Stateside

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of Wataru Watanabe and Shonen Champion. I don't own them; I just examine all their possibilities.

Author's Note: It's not getting any better this chapter. Expect detailed descriptions of injuries and medical procedures.

Chapter 8: Connecting the broken pieces

At the three-mile mark Tadokoro went into business mode. He cranked the pedals and shot past a few of the riders who passed him on that last hill. From here on there was nothing but flats and slight downslopes; there was one slight hill but he kept his speed all the way and past more people.

The wind rushed past his body and he was flying forward, zooming past person after person. At the two-mile mark he had some competition from a few people but he just smiled and kept pedaling. This was the greatest feeling.

At the one-mile mark he lifted all holds; he grabbed the lower handlebars and his legs propelled himself forward. For a while a woman in a black jersey gave him some stiff competition. She pulled ahead of him once, he got ahead again but then she kept up neck and neck. One sudden burst of energy and he was flying past her by the half-mile mark.

After passing a few more people a man in green camouflage came up from behind and got ahead of him. Tadokoro wasn't going to have this; he pressed on more and passed him, though this guy was also persistent. He managed to get ahead a few feet when Tadokoro made a gear change and leaned over a bit more. Soon he propelled himself forward, flying right past 287 and then going past whoever was ahead of him.

One more guy in a green jersey tried to take him on and actually got past him, though Tadokoro could see the sweat flying and hear his breathing to know he wasn't going to keep this pace long. Sure enough his opponent dipped behind and Tadokoro surged faster ahead. He was now slipping by several people who passed him on that last hill, he could tell who the climbers really were.

Speaking of climbers he couldn't wait to get past that finish line and be there to shove it in a few faces. For a moment he wondered which of the "Best Rivals" would get past that line first. He still hadn't seen them since halfway through the race, though he figured the flats had been too much for them. He would be right there to see which one managed to be today's best.

Soon he saw the chute and the inflatable arch up ahead, he could hear the cheers and ringing of cowbells greeting everyone as they went across the finish line with the announcer calling each name. Tadokoro surged ahead, passing by a few other riders and honed right on that chute. With a sudden burst of speed he shot forward and rode right through the chute, passing under the arch to a hail of cheers and ringing of little bells.

"Number 472, Jin Tadokoro of Seattle, Washington," the announcer declared.

Tadokoro tapped his brakes to slow down, then raised his arms in a bellowing cheer; the crowd ate it up.

Soon more names were being called and he was slowly veering off to the side with the rest of the other cyclists. The guy in camouflage came up to him and shook his hand and they congratulated each other for a great race. Soon the woman in the black jersey was walking past him and gave him a high five for a good fight. As more cyclists hung out on the sidelines Tadokoro was meeting quite a few other people. Some people marveled at his speed, Tadokoro was grinning wide with all the admiration.

As he conversed with his new buddies, he kept his eye on the finish line. Just how far ahead did he get from those two? He didn't know his time when he crossed and his phone was back in the tent. He guessed it could have been about five minutes, but he really couldn't tell.

A voice suddenly came over the loudspeaker.

"Attention, could I have Jin Tadokoro come to the official's tent. Jin Tadokoro please come to the official's tent."

Tadokoro looked up at the mention of his name and groaned. What the hell was this?

"Oh shit is that you?" one other cyclist said.

"Yeah it is," Tadokoro replied, rolling his eyes. "Sensor malfunction probably."

He pulled away from the group and walked his bike to the official's tent, keeping half an eye on the finish line as he walked. For some reason things felt a little different the further he went into the field. The atmosphere by the finish line was happy, everyone was chatting and congratulating each other. Here just seemed somber. Hardly anyone was talking, clumps of people stayed by themselves, few people had smiles.

As he drew closer to the main area, he caught a glimpse of some teenage boys standing around each other, two of them were locked in a hug and one had tears streaming down his face. Tadokoro shifted nervously and pulled his gaze away from the scene; whatever was going on wasn't his business.

Another woman passed by him talking on the phone.

"Sandy and Maureen haven't finished yet, I'm sure they were behind that crash…"

Tadokoro stopped in his tracks did a double take. Did he just hear that right?

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," he said to her. "There was a crash here?"

She pulled the phone from her ear with a "one sec, Pete" and then looked at Tadokoro.

"I just finished, I haven't heard anything," he said apologetically.

"Yeah there was a really bad one, I heard it was around that big curve around the halfway point," she answered. "It was nuts here about twenty minutes ago. I think like six or seven people involved but don't quote me. They stopped the race for about ten minutes, so everyone's coming in late."

"Thanks," Tadokoro replied, walking back toward the official's tent and letting the lady continue her conversation.

Tadokoro kept walking, keeping his head clear but not looking back at the finish line. Maybe Toudou and Makishima got caught behind that crash and had to stop, that was the most likely explanation for why he hadn't seen them. There was another explanation that he really didn't want to think about now.

He finally reached the official's tent, put down the kickstand and rested his bike outside, then went in. A bunch of people were rushing in and out, a few people were talking on phones. A man in a "Race Staff" t-shirt walked up to him.

"I'm Jin Tadokoro, I was called here," he said.

The staff member put up a finger asking him to wait one second, then he called for someone by name. A woman in a similar t-shirt came right up to him with a clipboard.

"Mr. Tadokoro?" she asked, getting a nod in confirmation. "I'm Kelsey Marshall, I'm the race director."

He nodded, his posture going stiff and his brows furrowing. Why the official treatment?

"You came here with two friends today," she said, looking down at her clipboard. "Jinpachi Toudou and Yusuke Makishima?"

Tadokoro's stomach sank, he just nodded in reply.

"I am really sorry to tell you this but there was a large accident around mile 15, both of your friends were involved and had to be taken to the hospital."

Tadokoro leaned his head back and took a hard breath.

"Are they okay, how bad were they hurt?" Tadokoro sputtered out.

"I'm sorry I don't have that information," Kelsey said.

"Mr. Toudou came through the med tent, I think he had an arm injury," one other staff member said while walking to them. "I don't know about Mr. Makishima. Oh, I'm Nick Fields, I'm the co-director."

"Mr. Toudou did pass along a message to find you and tell you what was going on," Kelsey continued. "He also asked that you bring his gear bag to the hospital, his car keys are in his bag."

Tadokoro's heart was racing, but he tried to process everything he was hearing. If Toudou was asking for his damn bag it couldn't have been that bad, though what about Makishima?

"You can't tell me anything about Makishima?" Tadokoro asked.

"I'm sorry I don't know anything about Mr. Makishima," Nick said. "A number of people came through the med tent about half an hour ago from that crash including Mr. Toudou. A couple people were transported to the hospital from the scene, but I don't have their names just yet."

"That…that's fine," Tadokoro managed to say through a hard breath. "What hospital are they at?"

"Everyone goes to Saint Peter's, it's right down the road," Kelsey said. "I'll get you directions."

"Thanks."

Tadokoro walked to the men's changing tent, Nick following close beside him. Nick mentioned wanting to see his ID "just to be on the safe side." Tadokoro just grunted in response. He tried to keep his legs steady and his mind clear though panic was threatening to set in. Toudou had an arm injury, why would Makishima have anything worse? Those two were always neck and neck; maybe they got tangled up together and just banged around.

He imagined taking those two back to San Francisco, maybe a few slings or crutches were involved. Toudou would be the worst backseat driver; everyone would try to make jokes about what just happened. Or Makishima's neck snapped or his skull was caved in he's now dead; that was a searing though he tried to clear immediately.

Once they got to the bags, Tadokoro pulled his wallet from his bag, produced his Washington state driver's license, and shoved it at Nick. Nick took a look at it, then handed it back. Tadokoro put his license back in his wallet and put his wallet back in the bag.

"I'm going to take Makishima's things too," Tadokoro said.

"Of course, I'll be right outside if you need any directions," Nick said, then walked out of the tent.

Tadokoro saw Toudou's black bag sitting off to the side with a pile of others, then snatched it up, opened it, and rummaged around. Sure enough he found the car keys and pocketed them. Then he spotted Makishima's green bag with white stripes and took it up as well along with his own bag. He then left the tent, fetched his bike by the official's tent, and got a piece of paper from Nick with directions to Saint Peter's Hospital. Soon after he was rushing through the crowd and back to the car.

He kept his gaze to the ground and only focused on hauling the bags and walking his bike. He didn't want to hear anyone, see anyone, say anything to anyone; he didn't want to hear any more about the crash and hear something he didn't like. He just wanted to be on his way.

The thought of those teen boys went through his head. Oh damn did one of them get badly hurt? Were they a team? It was another thought he had to push from his head lest he imagine Sohoku standing there.

How many people did get hurt? How far away had he gotten before all hell broke loose? How close had he been to…no. He couldn't be thinking like this.

Toudou's red Honda came into view, Tadokoro clicked the remote and opened the locks, throwing the bags in the back seat, then mounting his rented bike on the rear rack. He didn't bother asking about Toudou and Makishima's bikes. For all he knew they were scrap; he had more important things to deal with.

Tadokoro was finally in the driver's seat and ready to go. Thankfully Toudou's car had a GPS in the dashboard; Tadokoro plugged in the address and was ready to go. He turned the key and was about to shift, then looked down and saw Toudou's car was an automatic; of course it was, him drive a stick?

His thumb was in place on the button to shift the car but for some reason his thumb kept slipping off. His hand stopped over the grip, it was shaking too hard to do anything. Tadokoro took his foot off the brake and ran his shaking hand over his beard. His heart was pounding and his breath was coming in trembling heaves. He forced his lungs to inhale and exhale; slowly in through the nose, slowly out through the mouth.

It's no big deal, Tadokoro repeated over and over in his mind. Toudou was healthy and focused enough to think about someone getting his bag. If Makishima had been that badly hurt Toudou wouldn't be asking about his bag. That was what Tadokoro had to rely on; everyone was fine.

Tadokoro gave himself another minute of quiet, then he gave a satisfied breath and finally put the car in drive and sped out of the dirt parking lot. He would have to be careful, if he put a tiny scratch on this car or if he even got pulled over Toudou wouldn't let him hear the end of it. Come to think of it Makishima wouldn't let him live that down either.


Tadokoro tried not to run through the parking lot, though the closer he grew to those sliding double doors the more his pace quickened; the clips on his shoes clicking across the pavement. Soon he was sprinting toward the front curb, only slowing down once the doors were right in front of him.

He stepped in front of the doors and shoved through them right before they fully opened, then marched through a huge lobby area and right up to a wide front desk. A middle-aged woman sat at the desk and looked up at him when he entered.

"May I help you, sir?" she asked.

Tadokoro took a few extra breaths before he spoke, the receptionist looked at him in anticipation. For a moment he couldn't find the words in English to say something, his head went completely blank. His hand took a gentle hold of the desk and he took a few extra breaths to get his brain in order.

"Two of my friends were in that bike crash an hour ago, that accident at that bike race," he sputtered, grasping for every word. "They're here now."

It wasn't just English he was forgetting right now, it was how to speak in general.

The receptionist nodded and positioned her hands on the keyboard.

"What are their names?" she asked.

"Yusuke Makishima and Jinpachi Toudou," he rattled off.

"Could you spell their names for me?"

Tadokoro stepped back with a little groan and rubbed his face.

"Just take a deep breath, sir, I know you're anxious," the receptionist said.

Tadokoro nodded and took a few more deep breaths.

"I'm sorry," he said.

He was blanking on how to say the romaji spelling of their names. Instead he asked for a piece of paper and a pen and then wrote out their names, handing them to the receptionist. She took the paper with a nod of thanks and entered the information. Tadokoro found himself tapping the end of the pen against the desk. Just what was he going to hear?

"Both of them are at this hospital," the receptionist said, looking at the screen.

She scrolled through and then grimaced a little. Tadokoro stopped tapping his pen, a cold prickle went through his skin.

"Mr. Makishima is in surgery right now," she said.

Tadokoro dropped the pen on the floor, his whole body went numb.

"Mr. Toudou is in the Emergency Department," she continued.

Tadokoro barely heard the last thing she said.

"What, surgery? What kind of surgery?" he gasped. "How badly was he hurt?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I can't give out that information," the receptionist replied.

Tadokoro clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He wanted to scream right now but he held it in.

"I can get someone to come out and talk with you about their conditions," she continued.

It was somewhat of a relief, Tadokoro nodded shakily.

"Please, please have someone come out," he answered.

He gave his name to the receptionist, who wrote it down on a pad by the keyboard.

"In the meantime you can go along to the Emergency Department waiting room, it is just down the hall to the left," she said.

Tadokoro gave a gruff nod of thanks then shuffled down the hall, his legs barely able to carry him. His muscles still ached from the race, but it felt like his legs were made of rubber. The words played through his head: Makishima is in surgery.

Tadokoro took a few more deep breaths: in through the nose, out through the mouth. He put a hand on his belly, concentrating on his diaphragm.

Makishima broke his leg or his arm and needed a rod or a few pins put in. That's what it was, that's what it had to be. Tadokoro nodded at the thought. In a few hours he would see Makishima in Recovery and try to remember all the stupid things he said while coming off the medication. It meant the poor guy might have to spend the night in the hospital, but maybe hanging around a room watching TV and talking wasn't such a bad thing. Of course that was if he was up for it, otherwise they could just come back tomorrow.

A few seconds later he reached a room with a sign reading "Emergency Department: Waiting Room." Two men who looked close to his age were also in the room, Tadokoro saw glances come on him then eye his riding outfit. Tadokoro was tempted to go over and say something; maybe they were here for friends too. Instead he took a seat off to the side. He wasn't in any kind of a sociable mood right now. He was beyond stressed and he couldn't imagine these guys were any different. Neither of them said anything, it was best to leave them.

Tadokoro sank into his chair, one elbow perched on the armrest and his head cradled in his hand. For one moment everything was quiet; it wasn't a welcome quiet but one he needed for a moment lest he completely lose it. He kept looking at the door to the main emergency room, then he tried to look beyond the glass windows to see what was going on in there. The windows were frosted and he couldn't see anything from this angle. He wanted to see Toudou walking out of those doors right now. If only Makishima were to walk out of those doors, maybe the receptionist misspelled his name in that confusion.

He eyed those doors for a few more minutes though was hardly paying attention to the exact amount of time. The doors opened and he jumped up in his seat, instead he saw a hefty man with a shaved head wearing blue scrubs with an ID badge. Tadokoro let out a frustrated huff, but then the nurse walked up to him.

"Mr. Tadokoro?" the nurse asked.

"That's me," Tadokoro replied with a strained voice.

"I'm Rodney, I'm one of the trauma nurses. I was told by the front desk you needed some information on your friends, Mr. Makishima and Mr. Toudou."

Tadokoro sat up a little higher and nodded. The nurse looked at the other people in the room and back at Tadokoro.

"I think we should step out in the hallway, there's another sitting area that's a little more private," Rodney said.

Tadokoro looked at him for a second, then nodded. This wasn't what he wanted to hear, though maybe they were just sticklers for privacy here. He got up from his seat and followed Rodney out of the door. They walked down the hallway for a few meters, then came to a set of chairs and tables off to the side. Rodney sat down in a chair by the wall and motioned for Tadokoro to sit in the next seat. The usual hospital traffic passed back and forth, but there was no one perched here. Tadokoro was numb, but he tried to steel himself for whatever he was going to hear.

"It's a little cramped in there, I figured it's best not to have an audience," Rodney said.

"Yeah, I get that," Tadokoro muttered.

Tadokoro was trying to stay polite, but he wanted this guy to get the hell on with it.

"Mr. Toudou and Mr. Makishima are undergoing treatment right now," Rodney began. "Mr. Toudou has a dislocated right shoulder and he had a bad cut on his forearm. He is doing fine, I suspect he'll be discharged in the next hour or so."

Tadokoro nodded, at least some good news was coming out of this.

"I will elaborate more on Mr. Toudou's injuries, but first I need to talk with you about Mr. Makishima. Unfortunately his injuries were extremely serious."

Rodney's tone was low and somber, like he was trying to say something horrible as gently as possible. Tadokoro looked at the guy, already feeling like he was approaching the edge of a cliff.

"From what we have been told, he was thrown from his bike and his front trunk area landed on a patch of rocks, then he bounced onto his arm and came to a stop on his back."

Tadokoro tried to keep eye contact, but soon he was looking at a little stuffed rabbit on the desk right behind the nurse.

"The impact ruptured his spleen and resulted in lacerations on his liver. Both the liver and the spleen are solid organs and they are more at risk for damage from this kind of blunt trauma. He has severe internal hemorrhaging and he has already received multiple transfusions. Mr. Makishima was taken right into surgery; his spleen is going to have to come out, they're going to sew up the lacerations on his liver. They will also examine his abdominal organs and tissues for any other injuries they might have missed in the scans."

That fluffy, stuffed bunny was bright purple and wore a little straw hat. Somehow he thought of Shinkai; Hayato would think this was just adorable. If only he was here right now, if only Kinjou was here or Onoda or anyone else. Tadokoro could suddenly feel his short fingernails digging into his knee.

"His left lung was also injured. He has four broken ribs, his lung was punctured and it collapsed. A tube was inserted in his chest to equalize the pressure and remove fluids; his lung has since reinflated and last I heard it was staying so. He also sustained a sizeable contusion, or a bruise, which caused some blood to build up in his lung. This is an injury that we can only let resolve itself. We'll just take care of his fluids, make sure everything is draining properly, and make sure he has oxygen. He is on a ventilator now while he's under anesthesia. There is a possibility he might have to stay on it a little beyond that, but we will want to have him breathing on his own as soon as possible."

Tadokoro looked down the hallway, seeing an elderly lady in a walker being helped by a nurse. The nurse was being so gentle with her, he quickly heard the lady mention her grandson in New Mexico.

"Also he had a simple fracture in his right arm; the ulna, the lower bone in the forearm, cracked when he came down. Like I said it is a simple fracture. We just needed to reset the bone and put a cast on it. It should heal up in about four weeks."

He had to remind himself he was being talked to, or rather at right now.

"Is he going to be okay?" Tadokoro managed to mutter.

"I wish I could give you a definite answer, the truth is I really can't," Rodney replied. "He's in critical condition, he was in low grade shock when was brought in and his vital signs have been unstable. Anything could change in seconds or even a few days down the road. However he is very young, he's very healthy, he's an athlete; he does have more than a few advantages. These are common injuries and they are very recoverable.

"Best case scenario, your friend could be fully healed in a few months and right back on his bike, but there could be a lot of in betweens. The aim right now is to stop the bleeding; once the hemorrhaging is stopped he should stabilize. After surgery he will be taken to the ICU where he will receive the most thorough care."

Tadokoro didn't know if he nodded in response or not, he did it again just to be sure.

"You said he landed on his back too," Tadokoro managed to say though it didn't even feel like he was talking. "Were his back or his neck hurt?"

"No it was just a few bruises," Rodney replied. "We did a routine spinal evaluation, everything was fine. He came in with a neck brace as a precaution, but it was taken off pretty quickly. "

At least there was some good news from this whole thing.

"I know this is going to be of little comfort, but he could have been hurt a lot worse," Rodney continued. "We have seen rib injuries under similar circumstances where the rib is shattered and is just being held on by muscle, a condition that does serious damage to the lungs. Aside from that puncture these particular factures were pretty basic and very easy to heal. He was really lucky."

For a moment Tadokoro thought of Kinjou's blood covered jersey and the way he practically fell off his bike into Makishima's arms at the second Inter-High. He remembered visiting Kinjou at his house later and seeing him lying in bed, bracing his broken ribs but still carrying on a conversation. It hurt like hell to see him that way.

Tadokoro remembered exchanging a few nervous looks with Makishima, seeing him give that usual wide-eyed look with a crooked grimace. Now Makishima had something much worse. Still he remembered how Kinjou tried to stay upbeat despite every wince and every painful cough. Maybe Kinjou could give Makishima pointers on how to manage broken ribs. Oh how Tadokoro just wanted to hear Kinjou's voice right now.

There was someone with him though, someone back in the emergency room who was hurting too.

"What about Toudou?" he asked. "You said it was just a shoulder dislocation."

"Yes, that's exactly what it was. He spilled off his bike and hit his right shoulder hard, dislocating the joint," Rodney continued, motioning to his own shoulder. "He just went through some x-rays, thankfully it is a simple dislocation; no nerves or blood vessels were impacted. They're going to shift the joint back in place. He's going to get a sling and he will have to keep that shoulder still for a few weeks. Also his forearm also got caught under the gear mechanism of his bike when it fell and he got a really bad cut from the metal. His arm is fine, nothing broken, they're stapling up the wound now. Like I said I'd estimate he should be discharged in the next hour or so."

If Toudou was involved in that accident he probably saw…oh no. Tadokoro winced at the thought: did Toudou watch Makishima crash?

"Does Toudou know how badly Makishima's hurt?" Tadokoro asked.

"I don't believe anyone's spoken to him in depth, but I will make sure he knows," Rodney replied. "Mr. Makishima also has a brother in England who was listed as his emergency contact. Someone has contacted him as well."

Tadokoro ran a hand through his hair. Oh God, Ren; he couldn't even imagine what Ren was going through right now.

Rodney told him once Toudou got out they could move up to the surgical waiting room a floor up, someone would keep them updated on everything. Tadokoro just nodded but didn't really move. Rodney asked if he needed to speak to a counselor or a priest, Tadokoro shook his head. The nurse finally left him alone. Tadokoro leaned his head against the wall and took in the quiet, save for the voice over the intercom and the usual passing hallway traffic.

Tadokoro mentally prodded himself to go back to the other waiting room and wait for Toudou. He really shouldn't have Toudou go hunting for him when Toudou was in who knows what kind of physical or mental state. Instead he remained where he was. His head ached and he was a little dizzy, every muscle was numb or shaking. He really didn't want to deal with the other guys in there either, he didn't want to be around anyone right now.

Tadokoro looked down the hallway; sometimes his mind conjured the image of that green hair and white jersey amid the passers by. Any time now Makishima would be walking up to him with nothing more than his arm in a cast. It was all a mistake, that nurse was talking about some other guy.

"What! Someone said that about me?" Makishima would exclaim. "I'm talking to the administrator, that's ridiculous!"

He looked down the hallway, waiting for Makishima to walk by; he had to be coming. Or maybe Tadokoro would wake up soon, he would wake up on that air mattress in Toudou's living room next to Makishima like he did this morning. He must have dreamed everything about today; this was a nightmare he was going to wake up from. No, he knew better, he just wasn't allowing himself to let this sink in.

Tadokoro sat up in his chair and folded his arms. Makishima was badly hurt; he had to get a grip on that. Makishima was hurt but he was going to get through this, Tadokoro liked that thought a lot more. This was just going to be one more story to tell, one more example of how that skinny guy was really tough as nails. Tadokoro could name so many pro cyclists who had crashed badly but were back on the track or the road in months. The nurse said Makishima could fully recover from this and ride again; of course he had to share all that doom and gloom stuff too.

Tadokoro lost track of how long he had been sitting there. He was now at the state where he thought of getting up, the trick now was to actually attempt it. Just then he saw a familiar figure in a blue cycling outfit turn a corner and walk down the hallway, right arm in a black sling. Tadokoro made eye contact with Toudou, who stopped for a moment and stared back at him. His eyes were red, his complexion was pale, his hair was still stringy from sweat.

Toudou met Tadokoro's tired gaze. Tadokoro was sitting back in a chair, it looked like he had melted; every muscle was limp. Tadokoro gradually sat up a little more, Toudou walked towards him with a labored pace. Tadokoro managed to find some strength in his legs to stand up, then he walked a little closer to Toudou. Toudou's pace quickened, tears streamed down his cheeks.

Toudou rushed up to Tadokoro and wrapped his good arm around him and buried his face in his chest. Tadokoro gently put his arms around Toudou, being careful not to touch his injured shoulder. Toudou pressed his cheek against Tadokoro's soft body and sobbed hard. Tadokoro held him a little tighter, his own tears finally let loose, he pressed his chin to his chest and sobbed with Toudou.

"Maki-chan," Toudou quietly sobbed.


The surgical waiting room did have some comfier chairs, the TV going in the corner made for some nice white noise. A little while ago Tadokoro had checked in with the desk, asking for any updates as they came. Toudou just stood to the side, he was just numb to everything right now. His shoulder was killing him, his whole arm ached, he was still a little woozy from the medication they gave him. Finally Tadokoro tapped him on his other shoulder and motioned for him to follow. Soon they were both plopped in their own plush chairs; staying there quietly for a while and trying to decompress.

No one else was in here, it was just the two of them for now, which Toudou found a little strange. At least one other guy had to have needed surgery after that. He thought for a moment on those two other bodies lying prone in the road but he pulled his thoughts away with a slight wince. He looked over and saw Tadokoro eyeing him with a furrowed brow.

"You going to be okay?" Tadokoro asked.

Toudou shakily nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Toudou replied.

It was really the first time either of them talked since getting here.

"You know if you need to talk about anything," Tadokoro added.

"I'm fine," Toudou snipped.

Tadokoro nodded and looked to the side. Toudou sighed.

"Sorry," Toudou.

"Don't be," Tadokoro replied.

Silence fell over them again, suddenly Toudou remembered something.

"You brought my bag, right?" he asked.

"Sure did, it's in the car," Tadokoro answered.

"Thanks for doing that."

"I took that as a good sign that you thought about that."

Tadokoro didn't mention he took that as a good sign Makishima was actually okay.

Toudou's good shoulder shrugged.

"It suddenly crossed my mind in the med tent," Toudou said. "I guess it was something that kept me grounded."

Tadokoro nodded, it made perfect sense. After what he went through worrying about his bag was probably the happiest thought he had.

"I…I also wanted to make sure you knew what was going on," Toudou continued. "I didn't want you to get over the finish line and keep waiting for us. I figured you shouldn't hear it though the crowd or from some reporter or something."

Tadokoro looked at Toudou.

"That was really great of you," Tadokoro said. "Thanks."

Toudou nodded, then he looked down at his clothes.

"Damn, how long have we been wearing these things?" Toudou said.

Tadokoro nodded emphatically.

"How about I go down and get the bags?" he said.

"That would be awesome of you," Toudou replied. "I'd really appreciate that."

Tadokoro stood up, then looked at Toudou.

"Want to come?" Tadokoro said.

Toudou thought about it for a second, then shook his head.

"I still feel lousy, I don't trust myself to walk another step right now," he replied.

"Yeah you take it easy, I'll be back in a few minutes," Tadokoro said, walking out of the waiting room.

He was going to ask Toudou if he was going to be okay alone, but he trusted his judgment right now. Tadokoro did flash him one more glance before going into the hallway, Toudou sank back in his chair and rested his head on the back of his hand. Tadokoro looked away and went back on his course. He took the elevator to the first floor and thankfully walked out of that damn hospital.

The breeze greeted him as he walked out the front door. The smell of mowed grass made an attempt to purge the stench of bleach and plastic, but that smell was going to linger with him for a while. Tadokoro took his time walking out to the car; he wanted to be in the fresh air as long as possible. Toudou would be waiting for his bag, but Tadokoro was doing him a favor to begin with and he was going to take his time. There was something else he needed to do.

He reached the car, unlocked it with the remote, then opened the passenger side door. He sat down in the seat and closed the door, then put the key in the ignition to crack a few windows. In Japan he would have been sitting in front of the steering wheel, here the wheel was on the other side. It was a weird realization; weird and a tad bit sad. Tadokoro pulled his head from the fog and reached to the backseat, opening his own bag and finding his cell phone.

It was a little past 1 p.m. according to his phone. He stared at the time for a moment; how long ago had they all gotten into the car headed for Sonoma?

It had been an hour and a half road trip from San Francisco. Just a few hours ago Makishima was playing with the radio, Toudou was yammering about some race he was in a long time ago, Tadokoro was looking out the window at the passing scenery and cracking jokes. That trip couldn't have been more than five hours ago. Five hours ago everything was great, now it felt like the universe had completely upended.

Tadokoro went into his contacts, then pulled up one number. He knew it was 5 a.m. in Tokyo but he didn't care if he was waking someone up. He pressed the green button and held the phone to his ear.

It didn't ring at first, instead he got the telltale beep that he had a message in his voicemail. He ignored it, whoever called could wait. Then it rang a few times on the other end. He wasn't going to be surprised if it went to voicemail. Then the ring stopped and he heard a deep voice on the other end that made him want to cry out in joy.

"Tadokoro, hey," Kinjou said, his voice clearly groggy.

"Hey Kinjou, sorry for waking you," Tadokoro said, trying to keep his own voice as even as possible.

"Don't mention it, I was half awake anyway," Kinjou replied. "Arakita's been gaming all night, he attempted to keep it down but you know how that went."

Tadokoro gave a clearing chuckle that felt really good. How nice it was to hear about everyday happenings. He could imagine Arakita sitting in front of the TV with his controller in hand screaming obscenities at every missed kill or every time someone sniped him; Kinjou in his own bedroom trying to sleep but getting woken up with every shriek.

"I can just imagine," Tadokoro replied with another glorious laugh. "That's what you get when your roommate's loud as fuck."

"Well I knew what I signed up for," Kinjou snickered. "I figured it's Sunday, he hasn't been this obnoxious before, I can tolerate it for now."

Tadokoro wanted to just keep talking with him about mundane things, if only he called just to chat. Instead he had to bring that happy scene down into the depths of shit with everything else.

"Speaking of wild bunches, how's that big San Francisco trip going for you guys," Kinjou asked.

Tadokoro paused, closing his eyes for a moment. He was not ready to say this.

"Tadokoro?" Kinjou prodded.

"Kinjou…"

Tadokoro's throat closed for a second, oh hell how was he going to say this? It was best to just say it right out.

"Kinjou, it's Makishima," Tadokoro said weakly. "He crashed, he crashed badly."

Tadokoro paused, he could hear Kinjou's soft gasp on the other end.

"I told you about that race we were doing," Tadokoro continued. "There was a pileup, Makishima and Toudou got caught in it. I was ahead of them, I missed the whole thing."

"How badly were they hurt?" Kinjou asked, Tadokoro could hear concern in that calm voice.

"Toudou's shoulder was dislocated, he got a bad cut on his arm but that was it," Tadokoro replied. "He was treated at the emergency room and let loose."

"Makishima?"

Tadokoro paused, feeling the hot tears building up in his eyes.

"He was thrown off his bike and flew right onto some rocks," Tadokoro replied in a shaky voice. "Ruptured spleen; cut up liver; punctured, bruised, collapsed lung; four broken ribs; broken arm; and who knows what else they're going to find. He was in shock. They're operating on him now, trying to keep him from bleeding to death. Kinjou, it's a mess, it's just a fucking mess."

By now he couldn't hold back his tears. He moved the phone from his mouth and let out breathy sobs, but kept it to his ear. Kinjou was silent, though he swore he heard some more heavy breaths.

"Have they given any prognosis," Kinjou finally said, his voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah, he could die at any moment or he could fully recover, apparently there's a lot of in between. Specifics are pretty hard to come by and no one else has told us shit," Tadokoro sobbed. "All they're saying is he's in critical condition now, anything could change at any moment."

"Damn it," Kinjou whispered.

Silence fell between them for a moment, Kinjou then let out a hard breath that sounded like a grunt.

"Have you told anyone else from the team about this?" Kinjou asked.

"You were my first call," Tadokoro said, trying to keep an even tone despite his sniffing and the cracking in his voice. "They did get a hold of his family, that's taken care of; I have no idea how they are doing right now."

Another pause set in.

"I think we should tell the others," Kinjou said.

"Let's just give it a few more hours," Tadokoro said. "It's still really early over there, maybe in a few hours he'll be out of surgery and we'll know more about what's happening. I guess I don't want to put everyone in limbo, especially his juniors. I don't want to scare them if it's going to be okay or give them false hope and tell them something different."

"I understand. Just please keep me updated. I don't care what time you call, just please tell me if anything changes."

"I will, Kinjou, you have my word."

"How's Toudou doing?"

"He's a mess. I'm pretty sure he watched Makishima crash."

Kinjou let out a pained sigh.

"Look Kinjou I'm going to get back to the waiting room, I'll call you the first second I hear anything."

"Thank you, Tadokoro. Please know my thoughts are with all of you, I want nothing more than for Makishima to be well again. Both of you will always be the some of the greatest friends I have ever had."

Tadokoro heard a sob in that voice.

"Thanks, Kinjou, I'll always say the same about the both of you and I know Makishima feels the same," Tadokoro said in a shaking voice.

"Give my best to Toudou too, tell him I wish for him to recover soon."

"I'll certainly pass along the message."

There were few more words exchanged before they hung up. Tadokoro stared down at his phone as the tears poured from his eyes. He buried his face in his arm and wailed, his body trembling all over. After a few minutes his wails calmed to heavy sobs. Soon one weak word passed his lips.

"Y-Yusuke. Yusuke."

He sat there for a little while longer, letting his sobs wear out and his muscles relax a bit. He knew he should get back upstairs; Toudou deserved a change of clothes and getting his phone back. Tadokoro took a few more deep breaths and cleared the tears from his face with his arm. He didn't want to go back in there looking like a complete mess, though composure was doomed from here on.

Tadokoro looked back down at his phone seeing the icon for a voicemail practically staring him in the face. He might as well find out who did call and take care of it. He checked his missed calls, the only call he missed today was from a number he didn't recognize. Then he saw the country code, a number he recognized from Makishima's number: it was from United Kingdom. That call came in just half an hour ago.

Tadokoro accessed his mailbox, punching in his code and getting through all the usual prompts before he finally heard the message.

"Tadokoro-san, this is Ren Makishima; I'm Yusuke's brother."

Tadokoro's stomach clenched.

"I found your number in Yusuke's contact book, Toduou-san's as well. I know, or at least sincerely hope, you two are with my brother right now. I do hope neither of you got caught in that accident too."

Tadokoro could hear his voice shaking

"I know we've never spoken before but under the circumstances I think we should connect. Please call me back or message me when you get a good time, I know things are probably insane over there."

Ren left his number, it matched the number on the display of Tadokoro's phone.

"I'm really sorry you guys are going through this, just please take care of Yusuke. I am going to do everything I can to get over there."

There were a few muffled words closing out the message, then it ended. Tadokoro hung up and stared at the screen for a moment. He was close to pressing the green button and calling Ren, but he paused. If he had Toudou's number he likely called him. It was best if Toudou knew about this message too, they could get Ren on speaker later.

Tadokoro put his phone in the back pouch of his jersey, then he picked up the handles of his and Toudou's bags. He looked for a second at Makishima's bag sitting in the backseat. Makishima would want this later; Tadokoro would just wait to hear him ask for it.


Author's Note: I did a bunch of research on serious chest and abdominal injuries and their treatments. I am by no means a doctor, I just did a lot of Googling and probably didn't get everything correct. Then again there's artistic license and so forth.