A/N: Sorry for the late update once more, summer school is being a pain in the a**. It finishes in about a couple weeks, so hopefully I can make more stories in less time. Sorry, and enjoy this chapter.
At the Hospital - Yoshiki's PoV
Another day passed. Luckily, I was able to get the job I had before this whole incident in a couple hours. Shinozaki was still sleeping in the bed, and it still has been a couple days since the incident. I really wished I could do something to help her get up, but I knew I couldn't help, at least, not right now. At least she was alive.
I should go get breakfast…
"I'll be right back, Shinozaki. Sleep well, I'll be here waiting for you."
? - Ayumi's PoV
Where… am… I? I can hear Kishinuma's voice… why did you come back for me? I've been so mean to you… and yet, you still came back for me… I'm sorry, Kishinuma, you've lost so much because of me… I want to wake up, but I can't… not right now…
Cafe in the hospital - Yoshiki's PoV
"May I have a breakfast meal combo?"
"Yes sir, please wait at this table."
"Thank you."
I sat down on the table the waiter pointed to. I couldn't sleep too well last night, as I had a nightmare…
Yoshiki's Nightmare
"Is that you, Shinozaki?"
"Kishinuma-kun!"
"Go get Yuka, and run!"
"Ok."
I was fighting Yoshikazu, who was holding scissors, and I had to stall as long as I could, so Shinozaki and Yuka can run safely.
"Ahhhhh!"
"Kishinuma-kun?"
"Run, Shinozaki. Get out of here."
"Kishinuma-kun…"
"Whose sake do you think I came back for?"
"...?"
"Shinozaki… I lo-"
"Kishinuma-kun!"
"Run, Shinozaki, run!"
Back to reality
I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, and with that, I woke up from the dream. I was still thinking about that dream still, until the waiter came back with the food.
"Enjoy your meal, sir."
"Thank you."
I quickly ate the breakfast meal that the waiter provided me with. After eating, I placed enough money to cover for the meal, and I walked back to Shinozaki's room. As expected, she was still sleeping, so I decided to go for a walk, and to the store a little bit early today.
Music Store - Yoshiki PoV
"Mr. Tanaka!"
"Oh, is that you, Kishinuma? You're here early."
"Yeah, I had nothing to do anyways. I thought I could come earlier to learn what I need to do today."
"That's good, I like that attitude, Kishinuma, keep it up," Mr. Tanaka states and proceeds to pat my back.
"Thank you, Mr. Tanaka. What can I help you with?"
"Well, since you came in first, I can teach you how to work the cashier machine, that will be where you will spend most of your time."
"Oh, okay. I know how to work the machine, I've… worked somewhere else before coming here, and I operated the machine there," I lied.
I can't tell him I worked here before…
"Ahh, you have experience? That's good, then you can help Mochida when he comes in in half an hour. Some other things you need to do is help customers, organize the store, clean the store before locking up, and occasionally carry boxes to storage when new stock comes."
"Seems pretty simple, I think I'll get a hang of it quickly," I said chuckling.
"That's good, I'm lucky to have a hard worker like you, Kishinuma. Thanks."
"It's no problem, sir."
I got to work on the cashier, while the manager went into the back of the store to do inventory. He said when Satoshi came, he would leave the inventory to Satoshi and leave for the day. For about an hour, a couple customers walked in, and paid for whatever they chose, and not too long after, Satoshi walked in the store, while Nakashima and Yuka walked back towards wherever they came from.
"Excuse me, do you know-"
"In the back, taking inventory."
"Wait, how did you know?"
"You're Satoshi, right? The manager told me you'd be coming."
"Ahh, you must be Yoshiki, then. Nice to meet you."
"Yeah, nice to meet you, too, although it's not my first time meeting you…" I muttered the second part.
"What's that?"
"Oh, nothing, the manager is through here."
"Thanks, want to be friends?"
"Uhh, sure, I guess…"
"Cool, see you later."
"Satoshi, still the same, huh…"
"Kishinuma, I'm heading out for today. You can lock up after you and Mochida clean up the place at 7 pm today, we're closing a bit earlier today."
"Yes, sir. Have a good day, see you tomorrow."
"Oh, right, one more thing, I won't be here everyday, when you come, you'll just switch places with 2 students that work morning shifts. You and Mochida are the night shift. I'll only be in when there are special circumstances or your paydays."
"Ahh, okay, have a good day, sir."
"You too. We usually close around 9 pm, but today, we will close earlier," Mr. Tanaka stated before leaving the shop."
Well, I guess I'm here for 4 more hours… At least I'm not alone…
Hospital - Ayumi's PoV
"Ugh… where… am… I?"
"Ah, Ms. Shinozaki, you're awake. You're at a hospital, your boyfriend brought you here."
"My… boyfriend?"
"He was worried about you, he asked me to check on you until he got back from work, which he should be in a while."
"Who…?"
"His name is-" the door slides open, and the nurse finishes, "here he is."
"Shinozaki?"
"...Kishinuma-kun?"
"You're awake!" he exclaimed, while I ran over and hugged Shinozaki.
"Kishinuma…" I said, holding back a couple tears.
"Well, I'll go get a doctor."
"Thank you for checking in on her, thank you."
"No problem, don't get too comfortable, the doctor will be here shortly," the nurse said while exiting the room, giggling.
"..."
"Well, Shinozaki, it's nice to see that you're awake."
"How long was I out for…?"
"Couple days."
"Oh… Kishinuma…?"
"Hmm?"
"Why do you do this much for me?"
"Well, uh… because we're friends."
"I mean-" the door opened again, cutting me off.
"Hello, Ms. Shinozaki, how are you feeling right now?"
"Tired and hungry."
"Heh, expected so, would you bring in dinner for Ms. Shinozaki here, Mr. Kishinuma?"
"Ahh, yes, I'll grab something from the cafe," he said while exiting the door, closing the door behind him.
"Well, you seem to be doing good, you should be able to leave tomorrow."
"Thank you, doctor."
"No, it's fine. Well, as much as I would love to chat for a little more, I have to go check on another patient. Hope you feel better, Ms. Shinozaki."
"Thank you," I said, and the doctor smiled at me, and left the room, while the nurse was tidying up my room.
"Well, I'll be leaving, too. I have to go put these sheets to be washed. See you tomorrow morning, Ms. Shinozaki."
"Ahh, wait, how long was… was Kishinuma-kun here?"
"He was here the whole time you were unconscious, you're lucky to have a boyfriend like him," the nurse left giggling.
"Kishinuma-kun…"
Cafe in the hospital - Yoshiki's PoV
I can't believe Shinozaki's waken up. She said she can be released tomorrow, so I'll go see that doctor tomorrow morning before leaving. Finally, things are turning better for us…
"Sir…? What do you want?"
"Ah, sorry. May I have two sandwiches and two water bottles?"
"Yes, please wait a moment."
I grabbed myself a tray nearby while I was waiting for my food, and when the food came out, I got the food, and paid for the sandwiches and water. I put the food on the tray, and returned to Shinozaki's room. I saw the nurse walk out a few seconds ago, so I assumed there was no one else in there, and I entered the room, "Hey, Shinozaki. Here, I got you a sandwich and water, I thought you'd be hungry after… all that happened."
"Kishinuma-kun… I'm sorry, and thank you…" Shinozaki said, while looking like she was going to cry.
"Shinozaki, don't cry… Everything's going to be alright… I'll be here for you, I'll help you through this."
"*sniff* Okay… thanks, Kishinuma."
"It's nothing, here, take a sandwich and this bottle of water. Eat up, we can go out tomorrow, to my place."
"Kishinuma, I'm sorry for treating you so horribly in the past, I let myself judge you on your appearance too much… I'm sorry."
"Shinozaki, it's ok, I wasn't… exactly the nicest also, I deserved it, don't blame it on yourself. Nothing was your fault. No one blames you for everything that happened. In fact, I'm pretty sure they will thank you for your sacrifice, you were brave in doing so," I chuckled while trying to calm down Shinozaki.
"...And… you, too. You stayed in there with me, helped me, and got me out alive… I'm sure they will thank you also, if… they remembered us."
"Yeah, but at least we got them out safe, and restored the memory of Yui sensei, Morishige, Suzumoto, and Shinohara."
"Thanks for the sandwich and water. I'm going to go to sleep, but what about you?"
"No problem, and I just sleep in this bed. Good night, Shinozaki."
"Good night, Kishinuma-kun."
I turned off the lights, and layed on the bed for a while, in the silence. I turned my body to look at Shinozaki, who seemed to be asleep.
She's so cute when she sleeps…
"Sweet dreams, Shinozaki. I love you," I say, and fall into sleep right after.
The next morning
"*Yawn*Shinozaki? You awake?"
"..."
"Still sleeping, huh? Well, it's still 7 am, I guess that's still a bit early. I'll be right back, Shinozaki."
"...Don't… go…"
"...? Shinozaki? What's wrong?"
"..." No response is heard from Shinozaki other than soft breathing and a slight movement in the bed.
"Heh, rest well, Shinozaki… We have a long day ahead of us." I sighed while exiting the room to talk to the doctor I met the first day."
Doctor's Office
"Come in!"
I entered the door, and was welcomed by the doctor: "Mr. Kishinuma! I heard your girlfriend woke up! Congratulations."
I blushed at the doctor mentioning 'girlfriend'. "We… are just close friends… but yes, she did wake up, and you asked me to bring her to you, but she is sleeping, so…"
"I see, well, in that case, I guess I can go pay her a visit before releasing her from the hospital."
"Ahh, ok."
Hospital room
They both silently entered the room, causing Shinozaki to start wake up. "Ki-Kishinuma-kun? What time is it?"
"It's 7:15 Shinozaki, have a good night's sleep?"
"Yeah, and… who are you…?"
"Excuse me, I am Dr. Nakamura, I was the doctor that treated you and your boy- close friend here."
"Ahh, thank you…"
"Well, I'm here to evaluate you before you are released from the hospital, and I'll be giving you a guideline so you can stay healthy outside our hospital."
15 minutes later
"Well, you're healthy enough to leave, but stay on the wheelchair for a couple days to regain your strength, drink plenty of water, and eat healthy and enough food, and you should be back to normal in about a week."
"Thank you, Dr. Nakamura," we both said simultaneously.
"Have a nice day, Mr. Kishinuma and Ms. Shinozaki." The doctor left chuckling at the couple.
"So… I guess we can leave… Want to go back to my place, and talk things over before I go to work?"
"Sure," Shinozaki replied, and got up, and with my help, sat on the wheelchair, and we left the room.
Hospital Reception
"Ma'am, thank you for your kindness to us. If it wasn't for you, we would've been in deep trouble."
"No problem, I'm glad you two are fine. You two make a good couple, you know that, right?" The nurse said giggling with the other nurses nearby.
"Uhh… thank you." I reply while blushing, and I walk out the hospital with Shinozaki.
Outside the Hospital
"Well, Shinozaki, let's go home… Oh, and here, the Book of Shadows."
"How… did this get back?"
"Well, I brought it back, it started to say things that I thought will be helpful, so… sorry."
"Oh, no, it's fine, I was just wondering."
"Want to eat something before we go back, Shinozaki?"
"Sure, how about the sandwich store right over there?"
"Sounds good.". I confirm Shinozaki's request, and I enter the store with Shinozaki.
Sandwich Store
"Welcome! How may we help you?"
"May we have two breakfast meals?"
"Yes, wait for a moment, please."
"The breakfast meal is fine with you, right, Shinozaki?"
"Yeah, it's fine… Sorry for making you go through so much because of me…"
"Shinozaki, it's fine… I'm doing this because I want to help you, and it was my choice to help you, so don't blame yourself for everything, Shinozaki."
"Kishinuma-kun… thank you."
"Heh, it's no big deal." I chuckle while scratching the back of my neck.
"Here are the two meals, enjoy!"
"Thank you."
We both eat in silence, but we were both lost in thought. I was thinking about how to get the memory back to our friends like the Book of Shadows said. Shinozaki was obviously thinking about something, but who knows what she was thinking about.
"So… everything ok, Shinozaki?"
"Hmm…? Oh, yeah, it's fine."
"...Well we're done eating, so let's go back, Shinozaki.". I stand up, and pay for the two meals, and I walk out while pushing Shinozaki.
"Yeah…"
I pushed Shinozaki for the rest of the walk to our house. It wasn't too far from the hospital, so it was a pretty quick walk. I got to my apartment, and because my room was in the second floor, I had to carry Shinozaki and the wheelchair up the stairs. I let Shinozaki down on the wheelchair again, and opened my room, and let Shinozaki in.
"So, this is my room, feel free to make yourself at home."
"Okay…" Shinozaki said, getting up and sitting on the couch.
"Hey, the doctor said to stay on the wheelchair."
"I'm fine, it was only for a bit…"
"Still… the doctor said…"
"You don't have to be protective over me every moment, Kishinuma."
"...Fine."
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Ah, right. Well, first, as you expected, our existences were erased, so no one remembers us, but the Book of Shadows said something about how it wasn't completely destroyed, so some trgger or something can have our memories back, at least to the few people that known us alot, like Satoshi, Nakashima, Yuka, Miki, your parents, people along those lines."
"Ahh, that's… nice to know, is that why you brought back the Book of Shadows?"
"Yeah…"
"Kishinuma, may I ask you something?"
"Uhh, sure, go ahead."
"Why are you so nice to me even when I was mean to you? Why do you care so much about me when I always pushed you aside? Why did you come back for me? Why did you keep protecting me?"
"..."
I… Should I tell her my feelings…? I guess I have no other choice right now…
"...Kishinuma-kun?"
"Well, since the day you saved me from getting expelled, remember that?"
"Yeah, kind of."
"That day, I was going to punch Mr. Tsubota and drop out, I had no friends, I had no point in continuing, but you came, you believed in me, and even cried for my behalf. You motivated me since then to continue my education. I quit smoking, and I started to actually try in my education. The second year, you and the others accepted me into your group, regardless of my appearance. Since then, my life started to get better, and, well, I was thinking, and I concluded that you were the reason why I came this far, without you, I would've dropped out. So, since then, I promised myself to save you and protect you like you did to me that day. At Heavenly Host, I promised myself to get you out of that hellhole no matter what. So, what I'm trying to say is…"
"Kishinuma-kun…"
"Shinozaki, I love you."
A/N: I'm sorry for the super late upload, I was busy because of summer school. Here's an extra long chapter to make up for that. I'll get the next one up as soon as possible. Stay tuned for the next!
