Disclaimer : I don't own Hikaru no Go.


Chapter 3 : 24 hours

Mitsuko tripped over and almost fell down when she ran to the surgeon, " How is he? How is my son!" Trying to control the trembling in her legs, she demanded. Akira didn't know to describe her voice, it mixed with begging-tone and threatening-tone.

The young doctor smiled mildly, " The operation went well, Shindou-san," he declared.

" Oh! Thank god! Hikaru!" Mitsuko covered her mouth with her shaking hand as tears of joy rolled down her face. Hugging Kanego, Akaru jumped happily. Nase wiped a tear from her eye while the guys sighed in relief.

" See? I told you! That kid wouldn't die so easily!" Kawai laughed nosily.

" Kawai-san!" Domoto warned him because he shouldn't have said the word that could bring Hikaru bad luck.

Everybody was overjoyed by the announcement, the only one who didn't look so pleased by this touching scene was the tired doctor, "Err…Ano…," he spoke up awkwardly, there were at least 40 curious eyes stared at him as soon as he spoke out, "….Err," Knowing that he now faced a dilemma, he chose his word wisely, " But, it's hard to tell since he's not awoken yet,"

" …What! What do you mean by that!" Hikaru's mother instantly widened her eyes in panic, " You just said that he would be alright!" she blew out.

" Ano…Though the operation succeeds but..if he doesn't wake up, his condition is..err…unpredictable," Stuttering in uneasiness,the young surgeonadjusted his glasses.

" Unpredictable! What does it mean! Unpredictable! It's my son lying on that bed!" Exploding,thetypical housewife flied into a fury, " Shouldn't you save my son! You're a doctor! Shouldn't you tell me that he's alright!" she went off crossly.

" Auntie," Catching Mitsuko's arm, Akari tried to cool her down.

" …Err, All I want to say is we have to wait until he wakes up,"

" And when he will?" Akira questioned serenely.

" If..If he can pass the next 24 hours, he'll be okay," the uncomfortable doctor clumsily informed them, " I..I means, although we don't know when he'll wake up but if he can make it through the next 24 hours, he'll be safe," he said defensively as he saw the way Mitsuko glared at him.

" 24 hours then," Kouyo concluded.

"..Ye..Yes, but he's not going to wake up until morning. All of you should go home and take a rest, you can come again tomorrow," the doctor in a surgical uniform tried to convince the unhappy troop.

" Umm," Scanning the crowd, the former-Meijin pointed out thoughtfully, " It's getting late, the girls and the kids should go back home now," he stated. By the word ' the girls and the kids', he meant Akari, Naze, Kanego, Ochi and Fuku.

Knowing that she was one of 'the girls who should go back home now', Akari quickly spoke out, " I want to be here with Auntie-Mitsuko,"

Morishita and Kouyo exchanged a look, both of them agreed in silence that Mrs. Shindou did need someone by her side.

By Morishita's order, Waya told the rest of ' the girls and the kids' to return to their home, with Isumi's art of diplomacy, Ochi agreed to give Naze, Fuku and Honda a ride. While Akari asked Tsutsui, Kaga and Mitani to accompany Kanego to Tokyo Station. The teens agreed, there was no point in staying here knowing that their friend wouldn't wake up soon, they excused themselves and promised Mitsuko to visit Hikaru again in the next day.

The Dougenzaka Party shared the same idea, the operation had pass, there was nothing they could do now. They said goodbye to Mitsuko telling her how generous her son was to teach them the game for free and left. Before Kadowaki left with Tsuzuki and Shirikawa, he gave Isumi his number asking his newly-pro friend to call him if anything happened to the boy who fascinated him so much…and by the word ' anything', he meant ' anything'…both good news and bad one. Kurata ordered Akira to call him when Hikaru woke up then the fat pro left with Kousemura, the klutzy journalist.

Now, there were only 8 people left in the hallway; Mitsuko:The Mother, Akari:The Childhood Friend, Akira:The Destined Rival, Waya:The Best Friend, Isumi: The Big Brother, Saeki:The Upperclassman, Morishita: The Sensei, Kouyo: The Secret Keeper. After being told that currentlythe unconscious boywas in his private room, the octet instantly trooped into the room.

Patient room no. 405 was quite large but it seemed too small when 8 people squeezed into it. In the middle of the room, there he was, Shindou Hikaru, the raising star, sleeping, lying on a white bed with small needles injected into his arm, blood bag and saline water bag were hanging over him while the Vital Sign monitor was by his side.

Seeing that, the octet gasped with shock, a feeling of deep anxiety was growing in them, especially Hikaru's mother who looked really terrible now since she had cried her eyes out until her eyes werehurted.

Noticing that Mitsuko's knees went weak, the same young doctor who had already changed into a white overcoat encouraged her, "He's given a blood transfusion and some nutrition through saline water, You don't have to be worried, Shindou-san," he informed her, " It's a normal procedure," he explained serenely, " At least, he doesn't need a respirator, he's strong enough to breathe by himself, it's a good sign," he noted optimistically giving some hope to the octet, " Once he gains back his strength, he'll wake up," Smiling softly, he assured them, " My name is Tenma, Doctor Tenma, If you want me, press the button on the wall," Pointing at the interphone on the wall, he told them and left them alone.

It was a tense silence. The air in the room was so heavy that Akira almost suffocated.

But it was Shindou Mitsuko who reached the breaking point first. Because of anxiety, concern, fright, terror, doubt and fear of losing her son that burdened her mind and gnawed at her, Shindou Mitsuko lost her consciousness.


A/N : What a tense chapter! As you can see, I try to reduce the crowd, well, there's a reason, you'll know later.
Extra Info :

I'm not a doctor and I don't have medical knowledge but if I don't get it wrong…

The Vital Sign monitor : The monitor that shows the breathing rate, heartbeat rate, body temperature and blood pressure of the patient. ( These 4 signs called Vital sign which shows if the patient is alive)

Blood transfusion : The process of putting new blood into a person or an animal.

Respirator : The equipment that helps people who can't breathe by themselves.


xiar : Good news! I've finished it already, it's not a long fic anyway. What? I make your stop? Someone calls the medics and go to Tokyo Hospital!

La : "Did he meet Sai already?" Don't worry, he'll.

gravitation gig : Umm...I don't know :)

kari : About Hikaru's age, well he was 12 when he met Sai, then Sai left him when he 14, the Hokuto Cup was when he 15.