The Princess and The Devil - Karma Akabane x OC

T W E N T Y - F I V E : THE AWAKENING

Normal's POV

Hime slowly opens her eyes. The first two times were a complete blur but the third time she blinks, her vision gets clearer. She looks to her right and finds an IV connected to her right wrist. She finds sticky pads on her skin and then she heard the faint beeping sounds coming from a heart monitor on her left. She was about to sit up when the curtains slide open and revealed a dishevelled Taka-sensei and a doctor with his stereotypical stethoscope and white lab coat. He also has 3 different scans that Hime notes as CAT scan, the pictures of her head from the MRI scan and cervical spine x-rays.

Ah, I see. Am I suffering from a concussion? Must be that blow earlier.

"Hime-chan.." Taka breathes out of relief as she engulfs Hime in a bear hug. Hime was about to push Taka away slightly but she freezes when she realises Taka's trembling body as droplets of warm tears hit Hime's skin. Hime awkwardly tries to calm her teacher down by patting Taka's back a few times. The doctor smiles and clears his throat. "Ah, my apologies, doctor." Taka pulls away slightly. She sniffs and wipes her tears.

"It's fine, Yamamoto-san." The doctor smiles. "How are you feeling, Sakuragi-san?" He asks, checking the results. "Do you know what these are, Sakuragi-san?"

"I do." The doctor smiles and tells her that she has no broken bones and no blood clots. She would be just fine but just to be sure, he will keep her in the hospital until this evening. He also told them both that the inflictor might be hesitating to hit Hime with all his might. Hime and Taka both thank the doctor before he takes his leave. She bites her lower lip. This person held back hitting me but in the end, his life was taken without any remorse.

The doctor then left the duo before telling them a nurse will be coming to give her an ice pack for her head.

"Hime-chan.." taka started. "I was so worried. You've been asleep for a day." Taka said, holding back tears. Hime watches her fist turns white for grabbing the hem of her shirt a tad bit too tightly. Hime pulls Taka into a hug which startles Taka immensely. Taka hugs back and she couldn't hold back tears anymore. "I'm sorry, Hime-chan! I am so sorry!"

Hime smiles and pulls Taka closer into the hug. "It's fine, Taka-chan. I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for saying that a monster taught me better than you did." Hime apologises.

The both of them pull away and Taka fishes deep in her pockets to reveal to Hime her phone.

"My phone!" Hime smiles.

"Asano-kun found this for you. He asked me to hand it over." Taka gave her the phone and Hime shakes her head. Taka puts the phone on the desk next to her and hugs Hime again. "It feels good to hug you like this again."

"Onee-chan?" Hime pulls away and sees Haru in his school uniform. He has puffy red and swollen eyes. Hime opens her arms and waited for Haru to jump in her arms. He cried on the spot and like a spoiled brat he is, drops his school bag on the floor as he scrambles into Hime's arms. "Onee-chan, you woke up late. It's already Friday. You missed Thursday." Hime smiles softly at the way her brother cried and hugged him tighter.

"Haru, don't cry so much. What would Karma say if he finds out how uncool you're being?" Hime asks and Haru immediately pulls away. Hime wipes the falling tears off her brother's chubby cheeks and pinches his cheeks.

"Child abuse!" He said, struggling to get away from his sister's crab claw-like fingers. Hime chuckles a little at Haru's antics. Haru sits at the end of the bed's edge when he said something that made Hime's eye water. "Onee-chan, it's been a while since I see you since that day and you go ahead and do stuff like this. You just suddenly disappeared on the day I finally got to be home with you. I was glad to see you and not uncle Ichiro at my school gate. Onee-chan," Haru has tears brimming in his eyes now "Don't you know that you're all I have in the world?" He cries.