Alice's Sacrifice

Chapter 12

A week had pasted since Rikka's meeting with Ira and that's almost all she thought about since then. What is he hiding? Ugh! Why does this even bother me so much! Rikka thought frustratedly. "RIKKA!" The sudden outburst startled Rikka so much that she almost fell out of the bench she was in. "What?" she asked Mana, who was the person who yelled at her. "What's up with you? That was literally my 5th try trying to get your attention. You've been acting like this for the past week! I honestly thought you would be more active now that Alice is starting to recover." Mana exclaimed though Rikka could see the concern in her eyes. "I-I guess Alice's accident just really shook me up." she lied. Rikka decided not to tell any of the other girls about her meeting with Ira since they'd freak out. Mana just gave her friend a disbelieving look before changing the topic. "So how much longer do you think Alice will be in the hospital?" she asked. "Well she certainly is getting better. Alice seems to be getting more sleep lately, though she still doesn't have much of an appetite." Rikka stated grateful for the change in topic. "Her pain should be gone in a few days, a week upmost. The doctors would also want to keep an eye on her for a little bit. So I'd say in a week or 2." "That's great!" Mana exclaimed cheerfully. "Too bad once Alice recovers she'll have to start taking physical therapy. I mean she hasn't walked in how long? A month." she pointed out. "Oh, come on! Don't be such a downer." Mana said putting her hand on Rikka's shoulder. "Alice is strong. She'll be fine! Maybe a little shaky and weak at first but fine." she continued. "I hope you're right Mana." Rikka said before looking up to the sky. There was silence for a few minutes before Mana decided to break it. "Rikka have you talked to Aguri lately?" she asked cautiously. Rikka looked at her friend confused and a bit startled at the sudden question. "N-no, why do you ask?" Mana hesitated for a moment before responding. "I know that you and Aguri never got along the best, but you have barely spoken to her since Alice fell ill." "And I have good reason to. She kept on giving Alice a hard time. Even if Alice wasn't ill I think she was still too harsh. I understand if Aguri hates sugar coating but would it kill her to be considerate!" Rikka responded sounding frustrated. "Hey, we were all at fault for not noticing Alice's condition." Mana retorted. "I'm not blaming her for that! But Aguri crossed the line that day. You know just as well as I do that this wasn't the first time Aguri has acted in that manner!" Rikka yelled obviously losing her temper. "And she feels guilty about it! I remember when we almost lost Alice that she screamed it was all her fault!" Mana practically screamed. She took a deep breath before softly saying "Aguri made a mistake but everyone does. The important thing is that we learn form those mistakes. Alice forgave her, so why can't you." With that being said Mana stood up from the bench she and Rikka were sitting on and began to leave. Before she was out of earshot and turned her head towards Rikka. "You know Aguri is watching over Alice right now. It might not be so bad to go talk things out." Mana said before turning her head away and leaving Rikka alone. Rikka looked in the direction Mana left speechless. Maybe it would be good to talk everything out. she thought before leaving the park and going towards the hospital.
Aguri was sitting by Alice's bedside. "You're serious! She actually climbed over the gate!" Aguri exclaimed. "Yep! Mana was so intent on catching the butterfly that she climbed over the gate around my house! That's how she meet me." Alice replied near laughter. Alice was looking better than ever. Some color was coming back to her skin and she didn't look nearly as exhausted and miserable as she was only about a week ago. She was even sitting upright though Aguri had to help her get into that position. "Did that habit ever get her into trouble?" Aguri asked. Before Alice could answer Aguri's question the door opened with Rikka poking her head inside. "Hey, Aguri can I talk to you for a moment?" she asked quietly. Aguri gave Rikka a confused look. She sat there before Alice gave her a light push. "Go on." she whispered. Aguri gave Alice an unsure look before getting up to talk to Rikka. Once she was in the hallway Rikka shut the door behind her. Rikka opened her mouth to speak but Aguri cut her off. "Look if you want to scold me about my attitude go ahead. I deserve it." There was silence for a moment until Rikka spoke "I'm sorry." "W-what?" Aguri stuttered taken by surprise. "I've been treating you awfully lately. When Alice was.... ill I just made you feel guilty for something that wasn't your fault." Rikka said. Aguri just looked at Rikka for a few moments before embracing her friend. "I'm sorry too." she whispered. Rikka quickly hugged back. They were hugging for about a minute before they heard Alice from behind the door shout. "Aw! So you guys finally decided to make up!" Rikka quickly opened the door and yelled "What the hell Alice!" "Hey I'm on strict bedrest for about 2 weeks, I need something to do." Alice responded her eyes shining a bit. "Okay that's it! I'm coming over there to kill you again!" Rikka joked though there was obvious frustration in her voice. "RIKKA!" Aguri watched the scene from the doorway smiling. "Maybe things are finally starting to get back to normal."
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Well that took while! I'm trying to get chapters out as soon as I can but life has been getting busy for me. Don't worry chapters will still come out faster than they used to. Is this chapter good? Too out of character? Maybe, maybe not. Bye!