"Right this way, miss."
The 'miss' in question looked up from her copy of Fighter's Digest and nodded in response. "Yes, coming."
She stood up from her chair, quickly sliding the magazine on top of a stack of other magazines before hurriedly joining the nurse as he led her down the hallway. The walls were all a pearlescent white, spotless as the light that poured down from the ceiling. In contrast, her own raven black hair and dark attire stood out like a sore thumb.
"Are you a relative of this person?" the nurse asked, shattering the eerie silence, his words echoing across the empty corridor.
"No," the girl replied. "Merely a friend. A good friend." But was he? Could she even call herself a good friend of his after what had happened?
"Ah, I see," the nurse smiled. It was one of those smiles that substituted for condolences. "It's good that he has someone like you to visit him, even if he doesn't know it."
She simply smiled back. A forced smile. A fake smile. "It's only the right thing to do." But was it?
The nurse stopped at a room, sliding the door open. "We're here."
The girl gave a curt nod before stepping inside. The room was just as brightly lit as the rest of the hospital, with the same aroma of disinfectant wafted in the air. Positioned in the middle was a medium-sized bed, beside it a table overflowing with flowers and gifts and "Get Well" cards, on the other a whole slew of medical equipment attached to the patient on the bed. The nurse gave a quick bow before closing the door, leaving the girl and patient alone in the room.
"Hey," the girl muttered weakly. She took a chair and sat down beside the boy's bed. "It's me again."
The only response she got was silence coupled with the occasional beep of the heart monitor.
"Right. I've been visiting you for this long. How could I forget?" she ran her hands through the boy's unnatural silver hair. "I'm sorry."
"What happened?"
"He snuck into the training chamber, and now he's-"
"Wait, you can't possibly mean-"
"Yes. That one. The one that all Team Demise members go through."
"But he wasn't ready! What now? Will he be okay?"
"I can't say."
"And now you're in a coma, for who knows how long," the girl murmured. She turned to all the gifts on the table. All the precious tributes that meant nothing because chances were he would never see them, or the light of the day for that matter. She turned back to the boy. "You know, I've been thinking lately. About what happened, mostly. But also about what I, what we believed in. Was United Sanctuary right? Was it wrong?"
"Weakness is a sin."
"It made us strong," she went on. "We were strong, and the weak were beneath us, that was the world we lived in. For a time, I believed in that, but then this happened to you. No, I did this to you."
"Weakness is a sin. And you, Kuroki Miyazaki, are a sinner."
"And ever since, I've wondered if United Sanctuary is really what's right. I feel lost. I don't know what's right anymore. I guess, in a way, I'm weak now too. Does that make me a sinner, Kuroki?"
"Six damage…The winner is Chrono Shindou!"
"Well, it doesn't really matter anyway. Our Branch Chief lost. United Sanctuary isn't what it was before. One might say it's for the best. No more harsh training. No more mistreatment. It's all changed."
The girl sighed.
"Were we wrong? Those two fighters were strong. You'd know if you were there to see it. It was an intense fight. Branch Chief Kanzaki and that Gear Chronicle player. They were both really strong, and yet one lost, and the branch's ways, it all changed. I beat you, and…" she stared wistfully at the motionless body of her old friend. "I condemned you. Does might make right then? What is true strength, anyway? Simply winning? Character? What is the right answer to all this? I have to know. I guess I need to find that out for myself."
The door to the room suddenly slid open, revealing a much older lady and a man beside her. "Oh, Yomi! I didn't realize you were here," the woman exclaimed, closing the door behind her. "If you need more time-"
"No, no. It's fine," Yomi replied, standing up. "I was just leaving, anyway. You both deserve to stay with your son."
"Are you sure? I understand if you want to stay a little longer," the man spoke this time. "We know how close you were, and this is your last visit, isn't it? Before you move away to America."
"It's fine, really. I've had plenty of time. You both have been far too kind." Yomi stepped out of the room.
"Well then, goodbye," the woman smiled. "And do keep in touch."
"Of course," Yomi replied. "Let me know if anything happens?"
"You'll be one of the first to know."
If only you knew what really happened, Yomi closed the door behind her, almost as if to hide her incriminating thoughts away from the two parents inside who had lost their only child. Then you wouldn't show me nearly the same amount of kindness that you do now.
Yomi retraced her steps, carefully making her way down the maze of white. It was a simple route back to the lobby. Then, it would be a short subway ride back home. After that, well, that was when she'd truly be saying goodbye.
And after that? She would try to find an answer.
Is weakness a sin?