Every now and then, when Ayu had a chance, she would visit the West City hospital. Time was something that she couldn't control and fate simply loved to throw in unexpected events, moments of weakness, or a months-long meditation session in the Ancient Lookout... Yet while having the possibility, she'd ask Mr. Popo to give her a lift to the outskirt of the city, so she could walk to the clinic on her own. Carrying some unspoken hopes and fresh flowers, Ayu would reach the hospital and greet the doctors and nurses, and once allowed, she'd climb the stairs to visit the last room on the right on the second floor. There was someone who was admitted there that she wanted to see. A person that has been stuck in this quiet place that smelled of antiseptic and iodine for so long now... Because of her. Because of her weakness and hopelessness, an innocent person had to pay the price.

The guilt was something that Ayu had a very hard time dealing with. It kept her up at night, causing nightmares when she finally fell asleep, whispering doubts to her ears that only made the anxiety stronger. Between moments of being so tired of emotions that she was calm and collected, there were days when she was easily startled, lost in thoughts, wiping her eyes in the corners of rooms so it wouldn't bother others. In her life, she had been inconveniencing people too much with her feelings, not really knowing how to work through the things that she did. She was the one who killed people - control or not, she had blood on her hands. She failed Liari. At the moment when she needed her most Ayu couldn't understand her, she hurt her, and before she knew it, the Majin wasn't alive anymore. Doubts started to emerge that she wouldn't be the right person to look after the kids living in the Lookout either... Because what she could teach them? A Guardian-to-be that couldn't use the power they held, uselessly sobbing on the ground, was something Earth did not need to bother with.

And she was the one who put Calot in a coma... That was the last of the nails to the coffin of her heart.

Still... Was it proof of foolishness or quite the opposite, not even once Ayu thought about running away from all this. Those were her faults, her sins, she had to deal with them - even if she didn't know how. Maybe slowly, looking for it blindly, she'd learn just enough to make it better for others. For people living on this planet... Hopefully, she'd get it just in time. For now, the resolve needed to break free and bud through the layers of guilt and grief.

To this point, Ayu didn't know if it was Liari that brought him to the hospital or maybe someone who was checking through the area in the wasteland that so suddenly turned into a jungle... But she so heard that Calot was admitted to this place gravely wounded, in a dire state and he had been in doctors' care for so long. Just how badly had she hurt him? Ayu couldn't remember much from that day when her energy reached its limit, snapping out of control and attacking everything around her. The cup of her Ki was overflowing already and the shocking news about her grandfather's betrayal didn't add anything more to the cup... No, it turned that cup upside down, pouring everything inside her out with tremendous, dreadful power. A force of nature swept through the area both deadly and full of life. The injuries that were inflicted on Calot had caused his mind to enter a coma and despite his condition improving Ayu wasn't sure if he would ever wake up... And that was entirely on her. Her heart felt like it was stabbed, guilt heavily weighing on her soul. Why was she so strong and why she was so bad at this..? Of course that she wanted to try healing Calot - but when she finally learned this mystical art, his body already recovered. The foggy dreams that were filling his mind were a different story and Ayu wasn't sure if the healing technique passed to her by Dende would be able to do much. Even so, she wanted to try... And maybe today was the day.

Once she reached the door, Ayu slowly took a deep breath. Her fingers gently squeezed the flowerpot that she was carrying... Ayu wasn't fond of cut plants, preferring to carry them in small containers so they could please the eye for longer. Of course that she used a bit of her magic too, making sure that the air with her plants around would be purified and they won't wither anytime soon. During her first visit, she brought Calot some grape hyacinths with deep blue flowers, next there were silverish-white irises and tiny, bright sunflowers... Now she was holding a pot full of gentle daffodils. What could the nurses think about flowers that still were fresh after weeks and weeks of blooming? Maybe they weren't such a good present but Ayu couldn't think of anything else to give to a patient. Even if Calot had a cold, collected demeanor, she knew that he wasn't all that... There was something dark within him and it wasn't about his Saiyan or demon heritage. The air of distance and focus was polished and sharp as a blade, hiding something that maybe Ayu won't ever understand. But she didn't fear that, as he was kind to her. In his own way, Calot cared and she was both aware and thankful for that - it was a cruel twist of fate that she was the one who put him in the hospital in the first place. It felt even worse knowing that during their first meeting, Ayu treated the wounds that he so stubbornly was trying to hide, asking why she bothered caring.

The answer to that did not change.

It took her a moment to gather enough strength to press the right button. The door slid open and Ayu entered, taking barely two steps before she froze in her tracks, her eyes wide and glued to the silhouette sitting on the bed.

The hospital room was small and clean, just as she remembered, and the medical equipment was gently beeping a familiar tune. Some of the patient's belongings were hidden in the dresser in the corner, medicine placed in neat containers on top of it. Yellow sunflowers on the nightstand, blue flowers on the windowsill, and the silver ones on the table greeted her gently but it wasn't them who caught her by surprise, no. Ayu couldn't move because Calot was sitting on the bed, pillows supporting his back as he was silently looking through the window at the city. His face wasn't as pale as before. There was more life in his features and an unusual calmness very faintly gleamed through... And suddenly Ayu was hit with waves of emotions that made her hands fidget and her whole body shiver.

She stared at him, feeling how without a warning her eyes started to fill with hot, relieved tears. They run down her cheeks while so many, many emotions that seemed to lay dormant for the past few days started to wake up. A sense of relief filled Ayu's heart, hope, joy, and confusion overwhelmed the guilt at this very moment. The pot fell from her hands and landed on the floor, breaking and scattering daffodils under her feet but Ayu did not mind that. She was already running to his side, wrapping her arms around Calot's neck and embracing him in a trembling hug. He woke up, he really woke up... She hid her face in his shoulder as she sobbed, her arms shaking as she cried, green fingers holding tightly onto the fabric of his hospital gown. It didn't lessen the guilt from what she had done but she was so happy to see him again. Awake, that is. Maybe a bit of her worn-out heart was mended with that sight but she was so glad, that the tears of relief couldn't stop falling.

"You w-woke up..." Ayu whispered, burying her wet face in his arm. He was awake and it wasn't a dream... The only person that she could call a brotherly figure in her life was here. Maybe they knew each other shortly but it didn't change much. "I'm so s-sorry Calot. I'm s-so sorry it was all my fault, I'm s-sorry..." The mouth didn't listen and spoke her mind as soon as it could, apologizing profoundly for everything that she had done so unfairly to him. For not being in control of her powers, for hurting him, for wounding him so much she basically stole months of his life from him... "I'm s-so glad you're back..." she sobbed, staying like that for a while before the first intense emotions started to calm down. As if remembering something Ayu slowly let go, looking at Calot with worried eyes. "A-Ah, I didn't m-mean..." she murmured and raised her hands moving away, gazing at him apologetically. In her first reaction, she embraced him and cried but he was still a patient that needed care. How long it was? Three... Four months? And she just hugged him without thinking while he needed rest and time. That was thoughtless of her.

Ayu pressed her hand against her heart, the other one was placed softly on Calot's arm. After a deep breath, she gave him a tearful but genuinely happy smile.

"... I missed you," she admitted quietly. "I'm sorry Calot, because of me you ended up here. I d-didn't mean to hurt you but I did and I can only apologize now for everything that I h-have done-" Ayu's voice cracked abruptly as more tears filled her yellow eyes. He wasn't the only person that she wanted to apologize to but now she won't ever have a chance to say that to others - and that was breaking her heart for the tenth time already. As her vision grew blurry, Ayu covered her eyes with one hand, barely able to stop herself from a soft, pained sob.

Too much happened while he was asleep.

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Power Level - 256,968 | 10 (Seal)
Word Count - 1,718