Flash back in a dream actually. I feel like I need to revise the chapters.. again.
Anyway, Chapter 3! Been playing too much of phoenix wright and the nonsense got longer than I expected.
Probably messed up even if the chapter was kinda fun to write.
Chapter 3<i>Am I dead?</i> She looked up at the white ceiling.
<i>Can dead people feel? It’s kind of hot in here..</i> She tried to move.
<i>…</i>
“Oh my god, am I topless?!” She suddenly shot up from the bed screaming, staring down at her bare body. “Oh shit! I AM!” At least she still had her bra on. But that wasn’t the point. Panicking, she began feeling around her torso hoping that she was just hallucinating being topless.
Shocked by the outcry, Takahashi involuntarily threw the bandages up in the air and screamed as well. She grabbed at her chest and spun around, panting hard. “Y-you’re awake!”
The half naked girl responded by hurling the nearest object she could lay her hands on at the other – in this case, a large pink penguin plushie. However, her aim was horrible. “PERVERT! What did you do to me?!” She backed up against the wall and pulled a blanket up to her chin.
“P-Pervert?” The accused stuttered, more dumbfounded than offended. Then, she got flustered again. “I din’ do n’thin! Who ya callin’ a pervert? Ya was lyin’ in ‘e dumps unconscious an’ I-“
“Stop.. STOP!” The girl had her eyes shut tight as she yelled. She fell back on the bed and buried her forehead against the pillow. “I can’t understand a word you’re saying!”
“Excuse me?” Takahashi stared at the girl in agony.
“I said, speak standard Japanese woman!” She snapped, staring back at the older.
“But I was!” came an offended reply.
“No you weren’t.”
“Yes I was.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
This went on for.. quite a while.
“Admit it! You have an accent!” The younger girl now sat upright on the bed, completely forgetting about her missing shirt.
“You have no proof!” Takahashi argued.
“Hold it! Proof?! I am the proof! I
heard it!”
“OBJECTION! You have no alibi!” The accused pointed at her guest.
The girl gasped, then slammed her hands against the mattress. “Objection overruled! There’s no one else here but us!”
Neither really knew what the other was saying anymore, but they did secretly enjoy the courtroom drama.
Not wanting to admit defeat, Takahashi let out a ‘humph!’ and turned her back on the other. “Brat..” she muttered while picking up the bandages she dropped earlier. Meanwhile, the other girl laid back on the bed. Her fever had yet to subside but she just couldn’t resist proving her point. Now her head felt like they were buried under a ton of bricks. Holding the damp cloth to her forehead for comfort, she turned to her new caretaker.
“Who are you anyway?” She questioned warily, not wanting to start another argument until her fever breaks. Takahashi glanced back for a split second and released another humph.
“I’d tell you only if you would stop accusing me..”
The girl pondered over the condition seriously and nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Takahashi Ai.” The older answered almost immediately. “You?”
“…” She was hesitant to give an answer, but Ai seemed harmless enough. “Risa.”
“Just.. Risa?” Ai finally turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t push it.” She frowned.
Remembering that she’s yet to patch up Risa’s injuries, Ai got up with her first aid kit and moved to settle on the bed. Instinctively, Risa shifted away from the older girl.
“I’m not going to violate you, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Ai spoke while busily applying antiseptic onto cotton, not noticing the exposed look on the other.
“But I’m sure there’ll be lots of- PAIN!” Risa’s scream could’ve raised the dead even in broad daylight. Blinking away her tears, Risa gritted her teeth and glared at Ai whom had a piece of soaked cotton wool pressed against her bullet wound.
“What?” She looked down at the tearing girl innocently. <i>That’s payback, you brat.</i>
Ai continued trying to aid her. “Would you just stay still and let me bandage your wounds?!”
“But it huuuurts!” the injured girl whined.
“So you’d rather let your stomach and face rot away, eh?” Horrified by the visuals of her body decaying, Risa puffed up her cheeks and turned away. Ai smirked and took it as a sign to go ahead.
An hour or two passed and Risa finally had her wounds disinfected, now covered in sloppily tied bandages. She was also given a nice clean shirt to cover her assets with. The clock ticked by painfully slow as Ai and Risa sat on the bed in silence. All they’ve been doing ever since the latter woke up was bicker. Neither was willing to give in and would make a come back with every chance they got. Eventually, they did grow tired and settled to just giving each other dirty looks and hard glares.
Being the first to finally surrender to this ‘childish game’ for the sake of her sanity, Ai sighed. “Uhm.. How’re you feeling now?” She asked quietly- a little reluctant even.
Risa turned around, surprised by her sudden mild attitude. No point being spiteful anymore though. “Better, I guess. Headache’s terrible though.”
“Must have been caused by the fever. I wonder if it’s gone..” Without saying another word, Ai closed the gap between them and held a firm grip on the other’s shoulder before touching their foreheads together. It was a little hard to tell the temperature with the cold sweat that suddenly broke out on the younger girl though.
“H-hey! Don’t you have a thermometer or something?” Risa cried, trying to look everywhere but at the face directly in front of her.. at such a close proximity. She decided to shut her eyes in the end. <i>But it’s kinda tempting to look… I think I saw a beauty mark? I wonder how it’ll feel- Oh My GOD! What am I thinking?! Shut up brain! Go do something brainy and leave me alone! Uhh, I’m feeling faint already..”</i> Just as she was about to come close to blacking out once more, Ai moved away in time.
“Yeah, an anal thermometer. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want that though.” Ai answered with a straight face, and she was right. Risa gulped the moment she heard ‘anal’. It was definitely worse than her mind having a mind of its’ own, if that made any sense at all.
“Anyway, you’re still kind of hot.”
“Why, thank you.” Risa managed a grin, earning herself a glare from Ai.
“You know what I mean. Take these and get some rest.” Ai continued, tossing a packet of painkillers at the younger girl and a bottle of water from her mini fridge.
“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m not going to pay you for the services, just so you know.” Risa asked while examining the contents in the packet. She then took out two pills and swallowed it as instructed.
“No idea.” She replied simply and shrugged. Frankly, she wasn't sure why she decided to help this stranger anymore. She didn't really know why she brought her home instead of a hospital when it clearly didn't concern her. Nor did she know why she still felt concerned after having to put up with the girl’s childishness. She could’ve just stormed off and leave the brat to fend for herself. Perhaps she just wanted to get out of work, or she was being a Good Samaritan after all. Perhaps she felt sorry for the girl, or it was out of impulse. Could’ve been all of the above. Maybe there’s something more to it even. Now that she considered the situation with a sense of rationality, she realized that she didn’t have a straight answer for her new acquaintance.
“Oh! I forgot to mention. The pills tend to… … Cause drowsiness.” When Ai turned back, Risa had already fallen asleep again with a light frown on her face. She couldn’t help but let out a smile, finding the girl’s sleeping face to be anything but bratty. Angelic even, if she didn't frown so much. Unconsciously, she brushed a finger against the sleeping girl's eyebrow and the frown faded away immediately.
“Somehow.. I get the feeling that.. she’s not really like that. I wonder..”