A few hours before, December 26th, Kamiki's penthouse
The front door of Kamiki's penthouse shut with a loud thud as the last rays of the setting sun dipped Ruby's face and the surrounding world in an orange glow. "It will all be fine, Kana, I'll take care of you. Your wound is probably not so deep anyway." Ruby looked down at Kana, who let her head hang low while leaning against Ruby. Her attempts at consoling Kana, who looked stonefaced, were only met by silence. "Come on, Kana. We need to make it like a tree and get out of here."
They walked, or more like Ruby walked and Kana dragged, over to the elevator and rode it all the way to the ground floor. Just after the quiet ding sound came, Ruby let go of Kana for a moment to peek her head out of the elevator. The elevator they took didn't lead to a lobby or anything, but straight outside. The road was only a few meters away from them, yet only a few people actually walked on it. Ruby deliberately positioned herself in front of Kana as she pulled her head back into the elevator to quietly observe the outside. "Okay, Kana, we can probably slip out unnoticed. Keep your head low and follow my lead," she said as she concluded that nobody on the outside was even paying the slightest bit of attention to them.
One deep breath and both stepped out of the elevator. Ruby led as fast as she could, the way without straining Kana.
"Okay, you need to be strong now. I can't call an ambulance, they would get suspicious..." The cold winter air made Kana's open face burn like it was on fire, yet the weird sensation of air beneath her skin was probably even worse.
"It's Okay-" Kana murmured, her voice sounded raspy and quiet.
"Y-You're right, it will all be okay. It's not far anymore." Ruby responded, a bit startled that Kana suddenly spoke.
They continued to walk down the road. The crowds continued to grow as they headed further north, yet nobody seemed to notice or care about their situation.
"Okay, Kana, if you get asked what happened," Ruby paused and thought for a moment, "Jus- Just come up with something, say you were attacked. When they ask for more details. Don't reply! You don't have to tell them."
They saw the distant lights of the hospital as they turned the last corner. All of a sudden, Ruby felt how Kana's body turned heavier and began to drag more and more behind her.
"No, No, No," she whispered with her breath forming clouds of vapor in front of her face. "Kana, stay with me now.... We are almost there."
Ruby bumped into and shoved others aside as she picked her pace up. Her eyes were only fixed on the glowing hospital entrance as her own body rapidly lost power. At first, it was her legs that barely wanted to leave the ground, then her back, which became heavier the more Kana slipped. Her eyes snapped closed as they busted through the front door of the hospital, her vision overloaded by the glaring lights. The entry area was filled with various people standing in lines, with 2 receptionists who did their best to keep up with the wide variety of problems presented to them.
"PLEASE... SOMEBODY HAS TO… HELP MY… FRIEND!" Ruby's words came out in intervals and much louder than she had intended.
The entire room turned its eyes towards Ruby and the barely conscious Kana. Some faces were filled with annoyance, while others looked surprised or shaken. Yet some of them showed another emotion, an emotion Ruby didn't even see in the hasty moment. But Kana saw it all too well; to her, it felt like each and every person in the room looked at her with the same expression, pity. Ruby started her march forward towards the receptionists as soon as her legs allowed her to. Each step felt heavier than the last, but she kept pushing. Some people made space for her; others she pushed out of the way, using her dwindling strength. The receptionists had by now gotten up from their chairs, one of them already on the phone with someone.
Right on cue, as Ruby reached the front of the line, her legs gave out beneath her. Pain rushed through her spine as her knees connected with the hard floor beneath her. Kana's predicament was much worse, though, without Ruby, nothing was left to stop her face from meeting the ground. The world around Ruby slowed down as she tried to lift her hands to reach for Kana, yet her sore muscles didn't allow for any movements; Aqua's drugs had more punch in them than she had initially believed. Kana's hair looked like it was just floating in the middle of the air for a moment, like it was the only thing on earth gravity didn't apply to; then it shot down into its original position again. "Got her," a man said with both his hands under Kana's shoulders.
"T-Thank you," Ruby murmured as her empty eyes stared up to him; then she turned to face the receptionists. "Please...- she was attacked... She is barely responsive-"
...
The next few minutes were a blur for Ruby. The voices around her felt distant and muffled. Kana was taken away from her, and she was led to a seating area, where she was given a bottle of water. After a few minutes, she could hear distant voices which came closer, coughing, a crying baby, talking men... She saw a packed waiting room, filled with various people, around her, as her eyes regained focus. Ruby instantly tried to stand, but she could feel her legs give out beneath her weight, so she quickly sat back down. A minute passed, in which she chugged the water bottle down, trying again after setting it down, this time she could stand, and was even able to walk slowly.
She made her way back to the reception, this time patiently waiting at the back of the line, so as not to cause more trouble. A few minutes passed by, and it was finally her turn. "My friend-" Ruby cleared her throat. "The girl I came in here with a few minutes ago. How is she?"
The receptionist barely looked up as she replied. "I am not allowed to give out the status of our patients."
Ruby almost punched the plexiglass between her and the receptionist; she only caught herself at the last second… "Please... I just want to know if my friend is alive..."
The receptionist finally looked up from her documents on the desk. "I should call security right now. But... I won't..." She gazed left and right before she talked again, her voice lowered a bit. "From what I know, the cut was deep, but the bleeding had already stopped. The reason she passed out was probably just exhaustion. You haven't heard this from me, though."
Ruby sighed in relief as she stepped to the side to make space for the next patient. She mouthed a silent thanks to the receptionist as she was already on her way outside. Once outside, Ruby sat down on a nearby bench on the opposite side of the road, just next to the entry of a small local park. The sun had set by now, so the only light came from a nearby street lamp. After she sat for a moment, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Miyako's number. The phone rang just once before she picked it up, with the line staying quiet for just a second.
Miyako: "Ruby... is this you? I actually just wanted to call you, and ask when you're coming home today? I had less work to do than I expected, so I'm already home and wanted to ask if we should maybe eat dinner together, since I've been coming home so late the past few weeks. Anyways, why did you call?"
Ruby: "It's because of Kana..."
Ruby tried to sound composed, yet Miyako, who has mothered her for far over a decade now, knew when something was wrong.
Miyako: "Is everything alright?."
Ruby: "No... Not at all... Kana was attacked by some guy, it's bad... really bad... I brought her to the hospital... but I don't know what to do."
Miyako: "Ruby, you have to tell me which hospital you're at."
Ruby: "It's the Red Cross Medical Center in Shibuya, I think-"
Miyako: "Okay Ruby lis-"
Ruby: "I just don't understand it... Why... He said that Kana deserves this for leaving B-Komachi... Why do humans have to be like this? Why couldn't he just be happy for Kana? She just started a new chapter in her life, that should be something happy, not sad."
Miyako, who was interrupted, was now listening to Ruby while she grabbed her car keys from the counter. Her heart was aching as Ruby asked questions nobody had the answers to.
Miyako: "Don't cry baby... I'm already on my way... Is Aqua with you?"
Ruby: "No... Aqua is... wherever, I don't care about him."
Miyako: "Don't say stuff like that, he is your brother... Look, Ruby. I will have to hang up now, but I will be there in a moment, just wait for me… I love you, Ruby."
Ruby: "I love you too, Mom."
The tears that had begun to roll down Ruby's cheeks stayed for a moment as the call ended, then she wiped them away with her sleeve and stuffed her phone into her pocket. The void sky entered her sight as she leaned back as far as she could against the bench to stare at the sky, yet the only thing that stared back was the infinite emptiness of the universe.
...
Ruby still sat on the bench in the same position when Miyako drove into the parking lot of the hospital 20 minutes after the call had ended. Yet Ruby didn't even notice it; she only moved again when she heard quick footsteps approaching her. She couldn't react before she was pulled onto her feet, right into a tight embrace. Miyako was silently pressing all the air out of Ruby's lungs. At first, she tried to fight the hug, but the longer it lasted, the better it made Ruby feel. "Thank you... Thank you for being here for me." Ruby muttered as she nuzzled herself against Miyako.
Miyako's hold on Ruby loosened a bit as she used her sleeve to wipe over her own face. "But I'm mostly fine, just a bit shaken up…" Ruby said, not pulling away. "Kana is the one..."
"You're right... My emotions just got the better of me... We should go and check on Kana now." Miyako held Ruby for a few more seconds before she eventually let go and pulled back. Without a moment of hesitation, she began to walk towards the hospital.
"I don't think we can." Ruby didn't show any intent to follow after Miyako, who had by now stopped again. "Visiting hours are long over, and I also think that Kana is currently being operated on, so I don't think we can see her right now."
Miyako turned around and took a few steps towards Ruby. "There has to be something we can do, anything. Ruby, we can't just do nothing."
Ruby turned away, looking at the bright entrance of the hospital. "It's no use, even if we could see her, we wouldn't be much help, all shaken up... Also Mem deserves to know about this too."
Miyako bit her lower lip before she replied. "I suppose you're right... We can't do anything here... You text Mem-Cho, and tomorrow, we'll come back here together."
She took a few steps towards Ruby, who was still intensely staring at the hospital entrance. "Come on, let us get back to the car..." Miyako placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder. She was facing away from the door, while Ruby was still staring at it, her head falling a bit.
"It just feels so wrong... I should be with her."
"It's not your fault, Ruby. Life can be cruel for no reason at all."
Ruby looked up at Miyako and opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something; however, the only thing that came out was hot haze. "You're right. I am not the one at fault here..." It is he who is at fault.
...
The car ride back home was silent; neither Ruby nor Miyako felt like talking or had anything to say that would've helped in this situation. Ruby was now lying on her bed with her favourite plushie sitting on her head, while number two was being hugged.
It's not my fault that this happened. It's his fault, it's all his fault for not letting me help, for not trusting me enough. I can't believe that Aqua would go this far. It's almost like he isn't the same person that I once knew anymore...
What made you change like that? Was it really Mom's death? Why did you dummy turn out like this when I am just fine?
Well, it's not like it matters now, what's done is done. He has shown once more that he doesn't trust me one bit. He changed into something unrecognizable.
... Now that mom is dead, and the doctor is dead to me… Why am I even doing this? Why did I want to be an idol again?
"Oh right, I totally forgot..." Ruby let go of her plush as she turned onto her other side, her thick blanket exposing her leg for just a moment, long enough for the cold air inside her room to send a shiver down her spine, as she grabbed her phone. "I still have to text Mem."