41 CHAPTER 41: My only friend... (1/2)
The air became still, as Mai's disturbing wrath seeped throughout the place. Ru was surprised that Mai shouted from her lungs out, making Ru to say a suggestion filled with humor,
”Geez Mai...if Nassus was here...he'd hear you and we'd be cooked...”.
Sadly, Mai wasn't pleased of Ru's comment, so Mai slapped Ru's cheek very intensely, leaving out Ru's face with a burning slap mark. Zeran was shocked, as he saw Mai slapped his dear beloved Ru. He felt a sudden anger for Mai and he clenched his fist but, he just let it go, since she was still Ru's friend. Not only that, Mai exclaimed with seething rage in her eyes,
”SHUT UP! I hate you!”.
Ru was witnessing, Mai's gritting teeth poured with rage. Though, Ru didn't feel angry for Mai's disrespectful manner, instead she just sighed. Then, Ru closed her eyes and said behind Zeran, while she was wearing a calming smile that was devoid of any kind of wrath,
”Zera? Could you leave us for now?”.
He didn't ask anymore questions, since he thought, it must be sensitive girls talk or something. Soon, he replies back in an affirmative way,
”Yeah sure...”.
He left the room afterwards. The air became silent, as the room was only filled with two close friends. Zeran sat at sofa and sighed with a tired look on his face, although he was wearing a confident smile, since he believed that Ru can break Mai's hardened shell. Mai shouted her flaming words again but, she was on the verge of crying,
”WHY? WHY DID YOU SAVE ME AGAIN?!”
”WE ARE NO LONGER FRIENDS...SO WHY?!”.
Ru held Mai's hand and told her without any ounce of sinistry but instead, Ru was like a close companion who was very much concerned for her dear friend's acheing heart,
”You're still my friend Mai...no matter what...”.
Mai responds back,
”I STOLE YOUR IDEAL HERO FROM YOU, REMEMBER?!”
”AND I JUST GAVE YOU THAT PLUSH DOLL OF HIM IN COMPENSATION...”.
The air became frozen as Mai told those harsh words. As Ru heard Mai's alarming statements of hard truths, Ru closed her eyes but, she wasn't angry or anything. Instead, she was deep in her thoughts and made her to feel the puzzle was completed,
(”So that's why she gave it to me...”).
Soon after, Ru opened her eyes and said in a calm manner,
”Stole? I never thought of you to do that...”
”In fact, it was like I stole him from you...”
”As you arrived here as a non-Goddess...and I should be the one who should be sorry for crushing my friend's love life...”.
Mai turned her face away and replied back with an irritated look on her face, although her boiling wrath was gradually cooling down bit by bit,
”NOW YOU GOT HIM...”
She looked at Ru again and said,
”Why did you save a non-Goddess someone like me?”.
The atmosphere became heavy like an unmoving piston, as she released another shocking statement. Though, Ru just sighed and told with all of her flowing and soothing emotions, while she was holding Mai's hand very softly,
”Mai...like I said you're still my friend...hells you're my only friend...aside from Zera keeping me company...and Niara is just a cunning business partner...”
”All I could say is that, when I saw you suffering being with Nassus and those deranged heroes from before...I can't help to hate them too...”
”So please don't throw your life away, lady Arseia won't be happy when she sees you...”
”I'm here for you for as a friend...”.
As Mai heard Ru's emotional words, Mai's stiffened cover broke again and her fragile heart was revealed once again. Her tears swelled up and started to leak out. Her anger was replaced by a pitiful face of a hurtened maiden. Then, she says to Ru with her tears falling,
”Ru...”.
The next moment, Mai hugged Ru very tightly and cried all her heart out. Ru was patting the back of Mai to comfort her dear friend. It seemed Ru and Mai didn't look-like the highly revered Goddesses, instead they looked-like just teenage friends who had a huge conflict with each other. The air turned normal and Zeran was hearing Mai's scandalous cries and he was wearing a determined smile, since he knew that Ru released Mai's pent-up emotions. Thereon, Mai was embracing Ru for a long time until Mai had dried out of her crystal tears. After sometime, Ru went outside and told to Zeran in a complacent manner,
”Mai says she wants to talk to you about something...”.
He replies with a questionable face,
”Okay?”.
Zeran entered the room and he was seeing that Mai was staring at the window with swarming fireflies, in which they were illuminating mystical violet rays outside. More than that, Mai wasn't angry nor crying with immense tears anymore. Instead, she was wearing a smile that depicted her inner self had calmed down. He felt kinda nervous, since the winds were too soothing and silent around the room. He noticed that there was a chair near the bedridden Mai, so he took a seat. A little while later, Mai inhaled and let out her deep words,
”Zen...I mean Zeran?”.
He replies,
”Yes Mai?”.
Mai turned to look at him and asked with all her concern for her dear friend,
”Do you truly love Ru?”.
As he heard that sensitive question from her, he smiled and nodded, while he was saying with great determination, depicting he was already prepared for the path he took,