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Sora had constantly been alert lately. She should be resting, she knows it. Things in her life were finally calming down. Thunderfang was gone, Imperium was fully saved, and the ninja were fully reunited. But she seemed to be the only one who couldn’t calm down. Despite her current closeness to all of the other ninja, these last few weeks were the most uncomfortable she’d ever felt living in the monastery in a while. For her, the monastery had an uncomfortable warmth to it. Seeing all the ninja being a family should be comforting to her, but ever since her parents randomly decided to show up at the front door, she never seemed to be able to relax.
She didn’t want to admit it, but it was horrible seeing them. They never showed any real care for her, and when she needed them, they prioritized Beatrix and Imperium over her. After they first liberated Imperium all that time ago, she thought they were finally out of her life. But all of a sudden they show up at the monastery, acting as if the years of neglect never happened.
What made it worse was the way they seemed to pry into every single relationship she had. They formed a “ninja parent support group” with Arin’s parents. She almost scoffed when she first heard it. They didn’t know a thing about supporting children. Any unique traits she might have shown back in Imperium were treated as flaws by everyone, and when she looked to her parents–the people she thought for sure would support her, the people she thought loved and cherished her–they turned their backs on her. They supported a horrible dictator over her.
It almost felt mocking, in a way. The way her parents tried to speak to her now, their “caring”--almost condescending tone. It made her sick to her stomach.
Sora’s new attitude towards things didn’t go unnoticed–especially to Arin. Arin could usually tell when something was off, especially when it came to his best friend. Every time Sora’s parents would start talking, he would notice her tense up, and he couldn’t blame her. He heard lots of stories from Sora about them. Her paranoia was rubbing off on him as well, if he had to be honest, especially since they just finished fighting against loyalists for the very dictator her parents used to blindly support. He tried to keep his distance from Sora’s parents, but it became very difficult after his parents decided to form that support group with them.
Arin always felt bad whenever he rambled off about his parents around Sora back in the day. He knew parents were always a touchy subject for her. She always insisted it was okay, but there was always still lingering guilt in his head whenever he did.
At the very least, Arin’s parents seemed to like Sora, and from what he knew Sora liked them as well. It made things at least slightly less awkward.
Still, Arin was worried. Sora was his best friend, after all. And ever since their short time with Ras, the two seemed to worry about each other even more so than before.
Arin heavily disliked seeing Sora so uncomfortable. He tried his best to make things comfortable for her, and sometimes, it seemed to work. Sora frequently sought out comfort from Arin, and he always tried to give that to her. They often spent time conversing at night, giggling about the mistakes made in their latest mission or Wyldfyre and Roby’s terrible flirting. It brought comfort to both of them. But even with that, the latest added stressor of her parents made things much stranger. It still felt odd to them both.
Arin tries to brush off some of these thoughts as he slowly peers into the darkness of him and Sora’s shared room. He could see Sora sitting down on her bed, her leg shaking up and down and her breathing slightly shaky.
“...Sora?” He calls out quietly. The other ninja were still sleeping.
Sora glances at him. “O-Oh, Arin. Hey. I was wondering where you went…” She looks down, trying to calm her breathing.
“Yeah… I was taking a walk around the mountain…” He whispered. “...can’t sleep?” He looks at her sympathetically, stepping into the room.
She nods slightly. Her breathing is shallow. She blinks away a tear. “I-I j-just… I–” She trails off. Tears drip down from her eyes. She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.
“Hey–hey… It’s okay…” Arin quickly steps closer, embracing Sora in a tight hug. “I know… shh… don’t worry…”
Sora melts into the hug. She lets the tears fall as she buries her head into his shoulder. “A-Arin–” Her words are cut off by pained, quiet sobs.
“Shh… it’s okay… don’t force yourself to talk…” Arin says softly, running his hand through her hair as he brings her closer. “I’m here for you, okay?”
She sits there, sobbing softly into Arin’s shoulder. Her whole body is shaking as tears soak the fabric of Arin’s pajamas. Her voice trembles as she whispers, “I-I r-really don’t get it… why did they have to come back? T-They…” Her voice breaks. She buries her head back into Arin’s shoulder, trying her best to muffle her sobs.
Arin squeezes her tighter. He plants a few soft, comforting kisses on her forehead. “I’ve got you…” He whispers, continuing to slowly run his hand through her hair. “I promise, I won’t let them try anything… you’re safe here.” he says reassuringly.
Sora continues to sob softly into his shoulder. Her breathing is slowing down, but pained sobs still escape her mouth. She closes her eyes, trying to make the most out of Arin’s comfort.
After a while, Sora pulls away. She looks up at Arin, her eyes still glistening with tears. The monastery’s warmth is still slightly uncomfortable, but with Arin here, it’s at least bearable.
“Do you want me to stay with you…?” Arin asks softly, one of his hands on hers.
Sora nods. The two lie down on the bed, and Sora snuggles closer to Arin. She leans her head on him as he wraps her in a tight embrace.
“Good night Sora…” He says softly, closing his eyes.
“G’night Arin…” She responds, a soft, subtle smile forming on her face. “...I love you.”
“I love you too, Sora…” Arin says soothingly, as the two slowly drift off to sleep.