Chapter 30: Peaceful Sleep

"Please rest, Mister," Agumon told him. "I'll take care of him."

Yeah, no. Not sleeping well for a day was no big deal for Hisoka; he'd faced something worse back when he lived alone as a street urchin. How could he ever get a proper sleep during winter with tattered clothes and a newspaper blanket?

He went on with the recitation. "Perhaps Miss Kusanagi was calling-"

Homare yelped.

Hisoka could swear that his heart almost jumped out of his chest. Homare's uninjured eye snapped open as his hand went to clutch his left side. His breathing became shallower and faster.

"Arisu!" Casting Pen Pen aside, Hisoka placed his hands on Homare's shoulders. "Arisu!"

It took a moment for Homare to look at him and mutter, "Hisoka?"

Homare had just said his name, even if he'd sounded so weak and hoarse.

Tears escaped from Hisoka's eyes as he buried his face into Homare's shoulder. "Arisu, you're up!" Feeling a cold hand - Homare's hand - on his head brought more tears out of him.

When Hisoka pulled away, Homare only looked at him, confused. Seeing how Homare struggled to breathe tugged at Hisoka's heart strings.

Wait, Homare had broken ribs, didn't he? Hisoka and his family had ever suffered such injuries back in his Organization days…

He knew what to do. Picking Pen Pen up from the floor and giving it to Homare, he said with a smile, "Hold this against your chest. It'll help."

Homare nodded and did as he was told. He breathed a bit more slowly and deeply now, much to Hisoka's joy. What was more, Homare managed to crack a little smile that warmed Hisoka's heart.

"Wow, you know your stuff, Mister!" Agumon exclaimed.

"I had a dangerous job a long time ago." Hisoka stroked Homare's head. "Anywhere else hurts, Arisu?"

Homare pointed at his throat.

"Is it the feeding tube?" Agumon asked.

"I almost…" Homare paused. "Drowned in lava."

Hisoka's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "You almost what?"

"Drowned in..." Homare grimaced as he inhaled, only to yelp halfway, tighten his grip around Pen Pen, and begin breathing rapidly and shallowly again. Tears seeped out of his closed eye.

Hisoka shouldn't have asked that; now, his heart ached again at the sight of Homare in pain.

Agumon dashed through the blue curtain. "I'll go get some medicines."

Hisoka couldn't possibly sit still and wait; Homare needed help now. Aside from holding a pillow, what had he and his family done when they sustained broken ribs from their missions? Consuming painkillers? Agumon was getting those drugs. Adjusting sleep position? The upper half of the bed was already elevated a bit to begin with. Ice packs?

Hmm, ice.

Hisoka's hands glowed with blue light. "Arisu, point out where it hurts. I can do something with my power."

Opening his eye, Homare moved Pen Pen to the side and pointed at the left side of his chest with a shaky hand. Hisoka immediately placed his hands there, very carefully as if the injured site would crumble at the slightest touch. A sharp pain shot up from his heart when he felt the sensation of fractured bones rubbing against each other under his palms.

Once again, Homare's breathing slowed down and deepened. "Thank you," he murmured.

Hisoka smiled. "Don't worry about it."

"Aren't you tired?" Homare huffed. "I heard you...a lot."

"You heard me?"

"It was gibberish, but slowly… I could hear a few words. Everything became clearer with time." Homare paused. "You recited My Master's…" He winced and groaned.

Damn, the broken ribs had to be a really bad case to cause so much pain in talking. Or maybe it was Homare's injured throat - Hisoka would rather not think about how he got that injury. Either way, Hisoka should never compare Homare's pain tolerance with his and his family's.

"Hang on, Arisu," he told Homare. "Agumon should be here soon with some painkillers." Maybe not Agumon. Hisoka could hear the clip-clopping of horseshoes from a distance.

Homare nodded and closed his eye. "Hisoka... You're very kind. Earlier when I was out...I could feel your kindness." Homare paused to take a breath. "It spurred me to wake up faster...so that I can thank you."

To hear those words from Homare himself, to learn that his hard work came to fruition and Homare appreciated it so much… Hisoka could only sob uncontrollably as he called out, "Arisu!"

"What's going on in here?"

The deep, rough voice of a man drew Hisoka's and Homare's attention. Kentarumon stood still with its hands on a medical trolley handle, its head tilted.

"I thought something bad happened when you screamed. Seems like I was wrong. Oh, well, I'm here to inject the painkiller." It pushed the trolley towards the bed. "I brought something to soothe your throat too, Mr. Arisugawa. Drink it slowly, else it'll cause a brain freeze."

"Brain freeze?" Hisoka asked, wiping the tears off his eyes with his sleeves. "Like, that headache you get from eating ice cream too fast?"

Kentarumon nodded. "This concoction was made from various ingredients from Freezeland, namely Ice Mushrooms. It's really cold, but good for burns." It picked up a glass of blue liquid from the trolley and gave it to Homare.

Seeing Homare's unsteady hands, Hisoka took it. He felt bad having to stop cooling off Homare's injury, but at least Homare was getting a dose of painkiller soon.

Bringing the glass closer to Homare's mouth, Hisoka placed a hand behind Homare's head and gently pushed him. Homare drank the liquid, with a few breaks in-between. By the time he finished it, Kentarumon had injected the painkiller into him and cleaned up the mess.

"This will make you sleepy." Kentarumon glanced over its shoulder. "By the way, I sent Agumon to spread the good news to your friends. They should be here soon."

Homare smiled. "Can't wait to see everyone."

"Everyone missed you, Arisu." After giving the glass to Kentarumon, Hisoka picked up a piece of tissue paper from the bedside desk and wiped Homare's mouth with it. "How are you feeling now?"

"Everything hurts less now."

Hisoka patted Homare's head. "I'm glad."

"Me too. This is the first time I have a human as a patient. An inpatient no less," Kentarumon said. "Unlike Digimon, humans are a transition between flesh-and-blood and data. The treatment is more complicated." It looked at Homare. "Do you think you can eat normally now?"

Homare shook his head.

"Then I'll leave the feeding tube there. Anyway, the burns aren't that big of a problem since your element is Fire. They'll heal faster than, say, your broken ribs."

"It makes sense. My eye, leg, and throat don't hurt as much as-" He yawned, but ended up wincing, clutching his chest, and breathing rapidly again.

Normally, Hisoka would bluntly tell Homare, "You talked too much," but this time he gently moved Homare's hand aside. His hands glowed with blue light, and he placed them on Homare's chest. Once again, the sensation of broken bones grating against each other under his palms stung him.

"Thank you," Homare muttered as his breathing slowed down and his eye closed.

"We're here!"

Hisoka recognized that voice; Homare probably did too, as his half-closed eye opened wide all of a sudden. Tsumugi, Azuma, and Agumon ran through the curtain, smiling.

"Agumon told us the good news." Tsumugi approached Homare's bed, together with Azuma. "How are you feeling, Homare?"

"I am quite drowsy right now."

"That's an interesting way to use your power, Hisoka," Azuma commented.

"Arisu's broken ribs hurt a lot," Hisoka replied.

"Oh, right, ice can relieve the pain," Tsumugi said. "Homare is really lucky to have you around. You take care of him very well."

"Indeed." Homare placed a hand on Hisoka's head. "I'm very thankful to have such a wonderful..." He paused. "...person by my side."

"A wonderful person…" Hisoka looked down, barely able to contain his tears from all the warmth in his chest. Homare really should shut up about this kind of thing, but Hisoka didn't have the heart to snap at him or anything.

"Speaking of, we need to write a letter to tell Tasuku and Guy about the good news," Tsumugi cut in. "We took some time to get here because Agumon introduced us to Airdramon's post service earlier."

"Perhaps we should include Homare's poems too," Azuma added.

"I don't think Arisu can compose one right now. He just got some painkillers and is sleepy." For some reason, Hisoka had a feeling that Homare wouldn't recite any poems in his sleep later... How odd. Hisoka actually wanted Homare to recite poems now.

Homare nodded, smiling with his eye closed. "How about next time?"

"Well, I suppose we can write another letter when you're ready to compose a poem," Azuma replied.

"That's a good idea," Tsumugi said. "Looking forward to it, Homare!"

Homare didn't reply.

"Arisu?"

No response.

"He's already asleep," Kentarumon noted.

"Arisu…" Hisoka pulled away. Seeing Homare sleep with a smile made tears trickle down his cheeks again. Unlike the "sleep" since he returned from Lava Cave yesterday, this one looked peaceful.

"He looks fine now." Kentarumon pushed the trolley through the curtain. "I'll be in my lab. Tell Agumon if you need anything."

Hisoka nodded, wiping his face with his sleeves. They were really drenched now since he'd cried a little too much.

"Wish he hadn't fallen asleep so fast, but I understand." Before leaving, Azuma told the sleeping Homare, "Sweet dreams. We'll be back after work."

"Hisoka, you should rest," Tsumugi said. "You've worked hard."

Hisoka didn't reply; instead, he kept on looking at the sleeping Homare. Would he be okay if Hisoka got some shut-eye?

"I'll watch over him," Agumon told Hisoka. "Don't worry."

"You clearly look tired. I'm sure that Homare is worried about you and wants you to rest up too."

"Arisu is worried about me?" Hisoka's eyes widened. Right, he remembered Homare asking if he were tired earlier.

"I'll wake you up when he's up. How about it?" Agumon asked.

Hisoka nodded. "Okay." Pushing Pen Pen closer to Homare's slumbering form, Hisoka whispered into Homare's ear, "Good night, Arisu."

Once Hisoka sat on his chair, he leaned back and closed his eyes.