Dad: Honey, where are you going?
Me: To buy Cheez-its and Dr. Pepper!
Dad … Um… Why?
Me: Because I've decided to embark on the epic journey of updating Hostage!
Dad: … Okay, why don't you embark on the epic journey of cleaning your room?
Me: What was that? We're breaking up! Chkckcccchhshk! -flee-
Dad: … We're… not on the phone…
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Rei sat stiffly on the chair beside Kevin's hospital bed, looking at his hands as though someone had written the answers to all of his questions on them in permanent ink. Well, perhaps not permanent. Something told him that if he were given the answers, they would be able to slip away in the bat of an eyelash. Maybe ballpoint pen or something.
"Dude, I had the scariest dream."
Rei jumped, eyes lifting up to the form in the bed. When did Kevin wake up? The younger was lying there, blinking quizzically up at the ceiling, eyes wide and tired. His voice was raspy, but Rei could still hear the ring of Kevin's voice in it. He smiled, relief filling every ounce of his being as he stood and leaned toward the bed.
"I was in surgery, as one of the doctors or something, and these guys came in like an action movie and took over, and then they kidnapped me and I was like, unconscious the whole time."
"Sounds scary." Rei said softly, smiling uncontrollably as he leaned in and kissed Kevin's forehead. The younger flinched.
"Okay, even in this situation, that's still gay."
Rei laughed.
"Whatever. How's your new liver feel?"
Kevin blinked a few times before he looked down at his stomach. As recognition dawned on his face, a characteristic smirk spread across his lips.
"It's a little itchy. You sure the guy I got it from didn't have herpes of the liver or something?"
It was Rei's turn to be caught off guard. "Herpes of the liver?"
"It can happen." Kevin mumbled in his defense. Rei smiled again.
"No, it most definitely can't."
"Says the virgin."
"Oh, and you're not?" Rei asked, leaning back a fraction and placing his hands on his hips.
"No comment. By the way, you look really camp like that, Rei."
The elder sat back down and raised an eyebrow. "Camp? What the hell does camp mean?"
"It's an adjective. It means to act or appear gay or effeminate."
"Says you, Kevin." Rei laughed, spotting the hypocrisy. Kevin was straight, as far as anyone knew, but he certainly could act flamboyant when he wanted too.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Kevin laughed softly, voice still weak, "Have we met?"
As the two neko-jin conversed, skirting around the subject of the recent hostage situations, Rei let his mind wander back toward the dream Kevin had described. It was strange, that even when being in an induced coma, Kevin could still dream like that. Rei wondered what it was like, to be unconscious like that, and still have one's mind cranking out a sequence of dreams. It wasn't until the conversation had led back to the topic of dreams that the door to the darkened hospital room opened, and in wandered a tall handsome man with dark brown hair combed across the top of his head. He had thin-rimmed glasses and a red tie hidden beneath a stark white lab-coat. He smiled awkwardly and smelt of almonds.
"What a wonderful sight to see." He cooed, staring directly at Kevin as he swept toward the bed. "The two of you are such good friends, it simply warms the heart."
Rei raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seen this man before. "And you are?"
"Matherson." The man said immediately. His eyes were still on Kevin, and the young neko-jin fidgeted awkwardly. "Dr. Matherson."
Rei narrowed his eyes slightly, leaning forward to try and get the man's attention. He refused to look away from Kevin, or wipe that ridiculously creepy smile off of his pale face. "Okay, Dr. Matherson. Is there a reason you're in here?"
"To check on this lovely little boy, of course. We're all so happy you're alright."
Kevin shifted, glancing at Rei for help. The man certainly had a scary way of speaking, let alone his twisted look he continued to direct at Kevin.
"I am too…" Kevin mumbled, pulling towards Rei, who stood and cleared his throat loudly. Finally, Matherson peeled his eyes away from Kevin. The smile remained, though it was beginning to appear faux.
"Ah, yes, Mr. Kon… How nice to see you're alright after all that drama. I just have one question for you, really…"
Rei raised an eyebrow, watching the man's facial expression. It didn't alter once and he withdrew a large syringe from his lab coat pocket, uncapped it, and stabbed it into Kevin's upper arm. Rei jumped forward, startled and confused, as Kevin cried out in shock and pain before pulling away from the man suddenly. Rei grabbed hold of the needle and pulled it out of Kevin's arm, but the liquids had already been emptied into his long time friend. The man took several steps back and smiled. Rei looked at Kevin quizzically before turning to face Matherson, his glare burning through the air.
"What the hell?!" He roared, not knowing what else to say. Kevin held his arm numbly, looking from the stab wound to his fingers on that arm. Slowly, they were turning white.
"Rei!" He gasped, but Rei was already moving around the bed and diving for Matherson, who somehow dodged and sent a foot crashing into Rei's stomach. Though it had been awhile since Rei had been shot in the torso, the area was still tender, and the kick left Rei winded on the floor. The man moved like water across the room back toward Kevin, who was trying to get blood back into his fingers by shaking his arm. Slowly, each shake became weaker and weaker until Kevin couldn't feel his arm passed his elbow, and it was turning a sickeningly pale color.
"Don't worry kiddo." Matherson murmured, wrapping his hands around Kevin's arm and lifting into the light so that he could study the effects of the drug. Kevin pulled and tried to pry his hands off, but it did nothing.
"It won't kill you. You'll just feel very numb for a whi-"
He never got a chance to finish. Before his lips could form the word he was looking for, Rei's foot pounded into his upper back with such force that the man was shoved onto the bed. Kevin pulled aside and watched as Rei tugged the man off and threw him across the room where he crashed into some monitors and other machinery. The noise alone should have been enough to bring half the hospital staff into the room, but no one came. Rei swung back to face Kevin.
"Come on." He said suddenly, hoisting Kevin up carefully. He knew that Kevin shouldn't be up, lest he was purposefully trying to tear open his stitches, but the options were to run and get help, or stay and fend off Matherson. Leaving Kevin behind wasn't an option, and so it had to be this way. Oh well, Rei thought, at least he can get stitched back up later. Better than being killed here. With one arm wrapped around Rei's shoulders for support, and Rei holding him up as best he could, Kevin limped beside Rei out of the room just as Matherson was pulling himself up.
The door closed behind them. Rei looked both ways, eyes widening as he came to the stomach-sinking realization that not a soul was around; no nurses, no old men with walkers, no new mothers in wheelchairs. No doctors or security guards. Just empty hallways and ringing phones that would go unanswered.
"Where the hell is everyone?" Kevin whispered, holding his stomach with his free arm. Rei gripped Kevin's other wrist tightly, but got the feeling that Kevin couldn't feel anything in that arm anyway.
"Come on." He mumbled, hearing some muffled swearing in the room they had just left. Quickly and carefully, the two made their way down the hallway, passed the nurse's station, and toward the elevator. The silver double doors slid open just as Matherson burst out of the hospital room they had left behind, swearing and limping toward them. Hurriedly, Rei rushed Kevin into the elevator and kicked at the panel of buttons, randomly selecting their destination in a rushed attempt at escaping their pursuer. As Matherson neared, the heavenly ding of the elevator doors closing filled the air, and all at once, they were safe again.
Kevin moaned, sliding down to the floor of the elevator as Rei caught his breath. The younger held his stomach awkwardly, panting as he tried to recover from the sudden movement. He was in no condition to be moving like that. Rei fell to the floor beside him, hitting the emergency stop button. The elevator squealed to a stop, and Rei pulled Kevin towards him, letting the younger recover.
Rei stared at the door. The first kidnapped, the second, now this. Why did the universe hate them so much? Why did this have to happen to them?
"R-Rei… I can't feel my arm. Any of it." Kevin mumbled, looking up at the older fearfully. His large violet eyes sent a pang of sadness through Rei's heart. Kevin leaned away, showing the appendage to Rei, who studied it carefully. It was pale, but to the naked eye, nothing else seemed wrong with it. Rei frowned, pulling Kevin towards him again.
"It'll be okay, Kevin. Don't worry."
"Yeah." Kevin mumbled dejectedly, eyes set on his cast-constricted leg as it stretched out before the two of them. "Just like everything else has been okay."
Gah, Rei thought sadly, way to bring the mood even lower, Kev.
Suddenly, the elevator jerked. The two flinched, looking up at the digital panel that read which floor had been selected as the destination, and found to their horror that the elevator was starting to move upward toward the floor they had just abandoned. Rei hit the emergency break button six times, but the compartment continued to rise.
"Fuck." He mumbled, looking back at Kevin who was cradling his numb arm against his chest nervously.
When the door opened, who much Dr. Matherson was leaning against the counter at the nurse's station, smiling proudly. Rei stood before Kevin with murder in his eyes, ready to defend his childhood friend at any cost. But Matherson merely stood there and smiled.
"Hello again. I think we got off on a wrong foot, don't you?"
Rei said nothing, just growled and clenched his fists tighter.
"You see, several months ago, I realized it was necessary that I had a human test subject of your species to practice medicine on. Of course, that's completely illegal, but… I knew of someone who owed me a favor. You know him too; a Mr. Stanley Dickenson? Yes, well, he had been plotting something to get money out of the BBA for some time, and I suggested that we could work for the same goal. He would get the money, and I," Matherson said calmly, smiling and looking passed Rei and Kevin, who widened his eyes considerably, piecing it all together, "got myself the perfect little test subject. It would have worked wonderfully if his aid had been able to take you with her the first time, but Dickenson just ended up getting the money, and I was angry enough to blackmail him into starting another hostage situation. You both know what I'm talking about, I hope?"
Rei growled again, this time glaring so intensely at the man that Matherson shuddered a little and hoisted himself onto the counter, sitting there and trying to brush off the chill that Rei's glare provided.
"Well. That fat bastard couldn't even do it then, now could he? It was your fault, Mr. Kon. Yours and Mr. Hiwatari's. So with a bit of his support, I decided to take things into my own hands. And here we are."
"Great. You're going to get caught, you know."
A laugh. "Oh really?"
"You're in a huge hospital. How did you clear it out?"
"I- Oh, wait, hold on now." He said, chuckling and shaking his head, looking down at his shoes as if he had just made a fool of himself. "I told myself I wouldn't monolog, and what have I done? Silly me."
"You… this was all your fault?" Kevin mumbled from behind Rei, eyes curiously wide. The man's smile widened evilly as he looked up.
"Why, yes. Yes it is."
Kevin said nothing, simply stared at the man blankly. Rei growled from the bottom on his throat and took a threatening step out of the elevator.
"Son of a bitch." He spat, advancing quickly on the man. Before another word could be uttered, a flash of fists went sailing through the air and began to pound down at Matherson, who was surprising good and dodging them. In his blinded state of rage, Rei failed to notice the foot going for his stomach until it made contact. This kick was at least three times harder than the last, and as Rei keeled forward and gasped for breath, Matherson slide around him and crossed toward the elevator, smiling with accomplishment as he approached his future test subject.
Weakly, Kevin pulled himself up using the wall of the elevator for support. He watched as the fingers on his numb arms curled into a ball. He didn't know how tight it was, but it only took one quick flash of energy and anger to bring it crashing into Matherson's face so hard that he could hear the crunching of the man's nose. Panting from the action, Kevin just stood there and watched Matherson hold his nose in pain on the floor, before Kevin felt the anger flash through him again. This fuck was the reason this all happened! It was all his fault! For the first time in a long time, an uncharacteristic anger swept through Kevin's small form, filling him with hatred and the longing for revenge. He bit his lip, lifted up his casted leg, and just as Matherson was rolling around to look up at him, he brought the hard cast down on the man's face, crunching his nose even more. Kevin would have done it a second time had Rei not sprang forward and pulled him out of the elevator, hurriedly rushing down the hallway toward another elevator.
Matherson didn't follow. His wailing could be heard all the way across the floor of the hospital, but when they reached the far elevator and collapsed inside, it vanished. Kevin gasped for breath as Rei attempted to sooth the younger, telling him to take deep breaths. He could see the blood seeping through Kevin's shirt where the stitches had split. He could feel Kevin's frame shaking. He stared blankly ahead, feeling the elevator descend, and could only think of one thing;
This was never going to end.
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… Well. Took me a while to update, huh? I'm not even going to comment on this chapter, other than this: "Hahaha, you still don't know what's going on with Kai and Tala".
-cough- So… Anyone catch the finale of House? I cried. I did, really. Poor Wilson! D: