"You're both going to need to take it easy for the next few days." Tae Takemi drilled into Ren and Akechi as she looked over her clipboard.
"Yes ma'am" Akechi bowed his head.
"Ren?" There was a scariness to Takemi's voice that made Ren snap to attention.
"Yes." Ren muttered.
Takemi reached forward whacking Ren's head with her clipboard. "You have a broken rib, a badly sprained hand, and a deep laceration on your cheek. Not to mention your body is still recovering from some other injuries you mysteriously got. You're in way worse shape than he is, clearly you're the one who got their ass kicked in this fight!"
It had been Yu's idea that Ren and Akechi see a doctor considering neither of them were in the best shape. Luckily Ren knew one. However as soon as Takemi started to examine Ren she found the still visible bruises from his encounter with the police a week ago as well as the fresh wounds he obtained in his battle against Akechi. They had used the excuse that they both got into a simple street brawl as reasons for their injuries, but Ren figured Takemi knew better. Takemi did have a hunch that he may or may not be a Phantom thief and what that entailed. Akechi gave Ren a passing sympathetic look from his seat next to him.
"I know." Ren started looking at the floor.
Takemi sighed before she wheeled her computer chair to the door that lead to the clinic. "You guys can come in."
Yu, Naoto, and Futaba made their way into the clinics treatment room. Ren sat shirtless and bore all of his bruises for the group to see. Akechi sat next to him on the exam bed, equally shirtless and looking also very beaten up. Ren's hand was wrapped in a splint to restrict its movement and he knew he wouldn't be able to be a Phantom thief at least for a few days with his hand this damaged. Unless he wanted to be a one handed thief. Ren's cheek was also patched up. Normally after battle Ren would either use healing magic on himself or have someone use healing magic on him. However he hadn't been fighting shadows, he had been fighting Akechi in a duel to the death. These injuries were as real as one got and no amount of cognition change could heal them.
Takemi tapped her clipboard. "Both of them will need to rest," Takemi pointed her pen at Akechi. "This one has slightly dislocated shoulder injury, some nasty bruises, and a mild concussion. Normal stuff for a kid in a scrap." She then pointed the pen to Ren. "This one has a broken false rib, a few bruised ones, a sprained hand, a cut on his cheek that needed two stitches, and some injuries that look as if he was in a fight about a week ago. I'm going to prescribe them both some painkillers and sleeping medication. Also lots of ice for them both. But knowing my little guinea pig here, he's might just run off and go get himself more beat up so someone should keep an eye on him. Granted keeping an eye on the both of them wouldn't be a bad idea."
"I think we can manage that." Naoto said as she looked between the two.
Takemi got to her feet. "Good let's get these two checked out and back home resting." She left the room to no doubt get the paperwork and the prescriptions ready. "You two can get dressed."
Ren grabbed his shirt suddenly reminded how painful it was to put on that particular article of clothing. Akechi didn't seem to be struggling as much, but they were both very painful. He didn't think the fight had been that bad of one but only after the adrenaline had worn off did he truly realize the extent of his injuries. Yeah this was worse than last week but as he glanced at Akechi next to him, Ren knew that this pain was worth it. If Akechi was truly reformed then he just made himself a powerful ally, this time for real.
"Ren, I already talked to Sojiro. I'm gunna be taking care of you, so I'll be moving some of my stuff to your room so I can keep an eye on you." Futaba informed Ren before she turned. "I'm gonna start getting stuff over there, Yu told me he can take you back to Leblanc." With that Futaba disappeared from the room.
"Goro-kun you are coming with me and Yu, we already made plans for you to stay with us. We can swing by your apartment to pick up some things, but I'm not letting you out of my sight until you feel better." The concern in Naoto's voice was clear.
"Alright nee-san…" Akechi sighed having decided on the drive to Takemi's clinic what the relationship between him and Naoto truly would be going forward.
After they both got dressed, they met Takemi out in the lobby. Next up was signing some discharge papers, getting their medicine, and paying they left the clinic. Yu helped Ren down the street to Leblanc as Akechi was taken away by Naoto as they had a car parked close to the clinic. As he entered Leblanc, Sojiro shot him a look of pity as Yu hauled him upstairs. Rens body was beyond exhausted at this point and as Yu sat him down on his bed, he just let himself collapse. Morgana, who had been waiting in his room, jumped up onto the bed next to him before looking up at Yu.
"Thanks for your help! How's Akechi?" Morgana asked.
"Slightly less worse than Ren here." Yu responded. "Doctor told him to rest, take his painkillers, and for someone to keep an eye on him. She didn't think he'd rest as much as he needs too."
"Well this guy is a man of action." Morgana glanced back at Ren before looking back at Yu. "I'm sure we'll keep in touch."
"Yeah. Ren rest!" Yu commanded.
Ren gave his mentor a thumbs up with his good hand, but didn't want to move much more than that. Ren heard Yu head downstairs leaving him alone in his room. Ren just kept his eye closed, trying vainly not to focus on the pain in his side that Takemi had identified as the broken rib. That was the worst out of all the pain he was in. His side had been mildly hurting the last few days after he had gotten back from the police station but Ren had been fighting through it and hadn't let it bother him too much. However that attack from Akechi had hit him just right that it broke the already no doubt bruised sections of rib. Honestly Ren was lucky the strike hadn't disembowel him, but he would be in great pain for a while no doubt.
"You might have to take a week or more off." Morgana said as he curled up close to Ren's injured body.
"I can't be down for too long, Shido has to pay." Ren muttered into his bed.
"We'll see. Luckily you are a Persona user and that means you should hopefully heal faster." Morgana purred.
"Oh how do you know that?" Ren asked.
"Dunno, but I know it's true!" Morgana continued to purr.
Ren just relaxed against his bed as Morgana acted as a hot water bottle against his aching side. If it wasn't for the intense pain, Ren probably would have slept. It hurt to just breathe. He peaked towards the small brown bag that held his medicine. The sooner that was in his system the sooner he could ignore his pain and rest. As he moved to grab it, pain shot through his side. Morgana got up and saw Ren struggling, the cat sighed before he turned his attention to the staircase. From the staircase ascended both Makoto and Futaba.
"Ren, what are you doing?!" Futaba snapped as she threw her backpack on the table Morgana normally sat on next to the staircase.
"Medicine." Ren said simply before collapsing back onto his bed. "Makoto?"
"Futaba can you go downstairs and get a glass of water for our brilliant leader. I'll help him get comfortable." Makoto commanded, taking charge of the situation as she set down the futon she had brought up with her and her school bag.
"You got it!" Futaba gave a salute and headed down stairs.
Makoto looked at Ren and just shook her head. "Morgana please move, let me get him settled in."
Morgana obeyed without a word, jumping onto the windowsill above Ren's bed. Makoto walked over to her boyfriend and slowly helped him get into a comfortable position on the bed. Even if moving brought pain to his side, the fact Makoto was there just made everything so much better. After she was done getting him in a more comfortable position she sat down on the bed next to him and just looked him over. She knew he was in pain from the small gasps he had given as he was moved.
"Good job." Makoto remarked with a small smirk.
"I aim to please." Ren stated dryly.
Makoto let a small chuckle pass from her lips as she reached up and pulled off his glasses and set them down next to the bag of medicine on his shelf. "Futaba let everyone know what happened. Have to say I might have skipped a student council meeting to get over here, but I couldn't stop worrying."
"I'm fine." The injured leader offered, trying to sound tough.
"You most definitely are not!" Morgana growled from his perch on the windowsill. "These aren't the kind of injuries you normally get in the metaverse, you got really beaten up! When you fight with real weapons and with real people, it's as if you are fighting someone here in this world. Doesn't matter how much cognition there is, a real fight is a real fight. Metaverse or otherwise."
"Is that why he wasn't healed after the battle?" Makoto asked.
"Yeah. Persona damage and the guns we use in the cognitive world are all things we can heal because they are all cognitive attacks. However physical attacks are a different matter entirely. If two Persona users beat each other up with their weapons, it's not a cognition anymore." Morgana explained.
Makoto seemed to think about that a moment before she looked at him with a stern expression. "You don't need to act tough around any of us. We already know how tough you are, so you can drop the act."
At that moment Futaba reappeared with a glass of water and a large bag of ice. Ren didn't need to move as Makoto reached for the bag of medicine and pulled out the two bottles. Futaba handed him the glass of water and set the ice down on his chest as Makoto handed him two pills, which Ren took as soon as he had them. Setting the glass down on the stand next to his bed, Ren adjusted the bag of ice over the sorest part of his body.
"It should take about a half an hour before those start to take effect." Makoto explained as she set the rest of the medication down on his shelf. "Have you gotten anything to eat?"
"He only had breakfast this morning." Futaba informed Makoto as she pulled her backpack to Ren's workstation. "But Sojiro is working on that, he started a fresh batch of curry and will send some up as soon as it's ready."
"So what did the doctor say about him? You only mentioned he was pretty beat up." Makoto looked at Futaba as if knowing she'd get the full report from the navigator instead of the one sitting right next to her.
"Sprained hand, one broken false rib, a few bruised one, a deep laceration on his cheek that required two stitches, and he still has some of the bruises he got when the police beat him up last week combined with some new ones too. The one across his side and stomach are from Akechi almost disemboweling him. That where his broken and bruised ribs are." Futaba answered as she set her laptop up at Ren's workstation.
Makoto sighed and looked at him. "Looks like you might be out of action for a while."
"One week! We still need to take out Shido, my life still depends on it! Even though Akechi is on our side now." Ren explained.
Futaba shook her head before she spun around in her chair and pointed at him. "Fine, but you will do everything possible to get better in that one week. Do you promise me Ren Amamiya!?"
"If you say so." Ren already knew it was pointless to argue.
"Promise!" Futaba insisted.
"Okay. I promise" Ren relented.
"I have a feeling it's going to be a challenge to keep you down, I guess I'll be swing by after school for the next week." Makoto informed him.
"Having two woman to wait on me hand and foot, what a privilege." Ren tried to smirk, but like most other things smirking hurt.
"Watch it wise guy." Makoto warned.
"I know I can't do much as a cat but I'll help this guy with whatever you two need." Morgana jumped back down on to Ren's bed and sat down next to him.
"Thanks Morgana." Makoto reached over and scratched the feline's cheek before she rose to her feet. "Futaba, we can go grab the stuff you wanted to bring from Boss' place."
"Sure!" Futaba called getting up from her chair and moving to follow Makoto back downstairs.
Ren watched them go. He felt lame being this injured, but there was nothing he could really do. Instead of dreading over it, Ren just closed his eyes and let himself just rest. There was no reason for him to do anything other than that. He heard Makoto and Futaba come back and move the table they always used during their meetings, but after that the medication must have finally kicked in because Ren fell in a deep sleep. He was woken up briefly to eat but barely touched the food before sleep claimed him again. He thought he could remember Makoto giving him a kiss on the forehead before she left but then again that could have been a dream...
December 1 Thursday
"Hey Ren you think you can get up?" Makoto's voice drifted over Ren's barely conscious state.
Ren shifted, the pain in his side still there but dulled by the heavy painkillers that were running through him. The last few days had been mostly a blur for Ren. Futaba would barely let him leave his bed during the day and this was only enforced further after Makoto got there once school was over. The only time he was able to truly get out was when Ryuji and Yusuke came over and brought him to the bathhouse down the street. The warm water had felt good on his sore muscles and bruises, yet both Ryuji and Yusuke were cautious about letting him do much there. By now he was getting very bored of all this being waited on.
Yu came over at some point to check on him and introduce him to Chie Satonaka, as Yosuke and Teddie had to head back to Inaba. Under the influence of the drugs it was hard to pinpoint which day that had been exactly. That same night the group took off to Mementos without him, Makoto stayed behind to look after him and Yu took his position as leader. Naoto apparently stayed with Akechi who was still also recovering. That was a nice night as he just got to snuggle up to Makoto on his bed as she did her homework. The memory of it returned to his mind causing a smirk to appear on Ren's lips.
"I dunno Makoto, maybe we should let him sleep." That was Futaba's voice.
Wait Makoto was here? That must have meant school was out. Ren shifted again this time opening his eyes. The bright lights of the sun coming him from his window caused him to groan and shield his eyes quickly. Putting his arm over his eyes, he blinked a few times letting them become adjusted before casting a gaze towards the three women currently standing in his attic loft. Makoto, Futaba, and Haru. His drug muddled mind tried to come up with a reason why three of his female team mates were currently standing in his attic to no avail.
"What's going on?" Ren asked in a husky voice as he realized how dry his throat was.
Water… Ren reached for the glass of water he had abandoned several hours ago as his painkillers had taken over and put him back in a coma. However the sudden movement caused a red hot stabbing pain to rise up in his side. Any residual sleepiness he had felt was now lost as pain caused his body to abruptly wake up fully. Ren grunted with pain as he snatched the water off the metal shelving unit next to his bed. The three woman all wore looks of concern as Ren finished off the glass of water.
"Ren, sorry to wake you." Makoto started.
"It's fine…" Ren cut off his girlfriend before she could say any more.
Ren started to get up before Makoto stepped forward and fully helped him sit up. Ren rolled his stiff shoulders as he put his still bandaged hand in his lap. He must have looked super bad, but honestly he was worlds away from the pain he had been feeling after his fight with Akechi. Morgana jumped down from his windowsill and sat by his side. Apparently the cat had been there the whole time but only now that the fuzz from the drugs was lifting was he able to fully concentrate.
"How are you feeling?" Futaba asked sitting on end of his bed.
"Less like I got run over by a bus, more like I've woken from a coma." Ren dryly stated as he ran his hand through his hair. "So what's going on?"
"Well that's an improvement." Makoto smirked. "Futaba and I got things we need to do tonight, and we were wondering if it's okay if we left Haru here to keep on eye on you."
"I suppose, but I'm fine to be left alone." Ren commented. "Also I got Morgana."
"I don't have the same sway as the girls do." Morgana glanced at him with a flick of his tail. "Also you do need someone with thumbs looking after you."
"Don't listen to Ren, Haru. This guy is under strict bed rest. I'm gonna give ya full authorization to do what needs to be done to keep him in bed." Futaba stated looking towards Haru.
"I'm sure we'll manage fine. I have Mona-chan here to help me." Haru said warmly adding a smile to her words.
"What are you two doing?" Ren questioned looking at Futaba and Makoto.
"I gotta get back to school. I got some student council things that I've been putting off that need to get done." Makoto explained.
"Don't you remember? Sojiro is closing up shop early so we can go have dinner with Rise and Yu. Hopefully afterward Sojiro will be comfortable enough to let us go to Inaba with them." Futaba folded her arms.
Ren thought back to a few days ago when Rise had invited the whole Leblanc crew out for dinner. The dinner invite had been extended to him but he currently was in no condition to join them for dinner. While it was still up in the air whether they'd be joining Rise and Yu down in Inaba, if things did go well than hopefully they'd get Sojiro's blessing to go. Rise had a charm to her and Ren was pretty confident that it would pierce Sojiro's defenses and they would get the permission they needed in no time.
"Right!" Ren nodded. "Good luck Futaba! Say hi to Yu and Rise for me."
"Can do!" Futaba flashed a grin back at him before she got up. "Haru do you need anything before we head out."
Haru gave a slight bow. "I'm pretty sure I can manage. I'll call you if anything comes up."
"Thank again Haru. Ren is stubborn and will try to push himself, make sure he stays in bed." Makoto was speaking to Haru but fixing Ren a stern look as she spoke.
"No problem." Haru smiled. "There will be no need to worry!"
"Later Ren." Futaba grabbed her laptop bag from his workbench and disappeared down the stairs.
"Ren behave." Makoto advised.
"I have no clue what you are talking about Makoto." Ren tried to play innocent.
"Thanks again Haru. I'll keep my phone on, don't be afraid to call me. Bye Ren." Makoto gave him one last look before heading off down the stairs the way Futaba went.
"Love you." Ren called after his girlfriend.
"Love you too." Makoto called from the stairs.
The signature ring of the bell above Leblanc signaled the exit of the other girls. Ren relaxed back against his extra pillows. It sucked that he didn't get to spend another night cuddled up with his girlfriend but if she had things to do, he didn't blame her for leaving him. He was feeling better and had an appointment with Takemi tomorrow to hopefully get his hand out of this constrictive brace and get these stitches out. Glancing towards Haru, the Okumura heiress had a tentative look on her face as her eyes gazed towards the staircase.
"So you and Mako-chan are dating." Haru voice was soft before she looked back at Ren.
Ren froze at that revelation. Apparently Haru hadn't known, so did that meant only half their group knew. Ren knew Futaba and Ryuji knew only because he had told them personally himself. The adults knew probably because of Yu. Morgana had called it honestly the day he came home that night. So that left Haru, Yusuke, and Ann who possibly didn't know. Ren had no intention of hiding his relationship from the others, but honestly this last week had been kind of busy for him.
"Uh, yeah." Ren sheepishly replied.
"They've been dating for just about a week." Morgana informed Haru. "It was last Friday correct?"
Had it really been that long? Ren's mind recounted the day and yeah that really was last Friday. "Yep." Ren answered sounding sure.
"Good for you." Haru put on a fake smile, Ren could tell easily.
There was probably a reason Makoto hadn't told Haru yet. Out of all the girls that Ren had grown a relationship with, Haru seemed the most devastated when he offered friendship instead of romance. Haru was just coming off a bad relationship and what happened with her dad. Part of the reason Ren wasn't interested was because he didn't want to be some sort of rebound for her. When he examined their relationship, Ren had figured Haru needed time to heal her heart. He still figured that and while she was super cute, there had always been something about Makoto that drew him to her. He didn't understand how this all worked entirely, maybe he could talk about it with Yu one day.
"If you don't want to be here you can go." Ren offered, giving Haru an out.
Haru shook her head. "No, I'm fine really."
"No you aren't" Ren countered.
Haru grabbed the table that normally sat in front of his couch and pushed it over to his bed. Morgana jumped onto the table once it was in place. Haru moved a chair to sit across from him. Ren didn't know what to say as he shifted on his bed. His side quickly shot pain across his body like a shotgun blast, causing Ren to hiss with pain. Haru cast him a sympathetic look before she moved to the shelf next to his bed and pulled out his medication.
"You might not believe me, but I'm honestly fine with you dating Mako-chan. I'm actually happy for you two. Now when was the last time you had your medication?" Haru examined the bottles.
"He had his last dose at about eight this morning. He's due for another dose." Morgana informed Haru.
"Alright let's get him his meds. Mona-chan can you help me downstairs, I'm unfamiliar were everything is and Futaba said I could make some coffee while I'm here watching Ren." Haru looked towards Ren's feline companion.
"No problem. Ren stay right here," Morgana jumped off the table and headed for the stairs.
"Wait! Can I have some coffee too?" Ren looked at his caretaker.
"You should be resting." Morgana drawled flicking his tail.
"I've been sleeping for almost 3 days straight almost… I'll rest, but I don't need to sleep." Ren replied.
"I don't see how it can hurt Mona-chan." Haru glanced at Ren thinking.
Ren smirked, liking where this was going. Morgana looked back at Ren and sighed. "Alright, but you better stay in bed Ren. I may not have thumbs, but I'll find a way to call Futaba or Makoto."
"You have my word." Ren called to his two caretakers.
"Works for me." Haru nodded.
With that the two disappeared down the stairs. There was a the distinct sound of Haru and Morgana working downstairs as Ren leaned back and waited for the two. While he was waiting, Ren slowly took off the bandages around his hand. Flexing his hand, there was a small jerk of pain but it was nothing compared to how his side ached if he moved it the wrong way. Aside his that, he honestly felt ready to leave the bed entirely and get up. Shido was still out there and Ren's life was still in a lot of danger. If he could find a way to fix his side, he honestly felt in fighting form. Most of his bruises, except for the big one across his side, were pretty much healed.
After about 10 minutes Haru came upstairs with a tray in hand. The smell of food wafted from her direction causing Ren's stomach to remind him he only had a small breakfast that morning before the medication induced coma had taken him. He was famished. Haru set the tray down on the table before pulling off a cup of coffee and a kettle, setting it down on her side of the table. Next she set the tray down on Ren lap. A cup of coffee along with what appeared to be some sort of miso soup and a fresh salad was served to him.
"Those are some fresh vegetables from the school garden. I don't know how you'll feel about them, but I figured you'd enjoy something different for dinner tonight." Haru explained as she took a seat at the table next to him.
"Thanks Haru." Ren answered, honestly thankful for the food.
"No problem, enjoy." Haru let a warm smile appear on her face.
Ren hungrily ate the food that was given to him. Normally the school crops were reserved for use in Mementos since they seemed to strengthen the spirit in powerful ways. However today they were being used to strengthen Ren's battered body, something he could appreciate. He quickly finished everything before sliding his empty tray on to the table and held on to his cup of coffee. Haru fished out some of his meds and he quickly took them with a few swigs of his coffee. As soon as Ren was done eating, Morgana moved from the table and curled up next to his injured side. He had been doing that a lot lately, as the cat's natural body heat acted like a warm heat back against the ache and Morgana was always careful to not hurt Ren.
"That was good Haru. Thank you." Ren announced as he set down his coffee cup.
"It really wasn't much, but I'm glad you liked it." Haru beamed back at him as she picked up the dishes and stacked them on the tray.
Ren watched Haru before he suddenly realized something, now was the perfect time to obtain a true bond with Haru. Going over his previous conversations with Haru, Ren remembered she had mentioned something about having a company meeting this week at some point in time. Possibly during one of the text chats for the group. Suddenly Ren was curious to know how that had turned out.
"So how did the company meeting go? Also can I have some more please?" Ren asked as he set his now empty cup of coffee down on the table.
Haru eye's flashed with surprise. "You remembered." Haru got up and poured Ren some more coffee from the kettle she had brought up.
"Thank you." Ren took his now refilled cup of coffee, taking a sip before once again looking towards Haru. "I try to remember all the important things my friends do."
Haru let a light laugh echo from her chest before she settled back down at the table and rested her hands around her coffee cup. There was a wistfulness to her expression that led Ren to believe that possibly Haru had gotten her feelings portrayed at the meeting. He knew she had been seriously worried about that. She was a high school student and now she was expected to be a CEO of a major company. let alone a company that was trying to recover from a bad reputation. Ren believed in Haru.
"I was finally able to convey my feelings during the company meeting. Not just about the new chain, but about the future of the company, and even about Father. I think my presence angered some people at first, but in the end they all listened to my thoughts." Haru beamed, a bit of well-deserved pride in her words.
"You've done great, Haru." Ren returned her warm smile as he spoke to her.
Haru nodded. "All that nervousness was exhausting. I've had diplomatic dealings with VIPs before, but I've never once spoken my true feelings. That aside, after talking with management I've decided to let them handle Okumura Foods. It's simply not something I would have been able to supervise on my own. And after their sincere acceptance of the public criticism, I felt it was okay to trust them." Haru paused to take a sip of her coffee before topping off the cup with the kettle. "As for my future goals, I'm interested in opening a small private café. Everything will be home-grown, from the coffee to the salad. I want to set my own standards. It'll be a shop that people love, like my Grandfather's. And like this place. What do you think?"
"Honestly that was kind of my goal after I get out of school." Ren answered honestly. "However our goals are different, I want a place where everyone can go and meet up. Doesn't have to be a café just some place I can be where everyone can meet up."
Haru giggled. "Than it would seem I may have found myself a business partner. But when you say that… I feel like it will actually happen. Truth be told, I don't plan on opening the shop immediately after I graduate, but I'd love to join you in this dream."
"Sounds like a plan." Ren nodded
Haru put a hand to her chin thinking. "We'll both need to study and improve our knowledge beforehand. For now my gardening is just a hobby. Perhaps I should apprentice here at Leblanc some time?"
"If you are up for it I'm sure Boss would love to take you on." Ren offered. "It's hard work though."
Another giggle echoed from Haru. "I take it that sentiment comes from personal experience? Either way I think this dream will be no easy feat, so I'm fine with the hard work. Speaking of dreams, I somehow managed to tackle my childhood dream of becoming a heroine of justice. If I act with resolve and believe in my actions, I know I'll be able to achieve anything. I'm so glad I met you, Ren. At first it was nice having someone that understands me… But now, it so much more… It's everyone. There may be times where people resent me for it … but as long as you and the others are here with me. I'll be okay. You know… I'd like to return the favor. Like now, I'll be there for you. Feel free to rely on me from now on. I have the strength to help you. I can sense it."
Haru suddenly closed her eyes as she put a hand to her chest. Something about this interaction felt familiar, this was a true bond wasn't it? Ren shifted as Haru opened her eyes again. There was a resolve in them that he had never seen before.
"I feel as though.. I've been reborn. This is my new power." Haru whispered barely loud enough for Ren to hear.
"When we open the café, we should have all of our friends be our first customers." Haru announced unable to keep her smile off her face.
"I look forward to that." Ren nodded suddenly starting to feel his medication kick in.
"I can't wait." Haru said before she tilted her head. "The medication just hit you didn't it?"
"I hate this stuff." Ren's joyous mood that Haru had put him in was starting to get muddled by the tranquilizing power of his pain medication.
"Well look at the time, we've been speaking quite a while so it's no wonder it's taken affect." Haru got up and helped him lay down in his bed. "Don't be afraid to fall asleep. I have a book and Mona-chan to keep me company."
"Thanks Haru for today and for everything else." Ren's words were slightly slurred.
"No problem Ren. Get some sleep, we need you at full power." Haru pulled his blanket over him.
Ren tried to struggle against the medication now fully taking ahold of his system, but it was quickly becoming clear he was losing this war. While he was getting comfortable in his bed, Haru collected the dishes on the tray. With that done she headed downstairs, no doubt to put the dishes away. Ren watched her go wishing he could get up and follow her but he was stuck in his bed. It was useless to struggle, so slowly he let the medication take effect. Closing his eyes, he found the unconsciousness that the medication always seemed to bring and embraced it. When Haru returned upstairs she found Ren fast asleep.
I want to try to get out the next chapter tomorrow if I can, if not the day after. I would like reviews if you would take a second or two just to tell me I are doing a good job.