Chapter Text
It had been a good victory.
The Nine Soldiers had worked together and vanquished that big bad void monster. They’d saved the day once again.
So why did Natsuko feel like utter shit?
Because it had been her fault it had even gotten to the stage it did in the first place.
If she hadn’t been so cocky…. So full of herself, so naive to think she could take all these monsters herself in just a few minutes with any drawing she put out…
What if in the three days she’d been unconscious the Town was destroyed? What if Luke and the others….? No. She couldn’t think about that.
She sighed, peeking out her long dark hair out the window at the rain that was slowly falling.
Why did she care about them so much again? Oh yeah… they were her childhood heroes. She would be devastated if anything happened to them…
But… she doubted they’d feel likewise.
She thought back to the footage QJ had showed her when Memmeln and Unio had been healing her after the Void attack.
What had Unio said again..?
Oh yeah.
She’s more trouble than she’s worth.
Maybe he was right.
Before she realized it, tears were falling from her face as she stared at the window. Did her childhood heroes…. Really hate her?
Would it be so surprising? She reflected on her past life, thinking about the people she’d seen almost every day. They had never exactly enjoyed her company. They had either hated her cockiness or been frightened by her…
Maybe… maybe she was in hell after all. A hell where the people she had held in such high regard… would despise her.
”Dinner!” She heard Luke’s voice call from the kitchen.
Shit.
She wiped her face before letting her hair fall back over her face completely. Hiding the red tinge in her eyes from view.
As sad as she was- no way was she missing out in anime food. Everything was too good to miss!
As she stepped towards the table, the others were already there stuffing their faces.
”Ah, Natsuko.” Luke smiled when he saw her. “Food is ready! Don’t worry I made plenty.”
”YAH THE GREMLIN’S HERE!” Unio shouted, covering his plate like she might try to steal it. “EVERYONE GUARD YOUR FOOD- SHE EATS LIKE A BOTTOMLESS PIT PIG!”
While normally, his claims would’ve been met with Natsuko grabbing him by the horn and giving him the windmill treatment, this time- she didn’t even move.
She couldn’t. She was paralyzed. Frozen in shock and fear.
Piled high on the plate waiting for her was….
Clams.
The things had killed her in her world.
Immediately her thoughts started racing, her body shaking slightly. Was this… some kind of cruel joke on their part? Were they trying to kill her? No, they didn’t know about that part of her past- right? Besides.. this was Luke’s cooking… no way he would make bad clams…
”Natsuko..?” Memmeln said softly, a look of concern entering her face. “Are you alright?”
“She’s probably trying to see which plate she can scarf down first!” Unio quipped, shooting her a dirty look. “Keep your greedy mitts away from mine you hairy monster!”
That was it.
She couldn’t do it.
Without a word, she turned and ran.
”Natsuko!” Luke called, surprised and shocked. He’d never seen her do that before. He and Memmeln both turned to stare at Unio who held up his hooves in defense.
”Hey! I didn’t do anything!”
”You must apologize.” The elf said evenly.
”WHAT?! ME apologize?! SHE’S the one who abuses me all the time! And wore my horn as a hair piece in our last match can you believe that?!”
Luke’s eye twitched. “It’s lucky for you she even found your horn. And if you weren’t such a rude little foal all the time maybe she wouldn’t take shots at you.”
”WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?! LUKE! SHE’S GOTTEN IN YOUR HEAD!”
”I DON’T CARE IF A VOID HAS GOTTEN IN MY HEAD! GO APOLOGIZE NOW, OR I’M NOT COOKING FOR YOU ANYMORE!”
**************
Natsuko sat on the rooftop, her hair blowing softly in the wind, the rain pelting down on her, soaking through her jacket.
The tears were flowing freely, and she couldn’t get them to stop. By rights she should do them a favor and throw herself off the roof and to get rid of herself for them…. But… as much as they might not like her… she loved them… and she wanted desperately to help them…. But what if… her ‘helping’ them would be their death?
She was thinking too much. The voice was too loud.
Thunder rumbled overhead as she pulled a small knife out of her pocket. The sharp edge of the blade grounded her, the tiny beads of blood that grew larger before trickling down her arm quieted the chaos of her mind. And then she heard… Unio..?
“Gremlin where are youuu?! I don’t want to get wet because of your stupid hurt feelings!”
She almost smiled.
She should go down, rough him up a little, and scoff in his face about how ridiculous it was- the mere idea of anything he said could hurt her feelings.
She’s more trouble than she’s worth.
The tiniest trace of a smile that had been starting immediately disappeared.
Maybe he was right.
Her grip tightened on her knife as her shoulders shook in repressed sobs. She just wanted to go home. Maybe she SHOULD eat those clams… maybe if a bad clam from her world took her here, the bad clams here would take her back.
Somehow, she doubted it. And honestly? She’d rather fling herself from the roof then put a clam anywhere near her mouth.
Thunder rumbled overhead again. The storm was getting worse. She should get down. Go inside. Dry off. Take a nap. But she couldn’t bring herself to move.
******
Luke was cleaning up the kitchen, a frown on his face as he reflected on what had happened at dinner. Unio had been out of line, that’s true. But he’d said way more out of pocket stuff to Natsuko before, and she’d just shrugged it off and retaliated. Was there something he was missing?
The sound of the front door opening and slamming shut got his attention and he looked up from his dishes, expecting to see Unio and Natsuko. But to his surprise all he saw was… a dripping wet Unio.
”I don’t know where that hairy gremlin is but it’s like she vanished into thin air.” The unicorn grumbled, attempting to shake like a dog.
Memmeln looked up from the table where she’d been enjoying an after dinner cup of tea. “You can’t find her?”
He shook his head, and while he still seemed aloof, Luke could definitely detect a hint of concern in his body language. “It’s like she just poofed… oh well. She’ll show up again sooner or later.” He began to reach for another clam.
Before he even realized what he was doing, Luke smacked his hoof away. “You’re not getting anything I’ve cooked until you apologize.”
”But how can I apologize if I don’t know where she is?!” Unio whined. “I promise I will when she shows up again!”
”She could be in danger.” Memmeln muttered, standing up. “I’ll go look for her.”
”I’ll come with you.” Luke grabbed his sword, before looking at Unio expectantly.
The unicorn sighed dramatically, hanging his head. “Fine… I’ll come too.”