Kuru

* Theory of a Deadman - Angel *

***

What Raven didn't know was that her fight with the monster was all being being broadcasted over the radio and TV channels, plus other big online sources.

It's not everyday that people get to witness such a fight, especially that the area they've destroyed was the largest. Not only that, but she was an unknown entity with powers that rivals an S ranker.

People around the globe knew of Jamie, the one and only S ranked Flame Master Mage. He was one of the very few True S rankers, meaning he's so close to achieving a double S rank (SS).

Seeing how he had struggled with the monster even though he had used his Supernova Daggers, had given an idea of how strong the monster had been.

No one had any doubts that Jaimie was going to win in the end, he's known for tiring out his enemies before using the full power of his flames and striking them down.

However, the sole fact that the girl had destroyed the monster in one blast was so shocking.

Some even believed that the anonymous young girl was a double S ranked entity (SS), but on the other side, a lot of people contradicted saying that she's almost died the first round.

The first faction would always point at the sky, where the dim second sun still shines, making the sky a rather interesting sight.

The first real sun was covered by the dark smoke, while the second faint one had blasted the smoke away, making way for light to pass through, lighting half of the almost destroyed city.

"Are you ok, Maria?" Camilla asked in a worried voice while standing on the soft green grass. 'Damn I hate seeing her like that,' she thought to herself.

"Uhm, don't worry about it," Maria answered as she buried her face further into Raven's oversized soccer uniform.

All of a sudden, a soft azure blue blanket was thrown over the sleeping trio, or sleeping girl and laying duo.

"Where I come from, people get sick when they sleep without covering themselves." Axane said weakly in a soft voice, "I... I don't want you to get sick."

"Thank you, Axane." Maria replied as Maya smiled at her softly.

"How are you feeling now?"

At that, everyone could see a soft white light glowing faintly behind Axane's now closed eyelids.

Witnessing Raven's close call was so traumatizing to the silver girl that she kept crying nonstop, even after she had destroyed that monster.

"I'm ok now that she's here," she said as her silver eyes kept shining softly. "Can I-"

"Of course!" Maria cut her off. She knew that if Axane was anything like her, she'd like to touch Raven, feel her, and make sure she's the same girl that she's known so far.

Giving the sleeping Raven one last squeeze, Maria stood up, "you can take my spot."

"Thank you." Axane said as she got down and laid on the soft grass near Raven. Just being close to her was making her regain her calm and the warmth she felt when she first met her.

'Is that how baby Rituxi feels when she's in my arms?' she thought to herself as she remembered baby Rituxi that was sleeping soundly in the warm house.

'Thank you for not leaving me, crimson-purple... Raven.' Axane thought before she lost her worry and concerns in the young girl's warmth.

...

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes to hours, by the time two hours have passed, the whole group was sleeping outside in the colourful garden, uncaring of whatever horrors are happening outside.

Each had their share of trouble and fights and by no means were they interested in another. They all wanted to take their well earned rest.

"M-ugh..."

"Eh? You good there?" hearing a weak moaning sound, Maria asked thinking it was Raven since it was coming from her direction.

Looking at her daughter, Maria found herself staring at a small dark creature that was looking back at her with blinking eyes.

The creature resembled a small version of a lion-tiger hybrid that looked alien at the same time. The small creature was all jet black, except for its silver grey mane, and matching fluffy tail.

"Oh my gosh you're so cute!" Maria said as she instinctively started to approach it with open arms.

The small creature retreated into Raven's side while making a sound that resembled a scared and angry snarl.

"Shhh, you're so cute but you'll wake her up!" she whispered loudly in an almost angry tone that scared the creature even more, making it bump into Raven's face and waking her up.

"Eugh..." sitting up slowly, Raven started to blink rapidly as she tried to focus on her surroundings. The couple of hours she got were by no means enough for her body to get the rest she needed desperately.

"You woke her up!" Maria yelled at the poor still disoriented creature who had no choice but to hide on Raven's lab, under her shirt.

"Haha you're tickling me!" Raven laughed lightly as she held the shaking creature in her arms.

The small creature was small enough that Raven's small arms could wrap around its body without much effort.

"It's alright now, no one will hurt you, ok?" Raven said softly while stroking its silky fur.

"Mom is a nice person, don't worry she's not really mad," she reassured.

The creature had no idea why, but it found it rather comforting. Not just her gesture, but her words, face, and aura. Everything about the girl in front of it made it feel comfortable and away from danger.

It was feeling safe, a feeling it hasn't felt in a long while.

Seeing the intelligent glint in its silver eyes, Raven suddenly remembered the intelligent monster they've seen before. "Oh you're not a pet, you might be a different species that lives on another planet!"

The creature didn't understand a word but it still liked the feeling of being safe, so it was more than happy to cuddle in Raven's embrace.

"Hm, give me a second," Raven said as silver goo surged out of her open palm, surprising the creature. Nonetheless, it didn't make any attempts to run away.

Seconds after, a small silver anklet was floating in air above her hand.

"Ok this is not going to hurt ok? It's good!" she said while putting the anklet around the creature's right front foot.

Blinking twice, the creature realized the function of the anklet.

"Hi, can you understand me now?" Raven asked in a hopeful tone. Maria only stared, she didn't know whether hearing a cat speak for the first time would be good or bad for her mental health.

"... I can, thank you for saving me." the creature hesitated for a second but it spoke fluently, thanks to Raven's Translator Anklet.

"Haha you're voice is so cute, you know that?" she said hugging the creature in her arms. "So what's your name?" she asked with a happy tone.

"Name?" before putting the anklet on, the poor creature wouldn't have known what that word meant. It knew nothing but being a tool for its master. But now it did, and it made it sad that it had none. "I don't have a name," said the creature with a sad voice.

"Hehe, can I pick you a name then?" Raven said enthusiastically, surprising both Maria and the creature.

Maria had at least expected her to get a little sensitive and be sad, but she couldn't detect a hint of it in her tone.

"Uhm," nodded the creature slightly with anticipation. This was like a dream that it had never expected having.

"From your childish voice, I can guess you're a male?" she asked before continuing, "Or maybe.. err, some alien gender? Doesn't matter anyway, I'm going to name you Kuru! You remind me of one black cat animation I used to watch on TV." she said happily making Maria smile softly.

"Do you like it? Hehe, of course you do!" Raven said while hugging Kuru tightly her arms. Feeling her warmth, Kuru had no choice but to nod happily. "Uhm!" it was the first time he had had something of his own, even if it was something he couldn't touch, it was still his.

Raven was happy things went this way. She wasn't naive, nor was she an idiot. She was acting childishly to keep Kuru at ease.

She's had a taste of what being used as a tool could do to someone's mentality and self-esteem.

When she was in Lady Luck's place, her will to live was so thin that crushing it would be easier than crushing a tiny sand stone.

That's why the first thing she gave Kuru was love and safety. After that she started building his self esteem with giving him a name to let him know that he matters.

She hadn't lied though, she actually loves that name because it reminds her of a troublesome funny cat she used to watch on TV. The cat used to literally transform its arms into two mini machine guns and rain down hell on the poor villains.

And by the end of the day, the Kuru in the animation would go to his old owner and act like an everyday boared cat.

"Alright, shall we get some sleep now? I'm sorry I know you just woke up but I'm dead tired *yawn~*" as if to emphasize her point, she laid back down with a yawn.

Cuddling by her side, Kuru and Raven fell asleep as their chests started to rise and fall in a calm rhythm.

Seeing all of that, Maria couldn't help but chuckle softly, "You're so smart, lil Raven..."

With a warm kiss to Raven's cheek, she grabbed another big blanket and made sure everyone was warm underneath.

Joey got to have his own as he was sleeping a few feet away from the rest of the group. Nonetheless, they all seemed so peaceful and carefree that it made Maria fall asleep faster than usual, with a relaxed and calm mindset.