I jolt up suddenly, hurriedly examining my surroundings. Noticing I'm in my car, I quickly turn on the ignition and am about to start driving when I notice my actual location.
Home...?
Home.
I'm already at home...
But how...?
A searing pain runs through my head and my hands leave the steering wheel in front of me and come to my head. I can't remember how I got here. The last thing I remember is being shot while I was running with the...the child. A sense of alarm runs through me but I quickly calm down when I noticed the boy's passed out figure beside me.
I look around, hoping to see none of those goons from earlier and as luck would have it, I don't see them anywhere. But that doesn't mean I'm out of the way just yet, I may have been followed, who knows? But this boy needs medical attention. I place my hands back on the steering wheel again before realizing that I can't take him to a hospital... Those people might be there looking for him. I'll just have to take care of him myself.
I turn off the engine and step out of the car and look at my small private mansion my parents got me as a temporary residence for then I wanted to be alone. Well, it seems I'll have a housemate for the time being, so much for living alone.
Once inside my house, I put the now unconscious boy on the dark red couch in the center of the living room and leave to retrieve my first aid kit. As I clean him up I notice the nasty nature of his bruises and the high frequency of them. It's a good thing he is asleep, otherwise, I'm sure this would be a painful ordeal.
Once I finish, I pick him up and take him to a guest room. I open the dark brown mahogany doors and walk into the room. The color scheme was gold, white, and a few touches of red as are most of the rooms in the house. Walking over to the bed, I place him on the white sheets and cover him up with the dark red duvet. Most of the rooms in my house have a darker theme excluding the bedrooms and the kitchen, I specially requested it like that because bright colors sometimes irritate my vision. It's a problem I was born with but still doesn't understand.
I place his head on a pillow and making sure he's comfortable, I leave the room to take care of some laundry, seeing as I had to take his clothes off while standing to his wounds.
'I should buy him some new clothes but I'm afraid I of leaving him here all by himself, what if he wakes up and I'm not there to calm him down. He might think he's kidnapped and run away. I should just order some clothes instead...' I think to myself as I walk into the laundry and start up the washing machine.
When the laundry is all set, I sit on top of the washing machine and start to think clearly.
'What am I doing? I can't take care of a kid. I can barely even take care of myself' I think and cover my face with my hands.'Who were those men chasing him and why were they after him? Would he tell me if I asked'?' Multiple questions run through my head.
'What happened back there and why can't I remember anything from after I got shot.'
And that's when I realize something.
'I was shot.' I clutch my shoulder tightly where the wound is supposed to be.
'I was shot but I'm completely fine.' Looking at my shoulder, I notice that the bloodstain and bullet hole is still present on my shirt but as I pull the shirt down to expose my shoulder, I see that the wound is completely healed.
But how? I can't remember anything after that... 'Would it have something to do Would it child? Is that why he was being held captive?'
More and more questions swirl around in my head but I push them all aside.
Right now I have to focus and asking myself to question I can't answer won't help.
I know who can help me with this, my best friends and only confidants. Matt and Nicole. Matt and Nicole are siblings, our parents are good friends and business partners. We grew up together and they are the two people I know best and trust the most. They kept my secret of studying alchemy and even helped me learn it. They've helped me many a time and we owe a lot to each other, I'm sure they will be able to help me with my problem.
I call Nicole and she agrees to come over to my house in a while, she also tells me that Dean is busy so he wouldn't be able to make it. We chat for a while but then I start to hear stranger noises from upstairs. I tell her a quick goodbye and abandon the laundry room. I run out of the room and up the stairs, my feet trudging along the steps and through the halls until I get to the room where I left the boy.
He is huddled up in a corner of the room, the sheets scattered everywhere as if there had been some kind of a struggle but there was no sign of an intruder. His head is bowed and his whole body is shaking. I start to walk over to him and as I get closer to him I notice his eyes wide in terror as cold sweat drips down his face.
I soon come to crouch down beside him and reach out a hand to him, watching as his terrified eyes follow my hand without him lifting his head. I place my hand on the side of his head, rubbing his hair in what I believe to be a comforting manner.
There seems to be a glimmer of realization in his eyes as he widens them momentarily and then closes them, quickly leaning into my touch and whimpering softly.
I wrap my other arm around him and pull him into my chest, patting him on the back soothingly as his breathing pattern calms down. After a moment, I pull away from him to get a good look at his features while he is awake. His big blue eyes bore into mine as I run my fingers through his bright yellow hair, starting at his adorable round face.
"Hey there, little kid." I say to him in a gentle silk-like tone and with a small smile on my face.
"My name is Michelle. What's yours?" I ask ever so gently as he gives me an inquisitive look, and then a thoughtful one. He opens his mouth to speak and a small adorable voice comes out.
"Yūji." He says. "My name is Yuji."