Stifling quiet hung through the halls. Only the tap of feet echoed around her. Hospitals were already unfortable pces, but she didn’t feel like she belonged here. While other students eheir after school activities, a heavier matter weighed on Saki. She was owelfth floor of the west wing of the Konomoka General Hospital, the psych ward.

  This had been a matter that had been weighing on her and trying her emotions sihe i with the assassin. She hadn't known Takako as well as Hitomi had, but she felt a e with her knowing what she had to have gohrough. Hitomi visited her every day after she recovered from the trauma, but Takako hadn’t been so fortunate.

  Saki wasn’t clear on all of the medical words that were tossed out. They made ohing clear, they were uo do anything for her. It was all in her mind beyond the physical injuries that they were able to treat. She wasn’t sure if it was an improvement over how she had been where eveing near would send her into a panic attack.

  The nurse in the psych ward looked up from her papers at the desk as Saki’s shadow cast nearby her making her presennounced. “Yes?”

  “Uh…excuse me, I’m here to see Takako Yamazaki.”

  “Yamazaki…oh she’s beericted visitors to only specifidividuals. What’s your name?”

  “Saki Furukawa…”

  The wait for Saki seemed to st forever. She khat she was on the list, because Hitomi had told her that she was given permission by the family. Even wiped of the events, Ayumi said she could not fix the mental damage. Hitomi, at least, had recovered from the experience quickly.

  All anyone knew was that Takako, Hitomi and Saki had been kidnapped. An unknown criminal caused the whole i, but the police caught them. Saki didn’t know of how Ayumi made it all happen, but managed. This left everyone involved with mental trauma. Takako’s family pushed for priva the matter.

  “Ah here you are! I’ll show you to her room.” The ood up from her chair. She pulled down some keys from the wall before ing around the desk. The woman smiled pleasantly to Saki waiting for her to catch up to her. Ahead, rge polished metal doors with wire reinforced gss and dull eg of voices created an ominous aura. It permeated through the doors ready to grab at her if she made a step towards it.

  Chapter 39 – Shattered Thoughts

  Saki had a lot of images in her mind of the ward. Ealy helped to make her feel like running away. The only thing that kept her going was the guilt. She wasn’t certain if she could do anything to help her, but it was something that she felt she had to do.

  The doors opened for her with the nurse following at her side just a step in front of Saki. All of the other patients in the ward were in a varied state of insanity or solemn peace, but every single room was filled that she passed. Saki could not help but look to the nurse for an answer. “Um…is there normally this many…um…”

  “Hmm? No, not really. This has only happened i two weeks. Normally, we only keep a few cases here that require specific medical treatments, but we are actually helping out the local institution. They’ve reached an unusually high number of cases that they weren't able to keep them all. So we are helping them.”

  The nurse looked around through the windows of the rooms as they passed the doors. “I don’t know what’s going on, but there’s been a lot of mass cases of people halluatiedly. It’s gely ued, but no one knows what’s going on or why it’s affeg so many people. If it keeps up we won’t be able to treat everyone.”

  A thud against the door snapped Saki towards it. A face appeared in the window of a half mad middle aged man that had not shaved for a week. “The end is ing! Save yourself!” shouted the man half muted by the gss aal. Regardless, it knocked her bato the wall behind her. “It’s ing! I’ve seen it! Hell’s oh now!”

  The nurse rushed over to Saki immediately cheg to see if she was hurt. “Miss, are you alright?” Saki was quite uo speak to the woman as she pulled her away from the wall. “Are you hurt anywhere?” As Saki started to e back to her senses, she could hear the nurse speaking to her. She shook her head, not able to speak yet. “You want to go back?”

  It was all a little more than she prepared to fabsp; She couldn't be certain, but the unexpined increase probably had a sourbsp; ‘How many times has his pone wild with us knowing... Yuki’s…he doesn’t know…’ Saki swallowed poorly, getting back to her banbsp; The woman looked a little unvinced even with her smiling. “It’s alright. I just got surprised.”

  The nurse remained ed. However, she tinued on as Saki insisted. They mao make it to the room for Takako without further i. Saki looked through the gss into the room. Takako sat balled up in the er of the room wearing a hospital gown in a padded cell. Saki looked over to the nurse. “I thought she stopped having outbursts.”

  “She did, but the rooms are all the same. Don’t be upset if she doesn’t aowledge you. She’s been like that for the st few days.” The nurse unlocked the door, not opening it just yet. “Not even her parents.” The woman turned on a smile and happy voice as she ehe room looking over at Takako. “Good afternoon, Miss Yamazaki! You have a visitor!” She turned her head and nodded over to Saki signalio ehe room.

  “Hey, Takako! It’s Saki from track.” Saki took a few cautious steps forward to Takako, but it was as she had been told. Takako remaiill holding her head down against her knees with her legs pulled up and her arms ed around. “Takako?”

  The nurse pced a hand on Saki’s shoulder to fort her. “Well I have some rounds to make, but there’s a camera monit the room and an emergency button at the door. Just push the button if anything happens or when you’re done. I’ll check ba you in a few minutes.” The woman turned ahe room, log the door behind her.

  Saki made the bold move to walk over to Takako. She sat dowainst the wall. Nothing came to mind. If she brought up the kidnapping and torture she might repse. She put her arm around Takako’s back leaning against her aing her head on her shoulder. “…it’s alright, Takako…”

  Nothing happened for Saki or Takako in the way of words, but Saki came out of the visit feeling heavier. She looked back at Takako o time before the nurse escorted her back down the hall. Saki kept her mind focused and forward away from all of the other patients in the ward. Her mind still sifted through questions and thoughts. “Thank you.” Saki politely bowed to the woman before heading to the elevator.

  ‘…I wonder if there are others from the warehouse with the same problem…’ She stepped into the elevator alone barely hearing it ding away the floors. ‘…I know what she went through, but that doesn’t seem to help me… Why was I able to recover and Hitomi too? She didn’t even know Yuki…’ The elevator opened letting her walk into the main lobby. ‘…could it be because she didn’t know? Did he torture her even more trying to find something that wasn’t there? But Hitomi didn’t know anythiher…’

  Saki didn't even know that she had left the hospital. The sun hit her in the face, breakihoughts. A loud noise from across the street in a park pulled her focus. She tried to look into the park, but a brick wall surrouhe park. She started to ig like everyone else, but there was another loud noise. This time she was listening. It sounded like somethial and heavy crashed into t. ‘What’s going on in the park? Could it be an assassin?! Is Yuki fighting? He’s supposed to be in the bookstore still…’

  Those thoughts were enough to send Saki down the sidewalk. Both of the interses were too far away. She looked for an opening in traffibsp; A gap came up in the cars making it her opportunity to sprint. Cars ho her and slowed down in her reckless move. ‘...please be safe…’

  A se started developing outside of the park. She ran up on the sidewalk and weaved through the small crowd. ‘…this is a public pce, why here?’ The noises tio get louder. They began to be coupled with voices. It came from deeper into the park, but soon Saki could clearly hear a young girl’s voice shouting. They yelled out to another person that was assumed to be Yuki.

  “Get back here!” Saki followed the voibsp; “Stop your running! Are you just a coward?”

  She was starting to feel like she was correct that Yuki was the ohat was involved. ‘I’ll be there soon, Yuki…’

  “I’m really getting tired of your attitude! Fight me!”

  The wake of Yuki and the girl became more present. Trash bin id overturned. There was broken gss spread across the area. She found trampled flowers and broken branches. Saki no longer he voices. All the voices did was give her a sense of distance.

  Her legs carried her through the bush breaking through with twigs and leaves snagged on her. “Yuki!” Aended leg intended for Yuki appeared in her sight. They forced her t up her arms to blod push away the attack proteg Yuki.

  The attacker, as Saki discovered, was a young girl. If the uniform was to be judged, a local junih school. ‘Why is a junih schooler attag Yuki?’ She didn’t look like an assassin, but there was the one pretending to be a child she learned about. Saki wasn’t going to take any ces with this girl. She pushed the leg off of her making the girl jump back to reassess her position. “Yuki…” Saki turned around to face him. However, her voice stopped when it wasn’t Yuki, but a stranger wearing her high school’s uniform. “You’re not…”

  Saki jumped back taking a position away from the both of them. ‘What’s going on here? This isn’t an assassin… So why is a junih schooler pig a fight with someohat is three times her size…’ The boy hardly looked like one, if appearances were to be judged. A little short, but broad and thick with muscle, the high school could’ve been an adult.

  The girl on the hand was signifitly shorter. She looked about what Saki expected from someone her age. A surprising strength appeared to lie with the tiny frame. It was just one kick she took, but the measure didn’t e from an amateur.

  The situation didn’t make a lot of sense for Saki. A well built teen boy fled from a pintsized girl. Saki felt like some text was missing. ‘Is the girl strohan she looks or is it the guy?’ Further questions were shut down with a tabsp; The little girl went straight for the teen again.

  However, Saki couldn’t let the fight tinue. He wasn't making any sounds, but their iions were clear enough. “Stop it! Stop fighting!” Saki hoped that it would get the girl’s attention, but it was only brief and in the middle of her attempt.

  “Don’t get in my way! He’s mine!”

  Saki was also not going to take ‘no’ for an answer. She stepped iweewo taking the high kick pulled down and blog it with her arms crossed. The girl jumped baterrupted again. It knocked Saki’s bance, but kept her footing. ‘The girl’s got strength and speed…’

  “What’re y to do?” the girl shouted venomously.

  Saki lowered her arms still feeling the sting from the kibsp; “Why are you pig a fight with someohat doesn’t want to fight with you?”

  “ ‘Cause he’s strong!”

  Saki blinked and took a moment to repeat it in her head. ‘Unbelievable, she’s pig a fight with a stranger based on looks.’ Little more cause was needed for Saki to step forward. “What?! You ’t be serious!”

  The look ged in the girl’s eye like something in her mind had just switched tracks. She took an offeaaring down Saki. A serious gre decred her i. “You look like someohat’s strong! Let’s see how strong you are!” The girl leapt into the air with her leg already in motion bearing forward on the surprised Saki.