Recovery

They were surrounded by the sounds of beeping monitors and heavy breathing. Down the hall they could hear quiet conversations between nurses and doctors. It was all too loud, yet at the same time devastatingly quiet. Harry Vickers did not lay quietly in a bed. He did not have a tube breathing for him. He did not have tubes keeping him alive. It was not a thing which was supposed to happen to the loud American.

“He’ll live. He simply needs some time,” Reo said quietly.

“Gotta love our exorcist bodies,” the large man next to Reo said. “How’s Gaku doing, Reo?”

“He keeps hitting on the staff,” Reo sighed.

“Nurses or doctors, Reo?” the slim, athletic woman with them asked.

“Yes,”  Reo said, remembering how his friend was nearly thrown out for letting his hands wander over both the asses of the attending female nurses and male doctors who were taking care of him. The bullet Hinata had fired obliterated one of his lungs, but due to the abilities granted to them by being exorcists, he was able to regrow it after a day of intense care. Gaku probably didn’t even need to be in the hospital anymore. He simply liked the attention.

Harry, however…

The three other exorcists from Tokyo all stood with Reo around their mutual friend, knowing even with an exorcist's abilities to cheat death Harry should not have survived his wounds during the battle with Fenrir. They were too severe, too sudden. Yet there he laid, alive, unconscious but recovering.

Takeshi, the former sumo, whose hands could become red hot with magic, Mayumi, young scholar and mythology lover with a mystic bow, and Mizuki, proud gyaru and owner of a demon slaughtering whip, each tried to think of words to comfort Reo. They knew he was the closest to Harry. They also knew he most likely blamed himself for Harry’s condition and Hinata having to witness his assault.

“Of course Harry survived. He’s tough! He’s the only bastard who can drink me under the table!” Takeshi said, crossing his arms over his broad chest, his face a mask of confidence. Reo’s face did not twitch.

“At least Gaku is fine!” Mizuki said cheerfully, her dyed blonde hair bouncing around her tanned face, hoping her comment landed as a pick me up instead of sounding like she was ignoring Harry’s condition. Reo still refused to look away from Harry for several moments before sighing and turning to them.

“I’m fine. Honestly. Hinata, however, saw Harry die in front of her. Then she had a powerful demon attack her. And Harry…” Reo closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose, a headache coming on. His mind drifted back to the rain, the rooftop, Hinata screaming when Harry was stabbed. “We all heal fast from wounds inflicted on our bodies. But our minds, our souls…how much death and violence can we take before overload?”

“Where is Hinata, Reo?” Mayumi asked, her glasses making her already concerned eyes look even wider.

“At home. I forced her to stay there and rest. She’s only a rookie. I knew…” Reo finally gave in, sitting heavily in the chair. He remembered the previous night, Hinata yelling at him, her fox tails flailing when he denied her access to Harry.

“I want to see him, Reo!” she had yelled, fur raised.

“You don’t need to see it,” he said, softly, kindly.

“Who are you to tell me what I can and can’t see?! He’s my friend too! I want to make sure he’s okay!”

“And I want you to never set foot in a hospital again!” Reo shouted, his calm demeanor momentarily breaking. “I’m…I’m sorry, Hinata. I…”

“I know,” Hinata had said softly, wrapping her arms around him.

Takeshi slammed his hand onto Reo’s shoulder, startling the former salary man out of his funk. “Bullcrap. We don’t break. It’s why we came back to life.”

“But Hinata…”

“Is a grown woman. Deal, Reo,” Takeshi said sternly. He was at least a decade older than Reo, and right then it felt like it. His arms crossed, his brow furrowed, and the sumo gave the salary man a look which said if he didn’t stop blaming himself he would put him in the hospital bed next to Harry himself.

“She chose to join the police. She’s prepared for this,” Mayumi said.

“Me braiding her tails will cheer her up!” Mizuki said, a bit louder than necessary. Each set of eyes slowly moved towards her, asking her silently if she thought those words were the right things to say. She shrugged, her face scrunching up in awkward confusion.

“Thanks. All of you. You’re right. We’re all fighters. We’re heroes,” Reo said.

“There’s my otaku!” Takeshi said, slapping Reo’s back vigorously. Reo lurched forward, readjusting his glasses.

“Yes, well…it’s also why I think Harry survived. It’s like the anime I love. He couldn’t rest until justice was served and Hinata was safe again,” Reo said. He crossed his arms, bowing his head forward slightly as the whole room watched Harry, willing him to wake and call what Reo said a load of dorky sentimental crap.

“How’s Smiler doing?” Mayumi asked. Reo gave her a small smile, thanking her for the chance to talk about anything else.

“Stubborn. Refusing to say anything. He demands to talk to Harry. Mutual respect, he says. Fenrir is no better. He’s pissed about getting his head blown off by a hammer. Can’t blame him entirely,” Reo said.

“Tch. Assholes,” Takeshi grunted.

“Assholes they may be, but Gouki Kageyama has disappeared off the face of the Earth. We need Smiler talking,” Reo said, a scowl cutting his face.

“Smiler was the easiest of the Seven to find,” Takeshi admitted, nodding while scratching his chin, his bulk making him seem like a wise, muscled owl.

“And we can’t ignore Smiler having a demon. A foreign demon from Norse mythology,” Mayumi said. “This means all of the Seven might have one. And…”

“…they’re probably foreign,” Mizuki said. Even her dim bulb brain could put two and two together here. They were officially blind on the threat the Seven posed.

“This all feels so much bigger than a yakuza fight. It reminds me how we’re only random nobodies pretending to be…” Reo was going to continue his self deprecating monologue when a rough voice like chiseled granite broke through his tirade.

“Shut up. If I have to listen to more damn whining…”

They all stared in joyous shock as Harry gazed at them through heavy lidded eyes. His speech was slow, careful, but deliberate.

“Our job is the same. Find Gouki. Figure it out. Stop monsters. Save lives. So listen, Reo…”

He struggled to raise his finger, pointing directly at Reo, doing his best to look like one of his friend’s posing tokusatsu heroes. Everyone but Reo laughed. He simply stood there, arms crossed, grinning like an idiot as his friend found the strength to mock him again.

“Keep fighting, hero!”

He collapsed against the bed again, happy as a brutally beaten clam. He did more than enough motion for one day, he thought. He closed his eyes and slept again, hoping when he did he would see Lisa.