And I apologise for the lack of Akito in these chapters - apart from the beginning of this one, that is. Hehehe. Don't complain! He has some seriously big roles coming up soon!
Beyond the Darkness
Chapter Thirteen: Lesson Two: Don't Mess with Aiska.
Hatori received a call the following morning from Romiko, giving him an update of the situation. She expressed Aiska's fears and Hatori couldn't help but agree with her, the situation was not looking good for Aiska at the moment. He could only hope that he'd be able to have a chat with that doctor. The only other concern he had was that that doctor, Makiko, the doctor Hatori had graduated medical school with and had beaten in every class, was not going to be reasonable. Romiko had explained that all morning the doctor had flittered in and out of the room, looking for more excuses to keep Aiska locked away. Aiska did nothing to help her situation, when all she had to do was look at the man and she lost her temper. Hatori imagined, with a shudder that Akito would be the same if he ever had to go to hospital, if not worse.
Hatori glanced to his watch and gathered his papers and x-rays for Aiska. He also had a written recommendation from Aiska's previous doctor, with whom he had spent majority of the evening on the phone with, preparing a strategy to get Aiska out. Apparently this was not the first time something like this had happened. As Hatori threw his door open, he nearly fell over Akito, who was standing on the other side, his eyes covered by his hair.
"Akito!"
"What is going on? I had those nightmares again last night." He muttered, brushing past Hatori and seating himself on the doctor's chair. Akito was pale and his eyes dull, much like Aiska's.
"I'm sorry I have to go."
The moment the words had left his mouth, Hatori regretted them. He had just brushed off Akito! He felt the blood drain from his face as he paused, his hand on the door. He slowly turned back to Akito, who had risen, his eyes narrowed as he studied Hatori.
"And what? Pray tell, is so important that you would need to leave your sole charge?" Akito was livid, his voice quavering with rage.
"It… It's Aiska. She had an accident…"
"Please go on." He drawled, slowly approaching the doctor.
"She…she has been diagnosed with Aortic Stenosis, and they do not wish to release her from the hospital, even though it was a wound to the foot that sent her there."
"Aortic Stenosis." Akito repeated, the words foreign to him.
"It means she has a weakened heart. When the rate of blood flow through the hearts valves increases, the heart is not always able to cope, even ceasing to beat entirely when one of these valves becomes blocked. There is an extremely good chance she will die before her thirtieth birthday. Her heart will not always be able to cope. Most doctors she has seen are surprised she's still alive now. She has been quite lucky so far."
Akito's eyes were distant, as though he were slowly digesting what he had just heard.
'She could die any day now. At any time.'
"Please Akito, I need to help her, I need to get her out of there."
Akito remained silent.
"It would be the same if you were ever sent to hospital. They want to keep indefinitely for observation."
"And there is no way to save her?" He asked, ignoring Hatori's pleading.
"No. They tried everything when they first discovered she had it. They nearly killed her in their attempts to save her."
"So she's content to live as though nothing is wrong."
"That is her plan." Akito waved a hand dismissively and turned to Hatori's window.
"I shall be back shortly, I will see to you then. Please try and rest in the meantime." Hatori begged before he raced from the room. Akito heard the car start and the engine roar before it soon faded into the background. He found himself idly flicking through the telephone book on Hatori's desk when he came across an advertisement for a floral shop. Without thinking Akito picked up the phone and dialled the number.
"Hello, Kyoko's flower shop." A girl chirped.
"I want a bouquet of flowers sent to the hospital."
"What style would you like, sir?"
"I don't care, something with roses in it. The best you have."
"And to whom is this addressed?"
"Aiska Tokari."
"What message would you like in the card?"
"Get well now."
"Now?"
"You heard me."
"And the name of the sender?"
"None of your business!"
"Anonymous?"
"What ever."
"When would you like them delivered?"
"Now!"
"But sir…"
"I said now and I mean now. I don't care what it costs!"
The woman on the phone gave a frustrated sigh and asked for payment details. Akito, whose patience was wearing thin, gave Hatori's details through gritted teeth before hanging up. He slammed the book shut and slowly wandered back towards his rooms, his mind racing.
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"Those are absolutely beautiful! Who are they from?" Romiko asked as she studied the bouquet of flowers that had just arrived for Aiska. The delivery boy placed them beside her bed and raced out, thankful to remove himself from Aiska's unnerving glare.
"The card only says 'Get Well Now'."
"Get well now? That's a bit dictatorial." She remarked, glancing over Aiska's shoulder. "Who do you think it's from?"
A mischievous smile crept over Aiska's face.
"Oh you think it's from that guy don't you!" Romiko smiled.
"What guy?" Aiska replied innocently.
"You know who I mean. Aiska has a not-so secret admirer!"
"No I don't."
"Oh yes you do!" Aiska only scowled in reply as Romiko laughed and danced around the room, waving the card.
Down the corridor Shigure, Hatori and Ayame were hurriedly dodging past everyone, anxious to see the girls.
"It was so nice of you to bring us with you, Ha'ri. You must be so worried about Aiska to have hurried all the way here." Hatori cast Ayame a silencing glare as he rounded on the wing they had been moved to.
"Ha'ri, Romiko told me about Aiska's dreams the other day." Hatori slowed his pace slightly. "She said how they were of a figure standing over a child, abusing and beating it." Hatori froze and turned to Shigure.
"This morning Akito said his nightmares had started up again."
"What do you think this means?"
"We'll worry about it later, right now we need to get Aiska out of here." Hatori glanced at Ayame, who seemed oblivious to the entire conversation, his eyes darting around the place, complementing the nurses on their outfits. Together they started down the corridor once more.
"You know Shigure, I'd just love to put Romiko into one of these nurses' outfits! They're so adorable! Especially with that gorgeous little figure of hers." Ayame found himself slapped against the wall while Shigure and Hatori kept walking. Hatori gave Shigure a sideways glance, raising an eyebrow curiously at his strange behaviour and struggled to hide a smirk.
"Hey! Wait for me! You know you you're just dying to see the love of your life in one of these outfits!" He called out after them, ignorant to the stares of the nurses and patients.
"Good morning all." Romiko greeted the three men cheerfully as Aiska merely muttered a quick,
"Hello."
"Ah my dearest Aiska! What have they done to you?" Ayame cried, racing to her side. Upon seeing Aiska's eye twitch, Hatori snapped for Ayame to leave her alone, fearful of the possible outcome.
"And how are you, Romiko?" Shigure asked and winked.
"First decent nights sleep I've had in ages." Hatori brushed past them all to inspect Aiska's bandages. He muttered to himself as he ran his fingers over the material.
"Too loose. It's called a compression bandage for a reason."
"Someone seems a little edgy." Aiska remarked, catching Hatori's gaze. He closed his eyes and stood.
"I've been in contact with your previous doctor, and everything should be all right, so long as Dr. Makiko will be willing to listen to reason." He sat down again and leaned closer to Aiska. "I had to tell Akito this morning."
Aiska nodded in understanding, "That's fine."
"There's something you should probably know about him as well."
The door was thrown open as the doctor from the previous day stalked in, anything but amused to see Hatori.
"A story for another day." He muttered as he stood.
"Well doctor, let's here what you have to say." He smirked, his dark eyes dancing over Aiska while he brushed his ebony hair from his face.
"We shall go somewhere more private." Hatori scowled, knowing this would not be easy.
"Very well." Makiko replied, sweeping from the room.
"I'm coming too." Romiko remarked and followed Makiko as Hatori sighed and closed the door after them.
Aiska settled herself down, trying not to think about what was happening in her absence, the debate over her future.
"Was that who I think it was?" Shigure asked.
"Yes. Yes it was." Ayame's mood abruptly darkened.
"What's wrong?" Aiska asked, concerned by the tone in their voices.
"No! That means she must be here as well."
"We can't let Hatori see her."
"Who?" Aiska snapped, making both the men jump.
"Well, Hatori was in love with a young lady by the name of Kana. They wanted to get married but Akito forbid it. Akito nearly blinded Hatori when he hit him with a vase."
Aiska bit her lip, trying to fight off the shock.
"Kana blamed herself, and in the end Hatori was forced to erase her memories… of him."
"Well you see, she married another doctor early this year. Hatori hasn't seen Kana for a while now, and he has never seen her husband."
"What will he do… if he realises?"
"I don't know. Our Ha'ri has a lot of will power, but I'm not sure what he'll do if he discovers that Makiko is the one. They have never really gotten along. Not since Ha'ri beat him in every class at medical school."
"They graduated at the same time?"
"Yes." Ayame turned to Shigure. "The second he leaves that little meeting, we need to get him out of here."
"With any luck everything will be fine and you'll be able to leave today Aiska. I'll stay with you and Romiko, but Aya, you need to get Ha'ri home. We don't need him running into Kana right now."
Meanwhile, Hatori was already in a heated debate with the Dr. Makiko merely trying to get Romiko into his office.
"She has the right to stand in for Aiska, since she can't be here herself. It is only fair." Hatori snapped, trying desperately to keep the anger out of his voice.
Romiko's rage bubbled over, "I have had enough of this! I will be present during this little meeting to discuss Aiska's situation because Aiska is my best friend! I will not allow her to stay in such a place unless I know she is in more than capable hands, and so far, doctor, you have only managed to prove that Hatori is the more capable of dealing with Aiska's predicament than you are." She spoke through gritted teeth, watching as Makiko's face became a deeper shade of red with each word.
"Fine." Was all he managed to mutter as he kicked the door open and stormed in first.
"And no manners, Aiska would kill you without a second thought."
'So would Akito.' Hatori thought, amusing himself with the image. The door was closed all three settled down to business.
"Miss Tokari has a better chance of survival if she remains here. There are treatments available that will be able to fix the problem." At this Hatori pulled a piece of paper from his pile and pushed it across the table. Makiko picked up the report and his eyes flicked over it.
"Operation… to alleviate the aortic stenosis in patient A. Tokari… failed… proclaimed dead for two minutes before being revived…" Romiko flinched at the last line but remained strong.
"That doesn't mean it wouldn't work if it was tried again now."
"Read the last line." Hatori remarked, leaning back in his chair.
"… It is recommended that no further treatments be attempted due to the damage sustained in the previous operation."
"Now if you will just sign Aiska out…"
"No! I mean… there's the fact she may be suicidal. I'm sure you're not prepared to deal with such a case. She may need to see a psychologist." Both their eyes widened as they turned to Romiko, who started laughing hysterically.
"You… seriously think… Aiska would commit… suicide?" She choked, trying to fight back her laughter, "I'm sorry but you're the one who needs to see a psychologist. How many people do you know who try to kill themselves by dropping a knife on their foot?"
"The cut on her wrist…"
"Was an accident…"
"And she missed all the veins, did you not inspect the actual cut? It was too high up for it to be declared a possible suicide attempt. In case you have forgotten, it was I who was offered an honours degree in psychology, not you." Hatori interjected. Makiko paused, taking deep breaths, clearly trying to think of another excuse as he leant forward, resting his arms on the desk.
"Now see here…"
"No! Now you see here!" Hatori slammed his files down on the desk and rose. "I am more than capable of dealing with Aiska. Your ignorance, as usual, is only diminished by your ego. You may be on the board for this hospital, but that means nothing. If it were not for my duties to my family, it would be myself on that board and not you. I graduated at the top of my classes, and where were you? 214 out of 300! Do not presume to tell me what I am capable of! Aiska is my patient and will remain thus! There is nothing anyone can do to save her, she knows it, and everyone knows it! Don't drag out the inevitable for her. She came here to lead a normal life for as long as she possibly can, and so long as I am here, she will continue to do so! You have no right to take that away from her."
Romiko had never seen Hatori so livid. Makiko hadn't moved the entire time, and only now that Hatori seemed to be calming down did he move. He plucked a piece of paper from one of his draws and continued to sign it.
"There." He snorted, sliding the paper across the desk. Hatori plucked it up, read over it and nodded.
"Very good." He collected all his files, handed the paper to Romiko and promptly left the room with Romiko following close behind.
"Thank you so much, Hatori! I don't know what we would do without you." Romiko laughed, fighting back the urge to throw her arms around him in joy. But as she studied his face, something was clearly wrong.
"Hatori?" He turned back Makiko's office and peered inside at the young woman who now stood before the doctor.
"Are you all right?" She asked, "You look troubled."
"It's nothing, just some problem patients and their equally problematic local doctors." He snorted.
"Don't let it get to you." She smiled and pecked his cheek as she exited through another door.
"Hatori, what's the…?" Romiko turned to find Hatori staring out a nearby window, a shadow over his face.
"Hatori!" Ayame and Shigure chimed together as they each grabbed an arm and dragged the man down the corridor.
"Oh and Aiska is trying to kill another nurse, you may want to see to that, Romiko." Shigure called to her, "I'll be back to help in a minute." He smiled before vanishing from Romiko's sight. Romiko shrugged and returned to Aiska's room, just as a rather hassled-looking nurse emerged. The woman gave her a fearful glance before scurrying from sight.
"Well Romiko? What's the verdict?"
"You're free!" She laughed, jumping onto the bed and pulling Aiska into a suffocating hug. Aiska struggled to remove herself from Romiko's grip before reading over the paper herself. She laughed with joy as she placed in on the bedside table.
"And where is Hatori? I could kiss that man!"
"Well, Shigure and Ayame ran off with him."
"Oh… of course."
"What?"
Aiska proceeded to tell Romiko what the two men had told her.
"But… there was a woman in his office when we left. Hatori saw her… and that's when he went all quiet."
"Oh no. I guess Shigure and Ayame weren't fast enough. Poor Hatori. He really needs a hug right now."
"Come Ha'ri. Let's go home."
"Yes, I'm sure Akito is waiting for you." Shigure added as they bustled him down the corridor and out into the car park. Once they got him to the car, they spun him to face them. The look in his eyes said everything.
"Oh Ha'ri."
"We were hoping you wouldn't see her."
"It… it was just unexpected. That's all." He replied his eyes cast down.
"This wasn't meant to happen."
"No, it's all right. As I said, it's over. Nothing can change that now. My only wish is that she is happy."
"I don't know how you can still say that after all you've been through." Ayame sighed.
"At least there is two young ladies whom I trust won't forget you anytime soon."
"You mean Aiska? Everything is sorted?" Ayame smiled cheerfully.
"Yes, she is free to go."
"Ah now, perhaps our doctor has found a new candidate?"
"Don't start with me, Shigure, and speaking of love… I believe we need to have a chat about a certain young lady."
"You mean Aiska?" Shigure winked playfully.
"This isn't about her, it is about your apparent infatuation with Romiko."
"Infatuation? I have no idea what you're talking about." Shigure laughed innocently.
"I have to get back to Akito, we shall discuss this, and the dreams, another day. Come Aya. Look after the girls, Shigure. They probably won't allow Aiska to leave until this afternoon, and then take them to your place. I'll stop by later."
"I'm sure Tohru will be happy to cook us all dinner tonight, you'll join us of course!"
"If I must. But none of your nonsense, Shigure. We've all been through enough today."
"Did Hatori leave?" Aiska asked, concern etching her voice as Shigure entered the room.
"Yes, he has Akito to attend to after all."
"When can I leave?"
"As soon as a nurse sees to you."
"Oh Romiko?" Aiska called innocently.
"Yes I'm on it!" She jumped up and bolted from the room.
"Where's she going?" Shigure asked curiously.
"To find a nurse. If anyone can get us out of here faster, it's Romiko." Aiska stated proudly. Shigure seemed to sigh dreamily, his eyes distant as Aiska stared at him, eyebrow raised. "Hey Shigure, could you get me that tissue please."
"Hm? Oh sure." Shigure stood and plucked a tissue from the box. Just as she reached for it, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards her. Shigure fell to his knees in surprise; Aiska firmly gripping his tie as she pulled him closer.
"I just want to make sure we're clear on one tiny little detail."
"Um, o…k." Shigure muttered nervously.
"If you hurt Romiko, I will kill you. And if I just so happen to pass away before then, I will come back and I will haunt you. Whether you're asleep or awake. I will make you regret ever having met us. Do I make myself clear? I never want to hear that you've upset her; if you make her cry from anything less than absolute joy, you're dead. Understand?"
Shigure stared at her dumbfounded for a moment before quickly nodding his head.
"I'm glad we have an agreement, Shigure. I do hope that we can be friends, after all, I still have to… approve of this little match."
Aiska abruptly released Shigure and sat back on her bed, holding the tissue to her mouth to hide her smirk just as Romiko threw the door open.
"I found a nurse! Shigure? Why are you on the floor?"
"We were just getting to know each other a little better, weren't we Shigure?"
"Ah… yes… yes that's it."
"Oh good! I'm so glad the two of you are getting along so well!" A terrified Shigure glanced at Aiska only to find her lying back against the bed, looking weak and vulnerable as the nurse checked her bandages and did a quick routine physical. Romiko was not oblivious to Shigure sitting in the farthest corner from Aiska, giving her nervous glances every now and then.
"All right, what did you do?" She whispered to Aiska as she helped her friend down the hallway with her crutches.
"You know what I did." Aiska replied, her concentration focused on not falling over and breaking an arm as well.
"You scared him half to death!"
"He needs to know his place. Besides, he seemed to take it much better than the others did."
"You do seem to have this knack for scaring my men away."
"I call it weaselling out the ones that don't meet the proper standards. Besides, I'll do much worse if he ever forgets our deal."
"So he actually meets your standards this time?" Romiko asked hopefully.
"That depends." Aiska winked mischievously.
"Oh Aiska. What am I to do with you?"
There we go! All is good again... Now all I have to do is write the next chapter... eventually...