Back with more of my weird fic that I know isn't that good but I keep writing it because you people say it is! Enjoy, and yes I know I'm insane. Reviewer thankies time:
Zanes Lover: okaaay… keep me posted on that.
SapphireDewgong: my god, if you don't like it, at least stop repeating yourselves.
Anime 300: thanx
Anime's Echo: wow, you're crazy too?
Seoshi-Alina: thanx, you're nuts, and yes we are.
Anyway, here's chappie four. It's sappy, I'm warning you now.
Chapter 4
"How is he?" I asked an hour later. Zane was still unconscious with an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose. He hadn't moved since the duel ended except to toss and turn a bit.
"I'm sorry, but Zane isn't doing very well. Those Hell Duels or whatever they're called did more to him than he let on. He has severe nerve damage, which may never heal entirely. As for his other injuries, I don't even know where he got them, but it looks like he's been beaten half to death. Five of his ribs are broken, there's serious internal bleeding, and his shoulder was practically shattered. I really don't know when or if he'll ever recover. The only thing I can guarantee will heal is the bruising. Otherwise, I don't know. There's a doctor coming in a few hours to look him over; he can tell you more than I can."
I sat down on a chair next to Zane's bed, staring into space without really seeing. Zane had to get better. This wasn't his fault; it was Hell Kaiser's, and now that he was gone, Zane was left to take the pain and suffering. It just wasn't fair.
"Emma…?" a faint voice asked. A pair of gray-blue eyes was fixed on my own.
"Zane," I whispered. "That you?" I realized how much of an idiot I'd been. Zane wasn't just a friend to me; I loved him more than life itself.
"Yeah, it's me," he said softly, trying not to make himself cough. "He's gone for good."
"Thank goodness you're back. You have no idea how much I missed you." The small half-smile so characteristic of Zane showed up on his face for the first time since he'd left Duel Academy.
"Probably no more than I missed you, Em," he said. I bit my lip, not sure if I was about to laugh or cry. Yes, Zane was back, but I didn't know for how long. He was hurt so badly, they hadn't even told me if he'd live though it. That worried me.
"Zane, can you promise me something?" I asked.
"I'm listening."
"Just…well, take it easy, okay? I don't want you hurt worse than you already are. I'm really worried about you lately. It's great that you're back, just don't push it, all right?"
"Sure," he agreed. "Emma…thanks for not giving up on me. Even though even I didn't know if I'd ever get back. You're so…I don't know, but I love you," he told me. My eyes widened, and it felt like my heart skipped a beat.
"You…love me?" He looked at me with that look in his eyes, the one that said, "Have I ever lied to you in my life?" He hadn't. I knew he meant whatever he said to me. Zane did love me. I smiled.
"I love you too, Zane," I told him, tears of joy and fear for him gathering in the corners of my eyes. I kissed him lightly on the forehead, then, at the question in his eyes, touched my lips gently to his. "I'm sorry I never told you before how much I love you," I said, "but I didn't realize it myself. And since we're done with this for the moment, please tell me you'll rest for a while."
"Fine." He lay back against the pillow and was almost instantly out cold. I simply stayed by him, knowing that I wouldn't be able to make myself leave even if he'd told me to.
After that, Zane didn't wake up for almost a week. Doctors told me that he needed to regain strength that he'd lost during the past year, plus recovering from his injuries. I knew that it would be a long time before Zane could even walk, and longer before he could move the way he used to. At the moment, he couldn't move at all.
Lex and the others tried to get me to leave the hospital; after all, I still had classes, despite what had happened in the past few days.
"Oh, you know what?" I finally said. "Crowler can just shut his ugly trap and leave me alone. I am not leaving until Zane leaves with me."
"That won't be soon, Emma. Your third year'll be over in less than a month," Alexis told me. "You've really lost track of time."
"Do I look like I care? Tell Crowler he can teach the people who don't have a friend in the hospital."
"Friend?" she asked teasingly. "I think you've got more than a friend here, Em."
"Oh, shut up. I think you've got more than a friend in Jaden."
"That's 'cause I do. He asked me out yesterday. What I mean is that Zane wouldn't want you to miss graduation just because you're looking after him. Seriously, he'll be fine; he just needs rest."
"I know," I admitted. "I just don't want to leave him like this. What if he wakes up and I'm not here?"
"Zane would understand, Emma. You can come back after class, or even between classes if you want. Come on, Zane's tough. He'll be fine. Come to class; you can help me drive Chazz crazy. I know you love doing that." I grinned. I did love doing that.
We spent Crowler's class trying to land paper airplanes in Chazz's hair. The Slifer malcontent kept turning around just a second too late to catch us at it. I felt like I was going to explode from holding in laughter.
"See?" Alexis asked afterward. "I told you that would be fun. Where are you going?"
"To see Zane."
"Jeez, and here I thought I got you to loosen up. I'll come with, but I can't stay long. I have to tutor Jay so he doesn't fail the final exams."
"Good luck with that," I said. "Jaden may be a great duelist, but he's a real dunce with the academic stuff."
"Don't you think I know that? He's completely hopeless; I can't do a thing with him unless I bribe him because he's so lazy when he's not dueling."
"With what? Food? Or does he prefer kisses now that you two are a thing?" I teased. Alexis blushed.
"No! You're really evil; you know that, Emma? I meant like an IOU for the Card Shack or something. He's only kissed me once, anyway."
"Okay, okay, I know I'm evil. Sorry."
Alexis left after a while and I resumed my post beside Zane's bed. I wondered if Atticus would drop by today. My fellow third-year Obelisk did occasionally come in to visit his old friend, but lately, he was busy with his own exams. Most people in the Academy thought that the showbiz nut would emulate Zane in being the Grad Match headliner, but few to none thought that he could pull off the perfect scores that had made the Kaiser a Duel Academy legend. Well, besides all of Atticus's fangirls, and with them it's just blind adoration.
One of the nurses called me into the main office. She, along with a few doctors from the mainland, had been looking after Zane.
"Is something wrong?" I asked worriedly.
"No, not really," she assured me. "Nothing new, anyway, but I just wanted to ask if there was anything you wanted to know about this. I've seen girls whose friends or boyfriends have been hurt, and sometimes they don't ask because they're nervous or don't want to intrude. I just want to tell you that you can ask if you want to."
"Oh. All right," I said. "Do you have any idea when…?"
"Sorry, no. We're not sure why he hasn't woken up yet. Still, he's in stable condition, so you can relax. He should be fine once he wakes up. Definitely a little unsteady for a while, but fine." The woman looked uneasy for a moment. "The only problem is that coma patients are often so unpredictable. He might be hurt worse than we thought, or he might take a sudden turn for the worst, or he might even increase existing injuries if he moves unconsciously. All we can do is hope he wakes up soon so that he can start really trying to recover on his own power."
"Oh. I really hope that's soon. This is driving me crazy, and my friends don't help. So…what exactly is wrong with him? You never really told me the whole story," I said. "I mean, I know about his shoulder, but why is he coughing up blood? That's really what scares me."
"Well…one of the doctors could probably explain it better than I can, but basically… Wait, you know about the broken ribs, right?" I nodded. "Okay. Well, the x-rays showed that the bone splinters from the breaks caused serious damage to the muscle around them. Obviously, that caused quite a bit of bleeding, which unfortunately we haven't been able to stop. That's why we have him on the IV, because of the blood loss from that area. The reason he's been coughing is that the bleeding causes irritation, which the coughing would generally remove, but all it's doing is getting him more hurt because every time he moves, the cuts open up again, even with what the doctor did to close them. I'm really sorry your friend got hurt like this."
"Yeah…me too. It wasn't even his fault; he was controlled!" The woman laid a hand on my shoulder.
"It's okay," she told me. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Maybe not soon, but he'll recover. He's strong; a lot of people—most people—couldn't even have survived what he's been through. Compared to that, this is nothing. I'm sure he's gotten better since he was admitted."
"I was wondering about that," I said. "Why wasn't he moved to a hospital on one of the main islands, instead of staying in a school hospital wing?" The woman hesitated.
"He's not completely stable, so they thought that moving him might aggravate his condition. Staying here was the only option, unfortunately. Maybe we'll be able to move him to a more advanced hospital if he improves a bit more, but for the moment, he's not going anywhere."
"Excuse me, can you come in here for a moment?" a doctor asked from Zane's room. "You may need to help me with this." I followed the nurse into the room.
"What is it?" she asked. "Any change?"
"Yes, and not for the better," he replied gravely. "Actually, I'm not sure what's going on. I've never seen anything like this. His eyes are open; I thought he might be waking up, but…well, see for yourself."
Zane's eyes were open, but there was something wrong. His eyes were dull gray; exactly the way they had been when he had sacrificed himself for Syrus and lost the Shadow Game to Camula. I knew what it was now; his soul was imprisoned in the Shadow Realm.
End ChapterI know it's stupid and sappy and weird, but you know, that's not the point and if a get a single review about OOCness, I will kill something! I know it's OOCish! That is not the point! Just focus on the storyline and I'm sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger, but that means you might be more likely to come back. Push the button and tell your friends, okay? And if you don't like this, check out my other stuff, will ya? See you next time if you push the goddamn button. I'm not updating unless I get at least five reviews.
