Chapter Three: Terrifying Results

"It's called Meniere's Disease, Madam Marume," Dr. Hikaru Furiko began in a soft, sympathetic tone, almost as if she did not want to relay the news that would change the life of her patient and that of his friends and family. But she was a doctor, a professional; it was her duty to inform them about what they needed to know --- and she was going to tell them all about it, no matter what. "A rare and somewhat incomprehensible illness with very unpleasant results, believed to be due to the build-up of pressure inside the inner ear, which in turn damages the delicate sensory organs. The victim first suffers from repeated attacks of nausea and tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, and those attacks don't stop until he or she is stone deaf. Our databanks state that middle-aged individuals are usually affected by it, and that the disease progresses so slowly that deafness may never occur, but your son had just proven that the information database we've been relying on is wrong."

The look on Armelle's face was that of disbelief and denial, as if she thought that the specialist was joking around with regards to Kuroudo's condition. Her eyes were already moist with unshed tears, however, showing that no matter how hard she tried to reject the data she had been given, denying its truthfulness, she knew deep inside that she was looking at the truth face-to-face. "Deaf?" she asked in a whimper, her voice barely leaving her throat. Both her hands were clamped into fists, and she rested them against her lap forcefully, hoping to draw strength from them somehow.

The patient's closest friends, who insisted that they be told the news as well so as not to be left out, were frozen on the spot, staying in their positions in utter stillness, practically unable to move or say anything in reaction to what had just been said. The devastating blow that hit them square on their faces totally caught them off-guard; who would've thought Kuroudo would lose, of all things, his sense of hearing? He had the best pair of ears among them, able to hear almost every little sound, and that ability of his had been of great help in his Gear Fighting career. But now that his gift had been taken away, stolen unkindly and without warning, his comrades in the Tobita Club could not help but wonder how he would deal with the loss.

Dr. Furiko nodded slowly, her eyes undeniably sad. A mother and a friend herself, she was aware of the pain her patient's loved ones were feeling at the discovery. "And the disease is also difficult, if not impossible, to treat, with practically a one-in-a-million chance of recovery. The attacks may be reduced by the use of antihistamine drugs, but the condition will continue to progress. The best solution would be surgery, but not only is it costly…" her voice trailed off, not knowing if she should continue, for the last option wasn't exactly what one would call a solution. She took a moment to take a sufficient amount of air in, then finished, "…it will involve the surgical destruction of the inner ear, causing complete deafness but relieving the patient of nausea and tinnitus."

"God, no…" the blond woman managed to blurt out in a whisper, her face paling considerably that the doctor feared that Armelle would not be unable to take it anymore and lose consciousness. Her words, however, were seconded by gasps from her younger companions, all of them as devastated as she was.

"Isn't there any other way?! Any other surgical method?! Anything?!" Kyousuke half-yelled in a frustrated, angry tone, rising from his seat with his hands clamped together tightly at his sides and tears squinting through his eyes, evident despite the spectacles he was wearing. Kuroudo was the closest he had to a brother, and there was no way he was going to sit down and take the news like it was nothing to worry about. He had done everything he could for his best friend in the past, one of his courses of action even resulting to the near-destruction of their friendship, and he would do the same now. He would do everything and anything just for him.

But Dr. Furiko only shook her head, she herself wishing there was another way.

Armelle was permitted to take her son home the very next day, but not without being told everything that she needed to do not only in case of emergency, but for the patient's situation as a whole. She tried as hard as she could to keep a carefree disposition as one of the medical personnel drove them back to their residence, but it only took one look at Kuroudo's pale face to blow the façade away. He looked so dispirited, so melancholic yet so apathetic and bitter at the same time. His turquoise eyes looked as if they were made out of glass --- sharp as if lined with anger; cold as if frozen in ice. His expressive lips, on the other hand, seemed to take only two forms: a downward curl that would reflect his sorrow; or a thin, slightly diagonal line that was closest to a scowl.

Though he wasn't completely deaf, all he could hear was a buzzing noise that appeared to come from the back of his head, like a swarm of bees stalking him, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Extremely annoyed by the only sound his ears would permit him to hear, he had decided to undergo surgery, despite his mother's protests that it wasn't going to do him any good. "But if this is what I'll be listening to for the rest of my life," he had written angrily during their discussion of the different options Dr. Furiko told them about just the night before, "I'd rather not hear a thing at all."

He rested against the soft-cushioned seat, the look of indifference staining his handsome features as he gazed far away, his thoughts far. He had lived a good, prosperous and successful life despite his father's absence --- in the Gear Fighting world, most especially --- but it only took one disease to take away all his plans, dreams and aspirations for the future, one disease to destroy all that he had worked for and achieved. And Kuroudo knew, with a high level of certainty, that he didn't have the heart, just as he didn't have the hearing, to take part in a Crush Gear battle ever again.

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Author's Notes: I told Hareta that I'd update if I get a good score in our Math exam, but fortunately I found the time and the right mood to write despite of the terrible result, so there it was, the new chapter. I know that making Kuroudo deaf is something really evil, but well, plot calls. I usually write fics based on 'what if's, and that was the what if that came to my mind, so… I sorted the details out and decided to write! And here's the fic. *grins* So anyway, thanks for taking your time to read; comments will be very much appreciated!