The Broken Doll

Chapter 9

Yuma stayed by her side when the doctors finished up stitching her wounds. She didn't seem to have any friends in this world; maybe his presence would comfort her. He stayed there for the entire time he was allowed, and he came back again day after day.

One night, Shing woke up. She looked at her arms. They were bandaged with clean strips of cloth. She looked at the chair beside her; it was empty. Looking back up at the ceiling, her hands itched to tear the bandages away. She didn't, though. Instead, she got up and leaped out the window.

~.The Next Day.~

Yuma returned to the hospital to visit Shing in case she woke up. He entered her room, but Shing was gone.

Did she wake up last night?? Did she hurt herself further!?

Panicked, Yuma hurried outside to try and find her.

Nearby, a portal from another world opened. A purple-haired boy stepped out of it and looked around. Ever since their queen left their world, people have been searching nonstop for her. This boy took the portal to this world. Maybe she was here. She looked very distressed when she ran away.

The boy suddenly saw another kid, this one with red and black hair and red eyes. He was running in one direction. The purple-haired boy chased after Yuma to see if he knew anything.

"Hey!"

Yuma's head turned around and saw a teenaged boy chasing after him. "What!?" he called back.

"Where are you going!?"

Yuma faced straight ahead again. "A friend of mine escaped the hospital last night. I need to find her!"

The purple-haired boy's eyes widened. Could this be his queen? "What did she look like? This is important!"

Yuma quickly described Shing's appearance. The other boy showed signs of recognition, so he asked, "Do you know her? Is she a friend?"

"Listen, I'll tell you as soon as we locate her. Right now, finding her is more important! She's a very disturbed girl right now; there's no telling what she's doing to herself!"

"Got it!"

They both shot forward with a new burst of speed and looked for Shing everywhere possible. It was well into the evening, and there was still no sign of her.

Yuma looked around in an alley when his D-gazer beeped. He clicked the answer button; it was the other boy calling him. "What's up?"

"I found her," the boy said. "She's in an alley by the park. I need your help taking her back to the hospital without reopening her wounds."

"I'll be right there." Yuma shut off his D-gazer and hurried back to the alley.

Once there, he and the boy worked to carry Shing back to the hospital. She was luckily unconscious, which made their job much easier since she wasn't struggling. Soon, she was put back into her bed, this time with restraints in case she felt like fleeing again. 

"So, you gonna tell me why you needed to find her?" Yuma asked.

"Yes. My name is Yuri. She and I are from a world different from this, where she ruled as queen. In our world, there are different versions of you, your friends, and your enemies, as well as other people from different worlds, so I already know who you are, but that's beside the point. Shing...she had everything she could ever want. She had loving friends, loyal knights, faithful servants, and a trusted court. She loved all of the people in our world. I don't know when it started. It was a gradual thing. She started acting very..." Yuri searched for the right word. "She started acting deflated. It got worse and worse as they days went on until she just disappeared one day. Our scientist, a very loyal and friendly man, helped us open many portals to look for her, so here I am."