It was a very long and deep sleep. I vaguely knew Shigure was also asleep with me in the dark, although we had physically been separated. We were in the same room. If they moved us more than a room apart, we would panic and our vital signs would plummet. They could only keep us near by each other.
We slept in the comfortable dark. It was the first time in many years that I could have such a good long rest. It seemed it was the same for Shigure. We enjoyed this time of catching up on sleep and rest, not needing to worry or care about anything else. We had each other and that was all we needed.
"My son, Junichi, my son," an old man wept in Nihongo. "Forgive me. Forgive me. I was rash and angry and foolish in the past. I insisted you stay to receive the family inheritance because you are the eldest son. Why did you not want it? Why did you have to be so stubborn? Why did you have to leave? You really never returned home like you said. You even took on another's inheritance. You know the clan will never accept you or give you any resources because of this. Why did you have to be so ruthless to me and yourself? I didn't really mean for you to never come home again."
"Old man, you still here crying over our worthless son? What's the point? I told you back then to talk to him more gently. And now look what you've done. You've killed him. If he dies, I'll kill myself for you to see."
"Shut up, you old woman. Don't call your son worthless. Didn't you hear? He and his master were the heroes of their city in the past. My daughter-in-law has stood by him and is no less worthy than him. Even if the clan don't want them, even if they never wake up, I want them. I'll support them with my own private money."
"Stupid old man. We're married. Your money is my money. My money is your money. Anyway, all the children have grown up and moved out. They said they'll support us in caring for Junichi. The only good thing you've done all these years is finally going out to find Eldest Son and bring him home. But why did you have to wait for so many years, wars and an earthquake before you went? If you had gone earlier, wouldn't he still be awake and healthy and able to speak to us?"
"I know. I know. Blame me. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
*"Shigure?"* I reached out, waking up from all the noise that was making my head throb.
*"Harmony,"* replied Shigure in a tired voice. *"I'm here."*
*"I don't recognise these smells,"* I said.
*"I do,"* Shigure replied, sending me a wave of reassurance. *"Don't worry. We're safe. We're in my family home. We can just take our time recuperating."*
*"Are those your parents?"* I asked.
*"Yes,"* Shigure replied, sounding drawn. *"If you don't mind. I'm going back to sleep. I'm so tired…"*
I felt Shigure drifting off and crossed over to his side of the link to cover him with my love. I felt him smile and go back to sleep while I looked at what was wrong with him. I didn't get very far. I ran out of energy before I could look at much. I didn't know why I was so tired either. I had to retreat back to my side where I fell asleep again.
"Little girl, what happened to you?" mumbled the voice of an old woman. "Look at your medical records. Just what have you been through for your body to be in such a bad shape? My son's body isn't very good either, but yours has been through so much more. My son must have been a bad boy. He couldn't even protect you. Just reading through your old injuries, I can see the story of your life has been full of hardship. Now that you are more stable, the family's healers have come to see you. Don't resist, alright?"
A foreign energy entered my body. It felt so alien and wrong that I thrust it back out.
A wrinkly old hand took my hands in hers.
"Little daughter-in-law, don't resist. The healing is for your own good. You must accept it or you may never wake up again. I don't want to hear you screaming and crying at night anymore. It breaks my heart."
The foreign energy tried again and I tried not to resist but I couldn't help it. It was disgusting. It was dirty. It felt so wrong.
They tried harder, trying to force me to accept their energy, increasing the power and intensity until it became as hard as a knife but I increased my defences as well, refusing to let them break in anymore. It reminded me of all those previous times people had tried to intrude.
"Stop! Stop! She's convulsing! Quick!"
"Junichi! He's convulsing too! Hurry, go back and call the doct…"
Shigure and I clung to each other in the link, intertwining our abilities to create an impenetrable defence. We refused to allow others in. We would heal each other or obtain healing through the Creator. We didn't know or recognise what this strange, foreign energy was. We had been betrayed and experimented on and damaged by too many people. We trusted no one but ourselves and the Creator now.
There was a fuss and angry voices. Then an ambulance arrived and there were noisy discussions. Shigure and I ignored it all and continued sleeping.
When we woke up again we were in the hospital again. We had intravenous lines in our arms and a tube going through our noses and down into our stomachs. With a shrug, we decided to let the hospital do what they felt needed to be done.
While we were awake, we both did a little bit of maintenance on each other's bodies, before getting tired, exchanging hugs through our link and going back to sleep.
Whenever we woke up, if we had the energy, we'd help each other heal and exchange a few words or feelings. In this way, bit by bit, we managed to heal. When we asked the Creator, He told us to take as much time as we needed and not to rush. So Shigure and I improved at a very steady pace.
We were moved back into the house of Shigure's parents again. By this time, we were able to wake up to eat soft foods when prompted and with help, before going back to sleep again. It reminded me of the time I had fed Shigure mouth to mouth, making me giggle and Shigure blush when we went back to share the memories of that time. We watched each other's memories and ended up kissing.
The kissing, for some reason, left us exhausted and we fell asleep together, feeling the other's presence through our link. Like holding hands to sleep.
If I could stay awake longer, I'd prompt more of Shigure's body to heal. His parents were so worried about him. As a result, although Shigure's body had been in a more critical condition than mine and he had more broken bones, in the end, he ended up recovering at a faster pace than me.
*"Uki-chan,"* he sighed one time upon waking and discovering just how much I had done while he'd been asleep, *"You know there's no rush. You can rest more. That way we can spend more time together when we're both awake. Otherwise I wake up and you're exhausted and too tired to keep me company. It's lonely, you know?"*
*"Yes,"* I agreed, *"but your parents keep crying and making so much noise, it's annoying. It'd be nice if you could say a few words to them and at least reassure them. Then maybe we can get a better sleep."*
Shigure sighed.
*"I don't really want to talk to them,"* he said in a low and heavy voice.
*"Just greet them first and let them know you're happy to see them well. Or you could even just give them a smile and say that you're tired. Surely that's alright?"*
*"Alright,"* Shigure agreed after a short pause, stroking my head through the link. *"You can rest now. I know you're tired. You've done a lot in repairing my rib bones and realigning them. Don't speed things up too fast or we'll scare all the doctors and nurses. They're only normal people."*
*"Alright,"* I nodded.
*"Also, I'm not so talented in healing as you and your healing ability doesn't work on your own body. Your body will take longer recovering than mine will. I'd rather we recovered at a similar pace, so please, don't do too much."*
*"Oh,"* I said. *"Then I'm going to sleep a while?"*
*"Go ahead,"* Shigure smiled and covered me with his blanket of love. It was so warm and fragrant. It made me wriggle with glee, making him laugh.