Ejwaxy

Hey everybody, Ejwaxy here! Glad to have seen the support on yesterday's special chapter! The winner of yesterday's [Naming Poll] was the name [Iris], which will first be referenced in today's chapter! I hope everyone enjoys!

Pouring rain, pooling blood.

The same dream. The same helpless feeling that clawed at me from within.

However, even within my slumber I could tell that something was different. In the midst of my sorrowful cries, I felt a new pain.

It wasn't an emotional pain, no. It was like I was being bitten by a snake. Twin points, digging into my arm.

As I looked down, blood dripped from my arm.

But something didn't feel right.

My mind began to emerge from its state of slumber as I blearily blinked awake, but the pain remained. I looked down at my arm and-

A small girl with blue horns was biting onto it. More than a little hard, too.

I lifted up my arm, but the small girl simply rose with it. I shook it, but she didn't even drop.

In the end, I couldn't do anything but sigh as I shook the arm a little bit more to no avail, the girl's head simply moving along with it.

As the daylight trickled in through the room's window, I tossed the blanket off the bed. I hoped that it would wake the small girl up, and luckily enough it did.

Her mouth still firmly biting down on me, she slowly blinked her violet eyes open and looked at my face. As she realized where she was, her eyebrows raised.

"Hey, you mind letting go of my arm?"

I smiled somewhat forcibly, not entirely sure how to react to the circumstances.

The girl nodded, which hurt slightly considering her canines were still imbedded in my arm. She then released her bite, sitting cross-legged before me on the bed.

The potato-sack like cloth she wore over her body was the same as the night before. Neither of us had changed, seeing as how she wouldn't even let go of me the entire time. Looking at her closely, I grit my teeth at the numerous scars along her arms. Between tears in the cloth, more scars could be seen along her shoulders.

"Can you speak?"

I spoke gently, careful not to upset her as I looked into her wide violet eyes.

She simply looked at me for a few seconds before nodding her head.

"Y-yes..."

She spoke quietly, barely audible. In fact, I almost thought it was my mind playing tricks on me.

"Do you have a name? It's a little odd not having something to call you by..."

I smiled, trying to brighten the mood a bit, but instead the girl's eyes turned towards the bed sadly. Without saying a word, she shook her head.

"Ah... um, in that case we should probably come up with one. Would you like it if I did that for you?"

The girl looked up at me, her eyebrows high again in surprise. It seemed like it was pretty easy to surprise her as long as you were... well, kind. One had to wonder what exactly she'd been through that this alone was surprising.

I tilted my head at her lack of response, causing her to blush a bit as she realized she'd forgotten to say anything. She nodded furiously.

"I'll start brainstorming, then!"

Though I made myself sound cheerful, it was a bit of a burden. I couldn't exactly just come up with something random, right?

"Then, I was wondering if you could tell me-"

About your life until now, what happened to you. That was how I wanted to continue my sentence, but suddenly the door was thrown open.

"I heard talking, is she awake?!"

Amber rushed in through the door quickly, cutting me off as she did so. In response, I could only sigh.

"Yeah, she's awake. We both are."

The blue-horned girl was already against my chest, cowering after the loud entrance. Her face buried in my chest, her horns poked me a bit. However, with how often this had been happening since last night I was already starting to get used to it.

Seeing the girl's cowering figure, Amber suddenly went quiet. Her face showing a complex expression, it seemed she regretted barging in like usual. In reality, if she did this often when we had actual rooms I'd be more scared about her walking in on me changing than anything else.

"Ah... Um..."

"We're all pretty dirty. Would you mind taking her and bathing with her? And where is Elena?"

Amber didn't seem certain what to say, so I decided to move things along. It's not that I enjoyed leaving the girl to someone else, just that... I couldn't exactly go to the baths with them.

As an otaku, one must live by a set of rules. Paramount among them is one deemed one of the most important of all: Don't lewd lolis!

I had no plans to violate this rule any time soon!

In any case, even if I wanted to I had shivers just imagining the looks I'd get from Amber and Elena afterwards.

"S-sure. Elena went out to get breakfast, she already took a bath earlier in the morning It's pretty convenient that the staff housing has a big one."

The girl looked up at me with her big eyes, questioning whether or not she should leave with Amber. Her fists were still gripping my shirt tightly. Of course, I simply nodded with a smile.

The girl looked at me for a few seconds longer before slowly releasing her grip on my shirt and walking over to Amber.

"Any news on that Alex guy?"

"No, he's still in his room as far as I know... What's the girl's name by the way?"

Still in the room, huh? I would have to check up on that... he was too unpredictable to think everything was as it seemed to be.

"She doesn't have a name, or at the very least doesn't remember having one. She's asked me to think of one."

Amber tilted her head as I spoke.

"Thinking of one? It isn't that hard, right?"

She looked over at the girl for a few seconds with a smile.

"How about... Iris? To match your beautiful, blue iris horns. "

I frowned slightly, but seeing the girl smile brightly at Amber's recommendation I couldn't exactly be angry for having the naming opportunity taken out from under me. I guess something came up with in the moment could be equally valid as something labored over for days.

"Well, then. Iris it is haha."

I laughed a bit with a smile. In part, I was laughing at myself, too.

What was it about this world that made me get attached to the people here so much more readily?

As I watched the two head off, I couldn't help that thought from going through my head.