Chapter 11
I'm assuming there will only be 15 or so chapters. So, we're wrapping up!
With Gareki's recovery, the group didn't make it to the target village for a week. They had stopped in a couple towns (done some 'cleaning') and just gave Gareki time to get his voice back. Gareki ended up writing down what he remembered from his conversation with the twisted Karoku anyway.
Akari and Gareki were busy over a DNA sample in the lab when Nai walked in.
"Gareki. Would you like some sweets?" Nai offered a Nyanperona shaped lollipop and had some brightly wrapped chocolate truffles in his hands.
"Ah. Thank you Nai." Gareki picked up a chocolate truffle. Akari kept his back to Nai, still focused on the work.
"Um…" Nai glanced at Gareki, who popped the dark chocolate truffle into his mouth. Gareki caught Nai's look with the truffle filling his cheek. Gareki shrugged, glanced at Akari, and nodded. Nai swallowed hard and cleared his throat.
"Um… Akari….sir…" Nai's voice had a waiver. Nai wasn't so much afraid of Akari as really wary when the man was working. "Um… Akari, would you like some sweets?" Nai held out his hands and bowed his hands, like he as giving an offering to a demon. Akari didn't respond.
"Ah, I'll just leave some here than." Nai said after an awkward minute. Gareki gave Nai a slight smile and went back to studying. At this moment, Akari was doing personal research and Gareki was reviewing for a little quiz Akari was planning to give him.
Nai placed the other truffle and the lollipop on what appeared to be Akari's desk as he left the room. With a final peak, Nai closed the door behind them. Yogi was waiting with Tsukumo.
"Are you safe, Nai!" Yogi pulled Nai into a tight hug. Nai returned the hug, but only half-heartedly.
"Nai?" Tsukumo put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I just… I'm worried." Nai looked confused. "I keep hearing someone say 'perfect timing' and 'I'm waiting' at night. I'm scared." Nai tightened his hold on Yogi. Tsukumo added herself to the hug. Personally, Tsukumo thought Nai should be with first ship or at the Research Tower, somewhere where he wouldn't have to deal with the evil twin. Tsukumo smiled into Nai's hair.
"Nai, would you like to assist me in making Gareki a shirt? One for off days when he is at Kuronomei?" Tsukumo smiled. Nai looked up into her angelic face and smiled, happily following her with Yogi in tow. Karoku smiled from the ship's control room. Hirato was signing a paper and sighed, looking up and follow Karoku's gaze.
"They live in such a nice world, I don't know how they do it." Hirato mused aloud. Karoku laughed softly.
"They let themselves love things." Hirato, his face still relaxed and a polite smile on his face, looked at Karoku.
"They let themselves love things?" Hirato repeated, leaning back into the Captain's chair. Karoku turned his attention to the Captain.
"Yes." Karoku's eyes were full of mirth. Hirato's smile was cold, but polite, not relaying his frustration with Karoku's sudden mysteriousness, but the topic was dropped.
"How long until we reach the village?" Karoku asked, looking down at his own papers. Hirato was already starting his mission report and was signing permission forms to allow Gareki, Karoku and Nai to be in the area of this mission. Karoku was just doing some math equations. Since the attack on Gareki, Karoku had been trying to figure out how his original device had been altered. Since he had none of his notes, he was starting from the beginning and redesigning as he went along.
"Another hour, but we'll stay on the ship until tomorrow. Circus rules is that we have to give a twenty four hour notice unless there is definite proof of illegal happenings. We didn't do that for Smokey Mansion, but when we found you, it helped us avoid some backlash from the superiors." Hirato signed his name on the last paper. The two looked out the window as the countryside whipped by around them.
"So, this is happening." Karoku gave a sad smile.
"It is. I better get Akari and Gareki from the lab so they don't miss lunch." Hirato rose and left the young man along in the control room. Soon, Karoku also left for lunch.
Akari's meal had been mostly untouched, while Gareki had slurped down his soup with vigor.
"We'll be in the village tonight, but we can't go in until tomorrow." Hirato was saying. Akari blinked and focused in on the conversation.
"Can we visit the village though?" Yogi was asking. Akari sighed, he had hoped to visit the village and pick up some fresh hay for Hearty, but if the young ones went, they wouldn't want him along.
"Ah. I don't see why not. Akari and I must head out for some supplies as well." Hirato continued, a delicate hand bringing a silver spoon of some sort of bisque into his proud mouth. Akari tore his eyes away and glanced over at Karoku, mostly because he heard a slightly muffled smirk. The young man was pointedly not looking at Akari or Hirato but was fighting a smile (and losing) and kept trading glances with Iva, who had just recently reached the ship with a message from the Research Tower. Iva's victorious smile was a little daunting. Eventually Akari turned to Hirato, confusing dancing just underneath the professional look he always wore on his face. Hirato met the glance and smiled, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he turned his gaze onto Iva and Karoku.
"The ship has been rather quiet lately." Iva commented, ignoring Hirato. "I had never realized how loud you were Gareki!" Iva leaned in towards the mostly mute lad. Gareki glared, hand tightening around his glass of milk.
"Gareki is always really quiet! Except when he's mad!" Nai announced. Gareki groaned, or he would have, but no sound came out.
"Oh, so Yogi is behaving himself to appease the poor injured Gareki?" Iva asked.
"Wha!? No! I mean, yes! But No!" Yogi spluttered, trying to explain the situation. Iva laughed while Gareki tried to drown himself in soup.
Akari had been surprised, though not too surprised, when Hirato had left him in the village to tae care of some business, most likely to talk to the influential families and warn villagers of the raid. Akari didn't mind.
Akari picked out a small salt stone and about two pounds of hay. Akari also found some fresh flowers and a small rubber ball. As he was laying the new items around Hearty's enclosure, the little rodent relative squeaked in excitement.
"I know you like fresh hay. How do you like this, Hearty." Akari rolled the small ball towards Hearty.
Another poor fool you picked up, brainwashed and never returned home!
Akari visibly jumped. Azana's desperate tone echoed through his head, but the sting of the words faded. AKari could still feel shivers down his spine. The bullet wound in his thigh throbbed.
"Akari?" Yogi stepped cautiously into the med room.
"Do you need something Yogi? You never come to my room voluntarily." AKari commented, straightening and rubbing his thigh as he limped towards his desk, past Yogi. Yogi, Akari could feel it, was staring at him, ad Akari could feel the worry from the young man.
"Are you sore?" Yogi asked. Akari reached his desk, just in time to realize how heavily he had been leaning on his cane.
"No, just tired. What do you want?" Akari sat in his chair, or more, had a controlled fall. Yogi winced a little, but said nothing.
"Um, I think I should replace my patch before going in for the mission tomorrow, just in case." Yogi whimpered. Akari barely held back a sigh.
"You're right. Good job Yogi." Akari was mildly distracted. "How was your outing?" Akari was rifling through some boxes in his desk to find the newest box of the allergy packs.
"Oh, Gareki yelled at me."
"Really?" Akari found the patches and passed the whole box over. Yogi accepted the box. The young warrior prince looked confused.
"Yeah. Um, we got him some tea, but his throat is sore."
"Don't make him yell then, Yogi. He'll be fine." Yogi nodded and left. Akari sagged in his seat. Azana's words echoed through his head and his thigh was throbbing and the mission would be stressful, Gareki was injured, and the air on the ship seemed charged and Akari just wanted a good night of sleep.
Akari jerked in his seat. Sunlight shone from his window, hinting he had spent the night in his chair. AKari's back now ached along with his thigh.
"Ah. I guess it's tomorrow already. Better get prepared." The doctor muttered to himself, gripping his cane tightly as he set up his med lab in case anyone got injured.
Outside, the sun shone brightly and dark clouds danced along the horizon.
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Love,
Burning Bright