Three minutes after he got off the motorway. With a little bit of slack time between his exiting the freeway and an extra minute up the elevator, it was at most eight, nine minutes before he got there. He really had been fast. Nobody discredit a hellbent gentleman on his efficiency. Nine minutes. You’ve got this. Keep it together Himura. Hold on. His question left her without a response, not (actually) aware of the exact time. It felt like it had been an age.
With the hand not holding the towel, she fumbled for the phone one more time, this time pulling it into her palm (ignoring the blood all over the poor thing) and swiping her way into seeing the clock. 10:43— A quarter til eleven, nearabouts. Fuck’s sake. She let the screen tip against her skin for a moment, sighing, before pulling it back and offhandedly replying.
“I can’t be sure… Two hours? Longer? It couldn’t be much, but… Before you called… I wasn’t… aware of things very vividly..
It’s not… that bad, considering…" Liar. It was lucky that her heart beat as slowly as it did, or else there’d be even more to deal with, and less energy to handle it with. Thank you, freaky cardiac dysrhythmia. ”I’m sorry… Hakuba-kun..”
“Two hours,” Hakuba repeated, voice still calm and even, unrelenting in its neutrality. Fuck. Two hours. Really? He wondered if he would be able to avoid involving the paramedics at this point. But if she had been able to identify what she had, clearly she had some experience with this and had probably done at least some basic treatment, right? He had to hope.
“It’s all right. Just keep talking to me.”
He pulled in to the lot for the apartment and parked. Seatbelt off. Keys in hand, a mad dash from the car to the trunk. He dug through the various ramble and dragged out the field medical kit that he kept on hand, slammed the trunk shut, and hurried to the door.
“I’m entering the building now. Hitting the elevator.”
The reception was bad in the elevator but Hakuba kept the phone pressed against his ear, regardless, watching the numbers as they increased on the side panel. When it hit the floor, he hurried out, jogging to the apartment door and lowered the bag, feeling around the trim for the key.
“I’m coming in, Himura-kun… Hang on.” The moment his fingers touched metal he pulled it out and unlocked the door, pushing his way in after stooping down to grasp the bag. Once inside, he closed and locked the door, then turned to face the blood stained floor, hesitating a moment to collect himself.
Then he started along the trail.
“Himura-kun… I’m here."