Mitsuke stirred.
Nobody noticed it, however, for those who were watching him with much patience were either asleep in their various posts, staring into empty space, or doing nothing in particular at all. His sister, who had been gripping his hand the whole night in her vain effort to let him know that she was there, looking after him like she never did before, had dozed off by his bedside, chestnut-colored strands of hair falling messily across her pale face.
His friends, who had dropped by first thing in the morning in hopes to find him up and about --- and it was already way past midday --- had taken different areas in the hospital room for themselves. Kazuya was on the floor, hugging his knees and burying his face between them; earlier his shoulders had been seen bobbing up and down lightly, indicating that he had broken down at point in time. Hiroshi, on the other hand, was perched on a wooden stool at the foot of the patient's bed, toying with his fingers absent-mindedly as he stared out of the bright noon sky; while Kyousuke was as still as a concrete post, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his head bowed.
The brunette stirred again. This time, he squeezed Yukina's hand, not intentionally but merely out of reflex as she had been gripping his with hers; then, he let out a soft moan, which would've alerted his hopeful loved ones if Kuroudo, the exceptionally gifted in terms of hearing, had been around to pick up the rather subtle hint. Despite the blonde's absence, however, it was fortunate for him and for everyone else that his gestures did not go unnoticed. His sister, who had been half-asleep for who knew how long --- the stronger part of her subconsciousness still alert and on the lookout despite the fatigue and stress that had dawned upon her the past few days --- had immediately bolted up, feeling the pressure on her palm.
Squeezing his hand in return, she stuttered, "Mi-mitsuke?" Those very words drew the attention of the three Gear Fighters as well, and in no time, they were crowding around the siblings, snapped out of their trances. Silence took over the already-tense atmosphere as all four waited for any more signs of consciousness, Yukina involuntarily holding her breath; a second, two, three…
She suddenly lost her nerve, dread filling her and settling uncomfortably at the pit of her stomach. Her little brother had opened his ebony-hued eyes, but as soon as he did so, he, too, had gripped her hand as tightly as his frail body would allow him to. Her heart pounding uncontrollably, fear and worry swirling around her own eyes as she met Mitsuke's gaze with her own, she took a deep breath and vainly tried to keep herself calm and composed.
He sounded panicky. "Oneesan?"
"I'm here, Mitsuke," Yukina quickly answered, her voice wavering. She mentally scolded herself for sounding so weak, so helpless, and so she opened her mouth to say a few reassuring things, hoping to restore her confidence and guarantee her brother that she --- no, he --- was in control. "Don't worry, 'Totouchan. Everything's fine."
Slowly, the brunette tilted his head to the side to regard his older sibling as well as his comrades. It seemed as though the move would take forever to execute, as he appeared to still be under the mercy of the anesthetics and the painkillers. All their anxieties vanished, however, as his lips parted into a soft smile, and despite the fact that he didn't sound as energetic as he used to be, they was nothing more they could ask more at that certain moment. "I'm alive… I… I'm alive."
Those words were enough.
"I demand an explanation, Ohmori," the blonde-haired captain of Griffon Japan began sternly as he entered the patient's room, his turquoise eyes staring coldly at the recovering brunette. He had just returned from his very short trip to Kanazawa with his parents --- Yukina knew that he had insisted on going back to Tokyo as soon as he found out that his comrade had woken up from his sleeping marathon --- and didn't look like the Kuroudo everyone in the team often saw and regarded with much respect. He wore a white shirt, denim jeans and rubber shoes; an outfit Kazuya or the patient himself usually sported, but not him.
He then held up the Griffon Nova with one hand and Mitsuke's set of keys in the other, his face a mask of utter seriousness. The brunette, who had tried to sit up but was unfortunately still too weak to do so, immediately realized what was wrong. Scowling at his sister for following his instructions save one, he forced himself to meet the blonde's fierce gaze. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Captain---"
Kuroudo put both of the other Gear Fighter's possessions on the boy's bedside. "I expect you to report to practice this Monday, seven o'clock sharp --- and no buts. You've been slacking from practice long enough. And don't tell me that you've been sick, or that you don't feel well; I've had more than enough of your excuses. We want to be the Japan Cup champions, don't we?" Unfortunately, or fortunately for Mitsuke, his act of stifling a laugh had been rather obvious, and so it didn't take long before his 'scolding' ended in a fit of laughter. One more time, he vainly attempted to make it look real, though tears had begun to glisten within his blue eyes. "You better be serious this time around. If you don't improve, I'm going to let Hiroshi play instead of you, and that's going to be a major embarrassment for the most promising player in all of Griffon. Have I made myself clear?"
This time, the brunette laughed. "Kuroudo, you suck."
He grinned. "Welcome back, Mitsuke. Welcome back."
---
Author's Note:
Yes! Yes! I'm finished! Finally! *victory sign* Okaaay, I know this is overdue, and I'm really sorry for that, but hey, I finished this before Valentine's Day, didn't I? Now let's see, Mitsuke's siblings are my characters, and so are Kyousuke's cousins… hate OCs if you like, but I had to make them exist for this story. And yes, the name of Kuroudo's parents are Hideaki and Francine. The manga says so. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed, you're the greatest! As you already know by now, it's your reviews and comments that keep me going. Thanks a lot, everyone! God bless and never lose hope!