Chapter Four

-----------

The nurse gave the cursory information. "Twenty-four years old, 68 kilograms, male."

She stopped and looked at him hesitantly. "Nozomi-Sensei, it's the director's son."

Nozomi felt his blood run cold as she continued to scrub him for surgery.

Twenty-four; it must be the elder son. Takahashi Ryousuke. He dreaded what he would find in the surgical room.

As Nozomi entered and stared down at the young man below him, it was obvious that his patient had passed out from trauma. He remembered Ryousuke well; tall, confident, and without any of his father's looks except the strongly set chin and mouth. Even in pain induced unconsciousness, there was a firm resolve on his face.

"Get Harada up here. Two of his right ribs are broken and I'm afraid that they may have punctured a lung."

The nurse nodded and Nozomi went to the bottom of the bed to examine Ryousuke's leg. It was set in a temporary traction splint by the paramedics and as he removed it, Nozomi's experienced eyes could see a severe break of the femur and a disfigurement in the knee.

"Let's get started, people!" he shouted. "I want to make sure he's properly sedated before Harada arrives."

----------

Manaka sped down the hallway towards the operating room. "Nurse! I have the towels!"

The woman took them from her and quickly went inside the doors.

Manaka knew she wasn't allowed inside the operating room during an emergency. She stood as close as she could to the door in an attempt to listen to the conversation the doctors and nurses were having inside.

"Doctor, do you require any benzodiazepine?"

"…no time…hurry…" The movement in the area made the voices muffled.

The surgeon's voice seemed strained. "Give me isoflurane!"

"…can't…pieced lung…depression."

His voice became urgent. "Then give me some Halothane!"

Manaka covered her mouth with her hand. Isoflurane worked extremely fast to relieve pain, but caused respiratory and cardiovascular depression. Halothane, on the other hand, did very little for pain.

"Doctor! He's convulsing!"

Manaka gasped. His injuries must have been serious. They didn't have any time to administer any type of barbiturate before the anesthesia. "He must be going into stage two…"

"Excuse me, young lady," a nurse pushed her way into the room with a cart. As the door opened, she caught a glimpse of Ryousuke on the bed with nurses beginning to run wires and tubes through his body.

Manaka didn't know what to do or how to make herself useful. Slowly she began to walk down the hallway towards the stairs to the cafeteria. Perhaps some warm tea would help her nerves. She wanted to try and comfort the family, but it wasn't her job and she didn't want to intrude.

"Manaka-chan!" exclaimed Orimi, the cashier. "What are you still doing here?"

Sure enough, her shift was over. "Just putting in some extra hours."

As she sipped her green tea on the hard cafeteria bench, Manaka contemplated her own life. Unconsciously, her hand felt the bruise on her arm. When had it all come down to this? Tomorrow was her only day off during the week and she needed to go home and sleep so she could study, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the hospital. Manaka knew that patients such as members of the Takahashi family were kept in privacy and the information would never be revealed. Her only chance of knowing what happened to Ryousuke was to wait and hope to be in the right place at the right time.

----------

When Takumi arrived at Takasaki Hospital, Kenta and Fuhimiro were already present.

"What's going on?! Where is Keiuske-san?"

The other two men looked at him with lined faces. "We don't know. The family is in the waiting room with the doctor and Keisuke is with them."

"Does anyone know how he's doing?"

Fuhimiro shook his head. "The doctors are still working on him and no one's come out yet. We'll know as soon as the family's informed."

"Fujiwara, thank you for coming." Keisuke's tired voice came from around the corner.

Takumi put a hand on his arm in silent support.

Keisuke wanted to assure the young racer that his brother would be fine, but truthfully, they didn't know anything. Ryousuke wouldn't have approved of false assurances.

"Keisuke-san," asked Kenta, "where is your FD?"

Keisuke then realized that it was still sitting in the middle of Akagi. "It's on the mountain pass."

Fuhimiro hesitated. "Do you think it's wise to leave it there?"

"Probably not," admitted Keisuke, "but I can't leave Aniki and my family right now."

"Fumihiro-san and I could get it for you if you'd like," offered Takumi. He knew that Keisuke probably wouldn't normally let other people drive his FC, but under this circumstance…

"That would be helpful," said Keisuke, fumbling for his keys. "Damn. I left them in the ignition."

"It's fine," said Fumihiro. "We'll take my car and pick it up there."

"Here, take my license, just in case there are police and they won't let you drive it away."

Takumi looked at his old teammate with questioning eyes. There was no doubt in the logic of Keisuke's statement. "Just like Ryousuke-san." Takumi whispered to himself. Keisuke's voice held the same air of constant reason and confidence that Takumi had learned to depend on in his mentor. "We'll be back soon, Keisuke-san."

Keisuke nodded, " Arigato."

-----------

Nozomi brushed his hair away from his glasses with his sleeve as he operated on Ryousuke's leg. His right femur was broken and his knee was shattered. Thankfully, it was probably the worst of his injuries, or at least the one with the furthest reaching consequences. Harada had finished on his lung earlier and Nozomi had set the two broken ribs.

It was very fortunate that his younger brother had had the sense to call an ambulance so quickly. A couple more minutes in the cold and the lung would have collapsed. How would he ever look Ryouichi in the eye then?

He shook the thoughts out of his mind and returned to work.

----------

Fumihiro gasped as his car pulled up to the accident site, which was now occupied by a fire truck, three police cars, and what appeared to be an investigator's vehicle.

A tow truck arrived moments later and began the process of loading Ryousuke's wrecked FC onto its bed. Fumihiro and Takumi watched in horror as a side piece fell off. It looked totaled and there didn't seem to be much that could be done to salvage it. Was this really the end of the White Comet of Akagi?

Ignoring the thought, Fumihiro and Takumi looked around for Keisuke's car.

The FD had been moved to the side of the road and Fumihiro sighed in relief to find the keys still on the seat. As he handed them to Takumi, a policeman ran over to them. "Stop! What do you think you people are doing?"

He handed them Keisuke's license. "We're here to bring the car to Takahashi Keisuke, the owner. He's the victim's family and doesn't want to leave the hospital right now."

The policeman looked skeptically at the license and then at the two younger men. Protocol did not allow him to release the car but it wasn't yet registered on the scene and he didn't feel any reason to distrust them. In addition, the night had been taxing enough with numerous traffic accidents that he could really do without having to deal with recording another car. "That's fine."

Fumihiro was ready to drive back, but Takumi caught the policeman before he returned to the scene. "Pardon me, but could you tell us what happened?"

The older man rubbed his forehead with his hand. "The report just came back from the hospital regarding the autopsy of the other driver." He paused. "There was alcohol involved."

Takumi clenched his fists and ground his teeth in suppressed anger. The policeman continued. "Based on the skid marks," he indicated with his flashlight, "the investigators have concluded that the Supra spun out first and, when the Mazda turned to avoid it, a piece from the Supra somehow lodged against the tire and prevented it from turning, causing the second car to spin out of control." He indicated towards the tow truck, "we found some red paint on the white car, but not enough to indicate direct collision of the two vehicles, so we can only assume at this point that it was from the piece of the Supra which flew off. We'll have a physicist from the university confirm all of this tomorrow and report to the family then, when we know for sure what happened."

The policeman tucked his flashlight into his jacket. "We can't do too much more work until the afternoon when there is more light and until then, I'm going to have to shut down the pass." He shook his head. "It's a pity; I heard from the other men here that the driver of the white car was some sort of road genius."

Takumi and Fumihiro just stood on the wet street absorbing everything they had just heard. A small portion of Takumi felt relieved that it was not Ryousuke who had lost control initially. He was much too good for something like that. Additional anger quickly overcame the short-lived relief, however as he realized the complete irresponsibility of one man took his own life and almost killed another. He felt Fumihiro's hand on his arm.

"Fujiwara, we should really get going."

"Fumihiro-san," Takumi followed the other man to the cars, "do you think we should tell Keisuke-san what the policeman just said?"

Fumihiro shook his head. "Nothing except the alcohol involvement has been confirmed yet. We should wait until we know everything." He rubbed the stubble on his chin, "I don't think the family needs any more to think about right now except for Ryousuke's well being."

Takumi nodded in agreement and as he took the keys from Fumihiro and walked towards the FD, he realized that this would be the only car he had driven besides his own, with the exception of a single run with Itsuki's Hachi-Go and Iketani's S13. He couldn't ask for a better car than his Eighty-Six, but had always been curious about driving cars like the ones he raced against. "If only the circumstances were better…"

He turned on the ignition, motioned to Fumihiro, and drove back to the hospital.

-----------

The seconds ticked incredibly slowly as Keisuke sat in the small waiting room with his family. It was already 8AM and Takumi and Fumihiro had returned home, promising to return in the evening to give the family some privacy once Ryousuke awakened. Kenta had taken some further urging but respected the family's wishes and was hauled out by Matsumoto, who arrived shortly after Takumi and Fumihiro left to retrieve the FD.

The opening of the door startled him as a middle-aged man his father called "Nozomi" entered. He assumed that this was the surgeon who had been operating on Ryousuke.

The doctor moved to the couch opposite Keisuke's parents and gave a small smile of assurance. "His injuries were not life-threatening, so that is a worry we will not have to deal with."

Takahashi Kiyori began to silently cry with relief. It was her brother-in-law who quietly offered support as Ryouichi kept questioning the doctor. "Please, Nozomi-san, tell us everything. I think all of us," he looked around at his family, "would like to know without being spared any details."

The other doctor nodded and opened his clipboard. "The major injuries consisted of a pieced lung, probably incurred when the ribs on the right side of the chest were broken by the impact. Thankfully," he said, "he was brought here in time so the lung did not collapse."

At this point, he gave a nod to Keisuke, who, in listening at rapt attention, barely noticed the look of gratitude the doctor gave him.

Continuing, Nozomi added, "As expected in these situations, there was a mild concussion and neck strain, neither of which will cause anything but some headaches and nausea when he awakens. The worst case scenario is a small series of migraines, but it's very unlikely."

Ryouichi knew what was coming. At their hospital, it was customary to first inform the family of the injuries which posed a threat to the patient's life. These were followed by the less severe injuries, and lastly, the less severe injuries which posed no threat to life, but could potentially affect the quality of it.

"Please," the aged man asked, "continue."

Nozomi nodded. "Ryousuke also incurred a hairline fracture of the wrist, which we set and should heal fine within four weeks time." He took a deep breath as the family held theirs. "I'm concerned about his right leg."

Kiryori gripped her brother-in-law's hand in her left and her husband's in her right. "What do you mean? I thought none of his injuries were life-threatening?!"

Nozomi nodded. "They aren't, but his right femur was badly broken, and being the biggest bone in the body, could take a great deal of time and physical therapy to heal. In addition, his right kneecap was basically shattered and we will have to perform another operation within two weeks to place pins and repair the damage. We may need to consider prosthetics and an arthroplasty."

"As for his femur, I've decided that, combined with the knee injuring, a traditional plaster cast will not suffice." He handed the clipboard to Ryouichi, who ran his eyes over the written prognosis and procedure referrals. "I'm going to recommend intramedullary nailing, which is basically the insertion of titanium pins in his femur to act as an internal splint. They usually reduce healing time so that we can exercise the knee as soon as possible with weight bearing exercises."

Keisuke buried his face in his hands. There was a pause in the air, as if the doctor had not finished with his prognosis.

He hadn't. "Both injuries to his right leg will require a great deal of physical therapy, especially if the arthroplasty is required. We would need to speak with a physical therapist to be more specific, but I would say about a year without the arthroplasty and with it…" Another pause.

As his mother began to cry again, Keisuke met his father's gaze and, understanding the unspoken request, went to comfort her while silently allowing his father to further question the doctor privately in an effort to not upset his wife even more than she already was.

While his mother cried silently on his broad shoulders, Keisuke stroked her short, graying hair and whispered small words of comfort that he could not yet offer himself.

As Keisuke looked up, the doctor slipped out of the room and the two older men walked towards their corner. He released his mother to his father and spoke with his uncle.

"They're cleaning and wrapping him up right now, then moving him to a suite on the fifth floor," whispered Toshiko.

"Ojichan," Keisuke whispered urgently, "what aren't you telling me?"

The older man rubbed his brow and took a deep breath before continuing. "The damage to his knee was extensive. Your father would know more, but from what I understand, with the damage done to the femur, no amount of physical therapy may be enough to restore it to full mobility if an arthroplasty is required."

Keisuke swallowed. "What is an arthroplasty?"

His father spoke to answer his question. "It's the replacement of the knee with a prosthesis. They cut the ends of the femur and tibia and the undersurface of the knee cap to fit the prosthesis in."

Seeing a look of confusion in his nephew's eyes, Toshiko gave his brother a look to cut the medical jargon.

Ryouichi's shoulder's drooped, knowing that the only other person in his family who would appreciate his medical explanation was lying unconscious in the operating room. "Normally, healing from such an operation would not be too difficult, but with the damage done to his femur, he cannot place any weight on the leg, which does not allow for proper strengthening of the knee during physical therapy. The knee will heal faster than the femur, even with the pinning method Nozomi described, and by the time Ryousuke's able to properly exercise his knee, the optimal period of physical therapy will have already passed."

Keisuke felt his heart sink. "You mean…"

Ryouichi just gave his younger son a sad look and turned towards his wife again. Toshiko went to his nephew.

"I remember when Ryousuke was five years old and solemnly told me he was going to be a 'heart operating person.'" The older man laughed dryly to himself. "Since then, he's changed and I know that he is entering residency and fellowship towards the end of the year, but from what Tsugumi's told me, he's been having doubts about it." He sighed deeply. "I know how much he loves racing and am very aware how talented he is."

Keisuke only nodded. "Of course, but what does this have to do…"

"I know," his uncle interrupted, glancing past his nephew to his brother, "that Aniki has never approved of Ryousuke doing anything but medicine." He looked again at Keisuke. "Understand, Keisuke, that your father may not be the only wall standing in his path now, and this one is beyond anyone's power to control."

The true meaning of his uncle's words hit Keisuke like a wall of bricks. "No…"

-----------

I hope you enjoy this chapter. I have sorority rush this week so I wanted to post this now in case I forgot later. The next installment should be done no later than the weekend, possibly before. Your reviews are REALLY GREAT and they help drastically in speeding up my own proofreading process for the future chapters. I like to read what people have to say about my old chapters and use those comments to either enhance or reduce aspects of the new ones that I've finished, but not yet posted. So keep them coming! Thanks so much! You've been awesome readers.

CelicaChick: Haha...I meant that with the emotional and physical torture that we are putting our favorite character through in our stories...he won't be alive to re-enter the actual anime world! I love Ryousuke and would probably seriously consider cutting Initial D out of my life if he weren't in it. He's my favorite (Not to mention my two dimensional crush).

Jamerican: Thanks! I like Keisuke too, even his hot-headed cockiness (it has it's personal appeal). It contrasts well with his brother.

niema: I'm glad you like the flashbacks and I will update the summary as best I can...please let me know if there's more that I can do.