Hello dear readers! :3 Sorry for the late update… hontou ni gomenasai! . I was really busy at school.. projects here and there… very tiring… =_= Anyway, I really hope this chapter can make up for it… ;) Enjoy!

After a short walk with Himuro-kun and, we finally arrived at the clinic. Luckily for us, not many patients were there and the doctors and nurses were able to attend to me immediately. They took me to the emergency room and instructed Himuro-kun to wait outside. He was a little bit hesitant to leave at first though, saying that he should come with me in order to support me but then finally agreed when I flashed him a reassuring smile and explained to him that I was going to be alright by myself.

"It's okay Himuro-kun, just wait outside okay? I'll be fine." I said softly to him.

"But Nishino-san…" he replied with a concerned expression.

"I told you its fine… here… hold on to this for me okay?" I interrupted him before he can say anything else and handed him the creepy giant's phone and my phone as well.

He looked at it for a second, his eyes cast downwards before he looked back at me and smiled.

"Alright, alright, I will…"

"Good" I responded and walked away together with the nurse who was waiting for me.

Walking inside the emergency room, the nurse let me sit down unto the hospital stretcher and told me to stay there until she comes back. Nodding like an obedient girl that I am, she left, probably to go get the equipments and tools she's going to use.

The room was awfully quiet, even though this was a hospital; there were only a few patients. Most of them were sleeping.

The beds were separated by dark blue curtains and the walls were painted with plain white. A wall clock was ticking at the far end of the room, looking at it, I realized that it was already around six o'clock in the evening. It's already that late? I guess I have been out for way too long…Oh boy, I bet my mom would worry about me and will give me one hell of a lecture when she'll find out about this.

Perhaps, she's probably calling my phone like crazy right now… poor Himuro-kun, knowing him he'll most likely answer the call and end up explaining to my mom who is without a doubt, freaking out.

I just sighed in frustration; I can't believe this is happening right now…I can't even lift my injured finger. God I guess he cut in deep enough in order to immobilize my digit… Good thing it's my left hand, I can still write and do stuff…

The room's door suddenly flung open. The nurse has returned and she was carrying a tray filled with cotton, cotton buds, bandages, and alcohol… ALCOHOL…. ALCOHOL!? What? Anything but that! It stings like hell! And there's lots of it too!

"U-uhm… Excuse me…. Ah… Is alcohol really necessary?" I stammered as the nurse went to my direction and placed the tray on the stretcher.

"Hm? oh yes it is…It helps in cleaning the wound and it also prevents the infection…"The nurse replied coolly and pour a large amount of alcohol unto a metal bowl. I gulped while observing the nurse's actions.

You need to be strong Kasumi …You need to be strong… I said to myself while pursing my lips. I shouldn't show her my weak side…

"Okay dear, please give me your hand…" She said politely. Taking another gulp I answered back.

"B-but, I can't move m-my arm…" I stuttered anxiously. Well it is true...I really can't move my arm. It feels numb and it hurts when I try to move it.

The nurse looked at my bruised arm for a moment and unexpectedly grabbed my hand.

"He-hey wait! I'm-"

Too late, she already dragged my hand and submerged it unto the bowl of stinging alcohol.

"Ieep!-" I let out a squeak of pain and surprise right before I covered my mouth.

"shhhh…" the nursed hushed at me, making me glare at her. Why does she have to do that? It is freaking PAINFUL in so many ways, I don't even know where to start. I shot her a WHAT-ARE-DOING-DON'T-YOU-KNOW-IT'S-PAINFUL look. The middle-aged woman just chuckled a bit before looking back at me.

"I'm terribly sorry but it's for your own good" she said with a smile which made my nerves calm down. Such a sweet smile…It's kind of comforting… She looks like someone I know though…

After realizing that I have been staring at her for a while, I looked away haughtily.

"Hmph… It's not like it was painful or anything… I was just surprised, that's all…"

"Hai, hai… you'll have to stay like this for about 5 minutes okay? You have to be brave…" She answered back teasingly and let go of my hand. I just nodded in annoyance and glanced down at my alcohol-soaked hand.

The alcohol water gradually changed its color into a deep crimson red hue. The blood started to mix with the clear liquid and changed its color…

It changed into the color of red… red…. RED…AKA…. Aka… akashi… AKASHI

Arrgghhh! Remembering his name makes my blood boil! I am really going crush that scissors-wielding psychopath… I will make him pay…

"Oh dear, what a scary stare you have there, is something bothering you?" the nurse inquired with a glint of curiosity in her voice.

I shifted my gaze towards the nurse and smiled wryly.

"Oh no, nothing at all…" I replied, while unconsciously balling my hands into a fist and clutched the top sheet of the stretcher.

The nurse noticed my balled fist and looked back at me once again.

"Really? Because it seems that there is…" she said, referring to my hand. Looking down at it, I immediately released the sheets and gently stroked it with my palm to straighten it out and lessen the creases.

"Ah, s-sorry…"

"It's okay, I know that it stings an awful lot so I understand." She smiled brightly at me. I facepalmed myself… that isn't the reason… She misunderstood me…

Sighing I just smiled back at her and decided to go with the flow. It will be such a hassle to explain it to her anyway… besides, I'm not comfortable with telling people about my problems.

"Now just forget about the pain and think of something else… Let's chat a bit hm~" the blonde-haired woman suggested cheerfully. I nodded slowly in agreement. I have nothing else to do anyway…

"S-sure"

"Okay, let's start with our names. Hi, my name is Sonozaki Tsubame! Nice to meet you~" She proclaimed heartily. Sonozaki… that sounds familiar…

"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Nishino Kasumi" I responded and flashed her a soft smile.

"Nishino? You mean the Yosen high's achiever?" She asked with interest glimmering in her eyes while she leaned closer to me.

"U-uh y-yeah…" I answered awkwardly, backing away from the blonde woman. It was kind of uncomfortable being that close to someone you just met. But how did she know me anyway, am I really that popular?

"My daughter, Tsubaki, always talks about you…" The nurse trailed off "She said that you are one of the most inspiring people she met. Even though you're just a first year, you can speak your thoughts well even when you're in front of your senpais."

Wow, was that a compliment? And Tsubaki? Sonozaki Tsubaki… wait isn't that the literature club's president?! Oh, okay, now I get it… That's why the name Sonozaki sounded familiar… I guess it is a small world after all…

"Oh I see…" I replied, to make it look like I'm interested in the topic. Well not that I'm not interested though…

"She says that you're even dating Yosen High's Basketball ace"

"W-what?!" I practically yelled at her but then covered my mouth and apologized.

"I-im s-sorry"

"It's fine~" She giggled at my stuttering statement. She is so cheerful, now I know where our president got that merry attitude of hers…

"So~ where is he? Is he the one waiting for you outside?~"

"E-excuse me?" I asked confused, why is she being personal all of a sudden? And she's also jumping into conclusions without even knowing if I really am dating the basketball ace. Wait, by basketball ace, does she mean Murasakibara-kun?

"Oh okay, so it really is him~" She leaned even closer

"Huh? Hey I haven't even answered yet-"

"He looks very handsome~"

"You're misunder-"

"How did you meet?"

"No really-"

"What do you like most about him? What's his name? When was you're first date? How did he confess? Or was it you who confessed? What do you call each other? Were you on a date right now? Is he your first? Second? Third? Do you really love him?"

Oh God, what is wrong with this woman? She is asking a LOT of questions that doesn't even have any answers. The more questions she asks the more closer she leaned towards me. Why won't she just listen to me?

Noticing that I was already leaning back as far I could that my back almost laid back down on the stretcher, the middle-aged woman backed off.

"Oh, hahaha I apologize, I guess I got carried away hahaha"

"Uh-uhh… I-it's fine ma'am" I stammered while slowly shifting my body to sit up straight again.

"It's just that you're such a lucky girl, He looks like a very kind guy and he's very handsome too… No wonder why my daughter likes him…"

My eyes widened, Sonozaki-san likes Murasakibara-kun? Oh, wait maybe she meant Himuro…But then, isn't Murasakibara-kun the Basketball club's ace?

"S-she does?"

"Oh my, hahaha it seems like I said too much, silly me" She said as she waved her hand in front of me. She looked down and smiled again, somehow, a glint of pity reflected in her eyes. "Just please don't tell my daughter about any of this okay?"

I nodded slowly before looking down as well. Did she tell me on purpose? Or was it just an accident? Hmm… but by the looks of it, she probably wanted to tell me this. Maybe so that I would know how Sonozaki-san felt? But still what's her motive? Is it for me to feel guilty? I guess I should stop thinking; my head is already spinning…

"Okay, enough of that!~"The blonde woman stated while picking something up from the tray. "It's time to treat you wound~!"

She took my hand off the bowl and rested it on a soft, white, cotton towel. She turned around and got some stuff from the tray before turning back at me.

She grinned like a Cheshire cat while carrying a syringe. She gave it a little push, causing a little of liquid to squirt out. Holy crap that's creepy! My knees began to shiver in fear. This is the reason why I hate hospitals…

"Don't worry it's just anesthesia… it won't hurt after this~"

"NO! I don't want that!" I said as I struggled. I really hate needles; it's the worst and the scariest invention of mankind! Why do they inject it unto your skin or something? Don't they feel pain!?

"Oh I see, no anesthesia then..." she said as she put the syringe down. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth… good thing I was able to persuade her….

"Let's just go on with stitching your wound tight~"

My eyes widened in fear yet again, my whole body shaking. She's holding another needle! And this time it's even longer and thicker! Oh god… I feel hazy… I… I can't take this any longer… I…I….

Everything went black

~Le time skippu~

Feeling consciousness again, I opened my eyes only to see that Himuro-kun's face merely inches from mine. His soft black hair falling unto my face. His eyes were close…He was leaning closer and closer to me, my heart started to beat faster and out of instinct I spoke up.

"What are you doing?"

My statement went out a little harsh and blunt than I expected it to be but hey, what can I do? I was nervous as hell back there… but good thing I didn't stutter like I always would…

"H-huh? Oh N-nishino-san!" Himuro stammered, quickly backing away from me. "Y-you're awake?" he asked... no, more like stated. A shade of pink dusted on top of his cheeks. Is he blushing? I sat up from the bed to get a better view of him. As soon as our eyes clashed, he looked away immediately. Weird. I guess he really is blushing. But what was he trying to do? Was he….oh no… was he trying to kiss me?! No, no, no, Kasumi! Don't think of such things! It's creepy! Maybe he was just trying to… uuh… uhm….what was he trying to do? Was he smelling me? OKAY STOP that's just weird… Maybe I should just brush it off..

I looked around the room and found out that I was still inside the hospital and that this was a hospital room.

"y-you f-fainted…." Himuro-kun suddenly spoke out of the blue. I averted my gaze back at him but this time he looked at me straight in the eyes but the pink hue that covered his cheeks was still visible.

"I beg your pardon?" I asked him, not quite getting his statement.

"You fainted in the emergency room during the operation and were brought here."

"Oh… did I?" I replied with whatever that came out of my head. I was still a little bit feeing light-headed.

"Yeah…" He answered back flatly.

After that, silence enveloped the whole room for a moment before I decided to speak up to kill that dreaded silence.

"How long was I out?"

"Right now the time is… a quarter before 1 so it's been about 6 hours or so…" He answered coolly as he took a seat at a nearby chair right after he looked at his wristwatch. It's been 6 hours?! And I'm still here?! I'm so dead; my mother is going to kill me!

"I-I need to go home! I need to explain everything to my mom!" I removed the blanket from my body and started to move out of the bed when Himuro-kun stood up from his seat and stopped me.

"H-hey, stay calm…It's alright, I already called your family and they told me that they'll visit you early in the morning…" He gently pushed me back on my bed and tucked the blanket over me.

"Just rest okay? I'll watch over you…" He said while shooting me a tender smile. "But how about your parents? Aren't they worried about you too?"

"Nah, I already explained this to them as well… They already understood."

"Oh.. okay… Thank you very much, Himuro-kun" I said as I returned the smile to him. "I'm really glad to have a friend like you."

Himuro-kun's smile faded for a second there but then was back in a jiffy.

"Of course, I'll always be here no matter what…" He said in low tone and sat back on the chair beside the bed. He held out his hand and placed it on top of mine reassuringly. Probably as a gesture showing that he won't leave me.

(A/N: Ahem* Ahem* NINJA MOVES Ahem* Ahem*)

It's kind of comforting knowing that he is here… Knowing that someone cared… I wish that that creepy giant could be like this rather than acting childish all the time…

Why am I thinking of him at a time like this? This really sucks… I kind of miss him right now… I misunderstood him… I shouldn't have reacted like that without knowing the reason why… I'm such an idiot…

"Just a…friend huh?" I heard Himuro-kun mumbled, or perhaps whispered to himself. I'm not even sure if I heard that right…

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing at all" he answered immediately with a grin.

Hmmm… he is such a strange guy… I really can't read his thoughts, he always hides them. I don't usually talk to him too, since that creepy giant is always in the way. Maybe this is the time to get to know more about him since we're both alone… Oh well… It's worth a try….

~End of Chapter 14~

So how was it minna~san? Did I make you chuckle? :3 nyahaha… Thank you very much for reading... :D tell me what you think through comments or you can PM me too.. Till next time minna~san! :D