January
The 501st waited outside the infirmary, awaiting news from the doctor about their injured friend. A battle gone wrong resulted in her injury. She went into cardiac arrest, her heart stopping for five whole minutes. From what their newest member told them, the results would either be bad or worse.
15 minutes later, they got their news. She was in a coma, and would be transported home. She would never fly again.
The 501st cried for her that night.
February
She had woken up two weeks ago. Miyafuji informed them immediately and updated them. However, nothing good was heard.
She was barely functioning, completely dependent on others help. She would most likely stay in that state for a while before improvement could be seen.
They decided to visit her nonetheless. She was one of them after all, and they stuck together, for better or for worse.
However, all their hearts broke a little that day.
They arrived at Fuso's airport, where Miyafuji was waiting for them.
They had retired shortly after their comrades' injury, and had more free time.
They walked in, to see a raven-hair woman slumped over in a wheelchair. Her eyes were open, but she didn't react to the noise.
The redhead commander spoke.
"Mio?"
The Major didn't even move.
March
She finally started moving again.
Unfortunately, it seemed like she had little control.
She didn't speak. She moved only if somebody spoke repeatedly to get her attention. Miyafuji stayed, as she already lived in Fuso. Her comrades had to go back, but they would return.
April
It was almost like she recognized some of them, although barely. She would respond more to Miyafuji then she did to Eila, for instance. She scratched at her bandages, and could follow moving objects.
She watched as Francesca's marbles spilled on the floor.
Although, she did nothing to pick them up.
Progress was slow, but it was happening.
June
She was starting to speak again.
However, it was almost incomprehensible.
She would walk out of bed, or try to, and then barely stumble around, nearly fall, before a nurse caught her and ushered her back to bed. She was prone to yelling when people didn't understand her signals. She was more active, but memory was a big problem. They'd tell her information, and she would forget it quickly.
They were moving. Moving through mud, but still moving.
August
Signals and cues. That was the most important part of talking with her. They would try and communicate, but usually, she responded incorrectly. They could talk with her, but it took a lot of directing. However, when done successfully, she could speak for brief moments.
However, it was hard to do much.
Speaking was hard and slow, and she often struggled to come up the right words to say, and would sit for prolonged moments, attempting to think.
They had also started more intensive physical exercises. She needed a tenodesis splint for her right hand, and her right leg was difficult to move.
She herself seemed unaware of her condition.
However, the progress was evident, and so none of them complained.
It was Minna's turn to stay with Mio. The rest of the 501st in Fuso were busy, and others like Eila, Gertrude, and Shirley, temporarily returned home, although obviously coming back. Thus, Minna was staying with Mio, not that she minded of course.
Mio was working silently on a writing activity by her therapist. However, every few minutes, she'd stop working and sit. That was when Minna would direct her back to her work.
However, this time when Mio stopped, she spoke. She turned to Minna and said, "Thirsty."
Minna understood Mio wanted water. Mio's speech was usually confusing because she wouldn't be able to find the words to say, and it was still simple. It was usually only a few words, and Minna was glad that the times she understood Mio were becoming more common.
Minna happily complied with Mio's request. It seemed Minna's smile was infectious, because in a few moments, Mio was smiling too.
September
She was also interacting with her comrades better. They were more than elated when they spent a whole session and she responded correctly, and she had finally started to properly recognize them.
She also understood that she had been in some sort of accident.
She could focus on tasks for around 30 minutes, and her memory seemed to improve.
She was getting better at problem-solving (although with some assistance here and there.)
She could follow directions properly. She was able to speak with more ease. Her understanding and ability to write improved.
However, what she didn't understand was what the crash did to her. She knew nothing of her impairments. She was just starting to walk again (it was extremely wobbly, and she often used crutches, but it was walking nonetheless).
But the 501st had stuck with her, and they would wait patiently as she recovered
November
She had been properly oriented to everything for two weeks now. Occasionally, someone would assist her but other than that, she was functioning better.
They also saw an increased understanding of her condition, although she didn't understand specifics.
However, there were times where she would do things without thinking of the results. It was the case when she tried taking some of Minna's favorite books and decided to draw on them for notes.
Her speech was slowly improving as well.
Social activities were still difficult, as she hard a hard time reading people and would often say the wrong things.
However, it was like they were seeing pieces of Mio come back together.
"I am...uh..." Mio struggled to find her words. She was currently in a session with her speech therapist. Her therapist sensed her struggle, and tried to encourage her.
"Yes Mio, go on," she said, "what is it?"
"I am...not having fun," she substituted. It wasn't exactly what Mio meant, but it was the best she could do.
"Is it a bad article?" Her therapist asked. Mio was doing an exercise where she would write down important points from an article, to help improve her reading and writing skills. Mio shook her head. The session had been going on for 30 minutes, which led the therapist to an idea.
"Mio, is 'bored' the word you're looking for?" She asked. Mio nodded in affirmation.
December
Mio was nearly independent. Any confusion had been left behind, and recognizing people was almost second nature to her.
She knew her morning routine by heart, and could do almost anything.
She was able to walk and had improved her coordination immensely. Everyone had clapped and smiled the moment she finished an unassisted walk (she returned the sentiment with a huge grin).
Thinking about consequences was something she did carefully now. Before she'd go do something, she would pause a few moments before moving on.
She could improvise where needed, such as when she couldn't find a plate, and decided to use a bowl instead for her food.
Social mistakes were less common. Her speech improved to the point where she could talk at an almost normal pace, with fewer, and shorter pauses in between her thoughts.
She had finally understood her impairments and what that meant for her, which allowed her to make more rational decisions.
She was almost there.
February
She could do activities for over an hour with barely any assistance, and her multi-tasking skills had improved significantly. She could talk to Minna, write a to-do list, and make a sandwich all at once.
She made sure to consider her impairments before doing anything. She no longer used her right hand to cut food, and did any strenuous work with her left hand.
Socially, she was almost back to normal. She could understand people's feelings, and actually thought properly about her decisions.
The 501st were ecstatic. It had taken over a year, but they were watching their friend finally get her life back.
March
This was as good as it would get. From time to time, she'd need a break, or have an outburst, but for the 501st, they felt like things were finally normal.
Mio was just as happy. Being able to communicate and be more open had been a blessing for her. Speaking was easy, and her hand a leg function continued to improve.
Reading and writing had returned to normal.
This was where she, they, wanted to be; and they were finally there.
1 Year Later
"That'll be 250 yen," the cashier said. Mio nodded and handed him the money. She smiled and said thank you, before leaving the shop. A certain redhead followed her, smiling.
"You know Mio," she started. Mio turned her head to face Minna. "There was a time where you couldn't even understand when to say thank you." Mio just laughed before replying.
"Trust me, Minna, nobody knows that better than me," she replied. They headed to the cars parked next to the curb. In them were members of the 501st. They were all headed together to a beach resort, and they had stopped to buy some water.
Mio smiled, knowing that all the rehab had been for small moments just like this.
Note: I don't own any of the strike witches characters.
I apologize if anything was portrayed incorrectly or inaccurately, as all the information comes from research. I value accuracy, so if there is anything that can be improved, please feel free to message me or something.
Thanks for reading :)