UPDATED: Author's note: This is a darker side to SIH. Warning: Heartbreak, Cussing & Yaoi. Reviews welcomed, no reviews, not going to cry over it. Disclaimer: I owned nothing of SIH but my own creation(s), Nagasaki Raiu and now, introducing, Himura Aki. I'm simply unleashing my imagination!
Chapter 12: Life is Full of Surprises
"Nagasaki-san, please! Wear your body brace!"
"Innai! Go away!"
"Nagasaki-san, please! I'm begging you!"
"NO! Fuck off!"
"Raiu!"
Masamune stood in the doorway, his eyes widening. The struggle for dominance in that room had stopped. Raiu turned to the voice but her unseeing eyes were out of focus. She could only see a silhouette of a man but there was no mistaking the familiar tone. Her hand reached outwards, grasping into thin air and felt another, warm and loving, reaching out and grabbing it in such force.
"Onii-chan…" she whispered, holding on to the man who was hugging her tightly, tears forming in her eyes before realizing the acute pain that was jabbing her lower back now, "Onii-chan… you're hurting my back…"
"Takano-san! Let go! Her spine is injured!" the woman she had been arguing with quickly intervened.
As quickly as he was there holding her tight, he was gone. She could feel him holding her at arms length, staring at her, his eyes burning into her skull but she could not see him.
"Raiu-Raiu-chan, I'm sorry, I didn't know," she could hear his voice as clear as day, "Raiu… Is there… something…"
"Wrong with me?" Raiu whispered, finishing Masamune's hesitant question, "I'm blind and crippled, Onii-chan," she admitted, turning her face away, her voice small and quiet.
It had been a long and arduous day for everyone. The Onoderas came to visit their son, showering him with chocolates and gifts. There was an awkward moment where the senior Onodera head of the family shook Masamune's hand, clearly at odds when he had found out about their relationship from Ritsu's mother. He had been grappling with the difficult fact that his son was a homosexual. He barely looked Masamune in the eye. He muttered an insincere thank you and pretended for the most part that the man was not in the room with them.
This cold treatment was not lost on Masamune who sighed inwardly. He knew the repercussions of his choices. He had left the Onoderas to paw over their son affectionately and excused himself to visit his sister. As he said hello to the nurses on shift that morning, and walked around the corner towards the private wards, he thought he heard a familiar voice, screaming obscenities. His heart began hammering in his chest as he walked faster and broke into a light sprint.
He had opened the door to Raiu's private ward and was astonished to see her sitting upright on the bed and fighting for supremacy with a petite nurse who had whitish gray hair and lavender eyes. The familiar cussing pulled his sidetracked thoughts sharply away. His mouth gaped open before he found his voice and called her name. She had turned sharply towards him but there was something in her gaze, as though she wasn't really looking at him that triggered an unusual alarm in his head.
It was mere minutes after when she admitted the difficult facts. She was partially blind and was paralyzed waist down. The breath was knocked out of his lungs as his mind digested this cruel revelation. She had saved the love of his life from the same cruel fate and had taken the toll of that sacrifice. How could he even ever begin to repay her for that ultimate show of love? He vowed that he would do anything necessary to help her regain her mobility once again.
However, that vow was faltering in hope when the doctors had argued that any more surgery would render her completely immobile. They had to surgically implant three metal plates to hold her fractured discs together and they do not want to shoulder the responsibility if the surgery went wrong and completely paralyzes her. He was angry and infuriated and broke into a barrage of obscenities; enough to shame everyone within hearing distance; at them.
He walked away from the head surgeon's office; feeling quite aggravated but was stopped in his tracks, just as he was about to return to his sister's private ward.
"Ano… Takano-san…" a small voice caught his attention. He looked up into a pair of lavender eyes.
"Huh?" he gaped.
"Takano-san, can I-I have your permission to be Nagasaki-san's personal nurse? You s-see because you're her older brother, you can consent the permission even if she didn't want to," with a heaving breath, and in a rush of speech, the young woman, who looked no more than 24 or 25, asked timidly and squeezed her lavender eyes shut.
"Eh?" words escaped him, "Why?" how dumbfounded was he at this unusual request.
"Nagasaki-san, s-she… saved my life once," she finally whispered, her face blushing red but her eyes, now opened, were grateful and nostalgic, "If it hadn't been for her, I would've… died. Please… please let me take care of her, yoroshiku onegaishimasu,"
It was then Masamune realized just how different his sister was from his earlier judgments about her. How could I have ever been so wrong about her? She puts on this air of confidence, this arrogant persona but in truth, she has the most giving soul anyone could have ever imagined. Behind the black leather jacket, the piercings, the cutting tongue and the icy glare, who would've thought that she puts others before her? She had helped this stranger, out of the goodness of her heart, he thought to himself, and had signed a silent pledge donor for her? Helping others anonymously? Who is this woman who calls herself my sister?
"Takano-san, please, allow me the honour of looking after her," this woman, who barely reached his shoulders bowed her head low.
"What's your name?" Masamune asked quietly, his mind filled with unanswered questions about his sister.
"Himura Aki. You can call me Aki," she answered timidly, eyes still casted down.
"Okay then. Please. Please take good care of her," Masamune quietly said. It was the least he could do for his sister. He very well could not look after her as he was a man. It would complicate matters and put them in the most awkward of positions.
Those lavender eyes shot up and looked at him with such gratefulness that he was again taken aback at how much his sister had affected the lives of people around her. Who is she, truly? By now he had become so intrigued to learn about this stranger who never ceased to amaze him with the strength of her heart and soul. Who is this deity sent to us in our times of need?
This woman, Aki, smiled brightly and bowed again, rushing off to confirm this permission with the head surgeon. Masamune will have to sign the consent forms. He doubted that Raiu would take too keenly to this. He knew her well enough to know that she would refuse any help to her. She is strong willed and stubborn. Come hell or high water, she would crawl if need be but she would never ask for help.
How elated she felt when Masamune had given her the permission to look after his sister. Now she would be able to stay by her side always. Petite, with ample curves, waist length whitish gray hair tied securely into a bun and striking albino lavender eyes, Himura Aki was a beautiful woman. Her features were small and delicate, her hands lithe and gentle. Her voice easy on the ears and her quiet demeanor gave patients some semblance of peace when she was around.
And she was in love with her savior, Nagasaki Raiu.
She remembered the day she was told that all hope was lost. She was resigned to her fate, crying into her pillow, waiting for Death to come and devour her soul. She was fading away quickly, nothing her parents and her brother did have come to any fruition. Two painful surgeries later, she was still not functioning. She was deteriorating so fast that the doctors only gave her a mere three weeks to live.
"We've a match!" she remembered those magical words that had sprung a flicker of life into her dying hope, "Prep her for surgery!"
She had lived her life to the fullest and dedicated her life to helping others ever since. This is all thanks to her mysterious donor who was now crippled and in need of her.
"WHAT?!" Raiu screeched when she found out that she was now assigned a full time personal nurse, "NO! I refuse! I don't want her!"
"Raiu, only until you get back on your feet again," Masamune said stubbornly. He will face his sister down if he had to.
"Onii-chan!" Raiu exclaimed, exasperated at her brother.
"No! And that's that! No arguments!" Masamune interjected vehemently, crossing his arms on his chest and glaring at her. It was like old times, these arguments, he mused. He was glad that the accident hadn't left his sister completely crippled judging from the waves of anger and indignant vibes coming off of her in throes.
"Argh! I hate you right now!" she cried out in frustration, throwing a pillow at her brother, missing him by mere inches, "You! What's your name?" she had turned to fix her unseeing eyes at the other woman's silhouette.
"Eto… Hi-Himura Aki. Please call me Aki, yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" she bowed so low, her heartbeat in her throat.
"Aki? Himura Aki?" the silence in the tone of the voice forced Aki to look up at her paralyzed charge now, "You're…" the expression on Raiu's face had changed. She was glaring daggers at her a minute ago and now there was a hint of recognition in Raiu's voice.
"You saved my life. I can never thank you enough," Aki whispered, casting her eyes down, her face reddening, "Please let me take care of you,"
"So it's settled!" Masamune interrupted and sighed loudly, "You'll be discharged in a few weeks imouto-chan. Until then, please behave,"
"Don't you be telling me what to do! You may be my brother but I've live my life entirely dependent on myself!" Raiu snapped, turning around again to the sound of her brother's voice.
"Hai.. hai… I know Raiu-chan," Masamune said gently, quieting the roar of the storm of frustration in her voice. Raiu sighed inwardly, defeated. It looks like having a brother around is going to give me a headache. Already he is acting like father, stubborn and protective… she mused to herself.
It took a while for her to get use to having a personal nurse around; dressing her, feeding her, bathing her and helping her cope in general. Aki fussed over her so much that she found it quite suffocating. She was always worried about her, checking up on her and working herself up into such a worried state that Raiu had often had to remind her to breath. Raiu had half a mind to strangle her brother for this unnecessary burden.
Her eyesight, like the doctor predicted, had nearly healed. She was still unable to focus on objects, which were far away but was now able to clearly see things closer to her. She was grateful for the little miracles. Each time the doctor gave her the thumbs up; she would jump for joy in the inside but kept up her skulking demeanor on the outside. She constantly snapped at her doctors and nurses like a mother alligator protecting her territory but had ceased to snap at Aki like she used to.
"Aki-chan," Raiu had said one day. She was finally wheeled out of the hospital nearly 3 months after she woke up from coma. Aki leaned forward to listen to her better.
"Do you think I'll ever walk again?"
"Nagasaki-san…" Aki started, not knowing what to answer, her heart went out to that longing tone in Raiu's voice.
"Raiu. Please. If you're going to be in my face everyday you might as well call me by my given name," Raiu interrupted, her sarcasm dripping in every crevice of her voice and stared up insolently at her.
"Raiu-san then," Aki said tentatively. Her smile was timid and shy. Raiu looked away, feeling uncomfortable with the sight of that smile.
Masamune and Ritsu had come to greet her by the entrance. Ritsu had a huge bouquet of red and white roses in his arms and a smile the size of a half moon. There were tears in his eyes and she was touched by the gesture. Her naturally hard face softened a little as she accepted the roses, received a kiss from both men on her cheeks and was wheeled off into the parking area.
A limousine was waiting for her, a ramp positioned by its opened door. She was even more astonished to find Ryuichiro and Asahina standing by the door, smiles on their faces.
"Isaka-san," she started, unsure of what to say. For once, cat caught her tongue.
"Well, I must admit, this is a change," Ryuichiro said, eyeing Raiu with interest, "Nagasaki-san, do you think you can cope with your job?"
"Isaka-san…" Masamune was about to say something. How could he be so callous?
"No, onii-chan, he's right," Raiu put a hand up to stop Masamune's protest, "Isaka-san, for the most part, I have a lot to work on, now that I have lost function of my legs," she swallowed visibly, forcing to keep the tremor out of her voice, but everyone there could see the steely confident glint in her eyes, "If you let me keep my job, I would work harder than I've ever before and prove to you my true worth,"
"I am glad to hear that your resolve has not faltered Nagasaki-san," Ryuichiro answered, a hint of relief evident in his voice, "I will tell you now, as Takano-san is very much well aware of, our company had lost quite a profit in the six months that you've gone under,"
This man is as ruthless as ever, she thought and despite the obvious question of her abilities, she smiled. Her eyes had seen more behind the façade the director was putting up. She saw the worried gaze in his eyes and she knew his intentions in provoking her were not truly about the company. He was indirectly encouraging her to keep on moving forward. Somehow, she was glad that he, at least, had treated her the same way as before.
"Well, well, well. What have you gotten yourself into, Raiu-san?"
Raiu laughed and shook her head at the newcomer stepping out of the limousine; catching her brother, Masamune, and his life partner, Ritsu, off guard. He had never heard his sister laughed as carefree as that before. What was even more shocking aside the unexpected newcomer, was when his sister's personal assistant snapped at the man.
"Onii-chan! You didn't tell me you were coming as well!" Aki, in her small but indignant voice, glared at the man who was standing between Ryuichiro and Asahina.
"HAAAAA?! O-ONII-CHAN?!" Masamune, Ritsu, Ryuichiro, Asahina, even Raiu had gone wide-eyed at this revelation.
Life is certainly full of surprises.
