[17.5] Attack of the Chihuahua

I sped off quickly, soaring as fast as I could to beat the disintegrating ice chunk. Soon, I caught sight of a woman in red shouting orders while pointing at a box. The ice chunk melted away, propelling my body forward.

The woman turned to me in surprise, revealing a beautiful and flawless face.

She had perfect light brown hair with a slight wave to it. Her dark phoenix eyes were the color of ice. Even though her features were slightly different, they were close to the woman from my dreams.

Except this woman in front of me practically emitted danger while the woman in my dreams emitted warmth.

I snapped out of admiration once I realized I was about to collide with her.

Sh*t sh*t sh*t! I can't use magic!! What the f*ck am I going to do!?

I opened my mouth, revealing my pearly whites, "BITE ATTACK!"

Her eyes shrunk back, "BITE WHAT!?"

As I crashed into her body, I chomped down on her shoulder.

She started screaming while trying to pull me off. However, just like a tick, I stayed on firmly. My wand was thrown out of my hands, but I ignored it.

It's currently useless anyway.

"GET IT OFF!! GET IT OFF OF ME!!!"

Pure black hands grabbed me and ripped me off.

I landed on the ground with a hard thud.

I shook off the stars in my vision and let out a growl.

I must summon my inner chihuahua!

I lunged forward and firmly grasped her ankle before biting down on it.

She screamed as she attempted to kick me off, "What is this thing!?! A rabid dog!?"

B*tch! I'm a chihuahua!

That's the definition of a rabid dog!!!

I ignored her kicking and hitting while I bit down on her ankle refusing to budge.

I can't let go.

This pain is nothing.

"I SAID GET OFF!"

A heavy foot slammed into my face, sending me flying. I rolled on the ground biting my lip to avoid crying.

It hurts so much…

I forced myself to sit up, gasping for air. One of my front teeth was missing and one of my eyes was so swollen that I couldn't see through it. Each breath of air felt like something was stabbing into me.

A small trickle of blood dripped down my face and onto the ground. Seeing the dark crimson liquid, my vision blurred.

It's just tomato sauce.

It's just tomato sauce.

Come on, Reika! You can't faint!

You have to find Cyrus first!

I forced open my eyes in determination and caught sight of the bracelet around my wrist.

F*ck… I don't really want to ask for help… But…

I reached out to rub the bracelet, but before I could a voice shouted. "No, you don't!"

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my hair and hoisted me up into the air. The woman in red ripped the bracelet off my wrist and threw it to the ground.

I kicked my feet and screamed as I scratched at the woman's hand. "B*TCH! I will kill you! Let me go!!!"

She raised an eyebrow as she talked to herself, "Wait… Isn't this the brat the boss said is a pain in his side? I thought she was supposed to be at home going crazy."

I scratched at her hands frantically, "THAT'S RIGHT B*TCH! I'M CRAZY AND I WILL FIGHT YOU!!!"

She turned to the shadow men beside her as she ignored me, "Boss? What should I do?"

The shadow men beside her didn't move.

Then, one opened its mouth.

An eerie voice echoed out, "She can't use magic… The plan is still on…"

Isn't that voice the same one from the day Cyrus and I were stuck in an illusion?

"Sure thing, Boss." She turned to the other shadow men and shouted, "OPEN THE BOX!"

The men complied and I was quickly thrown inside a wooden box. As it was opened, I saw Cyrus's panicked face before I was thrown on top of him. The box slammed shut again and nails were driven into the wood without wasting a moment.

I went to sit up but hit my head on the lid.

There's no room in this piece of crap!!!

Hands shot out in the darkness and wrapped around me.

They pulled me close in an embrace, leaving even less space for me to breathe.

"Oi-" I paused when I felt Cyrus trembling as he held me. I forced on a smile, "Sup, Cyrus. I was looking for you."

"R-R-R-Reik-ka?"

I blinked in disbelief.

Is he scared?

Why is he so scared?

Well… I guess this box does look like a coffin…

Oh my god! Are we going to be buried alive!?! Fck f*ck f*ck!

I pressed my eyes shut and took a deep breath.

I can't be scared right now. I have to be strong for this little boy.

...Before he pees on me out of fear.

I wrapped my arms around him and rubbed his head, "It's okay."

"IT'S NOT OKAY!"

I flinched in surprise, "...Okaaay. Why isn't it okay?"

"BECAUSE! We are trapped in a box and that box is small and dark and nailed shut and I don't have my wand or my sword and I don't like the dark and I don't like small spaces AND I WANT TO GO HOME!"

I blinked from the thousands of words spoken in less than a minute, "Ah… Good point."

"We are going to die. We are going to die. We are going to die. We are going to die. We are going to die. We are going to die. We are going to die in a small box and no one will ever know."

I rubbed his head and cooed, "Don't focus on that, focus on me."

"H-How can I focus on anything other than that!?"

"...Well for one, if you keep burying your face in my chest then you'll suffocate yourself."

"I-I will stop!!!"

"You say that but you're hugging me even tighter…"

"I-I just don't like small enclosed spaces!!"

As I heard the panic in his voice, I recognized that his fear was far more serious than I originally had imagined.

I rubbed his back as his body continued to tremble. "Why don't you like it? Tell me about it."

"I-It's embarrassing…"

"Hmm… Then what if I tell you something embarrassing?"

"T-Then m-maybe…"

"Well, when I was younger I had to transfer to a new school. On my first day of class, I was so nervous that when I tried to eat those mushy-cooked carrots at lunchtime, I actually puked them up and they went everywhere. The children teased me nonstop after that."

He let out a single chuckle, "Y-You actually puked?"

Ugh. That's not even the worst part.

After that, the children would throw cooked carrots at me, put them in my shoes, they even put them on my chair when I wasn't looking and I would sit on them…

I had mashed carrots on my butt for the entire day and I didn't even know.

Really. Children are terrible.

I cleared my throat, "Okay, okay. I'm feeling particularly vulnerable right now. Now tell me about why you are so afraid."

He struggled to speak, "W-When I was younger… M-My aunt would t-throw me into a box t-to discipline m-me… I-I hated it…"

I grinned, "Then let's kill her! We can drain her blood, bathe in it, whatever you want."

"W-Why would I want that!?"

"Eh!? I don't know. Sounds fun."

He squealed, "That's not fun! It's deranged!!"

"Everything fun is a bit deranged."