Title: Tooi Kono Yume de (In This Distant Dream) 7/7
Author: Kikiam-sama
Rating: PG-13
Description: A fic that came out of the mystery of Yurete Kandagawa, a love polygon on Jin, Hisoka, Mito and Mito's sister. The story is told in Mito's point of view.
Notes: This came partly out of Illumi's idea on Jin and Hisoka being friends. Thanks a lot! I just added the love polygon because of Yurete Kandagawa (Hisoka and Mito's duet in the character vocal song book). Imagine how Gon would react when he hears about this...
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Tooi Kono Yume de
chapter seven
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I never saw Hisoka again after that night. It bothered me a lot. Did I hurt his feelings? I almost cried at the thought of him hating me. It was enough that I hated myself.
I never had time to think about it, though. Truly enough, my life with Maya was busy. I had to do most of the chores in their house. She had a big load, and the local doctor said that she'll probably have twins. It could possibly have been perfect, if only ƒitƒ never struck.
A few days after I moved in, some villagers became seriously ill. They fell sick with high fever. The disease turned the skin color of its victims almost white. Some had hallucinations. Most of them died within a month after they were daignosed. The strangest charctersistic, though, was that its victims were unable to talk. This disease brought a cloud of darkness to the village. Not a week passed without at least one funeral.
The doctors couldn't understand how the disease was transmitted. There was no pattern that gave a clue on how the victims became infected. That was why we were puzzled why Maya was struck with this epidemic.
I was Maya's personal nurse. Every morning, we would go for a walk around the fields for maybe two hours. Then, I would take her to our parents for her daily visit while I went to the market to buy some stuff. After that, we would go to her house and spend the rest of the day inside. While I struggled with all the chores, she read some books or did her knitting. She listened to music a lot for her baby.
At first, we didin't think she was ill. We went for our walk as usual, and then I brouhgt her to our parent's house. When I came back from the market to bring her home, she was a bit pale.
"Oneechan, are you okay?" I asked her.
She nodded.
"You're a bit pale. Are you sure?"
She nodded again, without speaking. I held her hand, it felt cold. I put my hand on her forehead. Her temperature seemed higher than usual.
"You might be having a fever," I said, and slowed down a bit. When we reached her house, I quickly made her lie down. I got out a thermometer to get her temperature.
"Thirty-eight degrees celsius," I read aloud. "A fever, alright."
She looked at me without talking.
"Wait..." I said then took out a towel and a basin filled with water. I placed a wet towel on her forehead.
"I'll call Jin, okay?" I said. I knew that Jin was fishing by the river. I was worried. The disease was spreading quickly. If Maya was infected, what would become of her pregnancy?
I rushed out of the house and looked for Jin. When I got there, the other fishermen told me that Jin went to town to buy some tools. I headed to my parents afterwards, who in turn, called the doctor.
The doctor examined Maya. He took her temperature, then checked her pulse. He then asked her some questions. Maya only gave signs and nods. She seemed unable to speak. What we feared the most had happened.
"How is she, sensei?" Mother asked.
The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid that she had been infected by this unknown disease we've been having lately."
I was shocked, but tried to remain calm. "How did she become infected, doctor?"
"We suspect that the disease is airborne and she may have been infected due to weak resistance."
"Will her pregnancy be okay?" Father asked.
The doctor bowed his head. "That, I don't know."
We all remained silent. The doctor started to pack up his things. "Please call me whenever anything unusual happens. I must go now."
"Thank you," my mother said, then lead him to the door.
"You must go home by the time Jin arrives," Father told me. "You might get infected as well."
He was right, but I disagreed. "No, Father, I'll stay here."
"What?"
"I'll stay here and take care of her." I wanted to. I doubt that Jin could take care of her as well as ƒIƒ did. I couldn't entrust her with anybody else, even her own husband. Suddenly, I felt so protective of her. I never really remembered an instant that she was really protective of me, but somehow, I felt that I should make sure that she'd be all right.
"No, Mito, we couldn't afford that even you would get sick." Father was worried. We both knew that the disease was deadly, and there was still no cure. If I get infected, I was almost as sure as dead.
"You're father is right," my mother joined in.
"No!" I said. "I'll take care of her!"
"Jin can do that very well."
"No he can't!" I blurted out. As I said that, Jin opened the door.
"How is she?" he asked and quickly rushed to Maya's side. She was already asleep.
My father explained to Jin what the doctor said. Instead of crying, he went to me and placed his hand on my shoulder with a smile.
"It's a good thing that Mito-chan was with her. Thank you."
I smiled back. "You're welcome."
"What would you do now?" Father asked.
"I don't know," Jin answered sheepishly. "Maybe I'll stop working for a while to take care of her."
"Don't worry, Jin! I'll take care of her!"
"No, Mito-chan. You might contract the disease for yourself."
"No!" I almost shouted. "I want to take care of her! I don't trust you!" I blurted out. I then realized what I just said and quickly covered my mouth in guilt.
Jin laughed. "Of course, you don't." He looked at my parents asking who should take care of Maya.
"I guess Mito would take care of her, then," Father said.
Mother nodded reluctantly. "Just take care, okay?" she added.
"I'll make sure," I said.
Jin looked at the clock. It was almost 6:00. "Maybe we could eat some dinner now."
I suddenly remembered the pork that was cooking in the kitchen. I quickly rushed out of the room. While I took care of things, I heard them talk in the living room.
"Maybe I can check the Hunter database about this disease," Jin said. "Why did this have to happen now?" I realized that his smiling face that he showed me was just a fake.
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Three weeks passed. Life had become terrible. A funeral procession was held almost everyday. I watched them from the windows in Jin's house. As each one of them finished, I looked nervously at my sister, who was getting worse and wrose with each moment that passed by. She was geting thinner and each day, her skin turned one shade whiter. Dark circles started to form around her eyes. She was mostly asleep. When she's awake, I usually read to her some children's books for her baby. Like being unable to speak, she was unable to read because the disease had also caused her vision to become cloudy. In the night, she ahd hallucinations: mostly about her child. She knew what was going on, and she was having nightmares that her child will die. Jin and I could do nothing but to cheer her up with our fake smiles.
Jin was always out of the house. He stopped working even if I was with Maya. He was trying to research about the disease. He knew that leaving Kujira would help him a lot, but he couldn't, not now that his wife was ill in bed. I felt that he was truly frustrated.
It was early Monday morning when Maya finally gave birth. I was alseep on the couch, waiting for Jin, who still wasn't home, when I heard Maya wailing in her room. At first, I ignored her calls. I was too tired. I had been doing chores and at the same time, taking care of a sick person. I didn't really regret volunteering but my body just failed to gather more energy to move right away.
The wailing became even louder. I was shaken awake, and realized that Maya might already be having labor pains. I scolded myself for ignoring her and quickly rushed to her room.
There she was, panting hard, with sweat running down her forehead, and almost screaming. I rushed by her side.
"Oneechan!" I called. Stupid me. I remembered that she couldn't talk. She responded, though. She pointed to her stomach. I understood what she meant.
"Hold on, Oneechan. I'm going to call a doctor." I rushed out of the house and knocked on the doctor's house. It took him around ten minutes to open the door and another fifteen minutes to prepare his materials and call his assistant. I quickly led them to the house.
The doctor shook his head upon seeing my sister. "Please get me some light," he instructed. I quickly brought him a gas lamp from the kitchen.
While he prepared his materials I called my parents to tell them that Maya was giving birth. They promised that they will come right away. Now, only Jin was missing. Where could he be?
I rushed again to assist the doctor, but there was nothing I could do to help. I waited outside the room. My parents arrived soon enough, then I fell asleep. In my dreams, I heard Maya scream in pain. I curled up. I didn't want to hear those sounds. They were the most terrible I have heard in my whole lifetime.
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By the time I woke up, it was already high noon. I woke up to sounds of wails from the room. As I opened the door, I heard the cries of an infant. I quickly rushed to Maya. She was smiling.
"It's a healthy boy, ma'am," the doctor told my sister, then gazed at his assistant. He was holding something wrapped in cloth. He looked at me and shook his head. I approached him.
"The twin sister died," he whispered to me. I covered my mouth in shock and looked at the boy the doctor was holding. "We decided to keep it from her."
I nodded the headed back to Maya, while the doctor talked to my parents. I heard snips of their conversation.
"She lost a lot of blood, and the disease is eating up the rest of her. I fear that she might not survive."
My mother cried. I looked at my sister and tried not to cry, too. She smiled at me.
Maya weakly pointed at the baby boy who was held by Mother. She saw this and handed him to Maya.
The baby peacefully slept in Maya's arms. She smiled, then looked at me. She looked tired, but happy. She looked around, then opened her mouth as if she was about to say something.
"What is it, Oneechan?" I asked and got near her. She struggled to speak.
"Don't speak," the doctor said. "Everything's okay now, Mrs. Freecs."
Maya shook her head and continued to struggle. She made strange sounds that we could only be confused at. She made strange signals with her hands, but we couldn't understand.
"J..." she managed to say.
"J-j-j-i..."
"J-j-j-i-i-i..."
"J-j-j-i-i-i-...n..."
"Jin?" I asked. The father was missing. Where was he?
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Jin told his father why he wasn't at his son's birth, who, in turn, told me about it. A tiny voice in my mind had told me about this before, but I ignored it. I had a feeling that I was partly responsible for it, and it made me carry guilt for the rest of my life.
It was 2:00 a.m., around the same time Maya started to have labor pains. Jin was walking home from town. After all his research, he had found a way to cure the disease. It was an extract from a rare plant called Kilaya, which can be found in Kihara. Thankful of what Jin had done for them, they sent a representative to bring to Kujira some samples of the plant. Because of a storm in Kihara, though, the ship was delayed. Jin wasn't informed so he waited at the port the whole day. The plant arrived at around 12 am. After that, he quickly rushed back to the village.
He was walking in the forest when a card came flying across his face and hit a nearby tree. It barely missed him, and it cut several strands of his hair. It could possibly be an assault, but he decided to ignore it so he could go home right away.
Another card flew by after taking another step. He sensed it and quickly ducked to avoid it. He looked at where it was coming from and found out that they were being thrown by a man hiding within the leaves of a nearby tree.
"Who is it?" Jin asked. An evil laugh responded to him.
"Otousan?" the voice teased. Jin recognized it.
"Hisoka!" he shouted. His guess was correct becasue Hisoka went down from the tree and landed right in front of Jin.
"So, you've finally decided to come back," Jin said.
"Oh, yes. I've been here for quite some time already."
Jin kept quiet and tried to remain alert. "What are you doing here, murderer?"
Hisoka laughed. "I remember when you came to me in Badokia a few years ago. You caught me in one of my blood lust trips..."
"You almost killed me back then."
Hisoka laughed. "Of course, I was burning with jealousy... How did you survive that poison anyway?"
"None of your business. Now out of my way." Jin walked towards Hisoka and tried to force his way.
Hisoka didn't budge and pushed him back. "Uh-uh-uh..."
"What now?"
"I passed by your house just now. Poor Maya was about to give birth..."
"What?" Jin tried to remain calm.. "Get out of my way, Hisoka." He once again, tried to force his way in.
Hisoka threw a card at Jin which he barely avoided.
"You know, Jin. There came a time that I decided to stop killing people."
Jin looked at him with eyes of silent anger. He had no time to listen to Hisoka right now. Hisoka probably knew it, and he was annoying Jin on purpose.
"I came back here around three months ago. I didn't tell anybody of course, except for my dear Mito-chan. She was wonderful. She trusted me and forgot what I had done in the past. I fell in love with her, and I thought she had fallen for me, as well. We enjoyed this, let's say, forbidden relationship, for a while. However..."
"Enough, Hisoka," Jin said angrily.
"Why? Doesn't Mr. Ever-so-kind Jin want to listen to the cires of his best friend?"
"Just tell me if you want to kill me, damnit."
"Oh, poor me, my best friend refuses to listen to me..." Hisoka said sarcastically.
Jin remained on where he was and looked intently at Hisoka.
"Oh, goody..." Hisoka said and licked his lips. "Let me continue..."
"We were so in love. I wanted to be with her forever, and I thought that maybe I should change for the better to please her, and to be with her. I was going to tell her everything on this one particular night when I found out..."
"That she was damn in love with you!" Upon saying this, Hisoka's eyes changed. A while ago, they were that of a clown's, looking for attention. Now, they were turned into a murderer's eyes, desiring for blood and death.
Jin prepared to fight.
"She said she was jealous of her sister! She said she was happy with me but I knew it was one fat lie! Do you know how I felt then? I was so sad and angry. My heart was torn to find out that the girl I love was in love with somebody else! Oh, what could I do to please her? Then I thought, maybe if I killed you, she'd stop feeling jealous of Maya, and she'll finally be happy!"
"A brilliant idea, to kill you, isn't it? Mito-chan would be happy, and I'd finally be able to make you suffer, just like I did. If it weren't for you and your stupid promise to take that damn exam, I would never have become like this! And damn, do I regret that I ever met you. This time, I'll make sure that you regret to have ever met me!"
"Enough talk, Hisoka. Go ahead and kill me. Let's see you try." Jin was guilty about how Hisoka felt, but it wasn't the time to mourn with Hisoka. Maya was already giving birth and he had to be there.
Hisoka laughed. "You must be sooo angry at me right now. Not only am I blocking your way to see your wife, but I'm revealing all your imperfections as well." Hisoka took out a card. "Fine, then. Let's see..."
Hisoka threw the card at Jin who quickly avoided it without any effort. Hisoka threw more at him. None of them were able to hit.
"Ooh... pretty fast. I guess you know that they're all laced with some sweet poison I made myself." Hisoka laughed, then took out a whole deck of cards.
"Let's see. There are fifty-two cards in my hand. I'll throw all of them to you at the same time. Let's see of you can avoid them all."
"Damn you." Hisoka threw all fifty-two cards. Jin avoided them one by one. The more ccards that came, the harder it was to avoid the others. He was counting how many cards he had avoided already. The fifty-second finally came and he caught it between his two fingers.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Hisoka clapped his hands with sarcastic amazement.
"What else do you want?" Jin asked.
Hisoka laughed out loud. "You're such a fool, Jin!"
Jin was alarmed. As he watched Hisoka laughed, he didn't notice another card fly towards him from behind. It hit him and dug deep into the back of his neck. Pain shout trough his whole body.
"What the hell?" Jin pulled it out and saw another card: the Joker.
"Fooled you!" Hisoka said, then laughed. "You're so gullible to believe that I only threw fifty-two cards at you! You forgot all about the Joker!"
"K'so..." in cursed. The poison was quickly taking effect. His vision was slowly getting clouded and the started to feel numb.
"I am the Joker after all... Ahh... Jin, so typical of you, to deal with practically almost everything except for me. I'm here to remind your of you single failure to bring me home... to change me..."
Jin slowly lost his consciousness. The poison slowly spread to his body. He heard nothing but Hisoka's cruel laugh as he slowly succumbed to the Joker's wrath.
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Maya nodded. She was looking fror Jin.
"H-he's not here," I answered. I wondered where Jin could possibly be. His wife just gave birth and was struggling to remain alive. What right did he have to disappear all of a sudden?
Many of the villagers tried to find him, but they all failed. I thought that I should go help find him, but it was probably best to stay with Maya.
Maya suddenly started to pant hard. She as having difficulty breathing. Her skin was slowly losing the little color it had left.
"Oneechan!" I cried. The doctor quickly took the baby from her and handed it to me. He checked her again.
"Her body's starting to break down. As I said, she lost a lot of blood, there is barely enough in her body to let her survive. In ordinary conditions, she would, but the disease requires more blood to circulate around her body," he said, giving us a grave look " I'm sorry, this is beyond my control. All we can do now is wait."
We expected this to happen. I desperately watched my sister catch every drop of air. She pleaded to me with her eyes. I looked back into them, and told me this: She wanted to live. She wanted to see her son grow up. She wanted to see me get married and have kids just like her. She wanted to grow old like my parents and live her life to the fullest. And most of all she wanted to see Jin right now, to feel his face, to hold his hands and live the rest of her life happily with him.
Her determination told me to do something. I handed the baby to Mother and talked to the doctor who was taking a sip of water.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" I asked desperately.
The doctor shook his head. "I'm really sorry."
I looked at her again. Her breathing had become so loud it could be heard in the whole room. I wanted to do everything I could in my power to save her. "Wouldn't a blood transfusion help?"
"I don't have the proper tools. And besides, her blood type is rare. We will have a hard time looking for a donor."
"I might have the same blood type!"
"No," the doctor said. "It would take too much time to test yours."
"We just have to try!" I almost shouted.
"No, I'm sorry."
I was raging with anger. "How can you just give up on her? Look at her! She's struggling so hard and you just give up like this? Are you actually a doctor?!"
The doctor looked at me with stern eyes and put his hands on my shoulders. "Mito-san, there are just some times that we just have to give up. Nothing will happen no matter what we do. It will only make things worse than they already are."
Upon hearing his words, I cried out loud, just like a child. I pounded my fists on his chest. I wanted to blame him but it was wrong. It was nobody's fault.
"M-m-ito..."
It was Maya, she was calling me to her side. The doctor gave me a look then I went to her.
"What is it, Oneechan?" I asked, trying to cheer her up as much as possible. I don't know how she was able to speak.
"I-I c-c-an't w-wait for J-j-in a-any l-long-ger..." she said in between gasps.
"Hold on, he'll come soon."
She shook her head, then smiled at me. "Y-you're spirit is admirable, M-m-ito-chan..."
"Don't speak, just save your energy."
She didn't answer me. She just reached around her neck which was covered by a blanket. After a few moments the green choker Jin gave her nine years ago lay on her hand.
"I-I h-have always w-worn this... m-my p-prized possession... It's yours now, M-mito-chan..." She handed it to me.
"Why are you doing this? You're not going to die yet, Oneechan."
"D-don't l-lie t-to yourself, M-mito-chan..." She sat up from her bed. I tried to stop her but I couldn't. She placed the choker in my hands. She lied down again, but her hand was still in mine, holding the choker.
My eyes were brimming with tears, and so was hers. Our parents were covering their faces with their hands. The doctor and his assistant pretended not to care and continued to clean up their things.
"Otousan, Okaasan, th-thank y-you..." she
"A-and w-when J-jin a-arrives, t-tell him that I-I f-forgive h-him a-and g-give h-him my f-farew-well..."
Upon saying the last word, the grip of her hand on the choker loosened. It turned cold. I looked at her face.
Her eyes were closed and her skin was as white as rice. However, the dark circles around her eyes had disappeared. Her mouth was formed into a smile.
She died happily. She was glad that she was able to give Jin a son. She was content with the short time they spent as husband and wife. She knew her child would be safe in Jin's hands. She had no regrets. Everything was forgiven and forgotten for her. My first reaction was of course, to cry. I held her cold hands tightly and buried my face into her chest. I cried and cried. I couldn't accept losing her, my beloved Oneechan. The one who cheered me up when I was sad, the one who helped me up when I tripped over a stone in the forest, one I could talk to about my problems, and one who would give me an eternal smile even if the whole world breaking into pieces.
My world ƒwasƒ breaking into pieces. And there she was, smiling at me in her eternal sleep. She looked so peaceful.
I had so much regrets. Why did I hate her? Why did I become jealous of her? All I could do was cry and cry.
Thd door suddenly opened. I didn't care who it was. I was drowning in my own tears.
"N-no..." The newcomer was Jin.
"She died only a few moments ago," my father managed to say.
"I did all I could to save her. I'm sorry," the doctor added.
I looked at Jin, expecting him to come to Maya. But he didn't. The assistant went to him instead, and handed him the child.
"She gave birth to him before she died," my mother explained.
Jin held the baby in his arms. He looked at Maya in horror, then slowly bowed his head, looking at the child's face. We couldn't understand why he wouldn't come near her body.
"P-lease l-leave m-me alone," he said quietly. His shoulders were shaking as his knees fell to the floor.
Everybody left, except for me. I went to Jin.
"Jin..." I began.
"Please... Mito, leave me alone..."
"Maya told me to give you her farewell before she died."
He looked at me. His eyes were swollen and stained with dirt. His clothes were torn and there was a wound at the back of his neck. "Thank you, Mito-chan."
With that, I left the room. I put the green choker on, and went home to take a nice warm bath.
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that's the ending! too dramatic, ne? many of them seem OOC [arigatou, cielo-san, for teaching me what this acronym means...]. Only now did I find out the following mistakes:
Jin left Kujira when Mito was only 3.
Jin is Mito's cousin.
and many others.
Oh, hell... this sucks. An epilogue will follow up. More on the funeral, etc. Please, I need comments.
Author: Kikiam-sama
Rating: PG-13
Description: A fic that came out of the mystery of Yurete Kandagawa, a love polygon on Jin, Hisoka, Mito and Mito's sister. The story is told in Mito's point of view.
Notes: This came partly out of Illumi's idea on Jin and Hisoka being friends. Thanks a lot! I just added the love polygon because of Yurete Kandagawa (Hisoka and Mito's duet in the character vocal song book). Imagine how Gon would react when he hears about this...
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Tooi Kono Yume de
chapter seven
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I never saw Hisoka again after that night. It bothered me a lot. Did I hurt his feelings? I almost cried at the thought of him hating me. It was enough that I hated myself.
I never had time to think about it, though. Truly enough, my life with Maya was busy. I had to do most of the chores in their house. She had a big load, and the local doctor said that she'll probably have twins. It could possibly have been perfect, if only ƒitƒ never struck.
A few days after I moved in, some villagers became seriously ill. They fell sick with high fever. The disease turned the skin color of its victims almost white. Some had hallucinations. Most of them died within a month after they were daignosed. The strangest charctersistic, though, was that its victims were unable to talk. This disease brought a cloud of darkness to the village. Not a week passed without at least one funeral.
The doctors couldn't understand how the disease was transmitted. There was no pattern that gave a clue on how the victims became infected. That was why we were puzzled why Maya was struck with this epidemic.
I was Maya's personal nurse. Every morning, we would go for a walk around the fields for maybe two hours. Then, I would take her to our parents for her daily visit while I went to the market to buy some stuff. After that, we would go to her house and spend the rest of the day inside. While I struggled with all the chores, she read some books or did her knitting. She listened to music a lot for her baby.
At first, we didin't think she was ill. We went for our walk as usual, and then I brouhgt her to our parent's house. When I came back from the market to bring her home, she was a bit pale.
"Oneechan, are you okay?" I asked her.
She nodded.
"You're a bit pale. Are you sure?"
She nodded again, without speaking. I held her hand, it felt cold. I put my hand on her forehead. Her temperature seemed higher than usual.
"You might be having a fever," I said, and slowed down a bit. When we reached her house, I quickly made her lie down. I got out a thermometer to get her temperature.
"Thirty-eight degrees celsius," I read aloud. "A fever, alright."
She looked at me without talking.
"Wait..." I said then took out a towel and a basin filled with water. I placed a wet towel on her forehead.
"I'll call Jin, okay?" I said. I knew that Jin was fishing by the river. I was worried. The disease was spreading quickly. If Maya was infected, what would become of her pregnancy?
I rushed out of the house and looked for Jin. When I got there, the other fishermen told me that Jin went to town to buy some tools. I headed to my parents afterwards, who in turn, called the doctor.
The doctor examined Maya. He took her temperature, then checked her pulse. He then asked her some questions. Maya only gave signs and nods. She seemed unable to speak. What we feared the most had happened.
"How is she, sensei?" Mother asked.
The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid that she had been infected by this unknown disease we've been having lately."
I was shocked, but tried to remain calm. "How did she become infected, doctor?"
"We suspect that the disease is airborne and she may have been infected due to weak resistance."
"Will her pregnancy be okay?" Father asked.
The doctor bowed his head. "That, I don't know."
We all remained silent. The doctor started to pack up his things. "Please call me whenever anything unusual happens. I must go now."
"Thank you," my mother said, then lead him to the door.
"You must go home by the time Jin arrives," Father told me. "You might get infected as well."
He was right, but I disagreed. "No, Father, I'll stay here."
"What?"
"I'll stay here and take care of her." I wanted to. I doubt that Jin could take care of her as well as ƒIƒ did. I couldn't entrust her with anybody else, even her own husband. Suddenly, I felt so protective of her. I never really remembered an instant that she was really protective of me, but somehow, I felt that I should make sure that she'd be all right.
"No, Mito, we couldn't afford that even you would get sick." Father was worried. We both knew that the disease was deadly, and there was still no cure. If I get infected, I was almost as sure as dead.
"You're father is right," my mother joined in.
"No!" I said. "I'll take care of her!"
"Jin can do that very well."
"No he can't!" I blurted out. As I said that, Jin opened the door.
"How is she?" he asked and quickly rushed to Maya's side. She was already asleep.
My father explained to Jin what the doctor said. Instead of crying, he went to me and placed his hand on my shoulder with a smile.
"It's a good thing that Mito-chan was with her. Thank you."
I smiled back. "You're welcome."
"What would you do now?" Father asked.
"I don't know," Jin answered sheepishly. "Maybe I'll stop working for a while to take care of her."
"Don't worry, Jin! I'll take care of her!"
"No, Mito-chan. You might contract the disease for yourself."
"No!" I almost shouted. "I want to take care of her! I don't trust you!" I blurted out. I then realized what I just said and quickly covered my mouth in guilt.
Jin laughed. "Of course, you don't." He looked at my parents asking who should take care of Maya.
"I guess Mito would take care of her, then," Father said.
Mother nodded reluctantly. "Just take care, okay?" she added.
"I'll make sure," I said.
Jin looked at the clock. It was almost 6:00. "Maybe we could eat some dinner now."
I suddenly remembered the pork that was cooking in the kitchen. I quickly rushed out of the room. While I took care of things, I heard them talk in the living room.
"Maybe I can check the Hunter database about this disease," Jin said. "Why did this have to happen now?" I realized that his smiling face that he showed me was just a fake.
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Three weeks passed. Life had become terrible. A funeral procession was held almost everyday. I watched them from the windows in Jin's house. As each one of them finished, I looked nervously at my sister, who was getting worse and wrose with each moment that passed by. She was geting thinner and each day, her skin turned one shade whiter. Dark circles started to form around her eyes. She was mostly asleep. When she's awake, I usually read to her some children's books for her baby. Like being unable to speak, she was unable to read because the disease had also caused her vision to become cloudy. In the night, she ahd hallucinations: mostly about her child. She knew what was going on, and she was having nightmares that her child will die. Jin and I could do nothing but to cheer her up with our fake smiles.
Jin was always out of the house. He stopped working even if I was with Maya. He was trying to research about the disease. He knew that leaving Kujira would help him a lot, but he couldn't, not now that his wife was ill in bed. I felt that he was truly frustrated.
It was early Monday morning when Maya finally gave birth. I was alseep on the couch, waiting for Jin, who still wasn't home, when I heard Maya wailing in her room. At first, I ignored her calls. I was too tired. I had been doing chores and at the same time, taking care of a sick person. I didn't really regret volunteering but my body just failed to gather more energy to move right away.
The wailing became even louder. I was shaken awake, and realized that Maya might already be having labor pains. I scolded myself for ignoring her and quickly rushed to her room.
There she was, panting hard, with sweat running down her forehead, and almost screaming. I rushed by her side.
"Oneechan!" I called. Stupid me. I remembered that she couldn't talk. She responded, though. She pointed to her stomach. I understood what she meant.
"Hold on, Oneechan. I'm going to call a doctor." I rushed out of the house and knocked on the doctor's house. It took him around ten minutes to open the door and another fifteen minutes to prepare his materials and call his assistant. I quickly led them to the house.
The doctor shook his head upon seeing my sister. "Please get me some light," he instructed. I quickly brought him a gas lamp from the kitchen.
While he prepared his materials I called my parents to tell them that Maya was giving birth. They promised that they will come right away. Now, only Jin was missing. Where could he be?
I rushed again to assist the doctor, but there was nothing I could do to help. I waited outside the room. My parents arrived soon enough, then I fell asleep. In my dreams, I heard Maya scream in pain. I curled up. I didn't want to hear those sounds. They were the most terrible I have heard in my whole lifetime.
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By the time I woke up, it was already high noon. I woke up to sounds of wails from the room. As I opened the door, I heard the cries of an infant. I quickly rushed to Maya. She was smiling.
"It's a healthy boy, ma'am," the doctor told my sister, then gazed at his assistant. He was holding something wrapped in cloth. He looked at me and shook his head. I approached him.
"The twin sister died," he whispered to me. I covered my mouth in shock and looked at the boy the doctor was holding. "We decided to keep it from her."
I nodded the headed back to Maya, while the doctor talked to my parents. I heard snips of their conversation.
"She lost a lot of blood, and the disease is eating up the rest of her. I fear that she might not survive."
My mother cried. I looked at my sister and tried not to cry, too. She smiled at me.
Maya weakly pointed at the baby boy who was held by Mother. She saw this and handed him to Maya.
The baby peacefully slept in Maya's arms. She smiled, then looked at me. She looked tired, but happy. She looked around, then opened her mouth as if she was about to say something.
"What is it, Oneechan?" I asked and got near her. She struggled to speak.
"Don't speak," the doctor said. "Everything's okay now, Mrs. Freecs."
Maya shook her head and continued to struggle. She made strange sounds that we could only be confused at. She made strange signals with her hands, but we couldn't understand.
"J..." she managed to say.
"J-j-j-i..."
"J-j-j-i-i-i..."
"J-j-j-i-i-i-...n..."
"Jin?" I asked. The father was missing. Where was he?
----------------
Jin told his father why he wasn't at his son's birth, who, in turn, told me about it. A tiny voice in my mind had told me about this before, but I ignored it. I had a feeling that I was partly responsible for it, and it made me carry guilt for the rest of my life.
It was 2:00 a.m., around the same time Maya started to have labor pains. Jin was walking home from town. After all his research, he had found a way to cure the disease. It was an extract from a rare plant called Kilaya, which can be found in Kihara. Thankful of what Jin had done for them, they sent a representative to bring to Kujira some samples of the plant. Because of a storm in Kihara, though, the ship was delayed. Jin wasn't informed so he waited at the port the whole day. The plant arrived at around 12 am. After that, he quickly rushed back to the village.
He was walking in the forest when a card came flying across his face and hit a nearby tree. It barely missed him, and it cut several strands of his hair. It could possibly be an assault, but he decided to ignore it so he could go home right away.
Another card flew by after taking another step. He sensed it and quickly ducked to avoid it. He looked at where it was coming from and found out that they were being thrown by a man hiding within the leaves of a nearby tree.
"Who is it?" Jin asked. An evil laugh responded to him.
"Otousan?" the voice teased. Jin recognized it.
"Hisoka!" he shouted. His guess was correct becasue Hisoka went down from the tree and landed right in front of Jin.
"So, you've finally decided to come back," Jin said.
"Oh, yes. I've been here for quite some time already."
Jin kept quiet and tried to remain alert. "What are you doing here, murderer?"
Hisoka laughed. "I remember when you came to me in Badokia a few years ago. You caught me in one of my blood lust trips..."
"You almost killed me back then."
Hisoka laughed. "Of course, I was burning with jealousy... How did you survive that poison anyway?"
"None of your business. Now out of my way." Jin walked towards Hisoka and tried to force his way.
Hisoka didn't budge and pushed him back. "Uh-uh-uh..."
"What now?"
"I passed by your house just now. Poor Maya was about to give birth..."
"What?" Jin tried to remain calm.. "Get out of my way, Hisoka." He once again, tried to force his way in.
Hisoka threw a card at Jin which he barely avoided.
"You know, Jin. There came a time that I decided to stop killing people."
Jin looked at him with eyes of silent anger. He had no time to listen to Hisoka right now. Hisoka probably knew it, and he was annoying Jin on purpose.
"I came back here around three months ago. I didn't tell anybody of course, except for my dear Mito-chan. She was wonderful. She trusted me and forgot what I had done in the past. I fell in love with her, and I thought she had fallen for me, as well. We enjoyed this, let's say, forbidden relationship, for a while. However..."
"Enough, Hisoka," Jin said angrily.
"Why? Doesn't Mr. Ever-so-kind Jin want to listen to the cires of his best friend?"
"Just tell me if you want to kill me, damnit."
"Oh, poor me, my best friend refuses to listen to me..." Hisoka said sarcastically.
Jin remained on where he was and looked intently at Hisoka.
"Oh, goody..." Hisoka said and licked his lips. "Let me continue..."
"We were so in love. I wanted to be with her forever, and I thought that maybe I should change for the better to please her, and to be with her. I was going to tell her everything on this one particular night when I found out..."
"That she was damn in love with you!" Upon saying this, Hisoka's eyes changed. A while ago, they were that of a clown's, looking for attention. Now, they were turned into a murderer's eyes, desiring for blood and death.
Jin prepared to fight.
"She said she was jealous of her sister! She said she was happy with me but I knew it was one fat lie! Do you know how I felt then? I was so sad and angry. My heart was torn to find out that the girl I love was in love with somebody else! Oh, what could I do to please her? Then I thought, maybe if I killed you, she'd stop feeling jealous of Maya, and she'll finally be happy!"
"A brilliant idea, to kill you, isn't it? Mito-chan would be happy, and I'd finally be able to make you suffer, just like I did. If it weren't for you and your stupid promise to take that damn exam, I would never have become like this! And damn, do I regret that I ever met you. This time, I'll make sure that you regret to have ever met me!"
"Enough talk, Hisoka. Go ahead and kill me. Let's see you try." Jin was guilty about how Hisoka felt, but it wasn't the time to mourn with Hisoka. Maya was already giving birth and he had to be there.
Hisoka laughed. "You must be sooo angry at me right now. Not only am I blocking your way to see your wife, but I'm revealing all your imperfections as well." Hisoka took out a card. "Fine, then. Let's see..."
Hisoka threw the card at Jin who quickly avoided it without any effort. Hisoka threw more at him. None of them were able to hit.
"Ooh... pretty fast. I guess you know that they're all laced with some sweet poison I made myself." Hisoka laughed, then took out a whole deck of cards.
"Let's see. There are fifty-two cards in my hand. I'll throw all of them to you at the same time. Let's see of you can avoid them all."
"Damn you." Hisoka threw all fifty-two cards. Jin avoided them one by one. The more ccards that came, the harder it was to avoid the others. He was counting how many cards he had avoided already. The fifty-second finally came and he caught it between his two fingers.
"Bravo! Bravo!" Hisoka clapped his hands with sarcastic amazement.
"What else do you want?" Jin asked.
Hisoka laughed out loud. "You're such a fool, Jin!"
Jin was alarmed. As he watched Hisoka laughed, he didn't notice another card fly towards him from behind. It hit him and dug deep into the back of his neck. Pain shout trough his whole body.
"What the hell?" Jin pulled it out and saw another card: the Joker.
"Fooled you!" Hisoka said, then laughed. "You're so gullible to believe that I only threw fifty-two cards at you! You forgot all about the Joker!"
"K'so..." in cursed. The poison was quickly taking effect. His vision was slowly getting clouded and the started to feel numb.
"I am the Joker after all... Ahh... Jin, so typical of you, to deal with practically almost everything except for me. I'm here to remind your of you single failure to bring me home... to change me..."
Jin slowly lost his consciousness. The poison slowly spread to his body. He heard nothing but Hisoka's cruel laugh as he slowly succumbed to the Joker's wrath.
------------
Maya nodded. She was looking fror Jin.
"H-he's not here," I answered. I wondered where Jin could possibly be. His wife just gave birth and was struggling to remain alive. What right did he have to disappear all of a sudden?
Many of the villagers tried to find him, but they all failed. I thought that I should go help find him, but it was probably best to stay with Maya.
Maya suddenly started to pant hard. She as having difficulty breathing. Her skin was slowly losing the little color it had left.
"Oneechan!" I cried. The doctor quickly took the baby from her and handed it to me. He checked her again.
"Her body's starting to break down. As I said, she lost a lot of blood, there is barely enough in her body to let her survive. In ordinary conditions, she would, but the disease requires more blood to circulate around her body," he said, giving us a grave look " I'm sorry, this is beyond my control. All we can do now is wait."
We expected this to happen. I desperately watched my sister catch every drop of air. She pleaded to me with her eyes. I looked back into them, and told me this: She wanted to live. She wanted to see her son grow up. She wanted to see me get married and have kids just like her. She wanted to grow old like my parents and live her life to the fullest. And most of all she wanted to see Jin right now, to feel his face, to hold his hands and live the rest of her life happily with him.
Her determination told me to do something. I handed the baby to Mother and talked to the doctor who was taking a sip of water.
"Isn't there anything we can do?" I asked desperately.
The doctor shook his head. "I'm really sorry."
I looked at her again. Her breathing had become so loud it could be heard in the whole room. I wanted to do everything I could in my power to save her. "Wouldn't a blood transfusion help?"
"I don't have the proper tools. And besides, her blood type is rare. We will have a hard time looking for a donor."
"I might have the same blood type!"
"No," the doctor said. "It would take too much time to test yours."
"We just have to try!" I almost shouted.
"No, I'm sorry."
I was raging with anger. "How can you just give up on her? Look at her! She's struggling so hard and you just give up like this? Are you actually a doctor?!"
The doctor looked at me with stern eyes and put his hands on my shoulders. "Mito-san, there are just some times that we just have to give up. Nothing will happen no matter what we do. It will only make things worse than they already are."
Upon hearing his words, I cried out loud, just like a child. I pounded my fists on his chest. I wanted to blame him but it was wrong. It was nobody's fault.
"M-m-ito..."
It was Maya, she was calling me to her side. The doctor gave me a look then I went to her.
"What is it, Oneechan?" I asked, trying to cheer her up as much as possible. I don't know how she was able to speak.
"I-I c-c-an't w-wait for J-j-in a-any l-long-ger..." she said in between gasps.
"Hold on, he'll come soon."
She shook her head, then smiled at me. "Y-you're spirit is admirable, M-m-ito-chan..."
"Don't speak, just save your energy."
She didn't answer me. She just reached around her neck which was covered by a blanket. After a few moments the green choker Jin gave her nine years ago lay on her hand.
"I-I h-have always w-worn this... m-my p-prized possession... It's yours now, M-mito-chan..." She handed it to me.
"Why are you doing this? You're not going to die yet, Oneechan."
"D-don't l-lie t-to yourself, M-mito-chan..." She sat up from her bed. I tried to stop her but I couldn't. She placed the choker in my hands. She lied down again, but her hand was still in mine, holding the choker.
My eyes were brimming with tears, and so was hers. Our parents were covering their faces with their hands. The doctor and his assistant pretended not to care and continued to clean up their things.
"Otousan, Okaasan, th-thank y-you..." she
"A-and w-when J-jin a-arrives, t-tell him that I-I f-forgive h-him a-and g-give h-him my f-farew-well..."
Upon saying the last word, the grip of her hand on the choker loosened. It turned cold. I looked at her face.
Her eyes were closed and her skin was as white as rice. However, the dark circles around her eyes had disappeared. Her mouth was formed into a smile.
She died happily. She was glad that she was able to give Jin a son. She was content with the short time they spent as husband and wife. She knew her child would be safe in Jin's hands. She had no regrets. Everything was forgiven and forgotten for her. My first reaction was of course, to cry. I held her cold hands tightly and buried my face into her chest. I cried and cried. I couldn't accept losing her, my beloved Oneechan. The one who cheered me up when I was sad, the one who helped me up when I tripped over a stone in the forest, one I could talk to about my problems, and one who would give me an eternal smile even if the whole world breaking into pieces.
My world ƒwasƒ breaking into pieces. And there she was, smiling at me in her eternal sleep. She looked so peaceful.
I had so much regrets. Why did I hate her? Why did I become jealous of her? All I could do was cry and cry.
Thd door suddenly opened. I didn't care who it was. I was drowning in my own tears.
"N-no..." The newcomer was Jin.
"She died only a few moments ago," my father managed to say.
"I did all I could to save her. I'm sorry," the doctor added.
I looked at Jin, expecting him to come to Maya. But he didn't. The assistant went to him instead, and handed him the child.
"She gave birth to him before she died," my mother explained.
Jin held the baby in his arms. He looked at Maya in horror, then slowly bowed his head, looking at the child's face. We couldn't understand why he wouldn't come near her body.
"P-lease l-leave m-me alone," he said quietly. His shoulders were shaking as his knees fell to the floor.
Everybody left, except for me. I went to Jin.
"Jin..." I began.
"Please... Mito, leave me alone..."
"Maya told me to give you her farewell before she died."
He looked at me. His eyes were swollen and stained with dirt. His clothes were torn and there was a wound at the back of his neck. "Thank you, Mito-chan."
With that, I left the room. I put the green choker on, and went home to take a nice warm bath.
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that's the ending! too dramatic, ne? many of them seem OOC [arigatou, cielo-san, for teaching me what this acronym means...]. Only now did I find out the following mistakes:
Jin left Kujira when Mito was only 3.
Jin is Mito's cousin.
and many others.
Oh, hell... this sucks. An epilogue will follow up. More on the funeral, etc. Please, I need comments.