"He has lost a lot of blood, and our surgeons cannot salvage a leg injury this severe. I'm afraid he'll never walk again, Akiko-sama." The physician arranged their documents on his desk.
"I told him to retire years ago..." the old woman huffed, "Now I'll have to tend to his garden for him, why can't he just listen to anyone?"
Ritsuki watched as his mother struggled to keep her composure, the woman who was usually kind and reserved was now simultaneously angry and quite visibly devastated.
"How long would you keep him for, doctor?" the boy shifted uneasily in his seat.
"I can't say, but if it's any reassurance his coworkers sure acted quickly. Pouring the alcohol as they did possibly saved your father's life, he's got good people looking out for him," The man said while adjusting his glasses.
"That includes you too." he then gestured to the two of them. The boy smiled at the man's kind words.
"Doctor, I'm sure he'd be fine under your care," Akiko chimed in, "but I'd like to stay the night with him."
"Of course!" the doctor responded cheerily, "I'll send for the nurse to fetch you an extra blanket."
"Thank you most kindly, Doctor Sadao."
Then Ritsuki and his mother got to their feet, bowed, and then left the good doctor's office.
In the hallway, mother and son stood still for a moment.
"I'll watch the house dutifully, don't worry..." the boy said with a chuckle, "You must stay with Father,"
"I'm... so sorry, please excuse me Ritsu, I-" she didn't finish as her son pulled her into a hug.
"Please don't, father needs you to be strong right now. I do too..."
"Yes, you're right..." She cleared her throat and hugged back, letting her son rest his head on her shoulders.
They stayed in each other's arms for a while before the nurse arrived.
"Good evening, ma'am, are you Mister Momota's wife?" Akiko nodded. The nurse signalled for her to follow, then led her away. She waved to her son as she went down the corridor.
The boy tiredly sighed, then looked out from the hospital's window into the gloomy night sky.
-----|
Ritsuki was walking back home on the cobbled sidewalk when he was stopped at a crossroads, waiting as a line of trucks drove by.
He then noticed a presence walk up behind him.
"Charming..." the boy heard the familiar deep and monotone voice of an old man.
He turned back to see the same old man he had bumped that evening, still in his rather unusual black and red kimono.
"So, here we meet again, though last time you seemed a lot merrier; has something happened?"
The boy said nothing, which made the man mumble under his breath.
"I've come to realise that you and I, we may have got off on the wrong foot," he said with a chuckle, "So to reconcile, I've changed the terms of my offer."
The car had already passed so Ritsuki began walking, almost reaching the other end of the road before the man spoke again.
"Your father's sick, isn't he?" the boy whirled his head about, staring back blankly at the old man. Ritsuki stepped back and turned around.
"Yes, I know all about it. That Doctor Sadao lies to you too, you know?" he added with an air of cheekiness.
"What?" the boy stumbled back.
YOU ARE READING
GHOST RIDER X DEMON SLAYER: Book 1: Imps and Prayers
FanfictionA boy who sold his soul in exchange for his father's life, cursed by the devil to exact his will and vengeance upon the world. Slowburn. Set roughly two to three years before the events of the first episode of Demon Slayer. - Cover Art courtesy of J...
