Chapter 11
"Are you all here to see Mr. Chūsei?" A woman in a white hospital outfit asked to the group in the waiting room. "Yes, we are all here to see Onmyō." Saya said, getting up from her seat. "He's currently awake, though he'll only be to see two of you right now." The woman said, before looking at her clipboard. "You go ahead and see her Mato, Miss Saya. I have to get back to work soon, so I can't stay and say hello or anything; I'll let Mato say whatever she wants to say, and then I'll take her and Rock home before I go back to work." Mato's father said, looking at his watch before getting up.
"Who will go first?" The woman asked. "I guess I'll let you go first Mato, that man and I need to have a talk…" Saya said before muttering something under her breath. "Are you sure?" Mato asked. "Trust me, after I talk to him he won't be able to hear anything but a ring in his ears." Saya said, sounding like she was a little bit angry. "R-right… I'll be going then…" Mato said, not wanting to be around Saya since she's never seen her angry. "Then in that case, follow me" The nurse said, leading the way for Mato to Onmyō's room.
"This is his room; I'll give you however long you need with him." The woman said, opening the door before letting Mato into the room, closing it behind her. "Hey, Mato." Onmyō said, with a slight soft smile.
His entire torso was covered in a cast while he sat in a hospital bed, his back being supported by the bed being propped up in a way that allowed him to sit.
"Hey, how's your back?" Mato asked, taking a seat in the chair next to him. "Well the doctor said that I broke almost every part of my spine and that I'll be stuck in this room for about… I think it was 2 years. Then it'll take longer for me to be strong enough without the help of all the medication they have me on." Onmyō said, still smiling. "How awful, you'll be stuck here for such a long time." Mato said. "Oh it isn't that bad, I've been in worse, trust me on that one." Onmyō said with a chuckle, before flinching "Ow it hurts to laugh…"
"If it wasn't for you Rock, would probably be dead right about now…" Mato said getting up and taking a bow, making Onmyō stop smiling and raise an eyebrow. "I am in your debt…" She said, before standing back up straight. "Oi, I don't keep debts, you don't have to do this." Onmyō said, not asking for Mato to repay for his help with Rock. "No, I insist! I have to repay you for what you did with Rock. To be honest, ever since Rock came here, I have growing attached to her… she's like an older sister to me, strangely looking out for me like one too." Mato said before smiling as she looked at the ground.
"Not only to I have to repay you for Rock, but I have to repay you for saving me from Black Gold Saw a few months back." Mato said, looking back at Onmyō with eyes of determination. Onmyō closed his eyes before sighing. When he opened them, he was looking at Mato with a dead serious look in his eyes. "If you want to pay your debt, then you can start right now." He said, no tone of joy in his voice, making Mato worry about what she might have gotten herself into.
"I want you to go to my house and grab a few things. First, my iPhone; I'll be stuck in here for a while so I might have something to do while I'm here. Second, a book in my room; it's an old big leather book that probably will have a lot of dust on it. Bring it here and whatever you do, DON'T READ IT; what's inside is something that your young mind can't see. Third… my cat, bring her here…" Onmyō said, looking away from Mato with that last request.
"Eh? But Onmyō-sensei, pets are forbidden inside the hospital, you should know that." Mato stated. "I know that they are against the rules, but she gets lonely very easily and I can't help but worry that she might ruin the new couch I just bought…" Onmyō said, looking at the ceiling. Mato gave a slight chuckle, thinking that was the reason why Onmyō would want his cat. "But… how would I be able to get her in? Bringing in the book and the phone would be easy, but I can't bring in a cat." Mato asked. "Well it's Fall, you could stuff her in your jacket and she'll cling to you while you get here." Onmyō replied. "I don't know…" Mato said, placing a hand to her chin. "…Alright! I'll do it!" She said with a bright smile as she placed her hands on her hips. "Then can you pick them up tomorrow?" Onmyō asked.
"Don't worry; I'll bring it over as soon as I can!" Mato said with that bright smile. "Great, then I can't wait! By the way… Saya is going to see me, isn't she?" Onmyō asked. "Yes, though I think she's rather angry with you…" Mato answered. "That's ok, while you pick up my phone, can you bring my headphones? They should be right next to my phone, on my nightstand; the book should also be there on a shelf." Onmyō told Mato. "Right, then I'll get going, I shouldn't keep Saya waiting." Mato said as she made her way to the door.
"Um, Mato…" Onmyō started, grabbing Mato as she had the door's handle in her hand, "When you go to my house, can you bring Rock? With the attack at the school, I'm sure they might target you in order to get to Rock, though I don't know what they want with her." Onmyō asked. "I'll ask her, I'm not sure if she'll say yes though." Mato responded before she opened the door and waved Onmyō goodbye before stepping out.
She sighed with her eyes closed before opening them to see Saya with an annoyed look on her face, though that quickly disappeared once she saw Mato. "Are you done with him?" She asked her voice slightly kind, "Yes, though I can't say that he's in the best of his situation." Mato replied. "That baka…" Saya said under her breath, "Um, Saya-sensei are you alright?" Mato asked. "Uh, oh sorry Mato, it's just been a long day for me and I've gotten a little bit cranky is all. You should get back to your father and Rock; they must be waiting for you." Saya said, smiling kindly at Mato. "Y-yes, I'll see you Monday." Mato said before she started down the hallway; Saya watching her as she went on her way, her smile no longer on her face.
When Mato rounded a corner, Saya walked inside to see Onmyō in his current state, though he had a grin on his face. "Yo…" He said as he still held his grin.
The next day, Mato set out to Onmyō's place on her bike. She brought Rock along just like Onmyō said; she rode on the back of the bike as Mato lead the way to the house.
Mato saw the house coming up, and as soon as she could, she went up the driveway and kicked the kickstand down for the bike to stand up as Mato and Rock got off. "I'll get the stuff; can you stay out here and keep an eye out on the bike?" Mato asked Rock. "Sure, whatever…" Rock said as she looked away and at the street. Mato gave a slight nervous chuckle before a bead of sweat went down the back of her head. "I know Rock and Onmyō aren't on the best of terms, so Rock probably knows that this is to help him in some way. Though what can a phone, a book, and a cat can do that could cause harm to anyone?" She thought before heading towards the door.
"Let's see…" Mato said looking around the door and the ornaments for a key of some sort. "Onmyō-sensei didn't tell me where the key was for the door…" Mato thought as she felt her blood slightly leave her face. "Did you even try the knob?" Rock asked as she turned the doorknob to feel it give way and pushed the door open. "Oh… uh… thanks… eh, ah…" Mato said before slightly chuckling and walking inside the door as Rock closed it behind Mato.
"Last time I was here was a couple of months ago when I passed out and woke up here…" Mato quietly said to herself before feeling something press against her leg. She looked down to see the grey cat pressing against her leg while it purred gently. "Hey… you wouldn't happen to know where Onmyō-sensei's room is do you?" Mato asked the cat who stopped pressing herself against Mato and looked at her. "Meow…"
The cat suddenly walked away and stopped before looking at Mato who soon got the idea that she was being led to where she was wanted to go.
She walked around a corner to see the cat walk through a crack in an open door. Mato pressed her hand against the door and the door gave way with a slight creaking noise.
Mato saw a queen size bed on the far side of the room with nightstands on both sides. "Wow…" Mato said as she actually looked around the room to see several high-tech equipment and possibly some engineering equipment. "I never knew Onmyō-sensei was this… rich…." Mato said as she looked at what appeared to be something hooked up to a phone. "I… better not touch any of this stuff…" Mato said, killing the curiosity in her.
She walked over to the left nightstand (looking at it from the foot of the bed) and picked up an iPhone and some headphones before putting the phone her pocket and the headphones around her neck. Mato looked at the bed and out of dying curiosity; she jumped into the air and landed on the bed almost like she hit concrete.
"Ow… didn't think Onmyō-sensei slept on rocks…" Mato muttered under the bed. The bed soon began to sink right where Mato laid, "Oh, this must be a tempurpedic bed." Mato thought as the bed began to soften up everywhere. "It feels nice…" Mato thought a she rolled around on the bed. "I wish mom and dad could afford one…" Mato muttered under her breath as she laid on her back.
"Meow…"
The cat soon jumped up the bed and laid next to Mato, and they laid their together for a while as Mato thought about things. "How long did dad say he was going to stay with us until he left? This is the longest he's been here since a long time ago…" Mato thought.
She sat up and looked to her right at the cat who was curled up in a ball napping. "Hey, Onmyō-sensei wants you at the hospital with him." Mato said before reaching out and started petting the cat on the back. She then moved up on the cat's neck, making her purr in delight.
Mato looked up from the cat and saw a shelf with several books, one of them was a big old leather book that stood out from the rest. "That must be the book." Mato said to no one in particular as she got up from the bed and walked over to the shelf. She pulled out the book, and once it was off the shelf, its weight surprised Mato and it slipped out of her grasp and opened when it hit the ground.
"That thing weighs more than it looks!" Mato said, surprised as she bent down to pick it up. But it suddenly started to flip pages, even though there was no breeze or anything on to cause it. "Weird…" Mato thought as she reached out towards the book before it suddenly stopped flipping pages to a picture.
The picture had a pale skinned man with red hair and red eyes, almost like Rock's; his face was covered in scars and scratches like a wild animal attacked him. His expression was blank just like Rock most of time.
"Onmyō-sensei has some strange books…" Mato thought as she kneeled down to pick up the book, only for the person in the picture to suddenly look at Mato, making her stop and stare back. "I must be imagining things, right?" Mato said, referring to the cat with her question.
But when she looked back at the cat on the bed, she was hissing and her hair was standing up still, she didn't like the picture. "Maybe I should get Rock…" Mato thought as she slowly got up and started to back up from the book. "Rock!" Mato called out, only to get silence in response. "Hey Rock I need you!" Mato called out again about to leave the door, only for the door to slam shut.
Mato grabbed the handle and tried to turn it, only for it to stick like it was locked. "This is not good…" Mato said as she turned to see the same man from the painting standing in front of her. "Well, that depends… who are you, and where am I?" The red eyed man asked. "I'm Mato and we are in my sensei's bedroom, I found you in that book…" Mato said as she pointed behind the man and at the book. "Oh, I remember this book…" He said as he turned around and picked up the book with one hand.
"That bastard the Silver Reaper trapped me in here when I tried and exact my revenge for that damn Blue that he saved. What was her name?" The man said to himself as he placed the book by his side and then placed his free hand on his chin as he thought. "Oh!" He said as he snapped his finger, "Black Rock Shooter! THAT was her name…" He said with a smile. "You know Rock?" Mato asked, not knowing what she just asked for. "Do I know Rock? Yes I do, now I ask you my question; how do YOU know Rock?" He asked.
"I…" Mato started. "I supposed it doesn't matter as long as you know Black Rock Shooter… now I can get my revenge on Rock…" He said as he made his way to Mato. She quickly turned around and started to jiggle on the handle of the doorknob, she started to even slam her body against the door, only for it to get her nowhere.
"This is going to be fun…" The man said as he cracked his knuckles, but as soon as he did a loud meow filled the room, and a grey blur slammed onto his face. "NOT AGAIN DAMN IT!" He shouted as he struggled to remove whatever was on his face. Onmyō's cat was attacking the man and didn't look like she was stopping anytime soon.
"I have to do something, Onmyō's cat can't protect me for long!" Mato thought as she looked around. If she knew how to operate any of the equipment in the room, she might could have been able to do something with it. "Rock has to know I'm in trouble!" Mato thought turning to the door before slamming on it, calling Rock's name as loud as she could.
"DAMN CAT!" The man shouted before he managed to rip of the cat off and threw it against the wall. "Crap!" Mato shouted as she looked to see the cat not moving. "Now… where was I?" The man asked as he chuckled before heading towards Mato.
But he stopped for a second and then hustled to Mato who braced for the worst, only to be pushed aside and away from the door. "Who has been spying on us?" The man quietly asked to himself.
Before Mato could react, a foot broke through the door, leaving a hole. The foot had kicked through the door and right at the groin of the man. "Ouch…" Mato quietly said before the man gave a high pitched moan.
The door was suddenly kicked off its hinges and the man was sent flying with the door as it slammed into the wall above the bed. The kicked off door swung open to reveal the man indented in the wall, though he quickly got himself out and onto the bed. "Who the hell are you?" The man asked.
The person that kicked down the door walked in to be concealed in a robe with their face concealed by a hood. When they stopped walking, a katana slid out from their robes sleeve and into their hands. The robed person ran up to the man and kicked him in the face before jumping in the air and doing a spin before slamming their heel against the man's head.
They then grabbed him and dragged him to a table full of technical stuff and slammed the man's head on there. The person grabbed a tool before flicking it on and it gave a loud burst of fire before becoming a torch like flame. The person drew it close to the man's ear, about to burn it to a crisp, but they stopped once they saw Mato.
Instead, they threw the man to the side and walked over to the book the man dropped when the cat attacked him. They picked it up and opened it before flipping at a fast pace before stopping and started reading. They turned to the man, who was just starting to get himself back together as he stumbled to get up. The person held up the book and a skeleton like ghost hand connected to the book shot out and grabbed the man like he was a doll.
"NO! I AM NOT GOING BACK IN THAT BOOK!" The man shouted as he fought the pulling of the hand from the book. Though no matter what the man did, the book kept pulling him in until he was a foot away from the book. The man let out scream as he was sucked back into the book, a white light started to come from the book and it filled the room until Mato couldn't see.
When Mato opened her eyes, she was in Onmyō's room with the book closed and the cat on the bed asleep. "What on earth was that?" Mato thought as she looked at the book, almost afraid to pick it up. Though she took a deep breath and picked it up, only to find it extremely light unlike before. "Well, that makes it easier for Rock to hold I guess…" Mato said before she got up and looked at the cat who looked back. "Hey, do you think you can hop into my jacket?" Mato asked the cat who jumped onto her shoulder then dug inside her jacket.
"Hey wait, that tickles, ahaha!" Mato said, laughing as the cat squirmed to try and get comfy. The cat stopped moving before it popped it's head out of the jacket and looked at Mato before giving her a lick, and then dug back into her jacket. "Well, that's about everything that Onmyō wanted, though what was about with the book?" Mato asked herself as she left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Hello everyone, I hope you have all had a wonderful Halloween. I now I did because I got to do nothing involving giving out candy to kids. I played some Alien Isolation and just had an overall good time. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter and hope to see you read the next chapter. Please review and favorite this if you have not yet done so, it helps boost my moral with wanting to uploading chapters if you do that.