hibari blushed and smiled "its ok, i believe you. i dont sleep well in bad weather and im a sleep cuddler" she yawned and reluctantly let moriko go "if you wanna go back to your bed though, you can. im ok now"

"Nah, its cold in here. I left the window open when I came over to you. Plus, its comfortable right here." she whispered as she tugged Hibari close to her body once again. She had liked the feeling of being held, and she didn't want it to stop. "Go back to sleep Hibari, the storm is almost over. Just a little bit of thunder is left over now. You can hear it slowly leaving the area, and just the soft pitter patter of rain is left." she said as her eyes drifted shut once more. Her breathing evened out as she pulled the small girl into her protective embrace, her shirt already wide open, only the top half covered, the bottom of the flaps behind her thanks to Hibari's arms.

Hibari blushed softly and resumed her previous position nuzzling her head back into Moriko's neck. "Thank you... " she whispered softly with a yawn "Thank you for protecting me..." a few moments later she was back asleep her breathing slow and even as she relaxed

A soft smile graced her lips as she whispered, "Your Welcome Hibari." slowly she drifted off to sleep once more, holding the small girl tight in her embrace. It felt good being able to protect someone, to be needed again. Moriko had absolutely no troubles falling asleep that night.

The next morning brought sunshine and the sweet smell of flowers through the open window as well as the giggles of other girls as they walked the sidewalks early in the morning. Opening her eyes, she was greeted with the site of pink hair, and a pair of arms around her waist.

Still asleep hibari kept her arms wrapped securely around Moriko's frame feeling safe and peaceful in her arms. Life hadn't been easy for her and the only comfort she had really recieved was from her lion. Her father wasnt a very nice person and that drove her mother into similar thinking. Affection was a rare thing in her life and she was definitely soaking it up while it lasted

Lifting her arm, she gently ran her fingers through Hibari's hair. "Hibari...wake up Hibari." she whispered, before going silent and running her fingertips across her cheeks, jawline, ears, and neck just wanting to feel her skin beneath her fingers. To memorize every feature of this beautiful creature before her. She could feel the slim body press against hers, sending heat through her body like an inferno.

Sighing she gently rested her head back on top of the other girl's and closed her eyes, letting her rest some more knowing she had a hard night. She was slowly drifting off to sleep again when her foot brushed up against the bandaged ankle of Hibari and she remembered that they had to get the nurse to look at it again.

a sharp hiss of pain filled the space between them when morikos foot brushed hers. even the tiniest movement felt like knives digging into her. she whimpered softly as her eyes fluttered open, soft tears in them. quickly shaking it off she gave off the impression of being unaffected and even went so far as to rub her foot against morikos again this time keeping her face still and emotionless so the other girl would think it was just a sound of surprise

Looking at her, she had heard the familiar sound of someone hissing in pain, but when she looked at Hibari, she saw an emotionless face. "Hibari...you don't gotta hide it from me. I know what pain sounds like." she whispered, hoping the girl would open up a little. She had been watching the girl, and had seen the tears enter her eyes. She was not fooled by the girls attempt, and moved her legs away from her. Getting up out of the bed, she threw the covers back and knelt by her foot.

Gently she undid the wrappings and saw the skin around her ankle was black and blue and a little swollen. "You stay off this foot today ok? I'm gonna take you to the nurses office and get you some ice and more wrappings. Then we'll go get food before coming back here ok?"

Building up her wall again which she normally would not have even gotten close to letting down she shook her head "Im fine Moriko. its nothing see?" she asked standing from the bed and walking across the room. Using all her will power she managed to ignore the pain and move like she would have had her foot been in perfect condition

Standing up, she grabbed the girl and threw her onto the bed.Grabbing the injured leg by the calm, she sat down so she couldn't pull her leg back. "Is that so?" she said, now becoming emotionless a bit. "I don't want to hurt you, but you have to see your leg isn't ok. If you walk on it in this condition you can seriously injure yourself Hibari." Gently she placed her thumb on the girls ankle, and her middle and pointer finger on the opposite side and gently squeezed before using her opposite hand to roll the foot in circles. She could feel a popping motion when she did a normal walking motion, but nothing when she twisted it.

"Your going to the nurse." she said as she kept going. "If you don't want me to you better cry in pain. I'll stop what Im doing, go get the wrappings myself and the ice, and come back here. If you stay in the bed we'll go outside in the fresh air instead of being cooped up. I really don't like being mean Hibari, but I've seen a simple ankle sprain turn into something a lot more dangerous and I don't want that to happen to you. I almost lost the ability to use my left foot properly because I was being stubborn."

Taking a breath she glared at the other girl "Im not being stuborn it doesn't hu-OW!" she cried out through one particularly painful motion Moriko put her foot through. Biting her lip she tried to pull her foot back and looked down. "please let go of my leg" she whispered not making any more attempt at anything and keeping still

"Not until you agree to stay off this foot." she said, but stopped hurting her, but held onto her calf. Gently she reused the bandages to tie the ankle up so it wouldn't move anymore. "I really don't want to hurt you...but if it makes you realize that it hurts then fine. Please understand Hibari...I almost lost my foot because I was thinking the same thing you were. Its fine..it doesn't hurt. I can walk on it. Until I found out that a small piece of bone had busted off inside and was causing damage to the cartilage and tendons by carving small cuts into it. All because I was walking on it and ignoring my bodies natural way of telling me something was wrong." she said sternly, but her eyes held worry and fear.

"Please Hibari, listen to me. I wouldn't ever put you in a bad spot. I know we just met and all, but I feel so protective of you. I don't want anything to ever harm you, or take away that beautiful smile of yours. Please hibari."

she pouted but nodded "fine. Ill stay off of it." pulling her foot back the second moriko let it go she grabbed her crutches, lifted up onto them and went to the dresser to get her clothes for the day and headed into the bathroom to change.

Moriko sighed and stood up, letting her shirt fall onto the floor. Grabbing a clean uniform, she dressed herself in new clothes and lay on her bed. "I hope she doesn't hate me right now. I really hope I did the right thing." she whispered looking down at the scar that ran around her ankle and up her calf slightly. Pulling her socks on, the scar was easily covered.

Walking over to the open window, she pushed the other open and let the calm wind blow across her cheeks, and let the sun warm her skin. The sweet smell of wet grass and cherry blossoms filled the room. She leaned into the window frame and sighed softly, silver hair glinting in the sunlight.

Hibari was in the bathroom silently letting the pain out as she cried sitting on the edge of the bathtub. the movements not only moriko but she herself forced of her foot were excutiating, more so than anything shed ever felt, but she'd be damned if she showed any signs of weakness. She was like her father in that aspect, one of the few qualities of his she retained. She didn't like to be seen as week. Yesterday was bad enough, but she wouldn't submit to a repeat. With a shakey breath she whiped her tears from her eyes and gave herself a few moments to clean up before she exited the bathroom still on her crutches having not even changed out of her pjs. she had only brought them for an excuse. climbing back in her bed she faced the wall clutching skye silently