Kenji slowly opened his eyes the next morning. The window was ajar, and the sunlight pouring in nearly made him blind. He quickly covered his eyes with his hand.
His ears hurt from the uncomfortable snoring sound filling the room. He turned.
Raven sprawled on the floor, hugging the empty alcohol jar. A cup lay beside her.
He smiled. What was that?
He got off the bed and approached Raven. He crouched in front of her.
" Hey." He called in a low voice.
Raven didn't budge.
Kenji stared at her face imagining how it could be if he woke her up with a basin of cold water. He shook that out of his mind, stood up and headed out.
When Raven woke up, her head was in chaos. Even her stomach was aching. She held her heavy head with one hand while the other clutched her stomach.
Kenji sat across the table.
" Oh! You're not dead!" She exclaimed with a genuine smile.
" This is my ghost."
Raven couldn't stop smiling. She quickly got up and walked to Kenji. She poked Kenji's shoulder with her index finger as if to feel if he really was a ghost. She even took initiative to mess up his hair, still wearing that kind of smile.
Satisfied, she nodded to him and patted his shoulder. Kenji looked at her smiling face completely at a loss of words.
She then spotted a bowl of broth on the table.
She immediately sat beside Kenji and pulled the bowl towards herself. The clear liquid smelled of herbs and roasted meat.
With every sip, she could feel the savory warmth of broth flowing in her whole body.
Very satisfying.
"Did you cook this?"
" No. Did you?"
Raven gave him a look.
" You're hateable."
" Thanks a lot."
" You're very welcome."
They were all silent until Raven finished up the whole bowl of broth.
Kenji broke the silence.
" The outbreak in Melgold... Do you remember it?"
Raven simply shook her head scrutinizing the bowl. The warmth of the broth still lingered inside it.
" This bowl is such a beauty."
Kenji frowned. " You might be right."
" How much can someone actually get from selling it?"
" Not that much."
" Seriously... "
Raven examined the bowl thoroughly.
She smiled at Kenji. Knowing what the smile meant, Kenji shook his head.
" Not that much right? Buy it for me."
" For what?"
" What are bowls used for?"
" Not buying."
" It can be a token."
" For what?"
Raven looked around with a smile.
She just shrugged.
Kenji shook his head.
" You're still drunk."
" Just hungry."
Kenji said no more. He pulled himself a book from who knows where and started to casually flip the pages. Raven was about to tease him about his flipping style, but something far more important hit her mind.
" Wait... You mean... Melgold... "
Kenji stopped flipping the pages and gave his companion a look.
Raven gave an awkward smile and started doing gestures.
" Blood... People, blind... "
Seeing how uncomfortable she was, Kenji didn't let her finish.
" Hmm."
" Ohh." Raven shook her head in realization.
" What about that?"
" It's here."
They all became silent. Raven blinked a couple of times in confusion.
" What do you mean?"
" Here. Some people are affected."
" That's really hateable." Raven put the bowl down but continued running her fingers along its edge.
" I'm not expected to help in anyway. I hope."
Kenji shook his head with a sigh.
" No one expects you to help."
Raven smiled, not exactly happy, just relieved. " That's loveable."
" Did Shimei tell you she actually found out the cure?"
At the mention of Shimei, Raven's fingers stopped. The bowl was no longer warm.
Her face darkened.
" What do you mean?"
" Shimei treated some of the patients. "
Raven couldn't get it. Shimei actually told her all of them died.
Why would Shimei lie to her? She couldn't think of a reason.
As if Kenji had just read her mind, he replied, " Yeah. They all died afterwards."
" Afterwards?"
Kenji nodded. Raven gave a bitter smile, leaning back.
What did with their deaths have to do with her Shimei? There was no way it was Shimei's fault. And even if it was actually her fault... no... she couldn't think like that. Could she?She trusted her cousin very much, and would rather go in her own grave still trusting her.
" Ahh Shimei... Shimei..." She sighed.
She massaged her temples trying to ease the stress she was under.
" How did they actually die? I mean... How do you even know all of this?"
" I was there."
Raven immediately remembered Kenji was from Melgold.
" Oh... I do forget that a lot."
Raven stood up feeling uneasy and began pacing around the room.
" Shimei actually treated some of the patients." She murmured to herself.
" Kenji, " she softly called.
" Why are you telling me this?"
" They could have survived."
Could have? They actually didn't.
" I need to know more about that purple herb."
Raven became confused for an instant.
" You mean Dreamshade."
" Whatever it is called. Yes."
Raven came and sat across from Kenji, feeling a very heavy weight pressing on her.
" I'm not an herb person. Right? I only know a few basic... Basic herbs. Right?"
She started tapping on the table. Kenji glanced at her fingers and then at her face. Stressed.
Raven stood up.
" Dreamshade, dreamshade, what is it even doing here?"
Kenji said nothing as Raven started singing her cousin's name under her breath.
Warm tears welled up in her eyes. She continued to pace around the room, resting her arms behind her head and continually running her fingers through her own hair to keep tears from falling.
She sat down.
" I feel so sad that I'm very hungry." She said in a pitiful tone.
" Find something to eat."
" Oh dreamshade! I got no money!"
She started laughing.
A rather painful laugh.