Mega: Hi everyone! I'm glad you came back for the next chapter!
Kirino: No! Why did they come back?!
Mega: According to the awesome reviews, they like seeing you getting hurt and being tortured.
Kirino: What?! Why would they like that?!
Mega: Well, you're cute, strong-willed, and fun to torture.
Kirino: I am not!
Shindou: You are cute, though.
Kirino: S-shindou!
Shindou: What's up?
Kirino: *points at Mega* She's torturing me again!
Shindou: *glares at Mega* Mega, you wouldn't be upsetting Ranmaru now, would you?
Mega: No! I'm just telling him the reviews.
Shindou: Oh. Okay.
Mega: Onto the reviews!
Reviews!
2gatita8: Thank you for reviewing! I will continue this story. Thanks for being my first review!
Taku-Mune: Thanks for the great review and encouragement. Here's the next chapter, so you can find out what happens next!
Guest: I will include the rest of the team. Some of them will actually appear in this chapter. Stay tuned to find out who they are!
TheSadisticOne: Thank you for your kind words. I'm like that too. I actually search stories that involve my favorite characters getting hurt. I'm glad that others like those stories too.
Kirino: How did you get FOUR reviews in two days?!
Mega: Because I'm awesome, that's how!
Kirino: No you're not!
Shindou: According to two of the reviews, Mega is actually a decent writer.
Mega: Thank you, Shindou!
Kirino: She hurts me! How can you complement her?
Shindou: I complement her because the more I do, the sooner we'll end up together.
Kirino: *blushes* O-oh.
Mega: On to the story because if we stay here any longer, they might get married or something!
Kirino and Shindou: Hey!
The Burning Mist: Chapter Two-
Burning
~Shindou's POV~
I looked at the pinkette in my arms. Kirino's eyes were open, but they were half-lidded and glazed with fever. I placed my hand on his forehead, but I removed it quickly.
"Ah! Kirino, you're burning up!" I cried with alarm. What was wrong with him? He had seemed out of it, sure, but he might as well have been on fire with such a high fever! There was no way I could help him on my own, so I did the logical thing. I screamed for my teammates at the top of my lungs.
"Tsurugi, Fei, Tenma, help!" I screamed, hoping that they were close enough to hear me. If they weren't, I would have to get them, but that meant leaving Kirino here. There was no chance that I would leave Kirino here in such a frail condition. I felt something burry itself in my arm. I looked down to see Kirino nuzzled into my arm with his eyes closed. He was asleep, or that was what I hoped.
I glanced up at the sound of footsteps. I turned my head to find Tsurugi, Tenma, Fei, and Wonderbot running towards me. All four were yelling, but I could make out the overall sense of worry that they gave off. Tsurugi reached us first.
"What happened, Shindou?" He asked as he examined Kirino.
"He collapsed with a fever minutes ago. He seemed off today, but I didn't think he was this sick!" I explained worriedly. If anything happened to Kirino, I would never forgive myself. Tsurugi placed his hand on Kirino's forehead, but he withdrew it as quickly as I had.
"He's boiling!" He exclaimed. Tenma, Fei, and Wonderbot reached us a few seconds after Tsurugi's statement.
"What's wrong?" Tenma asked in a surprisingly quiet voice filled with worry.
"He's sick. He needs medical attention immediately," Tsurugi informed the others monotony.
"Hurry up and bring him inside then!" Wonderbot ordered us, "Take him to the infirmary."
Tsurugi and I lifted the sick pinkette carefully. We started walking towards the doors with Wonderbot in front of us, and Tenma and Fei behind us. We went slowly to not disturb Kirino. We had all silently agreed that it was better for him to sleep in his condition. We reached the infirmary a few minutes later.
"Put him on that bed," Wonderbot instructed he moved towards some medical equipment. He beckoned for Tenma and Fei to join him. Tsurugi and I gently lifted Kirino onto the bed. Fei moved beside us with a cold compress in his hand. He placed it on Kirino's forehead while Tenma and Wonderbot prepared other items that would be used on Kirino. I looked at Kirino with concern. What if something was truly wrong with him? What if he would never recover?
I shook my head gently to clear my thoughts. What good would panic do? I need to stay calm and assist Wonderbot.
Wonderbot moved next to Kirino a minute later. He had a needle in his paw, and I quickly realized that it was connected to an IV that Tenma was holding. He pushed the needle into Kirino's skin gently. I watched as Tenma positioned the IV next to Kirino's bed. His expression was tense and nervous. After the IV was set, Wonderbot prepare to attach a heart monitor to my best friend. The silent room was suddenly filled with the slow cadence of my best friend's heartbeat. Fei suddenly grabbed a needle filled with some sort of medication. He handed it to Wonderbot wordlessly. The substance was soon injected into my friend's vein.
The medication did seem to affect Kirino. He looked calmer and less tense. Tsurugi handed me a thick blanket and looked at me calmly. I stood beside Kirino's bed and draped the thick blanket over his small frame. He looked so weak and helpless now, like a newborn child.
"Waiting for him to awaken is all we can do now," Wonderbot said to us, breaking the heavy curtain of silence that had fallen over the room.
"Will he be alright?" Tenma questioned anxiously.
"It depends on him. With such a high fever, I'm surprised that he is doing this well," Wonderbot answered nonchalantly.
"What do you mean by well?" Fei inquired.
"His fever has dropped by a fourth of a degree since we brought him here. I didn't expect his fever to go down until tomorrow at least," Wonderbot explained while gesturing towards the equipment attached to Kirino.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked sharply. Why hadn't Wonderbot told us that information yet? It was very strange how he avoided mentioning it.
"That's the problem, Shindou. I have no idea what's wrong with Kirino. We just spiked a high fever with no explanation whatsoever," He explained tensely.
"Is there a chance that it could just be a common cold or illness?" Tsurugi inquired insightfully. Why hadn't I asked that yet? Tsurugi was smart, though, so Tsurugi coming up with such a good question was kind of expected.
"There is only a slight chance. I've been thinking of causes for Kirino's sudden illness. The only cause I can think of that is logical is his mixi-max, but even that is a stretch," Wonderbot enlightened. His mixi-max could be a cause? That sounded a little farfetched. If that was the case, why wasn't I sick? What made his mixi-max different from mine? Then it hit me. The person I mixi-maxed with was very different from Kirino's. What made them different? Jeanne had been burned at the stake, but my mixi-max partner had probably died from illness, old age, or from a battle.
I quickly turned to Wonderbot, "What day was Jeanne burned at the stake?"
"She would have been burned to day. Why do you- oh! You might be on to something, Shindou!" He cried excitedly.
"What is it, Wonderbot?" Tsurugi, Tenma, and Fei asked in unison.
"Today was the day Jeanne was burned at the stake. Kirino was the one who mixi-maxed with her. Mixi-maxing is a process which bonds two souls. It would make sense if one suffered while the other did, correct?"
Fei nodded, "You're suggesting that Kirino is feeling a portion of what Jeanne is feeling, right?"
"That is correct, Fei," he agreed.
"How do we make him better?" Tenma questioned looking very distressed.
"We must wait. Kirino is the only one who can tell us if our theory is correct," Wonderbot reasoned.
I turned back to Kirino's bed side. I looked at his carnation colored hair. I was so focused on it that I didn't realize that two azure eyes were staring at me. I stared in shock at him. He looked at me tiredly. Fever was evident in his eyes. I quickly pulled him into a gentle hug. Everyone looked at me for a second before realizing that Kirino was awake. Wonderbot got to him first.
"How are you feeling?" He murmured quietly to the pinkette.
"Sick," was his raspy, nearly inaudible reply.
"You should rest, Kirino. You're really sick," I whispered to him.
He nodded and sank back into the bed. His fever glazed azure eyes closed gently. His breathing began to even out as he sank deeper into sleep.
I looked at Wonderbot, "What now?"
He looked at Kirino's sleeping form for a minute before answering, "We let him rest. We'll ask him about his condition tomorrow."
I nodded along with Tsurugi, Fei, and Tenma. Rest was the best thing for him right now. We just had to let him sleep. Fei, Tenma, and Tsurugi stood up silently.
"We'll go tell everyone of Kirino's condition," Fei stated calmly.
"I'll go to," I said standing up to leave. I was stopped when Tsurugi placed his hand on my shoulder.
"You should stay. You are his best friend, after all. He'll probably feel more comfortable with you here," he told me. I nodded. He was probably right.
I watched along with Wonderbot as they left the infirmary. I turned to look to look at Wonderbot. He stared at me with calm eyes.
"Are you staying?" I muttered softly. He nodded, and he turned to look at the medical instruments attached to Kirino.
"You are to, I presume," he stated faintly.
"I am. I can't leave him like this," I replied in a low voice, careful not to wake Kirino.
"You've made the right choice," he agreed before he began working with the devices again.
I grasped Kirino's hand tightly as I made a promise to myself. No matter what happened, I would stay by Kirino's side. I brushed some of his loose bangs out of his face.
"Get better soon, Ranmaru."
~Chapter Two End~
Mega: That's all folks!
Kirino: First you hurt me, and now you're ripping of Loony Toons!
Mega: What are you going to do about it?
Kirino: I don't know! How should I know?
Shindou: Calm down, Kirino! You don't want to upset her! Who knows what she could do?
Kirino: Point taken and dually noted.
Mega: Now that those two are done, we can close out this chapter. Hooray! Kirino, Shindou, if you'd please?
Kirino and Shindou: Sayonara, everyone! Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!
Mega: Ciao, minna. See you at the next chapter!