Good god! It's one misunderstanding after another!
The next day – Lunch Time - Fuuka Gakuen
It was the next day. Chie and Yukino were seated in the classroom. It was lunch time. Last night, the two fixed Shizuru's broken door and returned to their respective dorm rooms. They figured that Mai and the others will tell them the whole story the next day. But when they came to school, they found out that the two of them and Natsuki were the only three people present from last night. The rest didn't come to school.
In addition to that, Natsuki looked weary and didn't seem like she wanted to talk to anyone. She had left the classroom as soon as the lunch bell rang. Chie and Yukino were left to wonder what was going on. They had tried to contact everyone via their cell phones but the calls were not getting through.
Chie dialed Mai's number again for the 12th time that day but only received a dull beep as an answer. "Where in the world are they?" she muttered and tried Nao's number.
"Haruka-chan isn't picking up either," Yukino said. "I'm going to check the Student Council Room."
"I'll come with you."
The two made haste to the Student Council Room. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination. "We're here," Yukino said.
"What's that sound?" Chie mused, looking around for the source. It carried a melodious tune. It sounded like, "Music?"
"It's coming from inside," Yukino observed and they both poked their heads inside the Student Council Room to check. Someone was in there.
"Natsuki-kun?" Chie whispered. Indeed, Natsuki was there. She was the sole occupant of the room. She was leaning against the window frame. Beside her was a radio sitting on a small stool. Soft music filtrated through the speakers.
~~Lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have-
"Tch …," Natsuki tsked and jabbed a button on the radio, switching to another station.
~~See I've been waiting all day. For you to call me baby. So let's get up, let's get on it. Don't you leave me brokenhearted-
With a growl, she switched stations again.
~~Have you ever needed someone so bad? Have you ever wanted someone who you just couldn't have-
"Arrgh!" she switched to another station again.
~~I miss you quite terribly. I fell in love, in love with you suddenly-
She hit the switch again.
~~But how do you expect me ... to live alone with just me. Cause my world revolves around you, it's so hard for me to breathe-
Natsuki slammed her fist down on the radio. The station switched again.
~~You're the best thing I never knew I needed. So now it's so clear, I need you here always-
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Natsuki shouted. She glared at the radio like she wanted to smash it to pieces or throw it out the window but none of that happened. Instead, she sighed and turned the radio off before slumping down against the wall. "Why is everything reminding me of her?" she said in a shaky mutter. Natsuki wrapped her arms around her legs and proceeded to tuck her knees under her chin. She was curling up into a ball.
"What is she doing?" Chie whispered to Yukino. Her question was answered when she heard a soft sob coming from Natsuki.
They both rushed into the room. "Kuga-san!" Yukino called out.
Startled and disorientated, Natsuki scampered off the floor. "W-Wha-What are you doing here?" she demanded, wiping her tears quickly.
"You're crying," Yukino observed while approaching the agitated girl.
"No, I'm not!" Natsuki snapped whilst desperately wiping the tears that won't stop falling.
"Yes, you are," Yukino insisted.
"No, I'm not! I-I'm … erm … a-angry!" Natsuki replied. She tried to sound like her normal gruffy self.
"Angry?" Chie inquired with a perplexed frown.
"Y-Yeah, I'm angry a-at the … the radio! Because it keeps playing s-stupid songs! I-It's annoying!" Natsuki said.
"Annoying enough to make you cry?" Chie questioned with a disarming smile.
"It's all right, Kuga-san," Yukino took a step closer to Natsuki.
"No! Leave me alone!" Natsuki tried to shout but it came out as a strangled cry. "Stay back! I'm warning you! … G-Go away!"
Yukino took another determined step and spoke sharply. "I will not! Kuga-san, you can beat me down if you want but I will not leave you right now! This is when you need friends the most and I refuse to leave you in this state!"
"We're not here to judge you, Natsuki-kun. We just want to help," Chie said.
Yukino was slowly approaching Natsuki, who looked like a scared and cornered animal. "Come over here," she said and extended both arms towards the upset girl.
"Stop. Stay away- I-I'm n-not crying," Natsuki denied weakly.
"We don't care if you are. We just want to be here for you," Chie said with a soft smile. It seemed to have some effect on Natsuki as she stopped her desperate attempts to wipe the oncoming tears.
"F-Fine! I'm crying!" Natsuki admitted. She started to sniffle but continued to speak. "But i-it's not b-because I fought w-with S-Shizuru or anything o-okay? I-I'm j-j-just mad at the radio!" she mumbled between sobs.
"Of course not," Chie nodded with a warm smile.
"Shhh shhh, it's alright," Yukino cooed softly and finally gathered Natsuki in her arms. Natsuki tried to resist the hug by pushing Yukino away but found that she didn't have the energy to stop it. Her head came to rest on Yukino's shoulders. She could feel soft hands caressing the back of her head and a soothing hand behind her back. "It's all right Kuga-san. Everything is going to be all right. It's okay to cry. We're here for you …," Yukino murmured softly.
That did it. Natsuki couldn't hold it together anymore. With a loud sob, she started crying in earnest. She sobbed into Yukino's shoulder while the other girl held her. Natsuki had been trying to keep everything bottled up. This small random act of kindness from Yukino had broken the dam that was keeping all her emotions at bay. She felt sad, scared, hurt and tired. All she wanted right now was to stop feeling this way. "Just let it out, Kuga-san. Just let it all out," Yukino started rocking her back and forth.
Chie gazed at the pair. She felt so bad for Natsuki but she honestly didn't know what she could do to make things better. She was also very confused. 'Didn't Kaichou-sama go after Natsuki-kun? I thought they worked things out by now.' She sighed. 'Well, Natsuki-kun's a mess so I can't ask her anything right now.' Chie glanced down at the cell phone in her hand, 'Kaichou-sama, Mai-kun, Nao-kun … where in the world are you guys?'
Same day – Same time – Fuuka Hospital
Last night ... Haruka, Mai and Nao had managed to make it to the hospital with a heavily injured Shizuru. The doctors and nurses immediately rushed the wounded girl to the operation room. Nao, being the only hospital savvy person in the group because of her comatose mother, resentfully helped Haruka and Mai with all the forms and procedures regarding Shizuru's admission to the hospital.
After that, the three of them waited anxiously in the emergency room. The doctors ran many tests on Shizuru. They checked for any signs of internal injuries or bone fractures in addition to sewing the gash on Shizuru's forehead. By the time Shizuru was announced stable, it was already mid morning the next day.
Mai and Nao were currently seated on the couch inside Shizuru's hospital room. The said patient was sleeping peacefully in a nearby bed. Haruka had just gone out to use the hospital phone to contact Shizuru's parents.
Nao groaned along with her rumbling stomach. "Do I really have to be here?" she griped.
"Suzushiro-san is trying to contact Kaichou-sama's family. Until she can get a hold of them, there's no one to watch over Kaichou-sama," Mai explained.
"Oh bull, we're in a hospital full of people who can look after her! I've been here since last night and I WANT TO GO HOME!" the angry red head shouted.
"Ssssh! You're going to wake her up," Mai pointed at the sleeping figure of Shizuru on the hospital bed.
"Then let her wake up! Then we can all go home!" Nao retorted. "Besides, the doctor already told us she's gonna be fine. There's no need for me to be here!"
Nao got off the couch but Mai grabbed her arm. "We don't know if her family is going to show up or not. We have to wait on her!"
"Heck no! I'm leaving before that crazy lion lady comes back!" Nao said, trying to shake Mai's hands off.
Their argument came to an abrupt stop when the ever short-tempered Haruka suddenly marched back into the room. "What's all this ruckus about!?" she demanded.
"Nao's trying to leave!" Mai tattled. "And she called you a lion lady!"
"Oi!" the red head glowered at Mai.
"I would punch you if I wasn't so tired," Haruka growled at Nao.
Nao fired a begrudging look at a smug Mai and took her seat on the couch again.
"Did you get a hold of Kaichou-sama's parents?" Mai asked Haruka.
"Yeah. They're currently in England on a business trip," the blonde answered.
"England?! So they're not coming?" Mai exclaimed.
Haruka shook her head. "No, they're coming," she said. "They're catching the first flight to Fuuka. If they're lucky, they'll get here about tomorrow."
"Oh good. I though they weren't coming," Mai sighed in relief.
"But we'll have to watch over Bubuzuke for a few days," Haruka said. "Usually, the hospital only allows family members to see the patients but they've decided to make an exception for Bubuzuke. So we'll be looking after her before her parents arrive." The news didn't sound too bad to Mai but Nao on the other hand ...
"Oh no no no, I'm not staying here that long!" Nao made for the door but Haruka caught her by the scruff before she could make a run for it.
"Lemmie go!" Nao's protested.
"Pipe down!" Haruka snapped. "We need to watch Bubuzuke but we can take turns! I'm sure we can get help from a lot of people. Like Kuga for example. That reminds me ... Tokiha, could you contact Kuga or Yukino? My cell is dead," she said.
Mai gasped at the mention of her friend's name. "Oh no! I was so worried about Kaichou-sama, I forgot to call Natsuki!"
Haruka exhaled. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind, Tokiha. We were pretty busy up until now so I'm sure Kuga would understand."
Mai nodded. "I guess you're right," she said. She pulled her cell phone out of her skirt pocket and grimaced when she saw the blank screen. "Oh darn, mine's dead too. How about yours, Nao?"
"My battery died this morning," Nao said.
Haruka shrugged. "That's all right I guess. We can use the hospital phone."
Nao snorted. "Good luck with that. I don't memorize phone numbers. I usually save them in my cell phone so ..."
"M-Me too," Mai said sheepishly.
The two waited for Haruka to scold them for their incompetence but instead, "Yeah, me too," the blonde said dejectedly.
"Then that means …," Nao's eyes started to shine with hope.
"One of us will have to go back to Fuuka Gakuen and tell someon-"
"I'LL GO!" Nao shouted enthusiastically before Haruka could finish.
Haruka shook her head "Not gonna happen Yuuki! How can I know you won't run off somewhere! Anyways, I want two people on standby next to Bubuzuke at all times. So Tokiha can go back. You and I will leave when she comes back with two other people."
"Oh come ON!" the exasperated red-head shouted. It didn't help that her stomach growled again. Nao's shoulders slumped. "I'm hungry and sleepy ... I just want to go home," she whimpered.
Haruka checked her watch. It was past lunch time. They had been up since last night. She sympathized with Nao. Mai never complained but Haruka knew she was tired too. They were all fatigued and famished. As their senior in school, Haruka felt that it was her job to take care of the two younger girls. "Alright alright, I'll treat you to lunch at the hospital cafeteria, Yuuki. You too, Tokiha, you should eat before you go." Haruka proceeded to push the two girls out the door and locked it behind her.
"But Suzushiro-san," Mai started. "Are you sure we can leave Kaichou-sama alone like that?" she asked.
Haruka shrugged "We're just gonna grab a quick lunch. I'm sure she'll be all right."
Same day – Same time – Fuuka Hospital- Shizuru's room
Not long after Haruka, Mai and Nao left Shizuru's hospital room, a pair of ruby eyes cracked open for the first time that day.
Shizuru's eyes were bleary when she first opened them. It took a while for her vision to clear and when her eyes finally became focused, she saw a white ceiling. The first thought that came to Shizuru was, 'Where am I?'
She tried to move her body but felt sluggish. Regardless of it, Shizuru pushed herself up and regretted it immediately. "Goodness, my head," she murmured. A splitting headache exploded inside her head. Her hands came up to rub her sore temples. "Hmm?" Her fingers felt an unfamiliar texture. This didn't feel like her hair or skin. She ran her fingers over it and realized that something was wrapped around her head. 'A bandage?'
Alarmed, Shizuru scuttled off the bed. 'Mirror.' She needed a mirror to see what had happened to her head. Then she realized another strange thing. 'A bed? How did I get to this bed?' A small wave of mortification washed over her when she couldn't recall how she ended up on the bed. She looked around herself. Shizuru spotted a small clipboard attached to the foot of the bed she was just sleeping on. She snatched it up and sure enough, she saw her name on it. 'So I'm currently a patient at Fuuka Hospital and I suffered a head injury?' That explained the bandage around her head.
Shizuru put the clipboard back and made her way towards the window. She needed to confirm her location. When she got to the window, she was greeted by a familiar view of Fuuka City. She shivered a bit when a breeze came through. 'Why do I feel cold?' Shizuru looked down at her apparel and got her answer. She was wearing nothing but a hospital gown. 'Why am I here again? Was I kidnapped?' Shizuru wondered. She was a prime target for kidnapper because of her wealthy parents but she dismissed the idea quickly. 'No, I wouldn't be at a hospital if I was kidnapped.'
She thought hard for several seconds. 'How did I get here?' The last thing she remembered was running to Natsuki's apartment and then everything was blank. 'Hmm, why was I running to Natsuki's apartment again?'She only had to take a moment when the answer came to her. 'Natsuki and I had that big fight! I went after her because she was crying! What happened that night? Did Natsuki and I talk?' She couldn't remember. 'How long have I been here? What's the date today? What time is it?'Millions of questions needed to be answered. Shizuru looked around the room for anything that could help answer them.
Much to Shizuru's joy, her wristwatch was sitting by the bedside table. She picked it up to check the date and time on the dial. "Thank goodness," Shizuru breathed out. It was only yesterday when she ran to Natsuki's apartment. Now, all she needed to know was how she ended up at the hospital. Shizuru forced her migraine ridden brain to come up with any plausible conjecture concerning her dilemma but was failing. Plus, something was gnawing at her in the back of her head. It nagged her, made her feel restless as if she had forgotten something important. She had her suspicions that it had something to do with Natsuki but she didn't know what it was. 'Hmm, come to think of it ... I don't remember talking to Natsuki yesterday after she left my dorm room. All I remember is running to her apartment. I'm guessing something happened to me along the way … Which means ...' Nothing was resolved between Natsuki and her.
So why was she still here? Why was she still here wasting her time when Natsuki was hurting somewhere? Why was she not doing something about it?
When the thought kicked in, panic hit Shizuru like a hurricane. She dashed towards the only door in the room. She tried to turn the knob. "Locked!" She tried calling out. "Hello! HELLO? IS ANYONE OUT THERE?" No one answered her. She sucked in an impatient breath. "I don't have time for this!" She checked near the bed for an emergency button but it was nowhere in sight.
Shizuru was hoping to talk to someone, a nurse or a doctor. She would make up an excuse to get out of the hospital. She would go see Natsuki first and deal with the hospital later. Shizuru let out an annoyed grunt. 'I guess that's not going to work out.'
She needed a way out of this room and the door was locked. Next, she went to the only other opening in the whole room; the window. She poked her head out the opening and looked down. "Oh dear, that's a big drop," she said to herself. She was probably about eight-stories high. The drop could literally kill her. She looked around for anything she could use. Below the window was a small ledge. Shizuru could see a rain pipe nearby. The rain pipe ran all the way from the top of the building to the ground. She could use the ledge to reach the rain pipe and slide her way down easily.
Shizuru checked her watch again. It was a little past noon. Natsuki would be in school about now so she would have to run all the way to Fuuka Gakuen. The journey would be a little tiresome but she was fast runner. She could do it. But first, she would need to get out of this building.
Shizuru would do anything for Natsuki but this idea was crazy even by her standards. She contemplated on waiting. She could talk to Natsuki when she gets discharged from the hospital. There was no rush. Her brain was trying to be logical but her heart objected by constricting painfully. A vision of Natsuki's tear stained face invaded her mind. The image hurt her more than anything. Shizuru felt like she couldn't breathe. She could take anything from Natsuki, let it be a punch or hatred. She could force herself to live with it but she couldn't bear the thought of Natsuki crying. Who would wish that on the person they love? Sitting back and doing nothing was not an option right now. She started this whole mess so she was obligated to make amends. 'I can do this. I HAVE to do it.' Shizuru tried to shake her fear of possible death from the fall.
"This is for Natsuki. For my most precious person. The person I love! I can do this!" she said to herself. She put one foot out the window and onto the ledge. There really was no other way. She tried calling out the locked door. She had tried other options before deciding on this dangerous venture.
This was the only way to go now but Shizuru was still nervous. 'Maybe if I talk to myself ... I will feel more assured and less nervous,' she thought. "This is the only way. This is the only way. This is the only way," she chanted nervously. She pictured Natsuki's face and suddenly she felt like she could do anything. "I can do this!"
Just then, the locked door creaked open and two nurses walked in. One was holding a tray of food.
Oblivious of the new comers, Shizuru was still cheering herself on. "I WILL DO THIS! THIS IS THE ONLY WAY!" she shouted.
The food tray hit the floor with a metallic clank. That got Shizuru's full attention. She could only gape at the two horrified nurses. "NO! DON'T JUMP!" one cried out. 'Blasted!' Shizuru's mind quickly worked everything out. She was halfway out the window while muttering things to herself that could potentially be misleading to others. 'I better explain before things get out of hand.'
Shizuru cleared her throat. "Ladies, I know what this must look like ... but I assure you, it's not what you think." Her usually calming tone had no affect on the two agitated nurses. She found that out the hard way when one of them shrieked a terrified scream. "Ssssh! Miss! Calm down!" Shizuru tried to hush the girl up.
Shizuru's heart sunk when the door to the room slammed open. 'No! Not more people!' she dreaded. If more hospital authorities saw her like this, then they would never let her leave. But to her saving grace, three familiar faces entered the room. It was Haruka, Mai and Nao.
Haruka and Nao were headed back to the room to wait on Shizuru. Mai came along to pick up Shizuru's dirty clothes before she left. They were close enough to hear the blood curling scream coming from Shizuru's hospital room and had hurried in to see what was happening. Their jaws hit the floor when they saw the situation.
"K-KAICHOU-SAMA!" Mai exclaimed in surprise.
One of the nurses, a girl with short blonde hair pointed a shaky finger at Shizuru. "This girl is trying to jump!" she trilled.
"BUBUZUKE! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Haruka bellowed.
"She's trying to commit suicide!" the other nurse with long dark hair said.
"Ara, I'm not." Shizuru explained but she knew it wasn't enough. She needed a better excuse. Another breeze came through the window and she shivered again. That gave Shizuru an idea. "T-The room was getting too s-stuffy for me. I-I was just t-trying to get s-some ... a-air?" To make her point, Shizuru pulled on her gown from the neckline, trying to seem like she was getting some air flow inside her clothes. She felt some buttons pop from the gown's backside because of her forceful yanking but Shizuru didn't care.
"But why do you have one foot out the window?" Nao asked dubiously.
"A-Ara yes, I-I was trying to get some air between my legs?" Shizuru answered for the sake of answering.
Nao grimaced. "You're disgusting."
Shizuru was also ashamed of what she said but it was the result of having to pull an excuse out of nowhere. She was doing her best to dissuade the two nurses from thinking that she was suicidal. If she can't, then it would definitely foil her chances of ever leaving the hospital today. To Shizuru's chagrin, things were not going in her favor. The two nurses didn't look like they were buying into her story.
Shizuru was overworking her tired brain. She attempted to come up with a more convincing excuse. She decided not to say anything more before she did. 'The first thing I need to do is get away from this window,' she thought. Shizuru retracted her leg back inside the room. "See? I'm not going to jump," she said.
Haruka waved an angry fist at her. "Damn it, Bubuzuke! Don't scare me like that!" she snapped.
Shizuru was about to walk away from the window when Mai spoke timidly. "Err, excuse me, K-K-Kaichou-sama. Y-Your hospital gown i-is coming loose," she stuttered, blushing profusely.
"Ara?"
"You ass cheek is exposed," Nao deadpanned. Shizuru checked her back over her shoulders and found that her posterior was indeed, exposed. The gown she wore was the type that needed to be buttoned from behind. In Shizuru's current state, the buttons were non-existent due to her hard tugging on the gown a while ago.
Haruka eyes travelled down Shizuru's back and she quickly whipped around when she saw the bare buttocks. The indecency made the blonde very uncomfortable. "W-WILL SOMEONE COVER HER UP?" she shouted.
"I have a pin," Mai offered, taking a pin out of her pocket.
"GO COVER HER UP!" Haruka ordered.
"O-Okay," Mai did as she was told. She approached Shizuru with a pin in hand.
"No! She might jump! Don't walk up to her so casually like that!" the nurse with blonde hair warned.
"Don't worry. Bubuzuke's not going to jump," Haruka said. "She may be weird and eccentric but I know her. She's definitely not suicidal," she assured the two nurses. Haruka had her back turned to Shizuru and was oblivious to what was going on behind her.
Meanwhile - near the window ...
Shizuru and Mai were standing beside the opened window. Mai was bent down, literally face to face with Shizuru's exposed posterior. She was trying to pin Shizuru's gown back together.
"I'm sorry to trouble you Tokiha-san," Shizuru apologized.
"O-Oh, it's no trouble Kaichou-sama," Mai tried to sound indifferent but she was really beyond embarrassed to be this close to Shizuru's privates. Her hands were shaking, sweaty and she was trying hard not to let the pin slip from her fingers. "I'm just going to pin your gown together using this-" Then it happened. The pin slipped from Mai's hands. Her desperate fingers juggled the pin around for a second before she caught a firm hold on it again and when she did, the pointy tip ended up digging into Shizuru's buttocks.
Shizuru's body jerked from the painful sting. She jumped forward. Her knees hit the window frame. To Shizuru horror, she started to lose her balance.
"OH GOD NO! KAICHOU-SAMA!" Mai dropped the pin and tried to grab Shizuru's gown but it slipped through the hands.
"Oh dear," Shizuru whimpered and then she was gone. Mai was left grasping air.
Meanwhile, Haruka was still talking to the two nurses. "Bubuzuke has no reason to kill herself. I guarantee you. She's not going to jump."
"S-Suzushiro-san?" Mai uttered the name weakly but it got Haruka's attention.
The blonde turned to Mai. "Tokiha? What are you- ... Where's Bubuzuke?"
Mai pointed at the window. Haruka stared at her blankly. She looked at Mai, then at the window. She repeated the process several times before she finally exploded. "AHHHHHHHHHH! SHE REALLY JUMPED!" Haruka screamed.
Mai held up her bloody pin "N-Not exactly ... I ..."
Seeing the bloody pin, Nao connected the dots quickly. "Holy shit! You poked Fujino with that thing didn't you?" she exclaimed.
Mai nodded. "I-It was an accident! M-My hands were shaking ... the pin slipped out my fingers and I-I poked her! It was an accident! You have to believe me!" She managed to babble out a somewhat coherent explanation.
Haruka frantically tried to wrap her head around the whole situation. "S-So you poked Bubuzuke in the ass-"
"That's what she said!" Nao joked, cutting the blonde off. "Hehehe, I know this is probably not the right time but it was just too good to let go."
Haruka smacked Nao upside the head before continuing. "So you poked Bubuzuke's butt with that pin a-and she lost her b-balance and fell?"
"Y-Yes," Mai said.
The shock from hearing the news quickly wore off and panic hit Haruka with full force. "OH NO! BUBUZUKE!" the blonde rushed to the window. "Oh, please don't be dead. Please don't be dead. Please don't be dead." Haruka was terrified. She half expected to see a blood splattered corpse on the ground but to her joy it wasn't there. Instead, she saw Shizuru barely hanging onto a ledge several feet below her. "BUBUZUKE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? JUST STAY WHERE YOU ARE! WE'RE GONNA GET YOU!"
"She's alive!" Haruka informed the people in the room. "We need a way to save her. OI! Yuuki? You can stick to walls right? Maybe you can go rescue Bubuzuke," Haruka said.
The red-head frowned. "How the hell am I gonna stick to a wall?"
"Didn't you have a spider pet thingy? You use it to fight toddlers don't you?"
"It's called a child you dipshit!" Nao snapped. "And we fought orphans not toddlers! Just because I have a spider child doesn't mean I can stick to walls! Besides, we lost our powers a long time ago!"
Haruka grabbed Nao's uniform collar. "Who are you calling a dipshit you little punk! I outta clobber you for being so rude!"
"Up yours blondie!" Nao spat back.
"WHY YOU-"
"HEY!" Mai shrieked, disrupting the heated quarrel between Nao and Haruka. "Are you two really going to stand there and argue while Kaichou-sama is hanging off a ledge with her naked butt cheeks?!"
Haruka and Nao broke apart sheepishly. "R-Right," Haruka nodded and went back to the window. She gauged Shizuru's situation and quickly conjured an idea. "BUBZUKE! CAN YOU MOVE AROUND USING THE LEDGE? MAYBE YOU CAN CLIMB INTO ONE OF THE WINDOWS?" she instructed.
"I'll do it."
Haruka heard Shizuru's faint reply and saw the tawny-haired girl start to move slowly towards a window. "JUST HANG ON! WE'LL BE THERE!" she shouted back. Although Haruka was worried, she couldn't help herself from pulling a face when she saw the sun being reflected off Shizuru's shining buttocks. "AND FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, COVER YOURSELF!"
Haruka turned back to her two companions. "Alright, she's three floors below us. That would be the fifth floor. Let's go," the three of them began to make their way to the exit but they were stopped by two figures coming into the room. Two women doctors entered. One had short silver hair and dark skin while the other doctor had short tawny hair and was very light skinned.
"What's going on around here?" the woman with short silver hair demanded.
"Doctor Bianchi! Doctor Lu" the terrified raven-haired nurse finally found her voice. "T-The patient jumped out of the window!"
"She tried to commit suicide!" said the nurse with short blonde hair.
"WHAT?" the silver-haired doctor bellowed. She and her colleague hurried over to the window. "Oh my god," she gasped when she saw Shizuru. She then turned to tawny-haired doctor. "Anh! Alert the staff! We need to help that patient!"
Anh nodded. "I'm on it," she said and left the room in a hurry.
"What happened here?" Laula asked the people who were left in the room.
The raven-haired nurse pointed an accusatory finger at Mai. "The patient jumped because that girl poked her with a pin. She made her jump!" she said.
"What?" Doctor Bianchi asked, looking puzzled.
"It was an accident!" Mai protested. "I didn't mean to poke her butt!"
Laula was now thoroughly perplexed. She turned towards Mai. "So let me make this clear," she said. "You poked a suicidal patient in the butt with a pin and that made her jump?"
Haruka felt like pulling her hair out. Shizuru could fall to her death any minute. They had no time to be dawdling like this. "NO! Bubuzuke is not suicidal! It was an accident! Look, we have no time to explain! We need to go see if she's alright!" Haruka yelled.
"Hang on," Doctor Bianchi spoke sharply. "Nobody is going anywhere until I know exactly what's going on!" She spoke in the direction of the blonde nurse. "Eristin! Call the cops. Tell them someone tried to attempt suicide!" She then addressed the other nurse. "Nina, help me keep an eye on these people!" she ordered.
"Oh jeez, this is getting way out of hand," Mai said nervously. She turned to the only leader-like person in the group. "What do we do, Suzushiro-san?"
"I have no idea," Haruka answered honestly. She was running out of ideas. Shizuru was still probably hanging off a ledge, just a tiny slip away from her imminent death. She was probably still weak from her head injury so the odds were stacked high against her. It didn't help that the four of them could possibly land in jail with the way things were going. What was Haruka supposed to do at this point?
And so she said the only thing that came to mind.
"RUN FOR IT!"
Same day – Same time – Fuuka Hospital - Ledge
Shizuru slowly moved along the ledge.
Her arms ached and her fingers were sore. She had carefully maneuvered herself towards an opened window. She latched herself onto the window frame and used the last of her strength to pull herself inside.
She didn't know how weak she was until her feet touched the solid concrete. Her knees bucked and she collapsed onto the floor. "Ooohhhh," she groaned and rubbed her buttocks. Mai's pin struck deep and her posterior was bleeding a bit. She groaned again, it was a small wound but it still stung.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Shizuru stood up abruptly at the shrill voice. She wasn't alone in the room. A thin, frail elderly lady with short silver hair was glaring at her from across the room. "YOU! Your bottom is exposed! W-Were you touching yourself just now? You- you- ..."
'Touching myself?' Shizuru was merely massaging the wound from the pin. 'But I guess I can understand why she misunderstood.' To explain herself, Shizuru contemplated on turning around and showing her wounded posterior to the elderly woman. She did away with the idea instantly. It would be highly inappropriate if she did that without any prior explanation to back it up. The elderly woman would surely accuse her of mooning. If Shizuru wanted the lady to believe her, then she would need to explain from the beginning.
"I- … well Madam, you see, I fell off the 8th floor and I-" The lady was intimating, too intimating to the point that Shizuru was having problems articulating her bizarre situation. The woman's light emerald eyes shone with something akin to raging lava like anger. Moreover, she didn't look like she had any intention of listening to Shizuru.
"YOU FILTHY PERVERT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?" she roared.
"Ara pervert?" Shizuru's mind only registered the word for a moment before something hit her right on the head. She saw stars.
"PERVERT! WHY WERE YOU DOING LEWD THINGS IN MY ROOM!" the lady shouted, holding up a black parasol as if it were a sword.
"Madam! Please! This is a misunderstanding. Let me explain!" Shizuru said, only to have the parasol land on her head again.
"I'M OLD ENOUGH TO BE YOUR GRANDMOTHER YOU PERVERT!" the old woman screamed.
"I'm not a pervert!" Shizuru tried her best to shield herself from the grandma's relentless assaults. She was beginning to think that hanging off a ledge was a better option when she saw something in the corner of her eyes. 'A walking stick!' Shizuru picked it up quickly. "Stand back!" she said. "I do not want to hurt you!" She mimicked the elderly lady by holding the walking stick like a sword. Shizuru did not like to threaten little old ladies. She just wanted to leave the room unharmed.
Shizuru now expected the grandma to think twice about hitting her. She was sure that the elderly woman would stand down now but she judged wrong. Shizuru saw a cocky grin appear on the slightly wrinkled face. Then, the old lady shifted her body into a fencing stance. "I can beat ten of you with one hand tied behind my back. Bring it on!" she challenged.
Shizuru's eyes bulged out, "Ara … erm …" Her plan had backfired horribly. The grandma was advancing forward while holding the parasol like a fencing sword. She didn't know what to do next and before she could come up with an escape plan, the elderly woman struck. It took all of Shizuru's speed to block her. That was only the first of many devastating onslaughts.
Hurting the elderly was not an option for Shizuru but she was abhorred to realize that she couldn't hurt the old woman even if she wanted to. She may be old but Shizuru was up against a very strong and formidable fighter. Shizuru groaned inwardly while fending for herself. 'Why this? Why me? Why now? Why am I always so unlucky when it comes to Natsuki? ... ... ... I swear, only the road to Natsuki's love would be laden with near death experiences and crazy old ladies!'
Here's a citing of songs used in this chapter, they are-
Lucky - Jason Mraz feat. Colbie Calliet.
Karmin - Brokenhearted.
Def Leppard - Have you ever needed someone so bad.
Hellogoodbye - Here in your arms.
Jordin Sparks - No air.
Ne-yo - Never knew I needed.