10,000 words!!! Now, for reader, I just use she/her/woman bc I do not want to change the pronouns lol
anyways much love <3
Warnings/extras: Chishiya might be a bit OOC, takes place after the borderlands, one curse word, mentions of neglect, chishiya's dad is like 'ew foreigners' so careful
For weeks, Chishiya had been stuck in the hospital bed. He had never really minded being in the hospital, given the fact that it was his job, until now. Before, he had absolutely no care for people; As apathetic as ever. It was not that he hated being in the hospital, it was that he hated the people taking care of him. The nurses were annoying, but what did he expect from his father's hospital? How ironic that the man who had never cared for him was now indirectly saving his life.
"Today, more news from the meteor crash in Tokyo: more survivors have been pulled from the wreckage-"
He shut off the TV in annoyance. That was another thing he hated: The news coverage of the accident. For the past two weeks, that is all that has been on TV. Did they not have anything better to talk about? Why were they still looking for people? He would have given up already. What is the point of searching for people after so much time?
His thoughts were interrupted by violent coughing from the person in the bed next to him. While his father owned the hospital, there really was no space, so he had to share a room with another man. Niragi Suguru, as he had learned. There was a nagging feeling in his head that made him not like the man, but he ignored it. He had never met the person next to him in his life. Why pass judgment on someone he did not know because of a 'gut feeling' of sorts? Even if he normally didn't like people, he never judged them before he knew who they were. He only judged them after he met them.
"Care to keep it down?" Chishiya said sarcastically.
"Oh yeah, sorry, your majesty, I'll try to die quieter," the man said in a raspy voice.
His voice sounded like he had been smoking six packs of cigarettes every day for the past 10 years. The man next to him suffered from severe burns on his entire body. You could barely make out his face. Or at least that is what Chishiya assumed from what the nurses said. He didn't like looking over at his roommate. Of course, it wasn't his fault, but Chishiya was used to being on his own. He had never gone to the hospital as a kid, never got sick, never broke a bone, yet here he was.
A near-death experience. Why couldn't he have just died? It wasn't that he was suicidal by any means, but really, why did he survive over all the others? He heard of a little boy who died. Why not him? Chishiya had never felt any sort of compassion for his patients. He knew that most people would say it was preposterous that he did not have compassion as a doctor. But he didn't. He had become a doctor because it was what his father wanted. Or at least what he thought his father wanted. Maybe deep down, he just wanted his father's approval. He would never admit that out loud, but he had thought about it many times before.
His family life had never been the best; His family wasn't abusive, by any means, but his mother and father were a marriage of convenience. Then they had him to keep up their image of a happy family. His parents were always working as his mom was the head nurse, and his dad was the head doctor. They were always busy, and when he wanted their attention, just as any child would, they called him selfish. A selfish child.
"Can you not see I'm busy? You are a selfish, ungrateful child."
He shuddered at the thought and went to sit up. Pain shot through his body as he slowly lay back down. A stupid meteor ruined his day. They told him the building he was trapped under had shifted at the very end, and a piece of metal stabbed him through the area around his stomach. A broken bone, some minor burns, and fractures. He should have died.
"Don't say that, Shun... You could've died... But you didn't. I'm glad you're still here. Don't know what I would do without you."
He didn't know why he remembered that voice. He had never heard that voice before in his life. But it kept replaying in his head. Sweet and melodious. A warm kindness filled the voice. The loving tone almost made him melt.
The nurses had come in the day after they had been brought to the hospital and said that their hearts stopped for a minute. Everyone's hearts had.
He was taken from his thoughts by the sight of a girl outside his room. A tall girl who looked to be around his age, with (s/c), and (H/t) (h/c). Their eyes met for a moment before she hopped off with her crutches and the other woman with her. Her eyes were dark, yet bright. Like pools of coffee, but with the sun coming in from the windows, they looked almost like a lake of gold. Pots of honey he would get stuck in. She was definitely a foreigner.
'Maybe she was from somewhere else and moved here?'
Why was he wondering so much about this girl? She was just someone who passed by his room. He'd seen many people and would continue to see people till the end of his stay. So why did she stand out?
Probably because she looked different. A foreigner. There was no other reason.
But the tug in the back of his head seemed like it wanted to pull the back part of his brain to the front.
"Nurses should be doing their routine checkups right about now." The other man said, barely looking over at his temporary roommate.
Chishiya could tell that the man next to him had been very handsome before the accident. The burns on his face really weren't that bad. Chishiya just liked to exaggerate in his mind. Maybe it was because he did not like to look at his roommate.
"Yeah... they're an hour late. But I guess that's what happens when you have so many people getting sent here. The next group of people will probably get sent to the Saiseikai Central Hospital," Chishiya guessed, staring up at the ceiling.
He would probably fall asleep for a while. Not like he had anything better to do. With that thought, he shut his eyes and waited for sleep to wash over him.
"Shuntarou! Come on, we have enough visa days, we don't have to play any games," the voice of a woman begged.
He felt a smile build up on his lips, staring at the girl in front of him.
"Fine, but if we get in trouble with Hatter, you're taking the fall," He whispered, feeling soft hands grab his own, the fingers of the person intertwining with his.
"What happened to 'if we go down, we go down together' Shun? Don't tell me you have second thoughts on what you said?" She teased, a sing-song tone in her voice.
This was a memory. He could feel how it was a memory, his head hurt as he desperately tried to remember who this woman was, and when this had happened.
He couldn't see her, but he felt the touch of her hands. He could hear the sweet tone of voice. Who was this woman? The woman who plagued his dreams and thoughts, so close yet so far. Everytime he got close to figuring something out, the dream ended. Not this time. He wouldn't allow the dream to end without him finding out who she was. He needed to know.
"What's your name?" He asked, looking around desperately for any kind of answer as to who she was.
"Shun, that's not funny... You remember me, don't you?
He heard the sad tone of voice she had, and almost regretted asking his question. This dream felt real. But maybe he was affecting it, since it could be a lucid dream.
Yet something told him it was not one.
"Let's talk more in the real world.... The real world..."
Chishiya woke up with a start, almost shooting up from the bed.
The words the woman had said rang in his head. The real world? What did she even mean by that? Maybe he had developed some sort of head trauma. Chishiya had never even believed in lucid dreaming. It was not real. Neither were ghosts or soulmates.
"Chishiya, I brought along one of my patients. I hope you don't mind," The nurse said.
He hadn't even registered that there was a nurse in his room, much less someone who wasn't his roommate.
"Chi-shi-ya..."
His head snapped toward the voice, and saw the woman from earlier. She sounded his name out under her breath, as if trying to make her mouth memorize the positions and sounds.
The scariest part of the whole ordeal was that that was the voice. The voice from his dreams. That haunted his nightmares of someone so close yet so far, someone he'd lost. He had woken up in a fit of silent tears like he had lost someone important. It felt like he had known someone and they got ripped away from him. Someone who knew him. Not like his parents, but someone who truly knew him. In most dreams they called him by his first name. Or some sort of nickname. It was always 'Shuntaro' or 'Shun', something no one had ever called him. He never let anyone get so close to him as to be able to use his first name, so obviously, this woman at some point had.
"If I may ask, are any of the patients here from the accident in for memory loss or perhaps something similar to it?" Chishiya asked as the nurse went over to his roommate, changing his bandages.
"Well, not exactly. Most say that they feel as if they were out of consciousness for longer. A lot longer than what they were. That their mind wasn't even on this plane of existence. But of course it could feel like that when you're fighting for your life," the nurse answered, quickly maneuvering her hands around different medical supplies.
That didn't answer his question at all.
She finished with his roommate and immediately went over to him. She helped him sit up, and he winced.
"I would rather you don't open my wound back up," Chishiya snapped.
He heard the woman giggle, and turned to face her.
"I don't know what you're laughing about," He quipped.
"Oh I'm sorry Mr. My dad owns the hospital, I wasn't aware that laughing at your bratty behavior was not allowed," The woman stated with a playful stare towards him.
Somehow he didn't want to keep the insignificant argument going, and sighed in defeat. It seemed almost like she had some sort of control of him. Maybe it was because her voice was the one in his dreams, and he would rather find out what it meant than to make her hate him. The nurse got to work quickly, changing his bandages and throwing out the old IV bag.
"Where are you from?" Chishiya asked the woman.
"Why do you assume I'm not from here in Japan?" She asked with a smirk.
"Because you don't look it. Your Japanese is really good however. Maybe your parents are from elsewhere and moved here. Or maybe your parents are from here and you just grew up elsewhere and came here. Whatever the case... You are a foreigner," Chishiya explained.
Her sarcastic slow clap filled the room.
"Well done, Mr. Detective. Maybe you used to stalk me. Or maybe you're just really observant. Whatever the case, don't think that people can't immediately see through your act. Or... at least any observant and educated person could," she said with a sly smirk.
He quirked an eyebrow at what she was saying.
"Oh, and what do you think of me then?"
"Come on dear, we have a couple more patients to visit," The nurse mentioned, softly pulling her arm.
Her piercing gaze stayed on his own. Like God's judgment staring straight through him, seeing every single flaw, every lie, every single facade he had put up was now being seen by her. He didn't even believe in a greater power, yet she must be the angel of judgment sent down by a god of some sort. That's what her eyes told him.
And with a small wave and smile, she was gone.
Just as quickly as she had come, she was gone.
And with even the short interaction, he knew that she was far too good. The voice in his dreams and head, whoever it was, was far too good for him. He was standing above an ocean of happiness he could not baptize himself in.
He did not even know this woman, yet he was already thinking about her. She consumed all his thoughts. How pathetic.
"It's nice seein' you quiet. Maybe she should come around more often. She shocked you into silence," His roommate snickered, before breaking into a coughing fit.
"See what happens when you laugh at me? You end up in pain," Chishiya hissed.
"Worth every bit of pain then," Niragi smirked, turning around in his bed.
Chishiya rethought his opinion on the man. He was rather annoying. Almost as smart as him, but it seemed he cared a little bit more than Chishiya.
There was definitely something about the man that made him seem tortured. He was probably bullied when he was younger. Although he looked handsome now, he had a nerdy dork feel about him. But Chishiya would keep that thought to himself.
He was kept in bed, as his wound wouldn't let him get out of bed. He guessed in about four more days they would have to help him do physical therapy. They needed to discharge people as quickly as they were receiving them, which was impossible.
Back to sleep? Or should he try to get up? He was bored.
Maybe the nurse would bring back that woman.
He really should get her out of his head, but he couldn't.
"You know... we both just almost died. And it doesn't feel different. I want to say that it changed me, but really I bet the change will be temporary. I'll go back to my sociopathic tendencies and pessimistic self. Nothing will change, the world will forget about this and keep spinning," He muttered, once again staring up at the ceiling.
He had been counting the ceiling tiles when he first got here, as every channel had just been talking about the accident. Couldn't everyone just move on? He had, and he was a victim in it.
"I mean... I wasn't a horrible person, I didn't do much. I just don't like people... Maybe you're just like me. Maybe better, maybe worse. Who cares," the man muttered.
Chishiya faced the man, and saw the wraps were only on one side of his face. Chishiya was usually really observant, but lately he had been so distracted .
"I had piercings on that side. So obviously, the burns are worse there. Melted metal. Doesn't feel too good. This one though," The man said, sticking out his tongue, "This one is just fine."
Chishiya let out a small chuckle. Maybe his roommate wasn't so bad.
That night, he dreamed again.
"You promise we'll find each other in the real world, right?" the voice said.
"Yes, of course my dearest."
He had never said anything like that before to anyone. Seriously, who was this woman?
"Please..." It came out in a choked out sob.
Why was he crying anyways?
"You can't leave me here alone and wondering who you are. Please just show yourself," a broken whisper from a broken man.
A warm hand touched his face, softly caressing his cheek and drying off the tears. Since when did he cry?
"Shun... It is ok..." She whispered.
He looked up and finally saw a physical person there.
The woman that had come in the room earlier. He wanted to hug her, to cry on her shoulder to squeeze her and tell her to never leave him.
But she slowly disappeared, dissipating into nothing.
"You can't leave me here! You can't! Please, I don't want to be alone!"
And then he woke up.
It was still dark out, and his roommate was still asleep. He wiped the tears from his face, and got out of the bed slowly.
It didn't hurt as much right now, so he walked over to the door. It was quiet. The patients were asleep, and the nurses were in front at the station. He limped slowly, dragging his IV stand with him.
There at the end of the hallway he saw her.
"Oi, foreigner," he whisper shouted down the hallway.
She turned around to face him, and gave a smile. He could have collapsed right then and there, but limped closer.
"So what brings you out of your room at this hour?" She asked, turning to look out the window.
He did the same, looking out at the stars with the woman.
"Just wanted to leave that horrid room. I've been stuck there since I got here two weeks ago. Bed rest, but I feel better," he explained.
"You look like you've been crying."
Of course she just had to know that he had been crying. Couldn't she be less observant?
"It's none of your business, foreigner,'' He whispered, staring out the window intensely avoiding her eyes..
He could feel them drilling holes into the side of his head, and wondered how much she would see if they had a staring contest.
"My name is not foreigner you know," She laughed, fixing the crutches under her arms.
"Well, I'm no mind reader," He scoffed.
"And I don't trust you to give you my real name," She stated.
How annoying.
"Well then, I guess you're stuck with foreigner until you trust me," Chishiya stated, acting completely disinterested. But he really wanted to know her name.
"How about you call me.... Something having to do with a flower," She suggested.
"No chance foreigner,'' Chishiya laughed, shaking his head at the woman next to him.
She pouted and shook her head, her hair moving with the motion.
"Call me.... Wisteria," She mentioned after thinking for a minute.
Wisteria. The symbolism behind the flower was that it kept away demons and evil spirits. A beautiful flower, but oh how dangerous it was. Poisonous to humans and animals if consumed. What was she trying to tell him about herself?
"I'll call you what I want, foreigner," Chishiya snickered, starting to limp back to his room.
"Fine then. Good night daddy's money," She giggled.
He turned with a face that read pure disgust and confusion.
"Don't like your dad, alright I'll add that to the list. Good night Chishiya, I'll see you around," She said, making a mental note.
".... Good night star girl," He hesitantly said back.
He heard the woman giggle softly behind him, and then heard the sound of walking with crutches going up the hallway, opposite of the way he had to go. The sound got quieter and quieter, until he couldn't hear her anymore. Then he was left alone with the deafening sound of silence in the hallway. The lights in his section were off, the only light being the moonlight, and the occasional person who was up.
He got back to his room, and softly placed back the IV stand, getting back into his bed. The bandages were surprisingly still pretty tight. The first time he hadn't had to adjust his own bandages. Maybe this nurse was finally learning how to wrap bandages. It probably wasn't her fault, like maybe she was just a student and they put her to take care of all these people. Right now it was kind of all hands on deck. But she looked too old to be a student. It was probably the stress of having so many patients to take care of. Or it could just be that she was really bad at wrapping bandages.
As a whole world of thoughts passed through his head, one in particular stayed. Why was he dreaming of this woman in the first place? It was probably the fact that this was the first time he had met her, and she stuck out to him. Somehow that wiggled its way into his consciousness. Yeah, that's it.
Was there anything in a hospital to do besides sleep and count tiles on the ceiling? When he was a doctor, prior to the accident, there was always something for him to do. He was always busy. But now he knew why some patients would rather have stayed home than be in the hospital for weeks on end. The same four white walls, the same people checking in on you. This was the most boring experience he's had in a while. Compared to this, piano seemed like the most fantastical and exciting thing he had ever done.
He had never slept this much. It was most likely because his body needed rest to heal. Chishiya hated sleeping. He always had so much he needed to do that staying stagnant for so long seemed counterproductive. He had this mentality all throughout his childhood, and college. Why sleep when you could finish the project due in three weeks? Why take a break when you can work on your thesis?
And now there was nothing. Absolutely nothing to do. He itched to get better, so he could do something, anything. He would even volunteer to help at the hospital. Well, when he got better, he would be working in the hospital again, so he would just come back here.
The night sky turned to a canvas full of color. The pastels lit by the golden light from the sunrise. He hated windows.
He was filled with a lot of that lately. Hate. He hated the hospital, he hated his dreams, he hated the way the nurse wrapped his bandages, he hated his roommate. He got a second chance at life, and all he could think about was everything that he hated.
And that woman.
What had he called her? Star Girl?
'Well, she likes staring up at the stars obviously, but she is still staying with the name foreigner until she tells me her real name.'
He heard his roommate's bed creak, and looked towards him. The man was awake, and tried to stretch before remembering his burns.
"This sucks," His roommate said, laying back down.
"For once we agree on something," Chishiya said with a small chuckle.
He looked towards his IV bag and sighed. It was almost empty. His roommate's IV bag was empty. That could be dangerous. He pressed the call button with a sigh.
"The nurse at this hospital... They really don't check in at night. They're supposed to. Someone could die overnight. But my father doesn't really hire experienced nurses. He hires the 'pretty ones', straight out of college. Most of the older nurses are in the elderly care ward. Far away from the other patients. Doesn't anyone besides me find that weird?" Chishiya ranted, before remembering the person in the room.
The other man simply laughed. It ended in another coughing fit, but Chishiya didn't mind it this time.
"Let us see how long it will take. I know not many people are awake at dawn, so they should be pretty quick,'' Chishiya explained.
His experience working at this hospital was coming in handy. Maybe they would rush because his father owned the hospital. He hated using his father's influence, but he would rather not deal with a dead roommate, or worse, a new one.
To his surprise someone opened the door about five minutes later. Only it wasn't a nurse, it was the foreigner.
"The nurses were all either asleep or getting here. They said they didn't want to deal with someone complaining first thing in the morning... I saw it was your room and remembered how low your IV bag was last night," She mumbled, a blush growing on her face.
"Woah, what were you two doing last night?" His roommate asked with a short laugh.
Chishiya felt the tips of his ears grow warm at his roommate's insinuation.
"Oh we just talked out in the hall. Nothing weird," She laughed.
She pushed in the cart that had some supplies into the room. It took her a while with her crutches, but she got the cart in without dropping anything. Her height gave her a disadvantage, but he was really impressed. She went over to the sink on the far right wall, closest to his bed to wash her hands. Once she was done, she put on some gloves. Did she have medical experience?
She quickly went over to his roommate, noticing his IV was empty. She made a face of shock, turning to Chishiya.
"Is that not dangerous?" she asked, quickly taking the bag down, replacing it with a new one.
Chishiya nodded, and watched as she undid Niragi's bandages softly. He winced, and she apologized. She used fresh bandages, and wrapped them tightly.
She hopped over to the sink in the room, taking her gloves off, and washing her hands again. As she was putting on fresh gloves, Chishiya wondered if she had been having the same weird dreams he had.
"So, since you've been here, have you had any weird dreams?" Chishiya asked, sitting up.
Her hands worked quickly, changing his bandages. She did much better than the nurse. And she was a lot faster.
"Umm... Describe what you mean by weird?" She responded.
"Like... with someone in them that you can't see. Someone that seems familiar, the dream seems like a memory, but you can't remember when it happened or who the person is," He explained.
By the look on her face, he could tell that yes, she had been having those dreams. She moved away, and began changing his IV. The bandages were snug, but not uncomfortable. Perfect. She definitely had some sort of medical background.
"That is such a weird thing to ask about. Oddly specific," Niragi coughed out, turning in his bed to look over at both of them.
"It's alright. I don't mind answering,'' She said before turning her attention to Chishiya. "I have been having dreams like what you described. I've never seen the man's face. His voice sounds like I should remember... But I never do. Actually, his voice sounds like yo- Um... never mind."
His voice sounded like what? Maybe it was a celebrity.
'She was obviously going to say you.'
He rid his head of that thought. It seemed almost like fate that her dreams were the same as his. He had asked his roommate multiple times before about his dreams. Niragi had never had dreams like that.
It was just a coincidence. Nothing more, nothing less. Soulmates weren't real.
'Who ever said anything about soulmates?'
He added something that he hated to the list: His own brain and thoughts.
"Well, I've finished here, I better go to the next room," She said.
Chishiya noticed how tired the woman looked. She had dark circles under her eyes and was struggling to keep them open as she stood. Had she really not been able to sleep? Or was she doing the nurse's jobs at night?
"It is not your responsibility to do their jobs. You look exhausted. Why don't you stay here for a while, you should be resting your leg. Overworking your leg, even with the crutches, is bad for you. So sit here, and take a break," Chishiya ordered, grabbing her arm.
She looked almost shocked.
"Doctor's orders," Niragi snickered.
The woman only sighed, before sitting down on the edge of Chishiya's bed. He rolled his eyes. She was trying to make herself as small as possible.
"You can lay down, you know," Chishiya whispered, moving over to make room for the woman.
She barely wasted any time in doing so, making sure she didn't take up much space next to him.
"At least take me on a date before you ask me to sleep with you," She laughed.
That laugh sent a shiver down his spine. He wasn't scared, no, quite the opposite. It filled the room with the warm brightness only the sun could give. She reminded him of the one day his parents took him out into the countryside. Of course it was not a cute family road trip. It was all business and for appearances, but the sunshine really was better out there as opposed to the sunshine in the city.
By the time he looked down to say something to her, she was sound asleep. He looked over to his roommate, and found him to also be asleep once more. There really was nothing better to do. He felt his breathing slow and match the pattern of the woman next to him. Soon, he was also falling asleep.
He was woken up by hushed arguing. His eyes opened slowly, and saw the usual nurse giving the woman a scolding.
"He pressed the call button. Half of your staff was asleep, the other half did not want to deal with it. Someone could have been in a seriously dangerous situation. No one stepped up, so I did," the foreigner hissed.
"You are not a trained medical professional. You can not be inserting IVs and changing bandages. If the owner of the hospital found out he'd-"
"He'd probably fire you for your negligence and hire me for helping and taking care of his son. Even if the man doesn't care about him, he cares about appearances. Now either you train your staff correctly, or I write a complaint. They could have been dying and you and your staff could have cared less," The woman interrupted, the venom in her tone evident.
The nurse was left speechless, and so was Chishiya.
"I'll take my leave. Come on, you have to head back to your room," The nurse said, taking her arm to lead the tall woman out.
"I want her to stay," Chishiya blurted.
Both the nurse and woman turned to look at him. The nurse looked shocked, as if what he had just said was the most preposterous thing anyone had ever said. The woman, Star Girl, as he had called her, looked happy. He had almost regretted saying what he did, until he saw her smile.
"There's no reason for her to leave really. You take her around with you all the time, so what difference does it make if she stays here with me?" Chishiya explained, a sly smirk working its way onto his lips.
The nurse was at a loss for words. She stammered and just put her hands up in defeat.
"Fine. Do as you please. Run the whole hospital for all I care," She spat.
"Well, I will in a year or two so don't worry. You'll be the first to know, trust me," Chishiya said with a smirk.
To the woman, it looked like the smirk of someone who thought they knew better. Except she knew that Chishiya really did know more than the nurse at that moment. Even if they hadn't talked much, she could tell that he was smart.
The nurse left and the pair started laughing. Chishiya had never really laughed with other people. This was nice.
But he couldn't let himself get distracted. If he let his guard down, she could come in. How could one person be working away at his walls? So many others had tried, failed, and cried. Yet she was patient. Taking down one brick at a time, and making sure he was ok with it being gone. And she had barely known him for more than a day.
"You remind me of my favorite flowers,'' The woman said.
"Is that your pick up line for all the guys?" he joked, looking over at her.
"Nope. Just you," She laughed.
That brought a flutter of feelings into his head. Was he delusional? High off pain meds? What was this? He had never been a chatty person. He kept to himself most times, and had never had friends growing up. To him, it was a hassle. Why have friends? In his opinion it was a waste of time.
"Let's be friends," She said, extending her hand out to him.
He hesitated. And she noticed.
"You've never had friends, have you? Well, it makes sense,'' she said.
"And what is that supposed to mean? I'm a little offended by that," he mumbled, a bit embarrassed she was able to tell so quickly.
"I can just tell. It is really easy for me," she answered.
Now he was really curious. How could she tell just by looking at him? What had she done prior to the accident?
"What did you do? You know like... before all of this," He questioned.
"I was a psychology student. I'm actually in my final year of work study. Which means by next year, I'll be a full fledged psychologist. I can read people easily," she shrugged, as if it was normal to look into his eyes and read his whole life story off to him.
"Ah, so you're a psychologist... And read people easily? Try reading me then," Chishiya snickered, trying to see how far she would go in testing her skills. She was definitely just bragging. There was no way she actually could.
"Well, let's see... You're an only child, definitely emotional neglect from your parents, you're kind of a loner, but people don't look at that much because you're a prodigy. People annoy you, you don't actually have a passion for being a doctor, you just did it for the approval of your father, or maybe to find out what these so-called 'emotions' were. News flash: You accomplished neither. You're a gifted child for sure, you just haven't exhausted yourself to the point of burnout because you never received praise. It was just expected of you to actually do well. Success comes easy for you, you never have to try. You probably have sociopathic tendencies, or maybe antisocial personality disorder. Not enough to be a killer, but just enough to not care about others, and put yourself above them. How did I do?"
The blonde stared in shock, blinking as if trying to process what she had just said. Why did she have to be a psychologist? She could have been another doctor, a game developer, an influencer. Anything would be better than a psychologist. Or at least one as attentive as her.
"You did fine I guess," He shrugged, acting as if he wasn't bothered.
"Oh so I was right on the nose? Got it. You're so easy to read. Like a kid's book," She giggled, shaking her head softly.
He just now noticed how everytime she moved, her hair would move with her. It was almost like a trap to stare. He felt very compelled to do so. He was trapped in her spell
"Anyways, friends?" She asked once more, sticking her hand out towards him again.
"Friends," He said, grabbing her hand and shaking it.
The rest of the hospital stay shouldn't be that long anyways. He could just leave and never see this mystery woman ever again. But a part of him said that he would hate that. He would really hate that.
It wasn't too long until his roommate was able to walk around and not sound like he was on the brink of death every time he laughed. And it wasn't too long until the mystery woman started feeling familiar to him. She started to feel like comfort and all the warm feelings of home. But not his home, a home he had only ever heard of in the stories, seen in movies, and observed on the streets. She started feeling like a fantasy. Not entirely real, but not entirely fake either.
"You're such a downer Shun," She giggled, trying to maneuver her way around all the people in the hallway, a difficult task with her crutches.
Shun. That's what she had been calling him. That and variations of his first and last name. Shiya,'Taro, Shun. All of them were a variation of his name. And all of them were what the woman in his dreams had called him. Which brought his head to another set of thoughts: He had not had any dreams having to do with the mystery woman. After he started talking to her, they stopped.
Then back to the nicknames. He still did not know her name. She wouldn't budge.
"Names have power," she would say.
But she knew his name, and not once did he object. He just didn't understand her. Which is probably why they got along. She was so different from what he was used to. Most people that talked to him were annoying, and he hated hearing their voices. He could listen to this woman talk for hours and he would never tire of it.
"It is true. There is no such thing as soulmates. It is just some lie that lonely people came up with to feel better about themselves. That there is one person destined for you seems so stupid. I think you're a damn idiot if you think that soulmates are real," He scoffed, helping her walk with her crutches.
"I think you're one of those lonely people who try to deny soulmates because you're alone. How's that for a theory hm? What do you think of it Chishiya Shuntaro?" She said back, saying his name in a sing-song tone of voice, a sly glance getting thrown over at him.
"I think you're an idiot," he said with a small smile.
His smiles were rare. Or at least real smiles. Real smiles were reserved now solely for this woman. The only one who could actually make him laugh. He thought it was weird. To him it was so weird how he trusted her and let her in. He had never felt that way before. She was so strange.
"Shuntarou, who is this?"
He froze. That was not a voice he was expecting to hear. Not now. Maybe in a year or couple months, but not now.
"...a friend sir," he said, his demeanor completely changing.
It went from a comfortable air around him to a tense and strained aura.
The air around him felt thick. He couldn't breath, almost like the air got knocked out from his lungs.
"A friend? Those are only distractions from your work, Shuntarou," the much older man stated harshly.
The woman next to him, of whom he had never seen silent, was now looking down as quiet as a church mouse.
There went his support.
"Of course. But she has been helping me with my work. The relationship is purely work related. Foreigners, father. They call everyone friends," Chishiya stated.
The woman next to him was hurt by those words.
"A foreigner? Really, I can't believe that after everything I've taught you, you have decided to make 'friends' with a foreigner," the man, now revealed as Shuntaro's father, hissed, pointing a finger at the woman.
"I-I'll just leave," she mumbled, turning to go back to the room.
"Hey, you don't have to- please. Please don't leave," he mumbled to her, quietly so his father wouldn't hear, grabbing her hand to stop her.
She pulled it away.
"You shouldn't be talking to a foreigner, much less touching one, now should you Chishiya?" She said, her voice cracking.
He watched her walk away, almost chasing after her. But he let her be.
"I just came for a routine check. It'll look bad for the media if I don't. I didn't even know you were here," his father stated.
Like that made him feel any better.
"Of course. I must head back. Work. Even though I'm still here, I have to stay ahead. Goodbye father," Chishiya said with a bow towards his father.
Walking back, he looked around to try and see if he could find the woman. She would have stood out.
When he was back in his room he asked Niragi if he had seen her.
"No. Thought she was with you?" Niragi responded, sitting up.
Chishiya cursed under his breath, and thanked his roommate, who looked just a bit concerned at the fact Chishiya didn't know where she was.
Chishiya walked back out, pretending that he was totally calm. Internally he was freaking out.
"It's fine. She can't leave, she has to stay in the confined area of the hospital. Nothing worse could happen," He muttered to himself, watching what was going on around him.
"Power surges from the crash have started happening in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures. Businesses are warned to get a backup-"
The voice from the TV was all of a sudden shut off. The sound of wiring of lights powering off could be heard.
This sent the nurses into a panic.
Chishiya remembered what she had said the other night.
"Umm... 'Taro, can I stay here tonight?" she asked, fidgeting with the strings of her hoodie. She was able to get out of the hospital robes and into some civilian clothing
"Yeah, sure. I don't mind. Why though?" he had responded, watching her face flush in embarrassment.
"I... I don't like the dark. The nurses always turn off the lights in the hallway, and my phone is out of battery," she explained, embarrassment filling her face.
"Oh... I don't mind either way, so... get comfortable."
She was alone. And it was currently dark. He knew how suffocating the darkness could get at this god forsaken hospital.
Now he was panicking a little more than he was previously.
"Stupid meteor. Ruining my day, and still continuing to ruin everything," he cursed, walking briskly down the hall with his hands in his pockets. A habit of sorts he got into when he was in med school. This way it was easier and he wouldn't crash into others as often.
He looked in her room, only to find her roommate.
"She might be in the library. This has got to be one fancy hospital to have that. My name is Kuina Hikari, by the way," She introduced, pointing down the hall.
He nodded, thanking her for the information, before speeding in the direction of the library.
He had forgotten this was here, otherwise he would have spent his time reading instead of sleeping.
He opened the door, and saw no one. It was utterly quiet. No sound at all. Then he started to listen closely. He heard a small noise coming from the back of the library. It sounded like crying.
He moved towards it, rushing past stacks of books. The sound got louder and louder as he got closer.
"Hey, Star girl, are you here?" he called out, hoping she'd answer back.
"L-leave me alone."
The voice came from a dark corner. She sounded like she was in pain.
That's when he noticed that her crutches were thrown on the floor, but her physical self was not near them.
He looked over in the direction the crutches were strewn, and saw her sitting on the floor. The bandages on her leg were stained red with fresh blood. He rushed over, sitting beside her.
Surprisingly, she was the one who initiated contact. She enveloped him in a tight hug, her tears staining through his shirt. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her. He had never had to comfort anyone before. He had never been comforted himself, so how would he know how to comfort anyone else?
"I-i was so scared," she whimpered, clutching onto him like he would disappear into thin air. Like he was a lifeline.
They sat there for a while, the only sound filling the library being the soft cries of the woman currently in his arms.
"I... I'm sorry. For what I said. And what I allowed my father to say. It wasn't right. And it wasn't ok," He mumbled, laying his chin on top of her head.
"It's ok... I'm used to it," She sniffled, finally calming down a bit
"It is not ok. I know you're just trying to make me feel better about what I said, but you shouldn't. My father has no right to speak to you that way," Chishiya said, a bit angrier at what his father said to her.
"Chishiya, really it is alright,'' She said. "Now if you could help me up, I need my bandages changed and I highly doubt the nurses will be coming to do it for me.
He stood up, helping her up from the floor. She tried putting pressure on the injured foot, and immediately fell into Chishiya with a yelp.
"Woah there. Come on, I'll just carry you back," He said, going to lift her up.
Her hand stopped him from doing so.
"You're injured. And I'm too heavy anyways," she stated, giggling at the thought of the much shorter man attempting to carry her back to her room.
He sighed in annoyance before picking her up.
She yelped in shock, holding on to him.
"I've carried tons of medical equipment heavier than you. And my wound doesn't hurt, it's mostly healed. All I have is a broken finger and like 2 cracked ribs. I'll live," he said, beginning the way out of the library.
The woman scoffed at his words.
"You're really an idiot sometimes Shuntaro..." She mumbled.
As predicted the nurses and doctors looked like chickens running around with their heads cut off.
"They panic first rather than calming down to assess the situation. Yes, there are people on life support, but this is a hospital. It has to have a generator. Someone just has to go turn it on, because it obviously is not an automatic one. These people have no rational thinking skills," she sighed.
Chishiya hummed in agreement, going into her hospital room, laying her down on the bed. The first thing he did was wash his hands and grab gloves. Kneeling down, he unwrapped the bandages with one hand while the other prepared a towel with alcohol to clean up the wound.
"This is going to hurt," he warned before quickly pressing it to her skin.
She squeaked in pain, and gripped onto the mattress of the bed.
"Sorry. But when was the last time they cleaned this?" he asked, seeing the dry blood on the wound.
"Um... well like a week and half ago? They're not too good about it," she answered.
He looked at her hands, still gripping the bed tightly. She was in a lot more pain than what he expected.
He made a face of disgust. This could have gotten infected like that. He bet that she was the one changing her own bandages, because the nurses always seemed too busy.
His hands worked quickly, finishing off with the bandages.
"Thank you. I really appreciate it," She said as he stood up.
"Of course. You've done the same for me," he said, standing a bit awkwardly beside her.
He saw crutches in the corner of the room, and walked over to retrieve them. Most of the rooms had an extra pair of crutches just in case anything happened. He just hadn't picked hers up from the floor, but it was ok. He grabbed them, and gave them to the woman on the hospital bed.
"Please don't run off.... I thought you were hurt. That you hated me," He whispered, embarrassed by what he was saying.
"I could never hate you. It's ok, I was just overreacting," She said, placing a gentle hand onto his shoulder.
"But you weren't overreacting. That's the thing. If I were you, I would never talk to me again. I would forget about it. I could have stood up for you, but I didn't. I could have told my father that we were friends, and that was that. I didn't have to play into his world view," Chishiya angrily ranted.
He hardly ever showed his emotions, so when he did they erupted out of him. He couldn't stop spewing out how he felt, all of his words were laced with anger towards himself and his father. How could he have even let his father talk to you like that?
"Shuntarou! Please... It is not your fault. You can not change how the older generation views people like me," she said solemnly.
She was right. He couldn't change anyone's world views on anything this drastic, butt he wished that his father would change. That his father would stop caring about those things. Not all foreigners that came in wanted to cause harm.
The pair walked carefully around, avoiding the nurses running around.
"Follow me. I know where the generator is," Chishiya whispered, leading the woman around carefully.
He took her to the back of the hospital, where it got darker and darker as the further they went.
The taller woman next to him hesitated. He noticed, and went over to grab her hand.
"We will be fine. Promise it is not that long of a walk. I'll be right here next to you," he whispered, holding a hand out for her to take.
She took a deep breath and nodded, grabbing his hand. He smiled and walked over putting a hand behind her back as they began walking.
The pair walked for about five minutes before finding the generator.
"You'll be ok if I let go to turn this on right?" He asked, looking towards the woman.
"Yeah. I'll be ok," she responded, gripping tightly onto her crutches.
Chishiya sighed, a bit annoyed he had to be back here. If only the nurses had better panic responses. This is why he had always looked down on his father's hiring choices. Of course, you needed to hire people that had come out of college, however, he hired all of the ones fresh out of college, and almost none with experience. The pretty girls. Whatever, it wasn't his problem yet.
He pulled on the string and heard the whirring sound. Then a 'click' noise was heard as the hallway was flooded with the fluorescent light from above. He heard the woman sigh in relief behind him.
"Well, let us notify the staff the generator is on," He muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Shun," She called out.
He turned to face her.
"Thank you."
No one had ever thanked him. Or at least none of them gave the gratification that her thanks just did. For the other ones, he did not deserve them. He was just doing his job, or straight up lying to some patients.
"Will you give this letter to my family?'' The old man asked weakly.
Chishiya scoffed internally. Why do you need to give a letter to a family that is out in the hallway? Just talk to them.
"It is just that... I don't want them to see me like this," The old man said, in a solemn tone of voice.
"Of course," Chishiya responded, taking the letter and placing it in his coat pocket.
"Thank you," the man said.
Chishiya nodded, taking the letter. When he walked out of the room, he found the nearest trash can, throwing it out.
"Fools. All of them are absolute idiots. The world doesn't stop turning because you're dying. It doesn't stop because your family member or friend died. It moves on," He scoffed to himself, going on to his next patient.
He really was on another level of absolute garbage. Thinking back on that occurrence made him look down in shame at her thanks.
"Let us head back, yeah?" She suggested, sensing the mood around the man change.
The two started walking back, getting stopped by one of the nurses.
"Where have you two been?! You! Your father has been searching for you! And you! Do you foreigners not know how to-" The nurse started yelling, before getting interrupted by Chishiya.
"Don't you dare bring her being a foreigner into this. She was helping me find the generator since you are all too stupid to calm down and solve your own issues. She has been helping the other patients at night since you all decided to neglect your duties, so don't you dare talk down to her," He defended sharply, his voice filled with the anger he had been holding back for the past three weeks he had been here.
The nurse stared in shock and a little bit of fear.
"I-I it's just that um... she shouldn't be out here, she should be resting her leg," The nurse stammered.
"You mean like how she should be resting it every night, but doesnt? Yeah, ok. You might be hired by my father, but there's something that I can do about that. If I were you, I would watch my mouth when speaking to me," he stated sternly.
"O-of course Chishiya... I apologize," The nurse stuttered before running off.
He turned to the woman next to him.
"Are you ok?" He asked.
The woman nodded, tears in her eyes.
"She made you that upset? I'll have her fired, banned even, I'll do anything to-"
"She didn't make me cry. You defending me did... No one has ever done that for me," She sniffled with a soft laugh.
Chishiya smiled, and the two began walking back to his room.
When they entered the room, they saw two things.
One was Niragi with a nurse. The other was Chishiya's father on his bed.
"Father."
"Shuntaro, foreigner," His father greeted, nodding at each of them.
A barely audible growl was heard from Chishiya.
"Father, please treat her with respect. She is an intellectual and respectable woman," He said, straining his most proper voice.
"It doesn't matter to me what she is like. She is a foreigner, and it simply will not do," His father stated.
The anger was building up inside of Chishiya. The building blocks snapping into place, the switches flipping in his head to talk back.
But he was scared.
He felt a familiar hand grab ahold of his, and he looked at the person next to him.
She gave a reassuring squeeze to his hand and he took a deep breath.
"Father. Not every foreigner comes in to harm us or the country. She is my friend, and someone who has helped around the hospital quite a bit since she's been here. Please show her the same respect you would anyone else," Chishiya said sternly.
His father scoffed, getting up to leave.
"I always knew you were an ungrateful and selfish child."
And with those words, his father left.
"You are a great friend and an attentive and intelligent man," The woman next to him said.
He hugged her tightly, squeezing her to make sure she was real as he broke down into sobs.
She ran a hand through his blonde hair, whispering comforting words.
"You can't leave. Please stay," He whispered through sniffling and tears.
"I wasn't planning on leaving. You have me Shuntarou," She said.
____ One Week Later____
Chishiya had never been more happy to leave a place. He said goodbye to the old building, reminding himself he'd be back in a week or so to get back to work.
It was about noon when he was finally allowed to leave. All of his results had come back normal, and that meant he was ok to go home. The warmth from the sun radiated on his skin. It wasn't terribly hot, surprising for one of the hottest months of the summer. He took a deep breath of the fresh air, finally being out of the stark white building.
There was no doubt in his head that his father would probably not talk to him for months, maybe even years if he was lucky. However, since the man cared so much about other people's opinions, he would still be put in charge of the hospital. Sometimes, his father's vanity came to his aid.
He watched as children ran around the courtyard, screaming and laughing. There were some older patients playing Shogi and Mahjong on some of the tables, their laughter joining along with the children's in a melody of sorts. There was chatter all around him, people talking in groups. Most of these people were probably going to be in his position in a week or so.
His adventure in the courtyard wasn't for his own enjoyment however. He was looking for someone in particular.
Star Girl.
He waited for the smallest view of her (s/c), or her (H/l) (h/t) (h/c) hair. Even just looking through the crowd, she would be easy to find, given the fact she was taller than most people. Much to Chishiya's disappointment, he could not seem to spot her.
"Hey mister," he heard a child's voice call out.
He assumed it probably was not for him, until he felt someone poke his arm.
He turned, seeing no one. Then he looked down. It was a little boy. He couldn't be older than maybe 8.
"You're Chishiya right?" The little boy asked.
"Yes. May I help you?" Chishiya answered, trying his hardest to not sound rude.
"There's this pretty lady who told me to give you this," the boy laughed, handing him a folded up piece of paper. Chishiya thanked the boy, who left running and laughing.
Chishiya sighed, unfolding the paper.
'My dearest, Shuntaro,
I heard from your roommate that you are getting released today. While I'd like to say I'm going to miss you, I don't have to. Meet me in the flower garden as soon as you get this note.
P.S.
Why does your dad keep spending unecessary money on this hospital? Like a library, flower garden, courtyard with activities? Wow. Anyways, I'll see you in a bit.'
Chishiya laughed at himself. He had just read the note in his head, her voice narrating it. He shook his head, taking the note and shoving it in his pocket, walking off to the flower garden.
As he neared the flower garden, he heard a soft humming coming from just behind the gazebo wall. He neared closer, and went to scare the woman, but there was no one there.
He looked around in confusion. He had just heard humming, so she had to be near. Unless he was going crazy and just thought he had heard humming.
He felt someone grab his shoulder and he jumped, startled by the sudden touch.
"It's just me," he heard a familiar voice say.
With a sigh of relief, he turned around to face the woman.
"I got your note," He said with a smirk, pulling it out of his pocket.
"I see... So, are you excited to go home?'' She asked, sitting on the grass, patting the spot next to her.
Chishiya sat down, looking up at the sky. There was not a cloud in sight.
"Not really. In a week I have to come back and work so... It is not like I'll be far from this place and the blank white walls or the incompetent nurses," he joked, a small laugh escaping his lips.
The woman next to him laughed, and he looked over at her. He would miss her. He would miss sneaking out of his room and into hers, or when she would hide so the nurses wouldn't make her leave his room. The late nights they stayed up, annoying Niragi or Kuina.
His first friend that he had to leave. He would probably never see this woman again, and that made him a bit sad. She had comforted him, showed him what normal human emotions were like. She supported him when he went against his father. He had nothing but adoration for this woman. Some might even say love.
"I think I'm going to miss you," He whispered.
"You think?" She asked with a small laugh.
"I've never had to leave someone I lo- I mean, a friend, so I think I'm going to miss you," he muttered, almost saying the three words he was so scared of.
"Oh... Chishiya, I have something to tell you... You don't have to worry about missing me, because I also get released today," She smiled.
He wondered if she had caught his hesitation, or the words he almost said. But either way, he was happy she also got to go home today.
"By the way... your letter. 'My dearest, Chishiya.' You know where you place your commas is important, correct?" He asked, a sly smirk playing on his lips.
"Of course I know. I did it on purpose," She answered.
He could see the blush that was spreading across her face.
"Well, you are my dearest... friend," She mumbled. "Although I'd like more... Um nevermind that.''
"Well, I would like to stay in contact with you. So may I have your number, star girl?" He asked, extending his phone out to her.
He was expecting a rejection for some reason. Even though he knew how much this woman enjoyed his company, he expected the worst.
"Of course," she smiled, taking it from his hand, and imputing her number.
When she handed it back, he noticed that she didn't have a contact name.
"I think I'd like to put in a contact name for you. If it doesn't have one then I might ignore the phone. But star girl is too long. Calling you foreigner at this point is wrong, as you are no stranger. Have I earned your trust, my dearest?" He said, repeating her words from the letter.
She smiled brightly.
"You've earned my trust and more," she said before grabbing his phone once more, entering her name.
When he got his phone back, he looked immediately at the contact.
"(Y/N) huh? Well... let us be more than friends one day my dearest, (Y/N)."