A lonely Shadow

Warm. That was the only thought that shot through Sunny's mind as he slowly opened his eyes to assess his surroundings. The room he was in wasn't his; he knew who owned it too well, much better than anyone else in either of the two worlds did.

Sunny tried to turn to see if Nephis was still sleeping, only for his attempts at movement to be stopped by two arms wrapped around his waist. Nephis's grip was gentle yet firm as her hand snaked its way to his chin and pulled it upwards so he met her eyes. Sunny couldn't help but notice the smirk she held on her face that refused to leave as passion blazed in her eyes.

"Good morning," she said, before releasing her hand from his chin and moving it back to his stomach. Her touch sent pangs of electricity barreling through his skin; a slight shiver was elicited from him as she slowly moved her hand below his chest. Sunny's breathing hitched as he watched her move her hand under his shirt and trace unimaginable patterns onto his stomach with her fingers as he let out a sigh.

Nephis hands stopped abruptly as Sunny's head shot up. She gave him an awkward smile. "What, do you not like it?" She asked, and Sunny was quite sure she knew the answer but wanted him to say it anyway, and he wasn't going to deny her. "I do like it; don't stop." He grumbled before returning to playing absentmindedly with her hair.

He had always known how beautiful she was, but moments like these made her beauty stand out extremely compared to what it had once been. The gentle and relaxed expression on her face as well as her faint smile painted a picture that wiped Sunny's mind of all his worries as his eyes drifted shut. Suddenly, he felt Nephis pull him once more till he was seated up, her legs coiled around his waist as she pulled the corner of his shirt down.

Before he knew it, the woman was tracing kisses across his neck. Sunny's pale skin shot red as he opened his mouth in protest but was quickly stopped by Nephis's continued kissing; eventually, he just allowed himself to melt into her arms once more as she repeated the motions for minutes on end without pause.

Finally, Sunny decided to go on offence. He spun around suddenly and grabbed Nephis by her waist, lining kisses across her stomach as she dug her hands into his hair in a weak attempt to protest. "How do you like it?" Sunny mumbled into her stomach as he allowed it to become his unplanned place of rest. 

Nephis didn't bother replying and instead allowed her hands to run through his hair as she simply shrugged in reply.

Hours passed as they continued to exchange kisses as Sunny's plans finally landed into his head. Every part of him was screaming to let the moment last forever; however, there were still people he was neglecting. Sunny knew he had to speak to Cassie eventually, but it was too soon. So, he decided to pursue his other project.

Mordret.

"Neph, I think it's about time I go see Mordret. I have a feeling he's become a master already." Sunny grumbled; his voice didn't portray his desire to see Mordret at all because, quite frankly, he didn't, but it had to be done. Nephis's eyes focused upon hearing Mordret's name.

"You can go. But…can I come with you?" 

Sunny smiled at her before sitting up and pulling Nephis in for a deep but brief kiss. That was all the answer she needed. With that, Sunny said his goodbyes after a phenomenal breakfast by virtue of Nephis and made his way back to his home. 

His time with Nephis made him feel…odd. Sunny knew he was still the spiteful bastard that he had always been, yet none of his lingering anger was directed at Nephis; it was a powerful, lingering emotion that had no direction, and that lack of direction only served to infuriate Sunny. Saying Sunny loved Nephis wouldn't be far-fetched, but Sunny found himself reluctant to make such an admission to himself.

They were certainly more than friends, though.

As far as trust went, Sunny could forgive, but he never forgot. Despite everything, trusting people continued to remain as hard for him as ever; he was sure he could trust Jet and Nephis to not stab him in the back, but that was only so far as they fought side by side, and Sunny wasn't merely a tool that they could use to advance their goals.

Shaking his head, Sunny banished the negativity from his mind as he made his way back to his home. He could still feel the lingering effects of Nephis kisses traced across his neck as he went into the shower; the heat they provided was far more than anything the shower could provide, regardless of how hot he made it.

Suddenly, Sunny heard a knock on his door. Extending his shadow sense, he noticed that Rain was standing nervously in front of his door with a smile planted across her face. Quickly making himself as presentable as possible, Sunny rushed downstairs before opening the door for his sister.

Rain refused to meet his eyes, causing Sunny to step away from the door, allowing her to enter the house and take a seat. After thirty minutes of uncomfortable silence, Rain finally spoke. Her voice was calm and resolute, like she had already accepted the horrid fate that the world had forced onto her.

"I'm a carrier of the nightmare spell. And I don't think I'm ready."

Sunny's eyes popped open as he blitzed to her side; he studied her form to check if she had any signs of extreme fatigue. Thankfully, she lacked such signs, causing Sunny to let loose a sigh of relief. "You want to learn how to survive? Fine, I'll teach you. But why did you come to me? I thought Nephis was teaching you."

Rain shook her head in reply, her grip on her sword tightening slightly. "A cloaked woman told me to never make my presence known near her household again or else she'll kill me. And I'd be much better off going to you, because you know how to survive much better than anyone else."

Sunny's eyes darkened; he had allowed Rain to go unwatched because he had trusted Nephis with at least one duty. However, it seemed like if he wanted to get anything done properly, he needed to do it himself. Sunny allowed his shadow to overlap with Rain's as the serpent connected itself to her shadow discreetly. With Serpent, Rain would have at least some form of protection against any creature that could attempt to harm her. Although he wasn't sure if it would work in a nightmare.

"I won't ask who dared threaten you for now; we don't have time for that. Come with me." Sunny didn't give her time to respond as he grabbed her arm and led her down to his dojo. Sunny stood opposite her with a grim and furious expression painted across his features as he continued to study her in silence.

"Do you know the single motto you need to remember if you want to survive?" He asked; he knew the answer already, and Rain's silence was all he needed to know before he began speaking. Any training from him would be useless if he didn't at least impart this fundamental principle into Rain's mentality.

"Dead people don't dream. No matter what kind of lofty dreams you have, no matter how strong your resolve is, all of that ends when you die. Don't let anyone tell you not to be afraid; be afraid, be suspicious, and don't trust anybody! I've killed thousands of creatures; some were noble, and some were vile. But nobody distinguishes the two because they're both dead! Your survival is your top priority; your survival is the only dream of yours that should be preserved as soon as you enter the nightmare."

Sunny studied Rain's expression as she absorbed the information he imparted; she didn't offer a verbal reply before unsheathing her sword and taking a combat stance. Sunny knew what she wanted him to do, and who was he to refuse his sister making such a sincere request?

Summoning the Sin of Solace was a perfect way to accidentally kill his sister, so instead, he conjured a sword of his own from the shadows. It had been a long time since he last used one, but he knew his skill at using them had increased merely from the amount of fights he had been in.

Without another word, Rain rushed at him. Her speed was pathetic by awakened standards; however, for a mundane human, she was reaching the pinnacle for her age range. Sunny lazily dodged an upwards slash before sending prodding attacks at Rain to test her reflexes. 

Everything was honed; Nephis had done a good job. Yet something was still missing. If Sunny had encountered someone of her skill in his first nightmare, he was sure he could have killed her tens of thousands of times before she realised what had happened. Sunny knew what she was missing, yet he didn't know if he had the heart to do it.

Grabbing Rain's sword in his two fingers, Sunny flung it from her hands before closing in on her. His fist flew at her face, causing Rain to flinch in preparation for a tremendous blow. But instead, she was only met by two fingers gently tapping themselves into Rain's head. Sunny allowed a smile to overwhelm his features before pulling Rain into a deep hug.

Rain was surprised initially, but then she couldn't help but return the gesture. Even she could tell the immense amounts of emotions laced within that singular action. Soon enough, Sunny pulled back and locked eyes with Rain, his expression turning serious.

"Rain, have you ever killed somebody?"