Awake and Alive?

It was three days, three days of lying completely motionless and slipping between unconscious and conscious on that bed. From the few times Ryo and Kazumi stopped by, I learned a few things. I learned that I was the only one to get out of the destruction alive, if my new state could be considered as such. BABEL had confirmed the construction of illegal ECM's under the business district and had started looking into any other connections that could be another target for PANDRA. My parents had been contacted and told of the state I was in, but my current condition wasn't one that allowed many visitors. I was told my medical expenses would be covered by BABEL, but that didn't make me feel any better.

On the fourth day, I could finally muster the ability to open my eyes and see where I was, and it was as I expected. It was stainless white all around with a curtain to my left for another person, but I knew there wasn't anyone there. To my right I could see my side table with a vase of sunflowers with a get-well balloon that must have been put there while I was 'asleep'. Looking down, I could see the clear bubble meant to help me breathe, and my thoughts started to come.

'I should feel that.' 'Where's the cool air?' 'Am I breathing?' 'Am I actually alive!'

It was a short panic, but it was a panic I knew I was going to have for a while. I purposefully blew into the mask to make it mist up, just for some reassurance that I was, in fact, breathing. Raising my hand was my next task, and mistake.

It was red, as to be expected of a burn, I had had sunburn before, but this was way worse. There were yellow blisters of varied sizes down my arm, and where it wasn't yellow, it was a wet red. It was like I didn't have any skin anymore, and it frightened me. What was worse was the disconnect of the sight and the feeling. I knew I had no feeling anymore, but the mere perception of the pain, without any response, made it feel all the worse.

I screamed, or at least, I think I did. My throat might have been to dry to accomplish such a task, and I passed out at the sight, but when I awoke, I could see three people sitting over me, looking very perplexed. A red headed girl, a wide-eyed boy, and a gentleman in a suit and fedora.

"He's awake!" I recognized the voice of Kazumi from the red headed girl above me proclaim.

"And he actually opened his eyes." Ryo noted. He looked nothing like my Ryo, with his curly brown hair and slightly hooked nose.

"You gave the staff quite a scare." The man said, he must be Mr. Masato. "The nurses thought you might have died from shock."

It might have been preferable, I sighed internally. I opened my mouth to talk, but Kazumi jumped up.

"Oh no you don't. You're in no condition to talk properly, we'll do as we have been." She stood beside me and put her hand on my forehead, which must've been how she's been talking with me to begin with. As she lay her hand down, I couldn't help but cry.

"Kazumi, what did you-" Ryo started.

"Nothing! I just put my hand on- oh." Kazumi retracted her hand as she sat back down. I tried to stop, but I couldn't, and the three in the room could do nothing but sit there in silence as I whimpered my own pittance. These things were coming at me all to fast, a dead friend, a mangled body, and now the confirmation of my lack of touch. It was better when I was comatose so that I didn't have to face reality, I didn't have to face the ugliness that I now was.

"We'll leave you alone then." Mr. Masato said as he stood, the other two following his lead. I raised my hand to stop him and saw what was my hand, and cringed a bit. I motioned for them to sit, and with a nervous glance between them, they did. I opened my hand to Kazumi, and she obligingly scotched her chair over and put her hand on my forehead again.

How are my parents doing? Was the first thing I thought, and Kazumi echoed.

"They're doing fine." Mr. Masato assured me. "They weren't here when you screamed and we haven't told them about it, all we have is that you are stable and awake. They're waiting to see you now."

Not now. I don't want them to see me like this.

"Understandable." Mr. Masato nodded. There was a pause before he looked me in the eye. "We understand that this might be hard for you, but BABLE has to know, how did you survive? Everyone else we found were all dead from the same kind of burn wounds you suffered. Even taking into account your esper level, it still doesn't seem possible."

I don't know. Was all I could answer with. The last thing I remember before Kazumi found me was being knocked out by Hyoubu Kyousuke.

"He was there?" Ryo sat straight up. I looked at him with a glare that didn't need translating. "But why him personally? PANDRA has more than enough members to do this without him."

"It was an ECM manufacturing city Ryo." Mr. Masato explained. "They would have plenty of ECMs lying around to negate any esper that even thought of going in. Only Kyousuke could have gotten through. But Ryo has a valid point, why was he there for you?" Mr. Masato addressed me.

He said something about no one coming after him in revenge or something like that. I said through Kazumi. I clenched my fist, thinking he had done just the opposite. The room fell silent again. So, what's going to happen to me now?

"Well, something like the destruction of an entire city doesn't go unnoticed in this day and age, and the media was able to gleam you were the only survivor. It's not going to be easy for you."

It hasn't been so far.

"Well, now it's going to be harder. You have to imagine a lot of families are sad by their loss, but more than enough are just as angry, and their looking for answers, and they're going to look to you." Mr. Masato didn't sugar coat any of the news and all I could do was lay there wide-eyed, whether in shock or fear I couldn't tell. "BABLE will be able to protect you for a while, but when you're discharged from this hospital, you'll be out of our hands, and into the public's."

Is this happening to my parents too?

"No," Ryo finally spoke professionally. "Most of the people who're grieving have them right beside them and those who are angry can't do anything without causing more pain on themselves."

So I'm the only sore spot they want to touch huh?

"In a way." Ryo nodded.

So how long am I here for? I asked Mr. Masato

"You're going to be here for a long while Satoru. Your burns alone will take at least two months to treat properly, possibly longer due to its delicate nature and no natural responses to any progress. While that happens, you're going to have to go through some psychiatric help for losing one of your major senses and after that you're going to need to relearn how to live without a sense of touch."

I shocked everyone by giving a dry chuckle. Life's never easy is it?

That made Mr. Masato give a thin smile. "No, it never seems that way." With that, he stood, as did Ryo.

Two more things Mr. Masato. I addressed the man. One, could you, Kazumi, and Ryo mind stopping by once in a while?

Mr. Masato looked to Ryo and then Kazumi. "Well?"

"I wouldn't mind." Ryo shrugged.

"Neither would I." Kazumi agreed.

"I'll see when we can get in then." Mr. Masato nodded. "And the other?"

Can I get a television in here please?