Chương 53: Winter in Spring

Ryū set his ceramic sake cup down and looked toward the boy." Waka-sama, How is your training progressing?" Paper lanterns illuminated the dining hall. The families shared grilled fish and warm sake around the low table. After laying his chopsticks down, Kurisu straightened his spine before replying.

"It proceeds without hindrance. I devote myself daily to the fulfillment of my duty."

"His mudra training is coming along well, too. I've been the one teaching him." Harumi nodded with a smile. Kongō chuckled, shaking his head and then shooting a sidelong glance at Ryū.

"'Ware'... Ryū, you've put ideas in the boy's head again. An eight-year-old brat skipping past ' watakushi'and' warawa'to speak like a warrior using' ware' must be your doing." Ochoko halfway to his lips, Ryū snorted, interrupting his sip to motion toward his wife and daughter.

"I offered no such instruction. Considering the Lady of my house and our daughter use that noisy Kamigata dialect, my influence over language is clearly limited." His laugh rattling the walls, Takeshi poured himself more sake.

"So even the Immortal Emperor must concede defeat when faced with his demon wife in some things!"" Ara, 'Demon Wife,' is it?" Harumi raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp, though a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Since you fear us so much, perhaps you'll be on your best behavior while you enjoy your sake tonight?"

"Of course, my mountain goddess!" Takeshi replied as they all shared a laugh, the women rolling their eyes, but grinning nonetheless. At the far end of the table, Rin leaned close to Kurisu, poking a chopstick at his forearm." Ne, Waka-bi. What's with the bruises? Did you fall?" Kurisu smoothed his sleeve, covering his arm.

"No, It's from training. To become stronger." Tilting her head, Rin chewed a bite of rice and swallowed.

"I've seen you train before. You never get bruises like that. Waka-bi, are you suddenly doing it wrong? Has Nodaichi-sama gotten harder on you?"

"No, Father's teachings are perfect, and my stance is correct. Bruises and the like are a common occurrence on the path of the sword." Utensils chasing a vegetable around her plate, Rin puffed out one cheek in a pout.

"Hmph! Fine then, don't tell me what's really going on, kechi!" Now I've done it! She'll pout forever if I don't just show her. Kurisu sighed.

"Alright, I'll show you this amazing art I've been practicing." He scratched the back of his neck, casting a glance to the other end of the table.

"I, uh, blocked several of Father's sparring strikes with my arms so I could practice it tonight," he admitted. Chopsticks set aside, he clasped his hands, crossing his index fingers into an 'X' to form the Chiyu-in. He closed his eyes, guiding the mudra by visualizing the bruises washing away." On Koro Koro Sendari Matougi Sowaka," he whispered. A soft, azure mandala spun into existence around his fingers as the pale energy of his Shin traveled across his arms, casting a cool light across the low table.

Following his mental image, the discoloration on his forearms faded, clearing away to leave his skin picture-perfect. The blue glow dissipated as the technique concluded, and Kurisu's shoulders slumped. His eyelids falling against his will, he tilted, the focused effort having left him exhausted." Sugoi!" Rin clapped her hands, her mouth open in a wide smile that showed her missing tooth.

"Amazing! But you're wobbling now, are you tired?" She asked. Stifling a yawn, he straightened his posture in an attempt to maintain his pride.

"It's nothing." An odd glint in her eyes that Kurisu couldn't pin, she slid back from the table." Koko de nete ii de.

"She patted her thigh, then reached up, tugging gently at his sleeve. He resisted the pull for a brief moment, before finally letting her guide him down to rest his head on her lap, her fingers softly stroking his hair at the temples." Nenneko ya yo, nenneko yo…" The soft rasp of his breathing scraped past his dry lips. Slowly, he opened his eyes, the lights above him on the ceiling blurry at first, but then they came into focus.

He could hear rhythmic beeping off to his left, a rapid double-chirp followed by four breaths of silence. To his right, at the edge of his vision, was a clear tube with fluids in it. When he tried to move his head to follow the line, he noticed how he was unable to. His head was too heavy to lift. In fact, his entire body was under some kind of padded pressure, and it hurt. His hip. Both of his arms—though in different locations: the upper arm on his right, and his left forearm.

Oh, that was right, he'd broken them in the fall. The fall? His Chi—he'd given his Chi to Ace, so that the boy could walk again. That was why he hurt. He supposed it was time to take stock, noting that his Tanden wasn't empty like it had been before. Zanshin stretching out, eyes closed, he took in his state. His hip was broken in multiple places.

His entire left leg lay wrapped in a large amount of padding and bandages, strapped to a stiff boot and splint as well as the frame of the bed, weights hanging off the boot. Unbandaged, his right ankle was locked in a padded restraint linked to the bed. Both arms were likewise overly padded and splinted, strapped down at his sides, with additional straps crossing over his chest. A tube snaked out from beneath the blankets to a waste bag. Another tube, the one he'd seen in his peripheral, was pierced into his neck.

Inside, his body was a frail mess. Keiraku alone in good shape, his internal organs, his bones, and his skin were severely depleted of their vitality. While nothing was shut down, he guessed that if left alone, he would die inside a week. Well, that was fine. After all he'd done, it was likely to be his punishment anyway, and with his body in this state, the people of this world could actually carry it out. A pang of regret hit his stomach.

His own people would be left bereft of their due justice; however, that justice could now be wrought regardless. To his left was the heart monitor, still emitting that double chirp every four seconds or so, and the door, a normal one with a handle this time. Off to the right of his bed, a female officer lounged in a chair, and on a rolling tray sat a plant. The leaves were thin, long and pointed at the tips, with vines sprouting from the base.

These vines ended in a collection of more vines, much smaller in length with the occasional star-like end. A spider plant. Kurisu opened his eyes, pressing his lips into a line as he stared at the ceiling. A spider plant. A tear, singular, wet, and unbearably hot, rolled down his head, into his ear. They'd ensured he had a plant with him. Did that mean he was forgiven?

Snorting at the thought, he struggled to turn his head and wipe the tear away, but it was already in the canal, leaving him with an infuriating tickle. Through a grimace, he growled as more pain lanced through his body. He pulled on the plant's Chi, dragging a small red ribbon from it through the air, reducing it to gray ash in an instant. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"Holy shit!" the officer exclaimed, shooting out of her seat and barely into Kurisu's line of sight. The pain had ebbed, just slightly, which was welcome. The real benefit was to his internals; while he was still incredibly feeble, his organs and bones were at least now within the "living" category. His body could handle Earth-level trauma, and he would now likely live to serve a short sentence, or until his execution.

"They weren't kidding. You some kind of plant vampire? Can you do that to people?" the officer asked, her back against the wall.

"Doing so to people is abhorrent…" Kurisu rasped, before a dry coughing fit seized his lungs.

"So, you're not going to eat me?"

"No."

"And why should I trust you?"

"It matters not to me," Kurisu said.

"I imagine my end is near."

"Are you going to die? From the magic or whatever?"

"Eventually, I will die of age, yes. However, I expect a swift execution awaits me."

"Execution? Who's going to execute you?" The officer stepped into Kurisu's view, a frown on her face.

"Is that not the appropriate justice for my misdeeds?"

"Uh, no kid, er, sir? This is the U. S. We don't just execute people here. You'd have to do some major fuck-ups for that. You might spend the rest of your life in a cell, but that's not for me to say."

"I see…" Kurisu's eyes lingered on the woman for a moment. His punishment would not be quick then. Rather than die, evidently this land would have him spend his remaining days—short as they would be—ruminating over his misdeeds. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. Hopeful? No, he would forgo further healing beyond his immediate injuries. He'd done enough damage. The last thing he needed, or wanted right now, was to somehow be able to harm others again.

"May I ask your name?"

"Deputy Marshal Benson, U. S. Marshals Service. I'll be one of your babysitters until you go back to your pod."

"I will be returning?"

"So I'm told. Once the docs decide you're well enough, they'll give us the green light. Not enough space to keep you in solitary too long." Benson turned her head as the door opened, footsteps approaching swiftly across the floor.

"Your nurse."

"Hi there." An older man bent into Kurisu's view.

"Glad to see you conscious. Your numbers are quite the puzzle; we had to override the heart monitor to keep it from screaming at us. Can you tell me your name and date of birth, please?"

"Nodaichi Kurisu. I was assigned 31 May 2012," Kurisu replied, having to think about the birthdate detail.

"Alright, good deal, and happy early birthday!" Through Kurisu's Zanshin, he watched the nurse open a box latched onto his IV pole before swapping the bags and shutting it.

"Now, we've run quite a few tests—your parents gave us permission, of course—and I've got some things to confirm that should help us decide how to direct your care, if you don't mind."

"Understood." Kurisu attempted a nod, barely lifting his head off the pillow.

"Oh, stay down, no reason to hurt yourself further. So, we have an overlapping heart rate of fifteen. This matches an after-visit summary from late May of last year with a Doctor Evans. He noted that he was unable to get an accurate blood pressure reading but estimated it at four-twenty over seventy, citing a six-chambered primary cardiovascular organ he confirmed through ultrasound. That sound about right?"

"Yes."

"Alright, so we didn't take blood pressure since an officer's grip broke your humerus. We were finally able to get a needle in you, and after several were shot out by that insane BP of yours, we had to use an infusion pump and basically medical-grade duct tape." He flipped the page on the chart.

"No surgery. Swelling was incomplete, plus that BP danger, so you've been put in splints and strapped down to prevent moving and hurting yourself further."

"These are not questions," Kurisu stated, looking at the nurse.

"No questions, confirmations. A lot happened while you were out, so I'm getting you up to speed." After hanging the chart up, the nurse turned back to Kurisu.

"Does any of this news surprise you or seem out of the ordinary to you? Do you feel ill at all, dizzy or lightheaded?"

"No, aside from elderly and frail, I feel normal."

"Alright, I'll let the doctor know and she'll be in shortly." The nurse headed out the door. Within minutes, a woman entered the room, making her way over to Kurisu before she checked the clipboard hanging on his bed.

"I'm Doctor Krause, Senior Attending Cardiologist here at Anschutz," she said in an accent so thick Kurisu had trouble understanding her.

"I have your labs and imaging, as well as an opinion from our senior endocrinologist. Mr. Nodaichi, you have an unprecedented, hyper-vascular mass at the Superior Hypogastric Plexus, a collection of nerves in the lower abdomen near your back. The T2 MRI showed a severe mass of activity, confirming a large extra-adrenal paraganglioma. Basically, you have a tumor that is causing catastrophic adrenaline dumping.

Zis is based on your history of profound hypertension—four-twenty over seventy—and a compensatory bradycardic heart rate of fifteen beats per minute." Kurisu scrunched his face into a frown, trying to decode what he'd just been told. Superior, hyper, catastrophic, profound. They all seemed so grandiose, but told him absolutely nothing.

"I must apologize. I do not know what these things are. I have learned much English, yet the specific words you used are still foreign to me."

"Hey, don't worry, kid. It was all Greek to me too." Benson laughed from the corner. Dr. Krause looked up from Kurisu, her eyebrow twitching.

"Is it truly necessary for you to be present while I speak with my patient? This is a violation of HIPAA."

"He's still considered a class one threat. I'm not going anywhere."

"Look at him. What can he hurt in this condition?"

"Ask the spider plant." Krause's head nudged a few degrees before tilting as she looked down at Kurisu.

"You did this? I know zat plant was healthy not two hours ago; now it's gone. How?"

"I did. I pulled on the Chi of the plant, a bit more aggressively than I had intended at the time."

"And what does zis do?"

"It replenishes my own Chi. My vitality. Prior to absorbing the plant's Chi, my body was at death's door. Now it is a step away, simply aged rather than dying."

"I will be plain. I do not believe you. Yes, I was informed you had strange 'abilities,' and your heart-like organ certainly is, but miraculous de-aging from this 'Chi'? Zat is absurd! You will show me!" Krause vanished from his view before shouting into the hallway.

"You there, bring me zat plant, immediately. No, I don't care where you were going, bring it now!" A potted prayer plant was set on the table next to Kurisu by the nurse from earlier before he rushed out the door. Krause placed a stethoscope to Kurisu's chest, checked the whites of his eyes, and pressed on the back of his right hand.

"Okay, do zat thing you claim." With an inward sigh, Kurisu drew the Chi of the plant out in a thin red stream and into himself. Much slower than before, the plant rapidly yellowed before graying at the tips.

"All right, so you can kill plants, but I see no proof zis makes you younger."

"It will require thousands of plants to regain my proper age; furthermore, I am not inclined to do so."

"We don't have thousands of plants here, but why would you not want to restore yourself? Zat seems incredibly nonsensical!" Krause reapplied the stethoscope, checked his sclera again, and once more pressed the skin on the back of his hand.

"Your heart rate remains the same; your eyes, however, look like they are slightly less jaundiced, and your skin elasticity did improve. This is not possible." The chart back in her hands, she scribbled several notes.

"Can this thing cure a tumor? We need to get you to another MRI immediately!"

"There is nothing abnormal about my heart, I assure you, but Doctor, what is a tumor?"

"Six chambers, a slow beat and a double-tap is not abnormal? Preposterous, and how do you not know?" she asked, glaring down at him.

"A tumor is a mass of diseased cells that slowly kills a person. Yours is out of control. The MRI showed your abdomen glowing like the topper on a Christmas tree!"

"My stomach? Doctor, are you certain you do not speak of my Tanden?"

"Your what?"

"My Tanden. It sits at my core, housing my Ki, which I then direct throughout my body along my Keiraku."

"I think you watch too many TV shows from Japan! My son and daughter watch them all the time. That is not reality, boy. That is make-believe." She slung the clipboard back onto the hook.

"Back to Radiology, then we will see what is really going on!"