Recovery [Private]

[Okibi]

Okibi listed back in her chair with a groan as she rolled her neck, listening to the cracks that told her she'd been sitting in one spot for way too long. Her butt was starting to go numb too; not a good sign. Maybe she should stand up and walk around a bit? Yeah, that was a good idea.

Getting to her feet, Okibi walked around the bed that was situated in one of the temporary tents that were set up around the nearly completed and brand new hospital. It never ceased to impress her how even without a proper building to host all their patients and proper surroundings to do all their procedures, the mednin were still able to pull of the miracle of saving a life. Okibi's red and pink eyes strayed sideways, landing on the sleeping form of the boy she'd found at the gates.

Now that he was washed and clean, Okibi realized that he hadnt looked as much like her as she'd first thought. Of course, he had white hair and pink eyes like she did, but that was where the similarities ended. His skin was much darker than hers - although she would admit that hers had been as dark once upon a time - and his hair was rather spikey, whereas hers laid pretty flat upon her head. Okibi meandered to the other side of the boys bed and sat down carefully on the edge. She played with some pieces of her long hair as she studied the boy, just as she had been for the last two hours since his emergency operations had been completed.

He still looked a little worse for wear, but the diamond sands could really do that to a person. With a sigh through her nose, Okibi leaned forward and brushed a piece of the boys thick hair away from his forehead and out of his eyes. How had he ended up in front of the gates in that condition, and alone too? Was his family out there looking for him? Did he even have a family? Okibi considered these things as she leaned back against the beds small headboard, continuously playing with the boys hair.

Where had this mysterious kid come from? And why was he here?

 

[Suika]

The past several hours was some hybrid of what felt like a dream and a firm dose of reality. Maji slipped in and out of consciousness, but his senses felt numb. What once was pain was now replaced by the lack of feeling anything at all. It felt as if his soul was warped from the physical world, yet, the world around him remained very much real to him. The beading sweat that fell from the woman's head as she carried him, a flash of white and people in funky suits with glowy hands, and his own unconscious perceptions – these are what he witnessed and experienced within this drawn out time span.

However, for some reason, the smell of sulfur lingered within his nostrils. Where was this smell coming from? He was then roused by a woman's frightful scream.

“Nooo!” shouted Maji as he jolted up halfway and crashed his head onto another person's cranium. He winced and let out a whimper as the impact shot a sharp pain to his head and disoriented him a little. It felt like a rock! What was it? “Ouch!" he cried with a single tear falling from his eye.

Talk about some awakening.

Maji recollected himself and managed to gain some composure. He stared up at a woman with long white hair and pinkish, reddish eyes. She had faded scars and some type of metallic device attached where her arm should be. Wait, this reminded him of something. What was it?

“Robot?”

He bit his lip and looked away from the girl. What if she wasn't a robot? How rude would that be! Did she hate him now? Maji felt super stupid. “I mean...” And then in it him. A sudden flashback overwhelmed him as he remembered lying lifeless on the desert. He was at death's doorstep and was being eaten by a peaceful blackness, well, all until a woman whom he called 'mama' arrived at his side and called out to him.

That's right, this girl must have rescued him!

But wait... what did she rescue him from? How did he end up injured and half-dead? And where the heck was he? Maji couldn't bear it anymore; his head hurt, he was utterly confused, and he was hungry. He was also ten years old. So what did he do? He cried.

Like a crybaby, he wept pathetically. He was too bewildered to question his environment or even give his heroine a proper thank you. Maji wished to go home, wherever that was. "I'm sorry..." he apologized as tears streamed down. Why was he so emotional?

 

[Okibi]

Wow, his hair was so soft and fluffy. Okibi looked down at the white haired head she was fondling, and leaned in closer for a better look. How was his hair so sof-

Bam!

Okibi's head snapped back and she fell back on the bed, then unceremoniously rolled right off the edge, hitting the ground with a sound smack. She groaned and rubbed her head as she sat back up, grabbing the sheets with her other hand to haul herself up. "Damn kid, you got a hard head." She said as she stood back up and stumbled her way to a nearby rollaway table, the kind that could reach over the be for the patients easy reach. She rolled it over to the side of the boys bed and lifted the lid off the tray of food a nurse had brought by earlier. It was probably rather cold now, since he hadnt been awake when it was first brought by nearly fifteen minutes ago, but it was better than nothing.

There was a small bowl of macaroni and cheese sitting next to a cup of assorted fruits, and a plastic mug filled with water. A simple meal for a boy who was recovering from some pretty nasty wounds. Once Okibi was standing beside him, she fluffed up his pillows and forced him to sit back with a firm hand on his chest. She'd heard his robot comment, and hadnt thought much of it; in fact, it'd made her grin.

Until he started apologizing and crying. Okibi stood bolt upright, unsure of how to handle the situation. She'd cried in front of people before (though it was only ever people she was close to) but she had never actually witnessed someone elses tears. She had no idea what to do with him! Okibi flailed for a moment, looking around the tent like there might be something around that could help her. But when her eyes landed on the distraught boy again, she pulled in her wits and decided to handle the situation like she did everything else. Directly.

Sitting herself back down on the edge of his bed, Okibi pulled the rolling table over the bed, and picked up the plastic fork to spear some of the cooled macaroni on it. She held it up for the boy, using her other hand (the flesh one) to smooth the hair on his head in what she hoped was a soothing manner. "Don't worry about it kid. I know my arm look a little weird; aint no big deal. What're you crying for?" After he took the bite (or didnt) Okibi pulled the fork away and looked at him. "My name's Okibi, by the way, and Im the person who saved you." She grinne a little at her own obnoxiousness. "What's yours?"

 

[Suika]

It wasn't long after he started crying that the woman before him comforted him again and brought him what he had been craving - food. Her hands were soothing; he got the tingles as she rubbed through his hair and consoled him. Slowly, but surely, his tears and mini crying fit began to subside. With a lunged bite that seemed a little too enthusiastic, Maji swallowed down the macaroni and listened in to her introduction.

Okibi, ey? What a cool name!

With soft sniffles here and there and eyes still watered, he answered her weakly. “I think my name is Maji...” he appeared lost in thought for a second, “...yes, definitely Maji. Nice to meet you, Okibi.” As he shared his name, another thought crossed him. What else did he know about himself? Sure, he knew his own name for some strange reason, but everything else felt so unknown. Judging from Okibi's lack of knowledge of him, Maji knew instinctively she wouldn't be able to provide answers. Or would she?

Wait, he didn't want to burden her. He already felt like a huge pain in her neck. Regardless, he spoke anyway; it was an impulse.

“Where am I?” he questioned bluntly. Maji didn't beat around the bush with his query; he was confused as heck! He regretted asking, though. With a slight blush, he sheepishly turned his face away from her once again. “Sorry, you can leave if you want. Thank you for helping me.”

Maji didn't mean what he said at all – no, he needed her help and he knew it in his gut that he did. He just didn't want to pressure her to spend any more time on him than she has. She probably had a busy life of her own and most likely longed not to waste her life on such a trivial matter and insignificant person.

“Birthday.” he uttered randomly to himself loud enough for Okibi to hear. Why did he just say that? And what kind of transition was that? Birthday?! The concept seemed familiar... maybe it was Okibi's or something.

“Happy birthday.”

Yeah, she probably not only thought he was pathetic, but now has him labeled as a crazy person, too. He couldn't help but say what he said. Did this have something to do with all the things he could not remember? Regardless, he needed self-control. Maji didn't want to start babbling all this cryptic stuff with no importance. It was unnecessary and kind of weird, or so he thought.

Maji's stomach rumbled aloud. I guess he, despite his mindful rambling, was still pretty hungry.

 

[Okibi]

Okibi set the plastic fork down on the tray as she listened to the boy introduced himself. His name was Maji . . . he thought? No, it was Maji, he was sure. Okibi rose an eyebrow; the way he was talking troubled her. When he asked where he was, she wasnt surprised, and at the same time felt a little enlightened. If he didnt know where he was, or at the very least what village he'd crawled to, then that meant he most likely wasnt from the village. He was an outsider, like she had once been.

Yet she was still left in the dark as to why he was alone.

Okibi stood up and pushed the tray towards Maji, gesturing at him to finish of the rest of his food on his own. She wasnt exactly the coddling type, after all. She went to pour herself a glass of water - she'd asked a nurse to bring some by earlier - and froze mid pour when she heard the white haired boy mumbling; something about a birthday. She set the jug of water down and looked over her shoulder, scrutinizing the spaced out child. A strange little kid wasnt he.

After taking a sip from her glass Okibi returned to Maji's bedside and took a seat in the chair she'd vacated earlier. She set the glass on the side table and gave the boy a hard look. For a minute or two, all she did was look at him - part of her hoping she was making him uncomfortable. She she sat back and reclined in the chair, crossing her arms behind her head as she took on an aloof air. "I'm the one who found you half dead at the gates kid. I can't just leave you here alone." She stared at the glowing crystal that acted like a light bulb in the tent; it cast a cool bluish glow on everything. "You're in Sunagakure, the village beneath the desert. You were alone when I found you."

Okibi sat back up again, placing her arms on her knees. She looked Maji in the eye, or tried to anyway, looking intensely curious. "Where's your family kid? You have one don't you?"

Just then, a ruckus rose up from outside the tent - it sounded like high pitched barking and human exclamations - just before a trio of puppies barged inside. They looked to be maybe eight weeks old or so, still pretty young, but the one leading them looked like he knew exactly where he was and what he was doing. The leader, a pale, lean animal with blue eyes, floppy ears and a docked tail trotted over to Okibi when he spotted her. The other two pups, one a white thing with black spots and the other a fluffy black beauty with white and black markings followed him. The spotted pup looked rather annoyed and the pretty one looked blissfully unaware of her surroundings.

"Okibi, we find. Look everywhere." The leader pup said - speaking like a human! - in broken sentences. The other two pups yapped behind him, seeming to agree (though the spotted one did so with ill grace).

Okibi blinked and looked down at the small pack, then grinned. "Sorry, I went outside for some fresh air." She looked up at Maji then, nodding at him. "I found this one at the gates, nearly dead. Ironic isnt it?"

The pale puppy took a seat on the floor and considered the white haired and pink eyed boy. "Yes. Introduce."

The girl laughed and pat the small dog firmly on the head. "Kid, this is Number Seven - or just Seven - Zen, and Peaches. Guys, the kid, Maji." She pointed to the pale leader, the spotted one, and the beauty respectively. Seven nodded in greeting, Zen just watched the boy with a brooding eye, and the fluffy one called Peaches pranced over to his bedside where she tried to stand on her hind legs to see him better. Her little nose barely made it past the top of the bed.

"Master doesnt call me that. And why does he smell funny?" She barked and yipped. Okibi made a face as she crossed her arms. "It's doesnt matter what he calls you, and he's not your master. No one is your master, for the last time. And he smells like that because he was injured when I brought him hear. Weak and sickly human's smell funny like when in those states." She answered the pup.

And not once did she stop to think that the boy might find it weird that she was talking to dogs.

 

[Suika]

Okibi was responsive to the boy's stomach. The girl pushed the tray towards him and went to grab a glass of water. Without any reservation, primal instincts took over and he began to guzzle down the food like there was no tomorrow. He had to remind himself to chew throughout and not swallow the food whole.

As he was chowing down, Okibi sat in front of him and started to stare at him. It was a hard gaze that made him feel even more vulnerable than he already was. Was she trying to peer into his soul? Maji innocently kept his eyes on her, blank confusingly, and chewed his food at a slower pace. He couldn't interpret what was happening right now.

She finally budged. He sighed in relief as she entered dialogue; she wasn't angry at him. Though, the information she shared was quite alarming.

“Sunagakure, village hidden beneath the Sand...” he echoed softly as he began to ponder the idea. So they were directly under the sands above? Interesting. With that, he began to connect the dots. Okibi was a metal-armed woman who lived in an underground city with weird crystal light thingies... it sounded like something straight from a science fiction book! “Mole people?”</B><i></i> he asked almost kidding. It probably could have come across as an attempt at humor, but it was semi-serious question.

Disregarding the fact, she straightforwardly threw question at him. Did he have a family? “I don't know...” he answered with uncertainty. “I only remember my name, I think.” The word birthday kept popping up in his head, too, but he dismissed it; it probably had no relevance to the situation at hand. “Do you have a family, Okibi?”<i></i> With that, Maji pictured a family full of white-haired, pink-eyed people with metal arms. The thought intrigued his boyish imagination.

As the conversation continued, a herd of puppies barged into the room and made a loud ruckus. The tiny group was led by a white dog, and he was followed by a spotted one and a girly-looking one. Before he knew it, the white dog began to speak a choppy version of their language.

Wait, what?

Maji didn't remember much of himself or anything at all for that matter, but he was pretty sure that dogs weren't supposed to talk. That went for any animal, really. Was he hallucinating, or was this enchanted place of Sunagakure literally a sci-fi book come to life? What was next, a talking rabbit who was short on time? Maji was clearly in some type of wonderland.

The bandaged boy was shocked to witness Okibi speak back to the canine as if she would a person. She introduced the trio to him and him to the trio. Maji was too confused to react as any normal person would, so he just went along with it as he would a dream. “Nice to meet you all.”<i></i> he announced politely while his tone still sounded a bit unsure. Okibi then proceeded to go onto a full on dialogue with Peaches as the dog tried to peep over his bedside. Did she forget he was in the room?

His senses told him that either Okibi was some type of lunatic or that he himself was the crazy one. His final conclusion? They both probably were. Maji was lucky she didn't recognize that, though, because he needed her despite the loose screws they both possessed.

<B>“Are you a pet psychic?” he asked the preoccupied woman in attempts to normalize the situation a little. If she was, he probably was one, too. That wasn't as weird.

Before he could continue with any further queries and as the dogs approached closer, he sneezed. It was a bit random, but he sneezed nonetheless.

And then again.

And then a third time.

Why was he sneezing?

 

[Okibi]

Did she have a family? Was she a pet psychic? Such odd questions from one so young; then again, she had just asked him if he had a family too so . . . and what did he mean he didnt know? How did he not know if he had a family or not? Okibi got to her feet for a moment, went to the foot of his bed the picked up the clipboard the nurse had put there, with all his injuries written down on it. Among the list of booboos was a head injury of sorts. She rose an eyebrow; memory loss maybe? It seemed plausible.

She set the clipboard back down before returning to her chair, sitting down to contemplate the situation as the two male pups approached the bed to join the female. They all put there small paws up on the bed, getting a closer look at the bed ridden boy. Okibi leaned back in her chair and laced her hands in front of her nose. She ignored both the boys question about her being psychic, as well as his sudden bout of sneezing; apparently dog fur didnt agree with him.

"I do have a family kid. These guys right here are a big part of it." She waved her hands at the pups in front of her. The dogs yipped at him, but the white one, Seven seemed a little calmer than the others. He watched the boy thoughtfully. "But I have a human family too. They took me in when I was a little older than you; one of them found me at the gates the same way I found you. I could take you to mee them if you like, when youre feeling better. Maybe we could help you figure out what happened to you and your family." She left out the fact that her family was the current 'ruling' family of the village. That wasnt important.

Just then, Peaches started hopping on her back legs, trying to get up onto the bed. Zen, the spotted one, gave her a look. "What're you doing Peach?" He asked, his young voice soft as he spoke to her. He didnt like the other name that guy had given her, so he only used the one Okibi had. The fluffy puppy didnt look up from her task, even as she kept almost making it only to fall back to the floor.

"Tryin' to get on the bed of course." Zen's face deadpanned.

"Why?"

"So I can lie down with him, duh."

It was Seven's turn to look at Peaches like she was being silly. Obviously the boy was having a bad reaction to their proximity, and she wanted to get closer? Well, she wasnt the brightest of light bulbs . . . but damn if she wasnt a looker of a dim little bulb.

Okibi laughed, stood up, then piled all the puppies onto the bed before squeezing herself onto it as well, squishing herself in beside Maji so she could wrap an arm around him. She pulled him into her side and gave his hair a ruffle. "I promise kid, I'm not crazy. Once youre doing better and we get you out of here, youll see that there are quite a few people in this village who are way weirder than I am."

 

[Suika]

Maji grew somewhat anxious after his fourth time sneezing. This had to stop! He clenched the top of his hospital gown against his nose and scooted slightly away from the pack of pups. Could they have been the cause of this?

Okibi ignored his minor allergy-spell and answered the question he had asked about her family. The dogs were her family? Well, there were some people who were abnormally attached to their animals, so he didn't find it that odd. She then continued and explained how she was also found at the gates and adopted by a human family. So she was just like him?

The situational similarity, in a few ways, seemed a bit surreal to him. Perhaps there was a deeper link between Okibi and Maji that went beyond pure accidental coincidence? Maji felt a little superstitious about the idea; a force within him, whether it be some integrated idealism he couldn't remember having or not, made him feel like there was more to this than meets the eye. Fate? The white-haired dog-lover then proceeded to send out a warm invite to meet her family. Maji's ears perked up instantly. “She must like me, then!”

His posture elevated slightly as excitement stirred within him. If he had a tail, it'd be totally wagging right now. “I'd love that, Oki-chan. Thank you.”</B><i></i> he stated simply as if completely unaware that he had just nicknamed her. He really didn't even notice; Maji's mind was flooded with positive emotions. It was a nice contrast to the 'pee-my-pants' feeling he had the past several minutes.

In the moments to follow, the girly-looking dog, Peaches, began to become even more persistent. The pup tried to excitedly hop onto the bed. Maji flinched – what if these sneezes were caused by dog fur? No piece of cloth and not even a pinched nose would help him if direct contact was made. He was sure Okibi would catch the hint and take care of it...

“Wha-!”<i></i> he bellowed with his mouth agape and his eyes widened in shock. Okibi just threw all the pups onto the bed and then pressed herself against him. He tried to roll off the bed to escape, but the girl trapped him with one strong arm over his tiny, frail body. Maji enjoyed the hair ruffle, though.

“Don't worry, I believe yo-!” he sneezed and nervously continued. “You're not weird at al-!”<i></i> and he sneezed again, this time sneezing onto Okibi and firing some good ol' snot and saliva her way. “Sorry!”<i></i> he exclaimed embarrassingly with a nasal'd tone.

Well, he still thought the puppies were cute, at least.

In attempts to change the subject and detract from the attention he might have received for the obvious allergy he had towards her canine family, he threw something random out there. <B>“So Oki-cha-” he held in a sneeze and continued. “What do you do for fun? Do you work all day or something?” For some reason, Okibi seemed like a dancer to him. Basically, her hair, eyes, and frame all reminded him of someone who was probably skilled at moving her body. Or maybe she was a psychic after all? Fortune-telling seemed like a noble profession!

Maji had some really distorted ideas about what hobbies and professions most normal people had – subconscious clues to his past, maybe?

 

[Okibi]

Oki-chan?

Okibi blinked at the nickname the boy gave her. Till that point, there was only one other person who called her by anything other than her name (two actually, when she thought about it), but neither of those people were younger than her. Somehow, the sentimentality in his nicknaming her touched her.

As the puppies piled onto Maji's legs, settling down for a nap, Okibi sat back. She grinned at the way his sneezing went on and on; of course she realized he was probably allergic to the dogs, but really she found the torment funny. His next questions were a little random, but his curiosity was much more preferable to the crying he'd been doing before.

"Work? Fun? Pfft." Okibi made a face. "I work because I have to, not because I want to. My idea of fun is much more . . . random."

Speaking of random.

Suddenly, Okibi hopped off the bed, jolting all the puppies awake, and marched to the other side. She hauled Maji out of the bed and onto his feet before dragging him from the tent. The puppies scrambled off the bed and followed them. A nurse that was about to go into the tent was nearly run over by the charging Okibi. The white haired girl barely sidestepped her, and still the nurse fumbled a little. She stuttered and flailed and exclaimed as Okibi continued onward, taking the boy patient with her. Okibi didnt pay the woman any mind; theyd fixed Maji already, so there was no point in keeping him holed up in that tent. The boy needed some 'fresh' air for sands sake.

When she'd gotten them a fair distance away from the hospital, Okibi stopped suddenly and looked down at Maji. She looked him over and winced; she'd wanted to get him out of there, but at the same time had completely forgotten that he was injured. He was probably still tired too after his ordeal. Okibi leaned over so she could look him in the face at eye level, giving him a look that told him not to lie to her. "You tired kid? Wanna ride on my back?"

She never told him where she was taking him, but that was the joy in being random wasnt it? She didnt even know herself until she got there.

 

[Suika]

Maji tilted his head in curiosity as Okibi responded. She seemed as if she had some distaste towards her work... what exactly did she do? Regardless, she did enjoy random fun, and despite what random entailed, it was fun nonetheless. Before the allergy-stricken boy could let out another sneeze, Okibi darted off the bed and dragged him alongside her. A plethora of wires popped off of his skin and the machine behind him made a long 'deet' sound as if someone died. What a scary noise.

Maji, at this point, was thoroughly confused. He didn't resist the woman's spontaneity; he felt best to go with it. What was she up to?

They made it passed the nurse and into the outside world with the pups right behind them. Maji's pupils sparkled when he saw the landscape around him. From miles ahead he could see buildings, lights, and every other piece of architecture that made Suna the exotic beauty that it was. It was like nothing the boy had seen before, or at least remembered seeing. He was in awe for a good while.

As they continued striding forward, his body began to ache a bit and his breathing turned into a silent and restless pant. Yes, he was healed from most of his serious injuries, but his body still needed more time to rest to reach a full, painless recovery. Luckily, Maji didn't even have to voice this; Okibi caught on, leaned over to his level, and offered him, with what he interpreted as a gesture of pure compassion and kindness, a back-ride. Doggy back ride?

Maji would usually be too embarrassed to accept such an offer, but he couldn't help but feel honored and overjoyed - so much so that his face lit up instantly and a tear fell from his eye. He quickly wiped it away, rubbed his eyes, and shot a smile her way. “Yes, Oki-chan, I'd love that!”

With that, he hopped on and the duo journeyed forward. He wasn't sure where they were going, but he was filled with too much content to even care. As they made their way, leaning forward a little, Maji snuck a comment into Okibi's ear. “Oki-chan, not to be mushy or anything...”</B><i></i> he said semi-sheepishly, <B>“...but you're kind of a beautiful person.”

There was nothing ulterior about what he said – no motive or hidden agenda. He was just a grateful, honest, and slightly weird little boy. Maji just felt like Okibi had been a solid voice through this chaos; her heart was made of gold and he recognized that. He blushed slightly after... perhaps he was being too sensitive. Hopefully he didn't come off girly or needy or anything.

 

[Okibi]

When Maji climbed up onto her back, Okibi was surprised by how light he felt. Were all children so feather like? The sensation was odd, and just a little daunting. She felt like if she squeezed his legs too hard she'd snap them; she was going to have to be careful with the boy.

She started walking at a sedate pace, not knowing whether going too fast and jostling him would cause him further injury. However, when Maji leaned over her shoulder and whispered in her ear, telling her she was beautiful, she couldnt help it when she faltered in her steps, practically careening into a guy in a cupcake suit (he was promoting his bakery). She apologize quickly, regathered her steps and cotinued onward, her cheeks pinking prettily.

Now, of course it wasnt because Maji had told her she was beautiful that her cheeks were warming and her heart was fluttering. Obviously there was nothing romantic about the comment at all; the boy had to be, what, nine or ten years old? But the fact that he'd told her at all had hit her like a mallet. Okibi didnt hear those kinds of words often. She didnt care about being good looking, never had, but still . . . hearing those positive words was a real boost. After all, what kind of girl didnt like hearing that she was beautiful?

Hoisting the boy a little higher on her back, Okibi looked over her shoulder and grinned at Maji. "Thanks kid. Youre not so bad yourself. That white hair and those pink eyes? Those are the traits of a real looker right there." And she laughed, because obviously she'd just described herself too.

And on they went, slowly making their way through the village, with a line of puppies in tow.

[Topic left with Maji! This will be continued at the Starlit Lake!]

 

[Suika]

[Topic Left w/ Okibi]