The Rising Sun And The Morning Calm Ch 23

Thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated as I like to know who's reading my stories. And for those of you who are only reading for the sexy bits, this doesn't have that much so if you plan on voting low because of that, please don't. Otherwise, enjoy!

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Stumbling up off the ground, Genzo winced as the nerves in his arm announced that his limb was broken. It took a few moments for him to get his bearings and he looked around his surroundings in confusion. Seeing no one in the immediate vicinity, he stripped and changed into his animal habitus, his arm healing within seconds. Suddenly he remembered -- Linnsa! Fearing the worst, he ran to the crumpled cars and tore away at the ruined metal. He scoured the mangled remains of the two cars praying she was still alive. Finally he spotted her small hand peeking out from under a crushed door. Wrenching it away, he was horrified to see that a shard of metal had gone straight through her chest, pinning her to the rubble.

Letting loose an angry howl, he drove his claws through the surrounding wreckage and tore it apart, giving him room to pull her out. As he did, he noticed that her fiancé had not fared as well, his head crushed in by the impact. Likely he'd been killed instantly. When the last of it was gone, he cradled her gently in his arms and ran into the trees to lay her down. Her arms and one leg were broken, she was badly bruised and he didn't know if she was suffering from internal hemorrhaging. Not only that, her right lung was rapidly filling up with blood as she gasped for breath, coughing up bright red clots. "Linnsa, [shikai shyero]!" he begged.

His mind raced to devise a means of saving her but she was so severely injured that only one option presented itself. Without hesitation, he pulled aside the blood stained collar of her shirt, bit into her neck and then immediately began cleaning the wound to repair it. When he had finished, he winced as he pulled the sharp metal spike out of her body. A torrent of blood spilled out of the hole in her chest and she coughed in pain. A spray of red escaped her mouth and she was in danger of choking. Panicked he attempted to seal the wound with his mouth, desperately licking her chest wall. To his relief, the injury began to repair itself, but she was badly hurt internally. Lifting her head, he tried to rouse her.

"Linnsa? Linnsa-chan! You must wake up, now!" When she made no movement, he felt his breath catch in his throat and his voice cracked as he begged her, "Not again. Please, do not do this to me again! You cannot die. Please..." At his entreaty, she half opened her eyes and tried to focus on his face but saw only a blurred image. Overjoyed, he continued, "Linnsa, listen to me very carefully. You are very seriously hurt and in order to keep you from dying you have to take some of my blood, do you understand?" A flutter of her eyelids was the only indication that she had even heard what he'd said.

Biting into his radial artery, he held his wrist to her mouth. As his blood spurted into her mouth, she gagged and tried to fight him, but he held her head firmly to his arm and pinched her nostrils shut. Unable to breath, she began to cooperate and soon she was warming. The bones in her broken arm began to knit themselves together and her breathing became less labored, indicating that her lungs had cleared themselves of the blood that had collected there. Feeling faint, he took his arm away and applied pressure to the artery to stop the blood loss. After five seconds of constant pressure, he flexed his hand without bleeding and gathered Linnsa into his arms. Trying his best not to jostle her, he ran as fast as he could to bring her back to the apartment.

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shikai shyero: hang on (Japanese)

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Noboru was doing his utmost to keep Angela from falling apart at the seems with worry but she shook uncontrollably in his arms, crying and unable to calm herself. He was almost beginning to lose hope when Genzo burst into the apartment, nude, bloody and barely able to stand. Both Noboru and Angela breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the unconscious Linnsa held up in his arms.

"Is she okay?" Angela scrambled over to them, trying not to imagine the worst. Using his last ounce of strength to place her gently on the couch, Genzo collapsed onto the floor with a muffled thud. "Genzo!" Angela turned to see Noboru scoop up her sister and carry her into her room. Not knowing what to do, she intentionally shifted in order to have enough strength to pull Genzo onto the couch and then returned to her human form. Running to her sister's room, she briefly watched as Noboru placed her in the bed and grabbed a blanket to cover Genzo with. Feeling terrible that she couldn't sit with him, she nonetheless bolted back to her sister after covering him. Noboru was already sponging off the dried blood on her face and neck from a basin of warm water.

"[Daijobu]," he assured her. "She is alive and mending. She will not die." The water in the basin was rapidly reddening as he cleaned her wounds. When he got to her neck, he almost dropped the sponge when he saw the faint teeth marks but was grateful that Angela had not noticed his reaction.

Sinking to her knees, Angela rested her forehead against her sister's mattress and sobbed with relief. "Oh, thank God," she kept repeating. Calmed by Noboru's promise, she went back to check on Genzo. Limply sprawled across the couch, he was horribly pale and his breathing appeared slow and labored. Shaking him gently, she cried, "Genzo, can you hear me? Say something, please!" Mumbling incoherently in Japanese, his voice faded. He was too exhausted to even speak. Angela looked up at Noboru who was watching him with his lips tightly pressed together. "Why doesn't he just change so he can heal?" she cried.

"Because he has depleted the majority of his metabolic resources in order to heal another," he answered grimly.

"What do you mean?"

Noboru hadn't really considered what it must have been like for his friend to revive Angela, but seeing him now, barely hanging onto consciousness, he understood now what a great debt he owed him. "He saved your sister in the same way that he saved you."

Remembering their earlier conversation, a grim realization surfaced and her eyes widened in alarm. "No, he didn't!"

"She is a carrier now," she heard Noboru's voice behind her. "It was the only way Genzo could have saved her life if it was in danger."

Angela looked from him to her sister's room and back at him again. "No," she whispered. "How can you be sure? How do you know?"

"She bears the scars of his teeth on her neck." Noboru knelt down next to her and put his arms around her shoulders as she started to weep. "He would not have done it if he had been given any other choice."

"It's not that I doubt that," she sobbed. "It's just that I don't know how she's going to take this news. He may have saved her life, but I don't know if she would have preferred...this. Richard's dead -- I mean, he must be, otherwise Genzo would have brought him back, right? For all I know, she may have preferred to die." She buried her face in her hands to muffle her cries.

"Are you not glad she did not die?" Noboru asked her gently.

"Of course I am!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him hard. "But I don't know if that will be enough for her."

Noboru held her as she gave into her tears and heard Linnsa stirring in the bed. "She is waking up."

Moving over to the bedside, Angela hastily wiped off her tears and touched her sister's face. "Linnsa, can you hear me?"

"Unnie," she croaked. "I hurt...all over my body."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

She licked her cracked lips and tried to think. "Rich had wanted to meet up...he flew in...wanted to talk today...we had a fight...That's all I...can remember."

"Well, you're alive and you're going to be okay," she said shakily.

"How'd I get back here?" she asked, wincing as she tried to sit up. She looked down in alarm at the large bloodstained hole in her t-shirt. "What happened to me?"

"Please try to rest. Genzo found you and brought you back here," Noboru informed her.

"Is...is he okay?"

"Genzo will be fine," he said reassuringly.

"No," she protested weakly. "Not him. Richard." Outside, Genzo tried to pretend that he had not heard what she had said but her words sent a lancinating pain through his chest.

"Rest for now. We will speak more when you are feeling better" Leaving Angela with her sister, he went back into the living room where Genzo was trying his best to sit upright. "Stay down," Noboru ordered. "You'll feel faint if you keep trying to sit up. I imagine you gave up quite a bit of blood tonight."

Genzo lay back and put an arm wearily over his eyes. "She's alive. That is all that matters."

Noboru studied his pale features with concern. "What happened?"

"Her worthless ex from the United States came here wanting to speak with her. I advised her against it but she went regardless. They drove off in a rental car and I followed them. Something happened and their car veered out of control and ran into mine. Her injuries were too severe -- I couldn't think of anything else to do to save her."

"[Wakatta]. I'll send a few more people here so that you can recuperate without worrying too much."

"[Domo]."

He walked a short distance away and thought of something. Turning around, he said, "One more question. Do you regret what you did?"

A pause followed his question. "No, I don't regret what I did."

The pained edge to his voice was not lost on him. "What do you regret?"

Genzo sighed and turned his face away. "That I'm happy her boyfriend didn't survive."

Noboru raised an eyebrow at his admission. "[So-ka]."

He took his arm off of his eyes and stared at the ceiling before adding, "She'll hate me even more now." His voice was heavy with sorrow and defeat.

"Try not to think on it for now. Ryuzo will be here to tend to your wounds and hers. You could do with a good meal and a sound sleep. We will deal with whatever happens tomorrow." As he prepared to check on Linnsa, his phone rang. Almost as if on cue, it was Ryuzo. "[Hai?]"

"The twenty four hours are up, [donno]. You still want me to go through with it?" He'd completely forgotten about the possible cure with all that had happened that night. Again, Ryuzo's astute suggestion proved to be useful in the end. "No." He glanced again towards Linnsa's door. "Keep it confidential, but don't destroy it. I need you here though as soon as possible. Genzo and Angela's sister are both hurt. Bring Dr. Nakamura if you can reach him."

"[Hai]."

"[Hayaku], Ryuzo."

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wakkata: I understand (Japanese)

so-ka: really (Japanese)

hayaku: hurry (Japanese)

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Ten minutes later, Ryuzo arrived with Dr. Nakamura in tow, as well as several other people. The doctor went to examine Linnsa while Ryuzo attended to Genzo. "You look like shit," he muttered as he helped Genzo into a seated position.

"Nice to see you, too," Genzo shot back weakly. "[Itai-tai-tai]," he winced as Ryuzo inserted an IV needle.

"[Uruseh]!" Opening a foam container, he pulled out a unit of packed red blood cells and connected Genzo's IV to the bag. "I'm going to give you three units." It had been Ryuzo's idea that they should bank carrier blood in the event of an emergency.

In the other room, Angela watched as the Japanese doctor examined her sister, but all he said was the occasional "Mm, mm." Removing his stethoscope, he smiled at her and said in heavily accented English, "She is weak from blood loss, but she is healing well. All she needs now is rest." Putting his instruments back into his satchel, he left the room.

Angela, satisfied for the moment that her sister was now well out of harm's way, left her to rest and returned to the living room. Ryuzo was running his second unit of blood and watching Genzo intently. "Change your hand," he ordered. Grimacing, Genzo managed to turn his hand into a white paw for a few seconds before losing control of it. "You might need a third unit," Ryuzo observed.

A knock on the door was followed by Shinnosuke's face. "Is it safe to come in or is everyone grumpy?" he joked in Japanese.

"Why don't you come in and find out," Ryuzo growled. Noboru laughed when he saw Shinnosuke put his hands up in a placating gesture.

Ambling over to Genzo, Shinnosuke patted his shoulder and clucked, "You need to really get out of this annoying habit of saving women in distress. I think it's becoming hazardous to your health."

"I don't think Angela has any more sisters, so I'm probably safe," Genzo retorted.

"Speaking of which, do I actually get to meet this little sister?" He walked over to Linnsa's room to sneak a peak. "[Wah, kawaii-des]!" he observed appreciatively. "You always get the choice jobs," he said with a laugh that was cut short when he saw Genzo bare a canine. "Was it something I said?"

His color began to return after the third unit was finished. Sensing that he was feeling better, Noboru suggested in Japanese, "You can return to my loft and rest there. It's probably quieter than here."

"No. I would prefer to stay-". Genzo saw Noboru's surprised expression and added, "If you don't mind, [Donno]."

Obviously worried about Linnsa, Noboru simply nodded his consent and turned to Ryuzo. "So, now that you have time to play with these new findings, what do you suggest?"

"I've already sent the virus to our counterparts in Seoul for sequencing. I am quite certain that we can use this new strain in order to rid you of the problem of your brother."

"I'm concerned about the possibility of this being used against us," Noboru stated. "How do we know that no information will be leaked from the Seoul facility?"

Ryuzo smiled. "Because they have no idea what it is they are doing. I've arranged for different parts of the work to be done by different groups. Unless all groups meet and happen to reveal what they are working on, it is unlikely that they will ever figure out what the work is that they are doing."

"[Yosh]."

As if reading his thoughts, Ryuzo ventured, "Did you wish us to save the virus for the sake of your mate's sister?"

"Yes, but I am hoping that I won't have to tell either of them of the existence of a cure."

"I understand. As it stands right now, you and I are the only two who have any idea such a thing exists."

"[Domo], Ryuzo. Go and get some sleep."

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itai-tai-tai: ow ow ow

uruseh: shut up

wah: wow, or woah

kawaii: cute

yosh: good

donno: lord

domo: much thanks

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When the others had left, Genzo walked softly to Linnsa's room to see how she was doing. Though bruised, he could tell that she was healing well. "Angela, may I speak with you?"

"Sure." She followed him out and into his room. When he gestured towards a chair, she sat and waited for him to sit on his bed.

"Her boyfriend did not survive," he began. "I would have saved him as well, but he was already dead when I found him. I know she has already asked for him."

"I know you didn't have any other choice, Genzo," Angela said sadly, realizing he had heard her sister's comment. "I can't thank you enough for saving her."

His shoulders slumped. "She will hate me more once she discovers that he is dead." Looking up, he asked, "Is there no chance that she could come to accept living with the infection? She still has you to keep her company throughout her life."

Not wanting him to be upset, but not wanting to lie either, she debated on what to tell him. "I hope that she can adjust to the idea of living for so long, but I don't know if she can. I had brought this up with her earlier and the idea of living forever really didn't appeal to her."

Genzo thought back to their conversation at the steak house. "Yes, she mentioned that to me as well."

Feeling pity for him after such an ordeal, she hugged him and promised, "Whatever I can do to help the two of you, I will."

"[Domo], Angela."

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Linnsa awoke and gave a low moan of pain. She had a terrific headache and body was sore from head to toe. "Unnie?"

Jerking her head up from where she had pillowed it on her arms, Angela smiled as she saw her sister sit up. "Sweetie, you're up!"

"What happened?" Linnsa asked, wincing as she touched her forehead.

"You went to go meet Richard."

"I don't remember anything after that."

Taking her hand, Angela informed her, "Genzo followed you to make sure you were okay."

"How the hell was he able to find me?" she asked in disbelief.

Angela smiled wryly. "I told you he was good. Apparently the car swerved out of control and all three of you ended up in an accident. He dug through the wreckage to find you and brought you back here."

"Wha-what happened to Richard?" When her sister avoided her gaze, Linnsa began sobbing hysterically. "No! He's not dead! It's not true! Tell me it's not true!"

"He tried to save him," Angela explained, trying to hold her. "He was already gone."

"How-how is it that the two of us are okay then if it was such a bad wreck?" she hiccupped between sobs. Suddenly her eyes moved to the door where Genzo and Shinnosuke were standing. As the realization dawned on her, she felt anger replace her despair, and grabbing the clock nearest her, she threw it with surprising force as it shattered inches away from Genzo's head. Unflinching. he stood waiting to see what she would say. "Get out! What the hell have you done to me?! You had no right! You had no fucking right!"

"Honey, he was only thinking of you and me. There was nothing else he could do. Would you prefer that he left you to die?" Her attempts to calm her sister were in vain as Linnsa continued to throw whatever was nearest her in the direction of Genzo's face.

"I don't care!" She was shrieking now. "I don't want to live like this!" Collapsing onto the bed, she sobbed into her pillow. "I hate you! I wish you'd just left me for dead!"

Angela mouthed a silent apology to Genzo who wordlessly left the room. Shinnosuke followed, and though Genzo's face betrayed no emotion, he knew his friend well enough to know that he was on the verge of exploding at any minute. The tension was no less evident to Noboru, who could feel the emotion simmering under the stoic exterior. "Genzo, go out and get some air," he instructed.

"[Donno], I-"

"That is an order," he clarified gently.

"[Hai]." Exercising a supreme amount of willpower, Genzo slid his feet into his shoes and left. After a nod from Noboru, Shinnosuke followed shortly behind him.

As he walked briskly away from the building, Shinnosuke trotted after him and tried to slow him down. Whirling around to face Shinnosuke, Genzo hissed, "Leave me alone."

"So you can go off? I think one Nagasaki was enough." He looked down at both of Genzo's clenched fists. "Let's go help you burn off some rage, eh? Gym?"

Letting out a long, slow breath, Genzo acquiesced and the two headed in the direction of Takeshi's dojo.

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Upon letting them in, Takeshi took one look at Genzo's face and knew exactly why the two had come. Inwardly, he was grateful that he hadn't scheduled any students for the day. Motioning them in, he slid the doors shut and hoped that they would be able to keep the noise to a minimum.

As Shinnosuke pulled his clothes off, he prayed that Genzo was still somewhat recovering, otherwise he would be in a world of pain soon. His eyes melted from brown into a hazel then an emerald green, signaling the beginning of his transformation. As his skeleton lengthen and he gained mass, a sable colored fur began to cover his skin and he shook himself much as a dog would after a bath before standing to his full height. Unable to wait, Genzo had already shifted and though they were only a few inches apart in height as humans, he still had a good foot on Shinnosuke in their hybrid form. Trying to manage as best a smile as he could considering he now had a muzzle, Shinnosuke reminded him, "Uh, try not to forget I AM your friend..." His ears flattened against his head when Genzo cracked his neck and snarled menacingly. "[Kso-]".