"Where is he?" Aoba asked the receptionist, a frantic expression lacing his features. "Where is he?! Where is my brother?"
The kindly woman looked up at him, her glasses slipping down her nose. She knew who he was asking for, she just didn't have the heart to tell him it was too late. "Third floor, room number 309-B." She adjusted her glasses and sighed quietly. "I'll tell the nurses you're coming up."
"Thank you," Aoba tried to calm his racing heart. At least he knew where Sei was now. "I'll just head up, then…" He bowed lightly to the woman at the desk and walked briskly to the stairs. He didn't have the patience to take the elevator at this point. All that was running through his head was seeing Sei.
When he got up to the third floor and found the room his brother was in, one of the nurses stopped him. "Sir, please wait just a little bit. We'll let you see him in a while."
"No, I need to see him now!" Aoba was frantic. His heart was pounding and his hands were shaking. Ever since he had gotten the phone call from the hospital saying his brother had arrived there with major injuries and brain damage, he had been terrified. "Please, it may be my only chance…"
The nurse opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again, a sad look in her eyes. She sighed and opened the door. "Alright… I'll leave you two alone, then." She let Aoba in the room and closed it after him.
Aoba sighed and walked toward the bed. Sei was connected to all sorts of wires, most of which were connected to a heart monitor. He stood over his brother, his heart threatening to burst. "Wake up… Please, Sei. Please, please wake up…"
No response. The heart monitor started to go out of control, speeding up and then slowing back down again. It repeated that process for a long time before finally flatlining, and everything fell silent.
"No, no… No. Oh God please no." In that instant, he felt his heart shatter. Hot tears formed in the corners of Aoba's eyes and he sunk down to the floor, gripping Sei's lifeless hand tightly in his own. The nurse who let him in stood at the door, covering her mouth with her hand. Aoba heard his Coil start to ring, but didn't answer it. He turned it on silent and sat on the floor beside the hospital bed, clutching Sei's cold hand in his own. "Please, don't be dead…"
"...Sir?" The nurse walked over to Aoba and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Do you need something?"
Aoba was silent for a moment before looking up finally. "I need my brother back…" He said with a shaky voice. "Can you give me that…?" He turned to the nurse, tears streaming down his face. "Can you give me my brother back?"
The nurse felt her heart lurch and she shook her head solemnly. "All… All I can do for you is call your family." She said, letting out a breath to stabilize her voice. "For now, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me for a little while." She gently pulled Aoba up after convincing him to let go of Sei's hand and led him out of the room to the lobby. "Do you want me to call somebody for you?"
Aoba shook his head quietly. "I'll be fine on my own…" He gently shook off the woman's arm from around his shoulder and hugged himself tightly. "Thank you…" He muttered quietly before trudging through the lobby and out the door. He checked his coil. Three missed calls from Granny, two from Noiz, and ten from Koujaku. He sighed, feeling the tears drop onto his arms. "I don't want to go home… But I don't have anywhere else to go." With that, he turned his body toward his house and stumbled home.
When he reached his house, he didn't even get the chance to announce his arrival before he was tackled in a bone-crushing hug. "Aoba, we heard about what happened…" The voice who spoke into his ear belonged to Koujaku. "I'm so sorry…"
Aoba was silently stunned. His eyes opened wide and he stared ahead of him into the living room, where Clear, Mink, Noiz, and Tae were all standing quietly, watching them. He felt his face contort as more tears came to his eyes and he hugged Koujaku tightly, gripping at the bright red fabric of his kimono. "He died…" Was all he said through choked sobs.
"Aoba-san…" Clear wore a worried expression as he joined the two in the entryway, wrapping his arms around Aoba as well. "Please don't cry… We're still here for you…!" He put his chin on Aoba's shoulder and offered a small, reassuring smile.
Soon, the three of them were joined by Tae, who only looked up at her grandson with a caring expression. "I'll go make something for you boys…" She reached up and put a hand on Aoba's arm, giving it a squeeze before going to the kitchen.
The other two stood quietly for a little bit before Noiz walked over to them. He stood a little off to the side, shuffling his feet quietly. "...Try not to think too much about it, okay? It'll only bring you down." He looked to the side awkwardly.
Mink was quiet for a moment. "Sei wouldn't want you to mourn for him too long." He didn't say anything after that, rather, he opted to go to the kitchen to help Tae with the cooking.
Aoba sniffed a little bit and felt his tears dry off his face after a little while. He let go of Koujaku and wiped his eyes. "...You guys…"
Koujaku smiled and pat Aoba on the back. "We're here for you, you know! If you need anything, I'll always be available to help!"
"Me too!" Clear chimed in, lifting his head from Aoba's shoulder and smiling. "We all care about you, Aoba-san!"
Aoba could feel himself begin to smile and a quiet chuckle took over the sound of his crying. "Thanks, guys…" He looked over to Noiz, who was still avoiding everyone's gaze. He felt himself smirk. "Come here~" He jumped forward and pulled Noiz in for a hug, causing the slightly taller man to gasp slightly.
"Wait a minute-" Before Noiz could finish his sentence, Koujaku and Clear joined Aoba in giving the German boy a hug. "Hey!"
"Noiz-san deserves a hug, too!" Clear beamed, and he laughed.
Koujaku and Aoba joined in, and before long they were all smiling a little. Tae stood at the entrance to the kitchen with Mink, smiling. "You're good to him. All of you."