For the past two weeks, at least one person from the team had come to visit Kazemaru at the hospital everyday. It wasn't something they decided, not something they planned, more like an unspoken rule that someone had to be there for him. Besides, they all wanted to see him, make sure he was fine, hope to God, to fate or whatever else they conveniently believed in that he'd wake up soon.

While everyone came and left, often bringing flowers with them, or whatever cute gift they found that made them think of Kazemaru, Mamoru had to be asked by the nurses to leave often times, noticing he had been staying for way too long. He was young, after all, and he shouldn't have been spending all that time in the hospital. His routine, still, was wake up, go to school, play soccer, go to the hospital, stay until late, go home, sleep, and repeat.

The team assured him that they all came to visit and would continue to do so, he'd seen how much they came around, being by Kazemaru's side all the time, and therefore he could rest assured that there was no way he'd wake up by no one's side. Still, Mamoru didn't want his best friend to wake up to somebody else. He wanted to see him wake up, he wanted to make sure that would happen. In a way, for as dumb as it was to admit it out loud, he felt as if he wouldn't wake up if he wasn't there to witness it.

On the other hand, being around so much, Mamoru noticed he had never seen Kazemaru's parents visit. He knew they had divorced, knew Kazemaru stayed with his dad and that his mom likely moved to another country, all vague information he had learned through time, casual mentions, and a bit of guessing to sew all that together. So, while maybe his mother couldn't visit, why not his dad?

His teenage son was in a coma, and he didn't even bother to come see him. He figured maybe he would, eventually, but days passed and he didn't witness that even once. Maybe he came around when Mamoru was at school, he figured. That would make sense. Maybe he worked a busy job during the time Mamoru was off school, so he physically couldn't come by. No way his own father wouldn't come to visit, right?

But that wasn't the only question Mamoru had. In a way, he also hoped Kazemaru's father would show up in order for him to maybe answer all of his never ending questions. None of the team really discussed it, maybe because it would be insensitive or maybe because the answer scared them, but they still wondered how this could happen, how long it had been dragging on for, if they could've done anything to help…

So many questions, so little answers. Maybe, deep down, they knew the answer to each of them. Part of them didn't actually want to know. It is terrifying to know a close friend needed help and you turned a blind eye to it. Sure, Kazemaru never asked for help, but they should have noticed, maybe.

Mamoru wanted a break. He wouldn't admit it, it felt selfish, but he still needed it. He needed a break from all the thoughts going through his mind, the mess that kept him up at night and didn't allow him to sleep properly.

Most of all, he needed his best friend to wake up.

The team wasn't the same, too. Everyone kept quiet, quieter than usual, and the soccer was barely a distraction from the reality. They had back-up players, ones that took Kazemaru's place, but it felt so wrong. Nobody wanted to replace him, too, it was just so odd.

Soccer didn't feel like soccer anymore, and the team didn't feel like the team. Maybe they'd get accustomed to it, Mamoru lied to himself, knowing damn well they wouldn't. But Kazemaru was going to wake up, he was sure. He had to be. He couldn't accept the thought of him not waking up.

It was a passing thought, though. He pushed it away all day long, until he was wrapped in his bed sheets at night, in the room they'd shared pajama parties in for ages, that they did their homework in… or, well, that Kazemaru would try to do them in while Mamoru rambled about unrelated subjects until they'd both completely lost focus. Maybe it was the memories, maybe it was the deafening silence, the lack of something to distract himself with, but he found himself crying himself to sleep more often than not, because what the Hell would he do if Kazemaru didn't wake up?

Three weeks and a half after that nightmare-ish call from Nelly telling them the news, Mamoru sat next to Kazemaru, reading a book out loud for him. Someone told him it was something he could do for coma patients, he wasn't even sure why. Honestly, he barely even understood the plot, just spoke random words without truly taking in what they meant. He hoped Kazemaru would understand them, at least, somehow.

Messy brown hair, a bit too long, hung down Mamoru's face. He figured an haircut could wait. They uncomfortably covered his eyes every once in a while, sunken with dark eye bags underneath, skin paler than usual. One would guess Mamoru was just another patient at the hospital rather than someone visiting a friend.

Then again, he did feel sick. Sick to his stomach, he could throw up at any moment. Sick that his best friend didn't even really seem alive anymore, sick that he wasn't sure of what could happen. Not even Endou Mamoru could be optimistic anymore. He sighed, placing the book down on the nightstand, his eyes lingering on the place for a while.

"Mamoru?"

The brunette's breath caught up in his throat. The voice was raspy, quiet, but he could recognize it anywhere. It was the voice he had hoped to hear again all this time. He didn't dare to look at the Kazemaru, afraid he had only imagined it, and that he'd turn to him still being unconscious. He felt a shaky hand on his, and finally he gathered the courage to shift his eyes upon his best friend.

He had a soft smile on his lips, almost to comfort Mamoru. Why was he being the one who needed comfort? He should be the one comforting Kazemaru, and yet his eyes were full of tears. Maybe he did need some comfort, after all.

He wanted to hug him, squeeze him until he couldn't breathe, but he got up, frantically looking around for a nurse with no luck. "Stay here, I… I'll get a doctor or a nurse or… I don't know. Oh my God, you're awake…"

The last bit was more-so to confirm to himself that this was reality, as he rushed towards the door, but as he was about to open it, he turned back to the boy behind. The nurse, he needed to get a nurse. But maybe a hug first. They both needed a hug.