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Everything is so loud.
That was Megumi's first thought as he came to, his eyes cracking open just a fraction. The lights, the footsteps racing by, and even the wallpaper—everything was too loud and made Megumi's head spin like a Hakata Koma. He wanted to complain, to tell someone, anyone, to quiet everything down, but when he tried to speak, all that came out was a pained whimper.
Megumi knew it was him who had made the noise, but at the same time, it didn't sound like him. It almost sounded like it had come from somewhere else within the room, only there was no one else. At least, that's what Megumi thought, until movement to his left startled him. Megumi hadn't noticed the strange man sitting beside him. At least, Megumi figured it was a man. He looked weird—Megumi didn't like that.
"Megumi," the man breathed out, his hand instantly reaching for Megumi's. Megumi could see him grab it—his fingers twitching in response—but he couldn't feel it. "Mornin', Sleepyhead. How are you feeling?"
Like I'm swimming in honey, was what Megumi wanted to say. Instead, Megumi stared. The man looked weird, and Megumi didn't like that, but his voice was soft. It wasn't loud like the rest of the room, which Megumi liked. It didn't hurt his head. It also seemed to quiet everything else down, as the wallpaper was no longer screaming at him.
The man hummed before turning away. "I almost forgot—the nurse said you might have some trouble talking when you first woke up. Here, this should help your throat."
Turning back around, the man held out a little paper cup for Megumi to take. Megumi's nose scrunched up at the sight of it. He swore, for a second, he could taste copper on his tongue.
"Come on, Gumi—" The man laughed. "—it's just water."
Megumi frowned, unsure if he could believe him. Even so, Megumi tried reaching for the little paper cup with his right hand, a soft, confused noise slipping out when he couldn't move his arm. His right arm was propped up on a puffy, white cloud, which was surprisingly soft underneath his fingertips. Several layers of cloth were wrapped around the middle section of his arm—the part that bends like a door hinge. Megumi swore he saw red water leaking out from underneath the cloth, but when he blinked, it was gone.
Megumi's head felt like it was filled with cotton balls and bunny tails.
"Ah—that. I think the doctor called it a distal humerus fracture," the man mumbled. "You were in pretty rough shape when I found you, Kiddo. We were lucky that was the worst of your wounds, although—" The man sighed. "—it sucks that this just had to be the one time Shoko's completely unavailable. Who knows if she can even fix it now after everything they've done."
As the man rambled on, Megumi struggled to follow along. He didn't see what was so humorous about a fracture—weren't they supposed to be something bad? One of Megumi's classmates had fractured his arm before and had to wear a cast for a while. Megumi didn't have a cast, though, which only confused him further. How could he have a fracture if he didn't have a cast—wouldn't it just break again?
"Earth to Megumi!" the strange man said, his head tilting so far that Megumi feared it might roll right off his shoulders. "You with me, Kiddo?"
Megumi blinked slowly. Earth to Megumi—didn't that mean he wasn't on Earth? Oh, so that's why his body felt like it was floating. Wherever Megumi was, there didn't appear to be anything solid beneath him, just some more puffy white clouds. Although they were nothing like the cloud on top of the man's head. Megumi's clouds were soft, while his looked itchy—like pieces of dried grass. The longer he stared, the more certain Megumi became—he hated that cloud.
The man's lip quirked up in one corner, revealing a few sharp canines.
"What's with that sour look?" he asked, a breathy laugh slipping past his teeth. "Is there something on my face?"
As a matter of fact—
"What face?" Megumi asked, his voice hoarse and throat scratchy, like sandpaper.
Technically, he had half a face, but it was still strange enough to warrant Megumi's question. People didn't normally have half a face—right? Yet, the man sitting beside him was missing half of his, the upper half, to be exact. There was nothing there—just a strip of darkness that separated what little face he had from that stupid cloud.
"What face?" the man asked, parroting Megumi.
Frustrated that he didn't get it, Megumi threw his left hand up, nearly smacking him in the chin as he pointed at the darkness. There was no way the man didn't realize he only had half a face—was he blind? Oh, but now that Megumi thought about it, he must have been blind. He didn't have any eyes. That counted as being blind, right?
"I see!'
Did he though?
"Is this better?"
Before Megumi could ask what this was, the man reached up and grabbed the strip of darkness, tearing it away to reveal the brightest blue eyes Megumi had ever seen. Megumi's eyes widened, his hand instinctively reaching for the man's face. He caught Megumi's hand before it could reach his eyes, which crinkled at the corners when the man smiled. Megumi wanted to complain when he placed Megumi's hand back down on the bed, but found himself entranced by his eyes. They reminded Megumi of a—
"Husky."
The man blinked, his head tilting again. Now that Megumi thought about it, it made him look even more like a husky, with their curious head tilts. Only, he looked more confused than curious, which made no sense. How could he not know what a husky was? Before Megumi could figure out a way to make it clear to him, the man reached over and ruffled Megumi's hair.
"Yeah, you're definitely not all there!" The man laughed fondly. "Have some water, alright—then it's back to dreamland for you. Doctor wants to keep you for a couple more days, so use the time to rest up. You've got some visitors stopping by in a few hours."
Visitors?
Megumi barely had time to think about that before the man held that little paper cup out once again. There were little bits of ice floating around inside the water. They were nearly melted. That time, Megumi used his left hand to grab the cup. Even as his fingers wrapped around it, Megumi still couldn't feel a thing—nothing besides the weight of the water. As soon as the man let go, the cup fell straight out of Megumi's hand, spilling all over the blanket.
"Shit!"
The man quickly removed the wet blanket, ignoring the paper cup as it rolled across the ground. Bundling it up, he tossed it onto a nearby chair before poking his head out the door. Megumi could hear him talking to someone, but couldn't make out their words. Was he in trouble?
Megumi's eyes stung. "Sorry."
"What? Hey, no, that wasn't your fault, Kiddo," the man assured him, shooting him a smile that was all teeth. "That was my bad. I should have known better. Oh—yeah, that'll do! No, we're good, thank you!"
Returning to Megumi's side, the man had not one, but two fresh blankets that he carefully tucked all around Megumi. It was somehow softer than before and much warmer. Megumi hadn't even realized he'd been cold until he went to touch the blanket and saw his hand shaking. The sound of running water drew Megumi's attention back to the man.
"Let's try this."
Rather than trying to hand Megumi the little paper cup, the man held it up to Megumi's lips. Megumi blinked once, twice, before understanding what he was supposed to do. At the man's behest, Megumi slowly sipped the water, wincing as the first few sips irritated his dry throat. He drank about half the cup before the man took it away.
"Alright, time for you to get some rest, Gumi."
Megumi scowled. He didn't want to go back to bed; he wasn't even tired. Not that the man seemed to care what he thought. By the time Megumi thought of arguing, the man had already dimmed the lights. Megumi could barely see anything. The man, on the other hand, had no problem navigating his way back to the seat beside Megumi's bed. It was an uncomfortable-looking chair—the kind you could only sit on for about ten minutes before your ass started hurting.
Doctor wants to keep you for a couple more days.
Megumi's scowl deepened as he wrestled one of the extra pillows free from behind him. The motion caused his right arm to move funny, sending a jolt of pain up it. He winced, but otherwise ignored it.
"Megumi? What are you—"
With a huff, Megumi held out the pillow, giving it a shake when the man hesitated before finally taking it from him. That fond smile returned as he used the pillow as a back cushion. That wasn't how he was supposed to use it, but Megumi didn't have the strength to correct him—not when getting the pillow turned out to be more exhausting than he expected.
"How's the pain?"
Megumi's brows furrowed. Aside from that small jolt, Megumi didn't feel any pain—didn't know he was supposed to. Feeling was finally coming back to him, as the bed beneath Megumi felt solid. Only, none of it was painful. The bed was firm, but soft, while the pillows and blankets were even softer. Everything was soft—including the man.
"I'll take that look to mean you're still fine for now," the man said. "Let me know when things start hurting, alright? The nurse said you might need a few more doses of pain meds once the anesthesia wears off."
Anastasia, wasn't that one of those animated movies Tsumiki watched? Speaking of—
"Tsumiki?"
"Yaga's bringing her by after school." The man smiled as he reached over and ruffled Megumi's hair. His hand stayed there, playing with a few strands of Megumi's hair. "She was really worried about you. We all were. To think something like this could happen so close to home…"
Megumi didn't know what he was talking about. His head was still fuzzy, and keeping his eyes open was becoming a challenge. Still, Megumi was looking forward to seeing Tsumiki again. There was someone else—someone Megumi wanted to see again as well, but he couldn't remember who. The hand on his head began stroking his hair, and it wasn't long before Megumi's eyes slipped shut.
"Sleep, Kiddo."