This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 30

Aizawa stood beside the police chief, their footsteps echoing quietly in the clean white hallways. A few doctors and nurses in neat blue uniforms stood along the sides, speaking with patients, writing on clipboards, bustling from one place to another. This wing wasn't as busy as much of the rest of the hospital; a limited number of patients resided here, partially due to the level of security in the ward, and partially due to the identity of their most recent arrival.

They came to a room with a police officer standing guard in front, the dog-chief nodding to him briefly before stepping past and pushing open the door.

The room was rather small, housing only a single hospital bed. There were quite a few machines standing behind it, filling most of the space, with an ample supply of tubes and wires linking them to the figure on the bed.

"How are you, Unknown?" the chief asked as he approached the girl, moving to stand at the foot of her bed.

The raven-haired girl sat lax, leaning back against the flat, scratchy pillow. Her right wrist was heavily wrapped in bandages, reaching from her knuckles to her elbow, matching the ones keeping the medical patch against the wound on the back of her head. Her left wrist was handcuffed to the side of the bed, leaving it hanging in a position that prevented it from fully reaching the mattress, causing a faint red ring on the underside of her wrist where skin rubbed against metal. There was an ugly purple bruise on her neck, the outline of a hand, and her complexion appeared rather pale.

"I've been better, thank you," she smiled plainly, though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"We apologize for the complications last night. We never expected any students to get involved."

"Yea, well I can't say I didn't deserve it a little."

"Fortunately, we were able to apprehend all other members of Sacrosanct, and we're grateful for your work," the dog-man explained, the stern, plain expression on his face never changing. "Have they removed the tracker yet?"

"Yea, last night."

"Excellent. We'll follow through with the terms of our deal: the three underage members will not be subject to legal punishment, instead they'll be placed in the psychological ward of a private hospital. Whether or not they eventually become fit to leave will be determined on a case-by-case basis, and they'll receive the same care as any other patient," he explained, continuing upon seeing her faint nod. "After the processing period is over, the Manager will face an appropriate trial, and he will not be subject to any additional leniency in determining his punishment. The details of the case have just been released to the press earlier this morning, but they won't bother you while you're here. I have some work to take care of, but I may need a supplemental statement later on. Until then, I'll leave you to rest." He nodded courteously. He briefly excused himself, turned, and quietly stepped out of the room.

A silence fell over the cramped space, only the steady, mechanical noises of the medical equipment filling the air. Aizawa shifted to lean against the wall opposite of her, arms folding across his chest.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Eraserhead," she smiled dryly, dark eyes fixed on his own. "You seem more tired than usual."

"I've been speaking to the students and policemen all night; safe to say I'm not in the best condition," he sighed quietly, "I'm sure you can sympathize."

"Well, I'm not nearly as injured as all these tubes make me seem. You, on the other hand, should probably go home, don't you think?"

"I wanted to speak with you first."