A/N- Yay, an update :) I've been typing this a few chapters ahead, so this was sitting on my computer and not actually uploaded for a while... Oh, well. I'm updating now. :D I feel like all of my authors' notes are pretty much the same, and all really boring. Sorry. I'll try to be a more interesting person XD
Rin was seated in her usual spot across from Kiyoteru, who she was seeing since apparently she needed 'support and some time with normal surroundings', or whatever it was Kaito had said when she'd shown up in his office earlier that morning.
"Um... I was wondering..." Rin desperately needed to ask her question, but couldn't make herself form the words. Kiyoteru smiled in his rather-creepy all-knowing therapist way before saying,
"Does this have something to do with the accident Mikuo was in?" Rin nodded, and tried again to voice her inquiry.
"Well... Luka said that maybe you guys would let me go and see him- in the hospital, I mean. But, um, I'm not really sure if..." He spoke again, but didn't exactly answer her question.
"Rin, remember what we said before about talking with confidence?" Rin nodded. Kiyoteru had been working on having her talk in a more certain way, since half of what she said had 'um...,' 'well,' or 'you see' somewhere in it. And the other half of what she said was conversation with Mikuo. "Could you ask that again, please?" Rin nodded.
"I was talking to Luka, and she said that maybe I would get to go visit Mikuo in the hospital- If that was okay?" Rin, it seemed, was incapable of forming a self- confident sentence. Kiyoteru sighed with mild frustration.
"I see..." he pushed his glasses up his nose. If Rin hadn't been so nervous about his answer, she would have wondered why everyone who wore glasses seemed to have a habit of doing that.
"I'll have to talk to some of the other staff first, of course, and probably your mother or aunt as well... But, you've been getting better, and I don't see why they'd say no." Rin was tempted to jump up from her seat and dance around the room, but she restrained herself.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Her voice was more cheerful than it had been since she arrived at St. Mark's, and Kiyoteru couldn't help but let a grin spread across his own lips as well.
"You know, Rin, we on staff have been talking, and have decided that we could use visiting your friend as a test, of sorts, to see if you're ready to get out of here-permanently." Rin's mouth dropped open.
"R-really? So... I actually might be getting out?" It had occurred to her that she would leave at some point, of course, but it seemed so soon-and yet, she realized she had been there for about a month. It was weird, how fast time was slipping by...
"Oh, and Rin?" Kiyoteru made direct eye contact with her, his glasses lenses flashing. "I hope your friend is okay." Rin nodded, appreciating the words of encouragement and sympathy.
"I heard your friend got hurt." Yuki said, in her usual just-stating-facts tone. Rin nodded quickly.
"Yes, Mikuo was in a car crash. I'm probably going to go visit him soon, and I might not come back here after that." Yuki's mouth opened slightly. It wasn't shock exactly, but it was the closest thing to it that Rin had ever seen on her.
"You won't come back." Rin wasn't sure if it was a question, or if Luka had been rubbing off on her and she was simply stating facts. Either way, the definite way the young girl spoke was a bit disconcerting.
"Well, maybe not, but I'm not sure. There's a chance I'm still going to end up back here, you know." Yuki nodded in blank comprehension.
"Oh." Apparently even after all of the time she'd spent in therapy, she was still completely unable to express more than just the faintest amount of emotion.
"Well, it's almost lunch time. Wanna come eat with me today?" Yuki nodded once.
About ten minutes later, the two girls were seated at a table on their own, eating their cold-cut sandwiches. Yuki, Rin noted, had simply picked up the sandwich that was closest, not even looking to see what was inside before putting it on her tray. Were her taste buds as unfeeling as the rest of her?
It was an unimportant detail, probably, but Rin wondered if she was the only one who had noticed this trait. She decided that, even if only to her, the silence was rather awkward.
"Hey, Yuki, how long have you been here?" It had only just occurred to her that she had never asked before.
"A year and eight months." Rin's eyes widened; she had no idea that Yuki had been there for so long. She could't imagine it, spending that long in the dull building that had been her temporary home for about a month. Already, she was starting to get a bit tired of it.
"Don't you get bored? Or lonely?" Rin hadn't seen Yuki spend time with anyone but herself since she arrived, and could only assume she'd been alone most of the time before Rin got there.
"I don't get bored." Rin felt rather insensitive, since Yuki obviously wouldn't feel boredom. She shook her head quickly and said,
"S-sorry, I forgot..."
"I'm not going to get mad either." Yuki said, "But, it's okay." Rin recognized that Yuki had used that phrase a few times before, and was now almost certain that it had meaning beyond what most people would assume.
Before she could ponder that too much further, however, Kiyoteru entered the lunch room. Rin watched him lazily as he made his way over, and it only occurred to her that he might have the answer as to whether or not she could visit Mikuo after he stopped next to her table.
"I asked around, and the staff said that you can visit your friend in the hospital. All you have to do now is find a parent or guardian who can escort you." Rin nodded, assuming her mother or aunt would agree to do so. "Oh, and you'll be accompanied by a member of the staff, most likely myself." Rin nodded again, he mind numbed by the news.
She was going to go and see Mikuo! Even though she would have to be baby-sat by Kiyoteru and her mother. But she was going to get out, she was going to see him! For the second time that day, she had to hold back from jumping up and down on the spot. Kiyoteru left a minute later, and Rin could see a smile yet again- probably at how childish she was being, but she didn't really care at the current moment. Her upcoming freedom was much more important.
A/N- So, yeah... Rin gets to visit Kuo ^^ That should be interesting, right?
E/N- "Interesting"? It should be fluffy and angsty and amazing and-
A/N- Shaddup! You're gonna give stuff away T.T
E/N- And? Maybe the readers want a cliffhanger!
A/N- This isn't even the chapter anymore. If you wanted to add one you should have done it yourself.
E/N- Whatever. But the readers should review!
A/N- They know the drill by now :) Reviews= author food and all that~