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The violent, petite doctor stopped visiting him from that moment forth. Luckily, she'd been replaced by a boy, blue-eyed and kind. She seemed to have disappeared from the place, her presence a ghost any time she seemed to be there.
And he was happy about it.
Except, his thoughts nagged him like an evil captivator. Apologize, apologize, his heart whispered to him, filling him with annoying thoughts of doubt and pain. No one bothered to check on him except Todomi, his new nurse, and he found himself practicing the conversation out loud.
"Sorry for calling you a dwarf," he said, then scratched that from the make-shift paper-list. That sounded weird, even though he apologized directly and said what he was sorry for.
A few minutes later, his list was entirely scratched off, and he buried his face in his knees, just deciding to let her keep that in her head.
"Coming in!" a voice called from seemingly nowhere.
Todomi walked in with a smile, a pan with bottles of medicine on it. "Giyu! Time for your medicine!" he said brightly, watching Giyu look up in surprise. Todomi saw the paper in his hands.
"What's that?" he asked, eyeing the paper with undeniable curiosity. Giyu sighed as Todomi put the tray down on a vacant bed "It's a list of practiced apologies. I said something to someone, and I feel bad now."
"Oh really? Who was it?" Todomi asked, picking up a bottle of medicine and gently opening it, then leaking it slowly into a syringe. "Lady Kocho," he wisped, looking into the darkening sky. He should be in training right now, the sergeant yelling at them to hurry. Today might have been a special visit from the general, whose presence would cause the sergeant to go ballistic on them.
Todomi noticeably stiffened, "Lady ... Kocho?" he said, interest peaking into his voice. Giyu had to suppress the instinct to roll his eyes. Someone like that must be an object of worship around here. She must have people falling all over her, wanting to be servants to the great lady Kocho.
"Yes," Giyu said quickly, wincing as the syringe light dug into his shoulder and the liquid flowed through him. "How bad was it?" His nurse said, pulling the syringe out and dabbing a thin piece of paper around it.
"Pretty bad," Giyu said, frowning, "bad enough that she attacked me and had to be restrained by little girls." he added blandly. "I'm sure she can be like that sometimes," Todomi quipped, picking up the tray, "But if you want to apologize, just go up to the roof at sundown and say what you must. She usually hangs out there. I'm sure that just seeing you care will make her happy."
Giyu nodded as Todomi said goodbye and left. Sitting at his bed, he watched the yellowing sky sink into a golden orange. Soon, the night would spread around like honey, and darkness would convey his lonely feelings into his body.
The roof, huh?
☆
He stepped up cautiously, starting to get the feeling this way a bad idea. But he swatted that feeling away, knowing that it was something that would make her sad.
That her used to tell him that he was the brightest of stars, and that he should shine that light on people who need it. Who needed his words. Who needed his apology. He sighed, knowing that taking a dead girl's words too seriously would only bring him more harm.
That is the reason why she died.
He snapped back to reality as he saw a luminescent silhouette in the moonlight. And the purple hair gave her identity away.
He slowly approached, and as he did, he saw her face, shiny and gaunt. Way to shiny to be natural. Now that he looked closer . . .
