Chapter 5

Hiro remained in the medical in a medically induced sleep to aid in his recovery. During that time, he received frequent visits from a certain blonde girl. Although he was unconscious, she would spend time just sitting there with him each day.

 

The hospital was a massive grid of hallways, and it was stacked many stories high. The walls were filled with some of the top medical experts in the country, and they were accompanied by some of the best equipment. It could effectively handle ten battle schools worth of students. But each battle school in the country had a similar hospital. All the nation’s medical facilities were in its schools. They were made so large so as to handle the students as well as the civilian population in the area.

 

One day Lisanna found herself walking down the halls of the medical facility like she had done a dozen times in a row now. The brightly lit white halls never ceased to put a slight strain on the eyes. The smell of chemicals mixed with indistinguishable odors created an olfactory overload, and not a pleasant one at that.

 

Why do I keep coming here? It’s not like it changes anything for me to see him. She stopped herself and went to turn around, but her feet would not move. Agh! This is a waste of time! There’s no point in this! Even as she thought this, she continued her path to Hiro’s room. She soon came to his door and turned the handle.

 

Hiro was supposed to remain in a medically induced sleep for three weeks. However, just two weeks in, Lisanna opened the door to find him awake and sitting up. Or rather, getting out of the bed… and opening the window… and getting ready to jump out.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?! You are far to injured to be moving around!”

 

The boy paused and looked to see his visitor. He then walked over to the door, closed it on her, got it bed, and closed his eyes. A few seconds passed this way. Then the door flew open, smacking the wall. The vase of flowers on the bedside table nearly fell from the sudden shaking.

 

“Why the hell did you just close the door on me?!” She looked over at the now fake sleeping Hiro. “…Hey… you’re not fooling anyone, I know you’re awake.”

 

Hiro yawned and drowsily opened his eyes while stretching. “Ugh…. Who’s waking me up? Ahhh I feel like I just slept for two weeks.”

 

Lisanna deadpanned. “Are you really trying to pretend that our previous encounter didn’t just happen? Do you really expect me to believe that you only just woke up from your two week slumber just now?!” She froze. Wait…. Two weeks…. “And how did you know you were asleep for two weeks…”

 

“The medical chart on the…” He paused. Crap. “I mean… I just felt like it had been that long.”

 

She waved her hand in front of her face a few times. “No, no. That’s not it at all. You woke up earlier and just tried to escape from the window.

 

Hiro laughed nervously. “You have quite the imagination. How could someone who only just woke up from a coma, escape from the 6^th floor window on the west wing of a medical building?”

 

She deadpanned again. “Are you an idiot? You just admitted to knowing we are on the 6^th floor in the west wing?”

 

Now he was trapped. Not that he wasn’t already, but he was more trapped. Weighing out his options, he opted to play dead. Clutching his chest, he gasped for air, and doubled over on the bed before letting out a long sigh and going limp.

 

After a few second of him being still, Lisanna shoved a needle in his butt.

 

“Yeajafribjbaaa!!!” After nursing his bottom a bit, he turned to face a visibly irritated blonde holding a syringe.  “Um…” he suddenly bowed. “Thank you for saving me!”

 

She smacked him on the head. “You were fine the whole time you idiot!!!” She paused, and after a moment she put her hands over her stomach and started to laugh, and she laughed hard. “Since when have you been funny Hiro? You’ve always been so quiet and serious around others. I didn’t know you had a goofy side.”

 

Scratching at the back of his head he replied. “This is who I am.”

 

She thought on that. “Then, when we are in class, you are not yourself?”

 

“No, that is also me. That’s the side of me that just happens when I get around those types of people. I could never be like this around them. It just would not be natural.”

 

“Those type of people?”

 

“The other students.”

 

 Then… I’m different?” He nodded. “Different how?”

 

Hiro gave no reply.

 

She pulled the syringe back out and moved towards him.

 

“You’re stronger than them!”

 

Her jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out. “What?!? I’m always being made fun of as one of the weakest, superior only to you!”

 

“Sorry, sorry. What I meant to say is that you have real strength. I’ve seen it time and time again throughout our schooling. Not in combat abilities, but in your heart. You’re not like everyone else here who cares only to be the strongest for personal gain. I see you try harder then the others in training; I see the fire in you as you strive to improve yourself. But it’s not for yourself, and that is what sets you apart from everyone else.

 

“H-how do you know? How do you know my motive is different?”

 

“It’s in your eyes. The weight of your conviction is far heavier then those around you. Personal gain could never be a strong enough reason to have as much willpower as you. You have a fire that only comes from a strong heart overcoming pain.”

 

She punched a wall and trembled a little. “You do not know me! What would you know of pain?!“

 

He pointed to his bruised face. “A little.”

 

Upon seeing this, the anger instantly left her and was replaced by a smile and a little laughter. “I’d say that was more than a little.”

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you by brining that up. It wasn’t my place. I just wanted to let you know you are different… In a good way! I know I don’t know your pain, whatever that pain may be, and whatever the reason behind it.”

 

Her face became filled with regret. “But you do know pain.” She looked at his injuries for a while. They actually look much better than what they should at this point. She realized she was staring and found something interesting on the ground to look at. She waited a while before speaking again. “You didn’t have to protect me from that pervert. I would have managed.”

 

He sighed. “Meh. It had nothing to do with you. It was my fight, so don’t go blaming yourself.”

 

Why is he saying that? He can claim what he wants to about that fight, but I saw that look in his eyes. He looked right at me and smiled! It was for me. Yet even now he denies it? Does he not want me to feel responsible? Why does he care so much?  She looked him in the eyes before speaking. “I don’t know why you deny that you fought on my behalf, but I want you to know that I don’t want you to do that again. It hurts my pride more, to need help from someone else, then it does you physically to be the one getting the crap kicked out of you for helping.”

 

“It was my fight. For my reasons. For my pride.”

 

Lisanna sighed heavily as she palmed her face. “So even the worst in our class has this thing known as pride. And what is your pride?”

 

“Meh… Gardening.”

 

She deadpanned again. “…What?”

 

He pointed to the flowers in a vase of water on the bedside table.

 

She pulled the needle out again. “I’m the one who brought those flowers in here! You didn’t do anything!”

 

The needle descended on the boy. He quickly deflected it, grabbed it, and tossed it out the still open window.

 

“… That shot was a special injection for your stomach. It keeps the internal swelling down so you can eat. The nurse is supposed to give it to you now that you’re awake. Without it, you will be to sick to enjoy any food.”

 

Panic filled his face. “I’ll be going now!” He got up from the bed and headed for the window.

 

“Like hell you’re just going to jump out after it!” She grabbed him by the collar of his medical robe and yanked him back towards the bed. Only… He didn’t come with the robe…

 

Feeling the sudden change in temperature of his body, he looked down to find himself in his birthday suit. The wind from the open window blew across him. “Meh… It’s cold.”

 

He now stood before her in all his glory. Fortunately his front was facing away from her. However, he continued to stand before her unabashedly, and Lisanna’s face turned more than a little red.

 

“P-P-Pervert!”

 

“What?! How am I the pervert?”

 

“You’re naked in front of me! Pervert!!!”

 

The sound of the room door opening went unnoticed by the two inside.

 

“You’re the one who ripped my cloths off!”

 

Lisanna looked down. Realizing she still had his robe in her hand, she flung it at him in embarrassment. “I just wanted you in bed!”

 

“Oh… I’ll leave you two alone.” The nurse who had only just entered the room disappeared as quickly as she had come. She closed the door so fast that the vase of flowers was put in jeopardy for the second time that day.

 

A lingering silence passed between them as Hiro picked up his robe and put it on. Both of their faces were cherries.

 

“Meh.”

 

A fist to the back of his head put him back in his… recovery… sleep.