Cut From A Tattered Cloth

Chapter 27

Pain throbbed behind Eijiro's eyes.

He stirred from a fitful sleep, groaning as the world solidified around him. He felt the familiar sheets from his bed, and recognized the downy pillows under his head. There were more of those than he remembered–usually he only slept with two, but felt like there were at least six underneath him, propping him up into more of a sitting position. He knew the thread count of each blanket that had been draped over him, and inhaled the plant scent that filled his room.

Eyes still closed, he frowned. These weren't the usual teuila and pikake flowers he woke up to. Instead they smelled more earthy, like ti leaf trees and maile shrubs. That meant Melia was worried. Why was she worried?

For a second, he panicked. He hadn't...he hadn't gotten drunk, had he? That would explain the headache, the awful way he felt. And how, for the life of him, he couldn't remember where he'd been the night before...

Then it came back to him. The explosion. Melia's trees. Him smashing through glass, and trying to slow their fall with burnt fabric coils. He called out for help because Melia was–

He bolted upright, then immediately regretted it. Daggers of pain stabbed through his skull, making him nauseous. He held his face in his hands, moaning.

"Ohayou, Jiro-nii," someone said. Good morning, brother.

"Sayuri," he grunted, not sure why she was here. "Nan...nani wo–"

"There was an explosion," Sayuri cut in, her voice devoid of emotion. "You got a concussion as a result of it."

Eijiro tried to nod, but the motion made his head throb. Instead, he stayed where he was, hands propping up his head as he tried to think.

A concussion. That made sense. Or at least, that explained why his head hurt so much. Eijiro exhaled in relief. He would take a concussion over a hangover any day.

Shifting his hands away from his eyes and over his temples, he opened them. His vision blurred for a second, then came into focus. There were plumeria flowers on his bed. Eijiro was so surprised he laughed. Some things never changed.

Slowly, he eased back into his pillows and took in the rest of the room. It was indeed lined with ti leaf trees and maile shrubs. Aside from the plumeria blossoms, there were no flowers. Eijiro wondered if Melia hadn't grown any because she was so worried, or if she actively Withered any she grew to avoid overstimulating him.

Knowing her, it was probably both.

The kitchen table had been moved to the foot of his bed. Sayuri had it set up like a miniature office space. She had a manila file open, pages fanned out in front of her as she looked over her notes. Eijiro couldn't help thinking how wrong that was. Since when had Sayuri become so practical? So grown up?

"How long was I out?" he asked.

"Three days," she replied, not looking up. "Julian almost took you off the case, but your little brat spoke up and stopped him. Said she could 'pick up the slack' while you were out."

Eijiro's gut dropped. He'd been out for three days? It felt like he'd only been asleep for a couple hours. And Melia...if she was working this case alone...

Sayuri paused, looking up at him with a furrowed brow. "I don't know how she did it, Jiro-nii, but somehow she helped you to heal faster. Doctors said it would be weeks for you to be this coherent again."

Eijiro shrugged. "She has her ways."

He knew exactly how Melia had been healing him. While her healing garden wouldn't come for him, Melia had other ways she used her plants to boost recovery time. A part of Eijiro was surprised Sayuri hadn't figured that out by now. Melia had already used those methods on her.