School Girls' Stories

Chapter 53 – Recovery

“I just want to be there for you and your child,” hissed a voice with love and animosity all rolled into the guttural sounds he made every time he spoke.

“I do not want you to be a part of this, I have told you that from the beginning,” the sweet voice snapped back at him. Another page flipped in the magazine the girl was reading.

Fuji was tired of pretending she was asleep, but she certainly did not want to wake up in the middle of this discussion. It was only the third time Mr. Tennison and Shai had the conversation since poor Fuji had been taken out of intensive care and placed into recovery. Fuji would have let out a sigh of annoyance if she had not been so concentrated on trying to pretend she was asleep.
“I have rights to that child,” Mr. Tennison argued, his voice slowly rising.

“You lost all rights to this child when you became engaged to my sister’s mother.” Even Shai guffawed at the thought. “It’s sick and twisted, even for you.”

The door of the private hospital room opened and a smiling figure walked in. “Good morning everyone!” Kyoei’s voice carried through the room. Fuji could feel the collective heated blood rush going through both Mr. Tennison and Shai, embarrassment and anger all mixed into one bundle of people. It was most likely Kyoei’s original intent.

“Kyoei!” Fuji cried out, happy to hear from Shai’s new boyfriend. She struggled to begin sitting up, and quickly realization that the girl had not been asleep ran through the already bashful ex-couple. Now Shai’s ears were burning red, and Mr. Tennison looked completely awkward. It was Fuji’s only entertainment and she smiled.

“You should not be sitting up so fast,” Shai exclaimed, rushing over to Fuji. “You are still recovering your wounds.”

Fuji glared and finished struggling to a sitting position. Her right arm was of little use momentarily, but she was shocking the doctors by using it already more than they thought she would. It gave her time to scoff at doctor’s who gave people the wrong prognosis all of the time.

“Fuji, I brought you some chocolate, since they told you specifically not to have any,” Kyoei smiled, handing Fuji a box of the most delicious chocolates.

“Kyoei, I knew I liked you for a reason,” Fuji laughed, reaching into the box.

“You should not be eating that,” Mr. Tennison scolded Fuji.

“You shouldn’t sleep with teenagers,” Fuji snapped spitefully and popped the delicious delicacy into her mouth. “Besides, the doctors here are proving they do not really know what they are talking about, so they say no chocolate, my soul says eat it all.”

“Well aren’t you a bitter little bunny,” Kyoei laughed, tying a new set of balloons to the end of Fuji’s bed. Fuji loathed all of the balloons and flowers, but if it made the group that was constantly surrounding her happy, she would suffer in silence.

“I am just tired,” Fuji sighed. “And I hurt all over. Why hasn’t Amatsu come to see me?” Day 3 and still no one had told Fuji the truth, and she was plainly ignorant to what was happening. No one wanted to tell her that her beau had been arrested for the murder of the man who had attacked her. Especially since she had not full recovered and still looked as pale as she did. Even for Fuji she was pale.

Everyone shifted uneasily, as the group did every time Amatsu’s name was mentioned. What were they supposed to tell the girl?

“All right,” snapped Fuji, with a bit more force than the medication should have allowed, “I am tired of this. He doesn’t work this much, he doesn’t go to school this much, and if he does not have the decency to see me while I am in the hospital-”

“Fuji, it really isn’t his fault.” Everyone was surprised to see that it was Shai that interjected in the middle of Fuji’s tirade.

Fuji looked to Shai curiously while Mr. Tennison tried to ignore that he was even there by turning on the television and watching the news. “What do you mean?” Fuji asked, doing her best impression of crossing her arms in front of her chest.

“Isn’t that Shoushin?” Kyoei asked, completely changing the subject and glancing up at the news that Mr. Tennison was about to change the channel from. Three voices yelled, “Stop!” so loudly that Mr. Tennison dropped the remote onto the floor in shock. All three stared at the television watching the latest drastic turn of events in their lives.

“…Yokoshima Shoushin was found dead early this morning it what is being called a suicide,” the pretty little announcer was saying. “It is a tragedy for all Velvet Wrappings fans. First to lose Kyouteki, and now Shoushin in such suicides. It has caused many rumors in the department of forbidden love, since Kyouteki was on again off again girlfriend of Kiseki Shinwa.

“Yokoshima Shoushin is remembered by his parents and little sister, aged eight…” and the rest of the news broadcast went on about the wake and funeral. For some reason the group in the hospital room felt more obliged to feel something for the death of Shinwa’s friend, they just were not sure what to feel.

“We can always send Shinwa some of the flowers that are in my room,” Fuji said, indicating a particularly ugly plant in the corner.

“Do you have something against gifts?” Kyoei asked, huffing and crossing his arms against his chest.

“No,” Fuji said honestly, “but I hate pity gifts. They pity me because I may not regain full use of my hand or leg; I want gifts because people adore me.”

“So you don’t want to be pitied?” Kyoei lead Fuji along.

Fuji was not naïve enough not to figure out where Kyoei was going with this. “I may not want to be pitied, but I think it would be nice if Amatsu was concerned. Where is he Kyoei?”

“I’m right here, Fuji.” All eyes fell to Amatsu standing in the doorway, wearing the grubby clothes that were bloodied from the night of the murder. He look disheveled and worn, and yet his eyes sparkled. He ran into the hospital room to Fuji and wrapped her cold body into his arms and the life that had nearly drained from her rushed back in a heavenly touch. “I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair, “but nothing will keep me away from you again.”

~*~

“What the Hell?” Officer Pop dropped the cup of coffee she had been carrying down the prison cell hallway, off to visit the troublemaker she had known was trouble from the beginning. She knew he was dangerous, and her thought had been if the Oshidori’s had listened to her in the first place this grisly murder never would have happened.

She had him. He had confessed to murder, but he would never reform. She was set to book him for life. And now, he had escaped yet again.