Bab 29: The Love, the Hurt, the Wacky (4)
"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen." – Ernest Hemingway
Sometimes people end up making a tough decision in the form of being truthful or not toward those they care about.
Truth is never an absolute positive, no matter how one tries to look at it or how much it's immortalized as a sign of trust.
Truth can hurt people. Either those that don't know about it, or those that are unwilling to let it out to those unaware of it.
I never spoke about my family to anyone in Remnant as I never saw a need to bring them up to a conversation. It's just natural for me to shut myself out from dealing with the trouble, but it was mostly because the situation never pushed me to speak thoroughly about them. Or at least beyond the fact that there was I had a mother and a father.
But my sister? Kind of a secret I wanted to keep from others.
When a mysterious individual mention their parents, people tend to not give too much effort in digging any major details about this detail. One just doesn't expect that there is anything worth of concerning about if said individual is chill and showing nothing that should warrant any investigation.
But when a sibling is brought up to a conversation, especially a younger sibling… people need to ask.
It's curiosity. It's odd to ask about a parent, but a brother or a sister are regarded as interesting topic for anyone close to said individual. It just adds more flavor to their understanding of the person… and I should've expected for someone as sharp-minded as Sienna to pick up this detail out of my interaction with Winter.
Maybe I should've paid more attention to my words, knowing that I could've dodged this bullet by being a little less 'lax' over my secrecy over the situation.
And now it was late for me to try and dissuade the Tiger Faunus from this legitimate inquiry. I promised her transparency, and albeit reluctant over this subject, I decided to offer her a proper answer to that.
Sitting by the lone sofa in the small room that was assigned to us, I took a quiet sigh before starting to speak.
"I have a sister, yes."
Sienna blinked at my curt response, her eyes locked onto my face as she calmly sat beside me. She looked composed, maybe her own curiosity whipping her interest to adopt a less childish posture.
"You never said anything about it up until now," She muttered with a frown directed at me. "Did something bad happen to her before you left?"
A legitimate guess, but one that was quickly shot down with a simple shake of head.
"She was fine when I left," I remembered while nodding at her. "I think she was at school when I got here. I don't recall exactly the timing or 'how' it happened, but I'm quite sure of that."
"It's just… odd that you never said anything about it."
"I..." I paused for a moment, thinking how to best word out that situation. "I guess it's because I never felt a need to bring that up."
"I thought siblings were supposed to be close to one another."
"Not always."
There were cases of people headbutting over everything and… that was half of the relationship with my sister.
Stubborn, painfully so, it was difficult to entertain some proper activity with her. May it be watching a movie together, or even help her with her troublesome homework, things just were… difficult.
We didn't hate each other. Hate is a strong word that didn't fit on the matter.
Reluctance to work together at times? Maybe that best described the core of our connection.
Complexity against simplicity. Draining knowledge against empowering ignorance.
There were just a handful of cases where we would agree on things we shared a common like or dislike about.
Not the best, but far from a toxic relationship. We still covered each other's butts and… I really wonder how she's doing right now.
Struggling against another year of school, and this time without me around. Not that I was a monumental figure in her life, but I guess my disappearance had to have left some unpleasant development upon her mindset.
"You really don't… recall anything about how you ended up in Mistral?" Sienna inquired again, this time switching the topic to something close but far from the unpleasant one we just concluded talking about.
I nodded, my throat tightening as my brain tried once more to understand how it all came to be.
Was I sleeping? No, I hardly slept at the time. Five hours of rest and I was off for a full day.
Maybe it was a simple case of truck-kun taking me away from my world? While that sounds like the standard isekai scenario, I was quite sure that I had been back at home when it happened.
Did I trip on something and broke my neck? Or even, was I attacked by some burglar while alone in the house?
No, no. Both just failed to… feel right.
Things were just so complicated. And also not. In the end of this maddening trail of thought, I was still unsure, perplexed and uncertain about what left me on Remnant.
We both crossed out the Gods. They have a flair to introduce themselves when bringing a 'paladin' to deal with something.
And I didn't have anything similar to your 'resurrection'. Just a 'blink' and I was there with you.
[And me.]
And Sally, but there is also the fact of how you ended up in my head, lady.
[That's a mystery I can't solve myself. It just happened so… suddenly.]
Once again, this isn't the work of the Brothers. Something else is driving this situation left and right.
That is a can of worm I had contemplated opening in an eventual brainstorm, but the insane ramifications this very deviation of thought would lead to were something I was willing to ignore.
Another deity? Or was this the sick play of some eldritch-grade being?
It was all speculation without major proof that could prove anything. I was stuck with baseless thoughts and a lot of frustration even now that the situation was quite peaceful.
Sienna noticed, her eyes gaining an interested glint over my mood.
"Do you feel uncomfortable speaking about this?" She asked calmly, setting herself closer. "We can talk later about it, when we're back home and-"
"No, it's… it's alright," I interjected quietly. "I know this might seem as if I don't want to talk about it, but… it's more of me being unsure how to tackle the entire matter."
"Tackle it?"
"I ignored it for a good while when I first arrived here," I admitted. "I wasn't in a position where I could've just sit down and thought about what happened. I just winged it up until I felt genuinely safe."
"And… that was when you were found?"
"When I was inside the Airship that took me to Menagerie," I replied positively, adding some more details to the simple guess. "I just couldn't do a proper brainstorming session with Nora and Ren around, so it was pretty much… limited."
"And now? Did you give it a proper thought before today?"
"I did," I answered after a thoughtful moment spent quietly. "I might appear as someone that sticks to the present rather than thinking too much about the future-"
"But you're the opposite of that," The tanned woman interrupted mirthfully, catching me off-guard with that rebuttal. "Don't think that I've not seen you pondering about whenever there's something important coming up for you to deal."
I cracked a tiny smile. "I guess I'm not the 'mysterious guy' I'm trying to envision myself into."
"More like the 'kind-hearted guy' with many secrets, and a clumsy manner in dealing with those."
I frowned. "Clumsy?"
"I'm trying to be merciful with my adjective."
"Wait, what's worse than that?"
"Pathetic?" She shot back calmly, allowing a brief giggle before giving a peck at my cheek. "And no, I don't think you as pathetic. Just… that you can appear like that."
"I tend to cower a lot around you," I pointed out. "But I can assure you it's all before the moments you're angry."
The Faunus snorted. "Not always. You also have your times when you have more bite than just complying," Sienna retorted with utmost certainty. "Don't paint yourself that low. It's not correct to… me."
I frowned again. "You? What about me?"
"I think you wouldn't care, which is why I take offense at that," She pressed on. "Don't think I will just allow you to diminish what you really are, John."
"I don't-" I paused as I noticed her face suddenly settling closer to mine. The woman pressed onto me as she snuggled right onto my surprised look.
"I will not allow it. I refuse to see you beating yourself for doing what you managed to do with so little preparation and time to think," Sienna continued with this strong momentum she got over me. "And… and don't think that I will forgive you for thinking that you were at fault for my wounds."
Her hands swiftly cupped at my cheeks and I felt my eyes widen at that stubborn look that just promised a punishment. I braced for my cheeks to be pinched, being that she was just ready to do so if she wished… but then I felt my entire being going in shock as she pressed her lips onto mine.
The contact was brief, but her stubborn look persisted. And now she had a devious smile on her face.
"I can relate to your worry over my well-being. And I love it because I can understand it as I too feel the same," The woman muttered softly. "Just as you felt hurt when I got attacked, so I feel the same when you're the one suffering. I suppose that's just proof of what we are now."
[I'm truly glad you both were honest to each other. It's… refreshing to see how you two are handling things like a team.]
They're evenly matched, with both their flaws and qualities wrapping up.
I eased down at Sienna's final comment, my smile returning at the warmth coming from her genuine words.
"I suppose that… I can be kind of a dummy from time to time."
More like 'usually'.
[Don't kick him down like that. John is just… unlucky.]
"Just like everyone can," The Tiger Faunus added with a sigh. "Don't think your 'clumsiness' is unique. It's just… oddly-timed."
"Oddly-timed?"
"It's the best way I can describe when it usually strikes," She admitted with a tiny pout now forming on her face.
I chuckled, my arms finally wrapping around her waist, my casting being a little easier to manage now, so that I could properly pull her close enough.
She hummed as she happily nestled her head onto my shoulder, nuzzling lovingly at my cheek as we both enjoyed each other's warmth for a little while.
It was a nice interruption from the conversation, just enough for both to charge up our batteries and keep on. While the Airship was going to take a while to reach Menagerie, I was quite certain that Sienna wasn't planning to sleep this way.
My back just wouldn't forgive if that happened, and she hardly didn't seem in the mood to sleep anyway.
"Atlas was… my birthplace."
I blinked as I heard her whisper these words. I didn't spoke, allowing her to continue.
"I lived there just for… the first three to four years. I could barely remember anything about it," The woman muttered calmly. "My father was… the only family I had. While he would end up spending most of his time working by the mines to try and offer a chance for the two of us to have a good life, he still tried to be there to give me a decent childhood."
…
"You don't have to continue if… if it's too much," I pointed out. "I don't wish to be a parrot, but you've already said that we can easily wait for us to be back in Menagerie before having this kind of sensible discussion."
She blinked, her lips flashing a brief smile as she ponder about this. Ultimately, she gave a solid refusal and I allowed her to keep up with the story.
"Dad was incredibly kind. Always hard-working and helpful of those that were abused by the officers by the mines. He would always take the punishment with a smile and… that was enough to irk several administrators at once," Sienna resumed with a softer voice. "He was the only Faunus that didn't 'dislike' facing the punishment. They saw it as a threat and thus he was targeted more and more."
…
"He didn't- I don't really remember what happened to the mines, but he was… he was ordered to stay overnight one time, to fill up several posts at once," Her voice quivered a little, it sounded like she was having trouble remembering those times. I squeezed at her, trying to poke her out of that unpleasant pause, but she merely snuggled back before continuing. "There was a sudden cave in. Not many were there when it happened but… my father was among the victims."
"Sienna-"
"I-I don't know much about the man that gave me some money and set in an Airship directed to Menagerie," She continued, ignoring my concerned tone. "But from what I could tell from his sadness, I think he was someone that my father had helped back in the mines."
…
"When… When I arrived at the island, I was greeted with prejudice. Many children expected me to be a prude, someone that would outright refuse their own presence because of my 'Atlesian' arrogance," The Tiger Faunus mentioned with a sad tone. "I was… distraught at first. But then I started to work from the nothing I had. I pushed where I could, aiming for the highest score and settling only when I felt I had done enough. And..."
"Here you are," I concluded for her, prompting a mirthful smile to temporarily appear on her beautiful visage.
"And here I am."
We held together for some time, and I could feel her melting within our embrace as the worry disappeared slowly but steadily from her mind.
"Thank you," I muttered calmly, my undamaged hand reaching up for her scalp as I caressed her head there. She purred in return. "It's not easy to talk about these topics. I can tell from how you're trying to hold yourself from showing how much painful those memories are and.. I've just a little request about it."
She glanced up, a quizzical look flashing as I smiled at her. For a moment, I felt the table turning as I was the one offering help to her, just like she would do for me.
"Don't hold back. I will not judge you for being honest about it."
That was a signal. One that Sienna wasn't expecting for sure, but one that she suddenly felt the need to have now.
Her face dropped onto my chest, and she slowly but surely let go of her tough composure.
Gone were restrictions that had restrained her from allowing a couple of tears to run freely, with her quiet sobs occupying my attention for a long time.
I didn't move much, nor did I try to speak as I knew she needed this. It was as much of a relief for her as it was a matter of trust. A test to cement our current step forward.
From the way she started to smile more after that peaceful conversation, I had a subtle idea that things had indeed gone well for the two of us.
In fact, I had a proper confirmation of this when, as the Airship finished its landing procedure by Kuo Kuana's landing zone, we arrived at its entrance together, with Sienna tightly grasping at my hand as we made our first steps back home.
And while we were expecting to be greeted by just a small welcoming party, we ended up staring in shock at the massive gathering made by the island's entire population.
"DAAAAAAAA-"
Of course, the first one to approach us was a certain girl that had been missing her pops.
Nora zeroed the distance in mere seconds, going for a swift pounce once she was close enough and prompting Sienna to help me stabilize the giggling bullet since I had just a 'working' hand.
"-AADDY!"
"Sweetie, I'm back!" I exclaimed back, ruffling her hair as the child latched on me quite tightly and showing how much she had missed me.
"Did you miss me? I think you did- No, I'm sure you did!" She quick-fired, her speaking pacing unsurprisingly pretty speedy.
"Of course I did miss you. You and Ren to be precise," I replied happily. "By the way, where is he?"
I turned to glance in front of us, and I saw an awkward looking Ren slowly but surely walking up to us.
He stared up at me, his pink eyes exuding a little bit of nervousness. As he finally got close enough, I allowed Nora back on the ground, crouching down to the boy's level.
Blinking in surprise, Ren's own approach at a welcoming hug was slower but deeper. His arms wrapped tightly over my neck, and he nuzzled a little bit on my shoulder before some muffled words from him reached my ears.
"I missed you."
My smile widened. "I missed you too, Ren."
"Is it true that you sent the bad man in jail, daddy?" Nora quickly as she hugged me from behind. "I mean, I couldn't follow up what you were saying- but I could see how angry that bad man was getting. Is he now in Jail?"
I sighed. "He is, but not because of something I did and-"
"And what's that?!"
The little girl took notice of the cast over my other arm. She let out a loud 'woah', her eyes widening in minor awe as she studied the 'mysterious artifact' before her eyes.
"Dad, is this something cool from Atlas? Is this a fun dress there?" She asked giddily. "Or maybe it's a weapon? What is it?"
I think it could be used as a weapon and a cloth. She's not wrong.
Speaking by experience?
[Yes~.]
I snorted. "Not truly, sweetie."
"I reckon that's a medical cast, dear," Someone else added, the sudden feminine voice getting me tense and worried for some reason. I turned to the origin of this response, and I stopped to see that Kali had gotten closer to the scene rather silently.
She had a strange smile on her face, one that I felt like I had seen before but I couldn't exactly understand at the moment.
"By the way, John, I also remember you making a promise to call in case you got hurt somehow while you were in Atlas," The cat-eared woman continued with that odd tone, this time some shivers trailing down my spine. "I suppose you were busy to call. Surely you wouldn't have forgotten about this, you're not the kind of person that would test my patience this badly."
...I'm in danger.
[And not just by a little.]
You should've called during the trip back home. Less issues, and higher chances of surviving this encounter.
"I-I didn't felt the need to worry anyone," I replied with incredible fear for my poor self. "I ended up being silly and tripped down a flight of stairs, hurting my arm a little bit in the process. Nothing to worry about."
Kali looked unconvinced, but it was Ghira that explained her unwillingness to trust my word about it.
"John, there is a large tag saying that it's a 'Grade 1 Burn Cast'," The leader of the White Fang mentioned blankly.
Goddammit, I didn't notice that!
You really didn't notice? I think Sienna did tell you already.
[And you checked the cast yourself by a mirror when you were 'freed' from the wheelchair.]
I feel dumb. Like, really dumb.
"There was a shortage of the kind of casts meant for my specific situation, and they gave me-"
"You're not a good liar. I suggest you don't speak for now or else you might end up digging a deeper hole," Kali interrupted sharply, her hand reaching for my right ear to force me to stand up. I flinched at the sharp pull, but I complied quickly at her 'kind effort'. "We will speak about this once you both will have to visit father for your report over this little experience and… I see that you two are now closer than before~."
Her voice suddenly switched as soon as she noticed that Sienna standing just a breeze away from grabbing my arm. Maybe going for the hinting of this new development wasn't truly a good idea if Kali was preparing for a serious teasing sessions.
The comment swiftly got us to tense up, further fueling the giggles of the Cat Faunus as she studied us together with a mirthful and endeared look.
"I'm glad that you two finally spoke to each other, but I'm quite saddened that I wasn't there to see it all unfold before my eyes..." Kali looked slightly unhappy about this small detail, but then she smiled again as she turned towards Ghira and her father. Both men looked surprisingly nervous at the stare they were subjected to. "But I think I will find consolation from the fact I was right."
And by 'consolation', she seemingly meant the noticeable amount of Lien she was getting from both men. Blake blinked as her mother gestured her to walk closer, handing out to the confused child half of the gaining.
The girl's eyes widened, confusion swiftly replaced with fascination over this sudden income, but I could tell that it was all going to be wasted in more books for her to read.
I frowned at this unexpected development, but Sienna frowned deeper at the sight as she tried to digest the fact that they had bet on us getting together.
The scene wasn't a singular occurrence considering that other inhabitants of the island were exchanging money left and right.
Quite the humiliating sight considering that it broadened the list containing the people that had 'thought' about this becoming a reality and, for some reason, I felt incredibly dumber than before.
The Tiger Faunus' face, plus her jaws dropping by the second, also told me that I wasn't the only one in this boat, and that she was indeed having some immense trouble tanking in how expanded this case actually was.
"Wait!" Nora stated loudly, tugging at my shirt. "Papa, does this mean that you and Sienna-"
I nodded, and her eyes widened as endless thoughts irrupted into her mind.
"Does that mean that-" She didn't finish that sentence, a massive grin spreading on her face as she detached from me and suddenly jumped at Sienna.
"MAMA!"
And in that moment, I felt my heart picking up an unnatural pace at the scene unfolding before my eyes. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to react as Nora hugged tightly at the surprised Sienna while also ignoring the absolute cuteness crystallized in that very instance.
My blank mind was restarted right as Ren turned at me with a confused look. "You married Sienna?"
"Ah- no- I mean, we just… decided to start dating, nothing more."
His eyes glinted realization, and he nodded before turning to the giggling girl.
"Nora, they are not married."
The happy girl tensed up and stopped, freezing up in time as her brain quickly sponged up the news.
...Wait-
Did you forget that Ms. Valkyrie is someone that jumps the gun quite easily?
[Aww, that's cute! But also kind of saddening since she will be devastated by this.]
"R-Really?" Her happiness melted away instantly, a sad look on her face as I regarded her with a slow nod.
"We're just dating for now, sweetie."
She seemed to think for a while to it, then her glance turned back at Sienna and she blinked at the woman.
"Does that mean that I can't call you 'Mom'?"
The Tiger Faunus blinked, her eyes showing incredible stress under that kind of pressure. And I couldn't exactly blame her for being reluctant about it considering who she was speaking to.
But just as I expected her to politely decline the offer, maybe by promising that it would become a reality, I was provided with a capitulation.
"I- I wouldn't mind."
A perplexed look adorned my face as a victorious Nora resumed her hugging with Sienna, ignoring the defeated look on the woman's visage.
Sienna glanced at me, displaying hints of shock at what had just happened as she herself seemed surprised by that sudden desire to comply to the child's request.
I merely offered her a sympathetic nod as I knew well enough about the phenomenon she was just subjected to. And I knew that this was going to be the first of many losses from her part towards Nora.
Just as this amusing situation come to an end, I noticed that Zardula was now approaching us. The Chieftain of Menagerie had a pleased look on his face, and he seemed particularly amused by the 'comedic' scene that preceded our current interaction.
Nora finally released Sienna from her hold, allowing the woman to stand beside me as we both greeted the leader of the island.
"Chieftain Zardula," The Tiger Faunus stated with a dutiful tone, drawing a similar greeting out of me.
"Sienna, John," The elder regarded us peacefully. "I'm glad to see you safely back to Menagerie."
He took a moment to nod at us both. "Your task proved to be most fruitful, all thanks to your shared achievements during this endeavor for Atlas. You both behaved impeccably before the public eye while also scoring some lasting victories for a true peace between Faunus and Humans."
"We- We are honored, Chieftain Zardula," Sienna replied quickly, while I merely nodded.
"I will share a longer conversation with you both tomorrow morning," He continued calmly. "After some hours of proper thought, I decided to regal you both a full day to recover from your journey, so that you can assess your reports with clear minds and rested bodies."
Now, that was quite… unexpected. Not that I was going to decline the nice development, and I could see the Tiger Faunus shared my own view on the matter.
"Despite that, I think I can already give three important news," The old Faunus added with a nod. "First… John Bukharin is now recognized as a full citizen of Kuo Kuana and Menagerie."
The crowd exploded in cheers directed at me. I glanced around, nodding left and right, but restraining myself to just that as to not be disrespectful with the leader.
"Second, I wish to inform Sienna Khan that her rank has increased to the grade of High Lieutenant of the White Fang." More cheers followed, but those didn't have the time to fully spread as the third news was dropped. "And finally, I wish to inform John Bukharin that his rank has increased to Deputy of the High Lieutenant."
…
Oh?
This can only end up poorly.
[Maybe for John, but I see a brighter future for Sienna.]
I didn't respond to that, merely taking in the fact that this was now happening and… why was Sienna giving me a smug look? And why did I feel close to get mauled by the playful tiger now that I was her direct second-in-command?
Gods, the day had just 'started', and I already feel like this is just the beginning of a long one…
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone