Fragments

Ch.16 - I Hate My Job

"Why do I work here..? Why am I the one tasked with saving lives..? I detest it… Can't someone else do it?"

Ominous red-black tape lined the vicinity of the hospital, closing off streets and roads. Armed forces surrounded the complex with different vehicles, and loud discussions among the battle-ready soldiers were being held as Asuma suddenly appeared. Contrary to her being on a mission, she had a casual stride, her sword thrown over her shoulder like a towel. "What a ruckus… So, what's the situation?" Approaching the nearest officer, she tried to find out the operation's state.

"Hm?" Turning her attention from the others, a female officer faced Asuma with visible respect towards her. "Ah… We know very little, sadly. Cameras recorded strange behaviour, and minutes later, the hospital turned into a bloodbath. We sent a team in as quickly as we could, but immediately lost communication and they've yet to return."

"I can see why you called me," Asuma sighed. "This'll be a pain… Is this Reaper after anyone in particular?"

"No, it doesn't seem to be," the short-haired officer answered while Asuma glanced at the building's windows, seeing innumerable cracks and blood splatters on nearly all of them.

"So it's acting of its own volition… What 'bout the strange behaviour?"

"We saw a masked person in a brown cloak enter the hospital."

"Huh, that rings a bell," Asuma thought.

"Immediately after, something grew out of the person's hand, and formed into the Reaper which is now occupying the hospital."

"Are you sure you didn't drink too much?" The instructor asked in an awkward attempt at a joke, tilting her head while imagining the scenario. "Considering their sudden appearance, I think we can narrow down the cause."

"So you think..?"

"An intentional attack by Saiken. If they take this place out, we won't have anywhere to treat the wounded in the future."
Although having multiple hospitals would've spread people out, due to how the city was initially built, there was neither enough space nor resources to construct more than one. People led miniature clinics individually, but the giant 3-story building Asuma faced obviously housed the most civilians no matter the efforts.

"Then we got to the same conclusion," the woman said silently. When even the strongest Guardian arrived at the worst-case scenario, it filled her with despair.
War was encroaching.

"Alright, well, I'll handle it from here," she said decisively, grabbing her sword off her shoulder and throwing its sheath into the officer's arms. "Establish a perimeter, maybe get some cages ready and wait for me to report back."

"Y-yes! You heard her, establish some defenses and stop lollygagging!" The officer quickly got to work while the ace up their sleeve approached the ghastly hospital alone… Without light, without life, a place where lives are saved morphed into an intimidating and unbelievably quiet graveyard.

"I wish people just dropped the respectful act… What's there to admire about me? I listen to the orders of cowards and somehow come out alive every time… I'm not special." Just when she finished her thought, she arrived. Two large doors presented themselves, beyond them laying bloody carnage in the form of mutilated bodies and destroyed equipment, her target nowhere to be found.

"Alright… Time to work."

Not feeling the need to rush, she pushed the doors out of her way and entered, scanning the numerous hallways surrounding the entrance. Bodies littered them wherever she looked, it'd be a traumatising sight, was she not already used to it.
"Wait… Where's the sound?"
It took a moment for Asuma to notice, but she couldn't hear anything. Not her own heartbeat, not the clicking of her shoes, not the rushed stomping of soldiers outside… Everything was mute. "So I'll be fighting without hearing anything," she thought. "That doesn't sound too appealing… Heh."
Amplifying the unruly welcome, she felt a sharp object suddenly touch her neck and in a moment, she disappeared, the small blade cutting only a few strands of marine blue hair. The attacker revealed himself immediately as he rolled forward to create distance after failing, Asuma reappearing at the same spot she stood in. They quickly came face-to-face as the hybrid of a human and an insect stood before her, the creature's 4 spiky arms nervously swinging and flipping knives through the air.
"You could've let me land a counter, y'know?" Asuma poked at the creature's surprise attack, knowing full well it couldn't hear her.