K: Bittersweet Flames

Chapter 25

Drops A/N: Heeelooo~! Enjoy the chapter~

. . . . . .

It had been close to two weeks since Kaiyo was admitted to the hospital. Rimu slept over at the hospital in her in the room since he was adamant about not leaving her alone and commutes to and fro the hospital and school. She occasionally gets visits from her friends, Sakura and Amaro, who would come by whenever they could, bringing over snacks and her schoolwork.

There were often visits from Anna and either Kusanagi or Mikoto accompanying her. Whenever Mikoto visits, he would have this unreadable expression on his face—an expression Kaiyo can't seem to decipher. It was as if it was a mixed pool of negative emotions, care and regards painted on his face; ever constantly changing.

No talks would be exchanged. Only Anna would talk with her. From time to time, Kaiyo would make eye-contact with him. But none of them would say a word. She would be the first to break the eye-contact, feeling the uncomfortableness from his gaze.

As the time went by, Kaiyo was finally given the clearance to be discharged.

She fought over the hospital bills with Kusanagi and it ended up with Mikoto dragging her by the back of her collar away from the reception. Ultimately, Kusanagi paid the bills on Kaiyo's behalf.

And she felt heavy about it. The bills were not light. At least she could have helped in paying a good amount from her savings.

A sigh left her lips as she put down the chopsticks she was holding in her hand.

"What's wrong Kai-chan?" Sakura heard her loud sigh. "Are you not feeling well?"

Kaiyo shook her head. "No, it's nothing."

"Really? Are you sure? You have just been discharged yesterday. Take it easy." Amaro pointed his chopsticks at the ravenette sitting in front of him. "You were in a serious state and yet you were discharged within two weeks. That's unbelievable, but again," Amaro huffed, "you're unbelievable."

Kaiyo deadpanned. ".... You make it sound as if I'm an alien."

He shoved rice into his mouth and spoke. "Aren't you one?"

Kaiyo's eyes twitched. She pushed her glasses higher up the bridge of her nose.

"Hey! Don't be mean to a sick person!" Sakura scolded him, whacking him on his shoulder. They started to bicker and Kaiyo watched the interaction with a smile growing on her face.

"Thank you."

Sakura and Amaro stopped talking and turned their heads to face Kaiyo.

Amaro, "For?"

Kaiyo didn't answer back; only responding with a smile on her face.

Three days passed by quickly and it was Friday afternoon. The last school bell rang, signalling the end of class. Teachers left and students filtered out from their classrooms, filling the hallways.

Kaiyo let out a breath from her mouth and packed the things on her desk into her bag. Her eyes lingered on the back of her left hand.

It had been days. She had never seen nor spoke to any of the Red Clan members ever since getting discharged from the hospital.

Her eyes stayed there for a few more seconds before she continued stuffing her things into her bag. As she zipped her bag fully, Sakura bounded by her table.

Sakura, "Kai-chan!"

Kaiyo looked up to see Sakura beaming at her.

After an incident in the hospital with Mikoto and Soma, Sakura and Amaro who were kept in the dark regarding the different Clans and Strains, now knew what they were after they saw Mikoto's hands lit up with fire. Why they were kept in the dark from their family members will be another story for another day.