Chapter 7; Recovery and Bonding
The first thing Simon noticed was a dull headache. As he came closer to consciousness, it grew into a throbbing pain that was all along his spine. He also noticed that he couldn't move his left arm, and that there was something warm on his face. As he cracked his eyes open, he was blinded by the sunlight coming in through the window. As his eyes adjusted he saw an IV in his right arm and some cords attached to his chest. Testing out his movement, he found that he still had feeling in his feet and his hands, although something was weighing down his left one. Turning his head, even though that was absolute agony, he saw that a certain blonde British girl had fallen asleep at his bed side, her fingers entwined with his and her head rested on his arm. Well, that explains the lack of movement he thought as he smiled at the concern she was showing for him.
Deciding it would be better to spare her the embarrassment of being caught, he closed his eyes and groaned slightly, trying to pretend that he was only just now waking up. He felt the sudden jolt as she sat up and could imagine the look she was giving him. Opening his eyes again, he was still rather shocked to see her leaning over the bed and looking very concerned. "S-Simon? Are you okay?" she managed. Making a show of looking down at his legs, he responded, "Well, I can still feel my arms and legs, I'm not seeing double, and unless I'm suddenly speaking a different language and don't reali- Ouch!" He had been cut-off mid rant as Cecilia practically fell on top of him in a hug. "Thank goodness! I was so worried about you!" "Thanks for the concern, Cecilia," Simon managed, "But please don't break me again." She quickly fell back, blushing as she realized what she had been doing. "I-I mean we were all worried about you," she said, trying to salvage some of her dignity, "You didn't wake up for the longest time."
"Wait, how long have I been out?" he asked, suddenly alert. She just looked away, concerned that he would just get mad at what she had to say. "You were unconscious for two days. They had to call in a doctor from where you worked after the first day when they discovered…something." Although he was initially mad at the fact that he had been out for so long, he then thought about what she had said. He just looked down, clearly troubled. "Did they tell you?" he asked simply. "No. Only Ms. Orimura knows what they found, she was the one that called the doctor. What was it? She was clearly upset about it." Simon just refused to meet her eyes, still brooding over this particular blunder. Why wasn't I paying more attention to Laura? Of course she would be tougher than that he scolded himself, feeling himself dropping deeper into a pit of self-loathing.
Before he could slide too much deeper, Chifuyu walked into the room and looked at the both of them. "Can you please give us a moment, Cecilia?" she asked, looking at the British girls with something akin to sympathy. She would have argued, but the use of her first name by her teacher was enough to convince her that this wasn't something she really needed to hear. Not yet, anyway, though she intended to drag whatever this secret was out of Simon before the week was over. After she left and closed the door, Chifuyu sat down next to the bed and focused on the boy in front of her. The blonde that was always kind and fun looked like he felt horrible about the whole situation, and the wrapping around his throat didn't help with the image. "So, would you like to explain why you have an implant? And before you try to lie to me, I didn't ask your doctor friend anything, and you don't have to tell me anything either. This is completely up to you."
The kindness in her voice was very apparent, and it just made him feel worse. His teacher, someone that he respected professionally and who was able to quickly put anyone in their place was concerned about offending him. Taking a deep breath, he sat up and said, "No, I don't mind. The implant was a personal choice I made to enhance my control over my bits. It's also why I can control ten so easily." "They informed you of the danger of having this in your head?" she asked, concerned that her student might have done something stupid without being fully informed, but he just nodded in agreement. "Well, I can't say that I approve, but this was your decision. Apparently the damage was mostly superficial, so the repairs were simple. You should be able to return to your room later today." She said as she got up to leave. "Ms. Orimura?" Simon called out, stopping her as she reached for the door knob. "Can you bring the others here? I think I should explain this to them, too." She just nodded and went into the hallway.
As she closed the door, she turned and saw that Cecilia was still waiting by the door, as was everyone else from Simon's circle of friends. She was mildly surprised to see Laura there as well, but it was probably more so that she could be with Ichika than out of an interest to see the other boy. She still couldn't believe that she had kissed her brother in front of the whole class like that, but Laura was always a little unaware of her actions in public. "You can go see him, just don't excite him too much." Chifuyu said as she walked away. Now that she had spoken with Simon, she intended to get more details about this implant from the doctor, a Mrs. Tamari Kendrick. The others practically barreled through the door, eager to see if their friend was alright. Simon just smiled as they gathered around his bed and noticed the various levels of relief. Cecilia and Rin were ecstatic that he was finally conscious, while Ichika, Houki and Charles (now dressed as a girl, so that finally came out) looked rather happy but kept their distance out of respect for his condition. He was rather surprised that Laura had decided to show up, and more so when she walked up to his side.
"I apologize for injuring you, American." She said simply, to which Simon just smiled. "I wasn't exactly nice to you either, so let's just call it even and start over. Agreed?" he asked, extending his hand. After considering it briefly, Laura took it and shook. After releasing her hand, Cecilia was right next to him with a determined look. "Now then, you will explain exactly what happened. What did they find?" she demanded, trying to look stern and serious. Glancing at everyone else, he saw the same looks of interest and just sighed. Well, this had to come out at some point. "I call it my Neural Interface," he explained, "It provides me with a direct link to my IS' targeting systems in order to enhance control over my remote weapons. In layman's terms, it's a way to plug myself directly into my suit for better control of my fang bits." He just sat there and waited for them to respond, but they were all clearly stunned about this. Rin was finally the one that broke the silence. "You let them put a plug in the back of your head?" she asked. Simon just nodded, waiting for any of them to explode on him. Hell, in hindsight he could completely understand why someone would consider this a stupid choice.
"And what about that shift you used on me?" Laura said, changing the subject after she sensed the tension in the room. "It's called the Phoenix Shift. Basically, it's where my IS' movement speed gets kicked into overdrive. I can move faster than any other IS, but the increased heat generation starts to become risky after a while." He explained. "How long is a while?" Houki asked, finally speaking up. After thinking about it for a minute, doing the math in his head, Simon responded, "Between 5 and 7 minutes, depending on the load." After another stretch of silence, Ichika spoke up. "Well, I'm sure you'd like to rest. I'll see you back at the room." "You and Charles aren't sharing anymore?" Simon asked, causing the two to blush slightly and Houki and Laura to glare at him. "W-Well, after she re-introduced herself to everyone, Chifuyu decided it would be better that we go back to sharing a room." he answered, trying very hard not to look at anyone. "Alright, I'll be up whenever I stop feeling drowsy." Simon told him, trying to spare the bluenette any further embarrassment. As they all turned to leave, Cecilia quietly slipped away from the group and went back to sit with Simon.
"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked after everyone else had left. "For the last time, princess, I'm fine. Just a little sore is all." Simon said, causing her to blush again at the nick-name he had given her. Although, truth be told, she was starting to grow rather fond of it. "Would you mind if I stayed here?" she asked, her cheeks staying a little red. Smiling at her, he replied, "I don't mind at all." The next few hours were them discussing various things. Simon finally learned what happened to Cecilia's parents, and that she had been the one protecting her family's fortune for a number of years now. Simon also explained to her how his implant helped with control over his bits, although he did not recommend her getting one since the surgery and recovery took the better part of two months. At about 5 o'clock, Simon decided that he was ready to try and walk again. Unfortunately, his body wasn't as willing as his mind.
"Ow! God damnit!" he said as he tried to stand and felt a lance of pain go up his spine. Cecilia immediately put her arm under his shoulder and helped him hobble a few steps. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't have to force yourself." She said, all concern. "No, if I stay in that bed much longer I'll probably go nuts. Never liked hospitals." He replied, taking another step and feeling less pain than before. "But, this is just the school's infirmary." She said, smiling a little. Simon just grunted as the two made their way out. When they reached the dorms, Simon leaned on the wall for a second to rest. Being out cold for two days didn't leave a person in very good condition for a walk. The back pain wasn't helping, but he was learning to ignore it. "Ready for the next bit, Simon?" Cecilia asked. He just nodded and let her support some of his weight again. While it was a little humiliating, he wasn't about to complain and send the British girl off. This was actually the most time they had spent alone together since they had met, and there was a part of him that didn't quite want that to end just yet.
When they finally made it to his room, he turned around to face her fully. "Thank you for the help, Cecilia." "You are most welcome, sir knight." She said with a slight smile, "But you'd better believe I will ask for something in return for this." Simon just laughed softly, amused that she had decided to turn the 'princess' nickname around on him. "Well, so long as it's not something too outlandish, I would not mind returning this favor." They just stood there, looking at each other for few seconds, neither one of them wanting to end the moment quite yet. As Cecilia turned to leave, Simon took a quick step forward. Before she could do anything, he planted a quick kiss on her forehead before turning and heading into his room. After he closed the door, her brain finally started to work again after shorting out there for a second. He-he just kissed me she thought again and again as she walked back to the elevator. He likes me.
In the dorm room, Simon was trying to steady his pounding pulse. He kept running that scene over and over again, unable to believe that he had done something so impulsive. But she didn't try and stop me he thought as he walked into the room. Ichika looked up from the magazine he was reading and immediately noticed that Simon was flustered. "Hey, what happened? You look like Rin just sucker-punched you." He said, getting up and walking over to face him. "I...uh… don't know what happened just now, but I should probably expect to hear about this tomorrow." "Why, what happened?" Ichika asked, looking confused as hell about what his friend was saying. Without answering him, Simon walked over to his bed and collapsed. The scene in the hallway had left him emotionally drained, and he just wanted to sleep.
After a few days of light work, Simon found himself back at 100%. He resumed his usual workouts, and even managed to get some sparing in with Houki, Ichika and Rin. Laura and Charlotte (formerly known as Charles) would show up as well, although Simon got the feeling that they were more interested in showing off for Ichika than actually practicing. Cecilia would join them, as well, but she seemed a little nervous around Simon. Neither of them had mentioned the scene in the hallway to each other, to say nothing of anyone else, but Simon was pretty sure that was the source of her nervousness. After a particularly long fight where Simon had taken on Ichika and Rin on a bet, he found himself out of breath and in need of a break. Destructing his IS, he walked over to the nearest wall and sat down, taking a shot from the water bottle he had brought.
Cecilia joined him after a short while, sitting close to him, but not too close to be invading on his personal space. The others continued their practice, although Rin and Charlotte payed attention to the two blondes. They had worked out a while ago that the two were a little more than friends, and that they weren't quite aware of where things were going. "So, are you doing all right? Those two didn't go easy on you." Cecilia began, trying to break the awkwardness that had surrounded them. "Yeah. I get the feeling those two were trying to force me into a Phoenix Shift." He said as he took another pull from the bottle. "Why would you install something so dangerous on your IS?" she asked, turning and looking at him. Simon just kept looking straight ahead as he answered. "Well, there's a reason it requires a command phrase to activate. Also, I never intended it for combat, it just happens to work well with my fighting style." "Then what was it intended for?"
Taking a moment to think how to phrase his answer, he turned and looked at Cecilia. The look she was giving him was more than just curiosity. She clearly wanted to believe there was something more here than just two friends talking. "I intended it as a means of quickly escaping a superior force, or coming to the aid of people I care about." He said, placing his hand close to hers and looking back at the field. "And am I…?" she asked, afraid what the answer might be. "Do you even have to ask?" he said, turning back to her and finally placing his hand on top of hers. Cecilia smiled back and scooted closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "I was concerned there for a moment." She said, smiling. Right now, she wanted to savor this moment as long as she could. Simon did as well, even though he was blushing fairly badly. The others just continued their practices, although Rin and Charlotte were both grinning fiendishly. It was about damned time they stopped beating around the bush with each other.
Apologies for the short chapter, but this is what I could manage without trying to rush much of anything. This will also be my last update before heading back to school, and I expect a fairly hectic workload. I will definitely try and update this story as I am able. So, finally got the beginning of a romantic story line between these two, and I'm going to regret what happens with it later. And yes, that's a hint that things are going to get a little darker. :)