Chapter Eight: A Brawl In The Hospital

Kazuki returned to Keita's bedside, not surprised to see the small teen was still asleep. He smiled gently as he tenderly stroked his hair, mindful not to actually touch his head just in case. Keita... He couldn't believe such a thing had happened to his beloved. Sure, he'd been in a dangerous situation in the past, but it was still nothing compared to what he'd been faced with on that day. His smile faded and his expression quickly filled with anger. If he wasn't a rational young man, he would've stormed out of the hospital and chased down the thugs who'd done this. But, he knew it was best left to the proper authorities.

Umino-sensei knocked on the doorframe of the room. "Tracey? Is it alright if I come in?"

He nodded. "Of course, Mr. Umino."

The teacher, who was older than he appeared, entered the room quietly. There was relief shining in his large eyes. "I'm glad you're alright." He sat by the bedside. "It was a shock when I heard that you'd been sedated."

"Were you also present to hear the story?"

"Yes. I'm sorry to hear something like that happened to you."

The Watcher nodded silently.

"It's also horrible they'd attacked Itou-kun. Neither of you deserved it."

"Mr. Umino?"

"Yes, Tracey?"

"Um...do you hold any blame towards me for what happened to Keita?"

"Absolutely not! It wasn't your fault!"

The Watcher nodded again.

"You need to believe that, Tracey, or you'll forever be burdened with un-necessary guilt. Itou-kun and Endou-kun had a choice those years ago, to help you or to leave you. They made the choice to help you through to the end. Endou-kun still wanted to stick to his decision when he learned about that group of young thugs being released from their detainment, so he made the decision to have you come here. Itou-kun didn't want your memories to be brought back, so he didn't tell you about what happened when you were children. Judging by your reaction after the memories returned, I'd say he was worried that was exactly what would happen."

"They would sit with me through all of my fits throughout the night. My screaming, my crying, my panic attacks. Keita and Kazuki were with me through each and every one of them."

"Itou-kun would've known what your fits were like, and he wanted to spare you from that. So, Tracey, can you honestly say now that you are at fault for what happened?"

"I still should've gone with Keita instead of working on my sketch..."

"You didn't know something was going to happen, nor did Itou-kun, otherwise, you wouldn't have separated. What happened wasn't anyone's fault, except for those responsible for attacking Itou-kun."

"Mr. Umino..."

"So, I want to hear you say that it's not your fault, it never has been your fault and it never will be your fault."

"I..."

"As I said, you must believe that so you won't be burdened by guilt."

"I'm not at fault."

"Were you at fault?"

"I was not at fault."

"Will you be at fault?"

"I won't be at fault."

"Exactly. Now, believe those words, and not only will you recover from the trauma of your past, but you'll also be able to help Itou-kun recover. Okay?"

He nodded, only this time, he was smiling. "Thank you, Mr. Umino."

"That's alright." He reached over and started to stroke Tracey's hair, the same way an affectionate older brother would. "I'm always there for my students, don't forget that. Even after you graduate, feel free to talk if something's bothering you."

"I'll remember that. Thank you."

Umino-sensei smiled widely, glad to know Tracey was going to be alright.

"Has Keita woken again yet?"

"Not yet. He must be exhausted."

"After what happened, I can't blame him. I was the same way. All I wanted to do was sleep. But, I never could."

"Each time you tried, the assault came back full-force, didn't it?"

"It did, and that was when I would wake up screaming and crying. It took Kazuki and Keita forever to calm me down."

"So, you really do remember everything now?"

"I do."

"It's not pleasant to have such a traumatic memory. However, it's also not pleasant forgetting your friends."

"I thought that when I first arrived at Bell Liberty and met Keita that I was fortunate to meet such kind and welcoming people. As the days passed, I found myself spending more time with them, not realising I'd been reunited with old friends. A couple of days ago, they realised something was troubling me, and they sat with me as I grieved for my mother."

"And now you know they'd been with you before."

"Yes."

Umino-sensei was about to say more, but was interrupted by Shunsuke running into the room. "Taki-kun, you shouldn't rush in the hospital," the teacher scolded.

"I know, but this is bad! Yukihiko's telling Kazuki too!" Shunsuke exclaimed loudly.

"What is it?"

"That gang realised Keita was brought here! They're making their way through the hospital as we speak!"

"What?"

"Ou-sama, Nakajima and Shichijo are trying to hold them off, but we need to get out of here now!"

Umino-sensei nodded. "Tracey, can you stand?"

"My legs still feel shaky after the sedatives..." Tracey replied.

Shunsuke found a spare wheelchair in the hall. He pushed it into the room. "Get in this! We have to hurry before you're found!"

Kazuki turned worried violet eyes to Yukihiko as he heard about the gang being in the hospital. "Keita's still asleep, and we can't move him or we could aggravate his injuries."

"I know. We'll have to take his bed. Come on." Yukihiko hurried into the room. "Shinomiya learned of a safe room where Keita and Tracey, as well as those who can't fight, can stay."

Kazuki rose to his feet so quickly, he caused the chair to fall. He moved closer to the bed and grabbed the handrails. He started pushing it out of the room with Yukihiko's help.

"You'd better get our of our way, punks, or you'll get worse than your little friend," the leader of the gang sneered.

Tetsuya growled. "Like hell!"

Hideaki pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You're messing with the wrong school, pal."

Omi's expression was fierce. "You're not getting past!" His eyes were open, and they glared cold ice towards the gang.

The leader just sniffed in amusement. "Well, we'll see about that." He raised a fist. "Get them!" he ordered of his companions.

Tetsuya and Hideaki fought their absolute hardest, Omi was analysing the enemy, making sure none were able to get past them. He was not about to let them harm Keita or Tracey ever again.

Tetsuya grabbed the arm of the more muscular underling. "We're not pushovers!" he exclaimed as he flipped the man over. He knew that unless the underling had experience in judo, his landing would be very hard and painful...it could even knock him unconscious, which is exactly what he was hoping for.

The leader growled to himself as he watched his underlings being defeated one by one. He decided the best way to get through would be to go around. After all, every hospital has more than one entrance.

Omi realised what the leader had planned as he saw him start to run off. "Oh, no you don't!" He chased after him.

Hideaki noticed this. "Oi, Treasury Dog, just what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Omi didn't grace the spectacled student with an answer. He grabbed the leader of the gang by the back of his collar and pulled him back sharply, hearing a garbled sound as the leader's shirt tightened on his throat. He smirked. "Don't think you can get away that easily."

"Oi, just...just let me go! I promise I'll leave!" the leader pleaded.

"Nice try, but I know you'll go back on your word the second I let you go." He turned to Hideaki. "Here's someone else for you to play with."

Hideaki smirked as he approached his rival. "Tired of your chew-toy already, huh?"

Omi just grinned. "I just feel that you can deliver the worst hit on this young man. We need to teach him an important lesson, do we not?"

Tetsuya smirked. "Agreed, let's show him that nobody ever messes with students of Bell Liberty Gakuen!" He too approached Omi and grabbed the gang leader. "We'll take it from here. You go let security know."

Omi nodded and ran off.

The gang leader appeared frightened. "Wh-what are you going to do to me?"

"Well, we want to kill you for what you did to Keita, and for what you did to Tracey all those years ago. But, we'd rather not be charged with manslaughter." Tetsuya looked to Hideaki, who moved up the other end of the hallway. He threw the gang leader with all his strength. "Batter up!"

Hideaki waited for the perfect opportunity and once the gang leader was close enough, he delivered a powerful kick to his jaw, sending the man flying a few feet before crashing to the ground unconscious.

The group was in the safe room. Keita started stirring. His eyes opened slowly. "Huh? Where am I? Wasn't I in the hospital?"

"Keita!" Tracey wheeled over to him. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Tracey? What's going on?"

"We're under attack," Kaoru responded. "That gang found out you're here. Omi, Niwa and Nakajima are taking care of them."

"How did they find us?" Keita asked as he looked at Tracey, who appeared just as surprised as him.

Marill, who'd awoken as Tracey was being wheeled to the safe room, gasped. "Marill rill marill ma marill rill ma marill rill marill!" They must've seen the ambulance and realised that Keita was still alive, so they followed it!

Tracey nodded. "It wouldn't surprise me."

"What did Marill say?" Takuto questioned.

"She commented on the gang possibly seeing the ambulance and following it here after realising Keita was getting help. They wanted to silence us so they couldn't get in further trouble."

Kazuki was becoming furious. "How dare they...? They don't want to get in trouble, so they do exactly what would get them in serious trouble! They were coming after Keita and Tracey again!"

Kouji laid a hand on the Chairman's shoulder. "Calm down, Endou-kun. They're sure to be locked up for a very long time after this."

Marill's ears twitched as she heard footfalls outside the room. She tensed, ready to fire a Water Gun if she were to see the enemy. But, to everyone's relief, it was Tetsuya, Hideaki and Omi.

Kaoru approached Omi, trying to hide just how relieved he was to see his best friend and beloved was alright. "What happened?"

"Security is taking care of them as they await the police, but they said to stay in here until an officer comes to get us, just to be on the safe side," Omi explained.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm not injured, Kaoru. The only ones who received injury were those who deserved it."

"Good. If you were injured, who'd prepare my tea?"

Omi just chuckled, knowing exactly what Kaoru meant to say. "I would never allow anything to stop that."

"Good. See to it that you never do."

"Of course, Kaoru."

Tetsuya stepped over to Tracey and Keita. "They won't be hurting either of you ever again. Not after what we'd done to them."

Keita's eyes widened. "Just what did you do?"

Hideaki chuckled and pushed his glasses up his nose. "We just taught them a very important lesson on why nobody should ever mess with students of Bell Liberty."

"You're scary at times, Nakajima, you know that, right?" Shunsuke asked.

Hideaki just chuckled again.

Takuto turned to Tracey. "Are you going to be alright? Aside from the rest of your past, this revived memory is sure to be upsetting to you."

Tracey nodded. "That's true. But, I will be alright. I shouldn't focus on the bad things, I should focus on the good." He glanced at Keita and Kazuki. "Such as meeting two of the best friends I could ever have." He patted Marill. "Aside from Marill, of course."

"I'm glad to hear that. You're strong, Tracey, don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"And if you do ever find that memory troubling you, then you can always feel free to talk to any of us. We'll help you," Yukihiko added.

Tracey nodded. He closed his eyes and smiled. "I really am glad I came to Bell Liberty, otherwise I would never have been reunited with old friends and made many new ones."

"We're glad you came too, Tracey," Keita responded.

Keita/Tracey: HAMU-HAMU HEAVEN!

Chibified-hamster Tracey walked through Bell Liberty forest, still on the search for that perfect thing to sketch. It wasn't going to be easy though.

Hideaki, in his own Chibified-hamster form, noticed the freshman walking around. He approached him. "So, what are you doing-hamu?"

"Oh, hello, Hideaki-hamu! I'm just looking for the perfect thing to sketch-hamu."

"Judging by how you're looking left and right as you keep walking, you still haven't found even a clue as to what it should be-hamu."

"You'd be right with that-hamu. But, I refuse to give up-hamu!"

He nodded. "Then, follow me-hamu." He grabbed Tracey's paw and pulled him behind him, leading him to a statue. He then pressed him against the statue and leaned in close, almost as if he was about to kiss him. "Look over my left shoulder-hamu."

Flustered over Hideaki's actions, Tracey did so, but saw...nothing! "What was that about-hamu?"

Hideaki just chuckled as he backed away. "Just teaching you not to naively follow anyone-hamu."

Tracey was steamed about the prank pulled, and he showed it as he angrily tapped that same old blackboard with that same old baton.

Hideaki appeared in front of the blackboard. "The thugs have been captured, and now it's time to revive more of Tracey-hamu's memories from long ago-hamu. Next time in Newest Student At BL Gakuen: Return To The Old House. I won't take it easy on you if you don't read it-hamu."