Chapter 10: Insurance

Right… So. Small recap. Vampy and I went hunting, I nearly died, I was found by that pesky Guild Agent, Vampy showed up, there was some weird stand-off and now I am being dragged back home.

My thoughts? Well. It happened, alright? It happened. If anything, I'm more focused on slowly but painfully getting home.

Vampy is supporting me all the way there. With my arm over her shoulder, we both turn a corner to find the familiar motel down the street. Thank god… We're finally there.

We limp there closer and closer. I can feel a faint smile of relief creeping onto my face. Finally. Can't wait to get myself into bed.

I take a soft breath and turn to the girl helping me. "Hey… Just-... Just thanks. Thank you for getting me home."

Vampy looks back at me with a pitying smile. "Yeah. Don't worry about it. Just relax for now, alright?"

All I do is nod and groan at her request. Never did I think I'd be so thankful for Vampy actually helping me out. Then again. Never expected her to stick with me for so long in the first place… Not after meeting her in that store, shoplifting at the Booze Isle.

Anyway. Nostalgia aside, we slowly make our way to the front door. I got my keys and opened it for both of us. Carried through the living room, I sigh as we enter the bedroom. That took way longer than it should have.

Vampy was kind enough to softly settle me down on it. Without even getting my shoes off, I just kick my feet up and lay down.

"There… Now stay put as I go get you a doc." Vampy assures, taking two steps back to the living room.

With my tired mind, I nod on auto-pilot until her words were processed in my mind. Wait a second…!

"H-Hey! Vampy!" I call after her. "Hold it! D-Don't!"

"Huh? What was that? What, afraid of needles or something?"

"No, but-..."

Ugh… How do I explain this… Better give it straight to her. No way around it.

Slightly, I lean up on the bed. "I don't have insurance."

"What?"

"I don't have insurance…"

Eyes narrowed and her brow furrowed, she shakes her head lightly. "What do you mean you don't have insurance?"

"I mean I don't have insurance..! If you call a doctor, it's going to burn a hole in my wallet so big you can drive a truck through it."

Look, I get it. You should always get insurance. But the only place I go to is work… and other than that, I am just here.

… What I mean is that if I get injured at work, I'm not responsible (probably). So really, I had no point getting it. I can barely pay the bills as it is. I don't need another one!

Well, no matter how much I run these arguments through my mind, I can't seem to get any of them out of me verbally right now. Something about that sour, disappointed look Vampy is giving me is tying a knot in my throat.

"Seriously…" she groaned in a low voice. "Well look at you now. You got two broken legs—"

"I'm pretty sure my legs are fine."

"—and no one to look after you. How are you going to fix this, huh, B-Face?"

… Is she-... Is she implying something?

I raise both eyebrows at the grey-skinned girl adjacent to me before clearing my throat. "Hey. Vaaaaa-... Linda. Could you—"

"No," she interrupted me. Ouch… Cold.

"Oh, c'mon," I plead. "Why not? All you gotta do is-... Just make sure my everything stops hurting for a few days. And maybe buy some instant noodles for me or something, I dunno."

"Yeah, you think I have time for that? I got a 'job' too, y'know?" Vampy said, making air-quotes as she mentioned the word job.

"As if…! You never earned an honest dime in your life. Hell, you could just not rob a store for two minutes to help a bud out." In defeat, I sigh and try again. "Vampy? Please? I'll owe you double. One for saving my ass and another for fixing it."

I don't know why I want Vampy to help me out so much… At worst, I could even call mom or dad to have them pick me up again for a few days. Yeah, maybe they did kick me out of the house… But that doesn't mean they'd refuse to take their kid back when he needs them the most… Then again. I just-... Want Vampy to be here, I guess.

With an almost-pleading stare, I gaze at Vampy… She's contemplating the idea, clearly. "C'mon. Just a week for a bit. Please?" I ask as my last attempt.

Vampy bites her lip and frowns, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth afterwards. "Alright, alright. Fine. One week. But if you ain't on your feet by then, you're out of luck."

A natural smile creeps onto my face. "Thank you…"

"Now… We should still have a doctor look at you. Or at least… Y'know. A medical professional."

Ah, not this again…

"Vampy, I just told you that I can't afford that. I'm sure I'll be fine. I swear, it wasn't even that hard of a fall."

My words have little to no effect on the criminal girl. She shakes her head giving me the stink-eye. "No can do, B-Face. I'll get you something, no matter what you'll tell me. Just wait here. I got this"

H-Hey wait, where is she-... And she's gone… I uttered at her to try and stop her, but Vampy just speed-walked out of the room like nobody's business. Man. She's fast… Seriously, though. What the hell… How am I going to pay for a doctor? And I doubt Vampy knows a medical expert that is dumb enough to do a full examination for free.

Vampy knows a a medical expert that is dumb enough to do a full examination for free. I'm just going to stop questioning anything Vampy does from here on out. It'll be better for my sanity.

Right. Recap. So, what happened was that I was napping when Vampy came in again. At first, I was a bit anxious she might've brought one of those old geezers that charges you way too much for just a check-up. Yet, what she brought home was a smoking hot nurse with peach blonde hair and just the cutest voice ever.

If I didn't know better, I'd say she's a waifu come to life. Seriously. This Compa girl is just-... Wow.

Anyway. My excitement aside, after the confused nurse (is she even qualified for an examination?) and Vampy are done with the explanation, Compa stepped forward and introduced herself for a second time with the purest of smiles. "Alright, Mister Baby-Face. I'm Compa. I'm a qualified nurse! Nice to meet you!"

In response, I just timidly nod my head. Even as she comes closer for the examination, I can't seem to bring myself to say anything… Second time today. Huh.

After taking most of my clothes, which we won't talk about here, like, ever, Compa carefully begins her work, checking all of my injuries one by one.

"Hmm… I don't think mister's bones are broken," she concluded with that angelic voice of hers. "He just has a lot of bruises and other minor injuries. But nothing a little bit sleep can't heal. I prescribe a healthy amount of sleep and a lot of bandages."

Surely, I imagined Vampy flinching when she said the word 'bandages'. It can't be that bad to get some bandages wrapped around you, right?

"Err… Yeah, you two do that," Vampy exclaimed, taking two steps back to the door. "I'll just be out in the living room."

Red flag. I repeat, red flag. Clearing my throat, I take a breath and speak up about my confusion. "H-Hey… Hold on. What's so bad about bandages?"

As Vampy takes another step back, the angelic nurse's smile turns from holy to sadistic. A roll of bandages held in her hands, she slowly approaches me. "V-... Vampy? Compa?" I questioned fearfully. "C-Can we, err-... Talk… About this?"

"Please don't move too much mister Baby-Face," Compa shushed as she held the first bandage out over my mouth. I muffled out one final cry of mercy before… it started.

As best as I can, I try to track what this nurse is doing to me. But her hands move so quickly. So gracefully. Almost machine-like even. Before I could even process it, she had wrapped tight bandages around my chest and stomach, fully covering it up with the soft, white fabric.

They're tight. Too tight…! I try to utter at her that none of my injuries are, well, there, but as I even try to do as much as open my mouth to pry away the single bandage over it away, Compa had already wrapped four extra layers of the fabric over it. All I can do is give a muffled cry of shock. What the hell is she doing to me!?

More bandages wrap around my limbs, finally covering some of my actual injuries. But by now, I'm wrapped in so many, I'm pretty sure she mummified me…!

Before I can even process what had happened, Compa steps back with a sweet, loving smile again. "All done! Ta-da!"

Don't you 'Ta-da' me! What was that!? I can't move my anything and I'm suffocating here!

What I wanted to say was "my fucking god Compa, untie me right this instance you peach-pink harlot." What came out was "Mph fwphin' gff Cwmph, unpfi mm rff fss nffnce ywwm pffh-pnf hwlof." To which Compa responded with a loving smile, proud of her handy work. I take it back. This girl's an actual harlot. All boobs and no brain! No way in hell is she a certified nurse!

She heads for the living room where Linda had snuck off to and declares herself done. "Alright. I'll be going now then. Good bye, miss Underling!"

"Yeah… Thanks. I guess. Now, err, scram, broad."

Vampy steps into the room and gives me a neutral look. She didn't even look surprised.

Why, pray tell, did you let this happen to me, Vampy, my dear friend?

As if she read my mind, the girl just smirks and shrugs. "Hey, look. I got you a free examination… Get insurance next time, bud."

… I hate Vampy. A lot.

Hey everyone. Happy Holidays. I finally decided to finish this chapter and potentially get into writing this fic again. Mostly because, somehow, this fic got more Followers than my main big fic (which has been pretty dead for a while now, honestly). I've said it over the course of this crazy year, but I am still to this day shocked this ended up going so well. So at the very least, I think this story deserves an ending.

My original draft included going to 20 chapters (so roughly 35-40 k words). I might cut that number down to 15 chapters or so, just so I can get the fic actually finished. More doesn't always mean better if the intervals between chapters are this long, right?

Also, side note, I have no idea how Gamindustrian insurance works. I'm sorry if it is not accurate somehow.

Anyway, stay safe everyone. And I hope to catch you all in the next chapter.