Broken Wish
Headache

Rain poured down, hitting the windshield and roof of the jeep as Iverson made a weekly check-in on a particular cadet. The smell of Chinese food wafted up into the man's nostrils, while his mouth twisted into a grimace, not liking the fact one of his required duties at the Garrison involved checking up on the wellbeing of one of the cadets. The man's mind couldn't help but compare his current charge to the Garrisons pride and joy.

Hands down Takashi Shirogane was a child genius at piloting, but he was also good at athletics and academics. Despite the cultural shock when the teen first came over from Japan, Shiro as he liked to be called still managed to make friends, and inspired those around him with ease. The younger brother, Keith Kogane as he liked to be called, was another story. While he was a genius at piloting and quite athletic, academically there were certain concepts which went over his head. The teen also struggled with social situations, and was in fact, prior to entering the academy, something the Japanese called a hikikomori.

Shiro could take care of himself, but Keith's idea of a square meal involved instant ramen, eating cereal straight from the box, other kinds of packaged foods, and bottled drinks. There was also some worries about the teen's mental stability, but the teen was stubborn and had a temper which Iverson did not enjoy dealing with, but thankfully the older brother would return to Earth soon, ending his babysitting job, at least for the time being. Keith made his normal appreciation of the Shirogane family dampen immensely.

The man pulled to a stop outside of the gate, and stepped out into the pouring rain, grabbing the bag of Chinese food from the passenger seat. The weather soaked him to the bone, and yet the weather meant checking up on an unsupervised minor was even more important. The lightning flashed, and Iverson brought out the keycard which allowed him entrance to the front gate. The booming sound rang in his ears as he pushed the gate open, wondering what kind of tantrum he would need to deal with today, wishing it was instead the Garrison psychiatrists day to check up on the boy.

His one good eye narrowed, seeing the open door, his mouth moving to let out a sigh of frustration. In Iverson's mind, nobody would be fool enough to break into one of the Shirogane households, which meant Keith left the door open. Water puddled around the entrance, meaning Iverson would need to clean up. He closed the door behind him, heading into the kitchen, noting Keith's uniform jacket tossed onto the couch haphazardly, meaning the teen was still home. Rain poured down on the living room window, a foretelling of the sight Iverson would soon see.

The man turned, stopping short at the sight of the hunched over the figure on the floor. The lack of light prevented Iverson from seeing what was going on, and yet he knew Keith was leaning up against the counter and remaining perfectly still. The man set the food on the counter, before flipping the switch. The lights flickered on, and the commanding officer grimaced at the sight. "Shit." Iverson knelt down next to Keith, feeling for a pulse, and thankfully felt a faint heartbeat. The man then proceeded to grab a towel from the stove, wrapping it around the teen's wrists tightly. "Why the hell did you have to do this on my watch?"

With his free hand, Iverson reached for his phone, calling up the emergency team at the garrison, as calling 911 would only bring unwanted attention that the Shirogane wouldn't want from their black sheep family member, but the Garrison could handle the situation better. The person on the other line spoke up quickly. "Commander Iverson?"

"I've got a medical situation over at Takashi Shirogane's place."

"What did that Kogane kid do this time?"

"Do you really want to know? Just sent the med-evac, warning them that it will be slippery by the front door." The man hung up the phone, realization hitting him a bit late that the military medical team would draw even more attention. One hand reached up to feel again for a pulse, the man's dark countenance twisting in frustration. Within a few minutes, the team was there, where it would have taken a normal ambulance longer.

One of the officers leaned down, feeling for a pulse for the third time. "It looks like quite a bit of blood loss commander. We'll want to start an IV drip as soon as possible. Are you going to ride with us."

"Yes. I'll have someone come and pick up my vehicle. Make sure the media can't get into the area."

"Already done sir."

The man stepped back, watching as the medics proceeded to bandage the injuries before lifting the young cadet up onto the gurney. Iverson noticed how Keith's usually pale complexion had turned a stark white and bags had already formed under his eyes, before following them out to the awaiting ambulance. The rain continued to pour down, adding to the problems. The IV went in quickly as did the oxygen mask. Questions he wanted to ask the young cadet fluttered through his mind, and yet they would need to wait, particularly since the garrison psychiatrist would need to be pulled in.

The van arrived, and they lifted the gurney off, taking the young cadet into surgery. Iverson glanced around, making note that none of the students were up, and able to gossip about what they saw, before giving the order for his jeep to be retrieved. Iverson headed to his office and opened up the phone line. A rather muffled, or confused hello came in on the other line. "Apologies Aleesha, but I need you to come in. It's an emergency."

"Is there anything you can tell me over the phone?"

"It's Kagone."

A silence fell over the other side before the woman finally spoke up. "Yes. I'll be in as soon as I can." Iverson proceeded to the waiting area just outside of surgery, his fingers drumming the bench in irritation. The young female psychiatrist walked up to him, a frown on her face. "What happened?"

Iverson looked up at her. "Was there any indicator from your weekly sessions with him that he would slit his wrists?"

"Of all the… you know I can't break patient confidentiality. How long has he been in surgery?"

"Since a few minutes before I called you."

A silence fell over the hallway, but then Aleesha spoke up. "You do realize that I can't let you talk to him until I do?"

Iverson didn't respond in words, and simply stood up. He looked down at her, frowning as he did. "I need to go to my office. I've got paperwork to fill out."

"This late at night?"

"Kagone and your younger brother always seem to find some way to make more paperwork for everyone."