The entire division seemed to buzz like a swarm of bees in a shaken hive. It had been decades since such a situation had arisen without warning or provocation, it was quite reasonable that the younger reapers were in a bit of a panic. Many hadn't seen something like this happen before. To them it was a folktale told by their superiors to scare them into following the rules. To me, it was an ever-present possibility.
Reports were usually filed punctually enough for reapers to hear the truth before gossip spread, but this time was an exception. If I hadn't been the one to follow his stretcher to the medical ward, I would've made sure that the gossip was cut off before it had spread. But more important matters needed attending.
"He'll be alright. He sustained minimal injury, and was lucky enough to be found just before his death scythe was to be turned against him. He'll probably be shaken though. It's the first time a lone reaper has been attacked without warning or provocation in decades."
The doctor had merely echoed my own thoughts, and I nodded in understanding as the he left the room. The most alarming part of the attack had been the rumors that were spread- death and amputation were the least far-fetched. It seemed strange to say, but Ronald was lucky that the demon he encountered was more a killer than a sadist.
I sat myself at his bedside and began to fill out the forms. According to the doctor, he'd need to sleep for at least another hour. I'd need to be there the entire time to ensure that I'd be able to get his untainted report as soon as he awoke. Leaving meant risking having him hear the rumors sprung from the incident before I got to him. Power of suggestion was the enemy of an accurate account of an attack.
"Mr. Spears?"
I flinched in surprise, the pen between my fingers clattering to the tile. I quickly glanced up to affirm my suspicion before ducking down to retrieve my pen. For a second I had expected what wasn't possible, but it was no relief as to what I did find. When had he started to call me that again?
"Mr. Humphries, I see you've returned from reaping. What's your business in the medical ward?"
"Grell and Eric saw the stretcher Ronald was on, and there was no official report…" The door pushed open again and the other two shuffled into the room. I kept my eyes on the paper and stiffly continued to write.
"I'm writing it at the moment. He's fine." No collective sigh of relief was uttered, no feet shuffled across the tile, the room remained silent but for the scrape of the now dry pen on paper. I set it on the table with what I hoped to be an irritated manner. "Honestly, have you three no more important work?" I flicked a pointed finger toward abandoned chairs on the other side of the bed.
It was no surprise to me that by now, Ronald had awoken. His palms pressed into his eyes as his fingers curled over his forehead. His elbows stuck straight into the air, his now-pointless splint cracking as he bent his arm. Only the tip of his bruised nose and his split lip were visible under the mask of his hands.
"Mr. Knox?" I tried, cautiously. There was no reply. It was my expectation for Sutcliff to jump in with some sort of annoying speech or something of the like, but he seemed to be showing a surprising amount of restraint. Ronald shifted a hand off his face and draped his splint-free arm over his face. The room seemed to inhale and lean toward him, anticipation building. He only remained silent.
"Why's he so quiet?" Sutcliff leaned to Alan and whispered. Clearly he needed to work on his volume if I could hear him from the other side of the bed.
"Mr. Knox, can you speak?" That wasn't the question that needed to be asked. He could definitely speak- he wasn't injured badly enough for him to be unable to talk. It was more a matter of whether or not he wished to talk. He nodded limply, his chin bobbing to his chest twice. I made no move to retrieve a new pen from my pocket. "Do you remember what happened?"
"Yes," He croaked. All trace of magnetic charm had disappeared from his voice. It trembled like a frightened mouse.
"When we assessed you, you had minimal injury. Only minor internal bleeding, as well as some cuts and scrapes. You had a supracondylar humerus fracture, but by the time you got to the ward it was healed. It merely needed to be re-set. It's completely healed now. We may remove the splint, if you'd prefer." Nobody made a move to assist him, but Ronald didn't seem to care whether it was on or not. He certainly didn't try to remove it himself.
"You're lucky, y'know. It hurts twice as bad when they break it again, and you were passed out the whole time." Eric grinned down at Ronald, leaning back in his seat.
"Didn't you cry the first time they had to re-set your arm?" Alan joked, his smile turning catlike again. It was hard to believe that Eric would cry over a pain as minor as that, and rightly so.
"You promised you wouldn't mention that!" A humorous lie, Eric hadn't done such a thing. Ronald's lips cracked into a weak grin, the cut splitting open again. A light laugh shook his frame like a cough.
"Ron wouldn't cry!" Sutcliff chirped, wiggling his hips as he sat. "He's braver than all the other newbies. He's as brave and powerful a man as Macbeth! Of course without the lack of strength of character… Scratch that! Ronald is the Sebas-chan of Reapers!"
"You're digging your hole further," I pressed my glasses up and narrowed my eyes at Sutcliff.
"But he is! Almost as good as I was at that age~"
"With much better grades." Alan laughed, ignoring Sutcliff's pout.
Ronald remained silent, tipping his head away from the others. I had to readjust my glasses to make sure that I hadn't seen it wrong, but it was clearly as I had first guessed. His nose had reddened, his lips paled, and a wet trail slipped over his nose and cheek and onto the white sheet beneath him. His entire body trembled like a frightened mouse now. Was it possible? I narrowed my eyes at his visitors, already knowing how badly this would reflect on me. I got to my feet, pressing my glasses up once again.
"You've stayed longer than you should have. Ronald was supposed to have another hour of sleep, but he was awoken prematurely, and I think it would be best to allow him to rest before visiting him again." Stiffly, I glanced at Alan. I wonder if he was used to my cold act at this point. He seemed to- he wasn't phased by my dismissal. At least I had my reasons- I could rationalize that if only he found out my reasons behind my action, he'd understand. Alan was like that, I could hope.
I watched them slowly trickle out, speaking awkward goodbyes to Ronald. If I was like the reprimanding teacher, they were the disappointed students. Alan let the door swing shut behind him without a lingering glance. I stood stiffly, unsure of my own position. Should I leave? Should I stay? I should've been asking him questions about the incident, as I knew he would've been able to answer them.
Ronald's arm rolled onto his forehead. His irises glowed so much greener with the pink surrounding them. They were wet. The arm on his forehead moved to help him sit up, and he patted the bed next to him, a silent invitation. I sat gently, as if moving too quickly would scare him away. His eyes dropped to the sheets and he absently tugged at snapped splint. I couldn't see his eyes, and I was unsure if I would even want to. Had I forgotten that even he would have weaknesses? I must've believed in his perfection so deeply that I'd forgotten he had as much vulnerability as I tried to hide.
"I'm sorry." He mumbled, yanking the splint off completely. It took a minute for me to register the words, and I was still unsure. It was a needless apology- except perhaps he was sorry he had cried?
"There's no need to apologize, Knox." The wounds were already half-healed, so the pain would be minimal, and it wasn't as if there were any fatalities due to a mistake he made…
"I didn't get the soul, I'm sorry." His voice cracked in his apology. He seemed to shrink before me, younger and weaker suddenly. Vulnerable. "I didn't stop him. I didn't get the record." He pressed his palms to his eyes again. Had he always been so soft?
"It's not your fault, Mr. Knox, there was nothing you could do."
"There was! If I'd dodged his attacks, I would've been able to retrieve the soul!" His shoulders and voice quivered, and he continued softly, "I wouldn't have had to be saved. That other reaper wouldn't have had to waste his time and be late for his soul collecting-"
My arms stiffly wrapped around him, as if they had it in their mind to break as many rules as possible in a single action. He quieted, but didn't shy away as I had expected. Was it natural for him to be hugged so casually?
"You misunderstand what happened. There was there was nothing you could have done."
How long ago had it been that he was the one trying to comfort me? Back then I had known that it had worked on me, but I wasn't so sure if I was living up to his par. Was he this unsure when it was I who needed this?
"Mr. Knox, that reaper was going back from a reaping when he saw the demon attacking you. He wasn't late. As for the soul you were to collect, that demon had taken it before you even got there." I paused and swallowed, unsure of my next words. Yet the more I spoke, the more I believed in what I said. "There was truly nothing you did wrong. The better choice, had you known, would have been to escape and hunt the demon later. You were brave, staying despite knowing the danger you were in. The entire division should be proud of you, Ronald."
His voice cracked in a sob, "Thanks, sir." His body was heavy as he leaned into the hug.
He was asleep by the time I realized I had called him by his first name.