Just felt like writing this after I finished Lilly's route. Hopefully I didn't contradict canon too much...

"Hear something?" Akira's voice came from beside me.

"I thought I heard..." I trailed off, concentrating. I couldn't hear the voice anymore; only the noise of the crowd of people around me. "I must have been mistaken."

There was a pause. "Hm? Something's going on back there." Akira said, gently guiding me to the side. "Sit tight for a moment, I'm gonna go check it out."

I heard Akira placing our carry on luggage next to me, then the click of her shoes as she walked away, fading into the hum of the crowd. Over it I could hear some shouting.

"Something's wrong with him!"

"What's the matter, are you okay?"

"He's not moving! Someone call an ambulance!"

Something clicked and I felt my chest tighten. Hisao's voice. If he was here, and he happened to have a heart attack...if he died from it...I shook those thoughts off, willing myself to calm down. Surely he wouldn't put himself in danger like that.

I heard more people rushing by me, heading in the direction that Akira left in. There were more shouts, layering on top of each other, sirens blaring in the distance, slowly growing louder.

I stood, unsure of what to do. Part of me wanted to follow Akira and lend my aid, but I knew I would most likely just get in the way. I resolved myself to simply wait for Akira.

A short while later I heard the sirens fading and the hum of the crowd slowly returned to normal. The clicking of Akira's shoes signaled her approach, a moment before she spoke, "Lilly."

"Yes?"

"It was Hisao." My breath caught in my throat at the mention of Hisao's name. Akira continued, "I heard from some of the other guys that Hisao was running down the road."

She didn't say it, but we both knew implication was obvious. Hisao had wanted to talk to me. "Having second thoughts?" Akira asked. I hesitated for a moment. I had already decided to go, so why did Hisao come after me? To try to convince me to stay? Or for some other reason?

"I can't just leave without knowing what Hisao wanted. I'm sorry, Akira."

There was a slight pause. "The hospital's not too far from here, I heard. We'll need to find a place to stay though, unless the Satous feel like letting us stay for a couple days."

'We'? There was no reason for Akira to stay with me, and she still had time to catch the plane. She made sure to leave early enough to account for possible delays. "You're not taking the plane?"

"What? You think I was gonna leave you here by yourself? No way." I heard her grunt as she lifted the bag containing our luggage.

I felt obligated to respond. Father at the very least would be livid with Akira if she didn't come. "Wouldn't everyone-"

I was interrupted by Akira's snort of defiance. "They'll survive. Come on then, let's go."

It had been three days since then. We went to the hospital every day, but each time we were turned away as Hisao had been in surgery, or he had been recovering and they didn't want him disturbed. They said not to worry, that he would probably be fine, but I couldn't stop myself. I had to be there myself and hear his voice to set myself at ease.

In our room, I cradled the music box Hisao had given me. It felt so long ago. I heard footsteps outside, a quick knock on the door before it opened. "I swung by the hospital on my way back; looks like Hisao's doing well." Akira's voice came from the doorway. "The doctor said he can take visitors now. You're coming, right?"

I stood up, slowly closing the music box, plunging the room into silence. "Right now?"

"Yep. Already got the car ready."

We were in front of the room Hisao was in. Akira gently opened the door, guiding me inside. "He's asleep." Akira said quietly, leading me around the bed in the middle of the room and to a chair. The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor played constantly in the background, at odds with the otherwise silent atmosphere.

I sat down, placing the music box on a table next to me. I felt Akira's hand squeeze my shoulder. "I'll be in the lobby."

"Don't jump him as soon as he wakes up." She added jokingly before walking out, softly closing the door behind her.

I stayed like that for a while, listening to the heart monitor and Hisao's relaxed breathing. I felt tears at my eyes and tried to wipe them off. In the end, I couldn't help thinking that I was cause of this; I went with what I told myself was best, and yet things turned out like this. I reached over and opened the music box. The tune that drifted out of it brought back more memories of the past, when Hisao presented me it. After a short while, I stood up. Hisao didn't seem like he was going to wake up, and I didn't want to bore Akira.

I made my way out of the room and to the lobby. "Akira?"

I heard the rustling of something, a magazine perhaps. "Done already?" Akira asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Hisao wasn't awake..."

There was a pause. "You aren't gonna wait for him to wake up?"

"I didn't want to waste your time..." I said hesitantly..

"You're not wasting my time." Akira said simply. "Don't worry about it."

I took a breath to steady myself. She was right, after all. She had been the one that offered in first place to drive me here. "Thank you, Akira." I turned around and walked down the hallway, laying my hand on the handle of the door to Hisao's room. I paused for only a moment before pushing open the door and walking inside.