I

Pain. Searing, hot pain. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. It was like her lungs were filled with lead and the ringing noise in her ears threatened to drive her mad.

The door. She needed to open the door to escape. Eyes watering from the effort, she reached for the handle, only to find the airbag in front of her holding her firmly in place. Instinctively, she struggled against the suffocating pressure, causing an excruciating pain to shoot up her left ribcage.

Her vision blurred and the ringing in her head grew louder still. A shrill siren pounded her eardrums. The sharp smell of gasoline, the nauseating feeling of her lungs slowly giving out and the blurry lights she could make out through the damaged windshield…everything was pure, overwhelming agony.

'Quick, lift her out. Get the machinery for the driver's side. I think it's stuck…'

The world was fading…away…

0

"Mr. and Mrs. Aurelius, your daughter was part of a collision near Exit Thirty-Two on Highway Nine. She is in critical condition at Central Hospital right now. Please make your way here as soon as possible."

A phone call that had barely lasted thirty seconds changed their lives forever.

Piko held his wife close as she cried into his shoulder, trying to keep calm for her sake, as he eyed the bright red sign that read 'In Operation'.

Only four hours ago, his daughter had been laughing as she waved a hasty goodbye to him, her long, white hair bouncing along to her strides.

He couldn't imagine what she looked like now, on a cold table, with masked doctors rushing around her, trying to mend the grievous wounds that were quickly draining her of precious life.

She was only eighteen, excited to be starting university with her best friend and dreaming of a bright future. Piko could never forget the determination that burned in her eyes whenever she spoke of making change in the world. He'd always taught her modesty but in those moments, he couldn't help but feel proud that he'd raised such a wonderful and talented daughter.

He had such high hopes for her and tough expectations to challenge her with. But now, all he wanted was to see her happy and healthy.

Piko's eyes drifted to the room down the hall. A stinging guilt pierced his heart. He had been so worried about his own daughter that he hadn't even checked up on…

Giving his wife a tight hug, he stood up and motioned at the other side of the wing. She understood immediately, and let him go, fixating her glassy eyes back onto the closed doors in front of her.

0

[beep…beep beep…..]

Luka woke to a cacophony of noises. The mask covering her face made strange whirring sounds as it pumped air, forcing her lungs to function. Some sort of monitor to her left was beeping obnoxiously. She opened her eyes slowly, squinting as the white ceiling burned into her eyes.

Where am I…?

An annoying fog was clouding her thoughts. Everything felt out of sync and she couldn't move at all. Her chest was throbbing dully but it was like the rest of her body had disappeared.

…Aria…

She wanted to know…what?

Sleepy…so sleepy…

She couldn't remember.

Something bad had happened…something terrible…

She had to know.

Move…Move…! I need to go…

"Oh, you're awake! That's a relief. I know you must be worried but you can't get too agitated right now. Sorry to do this but…"

No…let me go…don't….! Ah…

Her eyelids were so…so heavy. The light above her dimmed until all she saw was black again.

The darkness was familiar and comforting yet despair was the only emotion that filled her as she drifted off.

Please…let her be safe…

0

"How is she?"

"She's fine, stable." The nurse held a shushing finger to her lips as Piko entered. "Woke up just now."

"That's good…that's good…" Piko let out a sigh and buried his head in his hands.

The only fortunate thing about this whole situation was that Luka had only suffered comparably light injuries. She was like a second daughter to him and he knew he wouldn't be able to take it if her life was in danger too. According to the doctors, she had broken a rib and fractured another two from the impact and dislocated her shoulder. Other than a minor concussion, from when the car swerved out of the lane and collided against a tree, she had no cranial injuries.

"It must be hard…" The nurse watched Piko nervously. She had been in training until not too long ago and this was the first time she dealt with patients from such a serious accident alone. She had no idea what she should say, if anything at all.

"Yes…her parents were worried sick…" Piko answered mechanically, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

'…the truck came from the left. Most of the damage was done on the driver's side, which is where your daughter was sitting. Even if we're lucky, it's most likely that she's retained permanent damage to…'

He clenched his fists and willed the doctor's words out of his mind. There was no point thinking about that now. He had to have hope. He had to-

"Aurelius! Mr. Aurelius?!"

He looked outside to find a nurse walking towards him with panicked footsteps. The doors of the operating room were open and Piko spotted the doctor, speaking to his hysterical wife with a well-practiced expression of apology. The look in their eyes and the strain in their voices could only mean one thing.

In that moment, he knew it was over.

0

"Please doctor, you have to save her!" A woman sobbed and clung tightly to the man in the white cloak.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Hatsune, but this is out of my control. There's nothing we can do either if we can't find a donor in time and I've already contacted the necessary parties…" The doctor spoke softly and tried to gently unclasp the woman's fingers from his clothes.

"But you said…you said she only had a few hours left. Why, doctor? She was fine for so long…just why?!" The woman's words, slurred by her wails, were barely coherent.

"Miroku…be reasonable now." Her husband stepped forward and pulled her away. "We've always known that this might happen, haven't we? She was lucky that she managed to live so long without any major problems…"

"I don't care, Shigure! I just want my baby to be safe…Oh Miku…"

The doctor sighed and swept his gaze from the sleeping girl on the cot to her weeping parents.

She was one of the youngest patients he'd ever had. The girl looked peaceful, lying there on the pristine, white sheets, with her teal hair cascading down her back. Her breathing was so even and smooth that it was hard to believe they were racing time for her life.

Hatsune Miku…she'd been his patient for over a decade. Born with a deformed valve in her heart, Miku's life could end at any moment. But apart from the occasional visit from the cheerful girl for chest pains, she had never encountered any serious problems…until now.

The doctor gritted his teeth and swallowed the uncharacteristic melancholy that rose in his throat. He rarely felt attached to his patients, but Miku was different. She'd always looked to the future, despite her condition and something about her just brought out the best in everyone else.

He wanted to treat her case with the same objectivity as he did with the rest but he undeniably cared. Yet there was nothing he, or anyone else, could do for now but wait. They had hoped that Miku would live out her life with only minor health issues but her heart betrayed their wishes. The valve had given out and the muscle that contained it became a useless mass of pulsing flesh. Without a transplant, it would soon destroy her body.

Miku's eighteenth birthday was only in a few weeks. The thought aimlessly drifted into the doctor's mind. Even though their monthly check-ups didn't allow much room for idle chatting, he still felt her anticipation at becoming an adult. But for her to live till then…she needed someone's heart.

But who would be willing to give up something so precious?

He wondered.

And he hoped.

And he waited.

0

'I'm sorry but…there's no way to reverse the damage done to her brain. We've tried everything we can but…Mr. Aurelius, your daughter is…'

Braindead.

That's what the doctor had called it.

Somewhere deep inside, Piko wanted to believe that they still had a chance; that his little princess was still alive. Because she still breathed and her heart beat the same youthful rhythm it always had. But she would never open her eyes again, that much he understood.

He blinked at the motionless form on the bed.

Was that body that 'lived' on…really Aria?

He couldn't convince himself that it was.

Aria was the way she called him 'dad', the way she liked to sing, the way she stuttered when she got angry and the way she shyly greeted strangers. She was much more than the girl left here: a mere shell.

No matter how hard it was to accept, he needed to face the truth.

"I can't believe…she's gone…" Beside him, his wife finally croaked out a heartbroken whisper.

"I know…I know…" His chest squeezed at her hoarse voice. Piko didn't dare turn to look at her face, knowing that seeing her sadness would only wreck him further. He opened his mouth and searched for words that would comfort both of them but before any sounds escaped his throat, they were interrupted by a polite knocking.

"Come in."

"I'm sorry to disturb you again so soon, Mr. and Mrs. Aurelius but there's been a new situation." It was the doctor who operated on Aria. He looked truly apologetic for breaking his earlier promise that they'd have until the next morning alone with their daughter.

"What is it?" Piko questioned dully. He was so tired of everything. If only he could just close his eyes and let go.

"I want to…ask you for permission for your daughter to become an organ donor."

"What?" The doctor's timid words sounded hollow in the quiet room. Piko felt something stir in his heart; indignation, perhaps. But he was too numb to react in any way other than mumble that word.

"How could you ask such a thing?!" His wife began sobbing again, her voice rising with every syllable. "You want to take her organs…but she's…shes's…!"

"I…" The doctor swallowed and took a deep breath, "I'm truly sorry for your loss and we normally would give you more time to grieve…but I just received a request from our cardiology department. Another life is in danger; a girl. She's only seventeen and without a transplant…she will die…very soon. Please try to understand…"

"But why my daughter? Surely there are other donors? Other patients here? Just…why her…?"

"There isn't time to contact donors outside of this hospital and I'm afraid your daughter is the only one with a matching blood type here."

Piko felt faint. The doctor was looking at them with a mixed expression of expectation and helplessness. At their silence, he spoke again, this time with more urgency.

"Please consider this…please. Your daughter…she…she will have to be taken off life support soon. If you could save a life with her before that…if you could spare another pair of parents from the pain you're feeling now-"

"But…"

Piko stayed silent and rubbed his wife's shoulders as she mumbled an incoherent string of words. It was strange but the moment the doctor proposed the idea, he felt a calmness wash over him.

He thought about the doctor's words.

He thought about Aria and her dreams of one day becoming a doctor and saving people.

He thought about the precious life support that kept the shell of his daughter breathing.

It hurt…the raw, stinging pain threatened to tear him apart. But he knew what he had to do.

"I…agree to it, doctor." His voice was thick and sounded alien to even himself. "It's what Aria would've wanted…"

"What are you doing…Piko?!" A vice-like grip pulled at his arm and he turned to stare into his wife's bloodshot eyes.

"It's what she would've wanted…" He repeated slowly. "Just think about it…it's what she would've wanted!"

Without realizing, his voice had raised to a shout. Startled, his wife let go of his arm. Piko refused to look away, forcing her to keep eye contact until the fear and confusion in her eyes softened into a tortured understanding. He was right. Of course he was. No one knew his little princess better he did.

Defeated, she hung her head and stood limply at the side as Piko held out a hand to receive the papers the doctor had prepared.

"If I may ask, doctor…what organ…what organ does that other girl need?"

"Her heart, Mr. Aurelius. You will be donating a heart."

Nodding, he breathed in deeply and pressed down on the paper with the tip of his pen. Black ink spread across the page, staining the pristine, white paper. There was no going back.

"Her heart huh…" he mused to himself, "Then I suppose that lucky girl will be blessed with the love my dear Aria once held for the world…"

"Thank you so much, Mr. Aurelius…really…you don't know how generous…how precious..."

"Just hurry and go." Piko's lips twitched as he tried to smile. A tear rolled down his cheek, disappearing into the light stubble that his daughter used to be so fascinated with. "You still have a life to save, don't you, doctor?"

"Yes. Thank you…" Giving them one last nod, the doctor held the papers close to his chest and turned to leave. As he reached the door, Piko's wife, who had been silent for quite a while, called out.

"O-one last question, doctor…" her voice trembled with grief but there seemed to be a steely determination behind her words, "…that girl…what is her name?"

"Miku." The doctor lifted his head to meet eyes that were filled with tears, agony and resignation. "Her name is Miku."

A/N:

I haven't been writing much but...welp...here we go :'D

This story was a request by KagamineCraze