Himiko manages to calm down after a while.
My head is still resting on her lap, and I can barely move properly.
My whole body feels heavy and numb.
Himiko was doing much better than me, but she was also quite exhausted.
She must have run all over USJ to help our colleagues.
"You look like you fought a lot, Himi," I say, my voice a bit hoarse.
"It doesn't compare to your fight. I even saw the end… please don't dismember yourself again."
"Even if you can regenerate, I don't want you to feel that much pain…" Himiko replies as she gently caresses my cheek.
"No promises… Ouch." The gentle touch turns into a pinch.
"Idiot…" she says, not truly sounding angry, going back to softly stroking the same spot.
After a few moments of affection, Himiko extends her wrist over my mouth and says:
"Drink. Otherwise, you won't regenerate properly."
"Himi, I can't. You're exhausted and—"
I stop mid-sentence when I see that she actually looks angry this time.
"Look at your condition! You're completely broken and… and—"
She blushes a little at the state of my body, but quickly shakes her head and keeps her wrist extended toward my mouth.
"You need it! Stop being stubborn, I'm fine!" she insists, keeping a firm tone, though the slight trembling in her arms and hands doesn't fool me.
"Only if you drink mine to recover," I refuse again.
I know that if I start drinking, I won't be able to stop, and in my condition, I'll need a lot of blood.
But the main reason... I thought she was really cute when she was angry, I needed a little mental recovery, heheh—
"KEN KANEKI!!!" My body shivers at her tone and the look she gives me.
'Uh...'
Cold sweat runs down my forehead as I swallow dryly.
(⊙_⊙;)
"Ara ara, you two seem quite lively." A melodic voice appears behind Himiko.
"Midnight-sensei?"
Himiko loses focus from the argument, and I silently thank Nemuri.
"You can call me Nemuri, or sister-in-law if you prefer."
Nemuri crouches beside us and pinches Himiko's cheeks, making me let out an amused snort.
Not so bad when it's not me.
"I heard you saying you need blood to recover, right?"
She pulls up both sleeves of her outfit and extends them toward us.
"Here, you can suck as much as you want! Hihihi." She says that last part a bit too enthusiastically.
Himiko and I just exchange a look and sigh, she really hasn't changed at all.
"Nemuri, that—" I begin, but another figure appears beside her.
"Midnight, for people with blood-based Quirks, drinking directly from someone is as intimate as a kiss," Vlad King says, which only makes Nemuri even more amused.
I notice another familiar figure sitting on Vlad's shoulder.
"It seems you've been through quite a lot, Kaneki-kun… On behalf of all of UA, we're truly sorry. It was our responsibility to protect our students… and we failed terribly at that"
Nezu jumps down from his shoulder and bows in apology.
"There's no need for that, Nezu-sensei… I'm fine." Himiko pinches me right after I finish speaking.
"Okay, okay… not that fine"
"I just... need blood to heal."
"I can help with that. Do you want to give some of your blood, Midnight?" Vlad asks.
She nods, already making a cut on herself.
Vlad manipulates his own blood, streams flow from his gloves, forming two spheres in each hand. The spheres absorb the blood flowing from Midnight's wrist.
Once it's done, Vlad closes her wound and hands the spheres to me and Himiko.
We drink from them, the spheres slowly shrinking against our fangs without spilling or making a mess.
When I finish, I feel my regeneration kicking in, my broken bones crack back into place, wounds begin to close, but I still can't move much yet.
"Congratulations on your relationship. It's rare for two people with blood-based Quirks to meet and fall in love, but they say the bond formed is the purest and unbreakable."
"I'm one of the lucky ones too, like you," Vlad says, clearly proud of himself.
Himiko goes back to stroking my hair, and we exchange a silent moment of affection.
"Sigh… I need to spend more time with my wife… maybe I should take a vacation and—"
Vlad starts reflecting, but Nezu interrupts him, already climbing back onto his shoulder.
"We need to finish capturing the villains! Come, come!" he says, patting Vlad's shoulder.
"It wouldn't be a long vacation, just—"
"Come, come! The villains won't wait!" Nezu interrupts again.
"Sigh… alright."
Nemuri also says goodbye, leaving Himiko and me alone once more.
"Do you feel better?" she asks, lowering her head slightly to look directly into my eyes.
"Yes, I just need to sleep a bit… *yawn*… I love you, Himi…"
"I love you too… just rest for now…"
With that, I close my eyes and drift off, no dreams this time.
─── ◆ ───
When I wake up, I'm already in the UA infirmary.
Himiko is asleep in the chair beside my bed. I would've brought her into the bed with me so she could rest better, but I still can't move properly.
With some difficulty, I sit up and gently run my fingers through Himiko's hair. Even in her sleep, she seems to melt into the touch.
"No dating in the infirmary," Recovery Girl says from the corner of the room, where she's checking some papers.
I stop, making Himiko grumble like an annoyed kitten, though she keeps sleeping.
"I didn't need to use my Quirk on you since you regenerated on your own, but your limbs seem to be slowed and partially paralyzed for a few days."
After exchanging a few more words, the old lady leaves the infirmary to attend to other injured students.
Shortly after she exits, the door opens again, and two familiar figures walk in.
"Hello, Kaneki-kun. It's good to see you again, even if not under the best circumstances," Naomasa greets me.
I feel surprised to see him and give a small smile.
"Naomasa-san, Nezu-sensei, it's good to see you again." I try to stand to greet them, but my body fails me.
"Don't push yourself too much, Kaneki-kun," Nezu advises, and I listen, stopping my attempt.
"I came to gather some information about the villains and the Nomu. Since you faced them head-on, I thought it would be worth talking to you…"
"And I was also worried when I saw your name on the injured list, marked as severe, actually the only one," Naomasa says, maintaining professionalism, though unable to hide the smile from seeing me again.
We talk for quite a while.
Nezu mostly observes, adding comments here and there.
Himiko wakes up midway through the conversation, I introduce them.
Naomasa looks like he's about to cry upon hearing I have a girlfriend…
Am I really that bad?
I learn that Ryota retired after being shot in the knee, though fortunately it didn't render his leg useless.
He's now living with his family in the countryside, a rather luxurious life, according to Naomasa.
When the conversation ends, Naomasa seems satisfied with the information about the villains and the talk overall.
Then Recovery Girl returns, saying I can go home to rest now that I'm able to walk a bit.
Naomasa offers us a ride, which Himiko and I accept without hesitation.
Before leaving, Nezu hands me a gray box.
It looks very high-tech, and it's quite cold to the touch.
He tells me to open it once I get home, saying it's meant to help with my recovery.
I say goodbye to the principal and get into Naomasa's car, sitting beside Himiko.
Both of us can hardly wait to get home, where we can finally get some real rest.
─── ◆ ───
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