Chapter 65 - Cursed
[Sacred Realm - Inside Gero's Mind]
"Well then boys..this is it.." Shin smiled
*BEEP
"Remember that from now on, no matter where you are..we'll always be together..I'll be looking out for you in my own way from afar.."
"We know.." Ono said
"Make sure to keep a close eye on us!" Ken said
"We won't disappoint you!" Hajime said
"I know you won't..I'm glad to have been your father, I'm glad to have seen you grow up to be the amazing man you are now, I'm glad to have spent so much time with you boys and I thank you for that!" Shin smiled
"I'm glad to have been your son..thank you for everything you've done for us.."
"No matter what happens from now on..no matter what you boys decide on doing..no matter how difficult or how painful it becomes..I'll always love you boys from the bottom of my heart.."
(Shin gave them his final smile which was warm and it gave them a sign that Shin regrets nothing. His body completely turned into particles and disappeared into the light leaving only Gero and his crew. After Shin disappeared Gero's eyes glowed golden yellow once more before saying farewell)
"Goodbye.."
*BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
"Oto-san..."
[Hospital Waiting Room]
(Erika was explaining to Shiho what the ANBU had told them about the situation with the Seven Seats and Chief Matsumoto)
"Why would the Chief be there? He's supposed to be by the tank garage.." Shiho said
"We don't know..maybe he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.." Erika said
"Alice!" a voice shouted from the hallway
(Everyone looked to see Chiyo along with the Bermuda Trio of the University Team)
"Okaa-sama!" Alice rushed in to hug her mother
"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" Chiyo asked
"No..nii-chan protected all of us.."
"I see.."
"Alice-sama!" Megumi shouted
"Why are you all here?" Megumi..Azumi..and Rumi…" Alice asked
"We came here as soon as we could when we found out about the situation..Shimada-sama filled us in along the way.." Azumi said
"Is that so..thank you for coming here.." Alice said
"How's Gero-chan and his crew? ANBU told me about what happened.." Chiyo asked Shiho
(Shiho just shook her head in response signaling Chiyo that they were still in a bad situation. After a couple of minutes of waiting May and Shiori arrived as well because they were worried about Kaede)
"Onee-sama!" Shiori called
"Mother..Shiori.." Kaede said
"Are you alright?" Mai asked
"Yes..I'm fine..these guys defended us and the Shimada Family saved us in the end.." Kaede said
"I see..thank you boys.." Mai smiled
"You're welcome.." Kal said
"Don't mention it!" Takashi said
"Thank you very much Chiyo-san..how could I ever repay you?" Mai said
"Never mind that..how's the situation at the stadium?" Chiyo asked
"The proper authorities are on site and clearing the area..they're being assisted by the other students and all non essential individuals have been evacuated.." Mai reported
"Good..the least we can do for Gero-chan and his crew is to avoid any more casualties.." Chiyo said
"Excuse me.." a nurse suddenly said
"Yes?" Erika asked
"The doctor said you may see them now..only just a few for now since the room won't be able to hold a lot of visitors.." the nurse said
"Thank you.."
[Hospital Emergency Room]
(As requested by the nurse, the only ones that went were Erika, Miho, Maho, Shiho, Alice, Chiyo, Sheska, Mako and Leila. The rest stayed in the waiting room to wait for their turn to visit. As they entered the emergency room they saw Gero and his crew laying in their beds with bandages and they were still sleeping with oxygen masks on their faces)
"How are they, doctor?" Shiho asked
"Stable for now..they're through the worst part..all that's left is to recover.."
"I see..thank you doctor.."
"How can boys their age endure such conditions?" the doctor asked
"What do you mean?" Chiyo asked
"The least injured of them all is this one, Ono Nakamura, over exhaustion of the muscles causing muscle fatigue, ruptured eardrum, and shortness of breath due to smoke inhalation.."
"Ono-senpai.." Sheska was crying while holding Ono's hand
"Next is, Taiyou Hajime, two fractured ribs on the right side of his chest, second degree burns on both his hands, again ruptured eardrums and shortness of breath due to smoke inhalation.."
"Hajime-kun.." Leila cried
"Were you the one that gave him first aid?" asked the doctor
"Yes.." Leila answered
"You did a great job..if it wasn't for you this boy would've been in a lot more trouble.."
(The doctor then moved up to the last two patients which was Gero and Ken)
"Ken Tsugomoto, extreme muscle fatigue on his arms and legs, ruptured eardrum and small laceration on top of his forehead, lost a fair amount of blood but he's going to be fine..is he their driver?" the doctor asked
"Yes he is.." Erika said
"That would explain the slightly torn ligaments in his wrists and feet.." the doctor said
"We heard on the radio that he had to manually drive and maneuver their tank because their hydraulics were damaged.." Leila said
"That would mean he's been feeling the entire weight of their tank with every move he made.."
(Everyone then saw Mako walking towards Ken and suddenly she burst into tears and hugged Ken)
"Ken-chan...Ken-chan..please wake up..who's going to wake me up every morning if you're asleep?" Mako cried
"Mako-san.." Miho comforted her
"Then last is your son..Nishizumi Gero..I really am at a loss for words with his condition.." the doctor said
"Is it that bad?!" Shiho asked
"It was bad..very bad..he's recovering now..he suffered lacerations on his left arm and his right cheek..ruptured eardrums..inhaled a lot of smoke based on the condition of his lungs.."
"Nii-chan.." Alice started to tear up again
"Not only that..he has both severe mental and physical exhaustion..lost a lot of blood..then his heart stopped for about four to five minutes..it's a miracle that he's still alive right now.." the doctor said
"F-Five minutes.." Chiyo said
"You mean onii-chan was dead for at least five minutes?!" Miho shouted
"Yes..but he was brought back by non-stop resuscitation which gave his heart and brain enough oxygen to survive those minutes.." said the doctor
(Everyone was still in shock at the state Gero was in. Miho and Maho started to cry beside their brother and held his hands on both sides. When suddenly the nurse saw something weird)
"Doctor take a look!" the nurse shouted
"What's wrong?!" the doctor hurried over
"O-Ono-senpai is.." Sheska said
"Crying..same with Hajime-kun.." Leila said
"Ken-chan too.." Mako said
(Everyone saw that Ken, Hajime and Ono were crying in their sleep and tears were falling down their cheeks. The reason for this is because right now Chief Matsumoto had just said goodbye to them in their dreams)
"What about Gero-san?" Sheska asked?
"Onii-sama's not crying.." Maho said
"What's happening doctor?" Chiyo asked
"I don't know..their vitals are fine..if they were in pain we would've known by now.."
*GRIP
(All of a sudden Miho and Maho felt their hands slowly being held by Gero)
"Onii-chan!?" Miho shouted
"Onii-sama?!"
(Slowly Gero opened his eyes to see his crying little sisters in front of him)
"Gero! How are you feeling?" Erika shouted
"..."
"Can you hear us?" Shiho asked
"..."
(There was still no response from Gero as he was just gazing around the room. Slowly he suddenly sat on his bed and removing the oxygen mask from his face)
"Hey don't force yourself.." Miho said
"Miho's right..please onii-sama you should rest more.." Maho said
"..."
"This is extraordinary.." the doctor said
"What is?" Chiyo asked
"He shouldn't even be awake yet..let alone sit down..not in this state..he has the strongest will to live that I've ever seen in all years in my line of work.." the doctor said
"Gero...?" Erika called out
(As he heard Erika's voice he looked at her and Erika saw Gero's eyes had no light in them. It was as if even though he was physically alive in front of them but he was clearly dead inside and it brought pain to Erika)
"Nii-chan?" Alice asked
"Gero?" Shiho called out
"Okaa-chan.."
(Shiho was surprised that Gero responded to her)
"I'm here son..what is it?"
"Where's Chief?"
(After hearing Gero's question everyone was speechless and didn't know how to respond)
"W-Why? Do you need something from him?" Shiho asked
"Take me to him.."
[Hospital Waiting Room]
(As a situation was developing inside the emergency room the Seven Seats were still in the waiting room and was visited by their friends)
"Takashi!" Alisa shouted
"Y-Yo Alisa.."
"Are you alright?! I was told you were shot! I was so scared!" Alisa was crying as she hugged Takashi
"I'm fine..I'm sorry to worry you.."
"How's Gero-kun?" Naomi asked
"Still in the ER.." Kay said
"Katyusha-sama..I'm glad you are safe.." Klara said
"Thank you Klara..I'm happy you're fine as well..how are the others?" Katyusha asked
"They are fine..after the authorities arrived everyone was sent back to the carriers.." Klara reported
"Darjeeling-sama! Are you alright?!" Pekoe shouted
"Pekoe..and Assam..glad to see you..I'm fine.." Darjeeling smiled
"You too Darjeeling-sama..is Gero-san in there?" Assam asked
"Yes..but he still hasn't woken up yet..the same for his crew.." Darjeeling said
"I SAID TAKE ME TO HIM!" a familiar voice echoed from the emergency room
(Everyone inside the waiting room heard Gero's scream and they all hurried there to check what happened. They saw Gero trying to get out of the room and was attempting to walk but was being prevented by Miho and Maho)
"Onii-sama! Please calm down!" Maho shouted
"Please stop it onii-chan!" Miho shouted
"TAKE ME TO HIM! I NEED TO SEE HIM!"
"What's happening?!" Kal asked
"Gero-san wants to go to Chief Matsumoto" Sheska said
"You told him?!" Takashi asked
"No we didn't..he just suddenly said he wanted to see him.." Erika said
(Kal and Takashi saw their best friend in pain and trying his best to walk but he couldn't even force his way through his sisters. Kal and Takashi then walked towards Gero and spoke to him)
"Miho-san..Maho-san..can you let us handle this?" Kal asked
"What are you trying to do?" Maho asked
"We don't want to see him in this state anymore..I know you don't want it too..so please let us give him what he wants.." Takashi said
(Miho and Maho then let go of their brother and slowly Kal and Takashi lent their shoulders to Gero and supported him as they walked towards the surgery room. The Seven Seats, his family, the Senshado masters followed them while the rest stayed at the waiting area. As they walked and saw the light of the sign of the surgery room turn off meaning the surgery was finished. They stopped in front of the doors and waited for the doctor to come out)
"Doctor..?" Kal asked
"Gero-sama.." Dr. Satsuki said
"And? How did the surgery go?!" Takashi asked
"I'm sorry Gero-sama..but there was nothing else we could do.."
"Ha?" Kal and Takashi reacted
"What are you saying..doctor?" Erika asked
"Shin Matsumoto has passed away.." the doctor said
(As the bad news was laid out to everyone they all reacted the same way. They were shocked and couldn't believe what they just heard. Gero's foster father that they knew who took care of Gero for a long time after he got separated from his family has now died)
"I'm truly sorry Gero-sama.." Dr. Satsuki said
"May I see him?"
"Of course.."
(Everyone was surprised at how Gero was calm after the bad news was brought to him. As Gero walked with the help of the doctors inside the surgery room everyone was thinking about him)
"Did he know..?" Kal said in his thoughts
"Is that why he wanted to see him no matter what?" Takashi said in his mind
"H-How could this happen..?" Kay asked
"Shiho-chan!" Mai suddenly shouted
(Everyone saw that Shiho was on the floor and just staring at the doors of the surgery room)
"C-Chief is..dead..?" Shiho said
"Shiporin! Keep it together!" Chiyo said
(Everyone was tearing up and some were too shocked to shed a tear. Inside the surgery room Gero approached the lifeless body of his foster father. Chief Matsumoto was covered in hospital cloth and he was cleaned up from all the blood. Gero saw that Chief had a peaceful look on his face)
"Can you give us the room doctor?"
"As you wish..take all the time you need.." Dr. Satsuki said
(As the doctors and nurses left the room Gero stood there speechless and just staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists in anger then when he opened his eyes both were glowing golden yellow again and blinking on and off. His sacred possession was going out of control suddenly. Shiho, Chiyo, and Mai felt the immense power coming from inside the surgery room and they knew already that it was Gero. The surgery room doors opened and as Gero walked out everyone else felt the atmosphere change)
"His eyes.." Chiyo said
"T-That's.." Mai said
"Sacred Possession.." Shiho said
(Again Gero's eyes were blinking on and off and Shiho noticed it)
"He's losing control?" Shiho said
"Onii-chan!"
"What are you doing onii-sama?!"
"Drop that Gero-kun!" Kal suddenly shouted
"What?! What is it?!" Takashi asked
(Everyone then saw Gero was holding a scalpel from the surgery room and he slowly pointed the scalpel to his neck in an attempt to kill himself)
"Hoy don't do that! Stop it!" Takashi shouted
"Nii-chan! Please stop!" Alice shouted
"It's my fault.."
"It's nobody's fault Gero-san! Put the knife down!" Asparagus shouted
"If I hadn't told him about the plan..then maybe.."
"Calm down Gero-kun..alright? We can talk about this.." Darjeeling said
"Talk about what? How I killed my own foster father?"
"But Darling..you didn't kill him..it was those bad people that did it.." Kay said
"SHUT THE FUCK UUUUPPP!"
(Gero suddenly shouted in pain and the scalpel made a small cut on his neck and it was slowly bleeding)
"HOLD HIM DOWN!" Chiyo suddenly ordered
(Suddenly two ANBU operatives were standing in front of Gero and jumped towards him in an attempt to stop him. But it was useless because Gero suddenly activated Hunter's Domain. Everyone was suddenly hit with intense killing intent and the pressure was so heavy that it made them sit down, kneel or stop moving. As for the ANBU operatives they were kneeling in front of Gero unable to move)
"T-This is.." the ANBU captain said
"Hunter's Domain?! But this is too fucking heavy!" the ANBU medic said
"What kind of pressure is this? This is too much! It's way stronger than before!" Kal said
"It feels like I'm about to die just from the pressure.." Takashi said said
"He's out of control..we need to stop him now!" Shiho shouted
"H-How?! He's got us pinned!" Mai shouted
"I'm thinking!" Chiyo shouted
"What the hell is this?! Even the Masters of the Three Great Families are unable to move from his skill?!" the ANBU captain reacted
"See? B-Because of me you're in this state..if I end my life right here..you won't have to feel this pain anymore.."
"S-Stop! O-Onii-chan! Don't do it!" Miho was crying
"Onii-sama!" Maho shouted
"Goodbye..everyone.."
(Just before Gero slit his throat with the scalpel he heard a voice)
"Gero.."
(It was Erika's voice and Gero saw that she was the only one standing)
"Erika..?"
"Look at me..I'm alright..see?"
"H-How?"
(Even under the effects of Hunter's Domain somehow Erika was still able to move and she wasn't having the same side effects as the others are experiencing)
"I'm going to walk towards you now ok? So stay where you are and don't move.."
"N-No..stop..I don't want to hurt you..please.."
"You won't hurt anybody.."
(Erika then started walking slowly towards Gero without a problem. Everyone else was still unable to move and was just watching Erika as she walked)
"How the heck is she able to walk under all of this killing intent pressure?!" the ANBU captain reacted
"Erika?! H-How?!" Maho said
"Worry about how later..please save him Itsumi-kun!" Shiho shouted
(Erika now was face to face with Gero and she was fine. She looked Gero in the eyes and gave him a smile)
"See? I told you I'd be fine..you worry too much.."
"Erika..I killed oto-san..I..I"
"Shhh..you didn't kill him Gero..it wasn't you..now give me the scalpel.."
(Erika then slowly reached for the scalpel on Gero's neck and she slowly took it from his hand. She then threw the scalpel back inside the surgery room and she grabbed her handkerchief and placed it to cover the small wound on Gero's neck)
"Geez..I just saved your life a while ago..then you go on about killing yourself..you're such a selfish and ungrateful Bakatora.." Erika smiled
"Don't call me a Bakatora.." Gero pouted
(Erika then placed her hand on Gero's face and as Gero felt the warmth of his lover the Sacred Possession started to calm down. The blinking golden eyes of Gero started to disappear and went back to his normal black colored pupils. The effects of Hunter's Domain suddenly was gone and everyone could move again and the suffocating pressure was gone)
*HUG
"It's going to be alright Gero..we'll get through this.." Erika said as she hugged Gero
"Erika..."
(As Gero calmed down he passed out again and Erika caught him. With the help of the others they were able to carry Gero back into the emergency room and placed him on his bed again. Gero's family along with Erika, Leila, Sheska, and Mako stayed in the ER while the others returned to the waiting room to calm down for a bit with the others)
[Hospital Waiting Room]
"Okaeri Darjeeling-sama..are you alright?" Pekoe asked
"Eh..? Y-yes I'm do you ask?" Darjeeling said
"Well..all your faces are pale..did something bad happen?" Assam asked
"Wait didn't you feel the intense pressure from here?" Kay asked
"Pressure? What kind?" Alisa asked
"We felt nothing here Kay.." Naomi said
"I just asked Sheska-san and Leila-san inside the ER and they too did not feel anything.." Asparagus said
"Then..we're the only ones that felt it?" Takashi said
"It seems so.." Kal said
"I don't understand what you're saying Kal-kun.." Klara said
"Forget about it..it's nothing.." Kal said
(As they were discussing about it Chiyo and Mai then realized what just happened and figured out the reason why those inside the waiting room and inside the ER)
"Gero-chan activated Hunter's Domain but only a small area of effect around us..that's why the pressure was twice as heavy than normal because it was concentrated in our area only and was not spread out.." Chiyo said in her thoughts
"So he wasn't losing control after all.." Mai said in her thoughts also
"Mother? Is everything alright?" Shiori asked
"Gero and his crew will be alright..they're on the road to recovery now.." Mai said
"I see..then that's a relief.." Shiori smiled
"But..there is also bad news.." Asparagus said
"What is it?" Alisa asked
"Uhmm..Gero-san's foster father.."
"Why? What happened to him?" Naomi asked
"He's gone..Chief Matsumoto has passed away.." Chiyo said
(Except for the Seven Seats who knew already the rest was in shock with the sudden news and was speechless. After a couple of minutes grieving for Chief Matsumoto, Erika suddenly entered the waiting room)
"Everyone..the Headmistress said you should all go home for now and rest, all of us earned it..thank you all for coming here.." Erika said
"Alright..please let us know if anything happens.." Darjeeling said
"Of course..take care everyone.."
(As everyone left the waiting room Erika was called by Chiyo and the ANBUs to ask her a questions)
"Uhm..Itsumi-san?" Chiyo said
"Yes Shimada-sama?"
"We would like to ask you something if that would be alright.."
"What is it?"
"How were you able to walk under all that killing intent that Gero-sama was emitting?" the ANBU captain asked
"Why do you want to know?" Erika asked back
"You walked through all that pressure that had both ANBU and the Senshado Masters paralyzed..of course we'd be curious.." the ANBU medic said
"I don't know how I did that even if you ask me..I just thought about saving Gero and walked.." Erika explained
"You mean you didn't feel his killing intent?" Chiyo asked
"Oh I felt it..but this time it was stronger than before..the first time I felt it was during the Exhibition Games against Red Wings.."
"I see..well then sorry for the sudden questions..we'll get going now.." Chiyo said
"Not at all..thank you very much for all the help..we will repay this for sure.." Erika bowed
(Erika then returned back to the ER to rejoin her friends while Chiyo and ANBU slowly walked away)
"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.."
"Is that even possible?" the medic reacted
"Yes it is.."
"But how?" the ANBU captain asked
"Itsumi Erika..is immune.." Chiyo said
Coming Up Next : Chapter 66 - Damaged
Author's Note:
Hi all! How was the chapter? Here I wanted to express how much a person can be so emotionally unstable after experiencing a death of a family member. Especially in this case Gero's connection to Chief Matsumoto was very close and he just couldn't take it anymore.
I wonder what will happen next! Stay tuned!
Let me know what your thoughts are about this chapter in the reviews section!
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