Changes

Chapter 4

It started with a few headaches and a slight change in her behavior, getting noticeably grumpier and irritable. Asami pushed it off as her just being a child. Not all children are perfect and, while she was easy to deal with, as she got comfortable it would make sense for her attitude to change. It wasn't until one week later that this change was discovered to be a symptom of something far worse.

Amelia was sitting in class when her teacher saw her fall forward onto her desk. She thought she had just fallen asleep so she went to awaken her. As she approached the desk she noticed that Amelia was shaking. She pulled her off her desk to find her eyes rolled back in her head. She was having a seizure.

The teacher ran for the phone dialing 119. The noise in the classroom drew Amelia's guard inside. Running for his charge, he held her as they waited for the ambulance. While on the way there he called Asami reporting the situation. He met them at the hospital and Amelia was given the best treatment that could be given. Every test was run. It was 24 hours later that they had their final answer. Amelia had a mass in her brain.

"We will need to do more test to determine exactly what type of tumor it is and if it is benign or not." The doctor told Asami, "We need to figure out if the tumor has spread to the surrounding brain as well. If it hasn't we may be able to remove it completely with just surgery but if not she may need intense radiation and chemotherapy."

"Will the seizures be a recurring problem?" Asami asked his face neutral.

"While the mass remains, yes. After that it will depend."

"Thank you, doctor."

It was determined that the tumor was a Grade 2 Astrocytoma, a type of tumor that grows slowly and infiltrates the surrounding brain tissue. Amelia would have to undergo radiation and chemo in order to hopefully shrink the tumor. Asami explained to Amelia what was happening and held her hand as they inserted her central line which would make chemo easier for her. She, unfortunately, was going to have stay at the hospital for a while.

At the beginning of her second week in the hospital, while her papa was at work, her nurse told her she would be getting a visiter. In walked a young man with blond hair, hazel eyes, a book under his arm and a camera around his neck. He greeted her with a bright smile and a small wave.

"Hey there. I'm Takaba Akihito but you can call me Aki." He said sitting down beside her bed, "I am going to be keeping you company today."

"Hi Aki, I'm Amelia." She said with a small smile.

"Nice to meet ya. I was thinking we could read and maybe I can convince your nurse and that suit at the door to let me take you to the play room. It's really fun."

"Sure." She said brightening up a little at the possibility of leaving her hospital room.

"Why don't we start with the book, hm?"

"What 'bout the camera?"

"My camera? It's for my job. I'm a journalist."

"You show me some picture?"

"I don't see why not."

They spent an hour playing with Aki's camera when Amelia's nurse came in with lunch for the pair. It was then that Aki asked if they could go to the play room. After he convinced the nurse to let them go under her supervision and Amelia's guards attending as well. They spent hours playing together, even bringing the guards into play as well. She was brought back to her room after getting permission to borrow another book from the shelf. Aki sat in the chair beside her bed and read to her until her papa arrived.

To say Asami was surprised to see some stranger sitting next to his daughter's bed was an understatement. What really got him, however, was the bright smile he saw on Amelia's face, something he hadn't seen since the whole ordeal started. The smile widened a bit when she saw him standing in the door frame.

"Papa, you're here." She said causing the stranger to turn to face him, "This Aki. He really fun. He play with me."

"It's nice to meet you." Aki said putting his hand out, "My name's Takaba Akihito but I told little Amelia to call me Aki." Asami just stared at the young man before him until he put his hand down, "Well I better get going. I have some work to do. I'll see you soon Amelia." He said as he left giving Amelia a wave.

"Bye Aki." Amelia said waving in return. After he had left her attention turned to her father. "Isn't he great papa?"

"Of course sweetheart." He answered giving her a small smile, "I have to go talk to Uncle Kei for a second okay?"

"Okay, papa." She replied with a smile. He kissed her on the forehead before going out into the hallway and pulling out his phone.

"Kirishima, get me everything on a kid named Takaba Akihito."

Later that night, Akihito was perched in a warehouse taking pictures of a deal that was to happen. He had snapped off a few pictures when he recognized one of the men. It was Amelia's father. What was he doing here? He was suddenly pulled from his hiding place by one of the many goons in a black suit and dragged down to the level below them. He was forced to his knees in front of the man.

"Asami-sama, I found this kid taking pictures from the walkway." The goon said. Wait, Asami? He looked up at Amelia's father with wide eyes. This man was Asami Ryuichi. Asami aimed his gun between his eyes.

"What are you playing at you punk?" He said with a cold glare. Akihito was screwed.

That's the chapter. Sorry for the late update I had a lot to do. I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think so far. : )