Chapter 6: Planned Regret【P1】

Jiro

A sharp chime echoes through the room.

The lobby’s relative calm dissolves as a group of students storms out. Oversized backpacks and reflective uniforms blur past the muted clinic walls. The glass doors swing shut behind them, leaving the room to settle into a quiet murmur again.

I roll my thumbs over each other in a continuous circle. The firm bandages wrapped around my wrists restrict the movement, making the habit clumsy, but it is impossible to stop. The moment my attention wavers, my hands drift right back together.

Renji…

Should I just go to my dormitory and rest? I could try to reach the hospital to see how he is doing. But it is already late, and I do not even know if he wants to see me now.

I mean, I hardly know the guy…

Sitting here doing nothing is not doing me any good. I need an action. Anything.

The sudden urge snaps me out of my thoughts. Pushing away from the chair, my feet carry me over to the reception desk before my brain can second-guess the decision.

The girl behind the counter leans back, blinking sleepily at her phone.

“Excuse me,” I say, keeping my voice low.

“Oh.” She blinks, sliding her phone face-down onto the counter as she sits up. Her eyes linger on my treated wounds. “Sure. You’re that first-year from earlier, right? Is there something I can help you with?”

I shift my weight, trying to sound casual despite the deep throbbing under my sleeves. “I’m still new to the city layout. I would like to find a police station. I need to file a report about an incident. Do you know where one is?”

“A report?” She hums, turning around to scan a cluttered desk organizer behind her. “Let’s see... I think I have a spare map here.”

She rifles through a stack of pamphlets and pulls out a glossy, folded sheet, spreading it across the counter.

“We are right here at the medical outpost,” she says, clicking a red pen. “There are only a few police stations on the island. This nearby one is just a small station. They will probably just refer you to the main station here. I’d go straight there if I were you.”

She draws a fluid line across the grid of streets, finishing with a bold circle.

“You can’t miss it. The top of the building has a white band that illuminates after dark to indicate it belongs to Core One.” She folds the map back up and hands it over to me with both hands.

“Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

She sinks back into her chair, her hand already drifting toward her phone as she gives me a parting smile. “Glad I could help. Take care of yourself out there, okay?”

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Discover what happens next in: Chapter 6: Planned Regret【P2】

Written by Limited_Infinity. Extras, official publishing platforms and updates are publicly available only on the Patreon page “_Limited_Infinity_”

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