The sound of an electric fan buzzed in a sterile doctor's office. Aiko was kicking her feet back and forth while sitting on the edge of a reclining treatment chair. Fuzen was sitting down in a guest chair with his legs crossed while the doctor looked at him with a questioning and reproachful gaze.  The Doctor, had short black hair and a wide forehead. He had a little stubble on his face, but the serious nature of his eyes made no one underestimate his skills. 

"What's on her arms?" Fuzen just stared the doctor in the eye and said with a serious expression,

"Curtains." The doctor closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose. He sounded exhausted when he asked, 

"Why?"

"To stop her cuts from bleeding." The doctor sighed and looked up. He clarified, 

"No, why did you use curtains?"

"Didn't have gauze." Fuzen replied matter-of-factly. The doctor just shook his head and unwrapped the curtains and looked at Aiko's arms, his brows furrowed, and he looked over at Fuzen and asked,

"Did you not have medical alcohol either?"

"Nope. Sensei, how much is this going to cost? " The doctor looked Fuzen up and down and said one word at a time, 

"5000 yen," Fuzen pulled out his wallet and stuffed the money in the doctor's pocket, "Is what I was going to say..." Both the doctor's and Fuzen's face got considerably darker, but for different reasons. The doctor took the money out of his pocket and threw it back at Fuzen and said ill-temperdly,

"but I'll do it for free this one time. Go buy some da..." he quickly glanced over to Aiko and snapped his vision back to Fuzen, "Go buy some gauze and medicinal alcohol. While at it, stop drinking, don't think I can't smell that Sake. If you were more responsible, your little sister wouldn't have curtains wrapped around her arms."

Hearing the first part of the sentence, Fuzen's expression lightened considerably. He thought this quack wanted to overcharge him because Fuzen looked like a two-bit punk. Turns out, Fuzen could save some money today. However, hearing the second part reminded him of his nagging father, so he wanted to extradite himself as soon as possible.

Fuzen the money and noncommittally replied, "sure sure, I'll get right on that. You have my number, call me when you're done." Fuzen got up and walked out of the room. The doctor started to coax Aiko, and Fuzen made his way outside the hospital. When he went out a back exit, it was already raining. He really wanted to curse. Luckily, there was an overhang he could stand under. He took out his E-cigarette and smoked to the thunderous sound of rain. The clouds had already rolled in, and it made day seem like night. The smoke vanished into this false night like the memories of the past that are soon forgotten. 

Fuzen was staring into the newly formed puddles in the back alley with his mind finally void of thoughts when he heard a noise from a corner up ahead.  Fuzen furrowed his eyebrows, but decided to ignore. Whatever was over there was probably more trouble that it was worth. His decision to ignore the sound however, did not do him much good. Animalistic screeches coming from just around the corner only grew more and more vicious as time dragged on. Fuzen did not know what the hell was making trouble up there, nor did he care to find out. The rain had lasted only ten minutes. Fuzen sighed, 'well at least that's one problem solved.'

The scuffle in the alley ahead, however, did not diminish. Fuzen heard smashing and clattering of metal and what he assumed to be someone's head into a trash container. Fuzen decided that he was testing his luck by being out here and decided he would head back. However, that decision came a little too late. As the fight brok out into where Fuzen was standing. A body crashed right by his feet. Fuzen was shocked silly. It was cut to ribbins and eviscerated. Its guts were strung across the alley and its eyes were gouged out. That wasn't what frightened Fuzen most though. The body was not human, nor could it be considered an animal. It was a humanoid turtle that stood around five foot seven inches tall. Its claws were long and sharp, It's dark green, scaly, skin and dirty, yellow, beak which was lined with sharp teeth looked fearful and grotesque. The of its skull was missing entirely, and Fuzen would have thought it had its brains bashed in if it wasn't for the fact that he knew what this creature was. 

'Wasn't a kappa something that only existed in folktales?' Fuzen had no time to think further as he heard footsteps coming towards him from the aforementioned alley. It looks like whatever did this to this kappa wasn't done yet.  When that creature came around the corner, Fuzen felt something he hadn't in a very long time. Fear. Staring into the stagnant, reptilian eyes of this bloodthirsty kappa that would even kill other kappas drove Fuzen blood cold. 

For the last year, he had attempted to kill himself so many times, he could never succeed, he always gave up before he did anything. He was too scared to die, but he was also too scared to live. Hiding away in his room and using Sake as medicine for his thoughts, looking death in the eye, he felt he had wasted his life. He felt he had done nothing. The kappa approached him step by step, Fuzen wanted to scream! He rushed to the door, only to find it was blocked by the body of the dead kappa.

"Dammit Dammit Dammit Dammit shit!" He tried to move the body, but the damn thing was too heavy. All he could do was watch as a beast he only thought existed in fairy tales stepped closer to him step by step with blood flowing from its ghastly maw.