Last Man On Earth When There Is No Earth ?

Iris and I were many things

We were together since preschool so you could say we were childhood friends, but Iris was closer to me than my actual sister has ever been.

We spent most time together. Iris was the cutest girl around and most boys in school were in love with her, but that attracted bullies and for the extremely shy Iris fighting back was a hard thing.

You see, she was an orphan for as long as she could remember. her parents had an accident and the emotional scars it left on her effected her growth.

I on the other hand was the energetic type who didn't hesitate in beating anyone who meant harm for her, but ends up in a lot of trouble because of it. Iris was always there to help me deal with the a.d.u.l.ts.

she was a genius when it came to academics. She liked to talk about the books she read and was always at the top of the class. She could have easily skipped grades to leave for the temple of high learning, but she chose to hide her talents so she could stay by my side.

Physically speaking Iris wasn't the fighting type. While I had the raw strength she had the brains and we made a balanced team. I would engage the opponents head-on while she observed and came with the right strategy to beat them, all the while supporting me with a ranged weapon.

She helped me with the subjects I didn't understand, which means all of them, I even remember that she was the one who thought me how to write my name. it's one of the many things I have learned from her

When we became fifteen and passed the graduation ceremony Iris revealed to me a secret she kept hidden for the whole time we spent together. Fascinated by the outside worlds and the adventures explorers wrote about in all those books she read, Her goal after officially becoming an a.d.u.l.t was to leave our planet so she could go and see those stars herself. The thing holding her back was me, and she couldn't bring herself to ask for my company on such trip.

It was the time she chose to start relying on herself, and that's when I realized

I was the one clinging to her back. Not the opposite.

I decided to leave home and aim to become an explorer too, then convinced her to let me tag along since I didn't have my own ship.

And like that our journey began, but didn't last long. And the reason was none other than me

I suggested we take a shorter rout than the one most optimal to our ship. It had many planets with strong gravitational fields and didn't allow traveling except for specifically designed sh.i.p.s, but I just had to say we would be fine as long as flow carefully.

And the rest is as you could imagine.

We crash landed, I survived and Iris didn't. No, I blame myself for that too, not regaining consciousness earlier. A fragment of the shattered front glass caused her sever injuries but they weren't impossible to heal. if only I had woke up a little early then maybe I could have been able to save her life.

If I wasn't stubborn and just stayed home… Iris wouldn't only be alive but also working to achieve her dream.

It took me days to get over her death. I sometimes feel like she is still around quietly laughing at every stupid action I take, like when I started with repairing the front glass first rather than checking on the engine.

Time passed and I got used to loneliness little by little. But the previous day when I thought you were gone too, it revived that suffocating emotion I felt when burying her, and ended up almost losing my mind.

Iris wasn't the one protected by me, it had always been the other way around, and I don't think that would ever change.

…..

" and that's my story, any questions?"

"…"

Last night ended up in a disaster. The question I waited to ask was met with surprised eyes and silent tears. Lilia stopped me the moment I tried to get close and told me to just go to sleep.

But that wasn't something I was able to do, I simply blacked out after spending hours laying there staring in the dark room.

The next day Lilia was up before me like usual, only this time she didn't leave for the morning errands then offered me the chance to come along if I wanted.

west to the ship after a fifteen minute walk we arrived at a large open space covered in blue and white flowers. I wasn't sure Whether or not to call them flowers because, you know, it's an alien planet. but the scent in the air was so relaxing I felt my legs melting.

Lilia picked up three flowers, two white and one blue which she handed over to me. not far from the flower field we arrived at a cliff.

The forest at its bottom continued as far as I could see then connected with a series of mountains touching the blue sky. A closer look revealed flying creatures near the snowy peaks, not just that but a number of trees were moving here and there. Going out at night isn't a valid option anymore.

But I didn't have to guess, Lilia didn't bring me here for the sights nor to teach me about the strange beasts. It was for the stone placed there.

"I decided on this place thinking she would like it for sure, what do you think?"

" yeah, it's beautiful…"

It took some time for her to gather the courage needed to tell the story, and by the time she was done the sun had already began to disappear behind the mountains dyeing the sky a violet color.

"Lilia… it's okay… you can cry if you want" I felt something strange at the end of my throat

"what are you saying? I was caught by surprise yesterday that's all"

She is trying, but her voice felt dry. I can easily tell when someone is trying to act strong, for I have done it more times than I can remember.

But could I do it now? Try and be strong for her, even if it's just acting?

There is no point thinking about it, the answer was always there, engraved on a block of steal

I'm not that guy.

In the end listening is all I'm able to do, I can't even look into her eyes and tell her everything would be fine.

"…sorry…"

" what are you apologizing for? None of it is your fault"

" even so…I'm sorry…"

You are wrong, Lilia. Even if it isn't my fault, I'm here standing like an idiot instead of doing something to make you feel better.

It's really ironic isn't it? I'm supposed to be more than a hundred years old but still the same blockhead I was before. I'm so much of a loser that even with most my memories gone I'm still afraid to change.

"uwah… look how dark it got… we better go back before the night crawlers awake"

'if you don't take the first step, neither of you is going to change'

it's easy for you to say, you don't know how this weakness feels

'weakness? you said it yourself, it's a wall you built on your own. all you have to do is bring it down'

not even funny. if that's all it takes then I wouldn't be in this spot in the first place

'you know, your mentality is getting me annoyed, grow a pair!'

now you are just being harsh

' com on, show some guts! here, I will give you a push...'

"eh?... is something wrong"

going against reality itself my body moved on it's own catching up with Lilia before stopping her by holding her arm.

I didn't have much time to think and the next moment I was pulling her closer before wrapping her in my arms

there was a moment of silence, before embarrassment took over both our heads

"w-w-what do you think you are doing!!"Lilia shouted, steam visibly raising from her head

I suppressed the reactions resulting by this contact and ignored the soft things touching my body.

I put a hand on her head and started c.a.r.e.s.sing her hair

" it's all right now... everything is going to be fine "

"w-what... are you talking about...just...just let me go..."

Lilia tried to separate herself from me. it wasn't that I exceeded her in terms of physical power, but the more time that passes the weaker her efforts became weaker.

for an athlete, her body is so delicate I feel it could break in my arms in any moment. it's embarrassing, and flawed, but holding a girl like this is no longer something I couldn't do

her resistance died a few seconds after, and no words came from her.

.....

" .... sorry, for making you carry me like this "

" it's all right, no need to hold back"

as the emotions overflowing inside her found their way out, her legs began to give up.

by the end of it she couldn't walk anymore which required me to carry her on the way back.

I would have gone for a princess carry but my courage supply was empty so I had to go with the usual piggyback.

'be gone, lowly life d.e.s.i.r.es!' we just had a really emotional moment, but courage wasn't the only thing I was out of. I'm no longer able to ignore those soft melons pressing on my back, not to mention the faint breaths on my neck and the hands on my shoulders. and one thing I'm desperately trying not to think about is the fact that I'm touching her legs, and the smoothness of her skin is taking over my mind.

" come to think of it, there is something I wanted to ask you about " Lilia said bringing me back to the real world.

"w-what is it"

she hesitated for a moment before speaking

"...can I ....can I call you Seven from now on?"

"Seven...? ah, was that perhaps why you shouted that the other day? when we fought the colossus"

" it's hard to maintain a conversation when I don't even know what to call you, and 'O.H.S 007' is a bit long..."

" I think it fine, you can call me whatever you want. and having a number as a name sounds a little cool "

" it's decided then, thank you...seven"

" your welcome, Lilia"

"..."

"..."

we bursted into laughter for some reason, and it somewhat felt refreshing. the cold air, the extremely dark forest and the aurora lights above, it was a breathtaking night.

then came the slow cracking sound making me break into a run, we weren't in the right mood to face those night crawler things.