The Clinic

As the man approaches, his appearance becomes clearer but is still hidden beneath the shadow of the night. Asuka is able to make out long black hair that flows behind him as he runs toward them. Stopping in his tracks he assesses the situation.

Mio has let Asuka drop to her knees, now only loosely holding her up under her arms. Junko and Aya stand behind Hanako whose fists are still clenched and slightly bloodied. “Drop her, now,” his tone is sharp, and he takes a step forward. It’s still hard to see him, but his physique suggests he is on the larger size.

“Forget this,” Mio drops Asuka and runs away. Panicking, Junko and Aya scramble over one another in their haste to escape. Asuka watches them go, breathing with difficulty. Only one pair of feet remain in front of her. Hanako still lingers, her fists shaking. Asuka cranes her neck to get one last look of opposition in, but what she sees changes to one of surprise.

The ferocity in Hanako’s eyes had slightly melted. It was now more of a mix of emotions that Asuka could not fully parse under the streetlight. Her teeth are still bared at Asuka, but her eyebrows were scrunched together like she was about to cry. With one last glance at Asuka, Hanako dashes to catch up with the other three without saying anything. Asuka starts to wonder what was meant by that expression, but she snorts away the idea. Why should she worry about someone who beat her up and called her a dog?

The man runs over to Asuka, his eyes are still trained on the disappearing forms of the girls who’d just run off. Quickly shifting his attention to Asuka, he crouches down. “Are you alright?” He rests his hand on Asuka’s shoulder. She nods as she sits on the ground in a crumpled heap.

Clearly not believing her, he stands up again to offer her a hand. “Here,” he says, stretches his palm to her. Asuka looks up and lifts her arms upward. “T-thank you,” She tries to stand, by heavily relying on him for support, but pain overtakes her, and she stumbles into his arms. Wheezing in pain, she falls to her knees once more. He winces.

“Where does it hurt?” his silver eyes shine with concern as he gingerly helps her down. She hesitates before answering, but not for too long, she doesn’t have it in her to act tough anymore.

“Everywhere…” Asuka can barely get the words out. Hanako really had done a number on her, attacking every exposed area of her body while Mio held her up. She’s just grateful they never paid attention to her bag, as that was usually a target for the victims they’d encountered in the past.

The man carefully shifts so he can pick her up. Bending down to his knees, he takes her bag off of the gravel-laden street and puts it around himself. “Here,” he motions with his fingers for her to climb onto his back. She lifts herself up on her knees and tries to use her hands to pull herself up. Securing Asuka in place, he slowly rises to his feet. It’s a bit awkward with her skirt, but she honestly doesn’t care right now.

“There’s a hospital nearby,” he starts to walk inch by inch back the way he entered into the alley. “No…!” Asuka grabs his coat collar with one hand.

“What? Why not?” She can’t bring herself to speak again, so she just shakes her head against his back. Her eyes squeeze out tears from the pain, and the possibility of having to go to a hospital again makes her head feel worse. Trying to come up with something to say, he just heaves a sigh and shakes his head. “At least let me take you to a clinic. It’s close.” She has a feeling that is his final offer, and dubiously allows him to take her.

The shopping center that was so busy that afternoon is now completely deserted. All the shops were closed, so there was nothing for the last few people who had been lingering to stay around for. The man takes his time walking through the empty street with Asuka, who was trying not to flinch from the pain, resting on his back with her eyes closed. Taking care not to make too much extra movement, he makes his way past the shopping district down and a street that passes in between two buildings. There are no streetlamps illuminating the way, but the moonlight is strong enough to keep them from bumping into anything.

A few more steps empty them out onto a street similar to the previous one, but with less shops and more residential housing. By now it is way past 6pm when clinics are no longer open, but the man seemed unusually determined to get her to one.

One clinic sits in the middle of two other houses, which was common for these types of neighborhoods, but it was already closed. Asuka wasn’t expecting anything in the first place, so she didn’t feel too disappointed as long as she wasn't taken to a hospital as the next resort. She hadn’t even expected anyone to jump in and stop the beating.

The clinic not being open doesn’t stop the man. He walks to the backside of the building and starts banging on the door there with a freed hand. “Arimura!” his shouts and the noise pierce her ears, but she can’t unlock when from around his neck to block her ears.

After a minute or so, the door opens up and a disgruntled woman tumbles out. “Do you know what time it is?” her eyes are lined and tired. The man turns around and presents Asuka, startling the woman. “This girl was getting beat up by some hooligans. I’ll pay you, so will you patch her up?” Asuka shakes her head at this. She doesn’t have much money herself, but she can’t let an absolute stranger pay her medical fees for her. The woman exhales for a very long time before wordlessly motioning for them to enter.

The man follows the clinician down a fluorescent light hallway into a room. There were multiple beds separated by light green curtains. She is lowered onto one of them, grunting as her back hits the mattress.

This was not how she had expected her day to go. To get attacked by her old friends after having such a pleasant talk with Miyuki at the delivery company…what were the odds. Again, her mind drifted back to Misaki. If she ended up staying here for the night, it would mean she could start her search for the elusive woman once more. At least it meant she wouldn’t have to take the train home and lose the rest of her money.

Gathering up her supplies, the exasperated doctor instructs Asuka to show her the damage. Asuka hesitates, again unsure if it’s actually alright considering someone else was paying for her. At this, Dr. Arimura frowns even deeper and turns to the man who was still in the room, shooing him out with a hand. Realizing what she means he backs out with his hands up and closes the door behind him. It seems she mistook her hesitation for embarrassment at a man being in the room. She wasn't wrong, but still.

Dr. Arimura checks Asuka’s vitals and bandages the bruises that were forming on her body. Soon her shin, stomach, face, and arms were now all patched up. “Take this,” she helps Asuka sit upright and hands her a glass of water and a small white pill. “It’ll make you sleepy, but it should ease the pain.” Asuka was exhausted and had no more protests left in her, so she graciously does as she instructs. Dr. Arimura lifts the thin sheets over Asuka and in a matter of minutes, she’s drifted off.

Asuka hears laughter. It’s incessant and loud. It comes out her from all directions as hazy images form in front of her. She is surrounded by dark, humanoid figures. They loom over her. She tries to run but her feet are stuck to the ground, though no floor is there to be seen. They float and avoid until the picture becomes clearer.

The more she focuses the better she’s able to understand what she’s seeing. The figures are not facing her. Their backs block her view from what stands in front of them. An odd feeling seeps into Asuka; she is too scared to look. The laughter of the figures is pierced by another sound. The cries of their current victim. The feeling changes, becoming more recognizable. Asuka tries to speak, but not a single word escapes her throat. Every time she tries to open her mouth, though, the figures seem to disperse. They move just enough so that Asuka can see past them.

A smaller figure also tried it in darkness huddles before them. Uncurling from a protective position, the blob slowly begins to rise. Suddenly the laughter ceases. The figure raises its head enough for Asuka to see an eye on its face.

It’s glaring. Hatred burns in its irises, anger hot enough to melt them off her face. It shapes itself into a tear. It takes Asuka a moment to realize that the figure is not staring at the ones separating them from each other. It slowly starts to form a more recognizable shape. The shape of a girl. Her hair is chopped and uneven. The girl stares at Asuka with one eye, still glowing like hot coals.

Asuka jolts awake. Her heart beats wildly as she comes back to her senses.

“You scared me…!” She turns to see the man from yesterday is sitting beside her bed. Still addled by the medication she was given last night, her body feels off, but she feels much better. Sore, but not as damaged.

Her brain works enough to remember what happened the night before. Turning her head to the man, she brings up the fee he said he would pay to the clinician in her stead. “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. She waived the fee.” Now Asuka is feeling conflicted for a different reason, but she ignores it again. “She’s nicer than she acts,” he smiles pleasantly.

She stares at him. Now that it’s brighter, she’s able to get a better look at his features. He has a rather pretty face for a man. A mole dots the corner of his eye. She is surprised but how skinny he is in a T-Shirt compared to how he looks wearing winter layers. He’d looked so intimidating the night before, even scaring off seasoned delinquents without an actual fight, and she’s seen them take down grown men before.

“How did you end up finding me?” she asks blearily. The pain medication makes her lack any nuance. The man looks at her. He opens his mouth to say something but close is it again with a dubious expression. “This is going to sound weird, but I was following a butterfly and happened to run into you.” Asuka thinks back to the moment, she remembers seeing what he was probably talking about herself. It looked like the same butterfly she stopped by the bridge. The one that helped her find the four-leaf clover.

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me, but that’s what happened.” Asuka shakes her head, but it makes her a little dizzy, so she stops. Then something occurred to her, she had yet to actually thank him for what he’d done for her. And more than that…. “Sorry, I know a lot has happened, but I never got your name?”

“Oh, right, we completely missed the timing to introduce ourselves to each other.” He playfully extends an arm to shake hands, “I’m Fujiwara. Fujiwara Misaki.”