The Lightning Bender | Book 2: Healing

22: Awake

Hiko opened his eyes slowly, letting his sight adjust to the bright light that was directed at him. He let his head tilt to his side. The bed he slept on was comfortable and soft, something Hiko missed sleeping on. He could fall asleep once more if the thought of what had happened hadn't entered his mind. Where was Jianjun? When this thought entered his mind he sat up quickly but he felt a familiar pain on his side as he did so. He ripped off his blanket to see he didn't have a shirt on and he had a huge bandage on his side where the pain was. He touched it and immediately retracted his hand with a sharp inhale through gritted teeth. He looked to his side to see an empty vase on his nightstand, and an empty chair beside it. The room reminded him of his old apartment, but not because it was small. No, it was something else. Hiko just couldn't put his finger on it. He sat down on the side of the bed and stood up. Limping, he walked to the nightstand and examined the empty vase before setting it down again. On the chair, was his dirty jacket. He picked it up and wore it. When he pushed his arm through the sleeve, he noticed it didn't hurt whenever he moved his arm now. His arm was fully healed and so was his legs. He still limped, but only because his legs fell asleep. He walked up to the white door and pulled the doorknob. He walked out onto a long, bright hallway. A few people walked by him, not bearing any mind to him. He continued to walk through the hallway, when he saw a familiar figure writing something on a clipboard. Hiko walked up to the figure and tugged on his sleeve. The man looked at him and gave a little jump of surprise.

"Hello, why are you out of your room? Patients shouldn't just be walking around the hospital." The man with a thick beard said. Hiko put on a perplexed face before opening his mouth.

"I'm alright. Where is Jianjun?" Hiko asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that. Now please let me escort you back to your room." The man put a hand on Hiko's shoulder and led him back to his room. But Hiko, turned around and faced the man.

"Where is he?" Hiko asked again.

"I can't tell you where the Clan Head is. I'm sorry." The man said in an apologetic voice.

"You will tell me right now." Hiko said threateningly, pointing his finger at the man's chest. The man's eyes widened.

"You're Hiko." The man's eyes drifted toward Hiko's forearm.

"Yeah, yeah. Just tell me where he is." Hiko said.

"Well, he's in the Emergency Room. Let me escort you to him." The man offered. Hiko nodded apprehensively.

"He's in here." The man gestured at a door, which had a character on it's front. It simply read 'emergency'.

"Thanks." Hiko said before the man walked away. He breathed in deeply before turning the doorknob and pushing it open. Hiko felt a wave of pain when he saw Jianjun's body in the bed. His eyes were still closed and his body was unmoving. His forehead had a gauze spun around it, where blood was flowing yesterday. Beside him, was Yuri who had fallen asleep on his chest. He closed the door with a click, which woke Yuri up and made his flick her head toward the sound. Yuri locked eyes with Hiko and tears flowed from them. She stood up and hugged Hiko tightly.

"Thank you." Yuri said through sobs. They hugged for a long time before Yuri seperated herself from him.

"How is he?" Hiko asked.

"He hasn't woken up yet. The healers have done everything they could to revive him but..." Yuri looked back at Jianjun with a somber face.

"It's fine. As long as he's breathing, he's not gone." Hiko looked at Jianjun with a small smile, but it faded slowly as he realized something. "It's my fault, Yuri. I'm sorry."

"It isn't." Yuri put a hand on Hiko's shoulder.

"But it is. I was the one who got kidnapped and now..." Hiko looked away from Jianjun. "I will take over as Clan Head from now on. I don't want to put him through anymore than I already have." Hiko walked to Jianjun's bedside and touched his chest. He felt the faint beat of his heart, signalling life that still dwelled in him.

"Wait, if you're the Clan Head then you have to do something." Yuri said with sudden urgency.