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Ouni couldn’t believe his eyes. The red Nous had swallowed the Commander right before his eyes and all he could do was watch in horror as the creature disappeared back into the enemy ship, Geráki. All these years the question of who and what he was tormented him and just as he finally had some answers, the very person giving those answers slipped right through his fingers. It had all gone so fast.
The Commander had always been an irritating figure in his life. Being the head of the vigilantes quickly made him the enemy #1 for the moles, however he barely bothered with the bunch of kids. Only once Ouni became stronger there were a few times the Commander himself had to take care of him, taunting him. Ouni never had a chance. Irritating, but encouraging.
But all of a sudden the detached Commander had changed. To Ouni it almost seemed like he cared about him and he couldn't understand why. The Commander never did, Ouni was just a rowdy after all.
Still, the Commander had been worried in Amonlogia, when he fought the silver-haired bastard. And even when this was just his duty as the Commander, the apology and caring gestures later on Karcharías surely was not. Ouni didn’t know when he had changed, but it had to do with the records Ms. Taisha had left behind. And before Ouni had even realized it, he started to care about the Commander, too. Shuan. How stupid of him. Letting go of his walls was never a good idea. But how could he hold them up, seeing Shuan in this damn tree and hearing his story while he was being sucked in. The spiraling world, the experiment, Ms. Taisha, his birth. It was all too much for Ouni to handle. That's why he only stared at the disappearing Nous that had swallowed the one person who truly understood him.
“Ouni!” Shikon! Or was it Shikoku? Ouni didn't have time to make sure. “Ouni, are you alright? Talk to us!”
“That thing ate Shuan and took him to the ship.”
“Shuan? Do you mean the Commander?” asked one of the Twins, clearly confused why Ouni of all people would use his name, instead of title to refer to him. No one ever did. Not even after he had retired.
“We need to get him back!” Ouni didn’t have any time to spare. He had to get a boat, get into that ship, find the Nous, get Shuan out and destroy whatever was left of the Nous. A simple plan, not unlike the one from Skyros. But that didn't end well, either. Right? You lost Nibi that way. Ouni tried to push that voice back into his mind. He couldn't have any doubts now or Shuan would be lost for sure. What he needed now was a team. Ouni was far too exhausted to deal with every soldier on that ship on his own. He had lost all sense of time since he was captured in Amonlogia, but it wasn't enough to heal the wounds Orca had inflicted.
“Ouni!! Look, there is Ouni!”The Archivist's voice broke through his thoughts. He was accompanied by Lykos and unfortunately her brother as well. Great. That was really the last person he wanted to see now. The Group kept running towards them and stopped by his side.
“Ouni, I’m so glad you are okay. I thought that monster had eaten you!!” The Archivist looked around “Isn’t the Commander with you? He said he would give you back-up.”
Ouni couldn't keep his face straight, the emotional rollercoaster he just went through was far too much to keep any sort of mask on.
“He was swallowed by that monster. I’m getting him back.” He locked his eyes with Orcas. He didn’t really trust him but he was his best bet right now. “Do you know where the Nous is located in that ship?”
The Man simply regarded him for a while, before deciding to give him an answer.
“The Nous merged with the whole ship. You won't find a core like on Skyros, but it still has a chamber where it usually rests between missions.” Orca contemplated for a while, before pointing with his finger to the side of the ship. “If you enter Geráki from there, you will find yourself in the metal bearings. Go further inside and you will get to a large hallway. Go left and after a while you will see a giant door, leading directly to that chamber. You can't miss it.”
Ouni nodded. This could work.
“Ouni, are you sure you can do that? You’re wounded and you look terribly exhausted.” The Archivist grabbed his arms. He looked like he was about to cry again. Ouni really must’ve looked like a walking corpse there.
“Besides, we already made a Plan with Suou”, Lykos interrupted and pointed at the Karcharías, “we will evacuate everyone from that ship and run it into the enemy ship.”
Ounis' eyes widened. “You can’t do that. Didn’t you hear me? Shuan is on that ship. It would kill him. Forget your plan, we don’t need it. I can take care of the Nous on my own!”
“Ouni! You really aren’t in any shape to do that. Look at you.”
And Ouni did. He looked down at himself, he still had wounds that needed to be treated and he couldn't stop shaking. When was the last time he had something to eat? He didn’t know. He had scars all over his body, clearly visible without his shirt and only glad in pants and coat. Shuan’s coat. He grabbed it tightly.
“Who else is gonna bring him back?”, he added with a shaking voice.
Chakuro let go of his arms and lowered his head. Ouni was right.
“Say, Daimonas. Are you certain this plan will not backfire? If you fail, everyone infected on the island will die! Because If they capture you as well, I won’t crash our ship into it. You are our only hope against the empire and I’m not waging your life.”
“Who do you think you are, talking to Ouni like this?!”, the twins shouted at Orca, who wasn’t impressed at all.
‘You aren’t a cursed monster at all. You were born from the love that suffuses the mud whale. You are a symbol of hope.’
Shuan's voice drifted through his mind. If he was a symbol of hope, then he dared to hope as well.
“I am certain! Do whatever you want with your ship. But I’m going in there whether you like it or not!”
“I’m coming with you!” The archivist declared determined, “When Ouni and Lykos got kidnapped, the Commander was the first one to say we need to get them back. He didn’t waver even for a second. We should be ashamed, we are even thinking about leaving him behind!”
Lykos gave a small smile at Chakuros words and nodded. “No one gets left behind.”
Her brother sighed next to her, but wasn’t inclined to fight them over this decision. “Very well. But let me get one thing straight. In order to kill that Nous, you’d need to destroy the entire ship with your Thymia. Is this really within your capabilities right now, Daimonas?”
Ouni glared at him, but didn’t deny his assumption. Just taking out the Nous Skyros had him unconscious for a few days. And while he did become better at using his Thymia now, he couldn’t say he was confident enough to destroy an entire ship. Still, he would try if it meant he wouldn’t need to lose someone again.
“I will not abandon him!”
“Fine, I’m in no position to argue here. Get your friend out, but just in case I will prepare my option as a Plan B. If you don't manage to destroy the Nous, get off that thing as fast as possible and we will ram it. Gather your team, I’m starting the evacuation.”
With a last look toward his sister, Orca trotted off. Ouni still didn’t know what to think of him, but at least he didn't waste more time arguing. The two kids in front of him were determined and ready to go with him, but they weren’t enough. The twins were still standing behind him, but Ouni knew this was too big for them. So, who else?
“Chakki!” Ginshu was running their way, followed by two members of the vigilantes. Perfect, just what Ouni needed. He wouldn't need to ask twice if they would save their Commander.
“Miss Ginshu, perfect timing! We need your help.”
“I got more People helping with evacuating the ship, just like Suocchi asked me to. Everyone else is busy helping out here. That red stuff is really not stopping…”
“Forget evacuating the ship. We have a new Plan!”
“What? But didn’t you just tell Suocchi about it!”
“We don't have time to talk this through with him. Ouni is taking care of the Nous, but we need more people for the infiltration!”
“Oh”, Ginshu made a confused face and then looked at her company nervously, “but we were ordered to help evacuate the ship of Lykkis brother.”
Ouni had enough. “Your Ex-Commander got taken by that giant monster and is on that ship!”
“WHAT??”, shrieked the young girl, “Why didn't you say so in the first place? Let’s get on that stupid ship right now!”
Chakuro smiled at her, “Thank you, Miss Ginshu!”
Ginshu gave him a big smile, which disappeared a second later for a determined look. She was tense, Ouni noted. She cared, and so did the two boys behind her, who were nodding in unison. Despite all his faults and bad mannerism that Ouni knew first handed, Shuan really was idolized by the vigilantes. He wondered if Shuan even knew there were people out there caring for him.
Ouni took a deep breath and sorted his mind. He got the team ready. The boats were next. There should be a few stored on the cliff they usually departed from for hunting.
“Follow me!”, was all he said when he marched towards the stairs taking them a floor below. The group nodded eagerly and hurried after him. Luckily they didn’t need to look around for too long, until they found two boats still intact. Just two boats… Well it had to be enough.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Getting to the ship was surprisingly easy. It seemed like the enemy had stopped all their attacks and so the ship almost seemed abandoned; it didn’t feel right.
“This is where we should enter.” Lykos pointed at a small door framed into the wall. Up close, Ouni realized for the first time that the ship was made out of a material he had never seen before. It might have been the same material as the boat used by their new companions from Amonlogia, but this one was glowing in a weird, yet familiar way.
“Lead the way”, commanded Ouni and Lykos slipped through the door, Chakuro and Ouni right behind her. The vigilante protected their rear. They found themselves in the metal bearing, just like Orca had said. It was devoid of any human and Ounis' feeling of dread grew with every second. Something wasn’t right here. Then he saw something move in the corner of his eye.
“Caution!”, he screamed, activating his Thymia and cutting the container he saw the movement behind. However, instead of a human, he saw a red mob pulsing with energy. It came out of the walls, slowly stretching as a way to move forward. The Nous, the thing that ate Shuan. It was only a small portion of it, but it felt alive. It truly was a part of the entire ship. He didn’t like how surprised he was by that realization. How are you going to destroy it when it’s hiding in every part of the ship? No, he couldn’t think about that now.
“It’s the Red Nous, it already got to this part of the ship?” the Archivist asked fearfully. Next to him, Lykos nodded strained.
“It’s moving faster than I expected. It started at the deck, but it’s already halfway through the ship. if we don’t hurry, we might not have a way back.”
“Then why are we still standing here?”, countered Ginshu. She was right, no time to waste. They started running towards the entrance of the hallway. Turning to the left, Ouni soon found himself eye to eye with a few enemy soldiers. They looked just as surprised as the rescue group did. Did they not expect them?
Before Ouni could even think of using his Thymia, a loud rumbling came from a side hall. The soldiers shifted their entire attention towards the sound.
“It's coming!”, one of them explained and for the first time Ouni imagined a hint of an emotion coming from them- fear. Not towards the Daimonas, but towards the origin of the rumbling sound. Ouni gulped. And in this exact second he saw an even bigger mass of the Red Nous launching itself onto the soldiers, engulfing them before leaving nothing but dead statues in their way.
What?
Ouni couldn’t quite believe it. The Nous had attacked its own men. Why would it do that? Ouni felt a tuck at his sleeve, before being rammed into the nearest wall. One of the vigilantes screamed into his ear: “Don’t get in contact with it!”
Ouni reprimanded himself, he couldn’t blunder now.
The Nous had moved towards them, but had stopped a few meters before them. It was however blocking the entire hallway.
“What now?” Ouni asked, more to himself, but was glad when the Archivist answered him.
“I was on the ship before and managed to get quite some overview. If we take one of the side hallways, we should get into a hallway parallel to this one. It should still bring us to the door Orca talked about.”
“That’s good enough.”
The group made their way back, into the next hallway and soon found themselves in a parallel hallway, just like they hoped. They could hear footsteps and voices coming from the opposite direction. More screaming and the ever present rumbling of the Nous. It was surreal. The Red Nous had already taken over a part of the hallway, cloaking the wall in a fine layer of itself. They had managed to make some progress on their way, not needing to fight any soldiers at all, when the Nous suddenly started to become active next to them. It gathered into a ball, before stretching its Chéri into a fine net from each side, like a thin spider web from each corner of the hall. It was blocking their way once again.
Ouni frowned. “Why isn’t it attacking us? It didn’t seem to have any problems doing it to its own soldiers.”
“I don’t know.” Lykos said, looking over at Chakuro, who added “It’s the same that happened before. The Nous suddenly started to go on a rampage, but it didn’t attack me, Itia or Lykos at all. Only Orca and the crew…”
Ouni got suspicious. The Nous wasn’t behaving like an enemy at all. It was behaving like a certain sacrificial idiot who saw his only worth in dying for his people and who didn’t want to get rescued at all. The poor attempt of a barrier was mocking them, telling them to go home and leave everything else to him. Ouni didn’t have any of it. It was just a thin layer, so he used his Thymia to cut it apart, only to have it reassemble immediately. Ouni gritted his teeth. How dare it…
“It’s acting unusual. Is there any way that someone else is behind its behaviour?”, Ouni finally asked, looking at the only expert present. Lykos seemed conflicted. He shook her by her shoulder, hard. They didn’t have time to waste. His voice became angry: “If you know something, then tell me!”
“My brother said that only its natural enemy, a Daimonas, can control a Nous. That’s the reason he even kidnapped you in the first place.”
Ouni let go of her shoulders. He didn’t know that. Was he really capable of something like that? He was confused, “When did he say that?”
“When we were negotiating your release, so shortly before we picked you up”, Chakuro answered.
Oh no.
“Did Shuan hear that as well?”
The moment he asked his question, realization hit Lykos and Chakuro. Their eyes widened in shock, searching for one another.
They knew. They knew and just confirmed his suspicion. This bastard. Not only did he sacrifice himself for the Mud Whale, he also did it so Ouni wouldn’t need to.
‘If something had happened to you, before I got a chance to tell you I would have regretted it forever.‘
But now Ouni could feel nothing but regret. He still had so many questions left. How could Shuan think for even a second that Ouni would be okay with this?
Ouni, Lykos and Chakuro got torn out of their thoughts by Ginshu’s alert: “The Nous is coming from this side as well. It’s gonna block our only way out.” Sure enough, looking to the other side of the hallway, he could see a big mass of Red making its way towards them. Ouni was sure by now it would let them simply leave, but before he could say anything, the two vigilantes rushed past Ginshu, striking at the Nous.
“We will push it back a bit, we have to find another way. Go back to the side hall!”, one of them exclaimed. He pushed his staff right into the Nous, but seemed to be surprised by the lack of resistance. His momentum made him fall right into the Nous.
“No!” Ouni screamed running towards him. Ginshu had started to move as well, but they wouldn’t make it in time. His companion was trying to pack him by his clothes, but couldn’t propel him back. The young Man fell face forward, but instead of the Nous, he felt the hard floor of the hall under him. The Nous had moved out of his way, making sure it wouldn’t touch him at all.
“What?”, was the only thing the confused vigilante could say, before being dragged off by Ginshu and the other one. They all seemed bewildered, not really able to understand what had just happened. But for Ouni this was more than enough.
“Come back again, we are taking this way!”
“What?” Chakuro asked, “There is no way!”
Ouni moved towards the thin web and reached out with his hand. And sure enough, right before he could touch it, the web withdrew. Ouni couldn’t help but laugh at this situation. It was truly a poor attempt. He walked towards and the Nous had no chance but to make room for him.
“It won’t do anything to us. We can just walk through it right to our destination!”
The remaining People of his group looked shocked by his seemingly lack of concern for himself, but hurried after him.
“I’d like to have your Guts, Ouni”, Chakuro joked.
Ouni smiled, there was nothing that could stop them now. And sure enough, the Nous begrudgingly made them room whenever they came too close to it and all the soldiers they found on their way were already petrified.
They arrived at the giant door without even a single fight.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The Nous’ chamber held more space than the entirety of the Mud Whales Towers, yet it looked incredibly crowded by the sheer mass of the Nous. It covered every wall and some blops reached from the floor to the ceiling. The part of the floor that wasn’t populated by the Nous barely gave them enough room to walk around. The Chamber was pulsing in a steady rhythm; it really was the heart of the ship it seemed. The Nous didn’t make any attempt to move for them anymore, maybe whatever influence Shuan had over it was weaker here.
The group slowly made their way further into the chamber. In the middle of the room they saw a mass of dark red. Ouni recognized it as the Monster that had eaten them. It was the same form it took after Ouni had got out.
“It almost looks humanoid”, Chakuro noted, “Is that where the Commander is?”
“I’m sure it is.” Ouni realized that the Nous hadn’t actually changed into this form. It had simply taken Shuans body and surrounded, incapacitated it with as much of its own body as possible. It made him sick.
Seeing it again made Ouni register one fault in his plan. He couldn't see through the Nous, he had no idea where it ended and Shuan started. It had been easy when he was shackled to the tree, but now he would cut blind. What if he cut him, or even worse, kill him? What if the Nous had tricked them all into coming here so it could devour them without resistance? Or what if he managed to save him but it was already too late?
‘Will you remember? I probably haven't lost everything. When I lost someone I was probably in pain.’
“Ouni, are you alright?” Chakuros voice seemed distant, Ouni hadn’t even comprehended that he had been staring at the Nous for quite some time now.
“Yeah, I just…” he shook his head. There was no time. They had come this far, the least he could do was try. He walked towards it and activated his Thymia, forming it into a small blade of the size of his hand and finger. The shape was human, if he just started from the first layer while staying true to the shape it could work. He made the first cut and successfully disconnected a part of the Nous from its main body. He could feel everyone holding their breath. Nothing happened. There was no blood, no human flesh he had cut and there was no activity coming from the Nous either. So far so good.
Ouni continued to slowly cut layer for layer, piece for piece without triggering the Nous at all. It was only a matter of time until he would discover something that didn’t belong to it. Turned out it was the fabric of his shirt. Ouni couldn’t stop the smile forming on his face. He recognized the color, it was definitely Shuan's shirt. He had actually found him. He followed the sleeve, as it turned out, to the shoulder. Ouni was relieved to see it was still connected to the upper body. Cutting out the torso had been simple, he only had to mind the neck and second shoulder. He collected himself before starting cuttin free his throat and head. The longer he used his Thymia, the harder it got to breathe. But he had to focus now. After managing not to slit his throat, he went to his face. After a single cut however, he found a cavity surrounding Shuan's entire head. It appeared like the Nous made a protective helmet instead of fusing with him directly, but Ouni paid it no attention. His face looked just like it did inside the Monster, except his right eye, which was taken by a strong strand of the Nous material.
‘It came in through my eye so now I’m stuck to this thing.’
Next to the red surrounding him, his face seemed awfully pale and drained. His left eye was closed, the scar running down his face in an ugly pink. He hadn’t twitched at the change of his surroundings, so Ouni concluded he wasn’t conscious. He moved his hand in front of his nose and mouth, but couldn’t feel any air he exhaled. He moved it to his neck, feeling for a pulse. In the time it took him to find the right location it seemed like his own heart would stop at any moment. The second he found a steady, yet weak pulse, the relief washing over him made his whole body shake.
“Is he alive?!”, Ginshu asked and for the first time since starting the whole procedure he acknowledged his companions again. He gave a short nod, tried to give an encouraging smile, but failed. He felt more like crying right now.
Ouni feared what consequences cutting the strand connected to his eye would have, so instead he focused back on his arms, freeing his hands completely. By now, the Nous felt softer, easier to cut. Occasionally, it even released parts of Shuan's body on its own. It must have registered that his prey was getting freed, but instead of fighting it, it let him go. Maybe Shuan's interference hadn’t been welcomed at all or keeping him was too much effort for the Nous. Either way, it helped Ouni. He grabbed Shuan’s collar and tried to move him forwards, with little success. So he moved his hand behind him and freed his back with a quick slice of his Thymia. Ounis' concentration was starting to swindle, he wouldn’t be able to keep this up much longer. Now the only part left were Shuan’s legs.
His torso, now disconnected from the system of roots that had him secured, started to wobble. Before Ouni could even ask for help, the two boys from the vigilantes were already at his side, securing him.
“Quick, get his legs and we’re outta here. It’s starting to get ugly.” The Nous had started to regain activity, its roots weren’t targeting them but their uncoordinated movement could still be dangerous. No time to lose anymore.
So Ouni started to free his thighs, down to his knees. The final cut focused on his lower legs. The Nous, finally giving up on keeping its prey, released the last parts connected and Shuan's body collapsed into the three of them. All that was left was his right eye. A swift cut and the connection was severed, freeing him for real. Ouni gasped for air, a mix of exhaustion and relief made his eyes bleary. He heard the Nous movement, as they became more violent and hectic. He still had to destroy it, the ship. Now that Shuan was saved, he could just try to summon the blades of light again. Those surely would manage to destroy the ship. If only he wasn’t so tired.
Ouni looked towards the others. The taller boy had started to carry Shuan on his back, with the other securing him with his hands on Shuan's rear. Ginshu hovered around them, he had never seen this expression on her face as she held back tears, searching for his heartbeat herself. She must’ve come to the same conclusion as he did, as she nodded to her comrades. They were ready to go. Further back, Chakuro and Lykos were securing their way home. Ouni hadn’t even realized they moved.
“Let’s go!” Ouni tried to collect himself, but his voice felt hoarse. He remembered the time he foguht Orca in Amonlogia, how suddenly his body, his Thymia betrayed him. He had never felt so weak. The Mud whale wasn’t far away. As long as he made it back to a boat it didn’t really matter if he pushed his body too far. He would be fine.
The Group started to move, Ginshu clearing the way before them, then the vigilantes and the kids. Ouni fell behind, looking for the best part to start his destruction. He figured it didn’t really matter. The ship was way too big, he wouldn’t reach every part even if he was right in the middle. The location of the boats were more important. Luckily, the Nous had still to attack them. It was thrashing around the walls without a clear goal. It probably still had to adjust to the situation. They reached the metal bearing faster than expected and Ouni knew now was the best time.
“We will split up here”, he said and was met with a couple of shocked eyes, “Get to the boats, while I will destroy the ship.” He locked eyes with the vigilante. “Get the Commander back to the Mud Whale immediately.” He turned to Lykos and the Archivist. “Wait on the boat for me.”
The vigilante gave him determined nods, before disappearing into the metal bearings. Ouni watched Shuan's still lifeless form disappear into the dark. His heart felt heavy.
‘He was born from that emotion.’
The Archivist grabbed his arm again “Ouni, you will come back, right?”
“Of course I will, who do you think I am?”
Chakuro smiled at that, before being pulled away by his sleeve. With a short: “We will wait at the boat. Please, stay safe!” Lykos dragged the boy along, leaving Ouni alone on the ship. Well, alone with the Nous which had started to rumble in the halls again. Ouni closed his eyes, focusing on the sensation he felt when using the swords of lights earlier.
He thought of Shuan's encouraging words, Chakuros emotional thanks, Suous presence and the love that he was made of. It warmed him from the inside, empowering him. His Thymia took the form of swords and started glowing faintly. They were much smaller than previously. Ouni didn’t know if it was his exhaustion or the lack of Mud Moss, but he didn’t have another chance. He put his everything into this attack, clenching his teeth he suppressed a frustrated scream.
He heard the rumbling of the Nous and saw the red Mass reaching out for him. For a faint second, he saw the child inside it that had tried to take both him and Shuan before. It didn’t have enough, yet. Ouni launched his attack, firing the swords through the ship with only destruction as his goal. One sword he fired directly onto the Nous in front of him, successfully intersecting it. He felt his Thymia, far away at the end of the ship slowly disappearing. The ship started to croak and debris fell off. Did he make it? The Nous in front of him barely twitched anymore and it looked melted. Ounis' eyes couldn’t focus on it too long. He had to move, if the ship really was going to sink. He had to go to the boat, to the Archivist and Lykos. He had to reach the Mud Whale again. But he felt his body giving in. Standing upright took everything he had. He didn’t have any energy left. Breathing hard, he tried to move his legs, but they failed him. His world became dark and he fell unconscious before even hitting the cold and broken floor.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
He is running on the sea of sand, the Mud Whale far behind him. He can see land, the outside world right before him. He reaches out, but all his hand can feel is dust.
He is falling and the sky is breaking down on him.
“Ouni, look out!”
Who was that? Where was the voice coming from? Then a second voice joined.
“The ceiling!”
“I got this, get him on the Boat!”
He feels his body floating through the sky, gently guided by the warm summer wind and ocean's current.
“You really are more of a Protector than a Destroyer, you know?”
“Haha, stop teasing me.”
He sails off into the distance.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
The first thing Ouni noticed was the soft mattress under him. He wasn’t in his tower or the Belly then. A soft mattress only even meant he was in the infirmary. But he couldn’t remember why he would even be there? He couldn’t hear much, a few voices speaking in a low hush. What happened? He tried to remember the events leading up to this, tried to remember the dream he just woke up from. Was he still on Amonlogia? No, this was the Mud Whale, he was sure. Actually, had he even returned from Amonlogia? Wasn’t he on that silver-haired Bastard’s ship? No, that wasn’t true either. After all, his friends came to rescue him. The Archivist and Lykos were there. Wait, weren’t those the voices he just heard in his dream? Suou had been there as well, together with the Commander. Shuan. Something stirred inside him. He wanted to remember.
‘In my own way, I loved this island. I want you to remember that. And I’m going to prove it now.’
And he did. Ouni remembered. He remembered the pain, the emotional rollercoaster, the rescue. He did succeed, right? Right? He had to!
His eyes felt heavy and his whole body protested, but he had to open them, he had to move and find out.
Opening his lids, he looked around only to be met with the ones from the Archivist, sitting next to him.
“Ouni, you’re awake. I’m so glad.” He started to tear up.
“Chakuro….”
The boy had a slight blush upon hearing his name.
“Yes, it’s me. Kicha will be so mad that you decided to wake up the second she went to get breakfast”, Chakuro gave a small laugh, clearly trying to stay quiet inside the infirmary, “How are you? You fainted and we weren’t sure if the Nous had gotten you.”
“I’m fine, just exhausted. What happened? The ship, did I get it?”
Chakuro nodded eagerly. “It sank into the sea of sand a few hours ago. The Nous on the Mud Whale disintegrated. You saved everyone, Ouni. I’m so grateful.” Chakuro rubbed his eye, trying to stop the tears.
“Everyone? What is with…?”
Chakuro gave a knowing smile and leaned back. Now, Ouni’s view wasn’t blocked anymore and he could see the bed opposite of him. He could see Shuan. He had been patched up and released from the remains of the Nous. He was still unbelievably pale, but Ouni could see his chest moving on his own. He was alive. Ouni felt the relief crashing through his tired body so hard it hurt. But he welcomed the hurt. It was worth it. He smiled, he couldn’t quite believe it. How slim were the chances he would actually manage all this? He had been so focused on getting Shuan back that only now he realized that they easily could have all died on that ship, effectively killing the Mud Whale as well. It was reckless, he could already hear the complaints from the adults and from Suou, but he didn’t care.
Chakuro cleared his throat, effectively getting Ouni's attention back.
“He hasn’t woken up, yet. But the medical team said that his condition has improved. He isn’t even really hurt and is physically fine. We just have to give his mind some time. They’re positive he will wake up, soon.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, it is. Especially for you. I’m so glad for you.”
“What do you even mean?”
Something glistened in Chakuros eyes and he still had that knowing smile. “It’s pretty obvious. I saw that look in your eyes so often.”
“What look?”, Ouni replied, slightly annoyed.
“Whenever you look at the Commander. It’s the same as Samis and Lykos whenever they’re worried about their big brother.”
Oh.
He mouthed that word, but couldn’t get his voice to work. Did he really look at him like that? He tried to remember his feelings from the moment they were both swallowed by the Nous. Inside him was a sandstorm that he wasn’t able to see through. It confused him. Yet, the more he thought about it, the warmer it made him feel. It felt right.
How did that boy manage to make sense of the emotional whirlwind inside him when even he couldn’t? Ouni smiled and the sandstorm cleared. Yes, it was right. Of course it was. Shuan was his brother. It all made so much sense now.
“Thank you, Chakuro.”
He felt Chakuros hand on his shoulder, before excusing himself to meet up and inform the others that he woke up.
Ouni was afraid he would be bombarded with questions and get scolded. Instead only Suou, who looked like he went through his personal kind of hell, visited him and condemned him to rest some more. No one would bother him for now. Ouni used the chance to recall his past interactions with Shuan. He sat up and slung his arm around his legs, effectively blocking everything else out.
Shuan had always acted differently with Ouni. After all, he had known about Ouni, more than Ouni knew about himself. The few times they talked always challenged Ouni, everytime they fought Shuan pushed him further. The Commander had always been the strongest on the Mud Whale, as far as Ouni could remember. As Ouni grew older and stronger, the solitary man had felt more and more like a goal to reach. The head of the vigilante, the strongest person on their tiny island. Of course, if he wanted to reach the Outside world, he had to beat him eventually. And despite having the strongest Thymia, Ouni had never managed. And it frustrated him to no end, because every taunt and every hint coming from Shuan had always one goal: Be better. Ouni had tried to become as strong as him, to stand on equal footing, but failed to understand that Shuan had been guiding him to reach the top all along.
Looking back, it felt so surreal. Shuan had been testing him, challenging him and most of all, preparing him. He remembered their talk in the rain, after the purple rudder incident. Yes, he had been scared back then. Scared that his words were true and he could never leave this island. Forced to stay there for eternity when a new home had been right in front of them. Those concerns were so far away right now. If anything, he took solace in knowing he wouldn’t be alone. That even now, he wasn’t alone.
It probably had been the same for him, Ouni mused. Shuan wasn’t known to meddle much. Yet he had always been a presence in his life, even if it was irritating and condescending more often than not. Shuan had probably just wanted to know if they were the same. Ouni understood now. He probably had disappointed him a few times and Ouni almost felt bad for having a more human heart than Shuan did. In his own way, Shuan had tried to reach out to him, tried to connect but he hadn’t known how. Ouni’s heart ached. All these years of terror over not knowing about his own identity and origin. It could have been so different.
It will be different from now on, though. He wouldn’t let him go again and he would make sure Shuan understood that they indeed were the same. No matter their differences, they were still much closer to being alike than to anyone else they knew.
Ouni was loved, made out of love and everyone's hope. This knowledge scattered the terror inside his heart. He would make sure the doubts and terror inside Shuan's would scatter as well. Because Ouni knew better than anyone else how he felt. The terror. With this decision in mind, he raised his head and looked back over to Shuan. And he was met with the sight of his open eye and inclined head; Ounis' heart leaped. They looked at each other, small smiles on their faces and nothing else mattered in this second. His brother had woken up.