CHAPTER 49: RECOVER

The Skillers are inside the room belonging to the balcony.

Yutsu: … The Kamus told me they really liked today. We put on a good show.

Panchu: We sure did!

A moment later, Yoshanai rises out of the ground. Yutsu creates a portal and everybody follows him into it.

…

Bukkaru's purple orb fades away, Liz, Rinka and the rest of the guardians are now in an obscure forest with only small amounts of light breaching in.

Liz jogs over to a pile of leaves where she moves her hand around and manages to grasp a hidden handle. She pulls and a hidden trap door is opened, revealing a long staircase leading down.

Liz: Help me bring everyone in.

Rinka: Okay.

She walks down, Bukkaru follows. Liz opens a gray door and a big living room is revealed that is lit by an orange light.

After a couple of minutes, Rinka has finished moving everyone inside, so Liz sits down and begins healing, starting with Doa.

Liz: … Everyone's gonna be okay... You can sit if you'd like, or go do something else. Healing everybody is gonna take a bit.

Rinka: ... Okay.

Rinka sits on a sofa and just looks around.

Liz: … Are - are you just gonna watch?

Rinka: … I don't know what to do.

Liz: … If you're just gonna sit there and do nothing, come over here and talk to me. I'm gonna be pretty bored, just healing.

Rinka moves and sits next to her. It's silent for a long moment.

Rinka: … So, where are we?

Liz: This is our biggest base, it's our favorite too.

Rinka: … It's underground, that's pretty cool.

Liz: … We built it underground because it was the best way to keep it safe. But honestly, another reason we built it here was because we also all agreed it'd be pretty cool.

Rinka smiles, and silence follows.

Liz: … Rinka, could you get me something from the kitchen?

Rinka: … Sure, where's the kitchen?

Liz: Behind me, past the table over there.

…

Rinka returns with some California rolls in a plastic box.

Liz: … Alright, I'm gonna have you feed them to me. Since I need both of my hands to heal.

Rinka: … Uh, okay.

He sits down and feeds one of the rolls to Liz.

Liz: … Do you like Sushi? You can get some if you'd like.

Rinka: … I'll get just one, cuz if I eat too much Sushi, I die.

Liz stares at him, confused.

Liz: … Are you allergic? You don't have to eat it. We have more food if you're hungry.

Rinka lets out a tiny laugh.

Rinka: No, It's just that if I eat too many, the flavor gets overwhelming and I feel like shit.

Liz: … That's weird.

More silence is present with the occasional eating noises… And 43 minutes go by.

…

Liz yawns, she's healing Osora now.

Rinka: … Liz, If you could be any animal, which one would you be?

Liz: … A cat.

Rinka: Why?

Liz: … Because I love cats.

Rinka: … I'd be a pigeon. Cuz I love them too, and they can fly. I'd be able to do anything I want.

…

56 minutes go by, Liz is laughing hard, now healing Maya while Rinka watches with a dumb smile.

Liz: … You're killing me, Rinka… Anyways, what are your goals in life? You cut yourself off earlier.

Rinka: … Oh. I'm … I'm not really sure what I wanna do. But I think I wanna be remembered for a long time after my death, and I also love making people smile and laugh… So I'll do something that's along those lines. Probably.

Liz: … That's nice… I think that whatever you plan to do in the future, you'll be amazing at!

Liz smiles wholeheartedly, and Rinka admires it.

Rinka: … T-thank you.

…

10 minutes pass.

Liz: … Oh my god, I'm finally done healing.

She tries to stand but can't.

Liz: … Rinka, can you help me up? I'm fucking exhausted… Just carry me to my room, please. You can do that, right?

Rinka: … Yeah, I'll try.

…

She's on his back, and they reach her room. It has several beds obscured by curtains, and tons of other hospital stuff in it. The most notable thing about the room though, is that it has a long desk spanning from one wall to the other, with many cabinets above it.

Rinka places Liz on a rolling chair. She relaxes for a second, then moves with the chair and grabs some papers on the long desk.

Liz: … Now I have to sit here and fill out papers so we won't have to pay for any destruction that happened in the city… Rinka, could you please move all the Guardians to their rooms?

Rinka: … Sure… Where do I put my friends though?

Liz: We have guest rooms. Look for doors that don't have any special designs.

Rinka: Okay.

…

Rinka drops off Mausho, his room is filled with lots of anime and game merchandise.

He drops off Zeph, his room is very dark and his bed is enormous.

He drops off Iza, her room has a built-in gym.

He drops off Zizin, his room is nothing special, and it's a little messy.

He drops off Osora, whose room is filled with a bunch of guns and is entirely gray.

He drops off Defei, his room is average with the exception of random knick-knacks and trinkets.

He drops off Kofron, whose room has constant, colorful changing lights and a lot of instruments lying around.

He drops off Shima, her room is green and vibrant, filled with plants, some even growing out of the wall, and has a romantic feeling to it.

He drops off Raskan, his room is normal, plus he's got a bunch of games and consoles lying around.

Rinka drops off Xika, whose room is small, cluttered, and his bed is a pile of soft objects.

Rinka drops off Sosa, his room is standard but nice, he has a huge shelf filled with books.

Finally, Rinka drops off his friends in the guest room, each one gets their common bed.

…

Rinka returns to Liz's room and spots her still on the chair. But now, her beanie and coat are off, and she's wearing black leggings and a white shirt.

Liz: … What's up?

Rinka: … Where do I sleep?

Liz: … You can sleep here, if you want, or on the sofa. Or on the floor.

Rinka: … I'll sleep here.

…

It's the next morning now, Rinka is still asleep, and Liz is up texting the Guardians group chat.

Liz: Anyone awake?

Defei: Yeah.

Mausho: Yeah.

Kofron: Yes!

Raskan: Shut the fuck up, Kofron.

Kofron: ????

Sosa: I am awake.

Raskan: I'm up!

Shima: What the hell happened yesterday?

Liz: We managed to escape thanks to the cat. Also, the kid got his body back.

Defei: Damn.

Mausho: Those Skillers almost killed us.

Kofron: We are lucky to be alive!

…

2 hours go by and Rinka finally wakes up, he rises and is met by all his friends watching him, smiling. Maya runs up to the bed and holds him.

Maya: Rinka! Are you really here!?

Rinka: … I'm pretty sure I am.

She backs off, Minaro and Doa walk up.

Rinka: … What's up, man?

Minaro: Hey.

He waves at Doa and she waves back.

Doa: … Really glad to have you back.

Rinka moves off the bed.

Rinka: I'm really glad to be back too!.. I'm also really hungry.

Minaro promptly opens up a rift and sticks his hand into it, eventually pulling out a cheeseburger and handing it to Rinka.

Rinka: Oh my god, god bless your soul, man.

Doa laughs.

…

Rinka and Liz are in the kitchen, speaking.

Liz: … When your body was taken from you, a lot of damage was caused.

Rinka nods his head.

Liz: Sadly, you have to pay for what "you" did, so I spoke to the others, and we've decided you have to help us out, and help out communities too.

Rinka: Okay.

Liz: You're gonna be helping us first, so go to anyone's room, and they'll probably have something for you to do.

…

The Skillers are relaxing in their base, Dynima drinks out of a cup.

Dynima: … So what's next?

Yutsu: … In like a week or two, we'll be going over to Sonis. There should be another orb piece there.

Panchu: Damn, a week or two? Why not tomorrow?

Yutsu: We have to let the Guardians get a little stronger, so the next show we put on can be even better.

Panchu: Oh… Hopefully they'll be a challenge this time!

Brian sits down on a sofa and sets a croissant aside.

Brian: … Are we gonna be held back by the Kamu's again or can we do whatever we want?

Yutsu: I spoke to them, we can do anything we'd like this time. So hopefully we'll be able to kill everyone… That day is when my dream will finally come true.

TO BE CONTINUED…