Nanjing Bei'ai

[Takeo]

Fingers twitched, as darkness loomed. Everything whistled past his head, as light came to be slowly and slowly. A softness was felt to his back, a pillow cushioning the back of his head. Takeo felt like crap. Nauseous. Slowly coming to open his eyes, looking around to see himself not somewhere he would rather be at. His brethren were expecting him to stave off as many rebels as possible, and as far as the man remembers, he was horribly wounded and cut up by their Dao swords. They outnumbered him and surprised him, relatively surrounded on all sides and left for dead. Yet here he lay in a sort of pained stupor, alive. The painkillers are wearing off.

In 1927, an uprising took place by angered populace over how their country was being abused by foreigners. It was after March 27th where the violence relatively ended, and Takeo himself regretted for being unable to jump back into action any sooner. His wounds were grievous, and he was bandaged to become like a mummy in a way. Reaching out towards the ceiling he may never reach, in the whiteness of his own ward. Perhaps a grateful commander let him have a hero's rest? And more importantly, who rescued him from death's embrace?

"Is it over?" Was all he mouthed, to himself. Unaware of whom surrounds him, fixated towards the fan above him, rotating and providing cool air to his bedridden general figure.

[Adelaide von Sommer]

-click click click-

It was the sound of high heeled shoes walking into the hero's room. A figure came into view over him, dressed in the attire of a nurse, but with the air of a doctor. She wore a stethoscope around her neck, and did not wear a nurses cap. She was clearly foreign, with skin as white as the sheets on his bed, and very long braided hair the colour of the purest honey. And her eyes. . . they were a clear blue. Her lips were the palest and most delicate of pinks. However, when she opened her mouth, she didn't have an accent - she spoke like she was a Nihonjin, but the tone of her voice was clearly not that of a japanese person. "For you, it's over. I'm glad to see that you're awake, Sergeant. . . you've been unconscious for quite a while. . . you almost died, in fact. How are you feeling?" she asked. There was a softness in her eyes. . . a kindness.

[Takeo]

He silently saw a figure came to light, a shade to his view. Not having expected his own self-question to be answered by another, and this soon too. Throwing his bedsheet aside in a sudden, only to sigh in relief. His legs weren't amputated, and he can still wiggle his toes. Good, it means he wasn't useless after all... but a further curiousity was inspired by the fluent nurse before him. Not many can boast speaking his native tongue, and she was a Westerner at that. Her features betrayed that.

"Not my first time being so close to death." He quipped in a soft whisper, subtly smiling, before raising his tone, "I feel a bit sick, my head is throbbing with a headache. I think the medication is wearing off... how long was I out, miss? I lost consciousness at the twenty third of March."

[Adelaide von Sommer]

"Oi, take it easy," she instructed gently, carefully pushing him back in the bed and readjusting his sheets. "You have been unconscious for six days. I was really starting to worry about you," she said with a soft smile. "Your pain killers are wearing off?" she looked to his morphine drip to see that it was empty. "I swear, nurses these days!" she said. She quickly removed the empty one and replaced it, making sure it was working correctly before leaving it alone. "There. . . that should be better soon. You should try not to move too much or your stitches might come out," she informed him. "And you can call me Doctor Ada-san, if you like," she said.

[Takeo]

His worries boiled over Nanjing. Just what exactly happened over there? And another question was, where was he? Whom was victorious? The nurse before him, he speculates, might be from one of the other foreign powers with jurisdiction in China. But his thoughts became murky, if not he became lightheaded and more at ease after a shot of morphine.

"Six... days? Almost a week? What happened in Nanjing?! Did we win the battle?" He leaned forward, despite the swelling pain he got from one of his stitched and bandaged wounds, almost about closed though, "Hnn... *clutches unto his abdomen* nevermind, I'll worry about that later."

Sinking back to the bed with some sort of acceptance over his fate, he gave a light chuckle over her use of Japanese, "...It should be Ada-sensei, seeing you are already a doctor, there is no need to address with the use of san, heh, but I must admit... I never thought to see a female doctor." He sighs a remark, perplexed to a slight over seeing a woman whom was not a nurse, at least in these times, "I am Takeo, Sergeant of the Imperial Army Airforce. I graciously thank you for mending my wounds and taking care of me."

[Adelaide von Sommer]

She shook her head. "No. We lost," she said lowly. "But don't worry. We're safe here. Hopefully once you and some of the others are more healed, we can get back home," she said with a soft smile. There was an extreme serenity about her - like she was a goddess embodying the concept of the Zen state of mind. And she did seem ethereal; her skin was so pale it almost seemed to glow in the harsh lights of the hospital, and her eyes were so crystal clear. She was incredibly beautiful, if one could consider a foreigner to be pretty at all. Something about her didn't seem quite human . . . she almost seemed angelic in her serenity and form. "Ah, yes. . . Well, My Nihongo isn't perfect, I'll admit," she said with a small smile. "Now please be still so I may check your wounds," she said, starting to peel back some of his bandages to examine how his wounds were healing.

[Takeo]

"Unfortunate to hear... once I am healed, there is no going back for me, yet. My duty takes precedence in Nanjing." He declares to the doctor in that soldierly tone, loyal to a fault. She was a good woman, staying behind to take care of the wounded. It wasn't really that unusual to see a foreigner from the West out this far. A calmness rarely experienced with the uncertain Westerners. Good impressions were all that's left to the Sergeant of his benefactor. But the supernatural vibes were invisible, Takeo is oblivious to it. To him, it was a normal human he was conversing with, nothing deeper than that. It was a wrong assumption born of a lack of awareness.

"Not perfect, but pretty damn good. You don't have an accent, and your pronunciation is fluid too. Ever been to Nihon before, Ada-sensei?" He looks away from the woman, lined fresh scar tissue are all over his torso, evidence that those slits were there, constituted the cuts, now closed and healed. Had he not gotten medical attention any sooner, he may as well have died like so many others in the city. "So Sensei, think I can walk anytime soon?"

[Adelaide von Sommer]

She smiled softly. "Very well then, Takeo-san. Perhaps I should stay, as well," she mused. "But I'm not letting you go until you've healed enough to fight properly. . . I've actually lived in Japan a while," she said with a small nod, still that serene smile on her face. "I came there experimentally. . . I love to travel, you see. . . but I found once I got there I didn't want to leave!" she said with a small laugh. She ran her hands over his fresh scars. "You're healing very well," she informed him, "However, just to be on the safe side you should probably stay in bed for the rest of today. You and I can take a small walk tomorrow morning and we'll see how you're doing," she said with a warm smile up at him. The Chinese doctors were very huffy with her, and were only letting her deal with the Japanese patients. Of course, it didn't help that she barely spoke any Chinese, and only Mandarin at that. So she only had a few patients to spread her time between - the ones she had dragged out of the war zone herself. A couple of them had died of their wounds shortly after arriving to the hospital as well. . . it saddened her to think about, since they were all good, brave men. . . but she knew that they were going to a better place than this one, fraught with war. She shook her head slightly to dispel her gloomy thoughts and set about changing the sergeant's bandages.

[Takeo]

He shook his hand, twitched his fingers, and tensed the muscles on his arm. Honestly, he felt pretty fine about it. There was no pain there. Only his stomach. If he could just... not flex it around too much, he could compensate by cutting just fine. There, he solved all his problems simply by thinking it out. Sure it is not medically recommended, but Takeo does not restrain himself to such grim talks, for he has a huge honor to go with. "As long as I got an arm that works, I am fit to fight. You needn't worry about me, I am perfectly fine."

He pulled several of the tubes from his arm, cringing but managing with the forceful removal. Getting off his bed as the bandages unraveled from the unfinished wrapping, a somewhat healed wound opened up, streaming some of the blood down his abdomen. Dying what remained of his bandages in red. Takeo shrugged, shuffling past Adelaide, struggling and getting re-acquainted with his clumsy footing, "This is healthy bleeding, it's not a big deal... ughh... I healed well enough, as you can see, we can take a walk now... hnn... go through the gardens... after I am done with my business, I can show you around... *Drops to his knee* ...Nihon."

[Adelaide von Sommer]

Adelaide gasped as he ripped the tubes from his arm and stood. "Takeo-san! You're not ready!" She just barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground. He would notice that she was unusually strong for her slender frame, and that she began to tremble. She quickly heulped him back into bed and deftly replaced his IVs, but wouldn't meet his eyes. If he caught a glimpse of her eyes for a moment, he could have sworn they turned red. She quickly brought over a nurse and barked at her to see to Takeo and not let him out of bed before walking off extremely quickly.

She quickly sequestered herself in a back room and tore open a bag of donated blood, drinking the whole thing. Her eyes faded back to blue and she calmed her frenzied breathing. . . Deep breaths now. She quickly went to a washroom and cleaned her face, though her lips were stained slightly redder than before. She scolded herself for going too long between eating, and popped a few painkillers. Just the sight of him bleeding had made her ravenous. . . She looked in the mirror at herself and shook her head. She then made her way back to Takeo's room. "Gomen Nasai. . . I had to take care of something urgent," she explained.

[Takeo]

Takeo bantered with the nurse during that duration, paraphrasing lines such as the fact he is "fine", and can in fact walk just about right. Despite the nurse's stubborn refusal to see his logical points, and how he can manage with such wounds. After all, as he explains it, it wasn't his first time he has been so close to death. By then, the bleeding stopped flowing and streaming. The bandages that conceal the wound did its job and so did the stitches. Earlier, ever so oblivious to his caretaker's... condition she shown. He missed her face when he was put back into this soft prison of his called "bed".

"See? I am well in health." He tells to the nurse, whom was unfortunately stubborn as he was, shook her head and refused to comply with his wishes, a simple 'no' was sprouted towards him. Inviting a momentary scowl upon the Sarge's face.

"It is fine, Ada-sensei. It seems I have underestimated my wounds, and for that, I have to spend yet another day confined to this bed, by my guess." He sighs, "Not to sound inconsiderate, but what have I done to earn your constant, honored presence? If you do not mind me asking."

[Adelaide von Sommer]

"I'm what you'd consider a high risk doctor, I suppose. I work in places where others are afraid they would be hurt or injured. You could say I worry more about the injured than I do about my own safety. When the battle was over I went in and pulled as many of you brave warriors out as I could, and made sure you got here. . . Some died shortly after my arrival. . . So now I have you, and two others. The doctors here won't let me work any but you three - they're very stuffy," she said, making a slight face.

[Takeo]

He sunk his head further into the cushion of the pillow, gazing at the ceiling with a hint of melancholy. Frowning over the news provided by his gracious host, to think that only three survived, and he was one whom was counted on. Shrugging upon the prospects of losing the men, barely fazed by such an idea that he lived whereas other dies.

"This is war anyways, naturally someone should have died. I was fortunate not to be counted among them." the Japanese male proclaims, before further talks become only towards his internal thoughts, "And fortunate I have survived, command has yet to receive my reports."

The time passed, as Takeo is further treated, time flied by. His day was spent at bed, reading a book called "Sun Tzu's Art of War" to pass things along and cure his boredom...

~A day later~

He stirred to life, awakening to find newly inserted tubes within him, much to his own chagrin. Once again receiving the scenery that is his room. Feeling rather more fit after a good hot meal yesterday to devour. Looking around for any signs of a nurse or a doctor to comply, particularly the one that was in his home country. It was interesting to see a foreigner that has been there. Not many have that opportunity, particularly Westerners.

[Adelaide von Sommer]

Ada was sitting in a chair in his room, dozing lightly. She had a couple of folders precariously perched in her lap, and her white lab coat was a bit out of place, while her hair was freeing itself from its fastidious braid. by the looks of it she had had a very long night, and had probably fallen asleep in the chair after coming for a late night check up on him.

[Takeo]

The sergeant quietly wiggled out of his sheet, setting it aside. Clutching his chest wound only to find that particularly, it no longer was in any sort of pain of the sort. He felt it from his fingers tips. It no longer felt painful. It must've been the fluke what happened yesterday, the bleeding and all. Thoughts about the wound intermingled with his thoughts of looking at the golden sleeper in his room. The man disappeared from his medically induced prison without evidence of where he left. Leaving behind a sheet draped across Adelaide.

He was fancying himself a walk through the gardens outside by the hospital, answering where he had gone off to, curious to how his wounds had not opened. To how it had remained closed. Furthering his curiousity as to how yesterday's wound opening was merely a fluke as it goes. Enjoying the sunlight, as he took his leisurely pace through the fine greenery of China.

[Adelaide von Sommer]

When Ada awoke a short time later, she found Takeo gone. She pulled herself up, throwing aside the sheets. My patient! My patient has anyone seen him!? The flustered chinese doctors looked to the woman shouting in Japanese and mostly gave a shrug. She panicked. For a moment her breath came ragged, and a trickle of blood seeped from her lips before she steeled herself. Perhaps he'd gone to the gardens?! Of course, she would look there. She quickly headed off that way, heels clicking on the floors as she walked swiftly.

[Takeo]

During the moment a furious spur of concern came over Herr Doktor, Takeo wandered about through the garden and unto Emergency Response ward. During that time, Takeo casually donned his uniform in the ample time given before discovery, still leaning on a crotch, whilst coming to indulge in some cigarette. Smoking the fine piece of tobacco with little reservations in spite of the condition he has come to be afflicted with, and despite the fact he was in a medical environment.

[Adelaide von Sommer]

"Schiße!" she cursed when she finally found him. "Takeo-san! You should be in bed," she scolded harshly. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!" She braced her hands on her knees and drew ragged breaths. "Don't do that. . . " she murmurs.

[Takeo]

Takeo drew the smoke from his cigarette and puffed it out, staring nonchalantly at Adelaide von Sommer, with a raised eyebrow. He was FIIIIINE. It's not like anything was going to happen to him, the farthest extent of his injuries were it that they were fleshwounds, he got hit worse than this before, albeit he wasn't hospitalized for it. That killed the accurate use of his left hand's fingers, at least the pinky and the ring fingers. But those are small prices to pay for serving the Empire.

"You shouldn't worry as much, Adelaide-sensei, it will give you wrinkles." Laughed Takeo with a jubilant tone albeit with a very bored face, shuffling over to her, cigarette by his lips, crutch at hand, as he reached for her arm and slung it over his shoulder, leaning far more heavily on his crutch as of this point, "Here, I shall take you back to your bedside, you spent yourself far too much on my behalf, Adelaide-sensei."

[Sponsored content]