I woke up to someone screaming my name and opened my eyes. Everything hurt, so that was a pretty good indicator of the fact that I'd survived the fall. Ikki was hovering over me, eyes wide and teary, still shouting my name.
"I'm not deaf." I grimaced. The words came out slightly warped so I wondered if he'd heard correctly. He stopped and just stared at me before really bursting out into tears.
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone. I knew what they were capable of and I still did, I'm such an idiot. I'm so sorry."
"This'll all heal, Ikki, no need to worry."
"I guess that wish didn't work…"
"It takes time, but it'll work. Don't be so sceptical." I sat up, groaning in pain as I assessed the damage. Broken arm, leg and probably some ribs too. Bloody scratches and bruises turned my skin into a colorful painting. Overall, however, there wasn't anything that wouldn't heal.
"I already called an ambulance, you should stay down until they arrive." I followed his advice and carefully lay back down.
"Was I out for long?"
"Five minutes since I found you, so in total I think about seven." He squeezed my hand and shook his head.
"That's not so bad…" I was sent into a coughing fit and every inch of my body burnt with pain.
"Just stop talking for now. You should rest." I did as asked and slowly fell into a peaceful slumber.

I awoke in the hospital and yawned, feeling significantly less pain than before. I looked around to find Ikki by my side, fast asleep. My arm and leg were in solid casts and there were firm bandages around my chest to support all the broken parts. Big scratches had been bandaged while other, minor ones had been left alone.
"Good to see you're awake." A nurse said as she walked in. Her tone was hushed so she wouldn't wake Ikki. "You were pretty beaten up." She stood by the bed and fiddled with the equipment.
"Yeah, I was heavily outgunned." I smiled.
"You're lucky to have had your boyfriend with you. If he hadn't called the ambulance, you would be in a much worse place now." It took a while for her words to actually arrive in my brain and by the time they did, she was already gone.
"Boyfriend, huh?" I murmured as I smiled at the boy beside my bed.
"If you insist." I started slightly, groaned in pain and gave him a gentle push.
"Don't scare me like that." He smiled.
"I couldn't help myself." His expression went from happy to worried. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better than before, actually. I mean, broken ribs are a bit of a pain since they can't be put in casts, but you know, this'll have to do." Something crucial suddenly popped into my head.
"Oh my word, they didn't call my parents, did they?" He flinched slightly and averted his eyes.
"They were quite persistent in getting the number of a guardian…"
"You don't have my parents cell numbers, do you?" He shook his head. "And why would they even want that? I'm 19 years old." He raised his shoulders.
"Well, whose number did you give them?" I heard my name being yelled exceptionally loud and let out a deep sigh, regretting that immediately afterward as pain coursed through my body. Waka stood in the door opening, panting heavily and glared at Ikki.
"You!" He said as he walked up to the boy and grabbed his collar. "You did this to her! You're fired! You worthless piece of-" I forced myself up.
"Waka." He instantly released Ikki and walked over to my bed. He hadn't even looked at me as he charged at Ikki, as he was visibly shocked by the state I was in.
"No need to be mad at him, it's not his fault." I said, nodding at Ikki. Waka turned to him.
"Can I talk to you for a bit?" They both left the room and judging by how I couldn't hear their voices anymore, I figured they'd moved away a considerable distance.

They came back a little later. Ikki sat down in the chair and Waka stood at the bed again.
"Are they on vacation again?" He asked, looking slightly guilty.
"Yeah, they left yesterday. Sorry that they called you instead."
"What? No, no, don't be sorry." He carefully hugged me, then let me go again. "I talked to the nurse and she said you get to go home soon." His tone didn't match the nature of the news.
"Well, that's good, isn't it?"
"It is, but I want you to come live with me for a while. At least until you're capable of doing things on your own again." I knew I was in no condition to be moving about and taking care of myself at the moment, so I nodded.
"Sure." I looked at Ikki and back at Waka. "So, what did you talk about?" I knew he wasn't going to tell me, but I figured I might still try.
"I just apologized for firing him and officially hired him again." I knew he was lying, but I decided to leave it alone for now.
"Good, Ikki performed admirably under pressure." Ikki looked up, feigned a smile, then hung his head again.

Days passed slowly and I pretty much spent them watching tv and texting Ikki, who wasn't able to come by much anymore because "Waka is working me to the bone". I had no trouble believing that, but there had to be more. Then the day finally came where I was allowed to leave the hospital. I was wheeled out in the wheelchair and got into Waka's car.
"How are you?" He asked as he looked at me in the rear view mirror.
"A little better every day."
"That's good to hear. Knowing you, you'll be up and about soon enough." I laughed.
"Probably, yeah." I'd always been quick to recover from injuries like these, especially with Waka's special treatment. He'd always been an exceptional cook, even though he didn't really look like it.

His apartment was smaller than I expected, but then I realized that he had a business to pay for, so that probably took most of his expenses. And I always liked smaller places, they were much cosier.
"It's not much in comparison to where we once lived, but you know, it's home." He seemed slightly flustered.
"Are you okay? Your face is a bit red." I asked as he sat me down on the couch.
"Yeah, sure, it's just a bit hot in here." I couldn't argue with that, it was incredibly hot.
"If you're uncomfortable, you should turn down the heat a bit."
"I thought you'd heal faster if it was warmer." He admitted.
"I doubt it. I've always been more of a cold lover."
"You're right, I'll turn it down."
"Thanks again for taking me in like this, I'll make sure to pay back any expenses, okay?"
"Nonsense!" He said loudly. "You're my sister, I will accept no money from you." I flickered my eyes a few times, then laughed.
"Okay, okay, calm down. But you'll have to make sure mom and dad won't find out or they'll insist."
"Probably. Instead of worrying about you, they'd worry about how it affected others." He sounded slightly angry. He then sighed and sat down next to me.
"This is nice though. Just like the old times." I said, grinning as I leaned against him. My father's spartan upbringing had left little room for teaching me how affection worked. I had Waka to thank for that.
"Well, you've grown a lot."
"So have you, you know. If it hadn't been for the stern look, I'd hardly have recognized you."
"Am I that different?" He asked surprised.
"You're more of an adult now, I guess."
"Growing up was something even I went through, don't fret." I laughed, then started coughing. Waka immediately turned to me, unsure of what to do.
"Are you okay?" I nodded.
"This happens now and then, my lungs are recovering too."
"I'll get you a cup of tea."

With a nice warm cup of tea in my hands, I smiled contently.
"What were you doing out there, actually?" I wasn't sure if telling the truth would be the best option here, but Waka knew me well enough to know when I was lying.
"I was helping Ikki with something he's dealing with."
"And his fans happened, I guess?" I nodded.
"I could've expected it though. It wasn't very smart to stand right by the cliff." Waka sighed.
"You shouldn't have to think strategically in the normal world, Alice."
"This happens when I don't."
"You should"Ve just broken it off with him as soon as they started it." I shrugged.
"You know me, Waka, I don't back away from anything." I said proudly.
"I know you. Well, as you might have guessed, I told Ikki to stay away from you for the time being." I wanted to speak, but he quickly continued. "Only until you're back to full health. I might be able to force him to stay away from you, but I can't do the same with you."
"You're right, because I'm not abandoning him. I'm determined to help him as much as I possibly can."
"There's no changing your mind, so just watch yourself, okay? The last thing I want to do is attend a funeral." He stood up and walked away.

Weeks passed and things got easier every day. I'd had casts before, but it always required some getting back into. Waka obviously didn't approve of my way of thinking, but that wasn't unusual. Despite our good bond, we disagreed about many things which often led to heated debates.

After 4 weeks, only 2 more weeks until the casts could come off, we'd gotten in such a big fight that he decided to spend the day at the café. I grabbed one of the knitting needles on the table and stuck it down my cast. I had to use knitting needles to scratch the skin that was shielded by the casts. Without much success, however, as I could never quite get that one spot. I groaned as I pulled it back out and put it down. I took my phone and checked it for messages. I'd gotten less and less messages from Ikki and sometimes, he'd even completely ignored my messages. Not only did it leave me unsure about things, it made me even more bored than before as I now had literally nothing to do.

Waka had found it strange that I wouldn't press charges against my assailants, but I somehow felt that would be a cowardly thing to do. I was determined to see this through to the very end, no matter what that may be, on my own. Or at least with Ikki, because it was still him who would be the true victim in the end. I looked at the clock and frowned. It was 6 o'clock already.
"Time really does waste away when you're doing nothing…" I muttered as I leaned back and let out a deep sigh. I moved my phone around in my hands and stared intently at it, as if that would somehow invoke a phone call or text.
"He should be done by now though." I unlocked the phone, went to the contacts screen and hit Ikki's name, holding the phone by my ear.

It took him long to answer. I figured he had to wonder about whether he'd even answer or not.
"Hey."
"Well, that's an abundant greeting. Hey to you too." I said as I looked up at the ceiling.
"Sorry, I just…" I could hear him swallowing. "I just think that we shouldn't… um, see eachother anymore."
"Waka isn't standing next to you, is he?"
"No, this is my decision."
"Let me guess, because you're afraid they'll do this again if you go on?"
"Spot on, as always."
"So you're giving in?" He sighed.
"It's not giving in. I'm just worried about you, I mean, you could've died and I don't want that to happen to you." I found it an admirable reason, because I could hear he was having a hard time.
"You remember how you sort of stalked me when we just met?"
"I wouldn't call it that, but yes. Why do you ask?"
"Expect the same thing from me, because I'm not giving up on you." I hung up and sniffled.
'These damn pills are making me emotional.'