The Unceasing Path
Ch 19 : 血仍未冷
With Blood Still Warm - wherein after death, comes revolution
The ferris wheel clanked as the motor began to move. Ami leaned back, enjoying gentle back-and-forth sway of the cab rising high into the sky.
Across the booth, Hotaru had her face pressed against the window admiring the view. Ami scooted over to join her friend. It was a spectacular view. This was her favourite time of day. The sun was beginning to set and all around town, the city lights were being turned on. Sparkling pinpoints as far as the eye could see. Ami squinted at one in particular, far into the west.
"Oh look! I think I can see your house from here Hotaru-chan!'
Hotaru smirked and pointed at the larger and much more obvious Juuban Medical University Hospital.
"I can see yours too. Isn't that where you live?"
Ami took one look at where Hotaru was pointing and swatted her on the arm
"Har har har. Very funny. I don't work that much. I've got two weeks off right now don't I?" Hotaru didn't answer. She merely raised an eyebrow. "Oh, alright. Maybe I do...but I don't know. It doesn't even feel like work when I'm there. I like it. I am sorry I had to reschedule our amusement park outing the past few times though. You know how it is. "
"It's ok. I'm glad you're here now though. Actually. I've been wanting to talk to you about that. I've been thinking. I think...I think I might want to be a doctor too."
"Really?!"
"Yeah. Really." Hotaru frowned. "You don't sound as happy as I thought you'd be."
"I am!" Ami said quickly. "Don't get me wrong. I'm just a bit surprised. It's not something you've mentioned before."
"Well I'm talking about it now aren't I?!"
"Right. Right. Sorry Hotaru-chan. So, what's on your mind?"
"I like engineering, and machinery...but at the end of the day, its just things. Objects in space. I mean, I know you can make a difference with design, but it feels kind of impersonal? Maybe I should want more."
"I don't know what to tell you. Though it seems that either way, you are comfortable with the idea of years and years of studying at hard work, so at least that's a given."
"Aww. Thanks." Hotaru rolled her eyes. "You always know just what to say."
Ami shrugged apologetically. "It's the truth. You know I'd never lie to you. If you don't mind me asking, is there something specific that got you thinking? Where is this coming from?"
"My principal. He pulled me aside the other day and strongly hinted that I should already have some 'direction in life'. So what if I want to take an extra foreign language course instead of more math or more science? I'm tired of other people telling me what I am and who I should be." Hotaru sounded more bitter than any teenager ever ought to be. Ami didn't know what to say so she said nothing. She merely shifted over to Hotaru's side of the cab and pulled the girl into a half hug. Silence filled the ferris wheel cab as it needed to. Eventually, Hotaru spoke again. "Hey Nee-chan, when did you know that you wanted to be a doctor?"
Ami thought about the question.
"The first time was when I was 8. My mother was a doctor, and it seemed very interesting to me."
"The first time?"
"The first time. I've never told anyone this, but it was never a one-and-done decision." Ami chuckled. "If you asked me if you asked me 5, 10, 15 years ago, I know I would have said 'my dream is to be a doctor' without a second of hesitation but really, there were times when that would have been a lie. Yes, I wanted to help people, and yes, I wanted to 'fulfill my potential' – whatever that means. - but, a part of it was that wanting to be a doctor was a safe decision. Everyone was telling me that I wanted to be a doctor. I went with it. Was it my true dream? I don't know. I don't think I'll ever know. That being said, now that I am a doctor, well, I'm a doctor because there's nothing else I would rather be."
"I'm kind of jealous."
"Hmm?"
"You know what you want to do with your life, and you're doing it. I try to think about it, but...I get so many ideas. There are so many things I want to try, but not any one thing I want to do. I don't think I'm really passionate about anything at all."
"Maybe that just means you have a better imagination than I do. I know you. What ever you do, you're going to be fine. You're going to be more than fine. You'll be great. Dreams aren't meant to be limitations you know."
The ferris wheel began it's descent bringing the conversation to a close.
"Thanks for the pep talk nee-chan." Hotaru grinned. A wicked gleam shone in her deep violet eyes. "Maybe I should just run off to Hong Kong and be a gangster instead. You'd support that right?"
Ami sputtered.
"Why do you even KNOW about that? Who's been telling you? Was it Mako?" Ami blushed. "I can't believe she's been telling everyone this story!"
Hotaru smiled mysteriously.
"That's a secret. I promised I wouldn't tell, but trust me, it's a good story. I love it. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Makoto's very proud of you, you know that right?"
"I know." Ami's heart did a little flip at that thought. "She's the best."
"You two are saps." Hotaru mimed the act of puking and made some gagging noises for dramatic effect. Ami grinned sheepishly. She really couldn't disagree with Hotaru's assessment. "Aaaaand anyways..." Hotaru continued. "Since I have you here, I would love to hear the story the way you tell it. It's rare to get direct access to primary sources like this am I right?"
Once again, Ami couldn't disagree. "Alright. Fine. Just don't tell anyone else ok? It's embarrassing. Where are you at story wise?"
"The last part I heard was about Artemis's funeral. Diana just showed up at the graveyard with her Yakuza."
Ami raised an eyebrow.
"Really? I only wrote that part a few days ago. Wow. Word gets around quickly. It's like Mako's set up some sort of fiction network that you all can access in real time. An archive of our own if you will." Ami shook her head at that silly thought. "Heh. Sorry Hotaru-chan. My imagination got a little off it's leash there. So, yes, if you are interested, I can tell you the next part of the story. I've got most of it worked out in my head. Let's go get a drink at the cafe first. This could take a while. Mako hasn't even heard this bit yet, so you're the first. I hope you like it..."
[A Sunlit Apartment]
"Welcome back."
Everything was fuzzy. Ami tried to answer but she couldn't. There was something in her mouth. She couldn't breathe. Ami reached up to claw at her throat, but someone caught her hands and held them down. Ami struggled harder. She had to fight. She needed air.
What happened? Where was she? Who was there?
The voice spoke again.
"No, no. Shh...It's ok. You're ok." The kindness in the tone was unexpected. Ami calmed down - or at least, she stopped panicking. "Hang on. Don't try to fight. I'm going to take this tube out now alright? Sorry. This might hurt a little." There was the strangest sensation of something crawling up her insides. If she had the breath to scream, she probably would have. Thankfully, it was over in a moment.
"There. That's better I hope?" Something was lifted to her lips."This is water. You need it. Be careful. Drink slowly. Take small sips."
Water. Thank the gods. She was burning up. Ami sucked on the straw greedily. Swallowing hurt. Her throat was painfully raw, but she couldn't get enough.
"I said slowly! You'll make yourself sick." The straw was pulled away gently. "You never listen, do you?" A soft laugh accompanied the gentle admonishment.
Ami fell back, exhausted by the effort it took to lift her head just now. It took supreme feat of will to open her eyes and look up at her saviour.
"Hey Little Doc. Long time no see...missed you."
Hotaru's deep violet eyes looked down affectionately.
"I missed you too." Hotaru said simply. The doctor brushed some of the sweat soaked hair off her forehead and checked her temperature. "Hm. Your fever's better but still not broken. How are you feeling?"
Ami sighed in relief at the coolness of the hand on her brow. "I'm alive?" Her voice cracked both from surprise and from fatigue.
Hotaru laughed again.
"Hah. Yes. That you are. It was a near thing though. The shoulder wound was a through and through. More of a graze really. That wasn't so bad by itself. It was the subsequent infection that nearly killed you. I assume you got shot?"
"Yeah. Then I fell into Aberdeen harbour. How long was I out?"
Hotaru wrinkled her nose.
"That explains that then, and the pneumonia that I suspect you have. You've been drifting in and out of consciousness for about two weeks now. Do you remember any of it?" Ami shook her head. Hotaru pulled out a stethoscope."It's ok. That's to be expected. I had to keep you sedated for a good chunk of that. Take a deep breath for me please?"
Ami tried, right up until the stabbing pain in her chest caused her to start coughing instead.
"Yeah...that settles that. I'm going to see if I can steal you some Clindamycin from the clinic. I should have done so earlier. I'm sorry. I didn't want to until I had a proper diagnosis...and since I couldn't stick you in an x-ray, we had to do this the old fashioned way."
"Steal drugs?" Ami didn't like how casual Hotaru was about the risk. "Don't. You're not getting into any trouble on my account. I don't want you getting involved in anything illegal ever again. You've worked too hard to throw it away for the likes of me. 'No more Triad shit' remember? Your words. Not mine." She grabbed for Hotaru's hand and squeezed it with as much strength as she could muster. Hotaru had to understand. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here at all. I wasn't thinking straight. I'll -"
"Shush. Save it. I wasn't going to let you die, dummy. Not after everything you've done for me. I couldn't have left the Yuet To Tong without your help in the first place. That being said, you can't just show up and bleed all over my doorstep and expect me not to ask any questions. How did you get here anyways? It's a miracle you didn't just collapse on the street somewhere."
Ami thought back to the last thing she could remember. She'd given Minako her gun. She'd walked out onto the pier. There'd been gunshots, and water. It was cold. She was sinking and then...and then...darkness. Pain. Fear. Three faces hovering above her. A regal queen sitting in judgement flanked by a pair of red and blue imps. What the hell? Ami thought harder. The empress' crown became an old woman's wide brimmed straw fishing hat, and the imps a pair of wide-eyed children lit by the neon city lights.
"I think a fishing family pulled me out of the water? I'm not sure. It doesn't feel real, but it must have happened. I kind of remember trying to climb over the railing at the waterfront near here, so maybe who ever pulled me out of the water just ditched me near by? Makes sense. I suppose they were too scared to call the police. Lucky me huh?"
"Hey Ami..." Hotaru sounded hesitant. "How much trouble are we in right now?"
"That depends. Does anyone know I'm here?"
Hotaru shook her head. "I know I should have brought you to a hospital right away, but I didn't want to risk getting you sent to jail or anything so...I kept you here and treated you myself."
"I meant Luna and the others."
"They don't know. I haven't contacted them. I'm sorry Ami! I know I put your life at risk but I was scared. I didn't know what else to do. I don't want to go back. I-"
It was Ami's turn to interrupt. "Good. You did good. I owe you my life." This was important. "You deserve your freedom. You're safe. That's all that matters." She tried to drag herself out of bed and failed miserably. It was a miracle she even managed to prop herself up on her elbows. "I should go."
"Stop moving. You're not leaving until I say so. You need rest. You lost a lot of blood you know."
"I'll rest when I'm dead. I have too much work to do. Where are my guns?" Ami reached for the IV line in her arm. Hotaru pounced, grabbing her hand and pulling it back easily.
"Don't you dare take that out! It's there for a reason! If you get another infection, I'll kill you myself! You're lucky to be alive right now. I've worked very hard to make that happen and I'd like it if you stayed that way."
"Sorry. I didn't mean to seem ungrateful."
"Hm. I'm sure you don't." Hotaru huffed. "As for your guns, you only had one when you got here and it's ah...well, it's pretty much destroyed. Kind of ironic, but I think it saved your life. It stopped a bullet for you. You really are lucky to be alive."
Ami didn't know how to respond. This was stupid really - it was just a gun - so why did she feel like crying? Hotaru was right. She should be dead, yet here she was, through no great virtue of her own, alive.
Luckily, Hotaru was either too focused or too polite to comment on Ami's silence.
"Could you hold still please?" Hotaru asked. "I've got to check on your wound." She produced a pair of scissors and began to cut away the wrapping on Ami's shoulder carefully. "So...who's Makoto?"
Ami's blood ran cold. She began to shiver uncontrollably. "H-how do you know that name?"
Hotaru frowned. She stopped cutting the bandages and pulled two pills from a nearby desk drawer instead.
"Open up. Now that you're awake, I can give you acetaminophen orally, which is great because I ran out of the drip yesterday." Hotaru put the pills onto Ami's tongue and held the cup of water up for her once again. "You were talking in your sleep." She kept talking as Ami drank. "Mumbling a lot of weird shit. None of it made any sense."
"Wh-what did I say a-about her?"
"So it's a her eh?" Hotaru's voice was light and conversational as her hands resumed their work. "Should have figured. You just kept apologizing over and over. What did you do this time?"
"I messed up." Ami grit her teeth. Hotaru was being as gentle as possible while peeling the gauze off her shoulder, but every motion still sent waves of pain crashing through through her nerves. It was easier to bear the pain if she focused on why she deserved it. "I lied to her."
"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. Glad to see you haven't changed one bit at least. Can't be worse than that time with whatshername. You know, the girl that tried to kill you."
It took Ami a while to sort through the years and figure out what Hotaru was talking about. It wasn't her proudest moment.
"That wasn't my fault!' Ami chuckled weakly. Her gangster persona slipped into play without any further conscious thought. "I didn't know she was crazy!"
"Yes you did. We all knew. I knew and I only ever talked to her on the phone once. We all told you she was crazy, but you went for it anyways. She had vats of acid ready to dissolve your body and everything! Cr-a-zy." Hotaru giggled. "I'm sure whatever happened with this Makoto girl isn't going to go as bad as that. You'll have to tell me all about it later. I'm always up for some good gossip. For now, lie down and be a good patient. I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to get some new gauze for you."
The doctor's tone left no room for argument. Ami lay down again as directed. She hadn't meant to, but she was so tired and the bed was so soft.
There were things to do. She had to call Mako. She had to make sure Minako was ok. She had to get her laptop back and follow up on her suspicions about Chief Chiba. She had to investigate Artemis Katze. She had to find out what happened the night at the diamond deal and make sure things don't spiral out of control. She had to fix all her mistakes and make things right.
She had an entire lifetime of unfinished business to take care of...
...or did she?
Maybe she would just make things worse.
No one knew she was here. No one knew she was alive. If what Hotaru was saying was true, then it has been at least a week or two since the night of the diamond deal. One or both of her failsafes must have triggered by now. Makoto should already have found the laptop and found everything she needed to close their case. It would be dangerous, sure, but Makoto was a good cop. She could handle it. She would see justice done, then after that, she would be free to move on with her life. She didn't need Ami around to complicate things for her – especially not after the way things had gotten...personal between them. It was imperative that Makoto remained above reproach.
Maybe everyone would be better off without her?
Ami pondered the question right up until the moment her head hit the pillow. Off in the distance, she could hear Hotaru calling her name, telling her to stay awake, but her voice was drifting further and further into white noise. Oblivion reached out and Ami didn't want to fight it any longer. She could finally get some rest.
There was a certain peace that came with being dead.
A.N.
And come on...show of hands. Did we really believe falling-backwards-into-the-water-leaving-no-body action hero death was a real death? I have to say, I've been loking forward to this chapter. I've missed Triad!Ami.
Cheers,
-Drift.
Up Next:
Ch 20 - 潜行狙击 - Hidden Sniper - wherein you'll never see this coming...