I could hardly believe what happened. Riku was dying. He was bloody. His arm was covered in blood, his hair was matted with it. He looked lifeless, and as soon as he saw me, the only thing he did was limp over, smile and just say he's home. That was it. It was...it was just all so painful... I sat on the chair in front of his room in the hospital and couldn't believe it.
"...You must be Riku's friend." I heard someone say.
"...You're {Name}, right? The one he talked about? ...Not much of a talker, are you?" The voice sounded familiar. Of course it would, though. This was the freaking AU video game world.
"...It isn't your fault, if you're thinking about that. He finished early, actually, without a scratch on him. We made it here quickly and easily, don't worry. But, then, something happened. Someone shot someone else, a fight broke out and...well, this happened to him. It was that bastard's fault for starting the fight. It wasn't during his job. It wasn't where he was. And it certainly wasn't because he thought he'd try to make it home quick, since he was already there. It was him acting rashly and trying to protect someone and ended up messing with the wrong people who happened to have weapons that he didn't. Don't think you're the cause, alright? 'Cause it sure seems like you'd think that." He said softly. I looked at him and saw who it was, a small smile on his face. Bartz Klauser.
"...I should introduce myself, anyway. I'm Bartz. Bartz Klauser. A good friend of Riku's from his work." He said, causing me to blink once. I looked back down, bringing my knees closer to my chest. He let out a sigh.
"Hmm...I know Riku will be alright. Fang's taking good care of him, and I heard she was the best doctor around." I looked over at him and saw a smile on his face, and saw it grow at my staring at him.
"Anyway, don't worry. It's nothing serious, I assure you. Believe me, in my line of work, I should know! Relax, {Name}, he'll be up and about," He snapped his fingers.
"Just like that!" He said, causing me to stare.
"...Are...Are you sure...?" He smiled.
"Of course. Don't worry, alright? Besides, from what I gather, he has a reason to get up. You and these two friends of his he talking about!" I smiled.
"I see...yeah, Sora and Kairi are his best friends..." He nodded.
"Exactly! Don't worry, {Name}. Everything will be alright. Anyway, I gotta go get some food. I'm starving! Anything you'd like?" He asked, as I blinked, then smiled a little at his effort.
"No, thanks though...!" (Bartz, Love Interest Only)
He laughed at my response.
"Oh, come on! Here, come with me, let's find something to eat!" He said, taking my hand and pulling me towards the cafeteria. As soon as we made it, he smiled.
"From what I've heard, hospital food sucks. So, let's go eat! I wanna see if these supposed rumors are true!" He exclaimed, as I smiled at his enthusiasm.
"Alright...sure, let's go." He nodded, looking around.
"Hmm...what do we want...?" He muttered, looking around. I took a moment to look at Bartz, the actual Bartz standing in front of me. Not many people included Bartz in their stories, though that was because most didn't really know him very well. He seemed very...young. I knew he was 20 in the games, so, that made me wonder...was he the same age here? Or was he a different age? He was very handsome, now that I took notice. Cute, almost. He smiled, and looked at me, as I blinked, looking at the food, a slight blush on my face as I could feel.
