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Six was an smart girl with a great survival instinct, but terribly stubborn at times. And Mono had learned that the hard way.
It was just after the terrifying hospital episode, and the rain was beating down on the twisted rooftops of Pale City. Six and Mono ran through the streets, wading through cold puddles with their bare, scratched feet. The boy held his partner's hand tightly, the yellow raincoat clinging to the girl. Horrific flashbacks from the hospital haunted his mind, with spider hands, living mannequins, and the enormous, deformed doctor crawling on the ceiling.
He and Six had managed to kill the Doctor by locking him in an incinerator. He remembered the warm glow of the flames reflecting off her yellow hooded coat when Six had sat by the small fire to warm her hands. Mono could understand her, a desire to find comforting warmth after days of rain and being constantly chased by menacing things (he didn't want to think about the Teacher and her stretchy neck again). They wished they could rest safely by a fire after the ordeals they had endured. Alas, the boy wanted to leave this horrible place. They weren't safe here with the mannequins, and the Doctor's agonizing cries as he slowly burned made his teeth grind.
He just wanted to leave, far away from this place. Damn it, he would have preferred to go back to the hunter's cabin; it was less scary there! If you don't count the crazy man with a potato sack on his head who had tried to shoot them, of course.
The two children eventually found a small refuge in an apartment on the verge of collapse. The boy wasn't entirely reassured, so he chose a shelter near the window so he could flee at the slightest ominous creak. Six was tired of running, but she hid it behind a composed and expressionless emotional mask, except that Mono knew her better than anyone, as if he had already seen and studied the same thing many times (like an endless cycle..., whispered a voice in the corner of his head).
"You look tired... you'd better dry your clothes and rest, I'm on guard duty."
The girl in the yellow raincoat shook her head in disagreement, a frown hidden beneath the shadow of her bangs. Her partner sighed and took off his trench coat to dry it on an abandoned suitcase.
"Six... I know you're tired."
She groaned in response, sensing the stubborn gaze behind the holes in his paper bag. Besides, why did he always carry it?
Six had often wondered what his face might look like; she was truly curious about this strange enigma she was trying to solve. Her stomach rumbled, the brunette blushed, and Mono giggled at her embarrassment.
"I'll get you something to eat. Don't move, okay?" he reassured her as he came towards her.
He bent down to her level to remove her hood and cupped her cheeks in his hands. Six pouted and stuck her tongue out at him. Mono sneered.
"I want to see you dry and without your coat when I get home, okay?"
She didn't respond at the time, but her teasing look said it all. The boy blushed under his mask and cleared his throat before quickly going to get the food with a muffled "I... I'll be back soon...!".
Six smiled slightly as she watched him disappear from her sight.
Upon his return, poor Mono was soaked to the bone without his trench coat, and his paper bag was holding up well. He was shivering with cold, but he was happy to have accomplished his mission.
Six, who was sitting in the suitcase without her yellow coat and using her friend's as a blanket, stared at the flail he held in his arms. It wasn't a rodent, dead or alive, nor a loaf of bread, nor anything that Six could eat her fill.
They're vegetables.
Fucking vegetables.
Where on earth had Mono found them?
She believed that vegetables would be wiped off the face of the Earth thanks to the Signal Tower.
Apparently not. And she had one more reason to hate that damned tower. Her friend approached to set his burden on the ground and gestured for the girl to come and eat. Six didn't move from her seat, glaring at him.
"Oh come on Six! It's just vegetables! I read in a book that it's very important for the body", he tried to explain to her gently.
She growled, showing her sharp, shark-like teeth.
"Six... just taste a bit, you'll see it's delicious."
He lifted a green salad. Six growled again, and if looks could kill, the salad would instantly be reduced to ashes. Mono sighed but didn't give up easily. Six was so stubborn; strangely, he found her cute like that. He tore off a large leaf of the salad and cautiously approached his growling partner. Mono had to take it slow; Six had a ferocious temper when she felt threatened.
Seriously, he couldn't understand why his friend categorically refused to eat a single portion of vegetables, as if the idea of becoming a vegetarian made her want to vomit.
Well... We're talking about Six. Six was... Six.
Mono knew it.
"Hey... just one piece, okay? Please..."
She shook her head vigorously, trying to push the boy away. It ended in a battle of wills. The two children fought, and Mono finally pinned Six against the mattress of the suitcase, panting under his mask. Six glared at him, her arms pinned above her, and her growls grew more ferocious. She thrashed about, trying to break free. Her friend covered her mouth, but it was a perfect opportunity for the stubborn girl when she opened it.
And she sank her teeth into his hand. Mono let out a loud squeal and leaped away from her, cradling his bitten hand close to him.
Six's anger and annoyance melted into worry and guilt as she saw blood dripping from the bite. The wound, thankfully, wasn't deep, but it was enough to bleed. She could see through the holes in her mask that the poor boy had tears of pain in his eyes, and another wave of guilt pierced her heart. His sniffles echoed softly in the room, almost muffled by the sound of rain. Six climbed out of the suitcase and walked over to her partner.
He flinched at her touch when Six gently took his injured hand and licked the wound, her way of apologizing. Mono softened.
"It's okay, Six... I shouldn't have forced you... I asked for it," he joked to reassure her.
The girl disagreed; she continued to clean the bite with small licks and looked up at him. Mono had turned his head away, his face burning under his paper bag from which one could swear steam was escaping.
Six pulled him up and led him to the open suitcase. She removed the soaked shirt that was bothering the boy; he had barely opened his mouth to protest when he felt a warmth envelop his shivering, wet body. He let out a small exclamation when his paper bag was removed without warning, and his eyes were hidden by a hood that had been pulled down over his head. Six had given him her yellow raincoat to warm her partner and keep him dry.
It felt strange to see him wearing her coat; her stomach tingled pleasantly at the sight.
She turned her eyes elsewhere and spotted the vegetables. She wrinkled her nose, then glanced briefly at Mono and sighed.
Just to please him...
She went to fetch them and returned to the small, warm refuge to unload them onto the mattress. She then took out his trench coat and draped it over her shoulders.
"Six ?"
"Hm?"
Mono watched her, intrigued. Six couldn't see his face, well hidden in the shadow of the hood, but she guessed his curiosity from the tone of his voice.
"You don't have to eat it if you don't like it..."
Still just as worried.
Oh wait, we're talking about Mono.
Six shook her head and pushed the salad towards him so he would eat it. He did so without protest, knowing he couldn't compete with that girl's headstrong nature. Six watched him eat for a moment and then looked at her portion. She didn't recognize this type of vegetable; it looked green and purple, and it didn't appeal to her. She forced herself to take a bite under Mono's surprised gaze.
It's... strangely good, Six mused to herself.
The taste was very different from meat; she preferred meat, but she was curious to try other unknown flavors.
"See? It's not so bad to try once," Mono chuckled, carefully observing her reactions.
Six nodded her head while nibbling on her meal, his soft laughter making her dizzy.
Now, the vegetables seemed much more appealing to her.