Fan Fiction ❯ Illusia ❯ Koura - A Lonely One 1 ( Chapter 44 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Serenitychan13 
Chapter 1: Reflection and Relief
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Suspense / Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Action / Angst / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.25.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 162 | Status: Completed
Chapter 1: Reflection and Relief
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Suspense / Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Action / Angst / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.25.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 162 | Status: Completed
Koura - A Lonely One
Chapter 1
When I saw my brother alive, I can’t even begin to describe what I felt. First, it was total disbelief; I thought my one working eye was just playing tricks on me. Then, I felt grief, because of what I did to him. I wondered if he could ever forgive me. Then, he looked up at me and said ‘Koura, I’m right here.’ For an instant, my heart stopped. But then it was racing, I had so many emotions going at once. All I could do was cry. And he let me.
Now I was sitting next to him, watching him trying to sleep. It just wasn’t happening; he had too much on his mind. Plus, he had hurt his shoulder and it looked bad. Again, I had hurt him… And I didn’t even know him, didn’t recognize my own brother. I had watched him trying to stop that girl from running back into the fight… He took that last hit for her.
He loves her…
And I don’t think he could have made a better choice. So she had a little bit of a temper, but she seemed pretty easygoing for the most part. A little crazy, but mostly she seemed like a sweet girl. (But somebody really needed to take that knife away from her.) I could tell she trusted him completely. I hoped that everything would work out alright. I had seen my brother’s heart broken and I didn’t want to see it again. Somehow, I knew she would take care of him.
Why do things have to happen this way? Why do we hurt the ones we love?
He tried again to find a way to take the pressure off his shoulder. He only succeeded in jarring it more. I heard him gasp in pain, watched him try to keep from flinching. He looked down at the girl in his arms to make sure he hadn’t woken her. I couldn’t stand seeing him in so much pain and knowing that once again it was my fault. I stared off into the twilight sky, trying not to think about how hopeless things looked.
When it was almost completely dark, I heard movement beside me. The girl was awake and was trying to… Well, I couldn’t tell what she was trying to do. But whatever it was, she was having no success whatsoever. Curiosity got the best of me for once and I got up to see what she was doing. Gently, I put a hand on her shoulder.
Big mistake.
She jumped about three feet in the air and woke up anything within a five-mile radius of us with an earsplitting scream. Terran was on his feet in an instant, trying not to move his shoulder too much. I was trying to make my ears stop ringing.
“WHAT THE H*LL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!”
She looked up at me, her eyes wide and her hand on her knife.
“I think you scared her,” said Terran through clenched teeth.
“Sorry,” said the girl softly, looking down at the snow on the path. “You… just surprised me, that’s all. I’m normally… not like this… I-I’m just nervous I guess…”
Well, I guess she did have a whole hell of a lot to be nervous about. I should have probably just considered myself lucky that she didn’t pull her knife right away. I put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.
“Hey, it’s alright… I know you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
She nodded, staring off into space.
“So what were you trying to do, anyway?”
She glared at Terran then looked back at me, rolling her eyes.
“Terran did something to his shoulder,” she said tiredly. “I just wanted to take a look at it but he wouldn’t have it.”
I scratched the back of my head and raised an eyebrow at my brother. He always was bad about not letting people see that he was hurt. He cracked his wrist once and it was two hours before he came home and mentioned something about falling out of a tree. When I looked at his wrist, it was purple. He had tried to take care of it himself. That was when he was eight. He was still doing that?
Well, she had at least managed to make him take his coat off. I could see a growing blood stain on his white shirt. This could be a very bad sign. I hoped it was just a surface scratch or something like that…
“Here, let me help…”
I just took hold of the back of his neck and said ‘Listen to her. This is serious.’
The girl’s eyes went wide, concern immediately visible in her features.
“How serious?” she asked softly.
I couldn’t look at her.
“I’m not sure…”
Terran glared at both of us.
“It… It’s not serious,” he said quietly. “Illusia, don’t worry. I… I’ll be fine.”
His face was getting paler by the minute. I couldn’t tell whether it was from the pain or from the loss of blood. His breathing was shallow and I hated to think of what his heart rate might be.
“Please, Terran, I just want to see how bad it is,” she said, taking his hand. “I can’t stand seeing you hurt.”
That did it.
Damn, she’s smart.
Looking down, Terran moved his hand towards the buttons of his shirt. Apparently, any movement of his upper body was now painful. I heard him gasp a little as he tried to readjust his position. His hand tightened on the fabric of his shirt and his face turned paler than ever. The girl, Illusia, I think her name was… She stroked his cheek softly and gently uncurled his fingers from his shirt. Slowly, trying not to disturb his shoulder, she began to work on the buttons.
After what seemed like a painfully long time, she had the last one undone. Now we had the hard part; trying to get the thing back off his shoulders without causing pain. Or at least, with as little pain as possible. Once again, Illusia took over.
“Terran, can you lean forward just a little?” she asked softly.
He leaned forward just enough for her to slip one of the sleeves off. Gently, she tried to get the other one off his bad shoulder. Once, she accidentally brushed against what must have been the worst of it. I could hear him trying to take deep breaths to keep from crying out in pain.
Again she ran into a problem when she found that his shirt was partially stuck to the skin around the open wound with dried blood. She held his hand and whispered to him ‘Close your eyes and grit your teeth…’ He set his jaw, but didn’t close his eyes. My brother has one hell of a thick skull. Illusia swallowed hard, closed her eyes and pulled the half-dried fabric away in one swift motion.
Terran threw his head back, crying out as a tear escaped from his eye. His eyes closed, trying to block out the pain with darkness, and he bit deep into his lip. Blood dripped from his mouth. Illusia kissed his cheek and pulled the sleeve the rest of the way off. Once she had the shirt off him, she finally got a good look at his shoulder.
“Oh…” she half-whispered before her hand flew up to her mouth.
“What is it?”
She just looked at Terran, then looked at me with tears in her eyes. I swallowed hard and went around to see just how bad it was. His eyes were still closed and he was panting hard, the color gone from his face. I got one look at his shoulder and almost fainted right then and there. Illusia was extremely pale and she looked like she might faint in a couple of seconds. There were tears streaming out of her eyes but she made no sound. Just to keep her steady, I laid a hand on her shoulder.
Terran’s shoulder was in worse condition than any of us had guessed. The worst of the damage had been hidden by his coat. The skin was black and blue, with a few spots that appeared sort of green. A jagged gash, an old wound it appeared to be, had split open and blood was streaming down his arm and down his back. Dried blood made the wound look worse. It looked like his shoulder had somehow been bent forward on impact, the joint obviously dislocated, among other things. It was as if the bones in his shoulder had been folded in half, protruding grotesquely almost through his skin in some places. I had no idea what we were going to do about this. I didn’t know if there was anything we could do.
“Terran?” said Illusia quietly. “I think I might be able to help…”
“Huh? Look at him! This is probably impossible… What do you think you can do?”
She turned to me with tears in her eyes and on her face. Her eyes were silver again and her expression was determined. I just stared at her in disbelief.
“I’m not sure if this’ll work,” she said in a low voice. “But right now, it’s all any of us can do.”
“What are you talking about?”
She didn’t answer. Slowly, she eased herself down beside him, next to his bad shoulder. Silver eyes glowed bright and a silver glow developed in her hands. Tenderly, she ran the tips of her fingers down his shoulder. His skin glowed silver wherever her hands touched. Very slowly, she helped him turn a little and lean back, resting his head and shoulders in her lap. One hand was stroking his bangs as the other held his hand. Gradually, his breathing eased up and became steadier.
Gently, she guided his hand up to his shoulder and laid hers over it. His hand seemed to be amplifying the effect of whatever it was that she was doing. His shoulder glowed silver and with gentle pressure she pushed it back into place. She kissed his forehead tenderly and smiled down at him, stroking his cheek softly.
Tentatively, I approached them, amazed at what had just happened. I got a look at Illusia’s eyes and almost choked. Her eyes were completely silver, even the part that’s supposed to be white. I could only see them for about a second before they closed. She was pale and looked like she was about to pass out. The silver glow in her hands faded and disappeared completely as she slowly but steadily lost her strength.
Terran opened his eyes just as hers rolled up in her head and she slumped over forwards. Slowly, he sat up and looked around. He saw Illusia out cold on her side, lying beside him. He smiled at her, but his eyes were sad. I didn’t think he could get up. Gently, I picked the small girl up and put her right where she belonged at the moment: cradled in Terran’s arms. He smiled. A real smile. That was the little brother I remembered.
Chapter 1
When I saw my brother alive, I can’t even begin to describe what I felt. First, it was total disbelief; I thought my one working eye was just playing tricks on me. Then, I felt grief, because of what I did to him. I wondered if he could ever forgive me. Then, he looked up at me and said ‘Koura, I’m right here.’ For an instant, my heart stopped. But then it was racing, I had so many emotions going at once. All I could do was cry. And he let me.
Now I was sitting next to him, watching him trying to sleep. It just wasn’t happening; he had too much on his mind. Plus, he had hurt his shoulder and it looked bad. Again, I had hurt him… And I didn’t even know him, didn’t recognize my own brother. I had watched him trying to stop that girl from running back into the fight… He took that last hit for her.
He loves her…
And I don’t think he could have made a better choice. So she had a little bit of a temper, but she seemed pretty easygoing for the most part. A little crazy, but mostly she seemed like a sweet girl. (But somebody really needed to take that knife away from her.) I could tell she trusted him completely. I hoped that everything would work out alright. I had seen my brother’s heart broken and I didn’t want to see it again. Somehow, I knew she would take care of him.
Why do things have to happen this way? Why do we hurt the ones we love?
He tried again to find a way to take the pressure off his shoulder. He only succeeded in jarring it more. I heard him gasp in pain, watched him try to keep from flinching. He looked down at the girl in his arms to make sure he hadn’t woken her. I couldn’t stand seeing him in so much pain and knowing that once again it was my fault. I stared off into the twilight sky, trying not to think about how hopeless things looked.
When it was almost completely dark, I heard movement beside me. The girl was awake and was trying to… Well, I couldn’t tell what she was trying to do. But whatever it was, she was having no success whatsoever. Curiosity got the best of me for once and I got up to see what she was doing. Gently, I put a hand on her shoulder.
Big mistake.
She jumped about three feet in the air and woke up anything within a five-mile radius of us with an earsplitting scream. Terran was on his feet in an instant, trying not to move his shoulder too much. I was trying to make my ears stop ringing.
“WHAT THE H*LL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!”
She looked up at me, her eyes wide and her hand on her knife.
“I think you scared her,” said Terran through clenched teeth.
“Sorry,” said the girl softly, looking down at the snow on the path. “You… just surprised me, that’s all. I’m normally… not like this… I-I’m just nervous I guess…”
Well, I guess she did have a whole hell of a lot to be nervous about. I should have probably just considered myself lucky that she didn’t pull her knife right away. I put a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled at her.
“Hey, it’s alright… I know you’ve got a lot on your mind.”
She nodded, staring off into space.
“So what were you trying to do, anyway?”
She glared at Terran then looked back at me, rolling her eyes.
“Terran did something to his shoulder,” she said tiredly. “I just wanted to take a look at it but he wouldn’t have it.”
I scratched the back of my head and raised an eyebrow at my brother. He always was bad about not letting people see that he was hurt. He cracked his wrist once and it was two hours before he came home and mentioned something about falling out of a tree. When I looked at his wrist, it was purple. He had tried to take care of it himself. That was when he was eight. He was still doing that?
Well, she had at least managed to make him take his coat off. I could see a growing blood stain on his white shirt. This could be a very bad sign. I hoped it was just a surface scratch or something like that…
“Here, let me help…”
I just took hold of the back of his neck and said ‘Listen to her. This is serious.’
The girl’s eyes went wide, concern immediately visible in her features.
“How serious?” she asked softly.
I couldn’t look at her.
“I’m not sure…”
Terran glared at both of us.
“It… It’s not serious,” he said quietly. “Illusia, don’t worry. I… I’ll be fine.”
His face was getting paler by the minute. I couldn’t tell whether it was from the pain or from the loss of blood. His breathing was shallow and I hated to think of what his heart rate might be.
“Please, Terran, I just want to see how bad it is,” she said, taking his hand. “I can’t stand seeing you hurt.”
That did it.
Damn, she’s smart.
Looking down, Terran moved his hand towards the buttons of his shirt. Apparently, any movement of his upper body was now painful. I heard him gasp a little as he tried to readjust his position. His hand tightened on the fabric of his shirt and his face turned paler than ever. The girl, Illusia, I think her name was… She stroked his cheek softly and gently uncurled his fingers from his shirt. Slowly, trying not to disturb his shoulder, she began to work on the buttons.
After what seemed like a painfully long time, she had the last one undone. Now we had the hard part; trying to get the thing back off his shoulders without causing pain. Or at least, with as little pain as possible. Once again, Illusia took over.
“Terran, can you lean forward just a little?” she asked softly.
He leaned forward just enough for her to slip one of the sleeves off. Gently, she tried to get the other one off his bad shoulder. Once, she accidentally brushed against what must have been the worst of it. I could hear him trying to take deep breaths to keep from crying out in pain.
Again she ran into a problem when she found that his shirt was partially stuck to the skin around the open wound with dried blood. She held his hand and whispered to him ‘Close your eyes and grit your teeth…’ He set his jaw, but didn’t close his eyes. My brother has one hell of a thick skull. Illusia swallowed hard, closed her eyes and pulled the half-dried fabric away in one swift motion.
Terran threw his head back, crying out as a tear escaped from his eye. His eyes closed, trying to block out the pain with darkness, and he bit deep into his lip. Blood dripped from his mouth. Illusia kissed his cheek and pulled the sleeve the rest of the way off. Once she had the shirt off him, she finally got a good look at his shoulder.
“Oh…” she half-whispered before her hand flew up to her mouth.
“What is it?”
She just looked at Terran, then looked at me with tears in her eyes. I swallowed hard and went around to see just how bad it was. His eyes were still closed and he was panting hard, the color gone from his face. I got one look at his shoulder and almost fainted right then and there. Illusia was extremely pale and she looked like she might faint in a couple of seconds. There were tears streaming out of her eyes but she made no sound. Just to keep her steady, I laid a hand on her shoulder.
Terran’s shoulder was in worse condition than any of us had guessed. The worst of the damage had been hidden by his coat. The skin was black and blue, with a few spots that appeared sort of green. A jagged gash, an old wound it appeared to be, had split open and blood was streaming down his arm and down his back. Dried blood made the wound look worse. It looked like his shoulder had somehow been bent forward on impact, the joint obviously dislocated, among other things. It was as if the bones in his shoulder had been folded in half, protruding grotesquely almost through his skin in some places. I had no idea what we were going to do about this. I didn’t know if there was anything we could do.
“Terran?” said Illusia quietly. “I think I might be able to help…”
“Huh? Look at him! This is probably impossible… What do you think you can do?”
She turned to me with tears in her eyes and on her face. Her eyes were silver again and her expression was determined. I just stared at her in disbelief.
“I’m not sure if this’ll work,” she said in a low voice. “But right now, it’s all any of us can do.”
“What are you talking about?”
She didn’t answer. Slowly, she eased herself down beside him, next to his bad shoulder. Silver eyes glowed bright and a silver glow developed in her hands. Tenderly, she ran the tips of her fingers down his shoulder. His skin glowed silver wherever her hands touched. Very slowly, she helped him turn a little and lean back, resting his head and shoulders in her lap. One hand was stroking his bangs as the other held his hand. Gradually, his breathing eased up and became steadier.
Gently, she guided his hand up to his shoulder and laid hers over it. His hand seemed to be amplifying the effect of whatever it was that she was doing. His shoulder glowed silver and with gentle pressure she pushed it back into place. She kissed his forehead tenderly and smiled down at him, stroking his cheek softly.
Tentatively, I approached them, amazed at what had just happened. I got a look at Illusia’s eyes and almost choked. Her eyes were completely silver, even the part that’s supposed to be white. I could only see them for about a second before they closed. She was pale and looked like she was about to pass out. The silver glow in her hands faded and disappeared completely as she slowly but steadily lost her strength.
Terran opened his eyes just as hers rolled up in her head and she slumped over forwards. Slowly, he sat up and looked around. He saw Illusia out cold on her side, lying beside him. He smiled at her, but his eyes were sad. I didn’t think he could get up. Gently, I picked the small girl up and put her right where she belonged at the moment: cradled in Terran’s arms. He smiled. A real smile. That was the little brother I remembered.