Chapter 4! Finally aced ya, sucker. It was a really hard one to write!
(By the way, sorry for the delay. Work, Christmas and everything.)
I discovered that the function for anonymous reviews wasn't enabled on my profile... I fixed that! Sorry if anyone tried to review, but couldn't. Now's your chance... ;)
To theGrimmBunny: thank you for reviewing again and for your constructive appreciation, I wasn't all that sure about the POV thing. You're utterly awesome.
Disclaimer: What? I still own nothing and don't get any money from this? Shoot.
Though it helped quite a lot with the pain, laudanum didn't make me sleep at all.
So even if my eyes were closed, as I was trying to relax and digest all that had happened, I wasn't unconscious when she had come into my room for a second time. I had felt her lips ghosting against the shell of my ear as she softly whispered to me that she was sorry. I had to restrain myself to keep from moving, as shivers threatened to take over my whole body.
When she had asked me to forgive her, I assumed she was talking about her previous outburst. Said outburst had been a complete surprise, not only because of the sudden anger that had radiated from her, but because of what she had said. I had been pretty sure she wanted me out of her hair as soon as possible. Yet, not only did she said I wasn't a bother, she literally ordered me to stay put and let her help me. Because she wanted to.
I must say I had ambivalent feelings about the whole thing. I couldn't believe I had found someone who wanted me around, someone who thought I was worth helping and saving, and felt like I didn't deserve it in the least. I wasn't sure if I had any right to accept her proposition (which, to be accurate, was more of a decree).
However, I didn't dare say anything about my surprise and doubts, lest she changed her mind and started to scowl me again and kicked me out of her house. I had someone that was willing to tolerate me, with all the flaws I possessed, with all the sins I committed. Although she didn't know about them yet, she was okay with me staying around her for now. That was more than I ever wished for. So, in spite of my desire to push myself over my limits and continue my travels, I decided to accept this much needed respite before having to wander in search of atonement again.
With those thoughts in mind, I tried to get some sleep. She did say my rehabilitation wouldn't be a piece of cake, after all. I kept hearing clinging, banging noises coming from somewhere behind the house, but I was in no condition to be roaming around to find out what it was. After about an hour of tedious waiting, I finally fell into a deep slumber.
I woke up during what I thought to be the late morning, judging by the bright light that came through the thin curtains hanging in front of the window on my left. After sleeping for a complete night, I felt much better. I was still hurting all over, but it felt more like a constant dull ache, instead of a searing pain, and my head wasn't pounding anymore.
The girl had changed some of my bandages while I slept. Since most of my cuts were already healing up pretty nicely, thanks to whatever salve she had put on them, they weren't sticky at all and they didn't itch like they did yesterday, for which I was grateful. I looked on my right and something on the bedside table caught my eye.
It was a plain little brown book, a brush and a pot of ink, probably left by the girl. Frowning, I reached over, took the book and opened it, only to find it was completely blank. A scrap of paper fell on my torso when I opened it; a few words were scrawled in a messy handwriting.
"When you're ready, tell me."
I wasn't sure what she was talking about: the reason I was in such a state or the real meaning of my ramblings when she first found me. I guessed that by her ambiguous words, she wanted to leave it up to me to decide what I wanted to tell and what I wanted to keep to myself.
I had to smile at her delicate attention. For all of her previous boisterousness, she sure had a thoughtful streak.
A male voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. "Thought you'd like to get some fresh air. What d'you say?"
As I wondered for how long I had been watched, I turned my head to my right and saw a small man, a little under his mid-twenties, with his arms crossed over his chest and one of his shoulder resting against the door frame. He was thin, but had the built of someone used to work physically. His brown hair were mussed all over his head and falling a bit over his eyes, which, though not unfriendly, had an appraising gleam.
"Uh, sure, thanks..." I answered, giving him an uncertain smile while putting back the note and the little book on the bedside table. As an afterthought, I added: "I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Hayashida Heihachi."
The man pushed himself away from the door frame and walked back in the room he came from while calling over his shoulder: "Name's Watanabe Takeshi. I'm Kaiya's cousin."
I heard a little bit of rustling coming form the adjacent room, then he came back inside mine and put on the end of the bed a pile of folded, clean clothes. They had managed to salvage my cap, my goggles, my gloves and my boots (though it was painfully obvious that I now only needed one out of the pair). The rest, though quite like my former garments, were brand new.
"There were some of your clothes that were completely ruined, but my mother washed what could be salvaged and sewed you some pieces of clothing that are close enough to what you were wearing when we found you."
I nodded thankfully. "Much obliged. Rest assured I'll pay you back any way I can when I'll be able to move around a bit."
He waved my offer way with his hand. "Don't fret over it, it's nothing. Here, let me help you get dressed", he said as he threw the sheets away from by body and took a beige sleeveless turtleneck off the pile.
"Uh, I... I think I'll be able to manage on my own... Thank you for your kind gesture, though", I stuttered, feeling heat rising to my cheeks.
Playing doll with a man wasn't on my to-do list of the day. Particularly when I was the one acting as said doll.
He guffawed, unfazed. "Oh, sure. With your broken ribs, the cast on your arm and your brand new stump, you won't have any trouble at all. Right? Yeah, right. Thought so. Now, do try to sit up so we can get it over with."
After a few embarrassing minutes, I was finally dressed with the turtleneck, a brownish shirt and a matching pair of pants, with the right leg rolled up, and a white sock. Takeshi looked at me critically, nodded once and chuckled.
"Y'know, dressing you wasn't half-bad... Scrubbing your arse was way more disenchanting."
I opened and closed my mouth a few times, feeling my face turn red, and finally settled on a self-conscious laugh while rubbing the back of my head. "I guess it was..."
"Here, let me help you get up", he said as he helped me stand up by putting my right arm around his neck and sliding his left arm across my back. "I didn't have time to make some crutches for you, so you'll have to wait a bit before moving around by yourself."
"Well, if you happen to have wood pieces, a knife, a small hammer and some nails, I'd be able to make crutches myself. I suppose you're a busy man, and it's not as if I had a lot of things to do...", I answered while clutching my teeth against the pain that was awaken in my whole body by standing up. I was afraid to crush Takeshi with my weight, since I was about five inches taller than him and was way more bulkier. Still, I had no choice but to lean on him heavily, as I wasn't able to support my own weight at all. He seemed okay with it, though, and helped me walk a few tentative steps. We reached the doorway of my room and, as I took a look around what seemed to be some sort of living room, I saw that Kaiya was slumbering in one of the corners on some kind of giant pillow, a still full bowl of rice lying forgotten at her side. Since she was sitting, her neck was almost bent in half, with her head resting on her shoulder; it definitely had to be the most uncomfortable position for sleeping. Even so, she was fast asleep: her breathing was heavy and she was even drooling a bit on her clothes, which made me chuckle a bit. She had changed from her pretty kimono to a midnight blue tunic with some beige pants stained with what looked like oil and dust. Some sort of grease seemed stuck to her hands and forearms, and she even had a smear across one of her cheek. Curiously enough, she was able to make her boyish attire still look feminine.
Takeshi snorted and shook his head. "You know, she does that a lot: she goes into a full-blown frenzy over something and spends days or even weeks almost without sleeping or eating, working obsessively until she achieves whatever has taken her fancy. She probably fell asleep two hours ago and will be up shortly to continue whatever little new scheme of hers."
"And she always manages to complete her projects? Has she ever failed?", I wondered aloud.
"Never. The projects, they were a thing she used to do with her father, but she kept doing it, even though he isn't here anymore. Her last fascination was about western footwear. Said she thought they were pretty. She spent about three weeks making dozens of weird shoes... I think she sold them at the market and never even wore a pair herself."
I wanted to ask about her father, but I didn't want to pry into their private life, so I stayed silent. We started to limp again and we finally set foot on the porch. It felt good to be outside again: feeling the sunrays brushing on my face was soothing and having the wind ruffle my hair was delightful. Takeshi helped me getting seated, with my leg dangling down the balcony, and plopped down beside me. We sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before he talked again, his voice quiet and cautious.
"Listen... As you saw, Kai is the kind of girl that once she decides something, she goes through with it. No matter what. The thing is, she decided to heal you. But healing you brings back some memories. Bad memories. And there is no point in her having anymore bad memories, if I can have a say in the matter. So I don't know why you were so hurt, and I don't even know if you're a good guy or a bad guy. Either way, I don't have anything against you, but I do hate seeing her upset. And since your presence upsets her, I'd appreciate if you could leave as soon as you can, once you're able to."
He was speaking slowly, measuring his words carefully, as to not offend me. Also, since he was only telling me what I needed to know to understand the situation without giving me any personal information his cousin might want to keep to herself, I had to say my curiosity was highly aroused as to what were the bad memories Takeshi was talking about. Still, I felt like I didn't have any right to voice any question about it, so I kept my mouth shut and nodded in understanding.
"Good. I'll be on my way, then. I'll probably be able to bring you what you need to make your crutches later today. I could also bring you something to eat... What would you like?"
"Well, if I may trouble you so much as to ask for something in particular... Rice sure would be nice", I said rather hopefully.
He looked at me and my rather enthusiastic answer oddly, but didn't say anything. Instead, he only let himself slide from the porch to the ground and sauntered away, leaving me alone with nothing to do but mull over my own thoughts.
I felt like the chapter was quite rocky and nothing really happened, but I didn't find any other way to get where I wanted to... Well, there it is anyway. Thanks for reading, everyone!
Reviews are love. Please?