"Sasagawa Kyoko is in trouble?"
Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw Nagi's eyes enlarge.
"Yes. Hurry and come to the hospital—"
"I'm already at the hospital," I cut in.
"…. Huh? You are? But you don't seem like you knew what happened—"
"Do you want me to tell you the long story of how I ended up at the hospital or do you want me to come to Room Number-dunno-what?"
Gokudera Hayato clicked his tongue, "Come to Room 1011. Hurry. Everyone's here except you, Chrome and Kuri".
"Don't order me around, self-proclaimed right-hand man," before he could curse at me, I hung up the phone.
"Where is Room 1011?" I asked the doctor.
"Ah… It's at Level 1," he replied.
Nagi tugged at my sleeve, "Kyoya, what's wrong with Kyoko-chan?"
"Did Auntie Kyoko's fever worsen?" Kuri added.
I shrugged, "I don't know. But we have to go to Room 1011 now".
Due to Nagi's injuries, I insisted that I would carry Kuri. As we travelled down the elevator, I saw Nagi clasp her hands together, as if she was praying that Sasagawa Kyoko would be all right. I interlocked my hand with hers and stared at her with assurance.
With one arm carrying my daughter and the other hand grabbing onto my wife's, we located Room 1011, where all the herbivores had gathered.
Everyone looked like they were in despair.
"KYOKO!" Kurokawa Hana shrieked as she covered her face with her hands and dropped to her knees. Her husband was rubbing her shoulders and whispering words of comfort to her ears, although he himself was just as distraught for his sister's welfare as her.
Yamamoto Takeshi was having a hard time trying to calm down the almost asthmatic Miura Haru while Sawada Tsunayoshi was pacing around and agitatedly biting on his nails.
"W-What's going on?" Nagi enquired, astounded at their chaotic state.
"I have no idea. But something serious must have happened to Sasagawa Kyoko," I narrowed my eyes as I sensed that this was not going to bring out a good outcome, considering the fact that Sasagawa Kyoko was apparently in the ICU.
As if he was the key to our unanswered queries, Gokudera Hayato appeared behind us, "Ah, there you are".
"Gokudera-san! What happened? What happened to Kyoko-chan?" Nagi was obviously very worried.
He sighed, "Come with me. I'll explain to you on Juudaime's behalf".
"By the way, you said everyone's here. I don't see Hiro and the cow herbivore," I said when I examined the crowd closely.
Gokudera Hayato snarled, "Hiro is still at his daycare centre. And that ahoushi went on a vacation with Ipin and her cousin since two weeks ago. They wanted to hurry back when they heard of Yuni's death, but some….terrorist incidents hindered their flight in Osaka and until now they couldn't return".
'Oh, I didn't even notice those herbivores were missing when we visited Hinata Yuni.'
"That's terrible!" Nagi exclaimed, "Are they going to be okay?"
"I'm sure they are far more okay than Sasagawa," he said.
"Oh yes! What happened to Kyoko-chan?"
"Before I tell you, I suggest you take a seat first," he pointed to the metal beam seating along the hallway, "I don't want you to faint on the floor".
'Faint? Is it that serious?'
"Cut to the chase, herbivore," I demanded as I sat beside Nagi with Kuri on my lap.
Gokudera Hayato leant against the wall and sighed again. "In order to purchase medicine for his sick wife, Juudaime went to a nearby clinic. He had calculated the time that the Ingotishs might begin their raid at his area, but they were beyond his expectations this time. When he returned, everything was a total mess. But the worst thing was…"
I felt my body tense and Nagi clutched onto her dress's hem until her knuckles whitened. Kuri's eyes widened forebodingly.
This was not good.
"He found his wife in a pool of her own blood."
Nagi gasped.
"She was shot…at her chest and abdomen."
Nagi dashed forward and delivered an angry slap across Gokudera Hayato's cheek!
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Nagi shrieked, tears of aggravation and dismay painting her face, "DON'T LIE TO ME! Boss… Boss would never leave Kyoko-chan alone and let her get killed by the Ingotishs!"
"I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!" Gokudera Hayato bellowed indignantly.
Kuri slid down my lap and plopped onto the floor, shaking in heart wrenching horror as the news shot her right through her skull.
"Do you think Juudaime wanted this to happen?! He's the most devastated one out of all of us! Sasagawa lost an incredible amount of blood! She only has a 5% chance to live!"
"YAMETE! YAMETE!" Nagi screamed, covering her ears as her legs morphed into jelly and no longer able to support her weight, "Don't say anymore!"
With one arm carrying my appalled-beyond-words daughter, I wrapped my other arm around Nagi's waist. "Kyoya…" she stuffed her tear-stained face into my shoulder, grabbing onto my upper arm, "I don't want Kyoko-chan to die… I don't want another friend to die!"
Hearing her mother's voice that reflected so much angst, Kuri could not hold back and burst into tears as well. "Nagi, Kuri," I pulled them into an embrace of encouragement for them to be strong, "We don't know for sure if Sasagawa Kyoko is going to die. A 5% chance is better than nothing".
"We should go back and wait for news from the doctors," Gokudera Hayato said.
"Come," I gently supported Nagi to her feet and with Kuri in my arm, we walked back to the crowd outside the ICU which was beside Room 1011 (Sawada Tsunayoshi's dog gave me the wrong information, but it was still close).
The scene had changed somewhat. The anticipating herbivores were now surrounding the men clad in light blue for the results of the operation.
Nagi immediately broke apart from my hold on her hand when she spotted the surgeons. Shoving through the crowd, Nagi 'attacked' the one standing closest to them.
"Doctor! How is Kyoko-chan?!" she demanded frenziedly.
"Chrome?" Sawada Tsunayoshi gasped. He probably did not notice she was there before.
The surgeon removed his operation mask and grimly reported, "We have done everything we could, but Mrs Sawada had lost too much blood. She is beyond our rescue. Please accept our condolences".
As all the surgeons bowed deeply, the hard reality struck us like a hammer blow.
A week later, we were assembled at a very familiar place, the cemetery.
Lambo and Ipin had finally returned, but only to be cursed by another onerous fact.
Sawada Tsunayoshi, although he had collapsed after the death of his beloved wife registered in his brain, insisted that he wanted to visit her with everyone else. Kurokawa Hana did not differ from him. She came despite her burning fever.
The sunset bathing the landscape created an even depressing and melancholic setting, accompanied by the tormenting cries of the friends and family of the deceased person.
No one knew how to alleviate broken hearts.
The ones directly related to Sasagawa Kyoko, her husband and elder brother, carried all the burden of blaming themselves for her death and being incapable of protecting her, to the point that everyone thought they might commit suicide to atone for their 'sins'.
I was angry.
Roll, Hinata Yuni and now Sasagawa Kyoko…. What were the Ingotishs playing at? What exactly did they hope to achieve by killing the Japanese? While we mourned over the loss of our loved ones, they were gloating and hollering with sadism and malevolence, were they not? While we fought back with our lives for revenge, they crushed us back down and humiliated our lack in power and resolve.
This was the final straw. I no longer wished to see my family, the sole reason I empowered myself with strength and fortitude, suffer because of the ugly atrocity of this war.
At home, in our bedroom, Kuri stood by the window, gazing longingly at the indigo starry sky, as if she was calling out to the heavens, to her Auntie Kyoko. Nagi lay in bed with her back on her pillow silently, her eyes filled with the wistfulness of nostalgia, probably mesmerising about the past when all her friends and her could spend joyous times together without worrying that they might die the next day.
I noticed how her eyes stared at my hands shuffling through the nightstand drawer as I searched for something. When I found the invitation to the battle trials, she said weakly.
"Kyoya, you are not planning to join the battle trials, are you?"
I looked up at her furrowed eyebrows and back at the paper in my hand.
"I don't know," I gave her my honest answer.
Kuri toddled over to my side to read the invitation. "Demo, Otosan, if you join, you will end up like Auntie Yuni's husband!" she pointed out.
"The Ingotishs use the craving for revenge in the Japanese to lure us to join the battle trials so that they can kill us," Nagi placed her fragile hand over mine, indirectly imploring me not to make rash actions, "I don't want you to end up with the same fate as their victims".
"I won't," I declared, "The two of you know best about how much stronger I am than average people. Some of the men had trained before the battle trials, but me? I have been fighting since young. I will never lose so easily".
I was an arrogant daredevil. No matter how much people criticised me for that, I would never change, because that was just who I was.
"If you permit me to join," I held the delicate pale hands of my wife and daughter, "I will be taking the first step to end this war".
"End this war…?" Nagi widened her eyes.
"Someone has to do it. Japan's national pride had already been tarnished by Ingoland's conquer. I am going to defeat the Ingotishs."
"You're doing this for the sake of Japan?"
I smirked, "Not really, even though it may seem like that. Ultimately, everything I'm doing is for this family, for the both of you. I've had enough of all this suffering you have to bear. That's why, with your permission, I want to take part in the battle trials and build a path that will eventually lead to the freedom of Japan".
Nagi and Kuri exchanged glances of uncertainty and indecision.
I was getting a little nervous, although I still wore my signature poker face. I did feel penitent, knowing that my decision was adding onto my family's emotional instability. However, I was not acting recklessly. It was a clear and firm judgment. In the end, it was all for their sake.
I would not end up dying like most of the participants in the battle trials. I was confident of that. To me, and I was sure to my family as well, I would always be the strongest. I would promise them to return home not only with a few sacks of rice and the glory of victory, but also with new found hope for eternal peace and happiness.
"Kyoya."
I jolted out of my musings upon hearing Nagi call me. Was she going to reject my proposition?
She pointed out her pinky at me, as if gesturing me to shake it. Kuri did the same.
Perplexed, I locked my pinkies with theirs.
"Kyoya, if you can promise us that you will pull through the battle trials in one piece and return home safely, we will let you go for it," Nagi's affirmation surprised me. Kuri nodded to clarify that my hearing was not failing me.
I smiled, shaking their pinkies with more energy in a sign of my promise. I was really grateful.
"Thank you."
I grunted in vexation.
"Nagi, do you really have to ask Kuri to invite Rokudo Mukuro to our house just to discuss about my application for the battle trials?"
Nagi twiddled her thumbs innocently, "Mukuro-san is our close acquaintance and he can help you apply and perhaps give you some useful advices".
"No way will he give me advices. You heard him before. He's on nobody's side. And I don't need them anyway."
The idea of the pineapple bastard 'kufufu'-ing in my house was enough to make my blood boil and drive me insane.
Nagi sighed at my stubbornness.
"By the way, now that Kyoko-chan is gone, who is going to be your new assistant?"
I shrugged, "I could care less. I don't even need one actually. But maybe I'll appoint Tetsu".
"He's already your secretary, Kyoya."
"It doesn't matter. I believe he can handle both roles."
Nagi pondered for a while, and then suggested, "How about me? I can apply for the job—"
"No!" I instantly objected, grasping her shoulders. She was startled at my sudden agitation.
"Did you forget what happened during the seventh month of your pregnancy?" I snapped, "I can't afford to let something like that occur again! If I didn't save you back then, Kuri would never be born!"
Her eyes became teary when the traumatic memories flooded into her mind. I bit my lip guiltily and pulled her into a comforting embrace.
Not wanting her to feel stressed out if she shared the burden of the workload with me was not the main reason I refused to let her work. It was because of a nerve-wrecking incident nine years ago that made me swear never to expose her to such danger again.
We used to work in the same company, but in different branches. One day, when I went to pick Nagi up after work, I frowned when I saw her limping down a flight of stairs with a heavy box in her arms. She already had a bulging stomach then, and what she was doing might be too strenuous on her frail body and the infant.
As I was about to approach her to carry the box for her, her foot suddenly slipped on the stairs and she came tumbling down a few steps! If I was not there to cease her fall, she might have a miscarriage!
Nagi was frightened out of her wits, and she kept rubbing her stomach as if to check whether her baby was still inside her or not. I would have bitten the damn bastard who instructed her to carry that box to death, if it was not for Nagi's intervention.
I demanded Sawada Tsunayoshi, our boss, to pull her out of the workforce. Since that accident that had risked my daughter's existence to be erased from this world, I never dared to make Nagi work again.
"Kufufufu…."
"Tsk."
"To think that the great Hibari Kyoya needs my help, I feel honoured indeed."
"If you're just going to talk nonsense, get out of my house."
"Tsk tsk tsk, you mustn't treat your guest like that, Hibari Kyoya."
"I never welcome you in the first place."
My eye twitched each time I made eye contact with the pineapple herbivore sitting opposite me at the dining table, casually sipping on a cup of tea and chewing on Nagi's homemade cookies.
"Otosan wants to join the battle trials, Mukuro-san!" Kuri said.
Rokudo Mukuro arched an eyebrow at me, "Oh really? Are you sure that's a wise choice?"
"You are in no position to judge me," I hissed, "All I need you to do is to get me an application for the battle trials".
"Wouldn't you like to reconsider?" he indirectly protested my decision, "You're going to affect Chrome and Kuri. Don't you know that?"
I glared at him and folded my arms, "Why is an Ingotish discouraging a Japanese to participate in the battle trials?" I chuckled sarcastically, "I thought it's always a splendid idea to kill off more of us. Are you trying to protect me?"
Rokudo Mukuro clicked his tongue, "I am not an Ingotish".
"Whatever it is, you belong to them, because you're working with them," I retorted curtly.
He sighed in slight exasperation, "Hibari Kyoya, you are a human. You have a brain. I'm sure you understand how your defeat will affect your family".
I stood up from my chair, "So you're looking down on me even when you've never seen me fight?" I pointed one of my deadly tonfas at his face, "Shall we have a match now for me to prove you wrong?"
"Kyoya, stop it!" Nagi exclaimed, grabbing my left arm, "Don't fight in the house! Whenever you rage, some of our furniture will be destroyed!"
I sneered, "Are you implying that we should fight outside?"
"No no no!" she cried, "Let me rephrase. Don't fight at all!"
I slumped back down on my chair, glowering at Rokudo Mukuro who was trying to suppress his amused laughter.
"Did you approve of this crazy man's decision, Chrome?" he inquired Nagi, pointing at me.
She nodded, a little reluctantly, "H-Hai… I know that I have to believe in him".
Kuri giggled, "Don't worry, Mukuro-san! Trust me, my Otosan's invincible!"
"In that case, I won't complain anymore," he placed a pen and an application form for the battle trials in front of me, "Fill that up. I'll send it to the Army House on your behalf. As stated in your invitation, the next opening of the battle trials will be on 28th September, next Thursday. I will inform you of further details".
He slid across a copy of his contact card, which I picked up hesitantly.
After a few more minutes of conversation with Nagi and Kuri, Rokudo Mukuro bid us farewell, but not forgetting to leave me with a puzzling statement.
"You better be prepared, Hibari Kyoya, even if you may be strong."
Ahoushi: Stupid cow
Actually, I shouldn't have stated that the characters are in TYL forms. After all, Hibari and Chrome already have a daughter (Kuri is eight years old). So imagine them a few years older than TYL.
QTR: If _ whispers to me "You interest me", I will not squeal, gasp, cry, run away, slap him/her, scream "PERVERT!", kick his/her ass, or whatsoever, I will DIE*.
*Of happiness or disgust? ;)