Oishi slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his vision and recall why he had been unconscious in the first place. He went to move to get up, only to be greeted with sharp pains in his head and back, causing him to sink back down. He then became aware of his pounding headache and the stiffness in his neck, causing him to groan slightly.

"Oishi, you're awake, nya…" that voice, Oishi thought. It couldn't be who he thought it was. It was too…listless. But it was so familiar, it had to be. Suddenly, Oishi's eyes snapped open and everything came flooding back. He sat up with a jolt, resulting in another wave of pain coursing through his head and back. He held his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Oishi felt a twinge of guilt for not remembering right away. He hadn't even realized he'd been laying on top of Eiji until he sat up.

"Oishi, don't move so much, you're hurt," Eiji said weakly. Oishi peeled his eyes open to look at his doubles partner. His eyes instantly filled with worry and concern. They were both soaked from head to toe. But Eiji's eyes were only half open and he was really pale. Oishi continued to trail his gaze down on the acrobat and what he saw made his eyes widen in fear.

"Eiji, you're…bleeding…" he said almost disbelievingly, looking from Eiji's eyes back to the apparent wound on his left side where blood had seeped out and was pooling on the side of his shirt. That's when Oishi noticed a small, smeared trail of blood leading from the bank of the river to where Eiji now laid. "Eiji, what happened?" Oishi asked worriedly.

"We went over the waterfall, nya," Eiji explained. His voice was quiet and lacked its usual vibrant energy, worrying Oishi further. "But we didn't hit any rocks or anything when we landed, I made sure," he managed a small smile, but it faded as quickly as it had appeared.

"But, then, how…?" Oishi asked, looking back to the wound on Eiji's left, then to Eiji, eyes questioning and filled with worry.

"Nya… The current was still strong when we landed," Eiji continued. "It carried us for awhile…and I was trying to make sure you were okay…" Eiji said, having to pause for breath every so often. His breathing seemed a little more shallow than normal, Oishi noticed. "Then, finally, the river narrowed…and I was sure I could get us onto the shore…so I turned to reach it… But something sharp got my side… I don't know what it was… I still got us to the shore, though, nya," Eiji finally finished, managing another small smile. But it left his lips as he coughed lightly from talking so much.

"Eiji…" Oishi said, his eyes filling with tears as he listened. "Eiji, I'm so sorry," he continued, hanging his head and desperately trying to keep the tears at bay.

"Nya, Oishi, don't be sorry," Eiji said as comfortingly as he could. "Besides, you protected me first…and you got hurt, too, nya… I was really worried when you didn't wake up…" he finished, the last part barely a whisper, and turned his head slightly away from Oishi, eyes downcast and a sad expression on his face.

Oishi gently placed his hand on Eiji's. Eiji looked down at it for a second and then up into the gentle green eyes of his doubles partner. "Gomen, Eiji, I didn't mean to make you worry," Oishi spoke, his eyes never leaving Eiji's, apology evident in his voice. "But I'm here and awake now. And I'm not going anywhere," Oishi said, a small smile gracing his lips as he gave Eiji's hand a tiny squeeze.

Eiji gave Oishi a grateful smile in return, his eyes watering a bit. They both just stayed like that for a few moments, staring into each others' eyes, until Eiji began to lightly cough again and brought his hand up to cover his mouth. This effectively snapped them both out of the trance.

"Ah, gomen Eiji, I shouldn't just be sitting here," Oishi said quickly. Eiji's injuries needed to be tended to. Oishi slipped off his jacket and ripped off one of the sleeves, folding it twice to make it a thicker padding. He then ripped a strip of fabric off of the side of the jacket to use to secure the sleeve in place. He would save the other sleeve to use later when this one needed to be changed. "Eiji, I'm going to put pressure on the cut now, okay?" Oishi asked, looking to Eiji for permission. Eiji gave him a small nod as a go ahead.

With that, Oishi kneeled down beside Eiji, ignoring the pain that ran through his back. Eiji was what mattered right now. He turned Eiji over a little to his right side so that he could have better access to the cut, using his knees to prop Eiji in place. Eiji grimaced a bit at the movement, but did not protest any. Oishi carefully pulled Eiji's shirt away. The cut was on Eiji's lower left side, right above his hip. It seemed to be about four inches long. The cut didn't appear deep enough to reach any organs, but it was still deep. It had yet to completely stop bleeding as well.

Oishi took the folded sleeve and pressed it to the injury. Eiji sucked in some air and squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his teeth slightly, but still did not protest. After holding pressure for about two minutes, Oishi took the strip of fabric and tied the sleeve in place around the injury. He pulled Eiji's shirt back down, gently slid him off his knees, and laid him back down on his back. Eiji let out the breath he had been holding.

"Eiji, I'm going to look at your leg now," Oishi told the red-head. He received another nod in response. Oishi moved to Eiji's leg, paying no mind to the continuous protests from his back. He slowly rolled up Eiji's pant leg, careful not to brush the fabric across the cuts. There were several small cuts, each about an inch in width, accompanied by a few scrapes. None were deep and only a small amount of blood trickled out. A few splinters of wood remained, which Oishi gingerly removed. He tore two more strips from the jacket, wrapped them around the cuts and scrapes, and tied them in place.

"How's that?" Oishi asked, settling back down next to the acrobat.

"Better… Thanks, Oishi," Eiji answered softly.

"I'm glad," Oishi responded. At least Eiji's injuries were safe from getting dirt in them. But he still needed proper medical attention. Oishi finally took the time to look around and examine their surroundings. The waterfall was nowhere in sight, so they must be a good ways down the river. That was not good.

"Oishi…I'm really sleepy, nya," Eiji said wearily. His body was sore and tired and his eyes felt heavy. It was becoming increasingly difficult to fight the unconsciousness that was pulling him in.

Eiji's voice drew Oishi out of his musings. His eyes returned upon his doubles partner. Eiji was a bit more pale and his eyes were almost all the way closed. The acrobat looked utterly exhausted.

Oishi moved to gingerly place Eiji's head in his lap. "Go ahead and rest, Eiji, I'll be right here," Oishi said reassuringly.

"Arigatou…Oishi," Eiji breathed out, easily following into a deep slumber. Oishi smiled down at the red-head, but his expression quickly changed to that of worry. Eiji needed to see a doctor as soon as possible. But neither he nor Oishi were fit to move around very much. Oishi was truly at a loss as to what to do.

He would have to depend on Tezuka and the others and hope that they found them before it was too late.

A/N: Sorry for the longer wait this time. I hope you all liked it. Thank you once again for the reviews, I absolutely love them ^_^