Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters. This story is entirely mine though.
She walked by the same road every day. The time varied but it was always the same road. It was a shortcut she took when going home, barely two minutes from her apartment. For the past two months, he had always been there when she walked by, as if welcoming her home. When he appeared initially, she had been a bit wary, after all a complete stranger loitering in your path could be dangerous. But he had never made a move towards her.
She was late today, even by her usual messed up hours. As she walked home, she realised something was different. Usually he stood to the side, in the shadows, his eyes scanning continuously for something, looking at her but not quite seeing her. Today though, his entire gaze was focussed on her. Without even realising it she sped up and her heart started pounding. Just as she was about to enter her building, she turned. She did not know why, but she needed to look at him. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw him slide to the ground, as if he was too weak to stand anymore. Before she even knew it, she was moving towards him. She was still scared but she could not leave him like this. She had to make sure he was going to be okay.
When she reached him, his eyes were closed, face pale and breathing shallow. She moved to place her hand on his neck to check his pulse, but before she could touch him, he grabbed her wrist. She saw surprise register on his face when he realised who was in front of him. He let her go as if burned.
"Are you..." she started to ask but he stood up before she could finish her sentence, glaring at her the entire time. He was using the wall to support himself. He started to walk away, but stumbled and would have fallen, if she hadn't caught him. As soon as he was balanced on the wall again, she moved back. His coat had been damp and so was her hand now. She looked down at it, and in the dim street light it took her a moment to realise that her hand was covered in blood. His blood. She looked up at him, but he was also looking at her hand, with a horrified expression. He tried to back away, he wanted to run from her, but he had no strength left. That was when she calmly stepped up to him, and took his hand and then placed it around her shoulders. Before he could protest she started walking, taking him home. She felt him draw in a breath to protest but she cut him off, "If you have the strength to speak, use it to walk."
She led him into the building, and then they took the elevator to her apartment. It was somewhat hard to open the door with him leaning so heavily upon her, but she somehow managed. Then they were in, and she led him to couch but he did not seem inclined to sit. When she gave him a quizzical look, he murmured something that sounded like "dirty". She gave him one of her glares then, and pretty much pushed him down to sit. Before he could speak, she was gone, only to come back with a first aid kit.
"Take off your clothes."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, off with them. Don't worry I am doing a medical residency, I am perfectly capable of taking care of you."
"Right..." reluctantly, he started stripping. Soon he was sitting there, just in his trousers, while she cleaned the gash in his side. He had quite a few cuts.
"A few of them need stitches. I should call..."
"No" he snapped.
"Fine then, I'll do it on my own but I don't have anaesthesia at home. It'll hurt."
"I've had worse." he replied and she believed him, judging by the scars she saw on his body.
His fists were clenched, and sweat beaded on his forehead, but he did not make a single sound as she stitched up the gash on his side and then another one on his forearm.
He fell back on the sofa when she was done bandaging him and closed his eyes. Something cool touched him, and he looked up to realize the she was washing him with a wet towel.
"What are you...?"
"Giving you a bath. This is the best you can have with these bandages."
"There is no ..."
"Yes there is a need for this. Now shut up and let me do what I want."
He tried to glare her into submission but when it was obvious that it was not going to work, he gave up and closed his eyes again. Before he knew it, he fell into a deep sleep
