When the ward door was pushed open again, the lingering scent of disinfectant was instantly overwhelmed by the domineering aroma of spicy hot pot.
Rikka carried the heavy bags, shutting the door behind her as if she were avoiding some kind of flood or beast, and let out a long breath.
"What happened? Buying food felt like you just finished a WRGP (World Racing Grand Prix)." Raku lay on the bed, rolling his eyes toward his sister, who was busy unpacking everything.
"Don't even mention it. I ran into that purple-haired guy in the hallway! Scared me to death."
Rikka poured the soup into a bowl while patting her chest, still shaken. "Here, he told me to give this to you. Said something about thanking someone who carries firewood. Sounds kind of creepy."
A black leather card case was placed on the movable table beside the hospital bed; it was the Shaddoll Deck Sasori had left behind.
Raku glanced at it.
"I think that guy definitely has issues." Rikka frowned, poking the card case with the tip of her chopsticks in disgust. "That guy gives off this… how do I put it, like a rotten purple cabbage kind of vibe. Big bro, are you sure this thing is safe?"
"I think he's fine."
Raku looked at the case, recalling Sasori's awkward expression at the top of the tower. "Sounds like a guy who says one thing and means another.
"Put the Shaddoll Deck in the bedside cabinet. I'll accept this gift."
"But this Deck doesn't look like anything good, right? It's all dark and purple… feels like some kind of curse."
Raku couldn't help but laugh, but it pulled at his chest muscles, making him suck in a breath from the pain. "Believe it or not, ten years from now, Duelists all over the world will still be figuring out how to deal with Winda."
"Huh? Winda? What Winda?" Rikka blinked in confusion, the stray hair on her forehead swaying along. "Big bro, are you talking in your sleep?"
"Ahem… nothing, just card-player slang." Raku realized she didn't get the reference. "Alright, forget all this messy stuff. The college entrance exam is coming up soon, right?
"Go study already. Don't spend all day staring at my hospital bed."
At the mention of the exam, Rikka, who had been busy opening food containers, froze.
The air in the ward suddenly grew heavy.
Rikka slowly lowered her head, her silver-white hair covering her face. From Raku's angle, he could only see the slight trembling of her nose.
"…What's wrong?"
"Then what about you?" Rikka's voice was very low, carrying a clear sob. "The exam… there's only one month left, right? Your condition… the doctor said you need months of rest… there's no way you can take it anymore, right?"
That sense of guilt seemed to overflow from her.
Raku looked at her. Her hands trembled.
Raku understood that feeling well.
The college entrance exam was a dividing line of fate. If you couldn't sit behind that exam desk, it was like your life had been directly banished.
"Look forward." Raku tried to keep his voice steady. "If I can't take it, then I can't take it. Life is full of regrets.
"Just like a duel, you're bound to make misplays, but you can't just quit the game because of one bad move, right?"
"But if it wasn't for me! If I hadn't rushed out like that…"
Rikka suddenly raised her head, her azure eyes filled with tears as she practically shouted.
"You didn't need to do any of this! I know it… this is all my fault, I ruined your—"
"Do you regret it?"
Raku gently cut her off.
"…." She bit her lip, not daring to answer.
Seeing her like this, Raku really wanted to flick that strand of hair that kept swaying.
"My foolish little sister," Raku spoke in the dramatic tone she usually loved to complain about. "If you truly care about me, then you shouldn't regret it. Because your regret would mean that everything I did at the top of the tower was meaningless."
"Eh?" She froze, tears still hanging on her eyelashes.
"Don't regret your decision.
"I can tell you. If what Aleister said is true, then if you hadn't gone there yesterday, and I hadn't followed you, and no one else had managed to stop the gate from opening…"
Raku closed his eyes, thinking through the possibilities.
"This city would probably already be finished. At that point, it wouldn't be about lying here getting treated and collecting compensation; we'd be thinking about whether to be buried together as a pile of ashes. So—"
Raku wanted to pat her head, but his body wasn't cooperating. He could only speak with his eyes closed. "Well done, my sister. You did very well."
"But you…"
"And this is the second thing I want to say. It's true; Because of your decision, we've suffered some irreversible losses, like this exam.
"Regardless, that's unavoidable. Life doesn't give you the luxury of having everything."
Raku opened his eyes, looking at her face that was finally no longer so tense.
"If there are losses, then we bear them. If it's a mistake, then it's a mistake. If the exam is gone, I can retake it or take another path. I'm still alive, aren't I? I don't think something like this can defeat me."
At this point, Raku deliberately let out an exaggerated sigh, making his tone playful.
"Oh, right, something like 'because of me, big bro can't take the college entrance exam anymore'… that's not what you should be thinking about right now.
"What you should be thinking is that your wise and mighty brother doesn't even have the strength to hold chopsticks anymore. If you still have time to cry, you might as well hurry up and feed me."
Rikka stared blankly at Raku for a while, then suddenly let out a snort and burst into laughter through her tears.
"You only sound like a proper big brother when you're lecturing me. Normally, you're such a loser." She wiped her tears while fiercely scooping up a big spoonful of cooled fatty beef slices.
"I don't care! Ahhhh, I'm starving, so hungry my soul's about to float out of the ward! Hurry up and feed your poor, great, utterly exhausted-from-saving-the-world big brother!"
Rikka curled her lips in slight disdain, but still carefully held the bowl and moved closer to Raku's mouth.
"Alright, alright, open up! Honestly, I can't do anything about you…"
Rikka raised the hospital bed, placed a pillow behind Raku's back, opened the takeout container, and wiped the spoon again and again with a napkin until there wasn't a single drop of moisture on it. Holding the steaming bowl of spicy hot pot in her left hand, she used the spoon in her right to gently stir the soup.
She scooped up a fish ball and brought it to her lips to blow on it. Her cheeks puffed out slightly, moving as she exhaled, her eyes fixed on the fish ball in the spoon.
After blowing on it a few times, she lightly touched the surface with the tip of her tongue to make sure it wasn't too hot before bringing the spoon to Raku's mouth.
"Ahhh," she opened her mouth, making a sound to signal him.
Raku opened his mouth and took the spoon.
She watched him swallow the fish ball, the corners of her lips lifting into a smile that revealed a neat row of teeth. She picked up a portion of vermicelli with her chopsticks, supporting it underneath with the spoon to keep the soup from dripping. The strands were too long, so she set the spoon down and used the chopsticks to cut them into two smaller bites.
As she fed this bite, a drop of red oil splashed onto the corner of Raku's mouth. She immediately set the bowl down, took out a handkerchief from her pocket, and carefully wiped away the oil stain bit by bit. Her movements were slow, her fingers brushing against Raku's chin. After wiping it clean, she clenched the used tissue in her hand and picked up the bowl again.
When only a bit of broth remained at the bottom, she asked if he wanted to drink it.
Raku nodded.
She tilted the bowl, scraping the bottom with the spoon to gather the last of the soup, and the bean sprouts settled at the bottom, feeding it into Raku's mouth. She set the bowl down, wiped the corner of his mouth clean again, then stuffed all the used tissues into the takeout bag and tied it into a tight knot.
"Do you want some water?" She picked up the cup nearby.
Raku shook his head.
She lowered the hospital bed a bit to make him more comfortable, then picked up the bag full of trash.
"Then I'll go throw this away first, and get you some fruit while I'm at it."
Humming a tune, she walked out of the ward. The door clicked shut behind her.
The room fell quiet.
Raku looked at the deck case on the bedside table. A green glimmer suddenly flashed across it, and then a semi-transparent figure emerged from above the case, gradually solidifying.
The figure, dressed in a green mage's robe, sat on the chair Rikka had just been using. The staff in his hand tapped the ground without making a sound.
"Didn't expect you to be quite the talker." Aleister crossed his legs and opened the thick magic tome in his hands.
"Just speaking from the heart." Raku moved his eyelids slightly, showing no surprise at this sudden appearance of a living person.
"How's your condition?" Aleister closed the book, a heavy volume with a blue gem embedded in its cover.
"Not bad. Just no strength. There's a lot of weakness, but I'm a pretty optimistic person. Having someone to chat with helps me get through it."
"Then it seems my mission is quite important, partner." Aleister smiled.
"So why do you keep calling me partner?" Raku asked, his gaze lingering briefly on that expensive-looking staff.
"Duel Spirits and Duelists are drawn to each other. That is fate." Aleister raised his right hand and held up one finger.
"I do not reject such a fate. First, we met at a coincidental time and place."
He raised a second finger.
"Second, you did something that impressed me."
Then a third.
"Third, I feel that following you will be interesting."
Aleister waved those three fingers, the gesture oddly out of place with his serious mage attire.
"I'm lying in a hospital bed, and you still find it interesting?" Raku stared at the ceiling speechlessly.
"Your body may be lying in a hospital bed, but your soul might not be." Aleister lowered his hand and leaned forward, a certain light flickering in his emerald-green eyes.
"You mean I have a heart that longs for freedom?"
"No, I mean that literally." Aleister pointed at Raku's chest. "With your incomplete soul, it is difficult for it to properly synchronize with your physical body, making it easy for your soul and body to separate. Especially during sleep, you may experience soul drifting."
"I see." Raku pursed his lips, his expression unchanged.
A few seconds passed.
The sentence turned over in his mind, translated into something more comprehensible.
"No way…"
His eyes widened suddenly, his voice changing pitch.
"You're saying… I'll float out like a ghost?!"
...
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