Only Human... (PK, open-ish. Kira?)

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: This obviously begins in Legion, but considering the nature, rather than have two small threads, I'll just post here for one flowing thread.

ic:

Setting his pen down, he stretched back slowly as he looked up from the desk and the administrative details in front of him, pushing back his chair and making a move to stand...He winced slightly as he pushed himself up from the chair, raising an eyebrow lightly at the jolt of pain, however inconsequential it was. For crying out loud, he'd just stood up, was he getting old so quickly...?

'Jesus, maybe Adam's right. I really -am- an old man...'

He allowed himself a short chuckle at the thought and smiled, the corner of his lips curling back as his teeth glinted through the space left, sipping a small glass of rum, a particularly short drink for him, even this late in the afternoon. He'd only come in to handle some extra paperwork needed for renewing licences, mainly his liquor licence, and let's face it; Legion wouldn't be much of a club if it ended up serving Sprite to its customers without the edge they were used to. The thought elicited a short sigh as he leaned against the edge of his desk, letting a small mouthful of the spirit rest on his tongue, the flavour lingering before he swallowed it with a short breath. Leaning forward, his brow furrowed as the twinge returned...Odd, no doubt, but it wasn't the first time he'd had such pain in his back. He'd pulled muscles before, and odds are that was all it was. After all, he was Taiku; no, he was Kazuki, a man who even Death himself hadn't been able to take.

The notion made him laugh softly aloud to himself, and he summarily dismissed the discomfort as something he'd walk out of...Taking his seat again, he sifted over the next few leafs of paper and continued going through them...

A little later...

Between concentration on what he was doing and the slight heat in the office, he'd paid no heed to the mist of sweat that had begun to form on his brow, wiping it away from time to time with the back of his hand and carrying on, but what was odd to him was the fact that, as far as he remembered, he'd left the heating off in the office. Summer was coming in, and this was the time when the building would benefit from the natural circulation as well as the air conditioning...Again, thinking little of it, he carried on without concern for a few more minutes, stopping only when a particularly sharp stab of pain ran through him. Enough to make his body twitch and the pen fall from his hand, he closed his eyes and took a single, long breath, letting it out slowly before once again getting up from his seat. This time, however, it was painful just to do that, and for the first time the notion that something was wrong began to dawn on him...

But what? He'd not had so much as a cold in months, hadn't felt a single twinge or ache in his muscles, despite the gruelling exercise he still put himself through in an effort to maintain his physique and, to a smaller extent, his ego, so why did it feel like someone was taking a nine iron to him!?

"The hell is wrong..!?"

His fingertips grasped at the desk, the tips of his nails scraping the polished wood as he braced through another sudden wave of pain before he staggered towards the door, grabbing his coat from the hook on the back and bundling it under his arm. Stepping out, he half-walked, half-dragged himself along the short corridor, sourly noting at the sheer amount of effort it was seeming to take him. Sweat had raised on his brow firmly now, trickling down the frame of his face as he grasped the handrail for the stairwell, his body unreliable now as the floods of discomfort now held such force that his body was almost without feeling for a moment.

In hindsight, he'd be glad that he'd timed his way down the first half of the stairs, though his luck and timing ran out when he went to set his foot down on another one, and the inevitable jolt caused his balance to be negated in favour of gravity.

The first impact was almost face-first, and he was thankful that he was able to twist enough to put his shoulder into the path first, through a sickening 'pop' didn't bode well for him. His head still struck the solid step as he continued to tumble and, disoriented from it, he found himself awash in a haze, wondering why exactly his vision was melting away...

Actually, he wasn't wondering why. He knew exactly what had happened, considering he'd experienced it before. Almost certainly concussed from the knock, he would probably have been glad. His mind was struggling to process everything that had happened, and that included a lot of the pain. Not least from the gash opened up on his head, or the awkward positioning of his left arm...

He was able to process one thing, though, and when he heard the door from the main bar swing open to reveal one of the barstaff staring at him in a mixture of fear and shock, he could barely muster the words...

"Help..."

His eyes were heavy, and if he'd been lucid enough he'd realise that was because the gash in his head had caused a thick trickle of blood to run down over his eyelid, making it tacky to open....The last thing he could consciously recall would be the girls voice screaming through to the main bar, what she'd screamed didn't really register, but it had caused a small number of the staff, mainly security, to pile through towards him...

"Please...Help...."

[Pain Killer]

It's official, this day can't get ANY worse.

To say Pain Killer was in a bad mood would be quite the understatement, the frustration and anger eating away at him clearly expressed through the scowl on his face as he walked through Legion's clientele. Of all ways to describe the youngest Rydell, a sore loser would certainly be accurate, and it was this well-known fact that had managed to keep the other staff of Legion at bay, allowing Adam time to cool off from his loss in the tournament.

It's bad enough that big shit managed to outlast me, but for the goddamn kid to beat him afterwards...

His injuries from the fight had all but healed, but the mental damage had been done. It was getting to the point where he was seriously considering taking some time off work to relax, a concept that was starting to appeal greatly to him. With his new plan in mind, Adam began making his way towards the back of the bar, intent on telling his employer his apparently genius idea.

The idea, however, would quickly take a backseat in his mind, as a scream made its way through the club. Having been trained to react to such a thing, Pain Killer sprinted towards the origin of the sound, pushing his way through the crowd only to find his boss lying on the floor. For a moment, his expression didn't change, and one might have thought that the younger man didn't care. However, after pausing for a few seconds, Adam would kneel next to the man, his eyes trying to assess what had happened before suddenly turning to the bartender.

"Don't fucking stand there, call an ambulance!"

As far as he could tell, Adam had no idea what had happened to Taiku. He certainly didn't look like he'd been beaten. His eyes would travel back to the older man, genuine concern shining through.

"What happened?"

[Kira Karyuudo, Hikari]

"Somebody help!"

The shout was extremely odd to be shouted at this time of day, when the bar was very nearly empty. The urgency in the female's voice, however, caused Kira to look up from the small pile of opened envelopes, eyes swerving around to see one of the staff more or less tearing out from the side hall, a number of the closer security rushing in and back...along with a couple other staff members.

"It's Taiku!"

Quickly stuffing one of three acceptance letters back into its envelope, Kira scooped up the pile that also contained notices of scholarships and made her way with a quick step to the source of the commotion. While normally it was expected she should see Taiku - Kazuki - hovering over the injured, this time it was himself on the floor with someone else hunched over him. Someone rather familiar, and not just from around here. Had she been able to think straight, she would have at least come to the conclusion that it was a former Varron-Hircine student, like herself.

All she could think about at the moment was whether Kazuki was okay.

The man near Kazuki turned suddenly, though Kira couldn't see the action very well through the crowd of people in the hallway, but she definitely heard him bark the order for an ambulance to be called.

Her purse was zipped open quickly, and a few scant seconds later, she was on the phone with the operator, tremulous blue eyes shooting up as Rene jogged quickly over and pushed her way through the crowd of staff.

They didn't need a girlfriend that might just crumble at any second - despite having dragged her friend Leon out of much worse, twice - in the midst of the action, so she hung back, flattening herself against the wall as one or two of the guys inched their way passed to clear the staff back to their jobs, the few remaining still doing a good job of being in her line of sight.

Within minutes the ambulance crew had arrived with their stretcher, Kira's phone already having made it back inside her purse. Rene, having stepped back to let the men do their work with some space, pushed her forwards towards them.

Kira, free hand gripping at her opposite elbow, blinked down as a flashlight was shone into Kaz's eye. Her lips moved as she mouthed his name, but she didn't make any movement towards him, fearing at the very least a reprimand from the EMT...and if not then...well, she didn't rightly know.

'...what happened, Kazuki..?'

[( Bed time now! Surgery tomorrow. Yaaay, bye-bye gallbladder? oO; )]

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: Sorry for the slight control, folks.

ic:

Had he heard Adam coherently, he might have made an effort to respond with anything other than a groan of pain, his untarnished eye straining to see through the haze hanging over it. A lesser man would have lost consciousness by now, but his sheer will kept him at least able to acknowledge what was going on, even if the memories would be almost non-existant later...

Lacking the ability to discern the passage of time, he couldn't decide if seconds or hours passed before he found himself being tended to by people, what was happening...? When a fiery rush of the pain returned, he realised that he'd just been hoisted onto something, and in an oblique way was grateful that the flash of pain had returned at least a fraction of his senses to him...The untainted eye flickered with life again, instead of the dull, empty glaze it had shown before...Weak, though he was, to such a state that lifting his arms wasn't even possible, let alone his head, he muttered under his breath, at least, it sounded under his breath. He was trying to call out, but the words wouldn't come properly.

"My...family...."

Senseless ideologies perhaps, for a man whose only living relatives were either an ocean away or in school right now, but his head, with a gargantuan effort, flopped to the side so his gaze settled on the people he'd been hoping to see...

Kira and Rene...If Rene was here, it meant Rocco wouldn't be far behind, nor would the youngest of them, Reiko...Behind them, he strained to see, he spotted the massive figure of the newest addition to the clubs roster....

'Adam...'

Mouthing their names, the paramedics had yet to notice, though with fair reason...The movements would almost appear to be mumblings from him in his state, and as they went through the tests they did, checking his pupils and the like, the sentient fraction of his awareness picked up on something...

"...BP, 80/50, pulse 104, temp normal..."

To most folks, the ramble would have simply told them that his blood pressure was down and his pulse, for someone of his fitness, was off the charts, but closing his eyes at the remarks, he already knew what was coming.

"Kidneys?"

A silent nod from the other paramedic went unnoticed by Taiku, but he knew the reaction. He already had an idea what had happened, but right now he concentrated elsewhere, making every conscious effort to raise his arm, despite the absolute simplicity of the action ironically taking a champions resolve to do so and point towards the three standing aside as the medical team strapped him down to the gurney they'd laid him on.

"Them..."

"Them?"

"They...come too."

"Sir, we only have room for one in the ambulance."

His gurney had been hoisted, to a severe objection from him at the action in the form of another spasm of pain, and with a slow breath to stabilise himself, he nodded. "Kira..."

Spinning his head, the paramedic spoke to the small group, "Which of you is Kira?"

No sooner would she have made herself seen than she would be beckoned into the ambulance, and Taiku would reach for her hand, a slightly more urgent look on his face this time.

"Adam and Rene...Pick up Reiko and Rocco...."

The slightly strained words would sound off place, but in the circumstances it was understandable that Kira knew what he meant as she turned back to them and relayed the words, moments before the doors of the ambulance swung shut and the vehicle pulled away....


Rene's Perspective[/b]

Turning her head to the taller male, her hand immediately grabbed his as she dragged him back into the building, rushing through the main floor and out through to the staff area. Grabbing her coat, primarily for her car keys, she continued to lead the younger man out the back where her car was.

"Get in."

No requests, no looks of panic or fluster on her face, just a steeled expression remained. Her worry wouldn't leave, but the fact remained that they had to pick up two more passengers for this trip, and that wasn't going to go down too well with either of them when they heard the reasons...Rene had already called ahead to have Reiko wait on her, but the younger Akimoto didn't know what was happening. Rocco knew something had happened, as the frequent buzzing of her cellphone harked to, but time spent talking was time wasted getting there.

"He's strong. He'll be fine. He'll be just fine..."

Not so much to Adam as to herself, the words came out, shaky somewhat, belying her outward appearance, and to destroy the image, a tear trickled down her cheek as she started the car with a furious roar, spinning out of the lot at speed and towards their first pickup, Rocco...


ooc: Again, sorry for the control. So that neither of you are left twiddling thumbs, Kira gets to bridge the Legion-Hospital trip in the ambulance, and Adam gets introduced to Rocco with Rene. This way, everyone has something to do, and I think it works?

Any objections/questions, hit me up on MSN.

[Kira Karyuudo, Hikari]

Kira had her eyes solely focused upon Kazuki, and her gaze never strayed, even when the EMTs moved into her direct line of sight. She walked several paces behind as they transported Legion's owner to the ambulance, hands tightly clasping her purse and the small pile of envelopes she'd carried in.

So focused upon her task that at first, she didn't realize her name was being called out until Rene nudged her forwards.

"This is Kira."

For a moment, she turned to Rene, curious and questioning before she was ushered into the ambulance. Understanding and gratitude dawned on her face, and she nodded her appreciation to the older female. Her eyes were upon her boyfriend again, and as soon as he reached out, she had her free hand in his, and squeezed tight for just a moment.

It was obvious that Rene couldn't hear what he'd said, so Kira obligingly reiterated. "Rene, take Adam and go retrieve Reiko and Rocco."

All she had time to see was Rene nod before turning and grabbing "Adam's" hand...the person who had looked somewhat familiar was Adam...and the doors were shut. Her eyes swerved back to Kazuki's as the siren began its shrill wail.

She laced her fingers through his as the Responder continued some more small tests, like asking Kazuki for his name, the date, ordinary things to confirm that when he'd fallen down the stairs, he didn't jumble anything up.

"...Taiku..." She murmured, hesitating at first as she brought about his 'new' name for use in the ambulance.

"Taiku, we're going to give you something for your pain... I know this is going to sound rather stupid, but on a scale of one to ten, rate your pain; one being low, ten being high."

After he'd responded, there were a few more questions, just to confirm their suspicions, as the man readied the needle with the pain killer in it. The information was being relayed to the hospital even as he flicked his finger against the tube to bring the air up to the top into one bubble.

Kira switched her grip lightly, lacing her fingers through Kaz's and squeezing firmly as he was 'poked' with the needle. The few milligrams they would give him would ease his pain considerably and allow him to rest comfortably.

And Kira's soft blue eyes were still fixated upon Kazuki's face...intently flickering every once in a while, a slight and worried frown dipping her lips downwards.

[Pain Killer]

OOC: Yeah, weekends make my already sporadic posting worse. So sue me. Also, I realize this is short-ish, but I'm not too confident at writing for your NPC's.

IC:

The youngest surviving Rydell frowned deeper at the lack of a coherent response to his question, realizing the damage was worse than he had originally thought. The concept of some unseen injury having such an effect was one of the few fears Adam could relate to, as it was much more difficult to take care of an internal pain on your own. With a sigh, he stood up, glancing at the gathering crowd to make sure that Taiku had room to breathe. He had no real idea what he was supposed to do in such a situation, as he had no knowledge of any sort of first-aid, which left him with very little to fall back on. Still, the decision to keep himself from accidentally making things worse by trying to move Taiku was a good one, though as a result, he wound up standing there doing nothing, even after the paramedics came.

Kidney?

Being close enough to overhear, Pain Killer found himself confused at where this was going. In his time knowing the older man, Adam had never heard that Taiku had problems with his kidneys. The longer this went on, the more cause for concern the Rydell boy found himself having. With the EMT's on the scene, however, it seemed as if there was no reason to stick around. After all, Pain Killer was the newest one there, no doubt Taiku would need to be surrounded by friends and family, rather than his employee. Turning away, Adam was in the middle of his first step away when he heard Taiku's command, and the hand that suddenly grasped onto his and began pulling him through the bar, the events transpiring keeping him from considering the implications of this act. From the small amount of time he'd been working at Legion, Pain Killer knew better than to protest against Rene in her current mood.

Even as he climbed into the passenger seat of the car, Adam once again found himself at a loss as for what to say. Comforting words were not his strong suit, though once he saw the tear out of the corner of his eye, Pain Killer felt as if he needed to at least say something.

"He's been through worse. A little thing like this is just a setback, that's all. I'm sure he'll be fine."

The words felt somewhat hollow, and as a result, Pain Killer resigned himself to leaving things at that, remaining silent for the rest of the pickups and the ride to the hospital.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: Since Adam was a bitch and couldn't write a few extra paragraphs, I'll open in Taikus perspective, shift to Renes perspective.

ic:

His eyes were open, somewhat. Half-lidded slits that strained to see from one, and was obscured from the other. He could see the basic layout of the vehicle, vaguely, and turned his head just enough to respond to the questions the paramedic asked of him. Once the trivial ones were over, something about the degree of his pain was asked and he furrowed his brow to work out what he was asking. Of course, a moment later he understood and nodded, muttering quietly through half-gritted teeth...

"Nine...Waves make it...worse...Ugh."

Lucidity aside, his conscious thought was still limited and along with it, his conversational ability. Had his body not been in the pain it was, he might have actually noticed the needle sticking him, but between the grip from Kira and his closed eyes, he only noticed that his mind began to fog again. Quicker than before, much quicker in fact, he was able to feel very briefly that the sharpest of the pains had begun to dull, and gratefully he allowed the exertions he'd made in his injured state to put him under. His grip held her hand until he did so, but as he drifted off, he managed to steal one last look up at her, a weak smile on his lips....

'Thank you, Kira...'


Renes Perspective

The words did sound hollow, but that was something fear could do. She gave no other glance towards him, other than an occasional glance at the passenger side-mirror on the car. Thankfully, her call to Rocco had revealed his current location was much closer than the school, and with a furious spin of the wheel, she pulled into the stream of traffic smoothly, albeit with a clear sense of urgency. No words spoken, she just wanted to get to the hospital...

Still.

"Thank you...."

She didn't explain it. Adam wasn't going to win the nobel prize, but he was smart enough. He'd understand...Sucking in a deeper breath, her face calmed down from its flustered state as she skimmed the sidewalks. The storefronts were mainly cafés and a few thrift-type stores, prime Rocco 'territory', if ever something existed, and when the tall Italian was visible, she pulled the car in towards the sidewalk. Outwith his normal, effeminate demeanour, there was nothing short of a tight brow and a monosyllabic tone from the eldest of them as he nodded to Rene through the rear-view, a hand settled on her shoulder in a simple gesture.

"Go."

Again, the car pulled away without much in the way of grace or decorum, and in doing so, Rocco would turn his head to the youth who sat in the passenger seat, giving him a nod as well with a smile, veiled in worry for the Asian perhaps, but warm as only Rocco could manage.

"You'll be Adam, I guess? Taiku has mentioned a lot about you...It's a shame we're meeting under these circumstances, though."

The lilt in his voice was gone, unlike normally where Rocco would talk with a continuous 'flair' to his words, his tone was simple and straightlaced, and after whatever exchange would occur, he would remain silent as the car pelted through the traffic, somewhat recklessly, as they approached Hircine, to pick up Reiko. Unlike Rocco, however, it wasn't likely that the younger girl would have the same composure. However the pair of them tried to put it outwardly, Taiku and Reiko had grown close since her arrival in the country, and she looked up to her elder relative as if he were a blood sibling. This was not going to be easy to break to her.

Within a few more minutes, the car pulled into Hircines parking lot and Rene flew from the car, barely letting it sit into park before she exited the vehicle. Making no effort to ask the other two with her, she rushed through the main doors and into the reception area where the younger girl was sitting, her bag on her lap and a worried look on her own face...Clearly, if she'd not been informed, the abrupt removal from her class and the wait had made her think the worst already...

"Rene, what's wrong...?"

"...There's been an accident, kiddo. We need to go...."

"What -kind- of accident, Rene!? Why the hell won't anyone tell me what's wrong!?"

Sighing as she approached the girl, standing close enough to speak in a near whisper to her, she braced herself as the words left her lips, "It's Kaz, Reiko, he's been taken to hospital..."

The worry vanished on her face, replaced almost immediately by a welling-up of tears in her eyes as Rene wrapped her arms around her gently, running her hand against the younger girls head. "He'll be alright, kiddo, we got to him quickly and the ambulance got him away without any time wasted. We need to go, though, the ambulance will be at the hospital soon..."

Nodding through a few sobs, she walked with tentative steps at first, picking her pace up when Rene jostled her arm, gesturing her to move quickly as they ran back out to the car. Without wasting time, Reiko hopped into the back, and into Roccos arms as her initial reservation broke and the tears began to run down her face again...Lapsing into Japanese, she spoke indistinctly and far too fast for even Rocco, the most fluent of them in the language, to keep up...Still, he spoke slowly, almost cooing the words out as he comforted her with a half-smile on his face....

*"It's okay, Reiko. It's okay...He'll be fine."*

Had he been more fluent, he'd have offered more comfort to her, but distraught teenage girls weren't exactly easy to console...In the meanwhile, Rene had brought the car back to life again, shifting a small smile over to Adam despite her own eyes welling up as well. Not so much at her own tears, but in reaction to the younger girls emotion. Whipping the car out of the parking spot, they backtracked their route towards the hospital without any wait. The drive was a short one, thankfully, the route to the hospital was easier made through the main thoroughfares through the Marina district as opposed to the more complex route needed for Hircine, and it took them less than ten minutes to pull into the grounds and pile from the car. By now, with a hint of relief from Rene, Reiko had calmed down and composed herself, still holding onto Rocco as they walked into the building. Rene, on the other hand, had slipped an arm through Adams, walking with him alongside Rocco and Reiko.

Whatever it could be called, it was just the basic human need for support that fuelled her, and through Taikus personal faith in Adam, Rene trusted the younger male...among her own mixed impressions on him. Giving him a small look, she continued to walk with him as they entered the hospital.

The waiting room was busy, but the desk was free and Rocco approached it first, his pace quickening somewhat, in no small part thanks to Reiko leading him towards it. The nurse on duty gave the group a glance from over the top of her glasses.

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah, a friend of ours was admitted here not too long ago, Taiku Akimoto, where is he...?"

Nodding at the name, she keyed in a few things before bringing up something, skimming over it and glancing back up, "He's actually under supervision right now, they're running some tests on him. If you take a seat, the doctors will speak with you as soon as they can...."

"Tests? What's wrong with him, why can't we see him!?"

"Honey, I know you're worried, but you have to let them do their job. They're going to do everything they can for him. The girl who rode in with him might be able to let you know some more...."

"Girl who rode in with....Kira? Where is she?"

Pointing with a pen towards the seating area a short ways away, the lone figure of Kira Karyuudo sat in a small space of free chairs, to which end the group almost fell over themselves turning towards her and making their way over, calling out to her. Reiko was the first to break the group, sprinting towards the girl and throwing her arms around her and once again lapsing back to Japanese....

*"Please, tell me he's going to be alright..."*

Behind them, Rene and Rocco stood on opposite sides of Adam, not a distance away by any means, but enough to let Reiko have a piece of breathing room and to let the two girls console one another.



ooc: Yeah, guess what? Taiku's gonna be unconscious for the next turn, so you kids can pass me by for this turn. Since Adam doesn't like controlling my NPC's (though I'm sure Rene isn't outwith his personal skepticisms), Kira can have some fun with 'em until my next post.

[Kokaku Musha]

OOC: Continued from here. Bite me for abusing my not-responded-to open thread and turn it into a closed one, hope no one minds me joining in on this ‘open-ish’ thread.

IC:
Finishing his beer, Kokaku’s eyes stared at the large amount of liquor in front of him… perhaps he was just going to waste a lot of money on random drinks tonight and become drunk as hell. It didn’t matter anyway, although he had gotten here by car, he could easily walk back home and return here tomorrow to pick up his car. After that, he might check out the internet for a first class ticket to Japan and leave this mess behind. He had been scarred enough, but with a new school rising, Kokaku knew that the problems he had faced would show up for all the new students… tenfold. But what could he do about it anyway? Even better, why would he do something about it anyway? No one seemed to care about him after all he had done for his friends, for his school… for complete strangers who were in need of help. No one had showed him the slightest bit of gratitude, so why would he once more risk his own life only so others could live safe?

‘Because it’s the right thing to do...? Isn’t it…?’

To be honest, protecting others from harm, risking his own life to ensure others wouldn’t have to do that… had been the only thing that had made him sure he was different than Shoaku… If he suddenly gave up on all of that, would that mean that Shoaku might have a chance to get back out once again? Well… even if that would be the case, Kokaku would be in Japan and not able to hurt any of his friends… and the Japanese government forces acted much harsher than the American ones, so he was certain that he wouldn’t be able to reek any havoc there… His mind suddenly snapped back to the current moment as Ando received a phone call.

*”What? You’ve got to be kidding me, are you certain? That might explain why no one showed up here… What, you say his girlfriend was the only other one there? Ah well… I doubt it worries him much that they’re not here anyway… But I’ll let him know, thanks for the heads up…”*

Kokaku’s eyes looked at Ando with a slight hint of worry in them, but he wasn’t even certain what the call was about, or who Ando was going to talk to. Of course, the fact that Ando immediately turned to him and started talking gave it away slightly. With a curious look on his face, Kokaku awaited what Ando had to tell him.

*”Musha… I’ll get straight to the point, that was a call from one of my friends who was having a good time in club Legion.”*

The mentioning of the club made Kokaku’s face turned slightly less curios again and perhaps slightly defiant, but still he kept his mouth closed as he waited for Ando to continue. Ando however knew Kokaku quite well and had already anticipated the sudden change of Kokaku’s attitude.

*”Listen to me, it’s not good man… Apparently he heard a scream for help there and immediately noticed Karyuudo and that long haired graduate who now works there rush towards where the sound came from. Shortly after, ambulance personnel entered and carried Akimoto out… on a stretcher… That’s all I know man, my friend doesn’t know them well, he just frequents the place there and…”*

Kokaku was no longer listening to what Ando was saying, as soon as he was told that Kazuki was carried out his own club on a stretcher, his eyes had widened and stared right past Ando, towards the door. Within several seconds, his eyes turned back again and he walked almost through Ando as he moved towards the exit of the club without saying anything. As he arrived at the door, Ando had caught up with him and gave him his jacket.

*”It could be chilly out there… You sure you can drive man, I can take you there otherwise? No, you sure? Alright, perhaps there are still some people at the club, but I doubt it.”*

Kokaku gave his friend a nod and walked out the door and quickly ran over to his car and started the engine. He only had one beer and luckily he had been sweating a lot during his performance, he didn’t feel the effects of the alcohol at all. He quickly sped off towards club Legion. It was on the way to the hospital anyway and although he was almost certain there wouldn’t be anyone there anymore anyway, he could as well make a quick stop there. If Kazuki was brought away on a stretcher, chances were little he would be able to see Kazuki in the hospital anyway… if he was alive of course.

‘Don’t say that! Kazuki is stronger than that… Perhaps there was a bar fight… no wait, Ando’s friend would’ve heard that…’

Not sure on what to think, Kokaku arrived at the club and stopped right in front of it. Even at this time of the day there was a bouncer standing there but he quickly recognized Kokaku’s car and walked over to him, enabling Kokaku to remain seated in his car.

“Kokaku, I guess you’ve been called by Kira or something?”

“Let’s keep it at something… What happened?”

”I’m not sure man, I was outside and didn’t even hear what happened inside until the ambulance arrived. I went inside with them and saw Taiku, but he didn’t seem to have any visible wounds, so I really don’t know man… maybe poison or something, but I immediately checked out the little visitors we had but none carried anything lethal…”

“Okay… thanks man, I’ll head off towards the hospital than.”

Kokaku steered away from the sidewalk again and made his way over the hospital, wondering what on earth could’ve happened to Kazuki. His eyes were cold and dry, his mind in conflict with both worry about Kazuki as anger for the fact that no one had called him… Kira knew how close Kazuki and he once were… they were once like brothers. Why didn’t she call him? It must’ve been more than 45 minutes ago now… why did he accidentally have to find out through a contact of Ando? Kokaku had changed alright, in the past, his eyes would’ve probably be filled with small tears of fear and his mind would’ve been purely focused on Kazuki…

Finally, he arrived in front of the hospital where he had difficulties finding a good parking spot, so he parked his car a small walk away from the entrance. After locking his car, he jogged towards the main entrance and moved towards the desk where a nurse of the hospital was awaiting people with questions about their loved ones. Kokaku recognized her but that recognition wasn’t answered by the nurse as she asked him how she could help him.

“Yeah… I’m looking for Kazuki… I mean Taiku Akimoto… he must’ve been brought in here about 40 minutes ago?”

”You might want to check in with the rest of his friends and family, they’re all sitting over there.”

The nurse pointed into the direction of the seating area and Kokaku noticed a lot of familiar faces, including Kira, Kazuki’s little cousin Reiko and Rene. Shifting his head slightly, he finally understood who Ando was talking about when he said ‘long haired graduate’. Kokaku didn’t exactly knew Pain Killer, but he had learned from Kyukaku that the boy’s true name was Adam Rydell. But it wasn’t really important right now, he just strolled over to the group who still hadn’t noticed him. They were probably being too nervous about everything that went down with Kazuki right now. Since there was no spot free to sit, he just stood in front of the group with his arms crossed, asking the only logical question he could come up with.

“Kira… what the hell happened to Kazuki? What’s going on here?”

[Kira Karyuudo, Hikari]

As soon as the ambulance pulled to a stop and the doors were opened, Kira reluctantly let go of Kazuki's rather limp hand. She waited as the medics disembarked from the vehicle before climbing out herself, following with a quick stride that dissipated the closer she got to the "out of bounds" region. She longed to follow, of course, but knew without being told that she would only be in the way.

Shoulders slumping, she turned and headed to the waiting lounge, slumping down upon the chair with a sigh and a worried glance at the door before her gaze dropped to her feet, which were pointed inwards. The look on her face was forlorn, bordering on blank.

The next thing she knew - whether it was a couple hours or a mere half hour, she didn't know - her name was being called. She stood up, azure eyes searching for the person that called her. When she caught sight of the four making their way here, her lip trembled before she evened out her expression. That, of course, was just before Reiko bowled into her, causing her to take a quick step back to right herself. Kira's arms immediately surrounded her, and her chin lightly rested upon the girl's shoulders while her eyes stared at the three standing a few feet away, the expression within their depths one of bleak hope...but hope nonetheless.

*"Reiko..."* Kira said, taking a slow breath, steadying herself before speaking again. *"I can't say for sure, I don't know much more other than the fact he was in a lot of pain before the medic gave him a dose of pain killers. When they took him to the E.R., he was resting...comfortably, at least. But I know that he will be taken care of, and the doctors will come to see us as soon as they know more... But at least, now, he's not feeling all the pain he had been. That's definitely a step in the right direction, no?"*

True she couldn't explain much more than that, but at least giving it to Reiko straight would be more beneficial instead of dancing around the truth. And Rocco would have been easily able to hear and comprehend, as she spoke loud and clear enough for the words to carry those few feet.

*"Sit down, Reiko, alright? I know it's not the best thing, but if at all possible, you should work on homework. It's just a little distraction, but if it works, it's better than twiddling your thumbs and worrying..."*

The teen nodded reluctantly and plopped into the chair next to the one she'd been sitting in. Kira stepped over to both Rene and Rocco in turn, pulling them into a tight hug herself. Theirs was a rather rag-tag family, for sure, but they were family at heart nonetheless...and being close together at this time was something they could each cling to and take comfort in. Adam didn't receive a hug, but more so an appreciative nod and tremulous smile.

Within a few minutes, they'd sat down, Kira with her eyes closed and leaning her head lightly against Rocco's shoulder. Reiko seemed to work off and on, every few minutes her eyes turning to the emergency doors as they were opened and closed, whether it was to bring in new patients or not.

And it was Reiko that first noticed Kokaku.

"Kokaku..."

At the sound of his rather peeved voice, Kira's eyes shot open and she looked about quickly before they settled upon Kokaku. For several moments, she couldn't seem to find the words, and so Rocco ended up speaking up for her.

"We are not sure what happened to him. The doctors haven't even been out to see us once yet."

Kira, giving Rocco's shoulder a squeeze of thanks, finally looked straight at Kokaku. "All I know for certain is that Kazuki was in a lot of pain... The EMT suspected it was something to do with his kidneys..."

It was all she could really supply for information at the moment, and after speaking, she slumped in the chair. "I'm sorry, Ko... I didn't think to phone anyone..."

The flush that overcame her cheeks at the shame of forgetting those closest to Kazuki was bright and heated, and definitely slow to fade. The short and simple apology was all she could offer him, but she knew there was no excuse she could offer that would make her guilt-free, nor did she expect him to forgive her outright.

With a small sigh, Kira once again slumped against Rocco, though her eyes were upturned to watch Kokaku with a cautious sort of tension coiled within her body.

[Pain Killer]

OOC: Long awaited, I know. But I actually put some effort into this one.

IC:

The youngest surviving Rydell boy would give Rocco a short response in return, certainly understandable given the situation at hand. In fact, the entire ride to the hospital, Pain Killer would barely utter a word, his mind working at it's abnormally slow pace to comprehend what was going on. Taiku, the man who had managed to rival Adam's own toughness and tenacity, was hospitalized over something that he couldn't see. That fact alone was enough to warrant his fear, though the true root of his anxiety wasn't something Adam would admit, even in this company.

Soon enough, the group would arrive at the medical facility, Pain Killer lagging behind the rest as they hurried into the waiting area due to the vibration in his pocket. Scowling, he looked down at the phone as he pulled it out, noting it was his sister, who was no doubt concerned he wasn't home from work yet.

"Hey."

"Where are you? I went out and got us some nice chicken for dinner. You're gonna LOVE..."

"Mya, I'm at the hospital."

"What!? What happened? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Taiku took a bit of a tumble, so I'm just here to check up on him."

"I'm coming down there right now."

"Stay home, Mya."

"No, I'm on my way."

"Stay. Home."

With that, Adam flipped the phone closed, making sure it was off before heading inside. There was little doubt she knew he was lying, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. There was no need for more people to show up, as no doubt they'd all be sent home soon once they knew Taiku was fine.

"He's fine."

Mumbling the words to himself, Adam rejoined the group, allowing Rene to take his arm with no resistance whatsoever. Admittedly, he was at a bit of a loss as to what to say or do, especially as the mood in the air was getting increasingly worriesome, but his free hand rose to rest on top of one of Rene's in a comforting fashion, the best he could think of at the moment. The other girl from the bar was there, the one he hadn't been able to recognize at first, but as he concentrated, memories of a certain meeting with Shuya made it clear as to who exactly she was. He doubted she had any real high opinion of him, given the circumstances they'd met under before, giving him another reason for his growing desire to leave the hospital. He was neither friend nor family to Legion's owner, not that he would admit openly, and while he was certainly... concerned as to how Taiku was doing, as after all, this was nothing. Taiku was perfectly alright.

Goddamnit, he was fine!

Adam's face tilted downwards slightly, his hair hiding his eyes as they closed. The newcomer's voice, this "Kokaku", wasn't one he was familiar with as far as he knew, which meant he would get the typical Rydell indifference given to all unknown persons. Regardless, Pain Killer would listen to the conversation, not caring whether he was eavesdropping considering it was going on right in front of him. Despite it only going on for a few seconds, the conversation had already taken a turn that Adam hated, and the moment Kira finished speaking, Adam would pipe up himself, not even looking up or opening his eyes.

"His kidneys are fine, it's just temporary. The fall was all that hurt him. His kidneys are fine..."

Adam trailed off, unhappy with the fact that he could recognize those words were as much for himself as they were for everyone else. Still, he managed to keep the worry from leaking out onto his face, and that was enough for now.

[Kokaku Musha]

OOC: Tanya, if you mind the slight modding of your character, let me know and I’ll edit.

IC:

‘His kidneys? Now that seems serious enough… If someone has such an amount of pain in his kidneys there truly is something wrong… But, Kazuki going down by an infection to his kidneys? No… that’s not right…’

More harsh than Kokaku would’ve expected he responded to Kira, there was perhaps a slight hint of anger in his voice, but that would go unnoticed by everyone most probably. It was the directness with which he responded.

“Yeah well… if you didn’t, someone else should’ve…”

Kokaku mentioning of the fact that Kira hadn’t phoned him was actually more hiding the fact that he was worried about Kazuki. But still, it did bother him that no one had called him. Before he could say any more however, Pain Killer stood up and spoke quickly, saying how Kazuki’s kidneys were fine and that it was all just a temporarily thing. However, since the doctors apparently hadn’t even spoken with them yet, it was obvious that the graduate was not stating any facts, just wishes and hoped to keep his own and everyone else’s spirits up. It slightly angered Kokaku more actually. With a slightly angered look on his face, he turned back to the group that was still sitting here but as his eyes traveled amongst the group, they finally rested upon the slightly distressed look of Reiko. Kokaku’s expression immediately changed to a more worried one as he saw the young girl struggle with everything that was going down right now.

*”Reiko… perhaps you care to go for a little walk with me?”*

Kokaku’s eyes went towards Kira’s for confirmation and found them in a slight nod. However, it seemed Reiko didn’t want to go with him. *”I need to be here… I want to wait for Kazuki…”* The young girl turned to Kira, but the situation was that even though she had her homework in front of her, the young girl wasn’t really doing any of it anyway. Homework wasn’t the right way to distract someone…. *”It could take some time before Kazuki returns, I’m sure Kokaku wants to be here when that happens, so he’ll make sure the two of you are back on time, right Ko?”* Kira spoke. Kokaku gave her a nod and finally Reiko stood up from the seat and moved along with Kokaku.

*”Where are we going?”* she asked Kokaku straight forward.

*”Gift shop…”* he replied kindly.

His face was still a little worried and he knew that the young girl would rather wait for Kazuki, but Kokaku knew that it was best if she at least had some distraction. The young girl remained quiet so Kokaku decided he would talk a little to her… hopefully she would at least get to know him a little.

*”You know… I find it a pity we don’t know each other that well… Kazuki and I always were like brothers to each other… That kind of makes you my family too, no?”* Reiko remained silent so Kokaku’s smile slightly ebbed away before continuing again.

*”I wished I could’ve been more around… help Kazuki out… bring back the old days… Where Kazuki and I could be angry at each other but laugh about it a few minutes later… Where we struggled with the same problems… Where I’d get him into trouble and he came after me to get me safe in a heartbeat. Things unfortunately never go the way we plan it… the way we want it… I’m certain you of all people will understand.”*

Kokaku talked to Reiko as if she was an equal, rather than treat her like a child. Kokaku had always found there was something mature about Reiko and therefore he didn’t talk down on her. He even respected the young girl for her normal attitude.

*”I guess it’s safe to say I hate myself for not being able to return to favor… for not helping out Kazuki when he needs help… I should’ve been there… instead, I was somewhere else and get angry at one of the few people I actually care about… simply because I wasn’t there and blame her…”*

*”Don’t blame yourself… There’s nothing you could’ve done anyway, right?”*

The sudden response of the young girl came to a surprise and Kokaku smiled at her and gave her a small squeeze in her shoulder.

*”I guess not… But there’s one thing I know for certain. Kazuki has recovered from much worse than this… He’ll be fine in no time and when he does, we cannot be there empty handed now can we?”*

He winked at the young girl as they had arrived at the gift shop which was filled with balloons, cards, magazines, candy and even some plants.

*”Could you pick out some balloons for him, if I remember correctly, he’s quite fond of those…”*

Giving him a small nod, the young girl went over to the balloon stands and searched them for the balloons she found most fitting. Kokaku moved himself to the candy section and took out a large lollypop for Reiko. After that, he scanned through the books and magazines and took out a magazine about cars. He didn’t even remember if Kazuki was quite into that, but it was better than nothing.

*”I like these…”*

Reiko had returned to him with three balloons, one of a bear, one big pink hart and one yellow round balloon with the text, ‘get well soon’ on it. Kokaku nodded approvingly and took the balloons and went over to the counter to pay. After he had paid, he gave her back the balloons and the large lollypop which Reiko slowly started to eat. As soon as they would return he would ask Kira if there was any news regarding Kazuki…

[Kira Karyuudo, Hikari]

[( Not an epic post by any means... But here it is. )]

To say Kira had flinched at Kokaku's responding tone would not be a mistake. She did, but stilled quickly afterwards, eyes pointed away to show she had no desire to even attempt to placate him. She took the blame and accepted it, though now she wasn't in the mood to cajole Ko out of his own tiff. Her attention was quickly called to the other male as he stood up and rather adamantly stated Kazuki's kidneys - and the man himself - was absolutely fine.

Again, no response.

It wasn't until Reiko looked up at her questioningly that she spoke, her gaze moving from Rene and Adam to the younger girl beside her. She 'addressed' Kokaku in her statement, but her eyes were on Reiko until she stood up and walked off with him, making it clear that even though Ko nodded in response, she'd been speaking with Reiko.

As they left, Kira's gaze turned back to Rene and Adam, though there was a slight gleam of curiosity within the tempered blue orbs. She was silent for another minute or so, just watching the two as Rene had put her hand back into the crook of Adam's arms in a movement that could only be described as automatic. Comfort, it seemed, was on everyone's want-list.

Straightening somewhat, she looked at the two nearby. "I can't recall if we've met or not... Though I suppose if Rene's comfortable enough with you, you can't be all that bad." There was a light sort of teasing tone there, though it was rather tired and fell quickly. "I'm Kira... And I'm kinda curious, though... You're here because you're concerned about Kazuki, or...are you here for Rene?"

Rene pursed her lips and sent Kira a half-hearted glare, but left responding up to Adam... Kira was talking with him, anyway.

Time passed, with little bits and pieces of conversation scattered here and there, making it somewhat comfortable as they waited.

It wasn't too much longer when a set of footsteps approached, not too far ahead of Reiko and Kokaku as they returned.

Kira looked up and swallowed slowly.

It was a doctor. It was the doctor.

[Kazuki Akimoto]

ooc: Can't guarantee great things here. I'm just regaining consciousness and doing some NPCing. I'll continue from the end of Kiras post, obviously, writing as the doctor first. Lastly, this is assuming Ko and Reiko are back. Obviously.

ic:

The Doctors Perspective

His swift stride was the result of many years of experience in these halls, treating the sick and injured, and knowing that family members were difficult enough to placate as it was. Making them wait longer to know the diagnosis and any current news was just garnering trouble, not least considering a large number of his patients were students at Hircine High...

He hated that school, not for what it stood for, but for what it did to children. At the end of the day, that's all they were. They grew up faster, looked older, acted older, but however anyone could look at it, as a medical specialist, he could only see them as children, and the results often left him sickened. He'd seen people come in here with injuries he'd liken to bar-room brawls and gang-fights, but at fifteen, sixteen years old? What happened to years past when kids just rough-housed with each other, and every so often someone got hurt? These days, if he went a week without an injured high-schooler, he considered it a good week.

How sad it had become....

This young man he'd been treating, however, he wasn't one of the Hircine mob. His records hinted to something much, much worse, however. A former Varron student. Varron Academy, in New York.

The Varron Academy, in New York. The very same one that had been 'closed down', after student riots. This young man was one of those who'd gotten through that school. However, going by the damage he'd surveyed in his inspections, Dr. Maryei knew this young man hadn't gone through high school unharmed. Quite the opposite, it would seem. His injuries were more serious than he'd expected, considering the initial diagnosis, and it had taken extra care to stabilise him given the circumstances. How this young man was still able to function normally......

Shaking his head, he focused himself on speaking to the small group that had congregated in the reception area, knowing that they'd need answers when he arrived. The 'tap' of his footsteps was quiet enough in the halls, patients occupying most rooms but asleep or sedated in some capacity or another, and he swiftly spun into the stairwell, almost gliding down them. He'd be able to manouvere his way through these hallways blindfolded and half-asleep these days, considering the amount of times he'd done the latter on-call, doing it blindfolded would just be an extraneous challenge...

He allowed himself a momentary smirk before he composed himself, putting on a neutral face and stepping through the swinging doors into the reception and walking up to the group.

"Hello there. My name is Dr. Maryei. You will be Mr. Akimotos family and friends, yes....?"

He spoke with a hinted accent at his Indian origins, hailing from Sikar, he'd been lucky enough that missionaries had taught him well enough in English for him to be eager to learn further, and as so many of his kinsmen did, eventually go on to study in the United States. He'd long since brought his family over, each of them honest workers who had found gainful employment in some capacity or another, and now worked solely to fulfil a passion that had yet to diminish in him. He hated some aspects of what he had to do, but he truly loved being able to help people, and even more than that, his ego enjoyed the opportunities where he could tell families and friends that their loved ones wouldn't be dying on this day....

After the expected nods and monosyllabic agreements with his remark, he spoke on, slowly of course, to prevent his accent accidentally causing confusion. It was unnecessary for him these days, his accent was now just that, with no affliction on his words, but he didn't chance it in any case.

"Is everyone here....?", he glanced around, waiting for nods from the group, before turning and flicking a hand for them to follow him as he began to speak calmly, "He has a massive amount of internal injuries from the past, going by the scarring we picked up on in our examinations. His liver and kidneys in particular are only functioning at around sixty percent of their normal capacity each, on average. This, in turn, puts an additional strain on the rest of his organs. He is a lucky young man, I admit that. His physical fitness has done a lot for him there, though if I am truly honest?"

He paused as they waited for an elevator to drop to their level, giving a very straight look at them. "The fact he has been able to move around at all is, frankly, nothing short of a miracle. I can only wonder how fit he might have been before he took these injuries. He is a strong man, a fighter in all senses of the word, but what he might have been before, I can honestly only begin to imagine.". It was both a personal musing and a medical observation by the Indian man...He'd been the initial point of contact for Taiku on his admission and had done the majority of the headwork on the young man, and with the exception of the current results, everything else for the young Asian was either bang-on the medical expectation or the barest of fluctuations outwith.

His own personal interest cast aside a mere moment later, the elevator arrived and the doors opened. Dr. Maryei stepped in first without continuing and waited for the others to do so before he continued, clipping the appropriate button and waiting for the doors to close before continuing, "He has suffered from acute kidney failure, and shows signs of his liver doing the same in turn. However, both are quite treatable with care and control. It is just fortunate, in a morbid manner, that he should take the turn that he has. If he had continued as normal, I could not guarantee he would have been so lucky a few months into the future. We have had quite a scare with Mr. Akimoto, but with what we know, we are confident he will make a swift recovery. The extent of the scarring on the organs however, is severe enough to warrant concern, but we will see how he fares after recovery before I opt to make any further decisions on that."

The elevator came to a halt, the dull 'bing' of the doors before they opened causing something of a mild cram through as the group made their way into the halls and Maryei took the helm again, gesturing for them to carry on with him.

"Right now, he is resting. Just before I came down to speak with you, he was showing brief moments of consciousness despite the anaesthetic, but seems to be in little to no pain. Do not expect great conversation from him, and please try not to ambush him right now, or I will limit you to one-at-a-time visits. Otherwise, you are free to go ahead."

Stepping in front of them, he walked into the room first and made the doorway clear for the others to follow him into Taikus room, giving a pace around the bed and stopping at the machines that sat at the side of it, paying his main attention to the EKG and noting no abnormality before giving a friendly look to the young man.

"Is everything alright, Mr. Akimoto...?"


Taikus Perspective

"....Yeah, doc....Everythings fine.....", he spoke with a laboured breath, not through struggle, but because the anaesthetic had yet to fully wear off and was proving quite effective at making him drowsy. Blinking through the fog, he gave a nod and a short smile before Maryei turned and gestured towards the end of the bed. Following the motion with his eyes, he smiled slightly wider at seeing the familiar faces there...

"I assumed you would like them to be here when you came to. If you need anything, you have the button there." Just remember, though, the other one has is linked to a morphine pack. Try not to confuse them?"

"Yeah, I'll try my best. But, hey? If I can't get a hold of you, at least I'll feel really good about it....?"

He snorted to himself, somewhat stilted by the weakness he felt at the moment coupled with his dislocated (and now, thankfully, relocated) shoulder, at the lousy joke he'd made before Maryei gave him a nod and tapping his left wrist lightly. "This one calls me. Go easy on that morphine, it will just put you to sleep again...."

"Thanks, doc."

As Maryei returned a warm smile at the young man, he walked away with a quick glance to the others before slipping into the halls. However much he liked the patients who didn't dwell upon their ailments with a doomsday perspective like some he had, he couldn't favour one of them over another. Pushing the door shut loosely behind him, he left the group to their own devices. Making somewhat pained efforts to bring himself up to a 'sitting' position, he gave up when he was half-way there, settling to at least not be flat on his back in front of them and gave a short smile.

"Hey, guys....Sorry I worried you all....."

He noted, with the most obvious hint of surprise, that Kokaku was here as well. With the exception of Rocco and Reiko, the only others here had been AT Legion when things had happened. However, he was….glad. Glad to see a familiar face, and glad to see that even when the chips were down, he could count on an old friend to show up sometimes.

His eyes shifted to Kira, and though he tried to hide it, there was a definite remorse in his eyes that she had been witness to all of this. Not due to a machismo in his ego by any means, but frankly, who wanted to see their partner suffer injury? Really?

Giving a milder smile, he gestured with his un-pinned arm --his dislocated shoulder had been restrained for security at present, not to mention used for the IV they’d stuck him with-- for them to grab seats, be it on the bed, in the chairs that littered the room or whatever.

“So, uh….Everyone alright….?”

Probably a stupid question, even more so given his current place and position, but it was better than sitting in silence. His eyes shifted between them, looking for the one to open his mouth first.

[Pain Killer]

Pain Killer's eyes opened as he was addressed, looking towards Kira as she admitted her lack of recognition towards him. Normally, being forgotten so easily would have considerably soured Adam's mood, but given the circumstances the thought didn't even register in his mind. All things considered, however, the question still threw him off guard, and when it became obvious Rene wasn't going to answer for him, the youngest surviving Rydell forced out the first reply he could think of.

"I'm here because he asked me to be. I don't really have a better answer than that."

It wasn't much, but it was the honest truth. The rest of the conversation would mainly be between Kira and Rene, as Adam had little else to add. The longer things went, the more anxious the Rydell boy was becoming, his body demanding he do something to relieve himself of the building nervous energy. Just as he was about to storm out of the hospital and head to the gym, however, the doctor made his way to the now-complete group.

Following the man along with everyone else, Adam listened intently to the doctor's explanation, though the way he never looked towards any of the gathered group may have suggested otherwise. The way Taiku lived was what was continually doing the damage to him, that was what Pain Killer got from the doctor's words. The drinking, the occasional fighting... he must have felt it through it all, but hadn't adjusted his lifestyle at all. He hadn't told anyone about it, either.

Hadn't even told me, when we were fighting...

Frowning deeply, he followed the group out of the elevator, lagging behind though still able to hear the doctor as he continued, giving a nod in response though the man wasn't looking towards him. Even as socially awkward as he was, Pain Killer knew better than to bombard Kazuki in his weakened state, despite the frustration he was feeling at the moment. He followed the rest of the group to the room, standing just inside the door once the doctor left. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe, allowing the others present to talk to Taiku first. After all, they were the friends and family, not him, and to be perfectly honest, he was doing his best to bite back his anger at the moment.

[Kokaku Musha]

OOC: I’ll warn this probably will be short since there’s not too much to say just yet.

IC:
Kokaku’s small smile towards Reiko disappeared once the two returned to the group. Almost immediately upon his arrival, another individual arrived. The doctor who apparently had been treating Kazuki. The doctor first confirmed if everyone was here before he indicated everyone to follow him. Kokaku was at the end of the pack, yet he caught every word the doctor said. He knew most of the things the doctor spoke of and it was a big relief when the doctor ensured them that Kazuki would be alright. It was good news and that was all Kokaku wanted to hear. With a small smirk on his face, he waited in the elevator along with everyone else until they arrived at the correct floor.

‘He’s going to be alright! That’s a great thing to hear, to say the least! I guess I might’ve worried too much… and I’ve probably been a little too harsh on Kira… it’s not her fault… right?’

As they arrived at Kazuki’s room, Kokaku quickly slipped towards Kira and gave her a small squeeze in her arm as he whispered to her kindly.

“Kira… I’m sorry for earlier… I shouldn’t have… acted like that… I apologize…”

After that, he simply followed everyone inside, towards the bed where Kazuki was resting. From what he heard, Kazuki was indeed going to be alright, he was witty as ever. Leaving Pain Killer behind at the doorpost, Kokaku positioned himself behind Kira. Being quite tall, he could see Kazuki’s face perfectly anyway. It was fun to see the surprise on Kazuki’s face as he noticed Kokaku, who responded Kazuki’s gaze with a friendly nod. As Kazuki stated his question, Kokaku waited patiently for anyone else to say anything before talking himself.

“We’ll, I’m doing better than you at the moment, that’s for sure… you gave me… us, quite a scare there ‘oniisan’… But I’m glad to see you’re doing better than I feared you would…”

Kokaku couldn’t really muster to say more, he knew how much Kira would probably want to talk to Kazuki so he grew quiet again, allowing the woman to speak next…

[Kira Karyuudo, Hikari]

As soon as they were up and moving, Kira seemed to go onto "auto-pilot". She followed, listened and nodded at the appropriate times, but that was about the extent of it. She stewed over what the doctor had said about Kazuki's condition, wondering if he'd known... And if he did, why he didn't take more care of himself? When they stopped, Kira's eyes seemed to regain focus, swerving to the side even as she turned her head to see Kokaku and hear his murmured apology.

She nodded lightly, lips twitching in a portion of a smile before she filed into the room with the rest of them. Rene hung back near Adam, either unable or unwilling to admit and bow under the pressure they'd all been feeling since Kaz had been discovered at the bottom of the staircase in the club.

Rocco, either immensely relieved or temporarily covering up his seriousness, flopped gracefully into the chair beside the bed, a leg coming up to rest an ankle on top of the opposite knee, his arm slung across the back of the chair.

Reiko, balloons in hand, hopped up on the bed with a relieved smile and Kira moved to stand beside her, a hand resting upon the young girl's shoulder. She squeezed gently which caused Reiko to look at her, to which Kira smiled slightly, silently telling the girl things - for the most part - were just fine now.

Kokaku seemed to have the most need to speak up first, and she let him, slipping over to sit on the arm of Rocco's chair. Or she had, until a soft "tch" from the older man was heard, followed by a slight rustle as he shifted - putting his foot flat upon the floor - and tugged her to sit on his knees. Kira glanced back, her raised eyebrow met with one of his own. The arrangements seemed suitable, for they seemed to relax somewhat.

But instead of Kira speaking next, Rocco spoke up, the seriousness of his voice matching his suddenly-changed expression. "You give us another scare like this, Kaz, and there won't be a shot to wake you up again..."

It was obvious to at least three of the people in the room what was meant - aside from the intended target - but the other two might have been a wee bit confused. Nobody intended on making anything clearer for them, however.

"But...we're glad that this time...you're okay." Kira finished, knocking off some of the sting from Rocco's words. She was not as obviously shaken as she had been back at the club, but there was a small bit of lingering tension that most likely wouldn't go away until he was discharged from the hospital's care.

[( Short? Most likely. =X Don't know what else to do. )]

[Kazuki Akimoto]

"Heh, yeah...."

Half-smiling, somewhat embarrassed at the notion, he grit his teeth and groaned quietly as he shifted himself again, this time actually making it into a properly seated position, even with his injured arm restrained. It did pain him to know he'd worried them all, and the fact he'd known all along, from the very first time he'd collapsed back in Varron after a tournament, only served to increase the guilt in him. What would it really have taken for him to be more careful about things, and see a doctor once in a while?

'Not all that much, most likely...'

The thought was sour on his mind, and he pushed it away quickly as he shifted his focus to Rocco as the large Italian spoke, causing his eyes to narrow at the mention of his previous...of before. He had no concern with anyone in this room knowing, with the stoic exception of Reiko. She would not know what he had done. Never, in this life, would he ever allow her to know that horrible thing he had done, for the sake of another, darker, thing from the past. Adam knew, in a round-about way, that much was obvious. He'd actually found him in San Francisco based entirely on a slip of the tongue by Tyler, so all that remained unanswered to that was the specifics on things.

His fists tightening, he winced as his restrained hand grated painfully against the IV with the flex of the muscles, pulling the needle against his nerves uncomfortably. Relaxing it out, however, let it fade out, and he sighed quietly before speaking.

"Again...I'm sorry. None of you needed to be worried like this, I mean, I never thought it would get this bad...."

Sighing again, he shook his head and started again, turning his attention to Kokaku as he began to explain. After all, he'd have to, one way or another...

"You remember that incident back in Varron, when we had trouble with Flint?"

Waiting for the inevitable nod from him, he continued on, "During that entire episode, one of his lackeys managed to knife me in the confusion, got me twice in the back. I recovered from that, eventually, but it seemed that the guy'd managed to catch me worse than initially thought. I collapsed during a tournament in Varron, doctors managed to work out what had happened, but by then the damage was already done."

Looking down at his lap, he spoke without looking directly at anyone now, concentrating on getting what needed to be said, said.

"It's a permanent injury, it always would have been, so I just...did the best I could to go through it rather than let it govern my life. It was my body, I knew what it could take, right....?"

That last remark left his lips with a touch of bitterness in it, but he carried on, "Whatever...It didn't matter, so long as I was able to maintain my position when it was needed. It might have been my health, but there were other people who counted on me as well, and I couldn't just let them down, so I fought through it, both physically and figuratively, since then. I guess I didn't expect it to catch up on me so harshly."

Shifting his eyes to Adam, who though he hadn't directly looked at, Taiku knew he'd been glaring at him subtly since walking through the door. His tone shifted as he spoke towards him, "Would you like to say what's on your mind, instead of looking at me like you want to lynch me?"

He knew fine well what would be on the young mans mind, but rather he say it and get it off his chest now, where it could be addressed, than it fester and play on his thoughts more than was needed. Inadvertantly, it would most likely cause eyes to shift towards Adam, and certainly Rene, Reiko and Rocco all turned slightly to look towards the monolithic youth for whatever he might respond with.

[Pain Killer]

Adam's attempts to hide his anger were apparently in vain, as the bedridden man decided to call attention to the recent graduate. Feeling suddenly thrust in the spotlight, Pain Killer's frown deepened, momentarily hesitating due to the doctor's warning earlier. As he continued to glare at Taiku, however, that moment would quickly pass.

"Well, I didn't want to feel left out from keeping secrets from people, but since you asked so nicely, I suppose I'll say it."

The bitter sarcasm in his voice would be hard to miss by anyone, even considering the condescending way the Rydell boy spoke to most everyone on a regular basis. His hands clenched the material of his trenchcoat, a subconscious effort to relieve the pressure building in his head as he spoke.

"I wanna know what your plans were. Were you just going to let me kill you one day during one of our fights, since just one unlucky punch would've ruined everything? Or did you think so little of me that I couldn't even come close to hurting the great Taiku?"

Adam didn't move from the doorway, and his glare never left Taiku as he spoke, his attention entirely focused on the older man. He wasn't an eloquent speaker, and had no desire to move around in order to keep his audiences attention, those sort of 'tips' were things he never paid attention to. Instead, he was shooting from the hip, as the saying went, making whatever points came into his head as soon as he thought of them. It was because of this that Pain Killer was able to make mention of his next point, a fact that he would never have said in public otherwise.

"I trusted you. You said before that I'd given you a good fight. Was that a lie, or did you just not care about what happened to yourself? I never wanted your blood on my hands, too."

His voice had quieted, before finally trailing off, his glare shifting to an almost demanding look as he waited for Taiku's answer. It didn't matter what anyone else said at the moment, as Pain Killer would only want to hear it from Taiku's mouth.

[Kokaku Musha]

Kokaku frowned slightly as Rocco and Kira spoke after him and his attention shifted from the two back to Kazuki. He wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but Kazuki would probably know that. He would also know that Kokaku was through with just being okay whenever people wanted to hide things from him, but before he could open his mouth to speak, Kazuki cut him off by speaking first… explaining what exactly was going on. When Kazuki mentioned Flint, Kokaku quietly nodded, indicating Kazuki could go on. He let Kazuki finish before he answered.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t believe you, Kaz… I’ve always made sure you knew you could count on me… was it so difficult to rely on me? To call for my aid? I mean… how cocky can someone be to intentionally risk his own life, only so he doesn’t have to rely on people?”

Kokaku’s body shook slightly from the anger… Did Kazuki think he was too weak to help him? Kokaku had proven to be a strong warrior a dozen of times, why did Kazuki not see that he shouldn’t have taken on such a load by himself? Kokaku had been bored… saddened by how no one needed him… and now one of the few people he actually cared for deeply tells him that he had too much on his hands… that he was injured and still did a lot more than Kokaku did… How come didn’t Kazuki ever once asked Kokaku to help him out? Not once?

~Just face it… you’re useless…~

Kokaku refrained from saying more about his anger, but his hands had clenched into fists when Pain Killer spoke up, the same anger that Kokaku felt was noticeable in the man’s face… It seemed that Kokaku wasn’t the only one who angered himself over what Kazuki had just told them… It seemed Pain Killer too felt… bad about the way Kazuki had acted. In any other situation, Kokaku would’ve told the other youngster to shut up and let Kazuki rest… but in this case, he was all the way with Pain Killer. Turning his attention back to Kazuki, he awaited a response to both his as Pain Killer’s questions, not even noticing the other people in the room…

[Kira Karyuudo, Hikari]

[( Sjoerd, I thought Kokaku was aware of the whole Kazuki-dead/Kazuki-revived thing... oo; Maybe not the finer details, but at least that it happened. )]

Kira wasn't sure just what to make of the mess that had come up out of this situation...and as much as she wanted to glare and shout at Kazuki herself, she kept her mouth carefully closed. After all, there were other people in the room, too. And Kira knew that the sullen youth that Kazuki had addressed wasn't the only one wanting to give him a piece of their minds...

And while Kira could understand that something like this wouldn't have been on Kaz's top list of things to tell her, he wouldn't have forgotten it so easily, or for very long. She wasn't going to address her feelings on the matter with everyone else here, but one way or another, Kazuki would be told, in no uncertain terms, how she felt about being left in the dark on it. Neverminding that both Rene, Rocco, and Reiko were in the exact same position as herself...but there was supposed to be a bond between them that should have allowed him to at least let her know about something like this beforehand...not after something like this happened.

Heaving a rather disgruntled sigh, Kira stood from where she was sitting on Rocco's lap and proceeded to pace around the room, her facial expression showing she wasn't pleased about how things were...but her resolute silence showed she wasn't going to address things here and now. Later, perhaps, when most everyone was cleared out of the room so she wouldn't feel bad about asking for a few minutes alone with Kaz...

She would let those around her speak...let them vent their frustrations and discontent and she would save hers for later. Her feet tapped upon the hard floor as she strode about the small space like a caged tiger before she finally came to a stop at the window and looked out of it, blue eyes taking in the sights outdoors with her arms crossed behind her back.

She muttered softly, but the only words that someone close enough to make out wouldn't add up to anything definite, just small snippets of words and phrases that weren't really connected...but having everything to do with the situation at hand and her feelings on the matter.

[( Short, don't care. I've no clue what to do. )]