6 Making a Friend
It is 9 pm and the hospital staff is about to switch shifts.
"Where is patient Darra?" The VIP building's head nurse asks as she and other nurses find Red's room empty during their rounds.
"I… don't know ma'am." The new nurse in charge of Red, answers.
"Oh. There's a note on the bed." One of the nurses points reports.
"Let me see." The head nurse asks for it and reads it.
'I will be in the rooftop for the whole night. If you find me sleeping, please do not wake me.' She reads.
"What do we do, ma'am?" Red's nurse asks.
"Let's do as he says. Besides, he's not an at-risk patient. The doctor noted that he will just need physical therapy." The head nurse says.
~
After sneaking the girl back in her hospital suite, Red is back again at the rooftop.
"*Huff* I'm exhausted." Red weakly sits down on the comfortable leather chair he brought from his room.
"*sigh* While I love to live a normal life in this world, I can't do that if I'm not safe. With my current cultivation, I feel like even that girl could have made me sweat in a fight had she been healthy. It looks like I can deal with most Class A superiori. I wonder how strong the class S are…" Red is bothered and excited at the same time.
"This realm barely has spiritual energy in its atmosphere. Even if I cultivate a hundred years, I'll only be an earthly immortal. That's too long... Maybe I can stand atop of this world without worry if I'm at Peak Mortal Cultivation?" Red mulls over. The next moment however.
"Forget it. Why do I worry so much?" Red sinks himself on his chair at looks up at the sky.
"Oh… Moonlight… How about I try the celestial body breathing technique?" Red decides over which technique he should use to recover his spent spiritual energy.
The Celestial Body Breathing Technique. It is one of the techniques he made himself when he was an immortal. The technique makes use of the light from the moon, stars, and the sun to recover and raise a cultivator's cultivation faster.
A cultivator who uses the technique starts off absorbing spiritual energy with the help of the moonlight. When moonlight is no longer beneficial, they will move on to using the sunlight, and subsequently to using the light from the stars.
Mortal cultivators, especially those who do not have the perfect foundation, often need cultivation pills or spiritual plants to aid their growth. The ones who have more than stable foundations on the other hand, like Red currently is, do not need them and can grow enough using dormant spiritual energy around.
"It's not the perfect cultivation technique, but it's the most accessible."
For Red's high mortal cultivation level, he can only absorb the moonlight.
**ssspppp** *hup*" Red closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before holding it.
To any mortal, Red now looks like he is simply lounging in a comfortable chair, asleep. But to any cultivator, they should be able to see that the moonlight shining on Red's body is being absorbed through his skin.
A minute later, "HHuuuupppp..." Red's lungs deflate to its limits and he gasps for air.
"One breath for two hundred seconds of absorption. Good start. Starlight level is not far away." Red is impressed with his current body.
"One more time… *ssssspp* *Huuuuu*" Red plans to cultivate the moon light until he becomes bored of it.
~
Kaoru wakes up in her room with the sun light shining on her face through her room's window.
"Kaoru. You're up?" A lady who looks to be in her late 30s greets her.
"Hey mom. Good morning." Kaoru asks.
"Good morning. You seem to have slept well?" Her mother asks.
"Yeah… I've not slept that well in a lon- Wait." The memories of the previous night flood in Kaoru's mind.
"Who's that ojisan?" Kaoru asks.
"Who?" Her mother asks.
"That ojisan who carried me to my room last night!" Kaoru says.
"What? You came back to bed alone." Her mother says in confusion.
"That's not right. I was sure he brought me here last night! You were here!" Kaoru says.
"Oh dear…" Her mother's heart palpitates in worry.
"Are you okay? Is your head hurting? You must have been hallucinating!"
"Mom. I feel fine!" Kaoru says.
"You don't have to say that all the time." Her mother says.
"No. Really! I feel fine. I'm still scared, but I feel fine." Kaoru says.
"Wh- 'scared'?" Her mother is taken aback.
"Yes. That ojisan told me last night that it's okay to be scared." Kaoru clarifies.
"Oh… Kaoru. Is that why your eyes are swollen? You were scared, crying?" Her mother embraces her.
"Yes mom. But don't worry. I'm happy too. I'm happy that you and dad got back together. I was so scared, but I'm less scared if you and dad are here." Kaoru says, tears starting to pool in her eyes again.
"Okay. Just tell us when you're scared okay?" Her mother consoles.
"Okay…" Kaoru says and with that, they stay silent, in each other's arms for a few moments.
"Mom… Did I really come back alone last night?" Kaoru asks.
"Yes. As soon as you entered the room, you said 'goodnight' and went to bed immediately." Her mom recalls.
"That can't be right…" Kaoru shakes her head. "That ojisan carried me to bed and said 'goodnight' to me." Kaoru says.
"… *sigh*…" Her mother, seeing as her hallucination helped her express herself, decides to play along.
"Who was this ojisan?" her mother asks.
"I… don't know his name. But I talked to him on the rooftop last night. He's a new patient in the building." Kaoru starts to tell her mother what happened on the rooftop.
…
"So, a superioris who eased your pain?" Her mother asks.
"Yeah." Kaoru nods.
"What did he look like?" her mother asks.
"Uhh… A little older than you or dad. And tall! He's much taller than dad!" Kaoru recalls.
"Hmm. I'll look into him and say thanks. But in the meantime, I'll have your doctor test you, okay?" Her mother says, worried that her daughter's story might have been a symptom.
"Okay…" Kaoru complies, not minding it.
A few hours later.
"This…!" Kaoru's doctor cannot believe what he is seeing in the MRI's display.
"What's wrong, doctor?" Kaoru's mother asks.
"Mrs. Nagano… *sigh* I don't believe it..." The doctor replies.
"Is there something wrong with the scan?" Mrs. Nagano asks in worry.
"No. It's perfect. But ... I can't see the tumor anymore." The doctor says as he trace his finger on the scan.
"What?" Mrs. Nagano and Kaoru are unsure if they heard the doctor right.
"I can't see the tumor. It's also a picture-perfect contrast scan..." The doctor says, still not believing what he is seeing.
"She's getting better?" Mrs. Nagano says, not understanding well the doctor's words.
"…" Kaoru also clenches her hands in anticipation.
"… Y-you can say that." The doctor finally recovers and begins to explain. "I don't believe in miracles, but… Here's one right in front of me." The doctor stares at Kaoru.
"The other parts of the brain near where the tumor was, seem to have shifted to where they're supposed to be. I can't say for sure that you're entirely safe, but it's most likely that the tumor is gone." The doctor continues.
"…" Mrs. Nagano is speechless and starts trembling in excitement.
"…" Kaoru embraces her mother.
"Kaoru, Mrs. Nagano." The doctor pulls the two out of their state.
"It's a miracle, but we still have to monitor her in the future. This type of tumors has a high percentage of recurrence even after surgery. In Kaoru's case, I don't even know if that's the case." The doctor says.
"Okay. But does this mean, I'm no longer dying?" Kaoru asks.
"Yes. For now, we can sigh in relief." The doctor says.
This triggers a tearful embrace between the mother and daughter.
~
"Good lord…" The nurse in charge of Red is almost in shock as she steps in Red's room.
Red is currently seated at the room's dining table, with stacks of emptied takeout boxes in front of him.
"Good afternoon ma'am." Red greets before he resumes eating.
"Wha- whe-…" The nurse is speechless.
"You should have come in earlier. It was a rather lonely lunch." Red says.
"I thought you had visitors when I saw those delivery people go in your room." The nurse is dumbfounded as she once again looks at the empty takeout boxes.
"*sigh* Never mind. How are you today, Mr. Darra?" The nurse asks.
"Great. And huuuu.. full!" Red says before finising the last bite.
"Good enough to really consume all of these?" The nurse asks.
"Heh. I guess my appetite came rushing back. When I found out I had a lot of savings, I just had to order them." Red says, starting to put away the garbage in front of him.
"You didn't know you had mone- So… You still can't remember anything?" The nurse notes.
"Yes. I tried reading stuff in the internet and listening to music to maybe trigger my memories but they didn't work. So I tried eating different stuff. Maybe the flavors, taste, could have been the answer." Red says as he finishes cleaning the table.
"Did it work?" The nurse asks.
"Obviously not. Unfortunately, flavors and smells are not it either." Red lies. He actually starved from cultivating.
"I see. Your previous nurse noted that you are still uncoordinated." The nurse asks.
"Kind of. But I'm better than yesterday…" Red says as he walks toward his room's window and opens it to let the smell of the food out.
"Good. How about headaches? Any pain in general?" The nurse asks.
"No... Hey, can I take a run around the building? That helps, right?" Red says as he takes in the view from his window, of the wide yard and parking lot of the VIP building.
"You can. But it's best if you have a guardian with you." The nurse says.
'Whatever. I'll just sneak out later.' Red smirks.
The two's chat is interrupted when the room's door opens abruptly to reveal a mother and daughter pair.
"Ojisan!" Kaoru calls out to Red as she drags her mother in the room.
The next moment however, "…" Kaoru disappointed when Red turns around, revealing not the middle aged man she met the night before, but a young man.
"Nurse. Do I look that old?" Red asks the nurse.
"Haha. No." The nurse answers.
"Mrs. Nagano. Ms. Nagano. What are you two doing here?" The nurse asks Kaoru and her mother.
"I'm sorry about that. Kaoru here made a friend last night and she's looking for him." Mrs. Nagano explains. Red though, can see in her face that there is more to her words.
"A friend? Who is it?" The nurse asks.
"He didn't say his name. But he's a new patient!" Kaoru says.
"Huh. Is that friend Red here? He's the only new patient who came in within the past few days." The nurse says.
"Red? Nice to meet you! I'm Kaoru." Kaoru introduces herself.
'… Ahh… It looks like I lost my skills in deception.' Red sighs internally in frustration, already having an idea how things will go.
"Hello. I'm Red, a new patient. Please take care of me." Red introduces himself.
"Red nii san. Did you see an oji san around?" Kaoru asks.
"I'm new here and I've not seen another patient." Red says.
"Oh…" Kaoru pouts in disappointment.
"What does this patient look like?" The nurse asks, concerned about an intruder.
"He's a bit older than my dad and tall like Red. We talked in the rooftop last night." Kaoru says.
"Huh… Mr. Darra. Weren't you in the rooftop the whole evening? You also slept there?" The nurse asks.
"Yeah. But I was alone the whole time except when the security guard goes there during his rounds." Red replies.
"I didn't see you there!" Kaoru argues.
"Young miss. I didn't see you there either." Red says.
"Kaoru. Let's go back. It looks like Red needs some rest." Mrs. Nagano urges Kaoru, embarrassed at the situation.
"…" Kaoru meanwhile, stares at Red curiously for a few moments.
"Kaoru?" Her mother calls out again.
"Mom! I want to be friends with Red!" Kaoru says.
"…" Red meanwhile, knows what Kaoru really means.
"How about that oji san you're looking for?" Mrs. Nagano says.
"Mom, we looked for him all over. I think he doesn't want to be found." Kaoru says.
Mrs. Nagano nods, finding Kaoru's words reasonable.
"So, may I stay here for a while? He seems alone." Kaoru asks.
"Kaoru…" Her mother hesitates.
"Mom. We have a B class superiori as security guards around. You know that I also can handle myself. Especially now…" Kaoru says.
Her mother finally nods.
"Alright. But you might be disturbing Mr. Darra." She says.
"It's actually perfect, Mrs. Nagano. Mr. Darra here might be in need of someone to talk to. I can't tell you about Mr. Darra's condition, but talking to someone might be helpful." The nurse says, sincerely hoping that her guess is correct.
"And. Wouldn't it be mean to refuse a girl wanting to make a friend?" She also gives Red an enforcing look.
'If I could only wipe all of your memories.' Red grumbles internally.
"Okay." He can only nod.
"Alright. I'll be with the nurses, Kaoru. I'll call you when your dad comes, okay?" Kaoru's mother says.
"Okay mom!" Kaoru says, glad that her mother agreed to her request. With that, Red and Kaoru are left alone in Red's room.
