Title: The Aftermath.
Summary: What if, Hachiman Hikigaya didn't have an accident with a limousine. Instead it was an Aston Martin, taken out for a joyride by a bunch of would-be university students like him. And what if, the accident had far graver consequences. What if, it was a close call, a near death experience, which might even leave him crippled for the near future? How will Hachiman deal with it and would he ever learn of the people involved in the accident.
Note: Could be read as a sequel to "Something in the Way"
There was a real chance he might not survive. The next twenty four hours were crucial, the doctors told them. Komachi wished she had arrived sooner, but they had set off as soon as they received the phone call from the hospital.
Mom drove like a crazy woman, tears flowing down her cheeks, mumbling self assurances more to herself than for her benefit. A couple of times she thought they would get in an accident themselves and wouldn't that be even more pathetic. Perhaps they would end up in the same hospital, next to his bed and he would turn around and crack a bad joke about women and their poor driving skills.
Onii-chan had a bad sense of humour and his jokes were never funny. But she wanted to hear his voice one more time. Even if he made those lame jokes, Komachi promised to laugh the loudest. But he might look at her weird because that's not the reaction he expected.
Usually, she would shake her head and call him a gomi-chan. Mom would smack him in the arm and ask him to behave, telling him he would never get a girlfriend if he made these kinds of jokes even as a university student and then she would turn to her husband and complain to him that her dear son inherited the rotten side of his personality from his father. Dad would flip the channel and his eyes would never leave the television set as he would halfheartedly command his son to avoid making such comments in the future because this can be considered as casual sexism and be misconstrued as sexual harassment in the workplace.
It had been a normal day so far, it should have been a normal evening, leading up to a normal night. He had spent the entire morning packing. He was going to move out of the house. It was a decision which surprised everyone. But he wasn't about to leave the city. He hadn't applied for Tokyo-U. He loved Chiba too much. She could never figure out why.
Right now she hated Chiba and all its denizens. As far as she was considered they had done nothing but make him suffer, made him miserable, made him alone, hit him with a car and dropped him into a hospital where he was bleeding out from internal injuries and the doctors were prepping him up for surgery and telling mom and dad to prepare themselves for unfortunate complications. Dad had never looked quite so grim as he held onto mom, consoling her, whispering reassurances while giving a small nod to the doctors to do what's best for their son.
Komachi hadn't seen her brother since she arrived at the hospital. Mom wouldn't let her and when dad arrived he had stopped her as well. They were treating her like a small child and she hated it. She was a high school student, in her second year. Onii-chan was only two years older than her. Was it because they thought she couldn't handle it, seeing her older brother's body after the accident, was it such a gruesome sight that it would make her feel faint, she didn't know.
Mom had looked horrible, all the colour drained from her face, unable to keep her composure, unable to repeat the details of the accident and what happened afterwards to her husband. Komachi wasn't sure she could handle watching her father breakdown and he must have realized it because he put up a strong front. But small cracks in the armour appeared as the doctors took him aside and filled him in on the details. He had been out drinking with his office colleagues and superiors after work, but he appeared completely sober and in full control of his faculties when he conversed with the doctors.
Komachi tried to eavesdrop on their conversation with limited success. Onii-chan was the intelligent one, though she wouldn't discount her own smartness and cleverness to fully grasp the situation they were in, but every other word she caught without appearing to be too conspicuous made her grow even more worried.
Hachiman Hikigaya was admitted to the emergency ward and when matters took a turn for the worse he was quickly moved to the critical care unit. Now as they got the permission from his family, he was going to be taken to the operating theatre and if the surgery was a success he would be kept under observation in the intensive care unit.
TBI, facial disfigurement, broken ribs, fractures, internal bleeding, herniated disc and a slew of other terms were tossed back in her face and suddenly she didn't know what to think, what to do. He might never walk again, he might be paralyzed, he would be scarred for life. There might be even more complications. Head trauma, he could lose his most prized possession, his rotten brain as he liked to call it. He couldn't bear to live like that, he would prefer being dead. Komachi knew how his brother would react, how he would take in all the bad news. If he had his way, he would bleed out on the operating table and close the curtains on his short lived miserable existence.
But thankfully he didn't have a say in the matter. Since coming into the hospital, she saw his body for the first time being taken to the operating room. The covers were completely drawn, so she couldn't see his face and it made her break into tears for the first time in a while because she couldn't help but picture the body beneath those white sheets being completely lifeless, cold to the touch, and those rotten dead fish eyes she teased him about lying open, eerily vacant.
Dad hugged her. Mom kissed her on the cheek. Everything was gonna be alright, they reassured her. But their eyes were watery and their smiles were forced. She was being coddled, treated like a child and she was making them worry about her own wellbeing. It didn't sit right with her. It felt wrong. This had to stop. She had to do something. She knew her parents loved her more, but their own son was battling for his dear life and they were more worried about her. It seemed unfair. It seemed to trivialize what was at stake here.
But she couldn't voice her complaint and rant about it because it would be a bratty thing to do. Maybe this was how they were handling the stress of the situation, by doting on her, because that was something normal they did when they were back home.
But they were not home and they wouldn't be for a while. Dad had brought up the idea of having his wife drive their daughter home. He would be staying behind and keeping them updated on the situation from the hospital. But mom and she had refused and he had backed down. He knew how to pick his fights and when to know it was a lost cause.
It was decided that they would be spending the night at the hospital.
Over time she learned what happened. Onii-chan had gotten into a car accident, this much she knew, but she didn't know the circumstances surrounding the incident and the more she thought about it, the more restless she became. He was careful, extremely cautious when crossing the street, looking both ways and obeying traffic signals, so she refused to believe it was his own fault that landed him here.
No, as far as she was considered the blame rested entirely on the driver's shoulder and she wanted to find the person responsible and make him pay. But she didn't know how to go about it. But the solution presented itself in the unlikeliest of ways as she encountered a woman who introduced herself as the one responsible for her brother's current ordeal.
"My name is Yukino Yukinoshita."
Komachi looked at the woman. Black hair, blue eyes, a cold and frosty expression on her beautiful face, she did look like a cold blooded killer though and the way she introduced herself in a matter of fact manner as the one responsible for the car accident made her jump to the conclusion that she was exactly who she was saying to be.
Komachi slapped her. She didn't think. Tears stung her eyes and her hand moved on its own volition and before she could understand what was happening, she had already slapped her in the face.
Yukino Yukinoshita rubbed her cheek and tried to control her temper. This could have gone better. She could have phrased it much better and with those thoughts in mind, she tried to engage the younger woman in a bit of civilized conversation but unfortunately her older sister had arrived with a dangerous twinkle in her eyes which promised a dreadful reckoning.
"Imouto-san, you hit the wrong woman. Yukino-chan, how many times have I told you not to be so cryptic. Look! Now you have a handprint on your pretty face. Thankfully it won't leave a bruise. Unlike -"
"Nee-san, now is not the time -"
"Who are you people?"
Komachi Hikigaya looked at both the women who were standing in front of her. From their talk she had the impression that these two were sisters. While the younger sister looked cruel and uncaring, the older one looked much more cheerful and friendly. But somehow it unnerved her even more. It was the smile on her face, the twinkle in her eyes, her overall demeanor, they felt horribly out of place in a hospital.
"I am Haruno Yukinoshita. This is my younger sister who you hit without a proper reason. I expect an immediate apology young lady. Or onee-san will be really mad at you."
"I'm not apologizing. She hit my brother with a car."
Haruno Yukinoshita shook her head. The situation had gone out of hand. It was a good thing her younger sister had the presence of mind to call her. The younger woman looked enraged and she appeared to be emotional. Yukino-chan had trouble dealing with this kind of people. There was no way she could handle the situation without getting slapped another time and that would lead to another member of this family being put in the hospital.
"Yukino-chan was walking down the streets. She was lost -"
"I was not lost!"
"Your brother saved her life. Otherwise she would be in the operating room right now. We would like to express our eternal gratitude." Haruno bowed her head and Yukino followed the action of her older sister.
Komachi Hikigaya remembered her manners and bowed as well. "I am sorry for hitting you."
"It's alright." Yukino said. "How is your brother?"
"He is-"
But Komachi couldn't answer. Looking past the two sisters she saw the haggard form of her father. Dad looked winded, he was panting for breath. He was not wearing a suit and his tie looked loose around his neck. He was looking here and there, clearly searching for someone and when his eyes met hers he quickly shuffled towards her direction, apologizing to a couple of hospital staffs whom he bumped into, people who told him not to run in the halls, but he didn't seem to care.
"Dad, what happened?"
Komachi didn't want to think about it. It couldn't be.
"The operation was a success. But," Dad began in a solemn tone, taking in a deep breath before repeating the horrible news. "There were some complications."
Komachi thought about what she had heard before. Paralysis, brain damage, a slew of other threatening medical terms. Her throat felt dry and she tried to prepare herself mentally for the final piece of information. She had to know, she had to ask but she could only manage to murmur a single word.
"Complications?"
Dad nodded. "He's in a coma."
For an entire week he was in a coma. When he regained his consciousness, his mental faculties, enough to string a couple of words together, in a moment of uncommon vulnerability he asked to speak to his family. He couldn't remember the last time he saw them this happy over him. Komachi kissed him in the cheek and told him he would be out of the hospital soon. She was lying, he could tell. He couldn't move his limbs, he had trouble talking, he was tired, he was in constant pain, nothing would be the same, he hated change but he had to come to terms with his situation.
When he stopped his mom and sister from fussing over him, his father made a joke about how he should accept whatever attention he was getting from these two women in his life, because it would be hard for him to grab some other woman's attention with a face like his. Dad immediately knew he had made a mistake. Mom turned on him and even Komachi showed him no sympathy, but as his son he got what he was trying to do. He was trying to rewind the clock, return to a simpler time when they were all at home and not stuck to this hospital and jokes about his appearance didn't hurt like one of his physical scars.
But there was no going back. He would be here for a while. He should get used to this because the news would only get worse and worse. He didn't need a mirror to see his reflection. The horror was written across all their faces. Before he would argue he had a somewhat handsome face, but now because of the scars which refused to heal he could no longer make that claim.
Despite the old man's horrible sense of humour, he was right. No other woman could love him.
He slipped in and out of consciousness, he had trouble remembering conversations. The doctors told him it was normal. He was under heavy medication. The constant beeping of the heart monitor kept him awake. He was under pain, constant pain. He couldn't move, he couldn't walk, he missed his first day of university. He tried not to think about it. Was he really expecting it to be different, he scoffed at his own delusions. Elementary school, bullied. Middle school, harassed. High school, friendless. It seemed like university would be no different.
He thought it was a dream, a very real dream. He wasn't thinking clearly, everything seemed foggy, mind cloudy, not in full control of his sense, not capable of coherent thought. He couldn't move, he had been stuck to this hospital bed for weeks. Mom brought Komachi to see him every couple of days. Sometimes his little sister came alone. Dad couldn't make it as much as he liked to because of work. He understood, he really did.
The woman of his dreams, he couldn't make out her appearance, the colour of her eyes, the shape of her face, the sound of her voice, nothing, no distinct features came to mind. She might not even be real, a figment of his imagination, something completely made up to stop him from going crazy, he could think of a number of reasons to explain her mysterious origin or the reason why she was here in the first place.
But he couldn't figure out why he said it.
"Can you say 'I love you'?" It hurt to articulate how pathetic he sounded.
"Huh?"
"I love you. Please." He pleaded in a feverish state. "I don't think I will ever hear it from an actual woman. I will be a scarred freak, a cripple for life. I know it sounds pathetic, but because this is a dream, I want to hear you say it once. You don't have to mean it. I know there's something wrong with me, something rotten, something which doesn't allow people to like me. I get that. I really do. But this one time, I want to be selfish. I want to listen to a woman say she loves me. So, please, please." Tears stung his eyes and he had trouble breathing. "Please."
He lost consciousness slowly after, drifting in and out, but the last words he could remember was a faint, "I love you?" But it didn't sound right. It sounded forced. It sounded like a question and wasn't that even more pathetic. Even in his dreams, a caricature of his own creation, the perfect woman which was never to exist and if to exist never to fall in love with the likes of him, could only manage to utter those three words and make it sound unconvincing, like a question which would never have a proper answer because it was him, Hachiman Hikigaya, a being who couldn't be loved and even his own subconscious refused to bend reality and make these twisted delusions come true.
As he lost consciousness and drifted into sleep, the medication kicking in, he didn't hear the retreating footsteps from the side of his bed. He would never hear them again for they would never be visiting him in the hospital. This was a bad decision on their part.
Komachi Hikigaya waited for her older brother to get properly dressed. She had offered to help but he had been rather curt, telling her he wasn't a cripple and he could manage such a simple task on his own. He had been in the hospital for three weeks and now he was getting discharged, the rest of his treatment he could handle as an outpatient.
As she waited for her brother, she looked at the small dustbin which was kept next to the side of his bed. It was usually empty but this time around there was a small box inside it which she suspected contained some types of sweets or chocolates.
She knew he didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but she couldn't imagine him throwing free food away. There must be a reason behind his actions. But since she didn't want to trouble him, Komachi kept her mouth shut and waited for him to come out from the bathroom, dressed and ready to go home.
"What do you think?" He asked.
Komachi realized he was talking about the cane. The doctors had informed them that there would be some permanent damage. For the near foreseeable future he would be walking with the help of a cane. That would cause some problems, she was sure about it, but thankfully he was dealing with the situation better than they had all hoped.
"I think it suits you."
As he was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair, he never once mentioned the box of chocolates which he threw into the dustbin or the get well soon card which was attached to the front of the package which he shredded into little pieces and threw them out of the window.
He was thankful his younger sister hadn't brought it up because he had no intention of discussing how he felt about the people who were responsible for his miserable plight, who could do nothing better than send a box of chocolates and a get well soon card to wash their hands off their own guilt at making him a cripple for life.
He only hoped he would never see them again.
A/N: Like I said, this could be read as a sequel to 'Something in the Way', the previous chapter I posted. Also, I think I will post some chapters in this timeline. Tell me what you think?
Also, wow! Everyone and I mean everyone didn't like the idea of the Oregairu women replacing the roles of other anime characters in their respective anime series. But think of it this way. I will just replace the characters which I don't think are popular. For example: In the "Steins;Gate Arc", Yui Yuigahama can fill in for the role of Mayuri Shiina. Likewise, Yui Yuigahama can also play the role of Lisa Mishima in the "Zankyou no Terror Arc." Also, like I said before Izaya Orihara will be Hikigaya's boss. But I think, he wouldn't deal with him too much personally. He's like the CEO. So I was thinking he will have Haruno Yukinoshita as Hikigaya's handler. Okay, I will leave it to the poll.
Poll#1: Should The Oregairu Women Feature in The Ikebukuro Fic?
Option 1: Yes.
Option 2: No.
Now this is not exactly a poll. It's more of a question. Now, I have been writing fanfic for quite a few years now. But I have posted stories only on this site. So I was thinking, should I try posting my new fics, starting with 'The Ikebukuro fic' on other fanfic sites too. And if you want me to post on other sites, can you please suggest a few sites where I can post my fanfics. That will be great.
So,
Poll#2: Should I post fanfics on other sites as well?
Option 1: Yes (Please suggest names of other sites.)
Option 2: No.
Finally,
Poll#3: Which Animes Should Feature in The Ikebukuro Fic?
Option 1: Death Note.
Option 2: Monster.
Option 3: Serial Experiments Lain.
Option 4: Ergo Proxy.
Option 5: Get Backers.
Please pick accordingly.
And don't forget to suggest the animes you want to see in the reviews.
Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter
Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.
Won't betray your dreams.
