A/N: Took me a lot longer to finish this chapter, but it turned out longer than the first ones too. :) Hope you like it! Read and review please.

FROM THE WRECKAGE

Chapter 3

The Super Weed


The door slowly creaked to a close.

Makino Tsukushi was careful so that the rubber bases of her crutches didn't squeak on the floor as she crossed the corridor. It was just a little past six in the morning and the hallway was almost empty. She didn't know which room the "great" Doumyouji Tsukasa was staying in, but when she saw a man in a suit walk out from the far end of the hall, she had a strong gut feel of where he was.

It was a good thing the other bodyguard was sleeping on duty. He was wearing extra-dark sunglasses and had his back rigidly against his chair that you couldn't tell he was asleep, but his cover-up didn't disguise his chainsaw-like snoring.

Tsukushi peeped into the room. The dimly-lit room was twice as big as hers, looking much like a hotel suite than a hospital room except for the completely white walls. The walls were lined with flowers and gift baskets all the way to the doorway. One card read, "Get well soon, Mr. Doumyouji Tsukasa. From Reiji Corporation." The next came from some factory, followed by one from the family's realtor. She swallowed the pity she felt for him as she realized that all of them were impersonal.

"You really are too nosy for your own good."

Tsukushi dropped the card at the sound of his voice.

"Shhh!" She put a finger to her mouth and gave him a stern look.

Doumyouji Tsukasa was already in his wheelchair, with fresh bandages and hair that looked much neater than yesterday. Tsukushi also noticed that he was already wearing a coat for going out. (And he said he had to recheck his schedule to squeeze her in.)

"Hey," she whispered, approaching the bedside table where his cling-wrapped breakfast tray lay untouched. "Can you handle bringing the tray with us?"

"Why?" He asked, as if it was the last thing he'd expect her to say. "Don't they feed you? You poor people are always begging for food." Busy insulting Tsukushi, Tsukasa didn't see her left hand coming forcefully from behind.

"Oww!" he rubbed the spot where he got Tsukushi-smacked. "What the heck was that for?!"

"Keep your voice down and just bring the tray like I asked you to." Tsukushi warned in a low voice, headed to the door and beckoned for him to follow.

Tsukasa, with his curls out of place again and the breakfast tray in his lap, grudgingly followed her outside. They sneaked past the snoring bodyguard who was still in dreamland with Marilyn Monroe, totally oblivious that his ward had already escaped.

* * *

"Why don't we just take the elevator?" Tsukasa's impatient voice echoed from the walls of the fire exit staircase.

"Because…" Tsukushi said, getting exasperated. "We might bump into one of your bodyguards and get dragged back to our rooms. Then we'd be locked in for the entire day, no, entire duration of our confinement."

"Where are we going, anyway?" Tsukasa sounded like a kid incessantly bombarding his parents with 'are we there yet' questions.

"Can't and won't tell you. You'll see it when we get on the 3rd floor." She was starting to wonder why she cooked up this idea in the first place. Still getting used to her crutches, Tsukushi winced as her bandaged foot landed on the step. Her ankle was still aching and her sprained hand didn't help in the equal distribution of her weight.

Tsukasa easily rolled down the ramp right beside the stairs and waited for her at the next floor. He glanced at the painted number "8" on the wall and realized how long he would have to wait before Tsukushi even completes one flight, taking one agonizingly long step at a time.

Nobody should make him wait that long.

As soon as Tsukushi ambled near enough, Tsukasa hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her into his lap, almost getting hit by her right crutch in the process.

"Whoa!" She screamed, toppling and feeling the coldness of the metal tray under her butt. Tsukushi stubbornly pushed against his arms, but Tsukasa kept pushing her back down.

"It's the only way we'll get to where we're going before all my hair turns gray! How long would it have taken you to go down with that leg of yours?!" Tsukasa scolded her. He'd been very patient with her, but she really didn't need to test his patience at such an early hour.

"Let go!" Tsukushi squirmed, but couldn't get up from where she was oddly positioned, his arms holding her in place.

"Stop struggling or you'll end up turning all the food to mush!" He scolded her. She turned her face to answer only to find his eyes boring so closely on hers. Despite the furrow in his eyebrows, there was no anger in his eyes. In contrary, he looked quite naive, child-like and innocent.

Tsukasa was equally, if not more, surprised at the sudden hitch in his breath and the thumping in his chest. He had always prided himself in being a strong and independent man, but when she looked at him with those reflective brown ores, he felt the tugging of a little boy inside him.

Tsukushi didn't want his help. She was the independent, often loud and opinionated girl that worked for everything she had. Ever since she was old enough to ride her bike, she has been delivering newspapers to help with the family income. Her mother had trouble with keeping within budget and her father had a small gambling problem, so she knew early on that she had a big responsibility to carry. Growing up with debt-collectors banging on their doorstep almost every weekend made her hate being indebted to people, and that meant stubbornly refusing the assistance of others.

But like a flashback of the night they first met, Tsukasa's arms provided her with a secure, protected feeling she wasn't familiar with. It was as though being this near him; she could lay down all her defences, throw caution to the wind and completely trust him to take care of her.

Almost completely, she thought.

She blinked, jolting her brain back to the present moment and realized how close their faces were. Quickly, she turned her head away, hiding the rosy blush on her cheeks.

"Fine," she muttered sulkily. "But don't get any ideas, buster."

Tsukasa was grinning from behind her, wondering if he had gone clinically insane. This foolish girl was fighting him off (probably giving him a couple of bruises in the process), when hundreds of girls would have given their body and soul to sit on his lap and have him hold them this way. She was even sulking!

She's sooo weird. Tsukasa concluded in his head. He just didn't get her.

Tsukushi had way of getting on his nerves, annoying him to no end, and yet somehow had a way to instantly calm them soon after. The old Tsukasa would have screamed at her and then left her at the top of the flight. He might have even considered pushing her down the stairs, if she was irritating enough.

But this new Tsukasa, well, he decided to carry her instead.

Maybe the accident had somehow caused his brain to malfunction. Or the hard head-smacking she did to him altered his personality. Whatever it was, Tsukasa knew for sure that he was different, like an edited version of himself. He wasn't sure if he liked it, but since he had been trying to kill himself, maybe it was high time for change.

Tsukasa supposed that if this was a new him, he'd be willing to try out new things, right? The gears in his brain started to clink. Seeing the ramp beside the stairs, he had a fantastic idea to try out his new "wheels."

Whoosh!

Tsukushi had to clamp her mouth with her left hand, squeeze her eyes shut, latch onto his neck as Tsukasa suddenly slid his wheelchair down the ramp, manoeuvred a slim turn and continued going down the next flight of stairs. It was too early for Tsukushi to enjoy their "rollercoaster" ride as they went round and round down the ramp in a dizzying motion.

"We're here!" Tsukasa cheerfully announced to Tsukushi who was still clutching onto him like she was going to fall off—even though it's been a while since they've stopped. He thinks he had just discovered a new sport, and the rush of adrenaline as his new "wheels" careened dangerously at every turn was a great wake-me-upper.

Trying to keep whatever pride she had left, Tsukushi immediately pushed against his chest and stood up, her right crutch intentionally hitting the side of the face in the process—twice. Tsukasa was fortunate that she hadn't had anything to vomit out, or she would have thrown up on him too, adding insult to injury with pleasure.

If she keeps at it, she'll break something else! Tsukasa thought, wriggling his jaw.

She hobbled to the emergency exit door and pulled it by her good hand, letting in a sudden burst of light. Tsukasa followed her, surprised that they were on a balcony at the end of the 3rd floor. The walls were lined with potted plants that looked the same as those in his room. They were probably put out here to absorb sunlight, and made the place seem like a small garden than a storage area.

Tsukushi sat at an old bench near the ledge, watching the newly-risen sun and enjoying the warmth of its rays. He slowly approached her, stopping at her left side and secretly watching her in curiosity. Her cheeks took on a rosier hue, her lips tugged upwards in a small smile and her eyes sparkled with tears. She had a similar expression as Tsukasa's mother when their hotel opened its 50th franchise last year. But he didn't understand how could something so simple affect her so profoundly. He'd never seen anyone look so happy at seeing the sun so early in the morning.

"Are you about to cry?" Tsukasa's loud voice interrupted her reverie. He had been staring at her for a while and was beginning to feel awkward.

"No." Tsukushi lied, blinking back her tears and sniffling once. "I just love watching the sun rise, its warm rays reaching outward to conquer the dark and cold skies. A new day always means new choices and new chances."

She continued in a sing-song voice, "The sun's up and I'm feeling much, much happier. Are you--"

"Happier?! What about this drab place and you dragging me out so early in the morning could make anyone happy!?" Tsukasa complained brashly, frowning at her as he did. "Only stupid girls with nothing to do would enjoy something like this."

He turned his back to conceal the small smile playing at his lips. Tsukasa's ballooned ego was still in denial, but deep inside, the sun's warmth somehow penetrated through his thick wall of depression and managed to make him a little optimistic, something he hadn't felt for a long time.

"That's just hunger speaking, Grumpy Pineapple-head. Let's eat!" she said, ignoring his last statement and goes on to remove the cling wrap from the breakfast tray. "Oh, you should thank my butt for keeping the food warm." She grinned cheekily.

Though he wanted to keep with his surly, devil-may-care image, he couldn't help but laugh at her silliness. He would never admit it, but she was effectively making him feel an eensy-teeny-weeny bit better everyday. Like a sneaky weed, the so-called great Doumyouji Tsukasa didn't notice that commoner Makino Tsukuhi was growing on him.

"You're not supposed to be here." The words sliced through the moment they were sharing.

Tsukushi's hand paused halfway to her mouth and looked at Tsukasa, who looked quite as surprised as she was. She looked so guilty, as though she'd just been caught cutting classes from school or taking out a book from the library without passing it by the check-out counter.

"Patients aren't supposed to be here." With a small ruffling behind them, the owner of the voice stood up, brushing his white pants and coat.

"Ah, Rui! You really shouldn't be sneaking up on people like that! I might die of a heart attack!" Tsukasa reprimanded, showing no respect whatsoever to the young doctor.

"And you shouldn't be disturbing someone's sleep…especially when that someone has had a 36-hour straight shift." Rui rubbed his tired eyes and stifled a yawn. "Why are you up this early anyway?"

"Because the early worm gets the bird."

A flicker of amusement passed Rui's face. "You have it backwards, Tsukasa."

Tsukasa had been known to mangle famous sayings into twisted, unrecognizable lines, so Rui knew his friend was being himself, and not suffering from possible brain damage. Not forgetting his manners, he now turned his attention towards the other patient, who was watching them with amusement.

"Hanazawa Rui." He introduced himself, extending a hand to Tsukushi.

"Makino Tsukushi." She smiled at him, realizing that this was the same name on her charts. He was her doctor.

Hanazawa Rui smiled back, flashing a brilliant set of teeth. Tsukushi couldn't help but blush as he continued to stare at her. She has always had a thing for doctors, what with their noble profession and their immaculate white coats. This one was exceptionally handsome. His voice was low and soothing, his eyes were kind, and his smile was endearing. With extra qualities like that, Tsukushi couldn't help but feel the quickening of her heartbeat.

We finally meet, Supergirl. Rui thought.

This was the unexpected hero that saved his bestfriend Doumyouji Tsukasa when he had a fiery car accident. They were brought in the ER a little past midnight in the hospital where he was taking his first year of residency. His bestfriend had broken both his legs with the impact of the crash while this girl suffered from a broken ankle and sprained hand. Despite all her injuries, she managed to carry Tsukasa, who probably was double her weight, away from the blazing wreck, with nothing more than sheer determination.

He always had this ability to read people's real thoughts and feelings, even when they don't say a thing. This heightened sensitivity is also what made him an accomplished doctor as he is somehow able to detect a patient's needs. When he diagnosed her, Rui was already being inexplicably drawn to his courageous patient.

After Tsukushi had been brought to her room, the doctor made sure that she was comfortable and well-monitored. She was an easy read, having an open and sincere expression on her face slept, but Rui decided she was someone he would like know more, like a beautiful novel he couldn't put down. He was only reading the prologue at that point, and yet he couldn't help but already be completely fascinated.

Tsukasa watched as Rui and Tsukushi stare at each other unblinkingly, wondering if he was seeing sparks or were they simply figments of his imagination.

He wasn't sure of what this meant but, he couldn't help but feel the onset of an irritation, like a rash he wanted to scratch out. His heart pounded harder, blood pumping in his ears. He didn't care about this stupid, loud and violent girl that he barely knew, so he shouldn't be affected if they were attracted to each other, right?

Right?

So, why was Doumyouji Tsukasa suddenly feeling green…and monstrous?

.

A/N: Now I really don't know what to do with the next chapter. LOL. I would need to do some intense brain-cracking for the next one, so your reviews, suggestions, ideas will be more helpful than ever!