red string || sano manjiro/ mikey

chapter xli: a christmas tragedy

the founding members of toman, pah-chin and kazutora excluded, all rushed to the hospital with mikey leading the group after the battle against the black dragons.

draken took takemichi to hina's house first before following suit, and when he got to the hospital, the rest were already surrounding the waiting room.

from the seats at the corner, he noticed an albino who he never really met.

"what's the status?" he asks mikey, standing a little behind him as he looked up at the red sign above the doors.

"they're still at it." mikey mumbled. "it's been thirty minutes since i rushed her here. what if..."

"don't think like that." baji ruffled mikey's head, hearing what he just said. "sazu's a fighter, you know? she'll be fine!"

"yeah, a stab wound isn't enough to kill her." mitsuya backs up.

while he was glad that they were hopeful, senju's words stuck to his mind.

"she's gone through extreme lengths to keep that smile on your stupid face and you're still leaving her when she's dying?!"

"she might not fight against death!"

he didn't understand what senju meant by extreme lengths, but he does know that she was the one who saved both draken and baji.

it says enough to him.

she still cares.

she still loved him, even after he left her to fend for herself in the real world.

"senju," he walks up to the girl, looking down at her blank face, "have you contacted her parents yet? why aren't they here?"

"ha?"

senju looks up at him with another glare, finding it stupid how he'd ask such an idiotic question. before she could say anything, baji places a hand on mikey's shoulder and carefully pulled him a little away from the girl.

"you didn't know." he said, glancing at the girl for a short moment to signal that he will be the one to tell him. "kazua's parents died two years ago, mikey."

"...what?"

it took awhile for him to process the news, but when it did, he knew that he made the wrong decision. "what happened...to them?"

"her father went on a business trip, but the plane crashed. no one in the flight survived." senju spoke up this time. she was the only one who knows. "her mother was raped and killed at the same night. kazua just finished her orchestral practice when she got the news. she tried calling her father when her mother was announced dead, but...he was dead too."

"no way."

"what the hell...that's too cruel."

while the rest of the division captains had something to say about it, mikey could only stare down hard and cold at the floor. his hands balled tightly into fists, knuckles nearly shaking.

he didn't know.

he absolutely had no clue about what was happening to her, and that was a moment when she needed him the most.

after he left, her parents soon followed.

the countless nights she must've cried alone, having no one there to comfort her when she needed it. no one to tightly hug her and give her a glimpse of hope in her life.

"her will to live...i know that it isn't there anymore."

now he understood what senju meant by kazua giving up on her own life.

she's done.

the pain was too much.

mikey could already feel his chest burning in agony. he can't imagine how painful it must have been for her.

kazua has been fighting alone.

"the funeral was held three weeks after. her father's body was never recovered, though." senju intertwined her fingers together and focused on mikey's expression. "after the funeral, kazzie was abducted."

"what?"

draken walked up to the girl, a little angry. "how do you know her?"

"kazzie was paralyzed. they injected it to her, but she was conscious. it was so obvious that she's given up on herself back then." she didn't pay attention to draken at all. "he needs to know this. he needs to know how much she's suffered."

"that's when i met her again. i was the one who stopped them from raping her." she sternly said. "and where the hell were you, sano manjiro?"

creak!

the doors to the operating room opened, gaining their attention in an instant.

senju stands from her seat and walked past the vice commander of toman, showing no fear to anyone else present at all. she stands in front of the two surgeons, pursing her lips together as she prayed for a successful surgery.

"are any of you related to sada kazua?"

"i'm..." senju glances behind her, "...we're her friends. her family isn't here."

"i see. sada kazua experienced shock after she was rushed here. she lost a lot of blood." his voice was solemn, nearly regretful. he tugged his mask down to his chin and cleared his throat. "a blood donor, sano manjiro, was able to help greatly during the operation. we managed to save her on time."

they all let out a sigh of relief, the tension leaving their system instantly.

"however," he looks at his first assistant, receiving a light nod back, "she fell into coma. we don't know when she might wake up."

"sada kazua will be moved to room 112. we'll allow visitors starting tomorrow."