Pendulum - The Butterfly Effect (Bleach FF)

12: Reunited

I woke a little under two hours later. At first, I was completely confused, then the incident came back into my mind as sharp as the ice ball that had started it. I felt my head and winced as the slightest touch on the bandages around my eye caused pain.

This time I was not in a Japanese style bedroom, but what from the inside looked like a warm and cozy log cabin overlooking a forest of lush, green bamboo.

I tried to prop herself up on the large fluffy pillows but received a stabbing pain in my back and ribs and stopped with a loud gasp. I choked on the pain and lay my head back again the bed frame. I hadn't yet noticed the woman in the far corner of the room.

She was short and plump, her vibrant auburn hair in elaborate ringlets, the polar opposite of Yoshino. She wore a brown and white polka dot dress and a white apron. It seemed as though she had been soaking fabric in a bowl of water but my cry of pain made her jump in her seat.

"Oh goodness dear, you shouldn't do that, you'll only cause yourself more discomfort. Sit still and rest" she said, coming over to fussily plump up another fat pillow and slip it behind my lower back. "It's a good job he found you when he did else you'd be in a far worse state than this," she said rushing back over to the bowl and bringing back a soggy white cloth. "Careful now, this might sting"

"Who found me? What happened? Where am- OUCH" I jumped as woman wiped the white rag across a deep cut on my ankle.

"I told you."

"Yeah, sorry... I didn't mean to kick you..."

"That's quite alright dear. In answer to your question, my son found you unconscious in the snow being beaten by a gang of local thugs. He brought you home immediately and I have been attending to your wounds ever since. Although it seems that you had intended to come here in the first place" she said, pointing to the long white package, leaning against a cupboard.

"Crap! My delivery"

"Calm yourself! You have delivered it, it was intended for this address" she said in a raised voice to calm me. She wiped another rag across a cut on my arm and then began to wrap bandages around my waist. "There. I think that's enough, but you should still rest for longer. You aren't going to be fit to move around for a while."

"But I have to get back to the village; my family will be worried about me"

"We will send word to your family, let them know where you are and that you are safe. Now sleep. Once you have had a long rest, I expect my son would like to speak with you"

I couldn't argue with this. I knew her family would still worry whether they knew of my condition or not. No doubt I would be grounded again for this, even though it wasn't my fault. Yuu would probably want to chain me up and never let me outside again, bad things just seemed to be attracted to me, and this so soon after the last incident...

But at the moment even turning my head hurt and I couldn't even summon the energy to attempt getting out of bed. I resigned to the fact that I may even have to spend the night here and lay my head back down.

"Thank you," she said to the woman, now with her back to her, draining the salt water that she had used to clean my wounds down the sink and cleaning up after herself.

"For looking after me I mean. I really appreciate it, especially as I'm a total stranger."

"It's not a problem dear. It's the least I could do for a daughter of our village's head family, not that I wouldn't do the same for anyone else!" She added quickly.

I froze and stared at her. "How did you-!?"

The woman pointed to the dark blue woolen jumper I had been wearing. I hadn't noticed that it was missing until now. It was hanging on a coat hook beside the door. I looked down underneath the white shirt I was wearing and saw that the woman had wrapped bandages around my bruised chest and then dressed me while I was out cold.