Chapter 7

Bleep, bleep . . . Blooweboop. . . .What the hell was that? Aurora's head was pounding, and those damn noises weren't helping. At all. Ugh. Slowly, her eyes started to flutter open. At first they only rolled around in her head, but they soon focused. The bright hospital light made her squint. Wh-Where am I. . .? She was able to prop her head up a bit and look at her surroundings. Once Aurora realized she was in a hospital, everything came back to her. Oh yeah. . . She rubbed her head.

Matt paused his Gameboy Advance SP (which he'd resorted to playing due to the lack of PSP.) and looked up. "Good morning, sunshine," he smiled.

Aurora almost jumped out of her skin, and he chuckled. She realized the only thing she was wearing was an ugly, backless, hospital gown, and her face turned a bright shade of pink. "What are you doing here?" Everything was so confusing right now. Laying in a hospital, this guy she barely knew, and, oh yeah, being the reincarnation of the ancient Japanese sun goddess, Amaterasu. All of her thoughts were jumbling into a big ball of obscurity.

Not noticing her inner turmoil, Matt explained the situation from his point of view. "Well," he began, "my friend and I were driving back from the arcade when we came upon the unconscious Sapphira, collapsed in the road." He paused to turn off his game. "I called an ambulance, dropped my friend off, and, well, the rest is history," he grinned. "How're you feeling?"

Aurora could see the dark circles under his eyes, even beneath his orange-tinted goggles. How long had she been out? He must've been here the whole time . . .Awake. . . She suddenly felt awful, and it wasn't because of her throbbing head. No one had ever really taken care of her before. It felt great. . .Though at the same time, it made her feel guilty. "I. . ." She couldn't find the right words. "I can't thank you enough. . . If you hadn't found me, I might be dead."

Matt shook his head modestly, but felt himself blush slightly. "Actually, my friend, Mello, saw you first." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "If he didn't see you, well. . . .I probably would've run you over." He laughed, but that quickly ended as he noticed Aurora's silence. "I mean – Of course I wouldn't have hit you! I. . .I was just trying to be funny, but –"

Aurora smiled softly and chuckled. "Don't worry. I know you wouldn't have. . . You'll have to let me thank Mello, okay?"

He nodded. "Sure thing!" Leaning in a bit closer, he added, "I can take you as soon as you get outta here! . . . If you're feeling up to it, that is." He sounded a bit embarrassed. "I mean . . .They told me you could leave any time. . . They made sure you didn't have any brain damage and stitched up your wound. . ." He gingerly swept some of her hair behind her ear with his ring finger. "Um . . .What happened exactly?"

She lowered her ice-blue eyes, hesitating to answer. "I. . .Let's just say I won't be going home." Pleadingly, she looked back up at her visitor, hoping he wouldn't be freaked out.

Quite the contrary, he quickly spoke up. "You can stay at the orphanage where I live. Everybody's really nice too, so –"

"My brother. . ." How could I have forgotten. . .

"Oh yeah." Misinterpreting her words, Matt continued, "I had to tell them that I was your brother in order to see you. Hospital rules, you know? So until we're outta here, you're Sapphira Jeevas, alright?" He smiled at her, but she only shook her head. "Huh?"

Aurora felt like she was going to cry. "My brother. . . " Her voice cracked. "Before they knocked me out. . . They dragged him in the house, and –" She sat up and began pulling off all of the hospital appendages the doctors had attached to her. The steady, pulsating beat that the heart monitor gave off turned into one long ring as she unstuck the cord from her chest. She didn't even care that all she was wearing was the hospital gown anymore. Right now, the only thing that mattered to her was getting to her brother. Much to her surprise, (and his too, for that matter) Matt found himself wrapping his arms around her, keeping her in the bed. "Listen to me." His voice was stern, yet soft. "I'm not letting you go back there. Look at what they did to you!" He sighed; he didn't want to sound angry. Cupping her face with his hands, he looked into her teary eyes. "Let me take you to the orphanage, and I promise I'll go to your house, and look for your brother." Before she could protest, he added, "I'll be fine."

"Is she okay?!" A couple nurses and a doctor burst into the room.

Aurora glanced at the heart monitor. It must have set off an alarm. . .

Matt let go of her face and grinned at them. "Everything's fine. She's just eager to get home is all." He looked at Aurora. "Right?"

She nodded and looked at the doctor. "Where are my clothes?"

A/N: Sorry this chapter's so short D: