Episode 25- An Angel on a Cloud
Clip clop clip clop.
The sound of small feet running against tile floors.
Clop clip clip clop.
"Syo-kun!" a frail voice calls out.
The light at the end of the hall, the child's long awaited destination.
"Syo-kun," she says breathless. In the doorframe, she stands, staring at the small boy on the bed, a heart monitor beeping slowly. Doctors and nurses bustle about. Soflty, she says, taking a step forward, "Oh, Syo-kun, what have I done?"
A boy with blond hair stands nearby. When he notices her, he glares. Her. The reason for this mess. Or at least, the reason in his mind.
The girl with pink eyes, steps forward, determined to help, when she is stopped by the boy. "Why are you here?" he asks her.
She lifts her chin high, and says, "I want to help."
The boy huffs, and replies, "You aren't needed here. Haven't you done enough?"
The girls tears up, "I want to protect Syo-kun."
"You can't! Only I can!"
A hand lands on her shoulder, and her eyes meet an emerald green pair, "Come on, we're in the way."
With the green-eyed boy, the girl takes her leave, but not without casting a final glance at the blond boy, draped in white, looking to be asleep.
As the two went down the hall, their feet clipping and clopping, the girl lets out a whisper, "I'll protect you Syo-kun." And her tears fall silently.
XoXoX
"Hahaha, you're such a loser!"
A group of boys surrounds a boy in glasses.
"Why don't you go back home to your mommy, four-eyes?"
The boy pushes up his glasses, a blush of embarrassment prominent on his face.
A small girl stands mere feet away, her blond locks falling in her eyes. How dare they? she wonders.
Walking up she says, "You boys are so lame. Find somewhere else to play."
Flustered they turn to look at her, "Stay out of this, girly. You can't help him."
A memory of the words the blond haired boy said to her long ago rings clear in her mind.
You can't! Only I can!
Her eyes are wide, and soon she shakes with rage. She says the words that have built up inside since that day, "I can help anyone I want! You can't decide that!"
In her rage, she lashes out at the boys. She trembles in anger, she bangs once again covering her eyes. The small boy with glasses stares at her. "T-thank you."
She looks up at him, and for a moment, her eyes are dark in her anger. But they soften as they fall upon the boy's thankful face, "You're welcome."
Walking away, she wonders where that anger and power came from.
oXoXo
She stands in line to buy lunch. In front of her stands a girl in her grade, in her class. Just taller than her, and with black and blue hair, the girl resonates a sad and reverent atmosphere. Some girls behind the blond snicker and point.
"Look, it's her," one says.
"I hear she only got into this school because of her dad," says the second.
"She's always by herself, I bet she can only make friends by buying them," says the third.
She looks at the girl in front of her. Her fists are clutched to her side tightly, and she looks straight ahead. The blond can feel her sorrow.
"Maybe she's stupid."
She turns around, her eyes burning in rage. "You don't even know her! How can you make such assumptions?!"
The three girls stare at the girl, their mouths agape.
"Leave her alone! Can't you see you're hurting her feelings saying these things?" she yells.
The three girls head off. The blond turns to face the girl. She stares at her in shock. No words escape the raven haired girl's mouth.
The blond sits down at a table by herself. "Thank you for the food." She opens her lunch. A tap on her shoulder. The raven head stands behind her.
"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will always hurt me. Thank you for what you did," she says, smiling.
"You're welcome. Would you like to sit with me?" she asks. With a nod, the girl with striking blue eyes sits down.
After a while of silence, she says, "Want some pocky?" She holds open a box.
The blond stares at the box, "Yes please."
The raven head laughs at the rapidness that the blond eats the treat. In her mind, the rose eyed girl thinks, I will always protect people, because they deserve so much more than they are given.
A friendship was born with that promise and box of pocky. And it still stands to this day.
XoXoX
"You can't catch me, Syo-kun!"
The girl runs around the yard, chased by the blond boy.
His eyes are bright with joy and excitement, "You wanna bet?"
They laugh and run around. Suddenly, the boy stops, and falls to the ground. "Syo-kun! Are you okay?" she runs up to him.
"I'm fine," he says. "And I've got you!" He smiles and springs up, grabbing her around the waist. They tumble to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
"What are you two doing out here?"
"Toki! We're playing tag. Join us?" she asks.
He smiles and shakes his head, "I can't. Syo-kun has to go now."
"Aww," they respond together. With a laugh they get up from the ground. They walk out to the front of the house and she sees the other blond boy. He glares at her again. Syo brings her into a hug, unaware of the exchange. "I can't wait until next time."
She hugged him back, "I can't wait either." More quietly, she whispers, "I promise to protect you, forever."
oXoXo
"There you are!"
She is attacked from behind in a killer hug.
"N-na-chan, let go," she croaks.
Oblivious, the green eyed boy hugs her tighter, saying repeatedly how cute she is. Her raven haired friends watches, slightly amused. The blond soon begins to boil in annoyance, and begins to lose control of her movements. What's going on? she wonders.
Her friend, sensing the danger, takes a step back. The boy, too, wisely lets go of her. A dark aura surrounds her, almost in a protective veil. "I will protect the helpless," she says quietly. "But if I can't protect myself, it's hopeless."
The blue eyed girl watches in confusion and fear. An idea pops into her mind. Taking a box out of her bag, she steps forward. "Do you want some pocky?"
She looks at her friend, and nods.
"You can only have some if you calm down," her friend says.
Surely enough, she calms down, and reaches for the box, which her friend gives her.
What happened that day would not be forgotten, nor the words she said.
XoXoX
"Syo-kun, not again," she says softly.
She stands in the doorway of the room, doctors and nurses bustling about. The blond boy lays draped in white, like an angle on a cloud.
In her hands, she holds his hat, which had laid forgotten on the ground as they left with him.
The other stands at the bedside, his face solemn. She steps closer, and hears the words he whispers, "I'll become a doctor, and I'll cure you, Syo. I promise I'll protect you."
She takes in a sharp breathe. He has the same goal. He turns to face her, and says bitterly, "What do you want?"
"I came to see him, and return his hat," she says softly.
He grabs the hat from her, "You've seen him now, and I have his hat. Go."
She is furious, but one look at the sleeping boy tells her to save the anger for another time. Not here, not now.
She begins to walk away when she hears a frail voice, "Thank you, Yukino-chan."
oXoXo
Yuki stood in the doorway of Room 26. Syo was next to her. On the bed, Masato was being fed my Miharu. He noticed them and smiled. "I'm glad you came."
"How could we stay away, Masato?" Syo said smiling.
Yuki walked up to the bed, "I know hospital food isn't grand, so I brought you some of Shori's brownies."
Masato's eyes brightened, "Shori-chan's brownies are the best."
"Yeah, with chocolate chips and fudge- yummy," Syo said. They laughed at his silliness. The pair turned to leave, when Yuki heard his soft voice say, "Thank you, Yukino-chan."
Memories of hospitals and tears, anger and sadness swept through her mind in a second. She turned back to see the blue haired angel on his bed of clouds smile at her.
She nodded, "You're welcome, Masa-chan."
If I killed your feels, gomen.
I really like this chapter, and it turned out better than I thought. A little short, but it's very touching.
To clear somethings up, the beginning is parts of Yuki's past, sorta explaining her dark aura.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Until next time, my readers!