AT LEAST WE HAVE FOREVER
CHAPTER 16
A Spark Of Hope And Love
School clinic…
Some of Kurama's classmates called the attention of the school doctor and in a few minutes, they carried him through the stretcher and they took him to the clinic. Riya and Ayako insisted on staying beside him since they knew that it wasn't just a simple fever that took over the fox demon. It was something worse.
When the doctor had finished doing some examination, she concluded that it was indeed a fever. But Riya knew better. Something from the battle last night made Kurama sick right now. And it was something she needed to find out no matter what.
When they entered the room and had a look on Kurama's condition, they saw him actually getting paler by the second. His breathing was becoming heavy and he was sweating hard. Riya was really becoming worried.
They made sure that the doctor wasn't around before they talked.
"I know something's weird going on but I couldn't figure out what," Ayako started as a whisper.
Riya didn't say anything regarding that. Instead, she placed her hand just a little above his torso and her hand began to emit a silver glow. Her eyes were closed the whole time. The glow lasted for a minute before it faded. Certainly, she didn't like what she found out.
"His physical wounds may have been healed completely but there's something left inside of him that caused him to be sick," she concluded that puzzled Ayako. Even still, she continued. "And that certain 'something' has poison in it."
"It could have been something from the sword," Ayako commented.
Riya tried to remember the events during the fight last night and as much as possible, she wanted to remember every detail. For minutes, she and Ayako tried but then a sudden touch completely distracted the flow of her thoughts. It wasn't just as simple touch; someone actually gripped her left hand that was just near the bed.
When she looked down, she saw Kurama facing her as his hand was holding hers—something that she hadn't expected. After a few seconds of silence between them, Ayako finally broke it.
"I think I better leave you two alone," Ayako said as she teasingly smiled. "I don't want to ruin your memories together." And with that said, she left Riya and Kurama alone in that room.
Kurama hadn't let go of her hand but she wasn't angry about it. In fact, she liked it—a lot. But that positive feeling turned into worries when he began breathing heavily again.
"You should be getting some rest. Come on, you need to sleep. Okay?" she said as she wiped the sweat on his face with a wet towel that was just on a basin near his bed. She did it as careful as possible.
"It was probably one of the small shards that I destroyed last night," he mumbled as his breathing began to slowly even out. But Riya heard what he said and that was when she remembered it.
It was fast and undetectable to the naked eye but she saw a small shard entered his body. The entry of the shard to his body happened in a flash. At first, she thought it was nothing but now that he mentioned it…
She sighed and then smiled as she faced him before she sat on the chair near the bed; Kurama still holding her hand. "You're just having delusions. Maybe it's for the best if you just sleep. I promise; you'll be fine when you wake up."
Kurama slowly faced her and then he looked at her half-eyed but intently.
"Only if you promise me you wouldn't leave… That you'll be here when I wake up," he said that definitely surprised her but she didn't show it.
Instead, she held his hand tighter as she looked at him. "I promise."
And with that, he slowly closed his eyes as his breathing even out.
She waited for a few minutes before she made sure that Kurama was asleep. And then, she stood up to release her hand from his grip. But to her surprise, he was holding onto it tight, as if making sure that she wouldn't let go.
You really wanted to make sure I fulfill my promise, huh? She thought with a smile on her face before becoming serious. She gave up releasing her hand from his grip. That was why she decided to do the task on her free right hand as soon as she could.
She took a deep breath first before placing her hand a few inches away from his chest where she finally managed to detect the suspected shard. But before she could do anything else, she looked at Kurama's peacefully sleeping face that made her heart smile.
"You'll be fine when you wake up. I promise," she whispered before she proceeded.
Her hand began to emit a silver glow again followed by the formation of an orb on her hand.
"Invisible weapon that tarnishes the pure blood, remove yourself from this body and be vanquished…" she uttered and the glow from the orb began to transfer to Kurama's body.
The glow continued to transfer just as the same time that a small shard followed by a dark-colored energy came out from his body. All of it was being absorbed by the orb and every bit of dark energy was gathered inside of it. The absorption lasted for a minute or so before the glow faded but the orb still remained on her hand. The once silver-colored orb has now turned into a dark-colored one, most likely from the dark energy she absorbed from Kurama's body—the poison that was making him sick.
She was slightly panting when it was done. As she tried to tighten her grip to the orb, someone suddenly spoke behind her that startled her.
"You shouldn't be using that spell, Riya."
When she turned around, she wasn't surprised to see Yumi in her shorter version with purple eyes and longer blonde hair in that room. She sighed as a response to what the Fire Wielder said. "I don't have much of a choice. I might have killed that demon shinobi with the Arrow of Wind but I haven't prevented that shard from entering his body. He shouldn't be in this situation if they only knew what's really going on in the first place. This should've been just a battle between us wielders and the demon shinobis."
Yumi just looked at her after she said those words before glancing at the unconscious Kurama. She looked at him intently and smiled inwardly, followed by a thought.
You're lucky to have someone like her in your life. There's only one thing you just need to do to pass the first trial. Fully accept her for who she is no matter what you will find out about her.
"But only certain turn of events will make them realize the real situation, Riya. And we can't just intervene with that. Our only mission is to prevent the complete destruction of the three realms just as the prophecy had foretold a long time ago," Yumi said seriously.
Riya heaved another sigh and then peered at Kurama. She was glad he was fine now; his breathing was a proof of that. And then she looked at the orb on her hand before handing it to Yumi. "Will it be okay if I ask you to destroy this for me? I spent most of my energy to absorb the poison in his body and I don't think I could destroy it completely with my strength now."
The blonde smiled and took the orb from her hand. "As you wish, mistress." And then she turned around to leave that place but stopped to her tracks when Riya called her.
"I was wondering. Where were you these past few days? And is it true that you're having confrontations with the fire demon named Hiei recently?"
Yumi's eyes slightly widened when she heard that question. But then she thought it was only natural for her friend to ask that. She hadn't showed up to her these past few days and actually left no words with regards to that.
"I was actually doing something on the Demon World… and I asked Hiei to help me," the blonde confessed.
"You're asking his help… for you to find your father, weren't you?" Riya said. Yumi nodded. "Does he know I'm your mistress?"
"No," she gently but immediately answered. "I'm trying my best not to reveal anything with regards to the wielders' mistress. So rest assured, he won't figure it out. At least for now…"
Riya smiled at her friend's answer. "That's better." And then her face turned serious. "Please make sure you destroy every bit of that poison."
"Don't worry, I will." With that said, Yumi left that room.
After that, Riya stared at the sleeping Kurama who was definitely alright and who haven't let go of her hand up until now. She sighed before she took the opportunity to look at his face closer; her right hand on the bed supporting her head as she leaned on it.
She didn't know how long she stared at him but in a way, it was worth it. She had the opportunity to sort out everything she was feeling about him.
It all felt like a dream. Almost three months ago, she transferred to Hanasakura Academy for a personal reason. It was the time when she met Minamino Shuichi. Even though she was treated as an outcast, he still approached her. No matter how many times she said that he should avoid her and leave her alone, he was still insistent on coming near her. And not much time passed by, the truth was revealed. Minamino Shuichi was indeed the Shuichi she met more than five years ago. When the day it was revealed, she also managed to release the hidden part of her—the part that had isolated itself from the harsh realities of the world.
A lot about her had changed ever since Kurama came to her life. He changed it for good, despite certain things that prevented her from telling the truth about her being a Legendary Weapon Wielder and the mistress of the other wielders. She couldn't tell how long she could hold on to the promise that she and Kurama made two weeks ago. But she would try her best.
But among those changes that happened to her, one of them was something unexpected and certain at the same time. Something that she had thought about for more than five years now.
She was indeed in love with him. She was sure of it now.
Now that she thought about it, Yumi said something to her when she told those hidden feelings when the blonde asked her if she was in love with Shuichi from before or the Shuichi/Kurama right now. She told Yumi that it was impossible for her to fall in love with Kurama for just almost three months that she knew him.
"Love is not about the amount of time that you've met a certain person…" She remembered that statement from Yumi before. And when she thought about it thoroughly, she found out that her friend was right.
Love was definitely not about the amount of time that you've met a certain person. It was what your feelings and your instincts that tells you. We just know. And when you finally found that one person you were destined to love, you would know.
And that was what she exactly felt when Kurama got close to her even more. Now she knew.
It was the one truth she would never ever regret and take back… even if the inevitable battle comes just to destroy that truth.
With a smile on her face, she slowly closed her eyes as she placed her hand on the bed to be used as her pillow. She allowed that peaceful moment—plus the warmth from Kurama's grip on her other hand—to drift her consciousness away.
Several hours later…
It was already past lunch when Kurama finally opened his eyes after he fell asleep. It was definitely a good and relaxing sleep he had. It was something that he really needed after all the trouble that their mission had implicated on them.
He closed his eyes to remember what happened before he found himself there. But the only thing he could remember was when Riya tried to convince him to go to the clinic when she noticed him getting paler by the minute. And then, when she agreed to her suggestion, everything around him went black.
He winced for a few seconds before he managed to look around. And when he looked beside him, his eyes widened at the sight of a familiar figure on the bed. It wasn't that he didn't like it but still, it was a surprising sight. Riya was sleeping beside him.
Well, not literally and completely beside him since she was sitting on a chair near the bed and her head was placed on the edge. He could see that she was sound asleep and it made him smile inwardly. But then he noticed her outstretched left hand. When he looked further, he couldn't help but to let out a small gasp because of what he had seen.
His hand was actually holding hers. He hadn't let her go; that thought was already enough for him to blush as his heart beat faster. He gulped for a few times before he finally remembered what had happened for him to see that he was actually holding her hand…
"You should be getting some rest. Come on, you need to sleep. Okay?" she said as she wiped the sweat on his face with a wet towel.
"It was probably one of the small shards that I destroyed last night," he mumbled as his breathing began to slowly even out.
After a few seconds, she sighed and then smiled as she faced him before she sat on the chair near the bed; he was still holding her hand. "You're just having delusions. Maybe it's for the best if you just sleep. I promise; you'll be fine when you wake up."
Kurama slowly faced her and then he looked at her half-eyed but intently.
"Only if you promise me you wouldn't leave… That you'll be here when I wake up."
She held his hand tighter as she looked at him. "I promise."
He couldn't help but to smile when he remembered that. Now that he thought about it, he did feel better. He had no idea what had gotten in his mind for him to say something about the events last night to her. But it didn't even matter.
All he cared for at that moment was the fact that Riya definitely kept her promise. He was already fine now that he woke up and she never left—she stayed that was why she was there when he woke up.
He heard someone entered the room and after a few seconds, the curtains drew open. He wasn't surprised when he saw the school doctor.
"Ah, you've finally come to, Minamino-kun," the doctor said with a smile.
"Um… how long have I been sleeping, Sensei?" he asked.
The female doctor pondered for a while before checking her wristwatch. "More or less six hours," she answered. "Miyuzaki-chan here didn't leave your side the whole time. She said you're making sure she wouldn't leave because she couldn't actually release her hand from your grip." And then she giggled before she left.
He looked away from her before glancing at the sleeping Riya.
I didn't… let go of her hand? Was my body acting on impulse for me to do that? He asked himself before he sighed and closed his eyes. No, that's not it. I wasn't acting on impulse. It's what I want to do. I don't want her to leave me in that state. I wanted her to be by my side. That way, I could protect her.
Many other thoughts flowed in his mind as his eyes remained close. All of which concerned Riya. And now that he had a chance to think about it and sort things out, everything finally came down to one answer. An answer he must have ignored—but not forgotten—these past days.
Or maybe it wasn't that way at all. Everything between him and Riya probably happened for a reason. And right now, he finally figured it out.
He was starting to fall in love with her.
How could he have been so blind? He couldn't get her out of his mind. He was always worried about her safety and he wanted to do everything for her to be happy no matter what it takes for him to do it. This was the first time he felt that way for anyone. All of which were signs of him beginning to fall in love with her, right? It wasn't just a simple liking or affection.
After that, he brushed away the strands of hair that loosely covered Riya's face. He gently placed them behind her ears; his hand still holding hers. He actually loved the warmth and softness of her hand.
He couldn't tell right now and that feeling of his would be reciprocated in time. But it didn't matter right now. Protecting Riya—and loving her at the same time—was his highest priority as of now.
And he would continue doing so even if it means he has to do it from afar and might end up risking his life in the process. But that was love, right?
Riya opened her eyes soon after she felt that someone actually pinched her nose. But what she saw was something unexpected that made her heart pound as heat began to travel to her face. And that only happened when…
"You're finally awake," Kurama said with a smile.
She pretended that nothing weird was happening to her again as she sat straight on the chair while yawning. "How long have I been asleep?"
"I'm not sure. A few hours, perhaps," he answered before he sat on the bed. "Anyway, thank you for staying here with me. I even caused trouble to you. I bet you haven't attended the other classes because you're watching over me and I couldn't even let your hand go."
With that said, she immediately glanced at her hand that was held by him. And she wasn't surprised to see him still holding it.
"So I guess you could let it go now," she said.
But to her surprise, he didn't. Instead, he held on to it even tighter that caused sudden surge of emotions ran through her veins. Okay… this was something she wasn't expecting. Even though she admitted a while back that she was in love with him, this was just all too sudden. All she could hope for was not to be betrayed by her own emotions and feelings for this guy.
"What if I don't want to?" he asked seriously that startled her. Long silence filled the air but then he took the opportunity for him to say something else aside from almost confessing his feelings for her. "Alright, I'll let it go… if you agreed to be my date at the Rose Ball three days from now."
That definitely caught her off-guard since it was completely unexpected… again. Seriously, she couldn't figure out what this guy was thinking. But now that he said it, what he was offering was an opportunity knocking. She could even get close to him further. She wasn't sure if it would help but she might as well take it.
"Why are you asking me to be your date?" she asked to him instead. If he could give her a valid answer, then she would take it.
It took a while for Kurama to answer her question but she patiently waited. She saw him heaved a sigh before facing her.
"I just want you to be with me," he answered emotionally and seriously that made her hold her breath. "And I'm taking every opportunity that I have just to do it."
So both of them were thinking of the same thing.
"Will you be my date for the Rose Ball?" he asked. This time, his eyes have pleading in them.
And she could feel that she must not fail him.
She smiled genuinely before she answered, "Yes."
And so, a big date was coming right up and it would happen at Hanasakura Academy's Rose Ball.
But unknown to Kurama and Riya inside that particular room, some people were eavesdropping outside. And they weren't just "some people"; they were the people that has been monitoring those two since the formal introduction/date happened two weeks ago. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, Botan, Ayako, Yukari and Soujiro were actually there as they listened to each and every word that Kurama and Riya had spoken.
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