When I came to, the steady beep of a heart monitor welcomed me back to the world of the living. So I was in a hospital. Was this the part where I comment on the unfamiliar ceiling?
Groaning, I sat up, though it took no small amount of effort. My whole body felt heavy, with tiny pricks of pain poking at me all over. One in particular flared up, the nasty cut on my left shoulder that I'd gotten after my first fall with Preya.
You know, I fell a lot today, didn't I? And if the waning sunlight was any indication, there was still plenty of day left to burn. Awesome.
A gasp at my side. "Juyo, you're awake!" Mero exclaimed with a wide smile. "I had not expected you to wake so soon…"
I turned to face her, but was immediately stopped by a blue blob that lunged at my chest. She spread her amorphous body right before she touched me, becoming a blanket of slime that wrapped around my entire upper body save for above my neck. A feeler gently rested against my cheek.
I laughed lightly. "Easy there, sweetie! I just got roughed up a bit," I said before looking at Mero with a weary smile, "And hey, Mero. How's it going?"
"Much better now that you're alright, dear sir!" Mero responded brightly, clasping her webbed hands, "For a while there, I was worried you would never wake as a tragic result of your heroism!"
"Hmph," I grunted. Somehow that put damper on my mood. I resumed petting Suu to feel better. "Yeah, well, I may not be as tough as Kurusu, but - wait, you guys know what happened?"
"Indeed," Mero nodded, "Or I should say we were told a portion of what occurred by Smith-dono. Your counseling session went awry, and you encountered an angry liminal in the forest, correct?"
"If you felt like really understating it, then yes, technically," I groaned, feeling tired just thinking about my day, "So… what's everyone else up to?"
Idly, I noticed Suu's main feeler setting itself on my head.
"Mm… well, everyone was here earlier," Mero looked back at the door, "I believe they went to gather some food, so they should be back shortly. Smith-dono was here very briefly, along with… others," Her lips quirked ever-so-slightly at the word. "But she and the rest had to tend to other matters."
Probably doing something about Kii, no doubt. Hopefully they'd safely extracted the nutrients from her and were being gentle with her. But if I wasn't there to vouch for her, then they could be punishing her unfairly…
Perhaps understandably, I was heavily doubting Smith's abilities to handle the whole thing delicately at this point.
"Where's my phone?" I asked, patting myself in search of it.
"Ah, my deepest apologies, dear sir, but…" Mero's ears drooped slightly, "I am afraid it was lost."
Sheesh, she made it sound like someone died.
I let out a deep breath and laid back against the wall. "Never mind, then. Hopefully it won't be needed." I yawned. "What time is it, anyway?"
"Three in the afternoon."
My appointment with Preya had been at ten in the morning… I'd lost track of time during all the craziness, but I was pretty sure that meant I'd spent at least four hours passed out. I hated napping during the day, always made me feel like shit after, but at least this time I felt like I'd earned some shut-eye. I suppose I should be thankful I still had time to talk with Draco later tonight.
Ugh.
"Neat," I mumbled, rubbing my temples to dissuade the impending headache. As I did, I noticed the IV drip in my arm. Blech, the things always made me uneasy for some reason.
The instant I thought that, Suu placed a feeler around where the drip was poking into me and promptly pulled it out. Once that was done, she coated the open hole in my skin with her slime, and I shivered when I realized she was dripping water from herself into me.
I honestly didn't know what to think of that. I suppose… touched, was the word for it.
"You're too nice, Suu," I told her warmly, poking between her two emerald eyes that stared back at me from chest. Her only response was to quiver slightly, her eyes shining with glee.
"Pardon me, but I feel like I am intruding," Mero said hastily, already rotating her wheelchair to leave. "I shall go inform the others-"
"Not at all," I replied instantly, causing her to stop. "Suu's just being attentive is all. You're a friend, so you're always welcome."
Still connected to my mind, Suu must've sensed that I wanted Mero to stay, since several tentacles shot from her body towards Mero. The mermaid yelped in surprise as the slime removed her from the wheelchair and carried her over, setting her down on my bed. And right on top of my legs.
"Oof!" I winced. I guess Suu still had her overzealous tendencies, regardless of my influence on her. At least she hadn't made it creepy. "See, Suu wants you to stay, too!" I laughed nervously.
"Ah, right," Mero murmured, blushing furiously with her fishtail squirming anxiously. Okay, that really wasn't helping with the weight. At all. Also, holy hell was this awkward.
Suu waggled her eyebrows at me.
Wait. Was… was she…?
The waggling intensified.
… It looked like Suu was starting to pick up some bad habits from my memories of my friends. Fantastic.
That was when the door opened.
"Mero! Suu!" Kurusu called out, carrying a bento in one hand and a large cup of water in another, "We brought - oh, Janai-san!" He looked surprised, but smiled when he saw me. "You're awake!"
"BIG BROTHERRRRR!" Poor Kurusu was immediately bowled over, causing all of the contents of the cup of water to get dumped on him, by a charging blue-feathered and pint-sized harpy. "PAPI WAS SO WORRIED!"
Papi tackle-hugged me, or at least tried, since Suu thankfully absorbed most of the impact for me. The hyperactive harpy nuzzled my cheek, and I could feel the moisture left behind by tears that peeked from her wide amber eyes. A warm feeling filled my chest as I returned her hug.
"Hey there, little sister," I whispered, pressing my face against her hair.
The rest filed in after a soaked Kurusu, who looked resigned but good-natured about his misfortune.
"I'm so happy you're okay, Romance Master!" Miia exclaimed, happily clapping as she slithered over by the window into the sunlight.
"It pleases me to see you are well, Jana - Juyo," Cerea corrected herself, before dramatically clenching a fist. "If only I had been there, perhaps the situation would have been resolved before you sustained any injury…"
"Don't worry about it," I assured her, waving a hand to dismiss the thought, "I'll be fine, it doesn't look I got hurt too badly, anyway."
"So blasé about such a near-death experience…" Rachnera said drolly as she helped Kurusu take off his dripping hoodie, "One would think this is a common occurrence for you."
I shook my head. "Not really, barring a few… special occasions." I sent her a significant glance, to which she shrugged, clearly sending the message of "Eh, sorry not sorry." I sighed and lifted my hand, which was trembling in the air. "Honestly that's probably the most action I've been in my whole life."
It was hard to believe it happened at all, even now. Preya, Kii, MON's incredibly teamwork… I knew I thought about this a lot, but it was frankly amazing how powerful liminals could be. Preya's speed, Kii's powers, Tio's strength, and more served as yet another reminder of just how weak I was as a human in world populated by monsters.
It was humbling.
"Regardless, what matters is that you're safe now," Kurusu lectured as he walked over to the bed, handing Suu his soaked hoodie and Mero her bento. Suu eagerly began to suck it dry while Mero slowly and daintily began to pick at her food.
"Darling's right!" Miia exclaimed, "You had us real worried there."
"Please, I knew Juyo would recover quickly," Cerea huffed, folding her arms under her chest. "He is made of sterner stuff than his frail physique would make one believe."
"Hey!" I pouted.
"Oh please, you were fretting just as much as the rest," Rachnera noted with a smirk, resting her cheek against a clawed hand. "If I recall correctly, you were the one ranting about bringing the sword of justice down or some other such nonsense…"
"I did not!" Cerea protested, stomping a hoof down to emphasize her point.
"I believe Rachnee-san is correct," Mero said with a smile that felt more like a jab than assurance. "Your overreaction was most humorous to behold."
"Speaking of overreactions," Miia snickered, raising a hand to cover her mouth as she quirked an eyebrow, "Who was it rambling about all sorts of tragic things, like if he woke up amnesiac and had to turn to you for his care…"
Mero flushed again. "Y-Yes, well, I was merely thinking aloud various scenarios that may unfold." With a prim huff, she jabbed her chopsticks into a bit of fish. "Such was to relieve stress, naturally."
"Riiiiiight," Miia drawled.
A smile crossed my face as I watched the group banter back and forth with each other. It reminded me of the way my friends back home would talk, although they usually threw a lot more expletives into the mix. All in good fun, of course.
"By the way, Janai," Kurusu spoke softly, leaning in to assumedly not interrupt the girls, "Smith-san said you should go straight to Cultural Exchange headquarters once you got checked out. It was important, I guess."
I frowned. Damn right it was important. I had a lot of grievances to air, and Smith was going to hear every fucking word.
"Okay," I replied, keeping my tone neutral.
That still was enough to tip Kurusu off that something wasn't right. "You sure?" he asked, full of concern. "I feel like you're putting on a bit of a front…"
You were one to talk.
"Maybe a little," I admitted, sparing a glance at Papi, who was now poking fun at Miia over something, "But can we talk about this later?"
He was still for a moment, but eventually nodded. That was really appreciated.
For now, I just wanted to enjoy this little moment.
