Hi you guys!
I am so excited to report that ITALY WON THE WORLD CUP! I was up for most of the night last night, first off to watch the match, and then second celebrate the win! I just saw that the Italian team is back in home soil to a rowdy welcome! I was literally shaking last night, because the game went on in penalties. I was ready to just scream at the television if the Italians lost, and mind you my euphoria's not yet over.
Elena: Oh, no sweetie, don't worry about it. I'm glad that you did write about it, many thanks to you! Oh, and I like Sakuragi too, he really does sound like the perfect guy friend for me anyway.
moodygal: Kira's gonna show up soon, don't worry.
neko11lover: Kira is somewhere...let's just say she's somewhere okay? Cause to be honest, I never really noticed that Kira wasn't there until you guys mentioned it.
Sabrina: Hi! I'll bet you're really happy. Did you cry again? I didn't, but I was jumping up and down like a maniac at midnight, with my sister glaring at me (she supported France). Anyway, congratulations on the win!
keia mizuki: Yeah, I noticed that she wasn't there when you said she wasn't. I didn't think anyone would mind much. Oh well, Kira's in here for sure.
Clostridium: Escherichia, I think that's how you spell it, though I realy wouldn't know. Let's just say E. coli, that's much easier, don't you think? Anyway, thanks for basically making me edit the last four or so chapters. I needed that kick. Oh, and don't worry if you thought you were agressive. I've had worse (look at the reviews for Photograph, SImone wants my head), and I didn't think it was agressive at all. Thanks again!
On to the story!
You Mean, Rukawa has a best friend?
Chapter Twenty Three
Rukawa's eyes were half closed, his head, kept dropping off to one side. He looked at the clock directly across the room. It said that it was eleven thirty in the evening, and it only caused him to be even sleepier.
Kira had not come in yet, he had hoped that she would have been here hours before. But then she said that she will be late, he thought, and that he shouldn't bother waiting up for him.
Like many things that Kira had asked him to do, he had ignored this one too. He was determined to stay up, to watch the door open and see Kira enter, with a smile in her face. Unfortunately, his eyes and mind weren't cooperating.
The nurse seemed to have taken Kira's line of reasoning as well, as she came in a few hours ago to check up on him.
"You need to rest, now," she said, scolding him like a small child. "There's no point in waiting for your friend, she'll be really late, and you're not supposed to put any stress in your body, especially since your ribs are still healing!"
He didn't answer, but did wince in pain as he tried to sit up a little straighter. The healing process was much more painful that he had anticipated, and to help with the pain, the nurse sometimes would give him a small dose of painkillers.
She gave him a dose when she came in, and it was numbing the pain to the point when he can ignore it. However, the painkillers also aroused sleepiness.
He had fought them off for the past hour, but as his head bobbed up and down, and his eyes slowly closed, he knew he couldn't fight it off any longer.
Eleven forty.
Kira checked her wristwatch and sighed with relief. The hospital was mercifully still open to accept visitors until midnight, when they would close for a little bit of cleaning up. She rushed to the nurses' station and confirmed that Rukawa's room was indeed room 205.
She had wanted to visit Kaede a great deal earlier. If she had it her way, she would have been in the hospital as soon as the final bell in school rang. However, she had meetings to attend to, a certain spiky headed boy to update on, and an excuse to miss school the next day.
She wandered the school after classes to search for her teachers, inform them that she won't be coming tomorrow and would they please give her an overview of the topics that they would be discussing the next day.
They happily obliged, and she left school laden with a folder thick of papers ranging from the sciences, geography and math.
When she left the school, darkness had already engulfed the sky, and she walked quickly back home. When she got there, she found that her mother had just returned from Taiwan, and she was fixing dinner. It seemed rude to run out of her without an explanation, so she spent a good hour explaining what her situation is and could she please please go to the hospital right now.
Her mom bombarded her with a number of questions, which they discussed over dinner, and by the time it was over, it was already nine in the evening.
She took out a bag and took a day's worth of clothes, and some food, which, after thinking about it for some time, were perfectly healthy for someone confined in a hospital. She took a shower before she went to Rukawa's house.
She played for a few minutes with the thought that she can bring her guitar. Upon thought, she decided against it, thinking that carrying Rukawa's game console along with a few of his clothes, in addition to a few of her own clothes was quite enough to carry along a sterile hospital corridor.
It took no time persuading the maids to let her in and take Rukawa's Playstation II. She took a few games, and then a few of his clothes. She knew Rukawa would have wanted her to put in a basketball in the bag, but she quickly dismissed the idea and figured that he wouldn't miss it, eventually. Putting the Playstation in the bag, she smiled. She had a shrewd idea that he was bored out of his mind there and it seemed like such a good idea at the time.
She didn't take into account that the game console was made up of one metal box and lots of wires.
Thank god this isn't heavy, she thought, looking at the console inside her shoulder bag.
When she found Rukawa's room, she took a deep breath and slowly and quietly turned the handle. She peeked slowly inside. The room was dark, save for the moonlight that was coming in through the window. The moonlight showed Rukawa slightly, and he was already sleeping. Kira wondered when he had actually fallen asleep.
She stepped slowly and carefully inside, closing the door silently behind her, and placed her two bags in a bench. She smiled when she saw the flowers she sent on the bedside table and smiled even wider when she saw the rest of the flowers for Kaede in one of the corners of the room.
Kira stood over him, next to the bed, and wiped a few stray hairs off her face. There was no long bench in the room, just one chair next to Rukawa's bed. She sat on it, and suddenly yawned. It had occurred to her just now how tired she was. Without realizing it, her head dropped on Rukawa's bed and she fell fast asleep.
Rukawa's eyes opened as soon as the sunlight poured in from the window. He yawned widely, but silently, and then stopped cold in the middle of rubbing his eyes.
He was so glad to woke up early.
Kira's head was directly beside his left arm, and he stroked her hair softly, making sure that she doesn't wake up. When she stirred slightly, he stopped, and relaxed and looked at her when she didn't wake up.
He had missed her, a lot. Maybe his accident was a blessing in disguise. Tired of waiting for them to get their act together, maybe the gods said, to hell with it, and sent a car crashing to Rukawa.
Even in his head it was a ridiculous, but slightly amusing tale.
Just as he was contemplating on whether or not he should wake Kira up, the door opened. He looked up, intending to silence whoever was at the door, but then got silenced himself when he saw who it was.
"Hi?"
Rukawa recovered fast as he relaxed his shoulders and glared at none other than Sendoh Akira. "Shut up," he whispered, pointing down at Kira.
Sendoh looked at the sleeping figure that was Kira. He seemed rather surprised to see her there. Kira probably didn't tell him about it, he thought. "She stayed the night?"
Rukawa gave him the look that plainly said, is it obvious?
Sendoh nodded, getting the message.
"What are you doing here?" asked Rukawa, his voice low, and the glare ever present in his face.
Sendoh had always been immune to Rukawa's glares, at least, almost all the time. "Well," he said, in a whisper, "I came to see you, of course."
Rukawa glared even further. "Why?"
Sendoh cocked his head to the side. "Is it so wrong that I want to check how my rival's doing?" he asked.
"Yes."
Sendoh raised his arms in indignation. "Come on, Rukawa, I'm not that bad!"
"Shut up," said Rukawa, as Kira stirred.
They both looked at her, and when she didn't move again, they resumed looking at each other.
"So," said Sendoh, with every attempt of making conversation, "how you feeling?"
Rukawa shrugged, stroking Kira's hair again. "I've been better," he said, focusing on Kira's hair.
Sendoh went to the other side of his bed. "You do realize," he said, "that you're more bonded to Kira now than ever."
Rukawa looked at him.
"Her blood," he said, "is in your body."
"I know that," snapped Rukawa.
"Bet you like that."
Rukawa didn't answer.
"Yeah, so?" he finally said.
"Oh come off it, Rukawa," said Sendoh, "you know you love it."
"Shut up," said Rukawa and glared at him.
Sendoh smiled down at him, and then his attention was caught by a bunch of flowers on the corner of the room. "What are those doing over there?" he asked. "They should be nearer you don't you think?"
"No," said Rukawa flatly.
Sendoh grinned knowledgeably. "It's from your fan girls isn't?"
Rukawa glared at him coldly.
"I'll take that as a yes," he said, fully satisfied.
"Why don't you make yourself useful and fix my Playstation," ordered Rukawa.
Sendoh looked at him questioningly.
"My playstation," said Rukawa slowly, as if talking to a five year old. He pointed at the black bag near Kira. "It's in there, and the TV," he pointed at the TV on the ceiling, "is right there. So why don't you make yourself useful and set it up?"
"And why would I want to do that?"
"Because you're already here."
Rukawa wasn't sure whether Sendoh was really gonna do it, so instead of glaring at him into submission, he focused his attention back to Kira's hair, which he was still stroking. He could've sworn he heard her purr softly. He felt lighter at the thought.
He had forgotten that Sendoh was still there until he let out a loud sigh. Rukawa looked at him, he was grinning at him and pointed at the table, where he had fixed the console and attached it to the television. "There," he said, "all done."
Ruikawa sat there momentarily stunned, while Sendoh grinned heartily at him. "You're still here," he said bluntly.
Sendoh grinned at him. "Well you said make myself useful."
After a full thirty seconds of staring at Sendoh, all that came out from Rukawa's mouth was a muffled, "Thanks."
"Anytime," said Sendoh, then added, "I've already done a lot for the both of you anyway."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Hey, I practically hooked the two of you up!" he said, smiling widely, "You owe me."
Rukawa merely glared.
After another thirty seconds, Sendoh said, "Well, I think this has been sufficiently awkward enough," he went to the door and opened the knob. He turned back to Rukawa. "Get well soon, okay?"
"Why?" asked Rukawa, "So I can beat you in basketball again?"
Sendoh shook his head, looking at him seriously. "So Kira can stop worrying and crying her eyes out for and about you." And with that he closed the door.