Title: Simple Atonement
Author: Kihaku Yamato
Rated: PG
Category: Super Robot Monkey Team
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Spiritual
Warnings: Spoilers for S3 ending
Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the rights to the above mentioned series.

Author Note: The title should make sense after you read.

This was quickly written in the midst of shredding hundreds of documents. Joy.

- Kihaku Yamato (01/17/08)

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He could see him fall, again and again, in his mind's eye.

He watched his mentor float off the side of the land bridge, down to meet the Dark One Worm. He remembered the pain, and the simplicity, that his mind held on to for so long.

He wandered the long, simple halls of the Super Robot. Once again his mind was back to that day.

Pausing, he looked at the metallic walls, shined enough so that he could see his refection. In his eyes, he saw pain.

An idea shot through his mind. Slowly it brought a small smile to his face.

He nodded to himself, then set off in search of his mentor.

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Antauri paused in his daily meditation session. He could feel someone shifting outside of his room. He opened his eyes and floated to the door, ready to push it open. He was saved from the trouble.

Chiro stood silently in the doorway, holding a simple, homemade card clenched in his hands.

Antauri looked at the card with confusion, before slowly pulling it free from his student's grasp.

He barely had the chance to glance at it before the alarms went off.

In the organized mass chaos that followed, the card lay forgotten on Antauri's floor.

-----

Hours later, Antauri returned to his room. The team had retired to bed, their many wounds bound and wrapped. He walked inside, deep in thought, only to have it broken when he stepped on something.

He looked down to see the card that Chiro had given him before the battle.

The card itself was simple in design. The front showed a childlike drawing of himself and Chiro (the boy had never taken to art at all…). When he opened it, he finally realized why Chiro had seemed so closed up for all these months.

Inside, against the stark white paper, were two simple words.

"I'm sorry."

Antauri turned on the spot. In the doorway stood Chiro, dressed only in his pajama bottoms and the bandages that were coiled around his right arm, chest, and head. He was leaning against the doorframe, looking pale – the blood loss must still be affecting him, Antauri thought.

A small smile appeared upon the now-silver monkey's face. "You are forgiven, Chiro. You have been for months."

"I just… I never said thank you for saving me that day, Antauri. And I never said I'm sorry for needing you to save me. I know it's been months, but still..."

Antauri held up a hand to stop the boy's rambling. "As I just said, you have been forgiven."

"Thanks Antauri."

The mentor simply led his student back to his room, and helped him into his bed. Only after Chiro dropped off to sleep did he say a word.

"No, Chiro. Thank you."

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A/N: I still have no idea where that came from.

Word Count: 465