Posted: 19/03/2006
1st Revision: 29/03/2006
一
Stain
Thanks to Astarael00 for beta-ing.
Chapter 4
一
"No," Shizuru said firmly. Crimson eyes, calm and unreadable, gazed at the pair of hands that held a needle and a small bottle filled with transparent liquid.
"But..."
"No," repeated Shizuru, a little steel added into her soft, musical voice.
"Fujino-san, please. Kanzaki-san, if you will help me convince her!"
"Shizuru-san..."
"Leave it, Reito-san." Her gaze flickered over to him. "No painkillers, Doctor. Just do it."
"...It's going to hurt," the doctor said slowly. "A lot."
That's the point.
"I know," Shizuru said instead. "And the drug would also make me sleep, which I do not need." Not with Natsuki around.
The doctor glanced at Reito, who could only shrug helplessly. "There's no changing her mind once she's decided, Sensei."
Reito watched him hesitate.
"She knows the law, and she won't hesitate to exercise her rights," pointed out Reito, a little bluntly. He didn't like the idea of letting Shizuru do this without painkillers, but the brunette could be very stubborn at times. It wouldn't do to waste time trying to convince her otherwise, either, as time was - he glanced at the blood-soaked cotton pressed to her back - of the essence.
Still, he saw the hesitation in the doctor.
"And she's still bleeding, Sensei," added Reito. Not as much, but that was beside the point.
He saw the doctor's shoulder sag in defeat; it was common knowledge that bleeding too much was hardly a good thing.
"Please try to relax, Fujino-san," instructed the doctor with a heavy sigh. "Try to think of other things, to keep your mind off the pain on your back..."
"It's going to hurt a lot," the doctor tried again. "Fujino-san, it's - "
Shizuru smiled a little.
It was a genuine smile, Reito noticed.
"I thank you for your consideration, Sensei," she cut in quietly, "But, no."
The doctor sighed again, and placed the needle and bottle back on the table.
"Kanzaki-san," the doctor glanced at him thoughtfully, as if considering something. "Please provide some support for Fujino-san. She might need to grip something when I remove and replace them."
It was rather obvious that the doctor thought of them as a couple.
He nodded, and moved to her side, picking up her hand - which was slightly shaking and damp - gently.
The doctor picked up a surgical scissors, and nodded at the two nurses by his side. "We will begin the operation."
"Please prepare yourself, Fujino-san." The words were said reluctantly. "I'm going to start now."
"Shizuru," murmured Reito. She looked so pale. Eyebrows furrowed slightly, burgundy eyes calm. Too calm.
Too calm generally meant she was exerting more self-control, he knew.
Much more...than she usually did.
Almost unconsciously, his thumb ran over a fading scar at the back of her palm, the familiar feel of the long, thin bump on her otherwise smooth skin bringing an odd sense of solace in him.
"Please don't worry about me, Reito-san." She smiled at him, face half buried in the pillow, and she squeezed his hand a little.
It was the same smile that was etched onto her features everyday.
The same smile that hid so many things.
一
Takeda gave Natsuki a contemplative look.
"What is it, you idiot?" asked Natsuki, a little wearily.
She was leaning on the railings outside the hospital, trying to gather the nerve to step into the hospital compound. The fact that Takeda chose to stay outside with her and did not question her further when she refused to reply his earlier question was little comfort.
Stupid, she thought ironically. Here she was, brooding over some damned insecurities...
Although she was (a little) grateful to Takeda for being there, that didn't mean she was in the mood to tolerate his gaze - she had felt it, of course, even if she hadn't been looking at him. He had been staring at her for the past five minutes!
"Don't you find this a little weird, Kuga?"
She blinked at him.
"Weird?"
"Fujino, I mean." He paused. "Reito, as well."
"What about them?" The blue-haired girl inwardly sighed, and looked upwards to the blue sky. She could already guess where this was going, but she went along. Discussing Shizuru and Reito, thought Natsuki idly, was better than having to think of Shizuru and herself at the moment.
Not by much, but it was something.
"Not about them being a couple," he said, apparently reading her mind.
Again, she blinked. How did...
"W...what?" Her gaze turned back to him, catching his eyes.
They lacked the shyness he usually had around her, and they were strangely serious and thoughtful.
...She was not that readable, was she?
Takeda offered a little smile at her surprised look. "Both of you were...really close, I could tell."
He did not outright answer her, but she knew what he was trying to say.
She looked away from his - somewhat penetrating - dark eyes, and said nothing.
For a few moments, there was a profound silence.
Then, finally;
"So what's weird about them?" Natsuki asked quietly; she couldn't stand the silence.
For a moment, he did not say anything, as if considering how to phrase his thought.
"Fujino's...injuries," he paused. "And Reito's reaction."
This was certainly something that Natsuki did not expect to hear.
She turned to him, a little confused and curious, and promptly said, "Explain."
"There was...a lot of broken ceramic when she fell, I know," he said slowly. "Naturally, she got cuts just about everywhere on her back, and, of course, she did bleed."
"...And?"
"It's just some cuts from the glass, Kuga. Don't you think she was bleeding a tad too much?"
Natsuki's eyes widened.
That...that hadn't occurred to her at all.
She remembered watching droplets of blood fall as Reito ran.
"There is a good chance that a piece of glass could have pierced her deeply and caused the bleeding, but...there wasn't really any glass sticking out of her back."
It was true; and if Reito had pulled any out before he picked her up, she would have noticed...because her eyes did not once leave both of them.
"And then there's also Reito's reaction."
What about him?
"He didn't look surprised to see so much blood."
Natsuki momentarily stopped breathing. What?
"He told us that she needs immediate attention, and not to bother with an ambulance." Takeda reminded her. " 'Just two blocks down,' he said. 'Waiting for an ambulance could make Fujino's condition worse.'"
...could make her condition...worse...
"But how worse is worse?" continued Takeda. "It was only a couple of cuts, and I don't see how we couldn't have waited for an ambulance."
A realization struck Natsuki. It wasn't hard at all, and it was something she would have concluded on eventually, but, god damn it, why did she take so long to realize?
A sudden, uncomfortable sensation swirled in her stomach. Did Reito know about this?
Then Takeda asked something, the something she had just realized.
"Had Fujino been injured seriously before?"
Natsuki didn't reply.
She ran into the hospital.
一
He smiled.
"How...interesting." He murmured thoughtfully, fingers tapping against the table rhythmically. "She was a HiME, as well?"
"Yes."
"And how her child was defeated remains unknown?"
"Yes."
"Twelve HiME's in total," murmured the man, "Eleven down, one remained. Out of the eleven Childs, we know only the reasons for nine of them."
"Thirteen."
"Hmm?
"Thirteen HiME's. The child from Searrs..."
"Ah. Of course. I have forgotten about that." He paused for a moment, then shook his head. "Irrelevant. We know very well how she was defeated. Although," he said bemusedly, "that would mean there were two HiME's whose Childs had not been defeated. Tokiha Mai and...Minagi...Mikoto. A rather interesting twist the Searrs have made, to successfully create a fake HiME..."
A lapse of silence passed.
"We couldn't find out how two of the twelve...no, thirteen HiME's were defeated," intoned the man, a little coldly this time. "What was the reason again?"
"The agents responsible chose to flee instead of observing."
"I see."
The other hesitated for a moment. "Sir -"
"Has punishment been dealt?"
"No, sir. But - "
"And why not?"
"...It shall be dealt with shortly."
"Good."
The other remained silent.
"I trust you know what to do?"
"...Yes."
"Everything. I want every single piece of information about this girl," He picked up the photo from the table, and flashed it at the other. "Her name, I believe, is...ah..."
"Natsuki," was the supplied answer. "Kuga Natsuki."
"Ah, right."
He stood up.
"If this girl is as important as we think, then she will be the key to everything," he said thoughtfully.
"...I agree."
"I trust you understand the importance of this?"
"Yes."
"Use whatever methods you deem necessary. Do not fail me."
"Understood."
He smiled.
It was a dark, twisted smile.
A/N: And so we begin to see bigger hints of what is conspiring behind this story; Stain, the aftermath of Mai HiME, as well as a few other questions popping up. As some could probably imagine, this will mean that Stain is going to be a long epic, so I hope the bunch of you will be ready for a bumpy ride. Other characters (perhaps not all, however) will eventually come into play, although I can't confirm if they will stay in focus very long - since it's all still in the planning stage.
If any of you noticed the oddity of Shizuru's bleeding and thinking it as a plot hole before it's cleared in this chapter, well...I congratulate you. -gives e-cookies-
But if you didn't, I congratulate myself for a job well done. -munches on e-cookies- XD
Anyway, anyway. Let's see... -Checks list-
...
E-cookies go to... Harukaze, Kitsuki-chan, Nocturne torpidspindity who told me the answer in a LJ community, and of course, Astarael00, the devil of a beta who's stolen a few stacks of e-cookies from me already. If my supply is gone, blame her.
As far as the age of characters go, we will all have to add a number to it. Well, at least for some of them, anyway, till the year is finished. I'm looking for birthdates, now, although this is more for reference purposes than of any actual importance to the fic. Whether age of characters will come into play in the story...I can't say for certain yet.
But, in any case, I hope everyone's enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are always appreciated.
Stay tuned,
Eagle