Soooooo, I'm finally back with an update, and I honestly can't say it's the best thing I've ever written, but it has lost of Shura in it, and I think it was necessary. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think via a comment and/or vote! Enjoy!
"Come on, (Y/N), you can do this," the physical therapist encouraged me from my side as the physical therapist assistant held me under my arms as he helped me to walk between the two bars. It really wasn't that far. In reality, it was only a few yards, but after not using my muscles for a little over three months, it was like running a marathon.
My chest heaved for air and my forehead was covered in sweat. Well, all of me was covered in sweat. My arms and legs were shaking from my strain, and I could feel tears of frustration starting to burn at the corner of my eyes. I didn't want to do this anymore. I just wanted to give up. I just wanted to be done. I was tired of being in a wheelchair. I was tired of the nightmares. I was tired of being treated like an invailed. I was tired of sitting in the same damn bed every day. I was tired of staring out the same window at the same boring old courtyard everyday. I was just tired. I was so unbelievably tired. And I just wanted to be done.
"Come on, (Y/N), you're almost halfway there; you made it halfway on Monday and Wednesday. You promised a few more steps today," the doctor reminded me. She was right. I had promised her. I had promised her after our session on Wednesday that I would at least take a few steps past half way during our Friday session. But I had woken up in a foul mood. I wasn't sure if I hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, or if I was just depressed, or what was going on, but to say I was in a sour mood was the understatement of the century. I just didn't have any patience left.
"Come on, (Y/N), just a few more steps," the doctor encouraged. She was so nice, and I was just so angry that I didn't have any self control left, and I snapped.
"I c-can't!" I shouted before sinking to my knees, the assistant behind me gently lowering me so I didn't hurt myself. "I can't d-do t-this anymore," I cried, my sobs bubbling up in my chest. I wrapped my frail, scarred arms around myself in an attempt to comfort myself as my body shook with sobs. A hand was placed on my shoulder, and it squeezed lightly.
"(Y/N), what happened?" the doctor asked kindly. "You were doing so well," she commented. "You only had a few more steps to go," she added. "What happened to that fire I've seen in you?" she asked as she brushed some loose hair away from my face. The only thing that escaped my mouth was a sob as sticky tears continued to rush down my face. "Take a deep breath, (Y/N); take all the time you need," the doctor said kindly as she rubbed a hand on my back despite the cloth being soaked in sweat.
"I-I j-just c-can't," I stuttered. I had noticed my stutter got exponentially worse when I was stressed or upset. "I-I'm s-so tired," I muttered. The doctor didn't say anything for a moment, and when someone did speak, it wasn't my physical therapist. I looked up in shock at the sound of my teacher's voice.
"That doesn't sound like the (Y/N) I know," I voice said. I looked up to find Shura crouching down next to me. It was the first I had seen her since the incident.
"Sh-shura?" I asked, raising one of my scarred arms to brush away a few tears, though, they did not stop immediately. "W-what are -you d-doing here?" I asked shakily. The woman only smirked as she reached over to ruffle my hair.
"It's Miss Shura to you," she said in a teasing tone. "And I just wanted to come see my favorite student," she said, causing me to laugh wetly.
"I-I'm g-gonna tell Rin y-you said t-that," I muttered, my voice still rough from my crying. She just smirked and waved it off. I couldn't help but laugh again.
"So what's with all this giving up, bullshit?" she asked, her soft, comforting demeanor quickly switching to the Shura I knew; loud and abrasive. "Up ya go," she said as she stood. I stayed on the floor, looking up at my teacher in shock. "Come on," she said, motioning for me to stand up. " I wanna see you walk; I heard from your doctors that you were doing really well, and I want to see it," she explained.
"I-I can't," I muttered, looking down at my hands that were clasped in my lap.
"Yes you can. Up you go," she said, not missing a beat as she nodded to the assistant behind me. There was a moment of silence before I felt the assistant's hands tightening under me, pulling me to my feet gently. I struggled to get my feet underneath of me, not wanting to try and walk again but not wanting to fall either. I grabbed the bars on either side of my body, trying to keep myself up. The assistant had no choice but to keep his hands under my arms, helping to keep me up. I glared at my teacher. She only laughed, throwing her head back. This wasn't funny, not in the slightest. This only served to make me glare even harder. Tears were starting to prick at the corner of my eyes, threatening to spill.
"Come on, (Y/N)," Shura said through a laugh. "That glare of yours has proved you still have that fire." I was silent for a moment, not feeling like that at all. I just wanted to be done. I just wanted to give up.
"(Y/N)," she said, and I knew it was her 'I'm about to give you a speech, and you better listen up' tone. I had heard her speak like this to Rin one too many times. "I have never seen a stronger exwire than you, exorcist even. You've even worked harder than Suguro, in my personal opinion," she said, sounding genuine. "Most kids your age would have run from something like this. Most exorcists would run from this kind of situation. I've seen senior exorcists, full grown men, run from high level demons with piss running down their leg," she said with a smirk. I couldn't help but laugh because I knew she was speaking the truth. "But, while you may have been scared, terrified even, you stood strong and didn't back down from the fight. You kept going even when your life was in danger, and fought the good fight," she reminded me. "You can't stop now," she said, conviction lacing her voice. "You can't stop now, I wouldn't ever forgive you if you quit now," she said in all seriousness.
I nodded, feeling the tears threaten to come back. I couldn't give up. I couldn't give up for the sake of everyone else. And I couldn't blame Shura for her somewhat harsh words. I would never forgive myself if I gave up, if I stopped now. With a new level of confidence, I gripped the bars on either side of me as I started to try and walk forward again. There were only a few more feet to go.
"Great, (Y/N), that's great. Keep going," the doctor encouraged. "Just go as far as you can," she said. My whole body ached with the strain of pushing my weak, atrophied muscles as far as they would go. I pushed them to the limits as sweat continued to drip down my face, soaking my shirt and matting my hair to my forehead. The next thing I knew, I had reached the end of the double bars. I let out a sigh of relief before my knees finally gave out, my adrenaline completely gone. I was lowered to the ground once more, but instead of tears running down my face like earlier, there was a smile on my face.
"Great job! That was great, (Y/N). I couldn't have asked for anything better!" the doctor exclaimed. Shura was then offering me a drink through a straw as the physical therapist's assistant helped to keep me upright.
"See, all you needed was a little push," my teacher said as I sipped water through the straw, utterly exhausted.
"That was really spectacular," the doctor said, clearly impressed. "Now, I think that was plenty for the day, so let's get you back to your room and maybe get you cleaned up a little," she offered, and I nodded gratefully, already grossed out at the feeling of sweat clinging to my skin. "Let's get you back into the wheelchair here," she said through a breath as she pulled the chair over. With the help of the assistant as well as Shura, they all managed to get me into the chair. I slumped into the chair, letting my head lean back, absolutely drained.
The air was silent as Shura wheeled me back to my hospital room. I didn't have the energy to speak at this point. I was just happy I had walked the way down the down parallel bars. Just earlier today, I didn't think I would ever get there. But here I was.
I forced my head back up as we neared my room as I heard voices and laughter coming from the room. I cocked my head to the side when I heard my father's laugh followed by Tatsuma's voice. I looked up at Shura for an explanation, but she didn't say anything, just smiled. When we entered the room, my eyes widened as I saw Bon's parents, my father, Mio, Tobias, and Bon all sitting around the room.
"There's my girl!" my father said with a smile as our eyes met. "How was your PT session?" he asked as he stood from his seat.
"W-what is e-everyone d-doing here?" I asked, my stutter worse now that I had everyone's eyes on me. I blushed when I couldn't get the words to come out like I wanted them too, but no one said anything, no one batted an eye, and for that I was thankful.
My dad just shrugged as he came over to brush my matted, sweaty hair away from my face. "We all just wanted to come and see you. Is there a problem with that?" he asked, suddenly sounding concerned.
"N-n-no!" I said, waving my hands in front of me. "I-I j-just didn't even think about th-that y-you all haven't met y-yet," I said in all honesty. "I-I guess it hasn't been on m-my list of t-top priorities," I admitted as I scratched the back of my neck nervously. My father only smiled before pressing a kiss to my forehead.
"Do you want to stay here or hop into bed?" he asked. I grimaced at the thought of getting back into bed in my sweaty clothes.
"C-chair please, I-I'm all sweaty," I explained. He nodded before taking his seat again.
"So how did PT go?" he asked as Shura pulled up a chair beside me after she handed me a wet rag. I muttered a thank you before wiping my face with the cool cloth.
"She walked the entirety of the parallel bars," Shura said proudly before I could say anything. The entire room into conversation and congratulations as a hot blush came to my face. My father stood from his seat once more before he approached me, taking my head in his hands and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
"Great job, sweetheart," he whispered, his beard scratchy against my forehead. "We couldn't have asked any more from you; you're doing so well," he said, pride thick in his voice.
The rest of the evening was filled with laughter and family stories. Most of the stories were of Bon and I when we were children. To say both of our faces were as red as tomatoes was an understatement. Before this entire thing, when Bon and I had just started dating, I was so worried about when my father and his parents would meet. I didn't even know why it stressed me out so much, but it had always made me anxious.
Now, I realized there was nothing to be worried about. Tatsuma and my father obviously got along very well as they laughed and shared stories. I could only imagine the two of them together if they got their hands on a bottle or two of alcohol. My father certainly got goofy when that particular substance got into his system, and I could imagine Tatsuma was the same way.
Torako was sharing baby Bon stories with Mio, and I couldn't stop myself from listening in. I knew I would have to spend more time with Bon's mom, without Bon's knowledge of course. Ryuji and Tobias were getting along better than I had ever seen them, and I think I had my time in my coma to thank for that. They certainly had plenty of time to bond over that period of time.
That night, after I had been cleaned up and was feeling fresh, after everyone had left, my father, Tobias, and Bon kissing me goodnight, I was left alone to the silence of my room. The day had started off terrible. I had been in a terrible mood, not wanting to do anything, just overwhelmed by the feeling of hopelessness. But now, there was an easy smile on my face. Having walked the entirety of the parallel bars followed by a wonderful evening with my family, I was in the best mood I had been in in a long time. It was nice to feel this light again.
That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my face for the first time in a long time.