Chapter 60: Stacking Boulders on Glass
Haku and Chihiro went in to check on Eiji.
They had been very grave, but Chihiro was determined to save him.
"There's got to be some way to keep him awake!" Chihiro exclaimed.
"I'll look at my spells, and see. There is something, even oif I have to make it myself. I will not lose him again."
Haku nodded. "Neither will I. I'll look into it as well."
They walked in, and saw Eiji had fallen asleep.
Haku shook him. "Eiji, don't sleep." He said.
Eiji didn't budge.
"Wait..." Said Chihiro.
"Look at his face, he doesn't look sick at all."
Haku looked at him.
"Y-You're right! He looks better."
Chihiro sighed. "No one simply recovers from the taint... Hmm... I have a bad feeling."
Haku looked up thoughtfully.
"Well, I wonder of someone cast a spell on him. We should ask Shisuta if anyone has checked out any spell books..."
Chihiro nodded. "That's a good place to start."
They headed over to the Altar room, where Shisuta often spent her time.
She looked up at them, nose deep in a book.
"Oh, hello." She said pleasantly.
"What do you need? Here to delve into more knowledge? Something on river magic perhaps? Or possibly druidism..."
Haku smiled. "I might get back to you on that, but I have a question."
She nodded. "Ask me any question."
She seemed excited to share knowledge at the moment, and Haku hated to disappoint her.
"Has anyone checked out spell books recently?" He asked.
She groaned in dismay.
"That is your question!? This makes me sad... Yes, Hiro checked out a book on Fairy magic not but a week ago. It really is a rivoting read, and she had excellent questions... Unlike someone."
Haku looked at Chihiro.
"It could have very well been Hiro then..."
Shisuta looked at them.
"What happened now? Good god, not again..."
Haku sighed. "Afraid so... I think Hiro may have cast a curse transfer spell on Eiji, and likely the sleep spell that Kuhn knows. The only one Kuhn knows, and can cast using his physical energy."
Shisuta gaped. "Eiji's cured... Then Hiro..."
She stood. "Where is she!? If she's anything like Kuhn, and I've heard the stories, she'll reject it."
Chihiro took a moment to focus... She couldn't get a good read.
It wasn't as bad as when they had ran to the pit, so all Chihiro needed was an item.
"Can I see the spell book she used?" Chihiro asked.
Shisuta nodded, and gave her the book. She could definitely find things fast when of came to files and books.
Chihiro focused her energy on Hiro, picking up on residual energy from the book...
She was wandering farther out of the grounds. She was a pixie, and had begun to unshift.
She looked incredibly pale, and she was coughing up a lung... She was rejecting it. Hiro was very sick, so her mental barriers were severely weakened, allowing Chihiro to pick up on thoughts.
At least I'll die for something that's my fault...
No, Eiji should have never suffered for my mistakes.
He needs someone who will keep him out of trouble... Even Chihiro said I was a bad influence on him. I am, aren't I? Why would they let me hang around him?
I'm so stupid, and nothing but a waste!
Eiji deserves an angel... I'm not an angel...
I hope I didn't hurt him... I love him...
God I love him...
That's why I should die instead of him, because he's loved...
I don't deserve love.
She collapsed.
Chihiro broke the scrying spell, and her eyes had been spilling with tears.
She looked at Haku.
"We have to get to her now, she's off of the grounds, to the west."
Haku nodded. "Right. Should we let Kuhn and Linn know now?"
Chihiro nodded. "That would probably be best."
...
Kuhn went in to check on Eiji. He had been pretty worried, and brought some of a different stimulant that might work better for him.
He was pretty important to Hiro...
Kuhn liked the kid too, not that he showed it well all of the time. He was his daughter's boyfriend after all... He couldn't like him too much!
He thought about how Eiji had kept her warm. He had removed her clothes, yes. However, the reason for it was clear, and she was covered with blankets near a fireplace. Not too close, or they would have caught.
Not to mention that he had kept Yubaba's attention long enough to keep Hiro concealed. With a tainted spider bite? This was a near impossible feat.
Well, maybe he should give him some credit. That was a respectable act, and deserves his thanks...
He walked in, and saw Eiji sleeping.
Eiji sat up abruptly, and Kuhn pulled out his Kunai. He was ready to throw it, when he saw Eiji wasn't tainted.
He put his hands up.
"Don't do that!" He exclaimed.
"I'm NOT tainted!"
Kuhn gave a sigh of relief.
"Thank god..."
"Where's Hiro, have you seen her!?" Eiji asked frantically.
Kuhn stopped. "Not recently, what happened!?"
Eiji stood. "She cast a fairy spell on me... Curse transfer, I think that's it. Then she put me to sleep with another odd spell."
That was a spell he had tried to teach her once... He never knew that she'd picked up on it.
Curse transfer was a fairy spell, and it allowed the caster to take in a curse, and cure anyone. The curse a fairy or pixie takes in can usually be cured with their own magic. It's only used as an emergency spell among the Fey, when the cursed one is about to die.
Hiro's ability to Fey shift gave her the ability to cast that spell.
The only difference is, fairy magic cannot cure the taint.
Haku and Chihiro ran into the room with Linn.
"Kuhn! Hiro's-!"
"I know." He said. "Eiji just told me what happened."
Chihiro nodded. "Then let's go, she doesn't have much time. Bring a stimulant, she'll need it."
...
Hiro was curled up on the ground.
She had never felt so low in her life... So miserable, and worthless.
She coughed, and she felt her lungs pull as blood leaked from her mouth.
"I'm sorry I wasn't better..." She said to no one.
"I really just wanted you to be proud of me again... I don't know what to do... I'm just so lost."
She sobbed, then began coughing again.
Every time she did this, it seemed more internal injuries were forming.
"I wish I had never ran away... Maybe then mom and dad could forgive me... Maybe I would have been better."
She felt tears spilling down.
"Who am I? I don't recognize myself anymore... Didn't I used to be smart? Who was I...?"
She sobbed. "I don't know..."
She coughed again, and her eyes fluttered.
"Don't let her fall asleep!" Linn exclaimed.
"M...Mom...?"
"I've got it." Said Kuhn.
"Dad...? How long have you been here?"
Her eyes shot open, and she was back at the Warrior's.
She was shivering, and she was in a lot of pain.
"I was there the whole time." Said Kuhn.
Linn was there, and she was crying.
Hiro teared up.
Usually when her parents broke down, she could regain herself quickly... Today everything that had built up had fallen through. It was almost staggering to her, when she realized just how long she'd held back. It had built over time, and festered into an uncontrollable monster.
Maybe Max had picked up on that.
She sobbed. "I'm s-s-sorry I make y-you all cry s-so much! I d-didn't mean to hurt anyone..."
Kuhn pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
"No... I just wish..."
A tear slipped. "I wish you would have told me about this... I had no idea that you had kept in so much for years..."
He sobbed. "Hiro... There will never be anyone like you to me. I know your mom is having your sisters, and they'll be just as special... They'll all be different."
He continued to cry.
"Do you have any idea how much I love you? If I lose you, I'd never forgive myself, because it would mean I had failed you as a father... I want you to grow up, and have your own kids one day... You'll be such a wonderful person when you get your head in the right place, I promise."
Hiro cried. "You aren't j-j-just saying that, r-right!?"
The stimulant made her yell sometimes.
Linn shook her head. "You know, believe it or not? I was your age once... Yeah, you can make very questionable, and seemingly pointless decisions... But I remember thinking, 'It's so obvious, I stole the extra noodles to practice my cooking! They should be happy, since they mock me all the damn time! I shouldn't get in trouble as long as the food's good.' Yeah... The food was good, bit I still got in trouble. Sometimes we mess up, just because we haven't learned not to. No one hates you because you screw up, and no one looks down on you."
Kuhn smiled. "You could steal money from beggars, and I'd still love you... But, don't do that... That's kind of shity actually."
"Or kill a bus full of nuns?" Linn added.
Kuhn gaped. "What!? Well, that too... Where did you get that one!?"
Linn looked to the side... "Um... An adult book store..."
Kuhn turned pale. "Seriously?"
She nodded. "Yeah! I didn't get into it or anything, but it was funny as hell! You should have seen what they did with the nun's, I mean holy... This isn't appropriate for children is it."
Kuhn slapped his pale to his face.
"Oh, you think!?... Which bookstore?"
Hiro laughed, then grabbed her chest as pain shot through it.
"Ugghnn... Wh-What the hell!?"
She coughed violently.
Chihiro walked over. "Sorry, but this can't wait any longer. It's bad enough that there's no wound to extract from..."
Chihiro looked over at them.
"Are you staying for this?"
They nodded.
Hiro froze at that comment.
"I-Is it g-going to hurt!?" She exclaimed.
Kuhn sighed. "Yeah... I can't lie to you there."
He held out his hand.
"Squeeze if it hurts too much, and don't fall asleep..."
She nodded. "O-Okay..."
Chihiro had started the process, and Hiro had felt the worst pain she had ever experienced. She squeezed her Dad's hand, and gritted her teeth. She knew she had a weak stomach, but she didn't want to throw up this time, for fear it would make this worse.
Another surge of pain, worse then the last, and her chest lurched in the air.
She let out a painful gasp, and squoze his hand again... She dug her nails in.
She felt bad, but she was in extreme amounts of pain.
She gritted her teeth, and felt like all of her organs were being ripped out of her chest with rusty bladed pliers. Foam spilled out of her mouth as she let out a noise of pain.
The next one felt like the pliers, but with barbs and lemon juice soaking into her flesh.
She let out a horrible scream, and her eyes fluttered.
Kuhn put his hand on her shoulder, and shook her hard.
"Don't pass out." He said.
"Squeeze my hand as hard as you need to, but don't you dare fall asleep..."
She let out another scream as she continued to squeeze his hands, digging her nails in, and clenching her fingers and toes...
Anything to distract her from this horrible pain.
She choked on her own vomit a the next bout of extraction magic surged in her.
"Wh-Why can't I SLEEP!?" She screamed.
"Please! J-Just MAKE IT STOP!"
She let out another scream as she continued.
"Just STOP! PLEASE!" She cried.
Another surge of pain, and more screaming as she squoze again, tensing her body.
"I'm sorry." Said Chihiro.
"I have to do this, or you'll die... I'm really sorry..."
She sobbed. "Please tell me you're done..."
Chihiro put down her hands. Hiro tried to pull away, but Kuhn and Linn held her down.
"No! NO! STOOOPP IIT!"
She let out another scream.
This continued for another hour.
Hiro had stayed awake for four, and this was the longest hour...
It got to a point where her screams were silent cries, partially because her voice was gone, and partially because it was actually that painful.
Having no wound to extract this from, made it at least ten times more painful than when there was an opening.
You couldn't just make an incision, because the wound itself has to be the source of infection.
That would just be cutting her, before hurting her.
Chihiro was on the last spell, and Kuhn had been holding her still, assuring her that they were almost done.
Chihiro had finished, and Hiro vomited heavily into the garbage can provided.
She let out a sob, and curled up into Kuhn...
He held her, and Linn held her close as well.
She cried into them, shaking, and not wanting to move...
Linn was stroking the back of her hair.
"You did really well..." She said softly.
She raked her fingers across Hiro's back. Something that had soothed her since she was small... It still did, even now.
Her crying became softer, and she began to feel tired.
"You're very brave..." Said Kuhn.
"You're definitely my daughter..."
This made her smile. She had wanted to hear that for a losing time...
She fell asleep.
Shisuta took a blood test, to see if there was any traces of the sickness left. Trace amounts could be extracted painlessly through alchemy.
There was none... Her blood was clean.
Clean of everything.
"No way..." Said Shisuta in awe.
"What?" Asked Kuhn and Linn in sync.
Shisuta shook her head.
"There's no stimulant in the results. My guess is, she sweat it all out early on. Even with powerful stimulants, it's hard to overcome the brains need for sleep... Especially under such circumstances."
Kuhn stared wide eyed at the sleeping Hiro.
"You mean she stayed awake on pure willpower?"
Shisuta nodded. "Yes, that's right."
Linn smiled. "Now that's my daughter..."