Aria's Big Heart, Chapter 9

Composed and Written by Sanone



Solitude. Selcusion. Simply two different notions of the same equilibrium. Impossible to choose one without thinking of the other.

Aria chose one once, yet it wasn't complete. She chose solitude.


Over at Reno's house, the atmosphere was as normal as it ever was. Reno was lying on the couch, the TV was still on from earlier. Resting his head on Mina's lap, she gently stroked his forehead. His temperature was abnormal. He thought back to the previous day, he remembered a strange feeling of pains in his skull all through the day. Consequently, he had returned home from school early. Luckily, his sister was kind enough to watch over him as he rested. Reno thought that perhaps he shouldn't be watching TV in his condition, but laying asleep all the time wasn't in the best of his interests.

He groaned again slightly, and shifted his head. At the same time, Mina looked down at him with a worried expression.

"Onii-chan..." she said meekly.

"Don't worry..." he responded. "I'm fine...." He pressed a hand against his temple as he said it. A searing pain shot through his mind as he winced his eye. His breathing seemed fluctuated at the same time, perhaps a sign of his heart being overworked. But then again, so was Mina's.

The knowledge that her older brother was ill frightened her. Sure, he'd been ill before, but every time she worried about him. It was something of a trait in her personality to fret over small details.

Reno settled down again, as Mina allowed him to put his head back down on her lap. Yet again, she reached over to the side of the couch, scooping up a small cloth from the basin of cold water. She wringed out the extra fluid back into the bowl and carefully placed it on his brow. He sighed in relief as the icy cold sensation spread over his humid forehead. Hearing him in this fashion calmed Mina down somewhat.

The two siblings continued watching the programs one after the other one the TV. A series of sitcoms, documentaries and commentary shows were broadcasted.

"Isn't it about time for that new anime show?" said Reno slowly.

Mina looked up at the clock on the wall, he was right. The clock read roughly 3:28pm.

"Ah! You're right, onii-chan!" said Mina happily as she picked up the remote. Aiming it at the set, she pressed a sequence of buttons and the channels instantly changed. Moving over to channel 102, they waited a few moment for the adverts to pass. Each advert showed a different anime series, some new and some old. Quite a few of them caught the siblings' attention. But finally their designated program started.

An upbeat and bubbly theme tune began as the opening introduction aired, both Reno and Mina smiled a bit more. Positivity and Elation were the best remedy at the moment. They noticed how flashy and fluid the animation was, evidently a series spent a lot of time on. About a minute passed and the main title was spelled out on the screen and called out in the audio.

"Healing Hearts!" was the title.

"I wonder who wrote the concept to this story..." said Reno.

"Someone called... San-san.... I think." Mina replied, rubbing her chin. Her brother didn't seem to reply.

Time passed even more, the anime was near the ending sequence, pointed out very accurately by one of the characters who pressed a '5 minutes until end of episode button'. Just at that moment, a loud knock was heard at the door. Mina groaned a bit, knowing she wouldn't see the conclsuion, but slowly got to her feet, while Reno put his head on the couch material. It was much warmer from the time they'd spend on there.

Pulling the door open, Mina seemed a bit surprised by who it was. Although in some part of her mind, she knew that this visitor would have turned up.

"Is Reno okay!?" came a familiar female voice. Reno, although still lying on the couch, knew who it was instantly.

"Onii-chan's fine..." Mina slowly replied. "Please, come in."

This invitation didn't go ignored, the girl from the door rushed into the living room, she seemed to go a bit white in the face seeing Reno's presentation.

"Ah, Aria..." he said as he groaned again. "Thanks for coming..."

Immediately, Aria knelt down next to the couch and put her hand on his forehead. His temperature was still off the charts, his eyes seemed a bit red too.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she said in an exasperated tone. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

Plucking up the strength to wave his hand, Reno shook his simultaneously. "No... I'm fine. Don't worry..."

Aria looked him over from head to toe, she noticed he was shivering slightly. Even though his and the house's heat was warmer than usual. Just like Mina, who had made her way back into the living room, Aria was full of concern and worry.

Reno then noticed the bag Aria was carrying, Aria saw his attention divert to it. To which she instantly held it up. "I got you some Soup for tonight. Your favourite kind, Tomato and Cream."

Her gesture made him smile again. "Thanks... I appreciate it."

"And I'll tell you something else!" she said as she stood up again. "I'm gonna stay at your side until you're all better!"

"It's okay..." he said. "... I've got Mina with me. You don't have to worry..."

Mina stepped forward slightly, seemingly eager to put in her own opinion. "Actually, Onii-chan... I'd like Aria to stay."

He looked over at her with a skeptical face.

"I don't think I can do this by myself..." Mina continued. "If Aria's here, I'd feel much better."

Enlightened by Mina's suggestion, Aria gave her a small pat on the head. "I'll help any way I can." she said adamantly.

Looking between the two girls, many thoughts went through Reno's head. True, with a second person around, the odds of making a better recovery would rise. He didn't want to put either of them at inconvenience though, but to be offered a kind gesture such as this, he realised he didn't have any good reason to refuse. Eventually, he gave them both a smile.

"Yeah, I'd like that..." he said, his voice seemed a bit brighter as well. "I'll leave it to you, then..."

Aria became overflowed with joy and happiness. But she also noticed something else about the occasion, she'd been completely sure of herself in her decision. Not like anything she'd felt before. To be able to care for the person she admired the most. It was a warming feeling. 'And I couldn't do this before?'

Both Aria and Mina made themselves useful throughout the evening, especially when it came to the serving of the Soup. Just like Aria had said, it was Reno's favourite type of soup. As he had eaten it she couldn't help but realise how much he seemed to be enjoying it. But another thought occured to her; 'I didn't need help on this one... I did it because I wanted to.'

The evening soon became old, and the three companions sighed almost in synch. Aria yawned and put a hand to her mouth. For the rest of the visit, she had let Reno rest his head on her lap, just like Mina had done. He seemed to doze off easily, she often smiled at hearing his relaxed breathing again. Before long, they all realised that it had gone past 9pm, not particularly late, but perfect time to rest in cases such as this.

"Let's get Onii-chan to bed." suggested Mina as she got up from the smaller chair.

Aria agreed and woke Reno up from his slumber. "Come on, wake up, Reno." His eyes slowly opened and looked back up at Aria.

"It's time for bed." she said.

He stirred slightly. "I wouldn't have wanted to miss that..." Thrown out in a bit of a sarcastic tone.

This realisation caused Aria to stop suddenly, evidently the comment had struck a chord. "O-oh... I'm sorry..." She said remorsefully.

Mina looked over at the two, her own heart beat a bit faster too. But was regulated as Reno chuckled slightly.

"Heh... just kidding..." he said in response. "Don't take it personally..."

This put Aria's mind at rest, he'd only made a remark. It had taken her by shock, but she knew it was just the way he was. She also giggled along with him, but didn't say anything. Slowly, she let him recede his head and got up. She stretched a bit, having been sat there for over three hours. Straight after, Renp pushed himself into an upright position. However, just like a lot of fevers, his sudden movement caused some more stinging in his head. He put his hand against his forehead and groaned.

Mina walked over and helped him to get to his feet. She continued holding onto his arm as they ambly made their way towards the stairs. Aria quickly caught up to Reno's other side and took his free arm. Both of them supported his weight evenly. Luckily, Reno was also making considerable effort in his pace. They eventually made it upstairs and straight into Reno's room, and Mina ran forward to pull down the covers of his sheets.

Reno seemed to breathe another sigh of relief as he lowered himself into his bed. His duvet was soft as ever, and the covers were nice and cool on touch. He gazed up at the ceiling and sighed, seeming to properly relax again. He then looked back over at the two girls.

"Thanks..." he said with a faint smile. "It was much better having you around, Aria."

At his words, Aria turned a bit red, but only slightly. She felt a bit nervous, hearing Reno being that leniant with them both. But she brought up a kind smile and replied; "I told you I'd stay by your side!"

He nodded cheerfully in response, then put his head back down on his pillow. Mina walked forward to his side. "Let us know if you need anything else." she said as she wrapped her arms around his torso, or as much as she could. Reno hugged her back softly. The bond between the two made Aria feel much better.

"Sure thing, sis..." he replied.

After a few moments, they pulled apart from each other and Mina stood back up. "I'm just in the next room, okay?" He nodded happily. With that, she made her way to the door, then turned to wait for Aria. Mina noticed that she had taken hold of Reno's hand warmly.

"Is it okay if I stay over for the night?" she asked curiously.

"Sure. You're always welcome." Reno managed to reply in a smooth voice.

Aria held his hand close to her heart, many joyous feelings ran through her. 'Always welcome...'

Thinking for a few moments, Reno turned his head towards his sister at the door. "You go on ahead, Mina... I just need to talk with Aria about something."

Mina, in a cheerful demeanor, smiled back brightly. "Okay, sure. Call me if you need anything." She took her leave and made her way back downstairs.

Aria turned back to Reno, evidently wondering why he wanted her to stay. And why he hadn't let go of her hand.

Looking straight into her eyes, Reno began. "I really appreciate this, Aria..."

She didn't, or couldn't say anything back.

"Things were definitely better with you around too." he went on. "Sure, Mina could have done it... but, to know that you were kind enough to stay also, I'm very grateful for that." He finished with a warming smile.

There were probably a lot of things that Aria wanted to say in response, but no words would come out of her mouth. This was the first time she'd seen Reno so appreciative and open. Not that he hadn't before, but he had said it in confidence. And that was what made it genuine.

Before Aria could say anything, Reno spoke again; "It's kinda embarassing saying it... but with you it's much more relaxing. It's like we're almost a couple..."

Hardly suprisingly, hearing those words made Aria's heart beat faster. She'd been juggling that word in her head for months now. And now she'd heard her hero say it. It could have been a sign, or an admittance.

They both held each other's gaze for a long time, Aria kept trying to work her brain to say something. Or perhaps words weren't necessary? He could have probably told by the color of her face. It seemed to flash a bright red.

"Um... uh... I..." she stuttered.

"It's alright, you don't have to say anything..." he intervened on short notice. "I'm just happy that you're here."

For severel minutes, both of them started to convey a few things about themselves that neither had stated before. Some normal, some suprising. One in particular was one of Aria's childhood ambitions to become a beautiful bride. Well, it wasn't suprising to her anyway.

Downstairs, Mina cleared away some of the debris from the kitchen, and began to focus on the washing up. Luckily, there was only a collection of bowls and pans. She turned her head towards the stairs as she heard someone coming down. It was Aria.

"Is onii-chan okay?" she asked as she started the water.

Her question was returned with a joyous smile. "Yeah, he's fine. Sleeping like a baby."

Mina giggled slightly, and Aria joined her with the washing up. Easily, within five minutes that had finished and were ready to relax. Though Mina seemed to be getting more tired every moment. She yawned in sucession a few times and rubbed her eyes.

"I'm going to bed too..." she said drowsily. "G'night, Aria..." Mina walked towards the stairs, only to yawn again. It began to make her eyes water slightly.

"Okay, I'll just finish some things down here." Aria replied.

With that, Mina disappeared up the stairs, and walked into her room. She soon dressed herself in her Flower decorated Pyjamas and climbed into her bed.  Laying her head onn her pillow, she thought of her brother. What if he needed something in the middle of the night? Who was going to take care of him if she was asleep?

Then she remembered Aria. It made her smile again in the thought that Aria was able to keep somewhat calm in these situations.

'What am I thinking!?' she thought. 'If he called for me, I'd surely know it anyway. Sister's intuition. I hope...' After a few more moments, she rested her head down and relaxed. She didn't want to fall asleep yet though.

Meanwhile, Aria was having a few thoughts of her own as she cleared up the basin they used earlier. There was one thing in particular that Reno said. It circulated her mind endlessly; 'That's what I like about you, Aria.'

Like? Love? They were two completely different words. One leads to the other though. It could have been a first step into something wonderful.

But there was another thought in her head. Not her own, however. It was Aire's. Back again.

'Aren't you going to tell him?' it echoed.

'Tell him what?' her own conscience replied.

'You know what I'm talking about. The thing that I also want to tell him.'

'Also?' Aria repeated as she fell into slumber.


End of Chapter 9