15 Back Home

(You might want to play Memory of the Lost for this little flashback)

(And you won't see much of Luna for a while in case you are getting tired, LOOKING AT YOU Ronin46! Calm Down!)

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A small girl with white hair and brown eyes sat on the lap of her father as he went through an old album. Its pages show signs of decoloration and the cover already peeling off.

One could tell that it was an item used almost daily.

The small child once asked her father about the outside world that supposedly had tall places called towers, ones where they lived high in the sky, unlike the subterranean structures they inhabit now.

Among the many places he told her about, she was the most curious about the 'Park' which her parents met.

"Apa, does it look like this?" The girl looked up at her dad with shining eyes.

"Nyeh…it probably looks like shit now." Her father wasn't one to beat around the bush…

"Oh!" The little girl's eyes widened and she covered her mouth as if she couldn't believe what he said.

"Heh!" Although another older child with the same characteristics as the girl giggled not far away, reading another book.

*thwop*

A small rolled-up towel hit the man's head from the kitchen as his wife glared at him. "Luna is just a CHILD!"

"The girl will be hearing them somewhere sometime, better be from a reliable source." The father excused himself with a smile but his face straightened once he saw the unimpressed face of his wife.

"Ehem!" The boy's grin also disappeared when his mother's stare landed on him.

"But that's bad!" Luna exclaimed as she realized that the place her parents met might be gone, her big ol' eyes watering.

Her father smiled, "Luna, do you see who is in the picture?"

"Umu," she nodded before pointing at the picture of a couple sitting together with a big tree behind them, "Papa and Mama!"

"Exactly." her dad pointed at the picture just like her. His rough hand filled with callouses from working on the farms was right beside Luna's, her pristine and tender hand looked minuscule compared to it. "That is what matters, there were many parks out there, and trees were everywhere, but-" the man looked at his wife and winked- "of your mother, there was only one."

The woman snorted but failed to fight off the smile growing on her face.

Luna felt a rough but warm hand pat her head, "What matters is the moment, the memory that I share with your mother, so what if the park isn't there anymore? My wife is right here, you and your brother are here. I'd say that we are much happier now than we were in that photo."

"Do you get it?" He asked his daughter.

"... I don't know."

"Hm… Do you know what a home is?"

"Oh, they taught us that! It's a place where a family lives!" Her eyes lit up.

"Wrooooong." He pinched her cheek.

"Owie!"

"Not a place. It's where the family lives."

"That makes no sense!!" She cried.

Her father chuckled. "Oh well, you will get it eventually. It's important for you to know that a building doesn't make a home, I, your mother, your brother," his finger poked her little chest, " and you do."

*Growl…* And right at that moment, Luna's stomach made its hunger known.

"But I guess what's important right now is this!" His finger poked her belly and caused her to giggle.

…

The kitchen in the base was hectic once the expedition team rematerialized in the base with a human in need of care.

"Knife," Coco ordered as she outstretched her hand.

"Here!" Yami scrambled through the freshly clean tableware that Oliver was washing before handing it to the woman.

Coco began to cut fruit with an absurd speed and precision that could make Gordon Ramsay give up as a chef.

"You finished washing the vegetables?" She asked Adam and Io who were at another sink.

"All done," Adam said and Io nodded.

"Bring them here and fill a bowl with oats with a spoon of sugar."

The moment they got back to the base, Louis was about to give Davis a radio call but he was already there with an unexpected guest. Fortunately, this meant that Davis could call the government base and inform them of the human escapee, then quickly proceed with a transfer operation once they clear a navigation route to the nearest human shelter.

For now, he would be at the base to assist in any way he could in making sure the human girl's condition doesn't worsen while also trying to find her identity by browsing through documents of the missing humans or people who have been considered dead due to the government base they lived in being destroyed.

Coco expertly cut the vegetables and fruit into pieces, the knife in her hand seemed to become a blur. The portions weren't too big or too small. Just the perfect balance for a person to use their hand or spoon to their liking.

Some of the fruit went into a bowl with oats and sugar while the vegetables were showered in some light spice and other ingredients before being dropped in a casserole with boiling water. "Drop the fish here after a few minutes." She told the purple-haired man cutting the meat one tabled aside from her with one girl with similar characteristics helping him.

"Holy…" the girl watched speechless for a moment, "that woman is actually better than you."

"..." Anderson just looked at his daughter as if he had been shot and didn't know why.

"Y-you said that it was bad for her to eat meat!!" Yami screamed. He was scolded by everyone when he offered meat and was told to stand aside.

"That's because you wanted to give her beef, you asshat!!" Anderson's daughter shouted back.

"Oh, alright," Yami said…He took it unexpectedly well- "I'll show you beef, then!" He rolled up his sleeves but was picked from the back collar by Oliver, like a cat.

'Of course, he would pick a fight with a girl in front of her father…' Adam looked at them from afar with Io curiously looking around the kitchen.

"I thought you had changed." Anderson threw a side comment once he got done cutting the fish.

"It hasn't been a week, the hell do you mean!?" Yami flailed, hanging from Oliver's grasp.

"With this, she will have food to eat once she gets well enough," Coco set the stove on low temperature once all the ingredients were added. She was seemingly accustomed to rowdy crowds.

"It's been a while since the base had a good smell like this!" Rin barged into the kitchen, carrying a set of clothes.

"Thank you, but remember it isn't for you." Coco took them before heading out of the noisy kitchen.

"I know..." The petite girl pouted.

…

"Ah, you are finally awake." A heavy but calming voice welcomed her once she opened her eyes. Her eyelids felt cumbersome to move, but a certain smell pushed her to wake up.

"Ah…" Her voice was too dry to even say anything without hurting her already agonizing body. But once she saw a big African man wearing the characteristic stuffy and futuristic Cerberus armor, she let her guard down a little.

The man's right eye was red and his left one was green, the only similarity between them was a vertical scar across each eye mirroring each other.. His demeanor was imposing and strict, but his gaze was calm and collected. Despite having a big build, the chair he was sitting on beside the bed had him at the same level as the girl who just sat up. Davis hoped that being at the same eye level could prevent any sort of intimidation on the young girl.

"You are Luna Iglesias, correct?" Davis was direct as he could with the anxious girl.

"..." The girl gave a silent nod, her weary gaze slowly fading.

There is always a chance of a wanderer revenant finding the equipment of a fallen Cerberus officer, but only a real agent could have access to the database of the government and discover her name which not even her captors knew of…

The girl finally calmed down after understanding her situation. And with the sense of safety provided by Davis, she could finally look at what her stomach was begging her to pay attention to, a bowl of porridge held by a beautiful woman in white clothing.

Coco was wearing white clothing similar to a uniform that matched Davis', dressing unlike usual.

"It's fine, eat so you can recuperate. You can answer our questions when you recover," said Davis, and Luna finally let herself go once Coco handed her the bowl.

Her family was of simple civilians. They worked in the farms like many others and she could very rarely eat meat, so she was quite familiar with porridge. Easy to make, digest, and has enough nutrients for survival.

A sweet flavor with a grainy texture she had longed for a long time finally broke her down.

'Mom always liked strawberries and bananas.'

One spoonful became quickly became two.

'My brother always gave a bit of extra sugar from his portion…'

Tears welled up.

'Dad always gave me the little milk he could get from work to me…'

"Ah." Luna was a mess. She almost dropped her food as her pace increased but Coco had put her hands below Luna's.

"Slow down, the food won't be leaving anywhere." She slowly said with a gentile smile.

After the hurdles the girl had gone through, she finally allowed herself to let some of her emotions out. No monsters that will eat her alive, no more revenants who will keep her in shackles and feed on her, no more hunting for food and water in a city long done wrong by the collapse… no more hardships, the grip of death that had been around her neck had loosened, just for now.

Davis and Coco's presence eased her mind and had no trouble answering their questions. But the interview wasn't long as hunger was only one of the needs she had to take care of.

Coco took a deep breath after leaving the room, the girl needed some proper rest.

"Thank you, Miss Coco," Davis spoke as he was waiting outside for her.

"Don't mention it, just doing my part of the deal." She waved off, "Just know that we used some of our meat for this girl."

"I am aware, I'll have it so you are properly compensated." Davis didn't ask about the medical care and hygiene she aided the girl with, even if it wasn't part of the deal. All she had to do is maintain the human alive with their rations and shelter, nothing more was requested from the government.

…

"Huff…" A sigh escaped Adam's mouth once he entered the hot springs. The place was identical to the one he already knew.

After a changing room, an old path of the tiled floor with roots from nearby trees covering parts of it leads to a naturally formed hot spring which was made by pure accident during the great collapse. All rubble was moved out of the way to the edges of the wooden walls of the springs except for one remaining piece of the cathedral's tower with a monochromatic window.

Such an eccentric sight, yet he didn't pay much attention.

'So if anyone goes deeper than that, it might cause trouble. Sorry kiddo.' That was what Anderson said to Adam once the former was questioned about operation queen slayer.

'Ugh… and the things he told me are pretty much in line with what I already know excluding important facts, like how the Queen took over the body of Cruz Silva, daughter of Gregorio Silva who was a former soldier, and how it was a government experiment from the start, how the Queen was so unkillable that parts of her were divided and sealed inside compatible revenants to stop her from reforming herself, and not to forget the Goddamn audacity of them trying to confuse the people by adding some blame on the great collapse and the Aragami that appeared.

Not to mention that very few remember what lies outside the red mist so a lot of people think that monsters just as dangerous as Lost being outside is some kind of conspiracy bullsh!t.' Adam ranted in his head.

'Whatever, I came here to relax!'

Before using the mistle to travel back to the base, Adam told Yami to scan the area as revealing his fast travel abilities was a big no-no. And, thankfully, there was no one snooping around.

'Aside from successfully rescuing the girl and possibly getting an ally, I also avoided getting the attention of the Juzo Mido…' He was glad he didn't get the attention of the mad scientists. The Butterfly of Delirium was possibly one of his experiments.

Adam just hoped that the mad scientist was doing the same as he was in the game and wasn't about to raid the base to dissect him because he was found out by some special radar MacGuffin. Adam made sure that Io isn't recognized as an attendant by making her cover her silver hair and wear actual clothing.

The one reason Juzo Mido wasn't out of his bunker-like he owned the place early in the game was because he wasn't done with his experiments, collecting data of the Queen by reverse engineering the relics he stole.

So at least Mido won't be trying to break the blood mist anytime soon to get Aragami for his next experiments and get everyone in the city in danger by doing so.

'Whatever, all I can do is get stronger… nothing else to it.' Adam submerged his body in the hot spring water with a towel around his waist to cover his Excalibur. Finally coming to an understanding as to why Oliver and Yami were so obsessed with it.

"Oh…This is what life is about, baby…" He melted immediately, just stopping himself from fully submerging his head. He might be a revenant, but he still needed oxygen to function.

The BOR Parasite kept his body in optimal condition but his mind wasn't affected. He was tired after a whole day of work in a new apocalyptic world he was thrown into.

'I'd say I've done pretty damn good, damn do I deserve this! This world better be ready for me, because this is just the beginning!' He kissed his own ass, afraid that he might've missed a wrinkle…

As he enjoyed the hot waters bathing his body and cleaning his mind. The starry sky shone above him, just giving him the best view possible. The combination of sensations and scenery made his mind slowly throw away all of the worry and negativity.

But the ooga booga part of his brain told him that his whole undivided attention should be placed on the woman not far from him. It was just the two of them alone.

Even with the thick fog covering the place, his eyes were unimpeded by it. She wore a towel barely covering a pair of long and thick legs with a tight waist that led to her voluptuous chest. All in all, 11/10.

Coco raised a questioning eyebrow when the two made eye contact. "Your eyes finally landed up here?" There was some heat in her voice. Seems she also had quite a good sight as the man.

"Wait, are you actually wearing makeup here?" The heat slid across his handsome face while he pointed out the elephant in the room. The little warmth remaining on his face was most surely because it was his first time in the hot springs… at least he told himself.

"Smooth." She snorted before actually answering his question. "I'm just testing my products, even when locked up in this place, girls want to look pretty."

"Guess it goes all the way around, huh? girls will be girls." Adam tilted his head, totally not to get a better view.

Coco agreed with a nod. "And boys will be boys. Do you honestly have an idea of how many men have asked me about those relics?" She referred to the first time Adam bought supplies from her.

"Right… they are relics now." He remembered that, although similar to his world, this one was decades ahead of his original reality.

"They were old even before the collapse." She added.

"Well, you could say that I appreciate the classics. From the little memories I have, I lived most of my childhood in a rural area." Adam gave an excuse to justify any ignorance of the possible changes that might've happened to whatever he knew. "So I'm not that familiar with the new."

After all, he was in an alternate world. How could he know that One Piece was called the same and even finished?

Coco hummed, "did you live with your grandparents?"

"Oh," Adam was slightly surprised. "Did we know each other before this?" He threw a cover for himself.

Coco had to take care of her sick child as a single mother, and God knows what kind of things can a mother do for her child.

She had a nack as a mechanic so she stuck with it and went into some less than lawful trades. Besides, from some of the drugs that she sells in the game, Adam knew that she might've been a 'Cook' too. He didn't trust himself to completely deceive a woman who lived in such a world and had her skills honed further in the apocalypse where people only count on themselves, so he had to throw some truths into his statements.

"I did live with my grandparents once too. They loved all of the games and manga that you asked for, but even for them, those were already old. Not many of them withstood the test of time." She shared a tidbit of her past.

"Yeah… guess my gramps was really old school." He excuses further.

"How old school?"

"Hmm…"

…

"You good there champ?" An old man gruffed.

His aged face aged as an old piece of cracked leather. He was clearly balding but that didn't stop him from taking care of his badass beard and mustache. Almost identical to a semi-muscular Master Roshi.

"Ugh… Nope." The man's grandson resisted the urge to cover his nose.

"Huhuhuhu, you don't like the smell of alcohol now but when you get older, that thing will get you up and going."

"I doubt it." Little Adam grimaced as he cut the muscle off of the reindeer's leg. His rubber gloves and gown stopped the blood from staining his clothes.

"Bet, you better grow up fast enough and let me find out. You almost got your skull stomped today, it would be good for you to remember the difference between buckshot and birdshot already.

Can't have you pepper-spraying your target because you got confused. Remember, there is not just plenty of evil out there that won't let the chance go if you make a mistake, it also has a color which has a lot of melanin."

…

Adam struggled to come up with a description of his grandfather that he has now realized had some questionable opinions.

"Well… he was too desensitized to care enough to find out if his lung cancer was from asbestos exposure or smoking since his teenage years, drank beer and alcohol enough to make a mineral mine in his kidneys, and somehow was making it past 60." Adam made a short summary of his old man without adding racism and war.

And he was surprised at Coco's response.

"HAHAHHAHAhahaha!" A genuine laugh. "Yup, that is the 'old' of 'old school' right there." She managed to say after her laughter calmed down to chuckles.

"Not that different from what I thought." She muttered to herself before standing up from the hot spring, the wet towel tightly hugging all of her body.

"You're free tomorrow?" She asked but didn't wait for a response and turned to leave, "I know a guy who might have the relics you asked for."

"...Yes."

"You really need to learn how to hide your gaze, especially with those eyes of yours." She didn't even look back.

"How do you even notice with this much mist?" Adam questioned as only God and he knew where his eyes were at.

"Your tone and I know my body best."

"Do you stare at it more than men do?"

"Good point," she stopped, "but, counterpoint, I can literally feel them on me."

Adam hesitated for a second but gave a defeated sigh, "I have a witty remark to that, however, I would like to very much stay on your good side."

"Which side, I wonder?" She resumed her walk with one single unnecessary sway of her waist at the start.

"Ugh…" and that was enough to make Adam completely melt into the waters as Coco left the hot springs.

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Word Count: 3,490

So her name is Luna Iglesias now.

I was tempted to call the human girl Luna Diaz as "Luna" means moon in Latino speak, and that thing comes out at night while "Diaz" means days… and… um…that… that's when the sun comes ou- I'll just shut up.