Chapter 2 (Day 3)
Sayumi Michishige nervously looked behind her as she approached the doors of Tokyo Memorial Hospital. It was a Wednesday afternoon, and she had finally decided to pay a visit to Konno to see how she was doing. She'd spent the day before collecting cards from some of the other girls who weren't ready to make the emotional visit, and had carefully packed them in her bag to take with her. She'd taken extra care in dressing casually so as not to attract too much attention; she'd picked out her favorite pair of jeans, her pink sneakers and her winter jacket to wear during the short walk downtown. By now, news about the accident had spread around like wildfire, and she hoped that the fans would be respectful if they happened to catch a glimpse of her hurrying through the streets.
Upon entering the busy lobby of the hospital, she realized that she didn't even know what floor Konno was on, or what room. Managing to sneak over to the directory posted by the gift shop, she learned that the ICU was on the third floor, and a good place to begin her search. She dashed for one of the elevators as it opened up and squeezed into the cramped corner behind some doctors and some guests. She kept her gaze downward to avoid being recognized, but to her relief the short ride up to the third floor was uneventful and she arrived unscathed.
The ICU was huge, and crawling with security. Sayumi approached the nurses' station at the center of the main hallway.
"I'm here to visit a friend of mine," she explained. The nurse who was writing something on a clipboard looked up at her.
"Patient's name?" she asked, and Sayumi bit her lip nervously and lowered her voice.
"Asami Konno," she answered.
The nurse's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I'm sorry, but that ward is off-limits to the public. We've got security tightened up on this entire floor because of Konno-san. Only family members are allowed to see her."
Sayu's heart sank; while she considered herself to be one of Konno's best friends, she wasn't her sister or anything. She pulled her wallet out of her purse and took out her ID card, handing it to the nurse, who took it and stared at it for a moment. She looked back up at Sayu, surprised.
"I didn't recognize you at first. I'm surprised you actually came to visit, even with security around. We've had more than one person try to sneak past the guards to see Konno-san," the nurse explained. "Technically, nobody except for family members are allowed to visit in the ICU for the first few days... but you're the first one to come visit her. Oh, but your producer was here yesterday briefly to check up on her. He said her family is still in Hokkaido trying to get time off work to come see her. They're very busy, apparently."
Sayu nodded politely, but inside she was just willing the hurse to hurry up and let her see Konno. "Ah, I see... but can I see her? I'll only be a few minutes, I promise. I'll be really quiet, and I won't touch anything..." Sayu decided to work some of her cuteness magic, and looked sadly up at the nurse, who hesitated.
"I don't know... look, here comes the doctor; if you explain to him who you are, he might be able to help you out." Sayu looked behind her and saw a middle-aged male doctor approaching the front desk.
"I need the updated file for the patient in room 315," he said to the nurse, and she handed him the clipboard she'd been writing on earlier.
"It's all there, Doctor Suzuki," she replied before gesturing at Sayumi. "Actually, this girl is here to visit the patient in room 315..." Sayu smiled nervously as the doctor finally aknowledged her, and noticed his eyes widening in recognition.
"Oh... of course. Well, I'm on my way down there right now, so I'll escort her there myself," Suzuki offered, and the nurses nodded before returning to her work. Doctor Suzuki started off down the hall, and after quickly thanking the nurse who had assisted her, Sayumi hurried to catch up with him.
"Thank you so much for letting me see her," Sayumi thanked the doctor again.
Suzuki looked over at Sayumi and smiled at her. "It's not something I normally would allow. I should warn you... Konno-san is in critical condition." They were approaching the end of the hall, and the doctor paused before the closed door of room 315. Two police officers flanked the door, and they nodded to Suzuki in acknowledgment. "Before you go in, you should know that she's... well, she doesn't look like she does usually. She's on life-support at the moment; there's not enough brain activity going on to keep her alive on her own. Because she was on the side of impact when the accident happened, she sustained the worst injuries. So... just keep that in mind," Suzuki said gently, before opening the door and moving aside to let Sayumi in.
Sayu had arrived at the hospital in rather high spirits, determined not to let Konno's condition keep her from spending time with her friend and helping as much as she could. But the sight of Konno lying prone in her hospital bed made her insides do a flip-flop. Timidly, Sayu approached the bedside to get a closer look at her friend. Konno was covered by a blue blanket from the chest down, her arms resting on top of the covers at her sides. There was an IV line running from her left hand, which was secured to her skin with medical tape in between the various cuts and scratches. Her other arm was in a plaster cast from the shoulder down to her wrist, and Sayu wondered if Konno would let her sign it when she woke up. But what really broke Sayu's heart was seeing Konno's face amidst the tubes, bandages and bruises. Konno's cute, puffy cheeks had swollen to twice their size with the bruising, and there were tubes running both into her nose and mouth.
She hadn't notice that Suzuki had followed her into the room until he was standing beside her, looking down at Konno's tiny frame in the bed. "She broke her arm in two places; they had to rush her into surgery as soon as she arrived so they could put pins in. She also has a cracked rib on her right side." He placed the clipboard on Konno's bedside table. "The broken bones are the least of her problems; they will heal if given enough time to mend."
"Can she hear us talking about her?" Sayumi asked, reached forward to gently touch Konno's uninjured hand. "Does she know what we're saying?"
"There have been cases where awakened coma patients have been able to remember hearing voices at some point," Suzuki began. "It's safe to say it can't hurt to keep talking to her. Hearing a familiar voice might have some effect on them, but for all we know, it's just speculation." The doctor looked at his watch then and straightened up. "I have to check on some other patients now; you're welcome to stay with her until visiting hours are over. The call button is on the bedside table, so if you need anything, press it and someone will come to check on you."
Sayumi nodded and set her bag down on the floor beside Konno's bed. She bowed thankfully to Suzuki, and he smiled warmly at her in return before leaving the room and closing it behind him, leaving Sayu alone with Konno. Sighing, Sayu dragged the chair by the window over to the bed so she could sit down. Once she'd settled into a comfortable position, she leaned in slightly to rest her arms on the rail of Konno's bed.
"Hi, Konkon..." she said softly, feeling a little silly at first. For all she knew, Konno didn't even understand her. But for some reason, talking to her as if she were awake made her feel a little less uneasy. "It's me, Sayu. Sorry I haven't been by to see you before today... I've been busy. Well, actually, that's not really true. I've just been trying to work up the nerve to come see you. Everyone's really worried about you, Konno-chan!" Sayu reached down and took Konno's hand again, making sure not to touch the IV. "We all get a week off of work, so maybe they'll come visit you, too. I know your parents are coming from Hokkaido to see you..." Sayu rambled on, not really staying on one particular subject for long. She let go of Konno and pulled her bag up into her lap, pawing through it for a moment before pulling out a stack of cards. "I brought some cards for you; apparently I'm messenger girl now! I'll just put them over here for now, but we can put them up on your windowsill next time I visit."
Sayu spent the next three hours by Konno's bedside. She talked to Konno about everything from food to the clothes she bought during her last shopping trip, chattering away even as the nurses came in to check on their patient. She played some of Morning Musume's new single for Konno, managing to get her headphones onto her friend's head so she could hear the new single which she'd picked up earlier that day. Sayu had bought it for the trading cards, in the hopes she'd get her own so she could add it to her collection, only to be disappointed when she got stuck with Miki's.
She was just getting into a rant about how Makoto had made fun of her "Usa-chan Peace!" pose on the latest episode of Haromoni when she was interrupted by her stomach growling loudly. She looked down at the face of her pink watch and noticed that it was past dinner, and it was getting late. Visiting hours would be over soon anyway, so Sayu collected up her things again and tucked them back into her bag. As she felt around for her wallet, she touched something furry and remembered the present she'd brought along to give to Konno.
Sayu pulled out the pink plush bunny with a ribbon around its neck and set it down on Konno's pillow by her head. "I obviously can't stay here with you all the time, so I brought you something to keep you company when I'm not here," she explained. She looked at the cute pink bunny and frowned slightly. She picked it up again and moved it down to lay beside Konno on the blankets. "Isn't she cute? At least, I think it's a she, because of the cute little ribbon," Sayu said, and again moved the bunny to under the blanket, so it was tucked in right beside her friend. "We'll have to come up with a name for her later. Unless you want to call it Sayu-chan, which is a really cute name!" Sayu's cheerful tone didn't waver when Konno didn't respond. Instead she gave the bunny a pat on the head and gave Konno a quick kiss on the forehead, the only part of her that wasn't covered in medical tape. "Well... I have to go now, but I'll come see you again soon." She got out of her chair, picked up her bag and waved goodbye to Konno's unconscious figure on the way out the door.
Once the door closed behind her, she let the tears fall for a few moments before pulling herself together and wiping her eyes. She thanked the nurse again on her way past the nurses station and then left the ICU in search of the cafeteria.
Topic: Code Pink (Chapters 1-3 up.) (Read 4703 times)