Chapter Text
"Simple things for simple people"
“Let me go! Mommy, save me!”
“Darling! LET MY CHILD GO!”
“MOMMY!”
“Baby, no!”
The black-haired woman stood up from her previously crouched position. Her body emitting a strange black essence. Your hand came into view, instinctively reaching out towards her. As she reaches you, you are pulled back into an area that seems warped. You feel your consciousness draining, while the woman, you think she’s your mother, screams a last goodbye.
“Be strong, my baby! Don’t forget.”
You wake up with a jolt, your breath heaving and mind racing. Crap, where are you? A wooden-laid floor, ceiling decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars, and walls, a pasty white that hurts your eyes. You stare across the room, sight aimed on a little photograph stuck to a wardrobe. Slowly focusing your eyes, you make out a photo of a boy with wavy blue hair. Breathe. That’s right, you’re at Fujiya, you remind yourself. Deep breaths are taken as you finally register that thought, bringing you back to reality.
Calmed, you fall onto your bed. “It was just that same stupid dream…”
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“Good morning, Ms. L/N!” a cheery voice rings out when you step out of your room.
“Morning!” you return in an equally chirpy voice, looking over to see a nurse in pristine uniform waving at you.
Walking down the halls of the hospital, you routinely make your way to Room 318, where another nurse would be waiting. Your hands trace their way along the walls, lungs pumping in relief and contentment. Fujiya Hospital. Home. Your home. The air smells of strong medical alcohol. The lights above were bright white and glaring. All around you were patients hooked up to beeping machines.
But you were not a patient. You were a resident. You had your own room, littered with decorations and furniture. You knew this place like the back of your hand, regularly visiting restricted areas like it was part of your personal life. You don’t remember much about anything before you were admitted here, but that was because you were abandoned as a child. You think back to your dream, to the woman you had called your mother. You laugh quietly knowing she wasn’t real, your real mother had died on the doorstep of the hospital, freezing and cold. Ha, what absurd dreams your mind concocts in place of your familial void.
Deciding not to linger too long on depressing situations, you let your mind wander to other topics, such as today. Now, you were giddy with excitement, today was your birthday! Your 15th birthday to be exact. To try and reenact the normal birthday traditions families usually hold on that esteemed day, your nurses and medical personnel would always gather at lunch time to sing you a song, which then would be followed by cake. It was never anything too grand, after all this was a hospital, not an actual home. You were grateful, and held every interaction and every memory close to your heart. Still, sometimes you longed for an actual abode, parents to go home to after a day of school, and maybe even siblings.
No, stop going back there.
Room 318. You stop at your destination, breathing deeply before knocking softly and opening the door. You are greeted by a small room, furnished with a desk facing the door at one corner, and a hospital bed at the other. At the desk, there’s a woman typing mechanically away at a computer, surrounded by motivational and educational posters on the wall.
The woman looks up briefly and smiles, “Ms. L/N, how delightful to see you this morning!”
You smile back, letting a soft giggle escape your lips, “Don’t be silly, Ms. Reiko, you see me every morning.”
“Yes, and still every morning I am relieved to see you awake and well.”
Putting on her rectangular glasses, she motions you to sit down. As you do, she pulls out a sheet of paper, one you know very well. It reads Psych Evaluation at the top, and consists of questions you have memorized at the base of your heart. You were handed one every birthday, to some it was a mark of sanity, to you it was the mark of a glorious day. Watching your happy face, she slowly slides it over to you along with a pen.
“Happy birthday, little Y/N,” she whispers.
Picking up the pen, you nod in recognition. After a few minutes, the boxes are ticked, lines are filled, and the paper is ready to be sent off. Handing it back, you recline in your chair, “I guess I’m not that little anymore, huh?”
Taking the paper from your hands, she adds a few more to the file and taps them lightly against the table. A hatch opens next to her desk, in which she drops the papers in and presses a button. The papers disappear and she shakes her head, “You will always be little to me,” she turns to you with a gleam in her eyes, “even after this present.”
You lean forward expectantly. This was new, you had never received presents on your birthday before. “A present?”
She takes off her glasses and starts cleaning it, “Do you know how old you’ll be turning this year, Y/N?
“Yeah, fifteen, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. This means today you are old enough to venture into the outside world by yourself- with remote supervision from the hospital, of course.”
Your jaw falls open in shock before shutting itself.
“W-wait, Ms. Reiko, you don’t mean…”
“Yes, you are no longer confined to the space of Fujiya Hospital. You may go out and explore cafés, theatres, maybe even make some friends!” she smiles.
Forgetting where you were, you let out a shriek of excitement and shoot out of your chair, doing a little dance around the room. Laughing, Ms. Reiko calls to you and asks you to sit down once again. She starts explaining the dangers of the streets -- villains, crooks, and people with bad intentions. But you weren’t listening, you were in your own little bubble, already thinking of your life 20 years in the future.
“Are you listening, Y/N?” Ms. Reiko’s stern voice brought you back to the present. She sighs as she watches you try and refocus your eyes, as they become blurry when you daydream.
“Y/N… while I am very happy for you, I am concerned as well. You are only fifteen, and on top of that, you- well- you’ve been in a hospital your whole life. It’s not that I doubt your abilities to handle yourself, I am sure you have got yourself covered in physical terms. But… mentally, I’m not so sure. Promise me, Y/N,” and she takes both your hands in hers, “promise me you’ll take good care of yourself. Remember all your lessons, especially your psychological tuitions. I trust you’ll put them to use, right Y/N?”
Finally regaining focus, you nod your head enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, yes, Ms. Reiko! I won’t let you down!” When she was convinced, she let your hands go. A small smile formed on her lips, “Alright now Y/N, please make your way to Mr. Kaiji for daily assessment. If I’m not mistaken, he should be in Room 437 as of right now.”
“Yes, Ms. Reiko,” professionalism re-entered your voice. You had to show her you were more than capable of making the right decisions. Bowing once, you left the room, your bare feet barely making any noise against the ceramic tiles.
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“So, you think you are ready for the outside world, Vapor?” you hear Mr. Kaiji ask as you slip your shirt back on. He had just finished your physical evaluation, and was moving on to the mental category.
Your head pops through the neck hole, and you smile, “Absolutely. Come on, I’ll show you. Give me all you got.”
Shrugging his shoulders, he walks to his desk and retrieves a few pieces of paper. You were also well-acquainted with this paper; it was your psychological assessment. It would help record how sane or how good you are at social interactions, et cetera. Striding confidently over, you reach over to grab the test, but he yanks it out of your reach. “Hey! What the-”
He smiles, eyes crinkling behind his glasses. “Did you really think I would let you out with just a test you clearly memorized all the answers to?”
“Uh, yes?”
“No, sit down. We’re going to re-enact a conversation.”
“Ugh,” you grumble, sitting opposite him.
Minutes later, you finished. “So, how’d I do?”
He scrutinizes over your results, recording it down in the computer. “Well, you were okay for the most part. You managed to pick up on small social clues this time. However, you still need to work on your context recognition. It’s important to know when someone is hinting something important towards you.” Then, smiling kindly, he added, “But other than that, you’re all good to go. So, go get changed and I’ll meet you at the front door.”
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Twirling around your room, you found a dress that covered you up nicely from neckline to knees. It was adorned with scribbles of flower varieties. You had been saving this dress for your birthday. Humming, you slipped into it, before finding your strapped sandals. Checking yourself in the mirror, you gave yourself a thumbs-up and headed to the entrance.
“I’m here!” you called out excitedly, skipping towards Mr. Kaiji.
“Alright then, here’s a tracker bracelet. It will help us mark your location at all times. Unfortunately, we ran into some bugs and could not get it to store past information about your whereabouts, but no worries, we’ll have it fixed before your next trip.”
“Next trip?” you pried.
“Oh, did Ms. Reiko not mention? You are allowed to go out whenever you want as long as you inform the front desk. We trust you, Y/N. You’re like family.”
“Thank you,” you smile. Family. He said you were like family.
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Who knew the world was so big? Yeah, you knew that land stretched beyond your small confined hospital residency, but you did not realize just how much. As you passed store by store. Your eyes widened in wonder, it seemed as if this row of neon lights and buzzing atmosphere never seemed to end. As you passed by yet another shop, this one reading Original Milk Tea Shop on its sign, you hand toyed with the pocket money Mr. Kaiji had given you.
You wondered what to spend it on, there were so many things in the world you never knew existed. Before this, you never even conceived the idea of needing a, what’s it called, bobble head, on your desk. But now the idea nagged at the back of your mind. Your feet mindlessly carried you further through the path, while your mind debated on going back to make a purchase. You decided to, and it was the best birthday gift you’d ever received.