Coach Shu in the Snake Pit

Chapter 5

A few hours later, Yellow Eye stumbled through the halls. He felt horrible, he could barely stand upright. It had been years since he'd last been punished by Ashram.

Ashram never lied hands on any of his Bladers. He'd only made them do the most horrible tasks he could think of. Yellow Eye had crawled around, carried heavy boxes and cleaned up some of Ashram's recent experiments. He'd also fallen down over and over, getting cuts and bruises all over his knees, elbows and palms. It stung terribly and once or twice Yellow Eye had had tears burning in his eyes. He wouldn't shed them, though.

Now, he was trying to get back to his room. He wasn't allowed to treat his cuts, not now at least, though if he did just as Ashram asked, he might be able to do so in a few days. Hopefully, it wouldn't get infected until then.

The hallway was empty. The kids were supposed to be sleeping right now, so it wasn't a surprise. It felt eerie, though.

A door opened. Shu came out, worry written all over his face.

"Yellow Eye!", he exclaimed, softly, shocked. Those crimson eyes for once didn't shine with danger or anger, but with fear and... guilt? Did he know that this was his fault?

He stood next to Yellow Eye, hesitant to move closer, to touch him. Yellow Eye took a step back and Shu let his hands fall uselessly to his side. Those eyes of his were still soft.

"Come with me", Shu managed to say, though it sounded as if he was trying to not let his voice break. Yellow Eye felt a little bad at making the kid uncomfortable, he had been nothing but kind these past few days, but he'd also been the reason that Yellow Eye was suffering now. It wasn't fair.

Shu led him to his room and made him sit down on the bed. He went into the bathroom and came back with a wet cloth, and Yellow Eye almost jumped back.

"Ashram didn't allow treatment", he said, and felt his words almost choking him. Shu's eyes were fierce, his hands trembled slightly. He stood, and in the pale light, he seemed more like the ghost of an ancient, vengeful prince, than the harmless teenager he'd shown to be.

"I don't care."

Yellow Eye could not disobey him. As Shu once more kneeled in front of him, he let Shu clean the scratches, surprised at the gentleness of his hands, when he still seemed to be shaking with anger.

"Richard?", he asked, voice soft. Yellow Eye didn't dare breathe. "I thought you might not want to be Yellow Eye. For now, at least."

Yello- Richard, smiled, though it didn't feel that natural. "Yeah. I don't want to be a Snake Pit Blader right now."

Shu hummed as he worked. Richard felt soothed by it, and almost wished that Shu would sing and not just hum. Shu looked up.

"Everything okay?", he asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah. I've just never heard you hum before."

Shu chuckled softly. He seemed so much less angry now and it kind of lifted a weight of Richard's shoulders. He wondered what would happen if someone managed to make Shu's anger addressed at them. Would that person even survive? With an anger that could burn as hot as the sun and a cold demeanor that could freeze the seas, Richard thought that it was almost impossible to be okay if that happened.

Shu sat next to him on the bed as he finished. He leaned his elbows on his thighs and let his head fall. Richard waited.

"It's all my fault", Shu whispered. His hands trembled again.

Richard couldn't deny it, but he still felt bad for Shu. Shu had wanted the best for them. Neither of them had expected Ashram to punish someone else.