Chapter Five

Dither

First of all, it was bright.

Even against his eyelids, still shielding his eyes, he could tell that it was very bright. He groaned, rubbing his still-shut eyes, hesitant about opening them.

Second, his head was killing him.

He moved his hands from his eyes to his poor, aching forehead as he slowly sat up. He was suddenly taken away from his throbbing skull as he noticed he was in a bed. A bed that was stiff as a board. What the hell? His wonderful futon at home would never be this uncomfortable. Curious, he opened his eyes, and regretted it immediately.

Thirdly, it was way too fucking bright.

Ryoga squinted in pain as his eyes were brutally tortured by white. Yet once again he was taken away from his agony as he noticed that not only was this bed not his own, neither was this room. Ryoga looked around, taking in his too-bright surroundings. It didn't take him long, even with his brutal hangover, to surmise where he was.

This was the hospital.

"Shit…" Ryoga whispered, grabbing his head, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to clear the haze in his head that clouded the memory of the night before.

He noticed the wrap around his head was also not his own familiar yellow bandana. His eyes flew open, and he searched blindly with his hands around his head, which had a wrap of gauze around it. Then, he cringed slightly when his fingers found the reason why the gauze was there: he had a bump on the left side of his head, right at the top of his hairline where his bangs could thankfully cover what was no doubt an ugly goose egg.

"Oh, you're awake."

Ryoga looked over at the door, and saw a young nurse in sea foam green scrubs with a pattern of white bunnies on the shirt. Her dark brown eyes were so large Ryoga could practically see the reflection of the window behind him in them. She smiled at him as he blinked at her, and her black hair, tied into a messy bun high on her head, bounced as she walked over to him. Her white sneakers squeaked on the floor slightly, and the sound drilled into Ryoga's ears.

"How's your head feeling…" she began to ask, trailing off as she took the clipboard out from its holder on the end of the bed. She glanced at it briefly. "Mr. Hibiki?"

"It's been better," he quickly realized that probably wasn't a good enough answer, "Uh…there's a bit of a bump. But I'm sure it'll clear up in no time. I've had worse injuries than a little hit on the head. This is nothing."

The nurse was quiet as she fumbled her clipboard, and Ryoga saw her worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, her brow furrowed. Ryoga looked at her, confused, as his head and heart began to race. The nurse seemed to collect herself, put the clipboard back and rounded the bed. She briefly washed her hands in the small sink near the bed, and Ryoga stared at the running water. He couldn't hear it. Instead, he heard the screeching of a car.

"…Now, Mr. Hibiki, let me just remove these bandages and take a look at that—"

"Where's Ranma?"

The nurse's hands stopped halfway toward Ryoga's head. "Sir?"

"Ranma," Ryoga blurted, as if it were obvious. "Did I…did I come here with him last night? Was he with me?"

The nurse's large eyes seemed to quiver. "You and Ranma Saotome both arrived at 2:45 in the morning," she began. "You only had a few small scratches, and a small concussion. You were apparently asleep before the accident, and knocked unconscious afterwards."

"Accident?" Ryoga echoed with a strain in his voice.

The nurse nodded. "It was a car accident. We don't exactly know all the details, but rest assured that Mr. Saotome will be taken good care of under our—"

The nurse stopped herself, since Ryoga had whipped the thin sheets off of his legs and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The nurse placed a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder.

"Mr. Hibiki, sir, I must ask you to stay in bed." the nurse said waveringly.

"Where's Ranma?" Ryoga demanded.

"Mr. Saotome is here, safe and sound under our care. You can visit him in a while, sir, but first I need to tend to your injuries."

Ryoga's heart was beating so hard it throbbed in his chest. He could feel sweat beading under the gauze on his head.

"…Mr. Hibiki?" the nurse murmured. "Your face is going white. Perhaps you'd like some water? You should calm down and rest."

Ryoga's lips felt dry. They seemed to crack open. "Water, yes." His voice came out scratchy. "Please."

The nurse went back around the bed and to the sink again, grabbing a small paper cup. Ryoga listened as the faucet turned on, and he heard the car screech again. He clamped his hands over his ears. The screeching stopped instantly.

"Mr. Hibiki?" the nurse's worried voice was muffled through his hands.

She hurriedly moved back to his side, with a small paper cup full of water in her hand. "Here," she said softly. "You'll feel much better if you have something to drink."

But that's what got me here.

"Please," Ryoga croaked. "I need to see him."

"Sir, I—"

"I need to see him!"

The nurse was quiet for a moment. She sighed gently.

"I promise that I will take you to see Mr. Saotome myself, but first you have to let me take care of you, first. Please, Mr. Hibiki." The nurse placed a comforting hand on Ryoga's shoulder. "I won't keep you long."

Ryoga looked up woefully at the young woman smiling softly at him. She looked to be in her early thirties. One of the new girls; fumbling around the seasoned nurses like a kitten among a pack of old, greying cats.

"…What's your name?" he asked quietly.

The nurse's smile grew, proud of herself for successfully soothing her patient. "It's Usagi," she said.

Ryoga smiled softly. Usagi carefully removed his bandages and began her examination. She ran through a few tests, and within a few minutes she stepped back.

"Well, Mr. Hibiki, looks like everything is all right." Usagi said cheerfully. "You just have a light concussion. As long as you take it easy for the next few days, you should be back to normal in no time. Get plenty of rest, don't do anything too physically demanding—I'd suggest taking some time off work—even things that require a lot of concentration are good to avoid. And no consumption of alcohol until your doctor says you're fully healed…understood?"

I'm never having another drop of alcohol, ever again.

"Understood." Ryoga said.

Usagi smiled. "So," she said, as she pulled a large bandage out of her pocket and unwrapped it. "Would you like to go see how Mr. Saotome is doing?"

"Yes." Ryoga said it firmly, but unable to mask the trepidation in his voice as his nurse moved his bangs aside. Usagi gently pressed the large Band-Aid on his bump, and then fixed his hair.

"He's just a few rooms down," she said. "But how's about you change first? I'll go get you the clothes you came here in."

Ryoga tried his best not to break into run down the hall. He tried to tell himself that, if he did that, he'd no doubt take the wrong turn and get himself lost, and just delay his getting to Ranma even more. He steeled himself as he walked next to Usagi. Just when he was about to lose his patience, they had reached the room.

"Here we are, B2-794. This is where Mr. Saotome is staying." Usagi announced. She knocked lightly on the door. She stepped back, and they waited. After half a second that lasted an eternity for Ryoga, someone opened the door quietly. The man looked between Usagi and Ryoga curiously.

"Dr. Fushimi, this is Ryoga Hibiki. He was admitted with Mr. Saotome last night, and was wondering if it was alright to visit him now." Usagi explained.

Dr. Fushimi looked over at Ryoga again briefly, then back to Usagi. "Your timing is wonderful, Ms. Hitomi," the doctor said pleasantly. "I was actually going to make my way to Mr. Hibiki's room in a few minutes to give him news on Mr. Saotome."

"How is he, doctor?" Ryoga said quickly.

Dr. Fushimi ushered them inside, and he shut the door behind them again as they entered. "Still unconscious, but he's not frail by any means. His vital signs are all good, so far that means he hasn't gone into a coma, and hopefully that won't change…he just needs to wake up before we can make any further assessments on his condition."

Ryoga was trying his best to listen to the doctor, but all his sights were zeroed in on the person lying in the bed before him. Ranma's eyes were softly closed, his face so calm he looked like he was just having an afternoon nap. His breathing was steady; each breath washed relief over Ryoga like an ocean wave. Like Ryoga, he too had bandages wrapped around his head, peering through his wispy bangs. They'd undone his braid and re-tied it into a low ponytail, the same way he wore his hair when they were in junior high.

I always see the boy with the bread. Who I always thought was kind of cute.

"Ranma…" he whispered. The room had melted away. He moved closer to the bed, lowering himself in a nearby stool, never taking his eyes off of Ranma.

Up close, Ryoga could see all the tiny scratches on Ranma's face. He had a bigger cut on his cheek that had three little strips of medical tape across it, and another like it on the side of his chin, and a third, peeking through his bangs right above his eyebrow. Despite his steady breathing, he'd been hooked up to a nasal cannula, and despite its grim appearance, Ryoga assured himself it was just for even more oxygen, so Ranma could heal even faster. He gingerly took one of Ranma's limp hands in his own, and squeezed it gently.

"Oh, Ranma…I'm so sorry." The whisper was so soft, it was only meant for Ranma to hear. He'd almost become completely unaware of the other's presence in the room.

"He's in good hands, here." Dr. Fushimi finally said. "I know that waiting is always the hardest part, but I'm confident that he'll be coming back to us very soon. The boy has an incredibly strong constitution."

Ryoga listened to the continual beep of Ranma's healthy heart rate from the monitor. He closed his eyes. The machine may as well have been playing Debussy's Claire De Lune, for its incessant beep soothed him just the same.

"There's nothing more we can do until he wakes up," continued Dr. Fushimi. "If he doesn't wake up, or his vitals start to weaken within the next 24 hours, that will be the time to take further actions. However, if he wakes up shortly, then we can start further examinations to see if there was any trauma. I have other patients to visit, but I'll be back as soon as he wakes up."

"Thank you, Doctor." Usagi said, grabbing the door for Fushimi as he made his way out of the room.

"Do you need anything else, Mr. Hibiki?" Usagi asked, once the doctor had left the room. She looked over at Ryoga, his back to her as he continued to hold Ranma's hand. He didn't move, or make any indication that he'd even heard her at all. Usagi hesitated for a moment, considering calling him again. She opened her mouth, and then closed it.

"Is he allowed more than one visitor?" Ryoga said suddenly.

Usagi blinked. "Um, yes, that should be all right. Mr. Saotome can have his family here so they can all be here when he wakes up. When he does wake up, you'll have to make room for the doctor to do his assessments, of course."

"That's fine," Ryoga said, already digging out his cell phone (he carried it for emergencies only—like getting lost).

"Will that be all, Mr. Hibiki?" Usagi asked. "If you ever need me, don't hesitate to press that red button by the bed, and I'll come running."

Ryoga started to punch in the first number that came to his mind. "Thank you, Usagi. You've been very helpful." His voice was distant, his heart hadn't stopped racing since he woke up.

Usagi quietly excused herself from the room. Ryoga swiveled back in his seat to face Ranma, taking his hand again, holding his phone in the other. He tried to steady his breathing as he waited for the other line to pick up. After three rings, there was a click.

"Hello, Tendo residence."

Ryoga's heart sank a little bit. This was going to be even harder to get out, now.

"Akane," he choked out. "It's—"

"Ryoga!" Akane cried. "How good you called. Ranma never called to say he got in all right last night, but I guess he was probably pretty tired. But, we were supposed to go to the movies today, and I haven't heard from him yet."

"Um, Ranma's…" Ryoga's voice was meek on the other end of the line, and barely audible. "Ranma is in the hospital."

Akane nearly dropped the receiver.

"He's—he's what?" she gaped, gripping the phone with both hands, fearing she'd drop it. "Ryoga, what happened?"

"Ranma got into a car accident on the way home last night. I'm here with him now. He…he hasn't woken up yet. Um, the doctor told me he has a 'strong constitution', though…and that he should wake up soon."

"I'll be there as soon as I can." she said firmly, although her voice quivered slightly.

"Please, tell the family, Akane. They can all come see him if they'd like, the nurse said it would be all right for us to wait for him to wake up." Ryoga said softly. "I'll call Ukyo. I'm sure she's busy with the restaurant, but I'm sure she'll want to see him, too… I-I'll have to call Azalea, too. And the community centre, so I can—"

"Ryoga." Akane stopped him, her voice firm but kind. "We'll talk when I get there. Call me back if he wakes up."

"…I will. Thank you, Akane."

"See you soon." Akane hung up the receiver, and then took off like a rocket for the kitchen. "Kasumi!"

She burst into the kitchen and Kasumi whirled around, her eyes wide and puzzled at her sister's sudden cry.

"Akane, what—?"

"It's Ranma," Akane said. "He's—"

"Hospital?" Ukyo cried. "Ranma-honey is in the hospital?!"

"Ukyo, I—"

"I'll be there as fast as I can, sugar!" Ukyo practically yelled into the phone, hanging up before Ryoga could get another word in.

"Konatsu!" Ukyo cried.

"Yes, Mistr—Ms. Ukyo!" Konatsu exclaimed, hurrying into the room.

"You need to hold down the fort again. There's been an emergency with Ranma." Ukyo said matter-of-factly, flipping a very confused customer's order onto their waiting plate as they gawked at her.

"Oh dear, is Mister Ranma all right?" Konatsu said worriedly, clasping his hands together.

"He better be," Ukyo said austerely. "I'm going now."

"Ms. Ukyo—pardon my asking, but—when will you be back?" Konatsu stammered.

Ukyo slid the front door open. "When he wakes up."

Authour's Notes:

Hey, everyone. Long time, no see. It's only been...three years and five days since I last updated Emotion.

You know, it's pretty refreshing coming back to writing, and realizing how fun it is all over again. So here it is, three years later, Chapter Five. And don't worry; this chapter was actually broken into two...otherwise Chapter Five would have been very, very long. So, I'm writing Chapter Six right now, and it should be wrapping up very soon. I promise I'm not just going to toss out this little chapter and then crawl back into my dark cave again. Emotion has returned, for as long as this writing bug has it's sharp fangs imbedded into my rear end.

Happy reading, everyone. It's good to be back.

Jadells