School Days | A Shadow Slave Fanfic

Abject horror settled itself on Sunny's face as Effie's form came into focus. She was someone new, tall and unrecognisable. Sunny's hand shot to the knife which was only a few inches away however Nephis was faster, swatting the knife across the room allowing the resounding clang of metal hitting stone to echo through the room.

"Sunny, calm down, she's a friend." Nephis cooed, that did little to help Sunny's suspicions as he slowly edged himself away from Effie, allowing his back to hit the wall in such an angle that he could pay attention to both at once. Turning back to Effie, who had absentmindedly been eating a piece of chicken, Nephis gaze turned into a glare.

"I don't think he likes you; can you just give us some space?" Nephis hissed, if Sunny continued to have an unknown entity in his house, she was sure he wouldn't stop in his efforts to repel her. Effie shrugged before turning around, "Stay safe princess, and remember to use protecti-" her voice was cut off by Nephis throwing a loose piece of rubble at her, which Effie was forced to dodge.

Trying to hide her blush was impossible, but she still had somebody to care for. Sunny had been sitting in the corner, shirtless and silent for the entire engagement. With Effie's departure, his shoulders had relaxed slightly, however Nephis could tell that he was still highly aware, prepared should any threat arise.

Making her way towards him, she crouched in front of him before bringing her cloth to his face once more, wiping the remaining remnants of blood from his face. "I shouldn't have told you to fight back, now you're all messed up and it's all my fault" Nephis whispered to herself, Sunny merely shook his head in reply.

"Don't blame yourself, everyone tries something new sometimes. This time, it just ended bad. That's how life is." Nephis gritted her teeth at the statement, he was treating the situation he was in like it was normal. Yet, it was far from it. Prying Sunny out of the corner hadn't taken long, especially seeing his relatively thin stature, yet she couldn't help but find herself smiling as Sunny unconsciously buried his head into her lap, using it as a pillow.

Now, the hard part was getting Sunny to take his medicine. She wasn't quite sure how he'd deal with medicine; she wasn't even sure if he had ever taken any since he was born. But she had to try. Twisting her body, careful not to disturb Sunny, she pulled out some pain killers before handing Sunny a bottle of water.

Sunny sat up and took the bottle, opening it before preparing to drink greedily however Nephis hand stopped him. "Drink a little but don't swallow, then put this in your mouth and swallow immediately. That is unless you do want your mouth to taste bitter." Cocking his head to the side, Sunny did as he was told as he swallowed the medicine without a second thought.

His absentminded expression worried Nephis, who knew what kind of thoughts one may begin having after being absolutely brutalised like he was? She wanted to ask but was too afraid to pry, but the thought of Sunny destroying himself in his own head was much scarier than any shyness she had buried within her soul.

"What are you thinking of?" she asked, careful to not make her tone sound too serious. Sunny's eyes widened as his hands shot to his mouth, as if trying to force himself to stop speaking. Yet, the words came out anyway, and when they did, his face turned bright red.

"I was thinking of how you were beautiful enough to count as an angel."

The words were restrained, Sunny's hand was trying to pry his mouth closed yet the words flowed out like a torrent anyway. Despite his weakened condition, Sunny's face turned stark red as his eyes darted away from Nephis. Thankfully, he didn't notice the blush that grew on Nephis face in response. 'Who does he think he is? Blurting out compliments like that.' Nephis grumbled to herself.

It wasn't unusual for her to receive such replies, but for some reason whenever Sunny said those words it sent electricity racing through her body. Reaching out a hand, she grabbed his chin and forced him to look in her direction. Her voice was serious despite the monumental blush her face wore.

"Sunny, you'll get through this. The poverty, the bullying. Everything. If you want, I can buy you a place to stay." At this, Sunny shook his head. Relying on Nephis any further than he already had would be too disrespectful for him to bear. Thankfully, with the newfound lack of pain he had received from Nephis medicine, Sunny shakily rose to his feet and made his way out the door.

Nephis quickly followed behind him, she didn't want to ask him anything further yet to her surprise Sunny initiated conversation. "I have a condition; it stops me from ignoring questions or speaking a lie. I'm forced to answer truthfully to everything I'm asked." His tone was solemn and his steps steady, somehow, Sunny had managed to ignore all the injuries he had incurred so far as he pressed forward.

"You don't need to keep following me by the way, nobody lives around here anymore." Sunny commented, turning to the side to see Nephis standing next to him. "Why would I leave you alone? It's too dark for you to be by yourself, especially while you're so injured."

Her list of reasons seemed to resonate with Sunny, but in reality, all she wanted to say was that she was worried about him. Soon enough, they found themselves in a clearing. The only notable thing of life within the desolate and empty expanse stood a tree, it was beautiful.

It's leaves brimmed with life, almost lighting up the dark expanse that surrounded it as Sunny made his way closer. Placing a hand on it's bark, Sunny stared at the tree absentmindedly for a few moments before sitting next to it. Three lines had been carved into the tree, who's meaning Nephis could not discern.

Suddenly, before Nephis could even begin to enquire as to their meaning, Sunny started speaking.

"Today marks day one thousand, three hundred and thirteen since I put Rain up for adoption. I've missed her ever since; I've managed to buy myself a house and even join a high school! To make it even more surprising, I think I've managed to make somewhat of a friend."

Sunny's tone was sombre, his voice remained at it's normal volume as he continued to stare into the night skies. Nephis didn't say anything, simply seating herself on the opposite side of the tree allowing Sunny to have a moment she knew was special to him.

"Can you believe it? Someone like me! With a friend! Who would have known? I've managed to survive this far, haven't I? I mean, if a vile, odious, poor, hideous, good for nothing like me can survive, shouldn't anyone be able to?"

His self-deprecating word choice sent pangs of pain flashing through Nephis heart; she wanted to stop him but interrupting him here would mean he loses his connection to whoever he was speaking to at the moment.

"I really miss you guys; how dare you go and die on me so soon! I didn't even get the chance to have a girlfriend before you left me! It took everything for me not to go and kill myself right after Rain left, she's in a better family now, better than anything I could provide her. I hope she forgets me and lives a normal life that I've been striving for, but I know I can't achieve."

Sighing, a low chuckle escaped his lips before turning into full blown laughter. "I'm so pathetic, aren't I? Talking to the graves of my parents and expecting an answer, who do I think I am? The only thing I can do is struggle and fail till eventually the school can't put up with me, suicide might be the way from there. I really don't want to die, but it feels like I have no right to keep living when you guys don't get that right either."

Tears cascaded from Sunny's face as he wiped them off with the back of his hands. The sound of him shifting and rising to his feet caused Nephis to do the same. "I miss you guys, I'll try not to join you two soon enough, but I can't make any promises!" He joked with a smile that anyone could tell was fake.

For a few moments, Sunny simply stood with his head resting on the tree in silence, before pushing himself off it and walking away. Nephis quickly followed behind him, she wanted to ask questions but now didn't seem like the time, so instead, she did something she never thought she'd ever do.

"Do you want to come home with me?"