Chapter 2: Waiting
Oishi had been hit by an oncoming truck. The driver had been drunk and was charged with DUI and speeding. Everything went so fast for Eiji. He hadn't seen his friend get hit but felt it was all his fault.
I made Oishi follow me. I ran too fast. I crossed when it was a red light. I created this whole mess! Eiji thought, as he paced the corridor of the hospital. It seemed so long ago since he had phoned the ambulance. Oishi was still in surgery and Eiji was pulling his hair out fretting about his beloved doubles partner. Why couldn't the doctors at least come out and say they had made some progress? Why did they have to make him wait outside under the bright hospital lights and worry? Eiji's skin was pale and clammy, and his hands wouldn't stop shaking. His heart beat faster than ever and everything around him seemed blurry. Kikumaru was about to lose it when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. The hand belonged to Fuji.
"Fu-Fuji! Wh-what are you do-doing here?" Eiji stammered.
"One of my teammates is injured. Of course I would know. I called your house and your mother told me what happened." Fuji smiled.
Eiji was so overwhelmed with emotion. His eyes welled up with tears and he began to cry. First just a few tears, then sobbing. He cried and cried like never before, and leaned on to Fuji for support. Fuji sympathetically hugged Eiji and said words of reassurance to his classmate. He told Eiji that Oishi would make it, that the mom of the team would never give up so easily. The nickname made Eiji laugh a little. Eiji hiccoughed and smiled.
"Arigato, Fuji. You really are a great friend." Eiji managed to say between hiccoughs.
"Isin't this why we have friends?" Fuji smiled and opened his eyes. Eiji was a mess. His face was tear streaked and red. Hi eyes were so puffy you couldn't see them. His hair was wet and floppy. Fuji helped Eiji sit down in a chair and rest. When he saw Eiji fall asleep, he went outside to call everyone else. Almost everybody said the same thing.
"Oh my god, is he all right? I'm going over right now!" Only Echizen said nothing in response. All he said was "Okay." But the tensai saw through the rookie's ignorant "okay". He could hear that Ryoma was concerned and probably well on his way to the hospital. In no time, the entire team was huddled in a circle outside the surgery room. No one spoke. Finally, Echizen said to Eiji,
"Ano Eiji-senpai? What if, you know, there's a chance he is…" Ryoma trailed. Eiji knew where this was going.
"No! Oishi isin't going to die he isin't! You got that Ryoma?!" Eiji shook Ryoma so hard his cap fell off. When Kikumaru said "Ryoma" like that, it meant he was dead serious. Fuji took hold of Eiji and hugged him hard. Even Tezuka looked sympathetic. The group waited for another hour before the doctor finally came out. Tezuka was the first to speak.
"How is his condition?" Tezuka asked in a deeper voice than usual.
"He's in a critical state. He might've broken his spine, but that isin't a for sure. He defintly is going to stay for quite some time." The doctor told matter-of-factly, as if he had said it a million times already. The group sighed. Eiji felt the tears coming up.
"It's all my fault. It's always my fault." Kikumaru whispered.
"Eiji-senpai, stop blaming your self. It's not like you meant for it to happen. And it's not like we are blaming you." Momo told his senior.
Eiji looked up and forced a smile. Everyone saw through the smile, and did everything to calm him down. Kikumaru was grateful but was tired, confused and worried sick. He told everybody that he needed to go home and left immediately. Nobody tried to stop him, not even Fuji. When Eiji entered home, his mother held him in a tight embrace. His father hugged him, as did his siblings. Kikumaru loved his family, but just wanted to be alone. He climbed the stairs and fell on to his bed without changing. Eiji tossed and turned but was haunted by the image he had seen today. Oishi's body, eagle-spread on the road, lying in a pool of his own blood. His arms, legs, twisted inward and out. Eiji began to cry and knew that tonight would be a long night.
