Disclaimer: Two words…I wish.
To all who reviewed: THANKS A LOT! (sends love) I hope youwere satisfied with my writing for these last couple of chapters…I worked out all the kinks in my plot, BUT, I do not have an ending yet. Any ideas?
Chapter NineteenVan ran as fast as his legs could carry him, still holding Hitomi in his arms. He was tired and his body burned. But he kept running. I need to get help…
Coming to the edge of the sidewalk, Van did not stop as Hitomi told him to do several times the first day he was here. Instead, he ran through the passing traffic, not hearing the honks or the rude comments from the drivers.
In the middle of the lane going east, he stopped in his tracks. From his location, he could see straight down, with no tall buildings in his way. As he stood there, his thoughts were interrupted as cars that had to stop honked at him.
Van turned, eyes full of fear. What are they going to do? He clutched onto her body tightly but he was frozen; caught like a deer in the headlights.
"Get off the road!" He heard them shout. Angry honks were emitted from the cars and breaks squealed. However, soon, everyone stayed quiet as they saw just exactly what the man was holding in his arms.
Maroon eyes darted from car to car. Finding their silence uncomfortable, Van shouted, "I need help!" He paused, "I need…to find medicinal area! Please! Please!"
One man in dark blue pants and a white shirt stepped out of his car and walked towards him. "Sir…" He started, noticing the jerky motions the man was making. Don't get too close, his mind warned, He must be crazy… "I'm going to call—"
"NO! No…" Van shouted at him, moving away from the stranger. "Where is it?"
The man looked perplexed, but pointed down the road. "It is where that red cross is. Do you see it?"
Van's eyes followed the outstretched finger and caught sight of the cross. Without another word, he took off down the road, leaving the drivers in shock. The man returned to his car, took out his cell phone and dialed 911. "Y—Yes, I'd like to report an emergency…"
His feet hit the pavement hard, still on the road. Cars swerved to avoid crashing into him, but Van was not distracted by them anymore. His eyes were focused on the red, illuminated cross up ahead.
Finally, he got off the road and onto the sidewalk, as it was a faster route. The cross got closer and closer to him and he pushed forward. Hitomi still lay silently in his arms; her head bobbing every time Van took a step.
A different kind of horn was now in the air and it was accompanied by flashing white and yellow lights. Van kept running, paying no attention to it.
Over a field of grass and running through shrubs, Van started to slow down. The red cross was in front of him now. A red sign, reading 'Emergency' was also there. The emergency building was white and very big. He walked closer to the entrance. The doors opened by themselves as Van got closer; startled, he stepped back and they closed. They know I'm here… He gulped and walked towards them again and walked through quickly. Turning around, he saw them close.
He staggered forward, his arms starting to feel the weight Hitomi was supplying to them. From the darkness outside, to the brightness inside, Van squinted as his pupils adjusted. Looking around, he saw some people in white jackets but everyone was wearing the same kind of baggy pants and shirts…but in different colours. The floors were tiled with white squares and the walls were beige. The air smelled…different than outside.
This must be the medicinal area…There were green chairs everywhere and a table with thin books on them. As he continued to walk, some people who were sitting on the chairs stared at him. One woman started to scream and called over one of the people in the baggy pants. Van's eyes darted back and forth.
The woman in the purple baggy pants had dark hair and dark eyes. "Sir…Are you okay? Sir?" She looked at the woman in his arms. The dirty blonde woman was cut and bleeding; possibly unconscious…the man was also covered in blood and bruises.
Van stared down at her because of her small stature. "She needs help…" He mumbled, motioning to Hitomi. He felt his jaw ache after each word he said.
"Yes, yes…" The woman nodded, pulling Van forward. He arrived at a white desk with a green top and watched her talk into a black box. Her voice then increased in volume and echoed throughout the room. "We have a code blue in the emergency ward. All available doctors report to the emergency ward. Code blue."
Soon, many people in white surrounded Van. He started to get dizzy. What are they going to do? The nurse who called the code blue, talked to the head doctor, telling him the situation. "The woman is bleeding…I think the man is unstable…He looks frightened—possibly grief stricken or traumatized, I'm not sure…"
"Sir," The head doctor, tall man with glasses, turned to Van and said, "We're here to help."
Van regarded the man with a wary eye, but extended his arms forward. This must be their medicine man…A bed with wheels rolled underneath his arms and with the help of the other staff, they moved her body so that she rested on the bed. He watched, confused at all the strings and other things that they were attaching to Hitomi's body.
They started to move, Van following close behind, the bed down a corridor with more of the bright lights on the ceiling. A woman in a green uniform put a mask on Hitomi's face while a man in a blue uniform stuck little white pads to Hitomi's chest.
The tall man with glasses was talking quickly to the others, and their pace was increasing towards two big doors at the end of the hall. Van watched Hitomi as he moved towards the doors but as she disappeared behind them, two men—each in green uniforms—told him to stop.
"Sir, you can't be here." One said.
"N—No…I have to be with her…" Van said shakily. "You don't understand…" His eyes darted between both men, pleadingly.
"I'm sorry sir. No one but authorized personnel are allowed in the OR." The other said.
"Please…I n—need to be there with her…" He was getting desperate, breathing hard. I can't leave her alone…Van stepped forward.
"Sir, please step back." The first one said, holding out his hand and placing it, palm out, on Van's bloody chest.
"No…N—No, you don't understand…" Van started. "Please, I need—"
The second man came closer. "You need to stay in the waiting area until the doctor's are finished."
"No! NO!" Van leaped forward, reaching for the doors. "Hitomi! NO! Let go of me!" The two men had grabbed both of his arms, but Van continued to kick and struggle. "No! No!"
He jerked the heel of his boot into the first man's shin. It had gained Van some ground, but the man was quick to recover. Others were coming to aid the two men to control the man. Van elbowed one man in the jaw, but another took his place. "NO! Stop it! I—I need to be there! HITOMI!" His muscles burned from the overexertion but Van kept going.
The doors were getting farther and farther away as the group of people pulled him back into the waiting room. "Sir! Sir, please calm down! Hitomi is in good hands!" They repeated to him, but Van lashed out. Managing to land a few more hits, one of the fallen men called a female over.
Rubbing his jaw where the impact of Van's fist had come in contact with, he reported to the woman, "Get some Valium; we need him to calm down."
She went behind the nurses' desk and returned with a syringe. "Try to hold his arms steady! Please!"
Van continued to thrash wildly in the arms of his capturers. "No! Please!" All around him were flashes of green, blue and white with different tones of skin. At the corner of his eye, he saw the woman approach him. Her hair was light blonde and her eyes were blue. "Get away from me!" He shouted at her, pulling away as far as he could, but the men had finally gotten a grip on all his limbs.
Especially on his bloody hands.
He felt something prick his arm and he felt something seep into his veins. Something from that thin little tube that was clear slipped under his skin. He felt it move; going up and down the other parts of his arm.
Cold
Van's heart pumped hard, but all his attempts at breaking free and rushing to Hitomi's side were fruitless. His reactions began to slow down; his legs and arms no longer moved fluidly. What's…ha—happening…? Van's mind got fuzzy and suddenly, he was very tired. "Hi…tom…"
His eyes rolled back in his head and his body slumped back. The men stopped holding on to him but positioned him so that he was lying down on the chairs more comfortably. His legs hung off the edge and his arm was on the floor, but his breathing was regular. The hospital workers returned to work with one of them staying behind to watch the man who no one had a name for yet.
Van's sleep was dreamless. He awoke several hours later when he felt something cool and wet on his face. The complete darkness that his eyes saw before lightened to gray. He groaned softly and listened to the sounds of the emergency area. People were walking around and there was light chatter. For a moment, Van forgot where he was.
Everything hurt. His muscles and bones ached, his head pounded and all his joints were stiff. His ankle and jaw were hurting a lot too.
The cool and wet sensation came back, breaking his thoughts. He stirred and opened his eyes. The room was much brighter as sunlight streamed in from the entrance. Looking in his peripheral vision, he saw a woman in a purple uniform kneeling on the ground beside him. He turned his head to the side, but she continued to clean the dried red stains off his arms.
With a dry throat and cracked lips, Van mumbled, "What are you doing?" The woman was startled and she dropped the cloth she was using. Turning to face him, he realized she was the same woman who gave him that prick in the arm. The one with light blonde hair and the blue eyes. Shina!
Before she could return to her work of cleaning him, Van grabbed her wrist in his hand, earning a gasp of surprise. "What. Are. You. Doing?" He asked again, bringing his voice as low as possible. He tightened his grip.
"Sir…I'm only try—trying to help…" She pleaded. Although he did not trust her blue eyes, there was fear in them…real fear. She's afraid of me…He released her wrist.
"I'm sorry…" Van apologized. They think I'm a monster too… "I didn't mean to…"
The nurse rubbed her wrist. "It's okay, sir…I'm sorry for giving you a fright, but the doctor asked me to clean you up and check if you have any injuries…"
Van brought his gaze up to the ceiling. "Do I?"
"Nothing serious…" The nurse replied. "A few bruises; quite a large one on your jaw there…Your ankle looked badly sprained though. Any idea on how you got that?"
He paused. "I ran a lot." Van tried to sit up, but the affects of the Valium didn't let him. He was still tired and his body was not responding right.
"Oh…" The woman said in response to his answer. She brought the wet cloth to his abdomen where other stains were and Van hissed. The cloth was removed in an instant. "What's wrong?"
"It hurts there…" Van could not give her an answer when she asked why. I don't remember…
She pressed against the sore softly, removing the dried blood and revealing more bruises. "What is your name, sir?" The woman asked softly. "You're a John Doe around here…"
Van raised an eyebrow at the name she gave him. "My name is Van. Van Fanel…" His throat was cracking. "I need water…" He mumbled after a minute. The woman asked him if he could sit up. He tried and he slowly started to rise.
She returned with a small cup with some water in it. Van drank it slowly, letting it sooth his parched throat. He mumbled a 'thank you' to the woman and crushed the paper cup in his hand.
His head was spinning, but the haze had lifted, and he remembered why he was there in the first place. "Where's Hitomi?" Van asked, trying to keep himself upright.
The woman looked at him compassionately. "Mrs. Kanzaki is doing well. Would you like to see her?"
Van swallowed. "Yes." He pushed himself off the chairs with his hands and slowly brought himself upright. Blood rushed to his head, but Van shook it off. He limped forward, trying not to put too much pressure on his sprained foot and grabbed onto the woman's shoulder for assistance.
"She's been taken out of the ICU and is now in her own room…" The woman talked as the two of them walked along. Van did not understand what she meant, but he held on to her for good measure. Hitomi…
They passed by many corridors and finally came upon the right one. Her room was A295 as the woman said earlier and Van recognized the name on the chart next to the door. The woman turned to him and said, "Would you like me to get a shirt for you, Mr. Fanel?"
He suddenly remembered that he was indeed topless and nodded awkwardly. The woman gave him one of the hospital gowns and then opened the door to Hitomi's room.
The room was a light green with a large window facing the roads with the automobiles passing by. She was laying down on one of those beds again, but they had changed her clothes into the gown that he currently wore. There were tubes everywhere on her body; in her nose, on her arms…and each was attached to another strange device that Van could not identify.
Beside Hitomi's bed was another woman with dark, shoulder length hair, who had looked up when he came in the room. Her dark eyes regarded him sadly and arrived back to Hitomi a few seconds later with the same look of sadness.
On the other side of Hitomi's bed, with their backs to the window, were two people who Van vaguely remembered. They looked extremely familiar, but he could not think of their names. They too raised their eyes to see who was at the door, but they continued to stare at him, trying to place his name as well.
The woman in the purple uniform came inside, somewhat dragging Van into the room. She motioned him to sit on a chair on the same side of the dark haired woman. Van sat quietly and slowly, not making eye contact with anyone in the room. He put his hands in his lap and stared at his twitching fingers instead.
The nurse checked Hitomi's heart rate, breathing and her IV; all were functioning normally. She said a few words to the four about Hitomi's condition before leaving.
"The antibiotics are working well. Hitomi has not gotten an infection…the probability of it happening now are lower…The blood transfusion was a success; there was not a problem there…The wound and the organs hit have been stitched up. We are lucky Mr. Fanel brought her in so early; the lacerations found on her intestines would have created more problems if left untreated for too long. She's on her way to a recovery, Mrs. Kanzaki, don't you worry. The doctor will be coming by shortly. If you have any questions, Dr. Ling will answer them……I'm sorry, but if you'll excuse me, I need to return to my desk. Goodbye…"
Van did not look up at anyone as the nurse left. That woman there is her mother…But, those other too…The man with the dark hair looks like Allen…
"What did you do to my daughter?" A voice broke Van's thoughts and his head shot straight up to meet the hardened gaze of Hitomi's mother. He swallowed and returned his head to his hands.
"Answer me!" She cried, clutching Hitomi's frail hand a bit tighter. Tears that had welled up in her eyes had finally started to fall.
Van shook. "I—I'm sorry…I didn't mean to…" He replied, voice cracking just above a whisper.
"How could you do this to her, you bastard!" Hitomi's mother cried. Van closed his eyes tightly, wanting to shut himself away from his situation.
Suddenly, Amano got up from his chair. The tension was unbearable and he didn't want anything drastic to happen between the two. He did not know what this man was capable of and he did not want to find out. If this man harmed Hitomi…who knows what else he can do… "Mrs. Kanzaki, please…let's go for a walk…You've been in here all night…"
She started to cry audibly and Amano needed to help her stand up. They left quickly with Amano shutting the door behind them.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Van muttered to the other woman. Finally looking up at her, Yukari saw the bruises on his face and the redness in his eyes from all the crying. "I would never want to harm her! I…I l—love her! I love her!" All his control shattered at the last three words and he broke down and cried. Van placed his head on the bars around Hitomi's bed and covered his face with his arms.
The woman with the red hair looked at him sadly. "What happened?" She asked softly.
Between sobs, Van answered a quick, "I don't know…"
"Was it some sort of war on that place?" Yukari prodded her memory to see if Hitomi had ever told her the name of the location the dragon man was from. "You know, from that light?"
Van's eyes adverted upwards. "How do you know that?"
Yukari gave a small smile. "I was there…the first and second time you came to Earth. Hitomi told me things…I'm surprised I still remember you. Well, how could I forget about the boy who stole Hitomi's heart?"
Van eyes looked down at Hitomi's form. She wasn't bloody anymore…her hair was matted to her face…but she was very pale. Fragile…As if she could break…Grief filled his heart. And I did this to her…I made her like this…He reached out to touch her hand cautiously, afraid that she would crumble to dust if he touched her.
But she didn't.
And her hand felt warm.
He placed his hand on top of hers, and rubbed it. But why would I do this to her? I would never…I would never ever dream of hurting her…She's my light. I would never do this…Not looking at Yukari, Van spoke slowly. "Something happened there…"
"What?" Yukari pushed.
"She was only trying to help my kingdom…and now, she's in control…"
The comforting darkness wrapped protectively around her. It made her feel secure, safe, blissful and warm. Deep down, she did not want to leave.
But she knew that she would have to.
When added warmth came into her senses, she almost smiled. I have to leave soon…The angel is coming for me…
The hand that she had been waiting for as she fell into the darkness had not come. She had waited for him to swoop down and save her, like he always did. She had waited…and waited…She had almost given up hope…
Until now.
Although she could not see it, she felt it. Her whole body filled with tingling sensations because the angel had arrived.
It also filled with an icy chill than ran straight to her bones. It isn't over yet…The evil has not been destroyed…
As always, however, the warmth over took every doubt, concern and unhappiness away…because Hitomi had gotten her angel back.
"What do you mean?" Yukari asked. "Who's in control? Hitomi?"
Van shook his head. "No…Shi—Someone else is in control…Someone who shouldn't be." Looking back down, he signaled that the conversation was over. Van continued to pet Hitomi's hand. Please…wake up, Hitomi…I love you too much to see you go!
Yukari noticed his body language and decided not to ask any more questions about why he came to Earth and exactly what's going on. Instead, she listened to the consistent and continuous beeps and murmurs that the machines Hitomi was hooked up to made. She's going to be alright…I know…Her thoughts paused. HITOMI!
The body stirred. Van's head jerked up. Both watched in amazement as her eyelashes fluttered opened; she had been asleep for some time
"Oh God! I have to go get Mrs. Kanzaki and Amano!" Yukari's eyes widened, taking in the sight of her friend finally waking up. "Hitomi! Hitomi!" She waved a hand in front of her face.
Hitomi blinked once and let her head fall to the side in Yukari's direction. Her vision was slightly blurry, but she could make out the familiar shapes. Where is my angel? Where am I? How did I get here? Where's Gaea? Yukari? Is that you?
She tried to voice her questions, but only a mumble was emitted from her mouth. Yukari stood up. "Hitomi! Stay awake! I'll be right back!" Hitomi returned her head to the middle of the pillow and watched Yukari leave the room in a rush.
Blinking harder and squinting, she noticed someone else in the room. Dark hair and tanned skin…with that tattoo…My angel? She looked at him, but he refused to look up. His hand was clutched to hers tightly; he never wanted to let go. Hitomi noticed that he was shaking slightly. Oh, don't cry…
Hitomi curled her fingers around his hand and gave him a small smile when he looked up at her. She could not see as clearly as she wanted to, but she could tell that he was indeed crying. Don't cry…
They looked at each other for a long time, taking in the sight. Neither could speak, but there was a comfortable silence. My beautiful angel…We're both better now…Don't cry…
He continued to pet her hand, in a silent way of asking for her forgiveness. Van could not break his eye contact with her even if he tried. I am not going to let you go…
Hope you enjoyed it! The last part of this chapter where Hitomi wakes up was added last minute...Hope it isn't too bad.
Don't forget to help me with my ending! (arg! Why can't I think of one?) Come on guys, help a brother out! HAHA!
PLEASE REVIEW!