Next day, after school everything was all right. He left his park under the hospital gate, as usual. The day was great – sunny, but at the same time a little chilly. The autumn was starting, so no Wonder.
When he went inside and turned in the direction of Totoro ward, everything was as usual. Colourfull corridors for the first time seemed really friendly and even cheerfull.
When he was buing his coffee in the machine as usual, there were no problems. As he was waiting for the paper cup to be filled with hot drink, he started to think about the strategy of fight with the final boss, which – according to the agreement – he was supposed to present to Nanami.
When he entered the ward, Sonia did not welcome him at the door as usual. Best friends - ten years old Koizumi and a year younger Saionji – were whispering something to each other when he passed them on the corridor. Komaru was avoiding his gaze and Makoto Naegi stood in open ICU door, talking to some people. Hinata recognized them immediately. They were Nanami's parents – he saw them few times when he was wisiting Nanami in her room, but he's never talked to them. They kept their distance, allowing their daughter to self indulge in the world of computer games. As if they didn't want to disturb her. At first he wanted to come closer and ask what it is all about, but Komaru just shook her head and invited him to the common room.
She was still trying to avoid looking into his did, in fact. Even Kuryuzuu tried not to stare at him with his one eye, barely visible behind all the bandages. Hinata didn't really care that much. He was still looking nervously at the corridor. He wasn't sure if he was doing anything apart from that. He wasn't playing video games, that's for sure. Noone did. Place in front of the TV screen was reserved for Nanami, none of the younger kids was brave enough to claim it, when he was around.
'Hinata' Komaru looked at her watch. 'I think you can go home earlier today'.
'Hm? Sorry, what?'
'You came back really late yesterday' she said. 'Your mum told my mum that she's worried.'
'No reason' he answered, for a moment raising his head from the drawing he, Saionji and Koizumi were doing. 'It's all right'.
Komaru rolled her eyes.
'Hinata, please… I'm glad that you're so devoted, but… maybe…'
Her voice drowned in scream. Someone was screaming on the corridor. A woman.
Patients looked at each other with silent understanding. They immediatelly came back to their games, blocks and drawing. Nobody was spaking. Each one of them was focusing on escaping into the world of games as deep as possible. See no evil, hear no evil.
Hinata suddenly felt nauseous. It was very hot and stuffy in the common room. Definitelly too stuuffy for him now. Setting autumn sun was getting in though the windows, hurting his eyes. Not even looking at Sonia or Komaru he left the common room. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. The woman was still screaming and crying in anguish. She was protesting, begging, pleading to help, to rescue. Behing the glass ICU door there was a hospital bed. Hinata could see people gathered around and girl's body twitching under electrodes.
'Autumn sunset' said quietly Komaeda, who also went to the corridor, lured by the turmoil. 'Way too bright in her losing eyes. '
Hinata did not answer. He felt as if he was suffocating. As if there was acrid smoke all over the corridor. As if he felt the smell of burning body.. No! He shook his head. That's not it, that's just hallucinations. Even from here he saw Nanami's body twisting and bending under new series of electric shocks.
'Stop it!' he asked, touching glass ICU door with his hand. 'Please, stop it, it's not working… stop it.
Inside the woman was still screaming, begging not to stop, to fight.
'Stop' Hinata hit the glass with his hand. ' You're hurting her, don't you understand?'
Somebody gently put hand on his shoulder. Komaeda.
'Come on, Hinata' he said patiently. 'Come with me'.
'Leave her alone' repeated Hinata, completely ignoring him. ' It won't do. Leave her alone, stop it!'.
'Come on' repeared Super High School Level Luck. Finally he manager to drag Hinata away from the door. ' We have to go'
'Go where?' asked Hinata, looking at him with confusion. He realised that his vision is blurry because of tears.'What do you want?'
'Come, Hinata',Komaeda put hand around his shoulder. 'We have to finish the game.'
So they played. They sat next to each other on hospital bed in an empty room and they played. Hinata did not ask, why Nanami's game console is now in Komaeda's room and how it is possible that the game is saved in proper moment. That were the things he didn't really want to know. The sun, too bright in Nanami's losing eyes was setting behind the window, over their fictious battlefield. Smoke from burned bodies go into their eyes, wringing tears and blurring the vision.
