Chapter 18: Hang On
His breathing was ragged now as if he'd been running for an eternity and sweat beads rolled down from his forehead. Jin began to wonder if it had all been too soon. What if he had decided to enter the facility later on when Kazuya was stronger? They still could have the same argument. The doctor still could have been eavesdropping, but Kazuya would have had the strength to escape and he would have taken Jin with him.
Days passed and his condition did not improve. Jin would give him food and Kazuya would eat it as a matter of necessity, but it seemed like he wouldn't gain any strength from it. Jin wondered if there was anything he could do. Kazuya had said he'd be fine, but it didn't look that way. Had he simply been trying to spare his feelings? If he was really dying, wouldn't Kazuya have told him as much?
Jin noticed that he laid on his side with his body slightly curled. The wounds on his body from his chest down were bothering him. They throbbed incessantly and Kazuya could hardly rest peacefully. It was only when his exhaustion overcame his physical pain that he really slept but that didn't happen until after a couple of days. During that time, Jin would often hear the other mumble in his sleep. No matter how hard he tried, Jin couldn't quite make out the words. It was probably nonsensical things that would only make sense to the speaker.
"Do you need anything?" Jin would often find himself saying.
He would ask for food more often than not and nothing more. He would struggle even to eat, but it was a necessary activity. Jin had full access to Kazuya's wallet and Jin felt more at ease buying things. Surely Kazuya had money that wouldn't run out anytime soon.
It was when he began to shiver even though it wasn't cold in the room when Jin knew for certain that the other's health wasn't improving.
"Dad, I think you need to go to the hospital."
"No…hospital," he managed to say.
"But why? You need help, professional help."
"G Corporation…they'll be looking…" Kazuya responded through half closed eyes. It was a wonder he could still comprehend what was being said to him.
"But what am I supposed to do?"
Kazuya chose not to respond or else he couldn't find the energy to. His head was turned from him now. Jin returned to his post on the floor unable to figure out what to do. He could do no more than watch the other's health deteriorate right before his eyes. He still hadn't the slightest clue that the other wore quite a bit of bandages under his clothes and Kazuya wanted to keep it that way. How was he going to convince the other to do what he had been debating in his mind for him to do for the past couple days? Kazuya steeled himself and turned his head towards Jin. He caught the other's attention immediately. Jin gave him a questioning look.
"Jin, I want you to leave. Take my wallet, it's one of the few things that survived my accident, there should be enough there to afford you a trip to Japan," Kazuya saw that the other was already shaking his head. "Listen to me, you have to do this."
"But I came here for you," Jin argued, "I won't just leave you," Jin said—to die. The unspoken words were almost palpable.
"You came here to convince me that what I was doing was stupid, just one of the many ill-advised choices I've made in my life—and you did that."
"Maybe if I hadn't gotten myself caught. Maybe if I waited until you were recovered…maybe—
"And maybe the sky was green instead of blue. You could go on forever thinking how things could have been different, but they're not and they never will be. We can only change the future. We can only live in the now."
"I wanted you to come back with me. Now that we've made it this far, I can't just give up now."
"It isn't giving up rather making the best of an unfortunate situation. Now don't argue with me, I haven't the strength. My decision is final. You will go back to your mother who's probably worried sick about you."
Mom. Jin thought to himself. He had almost completely forgotten about her. He had told himself that all he was doing was for her, but he knew better now. He too had a stake in all this—he too wanted his family whole once more as it should have been.
"You're not planning on dying while I'm not looking, are you," Jin accused.
Kazuya didn't even acknowledge his question, "Tell your mother when you see her that I'm sorry for causing her so much pain and that I love her, always will. Do you have that?"
Jin nodded vigorously.
"Then leave while I can still see you do it. Make sure to keep to yourself and keep out of sight."
"Alright," Jin nodded again.
Kazuya was watching him. Jin knew that he had leave at that instant. He could at least honor a dying man's wish. He took up Kazuya's wallet and one of the key cards and left closing the door gently. Who would bring him food? Jin thought to himself. It would be suicide leaving him like this. In fact, Jin hadn't planned on leaving at all. He only gave the illusion of it. He even went so far as to walk all the way outside, but he hid himself nearby waiting for an hour or so before he returned without Kazuya's knowledge.
He understood Kazuya's line of reasoning. If he himself couldn't make the journey, then Jin would. Either way, Jun would not be left on her own. There would be no point in watching him die. In fact, it could probably wind up being a waste of time and nothing will have been accomplished. He needed a hospital, but it occurred to Jin that Kazuya would much rather die than be found out by G Corporation and taken someplace where escape was impossible. Jin agreed with his sentiment. Still, it was physically impossible for Jin to simply leave someone especially in that condition by himself. He'd sooner starve than die from whatever was ailing him. So after an hour was up, Jin returned to the room and sat down at a good distance away from the other's line of sight.
Jin could still hear just how painful it was for him to breathe as if there simply wasn't enough oxygen in the air. He was asleep, Jin was sure of it. Despite everything he seemed to finally be resting. By nightfall, he was eerily quiet. Jin crept over to check and see if he was alive. His chest still moved, but nothing more. He must have been unconscious.
"Hang in there, Dad. I'll think of something."
/
Jun drove recklessly down the long highway. There were no cops on the road as far as she could see so she could go as fast as she wanted. With it being rather late in the night, hardly any cars were out. She was a speed demon at heart, rolling down the window and yelling out in pure joy. She didn't know too many people who would tolerate her wild side with no question. Kazuya had. There weren't too many activities he wasn't game for. In fact, he did more than tolerate it—he had accepted it with an ease that amazed even her. He was pleasantly amused, she was sure of it. In fact, he made it a point to inform her of the roads that cops didn't frequent. He helped her to gain more control of the car while in higher speeds. It was a nice change of pace for Jun to not have someone admonish her for every one of her faults. It was nice to have someone embrace all that she was—the good and the bad.
But Kazuya wasn't here. He couldn't swerve her out of the way when she came up on a car too quickly. He couldn't remind her to slow down on the sharper turns. She had to do all those things herself. Eventually, she did slow down fearing her life. She knew she wouldn't feel safe enough to do such things until there was someone she could trust beside her once more.
"I'm sorry, Jun," came a child's voice in the passenger's seat.
Jun jumped a little at the sudden intrusion. The child sat straight-backed beside her.
"Okay, but will you tell me what you're sorry about?"
"We got there too late, far too late. He had already dissipated long ago. The evil spirit that was there did not survive."
"Wait a minute, are you serious? You can't be serious. He told me. How could he lie about that? None of you guys can lie, can you?"
"Only Righteousness cannot lie. That Kazuya at your home is perfectly capable of lying, cheating and stealing if it meant that it could spare your feelings. He was concerned only for you and your wellbeing. He knew that there was only one way you would agree to leaving him be."
"You're telling me he lied to me?"
The child nodded, "He knew from the outset. We cannot grow any stronger than what we are outside of the body."
"But why? Just because of my feelings?"
"That evil spirit sought Jin's soul and he had decided that no cost was too great if he could be rid of it. He wanted the curse to end. He did not want you to go through yet another person in your life slowly succumbing to evil."
"And he made that decision without me."
"He made that decision with only you in mind. Would you have it any other way? There was nothing you could have done and it was imperative that you go to the other soul fragments. It will be alright in the end, Jun."
"And how is that? Kazuya will never be whole again."
"He will be with your guidance."
"But he won't love me."
The child shook his head. "We are simply soul fragments, ones that affect a person's feelings. His mind is still whole. He will still know, but the feeling would be absent. It is difficult to explain."
"I think I understand." Jun had slowed down to tolerable speeds by that time. She knew she was easily distracted while driving especially with this kind of news. "I don't know how it will be like. I won't know anything until I spend some time with him again. It's one thing to talk about how he might be like, but I haven't even so much as spoken to him in over a decade. He will have changed even without all of this."
"You should go to the nearest airport," a man's voice said from behind her.
"Geez, alright, master. Where to?" Jun asked.
"To Nepal, Nebraska. I would hurry if I were you."
/
Jin bought himself something to eat with Kazuya's money and he ate it sitting close to the bed hoping that the smell might rouse the other. It had been a few days and the other hadn't so much as twitched. Kazuya had stayed put, not relaxed, but just very still. Jin had to resist the urge to shake him back to wakefulness. There was no telling how the other might respond to it. Perhaps he might accidently wind up killing him. The thought made him shutter. He wondered if his decision to stay had been wise. What if his father did die in front of him? Would he be prepared for such a thing?
Jin laid out on the ground after he finished eating. Things were out of his hand once again just as it had been before. Fate was a force to be reckoned with. Everything seemed stacked against him. The situation would unfold exactly as it pleased without a thought to how Jin might have wanted it to occur.
When Jin quieted himself, he could make out the other's breathing. It was shallow and quick, his heart working overtime simply to get at the oxygen in the air. It occurred to Jin that it might be better to have a window open. The window only looked out to yet another building so it wasn't as if there would be many people trying look inside. Even if they did, from that view they'd only see a dingy wall and a small dresser. Jin had never opened the window before only the blinds so that he could see the graffiti. As he pulled at it, a loud screeching noise made him stop abruptly. Jin glanced over at Kazuya and saw that he had not moved. Then Jin continued as quickly as possible, but the earsplitting noise wouldn't stop until finally Jin deemed the window opened up high enough.
When Jin did return to Kazuya's side, he saw that his expression had changed as if in confusion.
"Jin…you imbecile…" he muttered, but that was all he could manage.
"I couldn't just leave you," Jin declared, but he might as well have been speaking to a wall.
Kazuya had already returned to his previous condition, his breathing once again shallow and quick. Jin listened to it for the rest of the night until he fell asleep. He was awakened the next morning with three hard raps on the door. Jin was almost startled out of his skin. No one had ever knocked on the door and no one was supposed to be. Could it be that G Corporation had found them? Jin glanced back at Kazuya's unmoving form. There was no way for escape if that was the case. The knocking repeated itself three more times and Jin kept quiet.
"Kazuya?" a woman's voice yelled through the door. "I'll knock this door down if you don't let me in."
"Mom!?" Jin cried incredulously. "What are you doing here?"
"Jin?!" Jun said with equal shock. "Let me in will you. I've been knocking for ages!"
Jin scrambled to the door immediately and beheld his mother. For the time being, all they could do was embrace one another. They pulled away almost at the same time. There was a much more immediate concern. Jun stepped into the room and closed the door.
"How has he been?" Jun asked seriously as she walked across the room in two steps and gazed down upon Kazuya.
"He hasn't been well since we left that research facility."
"G Corporation?" Jun asked glancing back at Jin.
"Yes," he said with a nod. "He's just been in pain ever since. I think the doctor poisoned him."
"Poisoned him? Good grief. What would be the point of that?"
Jin shook his head unable to come up with a reason.
Jun bent down a little and peeled back his shirt. "No, I don't think he's been poisoned. I think his wounds have become infected."
"Wounds?" Jin asked.
Jun smiled to herself. "That's just like him not to tell you everything. He's not one for long stories."
Jin was already by Jun's side and was looking down at the bandages—they were not in good repair. "I could have bought some bandages. I could have changed them."
"And I'm sure you would have gotten caught in the process. They—the people over in that facility—would know that Kazuya was in need of bandages. They'd be watching every pharmacy, every supermarket."
"Then what do we do now?"
"We'll take him to the hospital," Jun stated confidently.
"But—
"He'll be safe there. I'll make sure of it."
"You have a plan then," Jin said wanting to know the details.
"It's not for you to know. All you need to do is keep an eye out for your father. I'll do the rest." Jun sighed heavily to herself. "I thought it would be easy once I made it here. Now I have to deal with this."
Jun left the room once again telling Jin to stay with him. She'd call the ambulance from the front office phone. Eventually, the two of them sat down together on the floor.
"You're not mad with me, are you?" Jin asked.
Jun shook her head. "I have better things to put my energy towards."
"How did you know to come here?"
"Another time, Jin. It really would be a long story."
"Okay," Jin said with marked disappointment.
"I might not be angry with you, Jin, but what you did was stupid. Running off all on your own. There were a million and one ways that this could have turned out worse than it already is. You don't even know your father all that well. What possessed you to do all this?"
"I wanted to know him like I had in that dream."
"And it all comes back to that. That dream must have really been something."
"You were happy there. We were happy there together."
"Well, this is reality," Jun replied as her eyes strayed over to the bed. "And he could very well die."
"At least…at least I got to spend some time with him."
"You make it sound like it was pleasant. I can't imagine he welcomed you with open arms."
"No, he didn't, but I read between the lines."
"How was he? I know that dream of yours was rooted in reality. You must have known how he was back then. Wasn't he…different now?"
"Yeah, he was different—not himself, but the more I spent time with him, the more he…remembered. I don't know. He wouldn't tell me what exactly was wrong with him. He said he had trouble remembering things. Sometimes, he would just seem…off."
Jun nodded. "I see."
The ambulances came eventually and took Kazuya to the nearest hospital. He was placed in intensive care. He was given an oxygen mask as quickly as possible and his bandages were changed immediately. He was then placed on antibiotics and since he was unable to eat for himself, he would be given nutrients intravenously.
Jin had seen this all before, but there weren't quite so many wires and no oxygen mask. Jun asked the doctor after he did his initial analysis of the patient many questions, but the answers were vague at best. It was never a sure thing when dealing with sepsis. His body could fight it off, but on the other hand he might already be too weak to do so.
Jun seemed calmed and composed through it all and Jin was glad for that because he felt on the verge of falling completely apart. All he was tasked with was watching over Kazuya. Jun sat down at the seat nearest to the door with her legs crossed. She seemed to be waiting for something and then Jin understood at least part of the plan. She was going to keep a vigil for any outside danger. Jin had nearly forgotten the fact that Jun could indeed protect herself. He wondered if she planned on taking them all down with her bare hands. She looked confident enough.
Jin returned to Kazuya. His breathing was regulated now and his chest fell at regular intervals. He had never seen Kazuya so weakened before. He was pallid as if his vigor had left him completely. He could stay like that for an eternity and never reawaken. The possibilities weighed heavily on Jin, but he preferred to think that Kazuya's recovery was inevitable.
/
AN: The family all in one room. What a sight.
