This I promise You

Chapter 14: The Diagnosis

Two dark suited men stood guard in front of a private room in ICU where the comatose lead singer of Bad Luck lay. An IV drip was secured to his hand and a breathing tube was hooked into his nose. A heart monitor beeped insistently as it monitored his heart rate. Both arms and legs were encased in white plaster casts. His head and chest were wrapped tightly in white bandages. The crisp white sheets that were draped over his still body hid the massive bruises and cuts that covered his body.

*
Eiri “Yuki” Uesugi sat in the farthest corner of the waiting room, a miserable wreak and stewing in a huge pot of guilt with just a pinch of depression. It hung over him like a dark cloud. It was almost like in those cartoons where the character had a dark cloud above his head that followed him everywhere he went and to add woe to misery, a downpour soaked him to the bone.
Holding out a trembling hand, he stared through tear blurred vision at the gold band with its bright pink gem. Clutching his hand around the precious piece of jewelry, he sat back in the hard seat and leaned his head back against the wall. He held his fist to his heart and took deep, even breathes through his nose, letting it out slowly through his mouth. The tightness in his chest and the constrictiveness of his throat seemed to lessen slightly, but not much.
He sat and he prayed. He asked, demanded, pleaded, offered an exchange, anything to whoever was listening, as long as his baka made it out of this alive.
Mika walked confidently into the waiting room, her high heels clicking sharply on the tiled floor. Her hair was pulled back neatly and her crisp business suit hugged her curves nicely. She sat down besides her brother, crossing her legs. She turned towards him and started talking to him, but Eiri heard none of it. It was all a jumbled mess of words, but her gentle tone was comforting.
Tatsuha had rushed to Tokyo as soon as Eiri called Kyoto. Shuichi was one of his closest friends and he had to be here for him, as well as for Eiri, who loved Shuichi more than anything in this world or the next and for Ryuichi. Ryu thought of Shu as one of his best friend and he was not taking the news very well. Tatsuha cradled a hysterical Ryuichi in his lap as the man continued to bawl his eyes out.
The Uesgui patriarch had been forced to stay at the temple. He had a wedding to perform tonight and then a funeral tomorrow. Besides, it was impossible to shut down the temple, even in the face of a family emergency. His father refused to hand over the burden of running the family temple to someone else, even if it was only for a few days, but he told his eldest son that he would pray for the boy. Eiri and his father might not get along and the man definitely did not approve of Shuichi as an appropriate partner for his son, but the man was not stupid. He saw and knew what the two of them meant to each other. He might not like their relationship, but he was not going to stand in the way of his son’s happiness. It had been a long time since Eiri smiled or laughed or just plain enjoyed himself. If it meant allowing his son to continue seeing this boy in order for his son to maintain his happiness, then so be it.
Across the waiting room, Mr. Shindou was holding back his own grief as he tried to comfort his wife. Mrs. Shindou was wailing so hysterically, it was not hard to tell she and Shu were related. Shindou-san were trying to stay optimistic in the face of disaster and doom. Their daughter, Maiko, and her husband were flying into Narita tonight from Hokkaido with their one year old daughter.
The various members of Bad Luck were huddled together, lost in their own world. Sakano had been too worked up and distraught over the whole incident that he had been sedated and was now resting on a bed in the recovery/observation area in the emergency room. Hiro was the most distraught of the rest of the troupe. He and Shuichi had been friends for practically ever. Like Eiri, he felt the heavy burden of guilt weighing him down. If Shu did not make it out of this in one piece, he would never forgive himself. How moronic could he be? How the hell could he have ignored and brushed aside his best friends concerns and worries like that? If he would only have listened…Hiro shook his head. All he could think about was how he had acted the last time he saw his hyperactive singer. All he wanted to do was crawl on his hands and knees and beg Shuichi to forgive him. He would do anything for him, anything.
He dropped his head into his hands and cried softly. “Please, be alright,” he whispered.
Unfortunately, Noriko and her family had left just this morning for Hong Kong for a family vacation and had left no contact number. So, they had been forced to leave a message on their answering machine.
Kakei Niwa had been taken in custody for questioning. The guy had spilled his guts easily enough. The poor bastard was ready to give up his grandmother if necessary.
Unfortunately, Jacob and Koji had been shot in the heart. They both had already been dead by the time Shuichi left for work, or tried to leave for work anyway. Niwa told the police he had stolen Seguchi-san’s cellphone and Yasashii had most likely used it to lure the bodyguards into a trap. That was something Eiri would never forgive his brother-in-law for. When Tohma lost his cellphone, he should have had it disconnected, or whatever it is they do. Then maybe the guards would have been there to protect their charge instead of being lured away and shot and killed.
By the time the medics arrived, Yasashii Rinjin himself had already been dead. From what Eiri knew, it seemed he had snapped his neck when he plummeted from the second floor. They said he died instantly, which was too bad because Eiri had wanted the asshole to suffer. It was not hard to believe that that bastard had broken his neck. He could remember the moment it happened, all too well.
[Eiri reached the landing just as the railing gave. For a few precious seconds, the two men teetered at the edge. “Shuichi,” he cried, rushing forward. Time seemed to slow down at that moment. It seemed like Eiri had all the time in the world to get to his husbands side, but knew in reality that he had no time at all. “Shuichi!” He reached out for his baka, as he rushed forward.
Shuichi glanced over his shoulder at him, his eyes wide in fright, and a look of foreboding on his face. His eyes widened as gravity reached out with mighty claws and snatched them. With a blood curling scream, his husband vanished from view as everything around him rushed past him towards the ceiling. He closed his eyes tight against the sight quickening up to him at the speed of light.
“Shuichi!” Eiri cried hysterically as he ran to the edge of the landing. “Shuichi!”
A second too late, his fingers just missed his husband. What had in reality only taken seconds, seemed like an eternity for Eiri as he watched Yasashii’s body slam into the floor with a loud thud. Moments later, Shuichi collided into him. A heart stopping scream burst from him as his arms and legs crashed into the hardwood floor. Pain raced through his body. Yasashii’s limps flew up and out and what little breath he had whooshed out of him. His neck snapped back causing his head to smack into the hard floor with a deep clunk. His hands free, Shuichi bounced off Yasashii like he was a trampoline and spun in mid air. The wind was knocked out of him as hit the floor next to his captor. The force snapped his neck back and the back of his head collided with the floor with a teeth jarring thud. Everything went black and still.]
Eiri snapped himself back to reality. As hard as he tried, he just could not stop the tears that tickled down his cheeks. Please, please, he silently prayed.

Out in the hall, officer’s Koh Maki and Takeshi Nada listened intently as Tohma relayed what he knew.
“And this Rinjin guy did nothing before today that you are aware of? No phone calls, or packages left at the residence…” the greying Nada asked.
Tohma shook his head. “No, both Shuichi and Eiri’s phone numbers are unlisted and impossible to find.” Without help from me, he added. “Since Shuichi has guards with him all times, nobody but his closest friends and family can get near him. Knowing Eiri, if anything was left outside their apartment door, he would just throw it out. Rinjin-san just showed up conveniently wherever Shindou-san happened to be. He was very polite and kind. He said nothing or did anything that made any of us uneasy or wary. The only evidence we had that something was wrong was whatever Shuichi told us, but lately, he has not been talking to us.”
“And what would he tell you when he did?”
“He felt uneasy around this guy. We thought he was just being paranoid. You see, this is not the first time this has happened and Shuichi does have a habit of jumping to conclusions.”
Officer Maki opened his mouth to speak when the doors to the ER swung open. A gentlemen in a white lab coat glanced at them before walking into the waiting room. The officers and Tohma followed him, hoping he had some news about Shuichi.
Eiri glanced up quickly as the doctor entered. He roughly scrubbed his wet face and jumped to his feet as he recognized Shuichi’s physician. “Dr. Ohtani,” he greeted, stepping forward as everyone else got to their feet.
The middle aged gentlemen nodded at the writer. “Uesugi-san. I’m sorry we have to meet again under these circumstances.”
Eiri inclined his head in agreement.
Mrs. Shindou, clutching her husband’s arms tightly, stepped forward. She was pale and trembling. “Doctor, how’s my son?”
Dr. Ohtani glanced at the gathered group, eagerly awaiting something, anything about their loved one. “Shuichi…is in a coma.”
Gasps played hot potato around the room. Eiri felt faint. He sank into a chair as he suddenly felt uncomfortably warm. The color draining from his face, he hung his head, waiting for the lightheadedness to subside. Across the room, Shuichi’s mother cried out. More gasps and whispers echoed as Mrs. Shindou’s eyes rolled back and her feet collapsed under her. Eiri lifted his head up slightly and glanced at his mother-in-law.
“Minako,” Mr. Shindou cried in alarm. He laid her out on the floor just as Dr. Ohtani rushed forward, calling over his shoulder in some sort of doctor code.
The doctor checked her pulse and then her pupil’s just as an orderly flew into the room with a gurney. “She’ll be alright. She just fainted,” Dr. Ohtani sighed, standing back up. Standing back, he allowed the orderly to lift the woman gently and place her on the wheeled bed. “We’ll wheel her into the recovery room and give her a full physical just to be sure.”
“Thank you,” Mr. Shindou bowed as he followed the beefy, white clad man out of the waiting room.
Everybody watched the couple with pity and sadness. They knew exactly how Shindou-san felt. But they had a feeling that it was only going to get worse.
Dr. Ohtani sighed. “Unfortunately, the news I have is not good. Aside from being in a coma, Shuichi has a mild concussion.”
Eiri had to admit he was not the least surprised. Shuichi had hit his head really hard when he fell.
“We did a CAT scan and nothing showed up, thankfully. No blood clots, nothing. There should not be any lingering affects from the concussion, but we won’t be absolutely sure until he wakes up.”
Please, Kami-sama, Buddha, whoever is listening, let my baka be alright, Eiri prayed for the hundredth time that night.
“Do you know when that might be,” Officer Maki spoke up, asking the one question that was on everyone’s mind.
Dr. Ohtani shook his head. “Unfortunately, little is known about comas. Some people wake up after a few days and others…never wake up.”
Loud startled gasps and whispers followed this announcement.
Eiri swallowed over a sudden lump in his throat and squeezed his eyes shut against sudden tears. Shuichi was strong and stubborn. He would wake up. One of the things he hated above all else was disappointing Eiri. He did not like it when Eiri was cold and distant. He also hated it when his lover- now, husband- was mad at him. Shuichi would wake up, if for nothing else, to apologize.
“Shuichi broke both legs and hands, as well. They should heal without incident in a couple of months.”
Eiri understood how that happened. Shuichi had been wrapped around Rinjin’s waist when the railing broke. Yasashii had taken the brunt of the fall, breaking his neck in the process, but at the same time he had acted as a cushion for Shuichi. Unfortunately, the singer’s hands had been trapped behind Yasashii’s back as the insane man hit the floor. The same force that snapped his neck caused Shu to break his hands. The same could be said for Shuichi’s legs. They had had no cushion either. They landed with the same force as Yasashii, shattering instantly.
“He broke a few ribs, there isn’t anything life threateningly wrong with Shuichi,” Dr. Ohtani continued.
Sighs of relief echoed through the room.
“But…”
Everyone tensed, holding their breath. Eiri lowered his hands that had been holding his head and glanced at the doctor.
“We took some x-rays and discovered…Shuichi suffered a spinal injury.”
Eiri paled. Spinal injury? Dear God.
“But he’ll be alright,” Hiro pleaded.
Dr. Ohtani shook his head sadly. “I really don’t know. We’ll have to wait for him to wake up to ascertain the extent, but at this point, it looks as if he might be paralyzed from the waist down.”
Sharp gasps and curses echoed this statement.
This could not be happening! His baka won’t be able to walk? That seemed too cruel a fate for the hyperactive singer. Shuichi thrived on being free to ran, jump and prance around on stage. He was always running around the house, sliding across the floor like it was an ice rink, jumping on him, dragging him out for walks and dates. With the lower half of his body useless, it was better if Shuichi had been killed in that fall. Shuichi always acted as if he had ants in his pants. He could not sit still if his life depended on it. Truth be told, Eiri loved that about his baka. But now…
“There is the possibility of surgery, but…” the doctor continued.
Eiri glanced up sharply.
“But what,” Tohma asked.
“It may do more harm than good. Right now, there’s a chance that with rehab, Shuichi’ll be able to walk again. He may not recover fully and he may have to use a cane, but he’ll be able to walk.”
“And this surgery,” Hiro asked.
“May permanently paralyze him.”
“What’re his chances,” Tohma asked calmly.
“Well,” Dr. Ohtani scratched his head, “without the surgery, he has at least a forty percent chance of walking. With the surgery, he has an eighty percent chance, but there’s also a twenty percent chance the surgery may cause him permanent paralysis.”
Everyone glanced at the blond writer. Eiri mulled over both options. As the one Shuichi had chosen to make decisions for him, should the need rise, Eiri felt the mounting pressure. He had no idea what to do. What was better? Should he tell Dr. Ohtani to hell with the surgery and take the chances with rehab, or take the chance of permanently paralyzing his lover? He wanted Shuichi to be able to run and jump and act like the idiot that he was, but…It was all too much. He could not decide. He could not do that to Shuichi. “I think we should wait for Shuichi to wake up before we decide.”
Dr. Ohtani nodded in agreement. “That’s fine.”
“I want to see him.”
“Of course,” Dr. Ohtani nodded.
“We’ll wait here for you,” Mika told her brother.
Grateful, Eiri stood up and followed the doctor out into the hall.
“Uesugi-san,” called a voice behind the writer.
Eiri paused and watched as the tall, toothpick-like police officers strolled over to him.
“When you get the chance, I would like for you to come down to the station and give your statement,” Officer Nada said. He pulled out a card and handed it to the writer. He also gave one to the doctor. “And when Shindou-san does wake up, we’d like it if you would call us.”
“Of course,” Dr. Ohtani said with a nod.
“One more thing, Doctor,” officer Maki said.
“Yes, officer.”
“Did you…” He glanced at Eiri briefly. It felt weird to ask this question about a male victim. “…find any evidence of sexual assault?”
Eiri paled. Sexual assault?
The writer glanced up and saw his husband alive and well at the head of the staircase. At his feet was their neighbor, clutching his face and crying. He blinked. “Shu, wha-what did you do to him?”
Shuichi smiled proudly. “Decked him.”
Eiri snorted, but felt a surge of pride. “I can see that, Baka.”
“Well,” the singer said, fisting his hands on his hips, “that’s what he gets for trying to take what I reserve for you alone.”
“What?” Eiri did not like that one little bit.
Eiri clenched his hands as a surge of anger flowed through him. If that bastard touched his Shu-han, he would go to the morgue and slice the man’s body into ribbons and feed the pieces to the sharks.
“There was evidence of recent sexual activity,” Dr. Ohtani admitted.
Eiri felt his face pale. Dear God, did that mean…
“But, fortunately, there was no evidence of rape.”
Eiri breathed another sigh of relief. Shuichi was not someone who would willingly allow something like that to happen. He was only gang banged by Aizawa all those years ago because he allowed it to happen in order to protect him. Shuichi may look like a scrawny weakling, but he could kick anyone’s ass. Hell, he managed to kick some guy’s ass that was twice as big as he in order to protect Ayaka when they first started dating.
“But if Shindou-san was unconscious…” Officer Maki pressed.
Eiri glared evilly at him as the officer voiced the very thought he had been thinking. What was it with these people? Could they not let sleeping dogs lie?
Dr. Ohtani shook his head. “Unless you find a used condom at the apartment, there was no evidence to suggest that Rinjin ever touched Shindou-san.”
The officers nodded and thanked the men for their cooperation. Bowing, they left.
“Well shall we,” Dr. Ohtani asked Eiri. He pushed the button on the wall and the doors swung open. Eiri followed the doctor down the corridor, to ICU.
Eiri saw two big, beefy black dudes standing outside of one of the rooms at the far end and assumed that Shuichi was in there. Usually, the men were Nittle Grasper’s bodyguards while the band was on tour, but Tohma had reassigned them to guard and protect Shuichi. Tohma trusted them with his life, quite literally. If he was remembering correctly, their names were Blade and Marcus. They were wearing black jeans and tight black muscle shirts. Black holsters and black hand guns blended invisibly with their clothes. These guys took their job seriously. They left their posts for no reason, other than to protect their charge. As Eiri and the doctor approached, the men sized them up with long penetrating stares.
“Dr. Ohtani,” the one closest to them greeted with a nod.
“Gentlemen,” Dr. Ohtani nodded in English. Stepping aside, he indicated the writer. “This is Eiri Uesugi, Shuichi’s husband. Uesugi-san, this is Blade,” the one closest to them, “and Marcus,” the one farthest from them. Bows were exchanged.
Blade stepped aside to allow both Dr. Ohtani and Eiri into the room. Dr. Ohtani flicked the light switch on as he crossed the threshold and strode to Shuichi’s side. Eiri stood right inside the doorway staring at his husband, or what he believed was his husband. His legs refused to take him farther into the room. They flat out ignored the signals his brain was sending them. The door closed behind him, bumping into his back, forcing him to either walk into the room or annoy the guards. Swallowing, he walked with trepidation towards his comatose husband.
Dr. Ohtani stood at the foot of the bed, waiting patiently.
Eiri stood by Shuichi’s bedside, gazing forlornly down at him. He felt so helpless. Shuichi was pale and encased nearly from head to foot in bandages and bruises and cuts. Reaching out, he brushed a strand of Shuichi’s black locks behind his ear. He hated seeing his lover like this. Shuichi was not supposed to be silent and still. It was like they had been trapped in some sort of alternate universe. Once again, he felt a lump in his throat. He took in a deep, shaky breath, letting it out slowly.
“Uesugi-san,” Dr. Ohtani said in a soft, gentle voice, stepping towards him. “There’s something else I would like to talk to you about.”
With difficulty, Eiri forced his gaze from his husband to the doctor, his face carefully blank.
“I didn’t want to bring it up in front of the others because I was not sure…” He let his voice fade. Sighing, he gazed down at his sleeping patient. “You noticed how his jeans were soaked in blood, right?”
The memory came back like a slap upside the head.
Eiri hugged his baka tightly to him, crying chaotically into his black locks. His hand ran down Shuichi’s back to his buttocks, so he could hold the tiny man closer, but felt something slimy and squishy at the crotch of the lithe singer’s jeans. Pulling back, he glanced down and gasped, his eyes widening in shock.
Eiri shook the memory aside. “What’s wrong with him? Why was he bleeding? Is it-”
Dr. Ohtani sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Uesugi-san, but…Shuichi…had...He had a…miscarriage.”
Eiri blinked stupidly at the doctor. Miscarriage? What the hell was that supposed to mean? A miscarriage implied a baby and pregnancy and the last time Eiri checked, Shuichi was a guy and was not properly equipped. “Miscarriage? You must be joking. Dr. Ohtani, I don’t know if you realized this, but Shuichi is a guy. Men can’t and don’t have babies. You must’ve gotten his x-rays mixed up with someone else’s.”
“Oh, my,” the doctor muttered in shock. “He never told you.”
Eiri blinked in confusion. “Told me what?”
“Uesugi-san,” the doctor sighed, “Shindou-san is…a hermaphrodite. He’s one of the few in the world that I’m aware of.”
“A herm…” He looked stupidly at the other man.
“A hermaphrodite. It means Shuichi was born with fully functioning male as well as female parts. So, in essence, he has the ability-“
Eiri nodded impatiently, waving off the explanation. “I know what a hermaphrodite is,” he snapped. He ground his fingers into his temples as he felt the beginning of a migraine. “So, what you’re telling me is that Shuichi, my Shuichi, is a…a hermaphrodite.”
“Yes.” The older male studied the writer closely. “You really had no idea. Shindou-san never told you.”
Eiri stared blankly at the greying man before him. He just could not wrap his mind around any of this. “Shu was a…and he was…”
“Pregnant. Yes, he was.”
Lightheaded, Eiri stumbled backwards and collapsed into a chair. He dropped his head into his hands. This was all too much for him to take in. How could he not have known about this? How could Shuichi have kept it a secret for so long?
“I am sorry for your loss, Uesugi-san,” Dr. Ohtani whispered softly.
The writer lifted a tear streaked face and asked bluntly, his voice choking, “What happened? How…?” He paused and tried to get control over his emotions. “Was it the fall?”
Dr. Ohtani shook his head. “I’m not sure. It is entirely possible, but then again because of all the stress and emotional upheaval he went through today…It’s possible that it all added to the loss.” Dr. Ohtani laid a comforting hand on the man’s shoulder. “I really am sorry, Uesugi-san.” Squeezing his shoulder, the doctor turned and left the ICU room, leaving a man to mourn.