Good Morning, Friend

White sat there staring at Collin's sleeping form like she had been doing for the past while. Ever since Spain, the exorcist had been asleep for a long time and she was worried. "Come on, Collin," she mumbled. "Let today be the day that you wake up..." She hiccuped some, wiping tears from her eyes.

They threatened to "pull the plug" soon, Grey said. I didn't like him...but he shouldn't go like this.

White placed her hand over Collin's hand, the one with Gluttony, and let Champion talk to the other innocence. There was a gentle throb. White could only guess WHEN Collin would wake up.

Collin was sitting on the same corner he had been on for what seems like forever playing his harmonica for passersby even though they never gave him change. Completely unaware that his 'reality' was but a dream. He stopped to look up at the clear blue sky as it seemed to dim suddenly. The people disappearing. All that was visible was a glow from his hand. When Collin looked at it he saw a ring that was not there before.
"Gluttony." he remembered. "Why do you glow so morosely?" Then he faintly heard the sound of sobbing. As it grew louder Gluttony glowed brighter and brighter.
Collin's eyelids slowly opened to a stone ceiling. He weakly turned his head to the direction where the crying was coming from and saw White bawling her eyes out. "Whats wrong maho?" he mumbled weakly, "Would a song on the harmonica cheer you up?"

White's face lit up as she saw her friend turn to look at her. "Collin!" she said excitedly, tears still running down her face. "Collin, you're up! It's me, White!" She leaned down to hug him, pure joy running through her.

Something's not right, Grey said. Something seems off about him.

White stared down at Collin, trying to pin point what the issue would be. "Why'd you call me 'maho'?" she asked. "I'm White...your friend...and...you have no harmonica on you...do you?"

Champion throbbed in her head and White was shocked. For once...for once she was being treated as the unknown, not the other way around. Her friend was the one who forgot her...not her...

"No," White mumbled.

After returning the hug, Collin craned his neck to look for his harmonica. "I guess it's not here." he answered hoarsely. His body had grown thin from being bedridden for so long and he saw that his skin was a ghastly white. "Where am I exactly? Have i been sleeping?"

"Ah, you're in the Black Order HQ's infirmary," White said. "You passed out after a mission in Spain and...upon bringing you back here have been asleep for a long while...I don't know how long, Collin, but I'm glad you're up." A new wave of tears had started falling and White tried valiantly to keep them at bay.

She wasn't going to lose another friend, not like she had so many years ago in America! "Umm...I should go get the doctor...or something, so they can get you something to eat and all that," she stuttered. How was it that Collin...that Collin forgot practically everything!

It's a side effect of his innocence? Grey offered. All of us were put under a lot of strain in Spain.

"The black order? Sounds familiar." he mumbled looking around the room. "So I have been sleeping a long time. Does that mean that I was dreaming about playing at that street corner?" he stared at the ceiling a while trying to recall something with a deeply perplexed look on his face. He suddenly remembered the ring on his finger that was the same as in his dream. "This ring feels special. I have this weird feeling that I'm supposed to call it.. Glutton?"

Collin seemed to remember something else and looked around the room again. "Is Feu here too Maho?"

"Yes, Glutton is your innocence," White said. "And you must've been dreaming...and Feu...Feu is no longer here...he died in Spain."

What's with calling us "maho" like that? Grey questioned.

"I don't know," White mumbled. It was obvious to her, either shock or trauma...he was trying to remember...she should stay a little longer like always.

Like she's been doing for the past days Collin's been out, White would stay just a little longer.

"He died... in Spain?... I see.. So that was just a dream too." Collin mumbled sadly as he strained himself to sit up in the soft bed. His body felt heavy but he was able to lift his body enough to slouch forward and prop himself up with his arms.

Collin's skin was not much darker than the white shirt he was wearing and he was breatheing heavily from the strain of sitting upright.

"Maho. Do you think you could help me to my feet?" he asked looking into the girl's eyes. "I don't think i can on my own."

"Yes, of course," she said, looping her arm under his to slowly help him sit upright and out of the bed. "You shouldn't walk very far, you don't want to strain yourself, ok?"

Her voice was trembling, she was so glad, but...but...

"Please remember us soon..."

Collin was surprised at how much of his weight he had to make his friend hold up and he was panting more heavily than before.

Just then the door opened and Komui entered the room and was surprised to see the long asleep exorcist awake. The researcher was planning on simply paying him a visit in order to avoid doing work and was not expecting this at all. "C-Collin! You're awake!"

The patient looked up to see the spectacled man gawking at him. "Are you the nurse? I would greatly appreciate a drink of water." he said hoarsely while giving komui a weak smile.

"Nur... nurse? I'm not your nurse. OH COLLIN HOW COULD YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN ME AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHERRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrr!??!?!" Komui cried with more emotion than necessarily while glomping Collin.

"K-komui, please!" White said, startled when the researcher came barreling towards them to hug Collin. "He's trying to regain his memory of the Order, please calm down!" She managed to somehow push the other man off of them.

"Here, watch Collin while I go get him a drink of water!" she said, carefully moving Collin so Komui could easily help Collin stand. She ran off to get some water that her friend desperately needed.

This is...this is kind of sad, Grey said. It's like you...except more permanent.

"Y...yeah," White mumbled.

After White returned with Collin's water Komui brought Collin a wheel chair. He had wheeled himself to the window and was gazing out of it while holding the glass of water gingerly in his lap. Komui had gotten some coffee from the lab and he and White were now sitting on the far side of the hospital room from Collin.

"He was brought in with severe burns inside and outside his body along with broken bones and severe bruising and puncture wounds to many of his internal organs." Komui took a sip of his coffee with a pensive look on his face. "It's a miracle that he ever woke up. To tell you the truth none of the doctors expected him to... What exactly happened in Spain White Mahogany?" he gave white a surprisingly piercing glare.

White flinched under Komui's gaze and stared down at her lap, examining the black liquid in the cup her hands held. She opened her mouth, then slowly pointed to her eye with the slight burn rings around it, the slight sheen that showed she'd never be able to see again.

"We were assaulted by Noah," she said. "He had his innocence stolen at one point...and then they attacked again...two Noah."

Choose your words carefully, White, or else he'll find out, Grey reminded. White swallowed some.

"He was struck the most and we failed to retrieve the innocence you sent us for," White continued. "I...even with my defensive innocence...failed to protect him and got hurt myself as well..." She remembered the countless burns inside her body from Alys's attack, how it was a miracle SHE got off better than Collin in that regards.

"My...my memory of Spain is a little hazy due to Champion's side effects but I assure you that is what I know to the best of my knowledge," she said with certainty.

"It is quite a mystery to me how three exorcists two of whom were gravely injured were able to escape from two Noah." Komui took another sip of coffee and turned his gaze to Collin again. "But that's a mystery for another day. As far as the memory loss, Collin may regain his memories or he might not. Only time will tell."

Komui got to his feet and headed toward the door. "I'm going to keep this a secret. If anyone else knew that Collin was awake he would be deployed on missions again sooner than he needs to. I'll wait a week or so to tell anyone. Keep an eye on him until then."

White placed her cup down to stand and salute, something she rarely did in preference to bowing. "Yes, sir," she said, though her voice was soft, quite. When Komui left she relaxed, walking over to where Collin was. She pulled a chair up next to him, giving a tiny smile.

"You remember something yet?" she asked, in hopes for a little progress in the time she was talking with Komui. "You know, I have an innocence that eats my memories, but to help me remember I try to think of being happy. When I'm happy, I remember all my friends, who love me dearly."

White, that's something--

"Hush, Grey," she whispered.

Without looking away from the view Collin replied, "Friends, I remember Feu, an honorable yet fiery gentleman, and a man with a strong handshake, and two damsels that came by occasionally, a girl and two jesters that put on a show across the street, a gentleman with a skull mask, a lady wearing a chinese-style dress, and many others. They all stopped to talk to me from time to time. And then there was this girl that resembled you who i called Maho. She visited every day to listen to me play. But i guess that was all a dream and all those people don't really exist."

He turned to White with tears glistening in his eyes, "This makes me feel alone... But i think these people are connected somehow to my memories because a part of them still seems real to me. i just can't put my finger on it."

White listened, clenching her fists in her lips as her shoulders started to shake. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and she just couldn't stop the sobs in her throat, the sudden rush of emotion that came from his words. "Collin," she started, leaning forward to hug him, "Collin, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"I was there, I could have protected you from what happened! But I didn't, I was too weak! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

She continued to cry, her voice caught in the back of her throat, her breath hitching and she almost suffocated. But White was crying. She was crying for both of them, for all of them...

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, tightening her hug.

The hallways of the black order headquarters were quiet, a bit too quiet for Candy as she made her way towards the infirmary with a pink bag full of homemade cookies in hand. Usually she would be laughing, or singing. Something cheerful to make the looming quietness less scary, but that day was different, and Candy didn't feel like laughing.


She had heard Collin was still asleep, or knocked out, it was all the same to Candy as her head was filled with worries for Collin's sake. She knew she could've done better on the mission, she should've protected Collin when his innocence was stolen from him, she knew it was partly her fault for the position he was in.

Candy shook her head and continued to march towards her destination, never before had she felt so guilty, never before had she felt so frustrated with herself. She was going to set things straight with Collin and White, even if Collin was still asleep.

When she found the tall doors of the infirmary, Candy could not wait a second more, she had to let out her feelings, so she used all her strength to push open the heavy doors and took a step into the office. White was already there, leaning over Collin's bed. When Candy noticed his body was moving slightly, her face lit up. "Collin you're... you're..." before she could finish her sentence, she started to hiccup, and felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Oh Collin! I thought...you... Waahh!" Candy ran to Collin's bed and squeezed him tightly, "Here," she blubbered, and held out the bag of half-eaten cookies, still crying her eyes out, "I *hiccup* made you these *hiccup* look! they say get well on them see?" Candy opened the bag to show him the cookies, each cookie had 'get well soon' written crudely in green icing. "*hiccup* I might've eaten some... sorry. *hiccup*" Her voice was wavering from being sad to being cheerful, as tears flowed from her closed eyes.

/// this will be the day after Collin wakes up starting with Candy's post ///

Collin examined the girl holding the bag of cookies thinking she looked familiar. "I know you! You're the street performer from my dreams!" His voice contained more energy than yesterday. He smiled at the girl and continued, "It's good to see that you're real too."

He pushed himself up against the headboard to sit upright in the bed. "I'm sorry but if i accept these cookies they'd just go to waste. Mr. Komui, i think it was, told the nurse that I wasn't to have solid foods yet."

White hastily took the bag from Candy, placing it on the little night stand next to his bed. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can do something with them!" she said. "I'll leave you two to talk now...Collin, do you want me to get you anything while I'm gone?"

His memory? Grey supplied but White pushed his comment down, tears threatening to spill again.

"huh? What do you mean Collin? I've never performed on the street!" Candy said, still wiping away tears, "Anyways Collin, I came to say I'm sorry... I didn't protect you when you needed me the most, but now that you're awake, it'll all be ok... right?" She leaned over the short bed railings to grasp Collin's wrist with both her hands, glancing up at White every five seconds to see her expression. She felt desperate to know everything was ok, so that everything could go back to normal. "A-Are you mad at me?" Candy said softly, her voice shaking.

White's expression made her worry, she was on the verge of tears, and Candy knew that wasn't a good sign. "White..." She started, reaching for her friend, "Is something wrong with Collin?"

White swallowed nervously, unsure of how to tell Candy what had happened. "Collin," she started slowly, "Collin...he...he can't..." The lump in her throat was thick but she knew sooner or later it had to come out.

"He has no recollection of us whatsoever...his memory is gone..."

White wiped away her tears, body still trembling. "But we manifested in his dreams as people," she said. "So there's still a chance...that he might remember us..."

Candy froze, and felt a rock form in her stomach, "No way..." she whispered. "But how can that be? He doesn't remember anything about exorcists.. or... or... black order headquarters? Or anything?" She asked desperatly, squeezing Whites arm. She was too angry to cry, too angry at herself, "How did that happen?"

White shook her head, "I...have no clue. It could be shock due to all the events that happened, it could've been because he was in that coma for so long...The only thing he really DOES remember is Glutton, his innocence." White patted Candy on the head, too tired and sad herself to bring forth new tears.

I know I've never really liked him that much, but man...this is depressing... Grey said. White, do you need me to take over some?

"Yes please, that'd be nice," White mumbled. She kept her eyes open, staring silently at Collin, until her brown slowly faded over to the noticeable Red of Grey.

"Hey, Collin," Grey whispered, pulling Candy tighter to his body. "So...what's up?"

"Well I'm awake and according to the nurses that's a good thing. I still can't remember much though." Collin looked down at the innocence on his finger and was spinning it using his thumb. He was straining himself to remember something, anything, a few images flashed before his eyes but not long enough for him to discern what they were.

"Whatever happened wherever we were I'm sure you two did your best. There's no shame in that." Collin scratched the back of his head and grimaced a little at how greasy his hair was. "Ugh. I really need a bath. Could someone get me the wheelchair or a cane?"