Chapter 20: Guilt
2219 Words
Yuma winced, opening his eyes. He sat up on the bed, resting a hand against his face. “Wh-What happened to me...?”
He gasped as Ludovic slapped him. Looking up at him, he saw tears in his eyes. “Why did you do that?!”
The orange-haired grabbed Yuma’s shoulders. “WHY DID YOU STAB HIM?!”
Yuma’s eyes widened. “Stabbed... who...?”
“Ivy is in a coma,” Seira spoke, watching the smoke rise from her mouth as she sat on the windowsill. “His energy was also depleted entirely, and he was almost dragged to the old world. He had a point transfer and suffered for a while before finally falling into a coma. That’s what Marissa said anyway.”
Yuma stood up with a gasp. “But I...! I wanted to save him!”
“It didn’t work, then!” Ludovic sat down on the opposite bed, wiping his tears. “I don’t remember the details, but you... I saw you stab him. You even bit him! Now, he’s in the in-campus hospital. They didn’t allow us to see him. They said his condition is too fragile.”
Yuma shook his head. “I must go see him,” he whispered, running out of the room. He gasped as he bumped into someone as soon as he opened the door. It was Orpheus. The blonde-haired took his wrist. “Come with me.”
Ludovic stood up. “Can we visit him now? Please!”
Orpheus dragged Yuma towards an underground hospital. They found a brown-haired female standing in front of a room with folded arms. Her golden eyes met with Yuma’s, but she remained silent. Seira stood beside her. “Vice-captain, you didn’t have to come here in person.”
The woman remained silent as she watched Yuma. She finally moved from the door to let them through. Orpheus walked into the room with Yuma and Ludovic.
They found Ivy sleeping, his body covered in bandages. His eyes were covered, small puffs of white smoke appearing on the mask over his face. Yuma sat beside him and held his slender hand, his gaze saddening. “Did I...” He observed the unstable heartbeats and slow breathing. “Do this... to him?”
Orpheus sat on the other side of the bed. “Partly. It wasn’t entirely your fault. So many things happened at once, and his body couldn’t handle it.”
He watched Ivy sleeping. “I brought you here with Ludovic because I know Ivy cherishes you two dearly. I didn’t want you to worry because that would upset him.”
He removed the hair from Ivy’s face. “Right now, Ivy is going through a very delicate phase... If I knew this would happen, I would have never agreed to his punishment in the first place.”
“P-Punishment? What punishment? What are you talking about? Wasn’t it just... moving in with us?” Yuma’s eyes watered.
“The punishment Ivy took for you because you sheltered that woman,” Orpheus started, “I realized it much later, but I didn’t interfere. It was Ivy’s will, and I respected that.” He folded his legs. “His punishment was torture every day for an entire year.”
Yuma gasped. “Are you even human?! What is wrong with you?”
“Don’t scream.” Orpheus eyed Yuma. “I wasn’t the one who decided. This time, I could abolish this punishment using some connections. However, you must watch what you do from now on. I won’t be able to do this every time, and I don't want to resort to these methods frequently.”
Yuma sat back down shamefully. “I... didn’t mean to scream.”
Orpheus nodded. “Ivy has the ability to birth children. His fertility rate is a hundred per cent as well. Moreover, he can be impregnated more than once per pregnancy.”
He snorted, closing his eyes. “Currently, he’s carrying a child, and it’s weakening him physically and mentally. I didn’t know all of these details until a few days ago. I’m still in shock myself, so...” He looked at the shock on Ludovic and Yuma’s faces. “I understand that you might not believe me.”
“But...” Ludovic stroked Ivy’s belly carefully, his fingers offering the shadow of a touch. “It’s flat...”
“Naturally, it’s the second or third month,” Orpheus started, “His pregnancy lasts for around a year and a half, unlike a normal pregnancy.”
“Does... Ivy know about this condition?” Ludovic asked, “Did he try to tell you when you... assaulted him?”
“He didn’t say anything...” Orpheus ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t think he could, even if he wanted to. They injected him with so much aphrodisiac that he almost lost his sanity altogether.”
Yuma clenched his fists. “He was going through all of that, and I still said those horrible things to him.”
He clenched his jaw. “I want... I...” He stood up. “I’ll go take some air.”
He left the room and found the brown-haired woman outside. She glanced at him from the corner of her eyes without saying a word.
He stood beside her. “Do you think I should leave him alone?”
She glanced back in front of her without answering. He smiled. “Right.”
He started walking away.
Ludovic caressed Ivy’s hair. “So is he... a male?”
“Definitely, yes,” Orpheus stood up. “A man with the ability to produce children...” He turned to the window. “I believe I have a lot of research to do.”
Ludovic looked up to him. “What do you mean...?”
“Only one man had this ability across history...” Orpheus rested his hands on the windowsill. “I want to confirm if they are linked.”
“So, how did he... do this?”
“He possesses both male and female reproduction organs. Aside from the female one, Ivy doesn’t have a single trace of femininity in him, physically or mentally; no hormonal imbalance whatsoever. We conduct yearly tests, and Ivy never showed any signs of instability, physically or mentally. Thus, this addition of a womb isn’t random. It was very much aimed at making a man able to bear children,” Orpheus muttered as if talking to himself, “If that’s the case, then there’s only one plausible explanation.”
He clenched his fists. “Could it be true?”
Jibreel walked into the building, pushing his wild red hair back. He brushed the dust off his shoulders and sighed, seeing bloodstains on his white shirt. He frowned, feeling an additional presence in his room. He rushed inside. “Iblis, are you okay?!”
He blinked, seeing a caramel-haired man sitting beside Iblis and brushing his hair. “Michael...”
Michael grinned, seeing Jibreel. “Welcome back! I was keeping Iblis company while you were gone.” He hugged the jinn from behind, giggling. “We played so much! We had a lot of fun.”
Iblis's joy transformed into fear, seeing the blood on Jibreel. He ran to him and touched his side, his eyes watering. He started healing him and crying. Jibreel removed his shirt. “It’s not my own blood,” he reassured, “And don’t worry. Even if this body is harmed, it’s not my original body, so nothing will happen to me. I’m not that easy to kill, okay?”
“Still!” Iblis hugged him. “You still... feel pain.” His gaze saddened. “Don’t say dangerous things like dying... it... hurts...”
Jibreel glanced at Michael, who was looking at Iblis sadly. Jibreel hugged the blue-haired and kissed the top of his head. “I’m sorry. I will do my best not to get injured. Don’t be sad,” he whispered, wiping away Iblis’s tears. “I’m here now, and nothing happened to me, okay?”
Iblis examined the angel carefully then nodded, wiping his own tears. He sat on the bed. “Is it okay if I borrow your clothes?”
He rested his hands on his thighs to point at the oversized pants. “I’m sorry if you don’t want to...”
“No, it’s all right.” Jibreel sat beside him. “Use whatever you want. I don’t mind.”
Iblis then sat beside Michael to let him brush his hair. He smiled happily. “It’s so tingly and relaxing. Thank you.”
Michael sat against the bed. “Do you want to take a nap?”
Iblis shook his head. He ran to the wardrobe and took out a new white shirt for Jibreel. He ran towards him and yelped as he slipped on his cloak and fell face-first. Michael held back laughter as Jibreel ran to Iblis’s side. He helped him sit down and caressed his cheek. “Doesn’t appear as you injured yourself. Please, be more careful.” He seemed worried as he took the shirt from Iblis’s hands. “As soon as I have enough time, I will take you out for clothes. Just bear with mine for now. I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault! I’m clumsy...” Iblis laughed. “I’m perfectly fine!”
He jumped to his feet. “See?! Uh...?” His vision went blurry as he fell to his knees.
Jibreel raised his eyebrows, watching him fall in his arms. “What?”
He took his chin. “What happened? Iblis?”
Michael held Iblis’s wrist. “Don’t panic.”
“But...”
“He’s human now. We forgot about the most obvious things,” Michael stood up. “I’ll be back.”
“What? Wait!” Jibreel blinked as Michael disappeared in a golden light. He glanced back at Iblis, who was struggling to remain awake.
“A bit... sleepy...” Iblis smiled weakly. “I’ll be... fine,” he whispered.
“No... You’re sick... Wait. I’ll heal you.”
Jibreel took him to the bed and searched for injuries. He turned to Michael when he returned and found paper bags in his hands. Michael sat beside them and helped Iblis drink from a cup.
Jibreel facepalmed, standing up. “Of course. Food. I let you starve here alone...”
Iblis placed the food on the table nearby and looked at the angels. “You don’t need to eat?”
They shook their heads. “Angels don’t have hygiene, food or sleep issues. Consequently, there’s no bath or food here. I’m so sorry...” Jibreel’s shoulders sank. “I keep messing up and hurting you.”
“That’s not true! You just didn’t know.” Iblis hugged him. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m such a burden... You don’t know me, and you’ve been taking care of me this entire time.”
Jibreel opened his mouth to speak but remained silent and left the room instead. Iblis gazed at the door sadly. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Don’t worry.” Michael laid him down on the bed and covered him. “You need to rest. It’s not good to sleep little.”
Iblis glanced at the door and nodded, not resisting.
Michael then left the room and found Jibreel sitting in front of the dorm, hugging his knee and watching the moon. He sat beside him. “You held back not to tell him... Must have been tough.”
Jibreel clenched his jaw. I wish... I lost my memories too.” He lowered his head. “I don’t think I can keep up like this.”
“I’m in no position to tell you what to do, but don’t do that which you might regret later,” Michael patted his shoulder. “I’ll go check on Malik. Take care.”
The next morning, Jibreel found himself sleeping outside. He returned to his room to find Iblis still asleep. Jibreel sat beside him. He rested a hand over his forehead. Golden light burst around them, and blank screens surrounded them. Jibreel watched the screens in silence. He turned away from Iblis. After buying him food, he left the room to begin his work.
- Writer
