Okay, okay. I never expected this to be as popular as it is, but I'm happy. Truth be told, I wasn't even going to post this, I was just going to leave the first chapter sitting in my Google Docs. I'm glad I did. Anyway, this chapter made me want to tear my hair out from stressing over it. I had one of my best friends read the first chapter, and he said it was amazing, but then he said, and I quote, "You're going to fuck it up." So, I wrote this extremely carefully trying not to do exactly that. Read and Review.
When Issei woke up, he felt groggy, like he'd been asleep far too long. His everything hurt, like he'd been in a car crash or something, but he couldn't remember where he'd gotten so hurt. Wait, no, it was coming back to him. He'd been beaten up, mercilessly. time was worse than ever. Far worse, apparently. He was in a hospital. As he sat up and looked around, he saw that he was alone in the room.
He briefly wondered who brought him here. His parents? Chances are, they wouldn't come. He wasn't the precious daughter they'd always wanted, and they couldn't care less what actually happened to him. If anything, they'd probably be pissed that they had to pay his hospital bill. No, even if his parents knew he was hurt, they wouldn't take the time to come here. So who was here with him? A teacher? No, not likely. A fellow student? Issei seriously doubted it. Then, it hit him. He felt stupid for forgetting. He'd been in an ambulance. The ambulance had brought him here.
Wait. There had been someone else. Someone who rode with him in the ambulance. He remembered the warmth of a hand. Who was it? He flexed his hands, remembering the feel of her hand in his. Her? It was a her, he knew that much. But he couldn't remember her name, not at all. It danced at the edge of his memories, right on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to remember, wanted to remember her name, but he couldn't. Tears threatened his eyes. Had it all been a dream? Surely not...surely no God would be that cruel. To dream of someone so...nice, and then have it all come crashing down around him?
His head fell back against the hard hospital bed with a thump. He hoped with everything in his soul that she was real. It couldn't have all been a dream, could it? Not her riding in the ambulance, not her holding his hand, not her saving him...it had to be real. Yes! It was real! He remembered, she asked him out, just yesterday! He sighed in relief. But, if she rode here, where was she now? How long had he been asleep? He looked around. It was dark outside, and the only light in his room came from lights on machines and medical instruments. No one would be here at this hour, other than doctors and nurses. If the girl had been with him, she'd probably left hours ago.
Issei examined himself, checking his injures. Running and hand over his chest, the immediate and excruciating pain indicated that not only were his ribs hurt, they were probably broken. His legs were sore and his head pounded. He had bandages on his arms and chest, and there was an IV next to the bed, but not currently in him. He chuckled once, a dry, sad, laugh. What was the point? Why had he been hurt like this? Over a few hundred yen of lunch money? Pathetic. How could someone care so little for a fellow human that they'd put him in the hospital over some spare change?
The door to the room opened, and an elderly female doctor stepped in.
"Ah, you're awake! Good! That was some potent stuff they gave you, I wasn't sure how long you'd be out. My name is Doctor Lisa Lisa, yes, before you ask, that's first name Lisa, last name Lisa. I fixed up your ribs for you. Nasty bit of business." Issei was completely blown away by the insane speed of the doctor's speech. She wasn't a native Japanese citizen, he could tell. She spoke good Japanese, but at such a high speed that he could barely understand.
"Uh, yeah, sorry...I'm not exactly sure what's happened...also, who's paying for this?" Issei asked, hesitant. The doctor, Lisa, put her finger up in the air, like she just thought of something brilliant.
"Ah, yes! That was the beautiful young girl that came with you! She paid for all of your treatment, and all of the things you'll need. She also told the police what happened, and called your parents to let them know too. What a nice girl, hm? You're lucky, young man. Ah, to be young and in love…" The doctor trailed off with a weird look on her face, like she was fantasizing something.
"I-i-in l-love? H-hardly, I barely know her…you're right about her being nice, though." Issei mumbled. How in the world had she paid for all this? She must be rich. The doctor looked confused.
"Barely know her? That can't be right, she said you were her boyfriend!" She exclaimed. Issei blushed and looked down. He sighed.
"I suppose I do owe her that much, don't I…?" He murmured.
"Owe her?" The doctor snapped her fingers. "Ah! I think I see what's going on now. Ok, Issei. Listen up." The doctor crouched down by Issei's bed, looking him in the eyes. "If this girl likes you, she doesn't want you to be her boyfriend because 'you owe it to her'. If she really does like you, she wants you to love her for being kind and generous. And cute. Can't forget cute. Don't you dare get her hopes up because you 'owe her,' okay? Okay."
The doctor stood back up, leaving Issei to think about her words.
"Okay, I've got to go get someone. Don't go anywhere. I know, you're probably thinking 'I'm on a hospital bed, where am I going to go?' But we get a bunch of people who try to run off with IV's and such still in their arms. Like this one black-haired boy, ugh. Such a handful. Be right back!" The doctor left the room and closed the door behind her.
Did the girl truly like him? Why? What was special about him, that no one else had? He wasn't particularly good looking, he wasn't smart or athletic, no special talents except one that she couldn't possibly know about. So why, then? Surely she wants something. But what? Issei couldn't figure it out. Before he had time to think about it more, the door burst open again. Doctor Lisa came in, with a suspicious smile on her face, like she knew something Issei didn't it. "Oh Issei~ there's someone here to see you~" she stepped out of the doorway, and behind her...
The girl. Issei's eyes widened. A weight lifted off his heart and mind. Despite knowing the contrary, he had still been worried that she was something his mind had made up, a figment of his imagination. She smiled at him, then practically sprinted over to his side.
"Issei, I'm so glad you're alright. You were really banged up." She said, grabbing his hand and intertwining her fingers with his.
"Thank you." Issei said. She looked at him funny. The doctor left the room, winking at Issei on her way out.
"Thank you for what?" His hand squeezed hers, like he was trying to keep her from running away.
"For saving me, and for helping me, and for paying for me, and for not being mad at me…" He said, looking down. He didn't stutter, not once.
As he went on, Raynare started to blush. What the hell? Why am I blushing, he didn't even say anything bad! What's happening to me, damn it!?
"Why would I be mad at you, Issei?" Issei gulped, then continued talking. Truth be told, he was awful at talking to girls, and he had to think carefully about what he wanted to say.
"Because...because I turned you down, the other day...I-I'm r-r-really s-sorry...I was j-just...just..." Issei started stuttering, and trailed off. Raynare tilted her head in confusion. He's so cute! She was practically squealing in her head. Here he was in a hospital bed, hurt extremely bad, but he was apologizing to her!
"Just what, Issei?" He looked away from her and blushed, like he was embarrassed to say what he was thinking, which he was. She rubbed circles on the back of his hand, enjoying the feel of his hand in hers. "Issei, even if you don't like me, I'm going to be there for you, so you might as well tell me what you're thinking. I mean it, you can tell me anything." His face burned at her words, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't embarrassed either.
"I was just...scared." He said, almost too low for her to hear.
Raynare couldn't contain herself. She was grinning so hard her face hurt, and her heart was pounding like crazy. She felt giddy. He's so adorable I can hardly stand it! You know what? I'm just gonna go with it. I'll figure out the consequences later. She sat down next to him on the bed and hugged him softly, careful not to aggravate his wounds. He blushed even harder than he had before as the girl's head snuggled into his chest like it belonged there.
"H-hey, w-w-what are y-you doing?" He asked, clearly astonished at the sudden contact. He'd already been frightened by her holding his hand, but to be hugged, he was scared beyond belief. In reality, he'd only been hugged a handful of times, and only as a child. He had no idea how to handle himself, so he just put his arms around her.
"U-um, hey, this is going to sound really bad, b-but I can't remember your name…" He sputtered, looking ashamed.
She looked up at him. She was still smiling, which confused Issei. How do you smile at someone who just said they don't know who you are?
"It's Yuuma, silly. Yuuma Amano. Honestly, you even said you liked it." She said, faking a pout. It all came rushing back. He did say that, didn't he?
"O-oh yeah, I remember now. Sorry about that."
"Stop saying sorry. It's all fine." She said, poking him in the chest.
"S-sorry. Uh, I m-mean, not sorry? No, wait...ugh." He hung his head, embarrassed.
Raynare started giggling. Her small giggles soon turned into full blown laughter. Issei looked flustered, but soon enough he started laughing too. The door to the room slowly opened, and Lisa Lisa stepped back into the room. Raynare stopped hugging Issei but didn't let go of his hand or get off the bed. Instead, she sat beside him, waiting.
"Sorry to interrupt you too lovebirds, but I felt like we should probably discuss treatment and such." She pulled up a rolling chair and sat at the foot of Issei's bed, looking at a clipboard.
"Mmhmm. Yep, yep. Mm! Yes yes, that's that...okay! Issei, I hereby sentence you to one week of doing nothing! Your ribs were only fractured a bit, with only minor injuries otherwise, so you won't be bedridden, but you definitely can't go to school. Your...friend can bring you your work, so I don't expect you to slack! I'll get you some pills for the pain, and that's basically it. As long as you don't get hurt anymore, you'll be a-ok." Issei sighed in relief. He thought about it for second, and his face fell again.
"So...I'll have to go back to my house, huh? I guess it was inevitable…" he said quietly, looking sad again.
Raynare looked at him, puzzled. Did he not like his home? I wonder...could it be he has abusive parents? That would explain a lot, actually. Maybe I'll pay them a visit.
"You're free to go, whenever you're ready. If you don't have a ride, I'll drive you to your house whenever you're ready." Issei looked at Raynare.
"Where will you go?" He asked her. He was honestly worried that she wouldn't come with him. She looked back at him and smiled.
"I don't know yet. I don't need to go home, so I'm not sure." She was hinting at something, and Issei thought he knew what, so he asked.
"Would you...will you, uh...can you come w-with me?" He asked, looking her in the eyes.
She giggled again. "Of course, silly. I thought you'd never ask. I'd love to meet your parents." Issei turned pale, like he was afraid.
"My parents...aren't the best." He said, looking away.
They do, don't they? They abuse him. Who could ever hurt such a sweet boy? Raynare thought to herself. Issei looked up at the doctor, who was back to scribbling something on the clipboard.
"I think I'm good to go, Lisa-san." She looked up from her drawing.
"Excellent! I'll go bring my car around to the front entrance. Yuuma, dear, could you help him get there?" "Of course." "Great! See you in a bit!" She dashed out of the room.
"You know, for an older woman, she really moves quick." Raynare said, watching her go.
"Yeah, I noticed that too. I guess I should get out of this bed." Issei sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, groaning as he did. Raynare was quick to put an arm around him, and help him out of the bed. He stood, on shaking legs, and supported himself with an arm on the bed.
"You know what the best part about all of this is?" He said to Raynare with a solemn look on his face. "What?" She asked him, curious. He smirked. "That jerk never did get my lunch money."
Raynare smiled, slowly at first, then not even a few seconds later, she was laughing her heart out. Issei was smiling too, happy he made her happy. As skittish and nervous as he was, he did have a sense of humor. His humor was rather dark, sure, but it definitely aligned well with Raynare's dark persona as a Fallen Angel. He didn't know that, of course, but it's true nonetheless. When she finally stopped laughing, she had tears at the edge of her eyes.
"Issei, let's get you out of here. Lean on me." She said, putting his arm around her, and moving to support his weight.
"Thanks, Yuuma. For everything." He said, not stuttering even once.
"Of course, Issei. Now let's go, we don't want to keep her waiting."
Together, they walked out of the hospital and onto the street in front, where Lisa Lisa was waiting with an SUV.
Raynare didn't say anything about it, but on their way out, she took a peek at Lisa's clipboard. Hastily drawn on the first page, was a sketch of Issei and Raynare with a heart around them.
It made Raynare happy.
I doubt this chapter will be as good as the first one, but I have some amazing stuff planned, so I hope you stay tuned!
PS. I couldn't come up with a good name for the doctor, so I totally just used Lisa Lisa's name from JJBA. Note: Her appearance and personality are completely different, only the name is the same.
That's all from me, please leave a review or shoot me a PM if you liked it!