The Demon King's Cowardly Vessel 78 Bayfront Coast 20

"I'm not too sure about the whole story. I tried to eavesdrop when the man talked to Mrs. Martin, but I only caught a thing or two," Wesley said. He thought for a moment before saying, "The man asked about your background and your previous foster families, and if you have any relatives who might come and claim you…"

Juin exchanged glances with Lucifer, who was sitting at the table. A strange man that they had never met before suddenly came over and asked about Juin's background? At a time when Juin was slowly discovering more things about himself?

Both of them felt a little suspicious of the matter.

"Anything else?" Juin asked as he sat down next to Wesley.

Wesley rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I don't know if I saw wrongly… But I saw him walk to the bus stop, and when I yawned and looked again, he was gone! Like poof!"

Juin frowned, but he quickly replaced it with a smile and said, "He probably walked into your blind spot."

"Maybe…" Wesley looked at Juin intently. "Are you going to leave? If he adopts you… Would you leave?"

There was a hint of sadness in his voice, and Juin caught that immediately. So, with a gently smile, he reached over and patted the kid's shoulder. "Probably not… I'm already 16 years old, so whether or not anyone wants to adopt me won't make a difference. And I'm also not that inclined to be with a new family at this point in my life."

He was telling the truth. He liked staying here, he liked his little roommate, and he liked Mrs. Martin. Besides, whoever this Mr. P was, there was a high chance that he did not come with a proper motive.

"And I couldn't bear to leave you, kid…" Juin added with a smile.

Wesley wanted to smile, but he tried to appear cool by looking away nonchalantly. "I-I don't care if you stay or not…"

"I'm sure." Juin chuckled. He then gently pushed Wesley off his bed as he said, "It's late, go to sleep now…"

…

After Wesley fell asleep, with a soft snoring sound coming from his side of the room, it did not take long for Juin to follow suit.

He started dreaming the same dream again. He was standing on the cliff, and the weather was horrendous. Rain was pouring heavily, lightning bolts could be seen from miles away, and thunder roared deafeningly, covering all other sounds in the area.

With a heavy heart and a tense expression, Juin walked to the edge of the cliff, and in the midst of all the thunders, he could hear the waves breaking… and someone calling for him.

"Juin… Juin…"

The soft, familiar voice somehow triggered something in him, and he got down on his knees and hands as he crawled further to the edge to peer over. But down below, other than the huge, jagged rocks that were constantly hit by the angry waves, he could not see anything else.

"Juin…"

Juin looked toward the far horizon, where all he could see was the body of seawater, and after a few seconds, he moved back a little and stood up.

"Juin, look at me…" The voice came again, still in the same calm and gentle tone.

Upon hearing it, Juin's expression changed slightly. His features softened slightly as he slowly turned around, and when he saw the person standing behind him, a smile gradually appeared on his face.

"Ashton…"

Ashton was exactly as he remembered how he was, beautiful and charming, with a cheeky smile.

"I'm fine…" Ashton said with a smile as he looked at Juin. "Stop thinking about me so much…"

Juin slowly raised his hands and placed it on Ashton's cheeks, and for a second, he felt as if he could feel the warmth coming off from his best friend. "This is still a dream, right?" he asked softly, unsure of who he was asking at the moment.

Ashton chuckled. "Yeah, you're still dreaming…"

"But this dream feels different," Juin mumbled as he retreated his hands. "I… never see you in this dream."

Ashton did not say anything. He merely looked up at the sky. Even though it was raining heavily with lightning and thunderstorms earlier, the sky was blue and bright now, as if nothing had ever happened just mere seconds ago.

"It cleared up…" Ashton said before looking down at Juin again. With a bright smile, he said, "Stop feeling guilty. It's not your fault. You don't have to stop your life because you think that mine stopped."

Tears welled up in Juin's eyes as he looked at his best friend. "Ashton… I-I miss you."

"I miss you too…" Ashton chuckled. "But for real, let go of the guilt. You saw it. I didn't die that day… So you don't have to live like you are dead as well. Keep moving forward…"

"Where are you now?" Juin asked with a hopeful voice, hoping that he could find Ashton someday.

"Somewhere… But we'll definitely meet again." Ashton reached forward to pat Juin's head.

Juin put his pinky finger out and asked, "Promise?"

"You're already 16 years old, kid," Ashton said with a smirk, but he still put out a pinky finger and hooked it on Juin, "but yeah, I promise."

When they separated, Ashton added, "Be strong, Juin. You need to fight against your destiny. Your nature is kind, you must always remember that."

"Huh?" Juin was confused as to what Ashton was talking about. "What destiny?"

"Just know that, no matter what you choose in the future, I will always be by your side. I'll always be there for you."

Juin watched as Ashton's image started to get more and more translucent, as if he were fading out. "Ashton, don't leave! Don't leave again!"

"Keep getting stronger, Juin. Get stronger, both physically and mentally, and I'll see you again soon…" Ashton said, his voice fading with each word.

"Ashton!" Juin reached out and tried to grab him. He was not about to let him leave again, but before he could reach Ashton, he was gone again. Frustrated, Juin yelled, "Don't leave me again! Ashton!"

…

Back in reality,

"Ashton!!!" Juin yelled as he sat upright on his bed, fl.u.s.tered and confused. The first thing he did was to look around at his surroundings, and when he realized that he was back in his room and that what he just went through was all in his dream, there was a sad expression on his face.

"Can you please stop…" Wesley groaned, having had enough with Juin's nightmares. He looked at the older teen sleepily from his bed for a few seconds before closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

Juin smiled wryly to himself before laying down to sleep again. "The dream is different this time…" he murmured to himself before he drifted back to sleep.

And this time, he slept a dreamless sleep.