Chapter 4

Posted March 5, 2006

Hiro looked around his room through half-lidded eyes, it was the day after he had woken up and he was bored. He picked up his fork and pushed the under cooked vegetables around his plate. He was still hungry, but nothing on the plate seemed to appease his appetite. Although the pitiful amount of rice he had gotten last night with his supper had been the only that had interested him, the rest he had taken a small bit before putting it aside.

Finally, he picked up the plate and put it aside. Instead he picked up the book the Akiko had brought him when she arrived this morning. It wasn't that bad of a book and kept him occupied for a good deal of the day, but now he needed something else to keep him occupied.

He tried getting up earlier, but the sharp pain all over his body told him it wasn't the smartest move he could make; while he was trying to think of something to do when he heard a knock on the door.

"Hiro-san, may I come in? It's me, Hikari." Asked a voice from the other side of the door, he recognised the voice right away; it was the girl he had met yesterday; Hikari.

"Come in." He said calmly and sat up a little straighter in his bed as she opened the door and entered. She was wearing a plain jean jacket with a blue t-shirt with a puppy on it and a pair of faded blue jeans. In her hands she had a bouquet of different flowers. She smiled at him as she approached the bed.

"I brought these for you, Hiro-san. I thought the room could use a little colour. I know I'd go mad eventually, being stuck here all day with only white walls to stare at." She said as she placed the flowers on the bedside table.

"Thank you very much, Yamato-san." He said as he watched her fiddle with the flowers trying to make them look right in the vase that she had bought for the flowers.

"Please, call me Hikari. You can even call me Hika-chan; that's what my family and friends call me."

"Only if you agree to drop the –san. It sounds too formal."

"Alright then; can I call you Hi-kun?" She said, smiling to herself as she turned the vase to the side. "Perfect!"

"I'd like that." They both smiled at each other.

"So, what have you been up to today?" Inquired Hikari as she set her schoolbag down by the door and sat down in the chair beside the bed.

"Not much, really. I've been stuck here all day. I've read a book your mother brought me earlier." Said Hiro, pointing to the book on the table. She picked up the book and took a quick look at it.

"Harry Potter; that's one of my favourites; it's a very good series. There's only one thing that I find a little bothersome though." She said, placing the book back on the table.

"Really? What would that be?" He said curiously.

"It's her whole concept of Spirits and stuff. She says that only wizards are able to become wizards are able to become ghosts."

"And you don't believe in Spirits?" He questioned, looking at her curiously.

"Not in the way she describes them." She answered cryptically.

Hiro was about to ask her more questions when the door opened and Akiko stepped inside the room; she smiled once she saw that her patient had a guest.

"Good Morning, Hiro-kun, Hika-chan. How have you two been?" She asked.

"I'm fine, mother. I just came in." Said Hikari respectfully to her mother, smiling happily.

"I am well, although I am feeling a little restless, being cooped in here all day." Said Hiro.

"Hmm…I have an idea; Hika-chan, why don't you bring Hiro-kun to the arboretum? It's such a nice day and the leaves are going to fall soon; you better take a good look at them before the snow covers them all!" Akiko said, smiling to herself.

"Mother, Hi-kun can't even stand up! How do you expect us to go see the arboretum when I'd have to drag him?"

Akiko internally raised an eyebrow at her daughters little nickname for her patient but let it slide; her daughter never had the chance to make many friends before they would move again. Besides; it wasn't very often that her daughter smiled like that.

"Hika-chan, you could borrow one of the hospitals wheelchairs. That's what they're here for, after all!" She said cheerfully.

Hikari looked at Hiro, who looked back at her.

"Sure, I'm getting tired of this room anyways. I could use some fresh air." He said politely.

"Alright; Hika-chan, you know where to find them, right?" She waited for Hikari to nod before continuing. "You go get them while I go find a jacket for Hiro-kun; we don't want him to catch a cold on top of what he already has, now do we?"

"Of course not! I'll be right back Hi-kun!" With that, Hikari dashed out of the room. Her mother smiled at her antics before following her daughter at a more sedate pace, she smiled at Hiro before she left the room.

Hiro looked out his window while he waited for them to return; he didn't have to wait long for Akiko to come back, only about five minutes or so. In her hands she held a pair of jeans and a plain white shirt along with a navy sweater with a maple leaf on it.

"I brought the jeans that we found you in; all nice and clean now! The shirt and sweater belong to a doctors' son; he keeps them here in case he needs a change, but I'm sure he won't mind if you borrow them for now. They should fit well enough until we can buy you some new clothes." She said as she placed the clothes on the bed. "Hika-chan will be back in a little bit; we don't use the wheelchairs all that often so they're probably in a storage room somewhere. In the meanwhile; we can get you out of those pyjamas."

Indeed; ever since he had gotten there; he had been in hospital pyjamas, since the only clothes he had were his jeans and that weird red thing that looked like one of those handheld game devices that kids were into, except that it was attached to his arm by some cloth and had a small chain at one end and five odd spike-looking things at the other. His jeans had been taken to be washed and the other object had been placed in the closet that was in his room.

Half an hour later, Hikari and Hiro were calmly walking through the arboretum, silently enjoying the calm atmosphere around them; Hikari had a sad look on her face, though; even though the contrasting evergreens and deciduous trees were rather beautiful in her opinion, this season still made her sad. As a shaman, she could see spirits, whether she wanted to or not. Sometimes it was a good thing, because then she could see fixated ghosts and help them resolve their issues before they ended up hurting the living or worst; condemning their souls to a hellish existence forever; but other times it made her sad; such as when she would the leaf spirit 'die' when they would fall from their tree, she knew they would be back next year, but she still felt sad.

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" Said Hikari, trying to distract herself from the death surrounding her. Hiro waited a little while before answering.

"Yeah…I guess." He answered cryptically.

"Something bothering you?" Asked Hikari as she pushed his wheelchair along the hard dirt path. She looked at him as he looked at a gardener who was busy racking up the leaves that had already fallen.

"Why are they dead?" He asked after several seconds of watching the man rack.

Hikari was silent for a moment before answering.

"Y-you mean you can see them?" She stuttered. Could Hiro see the dead spirits? If he could, does that mean he was a Shaman?

"You mean you don't see them?"

"No -I can- it's just that only Shamans can see them. Can you see the dog too?" She asked pointing to Shigure who had been following her since she left school. She had brought Shigure with her because she brought him everywhere as he was her main Spirit. The cat had decided to follow Ken today; so she let him. He wasn't a vicious spirit so she wasn't worried about her little brother. "I think we should go back and talk to Kaa-san about this."

Authors Notes; I am SO sorry (once again) for the late update; I've just been….preoccupied with a lot of junk lately and tons of shit fell on me all at once (not literally, of course) and I've been rather depressed to boot. That and I haven't had any inspiration. I should be back on track soon.

I would like to thank the following people;

Heather, Andrea Nefisto (to answer your question I'm currently 17, but I'm turning 18 soon and I didn't get the job; but it's no big loss I hated the hours, the pay, the boss and the fact that I had to do EVERYTHING by myself; in fact I'm quite glad I didn't get the job!), chibi fire spirit (No! give me Hao back! Lol!) and isa18. Thank you very much!

Remember the more reviews I get the more it makes me want to write!