Chapter 14: Collateral Damage
Yuya sat, wide-eyed, staring aimlessly at the wall. Around him, chaos.
Doctors and nurses called to one another urgently, their desperate voices echoing around the room, patients and their loved ones crying and pleading for their attention.
Hospital waiting rooms were supposed to be places of quiet contemplation, but today in Maiami General Hospital, this was certainly not the case.
It needn't have mattered though. Yuya had done enough contemplation on the way over here. There was nothing to think about anymore, his conscious was clear.
Yuzu…
To him, the how and the why didn't matter. All he wanted was to see her again…
…and to see her smile again.
Yuya swallowed the lump in his throat and took a quick look around him. From his position in the corner, he could see the waiting room in its entirety, and in grim detail.
It was filled to the brim with the walking wounded, their broken bodies slumped unceremoniously on the furniture and floors. They occupied every possible space, as well as the stretchers and beds that had been brought in to cope with the extra influx of casualties.
Although in varying states of injury, all these men and women shared the same reason for being here: they were victims of the downtown bombing that had already claimed the lives of three people.
Yuya glanced at Yuto who was squeezed in beside him. His hands were clasped tightly together, his eyes downcast.
"I've seen this all before," he started, feeling his gaze.
Yuya bit his lip. There was certainly an uneasy familiarity about the whole situation. Not just because of the nature of the threat, but because of who had gotten hurt, because of…
"…Yuzu," he whispered, burying his face in his hands. He immediately felt an arm around his shoulders, but it did little to dull the pain in his heart.
"She's going to be alright," Yuto promised, "just you wait and see."
"Yuto I-" Yuya stopped himself. He knew there was no point arguing. He understood that he couldn't have done anything to save her. It was what he could do now, what he should be doing, that really got to him. "They said it wasn't an accident," he resumed, speaking into his palms.
"We don't know that for sure, and even if it was… them, there's nothing we can do about it now."
Yuya rose his feet, shrugging off Yuto's arm. He balled his hands into fists until they shook with righteous anger. "We should be down there right now. We have to find them and make them pay for what they've done."
"And we will…" Yuto got to his feet and embraced him gently from behind. "…but for now you should be here. Yuzu will need you."
Yuya let out a shaky sigh. He turned to face him, his boyfriend refusing to let go of his waist.
"I haven't seen her in nearly six months Yuto. Why would she want to see me, really?"
"Because you're her friend Yuya. She needs you. It doesn't matter if you haven't spoken in a while. I know how close you two were, nothing will have changed." Yuto smiled warmly. "Plus she'll definitely want to see that smile of yours."
Yuya closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against his chest. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this," he whispered, his voice breaking. "She wasn't meant to be involved."
Yuto moved his arms up around Yuya's back and held him close. "She's going to be alright, okay?" His voice was firm and unwavering, just what Yuya needed right now.
"…Yuya?"
A voice from across the room rang out through the chaos, calling his name. He pulled away from Yuto and turned around, instantly recognising it. Sure enough, he quickly spotted the familiar orange and red jumpsuit that came with it.
Grabbing Yuto's hand, Yuya half-ran and half-jogged through the masses of people, ignoring calls from Yuto to be careful.
It didn't take long for him to reach his old teacher, who now stood leaning against the door he had just come out of. He looked exhausted, his usually lively eyes dull and tired, his expression weary. He had been crying.
"Yuya it's been a long time." He offered him a glum smile.
"Syuzo is she okay? Where is she?"
"She came out of surgery about an hour ago."
"S-Surgery?"
Syuzo's expression fell, his smile replaced by an anxious frown. He swallowed as if to suppress his emotions. "The explosion… it knocked her into the road and she hit her head. Her brain… it started to bleed."
Tears welled in Yuya's eyes. "But she's okay now, right?" he choked desperately. "They fixed her. Everything's fine?"
Syuzo covered his face with his arm and shook his head, fighting back tears. "She's stable but she fell into a coma right after the surgery. They don't know when she'll wake up."
Yuya blinked back at him. He tried to speak, but he couldn't find the right words. Tears rolled silently down his cheeks as Yuto turned to him and grabbed his hand, leading him away. He eventually stopped and clamped a hand down onto his shoulder.
"Yuya look at me." He tilted his chin up so that their eyes were level. "She's going to be fine, okay? She's going to wake up."
Through blurry eyes, Yuya could see the belief in Yuto's firm expression. It wasn't enough however. He simply felt too much uncertainty.
He shook his head, refusing to meet Yuto's gaze.
"You can't lose hope!" Yuto shouted. "Not now. Not when she's in the other room fighting for her life." He took his hand back from his shoulder. "The least you can do is fight with her."
"I want to… but I'm really scared Yuto."
"It's okay to be scared. What isn't okay is losing hope. You can't give up, you just can't… Yuzu hasn't."
He was right.
Yuzu hadn't given up. So why should he?
He raised his head timidly and nodded. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he gave Yuto's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'll fight for her…" he whispered.
"Then tell her that. She'd want to know you're there beside her." Yuto smiled and tugged on his hand, pulling him back towards Yuzu's room.
Syuzo offered them both a weak smile as they approached. "Yuto, is it?" he asked, turning to him.
"Yes." Yuto smiled and extended his hand. Syuzo took it and nodded.
"You can see her, if you like."
"Are you sure it's okay?"
"Yeah… I know she's not awake yet, but I have a feeling she'd appreciate having you two close by." He opened the door and gestured for them to head inside.
Yuto thanked him graciously before turning to Yuya.
"Go ahead. I'll be right behind you."
Not letting go of his hand, Yuya took a deep breath and walked slowly inside.
With the curtains drawn and the lights switched off, the room was strangely dark. Even so, Yuya could still make out the large hospital bed in the middle of the room. Glowing intermittently beside it was a heart rate monitor. It cast a waning light over the bed, bathing its occupant in an eerie green glow.
"I'm not sure I can do this," Yuya whispered, stopping abruptly. He couldn't see her face yet, but a flash of pink hair had been enough to give him second thoughts.
"You can. I'm here for you." Yuto smiled before turning to close the door quietly behind them.
Yuya took a deep breath and crept forwards, each step taking him closer to the bed. Yuzu's face soon came in to view. He let out a muffled cry at the sight, his hand clamping down over his mouth to in an attempt to suppress the noise. Yuto was quick to comfort him.
Yuzu's head was wrapped in bandages, her hair pushed up to the side in a messy ponytail. A thick piece of gauze covered half her face, hiding any wounds beneath.
"She looks well," Yuto assured him. "Like she's just sleeping."
"Sleeping…" Yuya repeated to himself.
She did look surprisingly peaceful. She was so still and calm and yet so very much alive, her chest rising and falling gracefully with each breath she took. It gave Yuya hope.
He stood beside the bed, unsure now of what to say.
"Yuzu…" he whispered.
No response.
He reached for her hand and took it in his. It was warm to the touch.
"Yuzu I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm so so sorry…" His voice breaking, he squeezed her hand desperately. "I know that probably doesn't mean much coming from me, but I really am. I should have gotten in touch with you sooner. If I had, maybe this wouldn't have happened… I just want you to know that when you wake up I'll be here, and I'll tell you every-"
The door burst open, almost flying off its hinges.
In ran a familiar face, one neither Yuya or Yuto had seen in a long time.
They both looked at each other, stunned.
"Serena?!"
The girl in question raced past them towards Yuzu before frantically kneeling at her bedside. She pawed at her hand, her own hands visibly shaking.
Yuya wasn't sure what to make of it. He knew the two of them were close, but he thought Serena was still in the Fusion dimension. What was she doing here?
He wasn't about to ask. She looked to be even more upset than he was. Her whole body was shaking as if she was trying not to cry, but it was obvious how much this was really affecting her. She hadn't even acknowledged his or Yuto's presence yet.
After a few awkward minutes, Yuto decided to speak up.
"Serena," he repeated, stepping forwards.
Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Serena finally stood up and turned to meet them.
"It's been a long time," she smiled weakly, pushing her damp bangs from her eyes.
Yuya felt a pang of guilt. He didn't want to be reminded of that.
"It's good to see you." He returned her smile, albeit just as meekly.
There was a moment of silence as they all looked around nervously, trying to avoid the obvious.
"So… do you live in Standard now?" Yuto eventually asked.
"I moved here a couple months ago actually, I wanted to be closer to, well…" She bit her lip and glanced at Yuzu. "I wanted a change of scenery is all." She looked around nervously, avoiding eye contact.
Yuto nodded his head, not wishing to push it any further.
"What about you two? Why are you here? Don't you live in Xyz?"
Yuya and Yuto glanced at each other.
Should they tell her the truth?
Yuto looked unsure, but Yuya's mind was made up.
He didn't care what Reiji had said, not anymore, not after what had happened.
He offered Yuto a nod, which, after a moment of hesitation, he returned approvingly.
"We… we're here because Reiji sent us."
"Reiji? Why?"
"Something happened back in Xyz… A group calling themselves 'Neo-Fusion' attacked us and tried to kill us, so he sent us here to find any info on them."
Serena looked visibly shaken. She pushed a hand through her hair and leaned against the bed for support. "Fusion… I don't understand, the Professor is gone and we're at peace now."
"I'll explain later, but for now-"
"Was this them?" She interrupted. "The explosion I mean."
"We… we don't know."
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" The tone of her voice was harsher now. It made Yuya feel uneasy.
"Only Yuto, Yugo, Yuri, Reiji and I know about it," he explained.
"You mean… you didn't even tell Yuzu?"
Yuya looked away, ashamed.
Serena's whole demeanour changed in an instant. Practically diving across the room, she grabbed Yuya by the collar and pushed him against the wall.
Tears were rolling down her cheeks, her mouth now twisted into an aggressive frown. "This is your fault!" she screamed, her grip tightening. "If she'd have known she would never have gotten hurt!"
"That's enough," Yuto barked, grabbing her by the shoulders and yanking her backwards.
Yuya stood staring at the floor, his back slumped against the wall, tears forming in his eyes.
"You're right."
"No, she isn't Yuya." Yuto let go of Serena and turned to address them both. "Regardless of whether we had told Yuzu, it wouldn't have changed a damn thing. We don't know if the explosion has anything to do with Neo-Fusion, and even if it did, how would Yuzu knowing about their presence have changed anything? Just like all those other people out there in the waiting room, she was caught up in this by accident."
Silence descended upon the room once more as Yuya and Serena ruminated quietly over what Yuto had had to say. It was Serena who finally spoke.
"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have lashed out like that. I know this isn't your fault Yuya, I'm just… I want Yuzu to be ok is all." She moved on over to Yuya and placed a hand on his arm.
He nodded and pulled her into a hug. He looked at Yuto over her shoulder, who smiled back at him proudly.
"It's ok," Yuya sniffed. "I understand. I know how-"
A bleeping sound rang out from the duel disk on his arm, startling the three of them. Yuya quickly pulled out of their embrace and checked the display.
Incoming call.
"Is that Reiji?" Serena asked.
Yuya nodded.
"Answer it, it has to be important."
He pushed a button to answer the call.
"Yuya? This is urgent, are you there?" Reiji's voice was as emotionless and foreboding as always.
"Yeah I'm here."
"And Yuto?"
"Yes." Yuya looked to Serena. She shook her head slowly. He nodded in understanding.
"Listen, I heard about the explosion over there. It must have occurred to you that this is Neo-Fusion's doing, am I right?"
"We're not sure."
"Well I am. The building was no ordinary building, Yuya. It was one of two ARC system power stations in the city."
"What are you saying?"
"That it was targeted."
Yuya looked around him. Their fears had been realised, but neither Yuto nor Serena looked to be afraid.
"W-What do you want us to do?"
"If this attack really was Neo-Fusion's doing, then their plan would seem to revolve around destroying or at least disabling the ARC system. If they take out both stations, then that's exactly what will happen. The other station is currently still operational. It's likely you'll find them there."
"But that makes no sense," Yuto interjected, "why would they blow one up and not the other? Why wouldn't they do it at the same time?"
"…"
"Reiji?"
"I don't know. All I can think of is that it's some kind of trap."
"And you want us to go in there anyway?"
"You're the only two I can trust."
Yuto looked to be thinking hard about his request. He eventually shook his head.
"It's too dangerous. If some-"
"We'll do it." Yuya's interruption caught Yuto by surprise.
"Alright. Good luck."
Reiji ended the call, leaving Yuya and Yuto staring each other down.
"Yuya this is suicide."
"I know its dangerous but we have to do this," Yuya argued. "For Yuzu."
Yuto opened his mouth to say something but stopped himself. Instead he reached for Yuya's hand and took it in his own. He sighed and smiled.
"There's no way I could ever convince you otherwise, is there?"
Yuya shook his head.
"Alright then… for Yuzu."
"Don't think you two are going alone." Serena stepped forwards and cracked her knuckles.
"Are you sure Serena?"
She nodded. "I don't know who these people are, but one thing's for sure: if they've hurt Yuzu, I'm going to kill them myself."
Yuya and Yuto smiled at one another.
"Better not keep them waiting then," Yuto grinned.
She nodded once more and smirked. Turning back towards Yuzu, she leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. She whispered something inaudible before turning to leave. Yuto followed her, letting go of Yuya's hand.
Yuya lingered slightly until they were out the door. He swallowed hard. Clenching his fingers, he took one last look at Yuzu.
"We'll get these guys Yuzu… I promise."