Chapter seven: A wounded heart. Do heal my friend?
Mello stares at his lap with Matt beside him as they wait for news on Near. Both of them have already had any wounds they have patched up by the other nurse Medusa.
Right now Stein is taking care of Near getting him healed up.
Mello glances to the closed door that leads to the room Stein is helping Near in. He looks away and Matt looks worried for both of his partners right now.
"You alright?" Matt asks Mello putting a hand on his shoulder.
"It's my fault he got hurt like he did." Mello admits a little quietly. "If I had paid more attention he wouldn't be in this mess."
Matt gives a stern look. "Since when did you believe such nonsense?! Even Near would be telling you that it wasn't your fault! Those witches were to blame you got it!? It wasn't your fault." He says the last sentence as he grabs Mello's shoulders getting the blonde to look to him.
"But Matt." Mello starts to protest.
"Don't blame yourself for this." Matt tells him staring into blue eyes. "It was in no way your fault."
Mello looks away and down staying silent.
Matt sighs softly. "Just trust me when I tell you it's not your fault. None of it." He then hugs Mello who just lets him while still staying silent.
Stein comes out a few minutes later.
Mello gets up, getting out of Matt's arms, looking hopeful as Stein approaches them.
Matt stays sitting but also looks hopeful at Stein.
Stein smiles. "The operation is complete." He reports. "Your friend will be just fine with a little rest."
The two sigh in relief.
"Can we see him?" Mello inquires with hope in his eyes.
"Sure but let him rest." Stein responds in agreement and Mello couldn't get into the room fast enough.
Matt and Stein follow in after him.
Mello crouches at the side of the bed Near is laying on. "Near…." He says a little quietly as he watches Near's face for a minute.
Near is laying on the bed with an IV in his arm and he is unconscious but breathing.
Mello reaches to one of Near's hands and covers it with one of his own.
Matt moves to Mello's side and watches silently.
Mello knows Matt is beside him without needing to look.
Both him and Matt send some strength to Near through their soul wavelengths.
"Yes. These three are quite interesting as usual." Stein keeps his words to himself as he watches. "A special bond and strength not seen until they arrived. They never cease to amaze me in their own ways." He continues still to himself under his breath.
"Matt." Mello speaks after a few moments of them giving Near some strength.
Matt looks to the blonde. "Yes?"
Mello keeps watching Near's face. "I'm going to stay with him for as long as possible. What are your plans?"
Matt thinks for a moment. "Well I will be coming every chance I get but one of us needs to keep us from falling behind. I know both of you would be a little upset if we got too far behind." He responds in honesty.
"Yeah I understand." Mello nods and rests his head on the bed by Near's body.
Matt looks sympathetic at his partner. "Stein said he'll be alright. He'll heal." He tries bringing some comfort to the other.
Mello nods softly.
Stein takes a step forward. "If you plan on getting to class you should get going. It'll be starting soon." He explains.
Matt looks to Stein. "Yeah I'll go in a sec." He turns back to Mello. "Will you be alright if I go? I can stay if you want."
"I'll keep an eye on him and if he wants to try to make time go by faster he can always help me around the place." Stein replies rolling over in his rolling chair.
Mello doesn't really say anything but Matt is sure that Mello would appreciate if Matt kept them caught up even though this tough time.
Matt gives a grateful nod to Stein. "Thank you. I'll come back as soon as I can." He says then with one last glance of hesitance to his partners he leaves the room. He heads to class.
The class is already started with Matsuda and Mogi now in the class.
Matt walks in and Sid looks to him. "You're late. But due to the circumstances I'll let it slide. Is it just you today?"
Matt nods. "Yup. The other two will rejoin us when they are more healed."
Sid nods. "Alright. Go ahead and take your seat."
Matt goes to his seat and sits down.
Class seems to go by so fast for most but for Matt it dragged on forever!
He is quite worried about his partners and it seemed like time couldn't move any slower.
Finally class ends and Matt is about to leave when a bunch of the students come to him asking him so many different questions about what happened.
He tries to answer them as quickly as possible while trying to leave.
Matsuda and Mogi go to find the others.
The others notice the two seem a little bothered.
"What's up?" Halle asks.
The two look to the others.
"Matt showed up today. It was just him." Mogi says.
"But he looked pretty beat up." Matsuda adds and the others worry upon hearing this.
Meanwhile…..
Mello still is sitting, now in a chair that Stein lent him, with Near as he keeps his hand covering the mostly albino's hand.
Stein is working at his computer but he does check on them every now and then.
Mello closes his eyes as he remembers how all this happened. He doesn't even notice the tear falling down his cheek. "I'm sorry." His apology is spoken sadly and quietly.
Near's eyes open sleepily and a little weakly. He turns his head to look to Mello and sees the lone tear. He weakly shifts his hand till their fingers intertwine.
Mello's eyes snap open and he raises his head looking to Near. He shares a smile with the other.
"Don't cry." Near manages to say quietly.
Mello blinks and raises his free hand to his cheek touching the wetness of the tear. "Sorry." He says for more than just letting the tear escape with Near there.
Near's eyes start to slip closed again and he gives Mello's hand a light squeeze.
Mello wipes away the tear then gives another smile. "Rest. You'll get better faster that way."
Near lets his eyes slip closed again and lets the darkness take over him again.
Matt watches this happen from the door way. He turns and lets the two be as he can sense that Mello doesn't want company right now. He knows he needs to respect that but obviously he still will be there for his partners as best he can. He hopes Near will heal soon so he can have his friends back as well as to help heal Mello's wounded heart that was hurt when Near got hurt. He heads towards their apartment when he almost runs into the team.
"How are the other two?" Halle is the first to ask.
"Stein said they both should be alright. The surgery to keep one from dying was a success." Matt responds. "They both just need some time to heal."
The team nod and sigh in relief.
"Well I should get going." Matt maneuvers around them then heads on his way to leave for home. He gets back but the place feels a little cold and lonely without the other two. He sighs setting his stuff down then wanders to his room. He stops in the hall and looks to a hanging picture.
The picture is of the trio standing on the steps to the DWMA with the building in the background.
They are smiling and it is a beautiful day.
He reaches up to it and lightly trails his fingers over the glass that's protecting the picture. He remembers that day.
It was the end of their first week and they already had collected four Kishin eggs, in total with two Kishin eggs for each of the two weapons, including the two they brought when they enrolled in the DWMA.
They took the picture to remember that wonderful moment when coming back after completing a mission that no one else was daring to take.
He smiles softly. "The good times. We still enjoy ourselves in those times." He lets his hand fall limply to his side again. He looks away from the picture and goes to his room plopping down onto his bed with a sigh. "Man I really hope this all blows over soon so everything can go back to normal and my partners will be alright again." He says. He lays there for a little bit then he grabs a pack of smokes from his nightstand. He sits up pulling a lighter out of his pocket as he lights one after making sure his door is closed as well as window open.
Hoping it'll help him feel a little better.
Elsewhere…..
"Stein." Sid's voice speaks.
Stein who had been rolling down the hall in his chair stops and looks back to Sid. "Ah hello there Sid. What can I do for you?" He asks with a cigarette held by his lips.
"I am curious as to why you got Lord Death convinced to let the newbies into the EAT class." Sid expresses his concern.
Stein raises a hand to the smoke and grips it moving it out of his mouth after an inhale then an exhale of the smoke before responding. "Simple. I want to test them. But of course they will still be recommended to be attending certain NOT classes as well as to be careful if thinking of taking on a job. We won't be too harsh on them for collecting souls." He tells the other. He begins to bring the cigarette towards his lips again but pauses almost there. "It's a simple experiment really." He then puts the cigarette back into his mouth.
"I guess I should have seen that coming." Sid admits bringing a hand to the back of his head.
"Quite." Stein agrees.
"Well at least you are willing to let them take precautions." Sid is relieved at that part at least.
"Yes. Well good day Sid." Stein continues on his way down the hall.
"Yeah. You too Stein." Sid replies then turns hands at his sides and heads off to do his own thing.
…
Matsuda and Mogi are talking to Maka.
"Say there's a fitness test coming up." Matsuda points out. "I thought it was late in the year."
"Well because we at DWMA learn to fight and such our fitness is of great importance." Maka explains. "You cannot just go out into a fight and expect to win when you don't have any fitness whatsoever. Kishin fights and even witch fights are not only difficult but they don't fight by the rules. It's almost like street fighting. The winner is the one that comes out on top usually meaning the one who wins lives while the other dies. That's how kishin and witch fighting goes." She tells them. "Though while it is recommended for both meister and weapon to have both mental and physical strength there is a difference for meisters and weapons."
"Oh?" Matsuda inquires in curiosity as well as slightly tilting his head.
Maka nods. "Meisters are more about physical strength while weapons are more about mental strength. A meister cannot transform thus must use the weapon to fight the battle as a person. Weapons however can take attacks while in weapon form allowing the meister to use them as a shield to block attacks that will harm the meister. Though weapons still can get hurt but either way in their weapon form they can withstand attacks much more than a meister can even if they are still humans in the end. So the weapon needs to make sure to not transform back into human in the middle of a fight without a good reason. If they transform back in the middle of the fight for any reason whether it be loss of focus or a good reason it leaves them much more vulnerable than the meisters causing the weapons to usually get fetal injuries. This is because they are usually closer to the fighting compared to the meister. Thus they use more mental focus or strength than the meisters."
"Man that is complicated." Matsuda puts his head back to it's rightful position only to rub the back of his head.
"That's how it is here at DWMA." Maka assures them. "It can get quite complicated."