Chapter Twenty-Six
Damian sat outside the medical room with Gagana while Nathan and Ryu where inside being treated.
"It's kinda weird that I've never been inside." Damian said absentmindedly.
"Probably would be better if did though." Gagana replied equally so.
"So you want me to get hurt?" Damian asked staining at the ceiling.
"You know that isn't what I meant." Gagana said, clearly showing she didn't have the energy to snap at him right now.
"Yea I know. You were just saying I should keep better care of myself." He replied. Gagana made an affirmative noise but didn't continue. There was then a pause between the two, not due to anything awkward, just because they were exhausted. Damian eventually checked his scroll, they had been sat outside the medical room for about half an hour. He didn't exactly think that anything was particularly wrong with Nathan, just shock, but the nurse made him stay in bed and take some medicine.
"Gagana these two aren't leaving any time soon want to have a walk." Gagana have another noise of affirmation and got to her feet. They walked around the corner to a vending machine where Damian grabbed himself some milk and got some juice for Gagana. When Gagana saw the milk she gave him a condescending look.
"Hey I can drink my milk if I want to."
"With you warm sweet porridge too?" Gagana asked. Damian shrugged.
"I'll eat what I'll eat. I'm basically an adult now so no one can tell me what to do." He replied with what little enthusiasm he could to defend himself.
"You're a big old softy," Gagana said with a little uncharacteristic giggle, "aren't bears supposed to be scary and carnivorous for that. Not softies like you who eat puddings and drink milk all day."
"I mean I am still a baby bear I guess. But hey if you give me a good stake I won't turn it down." He replied. Gagana giggled again.
"Baby, adult. You're not quite sure are you?"
"Well I use whatever one benefits me most at the time." He replied now giggling as well. Gagana turned to Damian with a more serious expression.
"Seriously though stop drinking milk, we don't need you getting any taller then you already are." She said rather monotone. Damian nearly chocked on his milk as he laughed.
"See milk is dangerous." Gagana added. Damian had to try hard not to choke again as he continued laughing. He slowly regained his composure.
"Gagana don't take this the wrong way but you seem really, I'm not sure, friendly. No I don't think that's right." Damian mumbled. She nodded.
"No your right, I just feel very at ease right now. Probably because you're not scary."
"Was I scary before?" Damian asked. Gagana took a long sip of juice before answering.
"Heck yes. No offence Damian but when I first saw you, you were in a fight with two other students blowing up the front door to the academy. Then I found out I was going to get put on a team with you delinquents. There's also the fact that your like, what, three maybe four times my size."
"You're not that small." Damian said butting in.
"Damian I'm one-sixty with a thin frame you on the other hand are like two meters tall, half that broad and built like, unsurprisingly, a bear compared to that I am tiny."
"You make a valid point."
"I'm literally closer to Fenrir in size." She said exasperatedly. Damian squinted at her.
"Damn you may be right." He laughed. "Well what about the other members of our motley crew."
"You mean Hot-head dumb and Hot-head dumber. Those two are so quick to fight its ridicules. At least they aren't dragging you into it because they'd lose."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Damian said smiling.
"Specifically Ryu with his superiority complex. Is he condensed teenage angst? I swear you couldn't find a more unreasonable person in this entire country." Gagana said animatedly waving her hands around. Damian started to laugh.
"What's funny?" Gagana asked.
"Well maybe not funny, but it's nice to see you opening up."
"Sup nerds!" Nathan said as he walked around the corner to join them.
"What are you doing up already?" Gagana asked.
"Oh I got bored so I snuck out." Nathan said with a devious giggle.
"Well good on you." Damian said.
"Shouldn't you be encouraging him to rest up in bed." Gagana said, back to her normal tone.
"He looks fine to me." Damian replied.
"Damian I've been meaning to ask you about that final challenge that Professor Emrys put us through-." Nathan said before Damian put his hand out and silenced him.
"Please don't make me think about that again." Damian said wearily.
"You guys did look pretty shaken up by that whole ordeal," Gagana said, "I'm glad I pulled out when I did." Nathan sniggered.
"Pulled out!"
"That was some low hanging fruit Nathan, low hanging fruit." Damian said sounding very disappointed.
"Pulling out? What are you two talking about." Gagana asked looking a bit agitated.
"You must have been a sheltered child, I'm sure of it now." Nathan said once he got over himself.
"Let's keep it that way." Damian said bluntly.
"Do you guys think I'm some sort of child." Gagana said her temper rising.
"No no no, that's not it." Damian said now looking a bit lost on what to say.
"Let me explain." Nathan began.
"O brother." Damian said planting his palm into his face.
"When a guy pulls out." He said with air quotes, "it's a term for him taking his man meat," Nathan said slapping his hands on his pelvic around his junk, "and removing it from a girl's baby hole!" He finished by pointing towards Gagana's skirt.
"Why would you shout about that in public!" Gagana retorted even louder than Nathan had been talking.
"I mean some people do it in public." Nathan said now clearly egging Gagana on and thoroughly enjoying it.
"Nathan you lewd jerk. Shut up!" She shouted.
"What am I being lewd about I haven't said anything of the sort, you merely interpreted it that way so aren't you the lewd one!" Nathan said point to Gagana. She swung a punch Nathan's way but Nathan activate is semblance making his skin as hard as stone.
Gagana let out a cry of pain and rubbed her hand gingerly.
"Nathan stop antagonising the poor girl." Damian said stepping between the two. He then turned to Gagana.
"Are you okay?" He could clearly see was on the verge of tears.
"What do you think." She snapped.
"Same old Gagana," He laughed, "now how about we go see Ryu and see if he's awake."
"He's gone." Nathan said bluntly
"Oh I wonder where he's gon-… HE'S GONE!" Damian exclaimed. "Why did it not occur to you to tell me this sooner. He said griping Nathan by the collar.
"Chill dude what's the worst that could happen?" Nathan said helplessly.
"Oh I don't know, picking another fight!" Damian shouted in Nathan's ear.
"Guys…" Gagana said to gain their attention, then she placed her scroll to Damian's ear, or as close as she could.
"Hey what's up, why didn't you call?" Ryu said through a mouth fool of something.
"Oh my god Ryu why'd you have to eat her!" Damian shouted startling everyone involved. Ryu swallowed then continued.
"I don't know what you're on about, I'm simply enjoying a lovely bowl of chicken nuggets, can you please not scream down the line at me."
He then hung up.
"He hung up on me." Damian said sounding almost upset.
"You we're ranting at him like a crazy person." Nathan said confidently now both his feet were on the floor once again.
"Well let's go join him in the cafeteria and smooth this all over." Gagana suggested.
"Yea good idea." Damian said as he started to walk to the stairs. Within five minutes they arrived at the cafeteria, which looked exactly like it did before the fight, clean and sleek. Ryu was sat by himself at the end of a table devouring what looked like a small mountain of food.
"Surprised to see you here." Damian said, taking a seat across from him. Ryu chewed, swallowed then said.
"Well you didn't expect me to stay in that room did you?"
"Well I mean I kinda thought you were out cold."
"I was, but now I'm up and I was starving so I went to grab some food. Which I am now eating."
"I can see that." Damian said eyeing up some of Ryu's fries and realising how hungry he was.
"Am I in trouble?" Ryu asked looking perplexed.
"I'm surprised you're not getting in more trouble to be honest."
"Well I've settled all my differences with Miss Merrigan, she was right."
"You are taking this… Very well." Damian said leaning in and squinting at Ryu.
"That's just how I deal with things. I fight. Fighting is how warriors speak to each other." Ryu said then returned to his food.
"I don't get it. But as long as you're not jumping at people again I guess it's a non-issue."
"Ryu," Nathan said as he arrived back with a bowl of cereal.
"Why are you eating cereal it's like three in the afternoon." Damian said cutting him off.
"Bitch I eat what I want, and I lost my breakfast so I'm getting it back!" Nathan said point his spoon at Damian.
"Anyway. Ryu is this your family a sensitive issue?" He asked.
"Depends if your calling my mum a village whore or not." He replied not taking his attention away from his food.
"Let's assume I'm not a dick and I'm just curious?" Nathan said
"Well me and my mum run an inn out in Fireside, we served food, shelter and entertainment to the passes by and towns people."
"What is it called?" Nathan asked.
"The Red Hut." Ryu said then continued as he saw Nathan's confused face. "All the huts in the town are brown, well wood coloured, and as a sign of rebellion to the quiet town my mum painted the whole thing red."
"She sounds like a ballsy person. I see where you get it." Nathan sniggered.
"Well she was the towns huntress until she settled down and had me." Ryu said.
"What about your dad?" Damian asked.
"I didn't have one." He replied.
"Ryu I don't think you know how babies work." Nathan said somewhere between seriousness and a joke.
"Okay correction, I never knew him, I heard from the towns people that he ran away from my mum, and she never spoke of him so it's not really an issue to me."
"Out of curiosity whose parents where hunters or huntresses?" Damian asked.
"Well I just told you." Ryu said.
"Literally every person in my family," Nathan said, as he counted them on his fingers, "Mum, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, two other uncles, my grandfather, oh and at least two of my cousins."
"Damn." Damian said.
"My Aunty, mum's sister, and her daughter are and they taught me my basics in combat as there was no combat school near where we lived." Gagana said.
"Cool, well nether of mine are but ever since I was saved as a kid it's all I've wanted to be." Damian said answering his own question. Damian felt a shiver run down his spin and he whipped round to see scarlet.
"Sup lightning rod, how ya doing?" Damian let out a quick uncharacteristic scream.
"Are you going to shock me again." He said raising his arms to protect himself.
"I don't think you should." Mary said. Damian gave a sigh of relief.
"It looks like he may have started to enjoying it." She added maliciously.
"Damian I didn't figure you for a masochist." Scarlet said dragging her finger across the top of Damian's ears. He violently shivered and leapt across the table.
"I still haven't recovered from the shock you gave me last time."
"Nah that was Mr Emrys, he made the lightning, I just gave it a little nudge." She said fanning innocence.
"Of course you did." Damian said eyes bared but still hiding behind Ryu and Nathan.
"What did I miss?" Ryu asked.
"Oh after you had been carted off we had to do the endurance exam." Mary said.
"Sounds easy enough." Ryu said in is normal confident manor.
"Nah that was fucked up!" Nathan said shivering at the thought of it.
"That bad?" Ryu asked.
"Well the first couple rounds where fine, ice, fire, lightning, intense gravity but the last," Nathan shuddered, "it was like fear itself." Damian patted him on the back.
"Don't lose your food again."
"Couldn't a test like that cause Grimm to be drawn to the city?" Ryu asked.
"That's a good point actually. Makes it seem even more fucked up." Timothy said.
"Timothy you didn't even participate in the last round." Nathan said.
"Exactly. We didn't but we still saw what happened to you lot. Was super fucked up." He said reaffirming his point.
"Specifics aside there probably wasn't enough of you to make a major impact on the number of Grimm around the city." Mary said.
"You'd need a large number of people, probably in the thousands considering the size of Atlas." Richard said plainly.
"Oh yea you guys are studying the way Grimm respond to emotions aren't you." Damian said.
"Yea it's kinda interesting but not terribly surprising." Mary said sounding bored.
"You guys hyped for the fight tomorrow?" Timothy asked, changing the subject.
"Not currently." Nathan said patting his stomach.
"Come on you can't drop out, we got to show the folks of Atlas why they should trust and believe in us! It's as much a chance for us to show off as it is a spectacle for them!" Scarlet said vigorously.
"Man you're like a living propaganda piece aren't ya." Ryu said in his standard snarky tone.
"Ain't you got any pride?" Scarlet said scolding him.
"If by pride you mean desire to be a puppet then no." he said coolly.
"Interesting fact about Ryu Lu number eight seven! He hates not being top dog." Nathan said jeering at him.
"I'm surprised that didn't come up sooner." Mary chuckled.
"We should get going actually," Scarlet said to her team, "We were just passing by and we haven't even got any food yet." With that STRM walked off.
"You guys wanna go for a walk?" Ryu asked taking everyone by surprise.
"Sure." Nathan replied cautiously.
"I just think that we've spent a lot of time cooped up in this building." Ryu said defensively.
"No I get you." Nathan said equally so.
"Do you guys want to walk around the city?" Damian asked.
"Yea sounds good but we should probably get changed out of these uniforms." Nathan said tugging at his collar. The others nodded in agreement.