"Why should I do that?" Zero asked, feeling his throat close up a little. Just who the hell did he think he was? Last Zero recalled, he'd been around her a lot more than Shiiro had. He might have been her brother, but Aikido was an adult. He couldn't make her decisions for her.
"Because. It would be easier for the both of you that way," Shiiro softened his intense gaze, and turned towards the window, away from Zero. "The assassins after us will be far away from you. You'll be safer that way. And if you leave her alone, it would be easier for her to accept that we have to run, and get out of here."
"I could come with you, though…but I'm not leaving her. There's no way."
Shiiro shook his head, "She would rather have you here, safe."
"Did she…say that?" Zero asked, getting more and more pissed at Shiiro as the seconds ticked by.
Shiiro ignored the question. "Point is, if you aren't going to comply, then I'll just tell her that you don't want to be involved with her anymore. And I could do much more damage than that if I wanted to."
"What the hell is your problem anyways?" Zero clenched his teeth, and dug his fingers into the stiff mattress beneath him.
"My problem is you. I'm trying to keep you safe. I'm trying to keep you safe so you don't die. My sister would much rather never see you again than have you die. I know her." Shiiro shrugged, leaning up against the wall.
"I don't want your damn protection!" Zero glared at Shiiro, jolting upright into a sitting position. A tube popped out, and something started beeping, to alert one of the nurses.
Shiiro noticed. That meant he didn't have much time to fit the rest of his speech in. "Well, since you obviously aren't going to be a good little boy, I suppose I'll have to tell her…that you hate her."
A nurse rushed in, and Shiiro slipped out of the door, silent as a shadow.
"Get back here you-" Zero was interrupted by a nurse pushing him back down.
"Relax, sweetie," she said softly, fixing the tube that had ripped out, "Everything's okay."
"Everything's not okay," Zero whispered, shutting his eyes. He had to find a way to get to Aikido. And fast.
"Just go back to sleep now," the nurse said brightly, as if she were talking to a kindergartener who had woken up from a nap too early.
"Shiiro?" I sat up as soon as he walked into the room. "How is he? Did you talk to him?" When he walked over to me, I grabbed his hand, and looked up into his eyes searching for good news.
He immediately looked uncomfortable, "Yeah…I talked to him…" Shiiro sat down on the side of my bed, and looked at me with a sad look in his eyes.
"W-what is it?" I swallowed a lump in my throat, fearing that something horrible was about to be revealed to me.
My brother took a deep, slow breath. "I-I don't exactly know how to tell you this…but…Zero thinks it would be best if you didn't see him anymore. I'm really, really sorry," Shiiro said.
Crash. I felt my entire world falling down around me. My heart sped up, and my vision blurred as the tears found their way into my eyes, "W-what? Can't I at least talk to him?" I begged, squeezing Shiiro's hand tighter. My voice cracked into a high-pitched squeak, "Please tell me I can at least talk to him about it."
"Well…he made it pretty evident he didn't want to. He's…upset that he was in the middle of your fight. He's tired of the drama you bring…at least, that's what he said to me. He wanted me to tell you." Shiiro looked upset, too.
I broke out into sobs. "M-maybe we should go far away from here after all. I don't think I can…bare to see him…a-again…" I couldn't tell if I was sad or angry. Maybe I was both. I was sad…because I'd gone through so much. Nothing had ever seemed to bother him before. I was angry, because he could have talked to me about it. He could have talked to me about it. At least that would have been easier.
"It's okay, Aiki…I understand. You should be all set to go in twenty four to forty eight hours. Zero will be in here for longer, so you have nothing to worry about. The doctor's going to check on you later, and if all goes well, we can get out of here tomorrow. Promise."
"Sh-Shiiro? Would it be okay…if…if you just left me alone for a little while?" I squeaked out. I know it was silly to kill the messenger, but I was a little bit mad at him too.
"Of course. No problem," Shiiro looked a little shocked, but obeyed my wish, and left. "Do you want me to get you something from the cafeteria?"
I thought about it for a few seconds. "N-" I started, but then reconsidered. "Yes. I'd like a chocolate bar. A big one. Actually, two big ones." It sounded immature and stupid, but I needed chocolate more than anything right now.
"Sure thing," Shiiro said, giving me a quick smile before leaving.
After he'd left, I started to throw a silent fit, careful not to disturb anyone else.
"Visiting hours are over, now," a cheery nurse informed Shiiro a few hours later. It was nearly nine at night, and my brother had been there all day. I'd eaten through six chocolate bars, cried so hard I puked up three, and didn't touch the crummy hospital food they served. Then, Shiiro had left around seven, picked me up a chocolate shake, and I'd drunken half of that before throwing up again. I was taking it hard. Harder than I should have, probably, but I was hurting. I'd just lost my first real boyfriend.
The doctors and nurses just whispered and told Shiiro I was probably just moody because of all of the medicines they'd filled me up with. Morons.
Shiiro sighed, and kissed my forehead. "I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow, okay?"
He was lucky my injuries weren't life threatening, because if they were, I think by now I would have given up fighting them, and let myself waste away. The doctors had cleared me to go home the next day, though, and Shiiro promised that he'd have train tickets. He hadn't yet told me where he was planning on going.
"Okay," I said in barely a whisper. I was feeling all right now, although I was a little hungry. I wished I could ask him to get me one last chocolate bar before he left, but I doubted the doctors would appreciate that. "Bye."
Shiiro gave me a little wave before leaving for the night. After the nurse assured that I'd gotten to the restroom and back safely, she left me as well, and I was alone to stare out the window. I wondered where Zero's room was. I considered sneaking around the hospital later on, looking for him. Just to see him one last time, while he was sleeping. That was all I wanted, really. To see him one last time before I left for good tomorrow. So I waited a few hours, when the hospital was quiet and much less active. Most of the doctors and nurses were off in the ICU, or in the emergency room, and there were very few in my area. I wasn't positive where I was, but it was probably nothing serious. I still tried to avoid all of the nurses I could. I didn't want to be questioned. Especially not when I still had medicine in my system. They'd probably follow me around.
The nurse at the main desk in my wing left to use the bathroom, leaving the computer unattended. I hurried over to it, and quickly searched Zero's name. Rather then searching the entire hospital, I wanted to know where I was going. Because the longer I wandered, the more chance I had of getting caught. The hospital database wasn't too hard to navigate, and I found the room number as soon as I heard the nurse running the sink in the bathroom.
I hurried around the corner, and towards my destination.
It took some hiding behind gurneys and rolling machines that I couldn't identify, but eventually, I saw the room. I could only see a bump of a foot under a blanket behind a curtain with a pastel pattern, but I just knew for certain it was him. I didn't need the room number to tell me. The hallway was empty, aside from a janitor about seventy feet down the hallway. But he was turned away, and listening to music through headphones. I could hear the soft rock beat of a band older than my parents would have been. I quickly ran down the hallway, and was about to peek in the room when I tripped and fell. My motor skills weren't totally perfect yet.
The janitor hadn't heard. Or if he had, he hadn't thought anything unusual was going on. I wondered if anyone else had, though. Since Zero was in the far bed, I couldn't be sure if he was awake or asleep, and this was going to be risky if he saw me.
I quickly picked myself up, and darted into the shelter of the room. Quietly, I crept across the room, and took a quick peek behind the curtain. And met a pair of gorgeous purple eyes that I'd always admired. But now, I wasn't so sure. I quickly stepped back. Maybe he hadn't seen me. But that was a stupid thought, because I knew that he must have. I shut my eyes, regretting going through all of the trouble that I had.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, voice not louder than a breath.