Déjà Vu
02:
The Path Laid Out
Nervousness made me take a step back away from him; I was almost at a complete loss of words. I honestly didn't expect him to answer me. He stared at me, waiting for me to answer him but I felt like a deer in the head lights. I wracked my brain for anything that would work to get me out of this situation.
"I'm sorry, thinking aloud." I said as I bowed at him as much as I could without causing my injury to cause me more pain. It wasn't far, but it was enough. When I stood back up, I avoided looking at him.
"I'm sorry, but do we know one another?" Yukimura asked me, taking a step closer to me; probably to get a better look at me. I shook my head half way through his question.
"No." I said, glancing at him for a second. He had a confused look as he looked at him. "I heard of you, I just wanted to put a name to a face." I said. It was the best lie I could conjure up with on the fly. To make it seem real-er, I smiled.
"You've heard of me?" he asked. Judging by his voice, I could tell he was still confused. I turned to look at him, my heart pounding cause of my nervousness. He was a bit closer to me now; apparently he took a few steps closer to me out of curiosity. I got a better look at him now that he was closer; high cheek bones and an elegant jaw line gave him a feminine look. His eyes were darker than I had expected, almost black but a faint purple hue in them with an underlining red tint.
"More like you're school." I said "You're tennis reputation." I bit my lip. His eyes locked with mine for a moment before his lips spread into a smile. I bit my tongue to keep myself from sighing out loud in relief. Either he bought it or he is just humoring me; either way, I'm glad.
"I'm glad to hear that our reputation has spread out far." He said, keeping his smile as he looked back at the city. "You did hear good, yes?" he asked. His voice was hopeful.
"Of course, only but" I said with a nod. I rested my forehead against the fence again; glad he bought my lie and by his silence, dropped it. I let out a quiet content sigh and closed my eyes. A small breeze blew a few strands of my hair over my shoulder, neck and into my face. The slight chill made everything seem calm for the moment. I was grateful for that, it helped to clear my mind. I touched the place where I was stabbed, putting just enough pressure to make myself flitch. The pain helped me focus on that I wasn't in a dream. Could you feel pain in dreams?
"Miss Hisagi." Pulled me out of my head and made me open my eyes. The nurse that helped me earlier was back. "I've come to escort you back to your room." She said with the same smile she had earlier. I looked at her and nodded.
As I walked past Yukimura, I gave him a shallow bow before walking to the nurse's side. She began to lead me down the stairs; I shut the door behind us. I watched the steps most of the way down but I still noticed the nurse often looking back at me. I looked up at her when she did; she quickly looked ahead of her. I raised an eyebrow at her, "Excuse me, but is there something on your mind?" I asked, I tried to be polite. Either I was paranoid, or she wanted to say something.
Quickly she turned to me with a bright grin, "Are you friends with Mr. Yukimura?" she asked. I almost immediately shook my head, "No, no. I just met him a moment ago." I said.
"He often comes to the roof." She said as she continued walking toward my room. "And is very popular with the children here"
"Is that so?" I said. My mother often spoke the same way, when she was trying to set me up with someone, so instinctively let the nurse's words flow in one ear and out the other as I pulled the hood up over my head and put my hands in my pockets. I tossed the hood back down when we got to my room and I sat on the bed.
"He's a sweet boy but his friends don't come around often." She said as she pulled the curtain closed around us. "One comes every few days. But I believe that he does get lonely." She said as she prepared a needle for a shot. I tried to smile at her.
"I am sorry, but what does this have to do with me?" I asked, trying to use the most polite voice I could.
The nurse tapped the syringe while turning back to me. "It would be nice for him to have someone to talk to while he is getting prepared for his operation." She said while handing me a packet alcohol wipes to open. I did and handed it back to her then unzipped my hoodie a bit and had it slide down over my shoulder.
"Forgive my curiosity, but surgery for what?" I asked. I did like The Prince of Tennis but I didn't know everything about it, I knew Yukimura was sick but I never learned why.
The nurse wiped off my arm with the alcohol wipe before carefully giving me the shot. "Guillain-Barre Syndrome" she said as she put a cotton ball over the newly raw spot before putting a band-aid on it.
I frowned a bit and pulled my jacket back up over my shoulder and zipped it up again. "Oh." I said. As far as I knew about Guillain-Barre it had to due with the nervous system. "You say his friends don't come see him often, you know why?" I asked.
The nurse smiled at me as she fluffed my pillow, "They are busy with tennis." She said, "Every week or so all of them will come to visit him, but few days one of them comes alone. Never got his name out of him though." She said.
I looked at her, still frowning a little. "I see." I said, attempting to drop the subject. I understand her worrying for the welfare of Yukimura, but I couldn't see how she wanted me to do anything about it. I winced as I lay back while putting my arms over my eyes. 'He has his own friends, and they come to visit. It's okay that it's not every day, lady.' I thought. I heard the nurse leave the room, it left the room very quiet.
"Miss Hisagi?" the voice was of the doctor that was taking care of me. I pulled my arms down so they were now on my chest. He pulled the curtain back and smiled. "Good, you're still awake, there is something I would like to go over with you." he said, a small smile on his lips.
"What is it?" I asked. I rolled onto my left side, to see him better, while sliding one arm under my pillow.
"I entered your name into the system; it seems that you're not in it." He said as he pulled up a stool and sat down next to my bed. "You didn't give me a fake name, did you?" he asked me.
I shook my head, "No, not at all. I know I could get in trouble if I did." I said.
"Then why is your family unlisted?" Kanata asked me.
"Because I don't have one." I replied flatly. It both was and wasn't a lie. I really did have one, but I guess here, I didn't. I didn't exist here.
"An orphan?" he asked. I nodded, "I guess."
"I see." He said, almost as if it was an epiphany to him. "Well then, do you have a foster home to go to?" he asked. Again I shook my head. "No."
"An orphanage?" he asked, he narrowed his eyes faintly, I couldn't tell if he was curious or was getting upset. "No." I said again. "Then I'll have to find you one." He said as he stood up. "What is your age?" he asked. "Fifteen." I replied.
He rubbed his chin as he left the room. I still couldn't tell is he was angry or just confused, but I couldn't blame him either way; my situation was complicated. I rolled back onto my back and placed my hands on my face. Realization began to sit in on me, I didn't have a family; I didn't have a home to go back to; I didn't have an Identity. "I don't exist." I whispered.
'I don't get it. I don't understand. How did I get here? Why am I here? Why me? I want to go home. I don't want her be here. What is going on back home? Does my family know I'm gone? Are they worried about me?' A thousand questions poured into my mind. My eyes watered at the thought of my family, not being able to see them. I bit my lip to keep myself from crying. I took several keep breaths to calm myself, to keep my emotions for getting the best of me. I laid one arm across my chest while sliding my other hand into my hair. While still breathing deep, I slid my fingers through my hair –pulling up- brushing my hair. A few of my white hair fell into my face as I did it again. I twisted a lock between my fingers as I stared at the ceiling; finally calm again.
It wasn't long before a different nurse, a very young male, brought me something to eat. He sat it up on the bed side table before quickly leaving again to finish his route. I sat up very slowly so I wouldn't put too much strain on my stab wound but I still hissed as I did stretch it a little too much. I pulled the table to me and looked at the meal I was given. It was a simple traditional Japanese meal, but I was food and I was hungry.
I put my hands together and said silent thanks then picked up my tea and took a small sip. As I placed the small cup down, a knock came from my door. I looked up and smiled a bit.
"It's impolite to have a girl eat alone." Yukimura said from just outside the doorway. "May I?" he asked, gesturing to the stool Dr. Kanata pulled up, his hands holding a tray.
"Of course. Please, join me." I said as my smiled grew bigger. He gave a small but kind smile as he walked into my room. I moved my dishes around so that he had a place to put his tray on the table. When he did, he looked at me.
"A friend of mine told me to not allow women to eat alone." He said as he picked up his chop sticks, closed his eyes for a moment the looked at me again. "And I heard you were here alone, I hope you don't mind me inviting myself." He said. I shook my head.
"Not at all, I never really liked eating alone. I'm grateful you came." I said as I took a small bite from my rice.
He smiled at me again. The two of us stayed quiet most of the meal, the silence wasn't uncomfortable though. Yukimura finished before I did and carefully stacked his dishes. "Hisagi." He said gently. I looked up at him as a response.
"If you don't mind me asking, but why are you here? You seem in good health." He said, his head tilting slightly to the side.
I stared at him for a minute then smiled politely, "Just in the wrong place at the wrong time." I said. "I walked in on a home invasion." I explained as I too stacked my dishes.
Instantly his eyes widened at the news. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'm sorry I asked." He said.
Again, I shook my head. "You didn't know. I'm alive and it's all the matters to me at the moment." I said as I gave him the best smile I could manage. I bit my lip as I looked down at my stack of dishes as an awkward silence filled the room. I looked back up at him and tried to keep my smile, "How long are you going to stay in the hospital?" I asked him, trying to adjust the subject so it was no longer on me.
"Another month, and a little bit after that." Yukimura said, giving me the same smile I had. I nodded. Yukimura stood up after another silence and looked at me, "I should take my leave. Both of us need our rest." He said as he walked out the door. He left before I manage to stop him or thank him for his company.
It wasn't long before the same male nurse came back and took the dishes Yukimura and I stacked and again he left without a word. I lay on my left side and pulled the blanket up to my neck. How long was I going to be here? With an inward sigh I closed my eyes and tried for a nap.
By the time I awoke, Dr. Kanata was standing at the foot of my bed and looking at my charts. I rubbed my eyes and carefully sat back up. He smiled politely at me and put my chart down, "Sleep well?" he asked as he walked around the bed and sat down on the stool. I nodded a couple times.
"Good, I have good news for you." he said as he pulls some folded papers from his pockets. "I found you a foster home. It was difficult with your age but I found one more than willing to take you in." He said as he unfolded the papers and handed them to me.
I took them, rubbed my eyes again then looked at them, beginning to read through them.
"It's a westernized so they are able to keep you until you're eighteenth birthday." He continued as he crossed his legs. "It's small with a few others, so it wound seem like a foster home." He paused for a moment to adjust his collar then continued on, "And a walking distance from a school, but also a bus ride from another."
I nodded again as I finished the few papers and looked at him. "Thank you for doing this for me." I said. I really was grateful to him; he went out of his way to find me a place to go.. "If there was only way I could repay you." I said. His black eyes sparkled a bit as he smiled.
"Just do well in your studies." He said as he stood, "You will be released to the founder once you're strong enough to leave."
I nodded again, "Thank you." I said again. He nodded at me as he took a step closer to the bed.
"Now, I believe it's about time to change your bandages." He said, "Would you lift your jacket for me?" he asked.
I laid back down on my back and pulled the jacket over my stomach for him to change the bandages for me. I tried not to watch, I was never good with blood even if it was my own, but I couldn't help it. The once white bandage he pulled off me was now a deep crimson. I raised eye brow when he smiled at me again.
"You're healing well; you'll be out and back to normal in no time." He said as he used a few alcohol wipes to clean my wound –which hurt I may add, then put a clean bandage over it once again.
"Try to not move too much, you're stretching your stitches." He said as checked his beeper as he left my room.
I pulled my jacket back down and pulled the blanket over me. At least, now, I have one of my questions answered. I have a place to go, a shelter, until I can find my way back home. I stared at the ceiling and took deep breaths to keep myself calm.
'I guess I just have to ride this out.' I thought, 'It's all I can do.' I rolled my eyes and rolled onto my left side. I hated not doing anything, I don't want to just lay here and wait. I've never liked just sitting, but because of my wound and what the doctor said, I have to. You seen the scars stitches can leave?
I shook my head and looked at the clock -15:24- another week of this, I may loose my mind before I get out. I sighed and closed my eyes, sleep was the only way I could think of passing the time. Save and reserve my energy for getting better.
'Maybe when I wake up, I'll go back to the roof again; the fresh air will do me good.' I thought as I began to count sheep behind my lidded eyes to get myself to fall asleep.
I am SOO sorry that this chapter is late! I first went out of town then I caught the flu and was bed ridden for days.
I will have another chapter out on time this week, so please look forward to that.
I hope you liked this chapter, my ill mind worked the best and hard as it could to get something descent out for you so I hope it wasn't too bad…
Anyways, thank you for being my first reviewer! I'm happy you think that my story has potential so please stick with me!
