Chapter 21: 6:56 a.m.
After he woke up from the unconscious he had been stayed for a long time, Kyoya slowly opened his eyes, squinting. The image he saw first was gray, in blur. He slowly sat up and peered around, still squinting.
The scenery was simple. There was a long, large, almost endless, clean, asphalted street and two sidewalks on the right and on the left part of the street, asphalted, too. There were many shops and unenclosed buildings on the sidewalks. The buildings weren't vandalized or something; they looked to be still in use. The sky was dark, just a few stars here and there. It was night, so some street lamps were lighting with a dark yellow light. The place was empty and quiet, not living a soul. The wind was blowing from the opposite direction of Kyoya, raising the dust from the ground a little.
Kyoya stood up with a small moan and peered around again. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk along the right sidewalk, looking around with a confused face while walking. He tried to figure out where he was, what happened and how he got there. He knew who he was, and his entire past but excluding where he was and how he got there.
He suddenly felt his heart sore, but he didn't mind.
After a time of wandering through that land, Kyoya saw a lane breaking the left sidewalk, so he walked there and entered it. The ground wasn't asphalted anymore. There were stones on the ground and there weren't sidewalks, just some wood fences. The lane was darker than the main street, but still long.
He walked slowly, carefully peering around. There wasn't anyone there. Actually, that silence started to terrify him, but he had a calm expression, his eyes searching for something. Even he didn't know for what. He was familiar with these kinds of sceneries. He went in many tournaments and, in his travels, he saw many places, and many streets he had never seen before. But that place scared him somehow. He felt that it was hiding many things. Maybe too many things.
All he remembered was the event that happened at McDonalds. Starting the moment Hikaru left, when he threatened Madoka, he couldn't remember anything. Just those last three gunshots. And that he saved her life, but he didn't know if he died or if he had been brought to the hospital...
One thing was sure: something happened. Something bad.
He finally finished walking through that lane and arrived somewhere. Another big, large, empty and clean street. This time, on the sidewalks, instead of buildings, there were houses and yards enclosed by wood or wire fences. The houses seemed to be old, like those at countryside, and in every yard there were one or more old, big trees. That place was also illuminated by street lamps. He turned to the right, following the right sidewalk.
Kyoya didn't panic yet, because he didn't meet any soul living in that town. He was just worried. He had no idea where he was or where he was going. How did he get there? And why those buildings and houses were in that perfect condition if there wasn't civilization? Or maybe they were just sleeping...
Kyoya noticed that the wind stopped blowing. The air was cool, fresh and pleasant; he enjoyed it actually. The dark was deep and mysterious, the light was resting now. The sky was so quiet and peaceful, that few stars shinning faintly were completing it... When he looked straight forward, he could see the road fading away into the night. And how he loved that dawn, that dark, that mystery... Firstly, he was skeptical about it, but now he started to think that it was the perfect night. He was still worried, but he tried to enjoy that breezy May night, almost daybreak.
The night was combining with the day in an amazing way; the night seemed to win the battle. He started to think.
But, even if his mind was wandering (or not really that far), crossing new and new, undiscovered lands of his brain, his senses were still warned. At the smallest sound, he startled and stopped his way. He looked everywhere around suspiciously, also turning around to see if there was anyone stalking him. It was the sound of some footsteps.
He could see a vague shadow moving in the dark. "Who are you?" Kyoya asked loud and skeptically, viciously, looking everywhere around, searching for that creature that dared to live or be there.
It took a moment, but, from the dark, a little girl walked in with slow steps and stopped at a few feet away from him.
The girl seemed to be about six or seven; her hair was teal, tied into two long pigtails which were reaching the ground. Her eyes were sky blue, darting him with an expressionless but fixed gaze, like wanting to say something with the eyes. Like eating him. Her skin was white; her cheeks were just colored in a vague and slight shade of pink, almost unable to be seen. Just like him, she had a small fang coming out from her mouth. She was dressed simply, her clothes clean however. She had a white tee-shirt with short sleeves, a small cartoon lion drawn on it and a short, pleated black miniskirt. She had some ballet shoes, but he couldn't distinguish their colors, even if he squinted and frowned - it was too dark.
But, as he studied the girl, he recognized himself; more than this, he recognized someone. "Y-Yumi?" His expression turned into a shocked one. "No, no, you cannot be..."
"Yes... Is me." another voice spoken from the dark. Kyoya's hand started to shiver as he saw someone coming from the dark. It was a she as well. But that girl was different. She was a teenager and she was dressed different. In the rest, her hair, also tied into two long pigtails which were almost reaching the ground, her eyes and her face were the same like the little girl's, just maybe more mature, her teenager version. She had a small fang coming out from her mouth, as well. Her skin was different although; it was tan, like Kyoya's. She was tall, skinny, beautiful; her eyes were wild, just like his.
So, returning to her clothes: she was wearing a black top with ripped off hems and a beige miniskirt with some pockets, also ripped-off at the hemline. She had some ballet brown shoes, some brown fingerless gloves and a gray pendant at her neck, just like Kyoya's.
"Y-Yumi?" He shook his head, refusing to believe. "No, no, you died nine years ago, you're an illusion!" he refused, retreating more and more as she was walking closer and closer to him, until they both stopped and stared at each other in the dark, the gasp between them was just of a few feet. But, as they stopped, something surprising, almost shocking happened. Kyoya started to cry. "It's really you, Yumi?" She nodded head as she pulled the poor Kyoya into a warm hug. "But you died nine years ago!"
Yumi let him go after a long sigh, her gaze started to express worries. "I'm not alive, you are dead. Or you will be if we will not bring you back in your world soon. If the guardian of the Heaven finds out that you are here, everything ended."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Look... We are in The Unknown Land. You have been shot in your heart, and you are almost dead, that's why you are here." Yumi explained hurried, then took his wrist. "C'mon... If the guardian finds out that you are here, he'll want to bring your soul to Heaven. And you didn't finish your life yet. You don't it to end like this, right? Just follow me and everything will be fine. If you are back in your world before the daybreak, everything is gonna be fine."
"Wait, wait, wait! What do you mean by I was shot in my heart and I'm dead?"
Yumi huffed. "Look... The things are like this... You have been shot three times. I don't know why and I don't even care. Two of the bullets weren't fatal, but the last one, in your heart, was. So, in your primitive world, they... cut you to remove the bullets. But, before this, they had to stop the hemorrhage in your heart, right? So they did. And... your heart was damaged, got it? So you're about to die because..." She paused to think. "Because. Now: This place is called The Unknown Land. Here is where souls are brought when their life in their world is over, or is about to be over. There's a guardian who brings them to the eternal life. In Heaven or Hell. But there's also a road to Earth, actually where I'm trying to bring you. But let's speed up if you really want to be back!"
"What do you mean by he had been shot in his heart?" Hikaru questioned, almost shocked by the doctor's answer.
"You didn't know? He was shot in his heart, not just in his shoulder and in his hip. His lungs are affected and he's about to die and you have no idea?" the doctor reproved.
Hikaru huffed for herself. "It was dark. Probably that's why I didn't see. But I heard just two gunshots!"
Yumi and Kyoya were walking on the empty streets in an alert pace; he was following her. The child version of Yumi was following those two, without saying anything. "So, you can disappear when and where you want?" Kyoya asked curiously; Yumi admitted, but didn't look at him or stopped walking. "And you live here?"
She started to get a bit tired of Kyoya, but didn't reprove him anything. "No. I just came here because of you when I saw what happened." she answered calmly, trying to do not let exasperation be noticed in her tone. "Your friends." she whispered, "They seemed to be very worried; actually, they were throwing a party at the hospital to celebrate your death." she added a final ironic phrase, almost funny for her. I guess she liked that kind of humor.
Kyoya growled to her. "What do you know about my friends?" he asked skeptically, cynically, on a low and hostile voice, under his breath. Yumi let out a short mocking chuckle, peering carefully around to see if there was anyone stalking them although.
"All I know is that they were partying while you were... dead." she demanded, like enjoying criticizing him, but still carefully, trying to make it as subtle as possible - she knew that he understood what she meant.
All three continued their journey anyway. "I know I'm a jerk." he sighed. "But you don't know anything. You died when I was seven. You didn't have enough time to know me. We were just some kids... Some innocent kids..." He looked behind at the little girl for a moment before he looked back at Yumi. "Like her."
Yumi didn't say a word, until...
"Where are you going with him, Yumi?" a strange, hostile voice spoken from their behind. Yumi shut her eyes tight and let out a long and heavy sigh as she was the first who stopped walking. She slowly turned around, like it was time to face the music. Kyoya also turned confusedly; the little girl, too, still keeping that expressionless face. What surprised Kyoya in the next moment was that a wolf appeared from the dark.
"Please, understand me, Ralphie. We were very close; closer than you can realize." Yumi tried to persuade the wolf, who was a few yards away from them, looking hostile at them.
"Stop calling me like this! And I really don't care who he is; he could be even Sejong the Great. I have to take him. These are the rules on The Unknown Land and I can't change them. My mission is to follow them."
"Who's... him?" Kyoya whispered to Yumi, his gaze scared. He was that scared, that he didn't even notice that the wolf was talking. Yumi threw him a sorry look.
"He's Ralph, the guardian I talked about." she whispered back, then changed her gaze to the wolf. She took Kyoya's wrist discretely, looking at him with the corner of her eyes. "C'mon. We have to leave this place."
"He's gonna die, and you have to know one thing! It's your entire fault!" an intern reproved to Hikaru, but the resident put his hand on intern's shoulder.
"You're not allowed to yell at patients or at patient's relatives. Please calm down." the resident scolded him with a serious quiet voice and gaze. Hikaru paused.
"Your eyes... resemble with his. And the tone in your voice... is that bad boy tone Kyoya had. Once had. You are his cousin, right? That's why you are angry. He never told me that he has relatives." Hikaru replied softly and calmly, demanding, as analyzing every small part of the young, almost cute intern. She was sending him some searching, almost hostile, but still warm and curious looks, tilting her head to the right with a few inches.
The intern sighed heavily, his gaze now more calm and sorry. "He's my little cousin. He cannot die!"
A tall, well-built, skinny woman walked towards them from the right part of the hall; her footsteps could be heard loudly because of the heels she was wearing. She seemed to be young; well, not really that young; about thirty-five. Although she seemed to be worried, she was keeping her head up, her eyes warm, wild. She was wearing a white smock; her hair was medium size, messy, let open. Actually, as she was walking, she was trying to tie her hair into a ponytail. She didn't have bangs; her hair was parted, even if it was messy. Her eyes' color was also sky blue.
"Any changes?" she asked the resident on that well-known medical voice as she finished tying her messy hair into a higher ponytail. The resident shook his head, then went back in the patient room, the woman walking alongside him.
"She's my aunt. She's heart surgeon here." the intern explained to the girls.
"I didn't know he has a big family like this." Madoka remarked. The intern nodded with a petty unreasonable, but tired, sad, almost faint smile.
Yumi and Kyoya were running; she was holding his wrist, but he wasn't opposing, while the wolf was chasing them. The little girl was also with them, trying to keep up the pace. "This happens if you don't stay at home!" Yumi angrily scolded Kyoya between her pantings (I don't know if this word exists... Or maybe it is 'pants'... Anyway, she was panting), making him roll his eyes but don't return the reproves.
"If I can return to my world, why can't you too?"
Yumi huffed in exasperation; she was tired because of running and Kyoya was teasing her with his curiosity and... "I can't because my body isn't in that world anymore. That's why we are hurrying. We have to bring you back while your body is still there, so you can come back to life." Yumi explained. "And more than this... I have to return in my world soon."
After saying that, Yumi analyzed the sky and noticed that it was almost morning.
"Let's speed up!" she yelled with superiority.
"And... What are they doing?" Madoka asked shyly from Hikaru's behind.
"Oh, I think they're defibrillating him." the intern answered patiently with a vague nod.
"And... can I ask you a personal question?" Madoka continued the questions line. The intern didn't say anything, but, after the look on his face, she could understand that he said 'yes'. "What's your name?"
"Oh, my name? My name is..." But before he could finish his sentence:
"Miss, you're not allowed to treat your relatives, these are the rules!" a voice seemed to speak from Kyoya's patient room.
"I'm your attending, Sugiyama! Who are you to give me orders? I wanna check his heart rate and his blood pressure on my own, now stand out of my way!" another voice retorted to the first voice. The intern entered the room to see that his aunt and another resident were arguing.
"What the heck are you good people doing there? You're supposed to save his life!" he protested. The resident yelled at him:
"You're at Emergency since now, Tategami! You'll do sutures the entire week! Now move and get out!"
"He's my cousin!" he sassed, making the resident yell even louder:
"Get out, Tategami, or I'll call the Security!"
They stopped. Even the wolf, which started to howl, but approached to them and tried to attack them, but Yumi stood in front of Kyoya and the girl.
"No one hurts my little Kyoyo!" Yumi yelled on that ghost voice as she and her eyes started to glow in a faded-away white, making the wolf retreat.
Kyoya just huffed. "Why does everyone have to call me Yo-yo or Kyoyo? I just hate this." he whined, but it was too quiet for Yumi to can hear it. As Yumi started to glow, the wolf... called some help.
So, the sky, which was kinda lighted, all of sudden became dark, deep dark, really deep dark. The wind started to blow really, really and again... really fiercely and violently, blowing even wilder with every second passed. The dust was moving, playing in the air, the sky was filled with gray clouds and everything looked like the Apocalypse was just beginning. Yumi's pigtails and clothes were fluttering in the wind while wolf's eyes started to glow in pink (Me: Splendid! I feel like a million bucks today!).
"Let me take him!" he ordered, but Yumi let out a hostile, loud, long growl. She didn't answer; her eyes unsure.
Kyoya's aunt sighed. "Time of death: 6:56 a.m." she announced while staring at the lifeless EKG screen. Then she left the room.
Ew... I didn't check again for spelling mistakes or things... So, sorry!