災伴 (Saiban)

Chapter Six (Tanaka Hana)

I cover my mouth, preventing myself from screaming at the scene I've discovered in the master bathroom. I yank a towel from its spot on a rack and get on my knees, pressing it down to Orou's wrists... sliced up and covered in blood.

"What are you doing?" I whisper, trying not to show my horror. He needs support, not another problem...

"Go away..." he mumbles, though he makes no move to actually push me away. He looks up at me, and his eyes, normally so full of life and emotion, just seem like twin voids.

"Orou-kun, please." I keep applying pressure to the wounds, biting my lip. There's so much blood... I should grab a first-aid kit, but he'll bleed more if I take off the pressure... "Please," I repeat. "Just tell me."

"...what's the point anymore?" he mumbles, looking away. "Without Haru-kun, it's just... I don't think I can ever do anything good again. He was the good half of me." He flexes his fingers, causing a bit more blood to dribble out. "I-I was gonna kill a kid, Hana-chan. Even if it was logical, I still... I still..."

I shake my head, forcing up a smile. "It's okay, you were just trying to keep us safe."

"Is everyone—" Yohei's voice begins, cutting off when he sees the scene. His hand covers his mouth and his eyes widen. "Mein Gott..." he mutters, slipping into German due to the situation. He runs and grabs the first-aid kit from the common room of the apartment before coming back and kneeling next to Orou. "D-Did he—" He stops talking upon a glare from Orou. He moves to begin bandaging Orou's wrists.

I look down. "I can do it, hold the pressure for me..."

Yohei nods and takes over for me. I begin spreading out medical supplies across the floor. I take one of the suturing needles out and move away Yohei's hands from the deepest incision — one on his right wrist, likely the only one that would need stitches. I take the bottle of rubbing alcohol and pour some on a spare washcloth, then remove Orou's belt and put it between his teeth. "Bite down on this, okay? I'll be done in a jiffy," I say, offering a smile.

His reply is too muffled to make out, but he sinks his teeth into the belt.

I begin cleaning out the cut as he groans a bit from the burn of the alcohol. Yohei glares at him. "Why?" he whispers, tightening his grip on Orou's wrists. "Why would you do this?" It seems rhetorical, as he doesn't get mad with the lack of answer he receives.

When I puncture the skin with the sewing needle, he lets out a muffled scream. I grimace, my eyes darting to the boarded-up window above us. "Try to keep quiet, okay?" I whisper, making the next puncture.

His next sound of pain is much more subdued, though his muscles are straining from the effort of not making more noise. Due to my lack of forceps, I'm left to make do with my hands — three loops on my finger and shoving the needle through before pulling the stitch tight. I double-knot it before beginning on the next sutures. I use six stitches for good measure — the wrist is a joint, after all — before tying off the complete suture and biting off the end of the thread. I begin cleaning out the shallower cuts, feeling Yohei's eyes on me.

"I've... never asked how you know how to do all this," the half-German man mumbles, his eyes flicking between the cuts on Orou's wrists and the window. Between the attempt at suicide and all of the Saiban swarming our building... Well, I'm sure he'll be growing some gray hairs as we speak.

"I was studying to be a veterinarian, before," I say quietly, trying to keep both Yohei and Orou focused on something other than our situation. "I was in my fifth year of the degree. Can't say I really used my lessons on humans before... but the concepts are the same." I press a gauze pad to Orou's wrist and begin wrapping bandages tightly around it to hold it down. "The other wrist now, Yo-chan."

"Right..." He puts down Orou's right wrist and guides the left one towards my hands.

I begin cleaning out the cuts with alcohol. When I'm done, I put the cap on the bottle and set it aside. "You can take the belt out, Orou-kun."

He does so using his right hand, his eyes downcast. "...I'm sorry for this..." he mumbles. "We have enough problems already..."

"There were problems before the end of the world. Doesn't mean your feelings were ever any less valuable," Yohei mumbles, hesitating before wrapping an arm around Orou. The shorter man freezes. "I... please, don't do this again, okay?"

"...sure." When I finish dressing the wounds, the shorter man stumbles up and begins on his way out of the room. "Thanks."

I try to wait for Yohei to leave, but I can't. My vision becomes fuzzy and tears start spilling out before I can stop them. His eyes widen and he hugs me close. "Shh, it's okay..."

I sniffle, nuzzling into his shoulder. "I-I'm sorry," I whisper, trying to keep my voice low despite the urge to yell out my feelings.

"Let it out," he murmurs. He doesn't have to add on, just not too loud. I stop trying to hold back the tears and let them fall fully, feeling them drench my face and Yohei's sleeve like a waterfall.