Fujimoto was very weak as he was gently being put down into his own bed shortly after the re-union.
He was dehydrated, starved and even feverish.
His skin had sunken in to leave his cheek bones and eyes a bit more pronounced, he was pall, beyond pall, aside from that touch of fever that colored his obscure nose, cheeks and forehead deep red as he hoarshly breathed in and out, deep rasp breaths.
But he was alive, it was more than what any-body could have ever dared to hope asking for, and Fujimotos recovery wasn't to troublesome.
He did indeed drink what people gave him, and he ate what was put in front of him, hungrily so even, he rested as he was told to, and was all in all, a very compliant patient not coursing to much trouble. When he wasn't caught up in his deep fever dreams, turning in his bed, murmering and sweating, groaning.. some-thing about dying fish's and beautiful forests going to waste because of ignorance.
And when he was awake, he did seem very distant, as if his thoughts were on another place entirely, often he would just sit up in bed and look towards the window in the room, out at the ocean.
And he could sit like that for a very very long time, where you had to wonder whether he had entered a trance or a dream-like state of being, perhaps helped a bit along by the fever.
That was how Odan saw him around a week after Fujimotos miracoules apprerance, and Odan wasn't even surprised as he hung in the door and shook his head. "Oi Fuji, when are you going to snap out of that dream-land you have trapped yourself in?" he asked.
Fujimoto blinked then turned to Odan, deeply surprised over seeing any-one at all there at the door. "Odan.." he blinked.
"How are you feeling?" Odan then asked with crossed arms.
"Good." Fujimoto told. "I'm quite good." Then he rolled his eyes. "If just they would let me leave this bed, I'm fine now." He muttered annoyed.
"Ah, I see." Odan nodded stepped in. "So you have mostly recovered. Good, then I can ask you." As that he stepped all the way up to Fujimoto, crossed his arms and then hissed dangerously. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING FUJI!?" he asked in a big yell making Fuji sit up straight and almost fell out of the bed, dragging blanket and every-thing with him in one clumsy tangled mess. But Odan continued. "Dad told you, I told you, also Tatsue, to go under deck!" he stated. "Why didn't you listen?" he asked angrily.
Annoyed Fujimoto looked up form under the blanket he had tangled himself up in, and just managed to move it. "Well excuse me it was chaos on that ship." He snorted. "Beside I'm fine now, what's the problem?" he asked.
"The problem is you almost died!" Odan exclaimed grabbing Fujimotos shoulders harshly. "You should have been dead Fuji! That you are even here goes beyond all rime and reason. Have you any idea, any at all! What your apparent demise did to our father?" he asked.
"It's not my fault." Fujimoto then retorted annoyed. "It was an accident! Stop yelling you are making my head spin." He told, as true enough, his eyes seemed to have become a bit more distant and dizzy looking.
Which made Odan relax a bit, as he let go, then instead took a seat looking frowning at Fujimoto. "You were not just lucky, every breath you take is a miracle now." He stated. "Fuji, I don't ever want to see our father like that again, so.. broken. If you don't soon start to think about your actions I'll.." he grumbled.
"Me thinking about my actions?" Fujimoto gaped. "You're the thickhead around here!" he told.
"Don't you start with me." Odan hissed lifting a finger.
"And don't you lift fingers at me." Fujimoto snorted back. "I am not a child."
"OH GOD GUYS! STOP IT!" It was Tatsue now running into the middle, gaping for breath. "Calm down! Don't fight now!" he exclaimed stepping into the middle pushing them to each their side.
"Tatsue?" Odan asked in a lifted eye-brow.
"I heard you were going to see Fuji." Tatsue then admitted in a deep sigh. "And I can't remember one single time you two shared a room without fighting. Odan, Fuji is not fit for that right now. You know that."
"What?" Fujimoto exclaimed then crossed his arms annoyed. "I'm perfectly fit Tatsue, I can handle myself without your protection."
"Fuji, it was not like that." Tatsue groaned holding a hand towards his forehead. "You are still sick though, it's only a few hours ago you were hallucinating again, talking about massive forests of light under water and all of that." He sighed.
"That was not a hallucination!" Fujimoto gaped. "I'm telling you, I saw it!"
Odan blinked and Tatsue turned to him "See there, you exhausted him again to that point." He told.
"WOULD YOU STOP!" Fujimoto exclaimed throwing down his blanket, and then stood up out of bed, throwing both his arms down in an angry manner. "I am not CRAZY!" he yelled, his big wild hair standing up in all directions, his eyes almost bulking out and… if any-one had ever looked crazy, he was it, right at that moment in time.
"Fuji?" Tatsue asked stunned.
"Urgh! I need a.." At that Fujimoto turned around, walked directly for the table with the pitcher filled with water, readily available for him to take at any time, he grabbed that pitcher, raised it over his head, and then turned it around, spilling the entire water content over his own head, then at last sighed deeply putting the pitcher back down, swiping his now soaked hair away from his face with a hand.
Stunned, absolutely stunned beyond reason had Odan and Tatsue witnessed this entire series of actions, shortly they looked at each other, catching each others eyes, which was enough to express their deep concern and.. how off put they both felt, before they wide-eyed turned back to Fujimoto whom now turned towards them, soaked in water and every-thing.
"Urhm.." Tatsue hesitated. "Fuji.. maybe.. you should lay down. You.. you look like you could need some rest."
"I've been laying down all day." Fujimoto frowned crossing his arms.
"Of course! Of course!" Tatsue exclaimed holding down his hands. "It's just.. perhaps, you would like to relax a bit." He tried to calm Fujimoto down, in that very awkward manner where he spoke like Fujimoto was a bomb about to go off.
"Yes, I'm sorry I upset you." Odan then told. "Just, relax, lay down again."
That made Fujimoto looked at Odan. "What's going on?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" Odan asked.
"Odan, you never apologise to me or tell me you are sorry, some-thing is up." Fujimoto observed with squinted eyes.
"Fuji, he's just very concerned for you." Tatsue tried to reason. "We all are." He told trying to step closer. "Now calm down, go back to bed, I'll find you some dry clothes, and we can forget all about this." He assured.
"You're acting very strange." Fujimoto observed squinting his eyes at Tatsue.
"Look who's talking." Odan commented, making Tatsue squint his eyes at his older brother, and Fuji looked frowning at both of them.
"Oh I see." Fujimoto frowned. "You both think I've gone crazy." He commented dryly.
"Fuji." Tatsue tried. "That's not, urgh how do I explain." He asked rubbing his forehead. "Fuji, you're very very sick, can't you understand that?" he asked. "There's been people who has been through less than you, that never returned completely to their senses again. Floating around on the water for days without any fresh-water nor food, the human body just isn't fit for that kind of thing."
"Perhaps that is what happened to other poor souls, but that's not what happened to me." Fujimoto frowned annoyed walking towards his closest. "It was the goddess of Mercy, I told you that all-ready! She was there, she took my hand, she brought me down to her kingdom, I saw all of it." He stated grabbing a robe inside of the closest and put it on, securing it tightly around himself. "I had no idea it had been days, time just.. flew by down there, felt almost like a dream." He sighed deeply lowering his head, before he lifted it again and glared at his two brothers. "But it wasn't! I know it wasn't! She was real!" he stated surely.
"Fuji." Tatsue tried only for Fujimoto to glare at him.
"Don't Fuji me Tatsue." Fujimoto hissed annoyed, then walked right past them towards the door.
"HEY!" Odan yelled. "Where are you going?" he asked.
"I am going." Fujimoto hissed. "To get some fresh air! And some bloody space!" he hissed then walked out through the door, and he was gone.
"Urgh." Odan hissed annoyed. "That stubborn bastard! Of all features to have, he has to be stubborn as a donkey! When is he going to realise!?" he asked.
Tatsue though frowned as he looked to where Fujimoto had disappeared. "It does sounds fantastic and out of this realm." He then admitted in a frown. "But Odan.. have you considered.. what if it's true?" he asked.
"Oh no not you to." Odan hissed looking at Tatsue. "You can't be buying into his hallucinations."
"I am not buying into any-thing." Tatsue shook his head. "I am just asking, what if it's actually true?" he asked. "I mean, it's true, Fuji should have died, that he just washed up on shore like that, at our front door no less, not just some random place.. That's an awful lot of luck isn't it?" he asked.
"Well I suppose." Odan frowned, then shook his head. "It's still impossible! The goddess of Mercy is just a wave of light coming and going, not an actual person.. How could there be any forest of light on the bottom of the ocean? It's the bottom of the ocean!" he stated. "It's cold, cruel and dead!"
"I don't know." Tatsue admitted frowning as he held his chin. "All I do know is that.. some-thing happened to Fuji, he is not quite.. there." He then told looking up. "If you understand what I mean."
"I do, a lot." Odan frowned. "I wish he could just return to his senses all-ready." He commented.
At that Tatsue looked up and turned to the window, blinking he walked over there, rested his hands on the window frame and looked down. "Fuji?" he asked.
Odan blinked and then joined Tatsue looked down. "What on earth is he doing?" he asked.
As true enough, far down on the beach, their messy haired, lanky weird looking brother was walking around, he aimed straight for the ocean though, and then stepped out into the waves.
"HEY! WHAT IS HE DOING!?" Odan yelled. "DON'T DO THAT!"
"Odan stop!" Tatsue exclaimed holding the older brother back, and they both looked down to see how Fujimoto was now standing in the water, the water reaching to his ankles, and then gently flowed up and down his legs.
And Fujimoto, he just stood there, looking out at the ocean with distant eyes… which was very strange indeed, Fujimoto had never been a type to do things like that before.
Stunned the two older brothers looked at it, then looked at each other.
"that's not very good for him is it?" Odan asked. "He still has a fever."
"I don't think that.." Tatsue hesitated. "You should be the one telling him that." He then sighed deeply. "Urhm.. why don't I go fetch him back?" he then asked. "You just.. erh.."
"I understand." Odan then admitted. "Can't always be that easy for you to be caught in the middle of our fight huh?" he asked.
Tatsue smiled a little embarrassed. "I get through it." He told. "I know, you're just worried, and Fuji knows that to, trust me." He asked, clapping Odan on the shoulder. "You'll be the one to take over this entire fortress one day, and to protect the two of us just falls to you." He smiled a little defeated. "Father is very proud of how good you take care of us."
"I suppose." Odan frowned crossing his arms. "Now get down there and get that idiot brother of ours out of there! He's all-ready wet from that pitcher stunt, and now he's standing in ocean water. Father would kill the both of us if he died from a cold because of this."
"Aye, aye sir!" Tatsue grinned saluting Odan, and then he was on his way, down towards the beach to fetch Fujimoto back quick as possible.