'I hate this...'

Three words that Border Agent Ai Kitora couldn't stop repeating in her head.

'I hate this so much.'

She thought while opening her eyes, white blasted through her irises. Her nose assaulted by the smell of ether and her eyes irritated by that incessant beeping. Her vision focuses on a bed in front of her and the person on said bed.

"Why did you do that?"

The girl whispered in a serious tone but the boy didn't respond. The room was so silent Kitora could hear his breathing, so painfully faint. She couldn't stand it anymore.

"Mikumo-kun…"

It was the second time she was seeing that image, the image of Mikumo Osamu in a hospital bed, hooked to machines, sleeping without a care in the world.

"It was all my fault…"

Kitora scolded herself and closed her eyes, she could barely look at the sleeping boy's face, or should she say, her savior's face.

"I wasn't strong enough..."

'Never strong enough.'

That was Ai Kitora, A-rank and the ace of her team yet saved by one of the weakest B-Rank combatants and owing her life to someone clearly less talented then her. It was pathetic. She was supposed to be a soldier, she acted like a soldier right?

"Why did you do this? You are weak…"

But that wasn't really the problem was it? Ai wasn't so depressed because she was outdone, if so it would be a sweet lie to comfort herself. Truth was she cared for him more than she would ever admit.

"How can you be so strong Mikumo-kun?"

At first she didn't get why a lot of her friends and colleagues in Border would tease her about Mikumo, saying that they were cut from the same cloth when she was clearly a talented star and he was not.

Now she really didn't get it.

"Would I do the same for you Mikumo-kun?"

They weren't cut from the same cloth. She had ways to go before she could stand beside this idiot. Her collected tone was starting to break, she could feel her mind wanting to scream, wanting to say "I'm sorry" a million times…

For her weakness.

For her stupidity.

For her harshness.

For being herself.

"I hate this so much!"

The girl turned her head to the ground, eyes still closed shut, machine still beeping, fists clenched and boy sleeping.

"…un"

A small sudden grunt made way to Ai's ear. She quickly opened her eyes, they were red but she didn't care what she looked like at this point. Mikumo seemed to be waking up.

"…Huh?"

He starts to get up, blinking to adjust to the light and looking around the room clumsily. A rush of joy and relief spreads over Kitora's body and at the same time a wave of worry and sadness crashes on her already tired mind.

But then Mikumo has his eyes dead set on the ace.

He blinks once.

'Oh no!' She thought, getting flustered.

He blinks again.

'Please don't say it!' Her eyes want to turn away and she wants to bail out but she can't.

"Ki… Tora?" The boy seems confused.

'I beg you, please don't say it. Anything but that!' Her face contorts a little in anxiousness.

"I'm so happy you're okay Kitora!" The boy exclaims with a smile.

"You idiot!" And finally the tears came.

Since no good writer will make a Kisamu story then a bad one like me will.

- E#