Terminal

Chapter 15

"Ow," Hattori says, falling to the ground. Once again, I've knocked him down with the bo staff in my hands.

"You did better that time," I said.

"Yeah yeah, you say that every time." He groans, picking himself off the ground.

"Well this time I really mean it."

"But the duel lasted shorter." I reach my hand out, helping him up.

"Length doesn't matter. It's how you do things that does." He sighs.

"You win every time though." I shrug.

"Just try again. One last time I promise."

"Fine..." He twirls his staff around, preparing his stance.

"Remember what I said earlier. Just remember that and you'll do great." He doesn't reply, and I start to count down. "Three, two, one, go!" I charge forwards, and Hattori rolls to the side, swinging low. I step back, blocking his attack, and he launches a series of strikes against me. I defend myself, but he catches me by surprise on the last one, and I stumble backwards. A look of surprise appears on Hattori's face. With renewed confidence, he charges and jumps in the air, spinning around and bringing his staff down on me. I throw my staff up, but the force of the attack knocks me down. I roll back, avoiding another swing, but Hattori wastes no time and continues attacking. He got faster with each strike, pushing me back, almost whipping the staff through the air. I struggled to keep up for once, not anticipating this, and he finally knocks my staff away, leaving me defenseless as he rests the end of his staff against my chest.

"Holy..." Hattori mutters, out of breath.

"What did I tell you?" I smile, and quickly yanked the staff out of his hands, hitting it against his legs, and he falls to the ground. "But you've yet to learn to not celebrate so soon." He lets out a small laugh.

"Yeah, well, I'm still learning, okay?"

"We all are. Even the people who keep making those damn cookies because they haven't learned how much of an addiction you have to them." I nudge him playfully in the head, and we both burst out laughing.

We've arrived back at base. Hattori was quickly carried out on a stretcher, and I somehow manage my way back to my room without falling to the ground. I didn't talk to anyone, and no one talked back. At least they know when to keep their space. I sat on my bed, quiet. I didn't do much; I was at a loss of words. The scene keeps replaying in my head, and I try to think of other things, but it didn't work. I throw some water on my face, trying to wake myself up, to get my mind back to where it normally was. It didn't help. I paced restlessly, as my mind replays Hattori getting shot over and over again. I close my eyes, sitting down. I haven't noticed that I was hyperventilating, and I take some time to restore my breathing back to normal.

I stand up, testing myself, and I walk towards the medical bay. People in masks pass by me, and I look among the rows of beds for Hattori. I almost end up walking past him; he looked almost unrecognizable. Multiple wraps of bandages covered his head, and blankets covered the majority of him, reaching up to his shoulders. A monitor tracked his heart beat, beeping every so often. It was slower than normal, and his breathing was ragged. I reach under the blankets, and slowly pull his arm out from underneath, holding his hand. With every passing minute, his heart beat slowly decreased, his breathing wasn't as often. I don't know how long I sat there, but it didn't matter. Eventually, the pauses in between his breaths were longer, and I squeeze his hand a bit. There was no way at this point that he was going to survive. It might had been my imagination, but I thought I felt his fingers move slightly. I continued holding onto his hand. The beeps were less frequent, the breaths less common. Eventually, he lets out one last breath that was a touch longer than the others, and the monitor flatlines. I don't move. A medic lightly taps me on the shoulder.

"Ma'am, we're going to have to have you leave." I didn't acknowledge him. He sighs, taking Hattori's hand out of mine, and I continue to sit stupidly. I was escorted out, but I don't remember any of it. Somehow, I made my way back to my room, braindead. Then the tears came. I wept for who knows how long, letting everything out. I didn't want to accept it, but it was the reality. Hattori was gone.