Goro Takemura x Reader

Thirteen

Static sounds filled the silence.

You could feel how cold air rested on your face. It wasn't natural but created by air conditioning. You believed to taste a hint of iron on your tongue.

"Arasaka-sama.", that was the voice of the stranger.

Or at least you found it sounded pretty similar.

A low hum of approval reached your ears. Then steps faded. Someone left the room.

You couldn't help but let out a long groan. Your tongue was heavy and it felt like weight pressed down on your chest. It was still exhausting to breath.

But you were breathing.

You were alive.

Were you?

Slowly, with a raging headache pressing against your forehead, you managed to open your eyes a crack wide. White, cold light blinded you. Immediately, the world turned blurry again.

Quick, impatient steps approached. Someone bend down, you could feel how your blanket was pushed into the mattress as someone leaned on it for support.

"Hanako.", that was Yorinobu's voice. "Let (Y/N) rest. We can return later."

His blurry figure appeared next to the one that you guessed was your sister. You couldn't make out her exact expression but she must have been worried sick.

"Leave me.", she shook his hand off her shoulder with a kind of annoyance that she usually kept to herself. "I need to stay here."

Yorinobu let out a sigh. But he did not complain.

Instead, he looked down on you, closed his eyes and let out another deep breath before he took a seat at the foot of your bed.

Calmness settled in. You realised that you were safe, surrounded by your siblings. In the safe walls of Konpeki Plaza.

It was fine. Everything was fine.

Relieved, you let out a deep breath and closed your eyes. A smile made its way to your lips.

Yes, everything was fine.

You fell asleep quickly. Maybe it was the exhaustion or the medication that forced you to dive back into the darkness but you did not refuse.

You wanted to rest.

It was already late as your eyes opened once more. At first you thought the stars were out but after a few times of blinking you realised with disappointment that it was just the bright lights of the digital billboards and ads.

You were back in Night City. Somehow it made your heath heavy for a moment.

But not long enough to make you think about visiting the city borders once more. One time was enough for you.

The only thing you wanted was to return to Japan. Now more than ever.

Your limbs felt paralysed. Slowly, in fear that too sudden moves would make muscles tear, you stretched all the way to the ceiling.

Something at the height of your hips moved.

It was Hanako. With her head rested on her arms she had placed herself at your side and had fallen asleep this way. She seemed stressed, her eyebrows knitted together with wrinkles covering her forehead.

It seemed like she had a nightmare.

Gently, you placed a hand on her head and caressed her hair. Some of the black strands hung loosely in her face. It tended to be extremely neat, that was her way of being vain, but how the bun was almost open with some pieces of hair all over her.

It was a rare sight. If you thought about it you couldn't remember the last time you had seen her this way. So defenceless and natural. She was the one who tended to take on the role of female of the family. She was the gentler, more forgiving side of Arasaka.

For the longest time this had been her duty. It had almost taken her true self from her. Now she was just Hanako, your sister, scared for your life.

As the warm touch of yours seeped into her skin she relaxed, a small curl of her nose made her relax and she let out a deep sigh.

It made you smile.

"Mō watashi no koto wa shinpaishinaide kudasai, Oneesan.", you asked in a soft voice as to not wake her. "Shinpai sa setakunakatta nda."

At the end of your bed someone made a sound.

You looked up.

Yorinobu sat in a chair, his arms crossed and both legs stretched out as to not slip from it. His head was tilted back and his lips cracked open a bit. He didn't snort but his breathing was audible.

He looked absolutely exhausted in a way that only a man could understand who had spent days and nights at the side of the same hospital bed.

Even if he would have never admitted it you knew he hadn't left for a single time. He had eaten in this chair, had made business in this exact place and he had also told Hanako many times that he wouldn't leave to rest unless you were to wake up in this exact moment.

He still wore the same shirt he had worn the last time you had seen him. So he hadn't even changed.

"Arigato gozaimasu, niichan.", you whispered and bowed to him.

You could feel how the bags under your eyes wanted to drag you down. But you couldn't go to sleep again.

How many hours has it been since your rescue?

Your gaze wandered around in the dark.

You recognised the room. It was just below the level on which Yorinobu had his own penthouse suite. He used it for guests and business associates.

The room had been remodelled to compare to a medical facility. Soft mechanic sounds constantly filled your ears while, sometimes, they beeped and gave status reports.

You only realised now that you were hooked to some. A clam was stuck on the index finger of your right hand while some catheter drew blood from veins in your hand.

A bag of transparent liquid provided you with nutrition and kept you from dehydrating. Whenever another drop chased through the tube you could feel it like a hand that caressed your body from the inside.

It was a strange feeling.

"How much trouble I caused...", your eyes got heavy again. "Forgive me."