• CHAPTER 123 - THE PAIN IS WELL WORTH IT

    You get hurt almost daily, so much that it's like a routine. Even though the pain can be unbearable, it's well worth it if you're still with the one you love.

    Later that afternoon, I passed out again from severe exhaustion after watching the news. The stress from the past few weeks--since Ai showed up--had deprived me from my sleep badly. After I had made myself comfortable, turning onto my side on the hospital bed and falling asleep, Kai decided to nap with me too, carefully wrapping his arms around my waist, and pulling my backside close to him. I could have sworn he was in a deeper sleep than I was; he was breathing deeply and slowly and never moved an inch. The cold of his body pressed against me really managed to cool my fever down a little and, surprisingly, helped me to relax.

    One thing that troubled me while Kai and I were sleeping was that, during the times I would wake up, most of Kai's deep breathing converted to deep sighs. Every now and then, he would rub his thumbs against my stomach, either doing it in his sleep or he was awake. Either way, I could tell he was trying to suppress his guilt of what happened to me. Yes, I was hurt and could have possibly been killed, but it wasn't Kai's fault; he couldn't tell if they were stalking us or not. I could understand why he was blaming himself, but it was just even more of a burden on him...on both of us.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    "Kai, when do I get released?" I asked, rubbing my slightly nauseous stomach.

    "They confirmed sometime tomorrow; they wanted you to rest here today because of your loss of blood."

    I sat up and stretched, happy to do so since the nurse pulled the IV out of my hand shortly after Kai and I woke up from our nap. I had no needles in me, but they wanted me to heal for a little bit. Thinking back to December, I was in the hospital for up to three weeks because I could hardly move from where the Werewolf bit me and I had a severe case of the flu after running around in freezing weather instead of resting. It seemed like so long ago; just about five months ago. Oh yeah, it was the beginning of May.

    Kai turned head head towards me with a light smile on his face, "We have visitors,"

    I burrowed my eyebrows together and frowned, "Nobody's knocked on the door yet,"

    Kai rolled his eyes and pointed to his ear; oh, "High-range hearing,"

    "Shut up," I huffed and crossed my arms.

    And, just as Kai claimed, there was a knock at the door, "Come in," Kai granted.

    The door to the room creaked open slowly but was soon thrown open as little Ai eagerly and impatiently ran into the room. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Kai and she ran over to him with her little arms extended, "Uncle Kai!"

    "Hey, kiddo," Kai smiled and picked up Ai before she could crash into him. He propped her on his hip and smiled at her laughter with a shine in his eyes.

    I laid myself back down on my bed and sighed with a smile on my face as Matsuda and Orihime entered the room, greeting Kai and me. I yawned, surprised I was still so tired. Of course, Kira had to make the dramatic entry and dart into the room as fast as Ai did, heading straight towards my bed. I would have prepared myself, had I known better. He embraced me a little too tightly and rocked me back and forth.

    "Ohh, my poor Arisa!" he cried out. "You must be in pain!"

    "Y-yeah, and you're not helping my nausea any," I winced.

    "Do you want me to kiss it better?" Kira asked, puckering up his lips.

    I blocked his mouth with my left hand before he tried to childishly kiss me, "No, I don't need your help!"

    "We brought treats," Orihime smiled, holding a paper bag up and looking only a little past me since she couldn't see.

    I smiled wider, my heart lifting up. I love my new family so much, they were all so amazing. My parents were probably proud of me, watching me as I moved on from their deaths and even found love--with a Vampire, no less. Even though I was frolicking with Vampires and Werewolves, I was sure my parents would approve of them.

    "Nana, what's wrong?" Ai asked me from over Kai's shoulders.

    I never realized it, but there were tears streaming down my face once more. Thinking of them as my family only depressed me; my time with all of them was ending soon. My murderers attacked and almost killed me; that pretty much meant that my end was near. I didn't want to leave anybody, I didn't want to die, especially so abruptly, but I would die anyways, whether I would survive or not. I was human, I'd grow old.

    "Arisa?" Kai turned around.

    I quickly wiped away my pathetic tears and put on a smile, "It's nothing, sorry,"

    I could tell Kai didn't believe me; his mouth smiled but his eyes still showed concern. He set Ai on my bed and she immediately embraced me. Her cute little face buried into the hollow of my neck and she embraced me tighter.

    "Nana, you'll be okay," she pulled back, pretending to be the more dominant one. "You'll be okay."

    I couldn't help but find her attitude adorable. I sat up and held onto her for another few moments. After that touching moment ended, we helped ourselves to Orihime's homemade onigiris and cookies. Ai continued to sit next to me and she scarfed down everything she could get her little hands on. Later that night, I would be released, back into the insecure, dangerous world. But I'd be back with Kai, back in our home.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    With Kai's assistance, I laid on the bed on my back and sighed while Kai stared at me, "Are you hurting?"

    I shrugged, "Only a little," I sighed, referring to the lacerations on my abdomen.

    "Are you okay?"

    I looked up at Kai with my tired eyes, "Okay?" I understood him after a few more seconds. "I...I don't know, honestly. I-I can't stop thinking about it."

    "You're home now," Kai mumbled and kissed my forehead.

    Momo jumped onto the bed next to me and curled up against my right arm and fell asleep almost immediately. Being back at home with Kai and Momo after a near-death experience and a day in a hospital just couldn't cheer me up as much as I really wanted it to. Kai's lips moved down to mine for a moment and down to my bandaged throat and down to my chest. My breathing was deep and even, trying to calm myself down. Kai's curious hands slid up my thighs and into the bottom of my dress, pulling my dress up above my stomach. He ever so slowly started kissing my bandaged stomach, tenderizing the wounds a little. My heart was pounding but not nearly as much as it used to when Kai would become curious. But I still wasn't quite ready for the relationship Kai was ready for.

    "I need to depart, Arisa," Kai whispered. "I need to confront Minoru and Kaiba."

    My breathing stopped and I stared at Kai, "You know what happened last time,"

    "I'm aware, but I need to speak with them," Kai climbed slowly on top of me. "They can't expect to do that and get away without a talk."

    The seriousness in his eyes and his voice almost scared me. His aura was oozing with anger towards the nomads, "I trust you, Kai, but I don't trust they won't try to kill you,"

    "They can't kill me; they wouldn't be able to get to you." he chuckled halfheartedly. "If they had the guts to murder me, I'd gladly allow them to, so long as you would be spared."

    I shook my head and tried to sit up, "Don't say that, don't ever say that,"

    "May I go, then?"

    I pursed my lips together, "How long?"

    "Just a couple of hours,"

    Kai moved in for a gentle kiss and our tongues compressed gently and softly for a couple of minutes. We seemed to be going at a much slower pace with everything; it could have been because of my wounds or something else. I wouldn't really know.

    "I trust you," I sighed into Kai's mouth and kissed him. "Be safe."

    "I'll make an attempt," he kissed me back.

    He kissed me once more and embraced me tightly, giving me his promise. He kissed my neck a few times and sighed, holding me a little tighter. "You're an idiot," I breathed.

    Kai chuckled, "I suppose,"

    He pulled back a little and nuzzled my forehead with his face. He kissed me a few more times and stood up, deciding to give my tired body its rest. I appeared calm on the outside but in the inside, I was trembling and shaking. Minoru and Kaiba nearly killed me and yet Kai was going out to find them; they wouldn't kill Kai because then they couldn't get to me. But would Kai challenge them to kill him? Because Kai had just said he would be willing to sacrifice himself to rid me of the contract's grip.

    "I won't do that," he touched my arm. "I'll be back."

    Instead of slowly leaving the bedroom as I expected he would, he teleported out of my sight, leaving me alone on my bed with Momo. I turned onto my side and stroked Momo behind his ears, watching them twitch. He rolled onto his side and lifted one leg up for me to stroke his belly. I wished desperately that I could stop Kai; I wished I could bring him back inside and go all the way with him--if only I was brave enough. With every touch, I could feel him wanting to go further but he continued to restrain himself; Minoru almost took that away from me. It was kind of a blur, but Minoru got much too close.

    "Be safe," I whispered once more, glancing behind Momo at the darkening sky, yearning for Kai's return, for his touch.