A week passed by in a blur, with Ryuji falling in and out of consciousness and Akechi spending his time helping out the police, the thieves had kept a low profile. Now that Ryuji was awake for longer than an hour, the hospital had allowed his visitors to stay longer. Currently, Futaba and Morgana were with the blond. The long haired teen clacked away at her laptop while Ryuji mindlessly ran his fingers through the feline's fur as he sat on the bed beside him.

"Here." Futaba slid to sit next to Ryuji as she put her laptop on the table attached to the bed.

"...What the hell am I lookin' at?" Ryuji stared at the glowing screen.

Futaba grinned. "We designed eye patches for you. What do you think?"

Ryuji looked at the myriad of pictures with a soft smile. He could tell Akira's style easily, his wasn't as amazing as Yusuke or cute like Haru's but it was a nice middle ground. Their frizzy haired leader had drawn a Raichu design for his eye patch, he vaguely remembered telling Akira what his favorite Pokémon was. Ann had drawn a tiger, well, more like a tiger dressed as a pirate. The pigtailed blonde had put some work onto hers. Yusuke's was… a portrait of crashing waves, no doubt reflecting his mindscape and Kidd's past. Ryuji could feel the skeleton growing attached to it as he voted heavily on that design.

Makoto, bless their Queen's heart, had tried her best. She had drawn a lightning bolt in a pair of wings.

"Makoto tired." Futaba spoke up from her spot on the bed.

Ryuji gave a chuckle. "I know."

Futaba had drawn a picture similar to her Alibaba icon, except it was the blond with a mouthful of sharp teeth. Haru's was adorable, she had drawn a little soft and round version of the Adventure Galley with his mask as the sail. Ryuji could hear Kidd swallow down a small noise at the cute design.

"Damn… you guys put a lot of work into these…"

"Well, duh." Futaba climbed into bed with him and wrapped her arms around him. "You mean a lot to us."

Ryuji felt himself tear up. "Thanks, Futaba."

"We almost lost you."

The blond gripped the sheets of the hospital bed; there was a faint throbbing pain that came from his wounds. "Futaba?"

"Yeah?"

"I ain't one to reject all the attention, but…" Ryuji trailed off. "Did somethin' happen during those five days I was out?"

A heavy silence filled the air as the navigator tightened her grip around him. Morgana's ears flattened against his head as he pawed at the bunched up sheets.

"Guys?" Brown eye flicked between the two. "What happened?"

"You… You flat lined on the operating table…" Morgana quietly spoke.

"You died." Futaba was shaking.

"I… died?" Ryuji blinked in surprise, one of his hands self-consciously gripped at his chest. "But… how did-"

"Kidd told us." The teen pulled her self away from the blond's shoulder. Tears were gathering in the corner of her eyes. "He said that you died and that he was disappearing."

'Arsene was beyond himself. Asking for Kidd to stay with him for as long as possible.' Necronomicon spoke in her soft tone. 'I've never seen him act like that before…'

'He was on the verge of tears or what could be considered tears with a face full of fire.' Zorro added.

'… I was nearly gone until they brought you back.' Kidd said. 'You scared all of us, Lad.'

"…What about my mom? Does she know?" Ryuji was almost afraid to ask, too scared to know the answer.

Morgana answered. "We never told her. We figured it was best for her not to know her."

Ryuji made to respond just as the sound of a text alert went off. The long haired girl pried herself away from the teen as she pulled out her phone.

"Haru ordered flowers for you!" She climbed out of the bed. "And she needs help carrying it up here. " She pulled at Morgana's cheeks. "Watch over him for me, Mona."

"Hey!" The feline pulled his face away. "Quit that and he'll be fine!"

Futaba gave him a smile, gave a Ryuji's hair a ruffle, and left the room. The blond sighed and flopped back against the pillow.

"I don't need watchin'." He huffed and closed his eyes.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Shut up." Ryuji put his hands behind his head and attempted to rest his eyes.

A few seconds passed before the sound of the door opening and closing brought him out of his would be nap.

"That was quick." He responded without opening his eye.

"Sakamoto."

Brown eye shot open as the beeping from the cardiac monitor increased in frequency. Ryuji started at the man in the room and he felt his blood run cold. There, standing near the bed, was a man in his late thirties wearing a sleek gray shirt, brown belt, and black pants. Green eyes glared heavily at the stunned blond as he crossed his arms, Ryuji could see the muscles through the shirt.

"Sakamoto." The man repeated. "Skull."

It happened in a split second, Ryuji's eye flicked from the male to the call button nearby before he quickly reached for it just as the male lunged at him. The blond found his cry of surprise cut off as hand slapped over his mouth while his wrists were caught in a punishing grip.

"Ryuji Sakamoto." The man leaned on the mattress. "Born July 3rd,20XX, Age 16." Green eyes bore into a frighten brown one. "Your mother's name is Mai Sakamoto and your father is Raito Sakamoto. The two of them have been divorced for six years and you and your mother live in a small two room apartment." A smirk appeared on his face. "You got away from me, Skull, and I don't leave a victim alive."

The heart monitor grew louder as Ryuji trembled against Butcher's hold. He didn't want to die here, not again, and not to the serial killer.

"I can't kill you now, not with the police guarding your room." Butcher leaned down closer to the shaking blond's face. "But I'll leave you with this. If you tell the police what I look like, I will kill your mother."

"No!" His shout was muffled from behind the hand. "Don't touch her!"

Butcher increased the pressure on Ryuji's wrists and he flinched from the pain. "You don't get a say in that, Sakamoto. She'll live if you keep your mouth shut. Understand?"

Ryuji didn't say anything.

"If you don't respond, I'm breaking your jaw."

The teen nodded.

"Good." Butcher let go of him and backed up, heading for the door. "We'll talk soon, Skull." With that, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

Ryuji lay there, watching the door in case the killer decided to come back. He wanted to cry and tell someone about what happened, but the threat of his mother's death hung heavily in his mind and heart. If keeping his mouth shut kept his mom alive, then Ryuji would stay quiet. He felt a weight on his legs, but made no move to acknowledge it as Morgana climbed out of his hiding spot. The cat repeated the blond's name, trying to grab his attention through the white static that filled the teen's head. The door opened again to reveal the rest of the thieves with vases of flowers. Akira immediately rushed to his side once he spotted Ryuji's ragged look and dead stare.

She'll live if you keep your mouth shut.

For the first time in years, Ryuji Sakamoto was quiet.