Constellation
MysticShadowWanderer
Disclaimer: Just start living, that's the next thing on my list. (You really know your life is starting to suck when that song makes you depressed...)
Chapter Seven: Falling
"The hell I'm going to let him stay here!"
Kaoru sat in the corner, watching the fight unfolding in front of her with a blank expression. Battousai had come out of surgery a few hours ago, and she was currently in his room, her legs tucked against her chest as she sat on an uncomfortable plastic chair and observed Katsura yelling at three doctors and a nurse who were trying to interfere with the way he wanted Battousai treated.
It was obvious to Kaoru that Katsura wanted Battousai to be released from the hospital, she assumed for reasons of keeping his identity concealed more efficiently. But it was also obvious to her that Battousai was in absolutely no condition to be released.
"This woman will take care of him," the words caught her attention and she looked up quickly. "She's certified."
Kaoru didn't even blink, just gazed steadily at the doctors. If he was saying it, then he would be able to prove it; she only had to act as if she really was certified. A wave of panic coursed through her at the thought. Could she really take care of Battousai? What if he died while in her care? She would never forgive herself.
The doctors eyed her critically; she certainly didn't appear to be any kind of nurse, much less a doctor. She was sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs like a frightened child; things did not look promising for the man currently lying on the hospital bed. The girl, however, stared back at them as if to dare them to ask any questions. They decided against it.
"Fine," one of the doctors finally said with a sigh, pressing two fingers against the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "As soon as you get all the necessary paperwork filled out and prove to me that this woman is, indeed, a certified health care professional, I will release Himura-san to your care."
"Thank you." Now that Katsura had gotten what he wanted, he was completely polite and easy to work with. Kaoru glanced at him incredulously; was everyone that Battousai associated with this insane? She figured that it was more than likely.
Several hours later, Kaoru sat in the passenger's side seat of a vehicle that she'd hoped that she would never have to ride in during her lifetime, an ambulance. Not letting her gaze shift from the road ahead of her, she consoled herself with the thought that she was driving away from a hospital rather than toward one, which seemed slightly better than the circumstances that would have to occur for the situation to be reversed. But only slightly.
The ride, which felt overly long, was silent. Kaoru had absolutely nothing to say, and could tell that Katsura was not the type who enjoyed light conversation, though he was polite enough for her taste. Not like Battousai.
Her eyes welled with tears at the thought. She knew very well that Battousai was still in danger, he still could die. And she couldn't handle that. She couldn't take losing her father and the man that she so recently fell in love with. He didn't even know that she loved him; he would probably just laugh at her if she told him.
"Take good care of him," Katsura said in parting. "I know you'll do your very best, but it would be a shame to lose him." He smiled at her, a gesture which was both encouraging and sad at the same time.
"Yes sir," Kaoru whispered. "I'll do all that I can."
"Good girl." With that, the man stepped through the door and shut it behind him; the sound held a sort of finality.
A few minutes later saw Kaoru still standing in the same place. It was very difficult to believe that in the space of what felt like such a short night that she had been to the hospital and back to see a man that seemed so untouchable, unassailable, and now she was the one in charge of seeing to his care. The man was in critical condition still, and though Katsura had made sure that she was provided with all the technological gadgetry that could be obtained, Kaoru wasn't sure that she was able to do this.
By the time she'd thought all of this through, she was on her knees on the floor, her head in her hands, crying to herself. All the tears that she'd withheld throughout the night came rushing forth, and she began to gently rock herself back and forth as she sobbed. Though she couldn't help but feel slightly wary at the thought, old habits die hard as the saying went, she wished that Battousai could hold her in his arms and tell her that everything would be alright. But if that were possible, then she would have no reason to be crying in the first place. The world could be so cruel.
"I have to be strong," she whispered to herself. "I have to remain strong so that I can care for Battousai. No more tears."
With her own words as her only inspiration, she dragged herself up off the floor and into Battousai's room, where he was lying on his bed, hooked up to all manners of machines that were charting information that Kaoru knew she would never be able to understand. Suddenly, a realization hit her in a flash of understanding. She pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket and set it down on the bedside table, where it would be in quick reach. One of her good friends was a doctor. Settling back in a chair that she'd earlier pulled over to sit next to the bed, she reminded herself that she could call Megumi whenever she needed to, that the woman would understand, even if she wouldn't be pleased if Kaoru called in the early morning hours. An explanation would make everything alright. Maybe, Kaoru thought, just maybe she could do this.
Kaoru yawned, covering her mouth with her hand. Glancing at the clock, she discovered that it was ten in the morning, and she'd been up all night. She'd found that there were no windows in Battousai's room either, which was a slightly depressing thought. All light that came into the apartment, it seemed, was artificial.
Her attention refocused on Battousai as he groaned and opened his eyes, just slightly. Kaoru blinked quickly, trying to form words but finding nothing to say; this was a more than shocking event. Wasn't this man in critical condition? This question was quickly answered when he released all of his breath in one sigh and sunk back down against the mattress, his eyes falling shut again. She almost smiled at that, simply because he'd tried so hard to regain consciousness, but was momentarily forced to act in an almost childlike, innocent way. All the more, the moment made her want to take care of him.
Reaching out, she smoothed the hair from his face. He looked much less dangerous when he was sleeping like this. Knowing that she had never been the type to thrash about in her sleep, she got up from her chair, muscles screaming in protest from being in one position all night, and laid down at his side. She curled up next to him and allowed herself to fall asleep.
'Just for a little while,' she thought as she slipped away.
Battousai was extremely frustrated with the situation at hand. While his body was unable to be pulled back into cognizance, his mind was completely awake, and he knew that Kaoru was asleep in his bed, lying right next to him, but he could do nothing about it. Straining to force his body to respond, to move his arms or his head, was painful, so he tried to accept it and just lie still, to go back to sleep, but knowing that he couldn't put his arms around this woman was driving him crazy.
'Nothing to do but sleep,' he told himself. 'I can sleep this off.'
As a rule, he never got sick, never had any injuries that couldn't easily be healed. Of course, with his profession, he'd gotten some rather serious injuries, but nothing that he couldn't take care of himself. To be bedridden was less than pleasant.
After a while, he felt his mind growing fuzzy, his body temperature rise. He tried to ignore it, but his mind swam in front of his closed eyes, and he could do nothing about it. If he could have screamed, he might have at that point, his condition was so overwhelmingly irritating. There was nothing to do but let his mind have what it wanted and fall heavily asleep.
When Kaoru awoke, the clock told her that it was a little after twelve in the afternoon, she could feel the heat that was practically radiating from Battousai's body. Looking him over quickly, she saw that his face was flushed and rivulets of sweat ran down his forehead. She stared at him in alarm for a moment, but realized infection when she saw it, and reached for her phone.
"Megumi, I need your help."
Kaoru paced from one end of the room to the other. Battousai was going to kill her when he found out. But he didn't have to find out, did he? He probably would anyhow, though. This was a bad idea. A knock on the door drew her out of her panicked thoughts.
"Kaoru, are you there?" a woman's voice called.
"Yes, I'm coming!" Kaoru hurried to the door, pulling it open and greeting Megumi with a hug. "Thank God you're here, I don't know what I would have done."
"Easy Kaoru," the older woman said, surprised that she was peeling Kaoru's arms from around her waist. "Now, where is this guy?"
Kaoru led her into the bedroom and flipped on the lights. Megumi eyed the man who was lying limply on the bed. It seemed that Kaoru had done the best she could for him, placing a cook, wet cloth on his head and wiping away the sweat. But there was really nothing else she could have done without medical training.
"Alright, you've done a good job keeping him comfortable," Megumi said, trying to calm the nervous girl at her side. "Now... what's his story?" This had to be interesting.
"He's a bodyguard," Kaoru lied quickly. "He was on the job when he was shot, and he fell two stories. The hospital said that he would be fine if he made it through the first week. But they didn't tell me what to do if infection started to set in."
Megumi raised one eyebrow. "And just why is he in your care? No hospital would have or should have released him this soon. When did this happen?"
"Last night."
"I don't know what they were thinking, and at this point I'm sure it's just better not to ask. I don't even want to know." She shook her head. "Listen Kaoru, I'm just going to treat him and get out of here; somehow I don't think this is the type of situation that I want to be in. But I'm going to help you, and him, because you both obviously need it."
Two hours later, Megumi was gone, leaving Kaoru with explicit instructions on how to care for the sick and injured man, and a bottle of antibiotics. Kaoru sighed wearily and flopped down in her bedside chair again. All of the machines and monitors that Battousai was hooked up to were completely confusing, and she rubbed her eyes as she tried to remember what Megumi said each one of them did and recorded. She decided, right then and there, that she was never going to be a real nurse, it was far too bewildering.
Battousai groaned and Kaoru turned her gaze toward him. Megumi had given him medication that would help to lower his fever, but she could tell that he was still uncomfortable, which was understandable. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him as she picked up her wet cloth and wiped the sweat away from his forehead again. It was hard not to want to mother him, she was, after all, female and couldn't help that her first instinct was to take care of the poor man. Besides, considering the condition that he was in, he very well needed the mothering. It wasn't as if he could currently take care of himself.
A/N: Alright, alright, I know it took me forever to update. So shoot me. It's my own damn story after all. The thing I don't understand is why we fanfiction authors feel like we're on such a deadline, because, obviously, we are not. What's the worst that can happen? Someone stops reading the story? Ah, but that's unlikely, as well. Once you've read this far, you generally get hooked. Haha, sorry about your luck.
On a more serious note, I feel like I'm shirking. I simply didn't feel like writing anything at all. Depression will do that to me, which typically explains my erratic posting habits. As for the rest of the story... I'm getting to it. I have some ideas floating around, and, as mentioned in chapter... uh... two, I do have the entire plot... plotted out. Wow, I didn't realize at first how strange that sounded. Cool... Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as much bullshit as it was, and please do stick around (as if you had much choice at this point, eh?), because it's about to get interesting.