Chapter 4: Before the storm
"Paging Takahashi Ryousuke, Paging Takahashi Ryousuke."
"Your wanted in Radiology."
The voice traveled through the hospital halls and eventually landed on, soon to be, Dr. Takahashi's ears.
Ryousuke finished sipping his tea, he would have to look at countless x-rays for the next hour. The young man had come in badly injured in his accident and there was no telling what he had broken or shattered until Ryousuke had a look himself. Ryousuke read the report; it was a two car accident, where a drunk driver was at fault. He was instantly killed. The other young man was a victim, barely 18 years old and still in high school.
"Lets see… looks like he broke three ribs, sternum seems intact…he's lucky his femur only has a minimal fracture, could have much more severe. Good, the knees are intact. The report also says he has a minor concussion…" Ryousuke muttered a couple more injuries to himself while he scribbled down some notes to the teenager's medical record. He slowly walked towards the room.
Communicating with patients, specially one's that just come out of the ER was always well …tricky even for someone as cool and confident as Takahashi Ryousuke. Talking to some one who might be in shock, about his or her injuries, made memorizing the functions and locations of the hippocampus, the amygdala, the locus coeruleu…hell, all of neurobiology seem like a snap.
Ryousuke sighed as he entered the room. "Shinta, is it? You should be very relieved to know you have no life threatening injuries, your most notable injuries are your 3 ribs. In terms of injuries that may affect you lifestyle. I'm happy to report that you have no serious or permanent injuries. We may however suggest some rehabilitation to strengthen your femur, once in heals some. Your parents have been notified and are on their way."
Ryousuke continued to babble on in medical terms that would give most people headaches. It was just then that Ryousuke noticed the kid was almost in a trance. He originally had attributed his patient's condition to the Morphine that had been injected, but then Ryousuke noticed that his eyes didn't seem as glossy as most drugged up patients.
"Your…your one of the Rotary Brothers aren't you…Your Takashi Ryousuke, you came out with your brother in last Junes issue of MazdaSPEED. I read the article you wrote on driving theory. I could only afford a Protégé, but I wanted an RX-7 so badly. And I've practiced all the weight transfer techniques your mentioned in your interview. They helped me from hitting a concrete barrier after that S15 hit me and made me spin."
Ryousuke smiled and eased up a bit. He continued the pleasant conversation for a few more minutes before returning to the ER. A couple of hours latter Ryousuke stepped out for his break and checked his voicemail.
"Ryousuke, it's Kyo. Congratulations on Project D's win two weeks ago. Call me back, the EMPERORS have a bit too far this time. I have valuable data for you to take a look at. I don't know if you can work out some kind of strategy in one night, but the information's here if you want to take a look at it."