Ch 1: I'm not dead yet!

It was a bright and sunny day in the suburban town of Kuoh. Birds chirped as they flew in the sky, while cars buzzed by on the roads.

A young girl who looked no older than 14 years old walked towards the edge of a park with nearly no expression on her face. Her emotionless, black eyes stared at the figure before her as a confused expression began to form. Only to vanish moments later.

"A dragonkin ... Interesting." She muttered quietly as a dark shadow-like energy coiled around her finger, only to detach from her and take the shape of a small snake.

The snake-shaped dark energy rushed into the young boy's body on the ground and dissipated within his body.

The young boy had a tanned skin tone, along with dark brown hair that fell to his neck. The hair had a reddish highlight at the bottom, giving it a regal feeling. His golden eyes were hidden by his eyelids as he was fast unconscious. The clothing on his upper body was mostly torn, and the severity of his wounds were very clear. A gaping hole in his abdomen, while he had slash marks all over his body.

The wounds on his body began to rapidly heal, however, his consciousness hadn't yet returned.

"I wonder what will happen now." She muttered before turning around and walking into the forest, only to vanish from sight.

Not too far from there, a woman who seemed to be in her mid-30s walked into the small park while holding the hand of a young brown-haired boy. The boy looked around with an innocent smile as he rushed towards the playground.

"Mom, I'm gonna go play now!" The boy said with a smile as he looked at the older woman.

"Be careful, Issei." The woman said as she just warmly smiled. She made her way towards a nearby bench, and as she took a seat, she noticed Issei was running towards her, with a scared expression.

"Issei! What's wrong?" The mother asked in a panic as she rushed towards him.

"Mom! The-there's a boy! He-I think he's dead!!" Issei said as tears were about to fall from his eyes.

The mother was shocked as she asked Issei where the boy was. She followed behind Issei, and once she reached the boy on the ground, she gasped.

The boy laid on the grass at the edge of the park, with a pool of blood below him. The boy had a gaping hole in his stomach, which had somehow cauterized while the blood loss from his body made him look deathly pale.

The mother immediately called '119' as she held Issei against her body, trying to block his view.

A.N: (199 is the emergency contact in Japan for the ambulance, according to Google)

"Hello, this is 199. What's your emergency?" A dispatcher asked as the mother replied, "There's a young boy with severe injuries in the Kuoh park."

"Alright, Ma'am, the ambulance is on the way." The dispatcher said as moments later the sound of sirens approached.

The boy was placed on a stretcher and rapidly taken to the emergency room. The boy's injuries seemed to have healed enough to prevent blood loss, but the severity of the injuries themselves were very high.

'How did such a young boy experience injuries like this?' The mother wondered to herself as a couple of tears fell from her eyes when she felt her child's hands in hers.

She looked at Issei when she felt an unbearable pain in her chest.

'I will never let you go through something like that.' She promised herself as she tightened her grip on Issei's hand, causing him to look up at her.

"Mom, will he be okay?" Issei asked as his mother hesitated before nodding.

"I'm sure he'll be perfectly fine." She said with a faint smile as the two sat on the seats outside the emergency room.

They could've left once the boy had been admitted, but the mother didn't have the heart to leave. She had to know if the boy was alright. After all, the boy looked no older than her own child, and seeing the boy injured so seriously had scared her.

Hours passed, and eventually, an entire day passed, when suddenly a scream came from the emergency room, causing the nearby nurses and doctors to rush to the room.

The room ... was where the young boy had been admitted.

The mother walked over to ask what was wrong when a nurse came out and walked towards her.

"Ma'am, do you know who the child is, or where his family might be?" The nurse asked as the mother could only shake her head.

"No, my son found him lying on the edge of the park in the morning. Nobody else was nearby." She responded as the nurse could only sigh and walk back.

"Can ... can I see him?" The mother asked as the nurse paused for a moment.

"That ... should be alright." The nurse said as she led the mother inside with Issei following behind.

Inside the room, the boy had tears staining his face as he cried. He gripped his own shirt tightly and clenched his teeth, holding back the emotional pain he was relapsing from.

The boy was having a relapse of the memories before he passed out. Everything from his entire village being annihilated to the pain he felt when escaping. Finally came the worst feeling he had ever experienced ... despair. He was unable to do anything against the people who attacked. He was too weak, and that hurt him.

"Sharon, someone came to see you." The nurse said softly as the mother and her child walked towards him.

"Sharon, huh? That's a beautiful name." The mother said softly as a warm smile appeared on her face.

"Hey, are you okay? Why are you crying? Are you hurt?" Issei asked with an innocent expression as Sharon glanced at the two of them.

"Did you bring me to the hospital, miss?" Sharon asked as Issei's mother nodded.

Sharon wiped away his tears, as a bright and warm smile appeared on his face before slightly bowing his head towards Issei and his mother.

"Thank you for saving me. I was told that I would have died from blood loss if I was brought here any later. Thank you." He said as the doctors and nurses around him had warm smiles on their faces.

A young boy, around 8-years old, had experienced intense pain enough to emotionally scar an adult, still was able to make such a pure and warm smile.

"It was Issei who found you unconscious in the park this morning. If you don't mind ... how did you end up like that?" Issei's mother asked as Sharon visibly twitched.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to. I just thought ... maybe talking to someone could help you." She said quickly, hoping she wouldn't cause him more pain.

Sharon's smile slightly faltered as he sighed a little.

"I don't know. I don't remember what happened. The last thing I remember was eating dinner with my family." He said as they nodded.

'I don't want to bring these people into the supernatural world. Such nice people shouldn't come into contact with something like that.' Sharon thought as he looked at Issei and his mother.

The doctors and nurses left the room, while Issei sat beside Sharon on the bed while Issei's mother peeled some apples for him to eat.

Sharon scarfed down the apples and chatted with the young boy named Issei, who was only a year younger than him.

Time went by, and eventually, a week had gone by. Issei and his mother regularly visited, and sometimes Issei's father would also come by.

When a week had gone by, Sharon felt that he was back to normal, as most of the injuries had fully healed. When he saw Issei's family coming to visit him, a pained expression filled his eyes.

'I hope you will forgive me. You have essentially given me another life, so I don't want to cause you any pain. ... This is the only choice I have. Please ... forgive me.' He thought to himself as a bright light enveloped the entire hospital, and as the light disappeared, so did the young boy.

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Hello to my readers,

I've been tinkering around with POV and the perspectives, and decided I would stick to 3rd person unless 1st person is necessary. Also, are you liking the story so far?

I'm trying to keep a strict schedule, so you can expect an upload every Tuesday and Friday. I might upload an extra chapter on Sunday, if I get enough motivation.

So, comment, vote, anything counts. Oh, also do leave comments, as I'll read each one and take it to heart on how I can improve my writing.

See you all soon.