Opening my eyes, I find myself in a hospital gown. Seeing a dark sky full of stars, I try to recall the morning events. "Right! Raven!" Getting a pillow thrown in my face, I hear.
"Shut the fuck, I'm here trying to sleep." Of course, only Raven would be so vulgar towards a person that's worried about him. Chuckling, I asked him what had happened.
"Simple, after we killed Peter. You fell asleep. The other volunteer stations have sent people to our to support whatever happened. After a quick round of questioning, they came to the conclusion that we were a great help and offered to treat us free of charge."
Nodding my head, I ask just to make sure. "What about our arrest?"
"Anyone who knew of our arrest is underground, dead. It's like it never happened, so act like it never happened." Agreeing with that, I start to feel like I'm getting too used to the craziness that surrounds Raven.
"Anyway, do we know anything more about these masked men, or this lady they keep talking about?" Not getting a response, I sit up only to see Raven passed out on the bed. "Guess he was too tired."
I was hoping to maybe learn more about the people that destroyed my dojo but... guess he doesn't know anything either.
Not feeling sleepy myself, I get up and decide to roam the hospital. Making sure to not make a noise as I leave the room, I find myself in a hallway.
Walking through the halls, I see a reception desk. Walking up to it, I see that the nurse is missing. Not wanting to ring the bell and wake up the patients. I decide to walk behind the counter.
Spotting what seems to be a staff room, I see a nurse watching TV. "Hello-"
"KYA~!" Jumping up, she throws her popcorn everywhere. "You scared me!" Apologizing, I ask her about my stay here, and if I can leave.
"Of course, you can't leave. You're injured and in a weakened state! You should rest."
Scratching the back of my head, I decide to return to my room, or that was the plan until I see a familiar flock of light blue hair. "Ella!" Running to her in disbelief, she turns to face me only to start running away.
"Ella Wait!" Running through the hall in her hospital gown, she bashes down the hallway door. "WAIT!" I yell to no success. Shutting the door in my face, she should the door shut.
"Leave me be! I'm a terrible friend! I left you guys when I should have stayed, but when I came back I only made it worse...
Not saying anything, I just wait by the door. "Ken?"
"Yes? Do you feel calmer now? Do you think we can talk about it better?" Not saying anything, I feel the door move. Slowly walking in and closing the door behind her, I smile.
"Want something to drink?"
Sitting by a vending machine, I look through my gown's pockets for some coins.
"7 Aquars, enough for one drink." Looking at Ella, I see her just chuckle. "You invite someone for a drink, yet you don't have the money?"
Clicking my tongue, I smile. "I'll show you a little trick I learned in the Dojo." Spotting a broom, I use it to sweep out anything from beneath the vending machine.
"Look at that! A 5 Aquar coin!" Now having enough for two drinks, I ask Ella what she wants. "You're really special, I hope you know that. I just wanted to go into a more comfortable setting, so we could talk about the... Incident."
Lowering my head, I buy us two orange juices.
"What is there to talk about?" I asked.
Looking at me confused, she asks me what I mean. "Well, I don't hold it against you. You don't know how to fight, not to mention that even I had trouble fighting him. So after knowing all this, can I hold it against you? Because now I know that if you stayed..... It would be the last day I saw you."
Sitting in silence, Ella speaks up. "I was worried, I came back because it felt wrong, but when I saw you fighting him alone..." Grabbing her chest, she rests her head on my shoulder. "It felt wrong, mainly when Raven was just watching."
"Wait, Raven was watching me fight?" Asking just to make sure, because this sounds absurd, I see her nod. "I don't know why he didn't help you, but I think it was the same reason I wasn't supposed to help."
Holding her hand, I told her that I'm glad she tried to help. It made me realize that not everyone who leaves will leave you forever.
............
It was 3 in the morning, a freezing winter night at a train station. Two girls sit on a bench, wrapped in a single blanket. But suddenly, the cold intensifies.
Opening her eyes, Marie looked around only to see black and white stripes fly in the air. Marie saw Raven standing in front of her..... Jumping up, she gets caught and pushed back to the seat by him.
Before she can yell, Raven signals her to quiet. "What do you want? Did you come to get revenge on us abominations for-" Not saying anything, Raven pulls out two tickets.
It's almost identical tickets to what she and Lucy got from the masked man. "What are these?"
"They're the real tickets, the ones you got would just get you into trouble. Use these instead. They lead to the eastern city of Lich which borders the Neaurtal city. From there you should be able to get there on foot."
Looking at me and the tickets, she asks me why I'm doing this for them.
"When we sat down together and had a talk... I realized something. You like the warmth and the presence of another person, you hate work and just want to laze around like me. You're.... no different from me."
Scratching Lucy's head, I ask how she is.
"Bruised, but luckily nothing else." Reaching into his pocket Raven hands, a vial with clear gel-like liquid. "A small adhesive should help with the bruising. I have nothing better, but I do hope this will help."
Turning around, Marie saw his leg. "What happened?"
"Nothing, I just fell badly and shattered my shin. I currently have a metal rod drilled through the shattered pieces to hold them together." Walking away, Marie whispers as the train arrives.
"You're not a bad person, you just don't know how to express yourself."