Weiss Kreuz Fan Fiction ❯ The Rain Doesn't Grieve ❯ 03 ( Chapter 3 )

3

 

Feelings like sand falling through my hands…

 

Omi ~ Bombay

 

It has been three weeks since our rescue.

 

Ken was still unconscious. They didn't know if he would fully recover from his head injury. Yohji has been fighting off some kind of infection; who knows what was in that accursed water? And Aya…Ran. His name is Ran, now. He was lucky not to have been crushed to death in the fall.

 

The surgeon told me I might be able to walk again, someday. I wouldn't mind so much, if I could just see the others. They won't even put me in a wheelchair, something about keeping my spine immobile. I couldn't even turn my head, but at least I could scratch my nose if I had to. I don't understand everything they had to do to me. It's too technical, really.

 

Maybe they could set up some video monitors?

 

I would miss jogging, and just walking across a room, but I don't think I'd miss being Weiß so much. At least it would be a good way to get out of that line of work, ne? Why do I always start to cry when I think about that? Damn it.

 

Maybe I could bribe someone to get me into a wheelchair?

 

No, that wouldn't do. I was scheduled for another surgery on Friday. I'd just have to wait and see. Guess that's what happens when you land on something solid when you're expecting water.

 

I wonder how Schwarz survived? And, how many? I glanced over at the dresser, at the little box holding whatever personal items I'd had on me. In it lay coiled the little gold tie chain, the button still attached at one end. That one thing kept me grounded in reality through the surgeries and the pain, and the weird narcotic-filled dreaming. He hadn't lied to me. I'd thought he was a twisted, sadistic bastard, and in the end he didn't lie, or harm any of us. He'd simply vanished without a backward glance.

 

I sighed, then grunted as soft pain spread from my back at the movement. Everything felt dull and foggy, but I could still recognize pain. Helpless tears welled up again as I contemplated life in a wheelchair. Though my days with Weiß would be over, my time with Kritiker would never end. I owed them too much to just - heh, I was going to say `walk away'.

 

The tears slid free, and I didn't bother to wipe them up. I didn't care, really I didn't, so long as my friends were alive.

 

That wasn't exactly true. I did care. Circumstances were building that would forever separate us, and there was nothing I could do to stop them. If I could walk, perhaps I could take a different road, but the prognosis did not look hopeful. Maybe months or even years down the line, but by then things would be set in stone, and my fate sealed forever.

 

He almost forgave my name. He will never forgive this.

 

I fumbled for the call button. I didn't need anything except someone to talk to, and it didn't matter who anymore.

 

The door opened, admitting a nurse and a visitor. Whenever I saw the brilliant red mane I now thought of Schwarz, but it never was; those questions would have to remain unanswered. This redhead was a woman, currently my only connection to my team.

 

I assured the nurse that I just wanted some water and some company, and both were now provided. She bowed and left us alone to talk.

 

“Manx, hello again.” I smiled up at her and held out my hand.

 

She sat delicately on the edge of my bed and took my hand in hers; they were warm, and she smelled of sunshine. “Hello, Omi. How are you feeling today?”

 

“Lonely,” I admitted, “and worried about the others. As usual.”

 

“I've looked in on them today,” she told me. “Ken's condition hasn't changed, but at least he's stable. They're actually thinking about letting Yohji out of the hospital. It seems he's fought off his illness, and won't have to be on antibiotics much longer.”

 

“That's great,” I blurted, then added, “about Yohji, anyway. And…Ran?”

 

Manx bowed her head. “Ran wants to return to Weiß as soon as possible. He's requested that his sister be cared for, with no contact. We've put her up in a nice apartment near the college. She's going to try to pick up her life, and Kritiker will be paying the bills.”

 

“That's a good thing. She deserves it.” If Ran didn't want to see his own sister, the person he had killed for, nearly died for, that meant he intended to remain an assassin for the rest of his life. That meant…

 

“Omi? What's wrong?”

 

Oh, hell, I was crying again. “It's nothing, Manx. I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed by everything, that's all.”

 

Manx looked down, gave me some privacy to get some self control back. Cautiously she asked, “And have the doctors told you anything new?”

 

“No. They haven't. They're going to try one more reconstruction on Friday, then we'll just have to wait and see. If it works, the next step will be physical therapy. But I don't think I'll be dancing for a long while, in any case.”

 

Not that I had anyone left to dance with.