"Is something wrong, Masuta-kun? You've been looking out the door for a while now." Sho asked as he slowly took a sip from his glass of water. He laid comfortably in a white bed while Budo sat in a chair beside him.
"Sorry, I just felt like I heard someone calling my name..." Budo says awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.
"Really?" Sho tilted his head in a curious manner.
"Yeah, but I could be just imagining it." Budo reasoned.
"Hey...um...Budo, you haven't see Mina yet, have you?"
"No, I thought she would have been here by now."
"...Maybe I scared her away." Sho sighed sadly as he lowered his gaze.
"What do you mean?" Budo asked turning his body towards his friend.
"W-Well...I um...I called Mina not too long ago and I....I told her I loved her..."
"No way!" Budo says with widen charcoal eyes as he got out of his chair. "What did she say?"
"I don't know, she was mumbling so I couldn't hear her and then there was a long pause and she hanged up on me..."
"She must have been so flustered that she panicked and hanged up, don't take it as an answer Sho. She's probably trying to sum up the courage to see you." Budo smiles reassuringly and patted Sho's back. Sho cracked a weary smile.
"Do you think so?"
"C'mon, you know Mina. She likes to act tough when inside she's really just a softy. You brought out her feminine side and now she doesn't know what to do. " Budo theorizes as he took a seat back down into the plush chair.
"Hehe, yeah that's probably what happened."
Budo nodded to his friend and glanced back at the door. His new habit apparently.
"Still worried about the 'mystical' voice?"
"Its silly I know, but I can't help but think-"
"Don't worry about it, it was probably some patient or nurse." Sho replied as he grabbed a spoon from his bed table and dipped it into the plate of green jello the nurse had given him.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Budo murmured as his eyes fell to his lap.
He wouldn't have been so bothered by it if the voice hadn't sounded like Ayanos.
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"It took you long enough..." Satoru replied with an angry twitching grey eye as he held a sedated Ayano in his arms. The officer he had assigned Ayano to was heavily panting in front of him with his hands pressed against his knees. The officer's head was ducked down taking in deep and desperate breaths of air. He was the one that was supposed to take Ayano to the mental hospital but somehow she slipped through him despite her being handcuffed.
"That girl....haaahh... she made me chase ...hahhh....after her through a bloody intersection!!!" The officer growled as he briefly glanced up at the unconscious girl with utter hatred in his aged eyes.
"My, it seems you underestimated my patient here." Satoru chuckled amusingly causing the officer to glare at him. It was lucky that the officer notified him that he lost Ayano, Satoru wasn't worried though, he knew exactly where Ayano was headed and managed to ambush her.
"That girl ain't normal."
"Indeed, she isn't."
"She broke my fucking car window and her handcuffs too, should I put it on your tab or hers? Because I ain't putting it on mine."
"I'll pay it since I did put you alone with a dangerous girl." Satoru replies smugly not surprised that one of his best officers couldn't restrain an Aishi.
"Hmph, are we taking this girl to the loony-bin or what?" The officer waves dismissively at him, already growing impatient with the doctor.
"Yes, but... are you going to see your daughter as well?" Satoru asks causing the officer to freeze in place. Satoru raised an eyebrow at this.
"....That girl.... ain't my little girl, she's something far off from her." The officer mumbles and starts to walk to the police cruiser.
"Officer Haruka, Kokona needs her father. Stop burying yourself into your work and go see her." Satoru says firmly making Officer Haruka stop in his tracks once again.
"I don't want to see her!" Officer Haruka shouts stubbornly and Satoru could visibly see his broad shoulders shaking in either anger or anguish. However, Satoru continued to probe.
"You and that Saki Miyu girl is probably the only family she has left. Step up and be the father that she needs right now!" Satoru pressed sternly.
Satoru knew if Officer Haruka would just see Kokona then maybe some of her sanity would come back. More than anything he wanted to help the purple-nette girl. From the tests he performed on her, he concluded that she was an unfortunate victim of Ayano Aishi's brainwashing method making her lose the color in her pretty purple eyes. As much as Satoru wanted to tell Officer Haruka that minor detail, he knew Officer Haruka would go ballistic on Ayano in an instant. However, Satoru was convinced he could help Ayano become normal. He would put Officer Haruka in the dark for now.
"I CAN'T....I can't see her like that. Not again. She's not my rosy cheeked girl. She's not my Kokona!!!" Officer Haruka shouted and choked back a sob. The usual prideful personality he would carry himself with was washed away with stubborn tears. Again, he wave dismissively at the doctor no longer wanting to further touch on the subject of his daughter.
Satoru let out a heavy sigh. Officer Haruka just needed some time He thought. He was acting like Kokona was dead when she was really alive, just not there mentally. Eventually, Officer Haruka will have to come to terms with his pride and see his daughter. Sooner or later.
"I understand. Shall we get going?" Satoru asks gently and Officer Haruka slowly nods. They walked to the police cruiser down the road. Satoru could visibly see the large hole in the window of the car as well as hints of blood.
"See that mess? She did that." Officer Haruka mumbled and unlocked the doors before stepping into the car. Satoru stared at the hole interested before stepping in and carefully sitting Ayano down inside.
He couldn't imagine what was going through Ayano Aishi's head that made her broke out of that window nor why she chose to come to the hospital when she could have ran away. Was it because she wanted to finish off her latest victim Sho Kunin? Or was it because she didn't want to leave behind the object of her obsession, Budo Masuta.
"I guess we'll have to figure that out, my little patient." Satoru murmurs smugly while glancing down at Ayano who's head was now leaning on his shoulder. Oblivious of the new life she was about to enter.
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"Oh wake up!" A nurse with cherry red hair murmured softly as she held Mina Rai to her chest.
The nurse was leisurely walking down the stairs when she spotted the poor girl at the bottom like a forgotten crumpled doll. Instantly, her motherly instincts rushed in and came to the girls side.
"This is awful, if only Satoru-Senpai was here he knew exactly what to do..!" The nurse cried. She didn't want to move Mina in case whatever injury she had worsened nor did she want to leave the girl to fetch a doctor. Being that this was her first week as an official nurse she didn't have the slightest idea on what action to take."Oh, what a predicament I am in."
The nurse wearily looks down at Mina, she gently brushed away her bangs and noticed a big sickly bruise on the middle of her forehead. Head trauma was the first thing that popped into the nurses head. If left untreated the girl could possibly slip into a coma. Panic started to bubble within the nurse.
"I-I know I can call Doctor Newell!" The nurse piped up as she quickly went into her bra and retrieved her blush pink Saikou phone. She hastily dialed the doctors number when she suddenly felt something grab her arm. "Ehh..!"
The nurse looked down to see girl staring up at her with blank eyes. Out of surprise the nurse dropped her phone.
"Oh thank god, you opened your eyes!" The nurse says with relief already forgetting about her phone.
"W-Who are you?" Mina's asked in a strained voice as her grip on the nurses arm faltered.
"I'm nurse Cherry, I saw your body on the bottom of the stairs, what happened? Did you fall or-"
"I...I don't remember." Mina murmured as she tried to twist her head around to catch her surroundings.
"O-Oh please, don't strain yourself you're badly hurt! I was just calling the doctor- Oh where did that phone go- Ah there it is!" With one hand, the nurse swipes the phone up while her other hand cradled Mina's head. The nurse began to dial Doctor Newell's number once again, she pressed the phone against her ear and listened to it ring.
"Mrs. Nurse...I can't feel my legs." Mina says softly as she stared down at her legs as she moved them around.
"D-Don't worry about them sweetie everything will be okay." The nurse reassured while still listening for the doctor to pick up, she briefly glanced down at Mina again and gave her a small smile in hopes of easing the tension. "What is your name by the way?"
"....." Mina paused as if in thought before locking eyes with the nurse. "I-I don't know..."