Disclaimer: I'm not trying to make money. Shun is not mine. Hyoga is not mine. Ikki is not mine (damn it!).
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Chapter 11 – A New Reality
His conscience was returning slowly, and with it, an intolerable agony that took over him. It felt like lightning fell over his head and split it in two.
The boy moaned out loud and instinctively raised his hands to his head; but instead of relief, the movement only worsened the pain. A different kind of pain, acute, on his right wrist and on his chest, by his ribs. The boy screamed and lethis arms fall back on the bed. He would stay as still as possible waiting for that to pass. What the hell had happened to him?
In a jolt he remembered everything. His eyes opened wide in a panic, and his breathing became erratic. The shadow on his living room, that he thought to be his brother. The stranger with a metal costume. The absurd things he said, complete nonsense. The feeling of impending danger, of a catastrophe that he felt he could not prevent.
The chase. Flight. Fear. The accusations that he did not understand. The fight for his life. Finally, the attack. The blows that rained mercilessly ands impossibly painful and fast on him. His complete inability to defend himself. And at last, darkness, that blessed him and freed him of the agony.
Then, nothing.
He had been lucky. Once, he remembered, still not daring to move where he lay, Ikki had been very sick. He had fell down some stairs (a very high stairwell, considering the results), he was very injured and with a high fever. Shun had taken care of him, had not moved away from his bed until he recovered. But even unconscious, Ikki had trashed about, and obviously had been suffering. Shun had been very lucky not to feel a thing when he was unconscious.
Except for a few moments, he remembered. When he had dreamt. Yes! It had being a marvelous dream, where an extremely beautiful blonde angel was protecting him and giving him peace. Shun smiled at the memory. For some reason, even with his body hurting like hell during this dream, it had been worth it.
Then, unconsciousness again… until he woke up here.
But here, where? What was this place? How did he get here?
He felt a soft mattress underneath him, so he was obviously on a bed. He did not recognize the grey roof with peeling paint. Slowly, afraid that the horrible paid would return, he turned his head a little to have a look around. He was in a simple bedroom that he also did not recognize, a chair and a simple desk being the only furniture besides the bed. For light source, there was only a dim lamp hanging from the ceiling – the room had no windows. There were two doors, both closed. The air was a little stuffy, smelling like dust and mold; smelling like a room that had not been used in a long time.
But the place didn't seem dirty, and the sheet underneath him was a clean white. In any case, it was far from being a cozy, inviting room.
If his brother were the one to have found him, he would not have brought Shun to a place like this. And this did not look like a hospital or clinic, at all. Was it possible that a neighbor had found him and brought him to his apartment? Or perhaps…
No.
Was he, perhaps, still at the mercy of that maniac?
The probability of that being the case filled him with horror. His breathing became erractic again, fear making him pant noisily. The green eyes were goggled, and his injured body began trembling with anxiety. He tried grabbing the sheet underneath him for support.
"Aaaaahhh!", his left wrist made him scream. He released the sheet. Was his wrist broken?
It did not take long for Shun to find out who had him. Within a few seconds, one of the doors opened wide and a stranger came in, banging it behind him and rushing towards him. Shun panicked, fearing a new attack. Igfnoring the pain that this caused, he sat back in a jump and moved back against the wall as far as he could go, keeping as much distance as possible between himself and the stranger. He raised the two open hands in front of him, in a mute request for the other to stop – and also as a barrier to hide behind. An involuntary sob escaped from his lips.
The stranger stopped where he were – already next to the bed – and raised his hands as if showing that he was not armed. A gesture that no longer made literal sense at this day and age, but its meaning remained the same: "I don't intend to hurt you".
Shun noticed that the man was a few years older than himself – early twenties – tall, asian features – perhaps Chinese – attractive, with very long, black, straight hair.
"I've heard a scream," the brunette said after a few moments. "Do you feel any pain?" His voice was calm, almost zen, and was as disarming as his previous gesture.
The stranger's posture and manner did not seem threatening. The boy hesitated for a moment, but ended up relaxing a bit. "My wrist," he said shyly, in a wisp of a voice.
"Can I see?" the brunette asked, yet without moving.
Shun waved yes with his head, slightly.
The stranger approached the bed a little more, slowly this time. He sat on the bed and, with a gesture, asked for his arm. Shun moved closer, biting his lower lip not to moan with paid because of the movement – but that didn't help, as lis lip was already split. Dealing with the pain the best he could, and also with his fear and suspicion, Shun timidly offered his lower arm for the older guy to inspect.
The asian guy took it on his hands and touched it in several points, with light and gentle fingers, obviously trying not to hurt him. Perhaps they were in a medical clinic, Shun thought, since this guy did not behave like a madman or an assailant.
"AH!" the boy screamed, when a particularly sensitive point was touched.
The asian guy let go of him gently and walked towards the narrow desk. He picked up a white case that was there. Shun paid attention to his every movement. Should he trust the guy? Was his intention to help him or hurt him? He was tall, and seemed to be quite strong, despite of being slim; his muscles were compact and well defined. Besides, he had a certain aura of power, of strenght. If he wanted to hurt him, Shun would not be able to defend himself. But, trust or no trust, what choice did he have?
The stranger sat down on the bed again and unzipped the case. Shun peeked at its contents, and went cold to see several scary tools, among them syringes, a pair of scissors and a scalpel.
"What does he intend to do to me?" the boy thought, frozen, already picturing those sharp objects cutting his skin and making his blood flow.
Noticing his fear, the brunette was silent for a moment, as if considering what to say. He selected a pomade, squeezed a little on his own finger and finally said, "This will help with the pain. Your wrist doesn't seem to be broken, but there might be a small fracture or compromised area, so it's better to imobilize it and leave it alone for a few days.
As he spoke, he took the injured wrist and applied the pomade, in a deliberately light massage. Finishing that, he selected a roll of fauze from the case, and rolled it from the middle of Shun's lower arm until part of his hand, around his thumb.
Shun studied his face of beautiful features, trying to form an opinion about his improvised nurse. He has many questions to ask, but hesitated, afraid. So far the guy had been very nice to him, but until he knew what was going on, he did not want to abuse his good luck.
"Done," the brunette said, after finishing his work with white tape. He got a fine white fabric from the case and improvised a sling with it, placing it around the boy's neck and leaning his arm against it, than making a knot. "You don't need to wear this all the time, but this is more comfortable. By the way, how do your ribs feel?"
"Ãh?" Shun asked, surprised. How did he know that...? He looked down at himself and placed a hand underneath his pajama's top, noticing something other than his skin. He raised his top a little and saw that part of his chest was wrapped in a bandage.
This bothered him. He didn't like to have been touched when he were unconscious and helpless. On the other hand, the brunette had only helped him until now. He considered lying, but opted for the truth.
"It hurts here, when I move," he said timidly, showing the precise spot. "It anything broken?"
"I don't think so. It's hard to say without an x-ray, but if a rib were broken you would be screaming with pain. It seems like it's the same case as your wrist; a small lesion that will heal itself within a few days. The location was quite bruised and ugly, so I easily noticed it."
The longer haired man went silent, a strange expression. He had said very few words up to then, than spoke a lot at once. He must have decided that silence was better. He got up and took the first aid case. He seemed to have remembered something; he got some medicine and handed three tablets to the green-haired boy. "For your head," he said. He headed towards the door without another word.
"Wait!" Shun said. The other stopped, holding the semi-open door, his back to the room. "Who are you? Tell me where I am, please."
The brunette hesitated. Still his back to the boy, he turned only his face, looking at Shun sideways. "My name is Shiryu Suiyama. Rest, kid. You need it." And without more ado, he left the room, closing the door. Shun heard the noise of keys, followed by a lock being put in place.
At least this answered one of his questions. Shun did not unglue his eyes from the door, partly in shock. And then he understood. His two emeralds were suddenly moist.
"They've made me prisoner," he murmured to himself, at the same time that two fat tears rolled down his face.
TBC
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