IharaxRion - Apart

She stood there, in front of the door, not daring to move a muscle.

"What if you get tired of standing there?"

"Then I will sit."

"And what if you get tired of sitting?"

"Then I will stand."

Ihara had started standing guard in front of the dojo's doors since a few hours prior, when Rion had to leave for a solo mission, as much as he didn't want to.
The night before, they had tried to converse and lighten the mood, without much success. Ihara already felt a pang of sorrow, making her heart ache. She couldn't help but stare at the floor to try and regain a semblance of composure, at least for the moment, as Rion surveyed her, and trying to make the best of his time with her before he had to depart the next morning.

When they met, three years prior, although Ihara had been wary of the defenders at first, both she and Rion knew right away that there was something special about the other, and when they talked, it was as if they had known eachother for years.

Now, they didn't want to be seperated for more than a few minutes, or they would go insane. Or so they told eachother.

But so it was. They were apart.


Ihara finally decided to sit down, tired of standing for so long. Night was fast approaching, and her stomach growled; She hadn't eaten anything since the night before. But she didn't care, nothing mattered at the moment. Only Rion.

Again her brother approached her, worried that she would starve herself.

"Ihara. You need to eat something. I brought you some yin fruit, with a salad. Just like you like them." He said.

She didn't answer.

"Ihara..."

"No."

"You can't just sit here and wait for him and starve yourself."

Again, no answer.

Meetor sighed. "Would you at least take a shower?"

This time Ihara seemed to respond; She looked around, then turned her gaze back to where she'd been staring.

"Well then..."  She mumbled, and stood up to walk to her room to get fresh clothes, and then went to the shower. When she got out, Meetor was waiting for her outside of the bathroom.

"You should really go to bed now, sister. Goodnight." He hugged her and went to bed.

She hugged her brother back, but otherwise did not respond. She returned to her spot at the door, waiting.

-

The next day, Meetor woke up to find his sister still sitting at her spot. He gasped.

"Ihara! Don't tell me you stayed here all night?!"
"Yes." She said.

Meetor's heart ached at her response. He walked in front of her, trying to take a good look at her face.
There were dark bags under her eyes and she looked slightly pale.

"....And you haven't slept?"

"No."

His shoulders slumped. "Why?"

"Nothing matters when he's not there."

"Does that mean I don't matter?"

"I never said that." Ihara exclaimed in horror.

"But are you implying it?" Meetor asked.

"Of course not." Ihara said.

This time she turned her head in his direction and motioned for him to sit down beside her, which he did without a second thought. He looked at his big sister, who looked so much more fragile to him in this moment than she ever did. Meetor then stared at the floor for a moment, then stood up and left the room, only to return a few moments later with something in his hand.

He sat down again.

"Do you want to play?" He asked his sister.

She looked down at his hands and saw that he held a puzzle.

"You know I don't like puzzles, brother." She turned back her attention to the horizon.

"You need to distract yourself. That's why I brought this."

Meetor put his hands in his pockets and took out a piece of paper and a pencil and laid them out in front of Ihara.

"I'm going to eat...do you want something?" He asked when he stood up again.

Ihara shook her head.

Meetor then went to the kitchen and took a few bites, then took a lettuce to make a salad and put it in a bowl, then went to see Ihara again. When he arrived, he saw that she had drawn a small picture of Rion, and wrote 'Please come back, I miss you.' . He frowned and crouched at her level and placed the bowl of salad in front of her.

"Big sister. You need to eat."

She ignored him.

"Please, at least one bite." He insisted.

Ihara took a tiny bite of a leaf and swallowed it, then went back to waiting in silence.

"You need to sleep."

She ignored him again.

"Do you want to fall into a coma?!" Meetor exclaimed.

Ihara contemplated the question. "....It would make waiting less difficult."

"Ihara!" Meetor gasped in utter shock.

She fell back into silence.

He sighed.

The day flew by again to give night its rightful place in the sky, the stars shining brightly, vividly, as the moon that accompanied them always did, but brighter.

Meetor came again to check on his sister after he had finished his chores for the day, with a blanket in his hands. He placed it on Ihara's shoulders and gave her a back hug, to which she did not react.

"You know we're all worried for you Ihara..." He said. Not even waiting for a response, he left the room while mumbling 'Goodnight...'.

-

As the night once again gave place to day, Meetor went to check on his sister once again. As he stepped around her, looking at her face as he had the day before, he saw that she was more sickly than she had been. He sat in front of her and hugged her close to his heart. She clung to him.

And she cried.
The tears spilled like a flood onto his shirt, but he didn't care. This time, yes, this time, he would let her cry as much as she needed to. Some tears escaped from his eyes as well, as he didn't like seeing his sister in such distress.

After a while, Ihara stopped crying, and her eyes started closing, as she started to sleep.
She dreamed of Rion, of being in his arms once again, she dreamed of how much she wanted to tell him not to go away again. And how much she needed him.

Meetor asked Erik to help him bring his sister to her bed. He hesitated, knowing she wouldn't be happy if she woke up in her bed, but for both of the siblings' sakes, he agreed.

And so it was in her bed that Ihara woke up later, Meetor at her side.

She panicked.

"WHAT. What am I doing in my bed? I should be out there waiting for Rion. How long have I slept?"

"You slept for a day sister, and you needed that sleep." Meetor stated.

"No. NO! I should be back there." She shot up and started to walk, but Meetor got in her way.

"Not before you eat!" He argued. "This is madness, Ihara. How do you think Rion would feel if he knew you hurt yourself like this?!"

"I thought you didn't like him!" She shot back.

"That's not what we're talking about!"

Ihara looked at her younger brother, her chest heaving as she breathed heavily. She calmed down and reluctantly let her brother give her a salad. "Thank you..." She grumbled.

"You know I'm only doing this to help you, right?"

She nodded and started to eat, until the bowl was empty, as he watched. When she gave the bowl to her brother, he hugged her. He told her; "I'm here for you." and smiled.

She smiled back, trying not to let the tears spill once again, and hugged him tight. "Thanks, Meetor. I love you brother."

"I love you too sister." He answered, his voice muffled by her hair.

That night, she went back to stand at the door and wait.

-

As dawn arrived, Ihara sat on the stairs of the dojo's entrance and had her head between her legs, her arms wrapped around them.

Suddenly, a blur, a figure at the edge of her vision.

"Could it be...?" She asked herself out loud, looking straight before her.

She smiled as the figure smiled and waved at her from a short distance.

"RION!" She ran to him, tears in her eyes, just as Meetor appeared behind her at the door.

"Ihara!" He opened his arms for her to hug him. She landed in his arms in a matter of seconds, and started decorating his face with a trail of kisses and pecked his lips multiple times. "Woah easy there love." He chuckled, teasing her as she almost made him lose his balance and fall. " Don't want to break my bones, do you?"

She giggled. "Sorry. I love you so much and I missed you so much, Riri. Please don't go away ever again."

Rion smiled. "I missed you too honey. And I love you too. I hope we never depart again either, it was so difficult..." He hugged her tighter and kissed her cheek. "Good thing I memorized your lovely face before departing." He teased again, getting close to her face, giving her a few kisses. He then looked at her again, seeing she wasn't well. He frowned, worried. "You don't look so good, what happened?"

Ihara looked down, ashamed. "I don't want to talk about it. I just...need food and sleep. .....And cuddles." Her eyes darted in his direction.

Rion chuckled. "You'll get as many as you like, beautiful."

Meetor coughed. "Don't want to interrupt but..."

Ihara and Rion looked in his direction.

He walked in front of Rion. "...Welcome back." He said, extending a hand.

The albino looked at the other man suspiciously. "Um, thanks..." He shook his hand. "It's good to be home."

And so the three of them entered the dojo, Ihara and Rion holding hands, Rion telling the siblings what he had done on his mission.

And that day, everything was right once again.