The Ranch

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June calls in to make an appointment before heading to the hospital with the capsule and Tih. If it were anyone else, she wouldn't bother to come, but she's afraid her precious Tih will get swindled.

They walk into the relatively empty hospital. June taps on the desk," I have an appointment, hon."

The desk clerk looks up, then looks back down," Oh. Sorry we're busy right now." The clerk has seen his fair share of swindlers who take the treatment, then run off. They'll be caught and made to compensate, but he'll be blamed for letting them through.

A vein pops on June's forehead as he taps her foot irritably," Then when will you be free, hmm~?" She had heard rumors about how bad the staff were, but didn't think it'd be this bad.

"Try again tomorrow." He doesn't bother to look up.

"He'll be dead before that, sweetcheeks." June lowers her voice. She puts her hands on her hips and stares a hole through the clerk.

He gives a look that says,'And how is that my problem?'

His disregard for human life can't be said to be completely his fault. Almost everyone on the island lives like this, they just don't express it openly. Unless they're people they care about, islander's tend to ignore the death of others as it's too commonplace.

The clerk sees that they're not leaving and gives them a hint,"Hey, do you think just anyone can get treated here?"

"Oh? And may you tell me who would be able to get treated at this lovely, public, hospital?" A voice intervenes from the side. "Or do I need to remind, there's no private hospital allowed on the island." Instructor Maddox walks over with squinted eyes.

The clerk's chair squeaks as he stands up suddenly," B- I-Instructor Maddox. Of course. I just wanted to make sure they could pay the fees. Getting treatment without paying is against the rules, at the end of the day."

"You're right. So why don't you go ahead and check." Instructor Maddox's pressure doesn't fade.

"Ah, well how am I supp-" The man is confused.

"How are you supposed to know how much it'll cost without seeing the patient?" Instructor Maddox quirks an eyebrow.

The clerk has nothing to say. He gives in," I'll find you a room and assign the next available doctor right away." He hands them a key card.

Large hospitals like these are more like hotels for the injured rich. They'll be assigned their own room to rest and recuperate.

Instructor Maddox follows them to the room. June sets the capsule in the room and turns to Maddox," Thank you very, very much for your help mister." She makes a sultry voice and a flirtatious smile.

Instructor Maddox chokes up at her(or should he say his?) words. He looks to Tih for help but quickly gives up on that and looks to the capsule.

"So that man is Rohan, the captain of Team Jörmungandr? He had a very hard fall." He pauses before mumbling,"...at least he wasn't useless and cushioned his fall..."

"Hmm~ You know this man?" June creeps in either a cat-like curiosity.

Instructor Maddox takes a step back," Ah, yes I was watching the tournament."

"Oh~ that was today? I was never a big fan of that one, so I skipped it this year." June places a finger on her cheek in an expression of ponder.

"Yes, Tih fought him in the final game. He was injured and Tih left with him. I didn't know you'd come here though." His voice cracks at the last part.

"Oh! Tih, your team won. Congratulations." Instructor Maddox continued watching after Tih left. Rohan touched the ground a second before time was up and a point was taken from Jörmungandr's side to Poseidon's. The final score was [16 to 14].

Tih's teammates collected the price and gave a short speech before leaving to look for Tih. They were worried too. Tih fell from the same height. They know the child is superhuman, but watching a human fall from that height is enough to scare anyone. Rohan's team members also left shortly before that. The whole thing was rather anticlimactic.

But the audience made a day of it. It was the most exciting conclusion they could have asked for. They're still in an uproar now.

"Well, I'll still have a few errands that need to get done, so I'll be leaving." He makes an excuse after getting more than uncomfortable with June's stare.

Instructor Maddox leaves the room. He heads to the front desk and taps on it to grab the attention of the clerk that's pulling his hair out with his head down.

The clerk turns up, bumping his head on the way," B-boss!"

Instructor Maddox wears a cold expression, "Shush, I told you not to call me that. I'm reassigning you."

"W-what! Wait, no, please! I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I promise!" He tries to grab on to the boss walking away.

Maddox moves away from his claws," I don't do second chances." He leaves the building.

A knock on the door. The doctor enters. June shows him the capsule and the doctor makes an assessment," He'll need surgery." June agrees, she had already come to the conclusion earlier.

Rohan is taken away and only June and Tih are left. June looks at Tih," So you won the tournament. That's a really impressive thing." She rubs his head.

"This surgery might take a while, do you want to rest for a bit." She recalls how taxing each tournament is. June couldn't imagine doing it as a newbie.

'A rest', is what Tih hears. He nods and leaves the room, the door closes behind him.

"Eh? Wait Tih?" June doesn't know what she triggered. She opens the door and looks down the corridor, but Tih's nowhere in sight. "Wait, but I still have the ID." She mutters to herself.

There's no one on this entire island that would trust this much money to another, even if they were part of the same team, let alone an acquaintance like her.

June feels a little dismay, but also a warm feeling in her heart, that there's someone on this island that would trust them with this.

Tih makes his way back to the dorm. He completes his usual routine, taking a shower, brushing his teeth, changing into pajamas, before tucking himself into bed and taking a rest.

His team had looked through all the hospitals in the market before giving up and going back to their dorms.

Kai walked in to see the sleeping Tih, lying comfortably under the blankets. He feels the urge to smack him as he informs the others. They sleep without worries that night.

Darkness. A billowy white cloth. A white, marble table. A hand, clasping his own. The hand has a low body temperature. He tries to look up, but he can't move his body. His fingers are lightly clasped around the other's.

"...ih"

"Tih! C'mon we gotta go soon!"