Forced Pain, Chosen Relief 1- A Long Night

The local hospital was busy beyond the norm. A Hell House was uncovered and all of the victims were in trauma and the emergency wards. Unfortunately, the person in charge of it had slipped away before the cops were able to go all the way through the house. It would take forever to find the bastard again. And even longer for any of the victims to talk about it.

One of them was so tortured that she was found with her eyes and mouth sewn shut…and stitches showing that her vocal cords had been completely removed. But she was the only one that didn't shy away from anyone. Her hearing seemed to be intensely acute due to the loss of her sight, and she would turn to someone when they'd approach, but she'd respond in no other way. Only a turn of her head and a curious incline.

Another was in almost worse shape than the first. Vocal cords removed, starved nearly to death, booties had been sewn to his feet at the ankles, a barcode tattooed on the back of his neck labeling him as a number, his eyes were sewn shut, but not his mouth. Both of these cases could have been siblings. They looked so similar to each other.

Yuki was working overtime. And her brother was still at the house, helping with the search.

"Captain Kuran. The commander is on the line."

"Okay." Kuran—an attractive man with shoulder length messy brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, clothed in the pitch black and navy blue uniform of a police officer, a patch on his shoulder declaring him a captain, and the nametag on his chest declaring him as Kuran K.—turned away from the small team investigating the basement, a burial ground for those victim to the Hell House that had outlived their purpose in the sick place, and took the cell phone from the woman who had spoken. "Ma'am?"

"There's a media storm outside that place. I'm sending over a control team to handle them. It's Kurosu's squad, so you won't have any trouble."

"Have you had any word from the hospital? Or the search team?"

"No. The only thing I've heard from the hospital is that there were two severe cases. But I heard that from you when you reported in. Are you worried about Yuki?"

"Not really. She's handled herself in some worse situations than this. We've found something interesting in the basement."

"The loose burial ground? Something besides the stench of dead bodies?"

"Yes. Like the two severe cases, all of the corpses appeared to have scars that indicate that their vocal cords were removed. And several were dead versions of the girl."

"Then we got there just in time for the girl?"

"Yes, Ma'am. As we speak, the corpses are being loaded and transferred to the morgue."

"I'm glad to hear that. It's near daylight; I'll have Kurosu relieve you."

"Thank you. Will you be at the house?"

"Not until later. I'm going to personally relieve Yuki so she doesn't have to risk sun exposure."

"Thank you. I'll go by to pick her up once Kurosu arrives."

"He has. I'll radio him once his squad has the crowd under control. Until the culprit is found, all of the victims need to be protected. That hospital will be one of the safest places for a while. I'm tempted to say that even those claiming to be family have to go through a thorough examination before being allowed in."

"That might be a good idea."

"I'll most likely see you tomorrow night."

"Okay." The line clicks and Kuran hands the phone back to the officer.

"Sir?" Kuran mildly explains the situation to her and goes back to overseeing the investigation.

"Yuki-san! Can you hurry with that gauze please?"

"I'm already here." She holds out the gauze and smiles at the doctor.

"Thank you…" He takes the gauze from her and she crosses the room. "Can you go down to Trauma 3 to help her? She won't seem to let any men touch her." Yuki nods.

"Yes Sir!"

"If I'm not in Trauma 7 or one of the emergencies, I'll be in my office. I know that you need to get home before sunrise."

"Okay, Dr. Kurenai." Yuki heads out of the emergency ward and over to the trauma area. She locates the room and knocks gently on the door. She goes in quietly and the girl turns her head. "I'm going to change your bandages…do you still not want your stitches removed?" The girl shakes her head and makes a motion with her hand. "You know Sign Language?" The girl nods and repeats the gestures. "I'm sorry…I don't. Did any of the doctors tell you their names?" She shakes her head. "My name is Yuki. Do you mind if I change your bandages?" She shakes her head and creates a series of gestures, ending with moving her hand across her face like a smile. Yuki approaches the cabinet and pulls out some bandages. "Can you tell me your name?"

Yuki glances back to see the girl making letters with her hands. "You're going too fast. Give me a second." She nods and repeats the series of letters, slower. "S?" A nod. "A-Y-O-R-I? Sayori?" The girl nods and holds out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Sayori-san." Yuki shakes her hand and touches Sayori's neck gently. "Can you sit up? I need to change the bandages on your stomach and neck." She nods and sits up slowly. "Now don't move, please." She nods and holds still while Yuki changes the bandages gently.

Her hand brushes Sayori's back and the girl stiffens. "I'm sorry." She glances at the spot and notes a large series of scars that look like they're from a whip. The scar that Yuki accidently touched was a barely healed wound. "These are fresh…you went through hell didn't you?" Sayori nods and Yuki sighs. "I'm going to fix the bandage on your neck now. I'm going to be very gentle around the stitches." Yuki removes the bandage and stares at the red wounds. "This is getting infected…I'm going to have to put some medicine on these. Um…I'm sorry, but it's going to hurt a bit. It's only to get rid of the infection." Yuki hurries to the cabinet and pulls down some medicine. Someone knocks on the door and walks in as Yuki starts to treat the infections. "Hello, Oba-sama. Did you need something?"

"I came to relieve you. It's getting far too close to dawn to be safe for you." Yuki glances at the window and nods.

"Give me a minute to finish treating Sayori."

"Sayori? Oh! You found out her name?" Yuki nods absently and places bandages around the girl's neck.

"There. Sayori-san, this is…"

"Commander Kuran Nakira. It's nice to meet you." Sayori nods once and makes a few gestures. "No, I'm not here to interrogate you. We won't ask any questions until you're ready." Another gesture. "You're welcome. Yuki?" Yuki nods slightly.

"I'm going to leave now, Sayori-san. There will be a nurse coming in to check on you in a while. And I'll be back tonight." She nods and Yuki leaves the room with Nakira. "Oba-sama…she refuses to allow her stitches to be removed. If they go much longer without being removed…"

"I know. And so does the doctor. I'm going to talk to her, and see if she'll be willing to allow the stitches on her neck removed and the ones on her mouth." Yuki lets out a breath and sighs.

"I'm worried…" Nakira touches her shoulder.

"Don't. We'll catch the sick person responsible for this and get him firmly behind bars. And we'll make sure that Sayori and the others are safe. For now, your brother is waiting for you. Get some rest and I'll see you at twilight." Yuki nods and hugs Nakira tightly.

"Thank you…Oba-sama." With that, Yuki runs down the hall and to the exit of the hospital to meet with her brother.