Chapter Ten: Behind These Bars, an Epic Chase and a Sticky Situation!
Mikaru made it to the Nurse's office uneventfully. When he arrived, however, he realized that he had a problem. I can't put Hanako down; I might not be able to pick her back up again. I can't knock on the door; I'd wake Hanako up. I can't wait too long either; I'm getting tired. Shit.
He was sitting there, deliberating about what was the best course of action, when a miracle happened. No sooner was he about to start panicking when the door opened by itself, a startled Nurse waiting behind it!
"Hey, Nurse. You're the nurse, right? Is this the right room?"
He nodded, a little dumbly, trying to take the situation in.
"... So, do you think that you could...?"
He grins a little bashfully, and extends his arms.
"OH! Right, my job. On that note, -"
He grabbed the girl, spinning on the spot, and quietly lying her down on the bench in the corner. He examined her, speaking into the room.
"... You're new here. And Not Hisao. That makes you Kanasu Mikaru. Here you are, a feinted Ikezawa in your arms, arriving at my doorstep. Bloodied, too. I can't judge you yet, but this looks..."
From behind him, he heard a large grunt, and a small thud. Then, he heard a voice. "... Bad. I know. No sugar here, doc, ok? I can tell you more than looking at her like that would."
He stopped his motions, and made an about-face to meet the eyes of the Ex – Con. He appraised him, and then, gave off a cheeky beaming grin, not unlike the boy's signature face.
"Well, Like I said, I can't judge. So, what exactly do you know?"
Mikaru looked at the doctor's grin for a moment, doing some appraisal on his own, and spoke.
"Well, sir, I found her on the roof. Mind you, she was conscious then. Apparently, we're friends, and this is also apparently a big deal. I didn't notice at the time, but she must have cut her knees on the gravel. And, if my 5 years spent on rough gravel could attest to anything..." Mikaru stepped past the doctor, looking at Hanako's knees. He appraised them momentarily, before turning back.
"She fell. Wasn't pushed, though. More vertical scratches along the thigh and calf that way. No, she likely just... well, plopped down. But, it's more than that. Those stopped bleeding hours ago."
He turned back to the doctor, to see him looking over his shoulder, appraising the girls knees for himself. Glancing back and forth between Mikaru and Hanako, he eventually stepped back, facing Mikaru openly.
"I'd agree with that assessment. Definitely some scabbing going on. And, something more. You know why she was up there, and there's only a couple of situations where a girl just... Plops down on gravel like that."
Mikaru nodded, not breaking his pace. "You see, while I didn't really do anything horrible, it's still most likely my fault. She is my friend, but I'm a pretty weird guy, and I just think she went up there to be alone. She had a big day today, and I'm starting to think that she doesn't get very many of those."
The nurse nodded, looking away. He walked over to his desk, thinking while organizing it. To most people, this is an awkward conversation. To Nurse and Mikaru, however, this is something of a war game: much like tennis, where the action of parley is literally parler, and the tactical placement of words and information is the trading of the ball.
"You'd be correct, Mr. Kanasu. Although, I'm not really supposed to tell you, am I? Heh. Well, if you're her friend, you must be an ok guy. She doesn't have many of those, you know. Anyway, I digress. How does this happen?"
Mikaru thought for a second.
This was the shift from Hanako wanting to be alone to Hanako falling asleep in my arms bleeding, with 600 pounds of metal in a black bag, and me being covered in sweat.
"Well... This, Nurse, happens three hours after she left the classroom. I went upstairs after searching the grounds for a suitable place to do my routine, and came across the roof. I liked the gravel. So, I just did it. Hanako seemed to be... well, trapped... behind the stairwell, with nothing else to do but wait until I was distracted enough for her to slip away, or brave enough to tell me she was there."
The nurse seemed uncomfortable with Mikaru's gravel comment, but shook it off in a moment, choosing to not speak on it.
Good Choice.
"You mentioned a routine? What, pray tell, does this entail? Does it have anything to do with the contents of that black bag?"
Mikaru looked over to the large, yet inconspicuous bag, looked back and grinned. "You wouldn't approve, sir, but yes it does. You see, it's a little rig I designed while I was incarcerated that allows me to work out like a normal person. Well, that's a misnomer. With the rig, -"
He stooped over the bag, working it open and pulling one out. He set it onto the clean space on the desk. The Nurse immediately strode over, examining it, and then Mikaru's arms.
"- I can actually do more than your average person. But, it's not exactly... well... street legal, if you know what I mean."
He saw the marks, just under Mikaru's biceps, where the harnesses latch into his arms. He frowned.
"... No, it isn't. This is... This is... I don't even know what to say about this. I mean... You know what? Hanako's asleep. She's obviously fine, at least for now. I already examined Hisao. Can I examine you?"
Mikaru nodded, and without a second thought, spread his arms out to the sides. The Nurse unzipped the sweater, and was pulling it off his shoulders, when...
"NURSE! How're ya doing! I need to – WHAAA?!"
Both men looked over to the door. In said door, none other than Ibarazaki Emi, stood, looking at them, mouth agape at the scene.
"Emi, how many times do I have to tell you to knock before you enter?"
She stood there, blushing, before she saw Mikaru's undressed figure. Her jaw refused to close.
"Nurse, may you... may you please remove Ms. Ibarazaki? I'm afraid she's a little... a little..."
The Nurse nodded, picking the girl up in a bear-hug. She stammered, keeping her eyes locked on Mikaru's shirtless form. Her eyes swam with... something. Something not innocent.
Mikaru shuddered.
"But – but – but -"
"I will speak with you later, Emi. Wait outside."
He set her down, and turned away. "BUT, IT'S NOT FAI -"
The door slammed with a resounding thud. Mikaru shivered still.
The nurse turned to him. "Are you ready, Mikaru?"
He just stood there, staring at the door. "She... she... With her eyes, man!"
The nurse let out a healthy chuckle, and shook his head. "You... you are definitely an innocent man."
Somehow, be it an act of a god or by sheer dumb luck, Hanako managed to sleep through that commotion. Twenty minutes later, the Nurse was taking down notes, speaking aloud as he did so.
"Well, physically, other than your... insistence on self-mutilation... and your lack of hands, you belong in a scientific museum. You're seventeen, and yet you easily show greater muscle definition, size and shape than most adult body builders could ever hope to achieve. All from such a young age, too. Mentally, however, I obviously have concerns."
Mikaru looked back at the Nurse. "- Beg your pardon?"
The Nurse merely turned his head, and said "Well, You know the score. I mean, I doubt it was the bubbly, loud, and almost obnoxious facade of Mikaru that became friends with Hanako. No, She wouldn't be able to cope with that. Of course, I'd be surprised if you weren't a little mentally unstable with what you've been through. Which, by the way, I don't know much about. Only what observation can tell me."
Mikaru just nodded, knowing full – well that even though this man was a Nurse, his qualification must be nothing short of Surgeon.
"You'd be right. While I may be no criminal, my being a sociopath isn't exactly out of the question."
The Nurse turned around, still writing in his clipboard. He cast a glance onto the sleeping form of Hanako before continuing.
"... And you accept this? Is that you being well – adjusted, or is it a cry for help?"
Mikaru paused. He honestly did not know the answer.
"... I am a well – adjusted individual, all things considered. But even before the attack, I wasn't the most mentally stable. I can't really say I'm sure either of those things is true."
The Nurse smiled at his admission.
"You know, saying things like that means you have more hope than you think. Well, I think I know enough for today. You can get dressed now... On revision, I'll amend that statement. Sorry."
Mikaru let out a soft chuckle, getting things in as good of shape as he could, before the Nurse helped him get fastened. Comfortable and clothed once more, He turned to Hanako.
"So... Are we done here? Hanako's probably starving by now, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to get her fed."
The Nurse smiled, giving him a nod and a knowing look. "... It must have been pretty tough, Mikaru. This isn't just for Hanako's sake, is it?"
Mikaru Froze. However, he detested liars, and he was not a hypocrite.
"... No, sir. I've... I've spent one too many nights hungry for it to be anything but personal."
The Nurse gave Mikaru a knowing nod and a sombre look, and gesture with his head. "OK, out. I need to clean these cuts, and finish my notes. We'll talk more when you've returned. I have something I need to discuss about your friend, Hisao, as well as something else that might interest you."
Mikaru cocked his head, but nodded and left. As he turned away to head down the hall, a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.
"HEY, WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING, BUDDY?!"
- Emi was standing right across the hall.
Emi was standing, right. Across. The hall.
"Ah, if it isn't Ibarazaki Emi, The Tiny Terror."
She glared at him, fuming.
"... You take that back, RIGHT NOW!"
Mikaru fled.
"NOPE! I may not be the fastest, but DAMMIT, I WON'T LOSE!"
Emi smirked victoriously. This was her moment. She bent down, preparing herself for the chase. Her eyes cleared, and she launched. She was hauling ass, too.
"THIS IS NOT YOUR DAY, MIKARU! I AM THE FASTEST THING ON NO LEGS, AND I WILL NOT BE DENIED!"
He looked back seeing her sprinting after him like a shot out of hell, with determination in her eyes. He turned back, seeing a door and a stairwell, and choosing the door. He still needed Hanako's food, after all. He smashed through the door, nearly taking it off of it's hinges, and fled across the field outside. He was running for the closest possible source of food, until he heard rustling behind him. Turning, he saw nothing other than her triumphant face, as she was nearly in arm's reach of her conquest.
"Give up! I may even let you enjoy this!"
A very, Undeniably Manly squeal sounded from Mikaru's lips, and he turned, finding in himself a burst of speed that he didn't know existed until now. Turning again, he jumped over a railing, clearing an entire hedge of thrush, and landed on the other side, rolling before breaking into a sprint once more. Emi vaulted it, and didn't even need to roll thanks to her springy prostheses.
Think fast, Mikaru. You got this. YOU GOT THIS!
He stopped in place, standing before a tree. It was with great pleasure that Emi observed this, until...
Mikaru, without hands, jumped SEVEN FEET into the air, wrapping his arms around the lowest branch he could reach.
Emi was so distracted by his display of manly athleticism that she didn't even notice the tree, or the root that tripped her into it. Flying at over 30 Kilometres per hour, she didn't stand a chance.
When she awoke, it was much, much darker out. Almost immediately, she let out a groan, holding her head with one hand and pushing herself up to sit with another. With not just a little pain in her voice she said, "Ooooohhhh... What... What happened?"
"- Oh, That's easy. You got distracted, and ran full – tilt into a tree."
She turned, using her one good eye to look at the object of her desires, who was smirking at her from his post, leaned casually against said tree.
"... Don't rub it in, Kanasu. You certainly didn't help much. Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be off... gloating, or something?"
She looked down, more content with just wrapping her arms around herself, feeling depressed. She was beaten. Well and truly beaten, for the first time since her accident.
Mikaru stopped smirking, instead looking down more seriously at the girl. Seeing that she had had enough, he decided to be nice to her for once.
"... Hey, cut that shit out, Emi. This isn't you. Where's your fire? Your passion?"
She looked away from him, eyes still pointed to the ground.
"... I'm not... I'm not pretty, am I?"
She looked positively dejected, and it showed in her voice as well.
Mikaru scoffed a bit, but it wasn't a mean sound. Kind of dismissive, but not in a bad way.
"... Look, Emi, you... you know that's not true. You're a very pretty girl. It's just... you don't actually know me all that well. To be honest... this whole thing makes me feel a little worse than you."
She snapped her head up, eyes meeting his. She didn't expect that at all. "W – What?"
He looked away, sitting beside her, looking out at the stars overhead.
"... Sure, I may be a good looking guy, but that's not... That's not what you really see when you look at me, is it?"
She looked at him, staring pensively into the sky, and felt a little bad for him. Now that she thought about it... he was right.
"I'm not really someone you'd want to have sex with. Hell, I'm not even really the kind of guy you're interested in dating, am I? I'm just a mountain. A giant mountain you want to conquer."
She looked down, bringing her knees to her chest. Resting her pads on the ground, she hugged her knees close, listening to the young man.
"What was supposed to happen after you'd conquered me, Emi? What happens then?"
She looked at him, and had an idea. Moving quickly, she pounced on him, finding herself resting on his stomach, straddling him, her hands on his chest in the dewy grass. She looked down at him, a soft, gentle smile on her face, before leaning down and kissing him on the cheek.
"What happens then is... we're friends. And then it's your turn to conquer me."
Mikaru was a little dazed, but eventually he smiled at her kind gesture. Leaning up, he got himself onto his haunches, and lifted them both up, setting her down on her pads before dusting her shoulders off.
"So, we're friends, then? That's... That sounds nice, Emi."
She beamed up at him, before hugging him as hard as she could. She was about to let go, but...
"Oooooooowwwwwww... "
The Nurse was, for the most part, an easy going guy. He didn't judge people unnecessarily, He didn't like to pry, and he didn't ask questions when they weren't absolutely necessary. He'd seen his share of injuries that lacked all reasonable explanation. He never denied service, even if he was technically off – duty. That's just who he was; an Easy Going Guy.
... All that changed when he shut the lights, and reached to open the door, opening it to none other than Kanasu Mikaru, complete with the only thing that could bring him here: a damsel in distress.
"... You've got to be kidding me."
End of Chapter Ten: Behind These Bars, an Epic Chase and a Sticky Situation!
Next Time! Chapter Eleven: Behind These Bars, Progress and it's Price!