Author's note: I haven't played the game, so this is mostly just based on the short episodes I found of the anime, the wikipedia page, and random tidbits I've found online about the game and guessed from pictures of the game. I'll try not to make anyone too OOC, but things are bound to change when they're in a different environment with different backgrounds, I think.

Chapter 1: The Waking World

Sumiko lied in a hospital bed hooked up to various medical machines. She had been comatose for nine years, ever since she was fifteen. The nurses where used to her lying there completely unresponsive, even when she was given therapies to keep her muscles from atrophying. But today was different. Sumiko's eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing dark orbs that gazed up at the ceiling in dazed confusion. This confusion turned to panic as she realized she was hooked up to a ventilator. Fortunately, before she could try to remove it, a nurse came in for her usual check on Sumiko's vitals, and she stopped Sumiko from hurting herself.

"It's all right! It's all right," the nurse told her firmly, calming her down. "Just wait here. I'll go get a doctor."

Sumiko lay there staring up at the ceiling. Her brow furrowed in confusion. What was she doing in the hospital? She couldn't remember how she had gotten there. Why was she hooked up to a ventilator? Was she really that bad off? Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long for a doctor to arrive, but when he did, she was surprised. It was her uncle Koudou. That wouldn't have been so surprising, except he looked older than the last time she saw him. Had she worried him that much? She felt bad about that. Her uncle and her cousin Chizuru, who he had adopted after she lost her parents, were the only family she had who cared about her. Sumiko's own parents had died when she was young, leaving her to be cared for by her father's side of the family. 'Cared for' that was a joke. They all thought she was a freak and weren't shy about showing it.

Koudou checked her vitals and tested her reactions. He looked relieved.

"There's no damage," he told Sumiko. "Don't worry, we'll be able to get all that equipment off of you soon."

Sumiko waited patiently for the ventilator to be removed. They sedated her to do it, which she was glad for because it didn't seem like it would be a pretty thing to watch or experience. When she woke up again, she was still in the hospital bed, but a young woman about her age was now in the room, talking to Koudou.

"Tou-san! She only just woke up and you put her back to sleep again?" the teenage girl said anxiously.

'Tou-san!?' Sumiko thought as he furrowed her brow, confused. The only person who called Koudou that was Chizuru, her cute little cousin, who was only seven-years-old. The teen did resemble her little cousin, but Sumiko thought there was no way they could be the same person.

"She was breathing on her own. We had to take her off the ventilator," Koudou explained patiently. "You can talk to her when she's awake again."

"I'm… awake," Sumiko said in a rough voice. Her throat was sore, but she could talk.

Koudou and the girl looked at her in astonishment, and the girl smiled, looking incredibly relieved.

"Sumiko-nee!" the girl exclaimed happily, leaning down to hug her. "You finally came back to us!"

"Eh?" Sumiko said hoarsely, surprised. "You… Who are you?" Again, why was she calling her like her little cousin would?

"Huh?" the girl said, pulling back to look down at her. "You mean, you don't recognize me?"

Sumiko shook her head.

"You shook your head. That's wonderful!" Koudou said, making a note on his clipboard.

Sumiko sweat-dropped. Just how bad off was she that that was noteworthy?

"It's me, Sumiko-nee," the girl said, placing a hand on her chest. "Chizuru."

"Chizuru…?" Sumiko said as her brow furrowed in confusion again. "It… It can't be..."

Koudou picked up a mirror from the table next to her bed and held it up so Sumiko could see her own face.

"Huh?" Sumiko said dumbly, shocked by what she saw. She slowly reached up and touched her face. The person in the mirror did the same thing. It was definitely Sumiko's face, but it was more mature. She no longer looked fifteen. She had to be at least four years older. But if that other girl really was Chizuru, then she must have been out longer, because she looked about fifteen or sixteen. "How long was I out? What happened to me?"

"You've been in a coma for the last nine years," Koudou stated, frowning with concern. "Do you not remember how it happened?"

Sumiko stared at him with wide eyes, too shocked to speak, and shook her head again.

"The witnesses said there was a child in the middle of the road, and truck was speeding toward him. You ran out and pushed him out of the way and got hit instead," Chizuru explained as tears of relief welled up in her eyes. "Oh, we thought you weren't going to make it! But here you are… I'm so glad!" She held her face in her hands as her tears fell.

"I… I'm sorry I scared you..." Sumiko said, though she still found it hard to accept.

Chizuru shook her head and looked up at her again.

"I'm just glad you're all right!" Chizuru said, smiling at her.

Sumiko smiled back. Chizuru's personality hadn't changed at all. She was still the sweet, caring person Sumiko remembered.

"My guardians must be worried…" Sumiko said. Even those people couldn't be unmoved by a nine-year-long coma, could they?

"I certainly was!" Koudou said, crossing his arms.

"Huh?" Sumiko said.

"While you were in the coma, I became your new legal guardian," Koudou said, smiling at her. "They finally let me have you." He would spare her the knowledge that it had been because they wanted to take her off of life support rather than pay to keep her alive.

"That is excellent news," Sumiko said, smiling. "Does that mean we'll live together from now on?"

"Yes, but there will be conditions," Koudou said with a serious expression. "1) You must not get involved with your old gang or any other gang again. 2) You must attend high school."

"High school? But I'm..." Sumiko said, pausing to do the math. "Twenty four now. You want me to go to high school at that age?"

"I do," Koudou said, nodding his head. "Education is important. You shouldn't skip it."

"If that's the case, then we can go together," Chizuru said brightly. "I'm starting high school this April, too."

"Where are you going?" Sumiko asked curiously. "Which school?"

"Heisuke-kun suggested I try going to Hakuou Academy with him," Chizuru said, smiling.

"Huh? Isn't that an all boys school?" Sumiko asked, confused.

"They're accepting girls, too, this year," Chizuru said.

"I see…" Sumiko said, sweat-dropping. She wondered how many girls would actually try it. Somehow, she didn't think a lot of them would go for it. 'I don't want Chizuru to end up being the only girl in her class...' she thought. "Okay. I'll go with you, then."

"You will? Great!" Chizuru said cheerfully, while Koudou smiled. Sumiko pushed herself up into a sitting position. "Oh! You can sit up already?"

"Wonderful!" Koudou said as he made another note. "It seems that neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy really worked to keep your muscles from atrophying..."

"Neuro…? That sounds expensive..." Sumiko said, suddenly feeling bad. How much did he spend just to keep her alive all these years? Koudou may be a doctor, but he wasn't made of money.

"Don't worry about it," Koudou said kindly, smiling at her. "Now that you're awake is there anything we can get you? You'll probably be in the hospital for a few more days so we can monitor you and make sure you're stable enough to be released."

"Uh, yeah… Can I borrow a barrette?" she asked Chizuru. "My bangs are too long. I can barely see."

"Of course. I'll bring you some mangas, snacks, and a change of clothes too," Chizuru said.

"I'm not entirely sure my old clothes will still fit..." Sumiko said, noticing that she actually had boobs now where she used to be almost as flat as a washboard.

"Yes, you'll have to go shopping once you're released," Koudou said.

"I wonder what kind of clothes the recycle shops tend to have these days?" Sumiko mused.

"Oh, no. You don't have to shop there," Koudou said. "You should get yourself some new clothes."

"But you've already spent so much on me, especially with that therapy you mentioned..." Sumiko said.

"I told you not to worry about that," Koudou said, sighing. "If you must know, you had a benefactor who started paying for everything once it became too expensive for me."

"Benefactor?" Sumiko and Chizuru asked.

"It's the first time I'm hearing this," Chizuru said.

"Don't worry. It's no one suspicious," Koudou said.

"But who would pay for something like that? For me?" Sumiko asked, genuinely puzzled. The only other people who might care enough to help her would be her old gang, but the last time she looked, they didn't have much money to spare. She wondered how they were doing now. Were the girls of the Oni no Hanabatake gang all right? No, they would be women now. Had they quit or dissolved the gang? 'I really want to know how they're doing, but I just promised Uncle Koudou that I wouldn't get involved with them again...' she thought, feeling conflicted. The older girls had really looked out for her, so she wanted to at least thank them and let them know that she was all right.

"As I've said, don't worry about—" Koudou started to say again, when the door to the room opened, and a handsome blonde man who appeared to be about Sumiko's new/current age entered the room, followed by another handsome young man with tan skin and long, dark hair and a red-haired man who appeared to be older. The blonde man stared at Sumiko with piercing red eyes. He was wearing a long and light white overcoat, but he clearly wasn't a doctor. He was dressed casually, but his clothes were all high quality. He walked straight over to Sumiko and startled her a little bit when he just reached out and swept her bangs back with his hand so they were out of her face. He smirked.

"There you are," he said, looking pleased.

Sumiko blushed a bit from the unexpected invasion of her personal space and quickly pushed his hand away.

"Good reflexes. It seems that therapy was worth the money I paid for it," he remarked, still smirking.

"You paid for it?" Sumiko said, surprised. She looked at her uncle for confirmation, and he nodded. The blonde man continued to smirk at her, as thought amused, until she said, "Then, I should thank you, but… Who are you?"

It was so quiet they could've heard a pin drop in the room.

"Are you saying you don't recognize me?" the blonde man asked, frowning.

"Ah, please hold on, Kazama-san," Koudou said before looking at Sumiko. "Sumiko, do you remember when you conquered the girl gangs of the west?"

"The west?" Sumiko asked, furrowing her brow. "That would be the Yellow Cards' territory, wouldn't it?"

"That's right. Although they were the strongest group in the area, you defeated them all on your own. Do you not remember that?" Koudou asked.

"No," Sumiko said, the crease in her brow deepening as she drew a blank. "It sounds like something I'd do, but… Are you sure about that?"

"That happened around the same time she met you. It would seem she has trouble recalling certain periods of her past," Koudou said, looking at Kazama.

"Amnesia, huh..." Kazama said, frowning again. "How inconvenient."

"Haha. You did so much for her, and she doesn't even remember you," the dark-haired and tan-skinned young man said, laughing a little.

Kazama shot him a glare. He wasn't in the mood. He was seriously disappointed.

Shiranui took the hint and shut up, though he still looked amused.

"S-Sorry..." Sumiko said, feeling bad about it.

"It's not like you're doing this on purpose," Kazama said, thought he still looked upset.

"Um… Can I ask, why did you help me?" Sumiko asked curiously.

Kazama moved closer to her again and placed one hand on her bed while he leaned down, looming over her. He smirked again.

"Because you interest me," he said, as if it should have been obvious.

Sumiko didn't know what to say to that. She wanted to tell him to respect her personal space, but she had already been pretty rude to him, even if it was mostly unintentional. She was about to ask him why he was interested in her, when—

"So, what are you going to do now?" he asked her.

"Well, for now the plan is to get out of the hospital and go to high school," Sumiko replied, wondering why he cared so much. Was he trying to make sure his money wasn't being wasted?

"Which high school?" Kazama asked.

"Hakuou Academy," Koudou said, making Kazama look at him.

"I see," Kazama said, smiling. "Good." He looked back at Sumiko. "We should have plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better, then."

Sumiko was confused by that statement. He didn't seem like he should still be in high school.

"Yes. As such, I would appreciate it if you let her rest. She's only just woken up again," Koudou said politely, gesturing for Kazama and the men with him to leave.

"I'll look forward to our next meeting," Kazama told Sumiko as he took one of her hands in his and kissed it.

Sumiko felt his lips smirk against her hand a little bit when she blushed, which annoyed her. He thought he was so smooth… Well, maybe he was, but she was just taken aback for a moment, that was all. She wondered what had passed between them before, that he would go in for a move like that.

"I'll see you at school," Kazama said as he left with Shiranui and the red-haired man.

Sumiko waited until she was sure he was gone and out of earshot before turning to her uncle.

"Okay, what was that all about?" she asked with her cheeks still a little flushed. That kind of thing just did not happen in real life, especially to her. Did she wake up in a shoujo manga?