Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

First String

-Six Months before Borderland-

Holding her heels and phone in one hand, and lifting her dress with the other, the woman rushed into the A&E. Those waiting to be seen gave her weird looks. It was not everyday one would get to see a woman in a ballgown in a hospital after all.

She walked up to the nurse's station, a panicked look on her face.

"I'm looking for a Chuya-"

"Miss, if you could please wait your turn."

"I am not looking for treatment. I am looking for a person. His name is Chu-"

"Miss, we are not a daycare centre here. Please can you wait over there?"

"Goddamn it! Someone help me!"

Distraught and frustrated, she smashed her phone on the floor. That certainly got everyone's attention. The entire A&E suddenly went quiet, save for the beeping of equipment here and there. The nurse sitting behind the station reached for the phone, most likely to call security when a hand stopped her.

Walking around the station, a young man took over the computer and started typing.

"Chuya Aoi, is it?" he asked, looking at the woman. Instantly calming down, she nodded. "He's currently in the OR. There's a waiting room on the second floor-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the woman dashed off.

"Jesus, would it kill her to wait a little? It's not like she can see him if he's in the OR," the nurse muttered under her breath. "I wouldn't help her if I were you, Chishiya."

"Did you not hear the name?" the young man asked, tilting his head. "Chuya, as in the Chuya Group. Aren't they one of our biggest benefactors?"

--

Sitting in the waiting room on the second floor, she was clutching her hands together. Tears kept falling down her cheeks but she did not bother wiping them. How could this happen?

She was at an event when she received the call. She did not pick up at first, missing a call from Aoi. Then her phone kept ringing to the point where she got irritated. When she finally picked up, however, it was not Aoi. It was his friend, calling to inform her that Aoi had been sent to the hospital after a suicide attempt.

If only she did not miss his call.

If only she had picked up.

Their relationship had never been close like other siblings, but they were always there for each other because no one else in the world understood what they were going through. They only had each other. Aoi only had her, and the one time he needed her the most, she was not there.

The more she thought about it, the more she cried.

It was her fault.

Approaching the waiting room, Chishiya was holding the phone she smashed earlier. He stopped just outside the door, watching as the woman was bawling her eyes out. He never understood when people would cry for patients, be it staff who took care of them or friends and family.

When one died, they died.

Crying would not heal them. Crying would not bring them back. So why would you cry?

He found it amusing, however, that she came barging into A&E and demanded for help with such authority, only to break down behind the scenes when she was alone.

The door to the OR opened and the surgeon came out with a nurse. Chishiya slipped around the corner, making sure to keep out of sight. If they were to find him eavesdropping, he was pretty sure he would be kicked out of medical school. Not that it mattered to him, which was why he stuck around.

"Miss Chuya Kurenai?"

"Yes."

"I'm Doctor Serizawa, Mr. Chuya Aoi's surgeon. I'm glad to tell that he's going to be fine. He'll need to stay for observation for the next few days but he will be fine. Miss Chuya?"

A wave of relief washed over her as Kurenai clutched her hands to calm herself down. Aoi was going to be okay. "If you could please arrange for him to be in a private suite," Kurenai said, getting up. "I'll go and complete his admission."

Collecting herself, Kurenai left the waiting room and headed down to the reception where she completed the necessary forms needed for Aoi's admission. Then for the next hour or so, she sat next to his bed, waiting for him to wake.

She stared at his wrist where it was bandaged, and so many thoughts were crossing her mind at once. They lost their mother to suicide, and she nearly lost Aoi. And it was all because of one man. The frustrating part, however, was knowing that this would never bother him as much as it did them.

"Ku-renai..."

Aoi's voice was soft and weak. She looked up to see that his eyes were opened. There were tears already in his eyes, like he knew what he did hurt her, that what he did was cowardly in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"If you are saying sorry now, then you shouldn't have done it," she said.

"I know. I-"

"You need your rest. I'll get Ayako-san to make your meals tomorrow."

She was heading out of the room when Aoi called out to her. "Kurenai...I'm so sorry." She took in a deep breath, blinking her tears away. He should not be sorry. The person who should be apologising was her father, the person who had pushed Aoi over the edge. "I called you..."

"I know," she said, wiping the rogue tear rolling down her cheek. "Just...don't do it again."

Somehow, she made her way down to the lobby. Should she have stayed with Aoi though?

As she walked past a vending machine, however, Kurenai stopped in front of it. She left the event without eating or even drinking. Now that Aoi was in the clear, she finally had time to care about her growling stomach and dry throat.

The vending machine before her only had drinks, and she never had them before though she did see coffee on there. She pressed the button but nothing happened. No beeps, no coffee. She pressed it again but still, nothing. No beeps, no coffee. She was getting a little frustrated when someone tapped a card on the sensor, pressing for the coffee she wanted.

"You need one of these, or change." It was the young doctor who helped her earlier.

"Thank you," she said, taking the can from him.

"I believe this is yours," he said, pulling out her phone from his pocket. The screen, however, was smashed beyond repair. She doubted that it would turn on.

"Just throw it away."

She cracked the can open, taking a sip and made a face of disgust, pressing the can into his hand. He found it amusing, watching her. A rich person like her probably never touched a vending machine, let alone drink or eat something from one. He was not a fan of canned coffee either, though he had an inkling that she probably never even heard of instant coffee.

"Do you have a phone?" she asked. Chishiya nodded, pulling his own phone out and handed it over to her after he unlocked it. "Hanzo-san, it's me. Yes, can you bring the car round? I'm coming out now."

Saying her thanks as she handed his phone back after her call, Chishiya watched her leave. He looked down at the can of coffee, dropping it into a bin along with her broken phone. What an interesting woman.