When I woke up again, it was to Tsubasa attempting to remove my glasses.
"Good morning, Basa," I said as I sat up and stretched my arms above my head.
"I wasn't trying to wake you up, but I should have known better than to try and remove your glasses while you were sleeping," Tsubasa said, removing his right thumb and forefinger from the bridge of my glasses. I looked at my watch to see that it was a little after 7:30. I quickly set to work on getting dressed for the day in my normal everyday clothing until I remembered that I would be meeting with Wales and Sophie for the first time as their trauma counselor. I put my jeans and tunic back in my bag before pulling out my silver and black dress, and my black sweater. When I came out of the bathroom, I could see that Tsubasa was trying to hold back his laughter.
I said, lying on the bed with my legs hanging off the side, "You are not helping."
"Let me pick something out for you. You look like you're a 40 something woman instead of a 16-year-old girl who is already a trauma counselor," Tsubasa said as he moved to look through my bag. It took Tsubasa fifteen minutes to put an outfit together from what I had in my bag. He had laid out a pretty light blue and white striped sleeveless top that Tsubasa had gotten for me when they had gone to America for the World Championship and a pair of black jeans along with my black blazer and my Cygnus consolation necklace.
"Go change into those, and put on your black boots. Don't do your hair though, I'll do that," Tsubasa said as she put everything in my arms. I got up from the bed and headed back into the bathroom where I changed into the outfit Tsubasa had put together. I was happy to say that Tsubasa had a better fashion sense than me. I had just pulled my hair tie out of my hair and grabbed my brush so that Tsubasa could mess with my long curls.
"Okay let's see here, how is your hair even longer than mine?" Tsubasa said as he pulled his hairbrush through the thick, long strands of deep red curls. Once Tsubasa was sure that there were no knots left in my hair, he started separating it so he could do a half-updo.
"You are literally the only person I would ever let do anything with my hair," I said, sitting perfectly still while Tsubasa worked. That was until Yu entered our room, still half-asleep. He walked up to me and crawled into my lap.
"Ki-Ki, why are you dressed up?" Yu asked, looking up at me.
"While I'm going to be visiting Wales and Sophie in the hospital and the doctors won't take me seriously if I wear my normal clothes," I said, running my fingers through his hair.
"Well, you look really pretty Ki-Ki," Yu said as he picked up a section of my long hair and ran his fingers through it. I just let him play with my hair while I pulled out the new plan I had been working on for Yu.
"Hey Ki-Ki, do I have to continue with therapy?" Yu asked after fifteen minutes of quietly sitting in my lap. I looked down at him to see that faraway look in his eyes again, before reaching down and lifting his chin so he was looking at me.
"Yu, I know you don't like doing therapy, but for you to stay with me and Tsubasa it is required by the Japanese government. But don't worry you won't be going back to your last therapist…" I said before Dashan and Chao-Xin entered the room, clearly looking for Yu.
"Hey Aki and Tsubasa, is Yuu in here with you two?" Chao-Xin asked, stopping in the doorway. I could understand why they both looked so surprised; they weren't used to seeing me in anything besides my usual jeans and tunic.
"Agreed," Dashan said, blinking a few times.
"I want to be in my tunic, but then the doctors won't take me seriously," I said, watching as Tsubasa pulled out the scissors, which he used only to cut my hair.
"Okay I'm going to cut your hair; do you want your normal length or shorter?" Tsubasa asked while holding up a section of my hair. I was about to say something about cutting it shorter than usual when a maid knocked on the door frame.
The maid interrupted politely, "Excuse me for interrupting, but breakfast is ready." She then bowed and left.
"Tsubasa, you can cut my hair later, for now it's time to eat," I said wrapping my arms around Yu before standing up. I was about to pick up the small bundle of papers when Tsubasa grabbed them before me.
"You carry him; I'll get the papers. Are the citations for Julian in here too?" Tsubasa said as she pushed me towards the door and our friends.
"Yes, it should all be there," I said as Dashan pushed me out into the hallway where another maid was waiting for us. She had her head slightly bowed, her eyes on her feet, Dashan and Chao-Xin right behind me. I was about to go back into the room and grab Tsubasa's hand when Dashan pushed me forward.
"Tsubasa said to go ahead, and that he would meet us down in the dining room," Chao-Xin said, closing the door behind him. I shrugged my shoulders before lifting Yu slightly higher in my arms, only for Yu to start struggling in my arms, clearly wanting to be put down.
"I'm going to go get dressed and be right down Ki-Ki," Yu said as I placed him on his feet just outside of his room. I nodded my head before reaching down and softly placing a kiss on his forehead.
"Okay but don't take too long or you're going to miss breakfast. Also, while you're in there make sure that you wake up Chi-Yun," I said before moving forward with Dashan and Chao-Xin. The maid snickered when she tripped Yu but I didn't miss a single thing, she then led us down to the dining room where Julian and Klaus were waiting for us. And I would wait until I could get her alone later.
"Good morning, Mr. Konzern, Klaus," I said bowing to them at the same time before taking a seat at the table. My hands moved to my necklace as I looked at the silverware in front of me. After all, this was the home of someone in high society, meaning even the silverware at breakfast would be a full set. I was currently wishing I had paid better attention when Madoka had tried to teach me. I was about to give up and take just a piece of fruit when a maid put a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks in front of me. I was slowly eating my rice when Tsubasa wrapped his arms around my shoulders, before placing a kiss on the side of my head.
"This is strange; you normally don't kiss me when there are other people in the room," I said, tilting my head to the side so that I could get a better look at him. And I could see the blush rising over his cheeks before he coughed slightly.
"You are correct to say that, but it has been two years since the day I was told that you would never wake up," Tsubasa said before looking away from me. I was too shocked to say anything and must have looked like an idiot to Klaus and Julian, until Tsubasa's words finally made sense. I reached up and touched his cheek, making Tsubasa look at me.
"This is touching and everything, but it's time for breakfast," Julian started to say before Dashan and Chao-Xin put both of their hands over his mouth. I was about to tell our friends off for being rude to our host when Tsubasa took my chin in his hand and made me look at him again. What he did next surprised me even more; Tsubasa got down on one knee and held out a red velvet box.
"Aki Hagane, I have known you since you were nine years old, and I thought I lost you for good a year ago when I was told that you would never wake up again. Then everything happened with Galaxy Nexus and it dawned on me that I want to spend everyday with you…So will you promise to be mine one day?" Tsubasa said opening the red velvet box and held up the simple promise ring in the shape of a key. It was the same one I had pointed out to Yu awhile back.
"Come on Tsubasa, it's a promise ring, why not get Aki an engagement ring," Chao-Xin said before I threw a glare over my shoulder at him. He quickly gulped in fear at my stare and moved to hide behind Klaus.
"Yes Tsubasa." I said as he slipped the ring onto my right hand. It was then that Yu and Chi-Yun came into the room, before stopping in their tracks, looking confused.
"While that was unexpected," Klaus said before he and Julian moved to sit across the table from me and Tsubasa. Chao-Xin and Dashan sat down next to me. I waited for Yu and Chi-Yun to sit down before turning my attention to Chao-Xin.
"Chao-Xin, did you have to ruin such a special moment by complaining about the fact that he got me a promise ring? Tsubasa must have been planning that for a month now…" I said before Tsubasa put a hand over my mouth again. I looked over at him one eyebrow raised while he pointed at Yu and Chi-Yun. I nodded my head once quickly understanding that he was telling me to do it later when I didn't have two pairs of small eyes watching me. Tsubasa removed his hand before leaning back in his chair.
"Hey all we were told is that he had a big surprise to celebrate the anniversary of you waking up…" Chao-Xin said before Dashan covered his mouth clearly trying to stop Chao-Xin from ruining the surprise that Tsubasa had planned for later to celebrate this day.
"Okay enough of that, Tsubasa did you bring the papers?" I asked, rolling my eyes as I set to work. First thing first was handing Julian Konzern the citation from the Italian branch of the WBBA.
"Mr. Konzern, first here is an order from the Italian branch of the WBBA for a mandatory psychiatric evaluation, which will be on Wednesday at 10 AM sharp. I already have an appointment. Second, here are the baseline recovery plans that you requested last night," I said, handing him the baselines and some possible routes their recovery plans could take.
"I don't see why I would need a psychiatric evaluation," Mr. Konzern said.
"Simply put, you're the last person I have to talk to after everything that happened with Dr. Ziggurat and his spiral force, but we'll talk about that on Wednesday," I said, watching his every movement, and the flinch at the mention of the man who had taken over the Konzern family businesses was enough to prove my point.
"Now if you turn to the next page, you should see Wales's base line recovery plan and some possible paths he could take, depending on whether he has a spinal cord injury or not. After that should be Sophie's and depending on her psychiatric evaluation," I said as I went over my notes.
"How can you even read that Aki?" Dashan asked, looking at my notes in my sloppy short hand. I was about to say something when Tsubasa started laughing.
"I can read it because it's my handwriting," I said, shifting my gaze to him. The second I said "Mr. Otori", Tsubasa knew that I wasn't playing around anymore and stopped laughing. Tsubasa quickly cleared his throat before sitting up straight next to me. I slowly reached under the table and grabbed his right hand with my left.
Julian asked, looking over the paperwork in front of him, "Will you also be doing a psychiatric evaluation on Wales?"
"Not just a psychiatric, he will also be undergoing a physical evaluation. All under the order of the WBBA. This is to see if he will have any lasting side effects from his injuries. I know for a fact that he is going to have a hard time breathing in cold weather and most likely will have to carry an inhaler with him for the rest of his life. I can tell you right now that he is actually very lucky because if the doctors hadn't noticed that his chest wasn't rising on one side he could be in a coma or worse he could have died." I said letting go of Tsubasa's hand and reaching over to the scars on my right side, which by the end had started to hurt again from the phantom pains. I noticed out of the corner of my eyes that Yu and Tsubasa both bowed their heads knowing what I was talking about.
"Is everything all right, Ms. Hagane?" Julian asked, watching me as I rubbed at the spot of the scar.
"Wales has a very similar injury to another case…" I said, letting my hand fall back into my lap. Or at least, I had been about to do so until Tsubasa took my hand and gave it a squeeze under the table.
"Who's?" Julian and Klaus asked at the same time. Clearly not understanding that this was a very touchy subject for me. I sighed before holding up my right hand.
"My own. I still hold the longest record of survival of three years, six months, four weeks, a day, 23 hours and 59 minutes, just one minute away from being missing for three years and seven months. When they found me, I had both my legs crushed, my left arm broken in three places including my elbow, four ribs on my right side which had pierced my right lung in four places, along with the welts covering my back most of which were infected. The doctors over my case were more worried about my legs and arm to the point that they didn't notice that I was drowning in my own blood. If they had waited another minute I would have died, but because they took so long to notice this, I fell into a three-month long coma." I said letting my hand fall onto the table next to my half-eaten bowl of rice. I had my head bowed, my face hidden behind my long hair, or that was before Tsubasa pulled my chin up so that he could give me a kiss on the forehead.
"This is the most that anyone has ever gotten out of Aki, but that is all you will hear about it today," Tsubasa said, letting me hide my face in his shoulder. It was then that I got up and left, wandering around the back garden for five minutes before Dashan found me, sitting on a bench under an apple tree.
"Are you all right, Aki?" Dashan asked as he stood in front of me.
"I…I don't know," I said shaking my head, my hands clutched tight in front of me, my Cygnus held in between.
"Do you ever talk about it?" Dashan asked, sitting next to me on the bench. I shook my head before reaching for my watch to show him what had happened the last time I was forced to relive my memories of that time. His gasp preceded running his fingers over the scar on my left hand.
"The pain got so much that subconsciously I tried to end my life with a rough piece of plastic. If Tsubasa hadn't visited me that day, I would have died all alone, believing that no one cared. One of the nurses that worked in the trauma unit had told all my friends and family that I was sleeping and didn't want to be disturbed, when in truth I was facing one of the many punishments that Mrs. Sato enforced when someone didn't meet the goal she put forth for that day. But Tsubasa wouldn't take no for an answer and snuck into my hospital room, he found me in a puddle of my own blood...," I said bringing my heels to rest on the edge of the bench, my knees up against my chest. I had started to scratch at my right wrist, unknowingly going back into a dark place or that was before Dashan caught my hand. At first, I started to fight his grip on my hand trying to stop me from scratching non-stop, it wasn't until I heard the sound of a church bell off in the distance, eleven rings meaning it was 11 in the morning.
"11. I said, looking off into the distance in the direction where I thought the church might be located."
"Yeah 11 rings Aki. What else can you see, hear, or smell?" Dashan asked, trying to get me to focus on the here and now. I closed my eyes and let myself feel the breeze coming from the east and on it was a scent of roses.
"Eastern breeze and roses," I said, taking a deep breath. I let my feet slide back down to the ground and turned towards him.
"Good Aki, tell me what else?" Dashan asked. I was soon listing everything I could sense with four of my five senses, until I could think clearly again. Soon I was just sitting there talking to Dashan about anything, scratching my arms here and there, but not to the point that I was ripping up my arm.
"Dashan, how did you know to do that?" I asked after a few minutes.
"I've been helping Chao-Xin with his desensitization, but when he starts having panic attacks, I've found that getting him to focus on his senses helps to balance him out again. You on the other hand are different than Chao-Xin." Dashan said as he held out my watch and Beyblade.
"Thank you, Dashan, for not leaving my side while I was going through this," I said as I took back my items and began putting my watch back on. When I noticed how bad my right wrist was, I had deep gashes slowly bleeding on the hem of my top and my jeans.
"Man, I did it again," I said, surveying the damage as I started scratching at my left forearm.
"Aki, you've done it again," Tsubasa said as he came out from behind the tree holding our first aid kit in his hand and Julian right behind him. I waved at them with a small smile, feeling like I had let Tsubasa down again after all the hard work he had put into helping me stop my episodes of scratching. Tsubasa didn't say anything else and just got to work on patching up the damage.
"Why did this happen?" Julian asked confused taking my right wrist into his hands. I was about to say something when Dashan stopped me.
"Julian, if you keep asking questions then you will only cause this to keep happening. Aki releases the stress of talking about what she went through by digging up her arms." Dashan said watching as Tsubasa set to work on patching me up.
"Don't worry, Aki has been doing this since she was nine. The stress she used to put herself through would often end with me finding her in the waiting room before a match, scratching at her arms until she had blood caked under her fingernails." Tsubasa said, wrapping a bandage thickly around my right forearm.
"Old habits die hard," I said, shrugging my shoulders, before Tsubasa smacked me upside my head.
"I had almost gotten you to completely stop that habit," Tsubasa said, shaking his head at me as I quietly laughed next to him.
"You weren't even close to getting me to stop at all, I just made it seem like you were Tsubasa. Yu found me more than once while you were missing scratching non-stop from all the stress," I said reaching up to scratch at my neck only for Tsubasa to take my hand and kiss my fingers.
"I know; Yu told me everything. Here, I brought this out to keep your hands busy so you won't start scratching again," Tsubasa said as she held out my sketchbook and case of colored pencils.
"Thank you, Tsubasa," I said as I took them from her and flipped to a clean page before looking out into the garden at the beautiful scene in front of me. My hands started moving on their own and I began drawing what I saw. I was almost finished when Julian caught my wrist.
Julian snapped me out of my own little world by saying, "Your arm is still bleeding."
"It's fine Mr. Konzern, this happens all the time. But if it makes you worry then I will stop." I said putting my color pencils back into their case and closing it. I was about to get up when I was hit with a dizzy spell. I fell back into my seat, eyes closed touching my forehead with my fingertips.
"Aki, are you okay?" Tsubasa and Dashan asked at the same time, both of them turning towards me.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy," I said smiling slightly so as not to worry them more than necessary. I was about to get up, when Yu and Chi-Yun came running out into the garden. I quickly hid my arm behind my back so that Yu wouldn't see it. Or at least that was before Tsubasa handed me my blazer, which I had left in the dinning room when I had walked out so that I could think. However, I wasn't expecting to start scratching again.
"Wow, it's so pretty out here," Yu said as she turned around in a circle, before she turned to me and smiled again.
"Yu, I have to go visit Wales and Sophie soon. So while I'm gone why don't you spend some time drawing," I said standing up from my spot on the bench and pulling my sketchbook to my chest, my right arm hidden under the sleeve of my blazer so that Yu wouldn't see the damage I had done.
"Ah, can't I go with you Ki-Ki?" Yu asked, grabbing the front of my top. I was about to say something when Dashan pried his hand off of my top.
"Sorry Yu, no can do. This is their first appointment so it's got to be one-on-one, but I need you to do something for me. I need you to draw them something." I thought of something that Yu would do for me when I would end up in the hospital. He would always draw some flowers to brighten up the plain white walls, it would make my day better. I could see Yu brighten up at the mention of getting to help in his own way. I watched as Yu ran back into the house and up to his room, to get his notebook and pencil box. I waited until Yu came back into sight before getting ready to leave with Julian or that was until Yu tripped over something his pencil box and notebook went flying out of his hands as he fell to the ground, it was then that I noticed the maid from this morning was standing behind the pillar laughing evilly. I would have gone and dealt with the maid if not for the fact that Yu was quietly crying in pain.
"Yuu, are you okay?" I asked rushing to his side before gathering him into my arms. I could see that he had scrapes on his hands and knees, so I quickly started rocking him while humming softly.
Klaus said, grabbing the maid's arm and pulling her into the opening. "Look who I found, hiding behind the pillar," he added.
"That's the second time that you have done this," I said sitting down with Yu in my lap, before pulling the first aid kit towards me so that I could start patching Yu up.
The maid fell onto her knees and said, "Master Konzern, she's lying!" Other people started coming out of the woodwork. Julian looked over at me, trying to gauge who was telling the truth. I met his gaze with a steady glare. I saw Julian nod his head before turning back towards the maid.
Julian crossed his arms over his chest and asked, "Are you saying that my guest is lying about the fact that you've been tripping her foster child?" Another maid stepped in with a bundle of items in her arms.
"Master Konzern, while cleaning the servant quarters, we found these items under this maid's bed. The head butler is currently doing an inventory of the household items. If you would like to wait a few minutes, he should be finished soon," the second maid said, bowing her head. I watched the first maid closely for any signs of deception. While tending to Yu's injuries, I kept a close eye on her movements and body language. However, once Tsubasa took over patching up Yu, I was able to focus solely on observing the maid. Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly, and her hands clenched tightly in front of her. It appeared she was attempting to conceal something, though I could not determine what it was at the moment.
"Master Julian, here is the list of items missing from this estate. I am sorry that I didn't notice anything until now," the butler said as he pushed his way towards Julian, a piece of paper in his hand. It was then that the first maid tried to attack me, but I was ready for her with my Cygnus attached to my launcher. I waited until she was almost on top of me before launching my bey, knocking her over in the process. It was then that I noticed her tattoo on her left wrist; the eight-pointed star and the banner.
"So, you work for Galaxy Nexus. Then you must know who I am along with what I can do to you," I said standing up, Yu still held in my arms, my Cygnus circling around her with grace and ease.
"Odette," the maid said, biting her lip before slowly moving away from me.
"That's right I am the Swan Princess Odette, the only known Beyblader to have survived for more than six months under the control of Galaxy Nexus." I said standing at my full height the whole time glaring down at the woman. I was about to do something unforgivable when Yu said something.
No Ki-Ki don't do it. She's not worth it." Yu said wrapping his arms around my neck. I took a deep breath in before letting my anger melt away with the breath I let out. I wrapped my arms tighter around Yu, before turning once more to the maid.
"I have one question for you, why did you trip Yuu twice?" I asked, staring down at her.
The maid continued, "He doesn't deserve to be around someone as beautiful and graceful as the great Odette. The only person to have lasted longer than six months in the training camps..." She was cut off by me knocking her out with my Cygnus, not wanting to hear any more of her rambling. I sat back down on the bench and let myself melt into the memories of what she had said.
"Aki, what did she mean by training camps?" Julian asked turning towards me. I however shook my head, not yet ready to talk about everything, before tightening my hold on Yu, too scared that I might lose everything that I hold dear.
"Julian, it's not a wise idea to ask any more questions," Chao-Xin said as he came closer to us. In his hand was the Virgo I had made for him, which he placed next to me. It was then that he sat down on my left side while Tsubasa moved closer to me on the right, both of them wrapping their arms around me in a protective hug.
"Where they kept us was known as their training camps because you had to fight with all your might to even make it through every day. I usually had to fight four maybe five different bladers at once, all of them trying to win so they wouldn't be punished…no one would last more than six months or that was before I got there. I never once gave up until the very end when they had destroyed my Cygnus. 1,304 days 23 hours and 59 minutes two crushed legs, a left arm broken in three spots, four broken ribs leading to a ripped right lung, and 120 stitches cover my back. I have scars all over my body from what they did to me. At first I won't touch food because I was often starved as I gave my food to the weaker bladers that's how I got the nickname Odette…I can't eat meat because that is all they ever gave us. They even made me destroy the beys of other bladers." I said before breaking down crying into the top of Yu's head. I was crying so hard that I almost didn't notice the smaller hand reaching up to wipe away my tears.
"Ki-Ki, it's okay," Yu said before hugging me around my neck. It took close to fifteen minutes before I stopped crying and finally let go of Yu. I was about to get up and straighten myself out when Julian grabbed my shoulder and forced me to sit back down on the bench before clearing his throat.
"We can go see Sophie and Wales tomorrow, because after the day you've had it's important to relax and regroup," Julian said, looking away clearly worried.
"You are correct, but I wasn't just going to be meeting Sophie and Wales but also their doctors…" I said before turning my head away from everyone as I started coughing uncontrollably.
Oh no you don't. You might have work to do but we can't afford you coming down with a lung infection again." Tsubasa said before opening our first aid kit and pulling out my medical mask.
"Julian, you might want to get used to the possibility of Wales having to be admitted to a hospital every time he gets a cold, because the rip in his lung will make it hard to fight off any infections," Tsubasa said the whole time digging through our first aid kit for my inhaler as I started coughing again. It was then that Yu got down from my lap and ran inside for some reason or another. It was then that he came back carrying my inhaler. I don't know how he knew where I had hidden it. I held out my hand to take the medical apparatus when Tsubasa smacked my hand away and took the inhaler to look it over, knowing that I knew how to release the pressurized container.
"I didn't do… anything to it…now hand it… over," I said coughing as I started talking. It was then that Tsubasa handed me the apparatus and watched as I took the two puffs as recommended the whole time being watched by Tsubasa. I was about to say something when Tsubasa covered my mouth with his hand but seeing how big his hand was, he also covered my nose, which made it hard to breathe until he seemed to notice this and removed his hand as the timer on my watch beeped.
"Okay now you can talk," Tsubasa said as I gave him a look, before getting up and heading into the house and back up to the room I was sharing with Tsubasa. I was tired and just wanted to take a nap. I didn't even care if I was still in my blouse and blazer, I just needed to lie down and rest for a little bit.