I'm feeling both warm and cold at the same time. It's like... the air around me is cold, but I'm still sweating. I have to force myself out of bed. My hair is still wet from last night's adventures. I force myself out of bed and go to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Shota and my mom are already eating. It's a weird sight, Shota and my mom together. They seem to be having a lively conversation. I sit down beside Shota.
"Good morning..."
They both kiss my cheeks over the table, and my face goes red. Before I can grab a plate, my mom scrunches her eyebrows.
"You're warm, 'Zashi..."
"Really? I thought it was just warm in the bed..."
She nods and looks at me with a concerned face.
"Are you sick? Do you need to stay home?"
"I'll be just fine, mom, it's probably just a cold. I'll grab a mask before I leave, okay?"
A lot of people wear surgical masks if they're slightly sick or are having allergies, so that they don't have to breathe in whatever you're allergic to, or so you don't infect others.
"Are you sure?"
It's Shota's turn to be concerned this time. I grab his hand.
"I'll be fine, I promise. I'll be back on track tomorrow."
It did not get better the day after. Or the day after that, or the day after that. After a whole week of just getting worse, mom and Shota forced me to go to the doctor. I managed to get pneumonia. Probably from going in that cold pool at night. I'm coughing up bright yellow mucus and I constantly need to blow my nose. I can barely breathe and my ribcage hurts. They both forced me to stay home after two days. Shota still has to go to school of course, but he comes to check on me whenever he can. He doesn't sleep at my place though, since my mom didn't want him to get infected as well. But I have to get out of the house. I have to do something.
I'm walking towards the pharmacy. I have to get medicine so I can get better and back in school as soon as possible. I can barely control my voice and I have just enough energy to walk to the pharmacy and back. The automatic door opens and I step inside. The air inside is cool. I start browsing for the medicine the doctor told me to get, it was supposed to start with an M-
I see the bottle of pills on the top shelf. I stand on my tiptoes, but I can't reach it, it's too high up. I ask an employee for help, who easily gets it down with the help of a stepping stool. I smile at her, but I'm wearing a mask so she wouldn't be able to see it. I walk with her towards the register so I can pay for it. Someone else walks inside the store. I root around in my wallet for my money. When I'm about to hand it over to the employee, she looks behind me. It must be the person who walked inside. But... she looks... scared. I have turned down my hearing aids so I don't need the stress of the big city life, so I can't hear what the person behind me says. I'm just about to turn around when a sharp pain goes through my shoulder. The employee ducks behind the counter. The same pain goes through my leg, and I fall to the ground. I touch where the pain was in my shoulder, and look at my finger. It's very red. Probably blood. Another shot goes through my lower stomach. Everything goes blurry and the noises around me are even more muffled than before. I hear a couple of loud BANGS before I pass out.
Sirens.
Someone pushing their hands against my chest.
Loud... beeps?
Bright lights.
I finally wake back up after what feels like whatever. I sit up. It was a mistake. My head starts aching, a lot. I blink a few times and look around. Everything is blurry. I'm not wearing my glasses. I reach for the table beside my bed and put on my glasses. Now that I finally can see, I take a closer look around. I'm in a room with bright white walls. The lights in the roof are way too bright as well. On the table where I got my glasses from, my hearing aids are as well. I pick them up and put them back in. They don't seem damaged. I start inspecting myself. I'm wearing a white robe, and a few too many tubes are sticking out of my left arm. They lead to different machines, who all beep. Maybe I should keep my hearing aids off for now. I remove the robe and look downat my chest. It has a large bandage wrapped around it as well as my shoulder. I peek under the bandage. There are stitches on my shoulder and my chest is bruised. I don't remember getting shot in the chest though. Did my heart stop? Did they have to perform CPR on me? I have bandages around my leg and lower stomach as well, and the back of my shoulder. The bullet must have went straight through. I look around again. There's a bottle of pills on the table, and a glass of water. Painkillers? Sleeping pills? There's a remote control on the table as well. For the TV? I pick it up and turn the TV on. It shows the news.
"...shot three days ago. The family members of the victim have chosen to not tell the media their name. The villain has been arrested. Now on to the weather. It seems like it's going to r-"
I turn off the TV. Three days ago? Have I been passed out for three days? Does mom know I'm here? She must do, since they didn't say my name on TV... does Shota know? Or is he banging on my door, wondering why I'm not answering? The door opens. I jump and look towards the door. It's just a doctor. I relax a bit and sit back down on the bed.
"Good morning, Mr. Yamada. Slept well?"
She's smiling at me while she starts checking the machines.
"Not really..."
"I'm just gonna do some check-ups, okay?"
I nod a bit and look at her. She takes out a stethoscope and asks me to remove the robe. She places the stethoscope against my chest and listens to my pulse and breathing. She does the same thing with my back. Then she wants to check the stitches. As soon as she starts to remove the bandages, it starts hurting again. I grit my teeth.
"Are the painkillers wearing off? Don't worry, you have more."
She nods to the bottle on the table. She removes my bandages and start checking my stitches.
"Does Shota know I'm here?"
"Shota? Oh, you mean Mr. Aizawa? Yes, he's been here since for about two days, along with your mother. Mr. Iida and Ms. Kayama have been here since yesterday as well. No one has been allowed to visit you yet, since you haven't been awake for more than a few seconds."
"Can I see them?"
"Tomorrow, if you're feeling better. But for now, you need to rest."
"But-"
"No buts. You need to rest."
She replaces my old bandages with new and give me some painkillers. She's just about to leave.
"Wait! What happened to the pharmacy employee? Is she alright?"
She smiles at me again.
"Physically, yes."
I sigh in relief.
"It's obvious that you're from the hero course. Only thinking of the others when you almost died yourself."
She leaves the room and I lie back down. I'm already beginning to feel sleepy. Is there a chance that those pills were a mix between painkillers and sleeping pills? Is that possible? Or am I just dying?
I remove my glasses and hearing aids before I fall asleep, and stare up in the ceiling. I have to see them. I have to tell them I'm okay. I look back at the table. My phone is there. Should I text them? I pick it up and click the button to turn it on. It's out of battery. And my charger is most likely at home. I'll have to ask mom or Shota to bring it with them when they can visit. Tomorrow.
