-2

yay for her!!

I woke up again, this time feeling a little better.

But only a little bit.

This place was strange and I wanted to sit up, so that's what I did. I moved into a sitting position, and as soon as I did someone rushed into the hospital room.

"Don't you dare sit up!!" I glanced at the psychotic nurse or doctor. I wished that I knew who he was.

"And why, may I ask, am I not allowed to sit up?" He stared at me as if I was stupid or something.

"If you do that, you're going to disrupt all our equipment!" I looked around myself - machines again. They made me feel worse; I got the haunting feeling that I needed them to survive.

"What are they?" I looked back over at him as I lowered myself. I was feeling weak again and my body was still completely sore.

"I suppose you have the right to know, don't you." He paused briefly. "How old was your mother when she had you?" I thought for a moment. Why would he need to know that?

"When she had me? I don't know... probably about 29, 30 maybe?"

"Wrong, we have reason to believe she was around 17..." I stared at him. He must be crazy. I mean, I had an older sister! She was at least 5 years older than me!

"That couldn't be right...My sister is a good few years older then me. That would mean my mother had her when she was...well, really little..."

"No. Your older sister is not your blood relative. The first child your mother had was you, and it was a mistake."

"What do you mean?" I was confused. "How can she not be my blood sister? What does this have to do with me being here; and why do I feel so tired and weak?"

"I mean that your older sister was probably adopted at some point or another so that you would think you didn't have such a...well you know, kind of mother. I am not really sure but she isn't related to you by blood. It isn't any of my business. Now imagine a young 17 year old girl, her last year of high school, and bam, she gets pregnant. You can imagine that must have been a painful event in her life. So what better way to deal with it then the Miracle Pill?"

"Miracle Pill?" I was rather interested in the story now, to say the least. Of course it was shocking to know all this, especially that my mother had me so young...could that mean my father was different from Yuuta's? My poor little brother may only be my half brother. That was an upsetting thought...

"It was a pill made a few generations back. Supposedly, it cured all the pain of pregnancy. No morning sickness, no more pains, just a easy painless ordeal altogether."

"Except things went wrong with me?" I interrupted briefly.

"Close. Right, so the children, once they were born, had a blood defect and developed an illness. It was different for each child, unfortunately. It was a collection of some of the worst illnesses, all remade into a new structure, one that didn't have a cure yet. Children were dying faster than doctors could study their blood and find cures. Then, once the child died, the illness vanished...like it was never there.

"The pill soon got recalled. It was burned and taken away from the hospitals. But the people who manufactured them still insisted they would help. So they continued making them; no one knows where they are based even today. Young women would buy it from them - that's how they keep in business. Young, hopeful girls who made mistakes and wound up pregnant. Like your mother. Buy the pill for some hundred dollars and it would work, too. So they thought that they would be okay. Then the pill would take their child away."

"That's horrible, I can't believe that people could keep making those pills..." The man nodded and I knew something worse was coming.

"Gets worse...the people making them, changed them somehow. The pill - it became subdued...took a while to take hold of the child's bloodstream. The kids would happily grow to be 10 or even 12 before the illness suddenly took hold of them and they were killed. The kids were brought into regular hospitals but nothing was ever done fast enough. Equipment was too old... and once again, doctors watched the virus vanish before their eyes.

"That's why they built this hospital. As soon as someone was even suspected of having the illness, they would be sent here. A few people have been in here but they all died...nothing was done fast enough. The teenagers didn't come in as soon as it started. The parents refused to let them get tested right away..." Horror gripped my core. The people that were sent here... That made me feel sick.

"You mean..."

"I'm sorry, Fuji-san, we are doing everything we can as fast as we can...We won't let it happen to you..." God, I felt sick. I was going to vomit...

"Bucket..." He stared at me, not understanding completely. Then his eyes widened and he grabbed the bedpan, handing it to me. I promptly used it incorrectly by vomiting into it. I rested back against the bed, a foul taste lingering in my mouth.

"How long do I have before...you can't get anything?"

"Don't worry Fuji, since you got here fast enough we managed to take your blood and create an injection that would suppress the virus temporarily. You need to be injected with it every 15 hours or the virus will start attacking your body immediately."

"Then why do I feel so terrible?"

"Because it is only stopping the virus from spreading and destroying your body, in turn killing you, but all the effects are still there. I am afraid to tell you that from studying your blood that the virus has given you a mutant form of tuberculosis... and, um..."

I deadpanned. "That 'um' does not sound good at all..."

"Well, it appears that you have become...uhh...maybe you already were and just didn't know, but it is very possible, actually 100 percent possible- " I was vaguely reminded of Inui. A corner of my mouth lifted slightly. "...that...you are a...hermaphrodite..."

I blinked incredulously and stared at him. "What?!"

"Yes, well, during our, uh, inspection to figure out if you had any other diseases we have noticed that you have...uh, one more hole than is normal for a male...to have..."

"Oh my God..." With that information I am pretty sure I fainted. Come on, someone tells you that you're half female, when for the entire 15 years of your life you have only known yourself as a male.

That is a pretty scary thought.

Tezuka

We were back at school and every single one of my team members was slacking.

"Thirty laps! All of you." I knew it was cruel; they were just worried about Fuji. I worried too. Other than Oishi, Fuji was one of my closest friends. As I watched them all trudge off, I decided to follow them. After all, I was just as distracted as them - we all needed the jog.

Once we were all finished with our laps, we sat down on the ground and drank water. I only paused for a moment to drink from my water bottle: I couldn't look like it had really affected me. During that whole run I could only think of Fuji. Why was he plaguing my thoughts so much? Of course it was understandable that I was worried about him - I mean, he was my teammate. We were all worried about him. But he was particularly bothering me as of currently.

I shook my head briefly and called out to Ryoma.

"Echizen, come play a game with me." I said in my normal emotionless voice. Why did I always sound like that? I was worried and scared, why couldn't I show it?

Ryoma looked up at me, as well as the rest of the team. "Okay then, Buchou..." He stood up and walked with me to tennis court A.

"Buchou, you're worried about Fuji-senpai, right?" I blinked and stared at him.

"I mean, more then you think you should be." Always the deductive one, our freshman.

"Yes...I suppose you could say he is indeed plaguing my thoughts more then I would have assumed he would..." Ryoma nodded with a huff and went to the other side of the court.

"Maybe I can help distract you for a little while, ne?"

"Don't say 'ne'. You will start to act like Kikumaru." Ryoma smirked and served the ball.

"Buchou, did you just make a joke?" I blinked, narrowly slicing the yellow blur back to the other side of the court.

Did I?

"No, I was just stating a fact from prior observation."

"Of course you were, Buchou." We continued playing, and whilst we played, the team started to do some exercises and began their own games as well.

Before I knew it, we all had to leave for classes.

"Thank you, Echizen. That was a pleasant game..." He huffed irritably. He had lost, but we all knew he didn't like to say it aloud.

We all went to the changing room and started to change into our uniforms. Once we were done, we proceeded to class.

I sat in my class quietly. All I could seem to do was stare at Fuji's desk. What was wrong with him? Would he be okay? Was it life threatening? When would we get to see him? Would he be allowed out any time soon?

"Tezuka-san."

Could he continue playing tennis? What if it was severe and he had to stop?

"Tezuka-san..."

How would he ever deal with it? How would I deal with it?

"Tezuka-san!"

Did the team need him so much?

"Tezuka-san!"

Or was it just me?

"Tezuka-san, if you are not going to pay attention go out into the hallway!!" I blinked and looked up to see my red-faced teacher fuming in front of me. I looked around and quickly noticed that the entire class was looking at me, amused. Oishi stared at me from the front of the classroom.

"I apologize Minori-sensei, I got lost in my thoughts," I managed.

She blew out air angrily. "Well, you can go stand out in the hallway until the end of class. I called you four times before I got through to you." I did a perfect double-take; with the exception of my grandfather, I had never been reprimanded in my entire life. Calmly, I stood up and walked to the door. I slowly slid it open and went out into the hallway, closing the door behind me.

I needed to see Fuji for myself. If I didn't, I feared that I would end up completely warped.

I glanced down the hallway and stared walking towards the stairs that led to the exit. Once I was out of the school building, I worked my way slowly to the hospital, thinking about what I had just done.

"I just skipped school. Fuji, you're turning me into a hoodlum..." I sighed and continued on my way. Once I was at the shiny new hospital, I poked my head in. If the lady was at the desk, I would have to ask her if I could see him. I was extremely afraid that I wouldn't be allowed to. Then I noticed she wasn't at the desk. In fact, the strange room was completely empty. I shivered and walked into the room.

Okay, Kunimitsu, you're in the hospital and there is no one here. What to do... Well, the doctor came from that door...so Fuji must be there somewhere... No, what was I thinking? I was going to sneak around a hospital looking for Fuji? Definitely not. I went and sat in the waiting area.

But it enticed me. The door. Behind it might be Fuji. The same Fuji that I needed to see in order to settle my scattered thoughts.

Fuji, I have just become a delinquent for the betterment of you. If I get arrested...you're paying my bail... I thought to myself, wishing Fuji could hear it. I was acting so subnormal because of him. What was it about Fuji that had me skipping school and sneaking around hospitals? I pushed the door open gently and poked my head in it to look down the hallways. I sighed in relief when I discovered that there was no one there.

It was a long empty hallway that only had a few doors. There was another hallway, though, and I decided to go down that one.

I turned down and saw it was a long hallway with windows lining it. Another hallway branched off to the right at the end. I started to walk down it, glancing out the windows every so often. They were all empty rooms painted white with a bed and a desk with a computer on it, also white. There was a small couch against the opposite wall, and the door to the rooms were on the hallway I was in. These rooms seemed more like observation rooms than hospital rooms. As I approached the last room, I saw it was painted blue. I paused to look into it. There was some tennis magazines placed on the desk, and a few bags in the corner. Someone must have been living in it. I looked closer at the bags until I noticed something unsettlingly familiar. One of them was Fuji's tennis bag.

Fuji was staying in this room? I thought for a moment, but the sheets were ridiculously wrinkle-free, not to mention that everything was still too perfect and new. No, he must be going to live in it...

I turned and continued down the hallway until I got to the next turn. I followed the path, and what greeted me was a hallway filled with steel doors. Spooky looking steel doors. They all had little squares protruding from them with hinges. I thought they might be like windows you looked in. I went down the hall and paused at the first door to look in. It was filled to the brim with beeping machines and steel mechanics. Other than that it was empty. I say 'empty' because Fuji was not in it. I continued to look into the rooms until I got to the last one. Fuji had to be in it...there was nowhere else for him to be...

I opened the peephole and glanced inside. What I saw scared me witless. There was Fuji, lying on a bed, surrounded with machines that were all attached to his body in some way.

"Fuji, what are they doing to you?" I looked down at the handle to check and see if it was open. It was, thankfully, so I pushed open the door and hurried over to Fuji.

"Fuji?" I looked him over and noticed that he was sleeping. I sighed gently; seeing him lying like that amongst the wires and tubes and blinking machines was the most frightening thing I have ever had to deal with.

"God, Fuji, the team is so worried about you...you have no idea...they aren't practicing properly and they are slacking horribly...and I...I can't seem to get you out of my head. I am not completely sure I like what you have done to me Fuji..."

I glanced around and noticed a chair. I grabbed it and pulled it over so that I could sit down and watch him.

"I skipped school to come here...and I snuck through the hospital...It is really strange here...I hope you don't have to stay for too long. The team needs you back, and soon." This was an incredible moment. I had no idea what to do now. I was talking to someone who was asleep and couldn't even hear me. Not to mention I really wasn't supposed to be in that hospital room. In fact, I wasn't even supposed to be in the hospital at all. I could only imagine how the teacher was reacting.

Minori-sensei

I sighed and glanced at the wall clock. Tezuka-san was awfully quiet, and he always paid attention in class before today. I supposed that I should let him come back in; I thought that he had learned his lesson.

"Tezuka-san! You can join the rest of the class now..." I waited a few moments but he never came.

"Tezuka-san?" I wandered over to the door, opening it.

"Tezuka-san, you can jo-" I blinked and looked around.

"...Tezuka-san?" He definitely was not in the hallway.

"TEZUKA-SAN, WHEN I SEE YOU AGAIN, YOU HAVE A DETENTION!!"

Tezuka

A shiver went down my spine.

"The things I do for you Fuji..." I mumbled and stared at the silent boy,

"When will you wake up? I need to speak with you..." I sighed and stood up, looking him over once more. Which caused me not to hear them. The sounds of the big steel door sliding open, or the footsteps of the man walking towards me. In fact, I was completely unaware he was in the room until I felt his hand grip my shoulder and spin me around.

"What are you doing here!? You're not supposed to be back here! How did you get back here?! Who are you?!" I was shocked into silence and couldn't answer.

"Get out! Get out now!!" I needed no more telling. I ran out of that room and hospital as fast as I could. That was officially the last time I would ever perform delinquent acts...ever.

A/N clonked I forgot to add this now I have to do it again!! grrr anywayyyys!! Thank you all my Reviewers!! I htink there was...um ues 4 of you and a few stroy alerts! Yay! Chapter 4 or 3 depending how you look at it will be out soon. I am still writing the next one though...

alllllll thanks to my awsome editor Jewelieishness!!

yay for her!!