Chapter Twenty-Four: Silent Spring:
December 23rd, 2009. 7 a.m.
Mike received
some shocking news the next morning. His phone rang before sunrise.
"Hello?" he
asked in a tired voice.
"Mike-san?" a
woman's voice asked on the other line.
"Yes?" he asked.
"What is it?"
"Yamamoto-san's
condition has changed!" the woman announced. Mike's eyes opened wide.
"Nurse Yamaha?"
he asked. "What did you say?"
"Yamamoto-san's
condition has changed," the nurse repeated. The demon sat up in bed.
"Changed?" he
asked. "Changed how?"
"It's hard to
say," the nurse said. "She kept asking for you. Only�"
"Only what?"
Mike asked. The nurse paused on the other line.
"She kept asking
for 'Mike-kun' not 'Mikey,'" she said. Mike froze at that revelation.
"I'll be right
over," he said. The demon leapt out of bed and raced to get dressed. In an hour,
Tatsumi and Mike made it to the hospital. They rushed all the way to Hana's
room. The woman sat up in bed, staring at them. Gone was the child-like glow in
her face. She had no emotion.
"Mike-kun?" she
asked. The demon stepped forward.
"Hana?" he
asked. "Hana, what happened?" His ex clutched her sheets.
"It's been so
long," she said.
"Yes, it has,"
Mike said.
"I've been sick,
haven't I?"
Mike lowered his
head. "Yes." Neither one spoke as Tatsumi sensed a change in the woman.
Hana grabbed her
sheets tighter. "I don't know how much longer I'll be here," she said. "So I
have to say this now."
"Hana�" Mike
said.
"No, listen!"
she cried. The woman breathed heavily.
"I forgive you,"
Hana said. The color drained from Mike�s face.
"Hana�" he said.
"I forgive you
for Izumi-chan's death and everything that happened between us," she said. Mike
felt like breaking down inside.
"Hana�" he
murmured.
"Excuse me,"
Tatsumi cut in. Hana and Mike looked up at him. The secretary pushed up his
glasses.
"What exactly
happened to you, Yamamoto-san?" he asked. "Please try to remember." Hana dug
into her mind for the answer for a moment.
"There was
something last night," she said.
"What?" Mike
asked.
"An angel came
in my room," Hana answered.
"An angel?" Mike
asked.
Hana nodded.
"Yeah."
"What did this
angel look like?" Tatsumi asked. The woman closed her eyes.
"He had the most
beautiful violet eyes and he wore a lone black trench coat," she said. Both men
froze in shock.
"He's been
here!" Tatsumi gasped.
"Hana, did this
angel do anything to the tape?" Mike asked.
"I don't know,"
she said. "I fell asleep." The men rushed over to the tape player and hit play.
Mysterious Tape:
"Tell me, you
are a good girl."
"I need to go to
the hospital Asato-kun."
Outside:
"Good, it's
still here," Mike said. However as the tape continued, their hearts sank.
"Say it."
"Please
Asato-kun. Let me go to -"
New Message on
Tape:
"That's enough
out of you, Anna-chan!"
Outside:
Mike and Tatsumi
paused.
"No," the
shinigami said. "He's taped over it."
New Message on
Tape:
"It seems there
is a leak in my little game. (He snickered on the recording.) Doesn't change
things for me. I have Anna-san. Don't bother retrieving her. I'll give her back
when I'm ready. If you disobey me, well� Let's just say, I can't guarantee her
well-being afterwards. Good day, gentlemen."
*End of Tape*
Tatsumi and Mike stood there in silence. The jaded version of Tsuzuki's voice just confirmed everything they suspected. Unbeknownst to them, they had a little help on the outside with them, but for right now�
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