Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Scars ❯ Help ( Chapter 7 )

Last chapter probably left you wioth some questions, so...

Ok, first off, about the knife, nobody found it in the time between when Genrou threw it away and when he found it again. I'm not sure why, maybe nobody was looking at the ground very carefully, or maybe it was hidden and it got knocked out of its hiding place during Houjun's struggle with the gang. Maybe both. You can decide. I meant for the knife to show that Houjun got attacked in the alley that Genrou ran to after he'd accidentally attacked Houjun.

Second, about Genrou and Houjun's relationship, well, I haven't really had time to develop it. You can expect more development now, though, if I can just figure out how to get Genrou to realize he's got feelings for Houjun...

Third, Kouji was talking to his old friends. As you probably already know, Eiken was the name of the bandit who tried to steal the leadership from Genrou. (He shows up in episode 14, or about halfway through volume 4.)

Fourth, Genrou just has these weird snippets of the day he hurt Houjun. He doesn't really remember them fully yet, so don't worry. The angst is going to go on as planned, since I know how you're all looking forward to it.

And finally, Houjun's legs were broken by the people who knocked him out. They found out that he wasn't lying when he said he didn't have any money, and they decided to beat him up. Or something close to that.

---------Scars----------

--Houjun--

The strangest way to wake up has to be when you come almost straight out of a dream to see the person from your dream leaning over you.

"Gen...rou...?" My voice didn't want to work. Whether it was the pain that I was just now registering from all parts of my body or the surprise of having him apparently step out of my dream with me, I don't know.

"Houjun!" He looked down at me. "C'mon, Hikou an' Kouji an' me were lookin' fer ya, an' now I'm s'posed ta meet 'em at the park."

I blinked at him, only half-understanding what he'd said.

He sighed. "Just come on."

He helped me to my feet, only to grab for me as I fell back to my knees. I tried unsuccessfully to keep from crying out at the pain in my legs.

"Are ya all right?" he asked, looking worried.

"I don't think I can stand," I said, gasping a little. "I think my legs are broken." A somewhat unnecessary comment, as one was bent at an odd angle in front of me, and the other was rather swollen.

"Okay." he said, bending to pick me up. "I'll just have t' carry ya."

"Are you sure?" I asked, surprised, as he started to carry me out of the alley. "I don't want to hurt you." I just didn't like having to impose on someone like that. I hate to be a bother.

"I'm fine," he said. "We gotta get you there, an' I don' mind carryin' ya."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Don' mention it," he said cheerfully.

Silence for a few moments. He's so warm... I scowled inwardly. Since when do I think like a shoujo manga heroine? But the fact was, he was warm. And I could feel his heart beating. And I'd just had that dream about him.

And he was carrying me...

Though I felt bad about inconveniencing him like this, I couldn't help enjoying it a little.

-Genrou-

Do you know how hard it is to watch someone without looking like you're watching them while you're carrying them? Let me tell you, it isn't easy. I managed though, mostly because Houjun seemed to be trying hard not to look at me. He was decidedly pink in the face.

I wondered what he was thinking about to make him blush like that.

"Hey, Houjun, do ya mind if we sit fer a minute?"

I knew right away that this was the wrong thing to say. A guilty look crossed Houjun's face and he looked up at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I can try to walk--"

"Y' know ya can't," I carefully set him down on the ground. His face twisted briefly as, despite my best efforts, his leg bumped slightly on the pavement. "Y' can't even stand."

"Well, why don't you go ahead and get Hikou and Kouji, and I'll wait for you here," he said.

I shook my head, sitting down beside him. "It's not safe fer ya t' just sit by th' side a' th' road when yer hurt this bad. `Sides, I already told ya, I don' mind carryin' ya. Yer not that heavy." I laughed a little, and he smiled, though he still didn't seem happy about being carried.

"Well, as long as you're sure..." he said uncertainly.

"I'm sure. Anyway, this way ye'll get t' th' hospital quicker." Also, I found that I was strangely attached to the idea of carrying him.

"Okay, I'm ready t' keep goin'." I stood, stretching.

I picked him back up and kept walking.

Somewhere along the way, he fell asleep.

-Kouji-

"It's Genrou!" I said to Hikou. It was too dark out for me to see his face, but I recognized the way he walked, though his pace was slower, an I could see that he was carrying something that appeared to hinder his movement.

As he drew closer, I could see what it was.

A body.

"Oh, gods..." Hikou breathed.

But what I noticed was the smile on Genrou's face. It was a look of peace and contentment, and so I wasn't worried about Houjun.

"It's a'right," Genrou whispered as he reached us. "He's pretty beat up, but he's just sleepin', nothin' t' worry about."

I had no doubt that he was unaware of the fond expression that softened his face as he looked down at the man in his arms.

Noting the swelling in Houjun's ankle and the unnatural hang of his other leg, I said, "Well, put `im in th' car, an' we'll go t' th' hospital."

Genrou nodded and did his best to settle Houjun into the car without waking him. Houjun shifted a little, but he didn't wake up.

"I'll sit in th' back with `im," Genrou said. I smiled.

I hadn't been expecting otherwise.

--Hikou-

I drove again, which I guess was to be expected, as it was my car.

We arrived at the hospital without further incident, and as I pulled the car into an available place, I could hear Genrou gently shaking Houjun and murmuring, "Hey, we're at th' hospital,"

Houjun's eyes blinked open and he stifled a yawn. "Okay."

"Hey, Kouji, why don'cha go get one a' those wheelchairs fer Houjun? It'd be th' easiest way t' get him inta th' building."

Houjun looked at the floor of the car, slightly pink. I knew him well enough that I could guess how he'd felt about getting carried.

Kouji returned with the wheelchair and offered to help Houjun into it.

"That's a'right, I'll do it," Genrou said immediately.

I turned to Houjun. "So, how's it feel to have cute guys fighting over you?"

"What, you mean you don't know?" Houjun asked in mock innocence.

We all laughed.

Genrou ended up helping Houjun into the chair, though Houjun insisted on wheeling it himself.

-Genrou-

It was the weirdest thing. Ever since I'd seen that scar, the pull at my memory that Houjun caused had gotten so much stronger. And I couldn't deny that I was attracted to him, either.

Out of the corner of my eye, I studied him. The lined of his face drawn forward in concentration, the exact tilt of the eyebrows, the color of his eye, even the scar seemed familiar.

Though I couldn't help feeling that his hair should be some other color. And why should I think that?

Suddenly, a breeze came out of nowhere, ruffling Houjun's hair and flicking at his bangs, so that for a split second they stood nearly straight up.

In that moment, I had it, and I couldn't believe I had been so blind.

Houjun looked just like Chichiri, a monk I sometimes dreamed about, though his hair was brown instead of blue. Everything else was the same, even that scar.

What the hell was going on here?

-Houjun-

My arms were tired by the time we got inside the hospital, but I didn't say anything. I had inconvenienced enough people tonight. I could do this myself.

Once inside, there was a nurse who wouldn't let me continue to push myself. I was silently relieved.

Over about an hour of x-rays and waiting, it was determined that I had a bad break in my left leg, and that I had sprained my right ankle. Within the next hour, they had set and cast my broken leg and advised me to keep an ace bandage around my right ankle and put ice on it if I felt I needed to.

Then they sent me home.

-Kouji-

When we got to their apartment building, I turned to tell Genrou and Houjun that they were home. The words died in my throat at what I saw.

They were both asleep. Houjun's head had fallen onto Genrou's shoulder, and Genrou had leaned against Houjun. They both had slight smiles on their faces. I almost didn't want to wake them up.

Almost.

-----To be continued

First of all, I want to say that I did originally have Houjun's hair blue, but he doesn't seem like the type to dye his hair, and blue isn't a natural color in our world. If you look back, you'll see that I changed it in the first chapter, but not in the teaser. The reason why Houjun's hair was blue in the teaser? He did it on a dare, and dyed his hair back immediately after he'd gotten out of the hospital. (I needed to leave the blue in that chapter because it's the color of Houjun's hair that causes Genrou to notice him, remember?)

Anyway, thanks for reading this. I'm really sorry about the long author's notes and the wait for this chapter. It really didn't want to get written. I also apologize if this chapter isn't very good. Like I said, it didn't lend itself to the writing.

~Ambika