The hospital was a bit less menacing when there were three of them. It was as if group spirit made Kaede feel stronger, as if together, they could pull through this more effectively and more rapidly.

"Ya know where Shuichi's room is already?" asked Momota.

"Of course! I visited him yesterday. By the way, thanks for the motor ride, Harukawa!"

"You're welcome."

In front of the room, they all kind of froze.

"Momota, you don't rush to him as soon as you see Saihara."

"I'll try, but... I haven't seen him in ages Harumaki!"

"Please, please be careful when you hug him then..." whispered Kaede.

He blinked.

"I can still hug him, right?" he asked.

"Of course! Just... Just don't squeeze him too badly, okay? His chest still aches I think..."

"That comes with pneumonia I guess…" was his reaction.

"Yeah... I still don't exactly get how or why... But it seems pretty bad since he could barely breathe Saturday..."

"Holy shit! He needs to get better!"

"Momota, don't yell! This is a hospital..." scolded Harukawa.

Kaede calmly knocked at the door, and put an arm in front of her two friends.

"Yes?"

She opened and almost closed the door behind her, all the while Momota was trying to peek in.

"Hello, Shuichi. There's Momota and Harukawa with me. Mind if they come in?"

"They can..." he softly replied as he sat up.

Kaede then fully opened the door, allowing the astronaut to rush to his ill friend as Harukawa silently followed him.

"Shuichi, I missed you buddy!"

"Same Momota..."

Seeing his smile upon seeing a friend... It made Kaede's heart feel so much better in a few seconds.

"Can I hug you?" asked the purple-haired boy, as excited as a child on Christmas.

"S-sure, be cautious... Aouch!"

Momota immediately stepped back.

"Hey, what's wrong?!"

Shuichi was slightly holding his chest, an embarrassed smile on his face and an eye closed.

"You just held me too tightly... Nothing big..."

"I'm sorry buddy! I didn't mean to do that!" apologized Momota as soon as he could.

"I told you to be careful" suddenly spoke up Harukawa in a neutral tone.

"Just be softer next time...!" reacted Kaede.

Momota crossed his arms and smiled again.

"You feel any better? Kaede's worried sick about you, ya know!"

"Not funny Momota."

"I'm a bit better than yesterday, thank you..."

"That's wonderful...!" let out the pianist.

She went to the detective and requested silence with a simple gist of the hand.

"Huh...?"

"Your breathing has evened out... It finally got slower..."

Harukawa, who had been standing next to the door before, stepped forward.

"The doctor told you anything about that?"

"They said I was getting better..."

His little smile clearly reassured Momota and Kaede alike.

"So, huh... Are you two dating or anything?"

Momota's question made both the pianist and the detective instantly feel weird, with a cough from the last one to accentuate.

"I-i-it's not like that Momota!"

"N-n-no...!"

They were both red as tomatoes but the denial was there.

"Aw come on, you both love each other, what are you waiting for?!"

"That he's back on his feet"

"That I'm not coughing up weird stuff anymore"

Their replies were almost synchronized.

"Momota, please calm down. Saihara's sick." spoke up the caregiver.

"Harukawa's right, he's far from healed..."

"H-hey," interrupted the ill one, "i-it's not that bad anymore...!"

To prove his point, he had a coughing fit and spit on the ground.

"Sh-Shuichi! You're still really sick!" yelled Kaede in reaction.

"Dude, that's like, not good at all!" reacted Momota.

"Sure, Saihara, you look really healthy at the moment." added Harukawa.

He inhaled just to cough again.

"You got up too fast! You need to be more careful!" told him the pianist as she put him back to bed.

'Hey, buddy... Ya sure you're not hiding anything?' asked Momota, showing a lack of trust unusual from him.

'No, don't... Don't worry..." timidly replied Shuichi, still coughing.

Unconvincing response, as the three other students look at him in doubt.

"Seriously, Shuichi, hiding stuff like that ain't cool! You're worrying everyone!" added the astronaut.

"He's right." inforced Harukawa.

"See? I'm not the only one thinking that!"

The detective still got up.

"Kaede, you know that I'm mostly healed by now, it's not a topic... To insist... On..."

His eyes went dim and she felt a borderline unbearable shiver down her spine. Such a déjà-vu wasn't good news at all. She remembered Shuichi's split personality from his previous deliriums… The aggressiveness, the borderline sexual appetite of someone entirely knew she was terrified of… She had to do something.

"Momota, Harukawa, back down!" yelled Kaede barely seconds later.

While the former did step back, the latter got a knife out, taking a defensive stance.

"W-what's happening to him?!" screamed the purple-haired boy in panicked fear.

"He's delirious with fever! Stay back!"

Harukawa lowered her knife down.

"And what do we do?!" continued to panic Momota.

"K-Kaedeeeeee..."

Walking to the pianist was her own crush, reminding her of a zombie.

"Get away from her!" screamed the caregiver as she rushed towards the delirious one, pushing him out of Kaede's way.

"You fucking predator!" she yelled as she pinned him down to the floor.

"Harukawa, don't hurt him!" urged the one dressed in pink as she got behind her classmate's back.

"Harumaki, d-dont kill Shuichi!"

The caretaker stayed quiet, looking into the dead fish eyes. The one trapped under her was trying to break free, but all he managed to do was coughing and grumbling.

"Why is he so weird?!"

Momota's shaky voice was unusual coming from him.

"Shuichi gets... Really bad fever episodes..." explained Kaede, her own voice filled with fear.

Harukawa was doubtful.

"You're sure? He seemed like he was about to assault you, Akamatsu."

"H-he did before, that's why I know it... He's not really conscious of it..."

"I'm not buying it. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn't been there."

"Yesterday he was repressing these urges... I guess he's too tired to do it today..."

"Speaking of tired," interrupted Momota, "he's not moving or anything anymore..."

Kaede, instantly worried, rushed to the sick boy's side. She kneeled down, making Harukawa stand up again, and checked for his temperature and breathing. It… Got worse. His breathing was slowly going haywire again. His fever was rising again.

"He passed out... Please, Momota, could you help me get him to bed?"

She had to explain things before she could do anything. How frustrating!

And with only a nod, they both put their fallen friend back to where he belonged: a place to rest.

"Let's get out of this room and discuss this elsewhere, please..."