A Life Worth Living (Aizawa x OC)

3- A Lifeless Shell

The present nurses knew that they had to inform Doctor Sugimoto about the woman's dreadful awakening, even though neither of them was eager to do so. After the realization that the patient had probably overheard their conversation, both went into panic-mode, frightened as they started to paint out Sugimoto's reaction to the news.

But there was no way around it. Since they didn't have any information about whether or not the woman's awakening was planned, they didn't dare to approach room 4 on their own, especially without Sugimoto's permission. Instead, Mako, the older nurse, gulped down her nervousness and called for the attending physician, asking him to come as fast as possible while deciding to omit that they might have accidentally triggered the woman's emotional breakdown.

Sugimoto ordered them to stay away from the patient's room until he arrived there, something Mako wasn't able to understand. She wanted to speak up and ask why they couldn't make an attempt to help the woman to calm down in the meantime, partly because of her bad conscience, but the thought of the Doctor's reaction to her inquiry was sufficient for her to abandon that idea as quickly as it had popped up.

In the end, it was better to not test the limits. Neither of them wanted Sugimoto to throw a tantrum as soon as he'd arrive at the ward.

To kill the time until the doctor's dreaded arrival, the two nurses agreed to check on the other patients. They visited each room, inspecting if its inhabitants were still sedated, and scribbled down their vitals. But in the background, the woman's cries grew increasingly louder, echoing through the empty hallways of the ward.

Hina, the younger nurse, had no troubles focusing on her work. The woman even started to hum a melody to fade out the agonizing cries that reached her ears. In contrast to her colleague, Mako had a grim expression on her face and her frown deepened with every minute she had to pretend to not hear and care about the hysterical wails sounding through the plain white walls of the ward, irritated by Hina's ignorance.

Over the last years, Mako had repeatedly applied for an internal transfer to another ward, but her applications had been denied due to the severe understaffed state of the psychiatric ward. They couldn't afford to lose another nurse, especially not because of an internal transfer. Only reluctantly, she'd come to terms with the fact that she'd to endure another three years until her retirement would finally be within reach.

All of a sudden, the door to the room they were currently working in was forcefully opened, a loud bang replacing the silence in the room and scaring the living daylights out of the two nurses.

"Wrap it up and come here."

Miho Sugimoto was an intimidating figure. Yet, he perfectly knew how to conceal his true nature. He decided which version of Miho Sugimoto was shown to the rest of the world.

Undeniably helpful was his attractive appearance. It is easy to manipulate people, and even easier if you're perceived as appealing. Tall with a muscular build, short raven hair, a stubble, emphasizing the sharp features of his face, and piercing grey eyes – this man was used to receive admiring gazes, from women as well as men, wherever he went.

Except for the psychiatric ward he was working in.

The staff there had already managed to catch a glimpse at the person he was so desperately trying to hide behind his artificial façade. They had already had the pleasure to meet the real Miho Sugimoto.

Feared because of the crazy smile that was plastered on his face, whenever he left a patient's room after an hour of no interruption, the nurses stayed as far away from him as their work allowed it. They had no intention of finding out what he was capable of.