incorrigible

CHAPTER 1: FAILED TO DIE

"Where did you find her?" 

"Out in the streets." 

━━━━━━ 

You never had much.

Cold and hungry.

The only things you've felt. Nothing else.

Your name and body.

The only things you knew. No one else's.

Painful or not, they are what made you alive— no.

They forced you to stay alive. To continue living in this cruel and unjust world.

To be desperate enough to search through a whole trash bin, desperate enough to steal from those who passed by, desperate to steal from those who were as desperate.

But it was always never enough.

You don't know how many times you were close to death, nor how you continued to breathe the very next day. It was almost like you were immortal, but that wasn't the case.

This time you wanted to leave, and you hoped your body followed. 

━━━━━━ 

"She's thin and pale. It's a miracle that she's still breathing." 

━━━━━━ 

You held the teacup carefully, with slightly trembling hands. The hot liquid warmed everything around it, including your fingertips. It was an unfamiliar feeling, yet you cherished it.

You liked it.

And like a child desperate for their mother, you wished for more.

With shaky hands you bring the cup close to your face, pressing against your cheek. It felt better there, than in your hands. But slowly, you felt the warmth seep away. You checked every side of the cup, only to get the same result.

"Where do you go..?" You whisper.

The white spirits were no longer dancing above the cup. In fact, they weren't there anymore.

You place it aside, on top of the hospital's dresser. You didn't feel like holding it anymore.

Your hands pull up the blanket to cover up to your shoulders, before laying back down on the bed. The sheets were thin, you could feel each mound and valley of the mattress. But you weren't complaining, it was the best you could ever get. 

━━━━━━ 

"But when I found her, there was something that bothered me..." 

━━━━━━ 

"She's in here."

The door opens to reveal a small grey-haired woman with a white coat and a walking stick resembling a syringe. She walks in to stop at the foot of your bed, and faces you. There was a kind smile on her face, but it had no effect on you.

You were tired of seeing those.

You stare back, meeting her thin ones through her tinted visor. There was a moment of silence, making you wonder if you were to speak first.

"Hello, my name is Shuuzenji Chiyo. And you are?"

"My name is... [f/n]." You manage to croak out.

"Well hello [f/n]-san—"

"Why..?" You interrupted.

"'Why'? Why what?"

"Why?! Why did you save me?!" It hurt to strain your voice. 

━━━━━━ 

"What was it?" 

━━━━━━ 

"Why wouldn't I save you—"

"You're... You're a Hero, aren't you?!"

"Yes. Yes I am."

You hid in your covers.

"Then get out of my sight." 

━━━━━━ 

"She was smiling." 

━━━━━━ 

"Congratulations on your discharge from the hospital, Shuuzenji-san!" A nurse cheered.

Many of them cheered for you as you neared the exit.

"Great job!"

You looked at each of them in the eyes and bowed to thank them. It was the least you could do, since your throat wasn't in top condition. Truly you felt grateful for their services, despite it being their job to help people recover.

Once passed the automatic glass doors of the hospital's entrance, you were finally outside. Instead of the hospital's conditioned air that you were familiar with, you meet the irregular cold breeze of the late afternoon.

BEEP BEEP!

A car from behind you appeared to be in wait for quite a while. A teal sedan. Through the glass you see her impatient expression, of that same woman who saved you, Recovery Girl. She was here to pick you up.

You open the car door and settled into the passenger seat, leaving your bag near your feet. As she left the hospital's premises, you watched through the window. Not much of a pretty sight to see, mostly buildings, cars, and dark alleys. It's not that you wanted to look outside, you just couldn't face her without being embarrassed.

The silence is killing me...

You wanted to say something.

After spending months in that bland hospital, you've come to understand a few things. There was no need to sulk every day, or rather you just didn't have the time to do so. You were forced to focus on recovering, eating, sleeping, and taking medicine, slowly getting stronger and stronger. And every second of it, you'd admit you felt better and better, getting farther and farther away from your previous miserable state.

Everything changed for you.

You brought up a hand to fumble with the drawstring of your [f/c] hoodie, then felt the comfortable cotton fabric. It was no longer cold, the freezing kind of cold that would make your fingers feel numb. When you wriggle your toes, it's difficult. A layer of your socks and the small space at the tip of your sneakers, they stopped your feet from getting injured. These were all simple gifts, yet you never stopped being amazed. And the changes don't stop there...

Gently holding your throat, you feel the texture of the bandages wrapped around it.

"Thank... Thank you..." You manage to say.

Recovery Girl's expression softens. She was shocked to hear that from you.

"Don't speak, you'll worsen your throat." 

━━━━━━ 

"This is your room." She opens the door and you walk inside. "You can do whatever you want with it."

And then she leaves, closing the door behind her.

Bed, dresser, closet, desk, desk chair, window, and a door to a small restroom. Everything was in plain white. The closet was filled with clothes of your size, and everything else was provided, like soap, bed sheets, etc.

You never thought you'd ever live in a house, let alone have a fully furnished room.

So this is where I will be living now...

On top of the dresser was a lamp, but hidden behind it was a glass jar full of small colorful objects. You pushed it to the front, making it easier for you to look at. You find a taped paper label that reads 'candy'.

You pop off the lid, took the smallest piece you could find, and unwrapped it. After putting it in your mouth, you felt it melt on your tongue. You could taste it.

It's sweet. 

CHAPTER 1 END