Hand of Gods
Disclaimer & Warning are in prologue.
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AN: This chapter beta both by Hiyami & Rayvern.
Key: Anything in italics are thoughts e.g, 'I wish this would end already...'. Anything in speech marks and italics are radio broadcasts or announcements over the intercom e.g. "Would Akira please come to the front desk". Everything else is normal text and "Blah blah blah" is normal speech
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Chapter One: Unexpected Feelings
Present (April 25, 2005)
The carriage in which they had boarded were full of students, a mixture of uniforms for elementary and high schools. A few older students who wore casual clothes like them were no doubt in the same college as Akari. It was the time of the day when the adults were already at work and the students were just heading out.
Hikaru planned to return home today after seeing Akari off to the campus. He knew it was time for that discussion he had been putting off for a while now,
"Akari, are you sure you want to study here?" his green eyes searched the brown eyes of his friend carefully; he had an uneasy feeling that it might be his fault that had resulted in her studying at her current campus.
Akari leaned forward, her face only inches from Hikaru's, and almost gave him a heart attack when she replied in a shout, while twisting her hair, an old habit that she does when she's nervous or happy, "Of course, baka." . 'At least she did not pointing her finger at me,' Hikaru thought. He relaxed and gave in to the comforting thoughts that Akari had not change and she would always remain a constant element in his chaotic life.
"I liked it here and living with grandma is a bonus." Her voice lowered by several octaves when she caught the stares that were thrown her way.
Hikaru sighed with relief at the cheerful grin; however, in the fraction of a second before the chocolate eyes had turned away, he caught a glimpse of a hidden pain in his childhood friend's eyes.
"Akari...?" Hikaru questioned, his hand reaching out to comfort her.
His concern was cut short when the train suddenly shook violently. Losing his balance, Hikaru fell forward and was about to crash into Akari, who was thrown backward by the force of impact when he swiftly seized her and turned their body, reversing their positions. The thud of their fall and the pain from his head impacting with a railing were the last things he knew before he slipped into unconsciousness.
……..
Present (Tokyo April 26, 2005)
"Investigators are probing the cause of a commuter train crash. The death toll has increased from 57 to 73 and hundreds more are injured…"
"I'm sorry Touya-sensei, but could you please repeat that?" The clerk behind the counter flushed in embarrassment at being caught unaware by a pair of emerald eyes. The jewel eyes belonged to a young man, barely seventeen, who was often mistaken for a female due to the feminine structure of his face. However, at present, the jewelled eyes flashed dangerously with the barely concealed annoyance of their owner.
"Have you seen Shindo-san today? I believe he's booked to tutor one of the Insei."
"I'm sorry. But I have not see Shindo-sensei today, sir. His student was looking for him earlier too."
Silence filled the room while Touya contemplated the given information as the clerk waited for further questions. If one could listen to his thoughts at the moment, one would be shock at hearing the colourful vocabulary he was using to curse Hikaru. The silence of the room allowed the radio to be heard and some of the words penetrated Touya's deep thoughts.
"Japan's Transport Minister Kazuo Kitagawa has arrived and is looking very distraught. 'We will investigate as to why this tragic accident has happened and put in place new measures to prevent any more meaningless accidents.' Meanwhile the president of West Japan Railway, Takeshi Kakiuchi, has confirmed that the driver had overshot the stop: 'The priority now is to rescue the passengers. An inquiry as to why the driver overshot the platform will be made at a later date. '…"
"It's awful isn't it, Touya-sensei. Luckily, it's a good thing that I don't have any friends or relatives living in those areas." The clerk managed to say before witnessing Touya Akira running out the room and disappearing into the lift.
……
Present (Amagasaki April 28, 2005)
Tsukaguchi Hospital
Akira felt tired and weary after days without news on Hikaru's condition. The calls that he made to Hikaru's friends informing them of the accident added to the stress as well as he was not able to answer any questions regarding Hikaru's situation, only assuring them that he would stay at the hospital and 'No, [they] do not need to come down to the hospital as well' and that he would call them should anything change.
He had taken the bullet train as soon as he heard the news. And even then, it took him three hours to get there, only reaching by midnight on the 28th of April. By the time he arrived at the hospital, the hospital was not admitting visitors due to the flood of patients leaving little time for the staff to deal with worried friends and family members.
He gave up after two hours of 'We will get back to you as soon as possible' and finally retired to a nearby hotel. He had even tried phoning the hospital. Even then it was useless as he could not get through. It was only then that he fell into a restless sleep. It was only on the second day after he had arrived that a trickle of news regarding Hikaru's condition had reached him: the other boy finally been identified amongst the injured. By then the death toll had risen to a hundred.
If Akira were to hazard a guess, he would have said that Hikaru's parents had arrived with most of the crowd on the early morning of the 28th of April. The only reason he spotted Hikaru's parents amongst the sea of people was that he was actively searching for them after he was given an update on Hikaru's situation. He was about to approach them when he noticed that Hikaru's parents were with a few other people. They seemed to be a very close group, seeking comfort from each other in their distress. Guessing that they were Hikaru's relatives, Akira hung back, letting the group comfort themselves and leaving him to his own thoughts.
Akira felt distraught and the sudden need to go some place where he could rest, perhaps even cry out the frustration that was slowly suffocating him, hit him. The though quickly dissipated, as he knew that even if wild horses were to drag him, he would not leave that spot. Not when Hikaru's condition was still relatively unknown.
Footsteps interrupted his chain of thought as he saw one of the nurses helping a limping girl moved toward them. He recognised the girl immediately. She was the one that Hikaru spent the last weekend with and there was no doubt in his mind that it was her fault that Hikaru was lying in the operation room. However, the one thought that disturbed him the most was that she had no right to be the last person Hikaru saw.
"I'm so sorry, aunty." Akari repeated over and over again as she ran into Shindo's mother's arms and wept on her shoulder. The older woman rubbed the girl's back trying to calm her down while whispering comforting words.
A sharp pain jolted him awake as he slowly unclenched his fist to examine the wounds. Red nail marks were imbedded in his palm; some were deep enough to bleed a little. Akira shook his as head trying to clear it and wondered what had gotten into him all of the sudden. It seemed that only Shindo Hikaru could bring out the deep raw feelings in his heart.
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TBC…
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