Note. Hai hai- yeah yeah
Ohayo gozaimasu- Good morning
Chapter 24- Friends meet once More
Tao Len draped his arm around his pillow. His brilliant yellow eyes glowed under the chandelier's light. He looked down at his swollen arm. Len had been hiding it from his mother, making sure she didn't notice the swelling
She'll go ballistic if she finds out, he thought dryly.
Pain crossed his arm and Len forced himself out of bed,
"Stupid bones!" he mumbled and pulled out rolls of bandages from the bedside table, "Maybe this will stop it from bothering so much!" he said out loud and dipped a long strip of the bandage in a bowl of cold water.
"Len!" Tao Ran entered the room, startling Len out of his wits.
Len jerked his arm behind his back, hiding it. His elbow smacked the bowl making it splatter with a loud clang on the floor.
"Yes?" he asked, acting as if nothing had happened.
"Is…everything alright? I heard you say something about your bones hurting!" she picked up the wooden bowl and placed it on Len's bedside table.
"Hurting? Who said anything about hurting? I'm perfectly fine!" he replied, rolling his eyes and cradling his swollen arm behind his back.
"Your arm's hurting you, isn't it?" Ran demanded and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Len hated it when his mother did that. It was as if she read his mind or something.
"Maybe," He muttered, rolling his eyes.
Ran sighed and sat down on the bed beside him.
"Mother, it's not only my arm that's hurting-" Len's words were cut short by Ran.
"Don't tell me your legs are hurting too!" she wailed.
"NO!" the young Tao snapped in annoyance at his mother. "Tamara…"
Ran looked a little taken aback at first but soon she sighed and closed her eyes, rolling white bandage around her son's hand and arm.
There was a soft knock on the great doors and Yoh's muffled voice came from behind them, "Ohayo gozaimasu!" he called.
Ran stood up and walked to the door, her long traditional robe flowing on the marble floor behind her.
"The guard must have let them in." She looked back at Len before opening the doors. "You're friends are very worried about you. I hope you'll be nice,"
"Hai hai," Len said exasperatedly.
Ran pulled open the doors and greeted Yoh; and about eight more people which included Anna, Horohoro, Choco, Faust, Morty, Pilica and Ryo.
Len gaped at the visitors for a long, long time. He hadn't even remembered he had so many friends. He had never bothered counting them all.
"I hope you all know that I'm not dieing or anything!" Len declared indignantly.
"Heya Len ol' buddy!" Yoh cried out, ignoring Len's dry remark.
Still the same Len! -Sigh-
"Why would we think that?" Morty asked as he seated himself on a sofa. (Which was quite difficult for him since it was a very high sofa.)
Len scowled and buried his face in the dark blue pillow in his lap.
Yoh pulled the pillow away from him and sat down beside him, "C'mon! I know how hard it must be for you…" his voice trailed off, after all Tamara had been a close friend of his too.
"What do you know?!" Len snapped.
"We know a lot!" Anna butted in. She stood against the far wall beside the opening of the doors. Leaning against the doorway, with her arms folded. Her red scarf was trailing down to her legs, tied around her neck.
Len stared at her; his expression showed only annoyance and confusion. He did not have had to deal with someone as arrogant as himself before. And Anna was a living example of the most attitude sides belonging to Len.
"I've had an experience of nearly loosing someone close to me," the blond girl added. She saw Yoh's cheeks flush from the corner of her dark eyes.
Len grumbled in reply, "So have I," he muttered, "Twice!"
Me and Tammy…
Yoh thought and smiled slightly, this was the first time Len had shown that he actually considered him as a close friend.
As if he had read his mind, Len burst Yoh's bubble, "And by that I'm referring to Tamara and my father,"
Yoh practically fell off the bed.
"Yeah sure," he muttered, standing up with an anime sweat drop on top of his head, "Of course, exactly my thoughts." Yoh mumbled and fixed the well-known orange headphones behind his ears. --"
"You don't have to be that way, Short Pants," Ryo said smiling, and swinging his wooden sword over his shoulder.
"His name is Len," Morty pointed out.
"Or whatever his name is," Ryo shook his hand uselessly.
Faust gave Len the ghost of a smile, "For once Ryo's got a point, you know."
"What do you mean "for once"?!" Ryo shook his fist frantically at Faust.
Faust VII ignored the "Ryo outburst" and laid his long hands on his knees as he sat on a sofa. Eliza sat beside him, her lustrous golden hair flowing behind her. She nodded to agree with Faust.
Len just growled in response and began tightening the bandage on his arm (having nothing better to do), "The worst thing that could happen right now is that those five idiotic girls show up." the conceited Tao griped on.
Yoh glanced at Ryo nervously, "You're not talking about the Lly-fives are you?" he asked.
"Is that what they're called? Oh yes…even more pathetic!"
"Actually…erm…" Yoh hesitated.
Someone coughed behind him.
"They are!" Yoh completed, "Shurouna and the girls are coming over to visit you."
Len gaped at him furiously, "Why?-When!?-"
"In about…Five…Four…Three…Two…-" Yoh raised his hand to point out the numbers using his fingers.
"Oh no," Len mumbled and bent his neck in a deep curve.
"One!" Yoh called out and the doors burst open.
In came the five girls; Lilly, Milly, Elly, Sally and Shurouna.
Ryo's eyes showed brightly, "Ah!! Hello there, lovelies!" he waved feverishly.
"We're not going with you, so stop trying!" Elly flipped her brown pony-tail and brushed down her green mini skirt.
"Yeah!" the little Milly agreed, folding her arms.
"According to my calculations we are so out of reach for him." Lilly nodded, pushing the spectacles up her nose.
"I'll hammer him if he tries to step closer," Sally slammed her fist against the palm of her hand.
"Now, now girls! Let's just say hello to our host of honor! Team Yoyo's- I mean- Team YohAsau's, Tao Len!!" Shurouna smiled, her dark lipstick sparkling.
"Gah…" Len slammed his face against the pillow again.
"Do you have a problem of doing that, Len-kun?" Pilica smiled slightly, not meaning it the way Len took it.
"What do you mean 'problem'?" He shot angrily, looking at her.
"Hah," Ryo bowed his head then bounced his long hair-do. "Well, since Short-Pants does not feel like smiling and I miss the pretty pink maid, I'll be stepping out."
Yoh watched concernedly as Ryo walked out. He had worked very hard to get them all together here. Now that he thought of it, Ryo was right, Len would never smile.
Yoh watched Choco stick a small ball in his nostrils and dance around Len. It only resulted in their fluffy-haired friend crashing up-side down against the wall, making large cracks in it the blow being generated by Len.
"Hey! Hey, Len!" Trey piped up. "I see you're Kwan Dao under there!" the spiky blue-haired boy pointed to a large rosewood trunk.
"I'm not falling for that the second time." Len muttered indolently, his chin resting against the palms of his hands.
"Under where?" Pilica joined in, remembering the lame joke Choco had played on Yoh, Len and Trey a long time ago. Trey had told her in great detail, how he had hit Choco harder then Len could ever have.
"Oops! I just made you say underwear!" Trey burst out in hoots of false laughter.
This isn't working; Yoh sighed in resignation and stood up, brushing the back of his pants.
"Let's go yall." He mumbled. Anna looked at him. She was still standing by the door and now got ready to turn. Faust and Eliza stood up too.
"But- but we've just started!" Choco stood up; wincing as he repeatedly touched the giant swelling bloomed on his head.
"Break it up you guys." Yoh felt himself getting more overcome with depression by the minute.
"Move it!" Anna ordered and Trey and Choco obediently stood up straight, saluting. The Llys' waved to Len. He looked at them all intently, feeling a surge of 'something' pass through him. All these people were here just for him, just to make him feel better no matter how rotten they felt.
Slowly, all of the peers filed out; Choco wailing as he left.
"She was the only one of the two who actually laughed at my jokes!" T-T
"Thank you," Len felt himself saying the word for the second time. The first being when Lyserg and everyone had saved his life while battling Zeke's alliances.
"Did I hear right? Or did Len just say Thank you!" Choco poked his head in the room.
Yoh looked at Len from over his shoulder, "No prob!" he said and gave him a two-fingered salute as he made his way out of the room, closing the doors behind him.
Len sat on his bed quietly. Once again everything was silent.
It hadn't been so bad having company. Actually he felt way better then he had in days…