A.R. Dragonfly Vol. 6: A.R. Dragonfly, #6

By Joshua Piedra

A new chapter begins for Amber Ryann. While Blaze Auras has provided many challenges for Amber, her greatest challenge to date looms on the horizon in real life. Amber is not the only one facing a challenge head-on, though. Takumi, Lynn, and even Sebastian face challenges of their own. The team marches on as the beginning of a new story unfolds for them all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joshua Piedra
• Release date: May 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223750192

Book preview

Preface

Many thanks for picking up Volume 6 of A.R. Dragonfly! With Volume 5, I felt that a door closed on a pretty big part of the story but a new door opened for us to explore!

Here, I am continuing to shift away from the Blaze Auras aspect of the story in favor of the romance aspect... although Blaze Auras will still play a heavy role in the series. We are half-way through the series now so it’s time to start building up our characters and pairing them together!

Also, I want to welcome Alex Garcia on board as the series’ new artist. Alex has been absolutely incredible to work with thus far. Of course, I will never forget everything Zara has done for both A.R. Dragonfly and Final Hope but it was time to go in a new direction in terms of artwork. The characters may look a little different and it may be something people will need to get used to but I’ve been impressed with his artwork thus far and I look forward to working with him on the rest of the series!

With that being said, I hope that you enjoy the latest installment of the story and, as always, I will see you on the other side of the book.

CHAPTER 1

AVERSION

The air was deathly calm in the darkness. The silence was only momentarily interrupted by a subtle rhythmic beat and the faint compressions of an oxygen machine. A door remained mostly shut but was open just enough to allow light to come pouring into the dark room through the small crack near its edge. In the small sliver of light, Amber could be seen sitting down on a chair with her head resting on the edge of a bed.

It was a position that she had grown accustomed to. For the last eight weeks, this was how Amber would spend her nights, sleeping on the edge of a hospital bed where she hoped and prayed that Kaito would, one day, reopen his eyes. During the day, Amber would sit in the chair next to his bed, grasping his hand with her own. She wouldn’t move a muscle unless it was to go to the restroom or head to the cafeteria to get some food. Sebastian frequently visited and had to pry Amber away from the room on occasion so she could at least go home and take a shower. Amber would quickly shower and have Sebastian bring her back. 

Every second away from Kaito scared Amber. She was afraid that the worst would happen when she wasn’t there. It was a paralyzing fear of the unknown akin to a pot never boiling because of the watchful eyes upon it. 

Even though visitation hours ended early, Amber refused to leave. Doctors and nurses consulted Amber but she firmly stood her ground. Sebastian had to intervene on her behalf and they eventually agreed to let Amber stay with Kaito. Each time a nurse came in to draw blood and check his vitals, they would see Amber there by Kaito’s side… whether it was sitting in the chair holding his hand or sleeping with her head on the edge of his bed. 

Morning came yet Amber didn’t wake. She remained sleeping there when Sebastian arrived. Sebastian saw Amber shivering as a vent for the air conditioner was directly above her. Sebastian looked around and found a nearby blanket and placed it over Amber to keep her warm. As he was doing so, he heard a faint, raspy voice.

S--e--bas---tian…?

Sebastian turned his attention to Kaito who had opened his eyes… sort of. The look on Kaito’s face conveyed deep fatigue. He could barely keep his eyes open but despite that, he was awake. Sebastian’s eyes widened as he couldn’t believe that he was there at the perfect time. Even though Sebastian was extremely relieved to see Kaito awake, he still hid that beneath this typical personality.

Shh. Don’t talk. Save your strength. After all, you wouldn’t want to wake your guardian angel, said Sebastian in a whispered tone as he pointed to Amber sitting there with her head on the edge of Kaito’s bed fast asleep.

Kaito slowly turned his head and saw Amber there. He went to move but felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. It was then he realized that he was connected to an I.V. and an oxygen mask. It hadn’t fully settled into his mind yet but it didn’t take long for Kaito to figure out that he was in the hospital. Suddenly, Kaito’s memories returned to him. The last memory he had before this was of Kaiza Shirazou’s face close to his. He remembered the pressure permeating throughout his abdomen. He remembered seeing Sebastian tackle Kaiza in front of him and then nothing but darkness after that. 

Kaito lifted his bedsheets and looked down at his stomach. He noticed that his abdomen was heavily wrapped with the thickest part of the wrapping around his lower right side. He leaned his head back into the pillow as if he connected the dots and realized what had happened.

P..l..ea...se...t.e..l.l… me….

Kaito couldn’t speak much more than that. He was too exhausted to even formulate a full sentence. Sebastian placed his hand on top of Kaito’s head to grab his attention. Kaito’s eyes looked up at Sebastian as much as they could before the strain of moving them caused him to wince and shut them.

Don’t worry about anything. It’s all over now. Just focus on resting.

Before Sebastian could finish that statement, Amber must have heard his voice because she slowly came to. She looked up and saw Sebastian standing on the other side of Kaito’s bed. She also noticed that Kaito was awake and doing his best to glance over at her.

K… KAITO!?

Amber went to lunge in but Sebastian intervened and stopped her by leaning over Kaito and grabbing her by the arm. Sebastian shook his head no before giving Amber an explanation.

I know you’ve been waiting for this moment but don’t touch him. He’s not in any condition for that right now.

Amber didn’t think of that and when she realized that she could have hurt Kaito even further, she backed off. Instead, she sat down in the chair next to his bed, grabbing his right hand and holding it tight. Then, Amber experienced something for the first time in eight weeks… the feeling of Kaito’s hand squeezing back. Amber took notice of the faint smile on Kaito’s face. Even though it wasn’t much of a smile, it said more than enough for her. Amber began to cry tears of happiness as she smiled back at him. Upon seeing that scene unfold in front of him, Sebastian knew that his previous decision to remain as a friend to Amber was the correct choice to make, albeit one that came with some mental conflict. 

Sebastian excused himself as he said he would alert the doctors that Kaito had regained consciousness. After Sebastian left the room, Amber didn’t say much. She didn’t know what to say to Kaito. All she wanted was for this one moment to come. To simply know that Kaito was okay. She never once thought about what she would say to him if he had opened his eyes. Now that the moment had come, Amber just sat there smiling at Kaito. Kaito looked around the room with his eyes as it was getting a little uncomfortable for someone to just stare at him without saying anything. What’s even worse is that with the condition he was in, that’s all he could do to break up the awkwardness.

It wasn’t long before Sebastian returned with Kaito’s doctor. Sebastian tapped Amber on the shoulder and beckoned her away from the bed so the doctor could conduct his examination. The doctor checked all of Kaito’s vital signs and then pulled the sheets down and began to undo his dressing to check the wound. The doctor seemed pleased with the healing progress.

Everything is healing up well. It’s taking some time due to the depth of the stab wound and the corrective surgeries to repair it but it’s still healing at a pace that I’m happy with. I’m going to let you rest for today. I want to start you on a liquid diet and see how you handle it and we will eventually progress to solid foods. Starting tomorrow, we will take it easy and see if you can stand and/or walk. This way we can get you rehabilitated and back home where you can rest more comfortably.

The doctor glanced over at Amber and then back at Kaito.

Although, some of the best medicine you’ve received isn’t something I can prescribe.

The doctor shot Kaito a wink and then took his leave. Outside in the hall, he could be overheard ordering a nurse to change his dressing. Amber and Sebastian excused themselves so Kaito could have some privacy as they did so. A few moments later, the all-clear was given and the two of them could return to Kaito. By this time, Kaito had built up enough saliva to wet the inside of his mouth which made talking a bit easier. That and the nurse removed the oxygen mask off of his face.

Amber… what did the doctor mean by that? asked Kaito in a faint tone as he was still getting adjusted to talking again.

Amber didn’t know how to respond to that. Sebastian ended up clearing his throat and answering the question for her.

The punk princess refused to leave the side of the knight in black and white shining armor. In other words, yin/yang head, Amber barely left your side for the past eight weeks. I had to fight tooth and nail to bring her home to take a shower. The rest of the time, she was making use of your bathroom and eating terrible cafeteria food all while either sitting by your bed or sleeping next to it. I think she had held your hand so much that she memorized the location of every single skin cell on it. If you want to know where cell 1507 is, she’ll be able to not only map it out for you but put together an entire PowerPoint presentation which demonstrates the path to locate it.

If ya really wanna know the path, it’s root, slash, period, workspace, slash, period, garbage, period, replied Amber in her snarky tone.

Thanks for the insight, Ms. Cool. Anyway... I’m sure you two have a lot of catching up to do. I’m going to head to the cafeteria and get some food. Then I plan to write an online blog comparing its level of serviceability to the con food I ate at BlazeCON.

Sebastian excused himself and stepped out of the room. We were back to square one with Amber and Kaito sitting there in awkward silence. There was so much that Amber wanted to tell Kaito but she wasn’t sure if Kaito was ready to hear any of it. At least, that was until Amber saw Kaito wincing in pain as he gingerly sat up in his bed. He scooted back after raising the bed up and then leaned back, letting out a sigh of relief. After a couple of deep breaths later, Kaito turned his attention to Amber.

So, you did stay with me this whole time?

Amber could only nod positively in response.

That makes me really happy. To think that it’ll soon be an entire year since I’ve met you. Reflecting on how we started, I would have never imagined you would be the one to never leave my side. Now, here you are. To know that you did that for me… makes me really happy. Thank you.

Amber still couldn’t muster up any words to respond. Amber didn’t look all that happy with being complimented by Kaito. He immediately sensed this and decided to pry into the situation.

Care to tell me what’s wrong?

Amber still couldn’t say a word. She continued to sit there in the chair beside his bed looking more and more pained. Kaito tried to think as to why Amber would react like this and then, a sudden memory of him throwing Amber to the floor right before getting stabbed by Kaiza flashed through his mind. Knowing Amber as he did, it was easy to put two and two together.

You can’t accept my gratitude because you feel this is your fault, don’t you?

Amber’s attention snapped up at Kaito. She couldn’t believe that he figured it out that easily. It was true that Amber thought that the only reason why Kaito had been lying in a hospital bed was because of her. Had she acted on her own to deal with Kaiza and not had involved anyone else, Kaito would have never gotten stabbed. Because she ran away from her problems yet again, Kaito ended up in this situation. All the while, it happened right after the two of them finally settled on being friends. Still, Amber had to say something. It took a lot of courage but she managed to form a response.

It is my fault. I couldn’t do anything about Kaiza on my own. Because of me you almost… You must hate me, don’t you?

Kaito was shocked to hear Amber say those words. Amber looked up at Kaito only to see a look of disbelief on his face. 

How could you even think that, Amber? Why would I ever hate you for something someone else did? I don’t hate you at all, Amber. I’m happy because you didn’t get hurt.

Yeah, but you…

I what? I got stabbed protecting a friend? Sometimes, that’s what friends do, Amber. Sure, I didn’t plan on getting stabbed and it was something that just happened but sometimes that’s how things go. It doesn’t mean I’m not angry at Kaiza for what he did or I’m okay with it but, in the end, you came out of it unharmed and that’s what matters most. My wounds will heal and I’ll be back to normal in no time so there’s no need to worry about…

JUST STOP!

Kaito was startled by that. Amber clenched her fists so tightly her knuckles began to turn white. Amber couldn’t hold it in any longer. She needed to say what was on her mind.

You’re telling me you have zero regrets? That if you had to do it all over, you’d get stabbed for me again? That you’re not the least bit annoyed that you almost died because of me!? I don’t believe that for a second. Right now, you’re lying in a hospital bed, unable to do anything that you could normally do all because of me. You almost lost your life because of me. Because I can’t take care of myself, you had to carry that burden… and you’re just going to sit there and talk as if none of that bothers you? That you don’t have a single shred of hatred for me?

Yes.

Amber’s eyes widened with shock. She looked right at Kaito who had a serious look on his face. He felt slightly insulted that Amber would even think that way. Kaito then began to slowly sit up, wincing in pain once again. Kaito slowly swung his legs around and scooted closer to the edge of his bed until his legs hung over the sides. Amber could tell that doing this caused him great pain through his labored breathing. Once Kaito was in the position he wanted to be in, he took a moment to collect his breath and then reached out and grabbed Amber’s hands. With that same serious look, Kaito gazed right into Amber’s eyes and gave her a definitive response.

That’s exactly right. I have zero hatred for you.

Kaito then gave a slight tug on Amber’s arms as if to tell her to get closer. Amber stood up and took a step forward. That’s when Kaito wrapped his arms around Amber’s body and pressed his head against her, giving her the best hug he could in his condition. Amber cradled Kaito’s head in her arms and began to shed tears.

I’m sorry, Kaito.

At that point, Sebastian walked back into the room and saw everything. Sebastian decided to announce his return by loudly belching. Amber turned around and saw him standing there picking some remnant food out of his teeth.

"If anyone cares to know, the pan-fried chicken rated lower than the $9 bagel at BlazeCON. At least the bagel had flavor but you paid for it in the toilet afterward. Even still, I’d take the bagel over a piece of chicken that required an entire glass of water to swallow each bite. Not to mention I think I drained