Lament of the Moon S&H - Ch.08: Dancing no Bara - Ep10
#10 of LoM 08
"Here you go, sweets," Panja brought Sasuga a glass of water and sat next to the grieved kirin on the couch, an arm of his around her.
"Thanks, Panja..." Sasuga said as she drank of the water and that soothed her down a bit.
"Come on, Sassy, don't be like this. You're killing me here," Panja said, not happy seeing his kirin friend in this sad state.
"But he didn't deserve to die, Panja. Kyle was a kind, sweet person, with a bright future ahead of him. He was... my only friend when I was at the university. If he hadn't known me... if I haven't gotten him involved... maybe he wouldn't have..." Sasuga mumbled in despair.
"Hey, hey! Stop that! Don't say such crazy things!"
"But it's true! Everywhere I go, I cause nothing but pain and suffering to everyone around me! Hazard, Seif and even you, I put you all in danger for my sake, and Kyle got caught into this and it cost him his life! And I didn't do anything to prevent it!"
"Heh, you're so full of it, you know that?" Panja chuckled and made Sasuga blink oddly at him.
"W-What?"
"You think this is all happening now, because of you? You may be a special gifted girl, Sassy, but, sorry to disappoint you, this kind of stuff has been happening for hundreds of years now. It's not because of you, so stop blaming yourself," the white lion bluntly said and Sasuga blinked again.
"But I..."
"Look, bad stuff happens, people die all the time. That's just how the world works. Sometime it just can't be helped. You can't save everyone, and the moment you start blaming yourself for an unavoidable death, you'll never get out of it," Panja's words struck Sasuga deeply and profoundly, mostly because she had never expected them to come out of the white lion's muzzle. "What happened to Kyle is unfortunate and unfair, but it happened beyond yours or anyone's hands, and the only thing we can do is get over it and make whoever was responsible pay, big time," he continued with a firm tone.
"Panja..." Sasuga was more about to let out a 'wow'. Not only was Panja right about what he said, but the way he said it and how he was willing to take the matter into his own hands actually made her feel secured, and kind of foolish of what she said. He and the others must've been through much worse in the past.
"Aw, don't give me that look! I'm not all just brawns and looks, you know? Although, I can't complain I have a good amount of that!" Panja leered smugly, showing off one of his beefy biceps. Sasuga giggled lightly, smiling back at the cheeky white lion. Even at her worst, he still managed to wash away her grieve and bring a smile on her face. "That's what I'm talking about!"
"Thanks, Panja. I'm sorry. You're right, I think I'm going to be okay..." the kirin softly said, petting his big arm around her. "There's still one thing I have to do."
"What is it?"
"I want to go to Kyle's memorial service. It's the least I can do, for him."
"Are you sure? I don't think it's a fine idea, at least not so soon," Panja replied warily.
"Yes. I have to. I need to. I want to know what happened to him," Sasuga said in resolve. Panja paused for a few moments, and then nodded.
"Alright, I'll come with you then. You never know what might pop up there, so you'll need your big burly lion to keep you safe!" the white lion genially proclaimed.
"Thank you, Panja. I appreciate that very much," Sasuga smiled and hugged him gently, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face on his broad warm chest, as the lion hugged her back as gently.
"No problem, babe. I'm here for you, always," Panja cooed softly, patting her back gently. Sasuga was definitely glad to have Panja. Despite being dismayed by Kyle's death, having the white lion's support sure softened the blow. She began to see why Hazard and Seif count on him with their lives.
"You're a great friend, Panja. I'm so glad you came back," Sasuga said, looking up admiringly at him.
"Awwww, of course I won't leave you! You keep being sweet like this and we'll get to be more than friends," the white lion smirked with a wink and made Sasuga blush in turn.
"You big sweet-talker," Sasuga said, poking his side. If she wasn't careful, she'd totally fall for his flirty ways.
"Speaking of friends, where's Haz?" Panja then wondered when he noticed that the apartment was wolf-free.
"Uhh, he's... out at the moment. Says he had some errands to do," she lied. She didn't want to tell Panja that Hazard went on a date with Rinami; he might not take that very well.
"Oh? Well, was he... still mad at me?" Panja asked the kirin in a meek tone, looking like a concerned kitten over the disapproval of its best friend, and it was heart-wrenching seeing him like this for Sasuga.
"Not at all. In fact, he was certain you would come back. He knows you can't do without him, Panja, and vice versa," Sasuga answered him affably and brought a big smile the lion big face.
"Really? Great! In that case, should we wait for him or just go on ahead without him?"
"Let's just go. Give me five minutes to get ready, okay?" Sasuga said and gave Panja's a soft smooch on his cheek before she headed off to her apartment to get properly dressed. "Oh, by the way, what happened to your jacket? Didn't you have it on you last night when we were at the circus?" Sasuga suddenly asked the white lion as she was about to exit the door, noticing the absence of his slick 'Wanderlust' leather jacket he usually wore whenever he went outside.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, well, I guess I... forgot it there or something. It's no biggie; I'll get another one later!" Panja replied warily.
"Ah, okay. Well, I'll be right back!" she waved to him cheerfully and went off to her place, when Panja let out a sigh.
"Damn, where the hell is my jacket?"
To be continued...