10/3/01
Disclaimer: the characters in this fic such as Shenlong, etc. belong to Hudson Soft; Danielle Kaysley belongs to me.
Dedication: God, my parents, my 'brothers', Hudson for creating Bloody Roar I-IV and giving me a really good reason to write this story, and my readers, especially Nonamura-chan (it's Nonomura, dear! ^^0) LazzyQ, Alica Tylon, Deoku, Psycho Guyver, StarryPeach, AKA, Brad Crawford, Felicia, The Raptor Chic, Alexandra Riot, Arashi, Flyby, Niteflite, and you wonderful readers!!
Bloody Roar III: Trust At First Sight
By Tiger5913
Most mysterious…
Jade green eyes surveyed the figure lying in the pale hospital bed, and a sigh of slight remorse whispered into the air at the stillness of the patient's status. White bandages covered most of the body, securely sealing vulnerable wounds from infectious air, and a matching snowy-colored sheet blanketed over the mattress.
Who is this… stranger?
The observer wondered thoughtfully, quirking a brow in curiosity. If I hadn't decided to take that detour in the park…A smooth hand rose to cup her chin as the woman took a few steps foreword and carefully studied the unconscious bystander. Stray spidery strands of long black hair curled around and settled near his throat, whereas the rest of his waist-length tress was tied into a ponytail, lying atop his shoulder. His lips appeared albeit pasty, and were set in a thin line, seeming as if a smile never grazed his expression; dark eyebrows pointed down, portraying disturbance of inner nightmares that no one ever could help him with.
I wonder who he is…
she reached a hand toward him and daintily stroked through his bangs with her slender fingers. …He's kind of cute.Stretching her free arm towards a nearby chair and dragging it over to where she was standing, the ebony-haired female sat down next to her patient, holding his wrist in between her palms. He was hooked to an IV machine, and being monitored closely by the other electronic machines surrounding him, not to mention he was also under the watchful eye of the young doctor.
Oh, it's time for lights-out now…
she realized with a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall. I should leave this man so he can rest.Rising from her seat, she proceeded to the switch, and flicked it down, cloaking the room in shadowy darkness, then started to leave the room. Just as she was inches from the door, she stopped on an inner instinct, and turned her head around, peering at the peaceful stranger in the bed.
"Stay,"
a cotton-soft whisper encouraged her, "Stay…"A bewildered look crossed her expression as she bit her bottom lip, deciding to obey the mysterious voice, and the woman went back across the room, reclaiming her previous position. Relaxing into the chair, she sighed and adjusted the hems of her white medical uniform, then briefly glanced over at a nearby table where she had tossed her overcoat. Allowing a yawn to slip out, she took a hold of his hand again, and let her eyelids slide down to a close, her breathing leveling to an even rhythm.
"Where am I…"
Blurry scenery met his view when he groggily opened his eyes, trying to focus, but not succeeding as his fuzzy vision swam before him, bringing a dizzy, faint feeling to his head. Stubbornly brushing it away, he attempted to lift his upper body and was hit with a pang of soreness when his tense muscles failed to assist him. In addition to that, he was met with resistance when the cord hooking to the IV machine reached the end of its limit, but he didn't acknowledge its slinky presence on his arm.
Wha… where is this…? He thought questioningly, feeling dizzy as he turned his head in multiple directions, trying to distinguish where he currently was. The dark blurs surrounding him meant nothing, and the unfamiliarity of the place just filled him with a disapproving sense of helplessness, and he snarled, trying to rid the feeling. I…must… get away…
Gritting his teeth in determination, he forced himself to arise into a sitting position, and almost immediately, a wave of uneasiness overcame him, and he groaned in discomfort, clutching his side with his hand in support.
"What…the…hell…is…this…place…?" he ground out in confusion, wincing as he struggle to turn his head around and about to view the aspects of the room.
Without the assistance of light, he wasn't able to identify much of his surroundings, and the injured man swore under his breath, budging to get up and stand. His legs trembled shakily, but he doggedly pushed those matters aside and grabbed a hold of the bedpost with his fist, shifting his thighs to slide off the mattress. The instant he tried to attain poise on his feet, his weakened muscles gave away and yelped as he started to lose his stance, twisting his body to land on his hands instead of his face. He didn't descend completely to the floor; the patient crashed into the young doctor, startling her out of her rest and sending the both of them to meet cold, hard linoleum.
"Ahhh!" She exclaimed in surprise, flailing her arms in reflex, unintentionally grabbing onto the other bystander's shoulders as they fell together. "Oof!" she grimaced as she hit the marble floor on her side, and she released her hold when pain jolted to her forearm. "Ouuch… darn it…"
Her expression wrenched into a look of displeasure, the woman propped herself onto her elbows, sighing while she slowly sat up upon her rear, and brushed off her ivory-white uniform. Spotting her patient sprawled on his stomach just inches away from her, she gasped and hastily slid her hands underneath his armpits, lifting him into a sitting position. The second his upper body aligned with hers, he shot of her grasp as quickly as he could with his wounds weighing him down, and moved to turn around and face her.
"You! What am I doing here?? What is this place??" He demanded, his unyielding red pupils glaring at her suspiciously.
Hiding any possible signs of timidity, she spoke to him in a low voice, "Sir, please calm down-"
"Who are you?" he barreled on, ignoring her request, "Where am I?!" His brows curved into a deep frown as he strove to remember where he last was. I was supposed to be… to be… That's right! I was supposed to be outside! In a park…
She glanced at him albeit wearily. "Sir, you were found lying on park grounds, severely injured and wounded-"
Injured and wounded! What is she talking about! "You lie!" The man shot his arm foreword and clutched her wrist tightly. I would never! I was dueling against that fool, Long, and the leopard lover of his; they could never defeat me! "Tell me the truth this instant!"
"Quiet yourself!" The physician hushed him hurriedly, waving her free hand before his face. "There are other patients resting around this ward! Be respectful!"
He scowled. "Respect? Hah! That's the least you'll have to worry about if you don't tell me what happened, human!"
The female peered at him curiously. "Human? I-"
"Yes, that's right," He hissed at her, baring his teeth despite the darkness. "I'm a zoanthrope! One of those 'freaks'! But let's see what I'll do to you if you should be foolish enough to call me that-"
"Sir! That's enough!" The dark-haired woman pressed her palm against his mouth, preventing him from saying anymore. "Listen here, don't you make me regret carrying you from the park to this hospital so that you wouldn't have been left outside to… to… Just cooperate, alright??" Her jade green eyes burned into his intensively. "And with your regards to being a zoanthrope, I don't care that you are one - most of the staff members here are zoanthropes, including me." This man must have been prejudiced for his zoanthrope blood, like what happened a couple years ago with the terrorism group that Alice and her other allies fought against…
He mumbled something inaudible in reply, and she retracted her hand, allowing him to speak. "You still haven't answered this yet: who the hell are you?"
"Dr. Danielle Kaysley," she told him with a look of slight disapproval, flicking on a lamp sitting atop a nearby nightstand and belaying a little light. "Are you alright? Were you hurt from the fall just now?"
"Forget that," he said disdainfully. "I'm not weak; little scrapes like that don't bother me!"
"Sir, you are trying my patience," Danielle Kaysley warned him sternly. "I will sedate you if necessary."
"No!" He shook his head for emphasis. "I have to go back to the park! I must finish off those two pathetic imbeciles-!"
"Not a chance," she commanded firmly, briefly flexing her arm muscles before heaving him off the floor and setting him down onto the bed gently. "You have to stay here for at least tonight; more likely tomorrow as well, so that you can recover from your injuries."
"Who are you to order me around like I'm nothing more than a servant?!" Her patient snarled. "I'm well enough to not have to stay here!"
"Alright sir," she clamped her hands onto his shoulders, applying enough pressure to keep him seated, "Now you hush for a minute and listen to me! I found you lying outside in a shrubbery area of the park approximately two hours ago, bleeding from sufficient lacerations over various parts of your body, injured to the point where your life was hanging on a thread! I only want to see you walk out of this hospital healed up and recovered, and I don't even care if you don't have enough money to pay for the medical treatment; all I ask is that you be cooperative! Can you please do just that?!"
"......" he was silent for a moment, his eyes widened a little as if he couldn't believe that she dared defy him. "You saved me?"
She released a sigh of relief that he hadn't continued to argue with her, and took a seat beside him, keeping a hold of his vigorous forearm. "I suppose you can see it that way, if you wish to. I just think of it as helping someone who was need, which is my job, to aid people if they're injured or anything like that, and need support."
"Ah, so it's your job," he nodded like he discovered the intentional reason, but the look in his eyes was scornful. "You did this out of obligation."
"What? No!" The doctor recoiled. "I-it wasn't obligation…"
He curtly held up a hand to silence her. "No need to sugar-coat the truth, Ms. Kaysley."
"…Please, call me Danielle."
"Ms. Danielle."
She managed a small smile. "Sir, you really should go to sleep and get rested up. The stage you're in right now is when you're most vulnerable to infection, so you must take careful caution…"
His lips twisted into an ugly gnarl. Foolish girl, I have more important things to do! I must go back and kill those two… "I'm fine-"
"No, you're not," the woman persisted, her mouth thinning into a firm line, "Sir, I don't know what position of power you used to hold, or who you are, but-"
"Shenlong." He interrupted.
"Pardon?"
As soon as his name slipped out, he silently cursed himself. "My name is…" Idiot! My name was all over news reports; she will realize my identity in an instant! "…Shawn Li. If you inquire about information such as my address, it isn't possible for me to give that out - I have no place to call home."
Her expression softened considerably. "Mr. Li, I'm sorry to hear that. I didn't realize the park was your home…"
"It's not!" Shenlong growled, glaring at her angrily. "I don't reside in such a filthy environment like that!"
"Please keep your voice down," the ebony-haired female told him in a gentle, but steely tone, "If you're not aware of the current hour, it's nearing one-thirty, and the majority of the other patients are sleeping right now. I apologize for assuming that the park was your home; where do you live, then?"
"…That's none of your business," he answered coldly.
"…Alright. I respect your decision," she said softly. "Then, where will you stay after you are well enough to leave the hospital?"
"I can leave right now-"
"NO." Danielle commanded, shooting him a hard, condescending look. "Don't think that your bad attitude is going to drive me into kicking you out, either. I'm patient enough to stand it."
Damn you. "I don't know where the bloody hell I'll stay," he replied, scowling. "Perhaps I'll go sleep on the streets? An abandoned building? Anywhere but a place like this, where I have to be pampered as if I were a helpless child."
"Well… Do you have a job? Relatives that live somewhere in this country?"
He thought of retorting snidely, but her compassionate expression stopped him. "…No to both questions." I have a clone; do you consider that a relative?
"Really…" she trailed off, glancing away thoughtfully. This poor man… "I'm concerned about your well-being…"
"Of course you are."
"I'm serious!"
The Asian man held his stony facial cast. "So am I."
"You don't have to be so rude, or sarcastic-"
"Oh, really? I bet you have a home, don't you? What's the purpose of your asking me so many questions, are you trying to make me feel pathetic, or envious of your luxury? You can't look after me when I leave, so why the hell would you care about my well being?!"
Taken back by his icy tone, and albeit angry also, she sputtered slightly before blurting out the first thing that came to her mind, "If you're that bitter about your housing situation, then why don't you just stay with me!"
Silence abruptly fell between the two, and she covered her mouth in shock, inwardly scolding herself, God, Danielle, think before you speak!
"…Why did you just say such a stupid thing." He questioned in a lowly, intently boring into her eyes with his.
"Stupid?" A frown marred her brows. "Excuse me…"
"You don't know who I am." The raven-haired male stated matter-of-factly, his gaze never leaving her. "You don't know who you could be inviting into the safety of your home; you do realize that I could very well be a thief, rapist, murderer, and yet you trust me enough to invite me to live with you."
"Well, y-you don't seem to be…"
"But you don't know for sure, do you?" he interrupted, "Do you?!"
"N-No, but-"
He sneered at her. "So why, huh? Why would you want to offer me a place to live, knowing absolutely nothing about my past?" If you knew what I did as the leader of the Zoanthrope Liberation Front three years ago, I bet you would run of the room, eager to get away from such a cold, heartless, unmerciful murderer as I.
"I-I just don't think that you would harm me after I helped you…" she stammered, beginning to feel a bit nervous under his intense, watching eyes.
"…" He nodded, seeming to understand and comprehend her answer. "Am I scaring you, Ms. Danielle?"
"A-A little, perhaps…" Danielle admitted, leisurely retracting her hand away from his arm.
Offering her a slightly haughty, triumphant smirk, he caught a hold of her fugitive wrist, and looked down, gently stroking her palm with the pad of his thumb. "Do you know how many people have feared me in the past, and probably still do, in this present time?"
She shook her head.
Tilting foreword albeit, a few strands of his long black hair fell into his face as he spoke again, quietly, "If you weren't naïve, then you would be smart like those other people, and be afraid of me as well."
Quirking an eyebrow at him, the young doctor insisted determinedly, "I'm not afraid of you…"
"Really," Shenlong peered at her smugly. "What a brave, foolish spirit you have."
"Hrmp, please," she threw him a dignified look, "I don't think I'm being foolish. A little trusting, maybe, but I know where to draw the line."
He was on the verge of challenging her again, but instead yawned as fatigue started reflecting in his blood-red eyes. "…I think that getting some sleep wouldn't hurt right now. I feel a bit tired…"
"I had to give you a shot earlier," the physician informed him. "That should've had you unconscious the whole night… but I guess you've got quite a fighting spirit."
You don't know how true that is. "Thank you."
She nodded, and began ascending from the bed. "Good night then, Mr. Li…"
"Shawn." He requested, giving her a slight wink. "It's only fair, don't you think."
"Yes… I suppose you're right," a half-smile formed over her mouth. "Good night… Shawn."
"Likewise, Ms. Danielle."
Turning towards the direction of the door, she gently tugged her wrist out of his grasp, and proceeded to leave, but he caught her arm a split second later, and brought it to his lips, placing an airy, petal-soft kiss on the back of her hand. Gazing up at her, he smirked albeit, then said, "If your housing offer still stands…"
"Um, sure…"
He grinned impishly. "…I'd like to take you up on it."
Her smile was dazed. "A-Alright… We'll work out the details in the morning, okay? And now… Go to sleep, Shawn, you really need your rest…"
Quirking his head with the slightest nod in agreement, he released his hold, and lied down onto the mattress, carefully adjusting his position, then lifting the sheet over his body. Danielle strolled to the nightstand, and flicked the light off, then walked to the doorway, smiling at his soon-to-be-slumbering form before stepping out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her with a quiet click. As she headed for the overnight lounge, she thought of the stranger that she rescued earlier in the night, wondering why she had invited him to live with her when she didn't even know him.
Heh, what would Alice say if she knew I did something like this, ask a complete stranger to come live with me…?
While walking down the hall, she shook her head, laughing silently at her impulsive decision, not knowing at the time that their future lines were intertwined with each other, and everything between them was just beginning…
To Be Continued…
Author's Note:
The first Shenielle fic! Hurray! ^.^ Sheesh, I FINALLY found time to write a story on this coupling of mine - damn school and homework for keeping me so bloody busy these past weeks. _ Ah well, I got this done, so I'm happy! Anyway, this fic occurs after chapter five of my Bloody Roar III novel, when Long and Jane fight against Shenlong in the park. Remember that? ^.^0 I get the feeling some of you wondered how in the hell Shenlong/Shawn hooked up with Danielle after that… Well, hope you readers enjoyed this, and please leave a review!Note: Anyone wanna write a Shenielle fic of their own? Feel free! Just give me a holler and let me know that you'd like to use Danielle; I'd be absolutely flattered that anyone would like to borrow my character! =)
With love for my fans,
Tiger5913