Chapter Ten

The Unknown Illness

Neru catches Gakupo as he falls. "Gakupo!"

"N-Neru…"

"A-are you ok?" She holds him close to her.

"I am just tired…" He turns his face to her chest as tears roll down his pale cheeks; she starts to feel her shirt getting wet.

"Why are you crying?"

"Gakuko… They were after her…"

"Yeah, but they are dead now."

"They are…?"

"Yeah… Obsidian and I killed them."

"T-thanks… I should have been there for her…"

"Maybe you should have been… I tried to get you to go home last night…"

"But I wanted to be with you…" Gakupo said with a heavy sigh.

"Trust me… I know… but now you feel guilty…"

"Guilty because I wasn't here for her…"

"This is understandable."

"How is she?"

"The last time I checked she was asleep with Nero watching her."

"Can you take me to her please?" Gakupo said as he stands and staggers a bit.

"All right," Neru said as she puts Gakupo's left arm around her shoulders, holds him around the waist, and they start walking back to the hospital. He is leaning heavily on her.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Japanese Hospital

It takes them half an hour to get back to the hospital. Gakupo is still leaning on Neru as he looks around. "Where is my sister's room?" Gakupo asked wearily.

"This way," Neru answered. She takes him to his sister's room. They walk into Gakuko's room; Nero is letting her watch him play a game on his PSP. Gakupo looks at his sister.

"Onee-chan… I am sorry…"

"It's not your fault."

"But I wasn't there for you…"

"Oh, you are back," Nero said.

"Yeah," Neru said in return. Gakupo looks at Nero and nods.

"Onee-chan, I would have been there for you…" Gakupo said.

"It's fine really. I'm all right and in the midst of healing. You seem to have found yourself a girlfriend, Gakupo," Gakuko said with a smile. Neru flushes a deep red as the Samurai turns a deep scarlet.

"I… er… well… yeah… I did and I love her," Gakupo stuttered.

"Hehehe… Neru is blushing…" Nero laughed. He takes a picture of his sister's blush with the camera on his cell phone as he continues to laugh. Neru glares at her brother and Gakupo punches Nero in the head.

"OW! Hey…!" The younger boy rubs his head.

"Watch it, your sister is with me now."

"Yeah… I know that…"

"Which means you can no longer make fun of her."

"But she is my sister… it's my job…" Nero said. Neru grabs her brother's right ear.

"And I have every right to pick on you," Neru stated. Gakupo, who is leaning on the wall for support, laughs despite himself.

"Gakuko and I don't pick on each other."

"Well, we do… especially when we're bored," Nero pointed out.

"And that's often," Neru agreed.

"Wow… and here I am a loner," Gakupo said.

"N-not anymore," Neru protested.

"Well, I was a loner."

"A loner and a Tsundere, what a perfect couple," Nero said with a laugh. Neru hits her brother on the head with her right fist and Gakupo glares at Nero. "Ow! I'm going to get brain damage one day." Neru rolls her eyes, Gakupo huffs and then collapses. Neru catches him just in time.

"Gakupo?" Neru asked. Gakupo gives no response to her voice. Nero runs into the hall to find a Doctor.

"We need another hospital room…!" Nero yelled down the hall. Gakupo starts coughing.

"G-Gakupo?" Neru said in shock as she pats Gakupo's back but he keeps coughing.

"He has Tuberculosis. This is one of his coughing fits," Gakuko said as she looks down at them from over the foot of the bed.

"Oh… What should I do?"

"It will make him bedridden. He is always weak after these episodes."

"Okay…" Neru said slowly. A Doctor comes into the room to offer one to Gakupo. The Samurai coughs again and spits up blood. Neru has a worried look on her face as she helps Gakupo to stand up. He wobbles as if his legs are made of jelly. Neru walks him to the empty room next to his sister's room. Gakupo lies down on the bed with Neru standing close by. "Do you want some water?"

Gakupo nods his head faintly. She kisses his forehead, blushes, and goes to get a bottle of water. Gakupo leans over the edge of the bed and spits blood out onto the floor. "I'm going to get her sick if I stay with her and then her brother will really hate me," Gakupo said to himself. Gakupo does not know that Neru has heard him. She walks back in holding a bottle of water, which she hands to him. He looks at her with blood on his lips and chin. She uses a rag to wipe the blood off before he looks away.

"I don't want to get you sick… I should have told you about this…" Gakupo said in a faint voice.

"The fact that you have Tuberculosis… It does not matter… Nero and I are the children of a Doctor. He gave us the needed injections so we are immune to any disease," Neru said offhandedly.

"That's good. I take it Gakuko told you about my illness." Neru nods in reply. "She is a good girl."

"I can tell that she is." Neru leans over Gakupo and kisses him on the lips. He returns the kiss before slipping into a major coughing fit. She gently rubs his back as his head rests on her left shoulder. After a few minutes, Gakupo sits up straight and Neru rests her head on his chest.

"I'm a mess…"

"It's not as if you can help it…"

"Yeah, but still…" Gakupo swings his legs over the edge of the bed causing Neru to look at him sternly.

"What do you think you are doing?" she asked him.

"I'm getting out of bed…" he answered faintly. Gakupo stands, staggers, and has to brace himself by leaning on the wall.

"I think you should be lying down…" Neru goes to him and holds him. Gakupo shakes his head reluctantly.

"I don't want to lie back down… I hate being bedridden…"

"But if you don't, you'll hit the floor!" she protested.

"All right…" Gakupo said with a heavy sigh. Gakupo reluctantly lies back down; Neru sits in the chair by the bed. The Samurai's face looks ghostly white, the former Tsundere girl sighs as she looks at him.

"I-I'm sorry… for… being mean to you…"

"It's all right. I was too forward with you…"

"I'm surprised… not many people are…"

"I fell in love with you at f-first sight…"

"I don't see why… I'm nothing special…" Neru said with a blush.

"You are very special to me." Gakupo lifts Neru's face up to look at him by gently lifting her head with his right hand under her chin.

"Heh, really? I hadn't noticed…" Neru said still blushing.

"You really haven't." Gakupo hands her a package that is the length of a human arm.

"Hm what's this?" She takes the package from the Samurai.

"Open it." Slowly the former Tsundere girl opens the package. Inside she finds a newly polished sword sheath. The sword in the sheath has a Dragon wrapped around the handle and is silver in color. The handle is black making the Dragon stand out. Its eyes are made of rubies. On the sheath, which is black there is an intricate golden pattern. Neru's eyes open wide in sheer awe.

"This is beautiful."

"The twin sword to the one that my Master gave me…"

"Oh…"

"I want you to have it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes and when I am well again we can start training you if you want –" He starts coughing harshly and his breathing is cut short.

"Gakupo!" Neru puts her arm around him, he gasps for breath as he continues coughing before his body suddenly goes limp. "Gakupo!" Neru starts to get worried. Slowly, the Samurai's right hand rises to his throat and speaks in a hoarse voice.

"M-my throat…" he stuttered through the dryness of his throat.

"What should I do?"

"W-water…" Gakupo gasped. Panicking, Neru hands him the bottled water. Gakupo drinks the water down and some color returns to his face. She sighs in relief and he looks at her with a sad face. "G-gomen…"

"It's not your fault…" She manages to smile.