Good Person?

The battleground was a mess of blood and fleeting despair glooming around Eternus. An ominous air surrounded him as he stood there surrounded by the headless corpses of his enemies that still bled swiftly on the soil.

[You really made a mess out of those bandits, huh, I knew you were strong but this is out of this world…] Neko praised in an effort to lighten the mood.

However, Eternus simply stared at the mess he made once again, pondering deep in his mind. And after a moment, he announced his leave to the shopkeeper.

"I've rid you of your bandits and completed my promise. I'll be on my way now."

The shopkeeper instantly replied, "No, please wait! At least celebrate with us all… We must celebrate our savior."

Eternus remained quiet and after a moment of awkward silence, the shopkeeper added, "If you're uncomfortable with lots of people, then please at least have dinner with me. My conscience would curse me if I let the savior of my whole town go without a proper thanks."

Eternus looked at Neko from the corner of his eye, seeking advice. After receiving a slight nod from his two-tailed acquaintance, Eternus bluntly responded with a subtle bow,

"Fine, I'll be in your care for another night."

The shopkeeper smiled brightly like a child whose dream had just come true.

"Mister, Do you know a place where I can sit alone in peace for some time?" Eternus asked the shopkeeper in an apathetic tone while looking around the area.

The shopkeeper replied happily, "Why yes, of course, there is a lake where people used to fish a lot before those bandits showed up…it's bound to be empty this part of the day. You can go and relax there all you want in peace over there."

'No matter how tough he may be, he is still a child. He needs a moment alone.' The shopkeeper knew in his mind that something was wrong and doing what Eternus did would be tough on even the Bravest of men.

Eternus replied, "I see, please tell me where I can find it."

At the lake, he laid down on the soft grass and under the gentle sunlight touch of the cloudy sky, still deeply lost in his thoughts.

[Brot-.. Eternus, Are you okay?] Neko asked, sticking her head from under the boy's arm.

Eternus then noticed Neko, "So you're still here…" He looked at the sky and answered her question, "I don't know..."

Neko wasn't satisfied with his answer and hopped onto his chest to figure out what was wrong,

[So you're confused. Are you doubting what you did back there?] She asked as her face showed the most adorable of gestures like a toddler pretending to be serious.

Eternus sighed deeply and responded, "No, I don't doubt my actions. I'm wondering about something entirely different."

Neko grew impatient and asked with her big puppy-dog eyes, [Won't you tell ol' Neko about it?] Finding that her secret weapon was not efficient enough she just threw it out in her usual style,

[I'm your only friend right now. so spill it will ya?!] She demanded.

"Very well..." The Boy snorted from behind the mask.

Neko's ears wiggled and her eyes widened out of excitement, she took this response as a sign that he had finally accepted her as a friend.

"I'm wondering about what I've done, what I've become... In just two years of hunting and fighting, I've grown cold…" Eternus sighed deeply and continued while staring at the little floating clouds in the sky, "At first, I thought it's because we were going to eat the animals we hunt so it won't be a waste. But today as I slaughtered those humans, I felt no sympathy toward them. As if my heart does not exist anymore... or did it ever exist to begin with?"

Neko did expect it to be problematic but this was far too serious.

After a while of thinking, Neko replied with the face of a stubborn child, [Maybe you're right, perhaps you have grown cold. But I don't think you're completely heartless either.]

Eternus snorted in mockery towards himself as he asked, "How so?"

Neko smiles and replies, [When you heard about the condition those people are living in, you decided to help them even though you didn't have to. You felt the sufferings of those people. That's a sign that you have a heart!]

"You may be right… But when I decided to take on those Bandits, I don't know if it was because I wanted to help those people or to quench this anger inside of me…" He shook his head and continued coldly, "You're just a Magic beast... and you still know nothing about me. "

Neko jumped off from his chest, slightly hurt by his choice of words, and said angrily, [Well, You don't know anything about me either…] She shook the anger away from her mind and continued in a more mature tone, [Listen, The fact that you felt bad about your coldness is a sign that deep down you are a good person… Just ask that shopkeeper if you don't believe me…]

Eternus couldn't comprehend the emotions that were running inside his head. "A Good Person... Me?" He questioned with utmost confusion as he didn't hear those words in a long time.

Neko showed disappointment, thinking that she failed to get through to him as she watched Eternus sitting silently, with his head lowered near his knees and long hair covering his eyes behind the mask.

Just as Neko gave up and started walking away to leave him alone to relax, a calm and gentle tone asked her from behind,

"Neko... You really think that I might be a good person?"

Neko instantly replied with a smile and tears trapped under her eyelids, [No. I know you're a good person, Eternus]

Neko turned around and noticed a slight flicker from behind the Boy's Mask… Perhaps they were his eyes that had become slightly moist from the little cat's quenching words.

"Thank you... Neko... You're a good friend." Eternus said to her in an unusually compassionate tone.

Neko's eyes started watering as soon as she heard those words. It was as if she had found her salvation. And unlike Eternus, whole rivers flowed through her yellow little peepers.

"I told you we'd be best friends before long..."

"Yes, you did..."

The pair of acquaintances that have become good friends now spent their afternoon laying on the soft grass and staring at the mildly cloudy sky. Neko kept warm company by talking about all sorts of things with her new friend who simply nodded and sighed at her childish words while pondering deeply about his own fate.