The torn card and the joker. This was what they meant. These thought was running inside Hanamichi's head as Kaede cradled Akira's body to himself.

A few minutes later an ambulance arrived at the resort and everyone watched as Akira was carefully carted inside the emergency vehicle.

"I'll go with him," Sinichi told Hanamichi as he made to follow the paramedics into the ambulance.

Hanamichi nodded when suddenly, Kaede pushed past him to get to the brown-haired man. "Sinichi. I want to go too."

"Only immediate family is allowed, Kaede," Sinichi told him firmly.

"Please," the brunette said angrily with a hint of desperation, "I want to go with Akira!"

Sinichi immedietly held Kaede back by the chest but when the fox-eyed youth still persisted, the olive-skinned man swung his fist and punched Kaede on the stomach, hard. The young man gasped before he dropped unconcious in Sinichi's arms.

"Hey!" Hanamichi yelled, "What did you do that for?!"

"He was being hysterical," Sinichi said grimly, passing his heavy burden to Hanamichi with a grunt. "Lie him down and tell Hisashi about what happened."

"Uh... okay..." Hanamichi said, hefting the brunette more securely against him, "What am I gonna tell him about Akira?"

"Baka!" barked Sinichi, "If Akira needs to be operated, Hisashi should be on hand in case Akira needs some blood. Hisashi is his blood relative! Now I've got to go!"

"Hai!" the redhead called as Sinichi ran to where the ambulance was still waiting for him. After dumping the fox-eyed brunette in one of the resort's suite, Hanamichi immedietly went to a phone and called back to the Kanagawas.
"Hisashi-kun! Something's happened to Akira!"


~~~~

The lean body on the bed moved and suddenly, a groan came out of the pink lips before fox-eyes fluttered open, revealing dazed blue orbs trying to maintain a clear vision after the darkness he had been in.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked beside him.

Turning his head to the side, he saw Hanamichi sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at him with a minutely amused expression.

"Where's Akira?" Kaede croaked as he slowly sat up, letting the sheets fall off his chest to lie on his lap.

"He's at the hospital," the redhead replied, frowning at him, "You shouldn't be up."

"Which hospital?" the brunette demanded, ignoring Hanamichi's warning.

The redhead crossed his arms against his chest and said lowly, "I'm not telling."

"Tell me where!?" Kaede demanded angrily, leaning towards the redhead, "I need to know! Whatever happens to him I want to be beside him! I'm not going to lose him again! Even if he dies-!"

Kaede only felt the sting and the sound of the skin smacking skin belatedly as he stared at the redhead, stunned. After giving that hard slap to Kaede, Hanamichi retracted his hand, palms stinging, before he grabbed Kaede by the front of his shirt and growled, "Don't you dare finish that sentence, fox!"

Kaede still stared at him, his eyes wide. Slowly but suredly, Hanamichi saw from them that the brunette was slowly regaining his wits.

"If you care about Akira that much, you're supposed to believe in him," Hanamichi said softly, "He's strong, and he won't give up without a fight. Sinichi and Hisashi are there to take care of him. We'll just be in the way."

Kaede's face showed disgruntled agreement as he averted his eyes away from Hanamichi. The redhead sighed and slowly released the brunette. A second later, Hanamichi's fingers lifted to carefully make their way upwards to caress the redness on Kaede's cheek.

"Gomen," Hanamichi murmured as he shifted his knees onto the bed to touch the brunette better, "Does it hurt?"

The blue eyes turned back to look at the redhead before they shut. Slowly, Kaede turned his head to the side where Hanamichi's fingers were resting and held that hand to his face, nuzzling at the warm palm lovingly as he let out a soft breath of exhalation.

When Kaede began to reverently kiss Hanamichi's palm, the redhead gathered the brunette in his arms and sighed again, letting his body relax into the warmth of the other.
"Akira will make it. Trust him."


~~~~

At the hospital where Akira was being sent to, Sinichi waited, seemingly cool and unconcerned as he leaned against the pale green walls but inside he was in anxiety, willing Hisashi to appear ever since Akira was carted into the emergency room fifteen minutes ago.
When Hisashi suddenly emerged from the lobby doors looking worried and anxious, Sinichi held back from jumping to the younger man and instead waited for Hisashi to come to him.

"Sinichi! Where's Akira?" Hisashi demanded, striding up to his cousin.

"He's in the emergency room with the doctors," Sinichi told him, "Go to the nurses to supply some blood in case there are any complications."

"Uh... yeah..." Hisashi replied as a nurse approached him to lead him away. But before the brunette got far away from the other man, he looked back and said sincerely, "Thanks, Sinichi-kun."

"Baka," the man said lazily, giving Hisashi a small one-sided smile, "He's still my brother no matter who's his father is."

Hisashi smiled back at him. "Of course."


~~~~

Hanamichi slowly opened his eyes, realising with sleepy clarity that he has accidentally fallen asleep as he and Kaede held together in each other's arms. After a few languid seconds of staring at the ceiling, he turned his head to the side and saw Kaede looking at him with a soft expression on his face.
Hanamichi smiled and was about to turn to his side to face the brunette when suddenly Kaede pushed himself up and shifted closer so that their bodies were snuggled comfortably against each other.

Hanamichi felt his breath stuck in his throat as he gazed up at the deep blue sapphire eyes looking intently at him. When Kaede leaned down and began kissing his cheek in soft touches, Hanamichi closed his eyes again and he nearly moaned when the brunette's kisses trailed down to his neck.

Suddenly, the phone rang and in surprise Hanamichi sat up, tumbling Kaede off of him and onto the sheets. Blushing, the redhead got off the bed and quickly ran to the telephone, picking it up breathlessly.
"Moshi moshi. Ah! Sinichi-kun!"

On the bed, Kaede immedietly sat up and listened to what Hanamichi was saying.

"The operation is over? He's safe?! Thank God!"

After a few minutes of nodding and replying back to what Sinichi was telling him, Hanamichi put the phone down and turned back to Kaede with a relieved smile on his face.
"Sinichi said Akira's going to be alright. He has to stay in the hospital for a few weeks though, because he broke his leg but he's okay."

To the redhead's surprise, instead of being happy, Kaede looked thoroughly confused.
"I thought he wouldn't make it."

Hanamichi gave him an annoyed frown. "You should learn to put more faith on people, y'know."

The next day at the hospital:

"Why?! Why?!"

Sinichi rolled his eyes as Hisashi glared at the young man sitting prone on the bed.
"Why are you two the only ones here?! Where's Kaede? Where Hanamichi? Why does it have to be you two to be the ones I open my eyes to?!"

"Ungrateful brat," growled Sinichi from his seat beside Hisashi, "We took off from our work just to see you."

"Maybe we should teach him to respect his elders better," drawled Hisashi standing up from his chair.

Akira's eyes widened and when he saw his two brothers approaching him with intent in their eyes, he gulped.

"Ohayo-!!"
Hanamichi blinked when he saw the scene before him. On the bed, Akira was indeed awake as Sinichi had told him last night but invalid was also tangled up with two other people trying to win at what seemed to be an unfair fight.
Around Akira's neck, Sinichi has locked an arm to restrain him, while the another of Sinichi's hand mercilessly grinded a fist at the tall brunette's head. Akira has tried to fight back but only managed to hold onto Sinichi's leg with one arm while his other arm was held back by the wrist by a gleeful Hisashi.

"Hey, he's wounded!" Hanamichi protested, pulling Sinichi and then Hisashi away from the tortured patient.

"That's what I said," groaned Akira, trying to get his breath and dignity back. After kicking the two older Kanagawas out of the room, Hanamichi went to Akira and sat on one of the chairs beside the bed.

"Where's Kaede?" Akira asked as he brushed back his hair from his forehead.

Hanamichi bit his lip, and after what he thought was a safe answer, he replied, "He's still in shock. He said he didn't want to see you coz he felt guilty for what happened."

Akira sighed. "Hontou?"

"Aa." Hanamichi faked a smile as he remembered the actual words that Kaede had uttered when Hanamichi wanted to bring him to visit Akira.
"I don't want to go," the fox-eyed youth had said unemotionally, "I want to be with him, true, but to see him like that pains me. I hate him right now."

Hanamichi broke off from his musings when he realised Akira was talking to him again.
"He shouldn't feel that way. Each of us would've done the same thing. You, Hisashi or Sinichi."

Hanamichi grinned. "Yeah, even if I was under that lamp and Sinichi of Hisashi were the ones to save me."

"Now, let's not get too far," Akira guffawed, "My two aniki are too old to move as fast as me."

Outside, the two 'old aniki' were standing outside, listening in on their conversation.

"You heard what he said about us?" Hisashi said to his cousin.

"I did," Sinichi replied, "And he's a dead man."

"You're so full of yourself." Hanamichi chuckled and leaned his elbow against the bed.

"But you love me anyway, right?" Akira grinned.

"Aa," the redhead replied, smiling, as he rested his chin on his palm, "I'm falling in love with you all over again."

"My charm never fails," the brunette laughed throatily before his face took on a rueful expression. He smiled and shook his head. "But you still love Kaede more, don't you?"

Hanamichi merely smiled but from those brown-hazel eyes Akira could see the answer in them.

Suddenly, Akira tugged Hanamichi off from the chair to sit beside him on the bed. Hanamichi was pliant and he allowed himself to be held as he laid his head on Akira's chest.

"We're just a couple of fools," Hanamichi sighed as he burrowed closer against the brunette's body.

"That we are," Akira agreed.


~~~~

Outside the hospital building, Sinichi and Hisashi gave into their cravings and each lit a cigarette after they were sure they were not needed there any longer.

"Thank God that's over with," mumbled Hisashi around his cigarette as he began to light it.

Sinichi took a drag from his own cigarette and nodded. "Hm. But what about Oba Matsui?"

Hisashi shrugged. "Unfortunately we don't have any evidence to hold against her," he grumbled as he hooked his fingers in his pockets, "The police will only rule it out as an accident and we can't accuse her without proof. She is family and any investigation will be a tricky matter."

Sinichi sighed. "Kaede will be out for revenge."

"I have no doubt about that," Hisashi said, still walking ahead of Sinichi while the older man trailed after him. After a few seconds the scarred-face man turned around and regarded Sinichi in srutiny.

"What?" said Sinichi, looking at his cousin who has stopped walking and was merely looking at him warily.

"I won't lose to you, y'know," Hisashi told him firmly.

The olive-skinned man smirked. "Same here. But you forget, I have Hanamichi as my partner. He gets the better of you everytime."

Hisashi scowled. Anyone who knew Hanamichi knows that the redhead gets the better of anyone.



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