Ch. 12
Darkless Vassion: Ryu's (his full name is Ryuichi, but he hates his real name) sensitive side is still there, but as you said, he's being captive, and that's NOT a good thing to do to Ryu. So forgive him if he's a little pissed off.... ::pats him:: the epilogue (I've already written it! I'm such an idiot! ) shows a lot of the old InuYasha... I think so, anyway.
Inu-Babe666: Thank you so much!!
Captured Moon: Kagura's one of my favorite characters, too. She's just... interesting.... ::smiles::
Boom CANADA: don't jump to conclusions, Rena-chan...
Sounds... soft sounds... a soft voice humming a familiar song... it was all so comforting. Kagome almost didn't want to open her eyes, to have to see the room that was not her own, the faces that were not her family's...
Pages rustled, and the humming stopped, slowly. A heavy sigh was drawn from the person in the bed next to her, and against her will, Kagome's eyes opened.
"Ah! You're awake!" Midori's voice entered Kagome's ears, and she sat up quickly. A small ray of sunlight drew on Hikaru's chest, as it rose and fell. Him and Ryu lay comatose on their separate beds, Hikaru snoring softly. Hikaru's book of feudalism was perched on Midori's knees.
"How long was I out... what happened?"
"You fainted!" Midori said, laughing. "And Ryu caught you right before you face planted into the ground." She tapped a socked foot on the tile. "That would have been painful, to say the least."
"Yeah..." Kagome felt her usually soft hair, only to find it was dry and tangled. Mumbling, she reached in her bag for her yellow comb and ruthlessly yanked a few tangles out, Midori watching her with mild amusement. Kagome quickly pulled her hair into a loose braid and stared listlessly at Ryu.
"Breakfast is due in about ten minutes... and there's another thunderstorm scheduled for tonight..." Midori stuck out her tongue childishly and set off to the bathroom. Kagome continued staring at Ryu, who stirred quietly. On an impulse, Kagome picked up one of Midori's pure white socks and tossed it at Ryu's sleeping form.
It missed.
She chose another sock and threw it at him again, this time hitting him on the nose. He sat up quickly, letting loose such a noise of surprise and anger that it awakened Hikaru as well.
"What the hell did you do that for??" He asked sleepily, his voice not regaining its usual sneer, this early in the morning. Kagome shrugged.
"Felt like it." She answered simply. Hikaru snorted and walked toward the bathroom. He was greeted by Midori's shrieks, upon opening the door, and he shut it quickly.
"I had no idea she was changing!" He said, laughing. Ryu laughed too, and Kagome even had to smile a little. One of Midori's shoes flew through the air and landed squarely on Hikaru's back.
"That's what you get for doing such a nasty thing, you perv!!" Midori yelled, coming out of the bathroom, her face red.
"It was worth the pain!" He countered, grinning. She glared at him, and the door opened. A tall man with gray hair stood in the doorway, his eyes downcast.
"Nayamo-san would like all his patients to report to the hall before breakfast. He has a tragic announcement to make..." The man beckoned for the four to follow him, and they did, Ryu still in his rumpled clothes from yesterday.
Nayamo stood in the center of the hall, his face contorted into an unreadable expression. He sighed heavily, and stepped onto a podium, clearing his throat. Everyone fell silent, and he smiled complacently.
"Last night, there was an electric storm, as you all know." He began, straightening his tie and blinking slowly. "My daughter, Katsuya, was cleaning the electric chair, when it turned on, accidentally, and shocked her, fatally wounding her. She died early this morning." His voice had a general tone that clearly said that he could care less that his eldest daughter was dead.
"....oh my God..." Kagome felt dizzy once again, and she wavered back, her eyes hazing. Midori grabbed her by the hand, and squeezed it tightly. Kagome looked up, to see her friend's face contorted with rage.
"That bastard doesn't even care that his own daughter was killed by the machine he uses to torture people..." She said, her anger shining through her usually kind eyes. Kagome drew in a sharp breath.
Is she thinking of Kohaku? Is that why she's so uptight about the matter? Kagome bit her lip. Midori-chan... don't do anything rash...
"Katsuya will be buried in the northern cemetery tomorrow, after an autopsy is performed. I was advised to inform you all of this tragic accident. And I hope that-"
"You jackass." Midori's voice rang over the hall, and Hikaru's eyebrows shot up over his glasses. Nayamo turned calmly to the young girl, and smiled again.
"Care to repeat that, Fujishima?"
"You are such a jackass." She pronounced clearly. "Your own daughter is dead, and you don't even care. You drive people insane with your stupid machine, and you don't even care. You ruin peoples' lives, and still, you don't care!! Your other daughter is sitting there, behind you -you think I can't see her?- and she's crying her eyes out, because her older sister is dead, and you aren't comforting her one single bit. You're the one who should be in the electric chair; you're the one who should be dead right now."
Alisa looked up when she was mentioned, her red eyes shining with tears. A small wallet sized picture was exposed in her hands, and Kagome felt she knew who the picture was of.
"I should be dead? Fujishima-" Nayamo sighed and rubbed his temples. "You think that you can say that kind of stuff to me and not be punished? Think again." He glared at Midori. "As if one time wasn't enough... you're scheduled for shock therapy tonight at six."
Kagome saw Midori's hand tighten into a fist, which started to shake. Midori took a deep breath and swallowed hard, her form shaking violently. Kagome knew she was trying to think of a sharp remark to show how unafraid she was, but none came. A rasping sound escaped from her throat, and Nayamo laughed dryly.
"Think before you act." He quoted, shrugging. "Alisa, let's go." He roughly shook his daughter by the shoulder, and with a soft whimper, she stood and followed him from the podium, out the back door.
"Nice going, Midori!" Ryu said angrily. "You just got yourself checked into another round of shock therapy!" Rolling his eyes, he turned to Hikaru, who was clearly concentrating hard on whatever was in his arms. "Hel-lo, Hikaru?? Your little girlfriend just got sentenced to shock therapy, and you're zoning out?"
"Not zoning out..." Hikaru showed Ryu a small book. The only word Kagome could read from her position was 'electricity'. "I was reading up on electric waves."
"Brought a book to breakfast... what happened to Miroku?" Midori cracked, her voice shaking.
"Do you want me to grope you?" Hikaru retorted, grinning. "No, but seriously, I figured out something last night, while Kagome was sleeping. I was wondering why on earth being electrocuted caused us to remember all these memories. And then I figured, if there was a way to uncap them, there had to be a way to re-cap them."
"Are you saying you don't want to remember this stuff anymore?" Kagome asked, puzzled.
"On the contrary! I want to make sure it never goes away!" Hikaru smiled. "I learned that I was a monk with a hot girlfriend in feudal Japan... what's not to like? But that's not the point-" He said quickly, as Midori's face flushed. "The point is, Midori, that I think you'll lose all the memories of being Sango, tonight."
"What?" Midori raised an eyebrow. "Why would that happen?"
"Actions and reactions. Didn't you ever pay attention in science? 'For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction'. The opposite reaction is being shocked while Sango's memories are intact. By the time you come back from therapy, I'm guessing you won't remember anything about feudal Japan."
"That would be terrible!" Kagome said, nervously. Midori bit her lip.
"Yeah, it would. And Hikaru, the only way to regain the memories..."
"Would be to get shocked again." Finished Ryu. "I get it." He stared out the window at the end of the hall. Dark clouds spread over the gray sky, and he sighed.
"That sucks." Midori said pointedly.
"Yes it does..." Kagome agreed, sighing. Hikaru shrugged.
"I might be wrong... you never know..." He grinned sheepishly. "It has happened, you know. But I guess we'll know tonight, hm?"
"Y-yeah..." Midori's voice broke nervously, and her face flushed even more. Kagome put her arm around her.
"Well then, tonight's the perfect time to break out of here." Ryu said, changing the subject upon seeing Midori's flushed and scared face. "We don't even have to check if the theory is right or not, because we won't be around. Right?" He glared confidently at the others.
"R-right..." Kagome answered, her voice light.
I have this terrible feeling... why do I not think that breaking out will be as easy as Ryu says? We've got Hikaru, who's some genius, and Ryu's probably got some sort of weapon in his bag. But... this doesn't seem right. At all.
She stared out the window. More clouds gathered, and the lights flickered on and off. Most of the other patients didn't even seem to notice, their tired heads bent over their food. A young girl looked up, her eyes alight with terror.
Not right at all...
But...I suppose we'll know...tonight.
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