In A Bad State

Nathan dragged his broken and weary self through the house to his room without making too much of a mess since he didn't want the others to fuss over nothing, unaware of the two people who did notice his return and the state he was in.

Sillia and Anita had both been worried when Nathan stayed out for so long. 

Anita had said she was okay with what Nathan was going to do since she had decided to believe in his story. But that didn't mean she wouldn't worry about her son, especially when he was trying to take down a crime syndicate all on his own.

Not worrying didn't come easy. After all, just a few days ago, Nathan had still been a kid who refused to call the doctor on his own. Deciding to believe his story didn't equate to accepting the fact that her kind and gentle son would happily throw himself into trouble and lethal battles.

It had been one thing when she heard it from his mouth. But it became so much more real when Nathan actually left the house with an air of murder around him.

Anita had been hopeful when she saw Nathan have fun hanging out with and training Sillia. Maybe it was a phase.

Needless to say, based on his current state, it was anything but a phase. If it was, it would be as short-lived as Nathan.

Anita was conflicted. She wanted to talk to her son. But she didn't know what to say.

She returned to her bed. He was home, at least.

Sillia, on the other hand, didn't have as many thoughts running through her head.

She had collapsed after her training like usual, even if Nathan hadn't been there to push her since he was out on business, whatever that meant. Nathan had mentioned it before, so Sillia wasn't surprised.

She was a little sad that she would have to work out alone more in the future. But she wasn't as worried about being out at night as before. She had lived on the streets before she awakened her skill. Now that she had trained and become a proper superhuman, albeit still low-level, she didn't need Nathan to protect her to and from the gym.

However, Sillia woke up in the middle of the night and checked her skill since she hadn't thought about whether Nathan was home or not when she returned. She grew worried when she realized he wasn't home.

But she noticed Anita was up. If Nathan was in trouble of some kind, she wouldn't stay still. So, Sillia also waited.

She couldn't stay still when Nathan came home in tatters, though. She assumed Anita didn't notice Nathan's state, only that he had come home.

Carefully, she sneaked over to Nathan's room to check on him. She knocked on his door but didn't get an answer. It wasn't locked, so she entered.

"Psst, Nathan. Are you alive? Do you want me to call an ambulance?"

Nathan, despite being out of it, wasn't so out of it that his instincts didn't kick in when someone intruded on his personal space. Surviving in the future had left its mark on him, so he somehow managed to regain consciousness.

"...I'm fine. Go to sleep."

Sillia didn't listen. Instead, she closed the door behind her and turned on the lights so that she could take a proper look at Nathan and not just use her skill to get a basic understanding of his condition.

"Hoo, shit."

Sillia instinctively stepped back at the sight of all the dried blood, patches of bruised skin, and the occasional broken bone jutting out of his arms.

"...I'm calling an ambulance."

Sillia had underestimated Nathan.

"No."

Sillia was about to ignore Nathan again as she turned around to look for a phone. But the last thing Nathan wanted was a noisy ambulance to disturb his sleep. Going to the hospital could also reveal him to Rotgi and the Vijang Syndicate.

After what he had tried to pull tonight, they would be looking for him everywhere to silence him. He had to lay low for a while.

Nathan tried to get up and stop Sillia.

Sillia winced when she saw Nathan's wounds reopen. She gently pushed him back into his bed.

"Fine. I won't call an ambulance. But I am going to get you cleaned up."

Sillia knew how bad dirt could mess with open wounds. She also knew how easy it was to die from infections. She didn't think Nathan would die that easily.

But she couldn't stand by and do nothing when Nathan was in the state he was in.

Sillia made the most of the strength Nathan had helped her build and carried Nathan to the bathroom, where she shamelessly took off his shirt and started wiping him down. She wasn't sure if it was fortunate or not, but since most of Nathan's injuries were gathered on his upper body, she didn't have to trample any more boundaries as she cleaned and treated Nathan's body.

Nathan was half-asleep as Sillia stained several towels with his blood before using some rubbing alcohol on his wounds. The tingling sensation of the alcohol was surprisingly soothing, though it could also have been because it was the first time someone cared for him like this.

The decades before his regression had left him with many more and worse injuries. But he had been the only one to patch himself up. He wasn't used to someone else doing it.

He had been to the hospital and nursed twice since his regression. But the attention Sillia gave every little scrape and the care her gentle actions held were different.

Nathan wasn't sure how to feel about it. Fortunately, he was too tired to think or feel anything. He just closed his eyes and relaxed, feeling somewhat safe for the first time in a long time.

Sillia helped Nathan back to his room, where she changed his sheets before tucking him in. She sat on the side of his bed for a moment before returning to her room.