Prologue
Back then, in March 5th, when Umi-san regained her old memories and remembered me, I was so happy that I couldn't sense something bad was happening to her. Her body was weak, she had problems just to walk and her breathing was heavy. That was when I started to think the worse when it was too late. A few minutes later, after Aragaki-san came to see Umi-san, our best friend and beloved leader fell into a coma… My first friend.
Those days while she was in the hospital were like a nightmare, according to many of my friends. Many of us thought she was going to die. Not even the doctors understood what was happening to her. Aragaki-san and I usually took turns to stay at Umi-san's side while she was sleeping in her bed. For many hours I stood there, watching her face, wondering what happened, in what we failed to do, how we could have helped her. In those quiet moments, when I was alone with Umi-san, I remembered our fight with Nyx, and asked myself many times if Umi-san condition started worsening after the battle ended. Certainly, the memories of the entire SEES team, except for me, were wiped out after that night, including Koromaru-san, but that doesn't explain how her health got worse since, before March 5th, she was feeling well.
Thankfully, our worries came to an end; three days later, when Aragaki-san was taking care of Umi-san, her eyes opened and she sat on the bed, surprising him and the doctors. Judging by the tone of his voice when he talked with us, something must have happened between them before we arrived to the hospital, but we didn't pry. When I first saw Umi-san again after waking up, by observing her and reading her move patterns and her mood, I noticed something bad must have happened to her since, despite she tries her best to hide it, she seems different. She isn't as cheerful as she was in the past, many times I have seen her lost in thoughts, even when she is with us and her usual smile has disappeared from her face unless she forces it. But it seems I was the only one who noticed that; everyone else was glad that Umi-san regained consciousness and was with us again. They were also saying words like Umi-san was as energetic and cheerful as usual. Deep down though, she is hiding something behind that happiness facade. I'm worried, and I want to do my best to help Umi-san, but I don't know how. Despite all the knowledge I was given, I'm confused and I don't know what to do.
The brief vacation period we had passed fast. Aragaki-san will join us in the school thanks to Kirijo-san; same with Yoshino-san, Junpei-san's girlfriend. In fact, she also joined the dormitory and is living in Kirijo-san's old room now since she and Sanada-san left to college. And the rest of the days went by and before we noticed, April 5th came, the start of the final school year for many of us and one month later after Umi-san fell into a coma.