Tale Of Souls (Cathartic Nightmare)

21 Hot Shots Part Deux?

 "Justin, can you pass me my water?" Lily woke up slightly with a cough, and a worrying one at that. I couldn't tell you what it was from but it was deep, raspy, and dangerous.

"Yea sure, just gimmie a tic ...." I got up, gave her the glass of water, and helped her sit up carefully in bed to drink it. "Your cough is getting worse..."

"It's not my cough you should be worried about." Lily looked down for a moment... "I think they should move you out before things get worse, not just for me... but for you, I don't want to hurt you again."

"Lily, if you kill me – at least I'll know I was killed by myself.. and then on my gravestone we'll say it was suicide" I grinned, trying to lighten the mood "Seriously, it hurts yes –but we're not the only ones suffering. I tried to talk to Izuchi this morning, and he snarled at me and walked off for some reason."

"You have got to be kidding me." Lily grimaced for a moment. "I dreamed about that... the fact that he was struggling to cope with everything and he was having issues...." She sighed and clasped the blanket within her hands. "I have to admit, I can't help but attach some of this towards our timeline... things have been hunky dory to an extent... Izuchi had to quit music for us, he had to fake his death for us... his students." Her face seemed calm, but it was wrinkling with worry for everyone..

"I had a dream that somehow I was in a relationship with that Saitou guy." I clenched my teeth, sure what estrogen was left in me said the guy was a nice looking Asian – but the rest of me wasn't gay enough to attach to that situation. "As selfish as it sounds, I want to slap and kick every other version of me for it."

Lily laughed and snorted out water, which was part of my plan all along really... was to at least get her to smile. Unfortunately she started coughing again and then passed out. I tried to wake her back up, but no such luck... Terrin mysteriously showed up in the doorway within moments, and started to growl at me.

"What are you doing to her."

"Terrin, she just passed out- that's all, I was giving her water, and making her laugh a little." I wasn't sure what was going on anymore, and if this was him just playing games with me or what.

"Get the fuck out of her room."

"Terrin! I BUNK in here too."

"Get the hell out of her room. NOW."

He tied up his shoulder length hair back into a ponytail and walked up towards me. Picking me up by the collar was no mean feat considering we were nearly the same height. He started to try to slam me against the wall until something clicked.

"Justin?"

"Terrin, either kill me now or let me go...."

Terrin carefully set me back to the ground and buried his own head in his hands. Demonic possession was now obviously ruled out... Timeline flux 1, Senshudan Haven 0. Trophy is in the mail motherfuckers.

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what just came over me." Terrin was always honest, he made sure if I gave the effort in this time – that he'd give the friendship he felt I deserved back. Some days it wasn't much because of my mistakes, but it was enough he gave a shit. He hated my guts sure, but there was no room for revenge if I wasn't my fault.

"Same thing that keeps happening to everyone..."

"Izuchi's woken up four times as different versions of himself... and Tensei's permanently moved into his loft with him for some reason. Shiro's getting kinda jealous I think..." Terrin raised an eyebrow and patted me on the shoulder. "Look I'm sorry..."

"Terrin, you don't have to be-"

I'm a thorn in everyone's fucking side recently, I really do want to tell people to just kill me if at all possible.

"I have every right to be sorry... you're a regular part of the team, and you are Lily, even though you are male. I hate to admit it, but you haven't changed much."

"...Buh." My mouth dropped open, as he grabbed me carefully and hugged me for no apparent reason. "OK ENOUGH WITH THE GAY EMOTIONS HERE I KNOW YOUR BISEXUAL BUT IM NOT OK?"

I should've said 'Cut the chick flick, let's hit the deck' – but I'm not that witty.

"Oh WHY NOT?" Terrin winked, and let go – walking over to Lily's bed to check on her. "So what happened now?"

"Ahem, she was laughing about something stupid I said – and then within moments she just fell back into bed and was unconscious... still breathing, twitching.. But I can't wake her." I was sort of creeped out to the maximum here.

"So this is where Sparky masturbates all over the floor?" Kaji stood in the door, just slightly out of the light. The shadows made it hard to see if it was him, or a ghost – considering the sarcasm – I gathered it was Kaji.

"KAJI. Where THE FUCK did you come from. I didn't think you were in the haven at all." I grimaced, we figured out he wasn't my adversary or rival, but then again everyone always had a streak of luck pissing me off.

"I came from the kitchen, you were supposed to make me a sandwich. I had to call the king of angus burgers and ask them for my flame broilers back." Kaji's strange and unusual humor was active again.

"Kaji shut up – Lily's unconscious again." Terrin growled lightly.

"I know, Shiro had a clue that happened and told me to come up here and check. Something about that he couldn't trust Fukuchou's nonsense about his 'husband' being back.... Didn't see Tensei as the gay one of the family, but he is an alien." Kaji walked in and felt Lily's forehead for a moment and blinked. "This isn't lily."

"What do you mean, of course its lily." I was confused, I didn't understand a damn thing he was saying.

"There's been an accident, and I didn't think it COULD happen." Kaji pulled the covers back and noted the blood and the outstretched tentacle like things from Lily's body. "She and Reiko must've fused somehow... You need to get her down to the medical lab and quick.."

"I don't understand how the fuck this happened."

"Pay more attention dumb-shit and you'll have less stupid shit happening to your girlfriend. I'm not your guardsman and keeper and I'm not going to play flaming fixer upper when things fall ap- Sorry, I didn't mean to say all that.. in that way..." Kaji noted he was being struck by the same foot in foaming mouth disease from the timeline issues as everyone else. "Just, take more care ok?"

We had to find a way to move her, because in realization that she fused with Reiko, Tensei's sister who of course is an alien herself – of sorts... was in some sort of strange state where her mass and weight differences were larger than expected. She looked the same weight, but was like a block of cement in each cell of her body. The structures of the bed were about to give way if we didn't get her off there...

This is strange.

More than just strange... and now more than a nightmare.

V7U'