A/N: Vomiting in the first section

Chapter 9

Hisoka found himself growing ill as each day passed on.

It started through a delirious headache which overcame his train of thought. His eyes remained focused on his textbook but the words blurred together into a mess. He rubbed his eyes and tried paying attention to his tutor. He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose. Her voice droned on and on. Monotone in level and irritating his nerves. She failed to notice her pupil strayed and paid no mind to her fascinating talk of the Meiji era.

At the end of their session, Hisoka struggled on gaining momentum on his feet. Black spots appeared in his vision before he stumbled forward. His hand slipped on the table before he fell onto the floor. The sound of his body slamming onto the floor brought out a scream from his tutor. She ran out of the room, leaving him half conscious. He cursed her carelessness for running off on him. Her scream brought on the attention of the staff anyway. He overheard her asking for the doctor to hurry up to the manor.

Through his delirium, his denial of not seeing the doctor went on deaf ears. The fear palpitated the air. His gift skyrocketed. The reality of him gaining some unknown sickness brought nothing but discomfort. The overwhelming nervousness collected into a huge mass which rendered him into unconsciousness.

He woke up in the same clothes. The sweat produced from his body stuck them to his body. He hated feeling unclean. Wrinkling his nose at the sensation. None of the staff tried their master's patience in disobeying his orders. One wrong slip of the tongue and the consequences came upon them. No one touched the heir of the Kurosaki family.

Struggling onto his knees, Hisoka tore out a fresh yukata from his wardrobe. Shedding off his clothes, he put on the new one. He tossed his clothing into the hamper on the other side of the room. His lack of strength gave him little energy for cleaning himself with damp towels. A later occasion perhaps but he doubted it.

Managing to get the yukata around his body, he tied the sash around his middle. His body ached from his movements but, he turned on his back without much issues. He laid back in time before the sliding door to his room opened.

The doctor lead the group of five people inside of the room. Four staff members carried medical supplies and new clothing in their arms. Too late on the changing clothing department. Hisoka concealed his utter displeasure at seeing Fujimoto. His upbringing prevented him from showing any emotions on his face. On the off-chance his mask slipped, everyone would pass it off as the sickness taking over.

Fujimoto's perverse thoughts poured out of him in waves. A significant rise since the last appointment from last year. Controlling his self induced injuries brought the doctor's visits down to nothing. An immense relief to his own state of mind. His mother continued on seeing the doctor over her own health issues. Hisoka's strong health contributed to keeping the man away from him as well.

At first, Hisoka thought nothing of the commentary. Staff members and towns people thought about his beauty and upstanding behavior. He overheard comments on the similarities between him and Nagare. Nothing new. He grew up hearing these words throughout his life. He also heard the old rumor of not being his mother's biological son. As if appearances confirmed parental rights. Ridiculous.

Fujimoto knelt beside Hisoka, his smile brought a shiver down Hisoka's spine. "It's been a long time since we saw each other. It's too bad that we're seeing each other under these unfortunate circumstances..."

Hisoka breathed through his nose to control himself. "I don't normally fall under illness." Hisoka turned to the staff and informed them before they handed them his new set of clothing. "No need for new clothing. I changed before your arrival. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated."

The young lady in question nodded, her face warmed red as she clutched onto his clothing. Some of the women slipped a jealous glance before turning their eyes back onto the doctor. The one closest to the doctor handed him his supplies.

"Let's start with the usual checkup before we move along." Fujimoto opened his medical bag and took out a stethoscope. "I'll start with your heart rate and then your lungs."

Fujimoto placed two fingers onto Hisoka's wrist. Staring down at his watch, he counted Hisoka's heart rate. A significant amount of time passed, Hisoka went through these He delayed taking his fingers off Hisoka's skin.

Such soft and creamy skin. The scarring on the interior of his hands is almost gone. Excellent.

Hisoka's eyes widened. The Snake God. It appeared in the daylight. He assumed it was nocturnal on account of the time of their encounter. With his limited knowledge, he knew little of the abilities of this creature. Nothing. The recollections of his ancestor provided no descriptions other than the devastation the Snake God unleashed on their village.

He felt helpless in a room containing four other people.

Any attempts on taking back his hand failed, Fujimoto tightened his grip on his wrist. Tight enough to cause a future bruise. With his back to the other staff members, they saw none of the expressive faces which showed his intent. Useless people.

The doctor leered even more at him when his yukata exposed more of his skin. A familiar darkness oozed through Fujimoto's fingers, slits developed in the pupils of his eyes, and his thoughts chilled Hisoka.

I can't wait to sully this one. Such a delicious soul. Reminds me of the hero's heir. I enjoyed breaking his spirit.

Hisoka reaction wasn't the best but he vomited on the doctor's lap. Fujimoto scrambled up on his feet and left the room. Swearing out loud, his footsteps hurried toward the nearest bathroom. Far away from that section of the manor. Hisoka hid his smirk behind his sleeve as he breathed in air to soothe his nausea. He coughed a few times, presenting an image of controlling himself.

As he composed himself, one of the women stood up and poured him a glass of water. She left the cup right beside him, alongside a handkerchief she pulled from her own pocket. He drank the water in huge gulps, taking away some of the foul taste from his mouth. Wiping his lips, he controlled the panic before it appeared on his face.

Throbbing developed underneath Hisoka's skin. Pulsating underneath his fingertips as he rubbed his temples with both hands. The whole ordeal irritated his gift and caused the biggest headache of his life. Running haywire toward a longer distance from his area. Picking up more thoughts from passing staff than he ever desired. Thoughts ranging from complaints to a paramour lingering in their mind. His mind swirled out of control from the mixture of people. An overload of memories stuck around in a section of his mind. Long enough where he remembered the emotion behind them.

He blacked out and slept an hour at a time. On and off. All throughout the day for a week. Giving him moments of relief but his body quivered whenever he tried moving. Churning developed in the pit of his stomach where he vomited into anything resembling a bag. In the end, his new caretakers left a basket near his bed. He missed Miya and Akane's attentions. Their homey touch far surpassed the mechanical actions of the ones overseeing him.

The sweet bliss of sleep escaped through his fingers when he woke up to the familiar ceiling of his bedroom. He moved the chill cloth from his forehead onto his tired eyes. Light burned his eyes. His body quivered and a churning developed in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to release the pressure and empty the contents.

His sickness prevented him from doing any schoolwork. Giving him nothing to concentrate on whenever he broke from sleep, not that it would do any good, Whenever, he tried reading his textbooks or his safe reading materials, his vision blurred and he tossed his book next to his futon. No use worsening his condition.

In a moment of weakness, he thought either one of his parents might have come to visit him or ask about his condition. As their only son and heir, they must have a semblance of care for him. Just a tad. He kept the hope low. No use feeling disappointment at their lack of presence. During one of his conscious moments, he thought he saw his mother peeking into his room. Gazing down at him before she scampered away.

His gift was in such disarray that he didn't know whether or not he imagined the whole thing. He soothed himself with a hesitant confirmation that it did in fact happen.

He tried stomaching the broth brought to him from the kitchen, but ginger tea helped keep liquids inside of him. Any soup brought him the worst case of nausea that he simply pushed it away. The tepid liquid remained untouched on his desk.

Curling on his side, he stared outside the sliding door which lead to the outside of his room. The leaves fell off the branches of the tree, softly floating down onto the ground. He tried concentrating on the serene picture but, his mind swirled. Closing his eyes, he pulled the blanket over himself to block away the sun.

Days after the doctor examined him, no spikes of darkness neared his section of the manor. This didn't cease his reservations at all. Laying on his bed, he pondered on the discovery of the Snake God appearing before him in disguise. At the very least, it either controlled the doctor or possessed him. He couldn't pin point the exact reason.

He concentrated on the people who entered his room. None of them showed an inkling of darkness from their bodies. The Snake God presented such a suffocating darkness which caused it to stand out. Nothing came close to match it. His attempts worked against him due to his lack of control where he passed out through a combination of overloading and exhaustion.

The benefit of his lack on consciousness came through regaining back his energy and semblance of control.

Through the darkness of the night, Miya braved through the chilling hallways. A steaming cup of tea warmed her trembling hands. She placed good care in stepping in the right spots, reducing the creaks of the loose floorboards. Looking after Hisoka gave her a level of understanding of this side of the manor. She still remembered the rooms where they kept their supplies and extra linens.

The howls of the wind hitting the manor caused the old walls to creak. Miya placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm herself down. Giving into skittish jumps didn't help her out. She somewhat grew accustomed to the random noises but, she still jumped whenever a noise sprung out during the nights. Remembering the evil voice in the walls prompted her to fast walk through the hall.

Hisoka's door came in the distance, reducing her nervousness down. Maneuvering her hand just right, she opened the door and slid right in. She closed the door behind her and managed to control her voice before she screamed. Hisoka sat up on his futon so fast she wondered if he was awake the whole time. He knocked back the sheets down onto his lap and struggled to keep himself from falling backwards. She put her fingers up to her lips.

Walking closer, Miya knelt beside his futon, placing the cup in the floor, she whispered. "I heard about your sickness...I just...they gave me a list of things to do and—"

Hisoka coughed into his hand as he used his arm to stabilize himself. "It's fine. I have slept a lot and then wake up in delirium. Half the time, I don't recognize anyone." Miya scooted over the cup and he held it in a weaker grip than usual. "M—Miya."

"Yes, young master?"

Hisoka rasped out. "I—I'm not sick. I know I'm not sick."

Miya gulped as she scooted closer, she inquired. "How do you know?" She stayed silent on the paleness of his skin and the bags under his eyes. He seemed skinnier as well. "The doctor said—"

Hisoka collapsed back onto his futon, giving up on holding himself up. "This has gone on for three weeks. No one will tell me what's wrong with me. This doctor we have might not even know the exact reason. I can't eat anything—I can barely stomach tea and water." He sipped the tea and cringed at his stomach turning. "I want to go to a real hospital."

Miya gritted her teeth, hating seeing Hisoka in such a state, she promised. "I will go to the master and demand to take you to the hospital. You can't keep going on like this. I don't care if I get fired. You need a real doctor to look over you." Risking herself, she placed a tender hand on Hisoka's shoulder before taking it back.

Hisoka quivered as another wave of nausea came upon him. "P—Please. I—I don't want to stay here. Insist that I stay in the hospital, it's better than staying in this bed and becoming worse."

Miya's interactions with Nagare Kurosaki came through curt orders and the occasion where he dismissed her from her duties as Hisoka's caretaker. The head of staff interviewed her and brought her into the fold. Nagare went through safety procedures to ensure his personal staff didn't relinquish family secrets. She had to sign a contract after all. When she first received a job in the family, the women of the staff boasted about their beautiful master. Fairer than the late master and gave them leeway for any requests.

Standing in the mere presence of the master brought her questions to the surface. Her concerns over the young master and the secrets she kept discovering as the days passed. Akane drummed it into her head to never question the family. The family knew best. Respecting their decisions stomped over their insignificant complaints. She remembered the old comments of the master, he might comply with her request. He was supposed to be less stricter than the late master.

Pausing in front of the master's private study, she bit her lower lip. She couldn't very well strut in and demand him to take Hisoka to the hospital. That was a blatant show of disrespect to the master of the manor. Stumped, she rubbed her temples and clenched her jaw. She promised Hisoka to get him to a hospital.

Nothing and no one should stop her from fulfilling a promise.

She slid the door open and bowed. "Master Nagare."

Nagare paused in trimming his bonsai tree, he laid his scissors on the table, turning to her. "Come inside and close the door."

Gulping, Miya managed not to trip on her own feet and kept her head low. Waiting on Nagare's signal, she didn't dare look him in the eye. She tried calculating a way to convince the master to send Hisoka to a real hospital.

He asked her. "May I help you?"

Miya got on her knees and cried out. "Master, please, take the young master to a hospital! A real one. Please." She lowered her face until her nose touched the tatami mat. "None of the medicine the doctor prescribed is helping him recover. He's withering away!"

Nagare's hand twitched, his head snapped toward the girl. His leveled and controlled voice scared Miya more than yelling. "You—You have continued on interacting with him. Silly girl. How dare you disobey my orders?"

Miya shook her head. Fibbing a bit on her discovery might work in her favor. "No, Master Nagare. His caretakers told me that he's getting worse. The young master's condition spread throughout the staff. They commented about it for the last few weeks, exasperating that he may die on us soon. I fear it might leak out to the extended family."

Nagare shuffled his hands into the sleeves of his yukata. He peered down at Miya, trying to evaluate the truth from her words. Despite the mistake coming from Hisoka's part, he thought he may have developed an affection for the girl. Kids tended to bond with the hired help and mistake it as falling in love. They spent the most time with them after all. Not like the relationship would have lasted. Hisoka had an arranged marriage lined up when he turned eighteen.

Best to sever the bond before Hisoka thought about running off with the girl. She might have inspired hope for him to abandon his duty. Although, Miya's family served the Kurosaki family for generations. Different ages coming in to give their homage to their ancestors victory. She learned from a young age not to question their family.

Her sudden request, no—her demand caught him off guard.

This sheepish girl risked everything to stand before him. She didn't stutter. Her body language and voice spoke the truth. Whether she still interacted with Hisoka didn't matter, the mere thought of Hisoka's illness spreading out will cause panic throughout the town.

"Call the guards."

Miya lifted her head from the floor at his command. When he gave no other order, she lifted herself up from the floor. Bowing one last time, she almost ran from the room in disbelief.

She did it! She was saving Hisoka's life.

Doctor Jiro Nakano sat across the ethereal beauty his nurses gossiped about. He saw where Hisoka Kurosaki inherited his appearance from. The slight differences between the both of them didn't dispute the fact that they were father and son. He wondered about the mother, a beauty no doubt, but the woman didn't accompany the group of people who wheeled in his patient. Nagare accompanied them at a safe distance. At the time, he was in the middle of treating a patient and part of his E.R staff handled treating Hisoka's condition.

His lead pediatric nurse, Kana Narita, described the men's actions as detached. All of them made strenuous moves to avoid touching him. Almost as if the teenager contained a contagious disease. Once they relinquished Hisoka's information, one of the nurses wheeled Hisoka toward one of the open beds. Hisoka moved himself off of the wheelchair, his arms trembled from the strain of his weight. After politely declining any help from the nurses, he almost collapsed when he maneuvered onto the bed.

The men made no attempts to help him. Remaining firm in their spots, they kept their eyes on Hisoka's every move. Hisoka's father did the exact same thing. Glancing at his son, he said no comforting words to soothe any concerns. Kana contained a scathing reprimand over their lack of care and instead placed her attention on gathering more information from their patient. Hisoka provided a good timeline for them from the beginning of his decline in health.

When he first met Hisoka, Kana and the other nurses already kicked out the group from the emergency room. Having taken up too much space, they blocked them from conducting any treatment. As they hooked up Hisoka with his I.V, Nagare caused no scandal and ordered his men to follow him out.

Hisoka seemed to grimace at someone touching him so they began asking before laying a hand on him. They did this to all their patients but, Hisoka eyed their hands way more than expected. They didn't linger in touching him, their attentiveness to his needs made Hisoka relax in their presence.

Crossing out the usual illnesses, he excused himself to attend more patients. Throughout the day, he checked up on the variety of patients throughout the floor. Some less severe, others needed his full attention, making his day run faster.

The news about the noble status of the family caused a stir between the nurses on shift. To him, all patients were the same but the gap in wealth did provide Hisoka better accommodations. He overheard the demands of Hisoka's father who wanted his heir moved into a private room. Having expected such a request, the nurses hurried in readying the room.

Nagare didn't linger in Hisoka's new room, leaving the hospital and wrote down a number to contact him. Citing family matters of high importance. He didn't say goodbye to his son or even addressed him. Hisoka stared outside the window the whole time.

Through their busy shift, they didn't have time to think about Nagare's behavior. Once they had time to collect their thoughts, the relationship between father and son appeared strained. Non-existent. The sudden departure and coldness Nagare showed to his son baffled the ones who witnessed their interactions.

Considering he saw none of it, he kept his opinions to himself and let the nurses pour out their steam. He hated to say that he thought about their comments while checking up on Hisoka again.

Hisoka observed him even closer. His vibrant eyes seemed to look through his soul. Almost as if Hisoka could read his thought process about his family. Maybe it showed on his face? Regardless, it was rude to ask about his family situation so he said nothing.

He got a call from the lab and received an answer to Hisoka's sudden illness.

To his relief and horror, they found the problem: Hisoka was poisoned.

From the moment the test results returned, he ordered the right medications and a purge to help take out anything in Hisoka's stomach. After administering the proper treatment, Hisoka's skin developed color, a long way to go before he regained normal function. Hisoka fell asleep in exhaustion from the whole ordeal.

"Thank you for coming into my office so quickly. We have much to discuss." Nakano twirled his rolling chair, facing Nagare head on. "I figured out the ailment that affected your son. First of all, he developed no illness as everyone first thought. The symptoms masked the true reason which was worse than we expected."

Nagare straightened up on his chair.

"He was poisoned."

"Poisoned?" Nagare kept his cool composure in front of the doctor, a list of people wanting to harm the family formed in his mind.

The doctor cleared his throat. "We tested your son's blood and hair. Ran the tests three times to gain an accurate reading. There are high volumes of concentrated poison which built up over a manner of weeks. The appearance of an illness disguised the truth."

"How is that possible? Our family takes great lengths to care for my heir to the highest order." Nagare remembered his brother's warning, holding back an outward reaction, he breathed harsh through his nose. "It seems we had a slip of security. We will begin testing our food before consuming it from now on." Nagare stated. "We'll take Hisoka home now."

Nakano placed his foot down. "That's out of the question. Your son has to stay here for a week in observation. Maybe even longer. It depends on how well the medicine takes and your son's resilience—"

Nagare interrupted him without raising his voice. "We have our own family doctor making routine checkups on all our family members. No need for such a fuss."

Nakano heard of old family oddities but, risking the health of a child was beyond comprehension. "I called Doctor Fujimoto and he had no idea that your heir was poisoned. He didn't attempt to send out any blood for testing. Your son's condition could have been prevented weeks ago if your doctor went through normal procedures. I implore you to leave Hisoka-san for treatment. Taking him back home will cause his demise."

Nagare processed the doctor's words. For the amount he paid the doctor, he thought the man went through every procedure to insure the safety of his family. He received reports from Fujimoto and read through them.

"Are you certain?"

The severity of the situation showed through Nakano's tone. "Master Kurosaki, do you want your son to live or not? Taking him back home without the proper medical equipment and medicine will kill him. You're lucky to have brought him in during this stage of his condition. He has a chance to live."

Defeated and finding no other option, Nagare tipped his head down. "He may stay in this hospital."

In the afternoon, the cook ladled in soup with some soft vegetables into a bowl. The old doctor prescribed Rui a different diet than the heir and master. Her condition made it harder for her to process richer food. Last time they served her the food given to the master, she vomited in the restroom minutes later. Fujimoto kept up the same regimen and insisted on more vitamins added into the broth.

In the background, he heard his kitchen staff mutter about Iwao's visit. One of the men overheard the argument between the master and his elder brother. It grew heated quickly before Master Nagare pointed out Iwao's lack of an heir. He tutted at their lack of decorum. He taught them better than to gossip out in the open. The walls had ears after all.

Hurrying toward them, he left Rui's food unattended.

Someone slipped in through another door and unscrewed a glass vial. Tumbling the right amount of the liquid into the soup, the individual slipped the container into a hidden sleeve. Sneaking away from the kitchen, no one noticed anything different.

One of the elder kitchen staff cajoled in a sweet voice. "Lady Rui, you need to eat your dinner. The vegetables will help bring you strength." She scooted the tray toward Rui, not giving up on her orders. With enough insistence, Rui ended up eating a third of her food. She wasted her time trying to fight them.

"I—I don't have an appetite." Rui held her knees to her chest, her curls shielded her face away from the woman.

Having served the Kurosaki family in her youth, she saw the downfall of Lady Rui from the beautiful vibrant woman into this downtrodden imitation. It saddened her. She tried her best to serve her mistress and made valiant attempts to restore her back to her old self. She knew the death of Kasane hit the poor woman worse than she expressed. Twins were connected far deeper than ones who came into the world alone.

"Nonsense!" The woman piped up, she scooped up a spoonful of soup and held it in front of Rui's face. "There is no need to waste food, my lady. Eat a little bit, more than enough to keep your strength up."

"F—Fine." Rui stuttered out. To keep the staff away from her presence, she followed Nagare's instructions. At least, they avoided her after she had her sustenance for the time of day.

"Excellent."

Slurping down the spoonful, Rui felt her stomach cramp up from the lack of food. She gripped the ends of her yukata, readying herself for another serving of food.

"There! That wasn't so bad was it?" She continued on feeding Rui bites of all the food on her tray. "Good, you're doing better than yesterday. Let's try to finish the whole serving this time."

TBC