A doctor's appointment

The moment he stepped inside the backroom, his arms prickled with goosebumps. In that instant he wanted to turn around and leave immediately. There was something about this place that told him he should not be here. It was Sāng who told him about this guy, which meant he trusted him. That was the only thing that kept him from listening to his instincts.

His grip around his cane thightend. The place was dark with only a few lamps scattered around. They offered him no guidance at all. It made things worse, causing Míngzé to linger at the door instead of heading further inside. No, he was fine standing here.

“Sāng sent me,” Míngzé announced his presence, glad that his voice was steady as he spoke.  Someone should be here, even though he could not see them. He must confess that he preferred Simura’s weird store in the front over this place. At least that place did not give him goosebumps all over. But if he wanted to discover more, he had to consider all his options.

This place, there was something about it. An unsettling familiar feeling tried to creep up behind him, but did not get the chance to do so. With all his might he tried to block it out, push it back, ignore it, whatever would work. No matter how hard he fought, it was always in the back of his mind, brushing against his consciousness and sometimes it won.

Míngzé remained at his spot near the door, it was nearly the only place where he felt remotely safe. There were noises all around him, but none of them told him anything. A cold shiver ran down his spine, but he was unsure if it was simply cold, or that it was caused by this place. It was Sāng who sent him here, which was the only reason he was still here.

Finally a voice sounded and Míngzé immediately straightened his back a bit and turned toward it. There was barely any lightning so he had no way of knowing where the man was exactly, besides audible cues. “Sāng told me I should ask for a Viktor, I assume that’s you?” Míngzé asked as he dared to take a few steps further inside, using his cane to make sure he would not trip over anything.

“He said you might be able to help with an uh— problem I have.” Each time it was difficult to talk about this kind of thing, especially to strangers. “Regarding— well— an affinity.” As always he felt the need to run the moment he told someone about it, and this time he had not even explained what kind of help he required.

The fact remained that Míngzé had no idea what exactly this place was. It was not like Sāng had explained to him what this man did, only that he might have the skills to help. When this man asked him about his blindness, he was caught off guard immediately. Míngzé blinked a few times before slightly narrowing his eyes. “Pretty blind, why?” It was such a weird question. Not the first time someone had asked him, but normally not the one they started a conversation with.

The chair. Míngzé remained where he was, only raising an eyebrow. “If you could tell me where it is?” he asked with a strained smile. This chair the other talked about might be very obvious, but not to him. There were big lights on the ceiling, but that did not give him enough information.

“It’s rather controversial,” Míngzé started. Before coming here he had repeated the same question in his head over and over again, but now that he was actually here, he almost forgot how to speak. “Do you know of a way to remove one?” he could hear himself ask followed by a deep sigh. This, all of this was a gray area, this whole shop. Not exactly legal, which made him only question the safety further.

At the man’s comment he couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he pressed his lips in a thin line. There was no way for him to know what was a chair and what was something else entirely. A pokémon was sent his way and somewhat hesitant he accepted their help towards the chair. It was not a normal one, but rather one you had to lay down in. Like you’d use at the dentist. Instead of laying down, he remained seated on the edge as he folded his cane.

Míngzé drew a sharp breath when the man confessed to having never done something like this. It shouldn't have come as a surprise. Why would anyone come with a request like this one after all? It was uncommon, as most people saw them as a good thing. “Great,” Míngzé silently muttered to himself. Combine this with the horrible feeling this place gave him, and all his trust disappeared instantly. Then again, he was aware this would always be experimental, no matter where he went to.

“Ghost— I’m stuck with the ghost affinity.” It was part of him, but the question was in what way. Was it part of him like his arm was? He could cut off his arm and still live. Or was it more like his heart, where he would die without it. “So far I haven’t been able to find anything that could help.”