2022-12-19: Devotion's Reward
- Log: 2022-12-19: Devotion's Reward
- Cast: Yuta Hibiki, Ennil El
- Where: Tsutsujidai
- Date: U.C. 0096 12 19
- Summary: It's been just over a week since Yuta Hibiki fell into a coma.
Beep...beep...beep...beep...
The sound of Yuta's heartbeat is steady. As Dr. Daiwel assured them, his body is healing well. Max has gotten quite skilled at caring for the young man, though he defers to the nurses' expertise when they come by. As for the rest of his time...
"Yuta. Why do you not wake up." It's a statement, murmured in a dim room. Visiting hours are a thing of the past, now, with the crush of people in Inoue Hospital. Max has only left Yuta's side for snatches of time.
Visitors have come and gone, speaking to Yuta. Despite all she's doing for Tsutsujidai, Rikka visits regularly. Dr. Daiwel visits at least once a day, dutiful, if a bit taciturn. Ennil, dressed in her sharp new suit, is one of the few people Max trusts to take over his vigil.
Soft music floats through the room, courtesy of Kaworu's phone. Max regularly plays songs Yuta performed to in the Pageant... though none seem to make a difference. So many others have come to try and assist Yuta. Rei, Alouette, Sonia, Koji, Orpheus. Max repeats their names, sometimes, watching for any hint of response in Yuta's sleeping face.
Gai Kurenai, with his Light magic, sticks in Max's mind. Light to guide him home...
---
"Almost got it!" Vit says, sounding more cheerful than he has in a week. "Ennil, can you solder that last piece there?"
After Akane dumped it onto the ground, Junk shattered to a thousand pieces. Each one was meticulously gathered, cleaned, and restored by the hands of Sky Vitter -- though he wasn't alone.
Despite her constant shifts to help Max at the hospital, Ennil has spent much of her time working with Vit to put every single little piece of Junk back in its proper place. Kaworu lent his own assistance, calmly offering guidance and a steady hand. Alouette was a welcome breath of fresh air, with her cheerful demeanor and technological expertise.
"You got it, boss." Ennil's tone is a little bit teasing. It's been a process, getting everything put back together. A lot to get used to.
Working alongside others, for the sake of Gridman...
It's been nice, even if she'd been nervous a few times. She hasn't brought up her encounter with Kaworu, yet - he's been patient enough not to do the same. Assuming he's realized who she is. (She suspects that he does.) Alouette... They'll have a lot to talk about, sometime. For now she's been keeping her focus on the task at hand, and nobody's pressed too hard. She leans in and presses her work into place, soldering it into the board and stepping back to judge the towering computer.
"Oh, but - "
There's still something missing, isn't there? Not that she knows what the insides of Junk looked like before this, exactly, but... She turns back to the pile of junk (lowercase) that Aya has collected, including the clean-up from that night. It takes some rummaging, but...
"Hey, Vit. Take a look at this! Lucky thing this place doesn't throw anything out, huh."
She turns back to him with something clutched in her hand, holding it out towards him. A computer graphics card?
Vit brushes a hand through his bangs. He's practically sparkling, despite the sweaty, intense work of fixing the precious computer. "It's not bad being in charge for once. A guy could get used to this."
"What?" Vit asks, craning his neck over to see the object Ennil holds up. "Oh hey, that's one of those fancy 3-D Graphic Animation Boards. Something like 20 million colors on that thing. Think it'll still work? Junk could sure use an upgrade."
It was in the trash, after all. It looks pretty pristine... And hopefully, mama wouldn't mind if they used it. It's not like they're taking it out of the shop or anything, right?
"No way to know until we try it, right?" Ennil smiles, brushing some red hair back from those glittering earrings. "I'll let you do the honors."
She passes it over to Vit and looks back to the bin she'd fished through to find it. "We're taking it from the store, so... Well, we can figure that out with Rikka's mom later, right? I'm sure she wants to help Gridman, too."
It's enough to actually get a laugh out of her. "Besides. I'm going to come back here a lot, I think. It's still the best place in town for cake."
With that, she steps in a bit and claps a hand softly onto Vit's shoulder. She doesn't wanna miss this!
"That attitude of yours can't be beat." Vit grins. "I don't think I could've gotten through this without you, girl. Thanks for sticking with me and Junk."
Vit looks over the graphics card. Really, it looks like someone just took it out of the package. Popping open a drawer in the front of the ancient computer, Vit finds an empty slot. "Huh. It's like destiny or something. Mama'll be cool about this, for sure. Besides, we've got money. We'll just buy this thing for good."
"That cake is all the motivation anyone could need. Mama needs fresh ingredients!" Vit jokes. "Can't let something like falling between dimensions mess that up!"
Ennil's hand is on his shoulder. Vit takes a breath and slides the card home, then snaps the drawer shut. "That should about do it..."
---
A screen turns on.
Water runs into a sink. The bathroom is messy, lived in. He's standing in front of the mirror, hands clenched on the edge of the porcelain. His shoulders are hunched up.
Gridman is watching, from the mirror.
"Huh..? Wait, Gridman?" He asks, blue eyes wide. "Where is this?"
Though his face doesn't move, Gridman replies. "This, Yuta, is inside you."
"What exactly are you doing inside of me, Gridman?" His voice is breathy. His words come too quick.
Yellow eyes fixate on the boy's face. "Why is Yuta inside of /me/? Because you are me."
"Then... Gridman is me?" He asks. His shoulders aren't hunched up anymore. Realizations are slipping into his conciousness. "I shouldn't remember anything. It's not that I'm Yuta, but Gridman dwelling inside of Yuta."
"Hold on. Why did you dwell inside Yuta?" He asks his other self.
Light pours in from behind Gridman, illuminating his metallic features. "In Akane Shinjo's world, he alone--"
A screen turns off.
---
With a slight tremble in his fingers, Sky Vitter presses the three start-up buttons. Immediately, the computer comes to life. Without the usual groaning and whirring, Junk seems entirely revitalized. The new graphics card goes to work immediately, popping up "SSSS" in brilliant color. Probably 20 million brilliant colors.
The screen displays a large "OK"...
---
Eyes flutter.
With great effort, he tries to move his fingers, managing a slight movement. A mild sedative is still being dripped into his bloodstream. He's only capable of such subtle actions...
But subtle is enough, for his attentive comrade. Max stands up so quickly his chair is knocked to the ground, crossing the room to open the door in one movement.
"DOCTOR!" Max bellows, "HE'S AWAKE!"