If you listen hard enough
Chapter Three
AN - If there's anything up with the medical bits, I found the information on the internet, so please let me know so I can fix it!
Friday, 25th April, 2008
The next day Torao received a text from the boy she was supposed to tutor – he had come down with a cold, so he couldn't meet at the library. Tora texted back that it was fine and she hoped he'd get better soon, and sent another to the girl she was also supposed to meet, Mai's friend Yuuri, to please meet her on the front steps of the school instead.
The morning followed it's normal routine, with Tora rising first and preparing breakfast (today's lunches were leftover sushi from dinner), and Mai following a little while later, still half asleep as she made their tea. Tora did the washing up this time whilst Mai rummaged around for her other sock, then called out a goodbye to her sister as she left the apartment in a bit of a rush – she had a mission to do today, and if she didn't leave now, she'd be late!
Stopping at the florists on the way, Torao bought a tiny bouquet of flowers. One of the girl's she tutored in English had died in a hit and run on a street corner just before the Library last week, and Tora wanted to pay her respects. At the corner, Tora paused and closed her eyes, looking around with her senses, instead. Ah! There.
Placing the flowers along the corner fence, she murmured, "I'm sorry about this, Haruna-ya. What's holding you back?"
There was a sniffle. In her mind's eye, Torao saw the white-on-black outline of the shy girl she used to tutor. "I was too young, Taniyama-senpai! I didn't want to die – what about my family?!"
Tora's closed eyes crinkled in sympathy. "At least you'd lived a good life." She murmured. "Your family and friends, they all admired you very much, even though you were shy. Now, you shouldn't have anything to fear in the Afterlife – they'll take care of you up there, and before you know it, everyone will be along, too. So please, for your own sake, won't you move on?"
There was more sniffling from Haruna Suzume. "Will you pass on a message for me, Senpai?"
"Of course."
"Can you tell my family I'm really sorry, and… not to cry anymore?"
Torao smiled sadly. "Of course I will. Now, it's time to go." The outline of the dead girl's head nodded once, before a bright ray of sun shone down from somewhere, and she was gone.
Torao opened her eyes and sighed, bowed once, then took off towards the school. She couldn't afford to be late!
"Torao-san!" Yuuri called in surprise as the brunette leapt over the school fence in front of her. "There's no need to rush! I don't mind if you're a little bit late." She giggled then. "You're Mai's sister, after all!"
Tora grumbled, slowing down next to her. "Mai isn't always late, Yuuri-ya."
Yuuri grinned, shaking her head. "You're so formal, Torao-san! Ah, you and that Mai, even though you're twins, you're so different!"
Torao shook her head, smirking slightly. "We're still different people, Yuuri-ya. Actually, we –" She broke off abruptly and spun around, looking towards the old school building. "Mai!" She shouted, taking off and leaving Yuuri behind.
"Mai!" Torao yelled, swinging in an open window that she instinctively knew lead to her sister. Moving to the stuttering girl quickly, she looked her over once, before turning to the two men in the room with a critical eye. Crouching next to the man on the ground, she said, "Can you grab my bag please, Mai? I dropped it outside that window."
"Right!" Mai exclaimed, dashing out the door immediately.
Tora moved closer to the man and made to move his fringe so that she might check the injury there, but he slapped her hand away – or he would have, if she hadn't slapped his away first. "Hold still." She scolded instead, pushing his fringe aside carefully, and ignoring the blue eye it hid. Allowing the hair to fall back over his eye when Mai returned, Tora pulled on latex gloves, brought out a pack of tissues from her bag and gently mopped the blood away, before wadding more up and holding them to the scratch with careful pressure. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"I'm fine," He snapped, which only made Tora snort.
"Mai, will you tell the teacher's why I'll be late, please?"
"Tora, I'm not going to leave you alone!" Mai exclaimed, shocked.
Tora turned a sharp look on her sister. "I'm going to take them to the hospital, and you're going to class!"
"I should let you know that the school bell just rang." The younger man told Mai.
"Eh?" Mai asked, slack faced, before turning back to her sister. "You're sure?"
"Mai!" And then she was gone, like Alice's rabbit. Torao shook her head with a fond smile, before turning back to the men. "I take it you're not a transfer student then, Shibuya-shi?" She directed at the younger.
His brows creased, but before he could say anything, Tora smirked. "My sister came home in a horrible mood over an incredibly beautiful liar last night. I'm Taniyama Torao." She turned to the injured man. "If you can stand, I will help you to the hospital. It's not far."
Shibuya interrupted. "If you give us directions, we can find our own way."
Tora snorted again. "And pass up an opportunity for practical medical application? Try again."
"I beg your pardon?"
"I intend to be a doctor." Tora told him firmly. She closed her eyes briefly, drew in a deep breath, then let it out in a sigh at what she had 'seen'. "It would be unwise to walk on that leg – we can use your vehicle instead."
"Torao-chan!" The nurse behind the counter exclaimed. "Who have you brought in this time?"
"A sprained ankle and minor head injury," Tora said cheerfully. "Is Akihito-hakise in?"
"Yes, yes! You know the way, of course?"
Tora winked, escorting the injured man down the hall.
"Akihito-hakise?" She called, knocking on the door. "It's Taniyama again."
"Torao-chan!" The gentlemen who answered the door was in his forties with black hair and brown eyes that twinkled. "My, my! Who is this poor man?"
"My name is Lin Koujo," The injured man finally said, as Tora lowered him to the examination bed in the corner.
"What is your diagnostic, Torao-chan?" Akihito asked.
"A sprained ankle and a minor gash to the head." She answered promptly.
"Did Mai-san help at all?" The doctor asked fondly as he examined Lin's ankle – it was sprained.
Colour bloomed in Torao's cheeks, and both Lin and Shibuya answered with a firm "yes". The doctor laughed.
"Mai can't help it that she's clumsy!" Tora defended crossly.
"It's a part of her charm, Torao-chan," Akihito laughed, removing the bandage she had placed on the gash on Lin's forehead. "Now, what would you prescribe Lin-san for his recovery?"
Her eyes narrowed as she gave him a once over, and answered promptly, having already thought this through on their way. "The ankle is easy enough, provided you follow the RICE procedure. I'd recommend at least three days of uninterrupted rest, with an ice pack for ten to twenty minutes every hour or so of the first seventy-two hours, compression and elevation. Lin-ya should stay abed during this time, with the leg up and supported. For the scratch, we should wipe it with anti-bacterial disinfectant, and then apply a bandage. I don't believe it needs stiches."
Akihito laughed proudly. "Well done, my girl! We'll make a doctor out of you yet! Now, Lin-san, you don't have to worry at all. We'll look after you until it's safe for you to walk on that leg. In the meantime, Torao-chan will look after your friend."
Shibuya made a choking noise.
"You were in the middle of doing something before Mai interrupted, right? Since it was my sister who has caused this setback, I'll help however I can, outside of school hours. And if I can't make it, Mai will." Tora said firmly.