Timeless [Yuuki Konno X OC]

Chp. 20 - Yuuki

[IRL, Yokohama Kōhoku General Hospital]

Dr Kurahashi brought me down the halls that passed by like a blur to me, I was so intensely focused on what he said that nothing mattered. Yuuki was terminally ill, and... in the final stage, her health was declining - there's many factors to consider there but I'd rather not assume, not yet. I needed to steel myself further, I already knew it was bad, I just didn't realize how severe her situation was.

 When Yuuki and Aiko were born, they had to perform a C-section, but the blood used in the transfusion was found to be contaminated, that they didn't discover until September, by then, the family of four were all long infected. He stopped, placing his ID card on a scanner to open a door to what appeared to be an observation room with blacked out windows. 

"Beyond this area is an air-controlled sterile room, so we won't be able to go in," He answered my silence, hitting a button on a small pad fixed to the wall. "I hope you understand."

When the darkness faded, I felt my heart stop as I stained breath caught in my throat. I let my bag fall limp off my shoulder, stepping forward with my hand against the cold glass barrier. Her whole body was hooked up to a large machine that covered the top half of her head, wires attached to a collar around her neck, some stuck to her arms. She was sickly pale, and very skinny compare to how I met her in Asuka Empire.

"Yuu...ki," All this time. I swallowed, not taking my eyes off her body. "Say, doc, what's her illness then?"

"Acquired Immunity Deficiency Syndrome," He replied as I felt my forehead tap against the glass, my heart sank loud and fast. "AIDS. Now, it's not as terrifying of an illness as people perceive it to be, if you start treatment in the early stages it's possible to delay the onset of AIDS for a long span,"

His tone made my throat dry, "And I'm guessing... that's not the case for her?"

Kurahashi nodded slowly, "The virus she contracted turned out to be difficult to treat - a drug-resistant strain,"

"Tch, all this time and you'd think we'd have found a solution to something like this..." I muttered, pulling my head away as I adjusted my hood again to hide my distraught. There was so many voices screaming at me to run away out of fear and remorse. I remained glued, but my eye did flicker to the room again. 

"Yuuki's mother became despondent over her children's future, and at one point, considered committing family suicide, I'm told," He said with a heavy breath. How any parent could believe that was the best cause for their children... I couldn't imagine. How much have they suffered for one accident?

"But she nevertheless chose to go on fighting her illness,"

Finally, a tiny laugh broke my facade, "Yeah, that's sounds like her to a 'T',"

"Exactly, soon after birth, Yuuki was put on a multidrug therapy course," Kurahashi elaborated further. "It's hard for a child to keep to a regular schedule involving so many medications. After all, there are side effects, not to mention the pain of being subjected to prejudice, I've heard." He sat down behind me, setting my bag upright for me.