Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Forgetful, Forgetful, Forgetful- Remember.

"No... dessert?" Oz murmured to himself in disbelief as he watched on.

One would think the punishment was cruel and unusual considering the children's reactions, but for some reason, this seemingly harmless and what most would consider a "standard" punishment seemed to have set off the waterworks from the crowd of younglings.

"Alright, alright!" Nana began to speak up, catching the attention of the attention, "the boys need their rest, all of ye, get on before there's no dessert for any of ye."

The children all gasped in fear, quickly stampeding out of the room.

The wooden tendrils unraveled around them and returned to their original state in the floor and ceiling with no sign of ever protruding out.

The hallway sounded out with the tapping of tiny footsteps as Nana calmly walked over to the doorway and closed it before turning and smiling at Oz.

A stillness was in the air.

Oz retained a poker face as his thoughts raced. 'Damn, what do I even say? I don't know any of these people.'

Yet, Nana opened her mouth to speak, her Imperial facade melting away and a motherly warmth radiating from her as she approached him.

"I-" she slowly inhaled and exhaled, "We... missed ye, laddy." as she looked over to his side, Oz followed her gaze to see his sleeping roommate.

Zee lay there, blissfully snoring away and filling the room with a gentle buzz.

Nana then slowly looked back over to Oz, softly cusping his face in her slightly calloused yet delicate hand.

His face felt like it was being held by a sturdy pillow.

Her mud-brown eyes gazed into his dark black eyes as she said to him, "you've been actin' weird, laddy. Are ya alright?

A subtle tingle ran down Oz's spine, 'this lady...' he thought back to when she arrived, and the man who had him and Zee corner left immediately after, 'as I thought, to be able to scare off that guy and do whatever she just did with this room.'

He thought back to the ceiling and floor morphing into tendrils that blocked off the children, 'and even if that's with only wood...' he remembered him and Zee running and seeing the house from the outside, 'wait... it's all wood.'

He had a strong urge to gulp, yet with her face so close, he resisted the reflex, fearing that she'd become suspicious.

All these thoughts flashed in his mind in less than a second, all while Oz kept his face completely blank, "Nana," he whispered out in a sickly voice.

"Yes, Dear?" Nana responded as she came closer to him with a teary smile.

"I-" Oz continued in his sickly act.

He was inwardly sweating, 'Fuk, I hope this works.'

"I.. don't remember." he finally let out, meeting Nana's gaze that seemed capable of piercing through any veil, yet he did his best to keep his composure, holding her gaze as best he could without flinching or looking away.

The somber snoring of his roommate filled the room.

Nana was sitting atop the side of Oz's bed.

With the speed that she moved and the capability of her tendrils, he knew he stood no chance.

Yet as time slogged on, her gaze finally softened as she gave him a sorrowful look, "I'm so sorry, laddy," as she quickly moved forward.

'Ugh!' Oz internally panicked, doing his best to quickly moved his hands to protect himself as futile as it may seem, yet before he could even lift his arms, he felt the warm embrace of Nana once again draped around him like a soft blanket.

As the motherly warmth cushioned against him, the boy sat there in disbelief, his arms still at his side, not even a finger having moved since she hugged him.

Oz's mind buzzed in shock, 'all before I could even lift a finger?..' he slowly crept his gaze onto her cheeks that streamed with tears and had fiery red hair running down, 'if she wanted to kill me...'

Nonetheless, he refused to gulp.

He knew better.

Finally, she released her grasp once more and looked at Oz, a slight smile on her face, "I understand, laddy. No child should be goin off to the Dung Den, much less a 'prestigious student!'" she made quote marks with her hand as her nose flared in anger.

"Tell me, laddy. What do ye remember?" she said as she smiled softly and sat back at the side of his bed.

Oz retained his poker face as his mind raced, 'The memory loss excuse is incredibly generic, but if she thinks it's from PTSD or something of the sort, it may work if they even believe that in this world. I could say a beast did something to me, but...' Oz thought to back to the fight between the lanky man and his teammate.

'That lanky dude's teammate said something about a contract. If I say a beast made me forget or somethin', then I may just be decapitated before I can even finish.' the urge to shudder begged to run this through his body, yet Oz resisted.

He thought back to the chilling sensation she caused to run through his body.

He didn't have much in this world, especially now that his "lil black box" was gone, but one thing that he trusted was his gut feeling, and it was blaring.

All his thoughts were happening within less than a second; however, if this woman could move faster than him, she could most likely think faster as well.

So, not holding off any longer and acting like he was struggling to think.

Drip...

Drip...

Tears streamed down his face, "the- the bad man." he whispered.

Nana's eyes widened as she leaned forward, "who?"

Oz's bloodshot eyes streaming with tears, continued to look down at the blanket in front of him, "the-the bad man."

His body was anxiously vibrating as Nana watched on at the child who looked to be recounting fearful events, yet she had to know for sure, so she asked, "wh-who, dear?"

Yet Oz just shook his head, refusing to even look at her, as sobs and exasperated breaths escaped from his quivering lips.

Yet, Nana persisted, "please, laddy. I need to know who."

She thought to herself, 'he may not know his name.'

"C-can you describe him?" she softly asked, a look of concern now visible.

For the first time since breaking down, Oz glanced up at her, a look of dread on his face as his mouth opened.

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"R-red hair..."

Sniff

"B-big belly..."

Sniff

Nana's eyes widened in shock, 'it couldn't be...'

"Um, Oz." she stopped herself, 'can I even ask the boy that? But... I need to make sure it's really him and if... if it really did happen.'

And so she continued with a sigh, "Oz, d-did he call you anything? L-like a nickn-"

Yet Nana caught it.

That oh-so-subtle look in the boy's eyes, his pupils flaring up, and with that, his tears poured out of his eyes even more rapidly than before, his optics now akin to a waterfall as he let mucusy sobs out.

She stayed silent, slowly coming forward and taking his head into her soft bosom, holding him and letting her gentle touch and cinnamon aroma ease the boy's nerves.

Finally, after around 10 minutes, she released him, sniffles still escaping from him as she asked once more, "I know it may be... uncomfortable, laddy, but... I need to know."

Oz looked down to the floor, tears quietly running down his face, as he whispered out, "p******* t**"

She saw his lips move, reading the words as her eyes widened, and she raised both hands to her mouth.

She looked towards the nearest window, the soft blue light glimmering and painting the wooden interior a comforting hue, yet nothing could comfort this truth as thoughts formed in Nana's mind 'It can't... to only a child... yet the Dung Den.'

She looked back to Oz, his lips were shaking, and a look of hate and fear was visible in his bloodshot, pitch-black eyes.

"I'm so sorry, dear." she leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on the boy's forehead.

With that, she stood up and walked to the doorway across the room, opening it as she looked over her shoulder and spoke, "you get some rest, laddy. Nana will make sure things are alright."

Yet, Oz stayed there, sat upon his bed, and blankly staring at the sheets in front of him with a devoid expression on his face.

Nana internally sighed at this, 'I'm so sorry, dear.' she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

With the door shut behind her and now standing in front of the door, a look of pure rage was on her face, 'that fuker dares to hurt my kid?!"'

That sinister Emperor facade had returned, but gone was the playful undertone as the wooden ceiling, walls, and floor bent around her, curving into jagged edges and sharp weapons.

A hateful powerful ooze swirled around her, and subtle cracks ran along the household and outside in the fields for miles around, threatening to destroy the land itself.

The milky brown lantern downstairs swayed more rapidly until.

"Woooh," she slowly breathed out, returning to a loving motherly figure, the surroundings building returned to its original state, and the shaking lantern returned to a calm state.

Nana walked down the hallway, a plan formulating in her mind, 'you dare hurt my kid...'

.

.

.

Back in the room was a teary-eyed Oz, now returning to lying under his blankets, with it even over his entire face.

In this world where a person like Nana could control this room to her whims, what's to say he wasn't being monitored by the same walls now?

So, as he continued quietly sniffling, playing along, his mind was nervously smiling, 'looks like that worked for now, and if anything. That makes things easier."

A golden glint shone in his eyes, and a smirk spread, 'your "pleasure toy" is gonna get his revenge, soon, you fat pervert.'

 

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