Eyes

"Ana..." Kisuke is fiddling through his portable computer. He's currently arranging the data he got from Medusa. He feeling excited with all the stuff he got from her ranging from the complicated arrangement of Mana inside her body and a bit of data about Divinity. He already got some clues for who truly she is, but also wondered if the legends are true and what did she do for her to deserve this kind of punishment.

"What is it?" Medusa answered while she reads a book. With Kisuke's help and teaching her magic to differentiate colors without using her eyes, Medusa was able to read books like a normal person. Although it's not a substitute for vision, Medusa is very happy about it.

Kisuke closed his laptop and faced Medusa who is sitting beside him, "Let me take a look at your eyes."

"Wha!? No!" She removes her focus on the book and answered him immediately.

Putting away his laptop, Kisuke pulled out snacks, "Eh? Didn't you say I can do anything?"

Medusa hesitated for a bit but after shaking her head, she answered, "...Still! No!"

"Why though? I don't think it would be that bad. From what I can tell, you aren't actually blind. Are your eyes scarred or something that it looks ugly? I can probably create some kind of ointment to fix that. I just need you to show it to me."

"It doesn't have any scar... But it's ugly... and most of all, dangerous!" Medusa can't fully control her eyes. Although she can control its potency, she didn't have a way to turn it off without sealing it off completely. And it's already been too long since the last time she relieved these eyes and didn't know if she can still control it. If unlucky, she thought that she could instantly petrify Kisuke which is something she won't like and would regret. After all, he is her savior and he let her experience all these things even if temporary, 'There's also a chance that he'll guess my identity and origin if I were to take it off.'

Aside from her concern about his safety and those around him, deep inside, she didn't want him to hate her because of her origin. If it's the first time they met, she wouldn't really mind if they were to know her identity, but as the days go, her reluctance grew bigger. Although she only stayed with them for a few days, each day, she would keep thinking about the time she inevitably leaves and would keep telling herself, 'One day... Just one more day...' until it became a form of torture for her.

Medusa knew that if her identity were to be revealed to them, she would have to escape this cozy and happy place. She's a bit hopeful that Kisuke wouldn't treat her a monster, but she knew how dangerous this feeling is if she was to fall for it. After all, the feeling of loneliness by leaving is a lot better than the feeling of despair when one is betrayed.

"Dangerous? How? What does it do? I'm pretty confident with my ability, so I can probably deal with it." Kisuke kept insisting as his curiosity kept bothering him, 'If she's really the Medusa or someone related to her, then her eyes must be the petrification eyes... I want to see it!'

Looking at his eyes full curiosity, Medusa hesitated again and looked down, 'It's also unfair if I keep hiding like this... I guess this is the end...' She decided and steeled herself, 'Dragging this any longer would only make it harder for me and for everyone else...'

Medusa recalled the time she spent here and heaved a large sigh. She already knew that Kisuke can indeed resist her mystic eyes if he only gazes at it for a few seconds. The time she spent with them didn't just end with her enjoying life, but also gathering information for herself. Even though she didn't think that Kisuke and Yoruichi has enough capability to face a God, she knew that her weakened self and petrifying gaze wouldn't be able to affect them fast. As long as she seals it again before she could do further harm, it's fine to show it to him.

But she didn't immediately remove her blindfold but says, "Please tell me the state of two other souls inside me before we proceed."

Kisuke partially knew what she's thinking about after observing her actions, 'Hahaha~. Is she really that worried?' He pretended that he knew nothing and answered without hesitation, "They are fine now even if left alone. They would recover their strength and would one day wake up if there are no accidents that befall them."

Medusa, this time, sighed in great relief, "Is that so?... Thank you very much for everything you've done... If I got in the chance in the future, I'll repay this kindness hundredfold."

"What are you talking about? This is all part of our deal. As long as you let me examines you, everything is already fine."

"Right... And the last thing you wanted to inspect is my eyes... Understood..." Medusa stood up and gestured for Kisuke to follow her. She went straight to her temporary room and sat down on her bed. "Before we proceed, please set up a barrier... A strong one since I don't know what might happen to others if we don't do so."

"Gotcha~." With a snap of his fingers, Kisuke activated the barrier that he already placed inside her room just in case something happens.

Medusa smiled wryly at his actions, "Fully prepared, aren't you? Also, please make a hole on the barrier just in case you would need to escape if anything goes wrong and seal me inside." Although incredibly bothered, Medusa is making a way out for herself just in case Kisuke became hostile against her. Medusa plans to stun him using her eyes to make enough time for her to escape.

Kisuke wanted to point out how naive she was but stopped himself as he knew where she is coming from, "Okay~." With another snap, a small opening was created on the window leading outside.

Medusa stood up from her bed and checked the whole is she really can go through it and after confirming that she could, she returned to her bed to prepare to remove her blindfold. Her actions garnered some admiration from Kisuke, 'It's great that she wasn't blinded by how we are treating her and would still check things herself.'

"Well then..." Medusa took a deep breath before touching her blindfold. She first removed the restriction spell placed on it and the amount of Mana in the surrounding noticeably became denser. Next, she removed it completely, revealing her whole face for the first time in many... many years. Medusa's heartbeat skyrocketed due to nervousness, and cold sweat started pooling on her back. She also started to regret doing this as this will inevitably change the way he looks at her. But she's already in this stage and she can't keep secrets forever. Before opening her eyes, she circulated her Mana through her entire body and cleared her mind, entering a trance. Opening her eyes, Medusa, for the first time, clearly saw Kisuke's face.

Kisuke's eyes widened when he saw her eyes and stopped moving because his mind started working in numerous ways to analyze what is in front of him. This, however, caused Medusa to misunderstand and thought that he was being petrified faster than she thought and was about to seal her eyes again before escaping for good.

Before she could do so, however, she heard him say something she thought impossible if someone looks straight at her eyes, "...Fascinating..."