When Natsuya returned home with Nao, he expected to return to an empty house as his parents would usually be at work however, he found both his parents sat at the kitchen table, excitement clear in their eyes as they looked up at the two boys who had entered the room.

"What's going on?" Natsuya asked curiously, surely it couldn't be bad news with his parents smiling like they were.

"It's Ikuya, there's good news and bad news," His father began speaking, grasping his mother's hand tightly

"We got a call from the hospital a few miles away, he's been found, but he has a couple of mild injuries, I think they said from an attempted mugging but the police haven't spoken to him yet so they're not entirely sure," His mother continued and his eyes grew to twice their normal size as Nao wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders

"He's okay...?" Natsuya mumbled to himself, relief flooding through him as his eyes grew wet. He could feel the tears begin falling down his face and roughly wiped them away.

"Natsuya, are you okay?" His mother's ever concerned voice asked gently. Natsuya took a deep breath before answering

"Yeah, I'm fine...I'm just really relieved...I'm so glad he's okay..." He sniffled slightly and took another deep breath "So, when can we go and see him?" He smiled widely, feeling so much calmer than he had all day

"We were going to go just now, we were waiting for you to get home," His father said, standing up from the table, soon followed by his mother.

"Is it alright if I come with you, then we'll watch some films when we get back?" Nao asked

"Of course...In all honesty, I think Ikuya would appreciate seeing you more than me at the moment..." Natsuya's smile turned sad at the thought which Nao noticed, giving Natsuya a quick hug.

"I'm sure that's not true, you just need to explain everything to him, I promise he won't be mad at you forever," Nao said softly

"Yeah...you're right, I'm just worried..." Natsuya replied

"Now come on, you want to go and see him right?" Nao grinned as Natsuya grabbed his hand and pulled him outside towards his parents' car.

Ikuya woke up confused around mid-afternoon. He had no idea how long he had been sleeping and the confusion flooding his brain made him question where he was before the vivid memories came back, along with the sharp pain in his ribs which flared up anytime he breathed.

There was a knock on the door and Ikuya attempted to tell the person to come in however, his voice was weak and cracked as he was speaking. The other person seemed to get the message though as two intimidating looking police officers entered the room.

"Kirishima Ikuya, isn't it?" The first of the two officers spoke, his voice gruff to match his strong build and piercing gaze. Ikuya nodded, slightly afraid as the two officers moved closer to his bed. He sat up as the officer who had spoken laughed quietly before saying

"It's alright, you're not in trouble or anything. We'd just like to ask you a few questions about the person who attacked you if that's okay? The doctor said you said you were okay with it but if you've changed your mind that is perfectly fine as well,"

"N..no it's still okay..." Ikuya stuttered out in reply. Although he knew he hadn't done anything wrong and that he wouldn't get in trouble, Ikuya couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of anxiety that filled him. The two officers pulled two chairs from the side of the room over to the side of his bed before asking him a variety of questions including what the man looked like and what he had said. Ikuya tried his best to answer the questions however, he struggled, the concussion making his head heavy and his memory hazy.

"It seems you're struggling to remember things so we'll leave you to rest now. We'll leave you a phone number to call however in case you remember any other information," One of the officers said after around half an hour. They pulled out a card with both officers phone numbers and names on and handed it to Ikuya before saying a quick thank you and leaving.

Ikuya gently lay back down, trying to move his ribs as little as possible. A knock on the door however halted his movements as he mumbled a quiet

"Yeah?"

The door opened revealing one of the nurses who had been taking care of him. She was carrying a tray with a glass of water and some pills on and she gave Ikuya a sympathetic smile

"I've got some pain medication for you, it should help to stop your ribs from hurting."

Ikuya nodded in response, accepting the glass and the pills as the nurse handed them to him. After taking the pills, he said a quiet "Thanks," earning another smile from the nurse.

"How are you feeling?" She asked after placing the tray down next to his bed

"Tired mainly, and confused. My ribs feel like they're stabbing me," Ikuya replied with a weak smile

"The painkillers should help with that. We'll send some painkillers home with you as well, as long as you take them often enough it shouldn't hurt too much, but you do have a couple of broken ribs so it's going to hurt a bit," The nurse explained before adding "Your parents are on their way as well, they're going to visit you and then the doctor will check everything once more. If everything looks alright, you'll be able to go home," Ikuya nodded with a small smile as the nurse left the room once more, leaving him to continue resting.

Natsuya, his parents and Nao soon arrived at the hospital where Ikuya was and the four of them made their way into the reception, telling the receptionist their names and who they were here to see.

Natsuya's hands were shaking as they made their way upstairs to the room they had been directed to by the receptionist. Nao noticed this and gently grasped Natsuya's clammy hand in his own.

"He'll be okay," Nao reassured, to which Natsuya nodded slightly, wiping away the tears building in his eyes before they could fall.

They reached the room that they had been directed to before Natsuya's parents halted, turning towards the other two.

"We're not going to mention about him running away just yet...I feel like it would be better to ask him at home after he's had a while to recover..." His mother explained and Natsuya and Nao both nodded in understanding

"...How bad are his injuries...?" Natsuya asked in a small voice

"They said a couple of his ribs were broken and he has a mild concussion but it's nothing that won't heal on its own in time, he just needs to rest." His father joined in. Natsuya gave another short nod before his father turned back to the door, knocking on the door before hearing a quiet, nervous-sounding "Yeah?" from inside the room.

They entered the room in silence, neither of them knowing what to say. There was a beam of light shining into the room from a gap in the curtains which gently illuminated the room, making them able to see Ikuya's pale looking face. Ikuya averted his eyes from his parents' gaze, accidentally making eye contact with Natsuya before looking away even faster.

"How are you feeling?" Their mother asked Ikuya in a quiet voice, sensing the anxiety that practically radiated off of her youngest son.

"I'm fine..." Ikuya replied, still avoiding eye contact

"I'm sure you'd probably be more comfortable at home, right?" His father asked, to which he nodded

"We just need to go and sign some papers and then we can go, okay?" His mother smiled as he nodded and her and his father left the room.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Ikuya, Natsuya, and Nao were left alone in the room. Nao attempted to lighten the atmosphere by saying

"I'm so glad you're okay Ikuya,"

To this, Ikuya smiled slightly and replied with;

"Thanks..." After this the room went back to being silent, neither of the three knowing what to say. After around five minutes, Natsuya broke the silence, looking directly at Ikuya as he started talking

"Ikuya, I'm so sorry...I shouldn't have said what I said the other day..." He trailed off, wanting nothing more than to envelope Ikuya in a big hug, however, he knew how uncomfortable Ikuya was around him, and he knew that hugging him surely couldn't make it any better.

"It's fine..." Ikuya's voice was emotionless as he replied, making Natsuya doubt the sincerity of it.

"Ikuya..." Natsuya was dumbfounded as he stared at his brothers bruised face

"I said it's fine, can you please just drop it..." Ikuya hadn't meant to say that out loud however, once it was out, he felt a heavy weight lift off his chest.

It was at this point that his parents decided to reappear, a doctor following them as they stood by his bedside.

"Okay, Kirishima Ikuya, I just need to check a couple of things quickly and then you're okay to leave," The doctor began his check up and reached the conclusion that Ikuya was fine. He gave a few extra details to his parents about how to help his ribs heal however, Ikuya zoned out, trying to ignore Natsuya's gaze which contained a mix of sadness, relief, and longing.

It wasn't long before they were all heading home, his father being careful to choose the roads which with the least potholes in them in an attempt to not agitate Ikuya's injuries. Ikuya drifted away with his thoughts as they drove, many different things swirling through his head however, one stood out the most;

What do I do now?