Wow! This Fic seems to be doing quite okay. At first I thought no one would actually read it, but more readers come everyday – and it makes me really happy!

I would personally like to thank the following people.

Rumiko, Chiche, Mayumi, Keax, Nakkie, ZOID, Sieg Hart, Sakura1988, Frozenfemale and last, but not least, Miyahara Yuuki – You guys have been great! I won't reveal anything, hence me not reply to your questions at Babble/FF.net. I want it to be mysterious, you see? Coz I know myself, that once I start babbling, I'll reveal everything and that would make it boring. As of now, I'm trying to think up of scary things to put in, and a good friend is helping! So guys …

SIT TIGHT! ^____^

Happy reading and a million thank you's! I love you people!

THE SPIRIT 3

He sat up from his bed, rubbing his head. He remembered collapsing then darkness. He hoped that there were no complications. The last thing he wanted was another reason to stop playing basketball. It was not some bone or ligament that he was bargaining here with. It was his eyesight. He'd kill himself if he goes blind.

He found the hospital eerily quiet. He got to his feet and headed for his door, opening it, and peeked outside. He found nurses helping injured or sick people, only this time, they were wearing different clothes from the one he saw often. He was still in his white and blue striped pajamas while all the other patients were in sky blue gi. Puzzled, he felt déjà vu.

"I know this." He mumbled and peered through every door once again. He saw patients sleeping, staring out the windows, coughing or listening to doctor's advice. Nothing was out of ordinary. He turned and headed back to his room, looking at a nurse walking by while he twisted the doorknob and stepped inside. He blinked several times finding his room occupied once again. It was the same girl, the one with long black hair that screamed her head out at the sight of her twin.

This time, there was a man with them, with long brown hair tied back neatly at the nape of his neck, dressed in traditional gray and blue kimono. The twins were speaking quietly, so he inched closer and frowned when he saw the patient on the bed trembling. She looked much older. A calendar caught his gaze and he looked at it, seeing the date.

It was January 15, 1964.

He frowned even more.

"Once your injuries heal, I'm going to take good care of you." The man said.

"Don't worry." The twin standing beside the bed said, a smile on her beautiful face. "Kiritani-kun will take care of you."

The twin lying down merely looked away, staring at the window. Mitsui turned to look at the window and found two kids playing outside, dressed in a white shorts and a yellow t-shirt. Something clicked in his head and he began to panic. He gripped his head and began to scream and yell. His vision was darkening, slowly, slowly. Everything he was seeing was beginning to fade. The last thing he saw was Kiritani taking the hand of the patient lying down and caressing it.

*

"Ah!" He yelled, swearing that he opened his eyes but saw nothing but darkness. He panicked even more, knowing that his eyesight was gone. His hands came to his eyes but several pairs of hands gripped them and pulled them down. Same hands began to pin him to the bed that he was on and someone barked orders around. A syringe was injected to him and he began to toss and turn, kicking and screaming. "I can't see! I can't see! What happened? What the fuck did you do to my eyes? I can't bloody see!"

His head began to swirl and he felt drowsy. His movements slowed down and he felt his limbs go heavy like lead. "Easy, there, Mr. Mitsui."

"Doc?" Mitsui turned to the source of the sound and blinked through the darkness that he was seeing. "I can't see! Why can't I see?"

"Easy." Dr. Hajime said. Hands helped him sit up and he allowed the nurses to man handle him. "Your wearing bandages that's why. I had to use laser on your cornea because they were damaged." Hands were on the sides of his head, releasing the bandage that he did not feel earlier. He closed his eyes behind the thinning bandage and waited patiently for it to be removed. Once they were gone, he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the wall clock. It was two in the morning. "Can you see?"

"Yes." Mitsui said in relief, blinking the blurriness away. "I can see."

"You sound relieved." Dr. Hajime said with a chuckle.

"I thought I was blind. That's a normal reaction." He said, rubbing his eyes, thanking the heavens that he could see. He nearly lost his head there for a moment when he woke up seeing black.

"Indeed it is." Dr. Hajime nodded. Nurses were leaving the room, cleaning up the small mess as they did so. "Well, best if you get some rest. It's two in the morning."

Mitsui nodded. He looked at the wall clock then automatically his gaze fell on the calendar.

It was two in the morning, January 15, 2004.

*

He could smell cologne and the burning rubber of motorcycles. He fell asleep right after his therapy that much he could remember. He was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. But that smell was all too familiar. He opened his eyes and turned his head to one side, to where the smell was more concentrated. His eyes bulged wide open that he sat up from surprise.

"T – Tetsuo?" He gaped.

"Well, well, Mr. MVP." Tetsuo flashed him a grin. "Back amongst the living."

"You came." He stated. Behind his tone though, were a million questions.

"Of course." Tetsuo shrugged. "You were expecting me last, or you were not expecting me at all." Mitsui felt his cheeks color. It was quite embarrassing really. "What's with the hairdo? I thought you threw away your gangster life? Not Mr. MVP anymore?"

"Silly." Mitsui grumbled and ran a hand through his hair. "Once I'm out of here, I'm getting a haircut. As for your second question, it ended a long time ago."

"No." Tetsuo shook his head. "It did not end. You're still playing aren't you?"

"Two months."

"That's it?" Mitsui nodded at his question. "Then what?"

"I don't know. Get a life maybe. I've been a hopeless case since my knee injury."

"Not true." Tetsuo's hands reached out for the cigarette in his pocket. Mitsui gestured to the 'no-smoking' sign and he immediately stopped, instead, he folded his hands behind his neck. "Hopeless in the brain maybe. You knew that gangster life was never for you. Your long hair never suited you. You know that." Mitsui looked down, a small smile on his lips. That was Tetsuo, straightforward and honest – especially around him. That is one reason why he regarded him as a very close and special friend. "I guess I can't blame you. Though I still don't know what thrill you get from tossing some orange ball in to a ring."

Mitsui burst out laughing. "You won't know till you try, right?"

"Nah." He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Sports ain't for me. It's more for you." Mitsui shifted his position on the bed. "This place feed you?"

"Yeah."

Tetsuo smirked. "Doesn't look like it. What do they give you? Plain rice and veggies?"

"Something along those lines."

"You don't complain?"

"I don't have a choice. Diet, you see?"

"What's there to diet?"

"Do I look like a doctor?"

"You have one looking after you."

"Go ask him."

"Do they really feed you?"

"They do. Crap stuff."

"Do you eat them?"

"I throw them up an hour later."

"You shouldn't do that."

"I can't help it."

"That bad?"

"That tasteless."

Tetsuo laughed heartily. Mitsui felt a frown touching his lips. "You'll be making up for a lot of meals once you're out of here, right?"

"You know me too well." Mitsui stretched and then winced, feeling his eyes burn all of a sudden. He brought his hands to his eyes and hissed.

"What's wrong?" Tetsuo narrowed his eyes.

"They're burning." Mitsui brought his hands down and blinked. He found Tetsuo looking at him with a frown, but not just him. There was an old lady standing behind him, holding a cane and a small stuffed bear in one hand, smiling at him.

Tetsuo noticed him staring behind him and turned to look. "Something behind me, Mr. MVP?"

"That old lady." He said, pointing. He blinked, the old lady was gone. 

"Old lady?" Tetsuo looked behind him again and his frown deepened. "You're seeing things, Mitsui. There is no lady. Let alone anyone. Besides, I didn't hear anyone come in."

Mitsui could only stare at Tetsuo, as if he was a stranger now.

*

Mitsui could barely sleep. In fact, he was afraid to fall asleep. He did not want to wake up seeing black. Tetsuo left two hours ago, after the nurse warned him that he was staying way over the visiting limit. Tetsuo had patted him on the shoulder and told him to pull himself together. Mitsui could almost hear his bike engine gunning down the street in front of the hospital – and the police sirens. Tetsuo hated the helmet. He told him once that how was he going to keep up his tough image if he wore something as sissy as a helmet? Mitsui merely stared at him when he spoke that line.

Now, he was staring at his ceiling. Sakuragi was as dead as a doornail. He's been sleeping since his therapy that morning. The guy was all worn out due to all the stress on his head, not to mention that his therapy was now on its fifth stage. He was progressing well, but the toll was he got tired rather quicker than before.

So he was all alone, in his dim room, staring out the starless sky. No matter how hard he tried, he could not help but feel sleepy. He sat on the chair, splashing his face with cold water from the bathroom and stared out the window. He was grateful for Tetsuo's visit. He was probably the only one he could let his guard down. He grew tired. The clock read eleven-thirty. He debated whether to ask for sleeping pills, but decided against it.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself, cursing under his breath. He sat on his bed and propped his pillows, laying his head on it. He pulled the covers over his body and snuggled deep in to the soft comforts of his bed. Slowly, his eyes began to close. Just as he remembered his dreams, his eyes shot open. "I can't go on like this." He whispered. "They're just dreams. They can't hurt me."

He was reassured with his words.

He began to whisper a prayer before he lulled himself to sleep, comforted by the prayer and the almighty protection he would be granted. Just as he closed his eyes, he felt them suddenly burn. He could feel hot tears cascading down his cheeks. He wiped them away and opened his eyes. He saw everything in white and gray. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes, his color vision coming back.

"This is so shitty!" He grumbled and closed his eyes.

He finally fell asleep.

*

"Not again." He grumbled, waking up to find his room a bit dull. It was like the ones in his previous two dreams. He remained in his room and nothing happened. He got up and headed out the door closing it behind him. He took a look from both his sides. He found a nurse pushing a wheel chair with a child sitting on it, his leg amputated. The child looked at his direction, so he smiled and waved. The child merely looked straight at him as he was wheeled away down the corridor. Mitsui frowned. He stood in front of a nurse writing something in a record book. He slammed his fists down beside her and he got no reaction. He stuck his tongue out at her and made stupid faces – still no reaction. "So I can't be seen?" He asked himself and shook his head.

He headed back to his room and opened the door. Just like before, the scene changed. In front of him were the twins, only this time Kiritani, the man with the long hair, was showing her pictures and asking her questions. Mitsui summed it up as some sort of psychological test. He sat by the windowsill and watched intently. The other twin, the one who was not hospitalized remained sitting on a chair opposite the bed, a frown on her face.

The twin on the bed looked up, and her eyes fell on her other twin's hand. She saw a ring gleaming and frowned a bit, confused. Kiritani rubbed his chin and she saw an identical ring on his finger. She frowned even more. Mitsui quirked an eyebrow, quite amused about the whole soap opera taking place before him.

"You two are –" She mumbled, looking at her sitting twin opposite her. "Does father know?"

"No, he doesn't know." The twin stood up from her chair and stood beside Kiritani, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We are engaged. Father doesn't have to know."

"He's our step brother. Our brother." She corrected. "Kei-chan!"

"Hush! Nobody needs to know anything! Kai-chan, if you let one word out, neither of us are going to help you. We're doing this for you!"

"I see." Mitsui looked at Kai, the one on the bed, who resumed answering Kiritani's questions.

"Weird." He mumbled. "Very, very weird."

TBC