05 November 2009

Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing

Afternoon

Midori opened her eyes to examine the ceiling one more time. Her body ached and she knew she had to try and remember what had...

Oh. Yes. Aigis beating the crap out of her.

"You're awake. Good. I shall summon a nurse."

Sitting upright, pain lanced through her side and head, causing Midori to wince. "Chidori-san?" She failed to focus her eyes on the girl sitting across from her realizing that she was missing her glasses. "How long was I asleep?"

"Only a couple hours this time." The red-head looked down at the drawing she was doing. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck."

Chidori didn't respond. "Junpei didn't tell me all the details. Also, Officer Kurosawa wanted to take your statement as soon as you are able to give one. Your friends came by, but they were called away."

Midori cradled her head in her hands. "Ikutsuki... he failed, right?"

Chidori paused to consider her words. "I believe it would be best if you spoke to one of your friends." A nurse entered and the two stopped talking as she examined Midori carefully. Once she removed her hospital shirt, she could see that not only was her head bandaged, but also her torso. She didn't see any bleeding, but from the familiar pain in her breathing, she figured cracked ribs at the least. The nurse also flashed a light into her eyes, checking them for additional damage.

A concussion. Aigis had given her a concussion that caused her to not remember clearly what happened last night. She did remember being woken up several times over the night, but it was all a blur.

Evidently, the nurse was satisfied with her condition, and ordered her to stay awake as long as possible. Leaving, the nurse ushered in Officer Kurosawa. He greeted Chidori politely before closing the privacy curtain around Midori's bed.

"First, I must inform you that I've been read into all the details about the Dark Hour and the fights you have had. I am no longer to be kept out of the loop." He said this as he pulled up a chair. "Due to the events of last night, I have been promoted in the ranks of the department, but that will not affect your ability to acquire resources from me in the future." Pulling out a pad of paper and a pen, he flipped open to a page scrawled with notes. "Now, about last night, please tell me what you remember."

At first hesitant, Midori soon spoke with firmer conviction as the act of reciting what happened since the start of the Dark Hour helped clear them up in her mind. How Kirijo had stayed behind to try and contact Ikutsuki, then their arrival at Tartarus and the encounter with Aigis and Ikutsuki. "I hit her, then I don't remember much after that. I do remember Akihiko telling someone to keep me awake though, but with the Dark Hour, it was hard."

Kurosawa nodded. "Thank you for your input. Now I will have to brief you on the official version of the events that occurred last night. On the evening of November the Fourth, Takeharu Kirijo came to the Minatodai Dormitory to both have a social visit with his daughter and to discuss business with Chairman Shuji Ikutsuki. During the business meeting, Chairman Ikutsuki drew a weapon and assaulted President Kirijo.

"You were on the roof at the time, and Ikutsuki fled to the rooftop where he took you hostage with the gun." The expression on Midori's face wavered between disbelief and shock. Kurosawa kept talking. "Kirijo came onto the roof and in the face of the threats against you with a weapon, allowed Ikutsuki back into the building. At the top of the stairs, Ikutsuki, ranting, pushed you down the stairwell in order to aim his weapon at President Kirijo. Your injuries were the result of that assault and fall. Seeing this, the President rushed the Chairman, who shot him once at close range. In the struggle, Kirijo took the weapon from Ikutsuki and killed him with it."

The blood drained from her face. Midori could see the ending of this tale coming.

"President Kirijo died of his wounds before reaching the hospital. Your injuries were light, and you were also taken to the hospital, where you are now."

Midori had nothing to say. "Dead? Kirijo-san is dead?"

Kurosawa nodded, although his face showed clearly that he too was holding back emotion in favour of doing his solemn duty. "Yes. That is the official story. Please stick to it. Any discrepancies will be attributed to your injuries." He rose. "I am sorry, but I must be going. Good day, and I wish you a speedy recovery."

Feeling numb, Midori muttered some vague thanks while trying to come to grips with what she had been told. She realized that she needed to hear the real story, and fast, before she burst from the pent-up energies. Until then, she couldn't even file the story she was supposed to stick to in with her other official coverups. She needed the truth to keep it together properly.

While she was poking at the food that had been put in front of her by a silent orderly, a knock came from the door, and a visitor poked his head in. "Midori?"

The person who came in was completely unexpected, and that made her response even more joyful. "DADDY!"

"MIDORI!" Her father rushed in and quickly embraced his daughter in a deep hug. "How's my little magical girl?" He got down to look at her face directly, worry etched into every part of his face. Out of the side of her eye, Midori saw Chidori roll her eyes at the love and affection put on display, and she didn't care one whit about it.

Father and daughter talked about everything that had gone on in the past couple months, with the obvious exception of the Dark Hour and everything related to it. Midori did, at her fathers insistence, introduce Chidori as Junpei's girlfriend who was in the hospital as a long-term patient – an introduction with caused Chidori to throw a glare that would melt metal at her.

"Ah, I know that look, sweetheart." The elder Komaki observed as Chidori sulked. "Anyways, thank you for watching over my daughter while she slept." He bowed deeply in appreciation until she grunted a response. "Oh, I think you annoyed her with that girlfriend comment, Mi-chan. I remember your mother doing stuff like that..."

The conversation drifted on past lunch and after school let out. Midori only noticed how time flew past when Akihiko loudly announced his presence as he led himself, Junpei, Minato and Fuuka into the room.

There was a round of introductions as Mr. Komaki and her fellow Dorm members met for the first time. They made much in the way of small talk, while Chidori kept dropping the room temperature every time she saw Junpei, which caused him no end of confusion, especially when she took the sushi he had delivered.

When a doctor came in, and told her that he needed to take a small blood sample for her weekly test, the others filed out, save her father, who moved over to sit beside Chidori as the privacy curtain was pulled.

"You're planning on... what's the word you kids use these days... dumping him?" He said quietly to Chidori as they waited.

She twisted to look at him, a confused expression on her face. "I don't see where that's any business of yours!"

Mr. Komaki shook his head sadly. "I can see it in your eyes when you looked at Junpei-san. You want to push him away, but you want to hold him close." Silence was his response, so he kept talking. "I don't know why you're here, but it is not worth it.

"Midori's mother... she didn't go quickly or quietly. I was with her the whole way. When she knew her en was coming soon, she tried to push me away. Much like what you were trying to do with that young man."

Now he had her attention.

"So I can tell you this. Pushing him away, because you think that will make him feel better when you are gone? No, that is the wrong thing to do. He wants to hold you close to share in your joy and suffering. Pushing him away won't make him change his mind." He paused, looking for the right words to say. "Just... don't try. You'll hurt him and you."

The doctor was finished and opened the curtain, allowing everyone back into the room, samples secured. Realizing he had spent quite a few hours with his daughter, and needing to go back to work (thanks to Kirijo supplied transportation), the middle-aged man also made his apologies and left.

"Wow, so that's the amazing Mr. Komaki." Junpei watched in slight awe as he left.

"I can see where you get some of your ideas." Fuuka added.

Minato wisely kept his opinions to himself. A man who raised his daughter after his wife's death by using magical girl shows as a means of entertainment? Granted, it was work related, and a way to build a family bond after it had been shattered...

Akihiko coughed. "Anyways, we got work about your recovery this morning, but this was the first we could get here reasonably."

"How's Mitsuru?" The words were out of her mouth before she was aware of it.

"She... isn't taking this well. She's back at her family's place in Yakushima going over things from her father's will." Akihiko finally said. "But we came to see how you were doing." He took the medical chart from where it was clipped at the foot of her bed, and flipped it up."

"So, what really happened? I have to know." Midori said as she shuffled around in her bed to make room for some sandwiches that Fuuka brought, as well as flowers that Junpei produced from somewhere.

So they told her. How Aigis had beaten her down in two blows, then reduced the rest of them in short order. The attempted sacrifice, Takeharu's arrival and the fight, before the two deaths. Chidori listened in with rapt attention, even though she feigned total disinterest.

"Once we got everyone down, Akihiko-san was very worried about you. It was worse that we had to wait for the Dark Hour to end before we could call Kurosawa-san. Aigis, overloaded, was shut down and taken back to the lab. She's coming back today, all better. Then you were taken away, and here we are." Fuuka finally finished off the tale.

Midori was shocked. She didn't have a frame of reference for the things that happened. "I... I..." Unbidden, tears began to fall down her face, the force of what must have gone through Kirijo's mind as he faced down the man who would harm his only family.

Would her daddy do the same?

Of course he would. Stupid question.

Akihiko put down the medical chart. "Um, Midori-san. Forgive me for prying, but..."

"Yes?" Her reply allowed her to wipe away the tears. "What is it?"

"Well, I was looking at your file to see how long you would be laid up, and there are some things there that, well, I don't know what to make of them." The information here certainly wasn't in the files provided by Mitsuru. He'd have to bring up the discrepancies later.

"Oh." She knew what he was talking about. "It was a war zone by the end."

Confused, Fuuka plucked the chart up, and looked it over, finally coming to a stop at Midori's medical history. She gasped as she went down the pages and pages. "Bullet wound?"

"SDF forces who got a dose of gas through their protective gear and started seeing things." the platoon, in the middle of the Lockdown, thinking that if they killed all the COMP users, they could survive, her and her friends their nemesis for simply trying to save everyone and not just themselves.

"Knife wounds? Stabs and slashes!"

"Yakuza thugs." trying to kill her, calling her a witch, defending herself until she could escape. Why couldn't they see she was trying to help? Or was it she who couldn't see?

"Insect bites and stings?"

"Ever had someone throw a wasp's nest at you?" Belzoubulb's swarm, digging into her skin, eating and chewing as they tried to devour her from the inside out. Amrita and magical healing took care of most of it, as well as proper medical treatment. Time would heal the rest.

"First degree burns?!"

"Running through a fire to save someone." ducking behind some cover, the seeking flames from the demon rounding the corner to rip at her. "You done?"

Fuuka looked at her in the silence that descended upon the room. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Midori wanted to snap at them, but kept her voice even. "I know Mitsuru-senpai knows, as does Yukari. I didn't want to... I don't like to talk about it. And I spent enough time in a hospital after the lock down, thank you very much. The worst, I can dress over, or cover with makeup. And I didn't want people to worry so much about me."

Akihiko nodded, so much making sense to him now, even though he could see that the others had all come to the wrong conclusion. Here was a girl – no, a young woman - who was willing to sacrifice much in the pursuit of her goals, something he could respect. He kept forgetting that the cheerful girl who bounced through life seeking love and justice was just a mask for the real Midori, a battle-hardened survivor whose goals in life were to simply arrange things such that the horrors she experienced would never happen again. Or was he the one drawing conclusions?

And who had thrown herself into the Dark Hour without a second thought once the stakes became clear to her. Mitsuru was right, she was damaged. But that damage made her, and her persona, powerful. They needed that power. Once the world was saved, they could save Midori. He would be certain of that.

They took their leave as evening approached. Minato promising to report her well-being to the rest of SEES. Another doctor who came in to check on her announced that she could head back to the dorm the next day, a Friday, as long as she followed a strict regimen. Akihiko could only gladly offer to make sure she stuck to it, having long practice at self-discipline.

06 November 2009

Minatodai Dorm, Front Entrance

After School

"I don't need this!" Midori loudly complained as the three older boys lifter her up – wheelchair, homework and all – the stairs and into the open doorway.

"Doctor's orders!" Akihiko grunted as he shifted his grip. "You stay in this until you get home."

"You know, I could have walked up the stairs! It's not like we have an internal elevator that we could cheat with." Midori continued to protest as she was manhandled further up. "And if you wanted to do this right, you should have pulled me backwards up the stairs, rather than you three trying lift and push!"

"Sorry!" Minato said as he found himself backing into the entryway. "We're clear! Just roll her in!"

"On it." Junpei found himself in the best spot, and pushed Midori's wheelchair to get her back home properly.

"SURPRISE!" The communal yell surprised Midori as she tried to climb out of her unwanted seat. She turned and saw that in the past two days, someone had printed off a "Welcome Back Midori!" banner, and hung it across the room while everyone greeted her warmly.

Evening

"Komaki-san?"

Midori looked up from her third slice of ice cream cake. "Yes, Aigis?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"For?"

"Harming you."

Midori set down her dessert. "Oh?"

"Yes. I... hurt you. I didn't want to do that. The commands Ikutsuki gave to me caused me to harm you."

"Aigis, sit down."

She did.

Midori leaned over and hugged the robot. "I forgive you. Ikutsuki did something bad to you, and now you're all better. Right? I'll be fine in a couple weeks."

Aigis froze at the contact, unsure of how to respond before Midori let her go. "Thank you" she finally said, and realized that she really meant it, and wasn't just saying the words.