I Don't Date Heroes

Chapter 1: The Vigilante

Shin

I don't get involved with heroes or vigilantes. Yet, here I am, with a vigilante bleeding out on my couch.

"Are you okay?"

The vigilante grunted in reply. With two deep gashes on his abdominal and another injury on his head, I'm surprised he could still hear me. A normal person would have passed out right about now, either from pain or from blood loss.

"Here, press these towards the gashes while I get things ready." I instructed as I passed him some towels.

As I rummaged through my cupboards for more towels and a needle and thread, I wondered how exactly I got myself into this situation. Well, the night started out innocently enough. My shift at the hospital had just ended and I was heading back to my apartment when I heard a noise from the alley. Like any normal human being in the middle of the night, I ignored it and kept on walking. It was probably just a cat, but then came a loud crash and the stench of something metallic. I spent enough time around patients to know exactly what that smell was.

So, I checked it out. Crumpled between some knocked over trash cans was a hooded figure with dark blood soaking his grey hoodie. They had a hand pressed to their side and another on the wall, trying to get up. Instinctively, I pulled out my phone and tried to call 911. Emphasis on the tried part.

"Don't."

I couldn't even if I wanted to. In a flash, he, judging by the masculine voice, had appeared in front of me with a bloody hand wrapped firmly around my wrist. Firm may be too nice of a word for it; there was enough pressure to make me wince and it'll probably leave a bruise tomorrow. He could probably break my wrist if he wanted to and I'm not going to test that.

I nodded and the pressure decreased as he slowly let go. He then staggers right past me, unintentionally showing the tell-tale sign of a superhuman: his mask. Okay, so he's not an innocent civilian or a common thug, and since I'm relatively uninjured, he's probably not a villain. This means he's either a hero or a vigilante.

Contrary to popular beliefs, there's a difference between the two. A hero is someone who's registered with the government and is on their payroll. Being a vigilante is actually illegal and their work ethics tend to be, uh, shady. They both go after villains and crimes though and, despite being illegal, the police don't intentionally go after vigilantes unless they are specifically wanted. Think of a hero as a red power ranger and a vigilante as a black power ranger, or the police versus a PI.

Any who, since the guy is dressed in a hoodie and doesn't want to go to the hospital, I'm betting he's a vigilante. A vigilante that is bleeding out and can barely walk. He hasn't gained much distance from me so I can hear the irregular pants and huffs as he makes his way down the street. Wherever he's going, he's not going to make it far without medical treatment; and my apartment is right around the corner...

I bit the inside of my cheek. On one hand, I don't want to get involved, but on another, as a nurse in training, I can't just leave him like this.

"Wait, stop!" I called out to him.

He cocked his head towards me. Damn, I can't see his expression with that hood on.

"You need help."

"I-" He started, but I immediately cut him off.

"Look, I know you don't want to go to the hospital, but at this rate it'll be really bad. I'm not just talking about the blood loss, but also any infections. My place is just around the corner; let me treat your wounds."

He contemplated my words for only a few mere seconds before turning away from me. A stubborn one, just my luck.

"I'll scream."