The Broken Heart - Part 1
Author: 
emmachase
Requested by: No One
Title: The Broken Heart - Part 1
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Not really sure... happy... but angsty... ish?
Pairing: OkaJima
Summary: When Keito discovers Yuto, who's been shut away all his life, what happens when he helps him come to terms with his past?
Notes: This story is REALLY LONG..... IM SO SORRY..... T_T I just kept writing and thats what came out! T_T
Beep…beep…beep
It’s always been dark here… it’s always been this way, for all my life I’ve sat here, waiting for someone to come, but they never do. My legs ache and pain has been my only comfort these last years. I’ve spent all my life sitting in this hospital bed, but these…
are not my injuries.
Alone in the sterile white room sat a boy no older than 18, he was dressed in the typical thin surgical gown, his eyes were dull, staring at the wall. There was exactly one tube extending from his arm, an IV not yet needed, and there was exactly one sling above the bed, prepared but unused….
“This way…” A voice would come from outside the white room, as usual and a procession of men would walk in to look at him, stare at him as if he were nothing more than a tool, which to them…. He was.
The men would usually be followed by somebody the boy knew to be his benefactor, somebody different than the rest, and he would usually arrive in the wings of men in white, their coats would sway as they brought that person in and they’d nod to each other as they proposed ways to cure this person’s illness, but they always knew that they’d never touch him……
When the door to the room closed, there could be a few moments pause, before a single sound came, a ripping of paper as more than a few million yen flew from one bank account to another, and the next sound would be the boy, screaming uncontrollably as the men in black and his benefactor walked out….
It’s dark here still… and that’s just how I want it, they keep telling me that they’d prefer the light to see my injuries, but that’s just what I want to avoid. They tell me that if it hurts, they can increase the medicine, but that’s also what I want to avoid. It hurts just enough to tell me that I’m alive, and now, that’s all I’m holding onto….
“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Akiyama.”
“As it is with you, we welcome you back, if our schedule permits.”
A single man, dressed boldly in an expensive designer suit with a cane to match bowed as the procession of men walked out. He turned now to go back into the depths of the small building he ran as a clinic, the small basement passage that no one knew about except for him and a few select others. The small room where the boy was still screaming opened now and he watched as the doctors treated his nephew for a broken leg and a stab wound. Now that the doctors had gotten an accurate measurement of the boy’s pain and injuries, they increased the pain medication through the IV and the screams quelled until the boy sat there in silence, his head a daze of medication and pain.
“There there Yuto…. You’ll be okay… like you always are…. Right?” He’d ask, knowing full well the answer.
The tall thin boy would always look at him, the same hollow eyes that always stared back, and he’d nod obediently.
I wish I was never born, but these injuries are never enough… they’re never enough… I can remember the day I found my… blessing… those men that came into my home… and murdered my family…. I hid alone in my little closet, not daring to move an inch for fear of making a sound. I heard two shots, one, as my mother fell to the floor, and two, as my father followed. The fulfillment of a debt completed. I ran outside as soon as I heard the door shut, and ran to my mother. Her smile was unlike anything I’d seen before…I held her hand steadily, her body quivering with every breath and I prayed and hoped that she’d be okay. I wanted to share her pain, to lessen it for her, and as I prayed, my wish came true….
In an instant, her wound was gone, and instead, a hole appeared in my stomach, blood rushing through my clothes. I don't remember what happened after that, except that the floor had never been so comfortable….
I woke up here after that, and after a small talk with my mother, my uncle took over as my provider, or rather I became his provider. From that point on I’ve never stepped out of this clinic…
This was the operation run out of Kurobikari Clinic, for more than eight years now. “Special patients” would come in to see Dr. Akiyama, patients with more money than one could imagine. They’d come to see him because they were promised a short and quick way to recovery, a harmless, painless way to absolute health. They would come and be seen, and then they’d be brought down to the basement to see him, Yuto, the boy who was to be their salvation.
It was quite simple really, those that wanted their pain gone, would come, and if accepted, they would be “scheduled” for a procedure. They’d come and visit the clinic once, just once, to visit Yuto in the basement, and he’d take on their injuries, their illnesses, and while the “Special patient” walked out of the clinic perfectly fine, he would bear the brunt of their recovery, their pain. As soon as one set of injuries from one person were fully healed, another came in, and Yuto was in constant torment. He had suffered through more broken arms and legs than he could count, he had bled more blood than he had in his body a thousand times over from so many stab wounds or shrapnel wounds.
I shouldn't move my leg…. But I cant help but try… it hurts…. But that's all I have….
Yuto lay alone in the bed, the dark room filtered with small beams of what little sunlight managed to sneak past the blinds. His body was wracked with pain and the deep breaths he was taking made him seem as if he were gasping for air. The IV line was flowing now, providing enough nutrients to keep him alive… and the sling was home now to his leg, fractured and still slowly healing.
The doctors that came to see him seemed to know that he was lying whenever they asked about his pain, but they were far too blinded by the money in their pockets to care. They’d come to see him, to make sure their cash cow was still alive, and then leave…
A month passed, and Yuto healed, just as he always did, perfectly well, with no scars and no trace of any injury..
“Are you ready for the next one….?”
Yuto nodded to his uncle, and the man smiled as he encouraged the boy with the same false and hollow compliments he had heard for the last few years. He prayed that this time there would be something severe, something that would end all this…. but he knew there wouldn't be…. This was the “love” his uncle showed him, giving him more and more intense cases of pain taking him to the brink of death only to be pulled back to life….
“This is the next patient, Hayashi Ryo, multiple gunshot wounds in slow recovery broken arm with collarbone fracture, all events from a shoot-out brawl located in the lower district, no signs of infection and injuries are healing slowly.” A white coat read aloud to the room.
“Yuto… I know we’re rushing it this time, since you haven’t had time to fully recover, but… we’ve got to do this one okay? it’s time….”
If only…
The young boy extended his hand reaching for the man who sat in the wheelchair but just as his hand made contact the door slammed open as a wave of military green swarmed in, guns at the ready.
“Akiyama Atsushi, you are hereby under arrest for tax evasion and money laundering as noted by federal statue. Furthermore, you are also being investigated for multiple violations of human rights violations to which you may address at a later time. Your properties have been seized for investigation and a warrant has been issued for your arrest. You are to cease all business transactions until the nature of your business has been thoroughly investigated and surrender yourself to the federal government.”
The man recited as if he were reading from a royal edict, the gun found its way pointed straight at the quivering suited man’s heart.
“That…. That… this is unacceptable! He said I had another week to pay before he would report me! This is unacceptable!”
Yuto watched as his uncle was subdued by force with a swift blow to the back. He sat in bed quietly his body frozen as the men that were around him were being arrested and taken out.
“Do not worry, as a patient your care will be handled by the Okamoto Hospital Corporation who will assume responsibility for this clinic and its inhabitants. A doctor will be in to assess you for transfer to the hospital.”
Yuto sat still, his eyes drifted down to the ground as he laid back onto the bed and waited, as if nothing had changed. A few hours later he awoke to find his room considerably brighter than he remembered and beside him sat a boy who clearly had dozed off. He wondered what would happen to him, but he knew it didn't really matter, the minute anyone found out about his abilities, his life would be like this again…. And so he sat patiently, waiting as he stared at the small picture that was hung opposite the bed. It was of a small flower taken up close with breathtaking clarity as to the small stalks that rose from the center. He had become so familiar with the picture he knew if given the chance he could draw it from memory, but still everyday he stared at it, observing it as if one day it would change and tell him something different.
“A-Ah you’re awake…”
Yuto turned to see the boy groggily rubbing his eyes. He bowed timidly and nodded.
“I’m Okamoto Keito, I uh… I hope you don't mind that I opened the blinds a little and that I… uh… fell asleep in your room….”
Yuto shook his head.
“Uh-Uh….. th-the doctors have already checked you out and they say that you’re perfectly fine and they don't see any reason for you to be here……so … i-if you’d like you can go home…” Keito offered.
Again, Yuto responded with a shake of his head.
“C-Can you…speak?” Keito was beginning to get nervous now.
Yuto stared at him for a moment, his eyes looking deep into the older boy’s and he closed them now as he opened his mouth
“Yes.”
“Whats your name?”
Yuto returned to the flower again, his eyes hollow again. Even though his beautiful soft brown eyes were lit now with the sun, they seemed…. Meaningless now, still so dark…..
“You can tell me…. you know… I… I don't mean you any harm… u-uh m-my family owns the Okamoto Hospital Corporation, if-if you’re worried. We wont release any of your information to the public…”
Again Yuto shook his head.
“A-Ah… I.. um… I stayed behind to ask if you were okay, to see you out of the hospital before they close this place down. Many of the patients have already left in the ambulances….. do you… need um… treatment for anything?” Keito asked, trying to remember his responsbilities.
Yuto shook his head still.
“Do you…. Have a place to go?”
And though Yuto didn't move a single muscle, Keito sensed the answer and he stopped his movements, setting his bag on the chair he had fallen asleep on.
“What… are you doing in this place?”
Yuto turned to look at him, his piercing hollow eyes caught Keito’s and shook the boy to the core.
“Home.” Yuto spoke softly, not sure if he really meant the word he’d just uttered. Was this place… really his home?
“You… live here? What?! H-How can that be? What…. I-I mean how… did you get here?”
Yuto didn't answer, instead he returned to the flower, his eyes disappearing again.
Keito stood there, exasperated. Not entirely sure what to do. He stared at the boy in front of him, his beautiful milky white skin seemed to radiate with the sun and those beautiful brown eyes had made him quiver with a single glance, but even with all this…. this boy was so… lonely…. He was so far gone from this world….
“Uh… l-let’s get out of this place okay? We’ll move you to the hospital first, then we can go from there right?” Keito offered as he packed up his things.
Yuto never moved. His eyes never waivered from the picture before him and Keito stopped again.
“Cmon, let’s go.” Keito grabbed Yuto’s wrist and pulled the boy to the side, the minute the slender boy’s legs touched the ground, he crumpled to the floor, his body was still weak from his last “procedure”, but Keito didn't know that…. and Yuto didn't expect him to.
“A-Ah! I’m so-so-so-so-sorry!” Keito instantly sprang to help Yuto up, and while he had managed to help him back onto the bed, he took a step back now, more worried than ever.
“Can you… please… talk to me?” Keito asked, pleading now.
These were the words that caught Yuto’s attention. No one in so many years had asked to hear his voice, much less care what he said. He looked at the boy kneeling on the ground, dressed neatly in the suit. A small pin on the collar of his jacket bearing his family name glinted against the already brightly lit room.
“I’m….. sorry.” Yuto said, as he moved forward now of his own volition, his legs were shaky and his body frail, but he managed to stand on his own and as he took his first step…. He nearly fell backwards.
“W-Whouoh!” Keito caught him as Yuto felt his body collapse again. He was still too weak from his injuries and Yuto went limp as he fell against the firm body of the boy behind him.
“A-Ah I’ll go get a wheelchair okay?” Keito said as he set Yuto on the bed again, rushing outside.
Closing his eyes, Yuto rested now, he was tired now…. Though he wasn't sure this time if it was from his wounds, or from speaking so much….
---
Yuto woke up again in the ambulance, he lay upon the stretcher with two straps running across his body. He felt something on his hand, and when he came to his senses he realized whatever it was, it was soft, and warm, but firm and comforting….
“He’s awake.” A voice came
“H-Hey…. Are you okay?” Keito’s voice came now and Yuto opened his eyes only to be blinded by the harsh white light of the ambulance interior. Turning now, he shifted his head to look at his hand, and was surprised to see Keito’s joined with his. The paramedics undid the straps that stabilized him to the stretcher and Yuto sat up.
“Are you okay?” Keito repeated, his hand still clasped desperately.
Yuto looked at him now, and he opened his mouth again, only to utter… one word.
No…
When they arrived at the hospital, Yuto was taken to a room up on the fifth floor of the building, it was a bright room that smelled neatly of the lemon scented cleaner that permeated the floor. The small room didn't have a picture of a flower, but rather housed a small arrangement that sat on a small table beside the patient bed.
“Flower….” Yuto muttered, as he was wheeled into the room.
“You like flowers?” Keito asked, going over to pick up the single orchid placed among the lilies. He handed it to Yuto now who stared blankly at it, for while he had always looked at the picture of a flower, he had no idea what he was supposed to do with one….
“Does it still smell nice?” Keito asked, as he helped Yuto onto the bed. There was no answer.
“Just uh… tell my father that I want to give this room to him for a week or so okay?” Keito told the attending who promptly bowed and made his way off.
“Can you please…. Talk to me…. please?” Keito asked again, taking a seat next to the hospital bed. He reached for Yuto’s hand again and this time was rejected as the younger boy jerked backward.
“I-uh… I’m sorry…I just…. uh…” Keito backed off a bit.
“I just… wanted to…. talk to you…can you please… please… say something? Just your name…. just your name…”
This was the third time Yuto had heard that…. that pleading… to hear his voice… it was so alien still… but he turned to stare at his companion again.
“Yuto.” He said softly.
“Yuto? That’s a wonderful name…. Yuto… Yuto… can you please talk with me?” Keito asked again.
“Are you okay? I noticed you had a small cut near the back of your cheek….”
Yuto jerked back again as he felt the hand reach for him again. He stared at Keito for a few moments and gingerly leaned forward letting the other boy touch his cheek. He could feel the finger against his cheek slide against something rough, the small leftovers of a small cut that hadn’t yet fully healed.
“I’m… fine.” Yuto said reluctantly.
“Hey! You finally said a small sentence!” Keito laughed awkwardly.
Yuto watched for a moment as Keito talked to one of the nurses that patrolled the floor. He came back now with a clipboard of papers and a pen.
“Can you… fill these in? So I can have you registered as a patient?” He offered the board to him.
“o-or if you’d like I can write it for you if you’ll tell me what I need to know.” He added quickly For a moment, Yuto thought again, and he nodded again. He had spent his life in a hospital, at least this time he’d actually show up on the patient register.
“Name?”
“Nakajima… Yuto.”
“Birthday?”
“August 10 1993”
“Age”
“18”
“Address?”
This is where Yuto fell silent, and the awkward pause that followed, Keito remembered from earlier that Yuto said he didn't have any place to go..
“U-Uhh never mind, h-how about emergency contact?”
Still another pause, and Keito felt ashamed for having asked such a question. After a few moments, Yuto heard the sound of the pen pressing against the clipboard again and he looked up to see what Keito was writing.
“Here, I just need you to sign this form okay?” Keito handed the clipboard to him. Written on the form in neat letters was everything Yuto had just spoken, except now, in the contact field… Keito had written his information in. Slowly now, Yuto signed on the line next to Keito’s signature. His hands felt awkward holding the pen now but he managed to form the letters needed.
Now he wondered what was to become of him. Would he spend his life here in this hospital from now on?
“Keito… can I have… some water?” Yuto asked sheepishly. His throat was beginning to feel dry now from the new cooler air he wasn't used to.
“Sure… would you like some dinner too? It’s almost that time…”
Yuto stared blankly at him, and Keito smiled as he nodded to the nurse who wrote something on the clipboard and left.
Just a few moments later one of the hospital workers dressed in white and blue came in wheeling a cart of food.
“I promise it’s not as bad as people make it out to be…. Though I suppose it’s nothing compared to a restaurant…” Keito chuckled at his own joke, bringing one covered platter over and setting it before Yuto.
As the cover was lifted, a delicious meal of honey-glazed carrots with roasted rosemary chicken and a small dollop of mashed potatoes came into view. Awkwardly, Yuto spooned a few mouthfuls in and his expression changed from one of confusion to joy as he happily swallowed mouthful after mouthful.
“Wow…. You really liked it didn't you?” Keito asked, finishing the last of his meal and setting the plate aside. He reached for the glass of water on the corner of the table and a sudden clatter came as he accidentally knocked over the tray. He scrambled to catch the tray and save its contents, but it was too late, his hand ended up hitting the top side of the tray, and its contents fell onto the floor.
“Agh.. tshh..” Keito gasped as he clutched his left hand, the knife on tray had fallen and given him a small cut across his palm. It wasn't serious looking, but it looked painful nonetheless.
“A-Are you okay?” Yuto asked, just hearing those words come out of his mouth made him feel strange. This was the first time he had been on this end of the question.
“Yeah… just a sligh-ahh… a slight… cut.” Keito winced, trying to apply pressure. Keito sat down at his chair again, and he nursed his hand. He looked up for a moment to see Yuto reaching for him.
“It’s okay really.” He said, but the boy kept his hand out. Gingerly Keito offered his hand out to him, taking care not to accidentally disturb the cut anymore than he had to. He felt Yuto’s slender hands touch his fingers and slide until his entire hand clasped his wrist. There was a certain gentleness to his hand, a soft but subtle warmth, that sent shivers through his body. Looking up he saw Yuto’s eyes staring at him, a look of hurt and concern on them.
“I’m okay, really…” Keito said again, and Yuto looked down at the cut again, this time his hand firmed up, clasping Keito’s wrist again. With a deep breath, Yuto exhaled and when he opened his eyes he winced as he clutched his left hand.
“Yuto! What’s wrong? Whats wrong?”
The fragile boy on the bed smiled as he looked up from his hand, and Keito gasped to see a blood stain on the blanket where his hands had clutched.
“H-How did you cut yourself?!” Keito turned around now to grab another stack of gauze. He reached for the stack without thinking and turned around to apply it, but as he did he stared blankly at his left hand, the cut was gone…
“Y-Yuto!? What did you do!?” He got even more panicked, packing the cut in gauze.
“This is why… I was in the hospital.” Yuto said as he gasped in pain, the gauze was being wrapped tightly, but he knew it had to be done.
When the panic of the moment died down, Keito plopped back down onto his chair and took it all in.
“What-What…. just happened…?”
Yuto stared at him again, his eyes unwaivering.
“I’ve done what I’ve been doing all my life….”
“All your life?”
“Except… this is the one time that I’ve been glad to do it…..”
“Yuto…. What…. did you do?”
“I…. took your place….”
“What?”
“I’ll heal for you… so you don't have to bear the pain…” Yuto recited, the same words he’d been trained to repeat since he started.
“Oh Yuto… no… no, you don't have to do that…I get injuries all the time, well not all the time, but you know what I mean Uh… er…”
Yuto smiled as he watched an overly nervous and still jumpy Keito stumble and trip over his words. He didn't mind the throbbing pain in his hand anymore, it had dulled now and the gauze was tinted red with his blood, but it wasn't spreading anymore.
“Wait… what did you mean when you said this is why you were in the hospital?” Keito suddenly snapped out of his hysterics.
If you only knew…
“Wait… Yuto… you’ve been using your… ability to heal for other people? I-Is that what you mean?”
How did he….?”
“W-Wait right here okay? I’m going to go get a doctor to give you a better check up then okay?” Keito left the room before Yuto could say another word.
That's how it always starts….they leave because they’re scared…they don't understand…. But maybe, it’s not worth their time to….
Yuto stood up now, stretching his muscles as much as he could without causing pain. He stood at the foot of the bed, staring at the flowers one final time before taking a step outside of the room. The hospital was so….. white. The sterile barren surroundings almost blinded him, but he pressed on, following the railing until he came across a small room. Inside lay a small crying boy, a nurse trying his best to console him. Leaning quietly against the wall, Yuto listened as the sobs became louder as the nurse applied an ointment of some sort.
“Hai, Yosuke, don't touch it if you can help it okay? We want to let it heal without being disturbed okay?” The nurse smiled her usual smile and left the room, not even noticing Yuto’s presence, but he was used to it…
“Who are you?” The boy asked, and Yuto turned to see his eyes staring right at him.
“…. Are you hurt?” The slender boy dodged the question, moving now to the child’s bedside.
“What happened?”
“I… I got into a fight with my… stepfather and… he… and I… fell down some stairs.”
“I see…”
“B-But he was fighting with my mom! A-And I…well… so… she told me to come and get looked at.”
Yuto sat down now, he put his hand on the boy’s and smiled softly.
“It’s not your fault… you were so brave….” He said softly, closing his eyes gently, he could feel his ankle pop and a small cut appear on his cheek…
“A-Ah! Y-You’re hurt!” The little boy exclaimed, pointing at the cut that was steadily growing bigger.
“It’s nothing….”
“Just like mine!” The boy pointed now to his own, but as he touched the bandaid, he stared at his finger.
“It-It doesn't hurt anymore!”
“Call your mother, and tell her to take you home…..” Yuto said, standing now. His entire body cringed in protest as his, now sprained, ankle throbbed.
“Nii-Chan, are you okay?” The little boy asked, watching as Yuto hobbled his way out of the room.
“I’m fine… go home to your family…” And without another word Yuto shut the door, and hobbled along the railing again. He made it a few steps before seeing a door fling open and a pair of nurses run out.
“AND STAY OUT!” a loud voice shouted after them.
Slowly Yuto made his way over now, looking into the room.
“What do you want?” A very blunt young man asked, his face sporting a very clear black eye.
“… are you hurt?” Yuto spoke softly
“Yeah? What’s it look like? Tsk, this is nothing…..those nurses wanted to do this and do that, all I came in for was some bandaging, not some whatever it was they wanted. Bed rest? Fluids? Who needs it?”
“I see…”
“What are you doing..? What are you-“
Yuto made his way forward now, and he placed his hand upon the young man’s shoulder. With the same breath he closed his eyes and exhaled, and as he did he felt his eye begin to throb in pain, his leg trembled as he felt another bruise form, and a sick feeling in his gut as he felt one of his ribs vibrate in pain as the third and most painful bruise appeared across his side.
“W-What-What did you do?” The man asked, as Yuto began panting, his body racked with pain. It was usually now, that the men in white would give him anesthesia, but now… he was feeling real pain, the one feeling he had always had, but never truly experienced…
“O-Oi! Are you okay!?” The young man asked urgently, as Yuto collapsed onto the floor, his ribs gasping in pain.
“I-I’m fine….”
“Y-You’re not! You… You! You have… m-my black eye? How!?”
“I’m… I’m… fine.”
“Oi! S-Stay right here, S-Somebody!”
It seemed that just as the young man shouted, Keito was ran in, his eyes instantly focusing upon a very different Yuto that he had left in the room.
“Y-Yuto! What did you do!?” He panicked, propping the slender boy up.
“A-Anh!” Yuto winced, his side throbbing in pain, he looked up at Keito with his one good eye, now blurred with tears.
“I…I’m fine…” The words had never sounded happier leaving his lips, and Keito was now, visibly freaked out. He shouted for someone to come and help, but Yuto never saw them. He was too tired, and too much in pain to care. Closing his eyes, he went to sleep, relishing the pain that he had been robbed of, and the pain that he deserved.
---
Since LJ Said the full length of this story was too long.... PLEASE SEE PART 2!
emmachase
Requested by: No One
Title: The Broken Heart - Part 1
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Not really sure... happy... but angsty... ish?
Pairing: OkaJima
Summary: When Keito discovers Yuto, who's been shut away all his life, what happens when he helps him come to terms with his past?
Notes: This story is REALLY LONG..... IM SO SORRY..... T_T I just kept writing and thats what came out! T_T
Beep…beep…beep
It’s always been dark here… it’s always been this way, for all my life I’ve sat here, waiting for someone to come, but they never do. My legs ache and pain has been my only comfort these last years. I’ve spent all my life sitting in this hospital bed, but these…
are not my injuries.
Alone in the sterile white room sat a boy no older than 18, he was dressed in the typical thin surgical gown, his eyes were dull, staring at the wall. There was exactly one tube extending from his arm, an IV not yet needed, and there was exactly one sling above the bed, prepared but unused….
“This way…” A voice would come from outside the white room, as usual and a procession of men would walk in to look at him, stare at him as if he were nothing more than a tool, which to them…. He was.
The men would usually be followed by somebody the boy knew to be his benefactor, somebody different than the rest, and he would usually arrive in the wings of men in white, their coats would sway as they brought that person in and they’d nod to each other as they proposed ways to cure this person’s illness, but they always knew that they’d never touch him……
When the door to the room closed, there could be a few moments pause, before a single sound came, a ripping of paper as more than a few million yen flew from one bank account to another, and the next sound would be the boy, screaming uncontrollably as the men in black and his benefactor walked out….
It’s dark here still… and that’s just how I want it, they keep telling me that they’d prefer the light to see my injuries, but that’s just what I want to avoid. They tell me that if it hurts, they can increase the medicine, but that’s also what I want to avoid. It hurts just enough to tell me that I’m alive, and now, that’s all I’m holding onto….
“It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Akiyama.”
“As it is with you, we welcome you back, if our schedule permits.”
A single man, dressed boldly in an expensive designer suit with a cane to match bowed as the procession of men walked out. He turned now to go back into the depths of the small building he ran as a clinic, the small basement passage that no one knew about except for him and a few select others. The small room where the boy was still screaming opened now and he watched as the doctors treated his nephew for a broken leg and a stab wound. Now that the doctors had gotten an accurate measurement of the boy’s pain and injuries, they increased the pain medication through the IV and the screams quelled until the boy sat there in silence, his head a daze of medication and pain.
“There there Yuto…. You’ll be okay… like you always are…. Right?” He’d ask, knowing full well the answer.
The tall thin boy would always look at him, the same hollow eyes that always stared back, and he’d nod obediently.
I wish I was never born, but these injuries are never enough… they’re never enough… I can remember the day I found my… blessing… those men that came into my home… and murdered my family…. I hid alone in my little closet, not daring to move an inch for fear of making a sound. I heard two shots, one, as my mother fell to the floor, and two, as my father followed. The fulfillment of a debt completed. I ran outside as soon as I heard the door shut, and ran to my mother. Her smile was unlike anything I’d seen before…I held her hand steadily, her body quivering with every breath and I prayed and hoped that she’d be okay. I wanted to share her pain, to lessen it for her, and as I prayed, my wish came true….
In an instant, her wound was gone, and instead, a hole appeared in my stomach, blood rushing through my clothes. I don't remember what happened after that, except that the floor had never been so comfortable….
I woke up here after that, and after a small talk with my mother, my uncle took over as my provider, or rather I became his provider. From that point on I’ve never stepped out of this clinic…
This was the operation run out of Kurobikari Clinic, for more than eight years now. “Special patients” would come in to see Dr. Akiyama, patients with more money than one could imagine. They’d come to see him because they were promised a short and quick way to recovery, a harmless, painless way to absolute health. They would come and be seen, and then they’d be brought down to the basement to see him, Yuto, the boy who was to be their salvation.
It was quite simple really, those that wanted their pain gone, would come, and if accepted, they would be “scheduled” for a procedure. They’d come and visit the clinic once, just once, to visit Yuto in the basement, and he’d take on their injuries, their illnesses, and while the “Special patient” walked out of the clinic perfectly fine, he would bear the brunt of their recovery, their pain. As soon as one set of injuries from one person were fully healed, another came in, and Yuto was in constant torment. He had suffered through more broken arms and legs than he could count, he had bled more blood than he had in his body a thousand times over from so many stab wounds or shrapnel wounds.
I shouldn't move my leg…. But I cant help but try… it hurts…. But that's all I have….
Yuto lay alone in the bed, the dark room filtered with small beams of what little sunlight managed to sneak past the blinds. His body was wracked with pain and the deep breaths he was taking made him seem as if he were gasping for air. The IV line was flowing now, providing enough nutrients to keep him alive… and the sling was home now to his leg, fractured and still slowly healing.
The doctors that came to see him seemed to know that he was lying whenever they asked about his pain, but they were far too blinded by the money in their pockets to care. They’d come to see him, to make sure their cash cow was still alive, and then leave…
A month passed, and Yuto healed, just as he always did, perfectly well, with no scars and no trace of any injury..
“Are you ready for the next one….?”
Yuto nodded to his uncle, and the man smiled as he encouraged the boy with the same false and hollow compliments he had heard for the last few years. He prayed that this time there would be something severe, something that would end all this…. but he knew there wouldn't be…. This was the “love” his uncle showed him, giving him more and more intense cases of pain taking him to the brink of death only to be pulled back to life….
“This is the next patient, Hayashi Ryo, multiple gunshot wounds in slow recovery broken arm with collarbone fracture, all events from a shoot-out brawl located in the lower district, no signs of infection and injuries are healing slowly.” A white coat read aloud to the room.
“Yuto… I know we’re rushing it this time, since you haven’t had time to fully recover, but… we’ve got to do this one okay? it’s time….”
If only…
The young boy extended his hand reaching for the man who sat in the wheelchair but just as his hand made contact the door slammed open as a wave of military green swarmed in, guns at the ready.
“Akiyama Atsushi, you are hereby under arrest for tax evasion and money laundering as noted by federal statue. Furthermore, you are also being investigated for multiple violations of human rights violations to which you may address at a later time. Your properties have been seized for investigation and a warrant has been issued for your arrest. You are to cease all business transactions until the nature of your business has been thoroughly investigated and surrender yourself to the federal government.”
The man recited as if he were reading from a royal edict, the gun found its way pointed straight at the quivering suited man’s heart.
“That…. That… this is unacceptable! He said I had another week to pay before he would report me! This is unacceptable!”
Yuto watched as his uncle was subdued by force with a swift blow to the back. He sat in bed quietly his body frozen as the men that were around him were being arrested and taken out.
“Do not worry, as a patient your care will be handled by the Okamoto Hospital Corporation who will assume responsibility for this clinic and its inhabitants. A doctor will be in to assess you for transfer to the hospital.”
Yuto sat still, his eyes drifted down to the ground as he laid back onto the bed and waited, as if nothing had changed. A few hours later he awoke to find his room considerably brighter than he remembered and beside him sat a boy who clearly had dozed off. He wondered what would happen to him, but he knew it didn't really matter, the minute anyone found out about his abilities, his life would be like this again…. And so he sat patiently, waiting as he stared at the small picture that was hung opposite the bed. It was of a small flower taken up close with breathtaking clarity as to the small stalks that rose from the center. He had become so familiar with the picture he knew if given the chance he could draw it from memory, but still everyday he stared at it, observing it as if one day it would change and tell him something different.
“A-Ah you’re awake…”
Yuto turned to see the boy groggily rubbing his eyes. He bowed timidly and nodded.
“I’m Okamoto Keito, I uh… I hope you don't mind that I opened the blinds a little and that I… uh… fell asleep in your room….”
Yuto shook his head.
“Uh-Uh….. th-the doctors have already checked you out and they say that you’re perfectly fine and they don't see any reason for you to be here……so … i-if you’d like you can go home…” Keito offered.
Again, Yuto responded with a shake of his head.
“C-Can you…speak?” Keito was beginning to get nervous now.
Yuto stared at him for a moment, his eyes looking deep into the older boy’s and he closed them now as he opened his mouth
“Yes.”
“Whats your name?”
Yuto returned to the flower again, his eyes hollow again. Even though his beautiful soft brown eyes were lit now with the sun, they seemed…. Meaningless now, still so dark…..
“You can tell me…. you know… I… I don't mean you any harm… u-uh m-my family owns the Okamoto Hospital Corporation, if-if you’re worried. We wont release any of your information to the public…”
Again Yuto shook his head.
“A-Ah… I.. um… I stayed behind to ask if you were okay, to see you out of the hospital before they close this place down. Many of the patients have already left in the ambulances….. do you… need um… treatment for anything?” Keito asked, trying to remember his responsbilities.
Yuto shook his head still.
“Do you…. Have a place to go?”
And though Yuto didn't move a single muscle, Keito sensed the answer and he stopped his movements, setting his bag on the chair he had fallen asleep on.
“What… are you doing in this place?”
Yuto turned to look at him, his piercing hollow eyes caught Keito’s and shook the boy to the core.
“Home.” Yuto spoke softly, not sure if he really meant the word he’d just uttered. Was this place… really his home?
“You… live here? What?! H-How can that be? What…. I-I mean how… did you get here?”
Yuto didn't answer, instead he returned to the flower, his eyes disappearing again.
Keito stood there, exasperated. Not entirely sure what to do. He stared at the boy in front of him, his beautiful milky white skin seemed to radiate with the sun and those beautiful brown eyes had made him quiver with a single glance, but even with all this…. this boy was so… lonely…. He was so far gone from this world….
“Uh… l-let’s get out of this place okay? We’ll move you to the hospital first, then we can go from there right?” Keito offered as he packed up his things.
Yuto never moved. His eyes never waivered from the picture before him and Keito stopped again.
“Cmon, let’s go.” Keito grabbed Yuto’s wrist and pulled the boy to the side, the minute the slender boy’s legs touched the ground, he crumpled to the floor, his body was still weak from his last “procedure”, but Keito didn't know that…. and Yuto didn't expect him to.
“A-Ah! I’m so-so-so-so-sorry!” Keito instantly sprang to help Yuto up, and while he had managed to help him back onto the bed, he took a step back now, more worried than ever.
“Can you… please… talk to me?” Keito asked, pleading now.
These were the words that caught Yuto’s attention. No one in so many years had asked to hear his voice, much less care what he said. He looked at the boy kneeling on the ground, dressed neatly in the suit. A small pin on the collar of his jacket bearing his family name glinted against the already brightly lit room.
“I’m….. sorry.” Yuto said, as he moved forward now of his own volition, his legs were shaky and his body frail, but he managed to stand on his own and as he took his first step…. He nearly fell backwards.
“W-Whouoh!” Keito caught him as Yuto felt his body collapse again. He was still too weak from his injuries and Yuto went limp as he fell against the firm body of the boy behind him.
“A-Ah I’ll go get a wheelchair okay?” Keito said as he set Yuto on the bed again, rushing outside.
Closing his eyes, Yuto rested now, he was tired now…. Though he wasn't sure this time if it was from his wounds, or from speaking so much….
---
Yuto woke up again in the ambulance, he lay upon the stretcher with two straps running across his body. He felt something on his hand, and when he came to his senses he realized whatever it was, it was soft, and warm, but firm and comforting….
“He’s awake.” A voice came
“H-Hey…. Are you okay?” Keito’s voice came now and Yuto opened his eyes only to be blinded by the harsh white light of the ambulance interior. Turning now, he shifted his head to look at his hand, and was surprised to see Keito’s joined with his. The paramedics undid the straps that stabilized him to the stretcher and Yuto sat up.
“Are you okay?” Keito repeated, his hand still clasped desperately.
Yuto looked at him now, and he opened his mouth again, only to utter… one word.
No…
When they arrived at the hospital, Yuto was taken to a room up on the fifth floor of the building, it was a bright room that smelled neatly of the lemon scented cleaner that permeated the floor. The small room didn't have a picture of a flower, but rather housed a small arrangement that sat on a small table beside the patient bed.
“Flower….” Yuto muttered, as he was wheeled into the room.
“You like flowers?” Keito asked, going over to pick up the single orchid placed among the lilies. He handed it to Yuto now who stared blankly at it, for while he had always looked at the picture of a flower, he had no idea what he was supposed to do with one….
“Does it still smell nice?” Keito asked, as he helped Yuto onto the bed. There was no answer.
“Just uh… tell my father that I want to give this room to him for a week or so okay?” Keito told the attending who promptly bowed and made his way off.
“Can you please…. Talk to me…. please?” Keito asked again, taking a seat next to the hospital bed. He reached for Yuto’s hand again and this time was rejected as the younger boy jerked backward.
“I-uh… I’m sorry…I just…. uh…” Keito backed off a bit.
“I just… wanted to…. talk to you…can you please… please… say something? Just your name…. just your name…”
This was the third time Yuto had heard that…. that pleading… to hear his voice… it was so alien still… but he turned to stare at his companion again.
“Yuto.” He said softly.
“Yuto? That’s a wonderful name…. Yuto… Yuto… can you please talk with me?” Keito asked again.
“Are you okay? I noticed you had a small cut near the back of your cheek….”
Yuto jerked back again as he felt the hand reach for him again. He stared at Keito for a few moments and gingerly leaned forward letting the other boy touch his cheek. He could feel the finger against his cheek slide against something rough, the small leftovers of a small cut that hadn’t yet fully healed.
“I’m… fine.” Yuto said reluctantly.
“Hey! You finally said a small sentence!” Keito laughed awkwardly.
Yuto watched for a moment as Keito talked to one of the nurses that patrolled the floor. He came back now with a clipboard of papers and a pen.
“Can you… fill these in? So I can have you registered as a patient?” He offered the board to him.
“o-or if you’d like I can write it for you if you’ll tell me what I need to know.” He added quickly For a moment, Yuto thought again, and he nodded again. He had spent his life in a hospital, at least this time he’d actually show up on the patient register.
“Name?”
“Nakajima… Yuto.”
“Birthday?”
“August 10 1993”
“Age”
“18”
“Address?”
This is where Yuto fell silent, and the awkward pause that followed, Keito remembered from earlier that Yuto said he didn't have any place to go..
“U-Uhh never mind, h-how about emergency contact?”
Still another pause, and Keito felt ashamed for having asked such a question. After a few moments, Yuto heard the sound of the pen pressing against the clipboard again and he looked up to see what Keito was writing.
“Here, I just need you to sign this form okay?” Keito handed the clipboard to him. Written on the form in neat letters was everything Yuto had just spoken, except now, in the contact field… Keito had written his information in. Slowly now, Yuto signed on the line next to Keito’s signature. His hands felt awkward holding the pen now but he managed to form the letters needed.
Now he wondered what was to become of him. Would he spend his life here in this hospital from now on?
“Keito… can I have… some water?” Yuto asked sheepishly. His throat was beginning to feel dry now from the new cooler air he wasn't used to.
“Sure… would you like some dinner too? It’s almost that time…”
Yuto stared blankly at him, and Keito smiled as he nodded to the nurse who wrote something on the clipboard and left.
Just a few moments later one of the hospital workers dressed in white and blue came in wheeling a cart of food.
“I promise it’s not as bad as people make it out to be…. Though I suppose it’s nothing compared to a restaurant…” Keito chuckled at his own joke, bringing one covered platter over and setting it before Yuto.
As the cover was lifted, a delicious meal of honey-glazed carrots with roasted rosemary chicken and a small dollop of mashed potatoes came into view. Awkwardly, Yuto spooned a few mouthfuls in and his expression changed from one of confusion to joy as he happily swallowed mouthful after mouthful.
“Wow…. You really liked it didn't you?” Keito asked, finishing the last of his meal and setting the plate aside. He reached for the glass of water on the corner of the table and a sudden clatter came as he accidentally knocked over the tray. He scrambled to catch the tray and save its contents, but it was too late, his hand ended up hitting the top side of the tray, and its contents fell onto the floor.
“Agh.. tshh..” Keito gasped as he clutched his left hand, the knife on tray had fallen and given him a small cut across his palm. It wasn't serious looking, but it looked painful nonetheless.
“A-Are you okay?” Yuto asked, just hearing those words come out of his mouth made him feel strange. This was the first time he had been on this end of the question.
“Yeah… just a sligh-ahh… a slight… cut.” Keito winced, trying to apply pressure. Keito sat down at his chair again, and he nursed his hand. He looked up for a moment to see Yuto reaching for him.
“It’s okay really.” He said, but the boy kept his hand out. Gingerly Keito offered his hand out to him, taking care not to accidentally disturb the cut anymore than he had to. He felt Yuto’s slender hands touch his fingers and slide until his entire hand clasped his wrist. There was a certain gentleness to his hand, a soft but subtle warmth, that sent shivers through his body. Looking up he saw Yuto’s eyes staring at him, a look of hurt and concern on them.
“I’m okay, really…” Keito said again, and Yuto looked down at the cut again, this time his hand firmed up, clasping Keito’s wrist again. With a deep breath, Yuto exhaled and when he opened his eyes he winced as he clutched his left hand.
“Yuto! What’s wrong? Whats wrong?”
The fragile boy on the bed smiled as he looked up from his hand, and Keito gasped to see a blood stain on the blanket where his hands had clutched.
“H-How did you cut yourself?!” Keito turned around now to grab another stack of gauze. He reached for the stack without thinking and turned around to apply it, but as he did he stared blankly at his left hand, the cut was gone…
“Y-Yuto!? What did you do!?” He got even more panicked, packing the cut in gauze.
“This is why… I was in the hospital.” Yuto said as he gasped in pain, the gauze was being wrapped tightly, but he knew it had to be done.
When the panic of the moment died down, Keito plopped back down onto his chair and took it all in.
“What-What…. just happened…?”
Yuto stared at him again, his eyes unwaivering.
“I’ve done what I’ve been doing all my life….”
“All your life?”
“Except… this is the one time that I’ve been glad to do it…..”
“Yuto…. What…. did you do?”
“I…. took your place….”
“What?”
“I’ll heal for you… so you don't have to bear the pain…” Yuto recited, the same words he’d been trained to repeat since he started.
“Oh Yuto… no… no, you don't have to do that…I get injuries all the time, well not all the time, but you know what I mean Uh… er…”
Yuto smiled as he watched an overly nervous and still jumpy Keito stumble and trip over his words. He didn't mind the throbbing pain in his hand anymore, it had dulled now and the gauze was tinted red with his blood, but it wasn't spreading anymore.
“Wait… what did you mean when you said this is why you were in the hospital?” Keito suddenly snapped out of his hysterics.
If you only knew…
“Wait… Yuto… you’ve been using your… ability to heal for other people? I-Is that what you mean?”
How did he….?”
“W-Wait right here okay? I’m going to go get a doctor to give you a better check up then okay?” Keito left the room before Yuto could say another word.
That's how it always starts….they leave because they’re scared…they don't understand…. But maybe, it’s not worth their time to….
Yuto stood up now, stretching his muscles as much as he could without causing pain. He stood at the foot of the bed, staring at the flowers one final time before taking a step outside of the room. The hospital was so….. white. The sterile barren surroundings almost blinded him, but he pressed on, following the railing until he came across a small room. Inside lay a small crying boy, a nurse trying his best to console him. Leaning quietly against the wall, Yuto listened as the sobs became louder as the nurse applied an ointment of some sort.
“Hai, Yosuke, don't touch it if you can help it okay? We want to let it heal without being disturbed okay?” The nurse smiled her usual smile and left the room, not even noticing Yuto’s presence, but he was used to it…
“Who are you?” The boy asked, and Yuto turned to see his eyes staring right at him.
“…. Are you hurt?” The slender boy dodged the question, moving now to the child’s bedside.
“What happened?”
“I… I got into a fight with my… stepfather and… he… and I… fell down some stairs.”
“I see…”
“B-But he was fighting with my mom! A-And I…well… so… she told me to come and get looked at.”
Yuto sat down now, he put his hand on the boy’s and smiled softly.
“It’s not your fault… you were so brave….” He said softly, closing his eyes gently, he could feel his ankle pop and a small cut appear on his cheek…
“A-Ah! Y-You’re hurt!” The little boy exclaimed, pointing at the cut that was steadily growing bigger.
“It’s nothing….”
“Just like mine!” The boy pointed now to his own, but as he touched the bandaid, he stared at his finger.
“It-It doesn't hurt anymore!”
“Call your mother, and tell her to take you home…..” Yuto said, standing now. His entire body cringed in protest as his, now sprained, ankle throbbed.
“Nii-Chan, are you okay?” The little boy asked, watching as Yuto hobbled his way out of the room.
“I’m fine… go home to your family…” And without another word Yuto shut the door, and hobbled along the railing again. He made it a few steps before seeing a door fling open and a pair of nurses run out.
“AND STAY OUT!” a loud voice shouted after them.
Slowly Yuto made his way over now, looking into the room.
“What do you want?” A very blunt young man asked, his face sporting a very clear black eye.
“… are you hurt?” Yuto spoke softly
“Yeah? What’s it look like? Tsk, this is nothing…..those nurses wanted to do this and do that, all I came in for was some bandaging, not some whatever it was they wanted. Bed rest? Fluids? Who needs it?”
“I see…”
“What are you doing..? What are you-“
Yuto made his way forward now, and he placed his hand upon the young man’s shoulder. With the same breath he closed his eyes and exhaled, and as he did he felt his eye begin to throb in pain, his leg trembled as he felt another bruise form, and a sick feeling in his gut as he felt one of his ribs vibrate in pain as the third and most painful bruise appeared across his side.
“W-What-What did you do?” The man asked, as Yuto began panting, his body racked with pain. It was usually now, that the men in white would give him anesthesia, but now… he was feeling real pain, the one feeling he had always had, but never truly experienced…
“O-Oi! Are you okay!?” The young man asked urgently, as Yuto collapsed onto the floor, his ribs gasping in pain.
“I-I’m fine….”
“Y-You’re not! You… You! You have… m-my black eye? How!?”
“I’m… I’m… fine.”
“Oi! S-Stay right here, S-Somebody!”
It seemed that just as the young man shouted, Keito was ran in, his eyes instantly focusing upon a very different Yuto that he had left in the room.
“Y-Yuto! What did you do!?” He panicked, propping the slender boy up.
“A-Anh!” Yuto winced, his side throbbing in pain, he looked up at Keito with his one good eye, now blurred with tears.
“I…I’m fine…” The words had never sounded happier leaving his lips, and Keito was now, visibly freaked out. He shouted for someone to come and help, but Yuto never saw them. He was too tired, and too much in pain to care. Closing his eyes, he went to sleep, relishing the pain that he had been robbed of, and the pain that he deserved.
---
Since LJ Said the full length of this story was too long.... PLEASE SEE PART 2!