Disclaimer: Don't Own Any Charries From Soul Eater!

HAHAH! People will maybe hate me for killing off Giri (I mean, anime version. Still reading the manga, like… chapter 77?) But yeah. Hope you've enjoyed it so far. :D

2—Awaken

Giriko

It was an intense pain like no other.

Giriko cursed at himself for his actions. Why the hell would he save that stupid priest boy?! What was the point of that?! He could have escaped easily and gotten off without a worry again about that damn kid, but no, he had to move in the way! So, what did he get out of it? Death.

Giriko could feel every bit of himself dying, and it pissed him off. He had another body in storage, but he couldn't go get that now, now could he?! This was just great, totally perfect, as he floated along in a black emptiness, waiting for something, anything to happen!

For a brief moment, he felt like his eyes were finally opening. He looked into the gazes of people he didn't fully recognize… They seemed slightly familiar… and then there was that boy, that priest… God, what was his name again?

And then Giriko felt himself pulled back into unconsciousness, and was cursing himself and trying to awake again. He felt extreme pain in his back a few times, causing him to scream, which made him feel extremely weak. What the hell was this pain?! It was pretty damn annoying!

After weeks of this dull pain that had taken over his entire body, he finally felt himself gaining consciousness again. When he opened his eyes, light was filling them, making him hiss. He tried to move, sit up, anything, but he found himself completely frozen. He couldn't feel his entire body, and this was really concerning. He found himself in a sort of hospital, laying on his stomach, naked, save for the blankets on him and the bandages that wrapped around him.

What happened…?

It took him some time, but then he once again remembered that horrified look on the priest's face, the flames that almost touched him… That uncontrollable urge to step in the way… What the hell was wrong with him? And this dull, droning pain! And the terrible headache!

He managed to move his head, shifting it to face the other side of his hospital bed, and he tensed what little muscles he could move. Sitting right at his bedside was that priest boy, his dull blue eyes closed, head resting on the bed, his hand over Giriko's.

Giriko felt himself blush. Why the hell am I blushing?! What's up with this kid?! He wanted to move his hand away so badly, but he couldn't even lift a finger. This was just ridiculous and upsetting, why couldn't he move?! Did he have to sit like this for the rest of his life?!

There was a rustle of movement in the corner of Giriko's eye, and he craned his neck to see. It was a woman wearing a nurse's outfit. She had dark skin that was all covered up in bandages, light blue eyes and dreadlocks. She held a clipboard, and was looking at him carefully. When she saw he was awake, she gave off a pleasant vibe. "Oh, you're finally awake?" she said, "Justin will be happy to know that."

Giriko eyed the priest. That's right, the kid outright told him that his name was Justin, he remembered the name now. "How long have I been out?" Giriko asked, trying to get a good look at the woman, but failing. "About a month," the woman answered, "Justin has been sitting at your bedside and taking care of you every day. He's never left, besides getting you food or going to the bathroom."

Giriko stared at the sleeping priest, surprised. This kid was really that concerned with him? "Uhh…" he didn't know what to say. The woman patted his head. "Unfortunately, that accident got you completely paralyzed. But with the help of Dr. Stein, it's only temporary. You'll be perfectly normal soon." Giriko looked at her more clearly now, and seeing a little Shinigami-skull on her clothes, he felt worry. "Where am I?" he asked.

The woman sighed loudly, shaking her head. "I know that you, of all people, won't be thrilled to know," she said, "But you are in the DWMA, in Death City."

Giriko said nothing.

He was in the Lion's Den.

He was in Enemy Territory.

That. Was. BAD.

Before he could say or do anything about it again, he fell into another unconscious, dreamless slumber.

Giriko groaned as he was pulled back into consciousness. He finally felt like staying unconscious, knowing where he was. But he couldn't help but awaken; he had heard some rather awesome music playing in his ear. It was heavy metal, his type of music, and he wanted to hear every bit of the screams, every note of the wailing guitar, he loved it so much.

Opening his eyes, he felt like he was staring at nothing. Then, as his eyes went into focus, his vision blackened again, but he could still hear the music. He allowed it to fill his ears and mind, allowed his heart and soul to pulse to the beat, and was lost in it.

"I see you like this music… Your soul is responding to it…"

Giriko recognized the priest's voice, and for a brief moment, his vision came back, perfectly clear. That boy, Justin, was sitting at his bedside again, one earbud in his ear, the other reaching to Giriko's, connecting to the boy's iPod. Justin was smiling sadly at it, not looking at Giriko. "I love every type of music there is," he said, "You apparently like heavy metal, rocking music, or just rap… It's nice to know the person who saved me… I'm sorry I couldn't help yo—"

Then everything blackened and silenced once again.

Finally, when Giriko regained consciousness, he wasn't going to let it go away this time. He forced himself to remain awake, and feeling of sleep or exhaustion he beat away. Looking around, he saw nobody, to his dismay. Not even the priest boy Justin. Where was he? That lady said he never left!

"Y-You're awake!"

Giriko turned his head to see Justin at the doorway, holding a tray of steaming hot food. Soup and warmed up vegetables, plus a sandwich. Giriko felt his stomach growl, and he winced. "Hell yeah, I'm awake!" he snapped, Justin sitting down and looking at him. Giriko was surprised to see a look of pain in Justin's eyes. "What?" he snarled, a bit irritated by the sadness.

Justin looked away, spooning up some of the soup. "Nothing…" he mumbled, "Just eat." He brought the spoon to Giriko's lips. Giriko scoffed, turning his head away. "I'm not going to be fucking FED," he grunted, "That's just stupid!" "Would you rather starve?" Justin asked, "Eat." Giriko met Justin's eyes, both of them holding an irritated, rude look at each other, then Giriko sighed as his stomach grumbled and he ate, allowing himself to get fed by this kid.

"So, I heard you've been here with me this whole time, huh?" Giriko said, eyeing Justin. Justin gained an extremely sad look, tears filling his eyes. "It didn't feel right to leave you by yourself!" he said quickly, as if explaining himself when he was caught doing a bad thing, "I feel so terrible for letting you almost die! I should have known where we were, it was all my fault!" The tears began to roll down his cheeks.

Giriko stared, fairly surprised by this. "Hey," he said, but Justin didn't hear him. "Hey!" he tried again, but Justin was just crying. "LISTEN TO ME!" Giriko shouted, and he felt pain in straining his voice that way. But Justin finally met eyes with him. "… You sound so different than I imagined…" Justin mumbled. Giriko blinked, the realization that Justin wasn't listening to music hitting him. "… W-Well…" Giriko tried to remember what he was going to say. It took a moment, but it finally crossed his mind.

"Listen," he said, "It wasn't your fault for all that, so no need crying over it, got it? I mean, come on, I could have easily just left you to die, but I didn't. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't mine, either, but it certainly wasn't yours!" Why am I being so nice to this guy?!

Justin didn't seem to accept this. "But I i-ignored my instincts!" he sniffled, "You could have d-d-died!" Giriko cursed. "Why does that matter? We're enemies, who cares if I die or not?" "I DO!"

Giriko stared at him.

Justin looked away. "I may be your enemy, but that doesn't mean I want you dead…"

Giriko simply stared, completely stunned by this. He didn't know what to say. Then Justin turned on him, looking sad and confused. "And why did you SAVE ME?" he asked, "I thought you'd be running, like you said!" Giriko snapped from his daze, glaring. "How the hell should I know?" he snapped, "I just did the first thing that came to mind! Not always my best quality, but I did it anyway!"

Justin sighed, feeding him more soup, eating his own meal, which was the sandwich and vegetables. "I want some of those…" Giriko mumbled, watching Justin eat with envy. Justin sighed. "I'm sorry for eating in front of you," he said, "I just don't want to leave… and your jaw isn't strong enough to eat these kinds of foods, just yet… I'm sorry you're immobile…"

Giriko shrugged. "I could be dead," he said, looking at Justin, who still looked depressed. "Hey, I'll be getting better, okay?" he snapped, "Don't mourn my death before I'm dead." This put a little smile on Justin's face. Giriko mentally murdered himself. WHY AM I TRYING TO MAKE THIS KID HAPPY?! I SHOULDN'T BE DOING THAT!

Justin stood up, setting the tray of food on the nightstand. "I'll get you some water," he said, leaving to another part of the room where Giriko couldn't see him. Giriko waited patiently, wishing he could just get up and get his own fucking water by himself. Seeing as that couldn't happen, it was admittedly nice to have Justin around to help him. That was pretty convenient…

Justin came back with a glass of water. "You want some now?" he asked. Giriko nodded quickly. His throat was so dry it was killing him! Justin helped to sit Giriko up, and, to Giriko's shock, Justin let the man rest against his chest. It was surprisingly comfortable that way, but it made Giriko feel embarrassed. "Now, hold on…" Justin put the glass to Giriko's lips, and helped to tilt his head back. The water rushed into Giriko's mouth, and he felt like he was falling madly in love with this water. It felt so good, sliding along his throat, he felt so relieved.

Justin saw the happiness that washed over Giriko's face and he laughed. Giriko glared, completely embarrassed to have Justin see how weak he could be. "Shut up and let me drink…" he grumbled, drinking the glass until it was empty. Justin then laid him back down and sat at his bedside. "You should rest," Justin said.

Giriko groaned. "But I've done that enough!"

"You were unconscious enough. Now, you'll sleep. That's what you need."

Giriko was about to object, but the look he received from Justin screamed "SLEEP OR DIE", so he gave in, closing his eyes and letting himself drift into sleep, subtly feeling fingers touching his cheek before going completely into the dreams and slumber he so needed.

Pleasant, huh? I almost killed off Giriko, and instead, he's in Death City, being taken care of by Justin! The woman was Nygus, by the way. :D

Comment anything you wanna say~