Chapter Five
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Ryouichi's hand slammed down on the table. "This is unacceptable!"
The policeman patted his old friend's shoulder. "Ryouichi-san, I'm sorry about what happened, but there's no more we can do."
"I want his entire family sued! I want formal charges! I want…I…" The older Takahashi sunk down in the chair in his office and buried his face in his hands.
"He's dead and has no family except a girlfriend who deeply regrets what happened to Ryousuke even in her grief." He paused to let his friend absorb the information. "We can only push these cases so far when the other person involved is dead."
Ryouichi nodded, "Thank you Sato-san. You've been of much help."
"Please give my best wishes to your family…"
The other man's voice regressed to a low mumble in the background. Suddenly, Ryouichi felt the need to be alone, to show emotion, to cry in the privacy of his own office under the supervision of nothing but the tank of angelfish decorating the sitting room.
Sato-san was taking a great deal of time leaving, but in time he left, and as Ryouichi closed the lock on his office, he could already feel the tears coming from his eyes. As he lowered his aging, fatigued body down onto the couch, he began to cry. He knew that his son was in no danger at all of dying, but the thought of strong, intelligent, and motivated Ryousuke being crippled, walking the rest of his life with a limp, it was too much for a father to bear.
"Father," he thought bitterly to himself. "Some father I have been." It was true, no matter how he viewed the situation. He was a terrible parent. When Ryousuke announced his intention to be a doctor just like his father while he was still in pre-school, Ryouichi had taken it seriously. He had beaten down a childhood whim and turned it into an adolescent nightmare. He had taken something his son loved and turned it into an obligation. He had indulged his son in something great and taken away the possibility of ever reaching his full potential. Mortified, Ryouichi realized that he had become his own father.
He looked down at the mirrored coffee table and turned away. Men weren't supposed to cry or show any outward signs of weakness. He went to wash his face and join his family upstairs.
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His stomach was churning and his eyelids felt like lead plates. A dull throb replaced the formerly sharp pain in his right side, thanks to what Ryousuke quickly identified as the work of narcotic analgesics. His throat felt painfully dry.
Ryousuke made a concerted effort to open his eyes, his entire body straining under the stress of the exertion. The effort was rewarded with blinding white light, further intensifying the dull throb at the base of his neck.
Keisuke, after sending his parents downstairs to the cafeteria, had dozed off on the side of his brother's bed. It was almost evening and the members of Project D had come and gone after paying their respects. Keisuke went home briefly to shower and change, knowing that Ryousuke would be well cared for. His parents had refused to leave his brother's side and it took half an hour of convincing by Tsugumi for them to even go to the cafeteria for food. His uncle and family left that day so Tsugumi could go to school for the last two weeks, promising to return later tomorrow evening.
Ryousuke finally attempted once again to open his eyes and flinched at the light, a slight movement, but enough to wake his brother.
"Aniki!"
Unable to speak, Ryousuke tried to focus on Keisuke's anxious face.
"Don't try to speak, Aniki," Keisuke said, "there's a tube down your throat to help you breathe. I'm going to get a nurse! Don't die while I'm gone!"
Moments after he left, Keisuke returned with a doctor and three nurses. Their voices became a blur as he slipped back into unconsciousness, but he could hear the doctor mention something about removing the tube. Thank God…
Hours later, when he awoke the second time, opening his eyes was not as hard of a task, and once he was able to do so, he saw his entire family hovering over him.
Kiyori was the first to speak, "Hello darling, don't try to talk, and we'll get you some water and ice." She dabbed the corners of her eyes, "You'll be fine, honey. Don't try to move."
Events came back to him and he looked down at the rest of his body. His chest felt encased and he was positive the hospital gown was covering more than just skin. His right arm, resting on his stomach, was encased in a removable cast to the elbow and his leg, wound from toe to hip in heavy white bandages, was suspended in traction. "What ha…" his voice was an incomprehensible croak.
His mother quieted his inquisitions by giving him a straw. Gratefully, he let the cool liquid chill his parched mouth and throat. When he spoke, his voice was still a raspy whisper. "What happened to me?"
Kiyori looked to her husband, unsure of how much to say. He took over, "You were in an accident."
Ryousuke nodded. "I remember. A red Supra. Is the driver injured?"
The family was silent and all stared down at their hands for a moment, unspeaking. Ryousuke understood.
A nurse came in to change the IV bag. "Good to see you awake," the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes creased in a genuine smile. "We're going to increase the concentration of the pain medication to compensate for the swelling in your knee."
Ryousuke nodded. "Arigato."
"Don't try to speak, dear," said his mother while brushing an errant hair from his forehead. She had told him last week that he needed a cut but he preferred to wear it a bit longer than his brother.
Ryousuke didn't listen. "What happened to me?" This question was directed towards his father.
Ryouichi hesitated before giving his some a censored version of the events. "Your lung was pierced by a broken rib and you have a mild concussion, which is probably causing some nausea right now. You have a hairline fracture of the wrist, but it will be fine in a matter of weeks."
"What else?"
"Your leg was badly damaged at the femur and patella. We need to operate on it again in a couple of weeks when the rest of your body is better prepared."
Ryousuke knew that there was something his father was not saying, but wisely, he chose to rest and question Keisuke later. He nodded and attempted a smile at Keisuke, who towered eagerly over his mother from behind.
"Tired…"
Kiyori nodded. "We understand. Just sleep…we'll be here when you awaken."
Not having the strength to tell them to go home, Ryousuke allowed himself to once again fall into a deep, drug-induced sleep.
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"Manaka," said her roommate from the kitchen, "did you want any dinner?"
She snapped awake. Damn, she had fallen asleep again. At this rate, she would never be able to study for summer school. She had stayed at the hospital for an extra two hours the evening before, wanting to know the final prognosis of Takahashi Ryousuke. When five in the morning rolled along and there was still no word, she gathered her bag and left for home in her old, grey Civic that she could barely drive.
"Manaka!" Kioko was getting very impatient. "Are you hungry?"
Manaka strolled into the kitchen and grabbed a rice roll. "Thanks. Did anyone call for me when I was gone?"
"Of course," replied Kioko, "is there a night when Kintaro doesn't call you?"
Manaka nodded and went to grab the telephone.
He answered on the second ring. "Moshi-moshi?"
"Kintaro? It's me, Manaka."
"Where were you last night?" As usual, his voice sounded gruff and slightly accusatory.
She was calm in her reply, "I was at the hospital working Tamiko's shift."
"I wanted to see you last night."
"Kintaro, you know tired I am after one of the evening shifts," Manaka sighed, knowing that her plea was falling on selfish, deaf ears. "We can't be together every night."
"Of course we can," he argued, a bit roughly. "I'm coming over now."
"I have to stud—" The phone clicked and a dial tone came on again.
She threw the handset against the couch pillow in frustration. Kintaro had no perception of how difficult physical therapy training was. After failing at obtaining a business degree from Tokyo University, he had made a name for himself dealing exotic imported cars for his father's wealthy clients. He never needed to worry about money; his family owned a large chain of hotels in the Osaka area and had connections ranging from textile factories to software companies.
"Is that obnoxious boyfriend of yours coming over again?" asked Kioko.
Manaka nodded. "I'm sorry, I tried but he didn't listen."
"You know, Tamiko and I have talked about this," said Kioko, "and we both think you're too good for him. All he does is upset you; I don't understand why you're still with him. Just end it!"
"I don't know," sighed Manaka. It wasn't that easy. She had rehearsed many times the words she would use to end their so-called relationship. Truth was, ever since her first attempt months ago, Kintaro had become increasingly suspicious and had gotten violent, especially when alcohol was involved. Manaka's hand went unconsciously to her arm again.
Kioko rolled her eyes and turned on the evening news.
"…accident on Mt. Akagi involving two cars last night due to the heavy rain. One of the drivers was proclaimed dead at the accident scene and the other was sent to Takasaki Hospital, reported to be in serious, but stable condition."
Manaka's ears perked at the announcer's words.
"Hey, weren't you there last night?" asked Kioko, who was quickly quieted by a wave of Manaka's hand.
The announcer continued. "The identities of the two drivers have not yet been released. Police Chief Sato-Sempai reported that there was not a direct collision and that there was alcohol involved…"
Manaka heard no more. She sat on the sofa, nibbling her rice bun, wondering at the severity of Ryousuke's injuries. A heavy knock on the door disrupted her thoughts.
Kioko groaned. "I love you, but I hate him." She got up and grabbed her knitting hamper. "I'll be playing grandma until he leaves or you guys go to your room."
All Manaka could do was offer a small smile and head to the door. She was greeted by rough kiss and the usual request for food.
"Just look in the refrigerator," she told him. "Anything with an orange lid is mine."
Manaka opened her second year muscle anatomy textbook for some light studying while Kintaro satisfied his appetite. Although she was not enrolled in formal medical school, her classes were challenging as well and her field studies were more intense, hence the need for summer classes. She hoped to graduate earlier and save enough money to quickly repay the debt that had been hanging over her head like a dark cloud these past few years.
"Why do you study like that?" Kintaro asked, wiping bean paste from the corner of his mouth. "I'm perfectly happy where I am and I don't work nearly as hard as you or any of the other medical school preps."
"You just don't understand."
He smirked. "Of course I do," his voice became gruff and he moved onto the couch. "Now come show me how much you love me."
She smiled, gave him a light kiss and returned to her book.
He grunted. "Now that's not how you treat someone you love." He edged closer to her and roughly grabbed her text away.
"Hey!" The book fell onto the floor with a small thud and he grabbed her shoulders and pinned her petite body to the edge.
"Kintaro-kun," she began, "not today, please."
His face darkened into a scowl. "Why? Am I not good enough for you?" He pushed her harder into the couch. His calloused fingers dug deeply into her shoulders.
"You're hurting me."
"I'm treating you better than any of those preps at your little university would treat you."
Manaka knew from experience not to argue a moot point. Kintaro was angry and it was better to just give him what he wanted. She could feel the bruises already forming on her body from where his hands gripped her like steel. "Please let go of me."
He shoved her into the sofa. "I'm leaving. You've ruined my mood tonight, but I'll give you another chance tomorrow." He smirked at her, "Remember, Manaka, to not bite the hand that feeds you."
Manaka silently looked away, ashamed and not daring to move. It wasn't until the door slammed shut and she heard the peeling of his imported sports car exit the parking area that she allowed herself to deeply exhale a sigh of relief. Kioko poked her head through to door and looked sympathetically at her roommate. "He's not good for you, Manaka-chan. You need to do something before you get hurt. I mean it."
Manaka looked away in shame, realizing that her friend had heard their entire interlude, and rubbed her sore arms. Kintaro didn't used to be this way when they first met; he had been openly available, receptive, and sympathetic to her situation. By the time she realized his real character and true motivation behind his offer to help, it was too late to turn back. The damage had been done and she was bound to him inevitably, at least until she finished school and could repay him. He capitalized on this advantage and used Manaka in ever way he could, being possessive and jealous while simultaneously flaunting his escapades with other women.
Pushing the disturbing thoughts from her head, Manaka returned to her studies.
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It had been a week since the accident and Ryousuke was healing nicely. The doctors had decided to keep him hospitalized until his next surgery. Once his lungs were sufficiently healed, his mother began to give him a little more space and his father returned to work. Keisuke, however, visited constantly whenever he wasn't driving.
Ryousuke's first request was for his laptop computer, which Keisuke quickly obliged him by bringing the next day. He found that typing with only one hand was extremely difficult, especially since the immobilized appendage was his dominant one. Still, that did deter him from his pursuits.
Although Project D had formally ended, teams who came to the Akagi area often challenged Keisuke and Fujiwara together, wanting to boast that they could beat both of Project D's former aces. Ryousuke, up until the accident, still served as the mastermind behind strategies and still advised the drivers in their technique.
On that particular afternoon, a newly formed team from Chiba had come to Gunma to challenge Keisuke on Akagi's downhill before proceeding to Akina's downhill. At first, Keisuke had wanted to withdrawal from the battle, but at his brother's insistence, he reinstated it and it was schedule for the coming weekend.
"Aniki," asked Keisuke, "is there anything I can get you?"
Ryousuke was tempted to ask for a functioning right hand, but instead shook his head.
Moments of silence later, he looked at Keisuke. "Last week, when father told me the extent of my injuries, I knew he was hiding something."
Keisuke looked at his hands. "Aniki…"
Ryousuke continued. "I know that I will most certainly need an arthroplasty."
Keisuke nodded mutely.
"I cannot properly exercise the muscle in my knee required for a complete recovery with the damage also done to my femur and, with these circumstances, there is an eighty percent chance that the damage will permanently affect my walking, among other things."
Keisuke nodded again, marveling at his brother's calm analysis.
Ryousuke looked at him with resolve. "I've accepted this."
"But Aniki!" Keisuke jumped out of his seat. "Don't you understand? You won't be able to race anymore!"
Ryousuke looked at his brother. "Otouto, if I had the intention of racing as a career, then I would not have gone to medical school."
"How can you be so damn calm about this?! There is still a chance if you don't give up!" Keisuke didn't know what to do to make Ryousuke understand the full ramifications of his injuries. He knew, however, that inside, his brother had already considered all of the possibilities.
"I am calm because I can still be a good physician with a damaged leg and that I will still be able to walk," Ryousuke said, casually closing the lid on his laptop. "I will not be the professional racer in this family. You will be, and that is why we must now go over your attack strategy for the upcoming battle."
Keisuke was amazed. Even after everything that happened. "But Aniki, you need to rest."
"My body is fatigued but my mind is functionally perfectly normally," replied Ryousuke. "Now, your opponent is driving a Subaru WRX with a twin turbo. The driver is relatively new, but arrogant. You can capitalize on this advantage by…"
The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about the upcoming battle. In truth, it helped both of the brothers by re-establishing a sense of old familiarity into their relationship.
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That same afternoon, Takahashi Ryouichi nervously walked into his employee's office.
"Welcome, Takahashi-Sensei," Nozomi quickly got up to shake his employer's hand. "Please, have a seat."
"Thank you," the older man said. The past few days had greatly tolled on Ryouichi. The lines which ran along his face creased even more deeply than before. Sleep refused to come to him at night and sometimes, his wife would find him drinking coffee in the kitchen at three in the morning, waiting for Keisuke to come back from driving on Akagi.
Kiyori understood; her husband was worried that recent history would repeat itself, that what happened to Ryousuke could happen to Keisuke as well. It was a logical concern; Keisuke drove with more abandon than his brother, thinking instinctively rather than analytically.
Nozomi's voice drove Ryouichi back to reality. "Well let's begin, shall we? I know that this can't be pleasant for you and I apologize that you and your family must go through something like this."
"Nozomi-san," Ryouichi said, putting on a calm façade, "we're in the line of work where we see situations such as these happen to families on the hour. In the situation of life and its dangers, no one is excluded, not even the hospital director's family." He leaned forward in his chair. "Now please, tell me what we need to do so my son can come home."
Nozomi nodded. "His ribs and right wrist are healing very nicely and I do not foresee any problems with those. Harada-san sent me his report on Ryousuke's lungs and they are fine as well."
Ryouichi nodded, relieved that the internal injuries were progressing smoothly.
"After further evaluating his leg," continued the surgeon, "I've diagnosed one serious femoral fracture and in my analysis, I believe the best course of action is antegrade intramedullary nailing, which has over a ninety-five percent chance of restoring full mobility."
Ryouichi nodded. "What about the knee?"
Nozomi placed his clipboard on his desk. "We'll need to perform an arthroplasty."
Ryouichi knew that this was coming, but it didn't make it any easier on the ears. "When?"
"As quickly as possible. I would like to operate on the knee and the femur during the same period. Hatori-san has agreed to assist me and I believe that we can get this done." Nozomi secretly prayed that Takahashi-sensei would allow them to do so, knowing the additional risks of extended anesthetic treatment.
The older man nodded. "Do whatever you need."
"Thank you," Nozomi said. "The prosthesis was ordered three days ago and should be arriving tomorrow. I would like to plan the surgery for the day after."
"That's fine."
Nozomi continued. "I've also spoken with Ito-san and he's already preparing an integrative schedule of physical therapy sessions, beginning tentatively eight weeks after surgery when Ryousuke achieves bone-healing stability."
"Is that all?"
Nozomi nodded. "For now. I'll be in touch if there's anything else."
Takahashi rose. "Thank you."
Nozomi bowed and led him to the door. "He'll be fine. I know it sounds bleak, but there is still a twenty percent chance at a full recovery and if anyone can persist to achieve this, I believe Ryousuke can."
Ryouichi nodded and bid the doctor farewell.
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Whew! I really hope to be able to maintain comparable length such as this in the future chapters. School starts tomorrow and I am now an official pledge of the Kappa Delta Sorority (yay!)! I will (barring any unforeseen circumstances) be posting at least once a week, probably on Sunday. I have loved all of your reviews and definitely enjoy receiving them. They are EXTREMELY helpful and I would like to offer a MILLION nods of gratitude to all of you.
Additionally, I'm so happy that I haven't tripped all over myself with the medical stuff. I am indeed going to school for medicine; I'm a developmental psychology major with the intention of entering medical school to specialize in pediatric oncology. Everything I'm describing in this story, however, is not based on what I'm currently learning (I'm only a college freshman and we, unfortunately, are still talking about cells…blah…) so I will probably fumble and crash eventually so please forgive me when it happens! Is anyone else here in school? What are you studying? Just curious :).
Once again…thanks so much for the great reviews! Keep them coming!