Chapter 16 Recovery
Author's note: *looks out side the manhole from the tank* are they gone?
*sees a mass horde of angry readers*
Nope!
*closes the manhole*
-Takagi manor-
The group were all resting inside Saya's house so they could relax and rest until they felt like they needed to leave again. However they had a huge problem on their hands.
Ross had been shot by one of the men, The man that had shot him had been chewed out by Saya's mother. But that didn't matter to them, All that mattered to them was seeing Ross survive.
After all, He held a very close place in there hearts.
-flashback-
The birds were chirping as they flew into the clear blue sky. It was a calm day in Japan, As everything was going slow. Save for a certain orange haired child who was running home.
-Hikatori manor-
Koukennin was reading a book on the patio as he was enjoying the wonderul day.
"Ahh! Now this how days should be" he said.
Just then heard the front door open.
"Hm?".
Koukennin stopped reading as he placed his book on the table, He walked inside the house to see his son at the door as he closed it.
"Hey Ross, How was school?" Koukennin asked his three year old son. Ross turned to his father who had tears running down his face.
"Ross! What's wrong!? What happened?" he said as he kneeled to his son.
Ross wiped his tears away.
"T-the kids were mean to me" he said "They called me names and picked on me. Then they started hitting me" he said. Koukennin just held his son close to him.
"Shh, Now now Ross. Everything will be alright" he said.
Ross got out of his grip and shook his head.
"No! Everything won't be alright! I hate that school! I don't wanna ever go back!", He the stormed off to his room crying. Koukennin just watched him and sighed, He knew that his son was a kind and caring boy. But he knew deep down that he was too kind. Ross was the kind of boy that many people could get over with and use to their advantage.
He then walked upstairs into Ross's dim lit room as he stood at the doorway.
"So you're just gonna give up and run away from everything so nothing can hurt you?" Koukennin said.
Ross was on his bed crying as he looked over to his father and nodded.
"Yes! That way nobody can hurt me ever again!" he said.
Koukennin sighed as he then crossed his arms.
"Come with me Ross, We're gonna go on a little trip" he said.
Ross just looked at him.
"W-where are we going daddy?" he asked.
Koukennin just walked away from the door.
"You'll see, Just follow me" he said.
Ross did as his father asked him as the two went to the car.
-park-
Ross and Koukennin walked though the park as Koukennin was holding his son's hand. He then stopped at a large Sakura tree.
"Why did we stop daddy?" Ross asked.
Koukennin then started to smile.
"You see that tree over there son" he said.
Ross looked over at the Sakura tree.
"Yeah, It's very pretty" he said.
Koukennin nodded.
"Indeed it is. But it's also the tree that I showed you when you were a baby" he said, Ross looked up at his father.
"Really?" he said.
Koukennin smiled.
"Yup really, I took you there when you were first born. When I came to this tree with you, I held you up and said to you; This kid is going to be the best kid in the world. This kid is going to be better than anybody I ever knew, Till the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world" he said.
He then looked at Ross with a serious expression.
"Let me tell you something. The world and some of the people here isn't all sunshine and rainbows Ross. It's a very mean and cruel place sometimes, And it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permently if you let it. Nothing is going to hit you harder than life, And you can't always find the easy way out all the time. Sometimes you have to take that hit and keep moving forward. That's what a Hikatori is, It's a fire bird that keeps getting hit and keeps moving forward".
Ross didn't say a word as he kept hearing his father talk.
"You can't always look for an easy way out of everything son. Nor can you always feel sorry for yourself, You have to learn from your mistakes so that you don't make the same mistake again. You have to be stronger than that. Only cowards do that, And that's not you. Your better than that. You understand son?".
Ross just looked at his father and nodded.
"Yeah...I understand daddy".
-flashback end-
Ross quickly opened his eyes as he took in his surroundings. He slowly got up as he looked at his body.
He saw that his black sleeveless shirt was gone and hung up on the end of the bed. As well as his military hat and armored trench coat. He glanced at his bare chest to see a scar over his heart, As well as a bandage wrapped around his right forearm.
He gently stood up as he breathed lightly.
"Well, I think you were right to tell me that dad" Ross said with a smirk as he slowly got to his feet and walked over to the door.
-meanwhile in the other room-
"Ta-Takashi" Rei said.
Shizuka stood over her.
"I'm going to begin. Don't let her get away Komuro" she said.
"No! Don't! It burns!" Rei cried.
Shizuka smirked as she put the ointment on her back.
"Ahh!".
-the hallway-
Ross was slowly walking down the hall as he looked around.
"Wow, This place is pretty cool" he said.
Just then.
"Ahh!".
Ross quickly knew who the scream belonged to.
"Rei!" he said as he then forced himself to run.
-in the room-
Shizuka was rubbing the ointment on Rei's back.
"When you were being used as a turret the gun's recoil hurt your chest, So we need to spread some ointment or it'll get get a lot worse" Shizuka said as she finished up "Okay, All done. Now that wasn't so bad". She then got up and walked out the door leaving Rei and Takashi alone.
Rei glared at Takashi.
"You traitor" she said.
Takashi just looked at her.
"I was only helping with the ointment" he said.
"That's not true!".
"Fine, Then what do you think I was doing?".
"Consider everything that's happened!".
Takashi looked confused.
"Huh? W-what?".
Rei looked away.
"The ointment itself is fine...it would have been better if it wasn't Shizuka" she said.
"Excuse me?" Takashi said.
Rei then pouted at him.
"Get out".
Takashi sighed.
"What's this all of a sudden?" he asked her.
Rei then shouted at him.
"You shooting the gun like that really hurt my boobs!".
She then kicked him out.
"I'm going to put on the ointment myself from now on!" she said as she slammed the door.
Takashi sighed as he walked off.
"She needs to lighten up...but what can ya do. At least we can finally get some decent rest" he said.
-meanwhile-
Rei was laying on her chest as she was letting the ointment set in. She really didn't like how much it burned. But it was Takashi's fault for using her like a turret in the first place.
"Ouch! God this burns" she cried.
She then heard a knock at the door.
Rei gritted her teeth as she got up and opened the door and punched the person in the chest.
"I thought I told you to get lost Takashi!" Rei yelled.
The person held there chest as they were panting hard.
"Shit! Jeez! I didn't know you could hit that hard Rei. Remind me to never make you mad in the future".
Rei knew who the voice belonged to as she glanced down to see none other than Ross.
Rei panicked.
"Oh my god Ross! You're alive! Oh thank god you're alive!" she cried as she helped him to his feet and into her room closing the door behind her.
She laid Ross onto her bed as she placed her hand on his scar.
"I'm so so sorry for hitting you. I thought you were Takashi" she said as she held onto his bare chest, Ross was able to get his breath as he looked at her.
"No It's my fault. I should have said something before knocking" Ross said.
Rei shook her head at him as she held him tighter.
"No you don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have lashed out at you" she said "I really didn't mean it, Did I hit you in your scar?".
"Yeah, You kinda did".
Rei started to cry.
"I'm sorry! I don't want to hurt you! I really didn't mean it! I can't lose you Ross! I just can't" Rei said, Ross then wrapped his arm around her waist.
"Hey now, It's ok. I'm not going anywhere" he said.
Rei just nuzzled her head into his neck.
"But...you got shot and almost died. And Miss Shizuka and Ms. Yuriko both performed surgery on you. We all watched as you were struggling to hang on. I...I left the room, Because I didn't want to assume that you were going to die" she said.
Ross just sighed.
"Well, Their's no need to worry now". He then turned her head to face his as they both looked into there eyes.
"Your eyes are so cute. They look almost like rubies" Ross said with a smile getting Rei to blush.
"Hehe, Thank you".
"Your very welcome".
The two just stared into each others eyes.
"Ross" Rei said in a whisper.
"Yes Rei?" Ross said in the same tone.
Rei then leaned up to his face.
"Kiss me".
Ross did just that as he leaned toward her as there lips collided. That's when Rei jumped on Ross as she landed on top of him.
Rei then licked his cheek.
"Time for us to finish where we left off" she said.
Ross happily sighed, For he knew what was about happen next.
"Heh, Very well" he said.
-2 hours latter-
Ross walked out of the room as he allowed Rei to heal. He felt a jolt of pain in his right arm, But decided to just deal with it.
"Christ, Who knew Rei was so flexible" he said.
Suddenly.
"I get it already! You're always right, Mama!".
Ross saw that it was Saya as she stormed off downstairs.
Ross walked after her.
"Saya!".
Saya didn't hear him as she walked away.
Ross just stood at the steps.
"I wonder what that was all about?" he said "Meh, It's really none of my business".
That's when Ross heard footsteps behind him.
Ross quickly turned around as he charged up his left hand, Only to see that it was none other than Saya's mother Yuriko.
"Ah, You're awake" she said.
Ross sighed as he looked at her.
"Yeah".
She then glanced at his left arm and saw his lightning surge.
"I see...so it is true" Yuriko said.
Ross raised an eyebrow until he looked at his left arm and quickly turned off his powers.
"Oh! Y-yeah..., I'm really sorry. I thought you were that one guy at first so I had to be ready" he said.
Yuriko smiled at him.
"It's fine, Although I thought what my daughter had told me was a bit far fetched. It would seem that the stories are very true" she said as she walked up to him and poked his arm "To think that something like that would be a reality. You must be really happy to be able to have that kind of gift".
Ross looked away.
"Sure...if you like being called a freak of nature that is" he said.
Yuriko then placed her hand on his head.
"Well, I don't see you as some freak. And I sure don't see you as some mistake of nature either. I see you as more of a special young boy with a special gift" she said. This made Ross simle.
"Thank you, Never has an adult besides my own father told me something like that, Most adults either fear me, Or want to kill me" he said.
Yuriko frowned as she placed her hand to her side.
"Well that's not very nice of them" she said "In fact, If Saya had brought you to us sooner. Then I would have loved to get to know you more".
Ross nodded at her comment.
"Thanks, That really means a lot to me".
"Anytime, So how are you feeling?".
Ross looked at his chest as he placed his left hand over his heart.
"I'm alright. I don't feel any pain" he said.
Yuriko sighed "Good, I was able to remove the bullet that was inside of you. You were very lucky, If the bullet was any closer to reaching your heart then you would have been a goner" she said as she glanced at his right arm "However, I was able to give you some painkillers for your arm. Although I think you might feel them wear off in a few seconds".
"Oh, Well I'm sure it wo-".
That's when he felt a huge jolt of pain in his right forearm start to surge.
"Aghh! God! I was so wrong!" he said as he gripped his right arm, Yuriko quickly held onto Ross's arm as she undid some of the bandages and made a sling out of them. She placed the sling over his head.
"There, Now you won't have to hold onto it" she said.
Ross breathed heavily as he looked at his arm.
"Thank you, I guess that makes twice" he said.
Yuriko smiled at him.
"I guess so".
Ross then rubbed the back of his head.
"I really do apologize for causing you so much stress for being here" he said, Yuriko waved her hand at him "Not at all. Right now. Much like with it's water, Tokonosu is getting it's electricity from the dam up north at Okunako. But...A small part of the self-defense force was on standby in case of terrorist attacks, They've been deployed elsewhere. It's to protect the hydro plant and transformer substations".
"I see. But what about maintenance?" Ross asked.
"How long do you think the people there in charge of maintenance will be able to continue working? They have families, Too, And it's not like their families are there at the the power plant with them".
Ross then looked out the window and saw an armored bus.
"That may be true, So then using that bus and whatever else...you're all going to take full responsibility?" he said.
Yuriko nodded.
"Yes, We will take full responsibility...but only we'll only take along those of us who have the will to survive!" she said as she looked at Ross "I have no doubt that you all have a great will to survive. You've done very well to survive as long as you have" she said.
Ross nodded.
"That's right. Our will to survive is very strong".
Yuriko smiled at him as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Spoken like a true leader" she said.
Ross blushed a bit.
"Yeah".
-garage-
Kohta was busy messing with the guns as he was taking them apart. He made sure to take apart and re-fix the weapons very carefully as to not lose anything. As soon as he was done with Takashi's shotgun, He then started to get to work on Ross's railgun.
Kohta wiped his head.
"Ok, How am I gonna do this?" he said.
He then heard someone call out to him.
"Hey kid".
"Huh?".
"Hey dude, Is that thing real? That's something a kid shouldn't be playing with" he said.
Kohta tightened his grip on Ross's railgun.
"Well,Uh".
Just then Saya walked over to them.
"Is that all you wanted to say, Matsudo?" she said.
Matsudo turned to her as he quickly changed his attitude.
"Ah, Saya...well, Um. I'll go help and try to finish the repairs on the vehicle you arrived in" he said.
"Very well. Thank you" she said.
Matsudo quickly walked away, Kohta just looked at her with joy.
"You're just like a real princess. Awesome!" he said.
Saya huffed.
"You're the last person I want to hear that from. More importantly, That thing! You should do something with it" she said.
Kohta glanced at the railgun.
"With the railgun?".
"Didn't you hear what he just said? The adults are in charge here! Take it to them".
Kohta just kept looking at the weapon.
"And what are we?" he said as he glanced at Saya.
"Let's ask Ross what he thinks".
-inside the house-
Takashi was walking downstairs as he was thinking.
'Man so much has happened today. We get surrounded, we finally get to rest, And Ross get's...'.
He stopped at the last step.
"Ross get's shot..., And now he is in bed trying to get his energy back" he said. Just then he saw some men caring a crate.
"You idiot, You tried to carry it too far too fast!" one man said.
Takashi then ran over to them and helped them out.
"I'll help" he said.
That's when another boy ran over as well.
"Same here, I can help too" he said.
Takashi looked at the boy, The boy was Around 18 years old, Had very pale skin, Short spiky messy black hair, Grey eyes, An athletic build, A scar over his right eye, Nose, Right side of his lip down to his chin.
The four of them lifted the crate from the floor as the other man got a hold of it.
"Oh, Thanks!" the other man said.
"Okay, We've got it. That's enough kiddo!" the other man said.
Takashi and the other boy just looked at them.
"No, I want to help" Takashi said.
"Yeah, Same here" the other boy said.
The men just laughed.
"Don't worry about it! This is an adult's job! You kids just kick back" the man said.
"Oh, And tell your friend I said get well" the other man said as they both carried the crate into the house.
Takashi sighed.
"So we're just kids huh?" he said.
The other boy crossed his arms.
"This bites!" he said.
Takashi then turned to him.
"Oh hey, Thanks for helping me" he said.
The other boy turned to Takashi and smiled.
"No problem" he said as he held out his hand.
"Name's Kazuhira Hideki, Or kaz for short" Kaz said, Takashi took his hand and shook it.
"Takashi Komuro".
"Well, it seems that you made a new friend".
The two boys turned around and instantly blushed at Saeko who was wearing a blue kimono as she was holding Ross's katana in her hand.
Saeko smiled at them.
"What's wrong?" she said.
Takashi looked away.
"Nothing really, Uhh, Just...that looks really good on you" he said as glanced up to see a frown on her face.
"No, Uh, I didn't mean anything weird!" he said.
Saeko waved her hands.
"Ahh, Don't worry about it. I won't take it the wrong way" she said.
The two smiled at each other until they heard footsteps.
"Huh? What, What?".
It was Alice and Zeke.
"Did something good happen, Big brother?" Alice said.
Takashi and Saeko nodded at her.
"We were just talking about how glad we are that you're doing so well Alice" Takashi said.
Alice smiled widely.
"Yeah, I'm doing really well!" she said. She saw Kaz.
"Hi there!" she said.
Kaz waved at the child.
"Hello young one" Kaz said.
They all then heard the front door open as Saya and Kohta came inside.
"Komuro" Saya said as Kohta was caring a large bag.
Takashi looked at her puzzled.
"What are you doing?" he said.
Saya crossed her arms.
"I think we should talk" she said.
-Rei's room-
everyone was gathered inside Rei's room.
Alice stood next to Kohta.
"Can I stay too, Kohta?" she said.
Kohta gave her a thumbs up.
"Of course! Alice and Zeke are part of our band of companions too" he said.
This got Alice to smile, She then looked at Kaz who was leaning back on the wall.
"Come on Kaz! Join us" she said.
Kaz looked at her and smiled a bit.
"Nah, You enjoy yourself. I'm just here because I have nothing else to do around this place" he said, Alice pouted as she walked over to him.
"Aww, But that's no fun. Don't you want to meet everyone?" she asked him. Kaz shook his head.
"I'm not the best when it comes to socializing" he said.
Alice titled her head at him.
"Why?".
"Because I was mostly bullied in school" he said.
Alice gasped.
"That's not right!" she said.
Kaz nodded.
"Indeed, It's not".
That's when Rei spoke.
"Oh sure, Let's all just assemble in here" she said in a frustrated tone.
"You really can't move. There's nothing we can do about that" Shizuka said as she was pealing a banana "So what do you want to talk about?".
Saya looked out the window with her arms crossed.
"I have two things that I want to talk about. The first is about us as a group. And the second-".
"Is about Hikatori's recovery" Saeko said.
Hearing about Ross made everyone uneasy.
Kaz was just watching the whole thing.
'I wonder who this Hikatori guy is? He must be someone very important' he thought.
Saya sighed.
"The next time you set out, I'm not so sure I should accompany your little "Band of companions". She said.
"Companions..." Rei said.
"Of course. Now that we've banded together with a bigger, Stronger group. In other words..".
Saya turned to Saeko.
"Yes, I have two choices! Can you understand that?" she said.
Takashi gulped.
"Split up? But why?" he said.
Saya then opened the windows to the balcony as she walked out and turned to everyone.
"Maybe you should look around and see for yourself! If you still don't get it after that...then I revoke your rights to call me by my first name!" she said.
Kohta handed Takashi some binoculars.
"You mean the street?" Takashi said as he walked out to the balcony and took a look, Takashi tensed up.
"It's gotten worse. It's a whole other world" he said "Your dad is really handing this well, Especially for just being a right wing. Your mom is amazing, Too".
"Yeah, They're amazing! They have a lot to be proud of. Even now, They're always away, Dealing with this. But, If they can do that much, Then..." Saya said as she held her left hand to her chest.
Takashi just looked at her.
"Takagi..." he said.
Saya yelled at him.
"Call me by my first name!".
Takashi was starting to get impatient.
"You shuldn't think badly of your parents, Especially how things are right now. It's rough for everyone" he said.
Saya just shouted back.
"That sounds like something my mom would say".
She looked up at the sky.
"I know, I know, My parents are the best! They're great, They're the greatest, They're the best! Even when something unexpected happened, They took action right away and protected their mansion and staff! Of course it's not like they forgot about their daughter! She's the apple of their eyes!".
"That's going to far..." Takashi said.
"As expected! They're really amazing! I shouldn't expect any less from my mama and papa! They didn't think I survived so they gave up immediately!".
That's when Takashi grabbed Saya and held her up.
"STOP IT, SAYA!".
Everyone was in shock, Save for Alice who didn't see the event thanks to Rei.
Kaz started to get angry.
'I may not know the guy. But I really don't like what I am seeing now!' he thought.
Saya was looking at Takashi.
"That was pretty sudden. But it took you long enough" she said "You know if Ross was here right now, He would have killed you".
Takashi just glared at her as he shouted.
"He would have done the same thing that I'm doing right now!" he said "It's not just you! We're the same! We're all having an equally tough time. No actually. You know your parents are okay, So you're even better off" he said.
Saya just looked at him.
"Okay. I get it, So let go of me" she said.
Takashi put Saya down.
"Sorry" he said.
Saya fixed her glasses.
"Yeah, You should be. But it's fine" she said with a smile "Well then, It's about time that we got to the...other matter at hand".
Everyone was afraid of this.
"You mean about Ross?" Yuuki said.
Saya nodded.
"Yes, As much as I hate to say it. But I think that-".
The door then opened up.
"Hate to say what Saya?".
Everyone turned to the door.
"ROSS!".
Kaz just blinked.
"Ohh, So that's who he is" he said.
Ross was wearing his outfit as he had his right arm still in a sling.
"I kinda figured you all would be in here" he said as he closed the door and walked over to the balcony, Alice then grabbed Ross's leg.
"Angel! You're all better!" she said.
Ross kneeled down to her and rubbed her head.
"Yup, Angel is all better. Well kinda, My arm is in major pain" he said.
Alice smiled as Ross got to his feet and walked over to the others.
"So, What did I miss?" he asked.