Ransom

By: Ryoko [Raiju]

(One week later: in the hospital room)

"It's good to see that you're doing better Shuichi, I was scared that you'd lose the fight on me." Yuki winked, actually showing a side of himself that he normally didn't.

"How are Hiro and Miroslav doing?" Shuichi groaned, trying to roll over in the hospital bed, but falling back into place.

"Hiro is still in intensive care, but he's doing fine. Miroslav is upstairs in his own room, but..." the blonde's eyes averted for a moment. "He's not doing so well...mentally I mean."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Your manager, K, told me that he can't sleep in the bed, he feels like he has to sleep on the floor. He won't let anyone but K touch him, and won't speak to anyone. The nurses have caught him during nightmares where he screams so loudly he could wake up the dead, and as far as anyone knows, the kid cracked."

"Miro- no. Yuki, has he remembered his real name yet? I can't call him Miroslav anymore..."

"His real name?"

"It's a long story...but uhh...that man he was taken from was his master. That man had nearly erased the boy's memories and began calling him 'Miroslav' until the name was engraved in his head. He couldn't remember his real name when I asked him about it."

"Well...no. Nobody's said anything about that."

A nurse poked her head in, nodding toward Yuki. "Sir, visiting hours are over, you can come back tomorrow at 7 am."

"Thank you, I'll be on my way momentarily." The blonde nodded, waiting for the nurse to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow then, baka." He gently kissed Shuichi's forehead before leaving, turning out the lights as he left.

The musician lay in the dark for several hours, thinking about anything that popped into his head. "He still hasn't remembered his own name...they're going to send him to the psych ward if he continues being the way he is..."

Staying in one place, in a bed alone for so long, was driving him passed insane. Sliding himself over the edge of the bed, he stood shakily, grabbing a robe off of the hook next to the bed, and slipping it on.

It was easier for him to walk now, but it had been so long since he'd DONE so that his legs needed a few moments to adjust. After the hard part was out of the way, he stuffed a bunch of pillows under he covers, to look like he was sleeping, and left the room, making his way down the dark corridors toward the elevator. Thankfully, even as he entered the elevator, everything was vacant.

Not a soul around to see him; which made him glad. That meant nobody to see his humiliation.

"Intensive care...four." he pressed the button and leaned against the farthest wall as the elevator started moving.

Shuichi poked his head into the room first, before going in. He couldn't see Hiro, but the sign outside the door clearly read 'Nakano Hiroshi'. Pushing passed the cloth curtain, he found K sitting beside the boy's bed, holding the guitarist's hand tightly, biting his lip. He looked up as the curtain moved.

"Shuichi...how are you doing?" his voice was broken, very broken, and if it hadn't been for the darkness of the room, Shuichi could have easily seen that the man had been crying.

"I-I'm fine. How's HE doing?" he looked down at the unconscious musician, his heart suddenly sinking. With moonlight alone, he could see so many wires and tubes and needles in him, like something out of a bad Frankenstein movie.

"He fell into a coma a couple hours ago...he's been fluctuating as far as health goes."

"What do you mean?"

"The blood loss made him pass out so many times that they almost weren't able to revive him the last time. He's only in a coma now, which is an improvement, but..."

"So, there's a chance he's...going to...?"

"50% chance."

Shuichi felt helpless again, beyond imagination. Tears welled in his eyes and spilled over. "Hiro..." his voice was beginning to break as well. Slowly he moved close to the bed, taking up the teenager's other hand and squeezing tightly. "Please stay with us, Hiro. Please. I can't live without you, c'mon, be strong. For me. For all of us." He whispered, bending down and kissing the hand he held. "Please don't leave us Hiro..."

The second Shuichi had left the room; K could hold it in no more. He cried, harder than he had before. He couldn't live without Hiro either, but to say that around anyone would make them look at him differently. He didn't want anyone but Hiro to know, thankfully, Hiro did.

"Don't leave me." He whispered, placing a tender kiss on the boy's forehead. "Fight it. I know you can." For a second there, he could have sworn he'd felt the boy's hand tighten around his, but maybe he was just imagining things.

"Hello? Are you in here?" Shuichi stepped into his next room, not seeing anyone. "Please answer me...it's Shuichi..."

"Shuichi-kun..." a timid voice whispered from just under the window.

"There you are...are you alright?" he ran to the boy and knelt down, resting a hand on the teenager's shoulder.

"Shuichi-kun..." he repeated, wrapping his arms slowly around the older boy and pulling himself close at the same speed. "Thank you for coming to see me. I missed you."

"I missed you more." He held the boy back, kissing his temple softly. "We'll be able to go home soon...I was thinking, maybe...you could stay with me and Yuki until you're ready to start a new life..."

"I want to..." there was uneasiness in his voice, like he was just saying it to say SOMETHING. "I want to live with you, but I'd be a burden. That man offered me the same thing. He wanted me to stay with him until I was ready to go...but I'm just a burden to everybody..."

"You mean K? No, you're not a burden at all. We're offering because we want to, not because we NEED to."

"But I always get in the way, no matter how hard I try to disappear."

"You're not going to be in the way, not anymore." He held the boy tighter. "I'll let you decide who you want to stay with, and I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" He smiled, standing up and pulling the teenager with him. He led the younger boy to the bed and made him lay down on it. "You DO deserve to sleep in this bed. This place is for making people get better, not worse. Sleep in the bed tonight, with these blankets covering you. The blankets will help a lot. Don't keep torturing yourself like this. That man isn't going to hurt you again. He's never going to be in your life again." He kissed the boy's cheek gently and pulled the blankets over him, starting for the door.

"Oi, Shuichi-kun..."

"Hn? Yeah?" he paused, turning for the bed.

"I remembered. Your words made me remember."

"What did you remember?"

"My name. My real name: Azrael."

Shuichi couldn't help but smile, running to the bed and throwing his arms around the boy. "I'm glad. I'm glad that you finally remembered. I'm so proud of you, Azrael..." he laughed, losing his whisper tone for a moment. "Thank goodness."

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