• CHAPTER 33 - LOVERS ARE FIGHTERS

    The pain keeps going from one person to the other. It's spreading like a virus, eating you away emotionally and maybe even physically if it gets to a certain point.

    Miku can't be here, she shouldn't be here when Takeuchi is like this. She shouldn't be pregnant and watching her lover die without seeing her again. It's not right that people go through things like this, it's not right for anybody to suffer for things they haven't done. If anybody, I should be the one dying for bringing everybody into this mess because of my goddamn blood.

    Miku continued to cry and I continued to stare at her in confusion, wondering what to do. I had to comfort her the best I could. Only a girl can understand another girl's feelings. It was hard, but I managed to lift myself from my wheelchair and I leaned against the wall for support. My legs felt like cooked spaghetti noodles since I hadn't walked in a few days. I managed to grab my warm blanket that Kai had wrapped around me and I placed myself on the bench next to Miku and wrapped the warm blanket securely around her as her sobs continued to penetrate the hallways. I rubbed her back as she hunched over and continued her depression.

    "Miku, you need to take it easy," I pleaded quietly, "It won't be good for the baby."

    "What's the point?" her voice was muffled from her hands, "What would be the point of having this baby if Takeuchi never wakes up again?"

    I thought back to what Kai told me, "Just keep hoping for the better, please,"

    I ignored the pain in my right arm and embraced her close. Her sobs slowed down after several minutes and she finally touched my arm, allowing me to lower it. She rubbed the tears off of her red cheeks and the purple rings under her eyes only worsened.

    "I'm sorry, I just...it's hard," she tried to explain.

    "I know it is," I whispered.

    She slightly turned her head towards me and stared at my bandages on my shoulder, "Is that where the Werewolf bit you?" she sniffed.

    I froze, not knowing if that was a total guess or if Matsuda really did tell her everything, "Yes, it is,"

    "Matsuda...he told me you almost became a Werewolf," her eyes were full of concern and fear.

    It was painful to bring back that memory, but if she wanted to know, I would answer, "Yeah, I-I almost did. Kai saved me, though." thank God.

    "The Vampire, right?" she knew almost everything about the extended family.

    I nodded, "Yeah. He's saved me so many times, I'm forever grateful to him." it sounded cheesy, but it was true...especially since we were engaged now.

    "You two are in love," she didn't even need to ask, she could probaby feel the chemistry between Kai and I.

    I nodded and opted whether or not I should tell her about the engagement, but I wouldn't want her telling Matsuda, not until Kai and me were ready, "Neither of us expected it, though. It just...happened I guess."

    Miku and I heard the hinge of a door squeal and Matsuda glided out of Takeuchi's room, probably for the first time in a while. He approached me and looked down at me and smiled weakly, "Kai wants you, Arisa,"

    "Just me?" I was almost afraid to go back into the room, and I didn't know why.

    Matsuda nodded and helped me into my wheelchair. Miku tried to stand up but Matsuda lightly sat her back down on the bench, "Miku, you need to stay away from Takeuchi for a little bit," Matsuda said politely.

    Miku's eyes widened and her eyebrows burrowed in anger, "I want to see him! I can't be without him!"

    Matsuda very lightly gripped Miku's shoulders and stared at her in reassurance, "I'll be back out here as soon as I take Arisa into his room. I want to talk with you more about what happened."

    Miku paused, lowered her head, and sighed in acceptance and defeat. Matsuda pushed my wheelchair until we entered Takeuchi's room and I looked out the window first, rather than the hospital bed. I've hated hospitals more than Hell since Aya died. What good do the doctors do? If they can't save a girl with leukemia, then how will they save a Werewolf who's head was nearly split into two? Kai turned around from the window, just as Matsuda had earlier and Matsuda left, shutting the door behind him.

    I finally had the guts to speak up after a moment of nothing but silence and eye contact, "How is he doing?"

    Kai sighed and shook his head, unsure, "He's still not responsive. His mind doesn't even have anything going on in it."

    I immediately jumped up from my wheelchair and tried to make it over to Takeuchi's bed with as few steps as I could. Kai reached over to me, "What are you doing??"

    I ignored Kai and draped my arm across Takeuchi's chest and buried my face in his broad shoulder, "Takeuchi, you stupid dog, wake up!" I shouted, "Miku is worried sick about you! Everybody is! Miku is here and her and your baby will be in danger if you don't wake up, you stupid head!"

    I didn't cry, I couldn't cry anymore. I had no more tears to shed, so I resorted to anger. Kai rubbed my shoulders and gently tried to pull me off of Takeuchi. I shook Kai off, refusing to end my lecture with Takeuchi.

    "Takeuchi, you need to fight! If you think you want to die just because those Werewolves were your friends or you feel guilty about telling them about me, then you're going to have a Hell of a life if you live! I'll make your life Hell if I have to!" I was playing the big sister role, "Don't think about your guilt! Just think about what you want! Don't be like me and force yourself into guilt trips!"

    Takeuchi still didn't move an inch unless I shook him. He was as pale as Kai, his skin was almost as cold as Kai, it was almost as if he were a Vampire instead of a Werewolf. He looked horrible, though. He had rings under his eyes just as dark as Miku's and he was thinning incredibly. The only part of him that moved in the slightest bit was his chest when he took slow subtle breaths. I stood up straight again and looked around him at all the different machines and IVs hooked up to him.

    "You don't even need any of this," I scoffed, "You're a Werewolf...you'll pull through..." but I was unsure of myself, "Like I already said to myself; if anybody should be dying right now, it should be me."

    My legs gave up on me and I collapsed only to have my fall broken by Kai's sturdy arms. The pain in my shoulder was pungent and it started throbbing. Kai sat me back down in the retarded wheelchair that was already making me sore.

    "I'm taking you back to the room," Kai confirmed without wanting to see me in Takeuchi's room another second.

    I glared at Kai, "Not until I see him wake up,"

    "Arisa, he's been like a vegetable for days now. Normally you would be like this over twice as long as he is right now."

    "So you're just giving up?" I scowled, "You think that just because he's in this stage right now that you can just give up? Because there's nothing going on in his mind?" I sat up broadly and my eyes locked with Kai's, "Kai Uketomeru never gives up."

    "I'm not giving up," Kai sighed.

    "Then why do you want to leave so badly? Is the guilt eating you alive?" I knew better than to say something like that, but I was absolutely infuriated with everything.

    Pain washed over Kai's face and he continued to stare at me with the same pained countenance. I knew he wasn't giving up, but I couldn't tell him that he couldn't think of an apology. He didn't know what to say to think that Takeuchi would truly forgive him...if he was ever mad at Kai to start with. He turned away from me slowly and grasped the edge of Takeuchi's bed.

    "Look, Takeuchi," Kai started out soft and quiet, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out on you, you only made a mistake. You're only a kid...so don't give in. Just like Arisa said, everybody is waiting and worried about you. Miku's endangering your baby and herself. Please, try to listen." Kai pleaded, still keeping his apology no louder than a whisper.

    There was another long moment of silence and Kai turned around to face me again, his features apathetic and dull. He turned my wheelchair around and we left the room without another word to Takeuchi and made our way back to my room. I could feel Miku and Matsuda's eyes following us as we turned the corner, unsure if Takeuchi really heard our pleas or not.

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    So, I was back in my hospital bed all hooked up on the machines and IVs and struggling to breathe with a two hundred-pound heart weighing me down. It had been another day and still nothing from Takeuchi. Miku was getting much worse and Matsuda tried to take her home, afraid she could slip into early labor if she stayed any longer, but she refused. She had contacted her parents, but told them Takeuchi fell severely ill rather than get his skull crushed by a Werewolf. Her parents approved of her stay, but Matsuda was uneasy.

    Kai and I watched the television in silence and he was lying in my inclined bed nest to me and my head was rested against his broad shoulder. I didn't think either of us were really paying attention to the the T.V. cause neither of us commented on anything or laughed during a sitcom. Niether of us were excited about this day...New Year's Eve. Tomorrow would be 2009...what a shitty start to a new year. Every now and then, Kai would peck me with his lips on my head and would play with the fingers on my left hand, despite the heart monitor clasp that still clung to me.

    "What are you thinking about?" I broke the silence.

    "Nothing, really," Kai said matter-of-factly.

    I looked over at the wall and it was five minutes until midnight. I changed the channed to the news, trying to see if the New Year celebration would cheer us up any. It was the usual looking back on the past year, what people expect in the future, a bunch of "hi mom" people. The start of another year was causing my nausea to come back and I took deep breaths to try to calm myself.

    "How often do you watch this?" Kai asked curiously.

    "Every year," I answered, "Except for last year...and maybe the year before." it seemed I quit doing a lot of things since Aya and mom and dad died.

    I held my breath as the audience counted down the seconds to the new year and the giant ball on top of a giant stick slowly lowered itself, much like what they do in New York City, or somewhere like that in the United States. The ball got lower and lower and I wished more and more that Takeuchi was awake to see this, to see the beginning of a new year. I gripped Kai's hand and waited.

    As soon as the ball touched the bottom, as soon as a "2009" sign lit up, as soon as the audience started cheering on the new year, Kai attacked me with a kiss immediately. I was confused at first, thinking he was confused, but the kiss intensified and I had no other desire than to go along with it. He firmly gripped my jaw to hold my head in place and we continued our ambitions. The heart monitor machine was going crazy as my heart sped up and my breathing sped up faster. Kai ripped off the clasp on my hand and I gripped onto his shirt after he did that and we were getting lost in the beginning of the new year, sidewinding my thoughts in a different direction.

    Kai immediately broke up our kiss by teleporting to the side of the bed and a short second after he did, a nurse rushed in. She looked a little panicked until she realized that the clamp was off. She frowned at me and sighed.

    She picked up the clamp and waved it at me, "You need to keep this on," she lectured.

    "What's the point?" I smart-mouthed while trying to catch my breath, "My heart is still beating. I'm fine."

    After another minute or two of small arguments with the nurse, she finally gave up and left my room after telling me I didn't need to wear the heart monitor clamp. Right after she shut the door when she left, Kai was next to me again on my bed in an instant and his lips hovered over mine, teasing me.

    "Now where were we?" he asked coyly with that smirk I hadn't seen in God knows how long.

    Before he tried to kiss me again, I moved my head to the right and kept staring at him, "Why did you bombard me with kisses?"

    "That's what's called a New Year's kiss," Kai emphasized the "new year's kiss" part as if he were mocking me.

    I was distracted by Kai's sudden mood swing. He was acting cheerful and normal. He cupped my cheek with his hand and rested his head on the same pillow as me so our faces were only an inch apart.

    Kai kissed my forehead, "If we keep moping around," he started below a whisper, "Then it will put too much stress on Takeuchi and he might never pull through."

    That made my heart flutter, but not in a good way. How would we get Miku under control? "Kai, we need to send Miku home,"

    "I know we do, but she's still refusing. I talked to Matsuda earlier and he said he'll take her back to our house so she can rest and Orihime can console her."

    Another long moment of silence in the new year trailed on and I turned my attention to the television again, not knowing what else to say about the situation at hand. Sure, I understand Miku but I can't convince her worth crap. Kai held onto my left hand again and examined my fingers carefully. He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed my ring finger, distracting me from whatever I was doing and I turned red.

    "What--?"

    Kai interrupted me, "What size of a ring do you wear?" he asked me curiously, "This one?" he kissed my ring finger again.

    "Um," I looked away, "I've never had that one measured."

    "I'll take you to a jewelry store sometime,"

    He...was talking about...

    "The ring," he said nonchalantly, like casual conversation. He smiled, "I'm going to get you the biggest freaking rock in the world."

    "No way, Kai. It will be too big." I frowned.

    "You're right," he agreed, "It would weigh twice as much as you." he chuckled.

    "Shut up, you idiot," I complained.

    "How much do you weigh?" he asked.

    "About a hundred and four," I answered, my cheeks flushing.

    "You're so emaciate," he frowned, "You'll make even the smallest diamond look like a twenty-karat."

    Kai's disctraction was really working. Takeuchi was still on my mind, but I was doing as Kai said and trying to make everything positive. It felt strange and a little embarrassing to be talking about getting me a ring...an engagement ring. But at the same time, I couldn't help but feel a kick of adrenaline and excitement. My whole normal human life had been thrown out the window since I met Kai, and I wouldn't take any of it back. I saviored every moment from when I fell in love with him and savior it more and more every day. I wanted to live with him, I wanted to still be with him when I die...I'd...want to see him move on when I die...