Hinata turned her attention to the person beside her at the dry laugh. “I don’t need to see a doctor… I’m perfectly fine…” Izumi-san reassured despite the way he was folding in on himself as if he could shrink himself so small, the other passengers in the car would forget about him. “just drive Tachibana-san home.” Said pink-haired woman arched an eyebrow, crossed her arms, but said nothing more, opting to glower at the taxi driver instead.
He’d been the one to drive into Izumi-san; surely
he wasn’t so stupid as to let a man who’d just been
hit by a car laugh off the experience, especially given how Izumi-san had been sent flying to the ground. Worried eyes caught hers through the rearview mirror before glancing towards Izumi-san and then back to her. She looked over as well; the purple-haired man was nearly ghost-white, eyes staring vacantly forwards. Leaning forwards, she could see a dampness on his forehead. Izumi-san was still too dazed to notice her movements. Catching the driver’s eyes once more, she shook her head even as her lips formed a silent word: hospital.
They came to a jerking halt in front of the hospital, prompting another irritated glare for the taxi driver.
“He’s injured; park softer next time.” She hissed to the man even as she got out of the car, trailing him to the other side. “C’mon. It’s not like a doctor will
butcher you, Izumi,” the taxi driver cajoled to no avail. Hinata didn’t even bother trying. When there was no response, the man undid Izumi-san’s seatbelt and started dragging the purple-haired man out of the car. Izumi-san, of course, wanted no such thing and clung to any purchase he could find on the car, his face a mix of anguish, desperation, and sheer terror despite his silence.
Hinata said nothing as the game of tug-of-war continued: the taxi driver trying to pry Izumi-san out and Izumi-san desperately holding onto anything to keep himself from moving. She pressed her lips together, for once not enjoying the ridiculousness of the scene. It was similar to one someone might find in a comedy but she found no humor in the situation. She’d seen too many similarly frightened faces to be amused. Before she was fully aware of what she was doing, she had taken a step forward and laid a hand on the taxi driver’s arm.
“Yes?”She startled back into the present, hazel eyes focusing on the dark-haired man. She didn’t want to ask. She didn’t want to
know.
“Why is he so afraid of hospitals?”“ Never told me for real,” He shrugged,
“but I suppose it's cause of his little brother... He died in a car crash, that's how Izumi explained it to me, that he doesn't…”The taxi driver was still speaking but everything had faded beyond the words echoing in her ears:
little brother… he died in a car crash. Little brother. Died. Little. “Leave him alone.” She turned away before either could see her expression, instead reaching into her purse to pluck out her phone with cold fingers.
where r u???
save me from rei!! ~><~Hinata ignored Mimi’s texts, instead hitting a familiar speeddial. The phone rang once, twice, and then a familiar voice answered: “’Sup?”
“Shirou.”“Hinana.”
Her nose wrinkled instinctively at that terrible nickname but she said nothing about it. (She’d already said many things many times about it to no avail.)
“Is Amiboshi-san available?”“Ohhhh?” The word was elongated with interest and she didn’t have to see him to know her ‘brother’s’ face had taken on a mischievous look. “I’m sure he could become available if you needed him.”
“And then have to deal with Yui-san? I think not,” She deadpanned.
“No, I actually need a doctor. For a friend” She added irritably when she suddenly felt Shirou’s attention go from teasing to serious.
“My… ‘friend’ got hit by a car,” She ignored the startled ‘what?!’ and continued as if uninterrupted, irritation making her curt,
“and he doesn’t want to go to a hospital. I know Amiboshi-san’s just in training, but can he look my friend over?” Despite the words, it sounded more like an order than a request.
“If your friend got hit by a car, I think a hospital would be more appropriate than a med student.” Her brother retorted drily.
She sighed in response.
“He doesn’t want to go to a hospital. Bad memories.” There was a solemn silence as her brother picked up on her mood before he responded with an affirmative. Amiboshi was in fact home and Shirou was sure he could get the other man to help out. After hanging up, Hinata turned back around to face the two men. The taxi driver was looking at her in confusion and Izumi-san was as unresponsive as ever. Hazel eyes glanced between the two before sharpening,
“Buckle him back up. We’re going somewhere else.” She ordered, all prickly and bossy once more.
“I have a friend” of my brother’s
“who’s willing to look him over. From there we can determine if a hospital is necessary.”Explanation grudgingly given, Hinata stomped back to her side of the cab, gave the driver the address, glared at him for good measure, and then settled back, arms crossed, to look out the window.
~~~
They ended up in front of an apartment building in Koto. The outside was well kept but clearly not new. The taxi eased into the one parking spot before being turned off. Two people spilled out from opposite sides of the car: a dark blue haired man and a pink haired woman. The former opened the other backseat door to reveal a third occupant.
“Izumi-san. Izumi-san!” A sudden clap seemed to break the last passenger from his reverie and bright blue eyes stared around him wildly.
“Look.” A pale hand jabbed towards the apartment building in front of them,
“Not a hospital.” She waited for the slow nod of acknowledgement before continuing,
“We’re going in and my friend, who is not a doctor” yet “is going to examine your side and make sure it’s okay, alright?”Hinata backed away from the door to give the taxi driver space to help Izumi-san out of the car. Thankfully, he seemed more responsive now they were no longer in front of a medical facility. She led the two men past the front guard and up the elevators, stopping at floor fifteen. The door swung open at her knock, a familiar green-haired man waiting on the other side.
“Welcome,” The two siblings exchanged a quick one-armed hug before Shirou was backing into the apartment. “Leave your shoes there; we can tidy after. So this is your friend?” The quartet retreated into what appeared to be the apartment’s living room where another two males—both sandy blonds—waited with a first aid kit and a stethoscope.
“Hello, I’m Ueda Amiboshi. My brother, Suboshi. If you can just stand here?” One of the strangers stood up, guiding Izumi-san to a position in front of where he’d been sitting. “I’ll just start checking, if you don’t mind?” He didn’t even wait for a response before he placed his flat on Izumi-san’s torso. “Take a breath in for me please?”
“So how’d you meet Tachibana-san?” Suboshi cut in as well, brown eyes boring into Izumi-san.