Cloud - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

"I hate it, I hate it, I freaking hate it," Ken exclaimed, arms folded over his chest and an angry expression on his face. "I want to get out of here. I fucking want to get out."
"Stop complaining, will you? You know that you can't get out of here now," Nicolas told him while rolling his eyes. "You need to remain at the hospital to regain the strength that you have lost."
"What strength? I'm perfectly fine," the oracle protested. "From the moment that I opened my eyes, I have been fine. The doctors can't understand that. They just won't let me out."
"Well, you were in a coma for mysterious reasons for more than one week so I think that they want to keep an eye on you to make sure that you're really okay," Nicolas tried to reason him and Ken let out a sigh of exasperation. He glanced at me.
"Luffy, go talk to your dad and tell him to let me go," he demanded me with pleading eyes and I let out a light chuckle.
"Trust me, when my dad thinks that it's the right time, he will let you go. For the time being, just deal with it," I told him and he groaned before letting himself fall back on his hospital bed. He closed his eyes.
Nicolas and I were back at the hospital. I had been training a lot lately and Nicolas thought that it would be good for me to take some fresh air. I did not want to go at first. I thought that training was more important but after much talk, I finally gave up and went with him.
He was right, I needed a break from everything.
"You really look ridiculous in that hospital dress," Nicolas informed Ken and the latter opened his eyes to glare at his friend.
"Shut up, Nico. I will let you know that it's really comfortable and besides, I'm being forced to wear it," Ken told him and then he looked at me before asking, "Anyway, distract me. How are things going on with the Vins?"
"Oh, we have no idea where they are and two replicas are dead. I got new powers which I'm still trying to get under my control but, other than that, everything is great," was my reply.
"I'm sensing sarcasm," Ken said with a thoughtful expression and I shrugged.
"This is reality," I told him. "We can't really do anything right now. We don't know where the last replica is and we don't know the Vins' next move so all we can do is wait...who knows for how long though."
A secret hidden power.
Eloise's words replayed a lot in my head. I informed the others about the last replica and I also told them that Cloud's mother knew about the whole story but I did not tell them about the missing power of the original. I did not know why I was keeping it for me. I knew that it was important but I didn't say.
What happened with Eloise was still troubling me and I could say for sure that it was having the same effect on the original. I tried to reach out for him multiple times but he never replied to me. I tried to go meet him but as much as I wanted to go back to this dark place, I couldn't do it. I was stuck.
"What about you, Nicolas? How are you dealing with your guardian powers?" Ken asked his friend and Nicolas seemed to be hesitant to reply.
"It's okay, I guess, I think," he said with a frown. "I'm training with Cale and Calum from time to time but my powers are really weak. I actually feel useless."
"You shouldn't," I immediately protested, "You are not useless. You just need to give yourself more time."
"I know but it would have been good if I could just do something," he said, "I heard stories about how I was one of the most powerful guardians that ever existed but I can't even do shit."
I understood how he felt like, even though, our situations were quite different. I knew that Nicolas had potential. He was trying really hard to use his guardian powers but so far, there wasn't really any wonderful results.
Though with me, he was doing just great.
When he wasn't training, he was with me most of the time. I did not think that he needed to follow me around like this but he still did it. He was trying to make things right and only knowing that, I knew that he would do great things.
"Don't let yourself down. I'm sure that you are going to continue to be the greatest," Ken assured him with a smile and Nicolas huffed.
"If you say so," the latter said with a sigh.
"Well, bring me some juice, Nico. I'm thirsty."
Nicolas stared at Ken for a few seconds before standing up from his seat. He admitted that he was only going to get Ken a drink because the latter was physically unable to do so. He then walked out of the room, leaving Ken and I alone. It was quiet for some minutes before the oracle finally spoke.
"Nicolas and you seem to be closer now," he said, looking at me, "I'm kind of surprised."
"Surprised? You're supposed to not get surprised by anything. You're the oracle here after all," I joked and he let out a laugh.
"Hey, I'm an oracle who was stuck in a supernatural coma," he reminded me and his smile quickly disappeared from his face to be replaced with a more serious expression. "When I learnt that I was an oracle, I knew that I was supposed to have guardians to look after me but for some years, I never felt like if anyone was watching over me. Then I met Nicolas and somehow, we became friends and I felt it, the protection that I needed. I wasn't sure of anything, I just got that feeling that he would protect me and now, I know that I was right. I am safe with him but, do you feel safe with him, Luffy?"
His question startled me and honestly, I had been thinking about it since the moment that Nicolas informed me that he wanted to be my guardian.
"Yes, I do," I replied and I paused briefly to think, "I never thought of him as my guardian. I never thought about having a guardian. I don't feel like I deserve it at times but I do believe in him. I'm not against the choice that he made but I still can't understand why he wants to protect me...though, now that you are awake, I'm not really sure about this whole protection thing."
"He will continue to protect you," he assured me immediately. "I'm sure that I will be under his protection but it will be the same for you. He's special. I know that most people don't like him but he is special."
"You care for him," I realized, "And a lot."
"Yeah, he's my best friend," he said. "He needs it, the care. He doesn't show it but he is a big teddy bear who needs a lot of love and affection."
I laughed, shaking my head in disbelief, "Did you learn about his story? The whole thing with his brother?"
"Yeah, he told me about it over the phone," he replied. "One thing was sure, if I were to meet his brother, I would be the first one to kill him."
"Maybe I would give you a help for that," I told him and something passed through my mind then, "I'm thinking. You, oracles, are supposed to see the future but does it ever happen to you to see other things?"
"Other things like what?"
"Souls, the dead," I replied and he frowned. "It's my new power. I can see the dead. I see, I feel their energy and one of them even made me see his memories."
"Interaction with souls," he said to himself with a thoughtful expression. He looked down at his hands, biting his bottom lip, "I saw a few things. I may not seem like it but I looked at death in the eyes more times than I can count. I do it each time I have a vision."
I tilted my head to the side and looked at him curiously as he continued to talk.
"I saw a few souls," he said, "I can't really come in contact with them though. It's difficult to do that. There is this line that separates the world of the dead and ours. You know, some ghosts are here but at the same time, they aren't."
"Are you trying to say that I cross the line of the world of dead?" I asked him in disbelief.
"I don't know. I don't know your powers," he replied. "You can't step into that world if you are not dead but it's possible to see through the world while still being alive. It's rare but still possible...and about that sharing of memories, I can't explain it. The dead are unpredictable."
I guessed that they were. Eden was unpredictable. Though, why did he show me his memories? Was it his way of telling me that Cloud would never be mine? He would always be there hiding in the dark. Did that mean that I should forget any possible future with Cloud?
I let out a laugh at my own stupidity. I could not help myself. I was still trying to find a way for things to work out with Cloud. I needed to put an end to this. A real end to all of this. I needed to make my choice. I needed to decide what I really wanted.
Suddenly, the door of the room opened and Nicolas came in. I was about to say something but I stopped myself when I saw Jennifer coming in behind him. I frowned. Jennifer, completely ignoring me, ran to Ken and jumped into her boyfriend's arms.
"Oh, Ken!" Jennifer exclaimed happily. "I'm so happy to finally see you."
"We saw each other yesterday, Jennifer," Ken reminded her with a laugh and Nicolas walked slowly to the bed, handing over a juice box to Ken.
"Sorry for the long wait. I did not know where to find the juice and then I bumped into Jennifer downstairs," Nicolas explained and I blinked.
When I first entered the high school, I did not have any friends. Then Emma came to me and presented me to her friends. At that time, I thought that everything was right, everyone was normal, everyone was human. Ken wasn't an oracle at that time, Nicolas wasn't a guardian, Emma was not some sort of prostitute and Gina wasn't a witch.
I wasn't holding a powerful being inside of me.
The only one who was still human was Jennifer, or at least I thought that it was true. I surely hoped so. Though, if she turned out to not be human in the end, I hoped that she wouldn't turn her back against me nor against anyone else. Some things just needed to remain normal.
"Nicolas, you think that you are ready to go home?" I asked my guardian and he looked at me, nodding his head.
"We will come to visit you another time, Ken," Nicolas told him and Ken nodded with a smile. Jennifer glanced at both of us.
"Is it me who is making you run away?" she asked us, folding her arms. Her eyes on me seemed to be harder.
"No, I just think that you want to be alone with your boyfriend," I was the one to reply to her and she huffed. Nicolas and I shared a look before walking towards the door, though, Jennifer stopped us.
"I'm organizing a party," she said and I looked back at her, confused, "A lot of things happened recently. Gina's dead, Emma is still having a mental breakdown, Ken got send to the hospital and Nicolas started hanging out with you. Partying will be good. I'm inviting both of you. The more we will be, the more fun we will have."
"Oh, another party," I said while the memory of the last party that I went to came back to me. "I...I will think about it."
She nodded before returning her attention back to Ken. Nicolas and I got out of the room and walked to the exit.
"Oh, a party. That will be exciting," Nicolas commented and he really seemed excited.
"Yeah, if you say so," I told him without any particular interest and he seemed to notice my current expression.
"The idea of partying doesn't bring you much joy," he realized and I decided to tell him about what had happened at the last party that I assisted.
It was that night that everything changed. It was that night that I first heard about the Vins and it was then that I got my memory erased. It was that exact same night that Cloud and I shared our first kiss.
One single night changed my whole life.
"Well, that seems horrible," Nicolas said as we passed out of the hospital's door. We walked to the parking to get to the car. "Okay, your last party experience was a disaster but maybe that party will do us some good. We will be able to relax just for one night."
Interested, I said, "You mean loud music, drunk and vomiting and sex craving teenagers are what we need?"
"Maybe," he smirked. "I'm always up for a good party and trust me, Jennifer is the best to organize one."
"I'm not convinced yet," I informed him and he groaned.
"Come on, we can bring Cale, Calum, Rain and Cloud," I glared at him at the mention of Cloud's name and he quickly tried to get it back. "Okay, maybe not Cloud but I'm sure that we're going to have fun."
He really wanted to go, wasn't it? He looked at me with those pleading eyes and I sighed.
"Alright, you win, we're going," I gave up and he threw up his hands in the air, letting out a 'yeah!'. I laughed without even knowing that at that party, I was going to completely lose it.