"Wake up, kid," a guttural voice broke through Yahiko's troubled dreams. Fighting valiantly through sleep and the haze of painkillers, Yahiko struggled for consciousness. Something large and hard was prodding at his shoulder painfully, stabbing him awake.
He opened his eyes and immediately wanted to close them again. The large, scarred face of Ubeka, Usashi's top thug, was grinning at him, his lips stretched over a row of tobacco-stained teeth. By the darkness outside his window and the muted lights in the hallway, Yahiko knew it was late at night. How did Ubeka get in? he wondered.
"What do you want?" Yahiko muttered. Next to him, the heart rate monitor attached to his finger picked up the pace.
"Oh no, not what I want, kid, what Mister Usashi wants," Ubeka said in a mock-friendly voice. "You had your chance, kid. Time's up. Mister Usashi won't be very friendly when I cart your ass back to him."
"Get out of here or I'll call the nurse," Yahiko mumbled. He knew there was a call button somewhere on the bed if he could just reach it.
"You do that," Ubeka said agreeably. "Don't worry, we'll get to you soon enough. You're only here because no one can get ahold of your family." His grin turned sadistic. "Parents must not be picking up the phone."
"Shut up!" Yahiko ordered, then immediately regretted it as his broken rib protested the expansion of his lungs. Just like Ubeka to not pass up a opportunity to remind Yahiko he was an orphan.
Ubeka patted Yahiko on the head in an irritatingly condescending manner, then turned to leave. "Rest up, kid, I'll be back later," before disappearing into the hallway and leaving Yahiko to seethe and fret alone.