Chapter Text
Red words flashed on the bangle on Kyoko’s wrist; “Make any contact with Byakuya Togami.”
Makoto, Aoi, and Kyoko all stood at a large computer screen with Togami on screen. Just then, she collapsed. The room was dark, with the computer screen giving the only light. Byakuya gasped, and Aoi’s eyes welded up tears. Makoto gave Byakuya a look that was read as “shes cooked.”
The left side of her body was purple. Not a pleasant shade, but a sickly monster color. Thankfully, the fall wasn’t hard. Aoi and Makoto kneeled at her side, shaking her. They noticed the bangle…their worst fears were confirmed.
“No…Kyoko…” Aoi cried, full on sobbing over Kyoko’s body.
“What’s going on?” Byakuya asked, his tone full of panic.
“In this game, you have a forbidden action. Kyoko did it, which was making contact with you…The silver bangles injected a poison, which kill her…The left side of her body’s purple…and blood is spewing from her eye…” Makoto explained, Byakuya showing a rare expression of panic.
Kyoko lay there, breathing extremely shallow. Aoi assumed she was dead, as blood trickled out of her left eye like a waterfall. Her cool toned, porecalin doll skin was whiter than ever on the right side of her body. Kyoko felt as if she was floating. Every single nerve in her body was paralyzed, as she felt a liquid well up in her eyes.
She wanted to scream, but all she could do was be still. Kyoko heard Makoto, Aoi and Byakuya…
Goodness, would this antidote even work? She felt as if she hung off a clif, with a long pit of darkness below her. She could only hold on with her pinky finger. The pit below was harmless, but her friends screamed above her as if the could save her.
——-
Kyoko let out a heavy gasp. She was in a black thing, and it felt like she was being carried…uh oh. She could make out the comotion around everything…was that byakuya? He couldn’t hear her, or see her.
Kyoko let out a scream. The person carrying her bag jumped, dropping it. She started to hyperventilate, not knowing at all what was going on.
“Kyoko? Kyoko? Is that you?” Byakuya yelled, attempting to unzip the body bag.
Poor girl was hyperventilating. She watched Byakuya’s face go through a bundle of emotions. Happiness, concern, and panic. He observed the sickly purple on her face, and the blood trickling out of her left eye.
“You need urgent medical attention.” He blurted, panicking. The room was dim around them, with Kyoko laying on concrete stained with blood and dirt. The air was dusty, and not one Byakuya wanted to be in for long.
The person originally carrying the body bag had left by this point, most likely to setttle transportation matters. This left the two alone.
“I don’t want you walking. I’m carrying you,” Byakuya ordered. Kyoko felt too weak to do anything, and was still hyperventilating. You couldn’t hear her weezing, yet her breathing remained heavy and fast.
He lifted Kyoko off the floor with ease, carrying her in a semi-bridal style position. Because she felt so weak, her head slumped against Byakuya’s chest.
As he walked, Kyoko remained weak and limp. The blood from her eye dried it shut. Due to using all her energy from hyperventilating and screaming, she wanted to fall asleep. Infact, Byakuya’s heart beat acted as a lullaby.
“Stay with me, Kyoko. We’re almost there.” Byakuya reassured.
“Oh..and in the likely event your gloves need ti be removed, what do you prefer to be done with them?” He asked, attempting to both take her mind off of what was going on and plan.
“If possible, could you stay near and keep them…? I might be stuck for a while….so, you keeping my gloves would assure the most safety…” She muttered, with no energy in her voice.
“I can do that.” Byakuya replied, continuing to carry Kyoko out to safety.
——-
As soon as they reached the hospital, Kyoko was taken for treatment. Kyoko gave Byakuya her gloves, knowing he would return. In fact, he acted as the person sponsoring Kyoko. He even got the number for the doctors to call him after she was clear for anyone to come.
——
16 hours later, Byakuya woke up to a call. He laid in his bed, while the room was dark. 4:13, the alarm clock read. His phone buzzed with the number from the hospital.
While lying down, he put the phone to his ear.
“Hello, Is this Byakuya Togami?”
“Yes, this is him.”
“We’re calling regarding Kyoko Kirigiri. She is now in a hospital bed, resting and stable. Her left eye was saved and cleaned with a surgery done. She now has a bandage covering her eye.
As for the poison, the antidote worked effectively to bring her to stabiliity, but not recovery. We’ve done a blood transfusion, a round of dialysis, and a procedure to remove most of it. Around 1/3 is removed, so we’re most likely going to do another round of the procedure.
Overall, we need to treat the poisin and fully remove it, and fix her eye. She’ll be here for about a week, as we don’t want to overload her with procedures. The doctor will most likely speak with you about recovery when you come.”
“Thank you for telling me, when can I see her next?”
“Probably as soon as you come. As long as she’s not in a procedure, you’re welcome to be with her.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you later.” Togami said groggily, especially after being bombarded with information at 4 in the morning.
He hung up the phone and contemplated about the time to go. He assumed Kyoko would want to rest, so he himself decided to go back to sleep.
—-
Byakuya entered Kyoko’s room. When he saw Kyoko, his faced showed both concern and relief.
Kyoko laid in a hospital bed in a gown. There was an IV in one of her hands, and her left eye was covered in a bandage. There were small bandages sporatically on her arms, probably from tests and the procedures.
He approached her bedside, observing her.
“How are you feeling?” He asked, his tone softer than normal.
“Out of it…They put me on painkillers to keep me comfortable….” Kyoko sighed, “and I feel weird from the procedures…just all over.”
Byakuya nodded. “I see…would you like me to go so you can rest?”
Kyoko shook her head. “Stay…”
Byakuya moved stray hair on her face. He noticed it was tangled…extremely tangled. He would deal with it later, as her recovery was most important.
He pulled up a chair next to her hospital bed. Byakuya assumed Kyoko wouldn’t want to talk to her for a while. He sat there in her presence, observing her rest.
——
When she came home, this became a daily occurrence. Byakuya would spend and hour sitting in her presence, making sure she wouldn’t feel alone. The recovery was brutal: so brutal Byakuya would sometimes squeeze her hand, and Kyoko would squeeze back.