Chapter 13: Like a Rollin' Thunder Chasing the Wind, Part 1
"Free love is a knife through the jugular vein son…
Free love, I can't afford to add up what you fuckers are made of…"*
The desk intercom clicked on.
"Dr. Vincent, Ms. Yui Kirihara on line one."
The elder doctor sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. "Take a message, Nurse."
The office door creaked and the nurse stuck her head in. "She's insistent, and she says it's an emergency."
"Everything's an emergency to her; tell her I'm with a patient."
The thin, brunette nurse shook her head. "I already tried that."
Dr. Vincent gave up. "Put her through."
His desk video screen started up and Yui's mug appeared in the screen. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms. Kirihara?"
Her tone was stern from the get-go. "To your failure to take care of what I asked, Richard."
She dares to call herself a lady, her attitude is utterly disgraceful. He thought.
He tried to remain pleasant. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kirihara, we are going our best to locate her and deal with the fertility issue."
Yui scowled. "You're tactics are going to have to change. A simple capture is no longer an option. Dispose of her in the field. She is aiding in his cause, and that's not what you designed her for."
Dr. Vincent snarled. "These are not simple machines, they require more than protocols to run on. And there are matters of pride here."
"Your battle with the boy is not of my concern."
"But it should be. And if you think she will go down alone, you are madder than a hatter, Yui. Getting her alone will be enough of a task." He explained. "Even if I go after her myself, the two of them together could more than likely take even me down. I'm getting old Yui, and I don't have the strength to keep fighting your battles."
"Stop babbling, and stop making excuses, Richard. Dispose of her."
The video screen clicked off.
"You're a bigger fool than even I realized, Yui." He muttered aloud. "If you think I would destroy something that took me more than a decade to create, and even longer to simply keep alive, you're mistaken. Let them do as they wish."
He stood up from his desk in the darkened office; it was time for him to make his rounds about the Hospital. "They will rip you to shreds one day. And I plan on being alive to see them do it."
*
Keiko continued to block Shiro's path.
"Hey!" He tried to push her aside but she refused to move.
She was standing in the only unlocked down to the outside courtyard, and she refused to move until she had a grasp of the area's layout.
He pushed on her back. "Move!"
She retorted by leaning back in the door frame and landing Shiro his second punch from her in less than five minutes. Like before, he landed on the floor. This time though, he spent a few moments rubbing his abdomen.
Komugi was to his left and Keiko gestured to her. "Go back around through the lower classroom wing. She's done for the day so catch up with her before she returns to her dorm room."
Komugi nodded and ran off to her left.
Shiro stood and stared her. "I don't get it, kid. What's the deal?" He asked quietly.
She glared at him. "You put the knife in her hand and you let her do it. You let it happen because you had something to gain, didn't you? You stood by and watched her kill him. And then you turn around and play guardian to him. He was begging for her not to kill him, and you stood idly by and waited for it to be over. His blood is just as much on your hands as it was on Mio's." She pointed accusingly at him.
He was stone-faced. "I did what I had to do. And what's done is done, life goes on."
She spat on the ground at his feet and then looked up. "You make me sick." She told him and stepped out the doorway.
Shiro grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He put his face close to hers. "Don't think for a moment this wouldn't have happened anyway."
She slammed a fist into his face, throwing him backward. He stumbled but remained on his feet.
Keiko rubbed her fist. "You're such a selfish bastard, I swear. You're more of a Kirihara than I am. Yui would be so proud to know that."
He panted. "Your mother's a whore and a bitch and…"
"And you're her asshole brother." She spat. "Go ta' hell."
She looked out the doorway, but had changed her mind about going through the courtyard. She needed to follow Komugi to make sure she had found Sayaka, and had secured her a good hiding place for the time being.
She stepped around Shiro and followed Komugi up the East Corridor.
Komugi took a moment to admire the windows.
She hadn't realized this was a one of those "religious schools." Things had seemed lax through out most of the school, and they had been allowed to get away with being nearly obnoxious in the cafeteria. It was a strange place, almost as if no one really respected religion here.
Or they simply didn't care.
Maybe there's no need for religion here anymore. Maybe not anywhere. It's all been done.
She touched a pane in one of the stained glassed windows. It was a mosaic of Mary and the Christ child done in reds and blues.
Komugi's mind began to warp, and reality shifted. The scene was replaced by a blur of colors, which was replaced by a different reality.
It was a church, but one she had never visited. Its walls and windows had been burned out, and only a stone outer shell remained. The inlaid floor seemed in tact, but was stained red and covered in debris and filth.
There was an elevated area with steps to her right, where at some point in the past an alter must have stood. Things seemed normal enough; Keiko was standing on the raised area with steps, shuffling her weight from leg to leg, whereas Kyosuke was standing on the floor, looking none-too-pleased with whatever she had to say. After a few moments, she dropped down to the step below and he walked over and stood in front of her on the floor.
Keiko stopped shifted and said something, and it elicited a response from him. She took a step back and he joined her on the raised platform. She whispered something inaudible, and Kyosuke pulled her to him, burying her in the folds of his cloak. He put one hand on her head, and the other across her back; while she held onto him at his midsection.
The moment left Komugi confused. It was one of those situations where she was pained by jealousy, but in awe of whatever bond they had.
It was what had made her so angry at Keiko the previous day.
A tall, thin, blond man entered through what was once the back of church, and stood a few feet behind Keiko. Shiro and a second shadowy figured entered through what was once the front door, stopping no more than five feet from them.
The mutant couple seemed oblivious to the impending situation.
A flash of light was seen, and the blond man jumped forward, jabbing something into Keiko's back. She automatically arched her back in response, and mumbled something no one would hear. The man ripped her from Kyosuke's grasp, ripped the knife out, swung her around till she faced him, and slammed her back-first at the floor.
While standing over Keiko's body, he shouted something inaudible, and pointed at Kyosuke. Shiro and the shadowed man came up and restrained him by pulling his arms behind him. As soon as the initial shock ended, be began to fight them and scream.
The thin man turned back to Keiko and knelt on the floor. He jammed the knife into her chest, and raked it down between her breasts. He then ripped the knife out, stood, and pointed at the front of the church.
Kyosuke started to fight even harder, and the men were straining to restrain him. Angered by what he was witnessing, it seemed, the blond man walked over to him and said something to him.
He then jammed his knife into Kyosuke's chest, just up and to the right of where his heart would have been. Instead of ripping it out this time, however, he left it imbedded, and motioned to the front of the church again. Having gone limp, Shiro and the other man were finally able to drag him outside.
The blond man now turned to what seemed to be Komugi's point of view. For the first time she heard him speak…
"What do you think you're doing, Komugi? Komugi? Komugi? Ko-"
It was like listening to a compact disk skipping.
"Ko-mu-gi? Ko-mu-gi?"
She blinked and reality shifted back.
Keiko slammed Komugi into the stone wall and shook her.
"Come to, damnit!" Keiko yelled.
"Hmwha?" Was her reponse.
Keiko slammed her again. "Where is she?"
"I…I haven't found her yet." She whimpered.
A train of curses were on Keiko's lips but she hesitated. "There it is again…its that…music…"
The both eyed the doors of the chapel, looked at each other, and nodded. Keiko let Komugi up from the floor and they brushed themselves off.
They were about to enter the chapel and Keiko had a change of heart. She put a hand on Komugi's shoulder and stopped her.
"Did Shiro say where Kyosuke is?" She asked Komugi.
She looked at her and thought for a moment. "Shiro left him at the far end of the East Courtyard."
Eck. This means it's a matter of someone being the bait here. Direct whatever's after the girl as far away as possible. Take it out inside the school, in this wing, and lead it outside only as a last resort. A very simple plan. She deducted.
"Go back to what were we originally going to do. Go to the dorm and keep Sayaka there, no matter what. I'm going to deal with the Hospital...person…myself."
Komugi nodded and ran the rest of the corridor, and went to the left at the end.
Keiko pulled on the double wooden doors' handles. They refused to budge.
"Son of a…let me in." She complain, pulling again.
Nothing.
And then it dawned on her, like a minor epiphany, and that she had to push these doors.
"I'm not stupid…I swear." She muttered, pushing open the doors and stepping inside.
Komugi, after wandering up and down both the second and third floors of the East dorm, managed to find Sayaka's room near the North stairwell on the second floor. Luckily, the door was already partially open so she didn't have to go through that 'I'm-knocking-on-your-door-for-a-reason-I-swear.' problem.
The small, dark haired girl looked up from her studies at her desk when Komugi pushed on the door.
"Umm…I saw that you're in my 4th period lecture, and…uhh…I noticed that you took really good notes…umm…I wondering if you could maybe help me understand the lecture a lit' better.
Sayaka shut her text book and put it aside. She then pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out a ragged blue notebook. "So where are your books and notes from today?"
Darn it…! Komugi realized. I knew something was missing! I left my bag back in the clinic!
"Left it somewhere?" Sayaka asked. "I'm always doing that. We'll just go get it, okay? I hardly know anyone here, and the chance to meet someone is always interesting so I hope you won't mind me tagging along."
She stepped around Komugi and started for the stair.
Uh…not good… She realized. She said 'whatever it takes,' so I've got to come up with something.
"Hey! Um, do I need it?"
Sayaka laughed. "Of course you do, silly!" She giggled, and started down the stairs to the first floor. "Where did you leave it?" She yelled back up.
"Um, in the Clinic."
"Okay!"
Komugi was tempted to grab her and drag her back up the stairs, but she risked causing a bigger scene that the one she was trying to originally avoid.
She opted to follow her down the stairs and back over to the clinic, and hoped that Keiko had taken care of the situation by the time they got there.
Shiro had crossed the East Courtyard and met up Kyosuke by the time Keiko and Komugi had reached their positions.
"Did anyone see you come out here?" Were the first words out of Kyosuke's mouth, his tone cold.
Shiro pulled out his cigarettes. "Sheesh, what's with the attitude? Everyone's got an attitude all of a sudden."
He offered one to Kyosuke, and to his surprise, he accepted.
"Since when do you smoke?" Shiro asked, handing over his lighter.
Kyoskue lit up and passed it back to him. "Since I was fifteen. Helps take the edge off of things."
"You haven't lit up once since you've been with us, why this moment?" Shiro asked, having to fumble with a lighter that suddenly wouldn't light. After a few tries he gave up and put the lighter and cigarette back in his breast pocket.
"First time I thought about it, I guess. Haven't smoked since I came home…to…you know..." His voice trailed off, and he puffed and exhaled.
The reminder of what had happened in the church caused Shiro a pang of guilt.
"Ya know," He started. "There's talk that even if it happened then, it would have happened anyway."
Kyosuke seemed indifferent to the thought. "Hm."
The situation was becoming a burden to Shiro, and he wanted to lighten the mood. He pulled out his cigarettes again and read the warning label. "They say these things can kill you..."
Kyosuke eyed him for a moment, and then returned to ignoring him. He already knew what was coming.
Shiro finished his joke anyway. "…but I suppose you don't…have to worry 'bout that…"
He sighed. He had no idea why he was even bothering, anyway.
They waited in silence for some signal from the East Wing of the building.
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* "Unsheathed" by Live
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Chapter 14: Like a Rollin' Thunder Chasing the Wind, Part 2
"You'll rescue me, right?
In the exact same way they never did…
I'll be happy, right?
When your healing powers kick in…"*
The organ was being played…
This chapel is a lot bigger than it looks like from the hallway. Keiko realized.
The school had obviously spared no expense. The floor was done in wood, except for the area of the altar, which was done all in white marble, with brown marble highlights. Off to the right of the entrance was a choral section, and to the left were two rows of off-set pews. Straight back was the altar of marble on raised pedestals.
The organ continued to play…
In sharp contrast to the tasteful décor, was the large, light-up crucifix that hung to the left of the altar area. It was done in cheap white glass panels, rimmed with a brass shell.
It looks like something from the "red light district." One of those "we'll have you hitched in under ten minutes, or the wedding's on us!" deals. Keiko thought.
The organ continued to play…
Keiko walked over an inspected the cross. "Son of a! It actually lights up! This thing IS from the 'red light district,' alright!" She reached behind in and unplugged it. The cross' internal lights flickered and went out. "I'm not the religious type, but even I think that having this here is nothing sort of sad."
The organ stopped.
Keiko turned around and finally noticed the organ's location in the balcony, above the entrance.
No one was there.
"Oh sh-" Was all she got out before she was slammed into the glass and brass crucifix.
Sayaka stopped in the hall, in front of the chapel doors, and cocked her head to the side. "I wonder what that crashing noise was."
Komugi was not about wait around and find out, and started dragging her away by the arm. "Come on, let's go, I'm sure it's nothing."
"Stop! Let me go!" She protested and pulled away.
The right hand door fell off its hinges and fell outwards, followed by part of a wooden pew that was once bolted to the floor.
Sayaka screamed and backed up against the inner wall. Komugi was forced to push her out of the way as the rest of pew followed the first part, pushing the door out into the hall and into the wall where they had been standing. Falling back, each of them ended up on one side of the door way.
"Just keep going, Sayaka!"
But the young schoolgirl was shaken, and cowered against the wall.
Damnit! Thought Komugi. Now what?
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Keiko shouted, ducking to avoid a flying shard a wood.
The Hospital mutant doctor sighed. "Stop playing with me, child!" He screamed, throwing a broken pipe from the organ at her. The pipe smacked into her gut and she was knocked back into alter, hitting her head.
Keiko doubled over and put her head to knees. Aw damn…
"Now tell me where she is!" The psycho doctor shouted at her.
She panted. "Go…to…hell…"
The doctor jammed the pipe into her side and she gasped. He ripped it out, picked her up by her long, violet hair, and held her in midair. "Tell me!"
She reached up underneath the hem of her skirt and pulled the tiny box off that she had stitched to the inside seam off. She flicked it, and a small electric blade appeared.
The doctor swung her, slamming her wounded side into the altar's cold stone. "Where is the Flicker? If you tell me right now, I might even save you a little suffering when I rip your head from your neck."
Keiko brought the blade up between the doctor's cold hands and her own scalp, slicing her hair off. She fell to the floor, feet-first, and slammed her shoulder into the doctor's gut, throwing him backwards to the floor. She fell forward to the floor from the motion, and came down hard, whacking her head on the wooden floor.
The room seemed to tilt in her vision. "Ugh.." She moaned.
The doctor had recovered, and picked her up again, this time by the front of the uniform. He slammed her into what remained of the cross, which had been reduced to florescent light bulbs in the brass frame.
Blood started to drip from under Keiko's hairline. "Damn you…" She whispered. "What the hell are you people made out of?"
He showed her a crocked smile. "We are just like you, made from the same material. But we don't have your sins; because of you and the rest of them, we are monsters. We kill to kill you, to take away the memory of it. Revenge for what you people have done!"
Keiko screamed, and the blood started to run thicker, dripping down upon the uniform and the doctor's grayish hand.
The doctor pressed her against the cross, pinning her to the sharpened edges of the brass. "If only death wasn't too good for you people. You should have to suffer."
She screamed again, and her mind shattered.
"What is it, 'suke?" Shiro asked leaning against an old cherry tree.
He shook his head. "I'm not sure, something feels…sick…"
Shiro cocked an eyebrow. "Sick?"
Kyosuke felt nausea well up in his abdomen, and his vision blurred for a moment. "Yeah, sick…ugh…" He said, putting a hand to his gut.
Shiro put a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, 'suke?"
He pushed him away. "I'm fine."
"Like hell you are, sit on the ground or something!" Shiro suggested.
The nausea seemed to swell and Kyosuke felt dizzy suddenly. "This is worse than normal…" He mumbled, shutting his eyes to avoid looking at the seemingly-moving ground.
"Hey, maybe we should go get the girls…" Shiro started.
'NO!" Kyosuke shouted, falling down to all-fours. "I'll be fine…"
Shiro backed away. What hell is this? He wondered.
He shook his head several times and the dizziness started to clear. Kyosuke stood and put a hand to his head. "Ugh…"
Shiro looked at him, but stayed quiet.
"I'm fine." Kyosuke told him.
"If you say so man." Shiro replied quietly. But I don't buy it…
"Komugi! Help me!" Sayaka yelled across the hallway.
A piece of the piping from the church organ flew out of the doorway and smashed through the stained glass window across the hall.
"Stay there, 'kay? Just stay there!" Komugi yelled over the noise.
The doors busted open and they screamed in unison.
Keiko roared and showed the psycho doctor her fangs. Squeezing her back and pushing her arms back, she unfolded the wings that had appeared with this transformation.
But something was different this time.
Swish. Swish
Huh? Keiko thought. What's that?
Swish. Swish
"Something's attached to…grr!" She complained aloud.
But she couldn't take her eyes off of the doctor to check.
Have to let it be. She realized.
The doctor backed up and tossed a half dozen scalpels at her, Keiko pulled her left wing around and turned slightly. The scalpels stuck into the fleshy membrane, and Keiko shook them out by flapping once.
"That the best you got, doc?" She hissed.
The doctor swung a pipe from the organ at her, and Keiko jumped up and forward, landing on the altar.
"Little, monkey-brat!" He yelled, charging at her with another set of scalpels ready.
Keiko jumped up and landed behind the doctor, putting him between her and the marble altar. She slammed an arm towards the doctor's back, but he was not prepared to fall for such a simple tactic. He half-turned before she could cover the distance and jammed the set of scalpels into her abdomen, causing her to fall back, stumbling.
Awkward silence filed the chapel as Keiko panted and the doctor stood.
A small voice could be heard.
"There!" The doctor shouted.
Reality dawned on Keiko, and she damned it.
The doctor slammed the back of his arm into Keiko's face, and she went rolling into a pew that had sustained heavy damage in the fight. He took off running out the door and Keiko could only watch in her upside-down position.
"Damnit!" She shouted, righting herself.
A girl screamed, followed by a second of a different voice.
Horror hit Keiko and she felt the color drain from her face.
No… She thought. Ugh, sick…I feel sick…
Komugi stuck her head in the chapel doorway. "Let's go!"
"I…" She panted.
"LET'S GO!" She shouted, and took off.
Keiko shook off the pain and went running after Komugi.
"Something's wrong." Kyosuke muttered.
Shiro simply looked at him, still trudging through the confusion of Kyosuke's sudden illness. He was tempted to relate it to the strange fainting spells Keiko went though, but when he had complained that is "worse than normal," he scraped the idea.
Shiro was lost in thought, and Kyosuke took off running.
"Hey! Wait a min…" Shiro started.
"Go around the other way!" Kyosuke shouted back at him.
Shiro furrowed his brow. "How come I always get left behind?" He muttered aloud, jogging off in the opposite direction.
"We lost 'em! Darn it!" Komugi panted, leaning against a tiled wall.
They had come down the chapel's hallway, and half way up the building's main corridor, and realized they had no idea of where to go.
"Hey, what was that?" Keiko asked.
Komugi listened. "Someone's coming!" She whispered, and they both hid in a doorway cut out of the wall.
"Hey! Come out of there!" A man instructed.
They stepped gingerly out of their hiding space, and where shocked. "Kyosuke! What are you doing in here?" Komugi asked.
"Where is she?"
Keiko and Komugi looked at each other. "We lost her. The doctor's got her." Komugi whispered.
He lit up. "You WHAT?! I trusted you two!" He shouted.
Keiko wanted to explain, but was at lost for words. "I'm sorry, I did the best I could, but he was stronger than I had anticipated. "
He glared at her. "You have no idea where they are?"
They hung their heads.
"Damn!" He exclaimed and went running past them down the main corridor.
"Darn it, we screwed this up royally." Keiko said, scratching the back of her head.
"This is my fault. If I had just knocked her out she never would have left the room." Komugi muttered.
"I should have been able to beat that man; it couldn't have been that hard."
They heard a woman scream, and they looked at one another.
The woman screamed again, and it was louder.
"They're coming down this hall, aren't they?" Komugi questioned quietly.
They ducked back into the doorway. "Yeah, they must have gone around the long way around from the chapel.
The doctor ran past towards them, dragging Sayaka along.
Keiko jumped out from the wall and managed to grab a hold of Sayaka's shirt, and pulled her down. She hoisted her up from the floor and pushed her away. Komugi grabbed her arm and pulled her away, forcing her to run to keep up with her.
The doctor turned around and slammed a fist into Keiko's gut, causing her to spout a trickle of blood. She rolled onto her side and held her gut.
"Little brat, there's only one way out of that courtyard, and I can easily come around the way." He told her, running off down the hall in the direction Kyosuke had taken.
"Heh." Keiko muttered, spitting blood. "Have a nice death."
She struggled to her feet and walked off after Komugi.
Komugi and Sayaka came out into the North courtyard and were met by Shiro.
"You two okay?" He asked.
Komugi panted. "Yeah, we're okay."
"Where's Keiko?" He asked sadly.
Komugi shook her head. "She was holding off the doctor when we ran out. It's my fault things got messed up. She took a lot of extra hits because I screwed up."
Shiro nodded. "I had a feeling."
Keiko appeared in the doorway, holding a hand to her gut.
Shiro walked over to her. "You okay, doll?"
"Yeah, I'll survive." She muttered.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Nice tail by the way."
She eyed him. "Oh you shut up."
"And your pretty hair…" He started.
She shot him an icy glare, and he shut up.
Keiko walked over and joined Komugi and Sayaka. "Is everything okay now?"
Komugi frowned. "I don't think so. Doesn't something feel weird to you?"
Keiko looked around the courtyard. "Yeah, it does."
A rustle in the trees behind them was heard, and Keiko pushed Sayaka to the ground. "Get down!"
"Wha…" She started.
Keiko stepped one step to the right, and took a half dozen scalpel in the back. Several stuck in her dark purple wings, but several landed in her mid back. She gasped and went down on one knee. She shook and the most scalpels fell out of, she reached behind and pulled a stubborn one out with a yank.
"Hey." Shiro said, gesturing behind them with his head. "Look."
The turned around and watched Kyosuke slice off the doctor's head with surgical precision.
"Perfect. He's perfect, isn't he?" Keiko muttered, standing up. "I get the crap beaten out of me, and it takes him one hit to take the psycho down."
He took a step, then went down to his knees, then fell over completely.
"Crap, not again." Shiro complained, jogging away from them to the other side of the courtyard. "I'm going to get the car, go check on him, Keiko. I'll let Olivet know so he can meet us at the apartment."
Keiko looked at him and went to ask "Shiro, what…?" but he was already out of earshot.
Komugi turned to Sayaka. "I think it's safe now, you can go back to the dorm."
The girl was showing signs of having been traumatized. "I…okay…" She whispered, walking to the doorway.
"I'm going after Shiro to show him how to get back here, we'll be right back!" Komugi yelled back, running after Shiro.
What the hell is going on? Keiko's mind pondered as she walked over to Kyosuke.
He had rolled onto his side and pulled himself in the "fetal position," with one arm across his abdomen. He wasn't moving, and Keiko shook him gently.
"Hey, come on." She whispered.
No response.
She shook him a little harder. "Come on, Kyo'."
No response.
She put a hand to his gut and he grimaced and moaned.
She pulled her hand back. "What happened?" She asked quietly, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You're really pale."
He opened his eyes, and then shut them back. "Sick…"
Keiko put an arm under his shoulders and tried to pull him to a sitting position, and he tried to pull away.
Keiko pulled him back, and pulled him upright, leaning his back against her chest. She put a hand to his forehead and noticed how warm he was. "I don't think you're in any condition to fight back over this."
He sighed and she felt him relax slightly, but he continued to hold his stomach.
Keiko put an arm around his gut, laying it over his. She put her other hand to his cheek and noticed it was damp. "I know it hurts, just try to relax." She told him trying to sooth him.
Hurry up, damnit. Shouldn't take forever to get the car. Or Joe's car, or whatever… She mused.
"I should…" He started, trying to pull away again.
"Oh, stop it now!" Keiko complained, pulling him back. "I'll make you a deal, you let me take care of you, and I'll let you protect me, okay?"
He tried to smile through the pain, and he relaxed fully. "I…"
"Shush now. Enough." She told him sternly. "They'll be back in a minute."
He closed his eyes and laid his head back against her shoulder. She put a hand onto his damp, matted hair and smoothed it.
The waited in eerie silence for the roar of Joe's relic of a car to be heard.
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* "Precious Illusions" by Alanis Morissette\
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Chapter 15: Words for a Feeling
"I'd take away your pain, and show you all the beauty you possess,
If you'd only let yourself believe…"*
"Sit still!" Komugi complained. "You'll end up with more of it chopped off if you don't hold your head still!"
Keiko stared at the close door to her room as Komugi snipped away at what remained of her once-lovely long hair. She kept insisting that Keiko would get used to wearing a bob-cut, and that it would accent her good features.
What good features? Just hurry up and make it look right, Komugi. Keiko thought.
"Besides," she continued. "You can't go in there anyway, Dr. O said so. Hehe, I made a rhyme!" She giggled.
Keiko half-turned around. "How can you giggle right now? Where's your head?"
Komugi forced her head back.
She was sullen. "Because…it keeps me from being upset…kind of like ignoring it."
I sometimes forget that she's really a softy. I guess so many years of stepping on peoples' feelings has made me a little oblivious to other people. Keiko realized.
"I'm sorry; I know how you feel about him. I shouldn't be so brash, especially right now."
Komugi snapped several more times, and then stopped. "There. All done!"
Keiko stood up from the kitchen chair, but couldn't bring herself to go look in the bathroom mirror. She crossed her arms across her chest and rubbed her shoulders.
I'm cold. She realized. And I wanna lay down, go to sleep or something.
"Keiko?" asked Komugi quietly.
Keiko looked over her shoulder. "What?"
She looked stunned for a moment, and dropped the trimming shears on the floor. They hit with a slight clang, and short, purple hairs fell out of the blades.
Keiko turned around. "What, Komugi? And you dropped the shears." She told her pointing at the floor, at her feet.
"Oh! Oops!" She exclaimed, scooping them up and some of the loose hair.
"Well?"
"Hmm?" Komugi asked, confused.
"Did you want something?" Keiko asked, her brow furrowing.
"Oh um…darn, I forgot now!" She replied, sadly.
"Alright." Keiko told her, walking into the living room.
Oh that was too weird! Thought Komugi. For a second there I could 'ave sworn I was looking at Kyosuke! They are way too alike, especially now with that haircut she has. It's not like I did it on purpose or anything, either. Freaky...
Keiko sat down on the couch and leaned her head against Shiro's shoulder. "How you holdin' up, doll?" He asked quietly.
She sighed. "I'm tired."
He patted her head. "It's all the worrying. He's in good hands, so try not to worry yourself sick."
She sat back up. "I know...it's just…you know." She said quietly.
He sighed. "I know, doll. I know. It's hard. But try to be tough, he needs you to be that way right now."
She half-smiled in response.
Shiro was in a thoughtful mood suddenly. "I hope you didn't mind giving up your room and stuff. I just realized I never even asked you 'bout it, I just thought it was best."
"I don't mind. I would have done it anyway; I'm the only one with an actual bed. Your mat has no padding anymore anyway, I've sat on it."
He frowned in response. "I know. I need a new one, but it's not like we have any money for things like that right now. We're going to be lucky if we can afford Olivet's fee."
"He won't refuse treatment, will he? If we can't pay all of it, that is." Keiko asked sadly.
"No, he's got more heart than that. I doubt anything like that would happen." He told her, trying to reassure her.
Keiko's bedroom door jiggled, and the tall and slender doctor stepped out, shutting the door behind him. He leaned against Shiro's room's door to address them; while Komugi flopped down on the couch next to Keiko.
This guy is all of thirty. Keiko remembered. He's some sort of prodigy, so why would anyone with his talents and skills want to work down in the slums?
He tone serious, and he didn't raise he voice above a quiet whisper. "When did you notice the symptoms, particularly the problem with his side?"
"A few hours…" Shiro started.
"A couple of days ago, right after I pulled him from the containment tank at the Kirihara's local facility."
Shiro was shocked. "Keiko! I…" He simply stared at her.
She sighed. "I have nothing left to hide anymore. If that info helps him, it's worth exposing."
The brown-haired doctor seemed un-phased. "That info is very important. I can compare tissue samples to whatever their databases show. With your help of course, Mr. Mibu."
He gave a slight nod. "Not a problem, Olivet."
"Keiko, can you give me a hand with something?" He asked standing.
Komugi frowned. "I thought you were going to tell us something about his condition."
He gave a nod. "I will, but I want to show Keiko something first."
She got up from the couch and followed Dr. Olivet into the bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Komugi sulked. "I'm the nurse here, I don't get why I don't get to see."
Shiro rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that's really why you wanna go in there. It's all in his best interest, huh? Are you sure you just don't want to see him a little less than decent?"
She smacked him in the face with an old, blue throw pillow sitting on the armrest.
"Brat!" He yelled, grabbing the pillow from her and smacking her back with it. The force knocked her from the couch and she landed on the floor with a thud.
Dr. Olivet stuck his head out of the doorway. "Could you please keep it down out here? The noise is defiantly not helping the situation." He pulled back and shut the door again.
They scowled at each and complained "It's his/her fault!" in unison.
Shiro looked at the door and sighed, feeling a tad foolish then.
Poor kids. I really do feel bad. Shiro's mind muttered. I hope both have it together enough to get through this. It's been rocky the last few days. I just don't know…
"Can you just sit with him for a few minutes so I can enter this data and start a few new files?" asked Olivet of Keiko, standing at his laptop which had taken up residence on Keiko's now messy wooden dresser. He had pushed Keiko's bed back into the corner, and because it was an old hospital cot, had rigged the height adjustment so Kyosuke was able to sit more upright.
Keiko noticed he still had his arms across his abdomen. "Of course. But…umm…why is he half-sitting? Wouldn't he be more comfortable lying down if the pain's in his stomach?"
"I'll show you why in a minute, okay?" He told her coldly.
She narrowed her brow. Jerk. She thought.
Keiko sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him, trying to smile slightly. "Are you feeling any better?" She asked, putting a hand on his arm.
He was paler than normal, and his breathing was still harsh. Keiko noticed that his dark blue eyes seemed a little dull, and he was cold and clammy to the touch.
"Are you warm enough?" She asked quietly, noticing he had on only the bed sheets, and they only came up to his waist.
"He has a fever and the chills." Stated Olivet. "Make sure he stays covered."
"Alright."
Keiko stood pulled the heavier, white comforter up to his waist, and then took the pale blue blanket that was at the end of the bed and unfolded it.
"This is one of those thermal types, so it's not heavy or bulky or anything." She told him, holding it up.
Kyosuke seemed indifferent to the thought, and Keiko felt a pang of sadness at his reaction, or lack of.
She sat back down on the edge of the bed. "Can you sit up and lean towards me a little?" She asked quietly.
He leaned forward and lay against her, startling Keiko slightly. She wrapped the blanket around his back and over his shoulders, but he made no effort to pull back then. Keiko put her arms around his back instead and held onto him, squeezing slightly.
"Hey now, when did I become the bed?" She joked quietly, rubbing his back gently.
She put a hand to the back of his neck and noticed fresh sweat and damp hair ends there. The fever is pretty high, I guess. She realized. He's really lethargic and damp.
Olivet walked over to the bed. "This is a good chance to check his breathing at rest." He explained, putting the end of his stethoscope to his back. He left it there for a few seconds, moved it to the other side of his back, listened, and pulled back.
"This is what I wanted you to hear." He told Keiko, putting the ear buds of the stethoscope on her ears. "Listen and tell me what is wrong with this noise?" He asked, putting the metal amplifying disk to Kyosuke's back.
She listened for a few seconds. "It sounds like something's rattling in there."
Olivet nodded. "Exactly. And combine that with the fever and stomach cramps, and what do you have?"
Keiko thought for a second. "Stomach flu?"
He stepped back to the dresser and turned his laptop around, showing her the screen, full of chemical formulas and line-graphs. "Uh-huh, except this is a 'super' flu, of sorts. It's been genetically engineered to react with certain chemical markers in the system, increasing its effectiveness twenty-fold."
"Alright, so…"
"But that's not what concerns me the most." He added.
Then what the hell does? Keiko wondered.
He pointed at a graph on the screen. "The fact that according to the virus' properties and Kyosuke's chemical make-up, he's only fulfilled a tiny percent of the requirements for it to be effective."
"Which means…"
"That this wasn't meant for him. He was infected by mistake." He continued, clicking on a window on the screen. Keiko's name and DNA sequence popped up. "Do you see the highlighted parts?" He asked.
Keiko was starting to grow frightened and squeezed Kyosuke tightly involuntarily, causing him to sputter several times. "Yes."
He pointed at several highlighted places. "Those are all of the chemical markers that would react if you were infected by it. You'd be dead within the hour of being infected because all of these have to do with chemicals vital to living, including sugar levels, carbon dioxide, and oxygen."
"That's what you wanted me to see alone, wasn't it?" She file asked sadly.
He closed the lid on the laptop. "Yes."
"Is there anyway to treat it?"
"It will take some time, but I think I can break apart its chemical structure enough create something to at least stop the disease from progressing from viral to bacterial. If it becomes bacterial, it'll be twice as hard to kill."
She looked at Kyosuke. "There's nothing else we can do in the meanwhile? He seems to be in pain."
"He more than likely is. One of the things being affected is his digestive system because his acidity levels are off in his tract. Essentially, his gut is full of acidic fluids right now. I can give him morphine, and then leave you some to administer later on, but you can't let him get dependant on it."
"Alright. What about the fever?"
"Straight aspirin should be able to make it peak. And if it doesn't peak in twenty-four hours, call me right away." He told her. He reached into his briefcase-sized medical supply kit. "I'm going to leave this as well." Olivet added, holding up a small, white, plastic box, and then setting it on the dresser. "This thermometer also checks pulse rate and oxygen levels, so it's pretty handy. If you can remember, write down the levels it gives you so I can keep track, alright?"
Keiko rubbed Kyosuke's back again. "Of course."
The doctor tucked his computer away in a large, black duffel, and closed up his medical supplies, leaving out only a bottle of prescription-strength aspirin and three vials of a whitish fluid and a syringe. He jammed the syringe into one of the vials rubber say the stoppers and pulled, filling it. He tossed the empty vial in Keiko's black, plastic trash can and turned to her.
"Lay him back and we can finish this up. I already gave him a set of aspirin, so give him the next set in no less than four hours, and the next morphine shot in no less than eight, understood?"
"Yes sir." She told him, leaning Kyosuke back on the bed.
He pushed the blanket back, and felt his arm for a moment. Finding a vein half-way up his arm, Oliver emptied the syringe and replaced the blanket. He turned and left the syringe on the dresser with the other vials.
"Keep him warm, hydrated, and in bed. Don't let him wander around or anything, because the morphine willcause him to act strangely, especially after the first time." He told her, gathering up his equipment to leave. "I will stop by late tomorrow afternoon unless you call sooner or if I find some miracle cure before then."
"Alright, thanks you Dr. Olivet."
He stepped to the door and pulled it open. "You're welcome. And you take care of yourself, don't get overtired or anything." He told her, trying to instill some confidence in her despite the situation.
"I won't, doctor."
He gave her a nod, walked out, and shut the door behind him.
Keiko stared at the closed door, and bitterness set in. "Fool." She muttered quietly. "It's too late to save me from illness, I've already been infected. They call it Life, and it kills for sport."
She stood up and stared at Kyosuke, who continued to pant quietly. "I'm tired of beating around the bush about this. I didn't need him to tell me what this is, I'm not stupid."
Keiko walked to the door and took hold of the doorknob, but resisted opening it when she realized she could hear Olivet talking to Shiro and Komugi.
"…severity of this illness…"
"How long?" Asked Shiro.
Olivet sighed. "…forty-eight hours max…"
Keiko ripped open the door and appeared in the doorway, catching them off-guard.
Olivet stood up from the couch nervously. "Keiko, I…" He babbled.
"Save it!" She spat. "Save it for someone who needs your pity. No more lies, doctor, spit it out." She shut the bedroom door and walked toward the couch.
"His prognosis is poor, and I say two days at the max. He just doesn't possess the needed anti-bodies for this type of infection."
She crossed her arms across her chest. "Of course not, no one does considering it was just produced. And produced for me, no less. Minor error in the planning though set him up instead."
Shiro looked at Keiko sadly. "Keiko?"
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Yes, Shiro, I knew. I already know what to do as well." She walked quietly to the front door, but was stopped by a yanking of her arm.
Shiro turned her around and stared her down. "You have no idea of what you are doing. If you fail at this, you may not be here when…it's over. Don't be foolish about this."
She stared back. "No one has to know, Shiro. Not even him." She gestured toward the bedroom with her head. "I can go an' be back in less than six hours. You just have to keep him alive that long." Her expression softened for a moment. "Komugi should probably be sitting with him, considering her feelings about him. It's probably better if I'm not here when it ends anyway, considering I should be the one in the bed."
He sighed quietly. "That's irrelevant; this is not about you, but him. Stop trying to avoid the situation, and stop trying to play 'hero.'" He looked at her cold expression and sighed. "At least let me go with you. They'll know you're coming a mile away." He told her quietly.
"No." Keiko replied flatly, and pulled away from Shiro.
She put a hand on the outside door's handle, and stopped. She knew what was coming next.
"Keiko?" Shiro asked quietly. "How do you plan on getting in?"
Keiko pulled her tail up and wrapped it under her skirt. She had not even bothered to change, and unbenounced to Shiro, she was actually growing found of the schoolgirl look.
"I don't know, Shiro." She told him.
Keiko turned to him, and there was a near psychotic look in her eyes. "Call it a hunch, but I think they're waiting for me this time. Like the swallow returning to its nest, I am going home. Besides, they say he's as much my father as his, perhaps even more so." She opened the door and stepped into the hallway.
Shiro was stunned. "I thought…"
Keiko slammed the door shut behind her, cutting him off.
My Lord, she's gone insane already. He realized. And we still have so far to go.
Komugi appeared at Shiro's side. "Shiro?" She asked quietly.
Shiro ignored the question, and asked his own. "Do you believe in God, Nakahara?
"No." She told him quietly. "Why do you ask?"
He stared at the closed door. "Just reaffirming my ideals, that's all."
Komugi showed signed of confusion. "Shiro?"
He turned away from the door and started to walk back to the living room. "What?"
"Do you believe in God?" She asked quietly.
"It's kinda hard to believe in something that doesn't exist."
She narrowed her eyes. "Why are you lying to me?"
"Because I'm afraid."
"Of what?"
He walked away slowly. "You'll see, Komugi, you'll see why eventually."
She was utterly taken aback, and was then on the verge of tears, the days events having pushed her to her limit. Heaven help us, the poor and the wretched…
She started to cry quietly, but no one listened.
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* "Adia" by Sarah Mclachan
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