It was dim.
From the edge of his vision, he could barely register neon blue and pink lights that illuminated the room.
There was the sound of hushed murmurs and fingers tapping against the air.
The world felt a bit drowsy, but that was only for a moment, as in the next moment, he felt full control return to him.
His eyes fully opened, the world sharpening under his gaze, and the hushed murmurs turning into clear conversations between a group.
BAAAADUUMP
BAAADUUMP
His previously slow-beating heart began to increase its tempo, but then, he noticed something peculiar.
The neon blue and pink lights he registered weren’t coming from the walls.
They were coming from a thread that was very close to his vision, running across his face.
His hand unconsciously reached out and picked up one of them, and the discovery surprised him.
It wasn’t a thread.
It was someone’s hair.
Hair glowing with its own light, enough to provide illumination in the dark room.
He turned his gaze away from the hair, looking down at his chest, and there he found a head lift from his chest, her hands rubbing her face.
It resembled the gesture of one who had just awoken, but those eye rubs paused as she looked at the rising chest and the firm sound of his heartbeat.
She turned her gaze from it and slowly moved upward, and their eyes met.
His eyes: a shimmering purple, holding a bizarre illusion of white flames dancing in their depths..
Her eyes: holding hundreds of colors, but if there was a single word to describe them...
He would say, Rainbow Eyes.
Her lips opened to form an "O," as Ryuk blankly stared back.
For some reason, he found her oddly familiar, and that was when it occurred to him.
"Wait, aren’t you that—" he began, but didn’t need to finish when she nodded a hundred times, her O-shaped mouth turning into a cute smile.
"You’re awake," Ryuk said with a beam, before his face took a 180-degree turn from warm to cold.
"Now, get off me..." he added.
She had been resting on his chest while he was slumbering, and from her sleepy eyes, he could only wonder how long that had been going on.
She was a little girl, seemingly around the age of 7 or so, so he wasn’t offended.
But then, he was surprised when she latched onto him again, holding so tight he felt his ribs getting folded into himself.
GASSSSSPPP
The loud gasp escaped Ryuk’s lips as he felt the sharp squeeze.
"Hey! Get off me!" he shouted, pushing against her body, but he failed woefully.
She didn’t budge a single inch with the strength he was exerting, and when he tried to use more power, he noticed the strain on her soft skin.
If he exerted more strength, he might end up cutting her skin.
It kind of placed Ryuk in a tough position, but not for long, as he looked to the side and found the group.
They were currently in a circle around the control pillar in the dim room, various holographs before them, some of which Elder Celine was tapping on.
But she paused as she looked at Ryuk and the rainbow-haired girl’s banter.
Ryuk turned to look at Antares before he called out:
"Hey Antares, what’s up? Can you quickly help me drag this girl off me?"
He was surprised when Antares shook his head.
"Huh?"
"It’s not that simple," Antares responded.
"Why?" Ryuk asked, confused, but then Antares turned to the side, eyeing Void, who was busy licking its paw.
His leg moved behind Void’s rear and then,
BOOOP
He pushed Void’s butt forward, sending the panther dragging along the ground, but the instant the Void Panther came within 5 meters of Ryuk and the girl—
BAAAAAAAAMM
His raised upper body suddenly slammed into the ground, and his skidding came to an unnatural halt.
His body flattened onto the floor like a pancake, and his eyes gleamed with faint horror before—
PUUUFFFFF!
He puffed into a dark mist, reappearing far away from them.
"You! You bastard!" Void cursed at Antares, puffing toward him, but Antares was already gone, flashing in and out, avoiding all of Void’s claw attacks.
The panther eventually gave up, turning away from him before looking at Ryuk, who stared back at him bizarrely.
"Hey, stop looking at me like that."
"There’s a pressure field oozing from the girl and stopping us from getting within 5 meters of her."
"How can we help you if she’s wrapped around you like that?" he said, his whiskers wiggling while giving Ryuk a look that clearly said: ’You didn’t know that, did you... fool.’
Ryuk finally understood what was happening.
His eyes scanned the surrounding space, tightening their focus, and that was when he discovered it.
All around, approximately 4.7 meters from the sofa he sat on, were motes of rainbow dust, so tiny they were impossible to even notice at first glance.
The rainbow dust exuded a bizarre force into the surrounding air, which had seemingly stilled under its effects; the space around them appeared locked down by this invisible energy.
That must have been the thing responsible for the others not being able to get close.
Then he turned back to look at the girl, and that was when he noticed the source of the field.
Her rainbow hair, currently shining with its own light, wasn’t just glowing.
It was releasing these rainbow dust motes into the environment, strengthening the field around her.
It seemed like she could feel his gaze, as her head tilted up a bit, one of her eyes slowly looking up at Ryuk.
"I want to stand. You have to get off me... or I might hurt you," he said, but all he got in response was her blinking in confusion.
’Is she deaf too?’
He thought in disbelief, but then remembered how she had spoken to him the last time.
Directly into his mind.
He tried to find that thread of consciousness that had allowed him access, and quickly enough, he found it, sending a wave of his thoughts through it:
’Can you understand me?’