's company.
Entering the shop, Kile instantly went into his shop-for-the-perfect-suit mode. Seriously, if he was more evil I know he would be like Deville or something. Fashion was one of his big hobbies.
It took barely any time for him to find a suit perfect for me. Its red hue perfectly matched my hair.
I'm gonna be super handsome for Aruna!
Aruna
I searched through the various dresses I had purchased with a sense of disgust. Despite my initial pleasure with them, since their purchase, I've begun to notice deformities with each of them. If I wore them in front of Miko, that would be so embarrassing.
Why do I even care what he thinks!?
I sighed, knowing the reason. My care for him has grown far past a tool for revenge. A good thing too. The hatred I felt that day, the darkness... was a pit that I very nearly fell into. A pit only Miko could bring me out of.
There was no denying he already was a close friend to me, on the same level as Roan. Maybe I already thought of him as more than a friend.
But I had no frame of reference for that. That's a love I've never experienced, never known.
I stared in the mirror while trying on a nice blue dress, knowing I had little knowledge on the subject of love. All I knew was that it took shape in many different ways. Roan, Miko and my father were all examples of people who loved me. Yet all 3 of them have different methods of expressing that love.
It's all so damn confusing!
I sighed, throwing the dress to the ground. It wasn't good enough.
Miko's going to wear some half-baked suit anyway! I'm worrying too much!
Ugh, even if Miko shows up in his normal handsome hobo state, it wouldn't change anything. I was a princess, and as a princess, there's a certain image to uphold. For both your enemies and your allies. I must always be a perfect, stunningly beautiful even if delicate flower. All imperfections and thorns hidden.
Thus, I continued my search for the perfect dress.
Flying through different dresses in a blur of colors, I finally found the perfect one.
A beautiful white one that reminded me of a dress from my childhood.
The dress of my mother.
Father would spend a significant chunk of his days respecting that dress, and the other few memorabilia he had to remember her by.
Even if he told the public that his strength allowed him to persevere past her death, the truth was he spent every day mourning and loving her.
Would Miko feel that way about me? Would he be allowed?
I know if he died, I'd assume the role of my father. Spending my days mourning him.
But if I died, he couldn't. That's why I'm... why I like him and value his friendship.
He wasn't the kind of person who put himself first. He wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice himself for everyone else.
No, that's wrong. My death would most certainly break him. We've already seen that. We've already seen him reach beyond the depths of despair to save me.
But that love isn't something my plane needs. It needs a savior.
Until it was saved, I can never be more than a soldier to Miko. An expendable soldier.
I don't deserve being put above everyone else. No one does.
I felt the tears forming as I did my dress.
Having found the perfect dress, I was able to turn my attention to my hair. As I did my hair, tears flowed down until they rested in the divets created by my smile.