He awoke slowly, dazed and confused. His body was numb, barely responsive, though he felt his finger twitch briefly. At the moment he couldn't remember much; just the blaring lights and burst of pain, followed by complete darkness.

Despite his confusion, he was calm. Everything felt light and simple; he wasn't ready to return to reality quite yet. So he continued to lay there with his eyes closed, being blissfully unaware.

But then the moment passed and now he needed some form of clarity. So, for the first time in what felt like a millennia, he opened his eyes.

The room was dark. As his eyes adjusted he could make out was the figure of someone sitting near him. Who could that be? He couldn't think of anyone who would be waiting for him.

Whoever it was hadn't noticed he had awaken yet. And that was fine with him. He wanted to assess the situation more first. What did he know? Well, his head was still a bit foggy, but it was clear enough to tell he was in the hospital, and that he was on painkillers. He knew who he was, so no amnesia. Ran Izumii, twenty-one years old. Simple. Now, why was he in a hospital? He was clearly injured, and in a bad way.

He remembered more now. A car had hit him while he crossed the road, preoccupied. This must had been some kind of karma. Kadota had been in a similar situation, and Ran had wanted to finish him off. He never got that chance though. A small laugh crept up in his throat, but instead of actually laughing, he coughed. That caught the figure's attention.

"Izumii?" Shit. he knew that voice. Saki Mikajima. She was part of the reason he was where he was now. He'd been bothering her, to put it lightly. And now here she was, watching over him.

Saki's figure approached the side of his bed and he could see her more clearly. She seemed taller. But he chalked that up to having to look up at her for the first time in his life.

"Mikajima," he horsed out, then coughed again. "Here to make sure I finally died, huh?"

The girl took a moment to respond, clearly uncomfortable, and possibly regretting her decision to be there. "The opposite actually."

"You say after hesitating. Don't make me laugh. Seriously, don't." He grimaced slightly. He was starting to get some feeling back. Not much, but some, which was more than enough at the moment.

There was no way she was serious, right? Why would she want him alive? It didn't make sense to him. But he could worry about that later. "Since you're here….How long-?"

"A little more than a week," she cut him off, making him frown. "It was bad. You weren't expected to wake up this soon. You almost died, and almost lost your arm as well. You had to go through surgery to make sure that didn't happen."

"Huh?" Ran looked down at his arms. One was simply bandaged where an IV was connected to it; probably just a bit scraped up. But the other was clearly heavily bandaged and in a cast. "No wonder I couldn't feel anything. Probably doped up the ass with meds."

"Well, that is what the IV is for…." Saki trailed off a bit before continuing, "For that, and a few fractured ribs, and one of your legs is broken as well…."

One of your legs. The words echoed in his head. This was definitely karma, as he himself had broken the legs of the girl speaking to him now years ago. Of course, he could only take her word for it as he wasn't exactly in the position to check himself.

"So…What are you doing here? Feeling guilty?" he teased.

"Actually, yes, I am."

Ran blinked, taken aback how quick she was to admit it even though he had only been teasing her. "That so…." She had no actual reason to feel guilty at all. It was his fault, he had been the one harassing her, and the one that didn't notice the car in time. Nor was she the one who hit him. So then why-?

Perhaps the confusion had shown on his face because she then continued. "I almost didn't call for help," she explained. "I was tempted to just leave you there, after everything you did. To just let you die. But in the end, I couldn't."

Ran stared at her a moment before responding with a hint of sarcasm. "Lucky me."

Saki sighed. "You're awful…."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, almost sounding proud. "Can't help it that I got flaws though."

"If you know it's a flaw, then why don't you fix it?"

"...Excuse me?" Ran's brow raised.

"It's some advise someone once gave me."

"That sounds like shit," he grumbled. "Hope you didn't pay for that."

"For your information, it was free," Saki responded, sounding slightly indignant. "And either way, it worked for me. Before then I was way too dependent on someone, and it hurt me and the person I cared about most." Her tone became sad. "So I kept a hold of it all this time."

"Sounds like a personal problem," Ran said flatly. He had a feeling that person she 'cared about most' was Masaomi Kida, but frankly, he didn't care. Kida can go ahead and be miserable. His feelings was no skin off Ran's back. A certain someone else's on the other hand...

"It was. Which is why I took the advice, and I really think you should to."

"I'm good. Thanks."

"You admitted you have flaws, didn't you?"

"Yeah, so? You think that being aware of that means I can just do something about it? You think I can simply want to change and it'll happen?" The volume of his voice rose, and it cracked slightly from the excessive use. "Things have always been like this, ever since I was a kid. And no amount of wishing is gonna change that." His hand on his good arm balled into a fist, nails digging into his palm. He was getting frustrated, having to explain himself. And even more frustrating was knowing that, while it was true, it was just an excuse. Normally it would give him comfort, but now he was being called out, and he didn't like it.

"No..." Saki hesitated before continuing. "I know it can't just happen over night. That's not what I'm asking of you. Honestly, it just sounds like you've given up to me. I thought you didn't like losing? So why give up?"

"I don't like losing," he coughed. "That's why I don't fight battles I know I can't win." What a headache this girl was turning into.

"But-"

"You should leave before I start getting my energy back." It almost sounded like a threat. At the very least; a warning. He just wanted this conversation to be over with. He was neither in the mood nor position to deal with it. And, in fact, the vulnerable stated he was in was making him more agitated the more he became aware of the fact.

"…..I'll let the nurses know you're awake."

"You do that."

Saki, giving in, turned and walked to the door. She looked back at Ran who stared at her unpleasantly, watching her as she moved. "At least, think about it," she said, almost as if pleading with him, before exiting the room and leaving Ran to himself.