Chapter twenty four

         "Sin? Are you alright? You seem to still be bothered about the other day." Ja'far observed as he watched the troubled king.

         "She didn't defend herself." Sinbad commented.

         "She couldn't think of an excuse, I suppose." Ja'far shrugged nonchalantly.

         "Does the Nishi you know give up without a fight?" Sinbad looked at Ja'far.

         "No..." Ja'far sighed in agreement. None of them could hide it, they all missed the magi that seemed to brighten everything around her with just a smile. They didn't know where she left to either, she had left all of her belongings and just disappeared without telling anyone.

 ~

         "Ah, Nishi. You decided to visit me again, huh?" Yunan smiled at the younger magi as she landed in front of his home residing in the Great Rift.

         "Hello." Nishi returned his smile.

         "Come on in, I'll make some tea." Yunan stepped out of the doorway to allow her in. Once she was seated he began to make the tea while asking, "Is something bothering you?"

         "Mhm... You've heard already though, haven't you?" Nishi propped her head up with her arm, watching the male magi lazily.

         "Heard what?"

         Nishi frowned, "The one time you're not listening in on Sinbad, huh?" She shook her head and explained, "I got exiled from Sindria."

        "Really? Why?" Yunan gave her a concerned look as he brought over two cups of tea. He set one down in front of Nishi before taking a sip of his own.

         "It's a long story..." Nishi shook her head.

         "Are you okay? You look a lot different from the last time we met." Yunan frowned. Not only did she look different physically, but the rukh surrounding her wasn't giving off as much of a 'glow' as it used to.

         "Yeah, I'm fine."

         "Nishi... Is it bothering you?"

         "Kana? No. I said I'm fine." Nishi insisted, but the Wandering Magi wasn't convinced.

         Yunan sighed lightly, "Alright. If you ever need to talk about it, you know you can come here." He continued to smile at her in an attempt to lighten the mood.

         "Thanks Yunan." Nishi managed to smile a little. She was glad he never really forced her to tell him anything.

         "Do you want to tell me about what happened in Sindria?" Yunan asked.

         "I can't explain much... Sin thinks I'm conspiring with Kou."

         "It's not good to keep secrets, Nishi." Yunan reminded.

         Nishi chuckled a little at his childishness, "I know. Ah, Yunan, I think I'm gonna go. There was another place I needed to stop by."

         "You're leaving already?" The older magi pouted. "Where are you going to sleep?"

         "Can I come back later?"

         "Of course you can!" Yunan seemed to get excited.

         Nishi smiled, "Alright. I'll be back in a few hours then."

~

         "Judar! What the hell? You are so lucky you didn't come here earlier!" Nishi hissed at the dark haired magi.

         "What? I was busy." Judar crossed his arms. "Not my fault." Nishi sighed and shook her head. "What's got you so pissed?"

         "I got kicked out of Sindria cause Sinbad found out!"

         "Seriously? Wait, did you tell him everything?"

      "Of course not! He just thinks I've been 'conspiring against Sindria'." Nishi played with the necklace some as she mimicked Sinbad. This stupid charm is becoming a nervous habit.

         Judar scoffed before asking, "What are you going to do now, then?"

         "I don't know...Become Kou's magi?" Nishi joked, calming down from her rage some.

         "Haha, real funny." Judar rolled his eyes.

         "I don't know what I'm going to do really...But hey, we don't have to hide as much, right?"

 ~

         "Yunan! Why are you here?!" Sinbad growled as the magi appeared in his room.

         "I wanted to talk about something." Yunan leaned against his fishing rod-like wand.

         "I have no reason to talk with you."

         "It's about our dear Nishi."

         Sinbad narrowed his eyes slightly, "What about her?"

         "She told me some of what happened." Yunan walked further into the room.

         "Did she explain to you her reason for betraying Sindria?" Sinbad asked, his voice still had anger in it.

         "I don't believe she intended to betray you." Yunan smiled lightly as he added, "Love is just a mysterious thing."

         "What the hell are you on about, Yunan?"

         "I think Nishi has fallen for a certain someone."

         "Just get to your point so you can get out of my country." Sinbad demanded angrily. "Who?"

         "Judar, from what I've heard."

         "Judar?!" Sinbad exclaimed. "Are you insane?"

         "I don't approve of it either." Yunan sighed, "But that won't stop her."

         "That's impossible. When did she even meet him?"

         "I'm not sure, but I know that's the person she's been meeting with." Yunan shook his head before suggesting, "I think you should talk with Nishi again."

         "I don't care what you think. What you're saying is crazy. How could she even think of liking a guy like Judar?" Sinbad was completely baffled.

 ~

         Nishi frowned as she heard something come from the 'Eye of the Rukh' she still had on her from Yamuraiha. Her and Judar had rented another hotel room a few days later, and now Judar was sleeping on the bed beside her, his head on her stomach.

         She reached over to the bedside table where the magic tool rested and picked it up. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw Sinbad and Yamuraiha in the small circle. "What does he want?" Her tone was a mix of annoyance and sadness.

         Nishi slowly moved Judar, who groaned in protest as she left the bed. She quickly put on her top before responding to the call, "Yes?" She walked to the opposite side of the room, not wanting Judar to be seen by them.

         "Nishi, I'd like you to return to Sindria for further questioning." Sinbad spoke.

        "What more do you need to ask? You seemed pretty sure of yourself before." Her tone was cold.

         "Wha..? Who're you talking to?" Judar mumbled from bed. "Come back to bed." He whined, his voice muffled by the pillows and blankets.

         Nishi glanced at Judar, a small smile forming on her face at his complaining. "I just have a few more things to ask you, it won't take long." She quickly turned back to the magic tool as Sinbad continued speaking.

         "I'm not exactly nearby. It'll be a day or so, even if I fly." Nishi sighed as she heard Judar complain more in the background.

         "You haven't mastered the teleportation magic I showed you?" Yamuraiha asked from where she sat behind Sinbad.

         "No. Not yet." Nishi shook her head.

         "That's fine, just get here soon." Sinbad agreed.

         "Yeah, I'll be there in a day or so." Nishi nodded before she said goodbye and stopped sending magoi into the Eye of the Rukh.

         "Where are you going...?" Judar asked, still lying in bed.

       "Sinbad wants me to return to Sindria to question me more." Nishi explained as she got dressed.

         "And you're actually going? Why?" Judar sat up.

         "I don't know. I won't be long. I'll see you in the usual spot in a few days, okay?" Nishi strapped her sword to her waist and got her wand as she spoke.

         "You shouldn't go."

         "I'll be fine." Nishi messed Judar's hair up -more than it already was- with her hand, making it even more tangled and all over the place. 

         "That's not my problem," Judar moved her hand away. "That king is an idiot. You shouldn't just run back to him. Stay with me."

         "I'm not running back to him. I care about Sindria, and if I can fix this, then I'm going to." Nishi decided. Judar scoffed and looked away. "What? Are you jealous of Sinbad or something? If so, you're the idiot. Cause it's definitely not like that."

       "I'm not jealous. But if you go back to Sindria, it makes this," He gestured between them, "difficult again."

         Nishi sighed lightly, "I know."

         "If you know, then why are you going?"

         "Cause...I have to. I'm sorry."

         "Whatever." Judar crossed his arms and continued to not look at her.

         Nishi frowned, she didn't get why Judar was making this such a big deal, but she'd have to leave now if she wanted to get to Sindria. He's acting like I'm breaking up with him...

         "If you're going. Don't bother coming back."

         Nishi's eyes widened as her thoughts came true, "What? Judar, it's not like that."

 ~

        "You know it's not going to work, so why bother?" Judar finally looked at her. Well this fucking sucks. I can't even tell her it's partly because of Al-Thamen. I'm wayy too close to this.

         "Fine." Why can't he just be happy for me? He knows I care about Sindria, Nishi thought sadly.

         Judar could hear the pain in her voice. He didn't like how it bothered him. He watched her walk from the room and sighed when she was gone, Dammit...Why do I even care about her?

 ~