Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Love Hina.
Pre-Read by: HinaGuy749 & DeathofHell
Keitaro...I'm Pregnant: Regret
Sitting in the waiting room of the hospital seems to take forever, no matter what you're waiting for. Usually, I'm waiting for Shinobu to be done with Dr. Nagura's checkup on her and the baby. I don't mind waiting for that since the end result is always that she and the baby are fine. But this time, it's different. This time I'm waiting to see if Raymond will live or die after the beating he took from the girls. I can only imagine what he went through. Sure, they have beaten me up numerous times, but never have I been sent to the hospital because of it. I look up at the clock. Its one now. Man! I have been here for nearly two hours now, with no knowledge of his condition.
"Dammit!" I cursed at myself, pounding my fist at the table. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve any of this. It's my fault. I should be lying in that hospital bed right now. Not him. He's just a casualty of my cowardness for not telling the residents earlier about the relationship Shinobu and I have.
"Keitaro!" I hear in a distance. I turn my head towards the voice and see familiar faces running towards me.
"Billy!" Steve says as he, Mark and Jill surround me, breathing heavily. I called them as soon as I arrived at the hospital. I didn't want to tell them about Raymond, but they're his friends. They deserve to know. "We ran from the apartment once you told us about Raymond."
"Is he alright?" Jill cries, being serious for the first time since I have met her.
"I don't know." I say, looking up at them. "The paramedics told me to wait here when we got to the hospital. I've been waiting for them to tell me his status since for nearly two hours." None of them seem to take it very well, looking very sad.
"We'll...keep you company," Mark depressingly says, sitting next to me with his head down. Steve also sits next to me, staring at a magazine while Jill sits away from us on a chair, covering her face, hearing faint crying. They're all upset about their friend and I don't blame them, but I do not dare tell them the details. It was horrifying to see Raymond like that. I don't want to have the image of Raymond all bloodily up in the living room in their minds. Shoot! I don't even want it in my mind!
The wait seems to take hours, but it's only been 25 minutes since they arrived. None of them has moved from their spots. Steve continues to stare at the magazine. I want to hand it to him, but it's in Japanese. Mark waits very patiently, better then I am. Jill continues to cry. I look into the empty hallway for a few second when a man in the white coat appears. I have been seeing this sight for a while now, hoping this is the doctor that can tell us about Raymond. Everyone I have seen had either walked away or gone through a door, but this one is walking towards us.
"Hello. Are you here for Raymond Ancheta?" I shoot myself up from my seat. The guys do also as Jill slowly stops crying, getting herself up as well. We all nod our heads.
"We're here for Raymond," I say. "Can you please tell us about his current condition?"
"Are you a family member?" I found this question to be surprising. What would he want to know that?
"No doctor. I'm not."
"Then I'm sorry. I can't give you any information about his status without a family member present. Hospital policy." I'm horrify! We're all here, not knowing how Raymond is doing and still the doctor won't let us know how he's doing because of a stupid policy? I'm furious and about to give him a piece of my mind when Mark speaks.
"Doc, I'm his brother."
"You are?" he ask, looking like he doesn't believe him. The rest of us can't either, not understand why he's lying.
"Dammit doc!" He pulls out his wallet, takes out a big folded up piece of paper & hands it to him. "Here's your proof!" The doctor opens the folded up paper and scans it quickly.
"Well, I'll be damn," he says, folding it back up and handing it to Mark. "Sorry about my rudeness towards you."
"Then tell us about my brother." I don't know what he shown the doctor, but it's going to work. The doctor exhales before speaking.
"Your brother was brutally beaten. There were small cuts and bruising all round the front of his legs, torso, and arms. There was a larger cuts on the top of his head. I believe he was stuck with a bottle since there was pieces of glass in his hair. I stitched over 50 separate wounds, including the one on his head before I stopped counting. Right now, he's currently in a coma." I begin to breath hard, wondering what in the world the girls did to him. I also feel responsible for putting him and his friends through this ordeal. They look like they're in a dream they just can't wake up from.
"Coma?" Jill ask in a weak voice.
"I'm afraid so."
"Do you have any idea when he might wake up?"
"To be honest, I don't know if he will wake up." I felt something piercing my heart and stomach as the doctor's words repeat over and over again in my head. "His conduction is so severe that I find it a miracle that he isn't a DOA."
"DOA?" I say, not understanding the term. "What does that mean?"
"Dead on arrival. Apparently, some of the paramedics told me that a man was giving him CPR while a young lady was applying pressure to a serious cut on his abdomen when they arrived."
"I was the one giving him CPR. My girlfriend was applying the pressure." I nervously wait for the doctor's comment, feeling like I did something wrong.
"Well son, good work. I think because of you and your girlfriend's quick thinking and help, he is in this conduction and we'll do our best to revive him." Although I should feel some good about keeping Raymond alive, I don't. I feel sick that I couldn't get him out of the coma. It's all my fault.
"Can we see him now?" Mark ask.
"Sure. Take a left at the end of the hall and it's the third door on your left." We thank the doctor and head our way towards the room.
"Hey Mark. What did you show the doctor that made him believe Raymond is your brother?"
"Oh that. It's a document that shows we are brothers."
"What?!" We yell out, feeling embarrass when we see nurses and patients staring at us.
"How and why do you have something like that?" Jill ask.
"It's a long story."
We finally reach the door and let ourselves in. I check to see where Raymond is, but there is only one person in a hospital bed. It's a strange sight to see someone you know and care for lying in one. But when you add the tube in his mouth, several cuts on his arms and sounds of the heart monitor on, it's too unbearable to witness. I hear someone whimpering behind me. I turn around to see Jill with huge tears running down her face.
"I'm sorry guys, but I can't take seeing him like this." Before any of us could react, she bolts out the door. I really don't blame her for that. I myself would want to throw-up right now.
"I'll keep her company," Steve says, giving a somewhat hearted smile before chasing after her.
I turn to Mark who is looking at Raymond. The expression on his face looks stone cold, showing no emotion, but I know deep down he's hurting badly. I look at Raymond, still motionless, wondering if he'll come out of this. Watching him helplessly, I still feel I should be on that hospital bed, bruised and batter by the girls. Not him.
"You know Keitaro," Mark begins. "Whether you like to hear this or not, this isn't your fault."
"I know you're trying to cheer me up, but it should be me lying there. Not Raymond."
"You know, if both of you switched places, he would say the same thing." I'm kind of confused to be hearing this. I mean, this was a problem between only Shinobu and I.
"Why?"
"Because you're going to be the father of Shinobu's baby. He just wanted to make sure that would happened."
"I guess he talked to you about our situation."
"Actually, he never did. I just observed the way the girls at the apartments were acting towards Raymond." I'm surprised about this. They both call each other 'bro' or 'brother' and seem to be very close.
"So he never opened up about this stuff to you?"
"Nope. He's too stubborn to talk about this to me. Besides, you and Shinobu aren't the first couple he helped."
"What?!" I shocking shout out. "You mean he had done this before?" He smiles and nods his head.
"Yep."
"When was this?" He pulls out his wallet, opens it up and hands it to me. I look at the picture, seeing four guys carrying a girl about chest height. I'm surprise to recognize Mark and Raymond in the picture, but the two guys don't look remotely like Steve and the girl looks Japanese. "Who are these people? And where are Steve and Jill?"
"Those are our friends during our time in high school. We didn't meet Jill, Steve or Fong Ling until college."
"Oh. So, what are their names?" He comes towards me, looking overhead at the picture.
"Well, the girl we're all holding is Yoko Suzuki. Her, Raymond and I have been friends since the 4th grade. The guy next to Raymond, who's holding her legs is Bruce McGivern. We told you about him before. And the guy between us and holding her...well...chest area is Kevin Ryman. We meet him in high school and all five of us became friends." They look very happy at that moment, but it bothers me that neither Mark, nor Raymond ever told me about Yoko or Kevin until now. So why tell me at all?
"It's a nice picture you have, but what does this have to do with Raymond lying on a hospital bed and the situation with Shinobu and I?"
"Because Yoko and Kevin started dating at the time this picture was taken." It didn't hit for a few seconds. I was looking at the both of them. Then I realized what Mark meant.
"Wait a minute. You mean..."
"Kevin got Yoko pregnant in the middle of our senior year." I froze up, not believing that Raymond has done this before. He did tell Shinobu and I that he doesn't have a father, but the fact that he already has some experience in this is unbelievable.
"So, he knows what he's doing."
"I don't think so. Although you and Shinobu share similarly with Kevin and Yoko, both situations are very different."
"Oh? How so?" He slowly turns his head towards me, hearing a crack in his neck.
"You're not trying to leave Shinobu and the baby." I never understood why men would leave a girl he impregnated. It never makes any sense to me.
"What happened?"
"When Yoko found out she was pregnant, her parents threw her out of the house for dishonoring them. She told Kevin everything and tried to stay with him and his family, but he actually broke their relationship off and told her never to come back. It was a sick sight when I opened my front door to see her crying and wanting shelter."
"She stayed with you then?"
"Yeah. She wasn't really close to Bruce like she is with us and she didn't want to bother Raymond's family since they were getting help from other family members. My family is small, just my mom, dad and little brother, so she wasn't a burden to have around. Anyway, Kevin stopped hanging out with us after that. Bruce and Raymond wondered why, so Yoko told them about the situation. Bruce was actually helpful, coming to the house on weekends to help her around even though he was busy with a lot of things in high school. Raymond on the other hand didn't say a word to us about this and soon leave the three of us alone. Yoko was devastated since she thought of us as her brothers. I thought he was jealous and wanted to be her boyfriend or anger like her parents before I learned the truth."
"Truth? What was it?"
"It's hard for me to explain without tell you what happened."
"Then tell me."
"Alright. Well, since Yoko was living with us, we always drove to school together. One day, just before we were about to leave, I forgot my P.E. clothes. I told her to wait in the car and ran to the boy's locker room. As I entered, I immediately saw Raymond and Kevin arguing. I knew Raymond had track practice, but didn't know why Kevin was there. I hid between the lockers to listen in."
"What were they auguring about?"
"Raymond wanted to know why he was leaving Yoko and their baby. Kevin wouldn't reply. He asked again and again, but he still wouldn't reply. Finally, Raymond threaten to beat him up and Kevin was saying something about how he was bigger and stronger before I heard a loud slap. I peaked to the side and saw Kevin on the floor."
"Raymond actually hit him?"
"Apparently. Kevin kept saying 'you hit me' over and over. I saw the rage in Raymond's eyes and knew that he was going to get his answer one was or another. I really thought those two were going to fight, but Kevin told him what he wanted to know. He explained that he got a football scholarship to the University of Oregon. As great as that sounds, he knew he would be on his own and had no way of helping Yoko or their baby. He decided that he might as well go to Oregon alone and leave Yoko and their baby behind." I was shocked about that explanation.
"What? That's doesn't make any sense."
"I agree. And so did Raymond. He argued that he should bring them with him and find a way to support them. He didn't know how and they kept on arguing before Kevin asked why he couldn't take care of her and their baby. That was when he told the truth."
"Which was?"
"He said to him 'Every child should know their dad'." His words reminded me of what Raymond said the first time Shinobu and I were alone with him. It's kind of a shocker that's his quote for life.
"But they were friends, right? Didn't Kevin know that Raymond didn't have a dad?" Mark shakes his head
"No. He didn't. You have to know that Raymond was the only one without a dad. He felt ashamed not having, even though his dad died heroically."
"But he told you."
"Again...no. Before we meet Kevin in high school, Yoko, Bruce and I noticed that none of us had been to Raymond's house. When we asked to come over, he got all angry at us and didn't hang with us for a few weeks. We check the phonebook to see if his address was there and when we saw it, we went over to see him. That was when we found out about his father. He's better now, unashamed that he has no father. He misses him very much and still does to this day." I took in everything Mark told me. I looked at Raymond, understanding why he would take the abuse from the girls.
"I...I...I don't know what to say."
"It's alright. I didn't want a responds. Anyway, when Raymond told Kevin about how he felt living without his father, Kevin took everything in and without hesitation, he told him that he'll help Yoko and their baby since he could never imagine growing up without his father. They shook hands in agreement as Kevin kept saying that he'll be a great father to his child. He asked where Yoko was and that was when I decided to pop out. They were surprised to see me, but Raymond knew Yoko was staying with me. I told Kevin this and he wanted to immediately see her. I grabbed my gym clothes and realized we all been in the locker room for an hour. I knew Yoko would be mad at me and saw it in her face, standing next to my car when I entered the parking lot. It changed when she watch Kevin standing next to me."
"So...what happened with those two?"
"They're living together near the university with their daughter, Cindy. We still communicate with each other, mostly using e-mail." I see him trembling, holding his right hand tight in a fist. "I don't think I can tell them about this. I don't want them to imagine what I'm seeing."
"I understand." There is a long silences between us before we hear the door opening. We turn to see Steve holding onto Jill, crying into his shirt. She turns towards us with a few tear drops running down her face.
"Is he any better?"
"His condition is still the same," Mark answers. They come and stand next to us, watching Raymond lying in bed. The room is really quiet, with the exceptions the heart monitor, the respirator and a few other machines that I'm seeing for the first time. I hear the door opening again and think it's one of the nurse since no one is moving. That is, until I hear a familiar voice.
"Keitaro? Are you in here?" I can feel my heart beating faster and blood pumping. I quickly turn to see Shinobu peaking out of the door. I rush towards her, put her in my arms and cry. I know she wants to know why I am crying and the status of Raymond, feeling her stroking my hair.
"He's in a coma Shinobu," I manage to cry out. "There is nothing we can do, but hope." I pull back and see the look of worry and heartache in her eyes that I remember when we first met. She has grown over the years, but that look hasn't changed. As I pull her out of the doorway, I see the rest of the residents. "What are you all doing here?"
"They're sorry for what they have done to Raymond and wanted to see how he's doing," Shinobu tells me. I have a problem with them being here since I have a feeling that I will occupy the empty bed next to him.
"Is that so?"
"We're all sorry for what we have done to Raymond," Kitsune says. The looks on their faces appears to be of sorrow, but I still don't trust them at this moment.
"And we're sorry for not accepting your love and relationship towards Shinobu," Su adds. This comes as a surprise, but somewhere deep down, I knew Shinobu would make them see. I let my guard down and hear a blood-curling scream from behind. I take a look to see Jill pushing Steve away with an angry expression.
"YOU EVIL LITTLE MONSTERS! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" In a blink of an eye, she runs towards us. I don't know what ticked her off, but I have to stop her. I run towards her so Shinobu won't get hurt when we collide and grab her in my arms. The momentum of the crash causes us to fall on the floor. She is surprisingly strong, trying to get out of my grasps.
"Hey! I could use a little help here!" I yell, looking at Mark and Steve. Both run towards us and each grabs one of her arms. She continues to fight while I pick myself off the floor. "Can you please explain why she went all crazy?"
"She asked me what Shinobu said to you," Mark answers. "When I translated, she just lost it." Him and Steve still struggle holding down Jill.
"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" She repeatedly cries. After about a minute, she stops screaming, but continues to cry, dropping to her knees. All the residents were scare to come in the room throughout her tirade, but now have enter because of her weaken state.
"We are very sorry for what we have done to your friend," Motoko says to them. "We didn't means to hurt him this badly."
"OH? How badly did you want to hurt him? Until he died?!" Jill, looking very irate, tries to get up, but appears to be fatigued. The guys on the other hand, look just as angry as Jill.
The Americans argue about how they treated their friend, while surprisingly, the residents are trying to convince them they didn't mean to harm them this bad. I feel someone digging their face into my side. I don't need to see that it's Shinobu since everyone else is on the other side of the room. I put my arm around her, looking back at Raymond. I don't know if she's looking at him right now, but it's still a hard sight to see. Without warning, the tube in his mouth flies out.
"Raymond?" I yell out, hearing everyone quiets down. I feel Shinobu moving her head, guessing that she's looking at him. I see everyone else is too before he immediately sits up with his eyes wide open, staring at us.
"Get me the green syringe! Get me the green syringe! Get me the green syringe!" We would have to excited to see him alive, even though he's acting a little crazy. However, when he's asking for the green syringe, he's speaking in Japanese! I'm always hanging around him either at school or at the Hinata Sou and the only Japanese he knows is...well...he doesn't know a single word of Japanese!
Everyone looks fearful of him as he keeps repeating himself, looking very possessed. I can hear Steve and Jill asking Mark to translate for them, but nothing is coming out of his mouth. I feel Shinobu holding me tighter, being scare herself. My mind is wondering what is wrong with him, wanting to help. For some reason, my body knows what to do.
Feeling like I have no control of my body anymore, I let go of Shinobu and run out of the room. I continue running in the hallway, seeming to be looking for something. I reach the waiting room, where I see the doctor who checked on Raymond and a nurse rolling a cart of needles. I ignore them at first until I take a closer look at them and see that they're filled with a green liquid. Without hesitating, run over to them, grab a needle and run back to everyone. I can hear the doctor and nurse yelling at me, telling me to stop and hand over the needle as they chase me.
Once I'm back into the room, Mark, Shinobu and Mutsumi are around Raymond's bed, trying to calm him down as he continues to ask for the green syringe. I rush over to him and show the needle in my hand.
"Is this what you want?" He viciously looks at me. When he sees the needle, he grabs it from my hand, turns it towards him and jams it into his heart, squeezing the substance into it just as the doctor and nurse arrive. Once all the substance goes in Raymond's body, he lets go of the needle, stucking in his chest. He lets out a few quickly breathes before he falls back onto the bed as we all hear the heart monitor go flat.
Note: In case you didn't notice or are confuse, I did change my name from YinYang175 to ShinobuFan175.
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