"...ji... I'm..."
"...e'll... day..."
"...ro... ple... up..."
His eyes fluttered open. He could hear beeping from a machine. It was rhythmic. He felt the air in his lungs. This room was so bright... so... white... wait... a hospital? How...?
He attempted to sit up, but his body felt heavy and weighed down. He was still tired. Maybe he would... go back to sleep... He slid back down into the pillow, eyes shutting almost involuntarily. He slowly started to drift off to sleep, even as he heard the door open.
"Aaw.. I thought I saw him moving..."
Wait... that voice...
"Can't they do that? It's basically just like he's sleeping, right?"
"Well, you'd know more than I would, Yosuke! Did I ever move when you visited me?"
"Not... not that I saw. I mean, I'd remember if you did. It'd be super freaky."
"Yeah... maybe it was just a trick of the light or something... Oh, well."
He heard the steps get closer. Felt someone sit at a chair next to him. "Oh, hey, they took his cast off."
"Why wouldn't they?"
"I dunno! How can they check it's like good to take off?"
"They're doctors, Chie. I'm sure they know."
"But don't they have to check if he's still in pain, or-"
Chie?
Chie?!
He forced his eyes open, despite the will his body had to keep sleeping. Two figures were by the bed, their images blurry. Slowly, they faded into recognizable shapes. Yosuke stood beside the bed, staring down at the girl on the chair. And, the girl on the chair... in a bright green jacket... looking over her shoulder at Yosuke... she was...
Even though he could only see part of her face, he knew. It was Chie. She was awake.
He saw Yosuke's eyes widen and he took a panicked step back, "I'm—I'm gonna get a nurse!"
"Wha—why? Yosuke—hey!" The teen darted out of the room, and Chie jumped out of the chair as he did. She rubbed the back of her head. "Sheesh, what's his deal?"
She turned around and smiled at him sadly, reaching to grab her chair before she paused. She looked at him again and blinked. Then she blinked again. Then she brought a hand to her face and slapped herself on the cheek.
"Souji?!" Tears welled up in her eyes. He could feel tears well up in his, too. "Oh my god! I can't believe it!" She draped herself over the side of the bed, squeezing him awkwardly into a hug. He raised his hands shakily, barely able to lift them to return the hug. His fingers gripped lightly into the fabric of her jacket. This... was real... wasn't it? If it was a dream... he would curse the gods that made it so.
He felt content when he slipped back into sleep. When he woke again he saw himself at the foot of the bed. He was humming a song, and kicking his feet to the tune. He didn't know what to make of the scene, so he fell back asleep.
He woke up in his bedroom. Nanako was there. She was talking to him about a bear and that it talked and that it had a lot of friends and she'd bring him over one day to meet him. He was excited to see it.
He woke up. He was in... a bedroom. It wasn't his.
He heard two tiny knocks on the door before it opened. Nanako's face peered in, before lighting up. "Good, you're awake! Come on, we're gonna visit Dad and Adachi-san!"
Visit...?
His eyebrows furrowed, and her face fell. "You... forgot again, didn't you?" She shuffled her feet sadly. "You remember me though, right?"
He lifted the blankets off, smiling softly. "Of course I remember you, Nanako."
She smiled, but he could see it was strained as she tried to hold back tears. "W-We'll be waiting for you at the door." Without another word, she closed the door. He could hear her footsteps retreating down the hallway. He blinked slowly, examining his surroundings. This wasn't his room, but it was his room for now... And for now was because.. he and Nanako... were at Hamasaki's house!
And they were at Hamasaki's house because... Dojima... hadn't woken up yet.
He felt a chill down his spine. It had been weeks since he left the hospital. Sometimes he would wake up and forget, like today. Slowly, he slipped out of bed and opened the closet. The clothes were few, but he picked a clean set, threw it on, and headed out of the room. Hamasaki's daughter was at violin classes. They picked her up after the hospital visits.
Nanako held his hand every chance she had.
At the entrance to the hospital, Souji saw the girl in the green jacket. Chie waved once she saw them, jogging over to meet them halfway. "Souji said you guys were visiting Dojima-san today and I finally had some time and I was hoping I could visit him too? I mean, if it's too awkward, I can just go, but, um-"
Souji smiled, patting her on the shoulder with his free hand. "I'm sure he'd be happy you visited."
She returned the smile, "I hope so."
"I think he'd be really happy!" Nanako beamed, grabbing one of Chie's hands and dragging the two along to follow Hamasaki. Dojima was in room 404. He remembered it as they walked through the halls.
As they approached the door, he recalled all the visits they'd already had. Nanako had been inconsolable. She'd been so excited when he was released from the hospital that Dojima must have been ready to wake up soon. So far, it hadn't happened. She tried to put on a brave face, but he could tell it was eating her up inside.
As Hamasaki went to open the door, he looked down at her. Her eyes were lit up with hope and determination. 'He'll wake up today!' he was sure she was thinking.
The door opened, and there he lay. Covered in wires and tubes. The monotone beeping filled the room. Nanako let go of his and Chie's hands, her small footsteps approaching the bed. She scrambled into a nearby chair, grabbing one of his hands with both of hers.
The tears down her face were almost immediate. "Please, wake up, Daddy... please...!" she begged, her voice cracking. "I miss you! I wanna go home! I wanna smell your coffee in the morning! Please!"
Souji could feel his own lip trembling. What could he do? What could he say? He was frozen in place. It was like a repeat of all the other times they'd visited. He felt... hopeless. There was... nothing. Nothing he could do. He couldn't cheer Nanako up after the visits. He...
He felt someone squeeze his hand. He turned to look, Chie standing firm, despite the tears in her own eyes. She squeezed his hand tighter, both comforting and painful. She tried to smile, "He'll wake up. I know he will. You did! I did! He's gonna wake up, too! He has to! We just gotta keep believing in him, right, Nanako-chan?"
The girl looked back in confusion, wiping away the tears from her cheeks, "H-Huh?"
Chie puffed out her chest, letting go of Souji's hand to reassuringly place her hands on Nanako's shoulders. "Who's the strongest person you know, huh?"
"M-My dad..."
"That's right! He's so much stronger than both Souji and I combined! If we can make it through this, so can he! Don't give up hope!"
He saw Nanako's eyes light up, nodding slightly. "O-Okay!"
"Great! Now, tell him what you did today! I'm sure he'd love to hear it."
"Okay!" Nanako turned back triumphantly in her chair, enthusiastically telling Dojima about her day. Chie looked at Souji over her shoulder, giving him a thumbs up. He returned the gesture, before standing on the other side of the bed, holding onto his uncle's other hand. He squeezed it as Chie had squeezed his.
When they visited Adachi, they weren't expecting him to be sitting up. Hamasaki had been told beforehand, but kept it a surprise. The man seemed dazed and confused, sometimes trying to pat his shoulder where the glass shard was, before getting stopped by his wrist being cuffed to the side of the bed.
Souji didn't know what to think. Chie had stayed with Dojima while they visited Adachi, which he didn't blame her for. He looked at the man in the hospital bed, the man that hurt ever single one of them, but... he didn't feel angry. He didn't feel pity, either, watching him in this state. He stared at Tohru Adachi and Tohru Adachi stared back.
And then Tohru Adachi smiled.
"You did it, kid," he laughed lightly. "You won."
Souji left the room.
