On that day, more than most others, Hokuto cursed how slow taxis were. She urged the driver to drive faster, ignore traffic lights and do whatever he could to get to the hospital as quickly as he could, but he mostly ignored her and obeyed traffic laws. Once they arrived, she gave him a lousy tip and ran inside, almost tripping over herself. When she got to the front desk, she was heaving so hard she couldn't get a word out. Not only that, but the receptionist was looking at her as if she was seeing double. Still, Hokuto took a few deep breaths and tried to speak, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I-I got a call from a friend about my brother! Do you know where he-"

"Hokuto!" The worried girl whipped her head to the side and saw Seishiro coming around the corner. Wasting no time, she abandoned the speechless girl at the counter and threw herself at Seishiro, gripping his arms tightly as he tried to comfort her.

"Seishiro, how is he? How is my brother? Is he okay?!"

"Hokuto, calm down… Breathe."

"I don't want to breathe! I just want to know if my brother is okay!" The tears started to break loose, and Seishiro calmly pulled her to his chest, sympathetically.

"Hokuto, he's okay… He was pretty banged up when I found him, but the doctors have been working on him. He'll pull through, I'm sure…"

"But, the doctors," she started to say, still crying but a bit calmer, "do they know Subaru is allergic to penicillin?"

"I told them. No need to worry. Subaru is getting the best care, I promise."



Once Seishiro had her calmed down, the two of them sat and waited for Subaru to come out of surgery, and then for him to be moved into a recovery room. Although, Hokuto was nearly a wreak when the doctor told them they could see him. She was holding onto Seishiro's hand to tight both their fists were white. Once they reached the right room and looked in, however, she calmed just slightly at seeing her twin in one piece. The awful beeping of the heart monitor echoed through the room and the look of all those IVs and tubes sticking out of her brother made Hokuto feel so badly. There was an oxygen mask over her brother's mouth, there was a tight bandage about his head, and his entire left arm was wrapped up and put in a sling.

"Oh, Subaru…" More tears spilled from her eyes as she left Seishiro's side and ran to her brother, nearly collapsing onto his chest while hugging his good hand. "Subaru, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left you all alone! If I'd stayed with you, then you wouldn't have gotten hurt, and…" That wasn't right, and Seishiro knew it. He walked over and patted her had.

"Hokuto, what a thing to say… Neither of us knew this would happen. It just did. You're not responsible for this… and Subaru would say the same thing!" Looking back at him, Hokuto blinked, wiped her eyes, and lightly smiled.

"Okay, Seishiro… But," she started, looking back down at her poor brother, "What happened to him? His poor arm…"

"According to the doctor, his left shoulder was probably the main impact point of the fall, and when he hit the ground, it dislocated it. His wrist fractured next. He's sustained a slight concussion both from the fall and nearly getting hit by that car, but he'll pull through."

"I'm glad… Oh, Subaru…" she cooed, stroking his cheek lightly, "What's happening to you, brother?"



Seishiro was just as curious. Never before had he witnessed 'zombie walking' quite like that before. He had a thought earlier that evening, starting with the bay area… that was where 'Project 5' was being carried out. Subaru had battled that man, and had been doing fairly well, until he was caught off guard. Seishiro had been watching from the shadows almost the whole time, but still… Why would Subaru fall sick directly after being attacked? Subaru was usually reckless on the job, but he always came out of it just fine. What made this case different? Seishiro looked down at the panting boy as the fever wracked his lithe body. But, as Hokuto petted his arm and try to soothe him, Seishiro noticed something he hadn't before. Subaru's mouth was moving.

He often saw Subaru talk in his sleep, and over the past three days, he remembered seeing Subaru look as if he was talking, but no words came out. Maybe, though… just maybe… Seishiro stepped to the other side of the bed, Hokuto looked up to him. it was alarming for her when she saw the older man lift the oxygen mask away from the boy's face, making the boy wheeze.

"Say it again, Subaru."

"S-Seishiro, what are you doing? Subaru will-"

"It's important, Hokuto. I think he's trying to tell us something!" That silenced her for the time being, and Seishiro knelt down close to the boy's face. Subaru was really breathing hard without the help from the mask, but still, he tried to speak. He moved his lips, unconsciously trying to say it again, but again it came out to soft.

"Well…?"

"I couldn't hear. Come on, Subaru. One more time, as loud as you can…!" Seishiro closed his eyes and concentrated on the flow of words coming from Subaru's mouth. He was actually startled by what he heard.



"…No… K-Kuni…"

"! Kuni?"

"Eh? Miss Aso's dog? Why is he talking about that?"
"Kuni…"

"Can't go back… my arm is gone…"

"Ah! That's it!" Seishiro's exclamation startled Hoktuko, and even more as the older man started searching around the bandages on Subaru's injured arm. The boy winced and groaned but Seishiro didn't stop until he found what he was looking for. Hotuko curiously stood on her tiptoes to look over at what he'd found; they appeared to be bite marks. Seishiro didn't like the look of them, all dark and swelled, so he turned back to Subaru. A little forcefully, he slammed his hands down on either side of the boy's head, who was still gasping and writhing lightly due to the fever and maybe something else. But Seishiro wasn't just going to brush it all off.

"Subaru."

"T-tired…"

"No, Subaru, you can't go to sleep yet! I need you to talk to me!" Slowly but surely, Subaru's eyes opened partway. They were so cloudy and heavy.

"Subaru, tell me about this bite mark on your arm."

"Bite… mark…"

"Yes. The one here on your left arm! When did you get this?"

"….Don't… can't…. tired…"



"Yes you can, Subaru! Talk to me! When were you bitten?" After that, all they got, however, was incoherent mumbling. That was, until the boy's heart monitor started going crazy! Not only was Subaru's heart rate increasing, but the machine, itself, was starting to buzz and spark. Seishiro pulled Hotuko out of the way as doctors started rushing in to try and fix the problem. Subaru didn't open his eyes after that, and he had gone deeper into unconsciousness into a coma-like state. None of the doctors could figure out why, but Seishiro knew. He didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't deny it any further.

"Subaru… has been cursed."