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Misunderstanding

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Chapter Twenty-Seven:

Revelation

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A/N: Hi! Sorry this took so long! Hope you're still there. Enjoy!

"Aniki!"

"Yuuta..." Syuusuke mumbled as he watched his brother glance at him then at Akari.

Horror filled Yuuta's face. Syuusuke was about to say something when Yuuta hurried to Akari's side. Confusion crossed Syuusuke's face but he didn't speak. He couldn't. So, he just watched as Yuuta asked them to call for an ambulance and move Akari to a shaded area while they waited. The appearance of Yuuta seemed to have woken them up for they instantly moved like statues coming to life. Oishi made the call while Tezuka stood up and carried Akari to the nearest school building. The rest followed behind, including a reluctant Syuusuke.

"Will buchuo be alright?" a voice asked as soon as Tezuka entered the building.

It was Akiko. She took of her jacket and covered Akari with it. Her eyes were watery, as though she might cry any second. Tezuka looked at her for a second before continuing to a corner where he carefully laid Akari. He adjusted Akiko's jacket so that it covered Akari.

There was silence as Tezuka sat down next to Akari. Akiko watched from the same place she stood awhile ago. Suddenly, they heard someone screaming- Oishi. The two rushed outside to see Kaidoh and Momoshiro pulling away Yuuta from Syuusuke. Oishi was in front of Syuusuke, blocking Yuuta's sight of his brother.

"What did you do?" Yuuta asked, his fists clenched. He was still struggling against both Kaidoh and Momoshiro.

Syuusuke stared at his younger brother, shocked. It was a few minutes before he managed to speak. "I heard you speaking on your phone and-"

"No! No! No!" Yuuta cut him off. "You misunderstood," he added looking devastated. He unclenched his hands and stopped struggling. Momoshiro and Kaidoh let go, listening as the story behind everything unfolds.

"But, I asked-"

"Lisa-chan died. It was an accident." There was silence as the words entered the minds of everyone around. Slowly, things were being pieced together.

"No! That's impossible! She admitted she was at fault!" Syuusuke said, stepping back.

Yuuta looked down and muttered, "Akari-san always blamed herself. She thought it was her fault Lisa-chan died. But, it wasn't. It was an accident. She couldn't forgive herself so she transferred." He decided to look up. He stared at his brother's eyes before continuing, "That day, the day you eavesdropped, was a few days after the accident. She was trying to comfort me. That was also the day she moved in with Echizen-san."

Syuusuke's eyes widened as realization hit him. He was wrong. Around him, the others stayed silent. They didn't know every single detail, but they knew- they knew what happened. Yet, there was nothing they could do but to watch and wait for what was to happen.

The silence stretched on and was only broken by the sound of the siren of the ambulance. Tezuka went back in to carry Akari outside. The rain had stopped during the silence. Tezuka got on the ambulance, leaving Oishi to take care of matters.

"We should go to the hospital," Oishi said, gesturing to the others to start moving.

They nodded but didn't say anything as they walked to the school gate. Syuusuke didn't move from his spot. Instead, he just watched his brother who was moving along with the group. Eiji stayed and looked at his best friend for awhile before he, too, started moving. So, Syuusuke was left there alone.

-/-/-/-

"Ryuzaki Sakuno?" the doctor said, calling for the family of said patient.

"How is my granddaughter?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked as she, with Ryoma at her side, rushed to the doctor.

"She'll be fine. She was bruised up quite a bit and we had to stitch up some cuts but she should recover fast."

The coach smiled a weary smile while Ryoma sighed in relief.

"She'll be transferred to room 423. Visitors are allowed. Just don't wake her up. She'll need all the rest she can get."

Ryuzaki-sensei nodded as the doctor left. She turned to Ryoma and spoke, "Go to her room. I'm going to call and make sure everything's alright back there."

Just as she finished speaking, they watched as paramedics rushed inside. They were rolling a gurney with an unconscious girl- Akari. Ryoma's eyes widened at the sight.

"Tezuka?" Ryuzaki-sensei asked the captain who was waiting outside the doors. The nurses forbid him to enter.

"Sensei?" Tezuka asked as he turned to the one who called for him.

"What happened?"

"She fainted awhile ago."

The coach nodded. "Probably from too much stress."

Ryoma watched as his coach and captain spoke. He was explaining what happened while they were gone. He listened in on their conversation. When he got the gist of what really happened, he walked out of the hospital, bringing his racket with him. He needed to release his anger before going to Sakuno's room.

-/-/-/-

"How is she, sensei?"

"She'll be fine. It's just her condition. I'm sorry but I can't discuss this with someone who is not an immediate family of the patient."

"I understand."

"She should be walking up soon. I'll be going now."

There was a sound of the door being opened then closed. There was silence. On the bed was Akari, an IV attached to her left arm. Tezuka watched as her chest rose up and down. Then, he sighed.

"You're awake," he said as he sat on the chair next to the bed.

A few seconds passed with silence before Akari's eyes fluttered open. Tezuka waited for her to say anything but she stayed silent. Then, tears started flooding out her eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you in pain?" Tezuka asked as he stood up from his chair. He was about to press on the button above the headrest of the bed to call for a nurse when Akari stopped him.

"I'm fine. I... I just dreamt of it again," she explained as she sat up and wiped her tears away.

Tezuka sat back and waited for her to say more.

"It was about the accident that happened when..." Akari trailed off looking ahead, her eyes seeming to see something more than just the white wall of the hospital.

"I know. Yuuta-san spoke to Fuji about the misunderstanding," Tezuka said, knowing that she was having a hard time explaining.

Akari just nodded. Tezuka offered her some water and asked if there was anything she needed. Before she could say anything, the door opened and Oishi came in, smiling at the sight of Akari awake.

"How are you, Satomi-chan?"

"I'm feeling better, senpai," she answered, smiling at him. "How's Sakuno-chan?"

"She's at the next room. She's recovering well."

Akari nodded at Oishi's answer. "How is Ryoma-kun?"

"He's been going back and forth this and Sakuno's room. He's worried. Everyone is. That's why both you and Ryuzaki-chan should recover fast."

"Hai!" she said, offering him another smile.

Oishi looked at Tezuka before going out. "I'm going to check on Ryuzaki-chan."

Again, there was silence. Akari looked outside for awhile before looking at Tezuka.

"How is everyone really doing?"

Tezuka looked back straight at Akari's eyes. "Fuji was someone the team respected."

He only said one sentence but it drew a good picture for Akari. Someone as respected as Fuji doing something like what happened would naturally harm the team.

"This is my fault," Akari said looking away from Tezuka.

"It's not."

"How do you know?" she asked, looking back at Tezuka.

"Yuuta-san said so."

"Yuuta-kun didn't tell you the details of the accident, did he?"

Tezuka didn't answer and it was enough to let Akari know he didn't.

"Do you want to know?" she asked in a small voice, looking down at her hands.

There was silence and she didn't expect him to respond so she started, "I had to stay at school to finish a project that was due that day. I needed to finish it or else I would fail. Lisa-chan helped me finish it. So, both of us ended up staying in school later than usual. It was dark and we were walking home from school. I was telling her a story and wasn't paying attention. I didn't notice it but she did. She pushed me away just as the car collided against her."

She stopped. She was crying and she was having a hard time breathing. "I... I just sat there and watched... I watched the blood draining away from her body... I couldn't move... I-I..." she took a deep breath before continuing. "When I finally snapped out of it, I grabbed my phone and called for the ambulance. I didn't move to check her pulse. I was... I was too scared. I was afraid to find out that she had no pulse so I waited for the ambulance. When it finally arrived, they said she was dead."

"But the driver of the car wasn't." It was Yuuta who continued the story. He had slipped inside without either of the two noticing. "They took him out, and rushed him to the hospital. He lived. The next day, we were told that he was driving under the influence of alcohol."

Akari nodded before crying. Yuuta walked to her bed, sitting at the side of the bed opposite from where Tezuka was.

"He killed Lisa-chan, not you." He squeezed Akari's shoulders before leaving.

"If she didn't help me out, she wouldn't be dead."

"Don't blame yourself," Tezuka said.

"I can't help it. I feel responsible."

Tezuka sighed before speaking. "Stop blaming yourself. It will do no one any good. Everything that has happened has happened. No matter how anyone wishes to change anything, he or she can't. Stop disrespecting your friend and instead thank her for the sacrifice she made to save your life. Start living your life in a way that you will have no regrets."

When Tezuka finished, she was staring at him. This was one of the few times Tezuka spoke so much. But it wasn't just that. Everything Tezuka just said were like daggers piercing her soul. He was right and she knew it.

-o0o- End of Chapter –o0o-

A/N: How was it? I'm really sorry this took so long. I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their favorites and alerts! Thank you to you all!