Chapter 11:

I reached the hospital in a few minutes. I entered the hospital panting and people were staring at me and my bloody arm. The air smelled like antiseptic and it was filled with nostalgia.

" Uhhh....Can I get some tissues or something?" I didn't know much about medical. I usually used to skip first aid classes because I thought we were gonna learn how to do mouth to mouth with a doll. But I found that really creepy and skipped those classes.

A nurse had a worried look on her face and came running towards me.

" Are you okay??"

The question she asked was pretty dumb. Of course a wounded man wouldn't be okay.

" Come quickly, we need to get you treated."

I nodded and got dragged by her.

She had black hair with a bun hairstyle and was pretty fair. She was about Makino's height and looked in her mid twenties.

I was brought into an emergency room. She reached a cupboard and took out some bandages and antiseptic. She looked at the claw mark and asked.

" What in the world happened here?"

I didn't know if I should reveal what I saw, so to be on the safe side, I lied.

" Uhh.... I fell?"

The nurse looked at me with a blank expression.

" You suck at lying."

" No uh... I fell down the stairs and I uh....kept falling until I got hit by the railing."

She looked at me with suspicious eyes and sighed.

" You got this wound from the wild dog that's been attacking people right?"

I kept quiet wondering how she knew that.

" There's only one hospital in this whole town. And they've put it on the news now. All the victims find their way here. There's a high school kid like you here along with a loving couple. They all had dog bites and claw marks. Makes me wonder why the dog didn't bite you."

" Well I broke it's jaw I guess" I told myself.

I do remember Akira and Haruno talking about a high school guy who went to investigate. He seems to be hospitalized here. Guess I'll pay him a visit.

The nurse was finishing up on the bandages.

" I haven't heard your name yet." She said.

" I haven't heard yours too." The both of us looked at each other waiting for someone to speak first.

" I'm Mizuhara Chika. Don't ask my age. Nice to meet you"

" Sugawara Daichi. You can ask my age" I replied sarcastically.

It took some time to put the bandages on. I waited to ask her about the high school guy.

" I've been meaning to ask but can I go visit the high school guy?"

" Hmm....you're almost patched up now, there's no harm in passing some time-- I mean....he's probably awake now." She was clearly bored.

I was alright now and was ready to move. We both went out and all the old people stared at the nurse. They probably wanted her attention. Looks like granny's lost her appeal.

We walked through the hallway and stopped at the corner where there was a room. She knocked the door and we entered.

The first thing I noticed were his injuries. The guy had a broken leg and a fractured arm too. His face was still proper and unscathed. He was eating an apple and then looked at us.

" Uhh....Nice to meet you. I'm Sugawara Daichi. Uhh...I heard you--"

" You're here for that criminal right? I don't have anything to tell you about it. Especially if it's someone younger than me." He was quite the grumpy guy.

" You're Pachi right?"

" It's Hachi"

" Whatever, same thing"

" It's not " Mizuhara san stopped me.

" Society has been misunderstanding the concept of age these days. Its simple but not many get it. It's just a matter of experience in life. A 12 year old kid might've experienced life more than a 40 year old man. You just don't know. They say it's wrong for children to kill, but it's okay after they grow up? No matter the age, in the end you're doing evil no matter what anyone says." I spoke seriously.

" You talk too much you know?"

" Usually I don't, but when I find people getting on their high horses, I help them come down before they fall off because of their own pride and arrogance."

" Are you saying that I'm arrogant?" He glared at me.

" Hey I thought you were just gonna talk with him! Not argue with him!!" Mizuhara San whispered in my ear.

I ignored her and continued.

" I'm just here to ask about the monster."

" I'm doing this for your own good. Looking at you makes me realize how stupid I was. It would've been better if I listened to Akira." He gripped the apple hard in regret.

" You leave me no choice." I unfolded the bandages.

" Hey what are you doing??!! I just put it on!" Mizuhara san was going to stop me.

" I'm not talking to someone who's elder than me. I'm here to talk with the person who's also a victim like me." I showed him my wound.

" You!! You were also attacked??" He widened his eyes in surprise.

" I didn't exactly get attacked. It was more of a fight. I can't seem to understand how you're in a state like that now" I looked at his injured body.

" You....You fought with that thing and came back with just a scar?? Are you sure you didn't fight something else?"

" I'm not lying. I wouldn't come to the hospital for no reason then" I put the bandages on and Mizuhara helped me too.

Hachi looked away and ruffled his hair. He sighed

" I went investigating.... I figured that the monster would appear somewhere dark and lonely. I found it coincidentally and our eyes met the next second. It was really terrifying and I couldn't move. A second later...." He stopped and looked at his broken arm and continued.

" I was in the air with a dangling leg and a broken arm with cuts all over my body. I still couldn't comprehend what was going on."

" Wait wait wait!! You were thrown up in the air??? Wasn't it just a pack of wild dogs???" Mizuhara San interrupted.

" That's what the police told me to go with. I'm sure that couple in the next room also told you people that they were attacked by wild dogs. It seems they're dealing with something they don't know. But I clearly know what it is that we're dealing with. It's a mutant."

" Mutant?" She was confused.

" You know what I'm talking about right, Sugawara Kun?" He looked at me and continued.

" A tall figure having grey fur all over it's body. Big dog ears that could hear a twig snapping several meters away. A strong snout that was able to crack my arm in one bite."

" H-How big are we talking?" She asked.

" Two meters" I said.

" Wha--? Seriously? Something like that is in our town?" She faced me and widened her eyebrows," And you fought something like that??!!"

I shrugged and had nothing to say. Was Hachi a weak guy? He didn't seem to be weak. The bandages covered his arms but I could feel that he had refined muscles under them.

" If something like that is in our town, why isn't the police at least putting up guards?"

" They've been busy alright. There's the case about the 3 VIPs that went missing. You think this monster offed them?" I asked.

Hachi rubbed his chin and asked Mizuhara san

" Um....Mizuhara san? Where was I found after I got attacked?"

" Eh? Well I think it was near a supermarket. A part timer over there found you and called the police."

" Didn't you say you were attacked in a dark place?" I had a confused face.

Hachi put his hand on his head and trembled.

" Then it's true.... I thought I was dreaming but...." He looked at us and said

" I think the VIP's case is a different case."

" What did you think you were dreaming about Hachi kun?"

" I was dragged all the way.... to the supermarket."

" WHAT???!!!" Mizuhara san was astonished."

" I'm not sure though.... but this monster didn't attack the VIP. All the victims were found near publicly used areas. But the VIPs haven't been found. This monster wants to be recognized and.... be feared by everyone." Hachi was sweating.

" Is it the same with the couple" I asked.

" They weren't helpful, the wife was shocked and is had a hard time speaking. Every time someone spoke about the monster, she cowered in fear and wet the bed. The husband is okay though. I don't think we should ask them. They're not okay mentally." Mizuhara san said

" Lets go ask them then"

" HEY did you just hear what I said??" She poked my arm with her finger.

" They can't stay in the hospital forever. Sometimes the best way to solve something is to face the problem head on."

She tried arguing but then sighed

" You really have a way with your words you know?"

" We'll go check on them then." I told Hachi

" You've been helpful." I put a 50 yen coin on his table. (You could buy a small candy with 50 yen.)

As I was about to leave Hachi called out one last time.

" Hey Sugawara! You sure that it wasn't fluke?"

" What was?

" You coming back alive after fighting it?"

" Not at all. I came back alive because I was strong." I closed the door and walked to the couple's room.

Hachi looked down in disappointment. Someone younger than him was stronger than him.

Before he could let it get to him, he remembered what Sugawara said about age.

He looked at the table where the 50 yen was.

"Seriously? 50 yen?" And sighs in the lonely room.