Alice Alive

By, KKYOKO

Chapter Eight: Cannonball

Kuwabara's small eyes were twice their usual size. He looked in horror from my injured, broken body on the ground, to the me that was standing above everything, observing it all in disbelief. His hand hovered over my body's wrist like a metal detector, gathering the courage to touch me and check for a pulse. I moved closer to him, looking down at myself.

My body's head was bleeding. The blood pooled around me, staining my yellow-blonde hair and the pavement I was crumpled on. My arms and torso seemed alright, a little bruised, but that didn't mean I didn't have any internal bleeding or a spinal cord injury. My left leg was very obviously broken, but my hip seemed to still be in it's socket. My knee was mottled and purple. My other leg was whole, but scraped and bruised too. I tried to observe myself clinically, so that I could keep myself sane.

I turned to Kuwabara and gave him a weak smile. "I was going to the hospital anyway."

His brow furrowed and he grimaced, taking my wrist and feeling around for a pulse. The surrounding crowd seemed to hold their breath, and then Kuwabara looked relieved. "She's got a pulse, but it's pretty weak," he said loudly. "We gotta get her to the hospital right away!" He took a proffered handkerchief from someone in the crowd and held it over the cut on my head. With that, he scooped my body up in one arm and hauled me up against his shoulder. Even though Kuwabara is basically the strongest human alive, and I didn't weigh very much at this point, I was still kind of impressed at him one-arming my slack body.

"Hold my body really still," I told him as he straightened. He glanced at me and gave me a slight nod to let me know he could hear me. "There's no telling if there's any damage done to my spine, or any internal bleeding, so try not to let me get too jostled, okay?"

"Okay," he murmured.

I gave him a slight smile. Kuwabara was really big and tall, so it was kind of hard to keep in mind that he was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old kid.

"Everybody, get outta the way!" he yelled, taking off at top speed.

I quickly followed him, feeling myself slide through people. Everyone I slid through gave a little shudder, like a cold breeze cut through them. I tried to avoid bodies around me after I noticed that I was making everyone uncomfortable. Luckily, it wasn't too hard since Kuwabara parted the way for me.

We made it to the hospital in record time, and Kuwabara kicked open the door, yelling for help, disturbing the waiting room. One nurse ran toward him, while another got on the phone and called for help. A stretcher burst in from the hall, along with a male in scrubs. I wasn't sure if he was an orderly or a doctor, but I doubted he was a nurse. Women's work and all that.

Kuwabara laid my body carefully on the stretcher and stepped back as a group of people in green scrubs surrounded me. I stepped back next to him and watched the doctors and nurses push the stretcher through the doors and disappear behind them. A nurse approached Kuwabara with a clipboard and asked him if he knew anything about me.

"Uhh," he began, eyes sliding over to me.

"Minamino Alice is my name," I offered. "My family should already be here. Minamino Shiori is my mother."

Kuwabara relayed this back to the nurse and added everything about my accident. The nurse nodded and said she'd let my family know that I was here. Kuwabara turned back to me curiously. "You look completely gaijin."

"I'm adopted."

"Oh. Should we look for your family then?" he murmured as an orderly passed him.

I nodded, but then froze when my eyes landed on Kurama stepping off an elevator. His radiant green eyes were dull and he moved past the nurse's station like an old man. He couldn't have heard about me already, so something must be really wrong with Shiori. I felt a wave of anxiousness.

"Erm, that's my adoptive brother right there," I said to Kuwabara, pointing. "His name is Minamino Shuichi. Can you…?"

He gave me a short nod and approached Kurama with a serious expression. "You're Minamino Shuichi, right? I'm Kuwabara Kazuma. I've got some bad news for you - about your sister."

Kurama paled. "What happened?"

Kuwabara looked uncomfortable, and I sent him a silent sorry. "Well, um, she got in a car accident. She's pretty banged up and I don't really know how bad it is. I tried to bring her here as quickly as possible."

Kurama's hand went up to his forehead, a sign that he was feeling a particularly strong emotion. I heard him mutter "stupid" under his breath.

"Idiot," I returned. Kuwabara gave me a strange look, but I shook my head. "You might as well tell him that I'm here having an out-of-body experience. I know I'm not dead, or even all that close. I've been dead before, so I know."

Kuwabara frowned and turned back to Kurama. He started off by telling Kurama that he could sense spirits and then proceeded to tell him that I was there and I wasn't dead. He broke the news to him carefully, like he was afraid that Kurama might not believe him. I encouraged him by letting him know that Kurama was also involved in the paranormal.

"So, right now, Alice is having an out-of-body experience?" Kurama reiterated. His brow was furrowed, concerned. The fluorescent lights washed out his complexion, making him look wan.

"I was out of my body before the car hit me," I said and Kuwabara relayed it.

Kuwabara frowned and turned to me. "Wait - that's really weird. Before the car hit you?"

I nodded. "I must have been. I saw the car hit me from an outsider's point of view, and then I realized I wasn't in there anymore. Maybe my higher consciousness sensed it coming and kicked me out?" The mind will do amazing things to protect itself.

"I guess that could happen." He turned back to Kurama and told him what I said.

Kurama gave a considerate nod. "Alice would know. She's psychic too."

"By the way, what's going on with Shiori-san?" I asked, realizing in my own accident I had completely forgotten about her. "Is she all right?"

"They aren't really sure," Kurama replied sadly, after Kuwabara asked him for me. "They're running a lot of tests on her, but no one has any idea. It seems very serious though."

Kuwabara frowned. "Sorry to hear about that, man." He continued to look uncomfortable.

"Sorry for dragging you into this, Kuwabara-kun," I said. "You're a really big help, you know? You probably saved my life." I gave him a small smile and watched him turn red and look away.

"S'not a big deal," he mumbled. He glanced back at Kurama. "Er, your sister was just thanking me is all."

Kurama gave a slight smile. "I see. We both are grateful for your help," he said, giving a small bow.

"Minamino-kun!" a nurse called, running toward us. She stopped in front of him, trying to catch her breath. "Bad news! Your sister is in trauma - it seems she was hit by a car. We're doing what we can to stabilize her. Her leg is broken, she's lost a lot of blood, and she's got a concussion, but she should pull through all right. It seems like the car was braking when it hit her, so that minimized the possible damage a lot."

"Is she still unconscious?" Kurama asked. I had a feeling he was asking so he could validate whether or not Kuwabara was telling the truth.

"Yes," the nurse replied. "She hasn't been conscious since she's arrived."

"I see." He seemed satisfied.

The nurse furrowed her brow. "My shift is about to end, but I'll tell the next nurse to let you know when you can see her. Okay?"

Kurama nodded in agreement. "Yes, thank you."

I felt a strange feeling in my chest and a twinge in the back of my mind - the same twinge I get whenever I sensed a demon close to me. I knew that I should not be out of my body much longer. Astral projection, the other term for having an out of body experience, was very dangerous for specific reasons. It wasn't so much that demons would try to take your body, but rather your soul. And once your soul was caught in their clutches, you were never getting free, even if your body died. You would not move on to the next world. You would be trapped with the demon that caught you forever.

I glanced at Kuwabara and found him looking at me worriedly. I think he sensed the demon too, but I had no idea where it was. Possibly by my body, as I didn't see it in the waiting room or lobby. If it was by my body, that meant it was going to lie in wait for my soul to return. I sighed, wondering if my powers would work like this. I couldn't think of a logical reason why they wouldn't, but it was still a possibility that I could be in trouble. The demon could be strong enough to cause the machinery to go wonky, or could even manipulate the doctors or nurses to hurt my body so I couldn't return back to it. Kuwabara might not exactly be much help at this point and neither would Kurama if he weren't able to get to my body.

Kurama seemed to sense the atmosphere. "Is something wrong?"

"She really needs to get back to her body," Kuwabara said. He frowned. "But I think there's a demon there waiting for her to return."

Damn, he's good.

"Then it would amount to suicide for her to return there alone, wouldn't it?" Kurama mused. "And of course we can't get to her body until they let us." I could see his frustration. I knew he was upset, but I couldn't begin to know exactly how much. We seemed to be getting hit from all sides today. I wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder, but I knew he wouldn't be able to feel the gesture.

"Today sucks," I sighed.

"Minamino Shuichi!" a nurse called from the admission desk, looking up from a clipboard. Apparently the last nurse had kept to her word and informed the next shift as she said she would. I noticed this nurse was rounder, as Kurama looked up and approached her. She sidled around the desk, eyeing him curiously and I could see why. The melancholy expression his eyes held made him look vulnerable and fragile. For an instant, as hokey as the simile was, I could see Kurama really being like a rose. His expression was so meek that one could never suspect him of being a criminal. Of course I shoved the simile away as soon as I thought of it. I always thought that whole rose/Kurama thing was stupid, and it annoyed me to see it displayed in real life.

"Yes," Kurama answered, stopping in front of her. I stood beside him, awaiting the verdict.

"Erm," the nurse began flipping through the clipboard, and I realized it was my chart. "Let's see, your sister is in a stable condition and resting. She has a fractured tibia, and her knee was luckily not dislocated. Well, if you follow me, I'll take you to her," the nurse offered, moving toward the elevators. Kurama nodded and glanced back to Kuwabara who followed behind him. I stuck to Kurama's side like rice. The nurse continued on the elevator. "She's got a concussion, and a cut on her head. We stitched her up, so she'll be fine. She does have a lot of other cuts and bruises though, so don't be shocked. She's better than she looks," the nurse offered kindly. The elevator doors opened, and she pointed down the hall. "It's room 305. Third room on the right." We got off and the doors closed behind us.

I could sense the demon down the hall. He seemed to feel my spirit closing in because there was an excited spike in his energy. Kurama's nostrils flared as he took in the scent of the hallway. I was certain he could smell the demon too. Kuwabara shifted uncomfortably. "I don't like this," he muttered.

"Have you ever had a run-in with a demon before, Kuwabara?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Just ghosts and stuff. Lately it's been getting kind of distracting though."

I stretched my senses out to the room my body was in. The demon felt about mid-level, or about a low C-class using the Reikai scale of power. He seemed lesser in power to Kurama, which wasn't worrying if I couldn't use my powers. "This one just thinks he's tough," I reassured Kuwabara. "Don't worry. You don't even have to go in if you don't want to."

He looked offended. "As if I would leave a damsel in distress! I have a man's pride, you know! And an honor code!"

I looked away so he couldn't see my amusement.

"Well, Kuwabara, if you'd rather stay out here…" Kurama began, but Kuwabara shook his head, cutting him off.

"I'm not going anywhere but there. I may have never been in this situation before, but I'm not running away and leaving everyone if I can be helpful." His sharp features were serious.

"If you feel that strongly about it," Kurama consented. "This demon is probably a soul-eating type. We'll have to keep Alice's soul out of his reach, so she should stay in the hallway at least."

I shrugged. "That's fine."

Kuwabara nodded for us both, and they approached the third room on the right cautiously. I crept behind them, far enough back so that I would be out of reach, but close enough to see the demon. There was a swoop of nervousness in my stomach.

Standing over my body was a tall, dark figure. His arms were longer than his legs, and his clawed hands dragged across the floor as he paced around my bed. He stopped when he sensed us standing there, and looked up, staring directly at me. His mouth split open in a hungry grin, pointy teeth flashing in the light. His arm came up, reaching for me.

Momentarily fearful, I backed away, letting my power snap out at him. He growled as it stung him.

"I will only give you one warning," Kurama said calmly, reaching back into his shoulder-length hair and pulling out a rose. "Leave this hospital and return to the Makai, or I will kill you." I suddenly felt a bit safer.

The soul-eater growled again. In a gravely voice he said, "Who comes between me and my next meal?" His nostrils flared as he took in Kurama's scent. "You're only a human."

"Not exactly," Kurama returned, youki growing the rose into the whip. "Have you made your decision?" he asked coldly. "I grow impatient."

The demon gave a gravely laugh. "Have it your way human. I'll be back for the girl though."

Kurama's face held an expression of cold fury. His wrist rotated and the rose whip twisted around the demon, thorns digging into its long arms and body. Kurama pulled the whip tighter until the demon roared in fury or pain, and then the whip cut through him completely, splattering dead demon all over the hospital room. "I don't think so," Kurama muttered, whip shrinking back into a rose. The demon's entrails suddenly disappeared from sight.

"That was …something," Kuwabara said, wide-eyed where the demon had been killed. He blinked.

I approached my body laying unconscious on the bed. My left leg was already in a white cast and suspended in the air. There was a bandage around my head and smaller bandages covering cuts on my arms and face. My entire visible body was covered in black, blue, and greenish bruises. I looked horrible.

Kuwabara stood beside me. "Wow." He looked anxious. "You gotta get back in your body."

I had no idea how to get back in. Never having an out of body experience before, and having never asked anyone who had, I was at a loss. I wondered if it was like pulling on a jacket or something. I reached out to touch my body's face and suddenly my viewpoint changed. I was looking up at the room's ceiling and I closed my eyes, feeling dizzy. When the world stopped spinning, I opened my eyes again. I felt kind of numb, but I knew I was definitely back in my body. I flexed my hand, feeling solid.

Kurama's face appeared in my vision. His expression was anxious and then relieved when I met his eyes. I felt his warm hand curl around the one that I had moved, squeezing it gently. I returned the squeeze and gave him a slight smile. "Hello," I said.

His mouth pulled into a smile. "How do you feel?"

"Like I got hit by a car."

His smile widened at my joke. "Fair enough. Are you in any pain?"

I thought about shaking my head for a moment then decided against it. I didn't want find out if my neck was in any pain or not. "Not at the moment," I replied. "I feel kind of numb, like they gave me anesthesia."

His thumb stroked the back of my hand. "They might have given you some when they set your leg."

Kuwabara sidled around the bed. "Hey, Minamino."

"Hey, Kuwabara. You can call me by my given name, by the way," I said. "You did get me to the hospital."

He seemed uncertain. "Okay…Alice. I wonder how long they'll keep you here."

"Dunno," I replied. I saw a nurse approach the door and thought she might be coming in, but she turned into the next room. "I want to try to sit up, I think."

Kurama maneuvered around me and slipped his hand behind my back. I found that I was able to do most of the work myself, although his supporting hand helped. Sitting up and having my leg up in the air was a little bit uncomfortable though. I wondered how to get it down. "Thanks," I said to Kurama. "Can you figure out how to get my foot below my head?"

He chuckled and went to work examining the contraption, getting my leg down within a few seconds. "Better?" he asked.

I nodded. "Do you think I could see Shiori-san?" I wanted to see her right away.

His expression saddened. I kicked myself for reminding him about her condition. "I'll get a nurse and we'll see if you can get out of bed." He left the room.

Kuwabara gave me a reassuring smile. "I'll stay with you 'til he comes back. I gotta go soon though."

"All right," I said. "This is pretty weird, isn't it?"

He gave an uneasy laugh. "I have a feeling that it'll only get weirder, you know?"

Oh, but I do, Kuwabara.

I gave him a slight smile instead. "Best not to think about it. What school do you go to?" Even though I already knew all about him, I thought making conversation would make him feel comfortable.

"Sarayashiki Junior High," he replied. "I'm a second year there."

"That's a pretty decent school, I've heard," I commented. "What's it like?"

He shrugged. "It's a pretty normal school." His brow furrowed. "Except there's this guy there that pisses me off. He's kind of a delinquent, you know? Always tries to beat my face in, but I'm gonna let him have it one of these days. Can't stand Urameshi."

I bit my lip so I wouldn't laugh. "I guess that's kind of a hassle. There was a girl like that when I was in grade school, and she bullied me a little bit too since she was bigger than me. But somehow we ended up best friends and she didn't bully me anymore," I told him.

He chuckled. "Well, I guess you are kinda tiny. You probably would be a pretty easy target for a bully. How much do you weigh anyway?"

"Rude to ask," I answered.

Kuwabara put his hands up. "Ah, sorry, you're right. My sister would gut me for asking you that."

I gave him a smile. "It's fine." I heard footsteps in the hallway and Kurama walked back in, followed by a nurse with a wheelchair. I glanced at Kurama in question. Was I supposed to ride in that?

The nurse smiled at me. "Look at you Miss Alice, sitting up and everything. I'm glad to see that you're feeling better." Her words sounded strange for some reason and then I realized she was speaking to me in English. Her accent was thick, but she pronounced every word carefully.

I blinked at her. "Oh. Thanks." I realized I said that in Japanese, so she looked a bit surprised. "Er, that is I understand you, I just haven't spoken English in a few years," I added switching languages. "Are you going to an English-speaking country soon?"

She nodded, smiling. "I'm getting married to an American next month. Is it all right if I practice my English with you, Miss Alice?" Then she frowned thoughtfully. "Is it all right to call you by your given name? I know Americans are very forward, so I just want to be prepared."

I nodded. "Yes ma'am, that's fine. I would also be happy to practice English with you too. I need some brushing up, which is sad, considering it's my native language." I glanced at the wheelchair. "Am I riding in that?"

She frowned as she processed my words, and then smiled and nodded once she got them. "Yes, just for now until we get crutches for you. What does "brushing up" mean?"

"It means to practice and improve a skill, like when you brush up silverware to make it shine," I offered, watching her expression to see if she understood the last bit. She giggled when she got it.

"Very funny!" she complimented.

Kuwabara shifted uncomfortably. "I'd better go." I bet all the English was freaking him out, aside from the fact that he actually had to leave.

"Okay," I said, smiling. "I'll see you around, right?"

He nodded. "Sure. If you're still here tomorrow, I'll come and visit." With that, he waved to Kurama and left the room.

The nurse clapped her hands and wheeled the chair closer to the bed. "Okay! Into the chair with you, Miss Alice!" She looked at Kurama pointedly. "Help her into it," she requested in Japanese.

I saw Kurama's mouth twitch into a half-smile as he moved beside me and slipped his arms around me. He carefully hauled me up against him, and time stopped for a moment - for me anyway. Our noses were almost touching as he straightened, and his body heat made me want to crumble into him. When our eyes met, it was like a bolt of electricity shot through me. His arms tightened around me, and I knew that he got the same jolt that I did. If the nurse hadn't been standing there waiting for him to put me down, I'm positive I would have kissed Kurama.

He set me down into the chair with an expression of dismay flitting across his features. It was quickly replaced with a blander expression as he pushed the feeling away.

The nurse straightened out a stand to put my broken leg on and swung me around to head out the door. Shiori-san's room was in another wing of the hospital and on another floor. We made it there fairly quickly, but maybe that's because I didn't have to walk. All I had to do was hang on to my IV drip so that it would roll along with the chair. Not too difficult.

The nurse pushed me into Shiori's room and turned me so I could face her and reach her hand. Shiori seemed to be dozing off, but she woke up when I took her hand. She stared at me for a moment, as if she wasn't seeing me, and then her eyes widened into saucers.

"Oh, Alice-chan," she murmured, free hand going to my bruised face.

"I know," I replied. I looked frightful, I'm sure. "I'm just a little banged up."

She sat up, still in shock. "What on earth happened?" she demanded.

Kurama stepped in. "Mother, don't get too excited please." His hand went to her arm as he stepped around me. I could feel his body heat again and it made me shiver. "Just lie back and relax."

Shiori nodded, seeming to feel tired. "You're right dear. Alice-chan, please tell me what happened. Did someone hurt you?" Because I'll kill them surfaced in my mind, finishing her sentence. Although, Shiori wasn't the type of person to say things like that.

"No, nothing like that," I replied. "I was crossing the street and didn't see a car coming. Luckily, the person driving was braking and someone took me to the hospital quickly."

She frowned. "Are you in a wheelchair?"

I gave her a reassuring smile. "It's just because I haven't gotten crutches yet. My tibia is the only thing that's broken. All the rest are just cuts and bruises - just superficial stuff." I could feel that she was still anxious.

She looked down and squeezed my hand. Looking back up at me, she said, "You know, Alice-chan, I may not have given birth to you, but you are still my precious little girl. There's no one who could replace you. I'm just so glad that you're okay."

I sniffed. Shiori knew how to make a girl cry happy tears, didn't she?

Thanks noface, Kai-chan94 (don't drown in homework), The Fool Arcana, Anon, KuramaEnzanBlues, and animegirl1994 for leaving me epic reviews!

I'll try to update by next Tuesday!