A\N: Just another AnaleisaXYagari story! Dang... I LOVE THIS COUPLE. SO MUCH. XD
Analesia jumped as the front door flew open, the dish she had been washing slipping from her hands and shattering across the floor.
"Analesia!"
She recognized the voice to be Zero's and she quickly leapt over the glass field, her bare feet barely clearing the shards as she ran over to the door, freezing when she saw the bloody trio in the doorway.
Zero was covered in blood, as was Kaien, and both of them were panting heavily, but that wasn't what worried her. She wasn't worried about them because the blood wasn't theirs. It had come from the half-conscious man hanging between them.
"Toga!" She ran forward, grabbing him underneath the arms and helping the other two hunters get him down the hall to the spare bedroom. No sooner had Yagari hit the mattress than Analesia shed her coat and rolled up her sleeves, ready to work.
"I need some wet rags, dry rags, hydrogen peroxide, gauze, and bandages. Get going!"
Zero and Kaien exchanged looks for a moment, and then ran out of the room to retrieve the items, mumbling the list under their breaths.
Wasting no time at all, she stripped off his coat and shirt, examining his chest and finding a bullet hole to be the cause of blood, the penetration unnervingly close to his heart. There were a few gashes and nicks as well, one of which stretched over his forehead, but right now her priority was the bullet.
Zero returned with about half of the requested items, and Analesia took them, sending him out with a new order.
"Go get me two basins. One with warm water and one with cold water."
He turned on his heel and ran out, a somewhat confused expression on his face, and Analesia turned to Yagari, using the first rag to clear his chest of the excess blood and get a better look at the hole.
"Hnn… N'lesia… that you?"
Analesia nodded absentmindedly as Kaien burst into the room, handing her his supplies. She snatched the dry rag from his arm and pointed to the chair.
"Put the rest there and go call 911!"
"I can't! A vampire did it, and we don't have enough time to fabricate a story and a fake crime scene!" Kaien shouted, placing the objects on the chair.
Analesia blew her bangs out of her eyes, pushing the cotton over and slightly in the hole, trying to stop the bleeding. "Yagari, stay awake!" she snapped, seeing his eyes begin to drift.
Zero entered the room, a basin under each arm, and Analesia grabbed Kaien's arm, dragging him over to Yagari and placing his hands over the rag where hers used to be. Running over to Zero, she took the cold basin and placed it on the nightstand, grabbing a cup from the bathroom and dipping it into the icy liquid, dumping it on Yagari's face without hesitation.
"Master, stay awake!" Zero prompted, furthering the water's effect with a half-hearted slap.
"Mm… so tired… Zero…" Yagari's head bobbed, falling to the side as he tried to return to sleep.
Analesia grasped the sides of her head for a moment , trying to think with all the buzzing commotion crowding her mind. She let out a sigh and then whipped her cell phone out, scrolling through the list of contacts.
"Call this guy!" she shouted at Kaien, handing him the phone and returning to her position over Yagari.
"And say what?"
"Tell him Analesia Wildfire needs him and that it's an emergency. Then give him the address."
Kaien hit the green button and nodded slowly while the phone started ringing. Analesia placed Zero's hands over the rag and moved over to the chair, grabbing the peroxide and the gauze.
"I'm going to try and clean the rest of the wounds, but ultimately, I can't do much more for the gunshot. I'm no professional." She sighed, wiping her brow and beginning the process of cleaning his face and neck.
"You're doing fine." Zero shrugged his shoulders, removing pressure for just a moment so he could flip the rag over and press the dry side against the opening.
Analesia gave out a dry chuckle. "Well, I'm glad you think so." She wiped the peroxide across his forehead, his hiss of pain an indicator that he was still conscious. She let the white fizz out before wiping it again, repeating the process until she was satisfied it was clean. She looked at it for a moment, knowing fully well the cut went through part of his eye patch.
"Ana…lesia…?"
"Just stay with me, Yagari, help is on the way."
She quickly cleaned and wrapped up his arms and the gash in his stomach. She doused him with water once more and then spoke briefly to Kaien, who confirmed her friend was on his way. Finally she went to finish the cut on his forehead, taking a deep breath and steadying herself.
"It's okay, Analesia."
Analesia jumped at the sound of Zero's voice, her head snapping in his direction. "What?"
"He won't mind if you take it off," he said quietly.
Analesia couldn't tell if he was serious or if he was just lying so she would continue to work on him. Maybe it was keeping them all distracted—keeping them calm, in a way. But it didn't really matter what his reasons were because she had to clean his forehead eventually.
Gently, carefully, she slipped her fingers under the patch and began to peel it back, wondering what he would say if he knew what she was doing.
Analesia gasped when the scar came completely into view, and then… her lips slowly turned upwards into a smile. She wondered what he was like before this scar—how he been with Zero and Ichiru, what his romance life had been like, what kind of hunter he had been…
"Analesia?"
She jumped at the sound of Kaien's voice, and shook her head. "Sorry, lost in thought."
Removing the bandage all the way, she took the rag in her hands and wiped the blood from the mutilated skin, grabbing the rag with the peroxide on it and proceeding to clean the wound.
"Ah…Ow!" Yagari jerked, his eyes snapping open and locking with hers.
She froze, the rag in her hand still pressed against his forehead.
He looked at her for a moment and took in what was going on, tasting real consciousness for the first time in a while. He looked upward, as if trying to see her hand, and then he looked back at her face. A smirk tugged one corner of his mouth.
"Thanks."
She smiled and nodded, continuing to clean the wound. "Shut up and save your energy until the doctor gets here."
"What doctor?"
"I said shut up and save energy!" she snapped, but there was a light-hearted undertone.
"Well, yes ma'am." Yagari rolled his eyes, wincing when more chemicals came in contact with the tender flesh.
Analesia ignored him bandaging up his face, and not two minutes later, her friend came through the door, a somewhat frazzled expression on his face.
"Hi, Hiro."
He nodded to her and moved over towards the bed, kneeling down and pulling a few instruments from his bag. "Been a long time."
"Yes, it has." She nodded slightly and moved towards the door. "I'm going to go make something to eat. Are you guys hungry?"
There were several nods.
"Vegetable soup it is, then." She smiled and walked out, still pondering Yagari's scar in her mind.
What was he like before that day? Did it make a big change? A little one? Did it change him at all?
And she wasn't sure she would ever know.
"I'm just saying, that guy was weird."
Analesia laughed, taking another spoonful of soup and blowing on it. "It's because he was so weird that he was able to save your life, Yagari."
Yagari wrinkled his nose, taking a large bite and cocking his head to the side. "How so?"
"Because he's so secretive, he's able to work on both human cases and cases that involve hunters and vampires. It's hard for him, though… We've been friends since high school, and even I don't know his real name. I've just always called him Hiro." She tasted the soup, rather proud of herself for making it on her own.
"Hmm… Interesting." Yagari nodded slowly and then shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, I owe both of you my life."
Analesia glanced at him briefly before turning her gaze to her soup. Her head snapped up when she heard his heavy sigh mixed with the sound of a coffee mug hitting the table.
"Alright. What's wrong?"
She frowned, furrowing her brow. "What makes you think something's wrong?"
"Because that was a perfect opportunity for a snide remark, and you completely passed it up. What's on your mind?"
"I was just wondering…" She rested her chin in her hand, the index finger on her opposite hand tapping out an off-beat rhythm. "Were you different before your scar?"
Yagari blinked, and then tilted his head back as if the answer were written up on the ceiling. "Was I different before my scar...?" he mumbled to himself. "I guess so." Then he leaned forward, making eye contact. "Were you different before you came to work for Cross?"
Analesia stopped for a moment, pursing her lips. "Um… I suppose I was."
Yagari nodded his head, rubbing his chin. "I think everything that happens to you in life changes you in one way or another. Did the scar change me? Yeah, a little. Did the death of Zero's family change me? Yeah. Did Zero becoming a vampire change me? Yup. Did working here change me? Sure. Did meeting you change me?"
There was a slight pause, and then he spoke again, his voice soft.
"Oh, yeah."
Analesia's face heated despite herself, and she shoved her spoon into her mouth so she had an excuse to stay silent. He chuckled softly, shaking his head at her, and she glared.
He made a good point… and I wonder… how has he changed me?
But that was a question for another day.