The Darkest Day

Part 2: The Diagnosis

Yukito tried to sit up straight for the doctor, but it was difficult. The light hurt his eyes, like needles being pinned to it, then removed. He even closed his better eye. It was becoming sensitive to the lights, too.

"Let me see your eye," the doctor commanded. Yuki hesitantly put down his hand. It hurt just to open it. There was a battle of will of sorts, him over this alien thing which refused to cooperate. They reached a compromise, the eye, opening half-mast.

The doctor barely looked at it. She saw the red eyeball and cringed good-humoredly, making Yuki feel so silly for seeking out her attention.

"Sheesh," she smiled as she wrote down a prescription. "Sore eyes."

"Sore eyes?" Yuki repeated. He's heard it. But this was the first time he caught it. In fact, this was the first time he got sick. He didn't like the feeling.

"Yes," she confirmed then smiled at him again. "Nothing serious. Here, take this every four hours," she handed him the prescription. Her scrawl was like chicken claw-marks on the soil, but he discerned the drug Garamycin, or generically, Gentamicin sulfate. "Did you get into contact with your classmates?" she asked.

Yuki shook his head. "Only To-ya…"

She nodded. "Well, I'm sending you two home. You for a week, and him for a day, to be on the safe side."

Yukito smiled at the prospect of spending the day with Touya.

"That would be nice…"

He held his handkerchief to his eye and thanked her profusely. He had his hand on the glass door when the blinding light outside sent a bolt of pain surging from the back of his eye to the back of his head. For a moment, he could do nothing but let the pain pass. "Doctor," he turned, a little worried. "Is it normal that I can't see?"

She laughed at him, like he just told her a good joke.

"Just wash your eye in clean water, son."

* * *

Touya walked Yukito home. Riding the bikes was out of the question, and a taxi's way beyond their wallets.

He tightened his hold on Yuki's waist as the boy almost tripped. He felt many people ogling them, how sweet a couple they must have looked. But he knew the truth, and the worst rumormongers could babble to their heart's content. Yuki's need comes first, he told himself.

A slight crease marred Yuki's forehead as the bright sunshine fell on his face. He hid his in Touya's chest, thankful that his best friend was there.

"Yuki, we're here…" Touya murmured as they stopped in front of the house. It took longer than he expected since he had to be very careful with Yuki.

The boy barely realized that he was home already. He extended his hands, feeling for the gate. He found it, the rusted gateway coarse in his fingertips.

"Yuki, are you sure you're going to be fine?"

"I will, To-ya… thank you for everything," he smiled. But Touya didn't see this for Yuki dared not turn and let the light fall on his face again.

"I'm gonna buy this now, I'll be back soon, okay?"

Yukito nodded, but Touya hesitated leaving him. Unknown to Yuki, he stayed behind his back, ready to help in case anything happened. He did not have to wait long. Yuki breathed in deeply, steeling himself for the journey of a few meters. As he took a step, his foot tripped on an exposed tree root. Yuki tried to right himself, but all he succeeded in doing, was turning his momentum backwards. He tried to grab hold of the gate again, but it passed through his hands.

"Yuki!" Touya almost screamed. His quick reflexes managed to catch his best friend. It all happened in a few heartbeats, but it felt like forever: Yuki falling in slow motion; him, extending his arms to catch him, falling short, then deciding to use his body to cushion the fall instead. He was acutely aware of a jagged twig near them.

Touya closed his eyes instinctively, his body braced for the worst. He tightened his embrace on Yuki as they fell on soft soil.

It was some time before he opened his eyes. He forgot himself immediately, all his heart focused on the unmoving boy in his arms.

"Yuki…? Yuki!" his eyes widened at the drops of blood on Yukito's shirt. His first thought was, 'Yuki hit the twig!'. He searched for the wound but failed to find any. A sudden move made Touya double-over. There was large gash from his wrist to his elbow.

"T-To-ya?" Yuki cried weakly. He was barely aware of anything anymore. He remembered his clumsiness, the fall… then he saw the brightening patch of crimson in Touya's arm. "Touya! You're bleeding!" For a moment, his pain too was forgotten, and he let go of his eyes, and his handkerchief, all his attention to staunching the wound in Touya's arm. Yuki held Touya's arm tightly just above the elbow. "To-ya…" he looked up, concern in his face.

Both of Yuki's eyes were closed before. But he opened them now to see if Touya's all right. Both the whites of his eyes were red, but his right eye's worse. Touya took a glimpse of it, and a white glassy patch, almost the size of Yuki's iris enveloped the pupil. He could only see the edges of Yukito's hazel orbs. As the adrenalin abated, Yuki's right eye shut by itself.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," Touya murmured, the glance of that whiteness unsettling him too much. "Let's get you inside."

<<To Be Continued>>