(Above is the song I listened too while writing this. It honestly has no connection to the story but it's super good. Khai Dreams is so underrated, I love him)

lol sry if everything is super boring at the moment. I wanna try to keep this as realistic as I want it to be but i get it can get pretty boring. Especially trying to keep the emotions and reactions as real as posible but geez im writing a fanfic about a mafia child and a personified country. So why bother right?

Also, apologies for the very long wait. There's no excuse for my absence (other than the fact that my ass got sick for almost a month rip) and I wish I had gotten to work on this sooner. I hope you all can forgive me (school hasn't exactly been kind so it's hard to get those creative juices going when my schedule is full of studying and projects almost every week)

And sry about the chapter title. Haha i had no idea what else to name it

*unedited
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~~~1st POV~~~

Despite having a lot of trouble moving my body, I managed to furrow my brows in confusion.

What? Hospital? I guess that could explain the beeping because of a heart monitor but I don't ever remember- wait. If I could have, I would've jumped up and gasped. Did that guy I saw before take me here? I could feel my heart speed up a little, which could be heard from the heart monitor next to my bed. Oh, thank God it wasn't one of father's men.

"B-B-But who..." I began, my voice quivering and cracking from the lack of use. The voice hummed quietly before stating slyly, "A blond man brought you in. I would tell you his name but I seemed to have forgotten it. Oh well, doesn't matter. Because after we're done here helping you get better, we'll have (Father) kill him for touching you." I felt my body freeze on the spot once I heard (Father)'s name come from this guy's mouth. Goosebumps littered my skin as I could feel my heart beat rapidly against my chest. And from that, the heart monitor began to beep at an alarming rate.

"Honestly, it's a surprise that you survived on your own without us. You even ended up getting a severe case of hypothermia. I thought you weren't gonna make it but here you are."

Nononononononononono. Oooh God noooo. Why does this always have to happen? I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. "N..o..." I whimpered weakly as tears leaked from my eyes, but this guy obviously didn't hear it as he just continued on talking. "It was quite disappointing, not seeing you die. 'Cuz if you weren't in the picture, I could be the only one that he needs. I could be the only thing in his world that matters. He could finally see me and lo-"

He paused before releasing a small chuckle. "Ah, I should probably stop. Don't wanna let too much out, right (F/N)?" Random nurse-doctor guy sighed before leaning up to my face, a sly smile on his lips. "After all, you don't want the people around you to end up dead like him right?"

I resisted the urge to cry as it felt like an invisible cage was surrounding my heart. Everything felt like it was closing in on me; my breathing sped up as an ache could be felt from my chest. "...I.. It hurts..."

  A cold glare replaced the nurse's sly stare as he sneered. He opened his mouth, probably about to say something snarky and messed up in response to my weak state when the doors opened. "Hey, Petey, I'm back- what's happening?"

A new voice interrupted as his heavy footsteps entered the room, followed by lighter footsteps and another voice. "Mr. Mulligan, what's wrong?" Was that another nurse?

Through glossed-over eyes, I saw Petey's glare turn into one of seriousness and faked worry. "I was writing down notes until I noticed that she had woken up. The heart monitor started going nuts and she kept mumbling about something hurting so I thought I'd check on her condition."

I wanted to scream. Just a second ago, Petey was acting all scary and murderous.

A dark-skinned man entered my dazed vision. He held a look of worry as he moved a stray piece of hair out of my face. Does he know about Petey?

"Ma'am, are you alright? Your eyes are red and puffy. Does anything hurt?" This man, Mr. Mulligan, I'm guessing, stared worriedly into my eyes- occasionally glancing at the heart monitor as my racing heart calmed down little by little.

  With great struggle, I shook my head slightly. I opened my mouth, trying to find the words to say but all that came out was incoherent mumbling and squeaking. Mr. Mulligan tilted his head to the right, his face morphed into more worry. "W-What was that? I-I didn't quite catch that..."

Trying to think of something, I croaked the first thing that came to mind.

"C-Cold...." I muttered as a chill went down my spine. "O-Oh, right, I brought more heating pads.." Mr. Mulligan muttered to me, or maybe to himself, quietly as he lifted the blanket from off me. Another chill went down my spine as he lifted something from off my stomach, my legs, and my arms, before gently lifting me up and taking something from underneath me.

  I whimpered quietly at the cold air, which I guess Mr. Mulligan heard as he muttered an apology and sped up in whatever he was doing.

Before long, a feeling of warmth spread throughout my body, calming me down. My unknowingly tense shoulders relaxed as a squeak of relief escaped your lips. "Mr. Mulligan, is she alright?" That third- or was it second?- voice spoke. I glanced around, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of this other mystery man. Maybe he was the one who brought me here...

My (E/C) eyes soon made contact with emerald green eyes. Said eyes were framed with sandy blond locks and extremely bushy eyebrows. How did he get such thick eyebrows?

The male's eyes softened as a warm and gentle smile replaced the look of worry on his face. "Ah, good morning, miss. You gave me quite a scare yesterday when you suddenly passed out. I thought you weren't going to make it... but oh, where are my manners? The name's Arthur Kirkland." The blond male rambled as I blinked slowly. So this was the man who saved me?

I swallowed the saliva in my mouth, hoping that maybe it would soften the dryness I felt in my throat as I struggled to find a way to speak. "T-Thank y-you.... f.. or s-sav... saving m-me." Although, I wish you hadn't.

Arthur's eyes seemed to light up at my response. Was he happy to see that I was alive and functioning properly?

"Oh, there's no need for such gratitude. I'm content enough knowing that I managed to get you to safety before you lost your life," Arthur spoke but then he looked in some other direction. I could see the look of suspicion that appeared on his face after we both heard Petey scoff at Arthur's somewhat sugared words. Arthur cleared his throat rather obnoxiously, as if telling Petey to stop being rude. Petey rolled his eyes in response and crossed his arms. Mulligan sighed and did the same.

"But, I would like to know the name of the person I managed to save. It would make me a lot more happy." I wanted to ask the blond man what was wrong when I noticed the shift of emotions in his eyes. It was hard to tell as I'd never seen anyone display that kind of emotion in front of me... Well, except for him and another...

But I chose to not say a word, in hopes of keeping my identity a secret. How would Mulligan and Arthur react when I tell them that I'm the daughter of the head of a famous and dangerous gang? A gang that deals with illegal transport of guns, drugs, and human trafficking in the black market? But I guess Arthur must've taken it the wrong way, like as if it offended me after he spoke somewhat shyly. "A-Ah, but you don't need to tell me it if you don't want to. But it would be appreciated by both me and the hospital to get your name."

I looked at Arthur apprehensively. Could I trust him? Should I trust him? 'Well, he did save your life.' A different voice in my mind muttered. I shook my head. 'But the problem is that I didn't want to be saved.' I retorted, ignoring the way the voice in my head sighed in displeasure. God, I must be crazy now to be talking to some other force in my mind that I didn't control.

Then I looked at Mr. Mulligan. He seemed liked a nice guy. Almost too nice to me. Is it because it's his job? But I don't know if I can trust him. Again, the voice in the back of mind tried to do the same as it had done previously, attempting to get me to warm up to them and trust them but I kept using the same reason: I didn't want to be saved.

'But they helped you! They would make great allies!' The voice in my mind spoke out extremely loudly, almost causing me to flinch in the outside world. The heart monitor next to me started to speed up from the sudden influx of anxious and annoyed emotions within me. Dr. Mulligan took a seat on the side of the bed at wasn't occupied as he looked down at me worriedly. "Ma'am, are you alright? Ma'am?"

But I ignored them as I continued to talk to the one I now dubbed as Tiny Voice. God if they saw me, they would've thought that I had some really bad mental illness... which I do.

'What the hell do you mean 'they would make great allies'?! How?! What could they do to keep me from father? From Petey?!' I mentally yelled at Tiny Voice who only sighed irritably. 'I can't tell you how but you need to trust me! I swear, you won't regret it!' I frowned.

But then I also frowned in the outside world, causing Arthur and Mulligan to continue asking me if everything was okay and if I needed anything. Which I also ignored.

'See! Look at how worried they are! They could help you-' 'What if they end up like Jake!?' The voice was silenced by my angry cry as memories of my dead best friend flashed through my mind. '(F/N), they aren't like him.' Tiny Voice adopted a more soothing tone as my heart continued to beat alarmingly fast. I took a deep breath, which was followed by more hard breaths, until I was full on hyperventilating. 'What if they end up getting killed by my dad? What if I get too attached? What if they get into something worse than death like being a guinea pig for their tests? W-What if-!?' I released a choked sob as I felt the tears that welled up in my eyes roll down my cheeks.

I could only hear Tiny Voice sigh tiredly. Was that even possible? 'Calm your raging thoughts my dear.' I suddenly felt some soothing sensation in my mind, as if something or someone was trying to calm me down. Was it Tiny Voice? 'I understand your concerns, (F/N), but you need to trust me on this.'

If I bothered to try hard enough, I could make out the faint outline of a woman whenever Tiny Voice spoke. Maybe that was my imagination trying to associate a body to the disembodied feminine voice in my head. I still continued to breathe hard, the image of stern yet comforting eyes popping up in my head. I looked around the dark space in my mind as I trembled.

'I-If I trust you on this, can you promise me that they won't be harmed?' Tiny Voice sighed again. 'I can't promise to keep them safe, knowing your father...' she trailed off, the tone in her voice when she spoke of father sounded as if she were familiar with him. But how? 'But I'll try to do my best to keep it from happening.' She continued. I chuckled humorlessly while sniffling, the image of some anime girl looking determined that Jake had spoken of when he was still alive popping up in my head when I heard Tiny Voice speak.

I paused for a moment, thinking of what else to say before nodding my head hesitantly. 'F-Fine, I'll tell them. B-But only Arthur!' Tiny Voice nodded, which I could see in my head somehow. God, what was happening to me?

I opened the eyes that I hadn't noticed that I had closed. Small tears were leaking from them. Probably from when I was crying in my head. God this has been quite the off day for me...

Quietly, I took ahold of Arthur's hand. He froze before looking down at me worriedly. "Love, are you alright?" I looked up at his pretty green eyes with my puffy and tear-filled (E/C) eyes. I tried to sit up and tug him towards me, but I was still too weak to do much. Thankfully, Arthur got the message as he leaned in closer, a curious look on his visage. "M-My name.... l-later." My voice was still weak, but I managed to get most of my points across... sorta. And while the close proximity of Arthur kinda made me anxious, I needed a way to tell him without telling Mulligan.

"D-Don't... tell..." I released an exhausted sigh as I leaned against the pillow propping me up. Arthur gained a look of apprehension at my words. His thic(c)k eyebrows were furrowed in confusion as I closed my eyes. 'Are you happy now?' '... A little.' I inwardly sighed.

"Mr. Kirkland, what did she tell you?" Mr. Mulligan questioned as he placed a large hand on Arthur's shoulder from the sound of it. It seemed like Arthur was in thought of what to say as what came after the question was silence. I could hear slight shuffling coming from my right; that was also Arthur.

"She..." Arthur paused again. "She was only thanking me again, for saving her." I heard a sigh. Probably Mulligan. "Alright. We should probably go now. She must be exhausted still."

In response, I released a long huff of air that calmed the small bits of anxiety left in my heart, making me seem like I was already in a deep sleep. Silence from all three men followed as the door opened and closed, leaving me alone in the white room once more. I yawned quietly, the feeling of exhaustion now weighing on my shoulders. 'Go and sleep child. You'll be having quite the busy day tomorrow.' I nodded mindlessly before a questioned popped up in my mind. 'W-Wait... what should I call you?' I was answered with silence again until Tiny Voice's voice was heard with one name. 'Ava.'

I nodded in response while nodding off to sleep with the thought of what would happen tomorrow in my head.

~~~~~~~

I will forever and always be a sucker for slow burns.
Sorry you all have to deal with my shitty updating. I don't have a schedule and my life is a mess. (By life, I mean me bc I am a mESS) I won't make an empty promise by saying that the waiting periods for each update will be shorter since it never happens so I'll try do my best to a least make it up to y'all with a story worth reading. Thank you all for dealing with my horrible bullshit. I appreciate y'all for still sticking with this trash. See you all later.

Hasta la pasta~!