Hello! Been a while, eh? Sorry about that... The next chapter is amost done though, so you might get two whole updates thins month!
Anyhow, on with the story. This is a bit of a filler, but the next chapter should prove to be a doozy, so woot for that.
I'm exausted...
Disclaimer: I do not own any charaters from OHSHC. The song "Time in a Bottle" beongs to Jim Croce, and "The A Team" to Ed Sheeran. I don't know who owns "Scarborough Fair", but it isn't mine either.
Chapter 13
"Tell me about your job."
It was the third day of Kaoru's bed rest, and he was going a little bit stir crazy. He needed to do something and talking was about the only thing that he could, considering that moving was out of the question at the moment.
And so, there they were.
He didn't know why he had asked her that particular question, considering she probably wouldn't even answer him, if the fact that she was acting like she hadn't even heard him in the first place was any indication.
"Tell me about your job," he said again.
Julie blinked. "Pardon me?"
"Tell me about your job." Kaoru repeated stubbornly.
"I really don't think that's a good idea…" she said uncomfortably.
"Why not? I want to know."
"Kaoru…. You aren't thinking this through."
"Would you care to enlighten me, then?"
She fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "I've done things you can't even imagine. Horrible things. I've killed people; on orders and without them, amongst other things. Do you really want to hear about that?"
Kaoru hesitated. Did he really want to know about such terrible things? In that split second he decided that yes, he did want to.
"I do," he said seriously.
"Are you sure?" she pressed, "100 percent certain? This is your last chance to back out, because once I start I'm not stopping."
Kaoru rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. Jeez, Julie! I thought you loved me…."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he froze. They hadn't breached this subject since she had broken down before him two days previously, both of them unsure what, exactly, they were supposed to say. She had been so desperate, so serious when she had said it, Kaoru instantly felt guilty fro having joked about the words, feeling as if he was ridiculing her feelings by brushing them off so casually.
Julie herself had frozen, the guarded expression back on her face, shield back over her eyes.
"Oh God," Kaoru stuttered out, "I didn't mean that, I shouldn't have said that, I'm so sorry…. Ugh, I'm so stupid—"
"Kaoru," she cut him off, guarded expression mostly gone, "it's fine."
"But it's not fine! I must have sounded like such a mean, terrible person-" He was cut off by her finger against his lips. Shockwaves spread through his body from the point of contact.
"Kaoru. You're rambling."
He shut up at that point. There was a dull throbbing pain in his left shoulder, but he didn't mention it. It was probably nothing, and he didn't want to seem like a baby, or like he was changing the subject.
"I'm not offended that you said that," Julie was saying, "Loving somebody and being in love with someone are two very different things." She wouldn't meet his eyes.
The words were out before Kaoru could stop them. "Have you ever been in love?"
She smiled sadly. "No, I haven't. Well…. Maybe… it's complicated."
Kaoru didn't press the matter further, partially because he knew that she would tell him when she was ready, and partially because the pain in his shoulder was growing more intense, going from a dull throb to a sharp, stabbing feeling every time he took a breath. It felt almost as if there was something grating against his bone.
The pain must have shown on his face because Julie looked alarmed then concerned and exclaimed, "What's wrong?"
Kaoru felt his face twist into a grimace. "My shoulder hurts."
She nodded sharply, already turning to search the first aid kit.
"I'll check the wound and give you some painkillers. Is Advil alright?"
"Yes."
She turned back to him with two small capsules in hand, as well as a mostly empty bottle of water.
"We're running low. I'll have to refill it shortly."
While Kaoru took the pills, Julie fetched the half gone roll of bandages and dragged the desk chair over to his side, taking a seat and leaning over him.
She unwrapped the bandages, poked about for a moment and said, "Oh. Oh, dear."
Alarmed, Kaoru replied, "What? What's wrong?"
"There's … something… in the wound. We have to get it out." She looked Kaoru in the eyes. "This is going to hurt. A lot. Are you sure you can deal with it?"
He nodded. "Maybe if you give me something else to focus on? Like, you could sing or something?"
She nodded, looking slightly nervous. "Okay."
~o0O0o~
It took her twenty minutes to prepare. She had cleaned the knife they had used to cut up the apples they'd had with lunch, fetched as much cushioning fabric/tissue as she could find, and set the rubbing alcohol near the bed for sanitation purposes.
She had pinned her bangs with a couple of bobby and changed into less baggy clothing so the excess fabric didn't get in the way.
Everything was set. Her hands were shaking.
"Julie?" Kaoru ventured, "Are you alright?"
She gave him a shaky smile. "Just nervous. I've never done this before. I mean, I covered operations of this sort in my training, but knowing how to do something and actually doing it are two very different things."
"You'll be fine," Kaoru said, trying his best to sound reassuring, "I believe in you."
~o0O0o~
She gave him a folded up piece of cloth to bite on.
"This is going to hurt a lot so I apologize in advance."
He nodded.
She began to sing.
"If I could save time in a bottle
The first thing that I'd like to do
Is to save everyday 'till eternity passes away
Just to spend them with you"
The pain was excruciating as she sliced his skin further open, ripping apart untouched flesh and scabs alike.
"If I could make days last forever
If words could make wishes come true
I'd save everyday like a treasure and then
Again, I would spend them with you"
Kaoru bit hard on the fabric in his mouth and tried to just focus on the soft, beautiful voice drifting over him.
"But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you wanna do
Once you find them
And I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I wanna go
Through time with"
The pain grew even more as she forced his flesh apart to force the sterilized tweezers inside to get out whatever was in there.
"If I had a box just for wishes
And dreams that would never come true
The box would be empty except for the memory
Of how they were answered by you"
The tweezers went in, both soothing the irritated flesh with their cool surface and burning it with icy shards of pain.
"But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you wanna do
Once you find them
And I've looked around enough to know
That you're the one I wanna go
Through time with"
She paused for a moment, letting the last note ring out its full tone, then began to sing a new song.
"White lips, pale face
Breathing in snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste"
The metal surface of the tweezers was becoming warm now, the cold sensation nearly gone. It was not a relief however; if anything, it only made the pain even worse.
"Light's gone, day's end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men"
The tweezers moved around. It seemed that whatever it was she was trying to grab was evading the grasp of the tweezers.
"And they say she's in the class-A team
Stuck in her daydreams
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries and they scream
The worst things in life come free to us"
A muttered curse and the tweezers stopped moving. Fabric ran along his skin, wiping away the lifeblood flowing from his veins.
"'Cause she's just under the upper hand
Goes mad for a couple grams
And she don't wanna go outside tonight
In the pipe she'll fly to the motherland
And sell off to another man
It's too cold outside for angel's to fly"
The tweezers started moving again, this time seeming to actually grasp a hold of whatever it was that was lodged inside.
"Ripped gloves, raincoat
Try to swim and stay float
Dry house, wet cloths"
The grabbing tool began to withdraw, firmly clasped around the offending object. Every inch that they withdrew burned with pain, but also felt renewed and refreshed with relief.
"Loose change, bank notes
Weary eyes and dry throat
Cool girl, no phone, oh"
The tweezers finished their excruciatingly slow removal, and an intense pressure covered the wounded area.
"And they say she's in the class-A team
Stuck in her daydreams
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries and they scream
The worst things in life come free to us"
The pressure continued, almost painful in its continuing, consistent pressure upon the inflamed, flesh.
"'Cause she's just under the upper hand
Goes mad for a couple grams
And she don't wanna go outside tonight
In the pipe she'll flies to the motherland
And sell off to another man
It's too cold outside for angels to fly"
The pressure was removed for an instant before soft bandages began to press against the irritated tissue.
"Now an angel died
Covered in white
With closed eyes and hoping for a better life
Now this time now we'll fade out tonight
Straight down the line
Straight down the line, ohhhh!"
Another curse, and the bandages are unwrapped again, cold air stinging the lacerations painting his flesh.
"And they say she's in the class-A team
Stuck in her daydreams
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries and they scream
The worst things in life come free to us"
A sudden and intense sting—that must have been the rubbing alcohol—then a bearable, only slight twinge spread across the area with the thick slave.
"'Cause we are all under the upper hand
Go mad for a couple grams
And we don't wanna go outside tonight
In the pipe we'll fly to the motherland
And sell off to another man
And it's too cold outside for angels to fly"
The bandages were back by this point, wrapping tightly around the abused flesh.
"It's too cold outside for angel to fly
To fly, to fly
For angels to die"
"There," she said, "done."
Kaoru forced his vocal chords into action.
"Good," he said, "Knew you could do it." His shoulder was still on fire and he was completely exhausted.
She laughed softly, in a mix of relief and slight hysteria. "Thanks. Now sleep."
She started singing again, all the while softly stroking his hair.
"Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine…"
Kaoru's eyes slipped shut, the dark waves of sleep washing over his consciousness as he let the blackness envelop him.
~o0O0o~
When he woke again, his shoulder was still throbbing like mad, but it was slightly more bearable now.
Julie was sitting on the bed. His head rested in her lap, just like the last time something of this nature had occurred.
"You're awake," she smiled. Kaoru nodded, not trusting his parched throat to make a sound. She seemed to sense this and handed him the bottle, helping him sip some of the clear liquid within. When he was done, they settled back into their original position. Kaoru gave a contented sigh.
She again broke the silence.
"Since we're going to be here for a while, do you still want to hear about my job?"
He managed to croak out, "Yes, please."
"Alright. This is going to be kind of sporadic and quite long, so I apologize for that. It isn't something particularly easy for me to recount."
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and muttered, "Here we go…"
End.
So how did you like it?
Plus, if anyone's interested in listening to Scarborough Fair, which is an absolutely GORGEOUS song, I would recommend the Simon and Garfunkle version. It's called "Scarborough Fair/Canticle"
Anyways, please leave me a review, feedback is always appreciated!
~JM~