There is kinda a looong note at the end... If you're interested...
English is still not my first language, so whatever this is - I tried my best.
This is not proofread. So, if you find mistakes (what kind soever) or something confusing then please tell me. I will try my best to fix it.
Have fun :3
It has been eleven days since that incident and the bruise on Ren's chest is still fairly visible. But even though it is nothing more than a discolouration on his skin, Lory insists on a checkup with Dr. Kameda.
If he doesn't visit the clinic today there would be no need for him to get out of bed for the next weeks. Lory's words.
And Takarada Lory does not make empty threats. He probably would cancel all of Ren's jobs personally. Smiling happily while doing so.
Staying at home and having all that time to think about … … ... things... just doesn't look like anything Ren could handle at the moment.
He hasn't tried to handle anything but his job in a long time.
So, now he is here, in the one hospital where he didn't want to go back to, "coincidentally" running into his boss.
...Right. Totally a coincidence...
And since he is here anyway, why doesn't he come with them and visit the unnamed patient? The one he so heroically had saved. Wouldn't that be nice?
"How long has she been awake now, Doctor?" Lory asks as they walk through the corridors, Ren trailing behind.
"We had her in artificial coma for 32 hours, but because of her unusually high tolerance we had to use rather strong medication. So for the last nine days she was in and out of consciousness - barely registered anything. She's responsive since yesterday."
"And how is she?"
"Her right ankle is healing, as is the cut on her stomach. The stitches will be removed tomorrow. Otherwise she had only a few scratches and bruises, nothing serious."
"Good." He adds pondering. "Did she tell you her name?"
"Only 'Kyoko'. She refused to disclose anything else. Though I haven't really tried questioning her yet, given the circumstances."
"I understand the police didn't search for her?"
Kameda doesn't answer directly, giving the conversation a strange pause. "The police didn't. No."
They stop right in front of her door, the doctor turning around with a serious expression. "There have been two men asking about her though." Lory raises an eyebrow.
"Just a few hours after you left. They were looking for their runaway sister. Described her exactly. Talked about why she had run off and how worried they were." He looks from Lory to Ren and back again. "But there was something clearly off with them. They didn't seem worried at all. And they wouldn't tell me their names or even hers. Saying their sister is never telling anyone her real name."
"That sounds suspicious indeed." Lory ponders in what this girl… in what 'Kyoko' has gotten herself into. "What did you tell them?"
"That there wasn't a patient who would fit their description and that I would call them, if she showed up. They left a phone number and walked off."
"Do you still have that number?"
"It's in her-" In that moment the door opens and a nurse greets them. "It's in her file." The doctor finishes and turns to the nurse. "How is she?"
"Better. She recognizes me since yesterday and this morning she asked when she will be allowed to leave."
"Good." He answers and steps to the side to let her go. Nodding at the two men Kameda turns and walks into the room - Lory following him without the slightest hesitation.
It's not as easy for Ren.
For a few moments he just stands there staring after his boss, not being able to move in either direction.
Walking away is what he should do. Not for the sake of his job obviously. Because, let's face it, the bruise on his chest isn't the reason Lory wanted him at the hospital. Never was.
His boss has ulterior motives - like he always does.
But staying? Going in there and being able to see her up close? To hear her voice?
He fought the last few months to not even look out of that window. It was hard. Coming home, he saw it every single time. And no matter how tired he had been, there wasn't a single time when he didn't think about taking just one small glance. And now he has to go into that room? That's not fair! It's so not fair!
Because he desperately wants to see her just as much as he doesn't.
In the end there is nothing for him to decide.
He hears the doctor say something and the second that lovely voice reaches his ears, his long legs carry him into the room before he can even make a conscious decision about it.
Her eyes flicker towards him the moment he comes into her line of vision. It's not the way he had expected. It feels rather strange. Unsettling.
Any other person he met would stare at his face, looking for the smallest emotional reaction to work with - just like normal people do.
Or maybe they would check his body out.
But she… her eyes go from his face to both hands separately to a once-over and all in a split of a second.
He knows this kind of look.
It's the one you give people who could be a potential threat.
And he doesn't like how used to it she seems. As if it's the most normal thing to judge a person for the grade of danger they could be to you.
"I would like to introduce you to these two gentlemen, Kyoko-san." Dr. Kameda says, indicating first to Lory, "Takarada-san. He was so kind to offer to pay for your treatment," and then to Ren, "and Tsuruga-san. He was the one who found you."
Looking at Lory she bows as good as she can while sitting in a bed. "Takarada-sama. I am grateful for your kindness and generosity. As soon as I will be allowed to leave I will pay you back." Without letting him a chance to counter anything she addresses the other man - again with a bow. "Tsuruga-sama. Thank You for saving my life. I will forever be deeply indebted to you."
Before either man can say anything in return Kameda reminds her of her stitches and that she shouldn't bow or she probably will need to stay even longer. After an apology on her part Dr. Kameda becomes serious. "I have to ask this, Kyoko-san. Do you remember anything from the evening before you were brought here?"
It's like all the friendliness leaves her within a single heartbeat and she looks at him with pretty much no expression on her face. "I do."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"No."
Kameda considers this for a second. "You can't or you won't tell me?"
"I won't."
"Is there anything I can do to change your mind?"
"No."
He sighs. "Thought that much." With his left hand he takes something out of his coat pocket. Holding up a plastic bag with small silvery items in it he asks her another thing. "Can you tell what those are, Kyoko-san?"
Her eyes don't leave the bag and there sure are shock and disbelief written on her face. "Why..." She touches her right elbow and then her left shoulder. "How many?"
"Six." He takes the clipboard from her bed. "We saw them on the MRI. They took quite a toll on the scanner, so we had to remove them. We found them in the back of both knees, under your navel, right elbow, left shoulder and in the back of your neck."
The moment he finishes her hand goes to the back of her head, looking for the telltale bandage. "... in the hair… bastards…" She mumbles.
"What are those, Kyoko-san?" He tries again, but she won't answer him this time either.
Her eyes flicker to the other two men in the room and clearly only one of them doesn't know what those are.
"When can I leave, sensei?"
"A few more days I'm afraid. We need to remove those stitches first and your ankle isn't healed yet."
"If that's all then I can take care of myself." With that she throws the blanket of her legs and swings them to the side of the bed.
"Is there someone who could watch over you for a few days? Family or friends?"
They don't have a reason to keep her if she doesn't want to, but Dr. Kameda wouldn't feel right letting her go already. Something just doesn't sit right with him. Her situation and those men looking for her...
"I will be fine on my own, sensei. No need to worry. I'm sure you have more important patients to take care of." Slowly sliding of the bed she tries her feet on the ground - the ankle is worse than she thought. Dammit!
"Kyoko-san, I beg you to stay for a bit longer. It's not safe for you out there yet."
Standing a bit wobbly she smiles up at him. "It will never be safe." She bows deeply. "Thank you for taking care of me, Kameda-sensei." It's the first time all three of them notice how small she actually is - how fragile she looks. You wouldn't notice with her being up in that bed and her eyes looking so strong.
"Can I have a private word with you, Kyoko-san?" All eyes turn to Lory.
Kyoko considers what he could want. He isn't as unknowing as the other men, that's fairly easy to see. But she can't tell if he could be a threat to her.
Is he somehow connected to them? Does he know who she is and wants to use her for his own benefits?
He doesn't really seem like it. A nosy show-off. Surely. Intelligent. Certainly. Rich. Obviously.
But there isn't much malice in him, at least not the dark kind.
And he clearly doesn't want the other two to know what he knows. The question is: Is it for her sake or his own?
Standing completely straight she nods once.
"Sure."
Hey there :3
Hasn't it been quite some time... Like a year?! Wowsa... Sorry?
I'm not gonna tell you that I will better myself... I don't think lying would be good now. Therefore ... you know what's written up there? That stuff you just read and I'm totally not happy with? Yeah? That's nearly as old as my last update...
I wrote it a few times but I just can't get it right. Then I put all of my writing in timeout since around February. Occasionally I opened those docs one after the other liking those stories (some more or less) but hating the fact that I wasn't able to continue any of them.
I'm a perfectionist (I hate myself for it, believe me) and not one of them wants to go the way I want. I'm a notorious not-finisher... I need to get things done as fast as possible or the chance of me not finishing grows with every time I think about the fact that there is another thing I want to have done.
Isn't there someone out there who wants to write this for me and I just rewrite it the exact way I want it? No? Thought so... Then maybe someone who would discuss this with me so I could figure out how to continue some parts?
As grateful as I am for every review that reminds me of the people out there still reading this story, the ones that just say "update update update..." or "update asap" really aren't helpful. Except maybe you want me to stress myself even more about it and therefore not even to consider spending the little free time I have with writing.
Sorry, but I believe that bothers many writers not only lil' ol' me... Maybe just write something like "thumbs up" or whatever? A smiley? :)?
I am grateful for every review however short it is, all writers are! But please a little bit less demanding would be really nice...
Oopsie... Sorry for the rant.
I try to better myself with the perfectionism thing, though.
Like with this chapter. I take it as it is and go on from here. If need be I can still write one or the other thing in there. Can't I?
There is no need for it to be perfect! (reminder for myself...)
If you have any questions feel free to contact me, I won't give away spoilers though ;)
A big Thank You to everyone who followed, faved and reviewed :) It's always so nice!
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day.
Ja ne
Kia