13 - The Brightest Light

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Despite the warm weather outside, the hallways of the hospital were surprisingly chilly. It was filled with the sounds of both rushing and calm footsteps, with the occasional loud rolling of a hospital bed disrupting that orchestra. The walls were painted gray, and the seats in the hallways were black and surprisingly comfortable. A few large green plants placed in neatly shaped brown vases gave some life to that place.

He rested in one of those seats, twitching his leg and waiting for the door ahead of him to finally open. The windows were blocked off for the time being, all he could see were the silhouettes of a doctor and a nurse doing their work.

A few moments later, the door was finally opened.

“We finished the procedure.” The doctor said, those words snapping Ichigo out of his daydream.

“And?” Ichigo asked, quickly standing up. “What’s her condition?”

“It’s a bit complicated. The cancer started spreading to her legs.” The doctor replied. “Her pulmonary functions are better now, but if this continues, well...”

“What? What’s the problem?”

“The cancer that is in her lungs can be treated, but we don’t know how badly the legs might suffer. Her legs are already weak due to the many other conditions she has.” The doctor said, his voice was sad and a little drowsy.

“So there’s a chance that...she...will need to amputate?” Ichigo asked, taken aback.

“We don’t know.” The doctor sighed. “It all depends on how the cancer develops and how it responds to the treatment. I suggest that you don’t overthink it.”

“I’ll try.” Ichigo nodded.

“Thank you. You can visit her now.” The doctor said. He walked closer to him and put his hand on Ichigo’s shoulder. “Please keep taking care of her and visiting her. It helps her a lot.”

Doctor Hoffman, the slightly fat man with a graying beard, has already been treating the patient for the last two months. He was one of the more respected doctors in the hospital, and Ichigo made sure that he specifically was attending to the case. He was also a rather kind man, and influential and sly enough to make sure that the missing payments were ignored or rendered null. He was a good man.

Ichigo entered the room, the sight struck him with a sense of sadness. And he couldn’t express it, he had to smile.

“Hey mom.” Ichigo said, waving his hand. He quickly sat down on the small chair next to the hospital bed.

The woman laying on the bed looked like she'd gone through hell. It was precisely the case too - the chemotherapy and all the various treatments were taking a heavy toll on her body. Her skin looked plain and wrinkled, she looked rather malnourished. She wasn’t starved or anything, her body was just very weak. There were many wires attached to her, measuring her vitals and injecting her body with all the substances it needed to stay afloat. Dr Hoffman had golden hands, he saved the woman from an even worse state.

“Hello, Ichigo.” The woman said, her voice raspy. She coughed a little at the end of the sentence. “Did you wait for too long?”

“It’s not a problem, mom.” Ichigo said. “How do you feel? The treatment is helping you, right?”

“Yes, it is.” His mother replied. “Tell me, what did Hoffman tell you outside?”

“He uhh...he told me that everything’s going to be fine. Your body is getting stronger and it’s fighting the cancer back.” Ichigo said. He slightly bit his lower lip, and that didn’t go unnoticed by his mother.

She knew his son from head to toe, she knew he was lying. But she still smiled.

“That’s good news.” She smiled. She extended her hand, and Ichigo held it. He felt its weakness, it felt a little warm too, almost as if she had a fever. But perhaps it was just Ichigo rejecting the icy feel and only focusing on the loving warmth.

“Hah, I remember, when we first saw Hoffman outside, we thought he was a homeless man.” She laughed.

“Don’t say that!” Ichigo laughed as well.

“You’re right, it’s embarrassing.” She sighed. “Sorry, Ichigo. I’ve already embarrassed you quite a lot.”

“Please don’t say that.” Ichigo said. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed of.”

“How’s university?” She suddenly asked.

“I’m doing fine. It’s not as hard as I imagined.” Ichigo said. This was also a lie, he’s been running around trying to find jobs and make as much money as he physically could. He only really attended a few classes, and he did so by asking his coursemates to sneak him into the classrooms. His favorite course was physics.

“That’s good to hear.” His mother smiled. A brief silence devoured the scene, as the two looked into each others’ eyes. One pair of eyes was filled with regret and pain, the other, with pain and grief.

Leaving the hospital, all Ichigo could feel was hunger and sleep deprivation. He had enough to afford himself a pre-heated meal, but he struggled to find time to take a nap. His mother was divorced, and he was her sole caretaker, and he was the only one taking care of their home too.

He walked past the bar where he served every night, despite technically not being allowed to. The bar’s owner was his mother’s old classmate, and after hearing the bad news he hooked him up with the job, and he told his regular customers to always tip extra if Ichigo was serving them. A little further down the road was the dumpling spot, where Ichigo would work whenever he had some free time. The pay wasn’t good, but he visited that spot for as long as he could remember. The workers there helped him out and gave him meals.

He didn’t care about being unable to go to class normally or hang out with his friends. There was only one thing on his mind, and he promised himself he’d take care of it until either the sweet resolution or the bitter end.

He entered the dumpling shop. The waitress quickly recognized him, welcoming him to take a seat. She signaled to the cooks to prepare a meal for him, a small box of pork dumplings with some cabbage on the side. Of course, the box wasn’t made small, and the dumplings were stuffed to the brim with meat and garlic. They noticed that Ichigo looked underweight, and agreed to make his only daily meal as nutritious and fulfilling as possible.

“How is she?” The waitress asked, sitting down in front of him.

“The cancer is spreading to her legs.” Ichigo sighed. “And the payments are constantly piling up.”

“You mean the bills?”

“No, the payments. Hoffman can only pull the strings so much.” Ichigo said. “The bills are already a lost cause. Haven’t had water or electricity for the past week or so.”

“I told you that if you need to crash somewhere, you could always grab a futon at my place.” The waitress said, visibly annoyed. Another one of the waiters approached the table, giving Ichigo his meal.

“I heard your conversation.” He said, sitting down. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Ichigo sighed. He wanted to appear nice, but his hunger overtook his etiquette, and he started shoving the cabbage mix into his mouth.

“And how long are you gonna keep on living like this?”

“For as long as I need to.” Ichigo said. “When mom gets better, I’ll be free to get a more stable job. I won’t have to worry about the hospital payments and the medicine costs. And the old man promised that she’d get a job here as a dish cleaner or a cook. She’ll help me with the bills too.”

“It’s just what I gotta do.”

His home was an apartment on the third floor of a larger complex. For some reason, every time he opened the door, he expected to see the place tidy and brimming with life. He would come back from school, see his mother’s smile, smell the scent of the food she cooked, and hear the TV playing his favorite cartoons.

But now, all that was left of it was an empty memory. The place was dirty, littered with clothes, and dark. Ichigo figured out how to take care of his laundry, and that skill itself felt like a gift from higher powers, because without it the household would be an absolute catastrophe. He took a few steps and noticed that something wasn’t quite right with his legs, they felt weak and fragile. He also felt out of breath, and noticed that his coordination wasn’t good.

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He only woke up a few minutes later, still in his outside clothes and laying on the floor. He slowly managed to get up, luckily, he didn’t damage any part of his body when he collapsed.

“Damn it, it’s probably because I sleep too little...”

Ichigo quietly took his old jacket off, throwing it on the couch. It was getting dark outside, and it was getting even darker in the apartment. He rested on the couch. He didn’t have to serve that day, the bar’s owner gave him a day off to take care of himself. Ichigo remembered all the good things that man had done for him. He and the dumpling place’s owner. They were good people. Just like Hoffman, he was a good person too.

But Ichigo detested his own powerlessness. His mother’s treatment and his own survival was a result of other people’s pity and compassion. Because, quite frankly, finding a good-paying job would be very hard for him. The smaller jobs would drain him with no result. He tried donating blood, and he even thought of selling parts of himself or even himself. Thankfully those remained just thoughts.

Alone, in the dark room, he reminisced about his childhood, and his deadbeat father who abandoned the family once the news broke down. He detested himself for daring to suffer while his mother was both sick and heartbroken.

“I just gotta keep going.”

He reminded that to himself, and every time he said it, especially on these dark and lonely nights where he was alone in his broken home, he detested himself even more and more.

He made a phone call.

“Hello, Dr Hoffman?”

“Yes. What do you need, Ichigo?”

“I...I already feel ashamed of asking for this...it’s probably the third or fourth time I’m doing so, but...I don’t think I can pay for the treatment.”

“I expected that you’d say this.”

“I understand if you cannot, and I understand that your own career is at risk, but...”

“Ichigo, I don’t care about losing my job. There’s a dozen other hospitals that would hire me immediately, or lawyers that would jump to defend me in court. I’m already successful. I’ll be fine wherever. But there’s something else I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Hm? Is it about her condition?”

“No, don’t worry. It’s not bad news. It’s just something that I think you need to hear.”

“What is it?”

“Ichigo, you’re a bright child with a great future ahead of you. But this situation has forced you to give up on a lot of things. I apologize for saying this, but...don’t you think you’re sacrificing a little too much?”

“H-huh?”

“Her condition is worsening. Not because it’s getting more severe, but because it’s slowly getting out of control. If the cancer spread to her legs, there’s a chance it spreads to her arms or spine too. I’m sorry if this angers you, but you need to hear this.”

“You’re telling me to give up on supporting her, right?”

“All she keeps saying during her treatments is that she wants you to have a better life. She hates herself for forcing you to do all of this.”

“I...I understand what you mean, Dr Hoffman.”

“So?”

“But I’m not going to give up. Just like she didn’t give up when she had to work and raise me alone.”

“I see.”

“...”

“I’ll try my hardest to solve the issue with the payments. But, Ichigo...everything is going to be more and more difficult for you.”

“It won’t be nearly as difficult as what she’s going through right now. I’ll be fine, Dr Hoffman. Thank you.”

“Take care, Ichigo. You’re a good person.”

The phone call ended.

The darkness had completely consumed his room. He needed to take his clothes off and rest properly, but he just sat on the couch. His eyes were half-open, he saw his darkened home, illuminated only slightly by the faint moonlight outside and the surrounding city lights.

No matter how much he wanted to deny it, Hoffman’s offer was considered by him many times. But every time he reached the same conclusion.

“I just gotta keep going.”

“Even if it’s difficult or painful...”

“I just gotta keep going.”

“The only alternative is giving up. And I can’t give up on mom like my father did.”

“So I just gotta keep going.”

And just as the darkness drowned him, he saw a ray of light escape his palm, and shower his soul in with powerful luminescence...

...

“I can’t let this chance go to waste.”

“I’ll do whatever I’m required to do.”

“But I’m confused on why he’d want to interview me at such a place.”

“So you are Ichigo Sadamitsu?” Diego said, approaching him at the cafe. Ichigo had already taken a seat and ordered himself and his guest a coffee.

“Yes, it’s me.” Ichigo said, standing up.

“It’s good to see you. I’m guessing you’re confused by how I found you so easily, but that’s okay. You’ll be taught everything you need about being a soulful.” Diego said, sitting down and taking a sip of his coffee. Ichigo followed suit.

“Black?” Diego asked, looking at the cup. “You don’t strike me as the type to drink black coffee without anything.”

“I’m sorry, I can order something else....” Ichigo quickly said.

“Why would you apologize for your taste? I have no problem with you if you like your coffee this way.”

“Yeah. It’s what I drink all the time.” Ichigo said, trying to give a more friendly tone to the conversation.

“It’s coincidentally the cheapest one, and the one packed with the most caffeine. You haven’t slept either, I can tell it from your face.” Diego said. He grabbed something that looked like a small pill and tossed it into his mouth. “Ichigo, I did a background check on you as soon as you reported to the GSC. I found out about the troubles in your life.”

Ichigo didn’t say anything, he just sighed, a little embarrassed.

“Your potential is immense.” Diego said after a little pause. “I made my decision to enroll you into the team the moment I heard about it. So please feel free to stop attending all of your workplaces.”

“R-really? I got the job?!” Ichigo said, amazed.

“Please rest assured that as long as you give it your everything, your mother’s treatment will be paid for completely.” Diego said. “You’ll move in and live in our headquarters.”

Ichigo just stared at Diego. After he finally processed the news, he smiled. He teared up too.

“Thank you...It’s like...I won the lottery...”

“Don’t think of it that way.” Diego said. “Your awakening as a soulful could not have been without reason.”

“But there’s one more thing I need to ask.” Ichigo said.

“Go ahead.”

“There’s a small dumpling shop and a bar close to the hospital.” Ichigo said. “Please, if possible, can you fund them too? They’ve helped me out a ton...”

“Sure. No problem.” Diego said, with almost no hesitation.

“T-thank you...” Ichigo said, quickly standing up. “I gotta go...I gotta go tell mom about this...”

“Go on.” Diego said. He smiled watching Ichigo run off.

“The team is mostly made for showmanship and promotion, but it’ll be good to have someone responsible and strong. There’s no way I’d let someone like him go to waste.”

“Besides, I’ll need someone like him to keep an eye on me.”

Ichigo ran faster than he’s ever run in his life. He got to the hospital in about five minutes. He made his way up the pale staircases and barged into her mother’s room.

The woman had a breathing mask attached to her face, and a pair of nurses and Dr Hoffman himself surrounded her. They were carefully controlling the IV bags attached to her, and Hoffman looked concerned before being startled by Ichigo’s sudden entrance.

“Mom, I made it...” Ichigo said, crouching by her hospital bed and holding her hand. The woman’s eyes were barely open, and they slowly turned their gaze to her son.

“I’m a soulful now.” Ichigo said, his tears turned into a small stream. His voice became wobbly and full of emotion. “I’m in the Elemental Union now. Mom, they’re gonna pay for everything.”

“H-huh?” His mother was surprised, but it looked as if even those emotions were fading away.

“They’re gonna pay for everything, okay?!” Ichigo said. The medical staff were impressed, but Hoffman still looked concerned.

“Good job, Ichigo...” His mother’s face was enchanted with a faint smile. She was weaker than ever. With the little strength that she had left, she squeezed Ichigo’s hand a little.

“You’re a bright kid...”

“So please...”

“Make sure you shine the brightest, okay?”

“She doesn’t look good.” Hoffman said. “Take her to the ER, put her on a ventilator. Her lungs are about to give up.”

The nurses quickly followed the orders. Ichigo’s hand was separated from his mother’s. He looked at Hoffman with confusion and even fear. Was he too late?

“She’ll hopefully be fine, but I was right about her condition becoming more and more difficult to control.” Hoffman said. “It’ll be difficult.”

“There’s nothing holding us back anymore.” Ichigo smiled. “You’ll get all the money in the world. All the drugs, treatments...she’s gonna make it.”

“All I have to do...”

“Is to just keep going.”