Chapter 26: Good Girl

Not so surprisingly, both Fumi and Youko were against the idea of putting nanomachines into Shizuru's body. However, Shizuru did not give them any room for negotiation. Of course the Kyoto-born was ever so polite and proper when she voiced her opinion/threat, but she made herself frighteningly clear.

Either they would help her do it, or they should just sit back and watch her sticking a tube between Viola's and her own arms if that's what she must do to get the nanomachines.

At the end, the Director made some arrangement and they were allowed to use the hospital's lab to (safely and hygienically) extract nanomachines from Viola's blood and inject them into Shizuru's body.

"Heart rate: normal. Blood pressures: normal." Youko checked the I.V. drip again and turned to the chestnut-haired girl lying on the bed with her eyes closed. "How are you feeling right now?" She asked.

"I feel fine." Shizuru replied with a calm smile. It seemed her body was not rejecting the nanomachines like Kruger had predicted. Although it wouldn't hurt to have the room temperature a few degrees lower... Shizuru thought.

"You are sweating." Viola observed, frowning slightly as beads of sweats starting to form on her twin's forehead.

"I feel fine." Shizuru insisted, her right hand clenching the left side of her stomach unconsciously. It's hot...

When Haruka was sent out of the Operating Room, Erstin, Nina, Natsuki, Mai, and Mikoto were still in surgery. Haruka might not be the brightest pea in the pod, but she knew they all got off easy. The fact that none of them was in a body bag yet was miracle enough.

Thanks to the painkiller and the lingering effect of anesthesia during the surgery, Haruka was feeling quite calm for someone who nearly got her leg hacked off by a twelve feet tall monster's shiny claws. Although she was the one who got hurt, her best friend Yukino, on the other hand, looked as if she might pass out at any time.

"Yukino, are you sure you didn't get hurt anywhere else? Your face is all pale." Haruka asked while checking the girl's body for injuries hidden underneath her clothes.

Under normal circumstances, Yukino would be blushing and protesting in embarrassment, but now she only squeaked a little when the blond groped her.

Not finding any part of Yukino's body broken, Haruka then turned her attention to her friend's appearance. The girl was wearing a different shirt since her old one was ruined earlier. Then Haruka noticed something else. "Give me your glasses." She said.

Yukino took off her glasses and handed it to her friend wordlessly.

"Don't you feel uncomfortable wearing this? The frame is all crocked." Frowning with concentration, Haruka skillfully bent the frame back to its original shape. "There. All better... Why are you crying again?" She tried to reach for her handkerchief in her pocket but then realized she was only wearing a flimsy hospital gown. Slightly annoyed, she pulled Yukino closer and wiped away the tears with her fingers.

"It... it must've hurt..." Yukino said with a strangled sob. "It must've hurt so much. Haruka-chan..."

"What are you talking about? Of course it hurt! It hurt so much I almost pissed myself." Haruka said with an angry scowl on her face.

Yukino's breath hitched at Haruka's harsh reply. She expected Haruka to be upset, but hearing her admit that was a hundred times worse than she had anticipated. "I'm so sorry... Haruka-chan... It's all my fault..."

Haruka interrupted her friend's teary apology with an impatient grunt. "Your fault? Some moron set loose a bunch of monsters at our school, and you think it's your fault? Yukino, sometimes I really don't understand how your brain works."

"But... but if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have got hurt! It's MY fault!"

"Yukino." Haruka said with absolute sincerity and conviction. "It hurt, but I didn't regret it one bit, and I'd do it again if I have to." Suddenly feeling uncharacteristically shy, she shifted her gaze downward and focused it on her hands. "I would rather lose a limb than lose you."

Deeply moved by Haruka's confession, Yukino tackled her friend and locked her in a desperate embrace while letting out a sob and a wet hiccup. Haruka sighed and returned the hug with an understanding smile.

"Crybaby."

Shiho didn't fully understand why she would want to see the redhead delinquent now. They were practically strangers to each other. Beside, Nao just slapped her not too long ago, they were not exactly on good terms. So why should she even care about that violent rebel?

"Shiho-chan? Is there something you want? You don't have to hide in the corner peeking around, you know." Midori said with a chuckle.

The doctor Chie found had been called away for an emergency C-section right after he fixed Nao's broken arm. The only thing the good vagina doctor had done for Midori was to give her some drugs to deal with the pain. She was giddy and content even though her shoulder was still swollen and dislocated. The fact that she was left sitting in the hallway without treatment for hours didn't seem too terrible in her current mental state.

Being caught redhanded, Shiho blushed slightly as she came around the corner and greeted the history teacher with a polite but awkward bow. "Er... Hi."

Midori raised an eyebrow. "What's with the formality? Aren't we both fellow HiME Rangers? Ha ha! Come on, just spit it out. You look like you want to say something. You can tell Midori-chan anything, you know."

Fellow HiME Rangers. Shiho cringed at the title. I am only a coward. "I'm just wondering, where is that delin... I mean, where is Yuuki-san? I thought she is here with you."

"I don't know. I saw her hopping on a wheelchair and pushing herself down the hall right after the doctor put a cast on her arm. She didn't even stay to get her ankle bandaged." Midori said while scratching her head lazily. "I guess she really hates hospital."

Chie came back from a vending machine raid with an arm-full of snacks and drinks. She dumped all that stuff on an empty chair beside Midori and sat down next to Aoi, who was holding a sleeping Alyssa in her arms. The poor child had silently cried herself to sleep a while ago.

"I saw Nao waiting for the elevator just a minute ago." Chie added. She had heard the conversation on her way back. "If you go now you might catch up with her. I have no idea where she is heading though."

When Shiho got to the elevator, she only caught a glimpse of the redhead's form as the elevator door closed shut. She waited and took note of the floor number it stopped at, and then she ran for the stairs. She wasn't sure why she was running, she could have waited for the elevator to come back. She didn't. She wanted to find the redhead as soon as possible. And to do what? She honestly had no idea.

Nao felt weak. Every time she came to this place, she always felt like a lost little girl. She had resisted the urge, the vehement need to visit that frail woman for so long, she no longer had enough strength to deny herself after she was physically and mentally exhausted today.

This section of the hospital was always as quiet as a morgue. It reeked of death. No.

Not dead. Yet by no mean alive. Mama...

She took a deep breath and opened the door. Fuck. I'm shaking already. Nao grabbed her arm and let her nails sink deeply into her flesh. The stinging pain made the involuntary trembling subside a little.

The woman lying on the bed looked as if she were only taking a nap. That's what it always looked like to Nao. Just a nap. Despite knowing perfectly well the woman would not be roused by any noises, Nao still tried to be as quiet as she could when she approached the bed. She would hate to disturb her mama's peaceful slumber.

"I'm fine. The wheelchair is only temporary." She started by explaining her condition. She could easily imagine the worried look on her mama's face, and she didn't like making her mama looking so sad. "The cast? Oh, it's only for show. That quack doctor is messed up in the head, you know." She said, giggling like a six-year-old as she continued. "He is not a bone doctor, actually. Guess what his specialty is? I'll give you three guesses."

Nao's silly giggles faded into a soft sigh after a while. "Yes, mama, I'll be more careful next time." She paused and gently held the sleeping woman's hand into her own, pressing it against her cheek. "I was not scared at all, because I'm strong like you." She closed her eyes and moved her mama's hand up to make it rest on top of her own red head.

There, there. Nao is a good girl.

"Yes, mama. Nao is a good girl." Nao chirped happily.

Did I just see something I really shouldn't have?

Shiho held in her breath as she quickly dodged behind a vending machine, listening intently to the quiet squeaks made by a wheelchair rolling pass her hiding place. Letting out a relieved sigh, Shiho carefully poked her head out and saw the redhead pushing herself into the washroom.

I've seen too much. She'll kill me if she finds out about me spying on her. Shiho was planning to run for her life, but a strange noise coming from the washroom made her stop on her track. Suddenly recognizing what the noise was, Shiho had to put her hand up to cover her mouth so she wouldn't gasp out loud.

The muffled sounds coming from the washroom was Nao sobbing and puking her guts out.

Despite Youko's initial concerns, the procedure went smoothly without complication. However unlikely it might be, Shizuru's body seemed to be well adapted to those nanomachines.

Youko did not like the turn out too much, not that she wanted Shizuru to be hurt by the nanomachines, she was irked by the implication this whole event brought upon. If putting nanomachines into one's body was such a simple and harmless procedure, mass producing Otomes would not be just a pipe dream.

Imagine what it would be like if those power-hungry bastards from Searrs had armies of super soldiers at their disposal. Imagine what they would do to the HiMEs in order to eliminate potential enemies.

Youko feared for those girls' lives.

Standing in front of a mellow Midori, Youko stared down at her friend with a disapproving frown and crossed arms. "Sugiura Midori. What are you doing?"

Midori looked up at the Youko's and replied innocently. "I'm taking a nap."

The school nurse could feel her eyes twitching. "In the hallway? On the floor?"

"But I'm sleepy." Midori whined loudly.

"Don't sleep on the floor like a bum. Oh my God. You shoulder is not treated!" Youko bent down and helped her friend up, but the history teacher herself was not very cooperative. "Would you stop being such a big baby and stand up on your own? You are heavy."

"Yooouuukooo..." Midori suddenly went all teary eyes and weepy. "You think I'm a big baby too? I like being seventeen. I don't wanna be ooold."

Youko sighed and shook her head. "Alright, alright, you are not a big baby. You are not old either, you are a forever-seventeen-zombie. Happy now? Now sit still and let me see your shoulder."

"But Yooouuukooo..." Midiro didn't calm down at all. The volume of her whining only went up. "Seventeen is too young. Professor's kid is seventeen. Why does professor prefer that old crone instead of young, beautiful, innocent me?"

Youko blinked in surprise at Midori's rant. "What? Professor is married?"

"He was." Midori sniffed loudly. "He's divorced, but he still loves his ex-wife. Why would he love someone that old? Can you believe this? I've lost to someone three times my age!"

Yeah... Youko had to bite on her tongue so she would not blurt out inappropriate remarks like 'ha-ha, serve you right' or 'now you know how I feel'. "Because professor is too senile to appreciate your youthfulness and beauty. If he were your age, he would definitely fall for you." She said with a mocking tone.

Midori was too drugged up to recognize the sarcasm in Youko's reply. "You think so too? Ahh... You are the only person who understand me." She sloppily wiped her nose with Youko's shirt, not seeing the disgusted expression on her friend's face. "I've had enough with men. Maybe I should turn gay and date you instead."

Eww, snot... WHAT?! "It's the drug talking." Youko felt a vein popped up on her forehead. "I think you've hit your head too. Now sit here and don't go anywhere. I'll go make an appointment to get your shoulder and your head examined." Feeling more than a bit annoyed, Youko pried away Midori's clingy fingers and fled from her clueless friend.

TBC

Author's Notes:

My beta is busy, so this chapter is unbeta'd. Please read and review.