The Loser | by Isaac7525

"Ahh, no wonder. Scalpel always picks up my product after a bite to eat," The man folded his hands on the desk and smiled. 

"S-scapel?" Leo was confused upon hearing the name. He leaned in a little closer, still feeling terrified, yet wanting to exhibit traits of showing no fear. 

The owner of the stand leaned back in his chair, propping his feet onto the desk. "Unfortunately, I can't reveal such names."

At that moment, Leo extended his hands and wrapped one around the collar of the man's shirt, pulling him a little closer. "Who is he?" 

His lips curled into a sly smile as he chuckled. "All I can say is that he likes your food. Though, I don't know why he'd recklessly leave his drug in the place instead of sniffing it the moment he got it."

"Calm down," Aizawa ordered, prying Leo's hand from the man's collar. "We saw an address inside a suitcase. It was to the owner of the restaurant, and it brought us down here." 

"Ahh, Mr. Cecilé, nice guy," he took out a cigar from his pocket, igniting it with a lighter sitting on a nearby table.. After a few moments, he removed the item from his mouth and huffed a torrent of smoke into the air. 

"All it took was a needle to his frontal lobe and he completely calmed down."

…

When Shinso stepped into the apartment room, he was taken aback the moment he saw the other Pollinators around the bed. 

"When did you all get here?" He asked. 

Humphrey turned back to Shinso. "Just a moment ago."

He walked forward and approached the bed. The other people clad in white and green uniforms stepped aside, allowing Shinso a view of my form. My skin had slowly begun to turn back to the grizzly gray color, and small black cracks ran up my neck and to my cheek.

My eyes opened slowly, fluttering for a few moments before my lips curled up.

"I-I've decided to…go to the medical facility," I said, my voice slightly hoarse.

Hearing my words, Shinso slowly drew a sigh of relief. "Alright." 

He turned to face the other Pollinators, noticing their expressions. Most of them looked worried about my condition, while others looked more taken aback. 

"Are you guys ok?" Shinso scanned the faces in the room. 

At that moment, Ms. Jasmine spoke up. "I feel like we should still do the surgery."

"W-what?" Shinso's heart raced as his face visibly paled. He took a step back sitting beside me on the bed. His hand gravitated to my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. 

"I won't let you guys touch a hair on his body."

"Our research with the Tremebrus corpse shows that the pathogens in its heart are similar to the samples we took from the substance within the cocoon." Captain Silas stood up, approaching the bed. 

"Luckily, the other individual inside the cocoon had already undergone the necessary studies and examinations in the cathedral. He shows no signs of disease contraction." 

"So…Oboro's safe?" Shinso cocked an eyebrow. 

Captain Silas nodded. "Yes." 

"I-if the same stuff in the cocoon is the same stuff inside the heart, does he have the disease?" 

The burly man nodded. "We believe so—we've begun to conduct more tests on the DNA we collected." 

He turned back towards the others in the room, nodding silently. "Prepare the transport." 

"W-wait, this early?" Shinso shot up, approaching the captain. The taller man looked down at Shinso, tensing his jaw as he raised an eyebrow. 

"Have your friends say their goodbyes in the meantime. We'll collect your friend in about an hour." 

Without saying anything further, Captain Silas turned around and left the room alongside his other cohorts. After everyone had left the scene, Shinso drew a shaky breath and turned back to me. "Are you…really ok with this? Maybe surgery doesn't sound that bad-"

Before he could finish his sentence, I raised my hand and covered his mouth. The ends of my lips formed a twitching smile. "Don't worry, I-I'll be fine."

At that moment, a scratchiness formed in my throat, causing me to cough and hack violently. A torrent of mucus left my throat and nose, slowly dripping down my nose and chin. Seeing this, Shinso's eyes widened as he scurried over to the counter and picked up a rag. 

"Damn it," he grumbled, wiping away the semi-transparent substance from my face. 

The feeling of the rag on my face slowly tensed my facial muscles. Feeling a surge of nausea, I leaned back in my bed and closed my eyes. "Like he said, go get the others."

Shinso's body tensed as his gaze remained glued on my form. Judging by the way his palms began to shake and tremble, I quickly surmised he was reluctant to leave me in such a state. Following a brief talk, Shinso finally agreed to get the others. 

I smiled softly as he left the room, leaving the door open. After I knew I would be alone for a little bit, I rolled over in my bed and faced the wall. My eyes felt immensely heavy, but I bore the weight of my eyelids to look out the window. The sunlight filtered through the thin layer of clouds that were scattered through the sky.

It was among the first times here that I managed to see the blue sky, along with snow in an accompanying scene. Suddenly, I felt a strange weight form on my lower stomach. My head lifted from my pillow as I gazed at its source. 

My eyes widened the moment I saw a black cat sprawled on the thick blankets, curling into a ball as it looked at me with its large green eyes. 

"Where did you come from?" I whispered, a small smile forming back on my face as I extended my hand, offering the cat to get used to my scent. The feline's body paused upon seeing me do this action, the cat's ears sticking up on their ends as it let out a low hiss. 

In a short moment, it jumped off the bed and walked to the other end of the room, curling back onto the chair. Seeing the cat do this, I frowned. Did the cat sense I had this disease and refuse contact? 

Suddenly, Shinso entered the room, alongside Aaron, Oboro, Catherine, Carter, and Mr. Ryujin. 

"You got them so quickly?" I was taken aback by the quantity of people in the small apartment room. Shinso nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. 

"Ayumi, Olivia, and Aizawa had other stuff to attend to, but I'll let them know what happened to you once I see them again."

Aaron smiled as he approached the bed with Oboro beside him. "Isaiah didn't show up for obvious reasons." 

"Of course," I chuckled hoarsely. 

Suddenly, Oboro's hand extended, groping around my shoulder. "How do you feel?" 

"Like shit for the most part," I groaned out, leaning back in the sheets. "That cat didn't like me very much." I pointed to the black feline lying on the chair, curled into a ball as it fell asleep. 

"Where'd that come from?" Catherine turned to face the cat, cocking an eyebrow. 

"I found it earlier today; it just followed me back here." Shinso smiled. 

The black-haired woman slowly walked over to the cat, kneeling down to pet it. Her hands slowly graced its black fur. The animal let out a low meow as it pressed into Catherine's grip, the small purrs it had been letting out the whole time increasing in volume and length. 

"I heard they let the patients at the asylum walk through the medical facility as they please. Rumors are spreading that a nurse got eaten alive by a cannibal!" Carter's voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned in to whisper. 

Shortly after, the man got jabbed in the side by Aaron, the man shooting him a sharp glance. "Can it with those rumors, dumbbag." 

"Fine, fine," The freckled man grumbled, rubbing his ribs with his elbow. 

"Wanna talk about it?" Mr. Ryujin sat down on the bed, his usual gentle glance focused in my direction. 

"I-I mean…I don't know how long I'll be gone from everyone. Do you know if you'll get to visit me?" 

Hearing my question, Catherine shook her head. "Patients in the medical facility aren't allowed to talk with anyone outside the building. They could spread whatever infection or disease they have." 

When I took in her statement, I felt my heart bunch into a knot. "That sounds…lonely."

At that moment, I felt Shinso's arms wrap around me in an uncharacteristically comfortable hug. "Maybe if I hold on long enough I'll get the disease too." 

My frail arms weakly wrapped around him, my head resting on his shoulder. "Hopefully that'll be the case." 

After a few seconds, Shinso finally broke the hug and stepped back, his lips forming a small smile. "Just don't die." 

Mr. Ryujin smiled at me, one of his hands resting on my shoulder. "I'm sure the medical place has people you can talk to, you may not have me, but that doesn't mean you won't be completely alone." 

"Y-yeah…" I sighed, resting my arms on my knees as I leaned forward, gazing out the window. For the most part, my overall appearance remained the same from last night. I still had the bandages over my head, the dark circles around my eyes, and I was still in Raymond's pajamas. 

"Though, I hope you'll get to stay in that outfit. It looks good on you." Shinso complimented my appearance, shoving his hands in his pockets.

I looked down at my outfit, smiling. The pajamas were somewhat comfortable, but whenever I sweat they tended to stick to my body and cling in uncomfortable spots. 

…

After everyone had left and bid me farewell, I lay back down in my bed and sighed softly. At that moment, I felt a buzzing in my right pocket. When I investigated this sensation, I took out the Blood-Moon Charm. The chain of the necklace was pulling in the direction of the bathroom, the crimson pendant buzzing erratically. 

Suddenly, a small object flew out of the bathroom, landing on the bedside dresser with a metallic clank. It was the Whisper-Wishing Bone! My hands reached out and grabbed the object, stuffing it into my pajama pocket. Shortly after, the door opened once again. I saw both Captain Silas and Ms. Jasmine entered the room, looking at me with serious expressions. 

"Please don't tell me you get carsick."