The familial love and warmth of the girl were lulling the boy into sleep and much-needed rest but again he saw through the walls behind him that the two ninjas from before were coming back. Shrugging away the exhaustion by pulling on the last reserves of whatever energy he managed to gather with his earlier rest and grasped the girl by the shoulders and whispered.

“Ninja coming. I think they are looking for me. Lie.”

The girl just stared with wide eyes as the boy used the chair and pulled himself back up to the wooden beam. The act punishing the already torn and abused muscles. Searing pain shot through his body as the muscles that just started knitting themselves back together were torn again. But pain wasn’t anything new to the man inhabiting the boy’s body. He managed to hide without making a sound once again, as the door to the room swung open. The shinobi just looked at the girl on the futon and she looked back. One of the men scanned the room before asking.

“What are you doing here kid?”

“I was trying to sleep before two creepy men invited themselves.”

“We are just looking for a boy about your age have you seen him?” Asked one of the adults.

“I don’t know the previous people that lived here, but clearly they are not around. That’s why I am living here now.” The girl responded with as much venom as she could instil into her chirping voice. The men just chuckled and left, ninja flickering away. Leaving the siblings finally alone. After getting down again finally the sister threw herself onto the brother and they both let sleep overtake them. All the pressing issues, like hunger, medicine and the uncertainty of tomorrow, fled from the warmth the two shared.

In the morning real birdsong awoke the siblings. It was time for a real talk with a ten-year-old the boy decided. Something about last night’s display of unhesitant lies and resolve made him think it was a good idea, to tell the truth to the little one.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“You are a good girl.” He started, also placing the unharmed hand on her head gently.

“Are you also strong?”

She just nodded quickly.

“Okay, okay. I’m going to need you to be even stronger than that, okay?”

Another quick nod.

“And I promise you I will not leave you and do my best to take care of you okay?”

A third nod followed, her single twin-tail bouncing.

“I think… your brother passed.” The boy said. With only a twitch from the girl in his arms, he continued.

“I am saying this because I have memories from a previous life. Where I was a fighting man, a soldier if you will and I remember dying in an enemy ambush, in a huge explosion. But here I am talking to you. A person of which I have no memories of.”

The boy paused briefly to see if the girl would respond in any way. When the girl’s shoulders started trembling in sobs he gently rubbed her back and continued.

“You see little one, I was just going to say I have amnesia last night from my injuries, but I made a mistake and left you against those two men, that could have been very bad. When you talked back to them, I felt guilty for being selfish and not even thinking, what if they were after you too? That thought hurt me more than I have been hurt before and I have been hurt plenty little one.”

At this point, the boy started tearing up too and the girl tried stifling her sobbing to no effect.

“I never want to feel that hurt again. I will always tell you the truth, as long as you ask for it. And you want me to stay, of course. I don’t know why I felt this way since I have never met you before, but I will protect you. That is a promise.”

The siblings were still in the same embrace from last night, as the boy squeezed his sister harder and waited for her crying to stop. When it finally stopped, with hesitation and uncertainty filling her voice she asked.

“So, are you a pervert?”