Bad Medicine Part 1: Banter

“Just because you’re friends with both of us doesn’t mean we’ll just get along with each other,” Serika growled.

“Mmph!” Yuni glared.

“Come on you two,” Madoka groaned.

Madoka was desperately trying to get Serika and Yuni to get along now that her and Serika had become friends.  Yuni had been assigned to be Serika’s roommate while she recovered from the surgery. Her head and face were completely wrapped up in bandages. Yuni’s hair had been saved, but it was now a bit shorter. Her eyebrows were gone, but would grow back, and her mouth had been unsealed, though she had to wait a few days before removing the bandages She was now back to her original self, though she was upset that she wouldn’t be able to talk or eat properly until her mouth fully healed.

“Well, I guess my opinion on you has SLIGHTLY improved. The video was real and exactly as you described it. Plus, I’m starting to agree with you that Mochi might be a traitor and be with Illumous,” Serika grumbled.

Yuni stared in shock. Why was Serika talking like she knew what Illumous was.

“Oh, yeah Sensei and I secretly worked a bit on exposing Illumous before she told me not get involved and to leave it all to her. I imagine you and Nakajima are continuing to investigate them considering you three would always sneak off together,”  Serika growled.

“Since we’re all friends and against Illumous, we should all get along,” Madoka pleaded.

“When she’s capable of saving me, then I’ll consider being friends,” Serika said as she looked at Yuni.

“Wow you’re a tsundere,” Madoka teased.

“AM NOT!”

The girls continued to banter, as an exhausted Emeri entered the room.

“Hey Mado-chan, your mom just finished up, so I decided to come visit Yuni-chan and the cop,” she said as she turned to face Serika.

“How is your hand?” Serika asked.

“Its fine, I can move it around just fine, though it does ache a bit. Anyway, I’m sorry I ran off like that. Because of me- “

“NO! It was my fault. I was in such a lousy mood that I ended up spooking you. I’m sorry. I feel you deserve most of all to know who I really am.”

“You cover your ears though," Serika glared at Yuni.

“Come on Serika! How about I tell you Yuni’s backstory, would that be fair?” Madoka pleaded.

Yuni nodded her head yes as Serika begrudgingly agreed.

                                                                           ...

Emeri immediately hugged Serika after she finished retelling her tale.

“I’m so sorry I called you Illumous trash! I had no idea how much that hurt you!” she sobbed.

“Its fine, I probably would have acted the same if I were in your shoes. Say why aren’t you covering your face?” Serika asked.

“Oh, I had to give my real name to the police, so I did a face reveal.”

“I’m really sorry, you probably wanted to remain anonymous for a reason.”

“No worries, I had a feeling I’d have to do it sooner or later.”

“Say, do you think we could become… friends?”

“Sure, I’m happy to become friends with someone like you. My name is Emeri Kuramori.”

“Serika Midoriya.”

“Now whip out your phone Serika-chan, I want to see how technologically savvy you are.”

“Heh, I’m actually a pretty decent gamer Emeri, wanna go a round in Marauder Melee?”

The two began playing as Yuni sat on her bed.

“Don’t worry Yuni, I’ll keep you company. Just let them play for a while." Madoka smiled.

                                                                      ...

“Damn, I really thought I was good, guess I need to practice more,” Serika sighed after losing another round.

“You did give me a run for my money though," Emeri smiled.

“But you had a handicap with that left hand of yours.”

“I only got my fingernails yanked out, otherwise I can move my hand around just fine. Besides the painkillers they gave me when I got here took affect right as we started playing.”

“No need to be humble about it.”

“It’s true though.  OH, I forgot! Sorry Yuni-chan! I meant to give you your phone back. Now you can communicate again,” Emeri said as she handed Yuni her phone.

“So now tell me your story," Serika grumbled.

                                                                              ...

Serika grumbled as Yuni finished typing her story.

“Yeah, I’m gonna need time to digest that one. So the rescue mission to save Sensei failed because of a traitor?" Serika glared.

Yuni nodded yes.

"Ugh, just great. But how the hell would sensei make an oversight. And why the hell would Mochi turn traitor?  By the way, what happened to that psycho bitch. I assume you did something to her considering you’re not mentally broken," Serika asked.

“Oh, that was me, let me send you the vod,” Madoka snickered.

Serika's eyes widened as she watched the video.

“3.15 seconds!? That’s insane. I guess I should apologize for getting mad at you during the mummy incident. You really are a master of escape, it’s like you have the lock touch ability.”

“Yeah, I’ve also got hypermobility, though I suck at martial arts.”

"I suck at physical fighting, but I'm one of the best hackers out there," Emeri stated.

“I’m glad I made such great friends.” Serika smiled as she closed her eyes.

The four girls continued to hang out with each other until visiting hours were over at 5:30 P.M. After Madoka and Emeri left, Serika laid down and stared at the ceiling.

“You’re telling me Sensei found you because of some rebus?” she growled at Yuni.

“I didn’t believe it either, but I checked the video and it’s there,” Yuni texted.

“No! I’m talking about how the hell Sensei found YOU. It doesn’t make sense. Why would Fubuki hide a rebus in her video that references you? I mean, you lived with your aunt and were just some above average student. Why the hell would Fubuki place so much faith in you to the point where she’d try to get Sensei to look after you? Did she save your life or something? But even then, at best you’d have been some genius child at the time, but why? Was it because you were just some big Fubuki fangirl?”

“When I can talk again, I’ll tell all of you why Fubuki placed so much faith in me.”

Serika clicked her tongue as she looked at her phone.

“How long will that be?”

“Maybe two days at the earliest.”

Serika grumbled as she decided to sleep. While Yuni stared at the ceiling. Unbeknownst to them, a timid nurse hiding outside their room had heard their conversation.

“Fu- Fubuki!? Th- that’s Ka- Kabuki! R right?”

She immediately bolted outside and made a call.

                                                                          ...

5 minutes later, the timid nurse entered Yuni and Serika’s room.

“T- Time for your checkup,” she stuttered. The nurse changed Yuni’s IV and walked over to Serika.

“A- Are you feeling better?” she asked.

“Yeah, will I be able to leave tomorrow?” Serika asked.

“N- no! Y- Y- You can’t leave!”

Before Serika could react, the nurse removed her breathing mask and placed a rag over her face.

“Mmph!?” 

Serika quickly fell unconscious. Yuni attempted to attack the nurse, but her vision suddenly became blurry.

“No! The IV! That bitch…” Yuni thought as she collapsed to the floor unconscious.

“I- I have to hurry, G -Got to make this look natural," The nurse stuttered as she quickly wheeled in a tray.

                                                                        ...

Madoka was pouting outside the hospital, she had sent a text to Yuni and Serika, yet it had been minutes without any response.

“Why haven’t they responded? I want to know if they’re down for some MMO tonight!” she pouted.

“They might be in a checkup; or they went to sleep. We really should get going though. We don’t want the police to spot you," Emeri sighed.

“But it’s been almost 15 minutes, surely one of them would have read it. Besides, didn’t you expose that Col Sanders knock off?”

“Yeah, and he even got arrested. But I still have a bad feeling about this. You said the police were chasing after you, yet I can’t find any public notices about you. The best I can find is simply a news blurb from this morning stating “Criminal escapes! Be on the lookout for a woman in an orange jumpsuit”. Its so generic, yet I imagine they’re afraid revealing who you are would backfire on them. What concerns me the most is that the superintendent was still at the hotel when I left. If she looked outside on the balcony, which I’m sure she would do, then that makes the police’s silence and supposed inactivity on the matter all the more troublesome.”

“What’s wrong if she found the clothes, they’re hers anyway. Besides I’m starting to get worried about those two. Yuni was still wide awake when we left, yet it still says the messages are unread.”

Emeri sighed.

“Why not just go back up and ask them, we’ve been waiting here this whole time anyway. If they tell us to leave, we’ll just tell them we forgot something important, or I'll ask them for some more painkillers.”

                                                                          ...

The two waltzed back to the room only to be greeted by a disturbing sight. Yuni and Serika were now in full body casts as they slept on their beds.

“WHAT HAPPENED! HEY WAKE UP!” Madoka shouted.

Serika and Yuni slowly opened their eyes to the sound of Madoka’s shouting. Their eyes went wide as they realized they couldn’t move or speak.

“WHAT THE HELL DID THAT BITCH DO TO ME!?” Serika thought as she grunted in anger.

“My body doesn’t feel like its in pain, so I doubt anything’s broken, but why would she do that? Is she with Illumous?” Yuni thought.

“AHHH! Wh- Wh- Why are you two here!” the timid nurse screamed as she entered the room. Madoka and Emeri turned to face her.

“YOU! What did you do to my friends!? Madoka roared as she charged at the nurse.

“[Don’t move or I shoot the girl,]” a cold voice rang out.

Madoka turned to see a man emerge from the bathroom holding a gun with a silencer. He wore a black suit and fedora and had a mustache. He pointed his gun at Emeri as Madoka screeched to a halt.

“Vi- Vincenzo! I’m so glad you’re here, you should have told me you-“

The man fired a warning shot at the nurse before she could finish.

“[Get out! I’m already pissed enough as is,]” he snarled.

The nurse ran out of the room as a stout doctor wearing a mask entered.

“Well, well, it seems your friends have suffered a nasty fracture. I think you two need to join them." he said coldly.