A/N: Written as a Trick or Treat 2016 exchange gift for DoreyG.
Tonight, the stars shone bright. Michiyo was fond of clear nights. The black sky was a glossy canvas dotted with the smallest lights millions of light years away, a true feat for such powerful bodies.
In comparison, he felt so tiny and alone in the hospital bed. Even at sixteen he should have looked the part. Pale skin and a thin build under his hospital gown only hinted to the truth of his condition. The hum of the machine attached to his arm hummed blissfully unware of his pain. Like this he, truly, was meant to stay rooted on Earth's surface forever.
One day, he would like to visit the stars. His parents had laughed when he had told him his life's ambition. Even now, in such poor health, he wished to be an astronaut. Touring the galaxy would be amazing.
Michiyo had loved the stars since his early childhood. Even from a young age, the stars had been the one constant in his life that followed him to whichever hospital or town he moved to. His parents were strict with his medical needs, and they never skimped out on any treatments. To avoid the cold while he was at home, they would move south. To give him fresh air to breath in, they would temporarily move to a beach front for the sea breeze. Indeed, if his mother or father sniffed the foul air of defeat, they sought out a new specialist that may have a cure for his illness.
The stars promised a brand new start, a peaceful place and contentment. In fiction, planets far away had the best technology for medical research.
At first he thought the brightest star in the sky was the North Star. He squinted at it past the moonlight, but the star was too far away from the moon. Too sleepy to think about its name, he simply smiled.
"Maybe one day I'll be able to go to another world, too," Michiyo muttered with a somber sigh. In his dreams that would only be possible; he could not build a real replica of a space shuttle from his flimsy hospital bed. "It's not much, but I'll hope on you, my new friendly star, that I won't have to stay here."
Still high in the sky, the star winked back at him.
The next night, Michiyo noticed the star seemed closer than it had been the previous night. And the next night, it was the same. Each time it approached the Earth it seemed less round. Perhaps it was a meteor, or even some kind of UFO sighting.
That did not explain the prickling goosebumps on his arms. Every time it came closer, he felt as though he was sapped of a little more energy, just more tired.
"You really love the stars, don't you?" his nurse asked one time. She grinned at him widely as she changed his IV and checked his vitals. "Whenever I come in before bed you're staring out that window."
No denying that. "I guess," Michiyo relented. "But that star… it's different. I can't tell what it is."
The nurse nodded. "We all have a special star watching us, no matter how far. I think that's yours."
Michiyo went to sleep that night pulling up his blanket just a little bit further up his face than usual.
Gradually, he realized it was not a star.
As the star descended, he could make out a shape.
It was round, yes, but it had a body that looked like a lampshade. But it was those terribly evil oval yellow eyes that cinched the deal; he knew after seeing those eyes that he was the target of a sinister guest.
A few times he had heard of Lampent. Lampent stole the souls of people in hospitals. Stalking in the shadows, they awaited their chance to steal the souls of people. It fueled their energy supply.
Those were just old hospital tales. Right?
But every time he looked out the window, Michiyo had no other explanation at his disposal.
The main nurse in charge of him noticed his jumpiness. She requested a puzzle board be brought from the activity stash in the children's ward downstairs and given to him for a way to relieve his mind. Michiyo was grateful for this, at least.
It was a white capped mountain with a grove of trees and wildflowers under it. Completely innocent, the puzzle sat on top of a small wooden table next to his bed, the pieces piled up. According to the box's picture, it was a beautiful based on Mt. Pomance.
Every night the Lampent soared closer, he laid down another piece of the puzzle. Even on nights that it did not come closer he placed two extra pieces for good luck. The box said there were over 100 pieces, and Michiyo took his time in arranging them just so.
Sometimes the Lampent landed on nearby skyscrapers. It dropped on stop signs. From his high perch in the hospital, Michiyo could see it even in the trees scattered around the city.
Eventually, it made its way to the hospital. The eerie light the Lampent emitted seemed all the more fitting as it sat directly across from him on the adjacent hospital building. The Lampent must have been fond of that old building and deserted are connected to the newer wings of the hospital, Michiyo decided, because it stayed perched there for a few weeks.
As the days added up, it was small things that started to leave Michiyo one by one.
Slowly, he stopped trying to walk around.
Next, he did not talk as much.
Breathing became more difficult.
A pain in his heart felt like a knife.
Everything felt too dizzy for him to handle.
The time was approaching, and Michiyo feared it.
No, it just could not end for him like this!
The nurse never understood him. The more the gravity of the situation weighed down on him, Michiyo could feel his sanity slowly dissipating.
"Please, I can't stay here anymore!" Michiyo begged the nurse. He grabbed her arm, and he could not even bring himself to care when she flinched away. "That thing… it's really coming to get me. Stop it!"
No one. But something could.
She looked at him, baffled. "Nothing is coming to get you. No one can pass the hospital's security."
Glancing at the window, he saw it again. He cringed, face contorting in sheer fear. "It's there right now!"
"There is nothing there," the nurse said with a sharper undercurrent to her tone. She followed his gaze, but now she sounded unimpressed.
"Please," Michiyo said, softer but strained, full of panic. He held up his hands and pointed at the window with as much energy as he could spare.
Michiyo coughed. A coughing fit engulfed him. He hunched over and coughed and coughed. Through blurry eyes, he stared at his lap, horrified. His shoulders drooped. No longer able to keep his body sitting up, he fell back against his pillows.
The Lampent stared at them the whole time silently. It did not move from hovering outside the window. Neither did it make a single noise to alert the nurse.
From then on, he was recommended a healthy dose of extra sedatives to calm down his nerves. It did nothing to quell the fierce fire of fear tearing his insides apart a little by little to his very soul.
Days dragged by. Days and days continued to torture him. And eventually, the Lampent was inside the room and not lounging outside. By mere inches, it moved closer each night towards his bed.
Every inch was one more nerve plucked like a violin, a vibrating anxiety that shook like a sweet misery.
He pleaded with the doctor to be moved to another room if that would only prolong his life. Or even for a curtain that would shield him for one more night. But no one heeded his words, including his parents.
Soon, the Lampent was next to his bed.
And once it was above the bed, the end would come.
As his days dwindled to one digit numbers, he focused on the puzzle. His fingers moved sluggishly as he placed a piece showing the the crown of a tree under the white mountain. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Only ten pieces remained… and he had to finish this. It was enough to keep him out of his bed.
No matter how tired he was, he hated sleeping. Once before, he had loved it because it helped the time go by. But the more he slept, the more vulnerable he became for the Lampent's intentions.
But… even for him, he could not keep it up forever.
Still a human being, however, he dropped into his bed. Black circles rimmed his eyes. Fighting it was pointless, and he could not resist the lullaby of sleep.
Really, he tried to stay away from the bed. But he had no choice. He was too sapped of energy to sit in his chair, and the night nurse would only yell at him if she found him out of bed again. It was for his own good, she explained to him patiently but boredly.
Michiyo's eyes squeezed shut. Where would the Lampent be tonight? How much closer? No, it could not end this way. He rather die because of a failing heart. He did not want a creature to take him out of avarice out of his soul. He could not allow that.
Even without opening his eyes, he saw it.
The faint purple light glowed in front of his eyes. The pillow smothering his face was useless. He could see them, the two piercing yellow eyes staring straight into his soul. Hunger. Ravenous triumph.
Despite how his body protested, Michiyo bolted upright. He tore out his IV, threw his legs over the bedside, and ran. He ran, ran, ran down the hall.
With the nurse's night shift understaffed that night, he went as fast as he could, bare feet pattering against the cold tiles. None of the nurses would help him. He was alone. Whenever he had to go to escape this, it was not anywhere in this hospital.
Michiyo shoved open the door to the stairs. He hopped down the steps. Not once did he look back. Railings and yellow taped stairs passed him with each new step and breath of air. Frazzled, he continued as far as he could, puffing and huffing. So much physical exercise was bad for him.
But he could not stay here.
Bounding out of the side door, the freezing night air slapped him in the face. For once, it felt refreshing. When was the last time he came outside? The doctors recommended it, but… he refused, of course. What was the point of leaving the hospital if he could never reach the stars he wanted to meet?
The stars… would he ever….?
The stirring of eyes on him forced him to brake into another sprint. He passed the old hospital's bridge connecting the new and old buildings. A sign whizzed past him, and he nearly collided with it. Soon, he was in the hospital's courtyard. Exhausted and profusely sweating Michiyo collapsed on the grass. It scratched at his feet. A pebble nicked the sensitive skin on the sole of his foot and he winced.
Purple light glowed above him.
Michiyo sprawled backwards. Using his palms to pull himself backwards was futile. His breathing grew harsher, and his eyes dilated. Looking the evil creature in the eye would only affirm its existence, and giving it that thrill was the last thing he wanted.
The game of hide and seek was over.
Blue light swirled around Michiyo. A symphony of sizzles and crackles met his ears like static. It was a floating heat and tingling all at the same time.
His throat went dry. Michiyo's body did not obey his commands to stand, run. Weak. He was so weak. He tried to scream, but nothing came out but a pitiful whimper. Loud and atypical, his heartbeat raced so fast the blood rushed to his ehad. Eventually, his heart would rattle his ribcage apart and burst straight out of his chest, a flurry of black blood and tissue.
Everything… something was being pulled out of him. And if it was not his heart, what else could it be?
Before he blacked out completely, he swore he heard a faint, rough voice call out to him. It was the scratchy but shrill sound of fire. He was not able to answer the voice or fully comprehend the meaning.
Another world? Let's go together. Just you, and me.