49 Strange and Stranger

KINO, the orangutan, studied Mina before answering.

"There were signs of fraying on your soul."

"How can you tell?"Mina asked instinctively. The monkey gave her a meaningful look after the words slipped from her lips.

Mina could read the monkey's thoughts clearly. The way the monkey's nose moved up and down as his eyes focused on Mina's head betrayed Kino's thoughts. They were all shouting 'Seriously?!?'

"Well," Kino walked towards her and pointed at the edge of her toes. "The signs are there."

Mina looked at the same area Kino pointed but she couldn't see a thing. She looked at the monkey who stared back at her with an equally shocked gaze.

The monkey slapped his forehead with a furry hand while looking at her. "The impact earlier may have caused more damage than I expected."

'Does this monkey think I lost my memory?'

'I remember everything but I can't understand a thing!'

'Should I tell him I have no idea what's happening?'

Mina wanted to ask a million questions but she couldn't figure out how.

The monkey shook his head while eyeing her. "Do you even remember anything?"

The question surprised Mina but it gave her a way out of explaining her lack of knowledge.

'Should I say yes and pretend I have amnesia?'

The monkey prodded her for an answer with a sharp look.

'Will this monkey think I am pretending to have amnesia because I'm stupid?'

Mina could only stare at him helplessly as if she was an abandoned cat in the middle of nowhere. It's not like she can bitch her way out of this situation.

'Would he assume I have amnesia that's why I'm acting stupid?'

Mina could feel a coming headache as she tried to think about all the possibilities in her head. Subconsciously, she closed her eyes and placed both hands on either side of her head. Kino, who seems to have sensed her frustration, sighed.

"This situation is highly irregular but isolated cases happen," the orangutan commented with resignation. "I've been telling them for ages, these Egg Pods pose immortal damage!"

"You wouldn't be able to go anywhere in your condition. I still have to finish checking this junction, I'll get back here to, er, give you a refresher."

Mina could only nod in agreement. As she saw the monkey leave, she felt relieved. She needed some time to sort things out in her head. Her gaze was fixed on Kino who was pushing the cart outside the pod while walking on an invisible path. It was as if the monkey was walking on air.

While looking at the orangutan's disappearing figure, Mina focused on sipping green liquid. The chill was completely gone and she felt more agile and energetic than she could remember. However, she couldn't help but wonder what the concoction was and why it was so effective.

'This actually tastes like a herbal tonic.'

'Maybe I can make this myself by gathering herbs in the forest.'

'The forest...'

'Tarou!!!'

The sudden realization brought Mina back to reality. She almost forgot why she was accidentally transported out of the forest. She wanted to save Tarou but before she could reach the mouse, she was transported to a cold prison. She shuddered at the memory of being trapped in that place. she didn't want to go back there ever again. She would rather be looked down by an orangutan.

'Tarou...'

'What could have happened to that underling?'

*****

For the second time, Tarou could see nothing but darkness. There was something unusual about his surroundings. Using his paws, he tried to feel around the area until he felt a coarse texture on his back. He turned around and confirmed the presence of what appears to be a wall in front of him. The rough surface reminded him of tree trunks on the forest, although the surface was flatter and smoother. As he tried to figure out where he was, Tarou felt the surface move and his entire body was jerked forward.

Afraid of falling headfirst into the ground, Tarou extended his paws to caution the fall. What he didn't expect was the presence of another wall behind the first one. Instead of falling straight to the ground, he smacked his face on something soft but solid. This wall was narrower than the first one since both of his arms felt nothing but air. He just had the misfortune of smacking his face right where the wall was located.

Coming down from shock, Tarou noticed several things at once. The wall was dripping and it smelled so good. He inched closer and felt something soft come in contact with his nose. Attracted and curious about the smell, he licked the wall.

'Herbs?'

Tarou tried to sniff again and he couldn't be mistaken.

'Human?'

When Tarou looked up, his head smacked on something solid. His skull felt like it would break!

"Waaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!"

A loud yell, which shocked even him came out of his mouth. He was about to run of fright when he felt something clasp the middle of his body, strapping him close to a wall. Alarmed, Tarou flapped his arms to escape, but he was rendered motionless when he heard a familiar voice close to his ear.

"What are you doing here?"

Tarou froze at the sound.

He could not be mistaken.

The sound was far from the gentle voice that Barca used when talking to him. It was tougher and harsher but Tarou knew it was him.

It was his human's voice!