Disclaimer: Not mine
TK groaned as he came to. He had immense pain in his stomach and he felt very dizzy. When he opened his eyes he saw that he was in a hospital room, alone.
"Excuse me," he called out weakly to the next nurse who came by the door.
"You're awake!" she exclaimed. "This is wonderful, we thought we were going to lose you."
"Please, where are my friends? There should have been five others."
"I'm sorry dear, but only one other besides you made it."
This hit TK like a ton of bricks. He sank back in shock. "Who---who else made it?" he asked after several minutes.
"She won't tell us her name."
'She.' TK thought, 'That means Chi and Ro are dead for sure.'
"She keeps calling for her onii-san," the nurse continued.
TK shot up, ignoring the pain. "That's me. Can I go see her?"
"Yes. I never would have guessed that you two were related. You look so different," she said while helping TK up.
TK decided that he needed to tell her the truth. "Well...we're not. The six of us were runaways and we formed a surrogate family. I was like a big brother to all of them; that's why she called me onii-san."
"You poor dears!" the nurse exclaimed before her attitude grew very serious. "Since you are runaways, I'll need you to tell me your name and home city; hers too. Ages wouldn't hurt either. We'll also need you to identify the bodies after you see your friend."
"Are you going to contact our families?" TK asked warily.
"We have to. Policy you know."
TK nodded slowly. I'm Takaishi Takeru from Odaiba. I'm 14. I can't tell you about my friend until I see her."
"Alright, let's go."
TK followed the nurse out into the hall. They walked to the end and into another room. There, on the hospital bed, was Mickey.
"Mickey!" he cried as he darted to the bed.
"TK! I was so afraid you had died! Nobody else made it." she added in a quieter voice before breaking into tears.
"I know, I know. But everything will work out, I promise." this TK whispered to her, but he knew she heard.
'Poor Mickey, she must have been exhausted. It only took her a couple of minutes to cry herself to sleep.' TK laid her back down and got up carefully, trying not to aggravate his own injuries.
When he turned the nurse was by the door. "We had someone call your parents Takeru, but they're both out of the country. Are there any other immediate family members that we could reach?"
TK thought a minute. "My brother, Yamato. He lives with my dad, but you could call his cell phone."
"Great. What's the number?"
"555-0374." TK was surprised he still remembered.
"Alright," the nurse said as she handed the paper to another nurse. "Now what can you tell me about your friend?"
"She's Asunama Sumiko from Kyoto. She's 11."
"Good. Now, I know this may be hard, but I need you to come identify your friends' bodies. Okay?"
'No not okay!' TK thought 'I can't do this; but I have to. For my friends sakes.' "Okay," he said out loud.
Smiling the nurse led TK to a part of the hospital that was freezing cold.
'How can she be so happy?! I have to go identify my friends', no make that my families', bodies and she's smiling like Christmas came early!' the nurse didn't notice the glares TK was giving her as she led him into a brightly lit white room.
*
Matt was walking aimlessly down the streets of Odaiba feeling depressed. He had had a horrible dream the past night about TK getting killed after he ran away and it was now eating away at his mind.
The police had stopped looking for TK after 2 weeks and had placed him on the 'Most Likely Dead' list. Matt seemed to be the only one to believe that TK would come back, even Kari had given up hope.
He jumped as his cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was a private number.
"Hello," he answered.
"Good day," replied a very professional-sounding voice, "Is this Ishida Yamato to whom I am speaking?"
"Yes, it is. Who is this?"
"I am calling from Osaka Hospital. We have your brother Takaishi Takeru here."
Matt stopped dead in his tracks. "Y-you do? How is he?!"
"Well, he was shot twice in the stomach and lost a lot of blood. He's also suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. He was unconscious for 3 days, but now that he's awake he should make a full recovery."
Matt had paled considerably during the report.
"Would it be at all possible for you to come see him as both of your parents are currently out of the country?" the woman asked without missing a beat.
"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." Matt hung up the phone and made a beeline for the bus station.
*
TK walked out of the room and resisted the urge to run out of the hospital. His friends had all been lying on big metal tables when he walked in. They hadn't been cleaned up at all, so dried blood was everywhere.
He had seen Ro first. The young boy had been shot just once, right through the heart. Hannah was next. She had been shot twice; once in the chest and once in the neck. Chi was on the next table. He had been shot once in the head. Kira was last. She had been shot 3 times in the chest.
TK knew that he was never going to be able to forget what he saw in that room. His only consolation was that their faces looked peaceful; and the doctors had said that all the deaths were instantaneous and they had felt no pain.
TK jumped as hands were placed on his shoulders. He turned to see that same smiling nurse.
"Good news Takeru. We called your brother and he should be here in a few hours. Why don't I take you back to your room and you can get some rest? You look positively pale as a ghost."
TK just nodded numbly and followed her, wishing that this were just a horrible nightmare. But he knew that it was all too real.
*
Matt was out of the bus almost before it stopped. He darted into the hospital and narrowly avoided colliding with several people before getting to the receptionist.
"I'm looking for Takaishi Takeru, please. I'm his brother."
The receptionist turned to the computer before standing up. "This way please."
Matt followed her to a room just down the hall. She knocked on the door before opening it. "He's right in there."
"Thank you." Matt said as he walked in the room. TK was sitting on the bed looking out the window. He turned when Matt came in.
Matt ran to him and enveloped him in a very tight hug. TK tensed for a few seconds, but then relaxed and returned the hug.
As soon as Matt was sure TK wasn't going to disappear, he pulled back and looked him over. He frowned when he saw the scar on TK's face. His frown deepened when he saw how pale and weak TK looked.
"What happened to you otouto-san?" Matt asked quietly.
"A lot." TK left it at that.
"Why did you run away? You always seemed so-"
"happy?" TK said bitterly cutting Matt off. "Perfect kid with the perfect life right? Who listened and helped everyone with their problems but never had any of his own."
Matt's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the bitterness and hate that ran through his little brother's voice. "I guess we expected too much of you. Sorry squirt." Matt looked down, not wanting to meet TK's eyes.
"It's okay Matt. It's not really your fault, or anyone else's. I guess I just got really stressed and running seemed like the perfect solution."
"Why didn't you come back? We were all so worried about you."
"You were?" TK asked surprised, "I didn't think anyone would notice."
Matt was shocked again. "Of course we noticed! How could you think we wouldn't?!... But you didn't answer my question. Why didn't you come back?"
"At first I didn't think I could; but later, after I met the others, I didn't really want to."
"Others?"
"Yeah. There were 6 of us, now it's down to 2." TK sighed and looked down.
Matt placed a comforting hand around TK's shoulders. "Do you want to tell me what happened to you these past months?"
TK sighed again and nodded. The words rolled off his tongue easily, as if they had been waiting to be said. He told Matt everything: meeting Kira and the others, how they were a family, the dinner conversation about their siblings, how they all came and talked to him, what happened with Hannah and Mickey and how he got his scar, running out of food and going to East Side, how he felt responsible, and how he visited Mickey and had to identify his friend's bodies.
When TK had finished Matt couldn't believe it. "Oh TK. I'm so sorry." Matt pulled TK into another tight hug, still trying to comprehend what his little brother had gone through.
After a few minutes TK pulled away. "Don't be sorry. What happened happened, and unfortunately we can't change that. I do miss them though, a lot."
Suddenly the door opened and Mickey came in. "Onii-san," she started in a tiny voice, "can I stay with you for a while. I really don't want to go back to my room."
"Of course you can stay here. Why don't you want to go back to your room?" he asked as Mickey came and sat by him.
It was then that Mickey noticed Matt. He had been hidden from her view when she first came in. Her eyes widened and she clung to TK.
Matt was startled and confused by her reaction to him, but TK seemed to know exactly what was wrong.
"It's alright Mickey," he reassured her, "you can trust him. Now why don't you want to go back to your room?"
Mickey sighed, "My mom's in there, my sister too. They want to take me home"
"And you don't want to go, right?"
"Not really. Home was horrible, that's why I ran."
"Things might have changed. You won't know unless you give it a chance. If nothing has changed, and you absolutely can't stand it, then you could always run again."
"Are you going to run again?" Mickey asked TK.
"I don't know." TK admitted, "After what's happened I just want to go home. I don't know if I'll stay or not."
"I guess I should go talk to them, huh?"
"Only if you want to."
"I do. Thanks Onii-san." She said as she started towards the door.
"No problem Imotouto-san. I'll come see you later."
"Did you mean what you said about running away again?" Matt asked TK after Mickey had left.
"Yes. Why? Are you worried I'll leave again?"
"Well, yeah."
"Don't worry about it. As long as you want me to stay, I will. I promise."
"Matt nodded, "I trust you. Now why don't you get some sleep, you look exhausted." he said his voice taking on the big brother in charge tone.
TK shook his head "I'm fine."
"You need your rest." Matt said persistently as he pushed TK down on the bed, gently but firmly.
"Ugh...fine." TK said, admitting defeat.
*
TK spent the majority of the next two days sleeping and regaining his strength. On the third day he was released. He and Matt were about to leave when Mickey came in.
"You leaving?" she asked.
"Yeah, you?"
"Yeah," she paused, "Um...TK, do you think.... could we...go back? Just one last time?"
"Sure. Why not?" TK replied smiling as he saw Mickey's eyes light up.
"Thank you Onii-san!" she said as she gave him a hug.
"Let's go," he said as he Mickey and Matt walked out of the hospital.
The three walked down through town and past East Side. Mickey and TK both shuddered as they walked past. They finally made it to the warehouse district.
"Home sweet home," Mickey announced as they reached 14A.
The three looked around. It was as if they had never left. Their stuff was all exactly where it had been that night and Mickey and TK half expected Hannah, Kira, Chi, and Ro to come out at any time. All three walked around; Mickey and TK reliving memories, and Matt just looking.
"Is this where you stayed?" Matt asked.
TK nodded, "It's not much, but it was home."
"Yeah," Mickey agreed, "We had some really good times here; lots of memories." She looked outside and sighed. "It's getting late...we should go."
"Yeah, we should."
The three walked back in silence. When they got to the hospital they saw Mickey's mom out front with a taxi. "Come on Sumiko!" she called.
"I guess this is goodbye kid." TK said.
"I'll miss you," she said with tears in here eyes.
"I'll miss you too. But we'll see each other again."
"We will?"
"Yep. I'll come visit you sometime. If my mom ever lets me out of the house again." He added jokingly.
"I'll hold you to that." she said as she gave TK a hug before running to meet her mom. "Bye TK!"
"Bye Mickey."
TK then turned to Matt. "We should get to the bus station," he stated.
"You gonna be okay TK?" Matt asked concerned.
TK nodded slowly. "I'll be fine. Now let's go home."
"Alright."
As they walked TK thought about the past few months. Strangely he had no real regrets. If he had the opportunity to go back in time and not run, he wouldn't stop himself. The memories he had were priceless and he wouldn't trade them for anything, except to have his friends back. Suddenly a quote Kira had once told him came to his mind. He smiled at the memory.
The quote was: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
And that's exactly what TK did.
Fin.
TK groaned as he came to. He had immense pain in his stomach and he felt very dizzy. When he opened his eyes he saw that he was in a hospital room, alone.
"Excuse me," he called out weakly to the next nurse who came by the door.
"You're awake!" she exclaimed. "This is wonderful, we thought we were going to lose you."
"Please, where are my friends? There should have been five others."
"I'm sorry dear, but only one other besides you made it."
This hit TK like a ton of bricks. He sank back in shock. "Who---who else made it?" he asked after several minutes.
"She won't tell us her name."
'She.' TK thought, 'That means Chi and Ro are dead for sure.'
"She keeps calling for her onii-san," the nurse continued.
TK shot up, ignoring the pain. "That's me. Can I go see her?"
"Yes. I never would have guessed that you two were related. You look so different," she said while helping TK up.
TK decided that he needed to tell her the truth. "Well...we're not. The six of us were runaways and we formed a surrogate family. I was like a big brother to all of them; that's why she called me onii-san."
"You poor dears!" the nurse exclaimed before her attitude grew very serious. "Since you are runaways, I'll need you to tell me your name and home city; hers too. Ages wouldn't hurt either. We'll also need you to identify the bodies after you see your friend."
"Are you going to contact our families?" TK asked warily.
"We have to. Policy you know."
TK nodded slowly. I'm Takaishi Takeru from Odaiba. I'm 14. I can't tell you about my friend until I see her."
"Alright, let's go."
TK followed the nurse out into the hall. They walked to the end and into another room. There, on the hospital bed, was Mickey.
"Mickey!" he cried as he darted to the bed.
"TK! I was so afraid you had died! Nobody else made it." she added in a quieter voice before breaking into tears.
"I know, I know. But everything will work out, I promise." this TK whispered to her, but he knew she heard.
'Poor Mickey, she must have been exhausted. It only took her a couple of minutes to cry herself to sleep.' TK laid her back down and got up carefully, trying not to aggravate his own injuries.
When he turned the nurse was by the door. "We had someone call your parents Takeru, but they're both out of the country. Are there any other immediate family members that we could reach?"
TK thought a minute. "My brother, Yamato. He lives with my dad, but you could call his cell phone."
"Great. What's the number?"
"555-0374." TK was surprised he still remembered.
"Alright," the nurse said as she handed the paper to another nurse. "Now what can you tell me about your friend?"
"She's Asunama Sumiko from Kyoto. She's 11."
"Good. Now, I know this may be hard, but I need you to come identify your friends' bodies. Okay?"
'No not okay!' TK thought 'I can't do this; but I have to. For my friends sakes.' "Okay," he said out loud.
Smiling the nurse led TK to a part of the hospital that was freezing cold.
'How can she be so happy?! I have to go identify my friends', no make that my families', bodies and she's smiling like Christmas came early!' the nurse didn't notice the glares TK was giving her as she led him into a brightly lit white room.
*
Matt was walking aimlessly down the streets of Odaiba feeling depressed. He had had a horrible dream the past night about TK getting killed after he ran away and it was now eating away at his mind.
The police had stopped looking for TK after 2 weeks and had placed him on the 'Most Likely Dead' list. Matt seemed to be the only one to believe that TK would come back, even Kari had given up hope.
He jumped as his cell phone rang. The caller ID said it was a private number.
"Hello," he answered.
"Good day," replied a very professional-sounding voice, "Is this Ishida Yamato to whom I am speaking?"
"Yes, it is. Who is this?"
"I am calling from Osaka Hospital. We have your brother Takaishi Takeru here."
Matt stopped dead in his tracks. "Y-you do? How is he?!"
"Well, he was shot twice in the stomach and lost a lot of blood. He's also suffering from malnutrition and dehydration. He was unconscious for 3 days, but now that he's awake he should make a full recovery."
Matt had paled considerably during the report.
"Would it be at all possible for you to come see him as both of your parents are currently out of the country?" the woman asked without missing a beat.
"Of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." Matt hung up the phone and made a beeline for the bus station.
*
TK walked out of the room and resisted the urge to run out of the hospital. His friends had all been lying on big metal tables when he walked in. They hadn't been cleaned up at all, so dried blood was everywhere.
He had seen Ro first. The young boy had been shot just once, right through the heart. Hannah was next. She had been shot twice; once in the chest and once in the neck. Chi was on the next table. He had been shot once in the head. Kira was last. She had been shot 3 times in the chest.
TK knew that he was never going to be able to forget what he saw in that room. His only consolation was that their faces looked peaceful; and the doctors had said that all the deaths were instantaneous and they had felt no pain.
TK jumped as hands were placed on his shoulders. He turned to see that same smiling nurse.
"Good news Takeru. We called your brother and he should be here in a few hours. Why don't I take you back to your room and you can get some rest? You look positively pale as a ghost."
TK just nodded numbly and followed her, wishing that this were just a horrible nightmare. But he knew that it was all too real.
*
Matt was out of the bus almost before it stopped. He darted into the hospital and narrowly avoided colliding with several people before getting to the receptionist.
"I'm looking for Takaishi Takeru, please. I'm his brother."
The receptionist turned to the computer before standing up. "This way please."
Matt followed her to a room just down the hall. She knocked on the door before opening it. "He's right in there."
"Thank you." Matt said as he walked in the room. TK was sitting on the bed looking out the window. He turned when Matt came in.
Matt ran to him and enveloped him in a very tight hug. TK tensed for a few seconds, but then relaxed and returned the hug.
As soon as Matt was sure TK wasn't going to disappear, he pulled back and looked him over. He frowned when he saw the scar on TK's face. His frown deepened when he saw how pale and weak TK looked.
"What happened to you otouto-san?" Matt asked quietly.
"A lot." TK left it at that.
"Why did you run away? You always seemed so-"
"happy?" TK said bitterly cutting Matt off. "Perfect kid with the perfect life right? Who listened and helped everyone with their problems but never had any of his own."
Matt's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the bitterness and hate that ran through his little brother's voice. "I guess we expected too much of you. Sorry squirt." Matt looked down, not wanting to meet TK's eyes.
"It's okay Matt. It's not really your fault, or anyone else's. I guess I just got really stressed and running seemed like the perfect solution."
"Why didn't you come back? We were all so worried about you."
"You were?" TK asked surprised, "I didn't think anyone would notice."
Matt was shocked again. "Of course we noticed! How could you think we wouldn't?!... But you didn't answer my question. Why didn't you come back?"
"At first I didn't think I could; but later, after I met the others, I didn't really want to."
"Others?"
"Yeah. There were 6 of us, now it's down to 2." TK sighed and looked down.
Matt placed a comforting hand around TK's shoulders. "Do you want to tell me what happened to you these past months?"
TK sighed again and nodded. The words rolled off his tongue easily, as if they had been waiting to be said. He told Matt everything: meeting Kira and the others, how they were a family, the dinner conversation about their siblings, how they all came and talked to him, what happened with Hannah and Mickey and how he got his scar, running out of food and going to East Side, how he felt responsible, and how he visited Mickey and had to identify his friend's bodies.
When TK had finished Matt couldn't believe it. "Oh TK. I'm so sorry." Matt pulled TK into another tight hug, still trying to comprehend what his little brother had gone through.
After a few minutes TK pulled away. "Don't be sorry. What happened happened, and unfortunately we can't change that. I do miss them though, a lot."
Suddenly the door opened and Mickey came in. "Onii-san," she started in a tiny voice, "can I stay with you for a while. I really don't want to go back to my room."
"Of course you can stay here. Why don't you want to go back to your room?" he asked as Mickey came and sat by him.
It was then that Mickey noticed Matt. He had been hidden from her view when she first came in. Her eyes widened and she clung to TK.
Matt was startled and confused by her reaction to him, but TK seemed to know exactly what was wrong.
"It's alright Mickey," he reassured her, "you can trust him. Now why don't you want to go back to your room?"
Mickey sighed, "My mom's in there, my sister too. They want to take me home"
"And you don't want to go, right?"
"Not really. Home was horrible, that's why I ran."
"Things might have changed. You won't know unless you give it a chance. If nothing has changed, and you absolutely can't stand it, then you could always run again."
"Are you going to run again?" Mickey asked TK.
"I don't know." TK admitted, "After what's happened I just want to go home. I don't know if I'll stay or not."
"I guess I should go talk to them, huh?"
"Only if you want to."
"I do. Thanks Onii-san." She said as she started towards the door.
"No problem Imotouto-san. I'll come see you later."
"Did you mean what you said about running away again?" Matt asked TK after Mickey had left.
"Yes. Why? Are you worried I'll leave again?"
"Well, yeah."
"Don't worry about it. As long as you want me to stay, I will. I promise."
"Matt nodded, "I trust you. Now why don't you get some sleep, you look exhausted." he said his voice taking on the big brother in charge tone.
TK shook his head "I'm fine."
"You need your rest." Matt said persistently as he pushed TK down on the bed, gently but firmly.
"Ugh...fine." TK said, admitting defeat.
*
TK spent the majority of the next two days sleeping and regaining his strength. On the third day he was released. He and Matt were about to leave when Mickey came in.
"You leaving?" she asked.
"Yeah, you?"
"Yeah," she paused, "Um...TK, do you think.... could we...go back? Just one last time?"
"Sure. Why not?" TK replied smiling as he saw Mickey's eyes light up.
"Thank you Onii-san!" she said as she gave him a hug.
"Let's go," he said as he Mickey and Matt walked out of the hospital.
The three walked down through town and past East Side. Mickey and TK both shuddered as they walked past. They finally made it to the warehouse district.
"Home sweet home," Mickey announced as they reached 14A.
The three looked around. It was as if they had never left. Their stuff was all exactly where it had been that night and Mickey and TK half expected Hannah, Kira, Chi, and Ro to come out at any time. All three walked around; Mickey and TK reliving memories, and Matt just looking.
"Is this where you stayed?" Matt asked.
TK nodded, "It's not much, but it was home."
"Yeah," Mickey agreed, "We had some really good times here; lots of memories." She looked outside and sighed. "It's getting late...we should go."
"Yeah, we should."
The three walked back in silence. When they got to the hospital they saw Mickey's mom out front with a taxi. "Come on Sumiko!" she called.
"I guess this is goodbye kid." TK said.
"I'll miss you," she said with tears in here eyes.
"I'll miss you too. But we'll see each other again."
"We will?"
"Yep. I'll come visit you sometime. If my mom ever lets me out of the house again." He added jokingly.
"I'll hold you to that." she said as she gave TK a hug before running to meet her mom. "Bye TK!"
"Bye Mickey."
TK then turned to Matt. "We should get to the bus station," he stated.
"You gonna be okay TK?" Matt asked concerned.
TK nodded slowly. "I'll be fine. Now let's go home."
"Alright."
As they walked TK thought about the past few months. Strangely he had no real regrets. If he had the opportunity to go back in time and not run, he wouldn't stop himself. The memories he had were priceless and he wouldn't trade them for anything, except to have his friends back. Suddenly a quote Kira had once told him came to his mind. He smiled at the memory.
The quote was: "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."
And that's exactly what TK did.
Fin.