Nowaki twisted from side to side to crack his back. He had been called in yesterday afternoon when a bus was wrecked on the highway. Nearly twenty nine people were admitted. Five of them had slipped away and many more hadn't even made it to the hospital. It was all hands on deck. Nowaki had spent all day and night running from one room to the next. It seemed there was always someone in critical condition. It was beginning to take a real toll on him. This was the first time in over twelve hours that he had more than a few minutes to sit down and take a breath. All he had eaten was a package of shortbread cookies from the vending machine to get his blood sugar up He was emotionally exhausted as well. The relatives of those five people had all been informed of their loss by him.

There was a buzz at his waist as he received a page. He let out a long sigh. He was needed in the ER. Break time is over.

It was a whirlwind of activity. An ambulance had just pulled up and the EMTs were unloading the gurney. The patient didn't seem very old. An oxygen mask was strapped to his face. A black coat had been draped over his lower body. Nowaki pulled on a pair of sterile gloves.

"What happened?"

"There are multiple abrasions to the face and body, significant head trauma but no immediate indications of sexual assault. The nose is broken. A few teeth have been knocked out and possible broken ribs. This man rode in with the victim."

"Hello, my name is Nowaki Kusama. Do you know the….Hiro-san? What are you doing here?"

"Miyagi and I found him. He's one of my students." Hiroki started to cry. Being around Nowaki was tearing down the walls he had built to keep these feelings in. "I don't know what happened. You can treat him right?"

Nowaki placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We will do all we can. What's his name?"

"Misaki. Misaki Takahashi."

"Misaki." Nowaki repeated the name tenderly. "You leave Misaki to me. The nurse will have a few questions for you as well as the police. I will come check on you when I can."

"Don't worry about me. Just help him."

Nowaki and the doctors pushed the gurney down the hallways and disappeared behind a pair of double doors.

Hiroki fell back against a wall.

"Misaki," he whispered under his breath "Please hold on."

When he had calmed down a little bit, he realized a middle aged woman had a hand on his arm.

"Sir? Are you feeling dizzy? Can we get you some water? We can take you into a room to lie down if you like."

"I'm fine." Hiroki swiped his eyes with his sleeve. He was disgusted with his own weakness. He hated being seen in an emotional state.

"My name is Kumiko Akiyama. If you feel up to it, I just have a few quick questions to ask you."

"Sure."

"You said the patient's name is Misaki Takahashi, correct?"

"Yes."

"What is your relationship to Mr. Takahashi?"

"I am an instructor at the school he attends. I've had him in my classes before. He's a good student. He tries hard."

Miss Akiyama nodded sympathetically.

"I am sure he does, sir. Do you know if he has any family?"

Hiroki thought about it carefully. He couldn't remember. It had never really come up. He wanted to say his parents were divorced? Maybe his father was overseas? The details escaped him. Someone spoke up.

"His parents passed away. His closest surviving relative is his older brother."

Hiroki turned around.

"Miyagi? What are you doing here?"

Miss Akiyama eyeballed the newcomer with some concern.

"May I help you, sir?"

"Hello." Miyagi dipped his head and offered her a business card. "I am a colleague of Mr. Kamijō. I was with him when Takahashi was found. I recall overhearing a conversation between Takahashi and Keiichi Sumi. Takahashi's parents perished in an accident. He mentioned a brother though I don't know a name off the top of my head. The school would have that on record. I could call the main office and get his contact information."

"Thank you very much, sir."

"Anything I can do to help. Is there a phone I may use?"

"There is a public phone in the hall. It is free for all local calls."

"Thank you."

"I have to go check on some other patients. Come find me at the nurses' station when you have the number. I will get in touch with his brother."

Miyagi started to walk away when Hiroki stopped him.

"You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"

"Well it's too early to go to a bar so I figured this was a good place to pick up handsome men."

"How can you joke at a time like this?"

Miyagi started at Hiroki. On the surface nothing seemed wrong. When you looked closer, there was something fragile and artificial about his calm demeanor.

"How could I not joke at a time like this? Listen, maybe I knew Kusama would be busy. Maybe I thought there should be someone here looking out for you too. Maybe I just couldn't be at that school with those kids, not after seeing the way they reacted this morning….Maybe I just don't want to be alone right now."

"Miyagi-san?"

"Don't get so flustered, Hiroki. This isn't morphing into a love confession. When tragedy strikes it's ok to lean on your friends."

Hiroki nodded. He felt comforted.

"Friends."

"Why don't you go find a couple of seats for us? I am sure law enforcement is on their way and they will want to speak with us. I'm going to go take care of the calls and I'll bring back a ginger ale. You look a bit pale. It'll settle your stomach."

"So-o-o-o, you really don't know where he is?" The smile was disgusting. Usagi wanted nothing more than to wipe it off with his fist. "Did you ever stop to think he simply got tired of you? It might be time for you to give in and accept me as his replacement. I'm more than equal to the task."

Usagi lost his patience and grabbed the front of the beige sweater. He did not raise his voice. He didn't have to. His tone was dangerous and full of malice.

"Listen to me, you waste of oxygen. I do not have time for your warped games. This is serious. If there's even one iota of your friendship that isn't fake, you will tell me what you know."

Keiichi Sumi smirked. He wasn't intimidated. If anything, being grabbed so roughly by Usami-sensei was turning him on.

"What a moving display. I can see how you're able to write the way you do. Tell me; if I were to go missing, would you create such a sensual spectacle on my behalf?"

"No. I would be too busy celebrating with the man I love."

Usagi realized his cell was vibrating. He glanced at the screen and saw Takahiro's name glowing in black print.

"Hello?"

"….Usagi."

"Yes? Talk to me."

"Usagi…we"

Usagi braced himself for the worst knowing perfectly well he could never be prepared to handle that.

"We found him…We're at the hospital."

"I'm on my way."

Usagi snapped it shut and let go of Sumi.

"So? Whose bed did he turn up in?"

"I have to go. That is the only reason you still have a pulse right now. However, if anything happens to him you can forget about paying the ferryman [1]. I'll be delivering you to the underworld personally."

1. This is an allusion to the Ancient Greek myth of the ferryman of Hades. He "carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead." Loved ones would put a coin in the mouth of someone who had died in order to pay their passage.

For the record, I am not a doctor or a nurse. If something about the behavior of the hospital employees seems unrealistic, I apologize. I am not fully versed in these protocols and I realize that it might be slightly different in other countries. Just chock it up to me taking creative licence.