Zura woke up with something soft under his head. Not a pillow. Softer than that.
He blinked once.
Then again.
Noelle's thighs.
His head was resting on her lap.
At first, he thought he was dreaming. It wouldn't have been the first time he had this dream either. But when a cold breeze kissed his face and the smell of sea salt hit his nose, he realized—nope, not a dream.
She hadn't noticed he was awake. Her gaze was locked on the waves like she was lost in them. The rising sun painted her hair in soft silver. The sea breeze blew strands of it across her cheek.
Zura stared for a while, then smiled.
'She could've slapped me awake like Lucy used to… but she didn't. She just let me sleep. Damn, she's nice.'
"Why are we here?" he asked softly, breaking the silence.
The moment the words left his mouth, Noelle jumped like she'd been hit by lightning. Her lap disappeared, and Zura's head dropped straight into the cold, gritty sand.
He groaned.
Yeah. He took back all those kind thoughts about her.
He sat up, spitting sand out of his mouth, brushing it off his hair. "Was that necessary?"
"H-How long were you awake?!" Noelle shouted, face already going red.
"Just woke up," Zura muttered with a sigh.
He got to his feet and glanced around. The sky was blushing orange, and the sun was peeking over the horizon. The light glimmered across the water like scattered gold dust.
It was… beautiful. Even he couldn't deny that.
"So," Zura turned to her. "Why are we here?"
Noelle fidgeted. Eyes on her feet. Lips twitching like she was struggling to find the right words.
Zura raised a brow. 'Why does it look like she's about to confess or something?'
"Umm… I… I…"
Zura blinked. 'Wait, wait. Is she actually gonna confess?! This early in the arc?!'
"I know you don't like it here," Noelle finally spoke. Her voice had softened. "I mean, you want to go back to your world. Of course you do. You have every reason to. But…"
She looked down, guilt weighing her words.
"I want you to save the universes."
Zura didn't speak.
"I know it's selfish," she went on. "And you have nothing to do with our world, or the others. But you're the only one who can. If you don't… we'll all die. Me. The people I care about. Everyone."
She clenched her fists.
"I'm not blaming you. Even if we do die. It's just… we're alive too. And we're scared."
Zura stayed quiet. But his gaze softened.
'Just hours ago, you all were just drawings in a comic to me. But not anymore.'
He remembered what Lily told him last night. Between the moans and messy scene, she had said things that made him realize they weren't just characters. They lived. They felt. They bled.
And now, he did too.
"You said your birthday was in sixteen hours," Noelle said after a pause. "And I know time works different here. But it's already been longer than that since you got summoned."
She finally looked up.
Her eyes met his.
"Happy birthday, Zura," she said.
A gentle smile tugged at her lips. A real one. Not her usual tsundere mask.
Zura blinked. His heart did a weird skip thing he didn't like admitting out loud.
He looked at the sea.
"…This your favorite spot?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Whenever I'm down, I come here. Just… clears my head."
She sat down and pulled her knees up.
"My mother loved this place too. At least, that's what I was told. I don't remember her. But people say I look just like her."
Zura turned back to her. "…Wait. Don't tell me you stayed up all night just to wish me."
Noelle nodded. "I wanted to come sooner… but it was night, and I figured you'd be asleep. So I waited."
Zura chuckled and muttered, "Once again, I will say this; Tsunderes are the best."
"So… what now?" Zura asked. "We gonna swim or something?"
"No. That's not happening."
"Why not?"
"You can swim if you want. I'm not joining you."
Zura shrugged. "Then I'm not swimming either."
Noelle raised a brow. "Didn't know you were that loyal."
Zura smirked. "Nah, just lazy."
They stood up.
"Let's head back to Hage," Zura said.
Noelle summoned her pigeon. "Come on."
They climbed on.
Midway through the ride, Zura wrapped his arms around her waist again.
She didn't say anything.
That silence was dangerous.
'Should I mess with her?' Zura thought.
His hand started sliding up. He reached her chest and gently cupped it.
Soft. Really soft.
"Where do you think you're touching?!" Noelle snapped, glaring back at him.
Zura pulled back like a guilty child. "My bad."
She didn't slap him, though.
'Huh. I expected a hit,' he thought. 'Not that I'm into it or anything.'
He was not a masochist.
As they flew, the wind brushed against his face. The clouds broke around them. The sea glimmered in the distance.
Zura looked out over the world. His favorite world.
And the girl he'd been watching on screens and pages for years… was right in front of him. Flesh, blood, fire, and pride.
He'd fought beside her.
They'd almost died.
They'd won.
Yeah. He was satisfied.
They reached Hage village just as the sun was fully up. Kids were already up for morning lessons. The moment they landed near the orphanage, they were swarmed.
Zura jumped off and scanned the area.
No Lily in sight.
'Sleeping, probably,' he thought. 'Not surprising. I didn't let her sleep at all last night.'
Zura, Noelle, and Lily. Three people, three sleepless nights—for three very different reasons.
A moment later, Lily came out of the church. The second she saw Zura, she rushed toward him.
"Sister Lily!" Noelle called. "Where were you?! I looked everywhere and couldn't find you!"
"Noelle?" Lily blinked. "When did you arrive?"
Zura raised a brow. 'Oh damn. Her acting's perfect.'
Noelle frowned. "I… nevermind. You must've been praying?"
"Indeed," Lily said, flashing Zura a knowing, slutty smile. She licked her lips and added, "I was praying hard to my god."
Noelle tilted her head, confused at that smile—but brushed it off.
Zura kept a poker face.
Barely.
"I'll come pick you up in a week," Noelle told him.
Zura smirked. "Visit every day if you miss me."
Noelle flushed. "Shut up," she muttered, before flying off on her pigeon.
Zura stood there, watching her disappear into the sky.
Then he turned to Lily and chuckled. "You good?"
She just giggled.
They talked for a while, catching up with nothing in particular.
And then, finally—Zura went to his room.
====
Author's Note- Zura's first birthday in the Clover Kingdom, and he already fought sea monsters, got double-teamed by emotions and tsunderes, and still lived to tell the tale. And best of all, he fucked sister Lily.
What's next for our boy?
As always, thanks for reading!
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