A Life Worth Living (Aizawa x OC)

19 - Struggle

Himari

An agonizing pain emitting from my face forcibly caused me to slip back into consciousness, but I couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

Was it my nose? My forehead? My cheeks? Probably all of these combined.

Yet, I couldn't tell for sure, but if there's one thing I was certain of, it was that it hurt like fucking hell.

My eyelids refused to open, feeling like they were made of lead, and my mind was hazed by a thick fog, rendering me inept to make sense of my current situation. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. Instead, I remained alone in the dark. My ears were filled with an extremely annoying and shrill ringing, which contributed to my already flawed state of orientation.

W-what happened?

Just when I managed to formulate that more than justified question in my mind, I sensed a warm fluid trailing down my face at an incredibly slow pace. One stream seemed to spring from my hairline, whereas my nose was another one's well.

A few drops landed on my lips, finding their way into my mouth all by themselves – no guidance needed. The all too familiar metallic taste instantly gave away what it was.

Blood.

I squeezed my eyes shut, even more than they already were, in a desperate attempt to ease the dull, throbbing pain, but to no avail.

Even though I couldn't see anything, it felt like the whole world was rotating around me, making me feel like I was currently enjoying a not-so-pleasant rollercoaster ride. A dizzy feeling washed all over my body. It came crashing over me like a tsunami, triggering the urge to empty my stomach – something I could luckily suppress with pain and misery.

I focused on steadying my ragged breathing and tried to concentrate to regain control over my body, which was numb from head to toes except for my aching face.

So cold. I can't move.

A few minutes and several unsuccessful attempts later, I finally managed to squint and forced my eyes to open, even though my body was constantly reminding me that it didn't agree with my plans. An illegally bright light almost burned off my retinas and blurred my vision, causing me to reflexively close them again.

Waiting for a few seconds, I carefully opened them again, only to become aware of a viscous trail of blood running down the bridge of my nose, coming closer and closer to my right eye, whose field of vision seemed to be impaired.

For fucks sake. My eye is swollen.

I scanned my environment, which seemed to be the inside of a filthy and empty warehouse. It was rather small and, apparently, I was alone. The hall was pitch-black, which made it impossible to make out an entrance or exit. The only area exposed to light was around my spot.

Where am I?

I lowered my head, trying to get a clearer picture of the situation I currently found myself in. I was sitting on a cheap-looking chair, my hands tied behind the backrest. I couldn't tell what they were restricted with since my body was still fighting its numb state. Other than my arms, my legs and feet weren't restricted.

The lowered position of my head caused some blood to drip down on my jeans, leaving dark stains where it landed and soaked into the fabric. Yet, I couldn't spot any other injuries than the one that caused my head to feel like a hot-air balloon that was ready to take off.

From the corner of my eyes, something flashed up in the dimly lit area around me, attracting my attention.

I groaned with pain as I turned my heads towards it, just enough to examine what it was. This small motion had already been enough to increase the pain radiating from the centre of my face tenfold. My vision blurred again, but this time, the culprit wasn't the light. This time it was the unbearable pain.