June in the Mansion

Soma had gone off some time ago, hoping to put a stop to some group of witches, as he does. Apparently they had a streak of kidnappings under their belt, and Soma, being the man that he was, couldn't ignore being able to help someone. She wished he didn't throw himself into so many dangerous situations, but it didn't seem like she could really stop him, and she understood it completely, so all she could really do was support him from the sidelines and hope he came out alright. She hated how powerless she felt, because of it. But, Soma had been through quite a bit, even before they met. She knew he'd be fine...right?

Even know, she found herself waiting outside the house for him. He had left earlier this morning. The sun was setting, the sky painted a deep orange, but she would stay outside this door waiting for him, no matter how long it took. Airi had come to check on her a few times, but she was adamant about staying to wait for him, especially now. Worry gnawed at her heart as she waited. Was he alright? Would he come home at all? What if something happened to him? And if any of that happened...would she be able to do anything about it? Would she even know it happened? She could feel the apprehension eating away at her as she waited for Soma's return, in front of their familiar home.

And sure enough, Soma appeared, though much worse for wear. Whatever that damnedable blue haired witch had done for him, it was taking it's toll. Eventually, his energy ran out...and he fell flat on his face.

Shortly afterwards, a few spirits wrapped around him and started dragging him to the house, courtesy of a certain spectral servant.

Her heart leapt when she saw his form over the sunset. He came! He actually came! And he...looked awful. Barely going, honestly. But, he was okay! And before he even got to her, he collapsed onto the ground.

"Soma!" she shouted, running over to him. They really must have done a number on him."Oh, Soma, what happened to you...?" She was going to attempt to pull him in herself, when she noticed a few spirits coming out to help. Both them and June did what they could to pull him into the house and on to a nearby couch, laying him there.

June went next to him to brush off the dirt and rubble from his coat. "Soma, what happened? Talk to me, please..."

"Mmph...."

Slowly, his eyes cracked open, a weak chuckle escaping him. "Hey...June...Looks like I got...in over my head. Damn witch..did something to me..."

The spirits floated back to Airi, who was frowning. "Seems like he's a bit green under the gills...Did someone wear that weird gauntlet from that movie and snap?"

June tried to ignore the comment from her ghostly assistant as she silently did everything she could to find out what exactly they had done to him. His heartbeat seemed regular, his vitals were all find, he was a little banged up, sure, but he didn't seem to have any damaged internals or broken bones...

And then thats where it hit her. Something new was inside of Soma. A new soul? He only seemed to get those when he won fights, and that clearly didn't happen here. And plus, it felt...different. Tainted. Like it was sticking to his insides, to his soul. That had to be what was causing it.

"Soma...you shouldn't have, gone on your own. If you had just asked, I would've...gone with you, in a heartbeat."

"S-Sorry...June...Didn't mean to..make you worry." He slowly sat up, wincing as he did. "They're...way too strong. I couldn't land..a single hit on her..."

Not even a single hit...Soma was by no means a slouch when it came to combat, so for him to say that...that was more than worrying.

"Soma, you've...been through some terrible things in your life. And you always came out on top. So...I have faith in you, okay? And...and I'm..." she felt her eyes start to water. "..I'm really happy, t-that...you're here, now." She buried her face into his chest.

"The whole time, I worried, even knowing how capable you are! All I could think of is "would I ever see you again?" or "what if something happened to him?" or "what horrible things are they doing to him?" and...I'm sorry..."

"..." He hugged her close, clinging onto her like a drowning man would a raft. "I'm sorry....I should have gone in with others...Maybe I wouldn't be so screwed up right now..."

She looked up at him in the hug, with a smile but still crying, and shook her head. "Y-You're not...screwed up. You're...perfect, the way you are." She said, hugging him back.

"Y-You just...sniff You just need some time, to rest a little, t-that's all! And then you'll be...back to normal, in no time. sniff"

"Heh....M...Maybe. I think I'm just...gonna rest." He held her close still, before closing his eyes once more.

"......So...We're gonna make them pay, right?" Airi crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. June was a good friend, and she'd be damned if she watched her break down crying again.

She snuggled against him a little as he slowly went to sleep. Clearly, he needed it. Maybe she was overthinking all of this. That thing inside of him could just be a red herring, something to make him think otherwise.

"I...I want to..." she answered Airi. "But I know he would want to do it himself. And I'm going to let him...as much as I want to. Truth be told, I was going to...make some dinner, but, well..." She looked up at Soma's sleeping form. She supposed that would have to wait.

"He can heat it up when he gets better...Come on, doc. You know he's tough..." She floated over, hugging June lightly. "Rest up, the both of you..."

"I...I suppose so..." she said with a yawn. She'd be running herself ragged with worry ever since he'd left. She was exhausted, too, even if she didn't want to admit it.

It felt nice to wrapped inbetween the two of them like this. Soma on one side, and Airi on the other. Another yawn escaped her. "I-I guess...a little nap, would probably...be good, for...both of..us..." she said, falling asleep between the two. She was no stranger to sleeping with either one or the other, so she could peacefully sleep on the couch, if only for a while. Well, that's what she told herself, when in reality she could stay there as long as she wanted to, the fatigue she throw on herself stronger than she really wanted to admit.

Alas. Rest wouldn't come easily for young Cruz. Most of his time was spent tossing and turning. His face scrunched up, mumbling escaping him along the lines of "No...Go away..." "Not your servant...." "Gimme back Old Axe...." and other insane ramblings. His tossing and turning intensifying every now and then.

June found herself woken up by the tossing and turning of Soma, locked into some kind of nightmare. She would write it off as exhaustion, but some of the words stood out to her. "Not your servant" and the like. Was this...part of whatever this curse was?

She wasn't really sure what to do. "Airi...I...I'm worried that that's...not just a nightmare." she said to her assistant who was still clinging to her. "What..what do I do?"

"....."

Airi placed a finger on her chin, frowning. "I'm not sure...You could always try and find the people who did this and get them to fix it...Though if he was unable to do this on his own..."

She had to think about that one, and the scary part was how much sense she was making.

She couldn't deny the truth any longer: whatever this thing was inside of him, it was giving him these horrid nightmares that seemed to overtake him. It was making him sluggish, weak, and keeping him from fixing it, to boot.

"I..." she struggled to say anything back to Airi about it. She didn't know how in the world she would do anything about this. She shook her head and tried to rouse Soma from his sleep. "Soma, please, wake up! This doesn't feel normal!"

Slowly, Soma's eyes opened, his head turning to face her. "Is it...morning yet?"

His tired expression made her feel bad about waking him, but she had to know for sure. If this was just a bad dream, or something far, far worse.

"I'm sorry, Soma. You seemed like you were having...horrible nightmares. Something about...servants. How...do you feel?"

"...Like crap. I don't feel like I'm at my A game, you know? I feel...weaker."

He looked like it, too. But, she needed to do this just to be sure.

"Sorry to wake you then, Soma. Go back to sleep, I won't wake you again." She said, nuzzling back into his chest. She had to be sure. Some part of her hoped it was just her imagination, that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. But...

"...." Closing his eyes, Soma did just that, sleep claiming him shortly afterwards.

It didn't take long before the nightmares to settle in once again for Soma, many of the same words from earlier repeating themselves. She listened closely to his soul this time, and could deny it no longer: whatever those witches had done to him was doing this. This sickly thing that had inserted itself into Soma was causing this, and there was no way she was going to remove it like any other.

June was no stranger to nightmares. Before Airi and Soma came into her life, she used to have them every other day. Sometimes they were memories of her past that, even when awake, make her feel awful about sometimes. Sometimes they were visions of a possible future, one that could grow to be even worse than her past. But she knew one thing: she wasn't going to let Soma suffer that same fate.

Slowly, she rose from his embrace, making sure not to let him awake from the motion. "Airi...I need you to watch over him while I'm gone. Wake him, if the nightmares get too bad...and don't let him follow me. He needs his rest, even if it comes from this." She grabbed her usual cloak and draped it over her body, making sure to hide anything about her true appearance to the random masses. Soma had described a little about the witches before he had left, including where this House of their's was.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll have this sorted out before you know it." She said, kissing the sleeping Soma on the forehead. She turned to Airi and gave her a kiss on the lips instead, for good luck. Part of her felt like she'd need all of it that she can muster, but she wasn't going to make that apparent to her.

"I'd be dumb to tell you to not go, but...Promise me you'll be safe. If anything happens to you...I'll break in there and steal their souls my damned self." Airi gave June a quick hug, before floating over Soma, his guardian spirit against his nightmares.

June herself wasn't even sure if this was a smart decision. Airi was right in that Soma was very competent when he needed to be, and he was handily defeated by them. If Airi had told her she shouldn't, chances are she would have listened. But...she couldn't just sit by while Soma suffered. She wouldn't be able to live with herself. She had to do something.

She held her tight in the hug before letting her go. "I'll...I'll be fine. You know me, right Airi? I'm not one to jump into things without at least thinking first." It was a little white lie, even if normally it was true. "I'll take care of this before you even know it." She had a weak smile on her face as she left the house, passing one last look at the pair before she left and waving.

Closing the door behind her, she let out a heavy sigh.

Am I really making the best decision?

It ran through her mind as she walked onward, towards this mysterious house of theirs. While that one statement constantly repeated itself in her mind, she went over everything she knew about them to get her mind off of her apprehension. They were known to kidnap people, sometimes at random. And they tended to make a game out of anyone that tried to challenge them. She didn't know much about this game of theirs, but chances are it was in her best interest to play along with it. They'd likely detail the specifics.

She knew there was three of them, but she didn't know much about them specifically beyond that. She wondered what kind of person Soma had lost to. He'd occasionally had bad luck with Midara, but the types tended to vary. And this one had left a nasty little curse for him. Lord only knew what kind of person would leave a grudge like that. A thought occurred to her that if it worked similar to Soma's souls, then maybe...

She shook her head a little, shaking away that thought. Even if it was true, it was irrelevant to the matter at hand. It was long until she found herself in the forest that the Witches supposedly made their home. It was dark, foreboding, and she couldn't push down that feeling of dread from all around her. Hopefully, the house itself wasn't too far in.