A Strange Sensation

Saizomaru could not bring himself to leave this city. Not for a while at least. Ever since the Federation of Planets Rebels had taken control of it, he could not help but doubt their cause or effectiveness in trying to restore some semblance of normalcy to the distraught and turmoiled populace. For now he would remain a constant vigil over the city.

That vigilance was soon to be tested.

As he sat upon the rooftop of a high-rise building, the android gazed out into the city square below. Within the center gathered a large flash mob of dozens of civilians, armed with rudimentary weapons and open carry firearms, all directed at a certain individual. There was shouting, yelling, screams and yells at this person and his entourage of companions.

Saizomaru understood why. He could sense a dark power coming from this man, a sure-fire signal of his demonic origins. It harkened back to when Saizomaru had met with Chamil, the once-ruler of this place until recently. There was no questioning that the city folk were beginning to become untrusting of demonic races—a side effect of the mass control that Chamil had once held over them, perhaps. They had even gone so far as to hold one of the man's companions as some sort of hostage despite any sort of initiated conflict from the demon himself.

He had watched. He had observed. Now it was the time to act.

Lurching forward, Saizomaru allowed himself to fall from the edge of the rooftop, freefalling in the air as he make his descent. He flipped once he was close to the ground, landing on his feet with the utmost of silence a fair distance from where the mob had gathered. Equally as quietly, he made his way towards them until he was within a few feet of the furthest most crowd—where the lady demon was being held hostage by two men.

Metal hands reached out to each one of them. With a finger and thumb he squeezed around the sides of their necks. They let out a groaning gasp each as their arms went limp. Their hands loosened, dropping their armaments on the ground with an audible clatter against the asphalt.

Members of the crowd turned with their weapons aimed. Then more of them followed suit. But none of them pulled a trigger once they had seen who was standing in front of them. One by one they began to lower their weapons as they gawked at the appearance of one of the fighters that had come to cleanse their city.

"Saizomaru", some began to mutter. "It's the captain", some followed. They all recognized the android. As such, they began to move away from him, if not out of respect then definitely after seeing him temporarily paralyze two people with a simple finger pinch.

"Go home," he commanded them, "before I lock all thirty of you up on domestic terrorism charges." He let go out the two men he was holding, letting them crumple on the ground from loss of all feeling in their bodies. They would quickly recover, though.

And like that, the crowd began to disperse quickly. All of them made their ways down the streets, though many of them were still disgruntled, cursing and muttering under their breaths and to their friends who had joined them. But for now there would not be a scene.

"You all alright?" he called out to the three of them. "You picked a pretty bad time to tour the city."

With the crowd gone, Saizomaru was able to get a better look at the trio of demons. One was of wolf-like characteristics, while the female of the group was of feline appearances. The last was akin to some sort of samurai with what the android could only describe. He had pretty cool hair, though. Might even give him a run for his money for best hairstyle on Earth.

He could tell that Sensoa was injured, if not for the bandages then for his posture and body language. He could only imagine what had caused them—some huge fight, perhaps. He would be best spending his time resting than wondering the city.

But it seemed as though this samurai demon had a purpose of being here. He was looking for a group that had destroyed his home. The thought of heavy burns being the reason for his injured state sparked in Saizomaru's mind. He could only wonder if the destruction of this man's home and the conquering of Satan City were linked together. He pondered the case of the World Trade Fleet being the kingpins of both scenarios. It would explain why they were looking for answers here.

Saizomaru remained silent as the trio began to discuss things between themselves. It would soon devolve into ranting and arguments. While it would have been awkward for the trio to be arguing in front of Saizomaru, he only felt pity towards them. He had seen his fair share of dispute of purposes, even being in a few of them himself. The android understood how they felt. It wasn't too long ago since he had done the same with his own master.

When all was gotten out of their systems, the lupine one addressed Saizomaru, his tone courteous and polite. He was grateful for having come to their rescue in the broiling conflict between them and the flash mob.

"Call me Sai," replied the android after Barban had introduced themselves to him, returning the gesture in kind.

Then he turned to Sensoa. The demon was perturbed and stoic, and Saizomaru could not help but offer the same to him. "You should listen to your wolf friend," he said. "You won't find answers here. You even said it yourself. The only thing you'll find here is more trouble."

He was blunt. He was stern. They might even find the android's words uncaring, but he only cared for the sanctity of a city reeling from turmoil and distraught and anxiety. Sensoa as his group being here would only exasperate the people's unease more.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you," he continued, appearing more caring and sincere, "but there is very little here for you, if not nothing. These people were dictated over by demons not too long ago and mind-slaved by them. They do not trust demons. Not at the moment, anyway."

The android swept the cityscape with his eyes. Buildings were still in their prior dilapidated state. graffiti, broken windows, boarded up doors—it was almost as though the whole place had been abandoned. Many of them were in a state of repair, with only a few being restored to an almost brand new finish. But it did give him an idea.

"Trust is earned, not given. If you intend to stay here, then I suggest you stick to the shadows. Help the people here whenever you can, but do not push your services on them. In time, they will begin to appreciate your efforts. Changing their minds is one thing, though changing their hearts is another entirely. They won't like you overnight."

her turned back to them. A small smile spread across his lips. "Have patience. Eat well, sleep well, and rest well. You won't be able to do much in your state, Sensoa."

The android's words had managed to find their way to the demon's reasoning. At least now it was apparent to Sensoa that he was not in any condition to be able to confront his enemies, let alone be able to come out victorious in a battle. Right now he was as effective as a glass hammer. What he needed was to rest, heal his wounds, and regain his strength. Perhaps gain more of it.

Once Barban had begun to speak to Saizomaru once more, the android continued to listen. There was more questions, some of which he did not know the answer to. He was not one to answer questions with a speculative response.

"There were many strong fighters," he replied. "but they had all died fighting. From what I was told by Chamil herself, there were six fighters who came here in hopes of defending the city. But they weren't enough."

He let out a hum as he took a few steps over to the remains of a single, large statue that once depicted one of those very allies of hers—Maple. Now it was all but destroyed save for what remained of the lower legs. Taking a seat on the edge of the statue's base, he leaned forward and propped his head up onto the back of his hand, the elbow of his arm resting on his knee.

"As for Chamil herself…" He pondered for a moment. She wasn't here when him and the Pride Troopers came to restore the city. "I have no idea. In hiding? Gone off-world? Dead from a pizza-induced heart attack? That's not something I can answer with certainty."

He sat up straight and placed his hands on his knees. "Even if she was dead, there are still others out there. Stargoons. World Trade Fleet.." The visage of the arcosians from the Federation of Planets Rebels flashed into his mind. His fingers gripped tight for a moment, then relaxed. He couldn't afford to think about them right now. "Other people who are looking for global domination. It was just be relegated to this city alone. The entire planet will be in danger."

An awkard smile formed on his face. He lightly chuckled as he stood back to his feet. "Anyway, no need for any more depressive talks about cities and planets getting conquered. We should be focusing on what matters right now—and by that I mean you three staying out of trouble, and the samurai dude getting treatment."

He made his way towards one of the streets at the side of them. Lined in rows on either side were large commercial stores—clothing, electronic goods, restaurants, corner stores—a shopping district that had everything that anyone here needed. At the end of the street was a large white building tens of storeys high.

"At the end of this road is a hospital," said Saizomaru. "I have a few people here who owe me favours. I'll escort you to the premises myself. No one will be bothering you as long as I'm around."

He looked over his shoulder back at them. "Once you're healed… we'll discuss your strength and how it can be best put to use."

Saizomaru made his way down the street. He only needed his new acquaintances to follow.

"Yeah. She was a demon too," he replied to Sensoa as he made his way down the street, hanging back a little to make sure that the trio behind him were of a close distance to him. "Big goat lady. Brown fur. Wasn't one for lightening up. A big stick in the mud, she was. But she was strong. That's about all I know."

The android's eyes shifted from one side of the avenue to the other. The civilians who walked the street as them gave callous, uncaring glares at Sensoa as his companions. Those who were in their way gave them a wide berth, not wanting to be any closer to them than what they could get away with. Parents with their children gripped their hands tightly as quickly dashed past or away from them.

There was no changing their minds right now. But soon, perhaps they could get over the xenophobia.

It only took them a few minutes before they had found their way to the double glass doors of the hospital entrance. Above it loomed a large stone and brick archway with 'Satan City Hospital' emblazoned in large, shining blue letters on the front face of it.

"Here we are," said Saizomaru. He stepped up onto the stone porch, then placed his hand on the glass pane of the door. He pushed on it, opening it on its loose hinges, no doubt to let the physically weak be able to open it with ease. "Come in," he gestured verbally for his acquaintances to follow, keeping the door open for them as he stepped inside until he was out of reach of it.

The place definitely gave off a hospital vibe. The entire interior was a shade of pristine white save for the pale blue and green trims of the skirting boards and accents on the furniture. Yet the people inside were not any different in their composure than the people outside. As soon as they saw Sensoa as his friends, they began to fidget in their seats. Some of them even got up to find a seat further towards the back. They wanted to be as far away from the group as possible.

Even the lady receptionist at the desk was uncomfortable around them despite probably having seen so many people in different conditions during her time here. Even as Saizomaru opted to approach the desk she was hesitant to greet him.

"Hi there," Saizomaru greeted in lieu of the receptionist's. "I need to speak with doctor Pars. Is he available at all?"

The woman stuttered and stammered, tripping over her words until she was finally able to get out, "L-let me check on that for you!" She spun a little to the side on her swivel chair as she reached for the keyboard. She began to tap at the keys, almost jittering with each stroke. "Y-yes, he's available. W-would you like me to page him, sir?"

"Yeah, that'd be great."

The receptionist nodded, almost too hard, her glasses nearly falling off of her face. A moment passed by as she typed up a message on her computer for the doctor to receive. She turned back to Saizomaru once she was done. "I-if you'd like to take a seat, he'll be with you shortly."

The android nodded, then waved on Sensoa to follow him into the lounge.

"Well… take a seat, guys."

Then, in unison, all of the patients waiting got up and moves to the far sides of the room, leaving a nice well of empty chairs for the group to take a seat.

Saizomaru turned to look over his shoulders at the other patients that were awaiting treatment here. All of them were disgruntled and uncomfortable, if not from their own ailments then because of the fact that three demons were sitting amongst them. Hard, heavy glared beamed towards the trio with such intensity it was as though everyone was trying to work in unison just to make them explode with their minds.

It seemed that Saizomaru's status and influence was doing little to sway the hardened hearts of the humans here.

The android's attention to the people here was turned away back to Barban once he had asked a rather silly question. Or, in the very least, it sounded silly. It might be true though. "Nah, don't worry about it," he assured the wolf man. "me and doctor Pars go back a while. He used to be one of the captains of the military's medical squads. He owes me a favour or two."

Whether or not the good doctor would remember those favours that were owed was another thing entirely. Saizomaru would be sure to remind him though.

Relaxing back into his seat, the android placed a hand near his right thigh. Plates shifted up and down and to the sides to reveal a hidden compartment inside. A small holding bay jutted out into the palm of his hand, within it a mobile phone. Gripping it, Saizomaru withdrew it from its compartment and rested his hands in his lap. He began to tap at the screen a few times, leaving a little message for one of his contacts. Once that was done, he began to scroll through his news feed. Not much was happening, it looked like.

What little attention he had to his phone was easily swayed back to Barban as he addressed the android once more. But Saizomaru simply smiled at the lupine's words. "Well you can apologize by either helping out around the city or by leaving once you're done here," he responded. While callous, it was truth. He had his own fair share of prejudice against demons, but he hoped that these three would prove him wrong. "And kindness does not need to be repaid. I don't need the prospect of a Nobel Peace Prize to do the right thing. If you really want to repay me, you can make sure I don't regret my decision today."

The sound of soft footfalls padded against the carpet from behind the group. A tall man with a number one shaved head approached them in a white coat. The sound of stretched rubber creaked as the man removed his surgeon gloves. "Heard you wanted to see me, captain Sai."

Saizomaru chuckled as he got to he feet. He turned to meet his old friend. "Ex-captain," he corrected the doctor as he flung his arm out to shake his hand. "It's been a while, doctor Pars. Still doing surgery work, I see."

"It's what I do best. So what did you need from me?"

Saizomaru turned to look at the huge demon taking up two seats. He gave a cock of his head to the side in gesture of him. "Need you to have a look at this guy. See what sort of injuries he's got. Maybe give him a few nights here."

Doctor Pars glared at Sensoa. There was a pause, then a sigh. "I'm sorry, Sai," he finally spoke, "but I have my hands full right now. I'm not gonna be able to make any emergency appointments for the next few days."

"C'mon, Pars, don't give me that."

"It's true. What with all of us finally back to normal, we've been flooded with patients suffering from physical ailments due to pertained injuries or simply from system shock. Heart problems, kidney problems, brain trauma—there's a lot that can happen once the brain sends overflowing signals to the bodily organs."

Saizomaru sighed. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked down. He contemplated on what he could do to find some sort of happy medium, a compromise of sorts."Okay, just… just give me a hospital bed and a nurse and I'll diagnose the injuries myself. I can gain access to medical treatment and procedures through the NIM databases and add them to my databanks. C'mon, Pars. You owe me that time I saved your life in Taiketsu."

The doctor exhaled hard as he ran a finger and thumb across his brow. "Okay, okay, fine. I have a few spare wards on floor five that he can stay in. I'll take you there, then I'll send a nurse over to you. Follow me."

Saizomaru smiled, then turned to the group. "Okay, guys. Let's go."

"Eh, should be pretty straight forward," replied Saizomaru to the wolf demon. "I'm pretty good at cutting things." He through the worried Barban a smile as he followed doctor Sars.

The doctor pressed the button to call for the elevator. Despite all the technological advancements in the infrastructure and building sectors, the elevator was still as slow as molasses. No doubt still in need of repair since the overtaking of Satan City, but at least it was still operational.

"Still looking to helping people, I see," joked Sars with a smile. "You haven't changed one bit, Captain. AH, no, it's ex-captain now, isn't it?"

"You're still fine to call me captain, Corporal," replied Saizomaru with a chuckle, addressing his friend with his old military status in kind. "Old habits die hard, I guess. Besides—you're doing your fair share of helping the sick and the injured."

"It's what I do best, after all. It's a good profession to have once you end up leaving active duty. Makes it easier to transcend to living a normal life. There's never an overinflation of doctors."

A bing sound came from the elevator. The metal doors slide open to the sides. Doctor Sars extended a hand for Saizomaru and his companions to enter. Once they were all in, Sars would follow last and press the button for the fifth floor. After the doors closed once more, a soft jolt rumbled under their feet as the lift carried them upward towards the upper floors.

"I take it you've been pretty busy recently," inquired the android as he leaned upon the side wall of the box. "How many people are being treated right now."

"Around two hundred," replied the doctor with exasperation. His hand ran across his near-bald head. "It's been tough. Right now we're short-staffed. Even some of our other doctors and nurses have been relegated to needing treatment. It's our top priority to get them back on their feet so we can have the increase manpower."

Saizomaru sighed. He wasn't surprised that the hospital was going to receive collateral as it were. He remained in silence for the moment as the elevator continued to take their way up, just passing the third floor.

The elevator jolted as soon as it reached the half way point on its ascent through the floors. Both Saizomaru and doctor Pars turned as soon as they heard a thud coming from the side of them, seeing Barban sat on the floor. For a moment they thought that maybe the jolt took him by surprise, but the revelation of the blood-soaked bandages revealed his weakened state.

"Are you okay?" asked Pars as he rushed to where the lupine had fell, kneeling in front of him. He was close enough to notice that there were multiple points on the demon's body where the patches were darker. "You've suffered multiple wounds. This amount of blood is… staggering." He looked up to Barban with an expression of nothing short of complexity. "You shouldn't even be standing right now."

Saizomaru remained back, letting his friend examine the wounds, or in the very least give an estimated diagnosis on his condition. Whatever happened to him—and the other two, for that matter—was premeditated, as though some form of torture. This was not something that happened in a brawl.

The elevator stopped. A rumble could be felt through the floor as the lift came to a halt. Another bing sounded, then the doors opened again. Doctor Pars motioned Saizomaru over. A metal hand took a hold of Barban's hand as the android pulled him to his feet, draping the lupine's arm around his shoulders to support him as they made their way into the corridor.

The floor was filled with various rooms. Along the outside perimeter were rooms lined up, while the middle had blocks of eight in a grid-like formation. The outer corridors traced a square, with pathways criss-crossing between the blocks of offices like a grid.

Doctor Pars led the group down the outer corridor until they had reached halfway, stopping outside one of the outer offices marked '148'. He opened the door and walk inside, then stood at the side as he held the door open for the rest of the group. Once they were inside, he closed the door behind him.

"Please lay on the beds," he said, directed to both Barban and Sensoa. Two hospital beds were placed side by side with a two meter gap between them. The white steel frames had thick, soft mattresses on them designed to relax and ease the pain of patients that had suffered trauma to the neck and spine. Pristine aqua covers gave a soothing vibe to the room, like an ocean view of the early morning horizon. White dressers were set beside each bed, each with a vase that held colourful flowers—tulips, lavender, roses and sunflowers.

Saizomaru helped carry Barban to the closest bed. Gently he sat him down on the side of the mattress, then helped swing his legs so that he lay stretched out across it. "You're gonna be fine," the android assured him. "You're in the best possible hands right now."

Meanwhile, doctor Pars was fidgeting with a small device in his hand; a pager that would send a message to one of the nurses that were currently available. "A nurse will be with you shortly," he said as he looked towards Saizomaru. "Whatever you will need will be available to you. Just ask the nurse to get whatever it is you need."

"I appreciate all of this, Corporal," thanked the android. "I'll consider the favour returned."

Doctor Pars smiled, then made his way to the door. "If you'll excuse me, I need to prepare the surgery for my five o'clock appointment. I'll leave the rest to you, Captain." With that, the doctor left them.

Saizomaru sighed. He turned and placed his hand on the backrest of one of the chairs that lined the wall. He pulled it towards him before taking a seat, the backrest in front of him, and rested his arms along the top of it. "How're you guys feeling?"