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Hoshiumi could only feel two things while he was running. First, was the wind blowing through his fur and the second was the biting cold that was only intensified by the prior mentioned wind. If he hadn't seen it earlier he'd assume the bullet wound in his side was just his imagination but he was smart enough to realize it was just the adrenaline talking. He was going so fast he almost felt like he was flying. Flying through the trees and only narrowly avoiding branches. He's sure if he was in his human form he would have been hit by a lot more of said branches but if he was in human form he wouldn't be in this mess in the first place.
The shouting had died down a long time ago but he couldn't stop running, not till he's sure he was safe. His house should be just a bit further. Happily, he doesn't even feel an ounce of the exhaustion he should feel while running at top speed for as long as he has been so it shouldn't be that hard to make it through.
When the forest started to clear and he saw the house in front of him he didn't know whether to collapse or scream. Both felt equally necessary in his brain and would release the stress he was feeling. He was at the door when he realized that he, in fact, did not currently have opposable thumbs so his best bet was to howl and scratch at the door. Howling was enough like screaming for it to help his mind settle and feel some relief. He scratched at the door frantically till, after what felt like both hours and seconds at the same time, it opened.
There Ushijima stood. He looked pretty stoic, which wasn't a rare look for Ushijima, till he actually looked down at Hoshiumi and, seeming to quickly grasp the severity of the situation, opened the door for Hoshiumi to walk in.
Now that he was safe and his blood was pumping just a bit slower, he could definitely feel an ache in his side. He was sure he was hobbling when he got to the couch that Ushijima had led him to. He was able to jump on it with only a small amount of agonizing pain and a yelp much quieter than the one he wanted to do. Once he was on the couch he laid his head down on his paws and tried to finally catch his breath. He could feel Ushijima still looking at him for a couple of minutes till he quickly walked away with a quiet, "I'll get the first aid."
Hoshiumi knew better than to actually close his eyes. He wasn't 100% sure how deep the injury was but he was sure in his mad sprint he lost much more blood than he should have. So much that he was afraid that he wouldn't wake up if he did fall asleep. And there was no way he was going to let himself die from a little bullet wound. At least, that's what he kept telling himself.
Ushijima finally got back with a large white box, and placed it in front of Hoshiumi's face; he looked through the box frantically. Much more frantically than what his normal, stoic face would let on. He finally found what looked to be scissors and started chopping away at the fur around the wound.
"What happened?" Ushijima finally asked
"I got shot,"
Ushijima sighs, "I see that but why? How?" He asked, still cutting his fur.
The haze in Hoshiumi's mind slowly lifted even a little as Hoshiumi thought back on the night's events.
"They found out I was a werewolf and shot me while I was running away,"
Ushijima huffed. He's sure under any other circumstances Ushijima would have said something along the lines of an 'I told you so' and honestly Hoshiumi wouldn't blame him. He would have said the same thing in Ushijima's shoes, but Ushijima stayed silent.
After he cut what he could only assume was a sufficient amount of his fur, he could hear the sound of water sloshing and Ushijima saying "This might sting a little,"
Which was definitely an understatement. Hoshiumi would have jumped up if Ushijima hadn't already placed his hand on him so he wouldn't move. "It's just water," Ushijima says.
Hoshiumi whimpered and kicked his paws out as if that would relieve the pain. He tried to keep reminding himself that this really wasn't that bad and it would get much worse if left as is, but that did very little to help if he was honest.
He didn't want to look at Ushijima while he worked on his wound because he's sure that'd just make him jumpier, but staring at the boring gray walls was only, somehow, making him feel worse so he was out of options.
Ushijima then put the red towel, which he could have sworn was white beforehand, back in the bucket and took out a bottle and a cotton ball.
Hoshiumi felt himself get antsy as Ushijima poured the alcohol on the ball. Knowing how bad water hurt he wondered if he could just ask Ushijima to cover the wound and hope it'll heal naturally.
Ushijima seemed to be able to tell Hoshiumi was two seconds away from jumping away and scanned the area for something before shoving his hand in Hoshiumi's mouth.
"Bite my hand. It'll help with the pain."
Hoshiumi was hesitant at first till he felt the cotton ball touch his wound. He clamped his teeth around the side of Ushijima's hand that was offered to him. He tried to control himself but he's sure he heard a bone break at some point during the grueling process.
Maybe running through a forest with an open wound was a bad idea on his part.
He couldn't really focus on much of anything besides the two conflicting thoughts of 'Holy shit this hurts so bad' and 'Don't bite so hard that you take a piece of Ushijima's hand' which he could most definitely do. It would grow back yes, but it still just felt disrespectful to the guy who's cleaning his wound.
Finally, after what felt like hours the pain subsided and Hoshiumi slowly released Ushijima's hand. He watched as the wound closed up and the bones cracked into place. Gross.
Hoshiumi didn't have the energy to get rid of the blood left around his mouth "Sorry," he managed to mumble out.
Ushijima shook his head, not really paying it much mind. Only giving his hand a couple of shakes and clenches to make sure it worked correctly. He then started rummaging in the case again.
"How'd you get caught?" Ushijima asked as he pulled out a pair of tweezers.
Hoshiumi turned his head away from him and groaned.
Ushijima was however not getting the hint that this was not something Hoshiumi wanted to talk about and repeated his question.
"I heard you the first time,"
"You didn't answer,"
Hoshiumi shrugged and sighed.
"I- Someone I was close to was having a celebration and wanted me to go so I did,"
"Did you forget it was a full moon?" Ushijima asked in a painfully honest tone.
"No, but I've held it down before, and the celebration was important so I thought I could do it," Hoshiumi said. He tucked his head between his paws. The very memory of it hurts almost as bad as the shot. He could feel his eyes start to water more than they were before. If he cried he'd simply blame it on the pain.
"What kind of celebration is important to humans? I didn't think they'd live long enough to celebrate much of anything," Ushijima asks.
"It was a birthday. Humans think they're extremely important for some reason. The human in question wanted me to go to his night party and I thought it'd be fine since it was supposed to be small and short but well, you know how the story goes," Hoshiumi said, moving his back leg to bring attention to the wound again as if Ushijima forgot.
"And then they turned on you yes? I expected as much from humans, it's exactly what I warned you about," Ushijima said as he stopped massaging the gel into Hoshiumi's bare, hairless skin. He hadn't noticed he was doing it prior, and he'd started to feel less and less pain so he could only assume it was a numbing cream.
Hoshiumi growled and kicked his back leg. It wasn't too close to Ushijima but it was definitely a warning kick. "The human in question didn't betray me! It was another human who saw me when I was running this way,"
"But it was still a human nonetheless. Humans will always betray you in the end. They live too short to know any better," Ushijima said.
Hoshiumi started to feel what was definitely the tweezers entering his wound, and though it hurt, it was maybe a mixture of the gel and Hoshiumi's anger that kept it from bothering him too much.
"Not all of them are bad! The human whose celebration I went to was fine, it's only some of them that are messed up," Hoshiumi growled out.
"Did this human stop this? Are they pulling this silver bullet, clearly intending to kill you, out of your side? Are they even here now? Why do you insist on defending a human who would not do the same for you?" Hoshiumi could hear the annoyance dripping from his words and it managed to almost make Hoshiumi feel better that he wasn't the only one getting ticked off in this conversation.
"You don't know that! I'm sure he tried at least!"
"Trying isn't enough to leave you unharmed now is it?" Ushijima asked. The anger seemed to seep into his work because he felt the tweezers push in the bullet just a little and yelped, shoving himself away from Ushijima.
There wasn't much space on the couch so he didn’t go too far but it was enough. Ushijima looked surprised at his wound as if unsure as to how or why he moved. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting his hands fall on the couch to collect himself.
"I apologize. I got a little too worked up. Please allow me to continue."
Hoshiumi glared at him silently for a strained minute before he slid back toward Ushijima and laid his head on his paws. He wanted to cut off the thought that Ushijima was right and that humans are evil, especially the ones he spent the decade he was in the town hanging out with, but Ushijima had planted this seed of doubt in his head long ago and it's only been growing bigger. His humans never wanted to hurt him like this and he knew it wasn't one of them that pulled the trigger, but he's sure he stopped hearing their voices once he left the party. Could they have not cared about him in the same way he cared about them? He could only groan at the idea.
Once Ushijima had gotten a hold of the silver bullet he carefully pulled it out, Hoshiumi growling all the way. Once it was removed he placed it on a towel, which was covered in a lot less of his blood than the previous ones, and began to rid the area of the wound of any mess.
Hoshiumi just watched, the tears that had pooled in his eyes finally start to pour down his face. It wasn't the first time he cried that night, but maybe it was the first that wasn't related to the physical pain he felt.
Once he was clean Ushijima slowly started to bandage him up, careful not to disturb him too much. He seemed aware enough to not look Hoshiumi straight in the face as he silently cried. Once he was done, Ushijima started cleaning up the medical supplies around him and Hoshiumi pointedly focused his eyes on the wall in front of him. He was starting to feel physically better since the bullet was removed, and he probably could fall asleep if he wanted to without being in any life-threatening danger.
"Can you stand up?" Ushijima asked, standing next to his spot on the couch. Hoshiumi nodded and stood slowly before jumping down from the couch. Ushijima started walking to what Hoshiumi remembered to be his office and sat in his chair. Hoshiumi, purely on instinct, made his way to his lap. He couldn't fit his entire body on obviously but he placed his head down and closed his eyes. Ushijima's hand moved to his head and ran through his fur.
"You're staying with me from now on correct?" Ushijima said which suspiciously sounded more like a statement than a question.
Hoshiumi tensed before he nodded as much as he could with his head on Ushijima's lap and his hand on his head.
"Good, I'll keep you safe as I did prior. You won't have to worry anymore," he said, and maybe if Hoshiumi looked up he'd see a loving look in his eyes but he felt it enough with the secure hand on his head.
He didn't wanna be here forever like he knew Ushijima wanted him to, but he'd stay here for a century or so. Just till all the humans are gone and back again. But till then he could stay in Ushijima’s care for a little while longer.