Red Rose Rising Chapter 4
WARNING: Don't read this if you've come here from Chapter 3! Chapter 3 has ended, and this is a continuation of Chapter 3b! If you want this to make sense (or some semblance of sense) choose Chapter 3b, and come back here.
Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, and I'm not making any money from this so don't sue me. You can't get blood out of a stone.
text shows personal thoughts.
Youji slept for three days solid, the sleep denied during his vigil finally overpowering him completely. Omi and Ken, at first terrified that he had fallen into a coma, took turns at watching him when they returned from the hospital wards.
Three days, 72 hours, 4320 minutes, 259200 seconds. Each of those seconds seemed to last a myriad years to the sleeping Youji. Bound up in his dreams, replaying the last week over and over again, till he refused to watch it again. It was thrown back at him, unrelenting, again and again, the motionless figure of Ran flickering, being replaced for a split second by a red-headed girl, bearing an uncanny resemble to Ran. The pale skin accentuated by the stark white surroundings...the shock of blazing red...If Youji had been awake, he would have known that this was the other Aya Fujimiya, the girl on the hospital files.
The tremors of pure terror flew through his dream-body once again, the fear that Ran would eventually flicker away, and leave the bed empty, the fear that all the crimson red blood in his veins wasn't enough to return the life that was so desperately needed, wanted. In the 259199th second, the last second of his unbelievably heavy sleep, the vision changed, pale skin shot open, giving way to the full burning circles of violet beneath, and Ran's mouth was open in a soundless scream.
Youji returned to the land of the awake as if he was a separate entity from his body, time warped itself around his personal re-birth into hell. As he opened his eyes, everything was slowed down, far too slow to be real. Then he caught a faint, shrill noise, sounding as if it was being heard through tinfoil, or played on a gramophone that was winding down. He began to wonder where it was coming from, then slowly he heard the next progression of sound, the next few waves, and he knew it was a scream, indefinitely postponed. The time spun on, making up for the stretched seconds, and he was snapped back into full consciousness, his mouth open in an agonising scream.
He shut his mouth. He didn't want to alarm Ken or Omi, and they certainly didn't need his dreams running round in their heads. He sat up, rubbing his temples with his palms, and then pulling at his hair, trying to wake his mind up some more. A twilight amber glow was lining the carpet before his feet, spilling in from the French windows that lead out to the balcony. Youji didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but he presumed it was longer than usual.
A few minutes later, he was softly padding down the hallway to the kitchen, barefooted and still wearing the same clothing he had fallen asleep in. Youji reached the permanently open doorway, and drew back quickly. Omi was leaning back in his chair, an empty mug hanging from one hand, eyes shut. Seeing the young blonde was asleep, Youji continued into the small room. The orange glow of streetlights outside threw cruel shadows across his sleeping countenance, his cheeks glowing amber, his eyes surrounded by sharp circles of black. For all the world, he might have looked twice as old as his seventeen years.
Poor kid. He's probably been trawling all the databases he can get his hands on, constantly checking medical records and the latest news.
Youji gently twisted the cup out of the frail fingers, and set it on the table. Omi was too deep in his personal sleep to pay any attention to his current surroundings, and only stirred slightly when Youji tucked his arms around Omi, and lifted him up. He was deceptively light.
Probably hasn't eaten for days either...
"Youji...?"
"Go back to sleep kid..."
"I'm not ... a kid..."
Not by much.
"Shhhh..." Youji carried Omi to his own bedroom. The door was unlocked, as per usual. Youji picked his way through the snakes of wire that were trailing across the floor, linking all manner of electronics and screens, and laid Omi on his small bed, and pulled the covers up over him. He left the apartment silently, clicking the door shut behind him.
Youji guessed Ken was asleep upstairs, and returned to the kitchen. He deftly filled the coffee maker with grindings and water, and winced at the hissing it produced. It seemed overloud, but the rest of the building was silent, and after a crashout of three days, it was probably just one of the inevitable results. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Youji drank the coffee straight out the jug, and pulled a wry face. The terrifying nausea of the dream swept over him again, and he clutched at the edge of the counter, sweat beading on his forehead, and tears welling in his eyes.
white...white object...floating...just out of reach...can't raise my hand...why can't I...where is this...space...
Youji was clinging onto the supporting unit for dear life. He had dropped the coffee jug when the dream had come, and it was lying shattered on the lino, and he had no intention of falling on it. He braced his arms against the cold granite edge, and pushed himself forwards, until his outstretched hands landed on the back of a chair. He took a step forwards, over the broken glass, and fell onto the nearest chair, and sat, shivering over the dream and the terrors it had brought, until the dawn of a new day brought the light back into a silent midnight world.
Schuldich gently laid his hand and palm over Crawford's forehead. Seconds later, he had pulled away.
"Interesting. You're really getting good at this kinda thing."
"Why, thank you Bradley. Fucking up minds is my line of work, remember?"
"Yeah, but not even your best work to date even compares with that." Schuldich pulled a face.
"I didn't even do much, ya know, I just opened a link that was already there."
"So one of them's..."
"Yep. Either that or some scary shit is gonna hit some muthafucking fan."
"Can't you go 2 sentences without swearing?" Bradley sighed, and laced his fingers together. Schuldich grinned.
"Nope."
Morning flowed into the kitchen, as did Ken, only less gracefully. He howled as he stepped on a shard of glass. He flung himself down onto a chair, and inspected his foot, which was now copiously spreading blood everywhere. Omi chose this moment to walk in, screwing up his eyes.
"Omi! Don't come any closer!"
"What, you have a deadly virus or something?" Omi was puzzled. He was better than first aid than Ken, for sure.
"Look down, genius." Omi curled his toes. He was about 10 centimetres away from being in the same condition as Ken. Omi yawned, and stepped over the glass. He pulled up a chair opposite his teammate and looked at the injured appendage. He then switched his attention to a small square of white paper lying on the table.
"Oh fuuuuuuu-ck." Omi stripped off his jacket and passed it to Ken. "Come on, we need to go after Youji. He's gone to the hospital. We can get you fixed up while we're there."
Youji had been driving for about ten minutes before he reached the hospital. He flung open the car door, and stuffed his wallet into his pocket before going inside. The reception was quiet, only a few people were sitting nursing cups of coffee, or sleeping. The corridors were similarly devoid of people, his footsteps echoing around the pristine walls, the white amplifying the sounds by magnitudes.
The double doors leading to the recovery room swung open gently under his touch, the darkness fleeing into corners behind units and beds. It was set out exactly like you'd expect a movie to be, sunlight coming in through the crystal clear panes of glass, shining directly onto the pale face of the patient, a single chair set out beside the bed.
Well, if it's expected of me, then I'll play my part, the tragic lover denied.
He sat down on the hard plastic chair. It was uncomfortable, he'd realised why long ago. The plastic digging into your legs and shoulders stopped you from falling asleep, where you may not notice a loved one slipping into the next world. That was the knife-edge that Ran stood on, moving even the slightest could mean deadly hurt, or sweet salvation. Could the doctors honestly say he'd come down safe?
He sat still for a few minutes, trying to delay another waking onslaught of the visions of the red-haired girl. But somehow, he knew that the dreams didn't come from him, they weren't his own thoughts... not his point of view... He'd often thought about being so badly injured that you went 'out' of you body, that your soul could leave your flesh behind. Maybe, that's where he is now...
Still white... white space... why can't I touch it? ... leave me here... no more pain now... no more blood... no more her... please, no...
Youji focused on the bed leg. He couldn't bring himself to look at Ran directly, as though it could re-awaken the dreams. An unspeakable anger rose up into his blood, the cleansing flood of pure rage flew through his system, pulling his pain up on unseen strings, then dropping him back down, seething in his own self-hatred.
Dreams? Just who showed him all that he had seen? The pain and rage and fear it provoked, who had such power over him that it could reduce him to such extremities? He needed an anchor, something to draw him back to a reality where everything made sense... nearly everything...
Wake up...Wake up... Pull me back down...Wake up...
With the last syllable of his thought, he ripped the photo out the back of his wallet, and pressed it hard into Ran's hand.
Wake up for us, for you and me, wake up
He held it there, forcing the laminated paper into the palm of the sleeper, trying to push it into himself as well, making him believe what he was thinking. He was mentally shouting now.
WAKE UP! Please! Wake up for me! For me, Ran!
Ran... that's my name...no...why am I going back...no...not that, no...no more pain...please...I won't go back...oh God, not that...too hard, it hurts... it hurts so bad...my hand...mine...for us...wake up...yes...for us...aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!
Schuldich sat up in bed suddenly, the sheets sliding off his bare chest, one hand pressed hard onto his forehead, teeth grinding in pain. He gingerly took his hand away from his temple, and then grinned. He looked at his bedfellow. He sent a rather crude mental wakeup call, and beamed at the results. Crawford yelped as he fell out the other side of the bed, pulling the sheets with him as he went. He looked up at Schuldich, with a look that successfully combined hate and lust perfectly.
"Thanks for that Schu. You know, you could have just poked me or something." Brad rubbed his forehead. "And, please, I do not need you rolling around naked in my head at 5am."
"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Schuldich looked pointedly at Crawford's crotch. The black haired man sighed.
"Are you always this horny in the morning?"
"I'm horny all the time. Now, moving onto more urgent matters..." Schuldich slid off the edge of the bed, and landed heavily on Brad's chest. "Our most dearly beloved Fujimiya junior has finally got back."
"Schuuuuuu!" Brad was getting slightly peeved at the fact that Schu wasn't responding to his rocking hips.
"And you call me horny? Jeez, wait for a guy to finish, will ya?" He leaned forwards to push his tongue deep into Crawford's mouth, and then settled back on his hips. "Well, the playboy's there. And he's not the gifted one. And I can feel who is."
"What the hell?! So the brat's a mind-fucker like you?" Schuldich began to move his pelvis with his lover's, and leant forwards to whisper in his ear...
"I resent that, Crawly. But yes, it's him. His parents could have passed it on, they might have been gifted. Note the emphasis on gifted, not 'mind-fucker'." Brad moaned as Schuldich's tongue began to slide down him, breezing gently past his navel, his hips...
"Oh...God!" Crawford threw his head back, and gasped for air, his sensations fed by the mental images Schuldich lovingly passed into him.
Ran woke up.
It happened exactly like in Youji's dreams. His eyelids flew open, the sight completely unfocused, and he screamed. Somehow, Youji, deep inside himself, wished it was the dream again, that it could end, and he wouldn't have to watch his lover suffer in this pain...
But the dream went on, and Youji found his hand gripped vice-like in Ran's hand, and the soul-rending scream ended as the medics ran in. Men and women in white surrounded the bed, and double-checked monitors.
"Sir? We're going to have to ask you to leave..."
"No. He stays." A clear voice cut through the hubbub of monitors. Ran looked up at Youji, and tightened his grip. Youji smiled, although the hand was crushing his fingers into numbness. Ran smiled back, violet eyes softening.
Thank all Gods for that...Don't think I could leave...
"Trust me, I won't let you." Ran turned to the medics around him. "I'm okay now, just waking up is kinda a shock." Then he smiled. Weakly, but it was a smile all the same. Youji was stunned. He could count on the fingers of one knee how many times he'd seen Ran smile. Then Ran turned his attention to the pillows. "Can someone help me up on these things...?"
A few minutes later, of nurses fussing around, removing wires, re-attaching others and glancing at the clasped hands, they all left through the swinging doors, the last doctor pulled the curtains around the bed shut. Youji was glad of the privacy. The other occupants of the recovery room were beginning to stare. Ran was lying back against the pillows; hand still clamped round Youji's fingers, his eyes roving over the brunette's face, eventually settling on the emerald eyes brimming with tears.
"Why the tears?" Ran gently changed the grip on Youji's hand, and interlaced his pale fingers with Youji's, holding the photo pinned between their palms. He brought both their hands up to his chest, pulling Youji with him. His strength for someone who just came out of a coma was scarily powerful. "For you, for me. For us."
A saline tear spun down Youji's high cheekbones. Ran lifted his free hand and wiped it away with two fingers. He didn't lower his hand but looped it round the back of Youji's neck and drew him close, close enough so that their noses were almost touching.
Oh Gods, I love you...
Instinctively Youji lowered his lips to meet Ran's, and was lost to the world. Everything was that one point of contact, his mouth opening slightly, just enough to let Ran move inside him, tongue sliding over his teeth. Youji pulled back for air, chest heaving, not just from oxygen deprivation. He voiced his thoughts again.
"Oh God, I love you..."
"I know... I know..." Ran smiled, and Youji was filled with an inane happiness and joy that overrode all other emotions. "I love you too, and always will Youji."
Youji almost laughed. It seemed so natural, but he still couldn't believe that these words were coming from the man lying in front of him. For lack of words, he leaned forwards into another kiss. It seemed they stayed like that forever, mouths moving gently, pressed together, sharing the same breath. This time Ran broke the kiss, the need for air outweighing his need for Youji.
The curtain twitched back, and Omi was standing there, one arm around Ken, foot bandaged and on crutches. Youji's spine involuntarily snapped back into a standing position, his hand still held tight against the swordsman's chest. Omi's face broke into a puzzled grin, but he almost threw himself at Ran, embracing him in a bear hug, leaving Ken trying to find his balance.
"Hey, Omitichi! Let me breathe!" Ran was grinned over Omi's shoulder, and then he let Youji's hand go, but kept the photo folded in his hand. Omi released Ran, and sat down on the edge of the hospital bed.
"The hospital called us on my cell phone, and said you were awake, so we came here fast as we could! It's sooooo good you're awake! It hasn't been the same without you!"
"Thanks Omi! Yo, Ken, what happened to you?" Ran had caught sight of the limping footballer.
"Stood on some glass this morning." He pulled a face and waved the crutch around, aiming for some sympathy.
"Errr... Sorry Ken-kun, that was me..." Youji was blushing, guilt creeping over his face. Ken waved his crutch in dismissal.
"It's fine, Yotan, I heal quick. Anyway, welcome back! You wouldn't believe the number of girls we had crying when we said you were ill! They all sent cookies and some even knitted jumpers, all in hideous shades of orange. I swear, they keep our shifts pinned by their beds..." Ran was shaking his head in disbelief.
"You know, I never thought I'd be that popular with girls... Just proves that crazy things happen, na?" Violet eyes flashed at Youji along with a suggestive smile. "And the next question is... When can I get out of here? I'd rather be surrounded by adoring fans than doctors."
A nurse entered, looking slightly anxious, and clutching a clipboard.
"Excuse me, sir, but we have information I think you need to know about..."
Shock Horror! What's the news? Well, you'll have to find out by reading on!
Wheeee! Schu and Brad, Ran and Youji, very nearly Omi and Ken! Ah joy! Well, next chapter should be coming along soon! So wait around, and I'll try and do it soon!
