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Arin’s throat ached as he pulled Ras’ on the wooden sled across the wastelands. His face was hot, and his whole body was numb. He was undeniably sick. The cold nights, the hot days, and the relentless work he had to do throughout nearly all of it just to get his new teacher to a safe condition were eating at him. But he couldn’t stop now. If he didn’t help Ras get better, he might never see his parents again.
Yet his mind was screaming at him to take a rest. He sniffled as he tried to push on, but his legs were giving out. He could hear quiet, strained snoring from Ras. Maybe he wouldn’t notice if they stopped for just a moment.
Gently, he places the sled against a large rock, sitting down and catching his breath. He shudders as he massages his sore limbs. He leans on the rock, lying his head on its side. His breathing was shaky. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could go through with this. His physical conditions were continuing to worsen, and having to carry around a tiger man who never seemed to calm down didn’t help. He knew it was necessary, though. He would do whatever Ras said if it meant getting his parents back.
However, something was pulling at him. A tugging feeling he had relentlessly been trying to push away in the days after the tournament. It was the idea of running back to the ninja. Back to Lloyd. Back to Sora.
He felt a sharp pang in his heart as he thought of Sora. He attempted to brush off the feeling, but it persisted.
He and Sora had been best friends just a couple of weeks ago. They were inseparable. It had been like that from The Merge up until the tournament. Yet it felt like he hadn’t seen her for years. He desperately tried to let go, to forget her and all of the other ninjas’ faces, but he couldn’t get rid of them.
Arin’s thoughts were cut off by his own loud sneeze. He coughed sharply–harsh, dry noises leaving his mouth. He looked into his bag. The water was taunting him, but he knew he had to save it. Ras would surely kill him if he even thought about drinking it.
He sighs, placing the bag beside him.
Dangerous memories slowly flooded his mind. Ones about Sora. He tried so desperately to think about something else, to think about his parents, to think about Wu’s crimes–but it all circled back to her.
He still remembered all the time he and Sora shared in the years after The Merge–before they met the ninja. A part of him wanted to go back to that, to those simple times when they didn’t have to worry about anything but themselves.
They used to take care of each other when they were sick. It was difficult for them both, being so young.
Sora’s voice rings in his head. Her soft, caring tone she always used whenever she knew he was hurt. He can’t push it away this time. It was more than half a decade ago, but he remembers it so dearly. He had just gotten sick, and Sora had spent the whole day selling random gadgets to get the money to buy medicine and food.
“Arin…? How are you doing?” Her voice was quiet as she stepped into the room.
Arin slowly looked up at her. “Hey, Sora.” He said softly, his voice strained.
“Don’t talk too much… I got you some medicine…” She said, smiling sympathetically.
Arin felt slightly guilty. They frequently spent a while working out when the other was sick to help pay for medicine and food, but it still hurt all the same seeing their best friend so tired. He nodded thankfully.
Sora placed the bag on the counter. She sat on the bed beside Arin.
He looked up at her, still feeling weak. However, the numbness from earlier–the one he felt before Sora had come in–was gone. It was replaced by warmth. A warmth he always seemed to feel around Sora. Sora had been his only real friend since The Merge. There were the other crossroads residents, but Arin had only really gotten close to Sora. She was family.
“Arin…” Sora starts again. “I… I wanted to say something, and…” She trails off. She still wasn’t very good with this friend stuff, even after living with the most positive, friendly person she’d ever met. “I-I just… I’m really glad we’re friends, y’know? And I don’t know where I’d be without you.” She finally gets out.
They’d known each other for two years by then, yet Arin still felt the exact same way he did when they first started having these heart-to-heart conversations. He felt needed. He felt loved. He felt things he knew he would never have had if he never met Sora. The Merge took everything from him, yet it gave him someone he’d never be able to forget. Someone that would help him learn, help him get through it all. Her words resonated in his head. He felt the same way. If he didn’t meet her right after The Merge, who knows where he’d be. There’s so much he wants to say in response, but all that comes is a smile, and three words.
“I love you, Sora.”
“...I love you too, Arin.”
Her words echo in his head. The words repeat over and over again. Arin doesn’t like to think about it, especially since the tournament. Sora was his best friend. He was the one that he could rely on, the one that he could trust. But he wasn’t sure if he could ever trust again.
Arin could feel his breathing slowing down. He felt a hint of fading warmth as he stood up. The thoughts slowly fade as he once again picks up the sled Ras is on to drag him across the desert.
The thoughts fight back, but Arin pushes them down. He couldn’t afford to think about Sora–or any of the ninja for that matter. There was no point in thinking of a family he couldn’t go back to.
The ninja failed him. That’s all that should matter.
…Right?