Chapter 46 - Awaken

Kamiya gasped as she woke up in a hospital bed.

"You're so dramatic," Axel said sitting in a chair next to the bed. 

"You could have warned me you know?!" 

"Ah ah ah, do you want to use the last of your energy yelling at me?" Axel said pressing a button repeatedly.

"Shut up Axel," Kamiya said laying down. "I'm finally free," she said trying to sit up.

"Yeah yeah, where are the doctors? I want some apple juice and food," Axel said aggressively pushing the button and staring at the door.

"That's what you want right now?" Kamiya asked looking a Axel in disgust. "Hospital food is gross,"

"Well you're not eating it, I am," Axel said still paging the doctors.

A nurse who was walking by looked into the room and froze at the sight of Kamiya trying to sit up. 

"Call the family!" the nurse yelled "She's awake!" the nurse yelled as she ran back down the hall. 

"How long do you think it'll take them to get here?" Kamiya asked Axel. 

"Probably not long, they'll piggyback on your sister," Axel said looking annoyed. "She didn't even bother to ask what I wanted," 

"She obviously doesn't care about you right now," Kamiya said.

"Stop talking, you're literally wasting your last breaths," Axel said as a portal opened up right in front of Kamiya's bed. Karma jumped out almost landing on the bed next to Kamiya, Kaname looked at her in disbelief, and Father stood next to her bed. 

"I knew you'd make it out alive," Karma said hugging Kamiya.

"She almost died though," Axel said sitting in his chair.

"Wait, what're you doing out here?" Kaname asked Axel. 

"We made a deal, she exchanged something I wanted for her freedom," Axel said nonchalantly. "She was quite persuasive," 

"So what was equal to her freedom?" Kaname said suspiciously. Axel shrugged his shoulders and looked at Kamiya. 

"Nothing you have to worry about Kaname, anyway where's Father?"

"He's a bit scared to come see you," Karma said. "When he saw you in the hospital bed I think the severity of everything hit him really hard," 

"He shouldn't be surprised though, we get injured all the time," Kaname said rolling his eyes.

"But none of us actually came close to death, I usually teleport us to safety," Karma explained. The room fell silent as Karma started to think about her own mortality. She thought what if I died? What happens when a person dies and if she really has a soul?

"Start thinking like that and you'll spiral," Axel said as he sighed. 

"W-what?" Karma said snapping out of her thinking. 

"He means if you start to think about your own mortality you'll go insane," 

"How did you know she was thinking about that?" Kamiya asked. 

"We're essentially angels of death, death follows us and we know when death is lingering," Sinn explained. "We're able to sense death around us and we know how it'll happen," 

"But we can't interfere in it," Axel finished Sinn's explanation. 

"Really?" Karma asked.

"Think of all the times Kami tortured you," Axel said looking at Kamiya who quickly looked away as if she was ashamed of her actions. "I was in control of her mind and body yet not once did you ever get close to death," Axel explained. 

"Wait so no matter what you did to her, she was never going to die?" Kaname asked.

"No, I could stab her through the chest and it wouldn't even matter," Axel said as a nurse walked through the door. 

"Sorry to interrupt but someone paged me?" 

"About god damn time," Axel said rolling his eyes.

"Yes, I would like something to eat please," Kamiaya told the nurse.

"And some apple juice," Axel quickly said.

"And some apple juice," Kamiya said rolling her eyes. The nurse nodded and quickly left the room. 

"What kind of angel of death doesn't bring death?" 

"We never once brought death, we just close the gaps from the living realm to the afterlife,"

"So people don't get lost in limbo?" Karma asked.

"Exactly," Sinn replied. "we're more of the guides rather than the executioners. The only person who decides when people die is," Sinn drifted off.

"The Shinigami king," Kaname whispered. 

"That's correct," Sinn said. "As always though," he said under his breath. 

"Anyway," Axel attempted to change the subject as the nurse walked in with a tray of food, he was looking at Kamiya. She caught on and sighed.

"Where's Gem?" Kamiya asked Karma. 

"Oh, um," Karma said as she thought for a bit. "I don't...know," 

"You don't know?!" Kaname said shocked. Axel and Sinn look at each other. "How could you not know?"

"I-I don't know, she just kinda does and goes wherever she wants," Karma said trying to explain herself. 

"Could you imagine?" Sinn whispered to Axel.

"Oh, please that would be a dream to her," Axel replied in a whisper. 

"Call her," Kaname said.

"What?" Karma said confused.

"Call her now!" Kaname yelled as he got in Karma's face.

"Okay, okay," Karma said as she raised both her hands to her mouth. "Gem!" After a few minutes had passed Gem was nowhere to be seen. "She usually comes when I call," Karma said as she looked towards Sinn and Axel.

"I don't keep tabs on her," Sinn said as Axel shook his head. 

"You need to find her and fast," Kaname said in a stern tone. 

"Why? She's probably fine, Gem drifts off regularly," 

"How regularly?" Kaname asked.

"Probably once a day, I guess," Karma said quietly as if she was embarrassed.

"How long does she stay gone?" Kaname asked quickly.

"Days...sometimes weeks," 

"You can't let her do that," Kaname said annoyed. 

"But why?" Karma asked. 

"You guys have a soul attachment, if anything happens to Gem there's a chance you'll be affected too. It would be a shame if you ended up in my place because of Gem's recklessness," Kamiya explained, she leaned over to Karma and whispered. "If I were you I'd go now, Kaname looks kinda angry," 

"Right, I'll be back later," Karma said 

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere," Kamiya said with a chuckle as Karma opened a portal and quickly went through. 

"Now that the child has left, let's get to the matter at hand," Kamiya said with a stern tone. 

"You're trying to kill her aren't you?"