AN: Last of the "happy" chapters.
If there are any mistakes (grammar, story plot holes, etc.), please either PM me or review about it.
"" - speech
Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basuke.
Reimi glared at the small screen that indicated the airlines they were taking. "Akashi-sensei, are you purposely choosing this airline for your obnoxious friend?" Her left arm was now free from the sling, but she still had a pain relief patch on her shoulder.
He wisely chose to stay silent. His maroon eyes wandered over to her slumped figure that uncomfortably sat in the seat.
"I sincerely hope that…" She rubbed in between her eyebrows. The bags under her eyes had darkened from her lack of sleep, but her eyes were not as red as before. "Akashi-sensei, don't tell me the pilot is-"
A very familiar male voice interrupted, blasting through the intercom. "Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Kise Ryouta and I will be your pilot for this flight~ We will arrive at Kanazawa in approximately three hours and fifty minutes, so please keep your seatbelts fastened as you keep your eyes on the screen while the safety procedures are being shown. The air attendants will now check the cabin to ensure that we can take off in a few minutes~"
Akashi merely smiled in return when Reimi quietly growled to herself in utter displeasure. "At the very least, I won't have to hear his voice throughout the entire flight since I'll pass out by the time we're in the air, thanks to my medication."
"It won't be too bad." He commented.
She sighed. "Do you find this amusing? Do you enjoy tormenting me so?" Exasperation creeped into her voice. "Get me off this airplane. To think I would have to hear that sparkling voice of his again. Ugh."
"Sparkling?" This time, amusement swirled in his eyes.
"Yes, sparkling. I don't know how else to describe that epitome of bright yellow." Her hands moved in the air as if to explain her words. She then groaned, giving up when she realized her ability to speak had deteriorated, and proceeded to close her eyes while leaning against the wall again. "Wake me up when we get there."
"Alright." Akashi crossed his arms and closed his eyes as well, waiting for the plane to take off. As the plane began to fly into the air, his shoulders relaxed as he listened to the natural noise around him, lulling him into a light sleep.
After they had landed and managed to avoid meeting a certain blonde pilot at the airport, they strolled through the streets of Kanazawa. "Are we there yet?" Reimi asked Akashi with a subdued posture. She was clearly exhausted.
"Just a few more minutes. We're close though."
"Finally…" Relief pooled into her jade green eyes. The moment they were about to cross the street, a car zoomed by. She briefly saw the driver turning his head to face the woman in the other seat for a mere second when another car slammed into their car. The screeching sound from the cars and the screams of people swirled in the air as chaos erupted in the area. Reimi flinched and almost shakily grabbed Akashi in an effort to calm herself. Thankfully, she caught herself before she could do so, hoping that he had not noticed. A chill shiver ran through her body as she thought she heard the beeping noise of a heart monitor from behind her. Cold sweat formed on her skin as she gathered her bearings, finally turning towards her partner. "Akashi-sensei."
"Let's go." He ran over to the scene with her, helping people pull out the drivers and passengers. "Tsukishiro-san, call 119."
"On it." She explained the situation on the phone before going over to help Akashi. "How are they?"
"The passengers are okay. They just need first aid. Both drivers though…" His eyes narrowed in displeasure. "How long will it take them?"
"Thankfully only three minutes since they're close by."
"Check the other driver for me while I stabilize her."
"Got it." Reimi listened carefully for the heartbeat of the other driver. Her frown only deepened. She immediately straightened up and her focus zeroed in on the male. She opened the airway by tilting his head back slightly to lift the chin. When she checked his breathing for ten seconds, she found that he wasn't breathing at all.. She began the series of chest compressions. "One, two, three-"
The driver still had no heartbeat. Her eyes glazed over a little. Tilting the person's head back slightly again and lifting the chin, she pinched their nose shut and placed her mouth over theirs to deliver rescue breaths. She blew into the person's mouth twice, making the chest rise. Afterwards, she started the chest compressions again. "I won't let you die... I won't-" Her voice shook.
Reimi continued to vigorously perform multiple series of chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until the paramedics arrived. The driver, thankfully, coughed soon after. She breathed heavily and immediately stopped the CPR procedure the moment she noticed him breathing again. The female paramedic quickly dashed over to them and proceeded to put a tube into the driver's throat, pressing the air pump once it was in.
"We'll go with them." Akashi informed the paramedics, who allowed the two to enter the ambulances. Before jumping into the vehicle, however, he glanced at Reimi while a complicated expression flickered on his face for a second. Determination flickered in her eyes.
After they made sure that the patients were taken care of in the hospital and informed the ryokan of their late arrival, they walked slowly side by side along the road towards the ryokan. While Reimi was out of it during their walk, Akashi continued to observe her drained figure with slight unease.
He soon paused mid-step and stood there, watching her back. He finally voiced out his concern as he recalled the desperate tone in her voice and her focused yet glazed eyes as she performed CPR on the driver. "Why are you so desperate to save those who end up in a car crash?"
Reimi stopped walking at his abrupt question. She then faced him with a blank expression. "It's my job to save them."
He shook his head. "While our job is to save them, your attitude indicates something else, especially when you see the car crash yourself."
"Desperation helps me focus better." They both knew it was an obvious lie. She seemed to almost give up as she knew herself that she was a terrible liar. Half-truths, however, were a different story.
His maroon eyes narrowed at her. "Don't lie to me." She stayed silent.
When he thought that she would no longer talk about this issue, she finally answered him. "My best friend got into a car crash because of me." Her voice sounded almost robotic. "I killed her. I even announced her time of death-"
"That's not-"
She took a step back and a mixture of strong emotions swirled in her eyes as she looked up at him. He recognized the hurt, anger, frustration, and guilt reflected there. "I saw her die, Akashi-kun." He subtly twitched at her use of -kun as it almost demanded his attention and indicated her lack of self-control at this point. "I couldn't do anything for her. I was useless as her best friend and as a doctor. What's the point in being a doctor if I can't even save the ones I care for?" She was very close to shouting but managed to keep from doing so. Her head pounded from the intensity of her emotions. She breathed heavily.
Tears welled up at the corner of her eyes. She wanted to stop herself; this was not like her. She always had control over herself. There was no point in losing it right now, especially in front of him. She was stronger than this. Reimi turned away completely and began walking away to hide them from her partner. Crying felt like a sign of weakness but logically, she knew that it was a sign of being human. However, she did not get far as she felt a hand tug on her own, stopping her effectively.
Akashi took a step forward, blocking her as he made her face him. He then pulled her into an unexpected embrace. Her tears trailed down her cheeks. The only noises he heard from her were sniffles and he felt her wiping away her tears with her hand. Her body shuddered a little before breathing deeply.
After a few minutes of quiet crying, she calmed down and leaned against him comfortably before she asked him a question. "Have you lost someone before?"
He stayed silent for a couple of minutes. "...I have.." Before she could ask who, he continued. "I lost my mother when I was ten." She said nothing but raised her arms to hug him back. Her fingers curled and grabbed ahold of the back of his shirt. She could hear his heartbeat beating strongly in his chest. He hesitantly held her closer as he breathed in her scent.
Although they stood there in silence, they were both comforted by the physical reminder of life in the form of their warmth. No words described the understanding and connection they felt between them in that very moment and they never pointed it out to each other after that in order to maintain the illusionary distance between them.
Akashi stood at the podium. Reimi fixed her entire concentration onto the screen. When he finally introduced his topic on various suturing techniques at the conference, she leaned back in her seat comfortably.
Soon, the room began to darken a little more and a video popped up, revealing Akashi's innovative suturing technique. There was a buzz going around the entire room. Excited whispers and cries of praise flooded the area. All of that noise disappeared into the background for Reimi as she admired the beautiful technique he showed on the video. On the pamphlet, she took notes on the video, which was on repeat. before trying it herself in the air. The elegant motion of his fingers as he handled the suturing burned in her mind.
When it was time to socialize with the others, Reimi kept to herself for once, looking over her notes and drawing the suturing from memory. From the corner of her eye, however, she found Akashi surrounded by a majority of the attendees, who were attempting to gather tips on his sophisticated suturing techniques and to invite him to join their hospital instead. Instead of intervening, she decided to head back to the ryokan alone since he was clearly busy with the crowd. There was no point in getting herself into that mess. One female was enough for her to handle. She finally exited the room, hoping to not get lost with the help of the locals and the GPS on her phone.
After a few hours of getting lost, Reimi arrived at the ryokan in a mess. She trudged to her room and gathered her items before taking a dip in the onsen. Ignoring the foreigners and Japanese visitors, she kept to herself, staying near the hidden edge where the rest of the people could not see her. She imagined the suturing again as she relaxed in the water. The steam from the water muddled her thoughts, but the clear image of Akashi's fingers elegantly suturing remained. Her own fingers almost itched at the thought of suturing again. Strangely enough, she missed the sensation of the technique. It was similar to meditation, centering her.
Immediately, she left the onsen, put on a yukata, and entered her room to grab her suturing practice kit and notes on the pamphlet. As soon as she had the kit in her hands, she headed for the comfortable lounge. There were usually not a lot of people hanging around the lounge at this time, so she sat down and began attempting to copy Akashi's suturing technique. Frustration bled into her voice as she growled to herself. "You turn here and then I do this…" Without her realizing, hours passed by and it was dark outside. "Why won't it work…"
"It's because you're turning it in the wrong angle." Akashi's voice popped up from behind her.
She jumped up, placing her hand over her chest to calm herself. "You scared me." Reimi looked over at him. He was already dressed in his yukata. "When did you come back?"
"A while ago. I was wondering where you went." He shrugged. "Have you been doing this since you came back?"
"Yes. Why? What time is it?"
"It's dark outside. Did you eat?"
She paused. "I'll just eat a bar later." Ignoring him, she tried to figure out what she was doing wrong. She took his word into account regarding the angle and continued to try his technique.
"Ah. I did it." Her hands stopped moving and she stared at it as if something strange had happened.
Akashi chuckled under his breath, squeezing her shoulder. "Good job, you finally did it."
"I did…" She still did not move.
"Keep practicing. I'm sure you'll reach my level soon." He waved as he walked back to his room.
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say…" She huffed and tried the technique again to make sure that her success just now was not a fluke.
As Reimi walked around Kenroku-en Garden with Akashi silently, her phone rang. "Sorry, let me get this."
He nodded and stood to the side, watching her from a distance.
She quickly walked away to get some privacy for the call. "Hello?"
"Rei-chan."
"Mom. Is something the matter?"
"I just missed you. That's why I called. Are you busy?"
"Not really. I'm just out with a coworker. Still at Kanazawa. We're at the Kenroku-en Garden. It's very beautiful here. You probably would love it."
"Oh, then I can always call later."
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Do you want anything in Kanazawa? Since I'm already out, I can buy you a souvenir."
Her mother's voice paused for a little bit. "Then can you bring me some specialty tea?"
"Of course. Have you been sleeping a little these days? How about your nose? Did you get the check-up done?" Reimi rubbed the area between her eyebrows.
"Don't worry. My nose will be fine. I'm getting the check-up done soon. I can never sleep well, but that's how it always is. Have you been eating and sleeping well these days?"
"...Of course." Her throat felt stiff at the lie she gave. "Nothing to worry about."
"How about your health? Is your condition okay?"
"Mom, that was a long time ago. I don't have that condition anymore. That was when I was a child. And plus, Gosha-sensei did a fine job for my surgery. Rehabilitation and aftercare were perfect as well. You don't need to ask about it now." She fiddled with the phone in her hand.
"Of course. I just worried it'll relapse one day. Sometimes, I wish you weren't-"
"Mom, don't finish that sentence." Reimi's voice turned harsh. "Is there anything else you wanted from me?"
"No, I just missed hearing your voice."
She softened her voice. "Once I come back from Kanazawa, I'll visit you with your souvenir. Did onee-chan come by to visit recently?"
"She's coming to visit tomorrow." Excitement permeated her mother's voice.
"Then tell her that I send her my regards."
"Okay. Now, don't keep your coworker waiting. Call me when you come back to Tokyo."
"Okay, I'll talk to you later then. Bye, Mom."
"Bye." She ended the call and placed it back in her bag before joining Akashi once more. Her arm brushed against his arm occasionally as they explored the beauty of the garden together.
"You know, I always wanted to try their local specialty." Reimi pointed at a nearby restaurant.
He checked his watch. "It's the perfect time to eat lunch. Let's go in."
"Okay." Her lips curled upwards at his lead.
Reimi stood at the top of a hill with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. The sun began to climb up into the air. As she took a step down the stairs, she noticed two figures in front of a grave. They were in mourning, wearing black clothes and standing there like statues. It was her best friend's parents.
She turned around, hiding behind a tree. She could not ruin their moment with their daughter. "Who am I to show my face to them? After all, I'm just a..." She closed her eyes, soaking in the noise from the nature around her.
An hour or so passed by before the parents left the grave.
Reimi stepped down and walked towards her best friend's grave, placing down the bouquet of flowers. "Hey. I'm here. Took me a while, right?"
The wind blew against her. She smiled wryly to herself. "I don't blame you for getting mad at me. Even if… Even if Kanazawa is a bit far for me to casually visit as a doctor, you know."
She sat down on the hard floor. "Can you forgive me? Do I have the right to forgive myself when I failed you? What do you think is the correct choice to make?" The scent of the flowers and grass lingered in the air.
"You know how you always wanted me to have a love life of sorts?" She grinned before bursting out into brief laughter. "I think I might have found someone that I like a lot." Her smile fell. "But I don't know what to do about it. You're the expert when it comes to these type of things… Not me…"
The sunlight brightened the gravestone. "It seems like even the sun misses your bubbly and energized personality." She picked at a flower. "I miss you a lot. I wish you were here with me."
Reimi stood up, staring at the grave. "I won't let you down. I swear that I won't. I'll definitely continue to do my best as a doctor." She then sighed. "And I'm sure that you want me to open up to the person I like, so I'll try… At my own pace, of course." She touched the letters of her best friend's name before stepping back. "I'll be back soon... Hopefully with more good news."
The clouds covered the sunlight for a few minutes, allowing her to stand in the shade. She then walked away from the grave, giving one last glance before departing.
Thank you to all those that favorited, followed, and reviewed so far! :)
Review? Thanks!
