Not turning around, I grabbed Ikuto's arm and shook it continuously. My eyes were always on Ami.
"Ikuto! Ikuto! Ikuto! Did you hear her? Ikuto!"
"Yes, yes," he chuckled, "Talk to her."
"Can you-
"Call everyone else and tell them she's speaking? Yeah, I'm already on it."
I was so elated, relieved, surprised, shocked, stunned…a single word could not precisely match how I was feeling. I grabbed Ami's hand once more.
"I'm here. Amu's here for you."
"Thank goodness…" she mumbled with a soft smile on her face before drifting back asleep.
"I'm calling the doctor."
Ikuto ran out of the room, and shortly after arrived with the same man who had been checking Ami's vital signals before we came. He checked her pulse, and ran a couple other little tests on her before giving us the 'okay' and leaving.
By the time the first person arrived, I had already started drifting off.
3:00 a.m.
"Amu, wake up. Amu."
"Hmmm?"
I forcefully managed to open my groggy eyes. I blinked a couple times and rubbed my eye to clear my blurry vision. Looking up, I saw Ikuto's dark eyes staring back into mine.
"Do you want to go home and rest? I can watch her if you'd like."
"No, I want to stay. I need to stay."
I looked around the semi-dark hospital room – it was just me, Ikuto, and Ami.
"Where is everyone else?"
"Sleeping in the waiting room."
"Oh…no…no. Ikuto, why didn't you tell them-
"To go to a nearby hotel or even go home because it wasn't reasonable to stay here and so that they wouldn't worry you? Told them. And I guess that's why we're all friends, because we're all so damn stubborn."
I managed a smile, but turned my attention to Ami's sleeping figure.
"Did anything happen while I was asleep?"
"The doctor came back in to check on her; he said her health was in excellent condition at the moment. She talked in her sleep, and did open her eyes at least one more time."
I placed a finger on her hand and just left it there; trying to resurface every last memory we had had together.
"I should go see if anyone needs anything to eat," he murmured leaving the room silently.
Sighing, I watched his back walk out of the dark room and disappear, knowing all to well it was an excuse to give me some alone time with Ami. His voice silently echoed in the waiting, and before I knew it, Utau was leaning on the doorframe.
"They don't make guys like him anymore," she said silently; a small smile playing on her lips.
"Ikuto said you guys were asleep."
"As if. How could any of us sleep when you called saying Ami had woken up? We're acting."
She walked in and sat on the frame of Ami's hospital bed. She stroked Ami's blanket-covered toes before turning her attention back to me.
"Will you let him go?" she asked suddenly.
Her question didn't catch me by surprise. Utau had always had a way of noticing things that were hidden very low beneath the surface.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not in love."
Utau did a noncommittal shrug.
"Your head tells you you're not in love because it is giving you the logic against it. But you're heart…Is your heart in love?
"Why are you bringing this up?"
"Trust me, I wasn't going to. I just want to know, if you were going to let him go."
"I'm not in love," I repeated.
"What would you do if another woman captured his heart?"
"Congratulate him, I guess."
"There would probably be no room for you in his mind or heart."
"That's fine."
Utau raised a brow and got up off the edge of the bed.
"He won't be there to pick up your sleeping figure off the airplane and carry you all the way back to the hotel. He won't be there to cover you up when you and my idiot of a boyfriend went to a brothel. He won't be there to take care of you after you had a traumatizing case."
"How do you-
"Listen Amu, I don't have to be a cop or a detective to learn information. You know this."
I looked away knowing she was right.
"You can't stay indecisive forever Amu and you know that. You can either let him go or try to get him back. But keeping yourself in the middle will hurt you and him even more."
"But that's been what I've been trying to do Utau!"
"Then throw out his things," she mumbled sharply.
"…You know I can't."
"Your choices are either 'A' or 'B'. You don't have to pick now, but I'm telling you this because every thing he's done today was with you and Ami in mind. I don't know if you've noticed, but visiting hours are long over. He went to head to head with one of the nurses before calling someone he knew to let us stay here the whole night."
"I didn't know."
"And you probably wouldn't have."
Utau grabbed my hands with hers and held them there between us.
"I just want you to be happy whether it's with Ikuto or not. I have Kukai, and Yaya has Kairi. Rima has Nagi. I don't want you to be alone for the rest of your life. You've been alone for too long Amu."
It was silent for a moment.
"You're making me all sentimental," I sniffled.
"Aww."
While Utau gushed over me, a knock came at the door. I looked up to see rusty brown hair and a pair of amused green eyes staring right at us.
"You girls having fun?"
This time Utau turned around. A small smile growing on her lips when her gaze landed on him.
"Somewhat. And you?"
"Somewhat. Lover boy won't let us 'wake up'. Oh and he's roaming the halls angrily because the nurses want to 'end' our prolonged visiting session."
"Hmm…Amu, why don't you go calm him down?"
"Huh? Oh um…I can't…I have to um….watch Ami!"
This really wouldn't have been a problem if Utau had gone on and on about my heart and head having problems within.
"Don't you worry about a thing! Kukai and I can watch her for a bit."
Sighing, I trudged out of the room for the first time that night. Ikuto wasn't in the waiting room, so Rima and Nagi used that to their benefit to talk. Looking over, I saw Yaya really had fallen asleep. Her head resting on Kairi's shoulder. Noelle was balanced on Nagi's lap, her head resting on his chest as she slept soundly.
"Amu!" exclaimed Rima getting up. "Thank goodness you're out of Ami's room. I only got to see you once this entire night and even then you were fast asleep in her room."
"I'm sorry."
"You were tired, it's fine."
"Anyways, how are things going here?"
"Ikuto won't let us do anything. I understand he's trying to be considerate, but we all want to see her too," she groaned crossing her arms over her chest for emphasis.
"I'm going to go talk to him," I mumbled.
"Please do. Someone needs to tell him to calm down a little and take a breather."
I smiled and began walking away when I remembered I had no idea where he was.
"Um…do you know where Ikuto went?"
"I think he headed towards the entrance," offered Nagi.
Mumbling a brief 'thank you' I hurried to the entrance. I walked past the sliding doors and saw his frame somewhat far from the building with a cigarette in his hand. Doing a quick 'inhale, exhale' exercise I walked over towards him.
"You shouldn't be smoking. You're right next to a hospital and it's bad for you."
He gave a small glance in my direction.
"I'm pretty far from the entrance."
Shrugging, I took a seat on a rectangular edge that had a variety of flowers growing from the middle. The smell that I had grown to hate all my life was strangely comforting when I was around him.
"You smoke when something is bothering you usually…care to share?"
"Not really."
"Sharing is caring."
Ikuto smiled a little at that.
"The nurse is trying to kick us out again."
"I don't disagree with her; visiting hours were done about five hours ago."
"I told her I'd pay her extra; she doesn't want to listen."
I watched him rub out the cigarette on the rectangular edge I was sitting on and throw it in the trash. He dragged his hand into his hair and groaned. His eyes looked troubled I noted.
"Something else is bothering you besides the nurse trying to kick us out."
"It's nothing."
"It has to be something. Come on, I won't make fun of you," I stated with a loose smile.
"It's about Ami," he started with a quiet whisper like voice. "Every time I see her, I don't just see her lying on a hospital bed in a coma; I see the events that happened before that. I see her frail, cold body covered in blood and sweat. Then I start thinking, if I had pulled out Shou faster and checked the car to see if anyone else was in the car, then maybe she wouldn't be in a coma right now. I blame myself completely. If I had reacted faster, she wouldn't be here. If I had-
"If I had made sure the cops were actually following my orders then maybe Karyn and Anju wouldn't have died. If I knew Kyou was going to shoot himself, I could've found a way to prevent it and he could see his daughter. Life is full of events that leave us asking 'what if'. It's definitely not your fault Ami's laying on an uncomfortable hospital bed in a coma. Think of it like this, what if you hadn't been the one to collide into Ami. So many possible outcomes: she could've died if the driver hadn't reacted fast enough. It could've been a hit and run. And I'd still be at home angry at why Ami went to the party not knowing she was lying in a hospital."
"When did you mature so quickly?" he asked after a period of silence.
"When I had to live on the streets," I answered with a smile.
Ikuto chuckled and I got up. The two of us walked into the hospital with somewhat eased expressions.
The Next Day
I sat to the side, watching Ami's sleeping form. My mind was currently chewing on other matters however. The report of every officer on the scene from a couple days ago was due to today or I was going to have to storm in that building once more. As if I needed another run in with that horrible secretary. Sighing, I buried my head into my hands.
"Amu…"
Lifting my head, I looked into Ami's golden brown eyes. Those very same eyes that I had not seen for weeks. I grabbed her hand and held it firmly between my own
"Ami don't close your eyes yet!"
I ran out of the room and up to one of the nurses on hand.
"Excuse me, my sister had woken up!"
"Let me get the doctor."
The nurse walked into what seemed to be a makeshift office, pulled out the doctor, and the two of them briskly walked into Ami's room. At the same time, Rima, Utau, and Yaya walked up towards me.
"What's going on Amu?" asked Utau.
"Did her health get worse?" exclaimed Rima.
Yaya sighed and slightly pushed me away from them.
"Amu, why don't you come and sit down for a bit?"
Nodding my head graciously, I followed Yaya into the little waiting room to notice that the guys and Noelle weren't there.
"Where is everyone else?"
"Ikuto didn't think it was such a good idea for Noelle to be in the waiting room any longer than she already had, so they took her to the gift shop on the main floor."
My mind drifted to the conversation I had had with Utau the night before. No, I wasn't in love with Ikuto, but I was sincerely thankful to him from the bottom of my heart. Taking me away from my thoughts, Rima grabbed my hands.
"How is she?"
"She's awake."
"Oh that's wonderful!" exclaimed Rima happily.
"Thank God," breathed Yaya in a sigh of relief.
"I'm calling Kukai and them," announced Utau walking to the corner of the room.
Getting up, I walked to the open door where I could see the doctor running more tests on Ami. Her open eyes staring blankly at the window. I too looked out the window to see the sun shining through a leafy tree. I never let anyone take care of me. I'd never ask for help. The kids at school didn't really know my life, so they thought the reason behind me never asking for help was because I thought I was better than them. They didn't know I couldn't depend on them no matter how secretly I wished I could. I didn't need to be hurt again. And now look at me. Here I am, depending on doctors to make sure my sister doesn't drift in a deep coma to the point where she won't be able to wake up. And I can't name how many times Ikuto and the others have helped me out without even asking for something in return.
"Amu!" exclaimed a small voice interrupting my thoughts.
I turned around and saw Noelle quickly approaching me with a huge smile on her face. When she jumped into my arms, embracing me tightly, a huge ball of emotion nestled its way into my throat. I didn't realize how much I would miss her until she actually left. I placed my face in the small space between her neck and shoulder. When I placed her back on the floor, I flashed Ikuto a small 'thank you' smile. He returned a small smirk in place, and I felt a small flame ignite in my stomach. Ignoring it, I looked up to see the doctor beginning to leave Ami's room.
"Are you Amu Hinamori?" he asked in a gruff voice.
"Yes. Is she okay?"
"She's fine. She's out of her coma, which is better than what any of the panel of doctors believed. If nothing else, she can be out by tomorrow."
That ball of emotion cracked, and I enveloped the doctor into a hug. He remained unresponsive for a moment, before allowing himself to hug back and chuckling slightly.
"Can I go in and see her?" I asked after releasing him.
"I don't see why not."
I looked back to the group behind me.
"Why don't you go in first, and then have them come in?" he suggested.
"Okay. Thank you so much, doctor."
"Your welcome."
He walked back into his makeshift office and after explaining the deal to the others I walked in by myself into Ami's room where the nurse was fiddling with the machines in the corner.
"Hey kiddo."
"Hi Amu…what happened?" she asked staring at the monitors that were connected to her by long, skinny wires.
"I won't bother you with the details…you got into a car accident and ended up in a coma."
There was silence as she stared at the window.
"How long was I out?"
"Close to a month."
There was silence again, and this time I felt strange with the person sitting up on the bed. She wasn't acting like the Ami I had grown to be with for thirteen close to fourteen years. She'd grow out of it, I told myself. She's just woken up from her long coma.
"It is just you?"
"No. Give me a sec," I said with a bright smile.
I walked to the doorway and motioned for everyone else to come in. They came in with happy smiles and little gifts from the gifts shop like balloons, flowers, and a little teddy bear from Noelle. They chatted excitedly with her, hoping to cheer up the somewhat dull atmosphere hanging around the room. Ami had on a smile on her face, but I knew better than to believe that that smile was real. It was a show. And if anyone of them noticed her eyes, they were slightly blank as if they were waiting for something. Sighing, I left it and joined in with the happy chorus of the others.
After a while the nurse came back in and told us we needed to leave the room so she and the doctor could run another test on Ami to make sure she was okay. I noticed Ikuto walk away to the main entrance, but I didn't pay much attention to it. It was while Rima and I were talking about the increase in negotiation cases, he came back.
"Amu, can you come with me real quick?"
From the corner of my eye, I saw Utau flash me a smirk but I ignored her.
"Sorry Rima."
"No, it's fine. Really," she added when I apologized once more.
I followed Ikuto's brisk pace to another little space away from the waiting room where everyone else was sitting.
"This had better be important."
"The Chief of the police department just called, he has the files of every officer who was on the scene a couple days ago ready. He also mentioned something along the lines of, 'Make sure you tell her that if she is not in my office by the end of today that I will personally throw out the reports'".
I smirked.
"Can you call him back for me?"
Without a reply, Ikuto dialed the number and handed me his phone. I waited for the dial tone to end until I heard a small click and heard somewhat audible background noises.
"Chief Fujimoto of Kyoto's Police Department."
"Hello Chief, this is Amu Hinamori."
"Oh it's you," he replied warily.
"I regret to inform you that I won't be able to make it today."
"Did that Tsukiyomi fellow tell you that I will personally throw out the reports?"
"He did, and I can't make it today," I repeated in a cool voice. "My sister is in the hospital and Chief if you do happen to throw out those reports, I know a very good lawyer, Kairi Sanjou, who I may add has won every single case in his favor. I will not fail to file a lawsuit against you and your department for failing to follow investigation orders."
He growled from behind the line.
"You have no investigation warrant."
"I can bring it in tomorrow morning if you'd like," I challenged. "Chief Tsukasa just signed it for me yesterday."
There was silence and I knew I had clearly won.
"No later than tomorrow." And the line had disconnected.
Smiling at my victory, I handed Ikuto back his cell.
"I never thought you'd resort to blackmail," he chuckled.
"It's for Karyn and Anju."
At that, the two of us dropped the conversation and walked back to the waiting room.
The Next Day
"Ami can be checked out of the hospital now; however her physical activity will be severely limited to walking for the time being. If anything strange occurs in her health or behavior, I strongly recommend coming for a checkup. I'll also need for her to come in every other week for a checkup."
"Is that all?" asked Yaya as I filled out the forms signifying that I was signing her out.
"Yes. Just drop off those forms at the front desk and you guys will be good to go."
We all thanked the doctor once more before he left. As I was filling out the last couple forms, Ami cleared her throat and spoke in a semi loud mumble.
"Amu, did anyone else come visit me while I was out?"
"Besides us, no."
"Anyone…around my age?"
"Your friends from school don't know you're in a coma, so they haven't come either."
She frowned this time.
"Did Shou come visit me?" she demanded in a loud impatient voice that had everyone in the room turning to face her.
I had known she would ask about him sooner or later.
"No."
"Oh," she said with clear disappointment. "But…I think I want to stay here a little longer and wait for him."
Everyone in the room but Rima, Kairi, and Ikuto looked uneasy.
"He's not coming," I said a bit impatiently.
"Oh he just runs late sometimes, but he'll be here."
I put the papers down and faced her.
"I told him he can't see you anymore."
The little smile on her face immediately disappeared and her eyes turned bright with blazing anger.
"You told my boyfriend that he had no right to see me? What the hell is your damn problem Amu?"
"My problem is he put you in a coma."
"Big fucking deal. Everyone makes a mistake once in or twice in your life. I can't put a number on how many you've made. And what makes you think you can just tell my boyfriend to back off from me forever? Do you think you're so successful with relationships that you can automatically control someone else's? Your relationship with Ikuto was fucked up from the very beginning. I mean you were so focused on being independent that-
SLAP –
"Amu…" sighed Utau.
Ami stared at me with wide eyes as she held her cheek with the palm of her hand.
"This is the thanks I get for raising you for thirteen years? I sacrificed everything just so you could have a decent and somewhat normal life and all I get is a slap in the face in return. Not only have you insulted me, but you've insulted everyone in this room. They've been here for three days; they've put their own lives on hold just to stay in this hospital and support you. You've been awake for about forty-eight hours now – have you even thanked them for staying here? What about the doctor? Of course you haven't because you been so full of yourself with your little fairytale that your prince in shining armor would come and say 'everything's all right'. You don't even know what's going on around you."
Not being able to stand her presence, I turned around and left her room.
Ikuto POV
I had been leaning against the wall watching to whole thing unfold. A couple minutes after Amu had left the room, Rima and Nagi followed in pursuit while Yaya and Kairi took Noelle out of the room and into the waiting room. Kukai stood there and Utau was now sitting down in a chair closest to Ami's bed staring at the floor.
"She's always meddling in my business…I can't see why she won't leave me alone," mumbled Ami to herself.
"Ami those were horrible things to say to Amu; she was only trying to protect you," said Utau trying to calm her down.
"You have to understand where your sister is coming from, she's been sitting here in this room nonstop for the past three days," explained Kukai.
Ami remained angry, not taking in the words of Utau and Kukai. Sighing, I stepped forward.
"I don't mind that you've insulted me and everyone else in this room, but think of it like this. Your sister comes back from a negotiation case to find that you're not even home only to find out that you had snuck out to the party she had deliberately told you not to go to and that you got into a car accident. You were lucky that your careless boyfriend collided his car into mine, because had it been someone else you and your boyfriend would've been left there to die, would have had to pay for the damages done to the other car, or something worse. Unfortunately for me, the images of your blood plastered all over your face and skin will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life."
"…I didn't know…"
"Of course you didn't. Did you know that when we visited your boyfriend's house there was another girl there – his new girlfriend? Did you know that Amu was so sick with worry that she failed her very first case – a case like the situation she and you had years back? They died and she was so traumatized and guilty that she almost took her own life. But you wouldn't know that, and I wouldn't expect you to. However, I at least expect you to be considerate and respectful to her and everyone else who took time out of their own lives to visit you."
Utau nudged me in the rib with her elbow.
"You made her feel guilty."
"Good, now she'll learn to take other people's feelings into consideration."
Author's Notes
And I ended it :DD I am back for WiNtEr BrEaK ~ Waaaah so excited that I actually get some time off! Reasons why it took forever for one single chapter: I had finals and I began watching anime :3
On an off note bit - Have you guys seen Kobato? Oh my goodness, this was probably the saddest anime I have ever seen. I cried buckets. I was watching it on YouTube and all these comments were like 'I've watched this series three times now and it's the saddest show I have ever seen' and I'd be like 'Psssh' this is the cutest anime ever, no way it can be sad. Last couple episodes had me eating my words. So Shugo Chara was my most memorable anime…Kobato has to be second memorable.
I'm also watching Inuyasha again! I probably wouldn't have noticed this until I watched this series again, but sometimes Kagome will just watch everyone fight a powerful demon while she stands somewhere. I would understand if you ran out of arrows, but she like has a whole bunch left – . – I still love her though…
Thank You To My Lovely Readers Who Reviewed For Chapters 48/49:
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