ScarletFive years ago

I narrow my eyes at the pages on the textbook before quietly muttering the words out loud, “The history of the republic begins after the fall of the old world island nation known as Japan to the demons. After the Guardians were no longer able to hold back the demons. Were no longer able to destroy all of the cores, letting some of the Fracture cores stabilize in our world, creating open gateways between Earth and Tartarus. Ones that to this day are still open, allowing the demons free range of the island nation.”

I pause in my studying at the sounds of the door slamming open from down the hall, a sign that the younger kids are probably home. But then I just continue reading the text out loud, preparing for my upcoming history test, “All of the remaining countries took Japan’s fall as an example of what is to become of the world should the demons continue expanding. So they all closed off their ports close to the island nation and began to work together, eventually forming what is now known as the Terran Republic, with its capital – Terra – being established in a city that used to be known as New York City.”

My reading is once again interrupted, but this time by the sound of the door to my room bursting open and three little kids – each around five to seven years old – running in while giggling. So I close my book with a sigh and turn around to find them running around the room.

The sight of little Carol quite literally stomping on Belle – who had fallen asleep on my roommate Marie’s bed – has me almost snorting in amusement, but I keep it in as the girl in question has a rude awakening.

First she just looks confused, but after that her face grows angry and she gets up from the bed, her skirt getting caught on the edge of it in the process and causing her to fall flat on her face on the floor. Which only serves to set the kids off into another bout of laughter and giggles.

And I try very hard to casually stare up at the ceiling while keeping my face as stoic as possible.

Quite the challenge.

“You little brats!” she shouts while carefully pulling her skirt over the edge of the bed’s frame and climbing to her feet, only to chase after the kids while shouting, “Get back here!”

Feeling it’s safe again, I look down at my textbook and begin to continue reading. But I don’t even manage to make it a single word in when I hear the front door slamming open and Arthur’s voice echoing through the hall into the room, “Scarlet!”

Oh. That would be my cue to leave.

I slam the textbook shut, grab my jacket that was hanging on the back of my chair, then rush over to the window, unlatch it, and jump straight out right when the guy turns into the room.

“Damn it, get back here!” he shouts, just barely catching a glimpse of me as I land on the outside. Then I pop my head over the window and give him a very nice salute if I do say so myself before running off. “Stop running! You are not leaving me to deal with Allen on my own!!!”

“Since when do people actually stop when told to stop running?” I call back while running around the corner of the house, vaguely noting the sound of him running towards the window himself. But by the time he gets out, I already turn the corner and book it down the rundown city street that has more orphanages than I care to count on it. Each of them grouped together to keep any changelings that might be here hiding amongst the orphans in the same area.

Sorry, Arthur, but I’m not gonna deal with Allen today. And besides. You were the one that put the worms in the locker. Not me. I just got them and handed them to you, hinting at you doing it.

I only run down the street for a single building’s distance before turning into a small and not very safe looking alleyway to hide behind a recycling bin. And not too long after, I hear Arthur running past me, making me let out a sigh of relief.

Now maybe he can make Allen cool off before the guy tears into me as well.

ScarletThe Present

The first thing that I notice when I regain consciousness is that I’m lying in the bed of my room at the base. And the next thing I notice is that I am wearing what looks to be some sort of nightgown that is practically form fitting, making me have a massive urge to take it off and change into something else right away.

But before I do that, I sit up and look around, confusion evident on my face in my reflection on the mirror as I see myself all alone in the room sitting on my bed. Only for that thought to be wiped away when I pull the blanket back further to find a certain tanuki having inserted himself under my sheets with me.

Guess he got comfortable while I was out.

I can’t help but frown as I wonder who changed me, only for that thought to go to the wayside when I get up and walk over to the drawer, grabbing some pants and a shirt to change into, not even caring about the fact that the tanuki is still in the room. And once that’s done, I toss the nightgown on the bed and look around my room for my jacket, only to not find it anywhere.

Where’s my jacket?

Please tell me it wasn’t too badly damaged to repair…

I can’t help but feel a pang in my chest at the thought of losing the only thing that I had when he found me on the streets. But that goes away when I find a note attached to the refrigerator – which I honestly didn’t even notice was in here the last time I was here – that mentions how Allen took my jacket to go upgrade it with magi-tech. Mostly because, and I quote, ‘you get into danger too often to not have the added protection’.

How rude. It’s not like it’s my fault I keep getting into sticky situations.

“It’s not like it’s not your fault either,” I hear a certain tanuki’s voice from my bed, making me turn my head to see him rubbing his eyes, likely still half asleep. But then he suddenly seems to realize that I’m awake despite having retorted to my thoughts before he rushes over to me, flying through the air at incredible speeds before literally tackling me.

Ouch.

Then he holds onto my shirt for dear life for just a few seconds then lets go, clears his throat, and asks, “So are you going to continue staring or are you gonna check the System messages you got for almost dying again?”

I blink in surprise.

Did he really just gloss over that?

The tanuki doesn’t say anything.

He really just glossed over that.

I narrow my eyes at him for a few seconds before sighing and letting the messages flow, my greed over seeing my rewards overshadowing my curiosity over his actions.