How to deal with a runaway girl

Chapter 3

 Aki was in shock, her heart was beating like crazy. She knew from the beginning that it was not a dream, but what was happening before her eyes was unthinkable. This is Japan! It should be safe here! Which did not?! Terrified, she stared at the people who had been attacked. In particular, her attention was drawn to an injured man clutching his bleeding arm.

"They shot him!" She muttered, pale as a wall. "They just shot him!"

"Sit quietly!" Her father was equally pale. The man even began to chatter his teeth in fear as he clung to his daughter. "Keep quiet or they'll shoot me too!"

Aki looked at him in disbelief. (Him? Only him? He doesn't even bother to think about her?! What garbage! He only thinks about himself!) The girl turned red with anger. Seeing her father in such a pathetic condition was like a bucket of cold water to her. She had no intention of being like him. Oh no! No no no! She bit her lip, staring at the shooting that didn't stop, or rather got worse, because the shot man's companions drew their guns themselves.

"This one is a coward, but those two are idiots too!" She growled, looking at the armed people with disgust. "It's obvious that he needs help. Shooting them won't do you any good if the guy you're trying to defend bleeds out... Damn idiots...!"

And then it dawned on her... Although it couldn't quite be called an epiphany. In fact, it was the stupidest idea she could have ever come up with. Namely, if she helps this guy, maybe she will get away from her father. After all, this coward won't even stick his nose out from behind the cover... The opportunity presented itself, because the man let go of her to cover his ears. He would only be more pathetic if he pissed his pants. Aki did not miss the chance and bending in half, she ran to the injured man.

"Aki! You're crazy! Come back here!" The father shouted, not leaving his hiding place.

But the girl didn't listen. When she was close, the shot Japanese looked at her, grimacing in pain.

"I want to help!" She called to him in English.

The man muttered something to his comrades who were firing at the attackers, then he nodded to the girl to show he understood. Aki quickly ran to the Japanese, took off the scarf from around her neck and wrapped it tightly around his bleeding arm. She threw his good arm over her shoulder and wrapped the other around his waist. The girl barely managed to get the injured man back on his feet, and the man had difficulty keeping his balance. Counting on his men to protect them from the attackers' bullets, they slowly withdrew. Fortunately, there was an exit from the park nearby, behind which taxis were parked in a row. The girl, helping the Japanese man walk, tried to find the cars as quickly as possible. As soon as they reached them, Aki knocked on the window of the nearest vehicle, and the back door immediately opened. She carefully placed the man on the seat, then ran around the taxi and got in from the other side.

"He's injured! Please take us to the hospital! Hospital!" The girl repeated to the driver, silently begging him to know at least a little English.

The taxi driver looked at her face, red from exertion, then at the injured man whose wound was still bleeding profusely, and nodded in understanding. The car drove through the city with tires screeching. After a few minutes they arrived at the hospital. The girl gave the driver the money she had extorted from her father before leaving the house and hurried into the building. Without a moment's hesitation, she grabbed the hand of the first doctor she saw and dragged him along.

"I have an injured man in the car!" She screamed in panic in English, not caring about the doctor, whose face expressed surprise mixed with confusion.

The confusion she caused attracted a crowd of surprised people. The doctor tried to resist, but when he saw the bloody man in the back seat of the taxi, he immediately realized what was happening. He quickly ran to the injured man and checked his breathing and pulse, then shouted something in Japanese to the onlookers standing in the doorway. Almost immediately, several nurses with stretchers broke through the group of curious people and quickly transferred the injured man onto them. The man had lost consciousness, probably due to loss of blood, he was terrifyingly pale, but his chest was slowly rising and falling. His breathing was spasmodic and ragged, but it was there.

The man was still alive. The nurses and the doctor, shouting at the people blocking the passage, took the injured man to the hospital. Aki bowed to the taxi driver and followed the doctor. She couldn't go into the treatment room with him, so she stood in front of the door, worried about the life of the shot Japanese man. 

Only now did she begin to realize what she had done. She left her father behind and went to the aid of a strange man... Giving all the cash to the taxi driver... She was now in hospital, having just made a daring escape from her father's care with nowhere to go, needless to say, returning to her father's house was absolutely excluded. She didn't risk it so much to humbly return to a familiar address. When she was still hidden behind the vending machine, her plan seemed perfect, but when confronted with reality, she began to understand how stupid she was. But it was too late. There was only one direction left for her. One of the nurses tried to encourage Aki to sit in the chair. The woman and several other employees tried to find out from the girl what happened, but no one knew English and she didn't understand Japanese.

She stood leaning against the wall, staring at one point, not paying attention to her surroundings. A few hours later, the doctor left the procedure room, noticed the worried girl and walked straight to her.

"Do you know this man?" He asked in English. Aki jumped up when she heard the question in a familiar language.

"I don't know... Someone shot him in the park and I helped him... What happened to him?" She looked worriedly at the doctor. Now the person she helped was her only hope.

"He lost a lot of blood, so a transfusion was needed. Fortunately, the bullet did not damage the bones. His condition is currently stable" The doctor explained.

"Thank God.." Aki sank to the ground. "Can I go to him? I won't disturb anyone, I promise!" She asked.

(If they tell me to go home, I'm done!) She thought, biting her lower lip.

The doctor looked at her searchingly. The girl began to squirm under his penetrating gaze. Finally the man looked away and sighed.

"....All right. Come on, I'll take you to him" He said, helping the girl get up.

They entered one of the rooms in the corridor. The girl's eyes saw a familiar Japanese man connected to the equipment. The girl walked to the bed and breathed a sigh of relief. The doctor offered her a chair and she immediately sat down heavily. (He's alive. It's good. If he's still alive, then my chance for freedom still exists...) She bit her lip again and covered her face with her hands so that the doctor wouldn't see her eyes wide with fear. (Because I still have a chance, right? After all, I saved him, he will help me in exchange for saving me... Right? RIGHT...?!)

The whole situation made her very tired. The danger has passed, the nerves have calmed down a bit, and the adrenaline has subsided. The doctor noticed that the girl looked as if she was about to faint. He leaned over her, grabbed her wrist and checked her pulse. Aki looked at the doctor with tired eyes, but then turned back to the unconscious Japanese.

"You should eat something and rest. Why don't you go home and come back in peace in the morning?" Asked the doctor.

Aki slowly shook her head. No way. As long as there was even a glimmer of hope, she was going to cling to it with her hands and feet. The man, not knowing her reasons, was surprised to see how the girl did not want to leave the stranger. For a moment he looked like he was thinking about something. After a while, he smiled to himself and left the room, after a few minutes he returned carrying a few snacks and a cold drink from the hospital vending machines and handed them to the girl.

"At least eat something if you don't want to be hospitalized soon, too" He said sympathetically.

"Thank you" She murmured uncertainly in response, taking the food.

"There will be a check up in half an hour. During this time, you will have to leave the room and wait in the corridor" Saying this, the doctor put his hand on her shoulder.

Aki nodded, taking a bite of the fruit bar. The doctor looked at Aki inquisitively and then left the room. The doctors showed up for their rounds as planned, so she waited patiently until they examined the injured man and left the room.