Author's note: This is a darker side to SIH. Warning: Heartbreak, Cussing & Yaoi. Reviews welcomed, no reviews also welcomed. Disclaimer: I owned nothing of SIH but my own creation Nagasaki Raiu. I'm simply unleashing my imagination!

*Dear Readers, has this story been worth reading? I'm thinking of sticking my nose in Yukina's and Kisa's story next and further in the future, Chiaki and Yoshiyuki's. Maybe even Mino will have his own story to tell. Let me know what you think.

**FYI, this story is long from over. There's more drama down the line, thanks to the voices in my head refusing to leave me alone. Damnit. Unfortunately, I won't be continuing this one until after next week since I've got exams coming up and naughty me has not been studying.

***If you want me to dedicate a Chapter to you, could you please give me an outline of your idea and I'll try to fit it in somewhere.

Chapter 11: The Unseen

"Raiu-chan, that's enough sleeping now, time to wake up," a gentle fatherly voice caressed her troubled mind.

"Not yet, Otou-san, I'm still so tired," Raiu mumbled, and turned to rub her face into the comfortable pillow.

There was a light chuckle. Her father's hand patted her head and she smiled in her sleep, comforted by the warmth in that touch, "Raiu-chan, when you wake up, remember never to give up, neh? Never give up on yourself, my daughter,"

How odd, Raiu thought, why would Otou-san say such things? The warmth in that touch slowly disappeared, replaced by an unfriendly cold that seeped into her skin and bones. She stirred uncomfortably now, fighting the many layers of sleep groggily.

Blink. Blink.

Blink. Squeeze.

Blink. Blink.

Why is the room so dark? Is it night time already? Why do I feel so stiff? How long have I been on my back? I can't see anything.

"Oh…" A slight feminine voice 'oh'-ed at her a little to her left. She turned her head and squinted at a small feminine figure looking down at her. Wherever she was, there was minimal light as if someone had only thought to turn the reading light on and nothing more. Why can't I see her clearly? "You're awake! Let me call the doctor, please, don't move too much," the voice was gentle. She could feel a soft hand on her head, feeling for her temperature.

Why can't I see anything clearly? A slight alarm went off in her head. She was feeling rather vexed now. A myriad of fuzzy thoughts floated thickly in her mind, as though it had been covered with cotton balls. Nothing makes any sense to her. She wanted to get up but she was so stiff that her movements caused pins and needles to jab her undersides uncomfortably. So she decided to just lie on her back until the woman with the gentle voice came back.

"Ah, you're finally awake. We expected this sooner or later. You've been kept under general anesthesia until a few days ago. Your vitals have been improving greatly. That new kidney is really working wonders," a male voice, mature and deep, rattled off to her left.

She turned her head again and squinted up at him.

"I.." she croaked. Where's my voice! She thought in alarm. She tried again, clearing her throat, her vocal chords clearly out of use, "I can't… can't see you,"

"Oh!" there was a slight gasp from the male voice to her left. She could see the shapes and colours of the people around her now; they were wearing white but other than that she could not see their faces. It was all a fuzzy blur to her. "Total darkness?" he asked, shining light into her eyes, "No, your pupils are dilating,"

"I can see shapes and colours," Raiu whispered, straining to make her voice heard.

"Doctor, could it be? That… that she is partially blind?" another female voice to her right asked. I'm right here, you idiot, she thought ruefully, I can still hear you! She kept her mouth shut anyway. Thinking made her head hurt.

"It's possible. When she had the accident, there was a small piece of glass in her right eye and she did bang her forehead on the steering wheel. That can cause temporary blindness in a person if any of the optic nerves were hit," the male voice, she assumed now was the doctor treating her, continued; oblivious to her discomfort at their dismissive discussion of her sight.

She cleared her throat and attention returned to her.

"Temporary you say?" she asked feebly. My throat is so parched. Can someone hand me a glass of water?

As though through telepathic response; a warm, small hand slid under her head and helped raised her head slightly; gently placing the brim of a plastic cup to her lips. She drank the water slowly, savouring the cold and tasteless liquid like expensive wine. When she was partially satisfied, she squeezed the hand holding the cup lightly and it disappeared from her partial vision.

"Yes, Nagasaki-san, it's temporary. If you can still see that means the surgery was a success. Although, we don't know how long it will take for your eyes to completely heal," the doctor continued talking gently.

Raiu sighed inwardly. "How do I move around then if I can't see?"

Hearing the quiet tone in her voice, the room fell silent. The doctor cleared his throat and she could sense him hesitating. She suppressed the alarm bells ringing in her head. Her mind was starting to clear a little and she felt something was not entirely right with her.

"Nagasaki-san," he began, as though unsure about how to continue his words.

"Spit it out," Raiu ordered; impatience in her cracking voice. She could feel her face forming her infamous frown.

"Nagasaki-san, due to the nature of the accident, you suffered multiple injuries. Among many, four cracked ribs, a serious concussion, multiple cuts and bruising, optic trauma, a broken arm, a punctured kidney which had already received a transplant because you donated your other kidney to someone else a few years ago and…" he stopped, as though unsure how to continue.

"Wait, a kidney transplant? Who was the donor?" Raiu asked, her curiosity perking up, missing the doctor's hesitant tone.

Six years ago, in her second year in university, word had spread that a freshman needed a kidney transplant because her remaining kidney had stopped functioning due to an inherited degenerative disease. She was on the dialysis machine and needed a compatible healthy kidney to live. No one stepped forward to help. At the end of the day, we're all selfish human beings, no? Raiu had mused to herself. She had heard this rumour and was genuinely curious about the girl, but no one seemed to know much of her.

Raiu happened to walk past the dean's office one afternoon and heard an older man and woman speaking to the dean about the condition of their daughter. They were thinking of pulling her out of university where she was studying medicine and Raiu was studying literature. They sounded so sincere and heartbroken that Raiu decided that she would help her. She had overheard her name, Himura Aki.

Her parents loved her very much, she had thought then, that's reason enough for me.

She went to the hospital where the girl was admitted into the intensive care unit. She signed a silent donor pledge and underwent the surgery. Her father had been very proud of her. He had always taught her to always be considerate to others and to help them. He believed in the power of karma. What we give will come back to us tenfold. The smile on Otou-san's face meant everything to me.

She saw the freshman a semester after; happy and healthy and studying medicine. She was oddly happy as well to know that she had done at least one good deed in her life…

"The donor? It... It was your brother… Takano Masamune," the doctor answered.

Raiu was stunned speechless. She stared into the blurred image of the doctor in front of her and choked on her words, "O-onii-ch-chan?"

"He was the closest match to your kidney and when we told him of your deteriorating condition, he was adamant that we take one of his healthy ones," the doctor explained, "Your body responded badly to it at first but he insisted that it was compatible. By the looks of your vitals, he was right,"

"W-Where is he? Where's onii-chan now?" Raiu asked, stammering, "Can I see him? I need to see him!"

"We're unsure where he is now Nagasaki-san, he was here a couple of hours ago to visit you. He's been here every afternoon. We suspect he's possibly in the male patients block at the moment attending to his partner," one of the nurses answered her. It was the gentle voice from before. She latched onto that voice and turned her unseeing eyes in her direction.

"Partner? You-you mean, Ritsu? Is Ritsu awake? Is he okay? Can I see him too?" she asked eagerly. Somehow, something was suddenly not feeling very right.

"I'm not sure if Onodera-san is awake, Nagasaki-san. I'll check on him and I can come back later to let you know?" it was too obvious, the woman with the gentle voice skirted around Raiu's question.

"What… what are you not telling me?" Raiu asked suspiciously, her sixth sense flaring now that her mind was nearly awake.

"Nagasaki-san…" the woman hesitated. Her figure seemed to move closer to Raiu and Raiu's hazel eyes followed her silhouette, "Ano…"

"What?" Raiu asked, suspicion in her voice deepening. She narrowed her unseeing gaze at the woman.

"Nagasaki-san, your injuries included…" the doctor started and Raiu turned her head sharply to the sound of his voice.

"WHAT?! SPIT IT OUT!" she snapped, her words coming out in bites. Her head slightly rising in defiance even in her semi-sedated state.

"Na-Nagasaki-san!" the doctor, taken aback by the sudden force this woman was emitting even after being confined to a bed for three months. He swallowed visibly in front of his colleagues and nurses. It was always difficult to explain to a patient who was in this condition. This woman had just woken up but her mind was sharp and observant even if her eyes couldn't see what's happening in front of her properly.

"You-You can't walk anymore,"

What…

It felt like a thousand boulders had come crashing down on her… burying her… burying her would've been better than… than this… In the back of her mind, a soft whisper reminded her gently, "Raiu-chan, when you wake up, remember never to give up, neh? Never give up on yourself, my daughter," Why Father? WHY? Can fate be any crueler to me, Father? She shut her eyes tightly and gritted her teeth, unbelieving her brutal providence. Her hands came up and covered her face, her long nails digging into her forehead as she strained to barricade her screams from breaking loose.

"You broke your right leg during the accident. It has fully healed but- but the impact from the accident had caused a hairline fracture on three spinal discs on your lower spine. You are partially paralyzed, from the hips down. I'm sorry." The doctor said, his voice quiet, "It will take a miracle for you to walk again," he whispered.

"W-What are you telling me…" Raiu whispered, pushing the palms of her hands into her eyes, keeping a dead center pressure there, "Are you fucking with my mind right now?"

"Nagasaki-san, I'm sorry, there's only so much we can do for you without further paralyzing you. Please understand," the doctor said again, "It's a miracle enough that you survived the accident, you could've died,"

"And HOW is being blind and crippled any better?!" Raiu snapped at them and opened her eyes. They were glistening with angry tears, "Get out…" she hissed quietly.

"Nagasaki-san, if there's anything we can do, we…" one of the nurses implored before Raiu turned her blazing glare at her as well.

"GET OUT! GET THE FUCKING OUT, RIGHT NOW! GET OUT!" Raiu screamed then. The doctors and nurses, but one, left her then, "Fucking hell," she laughed hysterically, her thoughts running amok, "I'm fucking blind and fucking crippled. Bloody fucking hell," she whispered to herself; palming her face, her tears ran down the corners of her eyes, "Otou-s-san…Onii-chan… Why… Why me…" she whispered in a broken voice, shutting her eyes to the world, unaware of the tear-stained lavender eyes watching her in a corner, sharing her pain quietly.

Masamune looked up from where he was standing. A nagging feeling was tugging at him. He had wheeled Ritsu out for fresh air in the hospital garden. There was a full moon in the sky, though the stars lay hidden behind the dark clouds. He was standing behind Ritsu, savouring the beautiful person infront of him, a hand on Ritsu's right shoulder – gently squeezing it. Ritsu's own hand had come up to settle on top of his and they stayed like this, the silence between them comforting them. No words could express how they are both feeling now.

"Masamune," Ritsu began, his voice clearer now that he's had something to drink, "Did you… Did you feel that?" he asked cautiously, his hand tightening on Masamune's, a frown formed on his worried face.

"What is it, Ritsu?" Masamune asked, his voice gentle. He could feel it too, but he didn't want Ritsu to be alarmed. The nurse had warned him against making any sudden moves or emotionally troubling the younger man he was looking at now. He had walked around the wheelchair and kneeled in front of Ritsu, holding both his hands.

Ritsu shook his head and put a hand on his forehead. There was an echo of pain in his head, but he was, adamantly, sure it wasn't his. He looked up into the eyes of his lover and the hazel brown eyes triggered an uncomfortable response, somewhat shielded. There was a nagging feeling in his heart and he didn't know what the source was. Maybe he was still very tired, he concluded. He shook his head lightly. Masamune smiled, his right hand running through Ritsu's unkempt hair and leaned his forehead on his, shuttering his eyes for a moment. They stayed like this for awhile, grateful just to be in each other's presence.

But the darkening feeling did not go away…