Back in the sterile confines of the clinic, Ren bolted upright, his upper body surging off the thin mattress. His breath came in ragged, desperate hitches, and a cold sweat slicked his skin, making the hospital gown cling to him like a second skin. He scanned the room frantically, his heart hammering against his ribs until the familiar scent of antiseptic grounded him. It was just a nightmare. The "Red World" had stayed behind his eyelids.
"I wonder... how long was I out?" Ren muttered, rubbing his temples as a dull, pulsing headache began to throb behind his eyes.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed. They felt heavy, like lead pipes that threatened to buckle the moment he applied weight. He gritted his teeth and stood, hitching up the side of his gown to inspect the damage. The jagged laceration across his waist had been meticulously stitched, the thread pulling tight against skin stained with medicinal ointments. The bleeding had stopped, but the physical repair was a lie. Every time his eyes caught the stitches, his mind replayed the moment he was torn open. The memory hurt far more than the wound ever could.
"I have to leave," he whispered, forcing his legs to move. "I need to find the others."
He reached for the door handle, but before his fingers could graze the metal, the door exploded inward. The heavy wood slammed directly into Ren's nose with the force of a battering ram, sending him flying backward. He hit the floor hard, his head spinning as blood began to leak from his throbbing nostrils.
"What the hell...?" Ren groaned, clutching his face.
Standing in the doorway was a whirlwind of chaotic energy: a tomboyish nurse in her mid-twenties named Tora. She wore a nurse's gown that was arguably three sizes too small and far too short, accentuating a curvaceous, athletic frame that looked more suited for a gym than a ward. Two senior doctors hovered behind her, looking like scolded puppies.
"You have to stop opening doors like that!" one doctor pleaded, his voice trembling. "We have patients in this building, Tora!"
Tora let out a loud, bored sigh, stepping over the threshold. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Where's this 'Ren' guy?"
Ren spoke up from the floor, his voice nasal and pained. "Hey. Down here."
Tora looked down, blinking as if she'd just noticed a bug. "Huh?"
Ren scrambled to his feet, his eyes watering. "What is wrong with you? Were you trying to take my nose off?"
Tora stared at him, her expression unimpressed. (So this is the 'Bullshit Ren' they told me about,) she thought, a brief memory flickering through her mind.
The Flashback:
Tora had been walking down the hall, minding her own business and likely looking for a place to nap, when a frantic doctor intercepted her.
"Ma'am! Excuse me, Ma'am!"
Tora had whirled around, her eyes flashing with irritation. "I told you to quit calling me 'Ma'am'! I'm not eighty!"
"My apologies, Miss Tora! It's just... we have a patient. He needs your specific brand of... handling."
Tora rolled her eyes and started to walk away. "Go bother the other doctors. I'm just a nurse, and I'm busy."
"It's not that we can't heal the wound," the doctor shouted after her, desperate. "He's physically stable, it's just that... he's the 'Raizen type.'"
Tora stopped dead in her tracks. She turned her head slowly, a dangerous glint in her eye. "The 'do what I want' type?"
The doctor nodded vigorously. "Exactly. He needs time, but he tries to leave his room no matter who tells him to stay. The exam is restarting soon and he's under my care, but he won't listen. Please, Tora. I know what he's been through—but you can't heal the mind without healing the body first."
Tora sighed, cracking her neck. "Fine. You owe me big for this. Where is he?"
The Present:
Tora snapped back to the moment and pointed a finger directly at the bed. "I'm guessing you're Ren. Get your ass back on that mattress. No moving until I say so."
One of the doctors stepped forward, trying to maintain some decorum. "Sir Ren, this is Lady Tora. She will be in charge of your recovery until the exam resumes."
Ren didn't even look at her. He tried to brush past them, his face set in a stubborn scowl. "Go bother someone else. I'm leaving."
He didn't get two steps.
Tora's temper snapped like a dry twig. In one fluid, blurred motion, she lunged forward, her hand clamping around Ren's throat. With terrifying strength, she choke-slammed him back onto the bed, the mattress groaning under the impact.
Ren stared up at her, gasping for air, his eyes wide with genuine shock.
"You guys should leave," Tora said to the doctors, her voice low and dangerous as she cracked her knuckles.
"But... Miss, I really think—"
"Now."
The doctors vanished, shutting the door behind them.
Ren pushed himself up, his face pale. "What's the big idea? You can't—"
His voice died in his throat. Tora was walking toward him slowly, her arms overflowing with an absurd amount of bandages. In her other hand, she held a tray of long, gleaming medical acupuncture needles.
"I'm going to wrap you so tight you won't be able to wiggle a toe," she said, a sadistic grin spreading across her face as she raised the needles.
Ren shook his head frantically, backing into the headboard. A second later, a blood-curdling scream of pure agony ripped through the clinic, echoing all the way down the hospital halls.
Meanwhile: