If anyone has been following this one, please tell me if this is any good
in comparison with previous eps (having an incredibly tough time).
Thanks in advance.
Part XI
"The Deepest Wounds"
Hikaru woke slowly to the sound of a woman's voice, her
manner urgent as she bent over her, holding a long transparent
plastic tube before Hikaru's face, then shoving it down her
throat. Hikaru choked, her body convulsing as she coughed,
feeling the length of tube slither down her throat, her mind
catawalling through events, present, past and dream.
Hikaru, her vision still clouded, her stomach churning
inside her as she felt the cold black fluid being pumped into
her. She hacked and coughed, sending a spray of green vomit
up through the tube and across a nearby whit division. Tears
started to stream from her eyes as her body turned rigid,
resisting the prying hands of the nurse as she pushed Hikaru
onto her side, tossing Hikaru's stomach into another panic.
Hikaru blinked at the tears that clouded her vision as
she struggled to turn, pushing at the edge of the gourney with
her left hand, the nurse gently shoving her back onto her
side, making the bonds around her right hand chaif and shift
slightly.
Hikaru lay still, defeated by the gentle guidance of the
nurse that loomed over her as she struggled to find some
thought, anything other than absolute internal silence. The
nurse pulled her head back slightly, pulling at the end of the
tube that spat from her mouth. Hikaru could feel the sharp
edges rubbing against the inside of her throat as the nurse
proceeded to pull it upwards, out of Hikaru's body. Hikaru
coughed as the last of the tube came out of her mouth, sending
a shoot of black, coarse slime down the side of her face.
Hikaru pushed her head up, her body quivering in her
weakened condition. Through the blurr in her eyes she could
see a young man dressed all in black talk to one of the doctors
past the dividing curtain. His brown eyes looked worried,
his brow pushed in on itself as he studied the doctor. Hikaru
lay her head back, staring into nothingness as she futily
tugged at the bonds around her. Her vision faded as her mind
slipped away into delirium.
* * *
Hikaru awoke in a cold sweat, the feel of her dreams still
with her as she shot up out of the bed only to find herself
tied to it by half a dozen wires attached to her torso, an
IV probing her left arm. She lay back slowly, her mind still
raving of abuse. She lay absolutely still, her limbs still
quaking slightly, as she stared up to the cieling, her toes
and fingers aching in the chilly atmosphere of the hospital.
Her eyes danced across the florescent lights that were strung
across the ceiling at regular intervals, trying to find some
sign, some assurance that she was safe.
She could feel the eyes on her as a squat, plump nurse
stood in the doorway regarding her patient. "How are we feeling
today?" the nurse queried, drawing Hikaru's wandering eyes to
her as the nurse approached.
Hikaru gazed up at her blankly, her mind not able to
connect the words with her thoughts, she wanted to scream,
cry, yell, anything other than the utter absence she felt.
"That's good." the nurse nodded as she eyed the readouts
of the various machines that were plugged into Hikaru, marking
the paper on her clipboard appropriately, then exchanging the
almost empty drip bag with a fresh glucose solution. "Are we
ready for breakfast?" still regarding her clipboard, "Good."
again not waiting for a response, "I'll have a tray sent up."
and left Hikaru alone in the silence.
As Hikaru watched her leave she stuttered mutely, her
mind wanting to add something to the gentle hum of the air
conditioning, her throat consticting around the slightest sound
she dared utter.
Time passed slowly for Hikaru. It seemed an eternity
until the promised meal finally showed, and when it did come,
he stomach churned at the thought of putting THAT down her
throat. It consisted of a gummy substance that somehow
resembled oatmeal, a very SMALL cup of orange juice and a
very light cup of fruit.
Hikaru stared at it for a few moments, feeling queasy,
then elected to eat it rather than have it shoved down her
throat by an angry nurse.
After the tray had been cleaned, the nurse left her alone
in the room to ponder exactly how it was that she got there,
and where the hell everyone was. 'They must have notified
SOMEBODY.' she thought morosely, her mind finding an image
of her parents raging at her over her flacid body. She
cringed slightly, 'It'd be better if they DIDN'T.'
Slow footsteps pulled her attention to the doorway where
stood a woman in her late thirties, black circles rounded her
eyes as she stared down at Hikaru, her mouth set in a gentle,
compassionate smile.
Hikaru stared blankly at her then avoided her eyes, dropping
them to the floor as she greeted the older woman meekly, "Domo."
* * *
Kyosuke picked himself up from the bed, the alarm screaming
in his ear. He reached over, slapping at the offending object,
only to knock it off the small end table into his chest,"Mmph!"
He pushed the heavy plastic off to the side as he silenced
trying hard not to throw it across the room.
Ayukawa opened her eyes slightly as he pushed himself up,
"Mmm," she complained, "come back to bed."
Kyosuke chuckled slightly, "Can't, I've got to go to work."
as he threw on a pair of boxers, stretching the kinks out of
his back.
Ayukawa rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock that was
now beside her, "But it's Sunday." her eyes frowning as she
whimpered her distaste.
Kyosuke smiled and shook his head as he knelt down to
kiss her, brushing a stray loch of dark hair as he caressed
he cheek and moaned, "I wish I could..." then pushed himself
to his feet and walked to the bathroom, yawning.
"Hmmph!" Ayukawa sighed, pulling a pillow into her grasp,
squeazing it tightly, smiling as her mind ran back over the last
two nights.
She lay there for moments on end, not wanting to let go of
the fantasy that took control of her body. She sighed deeply and
frowned at the pillow, pushing it away from her, then sat up,
yawning.
Ayukawa rubbed her eyes as she listened to the shower slow
to a halt, 'Well,' she thought, 'I can at least walk him to work.'
pushing herself up, off the futon and starting into the kitchen, her
mind working over the happy moments they had had in the last few
days, all but making up for the time they had lost.
She pulled the refridgerator open, looking into it woefully,
'Gotta' go shopping today.' she thought, making a mental note to
get more cream as she pulled the old carton from the doorshelf and
swishing it around to test the contents. She sniffed at it, then
sat it down on the counter, content that it wasn't TOO old.
She pulled out the rest of her ingredients, making up her mind
on something light for his lunch, pulling out a mess of vegetables
with some rice from the night before, adding two eggs to the pile,
then turning to the oven.
* * *
Kyosuke stared into the mirror and ran his fingers over his
chin, the light fuzz scratching against his hand. He had begun to
shave everyday out of necessity lately, the whiskers growing tougher
each day.
He flipped his hand over the tap and tested the water, letting
it run over his fingers until it grew warm enough to use, then plugged
the sink shut, dipping his hands under the tap and splashing it onto
his chin. He grabbed at the soap and lathered it over his chin and
cheeks until it grew thick, then grabbed the razor and pulled at the
whiskers, leaving his skin bare and smoothe.
He closed the tap and let the sink drip in the background of his
thoughts as he pulled at the soapy exterior of his face with the razor,
his ears catching the gentle echo of the phone in the other room pleading
for attention. He swished the razor in the water, pulling away the
short whiskers from its edge then listened absently to Ayukawa's
sweet voice as she answered the call. He smiled slightly, her voice
pleased him so, every time he heard even a whisper from her it set
his soul to wings. With just a word from her, no matter what bothered
his mind, he could feel at least a bit better, knowing that she was
there with him.
He tapped the razor on the side of the basin as the telephone
sounded out. His mind pulling away from his thoughts as he heard
Ayukawa's sweet voice answering the telephone's call. He smiled
gently to himself as he placed the razor to his chin, scraping
at his face with a smoothe stoke, a light crash ringing in his
ears as he inadvertantly brought the razor heavily over his cheek,
drawing blood.
Kyosuke threw the razor down, unaware of the slight dribble
of blood rolling down his cheek as he opened the door before him,
his eyes scanning the hallway for any sign of Ayukawa.
Urged on by his morbid curiosity Kyosuke rushed down the hall,
his eyes catching a slight glimpse of Ayukawa's stunned form as she
sat in the main room, her feet under her rear, staring blindly down
at the phone which lay before her.
Kyosuke ran to her, his mind wild with fear, "What is it?" grapling
onto her shoulders.
Ayukawa pulled her eyes to him and stared dumbly, the phone
sounding out it's disuse. She opened her mouth, the words caught
in her chest as a slight ache roamed over her body.
She gripped his shoulders and pulled him to her, clinging to
him relentlessly, 'We don't need this.' she thought, then breahted
aloud, "Not now."
Kyosuke, dazed, held her tenderly, his mind trying to work over
what had happened as his fears played havoc inside his heart, "What's
happened?" as he felt the slight sobs wrack her body.
Ayukawa pulled to him tighter, burying her head in his chest as
she worked it over in her mind. Should she tell hem? 'No,' she thought,
'he's paid enough.' And with that her dicision was made. "Nothing."
* * *
Hikaru stood in the center of her room, scanning it speculatively.
The ordered neatness was slightly disconcerting as she hugged herself,
things were definately not as she had left them.
She walked over to the bed, her body exhausted with the events
of the morning and previous night. She threw herself onto the bed,
her eyes closing slightly, then opening to inspect the cieling.
Hikaru tossed her head to the side, absently scanning the bedtable
next to her, finding a slight peice of paper reading, "We all love you."
cringing slightly as she crumpled it in her hand. She couldn't stand
thinking of anything that regarded 'love' especially when there was
so much animosity still left to deal with.
She groaned aloud, blinking lightly as she examined the past day,
her mind trying to find some reason for it all, and for what she kenw
would come. Her father wouldn't let her get away with this. He
would demand to know the who, what, and where, and whe would have to
tell him, sooner or later. She loathed the fact that that the
disgusting creature had any power over her at all, and burned with disgust
at even the thought of confronting him after her escapade.
Hikaru pushed herself onto her back as she worked over the images
of the previous day inher mind, trying to find something worth the
pain she had suffered in the mess and sighed, then rubbing away the
burn in her eyes as she prepared herself for a small nap.
* * *
Ayukawa stood at the door of Hikaru's residence, her fingers working
nervously as she went over in her mind what she was going to say, still
feeling Kyosuke's concerned gaze on her as she pushed a hand up to the
door and rapped on it gently, her mind working over the events of the
day.
She had left Kyosuke at the garage, her eyes trying to smile for him
as they said their good-byes, but she could feel his discomfort when
they parted, could feel his eyes on her as she strolled down the street,
trying to hide her emotions. She hated lieing to him in any way, but
she knew Kyosuke, knew that this would send him over the edge. He
might recover from it, in time, but she had almost lost him once, and
didn't want to take that chance again, not now.
The door pulled open in front of her, exposing a middle aged
woman in a loose house dress peering out at her, "Yes?" she queried,
then recognizing Madoka, "Oh, Madoka-san!" her eyes lighting into
a smile, "What can I do for you?"
Ayukawa took a breath, building courage for what she must do next,
"Is Hikaru-san home?" trying not to let the angry twinge show through.
The lady nodded assuringly, motioning Ayukawa past her through
the threshhold, "Yes, she is, would you like to speak with her?"
Ayukawa nodded slightly as she moved past the woman and into
the house, removing her shoes as she did so, "Yes, please."
"Yogata," the woman began, "it's so nice to see you two getting
along again." motioning for Ayukawa to follow her.
Ayukawa chuckled lightly, her tone slightly nervous as the woman
lead her through the house to Hikaru's room, her mind making a note to
not tell the lady of her plan until she was ready to leave.
The woman stopped in front of Hikaru's door and knocked lightly,
"Hikaru-chan?" throught the door, then rapping louder, "Hikaru-chan,
you have a guest.
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Writer's Notes: Sorry about the wait folks. But here it is. Hope you
like what I've done with this. It was a bit hard to find where this
sould go, but I believe it turned out all right. Again, comments/
suggestions gladly accepted.
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----------------------------<djones@ionet.net>----------------------------
"Darling!" "I refuse!" "I didn't say anything yet!"
"I know it all, Even if you don't say anything!
Whenever you get, this face,
It can ONLY mean you're going to ask me something!"
-- Lum and Ataru
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