Itsy Bitsy Spider

66. What We've Gained

Rein ran a high fever for days afterwards. She tossed and turned in her blankets, beading sweat and hot to the touch. Dreams and nightmares ran through her head like the fire she'd almost burned in as she mumbled in her sleep and cried out at times, kicking at the bed and clutching fistfuls of her hair before someone took her hand and she calmed, pulling back into a peaceful state once more.

Machi assured them that her physical health would be fine. It didn't look as if she was suffering from secondary drowning, and while the bandages around her burns often came undone when she struggled, they were healing nicely. Personally, she had her own hunch to what was happening. There was little to base it off, but the anomalies were enough, and she suspected Rein had gone through that one day many more times than they had. And looking at it, quite a bit of trauma had stacked up during that time as well.

She was positive her theory was right. It was her gut, after all, and it had proven itself to always be correct in one way or another. But she hadn't told anyone yet, not even the Spiders she'd spent years with. Before informing them came Rein's mental and emotional health, which would be vital in making a full physical recovery as well. And for that, Feitan or Phinks would be of no assistance.

"Lucky," Machi stated once before entering the room. She wouldn't suffice for Rein's needs at the moment, no matter how she tried. The only person who would be able to assist was him.

"Pinky, no!" a yell came, turning shrill on the last syllable. But the door opened nonetheless, and she walked in while he tried to hide.

She tilted her head quizzically, lips pursed. "I've seen and tended to your bare chest before," she commented. "There is no reason to conceal it now. If anything, you should be concerned with how often I'm forced to see your bare chest, usually in much more dire circumstances than this."

"I'm changing, it's different," he tried to argue, attempting to pull on a shirt and sucked in a breath when his old injuries ached. "I know I get hurt a lot, and thanks for helping me all the time with it. I guess I shouldn't snap if you don't really understand normal human conventions." He tugged down the shirt and stumbled when he turned back and found her eyes glued on him. "Why are you staring?"

Why indeed.

She blinked once to bring her thoughts together. "You have... pleasing symmetry." The scars littering his skin and hopelessly mussed hair made him far from symmetrical, but that response had been the only one to pop into her mind. (Strange, normally she could think of dozens of comebacks.) Machi proceeded with matters quickly. "It's about Rein."

"Ah," he merely responded, acknowledging it all. "Something's been going on, hasn't it?"

"I suspect that she's gone through far more than she's letting on. She needs a weight off her shoulders. You're skilled in that kind of manipulation with people. Could you have one of those talks with her once she's stabled?"

"Sure." Then Lucky squinted, and his words came slow. "Every time, you label what I do as manipulation or something of the sort. Why? I'm a Specialist, though I'd kiss goodbye to my unfortunate Nen if I could. I'm not..."

"Then what..." When Lucky talked to Rein after everything had gone wrong and everyone else failed, he alone had somehow been the one to stop her tears despite knowing her for less than half a day. She herself had only been cold to Lucky prior to it, and though her own thoughts had changed toward him, she'd been sure his hadn't. Yet when asked, he'd conversed with her, sat down with colored threads with different purposes from her own. And though they'd never talked—really talked—she afterwards noticed a light to herself she hadn't completely understood until her darkness had been cleared. Voice faint, she finished, "...what other word is there?"