I Wish

Chapter 2: Repercussions

Author's Note: I have no idea where Mai and Takumi grew up. I just picked a place based upon my limited knowledge of Japanese cities and Wikipedia. Anyways, read and review please. I hope you enjoy this short chapter!

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In her dream, she was running away from a dump truck backing up in her direction. It was going to dump thousands of bottles of cleaning solution on her, and she was scared out of her mind. The constant beeping and the smell of the disinfectant were freaking her out, but her legs simply wouldn't carry her away from this menace. In the distance, she could see Tate walking arm-in-arm with Shiho, happily oblivious to her plight. Shiho suddenly looked over with glee in her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the busty redhead. Anger filled Mai's body and soul as she saw her boyfriend being led away by that devious swirl-haired hussy.

"TATE!!"

The sound of her own voice woke her out of her slumber, but surprisingly the beeping and smell never went away. With a start Mai realized that the beeping was a heart rate monitor and the smell was standard hospital room stank. Why was she in a hospital? The first thought that ran through her mind was that she and Tate had been in an accident while driving home, for that was the last thing she could clearly remember. However, the fact that she had been sleeping in a chair rather than a bed made her doubt that theory. She appeared to be in a single-bed room with a white privacy curtain pulled between the bed's occupant and her chair. Sunlight was streaming into the room, and she could see movement on the other side of the curtain. A sudden fear that it was, in fact, Tate resting in the bed gripped her heart. Throwing back the curtain, she gasped when an emaciated and pale young boy was revealed.

"Takumi! What happened? Why are you here?" screeched a frantic Mai.

When she had last seen her brother, he was preparing for his trip to the States with Akira. He had looked fine and was in good spirits. This version of Takumi was so very different from the boy she last saw. While still handsome, his features were gaunt and the lavender eyes that opened and peered at her no longer sparkled as they once did.

"Sis? Uh, what time is it and why are you yelling?" questioned her baffled brother.

"Takumi, why are you here? What happened? You looked great the last time I saw you and Akira. Why were you readmitted to Fuka General Hospital?"

"Eh? Are you ok, Sis? I saw you last night before falling asleep, and I hope I don't look any worse than I did then," said Takumi as he sleepily ran his fingers through his hair and stretched. With a yawn he asked, " Who is Akira, and what is Fuka General? We're in Nagano and this is the hospital I've been coming to since I was a kid. Did you fall out of the chair last night and bump your head? You really need to go home and sleep in your bed at night."

Fear formed a knot around Mai's heart as she slowly turned her head toward the window. A city that she had not seen in months was spread out before her. The familiar landscape of her youth scared her more than she thought possible. "Oh my fucking fuck! That old wind bag actually has magical abilities!" Slowly, Mai began to sink to the floor, grabbed her knees with her arms and started to rock back and forth. "This isn't happening, this isn't happening..."

Takumi was completely unprepared for his sister's wake-up greeting and began to hyperventilate himself, causing his heart rate to spike. Nurses immediately entered the room and saw the two siblings in similar states of panic. Two of them began to gently pull Mai away from his bed so they could check on the boy, only to have her flail like a wild cat.

"Get off of me!" screeched a panic-stricken Mai.

One of the nurses pulled out a sedative shot from a drawer in the room and quickly injected the redhead in her rear end. Mai's shocked eyes swung towards the nurse in rage, but before she could respond further, the sedative took hold and she passed out.

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Once again, the beeping and smell of cleaning solution woke Mai, though this time she was in a cot. For a brief moment, she had an insane hope that she had in fact been in a car accident with Tate and what she experienced before was all just a bad dream. However, her hopes were dashed when she opened her eyes and looked toward her left. In the bed next to her cot was a pair of eyes that matched hers. Those eyes were filled with concern, and if possible his body looked weaker.

"Oh Takumi, I'm sorry!" wailed a distraught Mai.

"Sis, Sis, it's ok. I don't know what happened a little while ago, but I want you to know that I'm ok for now, so you don't have to worry so much. Hmm, maybe we should ask them to leave that cot in the room, so you don't have to sleep in the chair anymore. Maybe then you won't hit your head by falling out of that chair," said Takumi with a small smile.

The tone of Takumi's voice and how he phrased his sentence caused her some alarm. "For now...? What do you mean?"

With a slight tremble in his voice, "Uh you know Sis...I'm, I'm dying. They said I don't have much time before my heart gives out."

He looked so vulnerable in that moment, and Mai's heart shattered into a thousand pieces.

"No Takumi! We're getting you surgery. You're going to America for that experimental surgery, and you're going to get better!" exclaimed his near-frantic sister.

"America? Mai, I'm not sure where you got that idea, but that possibility was ruled out due to cost. The healthcare system in the U.S. is different from ours, and we'd have to pay for all of it. It just isn't possible."

Takumi was absolutely perplexed by this point. He and his sister had been over this numerous times. Against his wishes, Mai had dropped out of school so she'd be able to work more. While Japan's healthcare system was good, and most of the bills were paid by the government, a portion still needed to be paid by them. This added financial burden, on top of their living expenses, had made going to school next to impossible for his sister. The inheritance they received after their parents had died simply wasn't enough to keep them going.

"But it was paid for! I don't understand, we just needed to get you there, and then the hospital fee was taken care of. What happened?" Realization hit Mai like a baseball bat to the back of the head. Mashiro! It must have been Mashiro who paid for the hospital bills, just like it had been Mashiro who brought them to Fuka Academy on a full scholarship. In this world she didn't exist because she would've died 300 years ago. It had been the Hime star that had kept her alive, and Mai's wish had effectively killed her brother's savior.

"I am so stupid."

"What are you talking about, Sis?" asked a very worried Takumi.

"Let me tell you a story of how things should've been. Who we were supposed to be and who we were supposed to meet. I want you to keep an open mind, Brother. What I'm going to tell you won't be easy to accept and may sound crazy. No, I take that back, it WILL sound crazy. I lived through it and even I can't believe it happened. All I ask is that you listen."

For the next several hours, Mai went over in detail how the last 6 months of their lives were supposed to have gone. Friends they were to have made, loves they were supposed to have experienced, the horrible reality that had been the Hime Carnival, and her foolish wish that changed everything. Through it all Takumi listened quietly without comment. At times, Mai thought he had fallen asleep, but each time she looked over his eyes were as bright and alert as she had ever seen them.

"You must think I'm crazy, and I can't say I blame you."

"It's funny, but I DO believe you. You've always been there for me, and not once can I recall you ever actively trying to deceive me. Frankly I don't know why you would try to deceive me like this. There is sincerity in your voice that can't be denied and I know you wouldn't make something like this up when the stakes are so high." Takumi sighed and looked out the window. "Sis, do you think I could wish things back to the way they were?"

Tears of relief spilled down Mai's face. Her brother believed her, so maybe he could change things. "I don't know Takumi, but I'd like it if you tried. Madame Maria said it would have to be another Hime, but since your life was so drastically affected by my mistake it may work."

He made his wish and the two held their breaths for what seemed like an eternity. Nothing happened.

"Maybe we just need to wait for the effects to take hold?" said Mai with hope.

"Maybe."

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Two days later, things had not changed. Takumi was still dying, and Mai was in a constant state of panic. She had to do something. This world simply wasn't right and she thought she knew how to change it. The only other person who loved Takumi as much as her was Akira - at least the Akira of her "previous" world had loved him. It made sense that this Akira would too if she had the chance to meet him. From what she could recall from her conversations with Takumi, Akira had been home-schooled by her family and trained in their dojo. Takumi had mentioned several times that it was near Ueda Castle, within Nagano Prefecture. That fact alone remained with her. She couldn't recall any more details, but there couldn't be more than one dojo in the area run by the Okuzaki family. There wasn't any information on the internet, but from what Takumi had said it sounded more like a secret ninja training camp than a regular dojo, so it was no surprise that they didn't advertise. Thankfully, a train traveled to the area. Mai could be there within a few hours and with luck, be returning with the girl who could save her brother's life.

Kissing Takumi on the head for good luck, Mai began her journey to Okuzaki Dojo with a heart full of hope.

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Omake:

Crick-Crack

Kuma Kuma: Seriously Natsuki, you need to stop cracking that whip at me. It's really beginning to bug me!

Natsuki: Hey, I'm just trying to make you write faster so your readers don't have to wait too long between chapters. This one was really depressing, by the way.

Shizuru: Ara, are you sure you're not trying to turn our friend on, Natsuki-chan?

Kuma Kuma and Natsuki: Baka!

Kuma Kuma: I told you, I'm not into that kind of thing! Geez, do you ever think of anything other than sex, Shizuru-san?

Shizuru: When Natsuki is around, no.

Shizuru leans into her blushing puppy for a kiss.

Kuma Kuma: Whoa, author still in the room, ladies!

Turning to Kuma Kuma

Natsuki: Hey "author", why don't you write Shizuru and me into the next chapter?

Kuma Kuma: You know, you two can get it on without me having to write about it.

Natsuki: Baka! I'm going to whip that smirk off your face!

Shizuru: Calm down, Natsuki. Kuma Kuma was merely attempting to be witty. She meant no harm. *Looking at the author with scary glowing read eyes* I think we'll be returning to the story sooner than she thinks...

Kuma Kuma: *Gulp* Uh yeah, you got it, Shizuru-sama!