“Okay," Aisling answered back “Get well Aiba and I hope Matsu will get well too.”
As Aisling left, Aiba turned his head and found Nino staring at him. The dark haired boy nearly recoiled from the intensity. It was not unlike Nino to have the stare especially around Aiba, but for one reason or another, it unnerved the dark haired boy more than usual.
"You seem up and almost moving," Nino sighed outwards leaning his head forwards allowing the dark locks of hair to act more as a shield on his face. "I did not need to come to the hospital, again, just because you managed to get yourself torn up."
"Hey!" Aiba answered back suddenly a fraction angry. "It wasn't my fault.... There was this girl that Ryoen was trying to take and..."
"You always jump into the middle of things without even thinking," Nino answered back. "You could have easily been killed, and then..."
"I don't care!" Aiba shot back. "What if I was killed.. At least I could take down a demon and save someone!"
"You couldn't even do that," Nino shot back irritated now. Aiba stopped seeing that Nino's eyes were all but piercing him. "What makes you think that Ryoen would simply not just shred you to pieces in that instant and be done with it? Then I would have lost my brother when I was already fearing losing Matsu. Hell if I'm going to two funerals damn it."
Aiba stopped. He's.....afraid? the dark haired boy turned his head in confusion. But.... he's never been afraid and....what...
"If you don't take care of yourself better I swear I'm going to break every last bone in your body and send you home," Nino hissed. Aiba blinked again. Well... someone same old Nino... uh.... "I don't need to lose anyone anymore. I already lost Aoi..." Nino finally sighed falling into the silence that would engulf the room again. The dark haired man turned his head away and stared out at the rain that was still coming down slowly now with a bitter look on his face.
Aiba looked down at his sheets and found his hands tightened around them. He just had to go and bring her up..... Aiba found his body mildly shaking. However, he refused to let Nino see him cry. He refused it. "I'm not going to stop, Nino," Aiba finally said in the silence. "I can't. I'm moving forwards... I'm getting stronger... Let me do this!" Aiba was all but shouting now. Nino stared out the window still not saying anything. "You just go running off all the time! Mom misses you ya know! You don't think anyone gets hurt by you just vanishing? Why is my life more important than yours? Live by the rules you put on me for a change!"
Nino's emotionless face continued to stare out the window. "Mom doesn't miss me," he answered back. "She probably misses you in placement, and you won't get it through your thick skull that you actually can go home," the dark haired man's voice was monotone as he said this.
Aiba fell into silence all but suddenly defeated by Nino's words. "You can come home too.... ya know...." Aiba said quietly after a minute.
"I didn't come to have this conversation with you, Aiba," Nino said suddenly turning his head. "I came to make sure you get yourself healed before you go jumping in yet another hole or something even more stupid." The dark haired man moved forwards and used the palm of his hand to smack the dark haired boy in the head lightly. "Get some sleep, and I'll see you in the morning." With that the dark haired man stepped back and turned to leave. Aiba watched a moment unsure of what to do. In that instant, Nino was gone.
Aiba found himself tense as he looked down at the sheets again. Right then and there all his facilities to stop himself from crying broke, and he found fresh tears moving down his face. Why won't you just come home.....I just want you to come home.... Everyone would be so much happier... Why won't you just come home, Nino?
~*~
"Wow... did I just see it move?" Matsu turned his head to one side as he stared down at the meat loaf. "I swear I just saw it move...."
"I told you the food's pretty bad here...." Elle sighed outwards. She looked more like she was asleep rather than awake at that point.
"I didn't expect it to be.... mobile....though." Matsu finally answered setting his head on the actual cafeteria table in order to try and watch the mobile meat loaf in action. However, almost in that instant, Matsu heard footsteps and could feel the familiar aura of Sho Sakurai. Bringing his head back up, the white haired man turned his head and found the brown haired bear man's face. "Ah, Sho...." Matsu started.
"Elle... I have asked the hospital to allow you to stay in a room," Sho said calmly. "I think it is for the best seeing as from what Ohno told me."
"Um...." Elle tried before finally nodding. She looked already beyond the point of wanting to go to sleep. Sho nodded as well and handed her a slip of paper.
"Please head there now," Sho said forcing what could only be described as a weird smile. Elle blinked before nodding a bit and heading up to her assigned room. Watching her go, Sho sat down across from Matsu.
"We need to talk, Matsujun...." Sho sighed outwards.
"Is this about my eye or about the demon realm?" Matsu asked back not looking up at Sho but rather poking the meat again to try and encourage movement.
"I need you to tell me everything that went on," Sho sighed outwards. "And everything you know up to this point." Matsu continued to stare down and poke the meat more.
"A lot of things have happened... Sho..." Matsu sighed. "Including this..." The white haired man began to slowly take off the bandages from around his face. Sho Sakurai made no motion to impede this despite the actions that the doctors would probably have screamed at. What caught Sho's eye all but made the bear man tense. A light smile remained on Matsu's face.
"Is that...." Sho began.
"Yes...." Matsu sighed back beginning to tie the bandages back around his face again. "Please do not tell Nin-kun... I don't want him to worry..or anyone else for that matter... not even the council." Matsu kept the smile on his face as he finished again and then began to prod the meat again. "As for everything else I know... I suggest you get comfortable, Sho....."
In that second, Sho Sakurai realized that Matsu was now longer using the honorific afterwords. It startled the bear man, yet he could find nothing wrong with Matsu nor was Shi awake as far as he could tell. In the end, Sho simply put it to the back of his mind and nodded a bit to himself.
"Alright..." Sho answered back to everything.
~*~
Nino walked out of the elevator and towards the cafeteria. Matsu was laughing lightly across the table from Sho. The dark haired man stared for a minute and then looked between both parties. "And then we were..." Matsu stopped and looked at Nino. "Well hey. How is Aiba?" he asked lightly.
"He's the same as always," Nino sighed outwards pulling a chair over and sitting on it. "What were you two discussing?" the dark haired man asked suspiciously looking at both parties. Matsu let out a laugh and Sho just sighed.
"I was talking about the Great Adventures of Nani," Matsu smiled laughing again. Nino stared a minute before sighing outwards. "Speaking of her... I wonder if she ok by herself...."
"Especially with Io in the house," Sho sighed.
Nino's face controverted. Both Aiba and Sho stared somewhat unnerved by Nino's face. Did Doki just wake up or.... Sho thought to himself.
"I'll kill that dog if he hurts my cat...." Nino hissed a fraction causing the tension to both heighten and relax. Matsu laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head methodically. Sho just sighed outwards again.
"Are you planning to stay over the night?" Sho finally asked.
'They're a chair in Matsu's room," Nino sighed back. "I don't plan to leave till the morning."
"I see..." Sho answered back. "I'll have Ame and Ohno go take care of Nani and Io early tomorrow morning, then. I suggest you get some rest." Matsu smiled a bit and nodded a fraction.
"Alright..." Matsu answered back slowly rising up again. Nino followed suit followed by Sho. All thee exchanged a last glance before Nino and Matsu headed up the elevator, and Sho turned down the lobby again. The night was going to be a long one, indeed.
~*~
Aiba slept presumably like the dead. He was always a hard sleeper, and the only thing that managed to rise him was a sudden 'hey' that brought him upright again. Aiba blinked in confusion at being woken up.
"Hey!" Elle's voice was somewhat loud, yet Aiba had a feeling she was just talking normally and his senses were mildly hyped up or something of the like. "How are you feeling? You looked pretty bad out there. Are you ok?"
Aiba shrugged as he forced himself up off the bed. His eyes caught hold of the clock that flashed around eleven o'clock at night. "Ya, I guess so," he answered back.
"So, uh, I wanted to ask you a question," Elle said aloud. Aiba noddede a bit as he resisted the urge to yawn.
"Shoot," he answered back after a second.
"I, uh, felt pretty useless in that fight earlier." Aiba blinked and was about to say something when the sharp look from Elle caused him to fall into silence again. "I don't ever want to feel that way again. Is there, uh, anyway you can train me, or something, to get me strong, like you?" Elle asked.
Aiba blinked confused for a split second before he rubbed one side of his face. "I'm not... really strong...." he sighed outwards feeling suddenly extremely depressive again from his previous conversation with Nino. "Sorry..." he said somewhat defeated.
"But you were fighting and all of those... um.. whatever they were the bear and the rabbit...." Elle continued.
"I'm a summoner..." Aiba answered back with a nod. "They're nature spirits..."
"So... could I do something like that?" Elle finally asked. Aiba blinked unsure of how to answer.
"I can't teach summoning...." Aiba answered. "Either you can do it or you can't...." he shook his head a bit remembering that he had once tried desperately to seek his own knowledge on summoning. However, there was no one to teach him.... the blood line was thinning of summoners, and most were born out of the shaman group to begin with.
"....Oh...." Elle answered as if strangely defeated by this. A sudden look of shock ran on Aiba's face, and he shook his head a bit.
"But I'm pretty sure Ame wouldn't mind teaching you how to do the basic stuffs..." Aiba said aloud rubbing the back of his head. "She used to try and teach me before I found out I was a summoner..." he laughed a bit nervously.
" 'Ame'?" Elle asked as though trying to remember where she had heard the name before.
"The teal haired ninja lady that appeared fighting Vaporaii," Aiba laughed back a bit causing Elle to nod a fraction.
"Oh her...." she answered back.
"Mhm... she's a really good teacher... although she works everyone pretty hard... hahah," Aiba laughed a fraction nervously. "I think she's already left, but I'm sure she's coming back tomorrow. Especially since Matsu's still here."
"Why do you say that?" Elle asked blinking a fraction.
"She likes him," Aiba smirked a bit rolling his eyes. "But he doesn't get it." Aiba shrugged his shoulders up a bit. "But everyone but him can tell."
"Ah...." Elle answered back looking down as if unsure what to say.
"Anyways, I'm sure she'll be back tomorrow, and you can ask her then..." Aiba looked at the clock and found it reading midnight. "Or maybe today even," he laughed pointing at the time. ELle forced a laugh bout seemed to stop as though it hurt her head.
"Thanks...." Elle finished.
"I'll even ask her for you," Aiba smiled a bit. "Now... I'm tired..." Almost instantly the dark haired boy flopped back in his bed. Elle, seeing the clock as well, nodded a fraction.
"I'm going back to my room... night," Elle sighed walking out again.
"Morning..." Aiba corrected before rolling over and falling back asleep.
~*~
Ame was sobbing. And hard. Ohno woke up to the noise of it and turned his head to the twin bed on the other side of the room to find the teal haired woman curled up on her bed with her back to the wall and her head on her knees. She wore the same clothes that she had gone to the hospital with. "Ame?" Ohno asked carefully. "Ame what's wrong?" The teal haired woman didn't answer back but simply continued crying. Ohno sighed a bit and got out of bed. He was wearing the same pants he had while at the hospital for lack of other clothes, but he wasn't wearing a shirt anymore. Standing up, the red haired man moved and sat a few feet on the end of Ame's bed. The teal haired woman continued crying a fraction.
"Why... why do I hurt..." Ame cried a bit more. "With that smile and he acts like everything's ok... and.... it just hurts.... I hate when he's like that...when he's hurting and won't even tell anyone..." Ame cried more, and once again Ohno felt the sudden sting of jealousy come over him as he found who she was crying about. Damn it Matsu..... Ohno breathed out a fraction and moved a bit closer to Ame before finally putting his arm around her.
"It'll be ok..." Ohno sighed outwards rubbing the side of the teal haired woman's arm trying to give some confidence back to her. The rain was still singing out into the night.
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Fun fun fun, lol.
