致命引力

Deadly Attraction

As they rapidly began plunging to the ground, the segways continued shooting until out of nowhere they were shot themselves. The Butei reinforcements had arrived. Gouki, still holding a fearing Maria in his arms, tried to maneuver their landing. He pumped his feet forward, managing to move them close to the coarse rocky side of the steep hill. Clouds of dirt were kicked up as they skidded uncontrollably down. He held tight but inevitably he released her accidently. He stretched his arm out, trying to reach her, but a lonely branch had snagged his parachute, causing him to get stuck and fall. Her petite figure tumbled and rolled with great pace away from her companion. All she could hear were dull thuds repeating swiftly; her head kept banging against the hill as she fell. After a few dozen more rolls she finally came to a halt on a few patches of sandy dirt and soft grass. Her head throbbed and pounded relentlessly. Everything seemed to spin and blur lazily about. She could feel something drip from the crown of her head. The rusty taste of blood dripped against her lips. The last thing she heard were the fading sounds of sirens as she drifted away into unconsciousness.

Medica was rushing to get Gouki who had fallen, leaving Assault to deal with the few remaining segways. Meanwhile Ambulace scrambled to find Maria. Tooru Sayonaki, was the instructor of the Ambulace unit, and had hurried once he got the emergency call. He scanned the area and noticed a little body lying prone on the ground. It was a young girl, wearing the uniform of a Butei that was sullied by light brown dirt and torn slightly. Her hair that was tied neatly in ponytails had come undone and was mangled about her face. He dashed down the dirt hill to her. He surveyed her injuries; she had minor bleeding on her head, scrapes and cuts on her knees and knuckles. On the left side of her forehead was a purple blue bruise, most likely from tumbling head first. He tucked in the stray locks behind her ear and then pulled out his communicator in his pocket.

"Ambulace, I found the other Butei, she needs immediate aid, hurry!" he ordered.

"Right away Sayonaki-sensei." reported an Ambulace Butei. He then sighed and called Meiko.

"Meiko-san, I've found your sister, you should come here." He said.

"Alright." She replied, her voice sounding shaky and soft.

###

Meiko was waiting anxiously outside Maria's infirmary room back at the high school. For once in her life she felt pure fear and angst. Trying to distract her from her terror, she headed into Gouki's room, where Kinji, Tatsuki and Ryou were keeping him company. Out of nowhere she snatched him up by his light teal hospital robes and shook him up slightly.

"You stupid bastard!" she yelled. "What the hell were you thinking?!" Tatsuki held her back gently by the wrists.

"Calm down Mei-chan. It isn't Mutou-san's fault you know that. It was the Butei Killer." Tatsuki soothed as best as he could. She inhaled and regained composure.

"I'm sorry Mutou-san." She lamented.

"It's okay Fujiwara-senpai." Gouki said. "How's Maria doing?" he asked.

"The Ambulace instructor, Sayonaki-sensei said that she was recovering and doing much better. But the students in that unit told me I can't see her yet." Meiko replied.

###

Meanwhile, Sayonaki made his way past the female students that eagerly wanted to see him, and into Maria's infirmary room. She was still fast asleep; small bandages caring for her scrapes and cuts. Around her head was a bandage that had stopped the bleeding, though a dark red blotch was clearly visible. He looked at her medical records that were attached to a clipboard. One detail stuck out. She had synesthesia. What an interesting trait he thought to himself. He then heard her starting to wake up. Her eyes fluttered and slowly opened. When she woke she saw a friendly face staring above her.

"How are you feeling Miss?" he asked her. She looked around, her vision a bit obscured.

"W-what happened?" she asked her voice hoarse and weak.

"You fell down the hill really badly. You really scared us." He replied. She struggled to sit up. Sayonaki propped a pillow behind her.

"I'm sorry that I had to depend on you guys." She lamented. Sayonaki rested a consoling hand upon her shoulder and grinned.

"It's alright, Butei are supposed to rely on their comrades sometimes." He comforted. "Now, do you mind mentioning to me your name Miss?"

"Oh yeah I forgot. I'm Maria Fujiwara I just transferred here as a first year." She introduced.

"Well it's nice to meet you Maria-chan." Sayonaki said amiably and charmingly. Her cheeks blushed a bit.

###

After performing a final checkup, Sayonaki helped Maria fill out the paperwork and she was discharged from the hospital. As soon as she got out, her sister and companions were eagerly waiting for her outside. Meiko rushed in her arms and embraced her tightly. Maria hugged her back.

"I-I'm glad to see you too Onee-chan." She said. She suddenly felt Meiko shaking, something that she's never seen or felt Meiko doing. "What's wrong; is something wrong?"

Meiko finally released her younger sister from her tight embrace and wiped the forming tears in her eyes. As she rubbed them she retorted.

"What, any person would be like this if they thought their sister died."

All Maria could do was smile. That was like her as usual. Before leaving she went to go see Sayonaki.

"I just wanted to thank you, um…" she didn't get his name.

"I'm Tooru Sayonaki, instructor of Ambulace." He introduced. "And you're welcome."

"With your permission, I'd like to join the Ambulace unit." She asked timidly. He beamed a smile.

"Of course; be at the Ambulace quarters in the morning."

"Thank Sayonaki-sensei." She acknowledged. He smirked as she left. All too easy he thought deviously.