It was unusual for it to be so dark this early in the evening, but it was pitch black as Minoru stumbled awkwardly; half blinded by blood and dragging the unconscious Asai, into the first hospital he could crash his Merc into. If the night shift nurses were confused by what they saw they showed no signs of it as they ran to the Yakuza's aid as he slumped onto the clean white floor, Asai's hand in one vice-like grip, his amulet in the other.
Minoru awoke in a confused haze of blinding lights and tangy smells. His eyelids were weighted down by an unknown and unusual amount of sleep and his mouth tasted like sawdust. He slowly moved his body parts; starting at the toes, the feet the ankles, all the way up to his neck, his mouth and his --- Moving his nose was excruciatingly painful! But he had no recollection as to why that was. He could hear voices above him, asking him how he was. Thirsty, he replied, and sore. There was a stinging in his arm, and a cup against his lips. Water. Minoru drank it all before falling against the pillows, deep in drug-induced sleep.
The next time Minoru woke up, he woke up in layers, climbing and clawing his way to consciousness through the thick fog of sleep. When his eyes opened against harsh hospital lights and a smiling face appeared like an angel at his side, Minoru asked what has happened to me, and the angel replied with cryptic medical terms that Minoru was either too tired or too weak to catch. He didn't know where he was or how he got there. Can you tell me about myself? He asked the angel. The angel smiled: you broke your nose.
Minoru's sleep was punctured with horrific dreams of re-animated corpses and demonic sacrifices; he often woke up screaming and crying, cringing at the pain in his nose and wondering what on earth was wrong with him. This morning Minoru was handed something by one of the angels… one of the nurses. It was hard, but it had a hole in it, and the texture brought some foggy memory to Minoru's rattled brain. Amulet? Amulet, he whispered. And the angel nodded.
When Minoru was strong enough to walk, the nurses took him to see a lady in the recovery ward on the other side of the hospital. She was shot, they say, and you brought her in. Did you save her? Is that why your nose was broken? But Minoru couldn't answer. Instead, he starred at the lady, stroked her arm, held her hand. Asai, he whispered. The angels nodded.
Minoru sat with Asai in the hospital gardens. Minoru, she whispered when she had the strength. Minoru, who are we? But he could not answer. Instead, he held her hand and smiled. The angels will take care of us; he assured her, amulet dangling from a cord around his neck. And as long as we have each other, we'll be ok.