Continuation: 1407 words
The sun began to stream through the window of the room and warm the part of Makoto's leg that wasn't covered by the sheet. Next to her, Akuma lie on his back, his face a mask of perfect peace. An eventful night, begun by the events at the Promethean Ball had finally given way to the distant sunrise of a brand new day. Makoto stirred slightly, something seemingly tickling her nose as she rubbed at it gently, then turned over. Almost at the same time, Akuma rolled over to his side, putting his arm around Makoto's middle and exhaling contentedly, settling himself back to sleep.
“Princess! Princess, are you awake yet?” Kyara's insistent knocking at the door brought both of them out of their comfortable slumber not moments later. “I've news of Eric! He made it! He's alive!"
It was at the word 'Eric' that Makoto opened her eyes [albeit halfway] and sat up. “...Eric...?” She looked over at the half-awake Akuma and at her motion, he stirred slightly and groaned. “One moment, please..” Makoto's mind had imagined herself getting out of bed a lot faster than she did, but her body was a little slower to react, her limbs protesting gently as she struggled to get out of bed as quietly as she could. Akuma opened one eye completely and nodded she turned to look at him. Her feet finally touched the warmth of the carpeted floor and she quickly snatched up her robe and opened the door only a crack. She blinked at the sudden glare of the hallway, and Kyara was standing there with her eyes alight, a grin on from ear to ear.
“Eric! They found Eric! He was in the desert and in pretty bad shape, but at least he's alive! He's in the Med Unit right now with Dr. Yakazari! Come on!”
“Allright, allright, give me a moment to get myself appropriate...” Makoto tied her robe a little more securely and in bare feet quickly opened the door long enough to slide out of the room and then quickly closed it back again. Granted, she wanted the whole world to know about her love for Akuma, but now didn't seem like the best time for it. Kyara hopped happily as the two of them quickly and quietly made their way down to the Med-Unit. Dr. Yakazari was already standing over Eric's bed with his small digital assistant, the stylus making practiced clicks across the tiny screen. Dr. Yakazari looked up for a moment to see Makoto and Kyara standing there, and he stopped what he was doing long enough to come outside of the room to speak to them both.
“Princess, Lady Kyara, I'm glad to see you both down here. He's only been here for 45 minutes, but that's enough time to get a basic handle on his situation. He had massive head injuries and he's a hair's breadth away from losing his right leg. His right arm is broken in three places, and he's got two major skull fractures - we had to put him into an induced coma right away so that we could stabilize his condition. He must have taken one hell of a pounding against the Mechanoids." He held up the digital assistant towards Makoto and Kyara. "These numbers here indicate his vitals when we arrived at the scene." *clickclick* "These were his vitals when we stabilized him for transport." *clickclick* "These were his vitals upon his arrival." *clickclick* "These were his vitals when we induced the coma." Makoto looked at those numbers and winced. None of them, at any stage of Eric's transport, looked very good.
"How long do you think he's going to be under?" Makoto listened carefully even as Kyara excused herself - out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rei running up to Kyara for any sign of news, and then Rei looking into the room as Makoto contiued talking to Dr. Yakazari..
Dr. Yakazari sighed. "Those skull fractures have to heal up before we can really start to see any real progress. This is one process we can't rush. At least six weeks."
"Six weeks?"
"You are aware of the massive injuries he has, Princess?" Makoto nodded slowly as she looked at Eric through the glass.
"It's going to take at least that much time before we even [consider] trying to bring him out of the coma. I expect, Princess, that you'll be visiting every day?"
"Sometimes twice, Dr. Yakazari. You know me." Makoto smiled as Dr. Yakazari politely excused himself by bowing, and went back to Eric's bedside. Eric himself was covered in bandages, except for one swollen shut eye that peeped out from the swath of white around his head. Makoto looked for Kyara, who was still talking to Rei. She nodded to Rei and smiled.
"I'm glad he's allright, Rei-chan, but Dr. Yakazari said that it will take a while for him to even begin to get better..." Rei nodded back, equally as serious. "I'm aware of that. I'll be here." Makoto hugged Rei and then motioned for Kyara to come with her so that Rei could also speak with Dr. Yakazari and keep watch over Eric.
"You're not going to sit bedside with Eric?" Kyara was a little surprised.
Makoto shook her head no. "Rei-chan is a better choice for that right now. I'll be there, trust me." They made their way back to Makoto's room and Kyara smiled. “That was the best piece of news anyone could have gotten - that Eric was alive. I'll probably go back to check in on him later, I'll stop by to see if you'd like to come with me?”
“Sounds good. By then, I should be a little more presentable. I will see you later.” Makoto nodded back as she watched Kyara make her way back to her room down the hall and close the door. She slowly opened the door and made her way inside of her room. She was almost giddy with the excitement of Eric having returned in more or less one piece, but even more giddy at the person whom was still lying peacefully in her bed. Akuma was lying on his side, pretty much where she had left him, his face a mask of peace, a stray swatch of his hair falling across his forehead. Makoto stood there, looking at him for a minute before he opened an eye and raised one of his eyebrows.
“I was only starting to wonder why it had grown so cold here." He smiled a little as Makoto sat on the side of the bed, removed her robe and lay it across a nearby chair before she crawled back into bed, letting her head rest against Akuma's chest.
"You know I wouldn't have left were it not of great significance. Kyara brought news of Eric - he's made it home!" Makoto broke into a beaming smile, mostly from relief that Eric had managed to finally come home. "He's going to be in the Med-Unit for the forseeable future, but I'm just thankful that he's home and alive." Akuma put his arms around her and exhaled, content in her happiness.
"I could not begin to tell you how brave he was for taking on the Brain like that, much less [surviving]. Did Dr. Yakazari inform you of the extent of his injuries?" Akuma turned over towards her and propped himself on his elbow so that he could look down at her.
"His right leg is badly damaged, his arm is broken in places, and he's got two skull fractures that are severe. He's in a controlled coma until the skull fractures heal a little bit, and then little by little they'll try to bring him out of it. It's going to take a while before Eric will even be able to talk to us about the battle, if he'll want to at all. All anyone can do right now is wait." Makoto exhaled, and then smiled up at Akuma. "So...what are we doing today?"
A slow smile crossed Akuma's face as he touched his forehead to hers. "I'm sure we could think of something." In one smooth motion, he reached his arm under hers and rolled her over so that she lie atop him. Makoto giggled and kissed him, as the rest of their morning was spent in the comfort of each other's arms.
“Princess! Princess, are you awake yet?” Kyara's insistent knocking at the door brought both of them out of their comfortable slumber not moments later. “I've news of Eric! He made it! He's alive!"
It was at the word 'Eric' that Makoto opened her eyes [albeit halfway] and sat up. “...Eric...?” She looked over at the half-awake Akuma and at her motion, he stirred slightly and groaned. “One moment, please..” Makoto's mind had imagined herself getting out of bed a lot faster than she did, but her body was a little slower to react, her limbs protesting gently as she struggled to get out of bed as quietly as she could. Akuma opened one eye completely and nodded she turned to look at him. Her feet finally touched the warmth of the carpeted floor and she quickly snatched up her robe and opened the door only a crack. She blinked at the sudden glare of the hallway, and Kyara was standing there with her eyes alight, a grin on from ear to ear.
“Eric! They found Eric! He was in the desert and in pretty bad shape, but at least he's alive! He's in the Med Unit right now with Dr. Yakazari! Come on!”
“Allright, allright, give me a moment to get myself appropriate...” Makoto tied her robe a little more securely and in bare feet quickly opened the door long enough to slide out of the room and then quickly closed it back again. Granted, she wanted the whole world to know about her love for Akuma, but now didn't seem like the best time for it. Kyara hopped happily as the two of them quickly and quietly made their way down to the Med-Unit. Dr. Yakazari was already standing over Eric's bed with his small digital assistant, the stylus making practiced clicks across the tiny screen. Dr. Yakazari looked up for a moment to see Makoto and Kyara standing there, and he stopped what he was doing long enough to come outside of the room to speak to them both.
“Princess, Lady Kyara, I'm glad to see you both down here. He's only been here for 45 minutes, but that's enough time to get a basic handle on his situation. He had massive head injuries and he's a hair's breadth away from losing his right leg. His right arm is broken in three places, and he's got two major skull fractures - we had to put him into an induced coma right away so that we could stabilize his condition. He must have taken one hell of a pounding against the Mechanoids." He held up the digital assistant towards Makoto and Kyara. "These numbers here indicate his vitals when we arrived at the scene." *clickclick* "These were his vitals when we stabilized him for transport." *clickclick* "These were his vitals upon his arrival." *clickclick* "These were his vitals when we induced the coma." Makoto looked at those numbers and winced. None of them, at any stage of Eric's transport, looked very good.
"How long do you think he's going to be under?" Makoto listened carefully even as Kyara excused herself - out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rei running up to Kyara for any sign of news, and then Rei looking into the room as Makoto contiued talking to Dr. Yakazari..
Dr. Yakazari sighed. "Those skull fractures have to heal up before we can really start to see any real progress. This is one process we can't rush. At least six weeks."
"Six weeks?"
"You are aware of the massive injuries he has, Princess?" Makoto nodded slowly as she looked at Eric through the glass.
"It's going to take at least that much time before we even [consider] trying to bring him out of the coma. I expect, Princess, that you'll be visiting every day?"
"Sometimes twice, Dr. Yakazari. You know me." Makoto smiled as Dr. Yakazari politely excused himself by bowing, and went back to Eric's bedside. Eric himself was covered in bandages, except for one swollen shut eye that peeped out from the swath of white around his head. Makoto looked for Kyara, who was still talking to Rei. She nodded to Rei and smiled.
"I'm glad he's allright, Rei-chan, but Dr. Yakazari said that it will take a while for him to even begin to get better..." Rei nodded back, equally as serious. "I'm aware of that. I'll be here." Makoto hugged Rei and then motioned for Kyara to come with her so that Rei could also speak with Dr. Yakazari and keep watch over Eric.
"You're not going to sit bedside with Eric?" Kyara was a little surprised.
Makoto shook her head no. "Rei-chan is a better choice for that right now. I'll be there, trust me." They made their way back to Makoto's room and Kyara smiled. “That was the best piece of news anyone could have gotten - that Eric was alive. I'll probably go back to check in on him later, I'll stop by to see if you'd like to come with me?”
“Sounds good. By then, I should be a little more presentable. I will see you later.” Makoto nodded back as she watched Kyara make her way back to her room down the hall and close the door. She slowly opened the door and made her way inside of her room. She was almost giddy with the excitement of Eric having returned in more or less one piece, but even more giddy at the person whom was still lying peacefully in her bed. Akuma was lying on his side, pretty much where she had left him, his face a mask of peace, a stray swatch of his hair falling across his forehead. Makoto stood there, looking at him for a minute before he opened an eye and raised one of his eyebrows.
“I was only starting to wonder why it had grown so cold here." He smiled a little as Makoto sat on the side of the bed, removed her robe and lay it across a nearby chair before she crawled back into bed, letting her head rest against Akuma's chest.
"You know I wouldn't have left were it not of great significance. Kyara brought news of Eric - he's made it home!" Makoto broke into a beaming smile, mostly from relief that Eric had managed to finally come home. "He's going to be in the Med-Unit for the forseeable future, but I'm just thankful that he's home and alive." Akuma put his arms around her and exhaled, content in her happiness.
"I could not begin to tell you how brave he was for taking on the Brain like that, much less [surviving]. Did Dr. Yakazari inform you of the extent of his injuries?" Akuma turned over towards her and propped himself on his elbow so that he could look down at her.
"His right leg is badly damaged, his arm is broken in places, and he's got two skull fractures that are severe. He's in a controlled coma until the skull fractures heal a little bit, and then little by little they'll try to bring him out of it. It's going to take a while before Eric will even be able to talk to us about the battle, if he'll want to at all. All anyone can do right now is wait." Makoto exhaled, and then smiled up at Akuma. "So...what are we doing today?"
A slow smile crossed Akuma's face as he touched his forehead to hers. "I'm sure we could think of something." In one smooth motion, he reached his arm under hers and rolled her over so that she lie atop him. Makoto giggled and kissed him, as the rest of their morning was spent in the comfort of each other's arms.