KINTSUkuroi

It was now 3 a.m.. The lack of sleep from the last four days finally seemed to have taken its toll on Nicolas, who fell asleep on Ciel's shoulder. As endearing as the Giant woman found the sight of the short male resting his head on her shoulders to be, the current situation presented a new problem for her: she didn't know where he lived, and booking a hotel room was also out of the question, for she would have to provide her real identity. Definitely not a good idea since she had been banned from setting foot in Human territory.

She was still futilely pondering the possible solutions to her predicament when she sensed someone approaching her. Her guard rose; one wouldn't expect to find many people in the streets at that time after all, let alone walking towards them.

The person continued to approach Ciel, her physical features slowly coming into view. A woman in her early-twenties, or so it'd seem, now stood next to the ravenette-haired female, eyeing her intently. Ciel took in the woman's features, a bit of a habit of hers; she wasn't too tall, nor too short, with pretty, long, straight, tawny hair which perfectly matched her eyes. Her skin was light-hued, just like Nicolas', which helped accentuate her castleton green eyes. Ciel's eyes then trailed down the woman's body; she wasn't nearly as curvy as the Giant female was, but she was still very beautiful. She wore a white summer dress with a green floral pattern on the lower part. Ciel found herself quite enjoying the way the flowers on her dress seemed to move with each step she took.

"Nicolas!? Who are you? What are you doing with Nicolas!?" the tawny-haired female demanded an explanation. Despite her accusing tone, Ciel could tell there was no malicious intent in the woman, thus becoming slightly more at ease around the stranger.

"Hello, I'm Ciel. I found Nic sitting here. He seemed to be in pain, so I decided to comfort him. He seems to have been through a lot; he fell asleep on my shoulder." the Giantess said. She was aware that she was incurring a great risk by disclosing her true identity, but if worse came to worst she could always grow bigger to protect Nicolas.

However, the Human woman's reaction was different from what Ciel expected: what little hostility the female may have harboured towards her soon disappeared into a warm smile.

"So you're the famous Ciel, huh? You're everything like Nicolas described you." the brown-haired lady spoke.

"He's spoken to you about me?" Ciel inquired, pleasantly surprised.

"All the time. But this is not the place to speak. Please, come to my house. Both of you need to rest. We can have a proper conversation tomorrow. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Siule Jies. Pleased to meet you." the woman introduced herself.

Ciel was reluctant to accept Siule's offer. Even if her whole aura didn't seem to reflect any evil intent, the Giant was extremely cautious when it came to protecting her Human friend, perhaps overly so, even.

"Don't worry —Siule reassured her—, I already know about your circumstances. Nicolas told me about it. Fear not, I'm not going to reveal anything to the police. Any friend of Nicolas is also a friend of mine." she smiled warmly.

Ciel studied the woman's expression for a few seconds. There was a very soothing feeling to her, almost as if her presence alone was sufficient to ward off all harm or displeasure. She looked at Nicolas; he could certainly use a warm bed, at the very least. Nodding her head to Siule to show her appreciation, the two females headed back towards Siule's beige hatchback car, Ciel carrying Nic in a pack-strap carry manner. Once they reached the car, Ciel gently laid Nicolas on the back seat before taking the copilot's seat beside Siule.

"Sorry about earlier. The last few days have been very stressful. It'd been four days since I had last seen Nicolas, and I was panicked I would never see him again." Siule explained.

"So, what are you to Nic?", Ciel asked, a slight hint of jealousy in her voice.

"What am I? That's a good question. I'm his friend, though perhaps, and hopefully, he would think of me as his little sister." the tawny-haired lady commented.

"Huh? That's strange. He never told me anything about any other friends, and certainly not about a sister either." Ciel retorted.

"Makes sense. It's been twenty years since you've last seen him. We first met when he transferred to the high school I was attending. Those were very difficult years for him. Children and teenagers can be very cruel towards someone like him. Sadly, high schools, by nature, are a space in which there's a constant challenge for a "privileged" spot as the top dog. In such an environment, Nicolas' reclusive personality was considered a sign of weakness, and so he often made an ideal target for bullies." Siule spoke with clear indignation in her voice.

Ciel clenched her fists, it was just like when he was in kindergarten. Even after so many years he refused to defend himself.

"I hate people suffering. I wish people would be immune to physical and emotional pain. And I especially despise those who would find in someone else's pain a source of enjoyment. I couldn't protect him from the bullies like you used to do... I'm not... I'm not that strong... But at the very least I could try to heal his emotional wounds, or at least some of them. So I approached him, spoke to him, and slowly but surely I started to earn his trust. Until, one day, he told me everything. About his parents, about you and your mother, and also about how his next six years in an orphanage home only further increased his suffering. I knew I had to do something, anything, to change his life for the better. No one deserves to suffer, not that much, and especially not someone as kind-hearted as Nicolas. So I told my parents everything, and we adopted him as a member of our family. It took him quite some time to get used to it, but he eventually accepted my parents into his heart. He's lived with us ever since then." the Human female spoke in a soft tone before glancing at Ciel, who seemed to need some time to process everything.

Siule kept silent for the better part of a minute before speaking to Ciel again.

"You love him, don't you?" she asked.

Contrary to what Siule may have expected, Ciel didn't blush, nor did she hesitate in answering her question.

"Yes, I do. I love him more than I can express with words. He is everything to me." the Giantess confessed.

"I see. I'm very glad to know that. I just want you to know that... I won't get in your way. In fact, I would very much like to help you both get together, if needed." Siule said assertively.

Still, Ciel felt there was more to this than the Human woman was letting show.