5:30am - Riyusenta Hospital
Zikito lies inside a hospital room, wrapped like a cocoon. He's recovering, 4 fractured ribs, left leg's muscle was severely damaged, and some internal bleeding was happening. Fortunately, he is recovering and those injuries aren't life threatening. Zikito woke up to see some get well soon gifts from his office at the side. Yet he wasn't alone in the room...
"Yo, Zikito." The turtle greeted.
"You're not in a toy form now, what do you really want?" Zikito inquired, showing skepticism as the last time they met... things didn;t go as planned.
"So what? I could be a cat if you wanted." The turtle stated, with a slight smug.
"Damn that, my insides are in hell right now." Zikito expressed, trying to suppress the pain he's feeling.
The turtle thought for a minute, a minute of silence.
"How about this, I cannot really fix your body... Although it's easier than the mind, I can't exactly do you more favor, but I'll let it slip this time." The turtle offered.
"It better not be making me go away for three months." Zikito scoffed, trying not to make the same thing happen again.
"I'll fix your body, but I feel like I'm doing too much for you..." The turtle gave a smug look, trying to get a deal.
"TOO MUCH?!" Zikito shouted.
"Don't gaslight me, pesky human! I swear this is the last favor I am doing!" The turtle declared, quite angry of Zikito's arrogance.
The turtle then punched Zikito's face, making him lose consciousness. This time, Zikito didn't disappear from the hospital bed, and it also took only five days!
7:51am - Riyusenta Hospital
The doctor, along with a nurse, entered Zikito's room to check on his recovery.
"Are you awake?" Dr. Daichi asked, trying to get a closer look of the patient.
Zikito heard his voice and woke up.
"Yes.. I am..." Zikito tried to gather his words, all becoming slowly clearer.
"How are you feeling? Do you feel any discomfort?" The doctor inquired.
Zikito's legs and arm casting shook, the doctor and nurse were surprised.
"My feet don't hurt much anymore.. And I can move all my parts..." Zikito responded with a slightly shocked expression.
"That's certainly great progress, Mr. ZIkito. We'll have you examined this afternoon for improvements, you're a strong person." The doctor gave a slight smile with a soft voice.
"Thank you, doc." Zikito nodded as they left.
The doctor and nurse smiled at Zikito as they headed out.
"Too much in my life has been happening recently..." Zikito thought to himself.
Someone knocked the door and entered, it was the girl he saved back then, with her father in a suit.
"Thank you for saving my daughter... We will happily share the costs of your medicine" The father expressed gratitude.
The girl was still speechless, but she approached Zikito to give him a box of chocolates. Zikito smiled at them.
"Here are some biscuits made by my wife,a month's worth of pay from me, and a gift from my daughter." The father genuinely thanked Zikito.
"Thank you..." Zikito responded with a warm and sincere smile.
"If you ever have the chance, we'd be happy to have you come over for my daughter's 20th birthday, here's our address. Also, get well soon." The father invited, expressing gratitude to Zikito.
"Thank-... thank you...." The girl thanked Zikito.
"I have to get back to work now, we're looking forward to seeing you this Saturday." The father concluded, expressing anticipation for Zikito's presence on his daughter's birthday.
The father and girl walked out of his room, it felt lonely again. His chest and legs were casted, but he was trying to reach for their gifts with his arms. However, they were not really heavy anymore, he could move his legs around. He grew bored after a minute, so he slept again. Five hours after Zikito was scheduled for medical examination so that the hospital can assess wether or not Zikito is ready to be discharged.
"It seems that you are alive, alert, awake, Mr. Zikito." Doctor Daichi chuckled with a smile.
"We will be taking you into the x-ray room for a few minutes, but before that, how are you feeling?" The doctor inquired, carrying his clipboard in check.
"I can move my leg, doctor, and I feel better." Zikito responded, with slight enthusiasm.
"That's great, we'll be going now." Doctor Daichi Told the nurses to move the bed now.
The nurses took Zikito's bed as they headed towards the x-ray room. Zikito was x-rayed for a few minutes, and the doctors did a few physical examinations on him. He could really move his legs. After a few hours, the doctor returned to
"In just a week, you've recovered strong, Mr. Zikito. This recovery speed is impressively fast, you can be discharged tomorrow." Doctor Daichi commented, gave a soft smile as he was very impressed.
"Without doubt, you are currently healthy, Mr. Zikito, the bill has been paid by the father, so you're technically allowed to be discharged now." Doctor Daichi added.
"What about the check he said-?" Zikito thought to himself.
"I'd like to be discharged now, I need to get going." Zikito stated.
"Certainly, Mr. Zikito." Doctor Daichi responded.
The nurses removed Zikito's casts and gathered the gifts given to him during his hospitalization. Zikito brought it all with a bag from the hospital, and left.
"It's Thursday... I've still got two days. I should head to work now." Zikito said to himself.
Zikito headed towards his apartment, and left the things there. He wore his suit and headed towards the company, he also read his texts along the way. He received 13 messages from his colleagues, with Mr. Haruko put him on sick leave, so his pay won't be deducted too much. Zikito disregarded the fact that he was currently on sick leave, and headed towards the company building. As he entered, Miss Takumi immediately stopped him.
"Aren't you supposed to be RESTING!?! Zikito-san, you don't have to overwork this hard." Miss Takumi scolded, expressing concern for Zikito.
"I'm okay now! The doctors said I'm perfectly healthy-." Zikito argued, insisting he should be let in.
"Either way, you shouldn't be pushing your body too hard! But I'm... glad to hear that you're alright now... You were on the news, Zikito-san!" Miss Takumi exclaimed, later revealing her relief upon hearing he's alright.
"It's really alright, Miss Takumi, I'll log in now." Zikito inisted, but gave a slight smile.
"Fine-..." Miss Takumi blushed, then allowed Zikito to log in.
Zikito took the elevator up, and to his surprise, it was hell. Everyone was in panic, shouting do this, have you done that, and chaos. However, he broke this hell just for a moment as everyone saw him enter.
"Zikito senpai!?" Shogo exclaimed with shock, hair in a mess and mind about to rest.
The other workers looked at Zikito, not expecting he'd rejoin the workforce so early. Mr. Haruto heard this and he quickly walked towards Zikito with both a concerned and furious look.
"ZIKITO! I AM ORDERING YOU TO REST. YOU CAN'T JUST PLUNGE YOURSELF INTO HELL RIGHT AFTER THAT INCIDENT!" Mr. Haruto furiously shouted, his feelings were muddied into mixed anger and concern.
"I am alright! I can work!" Zikito argued, pleading to work and help.
The other workers stared blankly after the office chief shouted, there was a moment of silence.
"No, you are not allowed, but don't worry, I can take it from here." Mr. Haruto asserted, insisting Zikito to take a rest.
Zikito was speechless, his colleagues were staring at them. Zikito surrendered and left the building. Meanwhile, Mr. Haruto took off his glasses, and patted his head, trying to fix the situation.
"Back to work, everyone." Mr. Haruto expressed, sternly.
Zikito went out of the company building, Miss Takumi saw Zikito went out, but she couldn't stop him.
"This is all the turtle's fault..." Zikito reflected furiously, heading back home to talk to the turtle.
"Looking for me...?" A child in a yellow raincoat suddenly appeared behind him.
"Yes I am. FOR WHAT PURPOSE... ARE YOU RUINING MY LIFE?!" Zikito shouted at the child in anger.
"I thought I returned the favor, humans are too arrogant nowadays." The child scoffed Zikito off, leaving an angry face.
"TURTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Zikito grabbed the child's shoulder.
"WHY MUST YOU DO THIS..... WHY DO YOU KEEP RUINING MY LIFE HERE?!" Zikito screamed at the top of his lungs, the turtle suddenly felt guilty.
"I didn't mean for this to happen! Trust me!" The child pleaded.
"NO, EVER SINCE I MET YOU, YOU KEEP MESSING EVERYTHING UP! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?" Zikito furiously bursted his throat into pure misery, begging for an answer.
Zikito kneeled down as he surrendered to sadness.
"Is this really what you wanted? How far are you going to go to ruin my life?" Zikito cried and cried, it suddenly started raining.
The child's face turned into pure guilt and horror. The child slowly walked back.
"I never meant for this to happen... I never meant... for this... to happen... I never meant for this to happen..." The child repeated and muttered again and again.
The child ran away, leaving Zikito in the rain. Zikito cried on the sidewalk, as if helpless to the world. Miss Takumi was following Zikito, she brought an umbrella with her.
"I know I'm not supposed to leave the desk, but our company can't lose a great asset like you..." Miss Takumi faintly smiled with a hint of sadness.
"I never knew you were hurt this much, Zikito-san." Miss Takumi looked at Zikito, a broken man.
Zikito tried to regain strength, slowly standing up under Miss Takumi's support. Miss Takumi brought Zikito back to the company building and bought him warm ramen. Renzo, one of the company security, gave Zikito a blanket. It was already six AM. Mr. Renzo sat beside Zikito.
"Want to go home together, Zikito-san?" Mr. Renzo asked.
Zikito was speechless, but he nodded. Mr. Renzo, Miss Takumi, and the entirety of the company are all working overtime, the company hit lights out at 10pm, or else they might get sued. The elevator was especially full, with each minute many employees got down to log out. The chiefs were prioritized in the lift, Mr. Haruto saw Zikito trying to recover. Mr. Haruto sat beside Zikito.
"I might've been too harsh on you, Zikito." Mr. Haruto lamented, looking down.
"I brought some snacks from the faculty lounge, you should have some." Mr. Haruto added.
Zikito looked at Mr. Haruto, humbling himself to apologize. Zikito took the snacks Mr. Haruto offered.
"I'm really sorry, Mr. Haruto.. It's my fault." Zikito reassured while apologizing at the same time.
"I can hitch you a ride in my car home, if you want-. Renzo is coming with me" Mr. Haruto offered.
"How about some drinks-? My treat-!" Mr. Haruto enthusiastically offered, trying to hide his guilt.
"That sounds great, Mr. Haruto." Zikito softly smiled at Mr. Haruto.
Mr. Haruto smiled back, and headed towards the parking lot. They drive into a bar in an alley.
"One shot of Sapporo, please." Mr. Haruto asked the bartender.
The bartender nodded and proceeded to work.
"How about you, Renzo and Zikito?" Mr. Haruto inquired.
"My wife would be mad if I came home drunk, but I suppose-.." Mr. Renzo politely accepted Mr. Haruto's offer.
"I think some strong shots of Asahi would do..." Zikito replied.
They all happily started talking to each other like a genuine group of brothers; it seems like that the broken bond was fixed with a couple of shots of whatever it is!
"I'm thinking about recommending you as the next office chief, Zikito," Mr. Haruto suggested, indicating his retirement is near.
"When I retire, I want you to take my position, I believe your skills aren't fit for a regular office worker." Mr. Haruto jokingly commented about his retirement.
"We still need you, Mr. Haruto! I think you're the best employee in this company!" Zikito argued, insisting not to retire.
"I also agree on that, Mr. Haruto has good remarks from the higher ups, also down here in the office." Renzo added, supporting Zikito.
"You both flatter me, I'm glad to have great coworkers like you." Mr. Haruto chuckles.
Mr. Renzo looks at his watch.
11:41pm
"My wife strongly advised me to be home before 12, I should get going now. Thank you for the treat, Mr. Haruto." Renzo gratefully thanked Mr. Haruto.
"I'll drive us all home, no worries." Mr. Haruto expressed.
Zikito nodded, and the three of them went to Zikito's apartment.
"I can't drive us too far, I'm drunk." Mr. Haruto chuckled while expressing that he can no longer drive properly.
They all went up the stairs to Zikito's apartment and slept there.
"Oyasumi" Renzo regarded.
"Oyasumi" Mr. Haruto replied.
"Oyasumi," Zikito added.
CHAPTER 3 END