A/N: Hello! This is my first No. 6 fanfic, so I hope it's alright! Please R&R so I can make improvements!
EDIT: I made a few quick changes to this chapter, but I'm glad to say the next chapter will be out soon! Sorry for the wait!
I do not, by any means, own No.6. I'm just a lonely fic writer.
The traffic of the hall split, letting through the speeding gurney. The doctors and nurses wheeling it worked on the patient it held, giving orders and figuring out the situation.
"So you're saying he was just in an alley? No witnesses or anything to tell us how long he had been there?" a doctor asked as he consulted with the officer who had found the boy on his daily rounds.
"Nothing. He was just lying there, unconscious and bleeding. No clue who shot him or when. At first I thought he was a bum that crashed in the alley, but then I noticed the blood." He took off his hat. "Will he be alright, you think?"
The doctor gave a sigh.
"As of right now, we can't say. He was shot in the abdomen, and with how long it's been since he was shot, it's more than likely going to get infected. We have medications that may help, but that's if his body doesn't reject it. This boy is suffering from malnutrition and may or may not have some form of parasites."
An expression of pity and sorrow came upon the officer's face. The doctor then quickly stated, "But we'll try our best, of course."
Nezumi's eyes opened slowly, straining to see his surroundings. If his memory was right, he passed out in some alleyway by the bakery. As his eyes adjusted, he saw no brick walls. No dumpsters, not even leaves.
What he saw instead was white. White walls, white ceiling, and white floors. He blinked a few times to make sure his vision was correct. It was as it appeared. He was no longer in his environment of comfort, but one of sterility. He felt sick and the panic started to kick in.
His heart pounded heavily in his chest as the realization of where he was settled in. 'This is dangerous.. I need to get out of here now.'
Nezumi tried to sit up only to find he was unable to. His body was overloaded with painkillers and the pain they were supposed to have killed. With a deep breath, he proceeded to lift the thin hospital gown to look at the wound he had acquired.
His stomach churned. Half of his abdomen was in sickly shades of yellow, green, red, and purple. The bullet had hit him, just missing his ribs, but it was almost certain that it had hit an organ and tore through muscle.
It looked as though the injury's wrapping hadn't been changed in a few hours. The gauze was already soaked through with blood and pus. The sight of it was absolutely nauseating.
Nezumi scrambled for a second, found a nearby trashcan and vomited into it. As soon as he moved his hand to wipe his mouth, the door opened.
"Ah. I see you're awake now. How are you feeling?" It was a young man with brunette hair, and from his scrubs Nezumi could see that he was a nurse.
"Like shit. How long until I get out?" The nurse clicked his tongue at him.
"You were just admitted last night, and may need surgery. So far we have only extracted the bullet from you but we have to take extra precaution to be sure that an infection doesn't set in. I'd say buckle down and get ready to stay here for at least two weeks."
Nezumi huffed. "You think I can afford this? I can barely get by as it is, and you want me to have to pay for surgery? You may as well shoot me again, before I get in it even deeper with the loan sharks! How do you think I ended up here in the first-" He cut off midsentence into a fit of coughs. "Son of a bitch, this hurts!" The nurse came to the bed.
"That's why I came in. It's time for your next dose. He started adjusting Nezumi's drip, switching in the next bag. "I'm probably going to be in here pretty often, since we have a fairly even nurse to patient ratio right now. My name is Shion."
A cool feeling overcame his arm as he felt the medicine beginning to do its job. He unfurled his fist which gripped the bed sheets. The painkiller worked its way through his body fairly quickly.
There was a slightly awkward silence. It wasn't long before Nezumi broke it. "I get free food while I'm here, right?" Shion fiddled around with some things that Nezumi had absolutely no idea were.
"That's right. Would you like something?" He was about to say something rude but decided against it.
"Yeah. I'm feeling that anything too solid won't sit well, so maybe soup? Jello if possible too." This made Shion crack a smirk.
"So the bad boy has a soft side for jello, huh?"
Nezumi blushed. "No! I just figured if I throw up again it would suck less if it was just liquid rather than chunks." Shion was still giving him a teasing look and laughed.
"Alright, chicken noodle soup and jello is it. Is orange fine?" Sulking, Nezumi gave no verbal answer and only nodded.
Shion left to retrieve his food, so Nezumi was now alone again. He twiddled his fingers, trying to keep himself entertained. That didn't last long, so he began observing his room. It didn't have much to it besides a painting here and there. His eyes finally settled on the right upper corner of the room.
"Score!" He looked around for the remote, which he grabbed the quickly used to turn on the T.V. Most of the channels weren't interesting, but he settled on one he liked and stuck with it. After about ten minutes there was a knock on his door.
"Nezumi, it's me!" Shion came in.
"You don't need to knock; it's not like I'm up and roaming about naked. Plus, even then it wouldn't be that big of a deal." His food was set on a tray next to the bed.
"So you would be okay with a guy who you don't know seeing you in the nude?" Shion raised an eyebrow.
"Pretty much."
"That's good, because I will be assisting you while you bathe for the next few days."
It was a good thing Nezumi hadn't started to eat yet or he would have spit his soup out. "What?! How come this is the first I'm hearing of this?" Shion gave him a understanding but stern expression.
"I know, it may be a bit uncomfortable but it's only for about two days. You are in no condition to be doing any activities without supervision. We can't risk you getting even more hurt at this point."
"Whatever."
"You sound like a teenager."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
Nezumi's heart thumped extra hard at those words, but he didn't know why. Maybe it was because at the same time, he glanced at his nurse's lips and saw how puckered and soft they looked at that moment. For a split second, he was considering shutting him up with his mouth.
He looked away, his face growing red. "Can you just get out of my room?"
"Now you really sound like a teenager."
Turning back towards Shion, he was about to make a retort but he stopped. Shion was smiling and he couldn't help but smile back. They broke into laughter.
Shion checked his watch. "I'm supposed to clock out in a few minutes, but would you mind if I came back for a while? My train doesn't come in for another hour or so." Nezumi shook his head.
"I guess I wouldn't mind. You're not too bad to hang out with." The room's atmosphere buzzed with an unfamiliar energy.
"I'll be back in a few minutes." Shion quickly slipped out the door.
When he was by himself again, Nezumi let out a large sigh and rested his head on the pillow behind it. "That guy... What was that?" He looked down at his calloused hands. Fear pounded at the back of his mind.
'Last time I had that feeling, I... No. It couldn't be that! I don't even know the guy!' His nails dug into the palms of his hands. Out of habit his teeth and tongue began playing with his bottom lip. He chewed on the chapped skin.
It was a few more minutes until Shion returned. "I thought I might as well eat while I wait. I see you haven't touched yours yet. You should eat." He held a tray with identical contents on it, but steaming instead. "I'll trade you. I don't like my food too hot." Nezumi was quiet.
Shion switched their trays anyways, chowing down right away. "You should really try it. We have excellent cooks in the kitchen." No response. "You know, my mom works in the kitchen. I could always tell her you refused to eat her cooking. She'll be very disappointed."
"Fine, I'll eat. Stop guilt tripping me already." He took a spoonful of the soup and blew on it to cool it. As the spoon entered his mouth, his taste buds sang.
"..."
"Well?"
"...It's really good."
"I'm glad. I'll make sure to tell my mother you liked it." Nezumi looked up from the bowl to Shion. Their eyes made contact and he felt a pulse of electricity course through his entire being. It was as if he stuck his finger in a socket but instead of pain, warmth ran through him from head to toe. The feeling overpowered him, but he accepted it. He knew his limits, and he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
'Might as well see where I go from here.'