Maki was quickly walking to the emergency room with another doctor beside her. She got some traces of information about the accident. There were two people involved in a car crash. One of them had some injuries, but they didn't sustain too much damage.

Opening the door to the emergency room, she saw the other injured person lying on the medical table. However, the body looked…eerily familiar. Particularly, the hair.

'It's that same colour…no, it…it can't be. Just focus on the patient.'

She was told that the patient had broken bones around the chest area, damaged limbs, and had some damage to her head. It was rough, but it looked very likely that she would live.

She was preparing the girl for the surgery, but it was making her mind foggy.

'R-Riko-chan…it is you…'

Maki was shaken by seeing Riko in this damaged state, but she couldn't let it overtake her.

'She's a patient, just like any other. You need to save her.'

…

After a few hours, Riko's surgery was done. Unfortunately, the damage to her head was bad enough for her brain to start swelling. Fortunately, the swelling wasn't extreme. So, the girl was put into a medically induced coma so the swelling would subside. The other injuries were marginal in comparison to that; some fractured bones and a broken arm was some of the other injuries.

Riko was lying in a new room as Maki was tending to her. Right after the surgery, Maki contacted Riko's mother. She was obviously worried about her daughter, but Maki tried to assure her that Riko would be okay and urged her to come to the hospital.

As she waited for Riko's mother, she stayed in the room with her ex's body. 'God…I hate saying that. All I needed to do was put her first for just one day, and I couldn't even do that right.'

Everything from the past week was a blur after doing Riko's surgery. However, it all came rushing back after Maki was sitting silently in Riko's room.

On the first day after her break-up, she was a mess. She took a day off (unlike how she didn't for Riko's concert) to adjust herself. She was the reason the person she loved broke up with her, and it stuck with her for the entire week. She asked Eli to get the video of Riko's performance. Once she did, she took the day off to learn as much as she could by ear. It was tough as it was a very complicated piece, but she was able to get a quarter of it. Playing it made Maki see how much technique and heart Riko put into this song, and how it was for nothing.

The only people that she could feel comfortable talking to was Eli and Nozomi, since they were the only people she knew that actually attended the concert. They tried to assure Maki that she tried her best to go to Riko's concert, but it only made her feel guiltier.

'I never deserved someone so beautiful, talented, polite, and loving.' It was obvious that she still loved Riko. When she got together with Nozomi and Eli, all she could talk about was how much Riko affected her life. How Riko didn't deserve an awful person like Maki. And she could only blame herself because she was the reason for everything happening to the two of them.

In her mind, Riko got into this accident because of the break-up. Maybe she wasn't focused on driving because she couldn't think straight. It was the only thoughts that crept into her mind.

After about two hours, Mrs. Sakurauchi came to Riko's room. She was out of breath; Maki knew it was to see her daughter as fast as she could.

"Dr. Nishikino…is she…here…?" Riko's mother asked in-between breaths.

"Yes, she's resting here." Maki motioned her hand to the sleeping girl. Mrs. Sakurauchi went over to her daughter and looked at the lying body.

She reached and touched Riko's arm and her cheek. "It's…real…My little girl..."

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Sakurauchi," Maki said.

"Do you know what happened? How she got this way?"

"Not really, unfortunately." Maki went to Riko's other side and stroked away a lock of hair from Riko's face. "Her brain started to swell, but we caught it fast. She should be okay, but she will be out for a few days. It may even be weeks before her brain stops swelling."

Ms. Sakurauchi wiped her tears away, trying to be strong during this tough time. "It's really not that bad? She'll be okay?"

"It is bad, to be blunt. It's just that her case could have been much more severe. Looking at everything, as long as she relaxes here her healing should go smoothly." The mother sadly nodded when she heard the news. The doctor took Riko's hand in her own, and her tears started to fall. 'It's only been a week since I've seen you…and I've never stopped loving you but...to see you like this…'

"Dr. Nishikino?" Riko's mother looked at the red-head in confusion. However, she was starting to connect the dots as to why Maki was so close with the daughter.

Hearing her name made her turn her head to see a confused woman staring at her. 'I shouldn't be touching her daughter like this!' Maki quickly released Riko's hand, wiped her tears and tried to hide her blush by turning away. "S-Sorry. Please excuse-"

"Nishikino Maki?"

"Y-Yes…?"

Riko's mother sighed after getting the somewhat confused agreement. "You were dating my daughter, correct?"

"…Um…" Maki could only stay silent as she heard those words. 'She knows about our relationship? Wait…she said 'were'…' Maki slowly nodded. "Yes, I was dating Riko-chan. You…knew about us? And…our break-up?"

"Yes, I heard all about it," Mrs. Sakurauchi said.

"Oh…" Maki deflated. 'So, she knows I broke her daughter's heart.'

"I want to thank you." Maki's head shot up and her face scrunched in confusion. "Thank you for being with Riko. Whenever she called me to talk about you two, she was so happy."

"That's great to hear," Maki said. She felt even worse knowing that Riko couldn't stop gushing about her. 'Ruining something so great. Good job, Maki. You're so great.' Maki bowed to Riko's mother. "I want to thank you for raising such an amazing daughter. She was one of the best things to happen in my life, despite how short our relationship was." Maki took a seat and gazed out the window. "You shouldn't be thanking me anyways. I broke your daughter's heart because of my selfishness."

Maki heard Mrs. Sakurauchi sigh. "I heard the story…it's not entirely your fault, Maki-chan."

"Of course it is," Maki said sternly, "If I could have just done the work sooner, or just told them to leave it for later…it's all my fault! I had all the power to change it and I…just didn't."

"Fine, that is on you." Maki was surprised with the sudden shift in tone in Mrs. Sakurauchi's voice. "But…I can see why Riko is to blame as well, as much as I hate to say. She's been always low in confidence, and she puts a lot of trust into someone she connects with. Too much trust. I heard her say that you called her promise 'stupid'."

Maki flinched from hearing that again. She never meant that it was stupid; it was just something she said in the heat of their argument.

Riko's mother continued. "While saying something like a promise is stupid is hurtful, I can see that Riko overreacted. She told me that breaking up was the best thing to do, but I know that she still loves you." Maki felt a hand on her shoulder. "You two just have to work things out. You should try and make her happy. But, she shouldn't put all of her trust onto you."

Maki chuckled. "No wonder you're a mom. That…helped a lot."

"Guilty as charged," Mrs. Sakurauchi bantered back. "I want to see my daughter happy, and I know you will be the reason for it, Maki-chan. If not as a girlfriend, at least as a friend."

"You trust me that much?" Maki asked.

Riko's mother nodded. "You are her doctor, after all. Just…make sure she'll be okay."

"I promise." It felt risky to say, but Maki would not let this promise fail. She loved Riko too much to see her go away so soon, and she knew that Riko's mother did as well.

Three days have passed since Riko's accident, but she was recovering well. She was still in her coma, but the swelling had subsided considerably. And Maki was always with her to make sure she was okay.

It seemed biased to only be tending to Riko. However, there wasn't too much happening right now in the hospital. So, she asked the other doctors to only call on her when there was an emergency. Riko's health was one of the more concerning ones throughout the hospital, so there was a reason for Maki to be around her so much. She even stayed overnight with her, making sure Riko was okay.

'Terrible reasoning…but I made a promise. And I'm not breaking it.'

Right now, Maki was doing the normal routine of taking care of Riko. Checking vitals, and the occasional washing.

KNOCK!

"Maki-chan?" The red-head turned around to see her energetic best friend at the door.

"Rin?" She was surprised to see Rin being so restrained. "What are you doing here?" She was expecting to be tackled anytime now, but Rin had her hands behind her back.

"We haven't talked in a while. Do you have time right now?" Rin asked.

"Uh, yeah. We'll just have to talk here."

Rin was shaking in her spot. "Can…I hug Maki-chan, nya?"

'There's the girl I know.' Maki sighed, but had a smile on her face. "Yes, just be very care- Oof!"

"Yay!" In the matter of seconds, Rin had her arms wrapped around Maki's waist. How Rin didn't knock anything over was beyond the red-head. "Maki-chan!" Rin excitedly said in a hushed tone.

"I'm sorry we haven't talked so much, Rin." Maki said as she returned the hug. 'If Rin is here…that must mean…'

She heard a sigh come from the door. "Rin-chan. You couldn't control yourself just this once? We're in a hospital!"

'There she is.' Maki intervened before Rin got upset. "Umi, it's okay. As long as she didn't destroy anything, it's fine."

"Destroy? I'm not that careless, nya!" Rin pouted, causing the three girls to laugh. "It's nice to see you, Maki-chan!"

"And it's nice to see you again, Rin. And Umi." Maki bowed as much as she could with Rin's arms gripped around her.

"Same to you, Maki-chan." Umi bowed in response. The bluenette looked at the bed which Riko was lying on. "So, this is Riko-chan."

Rin let go of her hug as Maki turned to the bed. The red-head sighed as she took a hold of Riko's hand. "Yeah. I guess you heard from Nozomi."

Rin nodded. "Are you okay, Maki-chan?"

"I don't know…" Maki admitted. "First, we broke up because of me. And now…this."

"What happened?" Umi asked. "If it's okay to tell us."

Thankfully, Maki got consent from Riko's mother to tell people what happened with Riko. She was surprised that Mrs. Sakurauchi trusted Maki's friends, but the older woman knew about Muse through her daughter. And if Riko could befriend some people from a popular group, she had a feeling that all of Muse could be trusted.

"Yes, it's okay. She got into a car accident. She suffered some brain damage which caused swelling to her brain. We've put her into a coma, so she'll be out for a while. But, it's been three days, and she's been recovering well," Maki explained.

"That's good," Umi said. "To be honest, you look pretty tired right now, Maki-chan."

The red-head sighed. "I've been staying overnight with her. She's in the most serious condition throughout the hospital right now. So, it's good to watch over her."

"All night, nya? So, you've been here since yesterday?" Rin asked.

"No, I've been with her since the accident."

"You've been with her for three days?" Umi said.

Maki blushed. Hearing it out loud made it seem much worse. "How obvious is it that I'm still in love with her?"

"Very," Umi said.

"I don't want to hear it from you, Umi. You can still barely kiss Honoka without getting flustered."

"…"

'Got her,' Maki thought to herself.

"Maki-chan, you do look totally in love," Rin admitted. Hearing that made Maki feel defeated.

"I knew it…" Maki sighed and took a seat. A sandwich was being held in her face. Looking up, she saw a warm smile on Umi's face.

"I don't know if you've eaten. But, take it. You've done well."

Almost on cue, Maki's stomach growled. Maki nervously chuckled while Rin and Umi giggled at Maki's embarrassment. "Thanks."

"Maki-chan," Umi started to say, "You seem embarrassed about wanting to like Riko-chan again."

"It's not that I'm embarrassed. Riko's mother told me that it seems like she still loves me. And I'm insanely in love with her. It's just…"

"You're afraid to hurt her again, nya?" Rin asked innocently.

However, the orange-haired girl's innocent statement was spot on. Maki nodded. "Riko's mother said that Riko may have overreacted and was too rash to break up with me. But…I can't help but feel like it's entirely my fault. I wasn't there for her when she wanted me to be. I couldn't keep a promise."

"Maki-chan!" Rin suddenly said, startling both Maki and Umi.

"R-Rin?"

"This isn't the Maki-chan I know, nya!"

"Rin-chan," Umi said, "I don't know if you-"

"No, Umi-chan! You know that Maki-chan isn't being herself." Rin took a hold of Maki's hands. "Maki-chan, you're always so confident, nya. Right now, you aren't the same person I know."

"Rin. I'm not feeling up to argue with you."

"Then listen to me, Maki-chan. Riko-chan's mom said that it's not entirely your fault. But, you're making yourself think that it is. That isn't the Maki-chan I know, and you know it too."

Rin's surprising words of wisdom really struck a chord with Maki. 'Rin's right. I'm not being myself right now. I'm doing the opposite of what Riko did. Instead of trusting someone so much, I'm not trusting myself enough.'

"M-Maki-chan…I-I didn't mean to make you cry, nya." Rin went over and lightly hugged Maki.

"Rin…it's okay. I…I need to thank you, really." Rin was right, Maki was starting to tear up. She wiped her tears into her sleeves. "I still have to keep my promise to Riko's mother. And…I want to only hope that she was right. I want to be with Riko again, and I want to make it right. For me. And for her."

"That's the Maki-chan I know, nya!" Rin rubbed her cheek with Maki's. Maki wanted to push Rin away (which was her natural reflex), but she couldn't help but let her best friend rub her cheek. It was comforting.

"No wonder Honoka-chan put you as the temporary leader." Umi said. "You both make people inspired."

Rin smiled brightly, which seemed to brighten the whole room. "Thanks, Umi-chan!"

Maki lightly laughed and then looked back to Riko and smiled. 'I want to make up, Riko. I can only hope you will let me.'