11. Eye See You

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Two days have passed since I washed up on the shore. Yesterday was dedicated almost entirely to recovery, and I only woke up at 2 in the afternoon. Mia took it upon herself to drag Taiyo to our room to act as my personal caretaker so that I would reach a healthy state, which mostly devolved to making sure I eat a good amount of food.

Not that I was complaining.

The nondescript trash they fed us at the tower can't even be compared to the cheesy chicken pasta I got a personal pan to eat all by myself.

When I asked whether it was alright for me to eat so much food Mia simply grabbed her own larger pan and said, "You're eating about as much as the rest of us fitness junkies."

That one statement made it immediately clear why they needed to have the farms active year round.

When I ate lunch the next day, I saw Mia and Taiyo approach me in the main lobby as I went to meditate with those around the large pyre in front of the residential complex.

"Heya, kiddo! Got some good news for ya from the old lady Captain herself!" the ever chipper boy said as he approached.

"What do you mean? Do I have to go in for another appointment?"

"Sort of," the calm brunette started, "In a line of work like ours where threats and accidents are commonplace injuries tend to spring up a lot. It isn't uncommon for prosthetics to be made as a result of these injuries, which is what we're getting for you today."

She said that as she tapped her left eye with a metal hand.

"Old lady Ophelia just sent Captain Greybeard word that your new eye came in, and we decided to take it upon ourselves to turn this into an even bigger occasion," Taiyo said as sparkles seemed to dance within his eyes.

"WE'RE GOING SHOPPING!"

Mia Just shook her head with an amused smile, "Just some clothes and a few other necessities. It'll take a few months for you to have enough fat on your bones to start doing anything physical, so Captain Tatsuo thought it would be a better time for you to hammer in the fundamentals of magic and practice. Enchanting particularly can be difficult for some and since you already have some natural affinity for fire magic he wants you to spend these upcoming months focusing on it. What we're getting is notebooks and such."

"Good luck with that, though," Taiyo said, "There's a reason the enchanters unit is the smallest. Only about one person joins every few years for a reason. Anyway, enough standing around! Eye time!"

The boy ushered the two of us out of the complex and we started the steep walk down the stairs to the same hospital I was taken to two days ago.

As we were walking, my mind became a blur of thoughts. It had been ages since I had lost my eye, and now it seemed I was getting it back.

But would it be the same?

Mia seemed to have lost her hand recently if the photos in our room are any indication, and she seems to be able to control it just fine. Even the fighters in the main courtyard with prosthetics seem to be fighting as well as those that don't have them.

But an eye isn't the same as a hand or leg, it shouldn't be that easy to replace it.

Right?

"What…will it be like? When I get my prosthetic eye?"

Taiyo was the one to speak up.

"Synthetic. These eyes aren't like Mia's arm. They are artificial tissue meant to fully simulate the organ instead of acting like armour you use magic to move. They'll put you under anaesthesia and perform a surgery where they connect the remnants of the optic nerve with a new one and implant the eye that way. If all goes as intended you'll be able to see out of the new eye and any damage done to the tear ducts will be healed during the process.

The surgery is still a new process so you might notice some differences. Patients have reported blurry vision out of the synthetic which is to be expected, but glasses have been made to counteract this occasional problem. Otherwise you'll be relatively safe against attacks to your vision. Someone tries to blind you with a bright light, close your real eye and use the artificial one, etcetera etcetera. You'll need to keep it bandaged for a few days to let everything adjust and heal. No using magic to speed up that process."

"So I'll have my vision back to its fullest…"

"That's right," Mia said as she patted my head, "It might be scary going under but it's worth the results."

The two teenagers led me to the hospital and I felt my heartbeat rise once we walked through the doors. Out of fear, nerves, or excitement, I couldn't tell you.

As I stepped in, the nurses guided me through everything I needed to do, giving me a hospital gown to change into and led me to a small operating room where Taiyo and Captain Ophelia stood.

"There you are, dear," the woman started, "would you like to see the eye first?"

I nodded, and she pulled out a small jar filled with a liquid solution. Suspended inside was a synthetic eye, my synthetic eye, completely clear of colour with only a vague outline of a pupil and iris on the white sphere.

"Is it…going to stay white?"

"No. As it takes its time to heal in the coming days it will grow to match your right eye in colour as well, giving you a matching set of amethyst eyes."

After a few minutes of preparation, one of the surgeons used sleep magic and put me to sleep as I sat on the table. I had fear and anxiety as I was enveloped in darkness. All of this was happening too soon and too fast, and I couldn't find a moment or reason to stop it, but why would I? I was getting a chance to have what was taken from me returned. It was a scar that I could heal, another chance to get revenge on the slavers who took so much from me.

— * —

After 2 hours, the operators and mages involved stepped back once they had finished letting the nurses take the unconscious girl to room to rest. Captain Ophelia looked to her right to see her student taking notes on the process he had witnessed.

"I expect you to give me a full thesis explaining each step and procedure you witnessed by the weekend."

"Yes, Captain. Do you still wish for me to act as her nurse?"

"Yes. This is a good opportunity for you to gain experience with long term patients as you supervise their recovery. And should you fail, my granddaughter will tell me."

Taiyo awkwardly laughed as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, Mia would be more likely to punish me even worse than you, Captain."

Captain Ophelia nodded her head with a look of satisfaction on her face.

"Aye, I've raised the girl properly."

— * —

Taiyo and Mia sat around in the hospital room with their temporary ward engaging in mindless chatter while they waited for me to wake up. By the time I did, the sky had started to turn dark with the sun cresting the horizon.

Taiyo helped me through the check out and helped me understand what I needed to watch out for while my eye was still in the early stages of adapting. While doing the paperwork, though, he became curious when I said I didn't have a last name.

The duo guided me to a few stores, collecting books and writing utensils, hygiene products, and eventually to a clothing store. Taiyo was ecstatic about the last part, treating me like a dress up doll and finding as many sets of clothes he could with purple flowers on them.

While I sat on the bench near the changing booths waiting for the energetic teen to come back with more clothes, I turned my attention to Mia who was sorting out the clothes Taiyo and I had agreed upon.

"Why are you two helping me out so much?"

The question was simple, but one I had no answer to. They seemed so eager to help a stranger, a child, after only meeting them a few days ago. Everyone, not just Mia and Taiyo. The girl turned to me with a soft smile on her face, her eyes not focused on me as she seemed to reminisce on something.

"Tai, for one, was in a similar position as a kid. Bandits made their way into the city and ended up destroying a large portion of the southern residential district. He was five, and ended up living on the streets for a while surviving on only the rations provided for the homeless after his aunt was killed in the explosions. Reconstruction took months, the entire time he refused to leave the ruins of his old home, but eventually my grandmother found him and wore him down and took him in. He took up the personal mission to help others to repay her kindness."

"Grandmother is a doctor and takes pride in that, so her helping someone out is just par for the course. That desire to help others rubbed off on me, but healing was never my strong suit and I had a talent for enchanting, something Captain Tatsuo took into consideration when choosing who to watch over you during your recovery. He's always had a soft spot for kids and family, a story you'll have to pry out of him yourself."

"Other than that, you were an injured girl and we had the resources to help you. It's our job, a natural thing for us to do. The standard semester of classes starts a month after you should be healthy enough to participate and I'll be helping you prepare ahead of time for them. So, be prepared to make use out of those books."

My face carved a smile into itself against my will, gratitude towards such a simple mindset warmed my heart but a dark cloud nestled within the back of my mind. Matron Clarise, Grandpa Rob, all the figures in my life that helped me learn magic and act as my guides ended up dying to protect me and those around me.

The rumbling that echoed across Rosemary Village, the shackle tied to a rope around my neck, I didn't want to have a bad last memory of these kind people. I didn't want a repeat of everything, to have to be forced to leave them all behind like I did everyone else.

The sound of rapidly approaching steps broke me out of my thoughts. Taiyo slid across the floor with a set of earrings in his palm and an excited look in his eyes. He took one in each hand and hung them up by the hooks to show them off. Several tiny lavender leaves hanging from a central chain made it look like a plant that I've seen growing along garden walls and from hanging gardens around the city.

"Lyssa Wysteria."

I looked at him in confusion while Mia just deadpanned at him.

"What the hell are you on about?"

"Everyone needs a last name! The wisteria plant is perfect for her! It's a highly adaptable plant that manages to survive in various climates, and it's a symbol of good luck, longevity, and success. And the best part, it's purple! And matches her eyes! It's a perfect last name for Lyssa!"

Mia just stared at him in shock at his absurdity and excitement, but I couldn't help but laugh a little.

Afterall, Jellal gave Erza her last name just based on the colour of her hair, no nuance about it. And yet here's Taiyo, someone I met two days ago after he took a picture of someone while they were bathing, giving mine as much thought but still using colour as the basis.

"Are you saying all these clothes were you trying to find a good last name for her?" Mia said, pointing to the mountain of clothes that she had been trying to sort out.

For his part Taiyo seemed a little embarrassed, but didn't have any regrets. "Everyone needs a last name, Mimi! It's part of someone's identity, helping them distinguish themselves on paper from others that share their name."

"Well, I don't think you should have to worry about that anytime soon, Yoyo."

"Oi! Don't call me by that embarrassing nickname!"

"Then don't call me Mimi!"

"Pfft! Ahahaha!"

The ridiculous banter between the two grew too much for me, and I started laughing for the first time in a long while. Soon enough, the other two joined in, the three of us laughing until our cheeks hurt from smiling.

I could tell that these were going to be people I would grow to cherish, and that I would be eternally thankful for Mister Spriggan for bringing me here.

"Ehe…Thank you, I think the name is perfect…"

The auburn haired boy gave me a bright smile with pride on his face that fell immediately after I continued speaking.

"...Yoyo."

"Hey!"

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Lyssa appearance (Age 14):

Taiyo appearance (Age 20):

Mia appearance (Age 21):