Chapter 29: The Start Of a Long Road
"Can you hear me?"
Shinrai stirred and looked up slowly. A female cat in a nurse's uniform was standing beside him. Shinrai blinked sleepily and looked to his right and left. He was… somewhere very bright and white. And he had a blanket around him. The cat spoke again.
"Can you hear me? Hello?"
Shinrai opened his mouth and then closed it again before nodding. The cat pulled up a chair and sat down in front of him.
"Are you hurt?"
Shinrai stared at her before trying to speak. The words were slow to come, like his mouth was full of glue.
"I… I don't… know."
"May I look at your arm?"
"My… my what?"
"Your arm. You're holding it like it hurts."
Shinrai looked down. He was in fact holding his right arm with one hand. The cat held her paw out to him, and he slowly extended his arm. She gingerly pressed down on part of it, making Shinrai wince. She nodded.
"It's a little bruised. I'll get you some ice for it. Stay right here."
Shinrai watched as she walked away. He felt very odd. Like he was floating. He felt like he could blow away with just a slight breeze. And he felt… foggy. Like his head just… wasn't there. She returned with an ice pack wrapped in a towel and gently placed it on Shinrai's arm. She smiled at him.
"Feel better?"
Shinrai nodded dumbly. The cat moved a little closer and held her hand out for him. Shinrai stared at it before slowly reaching out with his left hand. She gently took his hand in hers and spoke gently and calmly.
"Do you know where you are?"
Shinrai looked around before shaking his head. The cat continued.
"You're at St. Bernard General Hospital. Can you tell me your name?"
"My… my name?"
"Yes, your name."
"My name…."
She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb.
"Don't rush yourself. Just relax. Tell me when you can."
Shinrai nodded stupidly.
"O-okay."
He sat there for a little bit. He needed to tell her his name. His name. He needed to tell her….
"Your hands… are very warm."
"So are yours."
"Hm? They are?"
"Yes."
"Hm… hmmm."
Shinrai sat there for a few more seconds before speaking again.
"Shinrai. My name is… Shinrai."
"Hello, Shinrai. I'm Nurse Shiori."
Shinrai nodded and mumbled "hello." She reached beside her and picked up a bag. She took a phone out of it and showed it to him.
"Can you tell me if this is your phone?"
Shinrai stared at it before nodding. She gently placed it in your hand.
"Could you call a parent or guardian for me? So I can talk to them?"
"You… want to talk to them?"
"I want them to be able to come here for you. Do you want to see them? Your mother maybe?"
Shinrai blinked. His mother. He did want to see her. He nodded.
"Yeah…. Yeah I'll call Mom."
He clumsily tapped on the phone app and clicked on her name. The phone rang a few times before his mother answered.
"Shinrai? Is something the matter? You never call me out of the blue like this."
Shinrai just sat there. His mother continued.
"Shinrai? Are you there?"
The nurse held her hand out.
"May I?"
Shinrai nodded and let her take it. He wasn't sure why it was so hard to do anything right now. The nurse moved a bit away and spoke.
"This is Nurse Shiori at St. Bernard General Hospital…. Your son is fine, just in shock…. We need you to come here if you can…. We're in the trauma ward, the nurse at the nurse's station can guide you to us. Tell them my name…. Okay, I'll give you back to him."
The cat handed him his phone back.
"She wants to talk to you."
Shinrai held the phone up to his ear again.
"Hello."
"Shinrai! I'm on my way!"
"O…Okay."
The phone disconnected, leaving Shinrai to stare at it for a while. The nurse sat down again and gestured towards a bull in a police uniform.
"This nice police officer wants to ask you a few questions. Do you think you can do that?"
Shinrai nodded, and the bull knelt down to be closer to eye level. The bull removed his hat as he looked at Shinrai.
"I'm officer Kho."
"I'm… Shinrai."
"Good. Your friend told me about you."
"My… friend?"
"Yes, a certain Donovan the Third. Male rabbit, age sixteen."
Shinrai nodded.
"Don… yeah."
"You are Shinrai, age sixteen, a student at Cherryton Academy?"
Shinrai thought about it for a bit before nodding.
"Yes."
The bull held up a photograph of a fox with a slightly disproportionate head and an overbite.
"Do you recognize this fox?"
Shinrai took the picture in his hand.
"Hmm… yeah. This… this is Yasui. He's my best friend. We do lots of fun stuff together. The other week he came over to my house to play some video games. We played—"
The nurse whispered to the police officer.
"That's a good sign, he's becoming more vocal."
The bull nodded.
"That's excellent. Now then, can you remember what happened with Yasui?"
"What happened with him?"
"Yes. Can you tell me where and when you last saw him today."
"Today…. Today…. Well, Don and I left school after classes to pick up my brother's old TwinScreen from a repair shop. I'm giving it to Yasui for his birthday on Sunday. I was worried that it might be a bit tacky, but—"
The bull held up a hand.
"Sorry, but can you tell me the last time you saw Yasui."
"The last time I saw him?"
"Yes."
"Well… Don and I got some fries at a restaurant, and then Yasui showed up. I didn't want him to see his present so we hurried away when he went to order."
The bull nodded.
"And so you headed back to school?"
"Yeah, we were going to the train station. I wanted to hide his gift as fast as—"
"And as you were headed back to school, did you see this caiman?"
He held up a picture of a scary looking caiman. Shinrai stared at the picture. Slowly, it came back to him.
"Yes… yes I did. He… he stopped us. He wanted our stuff…. He wanted my wallet, but I couldn't find it."
"And then what happened?"
Shinrai furrowed his brow. The nurse rested a hand on his back.
"Maybe we should slow down a bit. Don't overdo it, Shinrai."
Shinrai shook his head.
"No… no. I… I remember. He grabbed my arm. He…."
Shinrai began to breathe a bit quicker.
"He was going to bite my hand off! I screamed for help and then—"
[Shinrai and Don sprinted out onto the main street once more. Desperately, Shinrai looked around until his eyes fell on a female polar bear walking past them. He ran towards her and grabbed her arm. She pulled it away.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"HELP! PLEASE! HELP!"
The bear looked down at him in surprise.
"What on earth?"
Shinrai sobbed.
"HE'LL KILL HIM! PLEASE HELP!"
Shinrai tried to drag her towards the alleyway. She was too big for him to budge. Don frantically shouted.
"Police! Police! We need help! Please! Our friend is getting attacked!"
The bear finally allowed Shinrai to pull her towards the alleyway. Shinrai ran as fast as he could, and soon the alley was in sight. The horrible grunts and sounds of a violent beating echoed from inside. The bear rounded the corner with Shinrai in tow. Almost immediately, the bear let out a roar and charged the caiman, slamming into him like a freight train. The sounds of their scuffle faded into a buzz as Shinrai saw something buried under a few loose trash bags that had been displaced by the fight. It was a red furred hand. He grabbed it and pulled it.
"Yasui! Are you oka-AAAAAAAAH!"
It was Yasui's hand, and his forearm. But that was it. Shinrai dropped the limb in horror and stared at it as red blood seeped out. His eyes flicked towards a ragged sound, and he saw a red lump on the concrete. Shinrai picked up the arm again and shuffled over. There was Yasui.
"Yasui?"
He knelt down and began to cry. His friend's face looked like a crushed tomato. The ragged wheezing sound that came from it was sickening to hear. One eye was matted and caked with blood, and more of the crimson liquid seemed to be dripping from everywhere. Shinrai looked at the stump of his friend's left arm, and then down at the hand he was holding.
"Yasui…."
Dumbly he shuffled forward, his knees soaking immediately in the pool of blood that was slowly spreading from the body. He numbly pressed the orphaned arm against its elbow.
"I…. I'll fix it. Here… just… you… you… here… it… it…."
Shinrai wasn't sure how long it was before he felt someone move him. He was faintly aware of voices, and then somebody took the arm from his grip. They loaded him onto an ambulance, and drove to the hospital.]
Shinrai snapped upright, the ice pack falling to the ground. He grabbed the bull's shirt like a drowning animal and cried out,
"Yasui! Where is he! Is he okay! Is he alive! Is he—"
He began to hyperventilate, and the nurse forced him to sit back down.
"Easy, easy, shhhhh. Deep breaths. In… out… in… out."
Eventually Shinrai gasped out,
"Please, is he alive?"
The bull sighed.
"He is. But he is in critical condition."
Shinrai looked back and forth between the nurse and the officer.
"But… he'll live? He'll live, right?"
The nurse squeezed his shoulder gently.
"The finest surgeons in the city are taking care of him right now. He's in good hands."
Meanwhile, in a nearby operating room, a team of surgeons were gathered around an operating table holding one very damaged fox. One surgeon standing by his head continued to stitch a massive laceration along the patient's face. He didn't look away as he asked,
"We're almost done with this, how's that arm coming?"
Another surgeon with some nurses was in the final stages of reattaching an arm. A nurse wiped some sweat from the surgeon's brow and he replied.
"Just have to stitch him up. Then we can get him to imaging once he's not bleeding everywhere and take a look at his brain. With how messed up his face and chest are, I'm shocked that he doesn't have internal bleeding. Although, we need to be careful when moving him. We don't want those broken ribs shifting and puncturing anything."
After a moment the surgeon at his head asked,
"You know the deal behind this kid?
"Not really. All I know is that apparently he got into a fight with that caiman in 'OR' 3."
"Seriously? How dumb can you be? This tiny little fox fighting a fully grown caiman? He's lucky he's not dead."
"Yeah so let's keep it that way. Any idea when that eye specialist is getting here? We really need him to deal with this eye before we get to imaging if possible."
The door opened and another surgeon walked quickly in. The surgeon at Yasui's head chuckled.
"Speak of the devil. You took your sweet time getting here."
The approaching surgeon sighed.
"That caiman in 'OR' 3 is a mess. Missing eye, multiple lacerations and avulsions, and practically every bone in his body is broken."
The arm surgeon looked up briefly in surprise.
"This fox did all that?!"
The eye surgeon shook his head as he took the head surgeon's place.
"No, I think he just ripped his eye out. I got some of the story from the police officers stationed in the room."
The two other surgeons exchanged confused looks. The eye surgeon continued as he and the team of nurses used small imaging machines to examine Yasui's right eye, which was a swollen mess.
"Apparently, the caiman was the perpetrator of a robbery gone predatory on some kids this fox knew. The fox attacked the caiman to try to help the herbivore kids, and then the kids he helped came back with a very angry female polar bear in tow."
The arm surgeon whistled.
"That explains the other injuries. Bears are no joke, especially polar bears. They can rip somebody in half before the other guy has a chance to crap themselves."
The other head surgeon sighed.
"Poor kid. He did something brave, and he might just die from it."
The eye surgeon stepped back and gestured to the operating table.
"That's all we can do for that eye at the moment. We can see about doing more as we monitor it. But for now, let's get him to imaging. We need to see how extensive his head injuries are. Let's move everyone!"
Back out in the trauma ward, Shinrai was left sitting in a bizarre state of panic near the nurse's station. He was terrified and worried, but at the same time… this didn't feel real. It was just hard to accept that this was happening. That in the span of an afternoon he had gone from eating fries and birthday shopping to wondering if his best friend was going to die on the operating table. He was more lucent than he had been before, but some of that weird hazy feeling was lingering in his brain. As such, he couldn't seem to bring himself to do anything but stare listlessly at the floor.
He was broken out of his trance by the panicked voice of his mother racing towards him.
"Shinrai! Shinrai! What's going on! Are you okay!"
Shinrai looked up as his mother stooped down in front of his seat, taking his face in her hands to look him over. Shinrai looked into her terrified face.
"Mom?"
"It's me, Shinrai! I'm here! Please tell me you're okay!"
Shinrai felt something burst in his chest. His eyes began to sting and his throat started to burn and get tight.
"Mom…."
He leaned into her and began to cry. Still terrified, Shinrai's mother wrapped her arms around her son and stroked the back of his head.
"It's okay, Shinrai. I'm here."
She didn't interrupt him as he sobbed piteously into her shoulder. When he had subsided to weak sniffles, she finally asked,
"Shinrai, what happened?"
"T-there was a-a-a…. I c-can't! I-I'm sorry! I-I can't!"
She patted his head and took a seat beside him on the bench, letting him lean on her shoulder.
"It's okay. I can wait."
Shinrai clung miserably to her. After a few minutes, the same police officer from before came walking up to the two of them. He took his hat off and bowed to her.
"Hello, ma'am. Am I safe in assuming you're this boy's mother?"
She nodded, looking nervously up at the large bull.
"I am. Can you please tell me what happened? Why is my son at the hospital?"
The butt nodded.
"We needed to examine your son to be sure he wasn't injured, and he was also understandably in shock. We thought it best to bring him here until he was in a more… rational state of mind."
"But I still don't understand, why was he in shock?!"
The bull sighed and knelt down to be at the same level as the small herbivores.
"Your son was involved in a robbery that turned violent."
She gasped and clutched her son more firmly.
"Can… can you tell me what happened?"
The bull sighed.
"We can't be entirely certain yet until we get your son's testimony, but the boy he was with and the bystander who they got to help them have both given their accounts. Apparently, your son and his friend were walking down a side street when they were accosted by an adult male caiman. The caiman grew angry while he was taking their belongings, and grabbed your son's arm to bite his hand off."
Shinrai's mother covered her mouth in horror, listening with wide eyes. The bull continues.
"A third boy who had followed them attacked the caiman at this point, giving your son and his friend time to escape. They then found a female polar bear who was passing by and begged her to come help the third boy. She pulled the caiman off the third boy and then… incapacitated the robber. The police and paramedics soon arrived and brought your son, the robber, and the third boy here."
Shinrai's mother swallowed and weakly asked,
"Who was the boy my son was with?"
"A male rabbit who claims to be friends with your son. A certain 'Don' fellow."
"And… the third boy? The one who was injured?"
Before the officer could respond, Shinrai choked out,
"Yasui…."
His mother looked at him.
"What was that?"
"…It was Yasui. He… he rescued me."
Shinrai's mother grew a look of horror and returned her attention to the bull.
"Is he okay?! Is Yasui okay!?"
"You know this boy?"
"Yes, he's my son's best friend!"
"…Do you know how to contact his family?"
She grew pale.
"No… no no no. He's not… tell me he's not…."
The bull held up his hand.
"He is still alive. But his condition is critical. It's uncertain if he will recover, or if…."
He trailed off and set his mouth in a thin, hard line. Shinrai's mother wiped her eyes.
"No, I'm sorry. I don't know how to contact his parents. He's from a remote village far from here."
The bull looked at the two squirrels intently.
"Do either of you know if he had a phone?"
Shinrai nodded.
"Yes, he did."
The bull took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it as he spoke.
"We'll have officers search the alleyway for it. Hopefully we can use it to learn how to contact his parents."
Shinrai's mother asked,
"Did the school not have them on file as emergency contacts?"
"No, just somebody by the name of 'Miss Diana.' We've contacted her and she's on her way here now. Hopefully she'll know more."
Shinrai's mother shook her head, more out of confusion than anything else.
"I don't know who that is."
Shinrai miserably piped up,
"She's Yasui's friend. Kind of like an aunt or something…."
The police officer nodded.
"Hopefully she'll know how to contact his parents. For now, I'll leave you two in peace. However, as soon as you are feeling up to it, we'll need you to give your statement as well."
Shinrai nodded and both squirrels thanked the officer. When he had left. Shinrai's mother patted him on the shoulder and murmured,
"I'll be back in a second."
She walked to the nurse's stand and stood a bit back from it so the nurse could see her. The nurse smiled at her.
"How may I help you, ma'am?"
"The fox that came in with my son, could you tell me what's going on with him? Is he still in surgery?"
The nurse, having heard the conversation that occurred directly next to her station, gave her a look of understanding.
"Let me check for you."
She typed something into her computer and looked at it for a while before nodding.
"He's still in surgery, and probably will be for a while. If you want to go down to the main lobby and get something to eat, I can have somebody fetch you when he's out of surgery."
She nodded.
"I'd really appreciate that. I just… I know that my son won't be at ease until he knows that his friend is okay. Or… well, I won't even speak that into existence."
Shinrai's mother returned to him and rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Shinrai, do you want to go get something to eat? They'll let us know when Yasui is out of surgery."
Shinrai kept staring at the ground as he replied.
"I'm not hungry."
"Are you sure? It's getting late."
He shook his head.
"I'm sure."
His stomach growled loudly, but he refused to look up. Shinrai's mother sighed.
"Shinrai, I think you'll feel better if you try to eat a little. I'll go get something for us to eat, and you should eat as much as you feel like you can. Okay?"
Shinrai didn't respond immediately, but eventually he nodded his assent. She picked her purse up from where she had set it on the bench.
"I'll be back in a bit."
Shinrai wasn't sure how long he sat there alone. He still felt numb, like he was only half there. His best friend was lying on an operating table a few rooms away, and he might…. Shinrai shook his head and clasped his face with both hands, slumping over. Tears stung his eyes. If only he had not taken that side street. If only he had found his wallet. If only he had gotten help there faster, or not stupidly backed himself into a corner.
All these thoughts swirled around in his head, leaving him feeling sick to his stomach. He felt like his poor brain might explode. His mother returned with two sandwiches. She set one of them beside him and took her seat at his side once more. She sighed.
"I called your father. He said he can come too if you want him too."
Shinrai shrugged.
"I don't care. It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like we can do anything but sit here."
She held his hand.
"Yasui will pull through. He's tough."
Shinrai sniffled.
"But even then, what if… if… what if they can't put it back?"
"Put what back?"
"H-his arm. It got— I found it— it was just…."
He trailed off as he held his hands out like he was holding something. She grew a pained expression and stroked his ears.
"It'll be okay, Shinrai. Doctors reattach arms all the time."
"But what if it took too long? What if it doesn't go back on right? What if he's crippled for the rest of his life?"
"Then he'll still be the same fox as before. I'm sure he's smart enough to learn how to make do."
Shinrai lapsed back into silence. He glanced down at the sandwich his mother had gotten him. Peanut butter and jam. He liked peanut butter and jam sandwiches, they were his favorite when he was a kid. But the thought of eating it now made his stomach churn. He had been sitting there for almost two hours when a nurse walked out of the double doors that led to the operating room and towards the two squirrels. Shinrai immediately jumped to his feet and rushed over to meet her.
"How is he? Is he okay? Did he make it? Please tell me he's still alive!"
The nurse held a hand up to stop him.
"Your friend is fine. They finished his surgery a little bit ago, and moved him to a room in the ICU. I'll take you to him if you'd like."
Shinrai nodded vigorously and followed close behind as the nurse led him to a room with a window that looked out over the harbor. Standing in the room talking to a doctor was Miss Diana. She looked pale, and was clutching her arm nervously. She saw Shinrai and gave him a weak smile that didn't reach her eyes. Shinrai slowly entered the room, terrified of what he might see. Immediately, he felt a pit form in his stomach.
Yasui looked like something out of a horror movie. His fur had been shaved in places to allow the surgeons to operate, leaving with bald patches across his body. Several bandages were wrapped around his torso, and his left arm was wrapped in a cast held aloft by a sling. His head was almost completely encased in bandages, leaving only part of one tattered ear poking out. But the worst thing to see were the tubes and wires connected to Yasui from almost half a dozen machines around his bed. A constant stream of beeps and pings came from them as they displayed numbers and lines. Shinrai gulped and looked up at the surgeon. He croaked.
"How is he?"
The surgeon looked tired, but he clasped his hands behind him professionally and said,
"He's stable for now. However, he's still unconscious."
"What's wrong with him? H-how bad was it?"
The surgeon sighed.
"Well he has five broken ribs, an arm that was torn off, several lacerations to the chest and face, and some damage to his right eye. However, most worrisome of all is that he has a rather severe contusion. We treated it as best as we could, but he's still comatose."
Shinrai felt the blood drain out of his face.
"C-comatose? You mean he's… in a coma?"
"Yes, that is correct."
"When will he wake up?"
The surgeon sighed wearily.
"That's hard to say. The next twenty-four hours are vital. But if he survives the night, we believe he will be out of the woods so to speak. But even then, we can't be certain of the extent of the damage his brain suffered until he wakes up, if he ever does."
Shinrai gulped.
"Do… do you think he could end up with amnesia?"
"Amnesia can happen after severe head trauma, but it usually is just a small part of the individual's memories. Typically, if there is some memory loss, it ends up being about the accident itself. And it usually is temporary."
"Okay…. Doctor, will he be able to use his arm again?"
The doctor put his hands in his coat.
"That remains to be seen. We've seen animals lose the use of replanted arms—"
Shinrai's mother frowned.
"Replanted?"
The doctor explained.
"It's the technical term for the reattachment of a severed limb. As I was saying, we've seen some lose all functionality in their limbs, others are fine, and everything in between. He's already lost one arm and it reattached fine, so here's hoping lightning strikes twice."
The doctor looked around at the various animals assembled in the room and bowed to them.
"I'll leave you alone for now, give you some privacy. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to contact a nurse."
He walked out of the room, leaving Shinrai and his mother with Miss Diana. Shinrai gulped and looked up at the leopard.
"Hello… again."
She nodded tersely, staring at Yasui. Shinrai gulped and moved to Yasui's bedside. If not for the slow rise and fall of the fox's chest, he could have been dead. Shinrai forced the thought out of his mind.
"H-he'll be okay. I just know it."
Diana grit her teeth.
"That caiman had better be glad the police are guarding him. Otherwise I would pay him a visit."
Shinrai looked up at her in a mixture of fear and pity.
"You care about him a lot."
"He's the only real friend I've ever had, despite our age difference. He's too kind of a person to deserve this much suffering."
Shinrai wiped his nose, hiding a small sniffle.
"Yeah… he's a pretty nice guy. And he's the best kind of weird. The kind that makes you laugh."
Diana moved over to the chair beside Yasui's bed and sat down, folding her hands in her lap. She still had a distant look on her face as she stared at him. Shinrai's mother took this opportunity to step forward.
"Hello, I'm Shinrai's mother, Hanako."
Diana smiled at her.
"I'm Miss Diana, it's nice to meet you."
"So, how do you and Yasui know each other?"
Diana grew wistful.
"We just randomly bumped into each other at a store. I was curious about him, and started talking to him. The more he talked, the more I realized that we had a lot in common. So I invited him to lunch to show him some sights around the city, and we've been friends since."
Hanako placed her hand on Diana's and gave her a nod before slowly making her way to Yasui's side. Shinrai wasn't sure what his mother was doing until he saw a tear roll down her cheek. She leaned closer to his ear and whispered,
"Thank you for saving my son. You'll always be welcome with my family, so please get better soon."
She leaned forward and kissed his forehead, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She sighed and looked over at Shinrai.
"Let me know when you're ready to go home. You must be exhausted after today."
Shinrai shook his head.
"I-I should stay with him. Here."
Diana sighed.
"I'm afraid they don't allow guests past visiting hours. They'll be coming by to kick us out soon."
Shinrai felt a lump in his throat.
"But I don't want him to be alone when he wakes up."
She rested a hand on his shoulder briefly.
"I'm sure the nurses will look after him. And I'll come back as soon as they let me."
Shinrai nodded.
"Me too."
He looked at the fox one more time before his mother gently shepherded him out of the room. The rest of the night passed like a blur for Shinrai. Almost as soon as he made it home a wave of exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks. He was sure his father and sister tried to ask him about the day, but his mother shooed them away. He was grateful for that, because almost as soon as his head hit the pillow he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Almost as soon as Shinrai woke up that Saturday morning, he made his way to the hospital. At Don's suggestion, he used the time he had to contact everyone who was supposed to be coming to the birthday party on Sunday and let them know that it was canceled. He felt sick while he did this. Everyone wanted to know what happened, but he just told them he couldn't go into details. The truth was that even thinking about the accident was too much right now. He just wanted to forget about the entirety of yesterday.
His vigil was joined by Miss Diana, however neither of them were exactly talkative. Charles the gorilla had taken up a post outside the door, whether to keep watch over the room or to avoid the grim atmosphere was uncertain. The day passed with no change. A nurse would come into the room every few hours to check on Yasui, and both Diana and Shinrai would pester her for updates on his health. Shinrai was certain that the nurses were relieved to see them leave that evening so they could work in peace. He didn't want to annoy the nurses who were trying to do their job, but he just wanted even a shred of hope that the worst was not going to happen. He needed something to assure him that eventually Yasui would wake back up.
And yet Sunday came and went with no change. Yasui was still in his hospital bed without even a flicker of his eyes or a twitch of his body. Shinrai was getting nervous. He paced the hospital room while Diana stepped out to deal with something.
"Why isn't he waking up? He's not paralyzed or something, is he?! And he just can't move but is actually awake? Oooooh…."
Shinrai walked over to the bed and carefully touched Yasui's uncovered eye. It didn't move. He slid the eyelid open and looked into the orb. It was dull and unfocused, but the pupil dilated when the light hit it. Shinrai sighed as he let it close again.
"At least he's not dead. He's still alive."
Shinrai didn't know what to do. He had never felt this helpless before. He wanted to do something to help, but he just couldn't. He wished that he was a character from one of the video games he played who could just wave a wand to cast a spell that would fix Yasui, but he was just a normal squirrel. This day ended just like the last, with the nurse sending him away around dinner time. He returned home feeling dejected and a bit lost. As he sat down to eat with his family, he barely paid attention as his mother asked him about the day.
"So, any changes?"
Shinrai shook his head. She sighed.
"That's too bad. But don't give up, he'll pull through."
Shinrai didn't reply. What was he supposed to say? That he hoped so? That he was worried that his best friend would die? Or that he would stay comatose forever? Which was worse? He stayed quiet and withdrawn throughout dinner and remained so as they all sat in the living room to watch tv together. Shinrai's sister Hana kept glancing at him as he sat dejectedly on the couch. His mother asked,
"So, are you planning on going to school tomorrow, Shinrai?"
Shinrai furrowed his brow. He hadn't really thought about it. He probably should, but at the same time he didn't want to have to talk about it with curious classmates. He sighed.
"I'm not sure."
"Well… don't feel pressured to. We understand if you need some time."
Shinrai heard his father mutter something and looked up to see a news report that was engrossing him. The news anchor stood in front of the screen and said,
"We have more details about the robbery-turned-attempted predation that occurred on Friday. Going now to Hosen at the scene."
A male antelope gestured to a familiar side street that was roped off with police tape.
"Friday afternoon, a male caiman attacked two herbivore high school students in broad daylight. The incident might have gotten worse for the herbivore if a fox classmate of theirs hadn't stepped in to fight the caiman off, giving the herbivore students the opportunity to run and get help. Both the caiman and the fox are currently in the hospital in critical condition. Here's what the current chief of police has to say."
The footage cut to a press conference where a male greyhound was standing behind a podium to address a crowd. Shinrai felt sick. He stood and hurried to his room, not wanting to see anything else. He closed the door behind him and sat breathing heavily on his bed. He was surprised to see his sister open the door and look in.
"Hey, mind if I come in?"
Shinrai gestured to his bed, feeling surprised. His sister never came into his room, and she never really talked to him that much. At least, not when she wasn't checking up on him for their mother. She sat beside him and crossed her legs.
"So… how are you holding up?"
"Huh?"
"You know, how are you doing with all this?"
Shinrai looked down.
"I'm not the one lying in a hospital bed with tubes all over me."
"Yeah, but still. That was a pretty intense thing to happen to you."
Shinrai gulped and looked at his hands. He had tried not to think about it. That memory was too scary and too awful to dwell on. Shinrai shook his head.
"I'm fine. Still just processing it all."
She didn't speak for a while before finally saying.
"I think you might feel better if you go to school tomorrow."
"What?"
She gestured at him.
"I don't think you sitting in a hospital room dwelling on all of this is going to help you deal with it. Maybe having something else to focus on for a bit will help? Go talk to your friends, do some homework, whatever. It just might give you something to do other than feel bad about this."
Shinrai tilted his head.
"So what, just go to school and pretend like everything is normal? That my best friend isn't lying in bed in a coma?!"
"No. Just to move forward. It's not healthy to just completely shut down after a tragedy. It's fine to feel bad, but don't just sit around dwelling on that."
Shinrai huffed.
"Since when have you been an expert on this stuff?"
She sighed.
"Remember my old friend Leika?"
Shinrai furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to remember who that was. He clicked his tongue.
"Maybe?"
"Her mother died of cancer two years ago. She never got over it. Just stopped coming to school, stopped talking to everyone, stopped leaving the house. She's a hermit now who refuses to interact with the world outside her room, no matter how much you try. I just don't want you to do the same thing."
Shinrai was quite for a while before sighing deeply.
"Fine… I'll try going to school tomorrow."
"You can always come back home if you need more time. It just doesn't hurt to try."
"I guess…."
Then she did something Shinrai didn't expect. She leaned forward and hugged him, resting her chin on top of his head like she used to do when they were kids. He couldn't even clearly remember the last time she'd hugged him. She just wasn't a super affectionate animal. She squeezed him a bit.
"Let me know when your friend wakes up. I owe him a hug too. For protecting my scrawny little brother."
Shinrai grimaced and hugged her back.
"I-I will. And… thanks."
She let him go and stood, tapping his shoulder as she did.
"We're siblings. We have to look out for each other. It's practically hardwired into our DNA."
Shinrai's sleep was fitful that night. He decided to stay at his parent's house for the night and just return to Cherryton in the morning. He didn't want to subject himself to the questions of his roommates yet. And so it was that Shinrai found himself back on school grounds by the start of classes on Monday.
He had expected… more. For people to ask him about the attack. To hear people wonder what happened to Yasui. However, life just went on like normal. Shinrai then realized that most animals must not know. The media hadn't published the names and pictures of Shinrai, Don, or Yasui because they were minors. The only mention of the whole ordeal Shinrai heard was some gossip in the hallways. A female stork and a female flamingo were chatting between classes.
"Did you hear the news about that robbery that happened on Friday?" The stork asked.
"O-M-G! Talk about scary! Some nutcase just attacking herbivores in broad daylight is terrifying to think about."
"Totally. But the wildest part is that it was another student who fought the caiman off! And a fox too!"
The flamingo pressed a wing to her cheek.
"I always thought that foxes were mean. But that guy's a hero. I guess they can't all be bad."
He caught a snippet of another conversation between some middle school boys next.
"-apparently it wasn't actually a caiman, but a fully grown Nile crocodile! And this fox absolutely destroyed him! Put the guy in the hospital! I heard that he's some sort of escaped experiment or something. A new breed of teenage super soldier or something!"
"Whoa, really? That's crazy! How'd he do it?"
"Well according to a witness, the fox ran up a wall before backflipping over the crocodile and suplexing him! He then used a mixture of tai-chi and Muay-thai to incapacitate the attacker. Super surgical takedown."
Shinrai felt a little amused at the wildly inaccurate retelling of the story. But then his mind went back to Yasui, lying unconscious in a hospital bed while he wandered around school. It immediately sobered him back up. He didn't feel like being around other people today. And so he kept to himself, eating lunch alone and staying silent during his classes. He was heading to his room to figure out what he should do next when a familiar fennec fox suddenly began to walk beside him. He only noticed her when she finally spoke.
"Wow, somebody's absorbed in thought."
Shinrai jumped a bit and Hikaru bumped him with her shoulder.
"Scared ya. So what's up? Any big plans today?"
Shinrai looked at his shoes. He wasn't sure what to say. And he wasn't sure what he should do. He probably should go visit Yasui in the hospital. But at the same time, he knew that it would just make him feel horrible. He let out a deep sigh.
"No… not really…."
"Oh… well, I found a secondhand copy of the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Tarantulas beat-em-up game. Wanna play it?"
"No… sorry. I'm just not feeling up to playing anything today."
"Are you okay? You seem a bit… down."
Shinrai just looked vacantly at the ground.
"I'm fine."
He felt a hand gently grab his arm and looked over to see Hikaru staring at him with a concerned expression.
"Shinrai… you're making me worried. Did something happen?"
"I… I don't know if I really want to talk about it."
She frowned.
"Shinrai, we're friends. You can talk to me if you're having issues. What's up?"
Shinrai felt his throat get tight and his eyes prickle. She seemed to notice too and pushed him towards a remote part of the school grounds.
"C'mon, let's get somewhere more private. I don't want to embarrass you. If you don't think you can talk you can always just sit and listen while I talk. Sometimes that makes me feel better when I'm down. You okay with that?"
Shinrai hesitated before nodding. He wanted to be alone, and yet he also didn't. It was hard to describe how he felt. He just felt a bit… strange.
Hikaru sat him down on one of the benches along the footpaths that ran around the edges of the school grounds. She looked up at the sky and shivered.
"It's getting colder. I'll need to wear a hat all the time soon."
Shinrai just stared at her. He could still feel his emotions welling up inside, but as she talked they got a bit more controllable. She glanced at him before continuing.
"It's the ears. They shed heat like crazy. Great for the summer, not so much for the winter."
She leaned back on the bench and crossed her legs.
"You know, I'm really not that talkative of a person most of the time. So I'm totally drawing a blank when I can't just make off-color comments about something you do or make a joke about something stupid. Or of course a classic reference to some movie or game. So… do you want to hear a story I heard from one of my roommates?"
When she saw him look over at her, she leaned towards him a bit.
"So one of my roommates is a dingo. She said that apparently there's a multi eyed ghost that haunts this school. And if you break the rules, they snatch you up and make you disappear. Apparently she was sneaking out to meet a boy when she heard some strange sound like bones clattering or something like that. She glanced around and caught something out of the corner of her eye. Apparently, she saw a bunch of huge eyes staring at her from a doorway. And then she just booked it! Super creepy stuff."
Shinrai smiled a bit.
"Really? We have a school ghost?"
"Mhm, and not the friendly kind."
Shinrai shook his head.
"I'll have to remember that the next time I break curfew."
Hikaru sighed and rested her head on her hand.
"Are we good?"
"Huh?"
"Like, friend wise? Because you're pretty much my only friend other than my roommates, and none of them play video games. Like, if I said something last time that was too far just tell me. I'll give you free reign to insult me back."
Shinrai looked at the ground again.
"I'm not upset at you."
"Oh, good…. I was just, you know, you're clearly upset about something. Wanted to make sure it wasn't me."
Shinrai pressed his palms against his eyes.
"It's Yasui…. He's in the hospital."
"Wait, what!? Is he okay?"
Shinrai shook his head.
"He's in a coma. And the doctors don't know when he'll wake up."
"Holy crap! What happened?"
Shinrai choked up a bit, but pushed through. Now that the words were coming out he didn't want to stop.
"He got attacked! A-and it's all my fault!"
"Shinrai…."
"If I h-hadn't walked down the side street! Or been in a rush because of wanting my present to be a surprise! Or-or so many things! Yasui would be fine."
"Holy crap…."
Shinrai gasped.
"And yesterday was his birthday, but because of me he was unconscious for it! And I don't know how to get in touch with his family so they don't even know! And I'm just—"
He stopped when he felt arms wrap around his shoulders. He opened his eyes to see Hikaru hugging him with her head on his shoulder. Shinrai wiped at his eyes. She didn't say anything. She didn't try to tell him how sorry she was or how much she understood his pain. She was just there, and Shinrai was grateful for that. After a bit she patted his back.
"Are you going to be okay?"
Shinrai nodded.
"Yeah…. I needed to get that off my chest."
"Well, I'm not surprised. That was pretty heavy. But it makes sense you were hiding it, we girls are way better at being in touch with our emotions than boys."
"Oh shut up…."
She let go and punched his shoulder.
"And don't expect another one anytime soon! I am not a hugger!"
Shinrai rolled his eyes.
"I never asked for one. Your secret is safe with me."
She suddenly grew more serious.
"So… do you want to go visit him in the hospital?"
Shinrai shrugged.
"I want to, but… it's so hard for me to be there. Seeing him like that is just…."
"I understand. Have you told anyone else?"
"I let the people we invited to his party know that the party was canceled because Yasui was hurt."
"But do they know how bad he's hurt?"
"…No."
"Well, maybe we can tell them and we can all get him a get well soon card or something. And also some birthday presents. You said his birthday was yesterday, right?"
Shinrai nodded and she continued.
"Well we'll just postpone his party until he's better. So we should go make some plans. Maybe we can round up all his friends and do something special for him when he wakes up."
Shinrai felt something he hadn't felt in a few days. He felt a bit of hope, like he could move forward again. He looked up at Hikaru.
"Yeah… that's a great idea!"
The fennec fox grinned.
"Well I am pretty much the best, so what's the surprise there."
Shinrai smiled.
"Thanks for cheering me up. I feel better now."
"Mhm, anytime. Except when I'm in the middle of something, like a ranked game. You're temporary, being the best at a game is eternal."
"Glad to see your priorities are straight."
"Yup. So, who's first on the list of dorks to visit?"
Shinrai rubbed his chin.
"Well… probably his club mates. Because I know where they are."
"Cool. Uh, do you want me to come with, or…."
"Yes please, I need my emotional support fox. My normal one is in the hospital."
"I'm the travel version."
"Funsized."
"True."
Shinrai led the way to the Cooking Club's room where the other members were sitting around looking confused and worried. As they approached the door, Shinrai heard part of a conversation.
"So… uh… is he this late sometimes? Or…."
"No! Yasui's never late! And there was the whole canceled party thing too…. I'm a bit worried. Did something happen?"
"Maybe he'sss jussst going home? There might have been a family emergency or ssssomething, Yufine."
"But for him to not tell us is weird!"
Shinrai gulped and hesitantly knocked on the door. He should have told everyone what happened when he told them the party was canceled. But he had been too upset to talk about it. The door flew open and a female tiger was standing there looking out expectantly.
"Yasui!? Huh? Oh, it's you. Sorry, I thought it might be Yasui."
Shinrai nodded.
"Y-yeah. About that…."
Yufine gave him a curious look.
"Huh? What about what?"
"I… I have some news… about Yasui."
She gestured for him to come in. Shinrai entered with Hikaru behind him. Yufine gave Hikaru a curious look and she responded with,
"I'm his friend."
"Ah, okay. I'm Yufine."
"Hikaru."
Shinrai saw assembled before him the members of the Cooking Club, plus a kangaroo he had never met before. He gulped as the three female members of the club gave him their full attention.
"Well…. I'll just be blunt. Yasui is in the hospital."
They all gasped and began to ask questions. Yufine blurted out,
"Is he okay?"
"He's in a coma."
Chaussette slithered a bit closer.
"What happened to him?"
"He got… attacked."
The kangaroo frowned.
"Why on earth would somebody attack Yasui? Was it a student?"
Shinrai shook his head.
"No, it was an adult. On Friday, we… well I was… I took a dumb shortcut and got attacked by a caiman. And then Yasui fought him to save me. And now… now he's hurt really bad."
Yufine gulped, looking despondent.
"Can we visit him?"
"Yeah. I stayed with him all weekend. And Hikaru had the idea that we should all do something special for him when he wakes back up. Like a special birthday party with some sort of cool gift."
Chaussette flicked her tongue.
"That'ssss a good idea. We can bake him a birthday cake for the party."
Yufine nodded.
"Absolutely! But first, we should visit him. I heard somewhere that hearing people you know and love can help the brain heal when you're in a coma. So if all his friends visit him a lot, he'll wake up sooner."
The kangaroo shrugged.
"I would argue but I know nothing about comas. I don't think it could hurt."
Yufine turned to Shinrai once again.
"What hospital is he in?"
"St. Bernard General Hospital."
"That's pretty close to school. I say we visit him as our club activity today, what do you think?"
Chaussette nodded in approval and Maihime shrugged.
"Works for me. Lead the way interim president Yufine."
Yufine giggled.
"Why am I in charge? Chaussette has been here longer."
Chaussette shuddered.
"No thank you. I don't want to be in charge. Bessssidesss, you're the oldest."
The girls thanked Shinrai for telling them about Yasui's situation, before heading out. They excitedly chatted about stopping at a cafe on the way to get coffee and snacks to bring to Yasui's room. Just in case the smell woke him up. Shinrai sighed.
"That was exhausting."
Hikaru clapped him on the shoulder.
"So, who's next?"
Shinrai rubbed his shoulder.
"Well… maybe those guys from Yasui's floor that he's friends with. Jack and… the guy with the kinda weird name I forget."
"Wait, Jack and Legoshi?"
"How do you know them?"
"Voss is my cousin. He's roommates with them."
"Oh yeah… I forgot. Can you text him to see if they're all somewhere together?"
She pulled out her phone and typed out a quick text message. After a short delay she got a reply.
"They're in the dorm common room."
Shinrai sighed.
"Well, into the carnivore dorm I go… again."
Hikaru clicked her tongue.
"You're on your own there. They don't like girls going into the guy's dorms and vice versa. I'll wait outside. We can chill for a bit after you're done. You'll probably need something to do to take your mind off this whole situation."
Shinrai sighed.
"You're probably right. We can play some of that game you got."
"Yurp. Now, let's get moving. We're burning daylight."
Shinrai sighed deeply. That conversation with the Cooking Club had really taken it out of him. He was just glad that they hadn't asked too many questions. However, he was sure that the guys he was talking to next would probably be a bit more inquisitive. It was just a hunch, but a pretty good one.
The carnivore dorm was relatively busy for the time of day. This was mainly due to the colder weather they were having, making spending time outside less pleasant than in the summer. Shinrai nervously shuffled into the dorm, feeling the inquisitive eyes of carnivores on him as he walked through the doors. He slowly made his way into the common room and looked around for the somewhat familiar group of canids. He saw them all sitting around playing a board game, and went over to them. He approached the most approachable member of the group, the Labrador, and squeaked out,
"E-excuse me!"
They all looked down at him. Jack tilted his head.
"Hey, I know you! Aren't you friends with Yasui?"
"Yeah…. I'm Shinrai."
"Yeah, I remember you now! We got tacos before the Festival of the Meteor!"
Shinrai nodded.
"Oh yeah. I sort of forgot about that."
Jack turned his seat to look at him.
"So what's up? Is this about Yasui's party getting canceled?"
Shinrai nodded. The sheepdog Collot scratched his shaggy head.
"What the heck happened? Did something come up?"
Shinrai shook his head.
"Not exactly. You see… Yasui's in the hospital."
Jack gasped.
"What! What happened!?"
Shinrai felt numb as he went through the whole situation once more. As he had expected, the 701 boys were a bit more inquisitive. They plied him with questions until he thought he might just collapse. Eventually he was able to satisfy their curiosity and they began to talk amongst themselves. Jack sighed.
"That's so terrible. I can't believe somebody would do something like that."
Miguno huffed.
"Well, all we can do is try to make him feel better when he wakes up. I am one-hundred percent down for a party for him when he wakes up."
Durham nodded.
"Same here. We can get him balloons and stuff. When I had to have my tonsils removed my parents got me some balloons and I entertained myself in my room by watching them bounce around the ceiling."
Jack laughed as he elbowed Legoshi.
"You'll have to give Yasui a big smile when we go over. No frowning when we're on cheer-up duty."
Legoshi blinked at him before tilting his head slightly and smiling.
"Rike rhis?"
"Maybe a bit more relaxed. You look a bit strained."
"I've never been good at smiling on demand."
"Your problem is that you're clenching your jaw. When you need to smile, open your teeth slightly and stick your tongue against the roof of your mouth."
Legoshi did so. Durham leaned over to Miguno and whispered,
"It's a good thing for us all that Legoshi doesn't smile much. He has no right to be as much of a weirdo as he is and still be hot."
Miguno whispered back.
"I try not to think about it. It makes me sad because honestly I'm like a five and he's closer to a nine when he tries. And I'm always doing that max effort."
Jack smiled at Shinrai when he was done goofing off with Legoshi.
"You can count on us! Just tell us when the party is happening and we'll be there."
Shinrai nodded. The cheerful aura the 701 boys gave off was infectious, but he still felt exhausted after having to relive Friday once more.
"I'll let you all know when he wakes up. And then we can plan his party."
Voss piped up,
"You should bring him his school books so he can catch up on any classes he misses."
Shinrai hadn't even thought about that. He nodded at the fennec fox.
"That's a really good idea. He'll definitely not want to fall behind in school."
Jack gave him a thumbs up.
"Just let us know if you need anything at all. And he can borrow my notes if he needs to."
Shinrai smiled at the Labrador.
"I'm sure he'll appreciate that. Thanks guys."
He said his goodbyes before leaving the carnivore dorm. As he opened the door and stepped out into the cold outside, he let out a weary sigh.
"You look pooped."
He flinched and turned to see Hikaru sitting on a bench nearby with her arms crossed. She walked over to him and rubbed her arms.
"Can we get out of the cold already? I'm freezing."
"Sure. Although, where are we supposed to play your game?"
Hikaru grinned.
"I know a spot."
Shinrai waited outside the girls dorm for Hikaru to get some things from her room. She walked out with a backpack and a thick, wool hat on. She beckoned for Shinrai to follow her before setting off in the direction of the auditorium. She led him to a small window near the ground that looked in on the basement of the auditorium. She pushed it open and climbed inside.
"The lock on this window has been broken for as long as I've known this place exists. I found it when I was a first year in middle school."
Shinrai followed her into the basement and kept close as she walked along the window ledge. She led him to a small panel in the wall that she slid open, revealing a rather spacious area for two small animals. Shinrai looked around in wonder.
"What is this place?"
"The gap between the outside wall and the inside wall. But this isn't the place. Up this ladder now."
They both climbed the ladder and Shinrai found himself in a cozy little room with a window and several dusty boxes littered around the floor. A single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling shed light across the room as Hikaru climbed up on a box to flip the lightswitch. She grinned and spread her arms.
"Welcome to my secret hideaway. I think this is some sort of storage area or crawl space, but nobody uses it. So I stuck a few things up here to make it more comfortable. Although the TV was already here. It's pretty old so it's only good for retro consoles."
Sure enough one corner of the room had been cleaned up a bit, and there was a small beanbag chair near an old television set that looked older than both of them. Shinrai looked around and laughed.
"This is amazing! I had no idea there was even a place like this here!"
"Wouldn't be much of a secret if you did."
Shinrai sat down on the beanbag and watched as Hikaru took a retro console out of her bag and plugged it into the television. She grinned as she did.
"I had to scrounge up enough extension cords to reach the outlet down in the crawlspace. Why there's an outlet down there is beyond me. Now scootch over, this is my beanbag. I get the comfy butt groove. I spent a lot of time sitting there to get that rut established."
"It's a beanbag chair, how could it possibly have a butt groove?"
"Shut up! I say it has a butt groove so it has a butt groove!"
"Stop saying butt groove!"
"Would you rather I talk about my groovy butt?"
"No, that is so much worse."
"I have the grooviest butt of all time. I go to discos and smoke too much. I also wear bell bottoms and too much makeup!"
"Are we bringing back groovy? Is that a thing?"
Hikaru adopted an over the top look and smirked.
"We're groovy baby, psychedelic!"
"That's totally gnarly broski!"
"That's not really old slang, just surfer dude weirdness."
"Close enough."
She pretended like she was handing him a controller before pulling it away when he reached for it.
"Two rules, I'm player one. And I get to be the one with the swords."
Shinrai rolled his eyes.
"Fine."
"Shake on it."
He accepted her hand.
"Deal. Now hand it over."
They had fun beating up virtual cockroach ninjas as anthropomorphic tarantulas until Shinrai suddenly got a bit serious.
"Hey, Hikaru?"
"Yeah?"
"Is… is it okay for me to be doing this?"
"Huh? Doing what? Like, being here? I don't know but don't freaking snitch on me."
He shook his head.
"No, like, having fun. Yasui's really hurt right now, and I'm sitting here playing a game like nothing happened."
Hikaru scrunched her face up as she thought about it. Finally she answered him.
"I don't think Yasui is the type of guy who'd want you to be miserable while he's unconscious. Especially if you can't actually do anything to fix it. He seems pretty easy going to me. And—"
She flicked his ear.
"He seems like he doesn't want you to be sad. So don't worry about it. You can cry yourself to sleep over your boyfriend tonight, okay?"
"Aaaaand there's the Hikaru I'm used to."
"I couldn't keep the kid gloves on forever. I can only be sweet and emotionally supportive for so long. Hey! That calzone was mine!"
"I needed it more than you! I was lower health!"
"Sounds like a skill issue to me. Just get good, scrub!"
That evening as the hospital's visiting hours ended, Diana got into her car and looked out the window as Charles began to drive her back home. She idly flipped a lighter between her fingers as she did so before sighting.
"Stop at 'Lupin' on your way home. I need a drink."
Charles nodded and adjusted course. He stopped at a very nice bar near where Diana lived and let her step out of the car before driving off to park. She sat down at the bar and the barkeep, a middle aged wolf, approached her.
"What'll it be?"
"A Ramos gin fizz if you're not too busy."
He nodded and began to assemble the drink. Diana continued to play with her lighter before huffing.
"Dammit…."
"Anything the matter?"
Diana sighed and propped her head up a bit.
"I'm dying for a smoke right now."
A gruff voice came from beside her.
"Don't fall off the wagon now. You've been clean for seven months."
Diana looked over at Charles and rubbed her eyes.
"I know. You wouldn't happen to have any of those clove cigarettes would you? I need to scratch the itch without tobacco."
Charles gave her a serious look. Her fiddling with the lighter got more agitated.
"Charles… please."
He sighed and reached into his coat pocket.
"Only one. And only because I'm worried you'll do something you'll regret otherwise."
He pulled out a box of tobacco free herbal cigarettes and handed her one. She gratefully accepted it and stuck it in her mouth. Immediately her eyes closed in contentment.
"Damn I miss smoking."
"Not if you want to live you don't. Doctor's orders."
She lit the cigarette and took a drag before slowly exhaling the cinnamon scented smoke.
"I'm aware. But the desire is still there."
The bartender brought her a tall glass with a pillar of foam rising above the lip. She accepted it and sipped the beverage. She gave Charles a look.
"Do you want anything?"
"I'm the driver."
"You are also massive. It would take more than a single drink to get you even a little buzzed."
He rolled his jaw a bit before raising a finger.
"One old fashioned. Extra bitters."
"Coming up. Any preference on the whisky?"
"So long as it's strong."
"Alright."
He looked at his employer and waited for his drink to arrive before saying,
"You really care for the boy."
Diana tapped ash from the end of her cigarette.
"Yes. He makes me feel like I'm worth being alive. Like my life has some actual value other than my money. I could be dirt poor and he would still care about me. I don't have anyone like that."
Charles shifted uncomfortably.
"Miss… I care about you too. More than beyond my job."
Diana looked up at him. Her expression softened and she rested a hand on his arm.
"Of course. You have never abandoned me all these years. I didn't mean to exclude you in that statement. You're the only person in my life I could truly rely on."
Charles nodded.
"But your relationship with Yasui is different. I understand that. I just wanted you to know… I hate to see you this despondent."
Diana finished her drink and pushed the glass away. The barkeep leaned over.
"Need anything else?"
Diana's mouth twitched a bit.
"You know what I used to drink a lot and haven't had in years? A Midori sour. Do you have the stuff to make a sour?"
The bartender nodded and began assembling the drink. Charles gave her a warning look.
"Last drink."
"I know, I know."
She sighed as her cigarette reached the end and she put it out in an ashtray.
"I just needed a little something to help me sleep tonight. I've been having trouble recently."
"It's the stress. I'll fetch you a sleeping pill when we get home. Not a strong one, just an over the counter sleep aid."
She gave him a wry smile.
"I can alway count on my nanny to look after me."
"Haha."
Yasui awoke to bright light creeping under his eyelids. He squinted and held his arm up to block the light. After a moment he cracked his eyes open to look around him. All he saw was an expanse of blue with little white clouds floating in it. Slowly he sat up and looked around. He was in a grassy field with some red flowers swaying in the breeze. To his left, a river was flowing serenely over a few rocks. It looked pretty deep, but the current didn't seem too fast. It probably would be a good place to swim.
Yasui looked around as best as he could for any signs of… anything. He couldn't remember how he got here. He couldn't seem to recall much of anything leading up to this moment. He froze when he saw a figure where he hadn't seen one before. No more than twenty steps away was a beautiful female fox wearing an ornate black kimono. She had a kitsune mask on that covered her face, and her hands were tucked into her sleeves. Yasui tilted his head and his ears perked up a bit. He wasn't frightened of the stranger, just curious. He timidly spoke,
"H-hello."
The fox inclined her head towards him.
"Hello, Yasui."
"You know who I am?"
"I do."
"Oh. Well… sorry but I don't know who you are."
"The river looks very full and peaceful."
Yasui was a bit taken aback by the sudden shift in topic. He glanced behind him at the river once more.
"Yeah. It's very pretty."
"And the land around it seems verdant and lush."
Yasui nodded.
"Yeah. It's the sort of place I'd want to go on a picnic to. With my family or friends of course."
Yasui looked back towards the fox and saw that there was a blanket and a picnic basket right beside him. Yasui squinted at the sudden appearance of the picnic.
(That's… weird.)
Yasui sat down on the blanket and opened the basket. Inside were all his favorites. Sandwiches and cookies and tea with a large jar of soup to go with it. Yasui began to unpack everything excitedly before looking up at the fox just waiting a stone's throw away.
"Would you like to have lunch with me, Ma'am?"
The fox's face shifted slightly at that, as if surprised. However she nodded and joined him on the blanket. As Yasui portioned out the food, she asked.
"I'm curious. What do you see when you look at me?"
Yasui frowned slightly.
"Well… I'm not sure what you mean."
"What do I look like to you?"
"Oh. Well, what you are."
"Which is?"
"Well… a very pretty fox."
She laughed softly and accepted the sandwich Yasui handed to her.
"How unusual. You don't find me ominous at all? Or frightening?"
"Why would I? You're just a very beautiful vixen, if you don't mind me saying so."
She smiled warmly at him.
"You're a very unusual little fox."
"I get that a lot."
Yasui took a bite of his sandwich and looked towards the river again.
"Ma'am, where are we?"
"We're nowhere."
"Uh… what?"
"This is… a border is the simplest way to describe it. You're between two places."
"I don't understand."
"What can you remember? What just happened to you?"
Yasui narrowed his eyes.
"Hrrrm…. Well I was… it was Friday. And then… I went into town to get… uh…. Oh! That's right! I was getting a snack! Because it's my birthday on Sunday!"
"And then what happened?"
"Well…. I met Shinrai with his friend. And then… he forgot his wallet! I followed after him and then—"
Yasui's sandwich fell from his grasp as images flooded his brain. Flashes of color, jolts of pain, the taste of blood. It was all a blur but he had a sinking suspicion about what was going on. Yasui began to quake a bit.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"A-am…."
He looked up at her in a mixture of confusion and sorrow.
"Am I dead?"
She remained silent for a while. Eventually she spoke.
"Yes."
Yasui felt a lump rise in his throat.
"And also no."
Yasui blinked. Yes… and no? He spoke again.
"How… how can it be yes and no?"
"Like I said. You are between two places. Right now you hang by a mere thread. It is up to you where you want to go."
She gestured behind her, away from the river.
"To the land of the living."
She pointed across the river, which was a hazy and indistinguishable mass.
"Or to the other side."
Yasui felt terror well up inside of him. He was dead. Or at least… almost dead. And now he was supposed to pick where he was supposed to go?
"Ma'am…. Would it be hard to go… back?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Will it hurt?"
"Yes."
"A lot?"
"Yes."
Yasui looked towards the other side of the river. He couldn't see anything, but he felt very… curious about what was there. But at the same time, he had no idea what was there. And he knew in his heart that if he crossed the river he would never come back.
Yasui felt his heart speed up and his breathing quicken. This was too much. He couldn't do this. How was he supposed to make this sort of decision? He was just a kid! He wasn't cut out for tough calls like this. He didn't want to make a serious choice like this! He wanted his mother, she always knew what to do. He looked pitifully at the female fox. She was alien to him, but also very familiar. He gulped.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry if this is weird, but… may I rest my head in your lap for a bit?"
She looked down at him with a bemused expression. Yasui felt a little embarrassed.
"It's just… my mom would rest my head on her lap when I got worked up as a kid and stroke my ears. It always helped me calm down, and… this is a really big decision. I need to be calm for this."
She looked at him for a very long time before inclining her head.
"Very well."
She curled her legs under her and waited expectantly. Still a bit embarrassed by his childish request, Yasui moved over to her and laid down on the blanket with his head resting in her lap. He closed his eyes and let the memories of his mother doing this fill his mind. This was always how he remembered his mother. As a gentle and loving beacon in his life, who always helped him calm down and think clearly. He smiled as he could almost feel her claws gently combing his fur. He waited for a while before really thinking about the decision.
(What do I do? If I'm almost dead, then that means that I'm probably hurt pretty seriously. Which means I'll be really really in pain if I decide to go back. But if I don't… then everyone would probably be sad. I'd never have gotten to say goodbye to anyone. Not my friends or family. And… my parents would be devastated. I've heard that the worst pain is when a parent loses a child. I can't do that to Mom and Dad, or my siblings and friends. So that means… I have to try.)
Yasui opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head from the warm cushion he had been using. The fox was looking at him expectantly. Yasui took a deep breath.
"I want to go back."
"Are you certain? The path is long and painful. You may regret your decision if you take this path."
"I have to, for the people I love. And besides, worst case scenario, I just end up here again."
The fox smiled a bit at that. Yasui stood, and so did the fox. He looked at the road that led away from the river. It led into a dark forest that gave Yasui the creeps. He shivered.
"Ma'am?"
"Yes?"
"Would… would you come with me? Just for a bit? I-I'm nervous about going the whole way alone."
Her mouth curled into a slight smile.
"For a while."
Yasui took a deep breath and looked at the path. He gulped.
"I can do this…. I'll see my family again. I promise."