Chapter Text
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The antiseptic tang of the hospital room clung to Subaru’s nostrils, a constant reminder of the sterile, suffocating reality she now inhabited.
Black hair, long and silken, fanned across the pristine white pillow, a stark contrast to the bandages that swathed her neck. Her golden eyes, once sparkling with an inner light that captivated every boy in school, now held a hollow, distant gaze. They weren't sharp like her mother’s, but soft, beautiful, a window to a gentle soul shattered by a single, brutal act.
...
...
Just three weeks ago, life had been different. Confessions were a daily occurrence, boys tripping over their words, offering flowers, gifts, their hearts. Subaru, with a gentle smile and a polite shake of her head, had always declined, her quiet grace softening the blow.
...
But then came\him\. His confession, delivered with an arrogant smirk, had been met with her usual, silent refusal. Rage had contorted his face, a mask of disbelief and fury as he stormed from the classroom. The memory still sent a shiver down her spine, a premonition of the horror to come.
...
Sunday. The soft morning light had filtered through her bedroom window, promising a peaceful day. A knock at the front door. Subaru, still in her pajamas, had answered.
...
The boy stood there, not with flowers, but with a knife. Its cold steel plunged into her neck, a searing agony exploding through her. Her scream, a raw, guttural sound, had been cut short, replaced by a choking gurgle.
...
Natsuki Kenichi, her father, a man whose laughter usually boomed through the house, appeared in the doorway, his eyes wide with horror.
Natsuki Naoko, her mother, a woman of quiet strength, rushed forward, a strangled cry tearing from her throat upon seeing her daughter's state.
The boy, his face twisted into a menacing grin, still held the knife, its tip glistening with her blood.
“You bastard!” Kenichi roared, tears streaming down his face as he tackled the boy, a primal fury consuming him. Fists rained down, each blow fueled by a father’s despair. “Naoko! Call the ambulance! The police! Before kill this scum!”
Naoko, her hands trembling, pressed against the gaping wound on Subaru’s neck, trying to staunch the crimson flow. Her fingers, usually so gentle, now dug into the flesh, applying pressure, a silent prayer forming on her lips as she fumbled for her phone. The siren’s wail, a distant promise of help, eventually cut through the morning’s horror.
...
The boy received sixty years. Kenichi and Naoko had argued for more, their voices hoarse with grief and anger, their pleas echoing in the sterile courtroom. But sixty years it was.
Subaru woke in a hospital bed, the world a blur of white. A dull ache throbbed in her throat, a constant, nagging presence. Her parents, their faces etched with exhaustion, noticed her stirring. Kenichi’s eyes, red-rimmed and bloodshot, met hers. Naoko, her golden eyes mirroring Subaru’s own, reached out a hand.
They enveloped her in a hug, a desperate embrace that spoke volumes of their terror, their relief. Subaru tried to speak, tried to tell them she was okay, tried to utter a single word, but only a raspy whisper escaped. A sharp pain shot through her throat, forcing her to stop, tears welling in her eyes.
*Why did this happen to me?* The thought, a silent scream, reverberated in her mind.
The doctor, a man with kind eyes but a somber expression, entered the room later. His words, delivered with a gentle sigh, shattered what remained of their fragile peace.
"..."
“Your daughter… the damage to her vocal cords… it’s permanent.” He paused, his gaze filled with sorrow. “She won’t be able to speak again.”
The words hung in the air, cold and definitive. Subaru felt a fresh wave of tears, hot and stinging, pour down her face. Naoko’s soft sobs filled the room, Kenichi’s strong frame trembling as he held his daughter, his own tears mingling with hers.
The sweet, innocent voice they cherished, the one that filled their home with laughter and quiet observations, was gone. Something inside Subaru snapped, a final, fragile piece of her spirit shattering into irreparable fragments.
Now, she lay alone in the hospital bed. Her parents were at the courthouse again, tirelessly fighting for a longer sentence for /him/ ,their relentless pursuit of justice a testament to their love, and their fury. But their absence left Subaru adrift in a sea of despair.
"..."
She pushed herself up, the movement a slow, deliberate effort. Her fingers brushed against the bandages, a phantom pain flickering across her throat. She looked around, her gaze landing on a nurse bustling outside her room.
...
Subaru raised a hand, a silent gesture, trying to convey her need for her clothes. The nurse, distracted, didn't notice. Subaru dropped her hand, a wave of familiar frustration washing over her. She grabbed the notepad and pen from her bedside table.
Her hand, usually so steady, trembled as she scrawled a few words. The nurse, finally noticing the movement, entered the room, her smile polite but distant. Subaru pushed the notepad towards her.
;My clothes, please; The words, stark and simple, stared up from the page.
The nurse read the note, her expression softening. “Of course, dear. Just a moment.”
...
She returned shortly, a simple white shirt, a black skirt, and black leggings folded neatly in her arms. Subaru took them, her fingers brushing against the soft fabric.
She pulled on the leggings first, then the skirt. When she reached for the shirt, a sharp intake of breath escaped her. The fabric brushed against the sensitive skin around her wound, a jolt of pain reminding her of the fragile, damaged flesh beneath. She winced, but continued, her movements deliberate, her face a mask of practiced indifference.
...
Her golden eyes, once brimming with an eager curiosity for the world, now held a desolate emptiness. They were hollow, reflecting nothing but the cold, clinical white of the room. Thoughts, dark and insidious, swirled in her mind.
*I’m a failure.* Each word a hammer blow against her already fractured spirit. *I’m a burden.* Her parents’ tireless fight, their constant worry, their hushed conversations – it all confirmed this truth. *What did I do to deserve this?* The question, unanswerable, gnawed at her. And then, the most insidious thought of all: *I don’t want to live with this.*
Her legs, as if guided by an unseen force, carried her out of the room, down the deserted hallway, and towards the stairwell. The hospital hummed with the quiet rhythm of life and death, but Subaru heard none of it. Her mind was a roaring torrent of self-loathing.
The stairs seemed endless, each step a further descent into the abyss of her despair. Up, up, up, until she reached the rooftop access. The door, usually locked, stood ajar. A sign. A premonition.
"...."
Cool air, surprisingly crisp for the city, greeted her. The vast expanse of the sky, a brilliant blue, stretched above, indifferent to her pain. She walked to the railing, her hands gripping the cold metal. Five floors. The hospital building stood tall, a monument to healing, to life. But for her, it offered only an escape.
...
She stared down at the asphalt, the miniature cars crawling like insects, the distant murmur of traffic a faint whisper. If she jumped, it would be over. Instant. Final. She tried to chuckle, a dry, humorless sound that caught in her throat, sending a fresh wave of pain through her wound. She gasped, her hand instinctively going to her neck.
*What is the meaning of life if I can’t even be useful anymore?* The question echoed in the vast emptiness of her mind. *Why does it even matter when I’m such a burden?* Her parents’ faces, their tear-streaked eyes, flashed before her. *They probably won’t even miss me when I’m gone, but I will.* The thought twisted something inside her. *I don’t want to carry on living when I can’t even respond to my own parents.*
Tears, hot and relentless, blurred her vision. They streamed down her cheeks, tracing paths through the faint dust on her skin. She took another step closer to the railing, her body leaning precariously over the edge. One last thought, a desperate plea to an uncaring universe: *Why can’t I be normal?*
She pushed off. A silent, desperate leap into the void.
...
The wind, a furious, roaring beast, tore at her clothes, whipped her hair across her face. The concrete below rushed up to meet her, a cold, hard promise of oblivion. Her last thought, a whisper of regret, escaped her lips, unheard even by herself. *Sorry, Mom and Dad. I wish you can forgive me.*
Then, a sudden, blinding flash of light. The wind died. The ground stopped rushing. Her world went blank.
"..."
A soft voice, unfamiliar yet strangely soothing, drifted into the emptiness. “I love you.”
...
Her eyes fluttered open.
...
The antiseptic smell was gone, replaced by something sweet and earthy, like exotic spices and damp soil. The sterile white of the hospital had vanished, replaced by a riot of color. Cobblestone streets stretched before her, bustling with people, their clothes vibrant and strange. And not just people.
Creatures. Tall, elegant beings with pointed feline ears. Stocky, bearded figures with axes strapped to their backs. Furred, feline-like humanoids, their tails swishing with an almost hypnotic rhythm.
*Demi-humans* her mind supplied, a word she’d only ever encountered in fantasy novels.
She lay in the middle of it all, Her golden eyes, once hollow, now widened, taking in the fantastical spectacle. Her heart, which had been a leaden weight in her chest moments ago, now beat a frantic, hopeful rhythm. A single, astonishing thought consumed her, pushing away the despair, the fear, the pain.
*I have been summoned to another world!*