Chapter 66 - Damaged
[Hospital Waiting Room]
"So she has high resistance to killing intent?" the ANBU medic said
"Since it has happened before maybe that's the case.." the ANBU captain said
"No..she doesn't have high resistance..she has something more than that.." Chiyo said
"What do you mean Chiyo-sama?"
"She can sense it..but it doesn't affect her at all..my guess is the same goes for everyone else's killing intent.."
"But how?" the ANBU captain asked
"Itsumi Erika..is immune.." Chiyo said
(Both the ANBUs were shocked to Chiyo's answer)
"Is that even possible?" the medic reacted
"Yes it is..but it doesn't happen to anyone..there are necessary requirements for that to happen.." Chiyo said
"I see..then that girl is a special case?" the ANBU captain asked
"Yeah..but nothing is certain..all we can do is watch over them.."
"Understood ma'am.."
[Hours Later - Somewhere in Japan]
(Shimada Chiyo arrived in an abandoned warehouse with ANBU. They were greeted by other members of ANBU that took care of the three bad guys that they were able to capture)
"Report.." Chiyo said
"No use Shimada-sama..they won't talk..we've tried everything to make them talk but no luck.." the ANBU said
(When Chiyo entered the warehouse there they were the three that they captured and they were tied to a chair with their equipment and clothes stripped off. There were signs of torture that was done to them by ANBU to get any kind of information from them and all three of them were already half-dead)
"Hmmm..they're a lot more stubborn than what I hoped.." Chiyo said
"That's not it ma'am.."
"What do you mean?"
"They didn't react to anything we did..it's like they didn't feel any pain from all of that.." the ANBU medic said
"Trained to kill and not programmed to feel huh?" Chiyo said
"They're probably disposable units..sent out to suicide missions..so that no information would be leaked about them" said the ANBU captain
"Then they're useless to Gero-chan.." Chiyo said
"What would you like for us to do with them?"
"Kill them..when they're dead burn their bodies and gear..it'll be a hassle if the police were to get involved in this so better be safe than sorry.."
"Yes ma'am..by the way..does Shiho-sama know about this?" the ANBU captain asked
"Know about it? She's the one that requested it.." Chiyo said with a scary smile
(Chiyo then left the warehouse and as the doors closed behind her the ANBU had a worrying look on their faces)
"The Master of the Nishizumis is a scary one.." the ANBU medic sad
"Right? Issuing a kill order as easy as that?" said another ANBU
"Gero-sama's foster father was just killed..I'd do the same thing.." the ANBU captain said
"Then we'd better do or job flawlessly for Gero-sama.." the ANBU medic said
"Yeah..and for your information..Gero-sama can be a lot more scarier than Shiho-sama.." the ANBU captain smiled
(The ANBU then grabbed their pistols from their holsters and aimed. After a few seconds the sounds of gunshots was heard)
*BANG *BANG *BANG
[The Next Day - Hospital Recovery Room]
(Gero once again was the first one to wake up and he was transferred to a private room while his crew were still asleep in the Emergency Rooms. Together with Gero was Chouno, Kikuyo, and Erika)
"Gero-sama..please forgive me.." Kikuyo said while doing dogeza
"Kikuyo-nee chan..please don't do that..stand up.."
"But..because of my carelessness..Chief Matsumoto was.." Kikuyo said
"It's not only your fault Kikuyo-san..I also am to blame.." Chouno said as she bowed
"I also am at fault for underestimating their capabilities..and because of that a life was lost.."
"Who are we dealing with Gero-kun?" Chouno asked
"All I can piece together right now is that they're a large organization..and a very skilled one..."
"The people that the ANBU captured..did they talk?" Kikuyo asked
"No they didn't.."
"Then we're right back where we started..did the surveillance footage give us anything?" Chouno said
"Yes..take a look..Erika please give them the tablet.."
"Here you go Chouno-sama and Kikuyo-sama.." Erika said
(Both Chouno and Kikuyo then watched the footage from the cameras and saw that there were four assailants and not three)
"There's four of them?!" Chouno reacted
"But only three were captured.." Kikuyo asked
"Keep watching.."
(As they continued to watch they saw the four assailants were headed for the room of the Seven Seats but they were suddenly attacked by Chief Matsumoto. He landed a couple of good hits on them with his wrench but in the end he was overpowered and was beaten badly before being stabbed in the chest and stomach by the fourth guy. Chouno and Kikuyo's faces went sour as they watched Gero's foster father get killed)
"I'm...I'm so sorry Gero-kun.." Chouno said
"Chouno-san look! Only three went to the Seven Seats room..where did the other one go?" Kikuyo said
"He escaped..probably long gone by now since we issued the lock down of the place after the Seven Seats escaped.."
"You mean the one that killed Chief Matsumoto is still out there?!" Erika reacted
"Yes..this isn't over..not until we catch that fourth one.."
"What's the plan Gero-sama?" Kikuyo asked
"I'm sick and tired of waiting and defending..it's time we went on the offensive.."
"Agreed.." Chouno said
"Judging from this video..Chief Matsumoto held back those criminals just enough so that ANBU was able to make it in time to save them.." Chouno said
"Yeah..he's the reason they're alive..but they don't know that yet.."
"Do you plan on telling them?" Erika asked
"I do..but not now..I'll tell them when things have calmed down a bit..also please don't show this video to the Seven Seats..I don;t want them to feel responsible for jiji's death.."
"Understood.." Kikuyo said
*KNOCK *KNOCK
(Someone suddenly knocked on the door of Gero's room)
"Come in!" Erika said
(Akane and Shinji dropped in for a visit)
"Excuse us Gero-dono.." Akane said
"Ohh Akane-kun..Shinji-kun..what brings you here?"
"Wanted to see how you were doing..me and my team would like to express our sincerest condolences to you and your family.." Akane and Shinji bowed
"Thank you.."
"Also we wanted to give you this.." Shinji said
(Shinji then gave a package to Gero. When he tried to open the package Gero was unable to open it properly. He was having difficulty for some reason and everyone noticed it)
"Are you ok Gero?" Erika asked
"S-Sorry, can you please open this for me?"
"Sure.."
(When Erika opened the package they saw that it was the wrench that he gave Chief Matsumoto as a present)
"We found it at the scene..saw the initials marked on the side and took it before others could..I thought you'd want it Gero-dono.." Akane said
"Thank you for bringing this..jiji would've wanted it back.."
"What's that Gero?" Erika asked
"It's Jiji's wrench I gave him before he started to work as our maintenance chief again at Kuromorimine.."
"I see..you could tell from the dents and scratches that he used it a lot.." Erika smiled
"Kuso-jiji..you just had to play the hero role.."
"He was an amazing person Gero-dono..because of him he saved a lot of lives.." Akane said
"Yes he did..thank you again..Akane-kun and Shinji-kun.."
"You're welcome Gero-dono..also the nurse told us that your crew has woken up.." Shinji said
"Really?! Then I guess I'll pay them a visit.."
[Hospital Emergency Room]
(Gero then arrived along with Erika, Chouno and Kikuyo in front of the hospital's emergency room. When he grabbed the doorknob and attempted to open it he couldn't. He was just standing there holding the knob and he wasn't moving)
"Gero-sama?" Kikuyo called out
"Uhm..can you check if this door is locked? I can't seem to turn it.."
(When Chouno grabbed the door knob she was able to turn it easily and the door opened normally as it should. Gero then looked at his own hand and he was shaking a bit)
"Come on Gero..let's go check on your crew.."
"Y-Yeah.."
(When they went in the room they saw Ken, Hajime, and Ono sitting on their hospital beds. Together with Leila, Sheska, and Mako)
"How are they?" Erika asked
"The doctor said they were alright..but they haven't responded to any of us.." Leila said
"Ken-chan..do you want some food?" Mako asked
"..."
"Ono-senpai?"
"..."
"Why are you guys not talking? The girls are worried about you all.." Gero suddenly said
"Taichou.." Hajime suddenly spoke
"What is it?"
"Is it true? About Chief?" Hajime asked
(Everyone was surprised that Hajime even asked that because nobody dared to tell them since they just woke up. All of then didn't know that gero's crew already know about Chief Matsumoto's death because of the dream they had together)
"Yes..oto-san is dead.."
"Gero!" Erika reacted
(Hearing those words was too much for his crew. All three of them started clenching their hands on their bed sheets as they teared up. Everyone felt despair to see Gero's crew cry because they have always been fun and carefree guys)
"Matsumoto-san.." Ken cried
"Ken-chan.." Mako hugged Ken
"Damn it...damn it..." Ono cried
(Seeing his crew like that Gero couldn't say anything to relieve them of the pain they were feeling. He decided to just stay quiet and walk away and give his crew some time to heal both physically and emotionally. When they were on their way back to Gero's room he suddenly got dizzy and almost fell down before Chouno was able to support him)
"Gero?!" Erika reacted
"I'm sorry..I got dizzy for a second..and my head is aching so much right now.."
"Come on let's get you back to your room.." Kikuyo said
(They hurried back to his room and the moment his back hit the bed he slept soundly. Erika called the doctor immediately to tell him what Gero was experiencing. They talked inside the doctor's office because if this was something serious they didn't want Gero to hear right away)
"Unable to open a simple package, had difficulty turning a doorknob, dizziness and severe headaches.." the doctor said
"What's wrong with him, doctor?" Kikuyo asked
"I do hope I'm wrong but from the symptoms it looks like Minimal Brain Dysfunction.."
"W-What..?" Chouno reacted
"It's similar to ADHD..it's an impairment of the brain functions connected to perception, behavior, and/or academic ability.."
"Gero has brain damage?" Erika asked
"Yes, unfortunately he does.."
(Erika had to sit down because she was so shocked about what the doctor had informed them)
"H-How?! I thought you said he was recovering without a problem?!" Chouno reacted
"When the human heart stops..in his case 4-5 minutes..the brain is greatly deprived of oxygen..within that time some of the brain cells start to die resulting in brain hypoxia that causes brain damage.." the doctor explained
"Why are we only finding out about this now?!" Kikuyo reacted
"We did a CT scan yesterday and found nothing abnormal about his brain.." the doctor said
"Then that means it's only barely at the minimum, right doctor?!" Erika asked
"It's not fatal or life threatening, but it is still brain damage so without proper attention it can get worse..the only explanation I can think of why the brain damage wasn't so severe is because of his photographic memory.."
"You mean the memories stored in his brain is helping him fight it?" Kikuyo asked
"Yes..for example there is an image in his head telling him to hold the doorknob so he could open it..but the damage in his brain made him forget how to open a door by turning the doorknob.."
"He knows what to do but doesn't know how to do it.." Chouno said
"Meaning we can cure the damage by therapy and constantly helping him remember the basic stuff he forgot.."
"Yes..the therapy isn't hard but he'll need someone he can trust to do it with him..the more comfortable he is the better and the faster he can recover.."
"May I be the one to help him?" Erika asked
"I know he would want you Erika-san..please take care of him.." Kikuyo smiled
"Leave it to me..by the way who's going to inform the Headmistress?"
"I'll do it..not a word to anyone else about this alright?" Kikuyo said
"Thank you doctor.."
"You're welcome..if he gets headaches again let me know..I'll prescribe him painkillers.."
"Doctor, you said he could get worse if it doesn't go well.." Chouno said
"Yes he could but with you all supporting him I know he will be fine.."
"How much worse can he get?" Chouno asked
"If he doesn't get healed properly..then he may never be able to ride a tank or do Senshado anymore.."
(Hearing that sent fear into their hearts because they don't want that to happen especially to Gero. They no went their separate ways with Erika returning back to Gero's room and she saw that he was already awake)
"Hey.."
"Yo..where were you?"
"Sorry I was with Chouno-san and Kikuyo-san.."
"I see..did they leave already?"
"Yeah just now..how are you feeling?"
"I've been better..sorry to make you worry again.."
"It's alright..oh yeah here..the doctor said to drink these painkillers if your head starts to ache again.."
"Thank you..I'll take one now.."
(After drinking medicine Gero felt a lot better but he had a worried expression on his face and Erika could see it clearly)
"You already know..don't you?" Erika asked
"Yeah..the moment I got dizzy and had a bad headache I found out with the rest of the symptoms..I have MBD right?"
"I'm so sorry Gero.."
"Why are you saying sorry?"
"If I had started doing CPR a lot earlier..then maybe this wouldn't have happened to you.."
(Erika started to tear up in front of him but Gero slowly lifted his arm and placed his hand on Erika's face to wipe off the tears. When she looked at Gero's face he had a smile on his face to comfort Erika but she noticed that it was a very different smile than his usual. She could feel something was off from his smile but right now she just ignored it)
"Hey..this isn't your fault..I did this to myself..you didn't stop my heart..you kept it beating..you saved me Erika.."
"The doctor said the damage is minimal..so with therapy we can still cure the damage.."
"I see..then would you be willing to be with the one to help me during my therapy?"
"Yes Gero..I would love to.."
"Then it's settled.."
"I need to know what you can and can't do right now..then we'll slowly tackle each and every one until you remember how to do it yourself.."
"Jawohl my Kommandant.."
(Both Erika and Gero now discussed their plan regarding his therapy. She was happy to find out that what he forgot were basic things only)
[Gero's Hospital Room - The Next Day]
(One of the basic things Gero forgot was how to write but he can read without problem. Right now Gero was being taught by Erika in his room by writing simple words and Gero will try to imitate Erika's hand movement)
"Yes that's it..looks like you can finally write my name without problem.." Erika smiled
"I feel like a kindergartner learning for the first time.."
"A very cute kindergartner I might add.."
"Thank you Erika..for doing this with me.."
"Of course..now let's move on to numbers!"
"Alright.."
(While they were doing their therapy Shiho and Chiyo were watching them from door window)
"How's Gero-chan?" Chiyo asked
"Recovering..the doctor said he's exceeding their expectations on how fast and how well his therapy is going.."
"He always exceeds everyone's expectations..and we have to thank his Kommandant for being there for him.."
"Itsumi-kun has become an irreplaceable existence to Gero..who knows what would have happened if the two of them never met.." Shiho said
"I'd say that this is one red string of fate that I'm thankful for.."
"Me too.."
"By the way, have you contacted your husband?" Chiyo asked
"Yeah..he knows.."
"And? Will he be coming home?"
"No..he says he's close to finding the whereabouts of the bastards that did this..he can't let the trail go cold anymore.."
"I understand his point..but he also needs to understand that his son is in need of a father..his real father..I know he's doing this for Gero-chan's sake but there are things he has to do as a parent.."
"It's no use talking Tsuneo-san out of something when he's committed to it already.."
"I know..he's a stubborn person after all.."
"Father and son..both stubborn in their own way.."
[Hospital Healing Garden - The Next Day]
(This time Gero's therapy will take place inside the hospital's healing garden where it's filled with plants, trees, and flowers. This will help Gero be calm and recover from the stressful events that had just occurred)
"This place is beautiful right?" Erika said
"Yeah..it's very calming..this is my first time going to one of these healing gardens.."
"This would be my second time I guess.."
"Were you hospitalized before?"
"No but my sister was.."
"Alexa-san? What happened?"
"Oh nothing major..she just tripped and sprained her ankle very badly before..she had to do therapy in one of these gardens back home.."
"I guess Alexa-san can be a klutz too huh?"
"Oh don't get me started on how clumsy she is.."
"Do you want to take a walk?"
"Sure let's go.."
(Erika and Gero were now walking hand in hand around the garden and admiring its beauty. After the incident the hospital was opened again for regular patients so there were others inside the garden as well. They came across an old couple sitting by the bench and waved at them with smiles. Both of them waved back at them and continued on their stroll)
"You think we will be like that when we get old?" Erika asked
"Yeah..but you'd be a lot more beautiful than that.."
"Oh hush..don't go making me blush during your therapy.."
"I really want to end up like that with you..finish high school, go to college, work, have our own house, have kids, one boy and one girl, then just grow old together.."
"I love the sound of that.."
"But seeing myself here..all broken..it scares me that the life I want together with you might not happen..it scares me so much I can't sleep.."
(Erika then stopped walking and faced Gero. She held his hand tight and looked at his eyes)
"You are not broken Nishizumi Gero.."
"But.."
"Look at me.."
(As Gero gazed at Erika she then walked in front of a big boulder about knee high. Then she lifted her right foot and went over the boulder easily)
"Come here Gero..and do what I just did.."
(When Gero walked in front of the boulder his MBD kicked in and he suddenly didn't know how to lift his leg up. But he knew that the only way for him to go reach Erika was over the boulder)
"I...I can't.."
"Yes you can..focus and remember what I did.."
(Gero focused intensely and slowly his foot started to lift up. Erika could see the expression on Gero's face and he was really having a hard time. Slowly Gero's foot was now over the boulder and he successfully landed his left foot on the other side of the boulder)
"Good..now lift your right foot next.." Erika said
"Yeah..here I go..three...two...one.."
(Gero then lifted up his right foot in an attempt to go over the boulder but strength disappeared from his body and was about to fall. But Erika acted quickly and caught Gero before he fell completely. Gero now washable to go over the boulder with Erika's help)
"That's my Bakatora..well done.."
"I never thought going over a small rock would be this hard.."
"But you got over it..you are not broken..you are perfectly fine..and this is how we'll get through your therapy..one step at a time.."
"Thank you Erika.."
"Alright let's take a quick rest then we'll continue..we got a long day ahead of us!"
(And thus Gero's therapy continues with the help of Erika hoping that he could recover in time before the finals)
Coming Up Next : Chapter 67 - Sacred Secrets
Author's Note:
Hi everyone! Enjoy the read! Stay safe and God Bless!
I wanted to show you all that Gero is still human even after all that he's done! I hope you guys would stay tune on the next chapters to find out what happens to our White Tiger!
Thank you for the wonderful support you all are amazing! As for the replies to your comments check the reviews section as always!
As always if you like what you see leave a Favorite, if you want to see a notification as I post a new chapter please Follow! If you have comments and suggestions leave a review for me to read! Thank you again and have a nice day!
Now to address to review of "Guest" regarding my fanfic! I decided to include it here because I also wanted my other readers to know how I see thses kinds of reviews!
Reply to "Guest" - The main OC appears to be a victim of Gary stu syndrome, main OC's dialogue in bold as it proves to be very sore to read, describing the OC's and others reactions rather than purely having the * mark, Your grammar is decent, I stopped reading this story after the 20th chapter, Please note that I mean nothing personal by doing this.
Good day to you sir! First of all I'd like to thank you for this review! I appreciate you pointing out all the faults in my story since it would help me correct it in my future updates! As I said in the first chapter it was my first ever fanfic and my first ever story that I have written so I do apologize for the mistakes!
Next is about my main OC being a Gary stu, to be honest I had no knowledge of Gary stus/Mary sues before I started writing my story so I decided to google it and I laughed so hard at how much Bella Swan from twilight is hated so much for being a Marry Sue XD anyways I made Gero the main protagonist in my fanfic the way he is without knowing he would become a Gary stu, and I don't regret making him that way! I absolutely love his character and I'm happy even though he is a gary stu. Personally I thought that the GuP world needed a character like him!
For me the difference Gero has with other Gary Stus is that he isn't the only reason for his achievements. The great White Tiger would be nothing without his crew. Yeah sure Gero is a great marksman and a nishizumi but the daring plays he did wouldn't be possible without his driver Ken, his loader Ono, and his radioman Hajime.
Next is Gero's dialogue in Bold and Italic. The reason for this is I wanted the readers to know that it was the Main OC talking. As you know Girls und Panzer has a lot of characters. One tank has a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 6 crewmen which can be confusing if all of them started to have a conversation with one another. I'm sorry if it's sore to read! To all my readers please let me know if you want me to remove the Bold in Gero's dialogue to make it easier to read! If the rest of you are ok with it then that's fine too!
Next is the * mark for the actions and sound effects. I agree I kind of went overboard with the * mark. I originally planned to used this for sound effects only then it got out of hand. I apologize for this so I'll just be using the * mark for sound effects like explosions and stuff in my future uploads!
Now about my grammar thank you for the compliment! I really am happy that I was able to make this story with little to no grammatical error! I will continue it this way for you guys!
Then lastly, thank you for reading my story even if it was just up to chapter 20! I really appreciate it and I also apologize if it was not to your liking! Do not worry I am not taking this personally and I hope that in my future uploads you'd read some of my fanfics again maybe you'd come to like them that time! I know I can't please everyone with my story but I will still continue giving my best!