Ok. Second Chappie. I own nothing and thank you KousukeAsazuki for reviewing!
Ayumu was in the hospital on a respirator; having nearly died of asphyxiation it was understandable. He remained unconscious for about two days with Hiyono and Madoka visiting him every minute they could. On the morning of the third day, Madoka was having an argument with the doctor assigned to Ayumu about the schedule for visiting hours. While she berated the poor man, Hiyono used that as a distraction to slip in and sit next to Ayumu. He truly did look horrible, bandages covered most of his arms and a good portion of his shoulders going down to his legs, and some small bandages were on his neck and face, an IV drip in his left arm at the elbow.
Ayumu could feel himself fighting the sleep that weighed heavily on him. He didn't want to; he knew that if he went back to the waking world, there'd only be pain. But he heard the voice of someone he loved. 'Nee-san?' He forced himself through the last remnants of the dream, wanting to apologize for making sister worry. His eyes slowly opened, and he immediately closed them again as the bright hospital lights sent pain through his brain.
"Madoka-san! Narumi-san is awake!" Hiyono's high voice cut through the argument effectively.
Madoka quickly ran over to her brother-in-law and saw for herself that he was stirring. He slowly opened his eyes again, this time expecting the light and adjusting to it easier. He turned his head to the side and saw his sister, tears in her eyes. "Nee-san, why are you crying?" His voice came out little more than a harsh whisper.
That pushed the tears over the rims of her large gray eyes. "You idiot." She said affectionately. "Why do you put yourself in so much danger? You made so worried, thank God you're safe now." She cried openly now, holding one of his hands in both of her own, as if afraid that if she didn't he would slip away from her like Kiyotaka did.
Hiyono felt seriously awkward in the familial bonding. So she did the only thing she could think of: She interrupted the moment. "Narumi-san, what happened to you, why did you end up like…this?"
He glanced at her for a second before looking away, reliving every moment, feeling the coming down and hitting him in the test, experience the trap knives slicing him again, remembering the smell of octane, the fatal thing that would kill him if he messed up, and finally, recalling the bees hitting him, sending him into the shock that left him here, warning the Blade Children of what was happening. 'Can I really tell them that? What will Nee-san think? What will she do?'
"I just did something stupid and got hurt. Nothing to worry about." His tone was light, trying to make the situation less that in was. He didn't fool everyone. Hiyono knew he was lying, or at least not telling the whole truth.
Madoka sighed, more out of relief than anything else. "What were you doing, trying to snoop in police business again? I swear Ayumu, you'll be the death of me yet."
Ayumu smiled at that and chuckled a little. Or, more accurately, he tried to, but at that moment, his lungs seized up and he started choking/coughing. His left hand snatched the oxygen mask off while his right covered his mouth. Madoka immediately raised him up off the bed to make it easier. She watch worriedly as he kept coughing, rubbing small circles on his back, hoping to relax him, not knowing what else to do. His coughing finally subsided, and he sat there breathing harshly. Not a minute later, the doctor and a nurse barged in.
"Will you two ladies kindly leave while we check on him?" The doctor asked Madoka and Hiyono politely. They left with anxious glances back at the boy before the door was firmly shut in their faces.
They sat in the waiting room, and that was what they were doing: waiting. Waiting for doctor to come and give them news on Ayumu. Hiyono hated it. She was an impatient person by nature. She was fidgety and restless. Madoka on the other hand was completely calm, firmly believing in Ayumu's half truth. She simply wanted to visit with her brother again. Hiyono had had enough. She excused herself to the bath room and, after checking that it was empty, pulled out her phone and hit the number she remembered from a certain incident involving a tape. It rang twice and half-way through the third ring, it picked up.
"Rio-san?"
"Hiyono-chan? What are you calling me for?" The smaller girl sounded some what groggy, as if she just woke up.
"I know it's rude for me to call I have to ask you something important." Hiyono spoke very fast, wanting to be heard. "I need to know what happened three days ago. What happened to send Narumi-san to the hospital? Please, tell me."
Rio paused. She had snapped out her dazed stupor on the word 'important.' She didn't know how to tell her. She saw Kouske leaning on the window of the apartment they shared with Eyes, and motioned him over.
"Please, Rio-san, I know you guys were involved somehow. I just want to know what happened."
"I can't explain it very well. But Kouske might." Said red head raised an eyebrow. Rio quickly whispered the situation to him.
"Yo Hiyoko, what's up?" Teasing her was so fun.
Sure enough, she took the bait. "It's Hiyono!"
"Ah, gomen, gomen, Jou-chan." He was grinning like the Joker he played so often. Annoying her was so much fun. "What do you wanna know? Keep in mind, I don't know everything."
She decided to play his game. "Oh, I simply wanted to know what happened three days ago. Ayumu went out that afternoon, and he came back in an ambulance. I want to know why."
Kouske scratched the back of his head, more out of frustration than because it itched. "Not sure where to start Jou-chan. A hunter lured him to an abandoned building, ran him through and obstacle course, and set bees on him. He went into shock, found us, and passed out. We knocked out the hunter, called for help, and left. Not much to it."
"Don't give me that bull!" Hiyono screamed so loudly Kouske immediately jerked Rio's phone away from his ear. "I know something else had to happen! Why else would he refuse to tell me, or even Madoka-san?" Her voice was cracking as she tried to hold back tears. "Something bad happened didn't it? I saw it in his eyes, he's hurting inside, and you people know why don't you?!" All throughout her tirade, Kouske didn't bring the phone back to his ear, he had no need to. Hiyono was shouting loudly and he just stared at the phone, an almost comical look of helplessness on his face that Rio had to stifle her giggles. He sighed.
"Look, Jou-chan, it's not mine, nor anyone else's place to tell. Leave that to Narumi-otouto. He'll tell you eventually."
"But-" He ended the call before she could finish. All she heard was the dial tone and then she broke down.
Back in the apartment:
"Don't you think you were a little harsh Kouske?" Rio asked from her place on the couch.
His face was impassive for a moment before he faced her. "I know, but it's the truth. Otouto has to tell her, not us. But I can't help but feel that she was accusing us of hurting him."
"Well, she has valid reasons to think that now doesn't she?" Rio said complacently, taking a brush to her grey hair. "We have tried to hurt him in the past, and she's smart enough to realize that hunters seek us and usually don't involve "normal" people." She sighed. "From what I heard, Otouto is awake now. Do you think the hunter knows?"
Kouske sat next to her. "If he does, Otouto's going to in trouble. I'm seriously starting to regret leaving him alive, or not taking him prisoner. He'll probably make another attempt on Narumi-Otouto's life."
"We can't have that." Both looked up to see Eyes coming in and sitting down at that piano. "He is the only one who can save us. Kiyotaka is never wrong. And we cannot get innocents involved in our fights. Our hands are stained enough as it is." His quiet voice carried much weight with the two on the couch. They knew he was right, he always was. But it did not go unnoticed that Eyes had a hand over where his missing rib should have been.
In the hospital:
When Hiyono had regained her composure, she left the restroom and took a look in the waiting room. She saw Madoka still sitting there, now doing a crossword. She surreptitiously snuck back up to Ayumu's room. She quickly glance in the window to see Ayumu alone and still awake. She opened the door and glided inside. His eyes followed her as she sat down next to him.
She was quiet for a moment then blurted out, "What happened, I want to know! I can see how hurt you are, so please tell me."
Ayumu stared at her for a couple of minutes, taking in her red rimmed eyes and tear stains on her cheeks. He decided to talk. He owed her that much "The hunter, he knew Aniki." Hiyono's eyes widened. "I don't know if Aniki is setting me up to fall or if the hunter betrayed him and did this on his own but Aniki is involved in this. I don't want to, but I can't help but think the worse. After all, he was controlling the Blade Children." He sighed, the oxygen mask fogging up. "I don't know what to believe anymore." His eye lids descended gradually over his chocolate colored eyes, proof that the medicine was starting to take effect.
Hiyono left him in peace and quickly made her way back to the waiting room. Madoka took her home and went back to her own apartment, never a thought that Ayumu might not have told her something important.
That night:
A shadowy figure entered the room assigned to Narumi Ayumu. It slowly approached the bed, bright eyes taking in the slender body hooked up to an IV, heart monitor, and a respirator. It reached out to lay two fingers gently on the pulse running though the throat, smirking at the strong rhythm beneath its fingers. A noise outside the room caused the figure to whirl in alarm. Seeing another, more definite shape outside it ducked down around to the other side of the door. It opened, and a shape easily recognizable to the figure entered the room, never glancing around to see if anyone else was there.
Outside the window, clouds parted to reveal a full moon, filling the room with light. The hunter took a long knife out of a pocket and drew near to the bed. But when he was about half a foot away, a glint of steel showed in the moonlight, and Kouske revealed himself from the shadows, placing his jagged-edged knife to the hunter's throat.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that." Kouske said quietly, smirking.
The hunter smile smugly. "How do you plan to kill me? This is a hospital after all, one drop of blood out of place doesn't go unseen here."
"Oh, there are plenty of ways to kill you without spilling a drop of blood. But I'm not going to kill you. I'd love to but there are questions that need answering. Rio!" The small girl popped up from the other side of the bed at the sound of her name. She darted to the man and, grinning mischievously, attached a small device to his chest. She pushed a button and stepped back as Kouske removed his knife. The hunter was electrocuted and passed out before he could open his mouth.
"Well, that was easy." Rio remarked looking at the hunter with disgust. "Let's get him out of here."
She spared one last glance at the body on the bed, making sure he wasn't hurt any further, as Kouske bent down and grabbed the hunter in a careless hold. Rio opened the window and Kouske hopped out, being on the second floor, the jump did little to him or Rio who jumped out after him.
Not as long as I would've liked but I have a point of stopping here that you'll find out next time.