"Ah!"
Kaoru woke with a start, breathing heavily. Oh God, oh God, oh, God. He tried to jolt up to a sitting position but gasped when pain flooded through his chest. He looked down, seeing the medical gown and peeked underneath it. There was a thick bandage wrapped across his chest.
"Oh God," Kaoru said out loud. He released the gown and dropped his head back into the pillow as his eyes darted around the room.
A heart monitor nearby beeped at a swift tempo. The lights were dim, shining down at the maroon walls in a pleasant glow; there were flowers set out on a nearby side table. And it was quiet. Kaoru didn't like it one bit; the quiet could only mean something bad.
"Where the hell am I?" he hissed through a flash of pain as he attempted to move his arm. His wrist throbbed. Glancing at it he saw another thick bandage.
They must have something horrible planned for him. This room may look happy, but it would not convince Kaoru. No, he was smarter than that.
He glanced around the room again, looking for something to use as a weapon or maybe a way to escape. Nothing at all. Damn.
Kaoru grimaced, looking at his hands and then he noticed… the tubes, the chords. "They're trying to poison me," he whispered, lifting the tube hooked into his wrist. His eyes trailed the fluid-filled tube up to the bag hanging from a hook near his bed. "No way in hell," he muttered.
He reached down and tugged. The tube broke free of his skin and he shoved it away from the bed. Kaoru turned on the other tubes and tugged them away just as easily when suddenly the beeping monitor dropped into a loud flat-line.
"Shit!" Kaoru spat, staring at the machine that screamed the hideous noise. He clapped his hands over his ears to block out the noise; his breathing came faster. He knew he was caught. Kaoru shifted his muscles, attempting to roll out of bed but his breathing hitched in a tight jab of pain.
He groaned, rolling back. It hurt so much, so much. Why couldn't he die?
The door flung open, taking Kaoru by surprise. He flinched away from the man and woman that entered the room; both were dressed in blue.
"I'll be good, I'll be good," Kaoru cried, tears nagging at his lids. "I promise." He moved his hands from his ears to cover his eyes.
"Sshhh, you're fine Kaoru," the woman cooed over the sharp wail of the monitor. "You're okay now."
Kaoru frowned beneath his fingers when no hits were thrown. Shakily, he peeked through his fingers at the lady. She was smiling sweetly. "What?" Kaoru asked timidly through trembling lips.
"You're okay now," she repeated. The nurse reached out to touch his shoulder when Kaoru flinched away. She froze before putting her hand down, frowning slightly.
"Kaoru?" the male doctor said to catch the young red-head's attention.
Kaoru's fingers slid down his face but held them under his chin as he watched the man. The monitor's noise cut off as the doctor pushed some buttons. He turned to Kaoru and smiled. The smile almost scared Kaoru, but he held himself still.
"Hello, my name is Dr. Uzumo. I am here to help," he watched Kaoru cautiously.
"Are-are you going to hurt me?" Kaoru asked, lowering his eyes.
"No," Uzumo replied firmly. Kaoru's eyes flew back up at him. "Kaoru, I am here to make you feel better, okay?"
Kaoru stared. Could he be telling the truth? Slowly, he nodded. "Okay."
Uzumo smiled. "All right then. But Kaoru, we do need to hook these tubes back up to you. Is that okay? They will help your pain."
Kaoru frowned, sizing the man up. He didn't seem like the Keeper; Uzumo was a lot nicer to him. But he still didn't trust him… Kaoru tilted his head. Well, he would find out sooner or later whether the guy was lying.
He nodded once and the doctor and the nurse went back to work. Soon, Kaoru was again left to listen to the annoying beeping of the monitor.
"All right, you are all set," Uzumo said.
"Where's Arisa?" Kaoru blurted, glaring. He had almost forgotten about her. How could he forget about her?
Uzumo glanced at the nurse, confused. "Arisa?" he asked, glancing back at the boy.
Kaoru ground his teeth. "Yes, Arisa. A skinny girl, brown hair, gray eyes. Got shot in the back?"
"Is that her name?" the doctor asked, taking a step forward. "Arisa?"
Kaoru only glared, waiting for his answer.
Uzumo sighed. "She is a few rooms down. Her condition is still critical, but she will most likely survive. There will be complications, however, if she does live. That's all I can say."
Kaoru remained silent. He really didn't what to think. The beeping grew faster on the monitor and he glanced up at it in panic.
"Blood pressure increasing," the nurse stated automatically.
Dr. Uzumo replied while nodding, "Maybe seeing some familiar faces will calm him down."
The nurse left immediately and the doctor turned back to him. "I hear it's been a while since you've seen you family."
"Family?" Kaoru questioned.
"You must be really excited for the reunion with your twin."
"Twin?" Kaoru asked, bewildered.
"Your brother was going crazy when he heard you were okay," the doctor chuckled.
"Brother?" Kaoru's voice had raised an octave.
"Kaoru!" A voice cried as the door slammed open. A red-head kid burst in to the room followed by two adults. He was ginning widely.
Kaoru's breathing sped. Who were these people? The urge to escape flooded his body.
"Kaoru, you're okay!" The noisy kid yelled as he crossed the room.
Kaoru's eyes widened as the boy reached for him and he lurched away with a whimper. All he could stare at were the kid's hands. There was blood under the fingernails and on his sleeves.
"Kaoru?" the kid asked.
"What do you want from me?" Kaoru moaned, scrunching his eyes closed and covering his face with his hands again.
"Wha-? Kaoru, it's me. It's Hikaru, your brother."
Kaoru began to sob. He was so, so confused. Who were these people? Why couldn't anyone leave him alone?
And then a hand touched his shoulder. He inhaled sharply and his eyes flew open. He began screaming. Kaoru was so scared.
OH THANK YOU to everyone who voted on my poll. It really helped. Because of the majority on the poll, I will be adding in some of Kaoru's struggle. But I will not go overboard. Also, I am very excited about "Finding Kaoru" that I started yesterday. Check out my profile to read it! So I have a few chapters planned for this story that should satisfy all (I hope). I like it anyway. And this chapter leads right into that. So enjoy! Thanks.
For clarification: This story IS still going, I'm just close to the end. ALSO, "Lost Without You" and "Finding Kaoru" are completely separate stories. Sorry if I confused you. lol