Youichi sat on the edge of his bed to slide his shoes onto his feet while his mom stood observing, his jacket draped over her arm. With the news of his discharge, his mom had detoured to a small, local boutique to pick out a change of clothes for him; though they weren't anything Youichi would have chosen, he could care less at this point. And, while his mom bought clothes that should fit, now, the fabric was looser than what he was used to wearing; the pants barely hung on to his hips and were one wrong move from falling to his ankles. His mom apologized profusely for not buying a belt with a pained expression on her face. Youichi brushed it off as unconcerned as he could and tucked the hem of his shirt into his pants to add extra bulk.

It was alarming to realize just how much weight he had lost. He knew he lost weight even while still in captivity; however, there hadn't been anything to put it into perspective until now. The shorts he wore had an elastic band and weren't affected as much by his drop in weight, and then he was donned in a thin hospital gown. Now that he finally had a chance to dress in actual clothes, it made it abundantly clear that he had lost several pounds. Part of him had to wonder how much of that was from muscle loss.

Youichi pushed himself up from the bed, keeping his face a neutral mask, for his mom's sake, with the lingering aches and pains that the movement caused. While Youichi was used to the pain by now, in fact, it was currently mild in comparison, but he didn't want his mom to worry the slightest bit more than she already has. Honestly, he thought he spied more gray hairs amidst the rest of their dark counterparts, and he's smart enough to keep that observation to himself.

The stitches had come out nearly a week ago, but the area itself was still tender and protested against most of his movements. The burn on his face, while it could have been worse, would most likely leave a faint scar, and the doctor told him that it should fade more as time goes by to be barely visible; if he took care of it, at least. Any time he spends outside, he's supposed to put sunscreen on it regardless of the season to prevent it from darkening under the sun. It was a good thing the doctor mentioned it. As a baseball player, he typically spends a large chunk of time outdoors, during summer, no less. And while Youichi wasn't vain enough to worry about scarring "ruining" his face, he didn't particularly want the attention and questions it would bring. Similarly to wearing a cast, everyone and their mother would be asking how.

"Are you sure you don't want to take some time at home?" His mom asked, not for the first time. Furuya and Kominato were discharged a week prior and spent that time at their homes to wait for the day scheduled for them to return to school, which happened to be today. Youichi's mom had insisted several times that he also take a week to recuperate at home.

Youichi didn't have the heart to tell his mom that being at home, which in some sense sounded fantastic, would be stifling and allow him too many opportunities to overthink. Not to mention the amount of fussing he would no doubt receive and the constant hovering. What he needed was some semblance of normalcy, something to keep him distracted from himself. Even the therapist that the hospital brought in to briefly talk with him agreed that continuing a daily routine would be beneficial in moving on. Though, he still strongly recommended that Youichi seek out a more permanent therapist once he returned to Tokyo. The man then handed over a small stack of business cards of people he knows and recommends in the Tokyo area.

He didn't hesitate to pass the cards off to his mom the next time he saw her; let her deal with researching each individual to find who would be best suited for his situation. Going off the determined set of her eyes, Youichi knew his mom was likely to go so far as to call each number provided and thoroughly question each one until she was satisfied. He wouldn't be surprised if she showed up to their offices to essentially get their resumes.

With a repressed sigh, Youichi reached a hand out for his jacket, "I'm sure," he said, trying to keep his tone light. While he was beginning to get tired of repeating himself, he didn't want to end up snapping at his mom. Besides, he couldn't really fault her for being overly concerned, could he? Youichi was fully aware that he had often made his mom worry, especially during his junior high years where he occasionally got mixed in with the wrong crowd. His parents had often opened the door to see Youichi standing on the doorstep with an irritated cop. But even then, they usually always had some idea where he was, and if they didn't, they would likely receive a call from the police station to let them know he had been in another fight.

Baseball had been a great outlet for him; something to keep him active as well as a way for him to set goals for himself and his future. So it had been a while since he had been the source of his mom's distress. Then the kidnapping happened.

This time, Youichi had, in a sense, truly been gone, that even the cops couldn't tell his parents where he was. So no, Youichi couldn't fault his mom and will bite back the mild frustration he feels from her excessive fussing.

He slipped his jacket on as he followed his mom out into the hall and to the elevator, where they will meet up with his dad in the lobby. Youichi's dad had gone ahead to rent a car for the drive back while his mom filled out the necessary paperwork for his discharge. It would be a little over a two-hour trip, roughly the same if they had taken the train, with the benefit of not having to share the space with strangers.

They had just stepped out of the elevator to the first floor to begin navigating the winding halls when Youichi noticed several nurses and doctors rushing down a perpendicular hallway. His interest was momentarily piqued until he and his mom turned a corner and the hasty staff was no longer in view, though the pounding of their shoes on linoleum continued to echo after them.

Abruptly, Youichi recalled the sound of sirens sometime in the evening the day before. Then, too, the halls had been filled with the uncharacteristic bustle that he hadn't once heard since he first arrived at the hospital. He had to wonder if the rushing from then and now were somehow related.

His mom glanced back at him briefly, "They seem to be in an awful hurry," she commented off-handedly, more in a way to initiate conversation. "They must not see much action in such a small town," she continued with a mirthless chuckle. Youichi couldn't find it in himself to see the humor of it and remained silent.


The trip back was mostly silent only broken by his mom's occasional compelled rambles that trailed off into more silence. Youichi wished someone would at least turn the radio on, if only for some background noise. Once again, he wished for his cellphone; it would give him something to do to pass the time other than stare out the window with the increasing, and uncommon, nervous ache growing in his stomach.

Youichi knew he told his mom that he would prefer going back to school, but as they grew closer to the city, the more his mind supplied him with what if's.

With nothing but the trees and the sole helicopter that flew into view, Youichi forced his mind to go blank for the remaining journey.


Once they reached Tokyo, they made a quick pit stop to pick up Youichi's new phone. His dad placed it onto Youichi's waiting palm, after making him promise to keep his phone on him at all times. Immediately, Youichi got the strong impression that there was a tracker embedded into the new device, but didn't see a reason to clarify when he already knew the answer. Youichi easily assured his parents that he would make sure to have the phone with him.

In the past, Youichi would have been irritated with the gesture; would purposely leave his phone in his room out of spite whenever he left the house. However, with the experience he has now, he can't help but wonder what would have happened if his old phone had a chip. While Youichi doesn't know exactly what became of his phone after it was confiscated, there might have been a chance they would have been found a whole lot sooner than only until after they managed to escape on their own.

Thus, he couldn't begrudge his parents with something that in all honesty, would bring them all some semblance of peace.

The last stop they made before Seido, was to a nearby pharmacy to pick up his prescriptions that include: antibacterials as well as something to take for pain with strict instructions on when and how to take them. Youichi simply shoved them into his, otherwise empty, bag alongside a list of his current diet and when he should be able to return to a "normal" regimen. That same list had been emailed to the school nurse in case Youichi had any questions, though he suspected it was more to efficiently monitor him.

When their car pulled up to the back entrance of the school, classes would have just resumed from lunch, leaving the courtyard and halls free from curious eyes. Perfect for Youichi to sneak back onto campus and settle in without drawing any attention. Other than staff, no one knew of his, Furuya, or Kominato's return. Thankfully, since the school week was nearly over, they were excused from classes until the following Monday, and in the meantime, they had work set aside to get them caught up with the current curriculum.

"Are you sure-"

"Yes," Youichi cut his mom off, "I'll be fine," he glanced up to see his mom watching him through the rearview mirror, brows furrowed together in clear worry.

"Call me every day," She declared.

"Every day?" He repeated; shocked.

"Fine," His mom began again, "At least every other day."

"Once a week," Youichi bargained, knowing his mom wouldn't let up on the topic of frequent check-ins. They glared at each other through the mirror, both unwilling to budge. It only lasted a few seconds, however, before his mom closed her eyes and sighed, and a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Alright," she conceded, "Once a week it is."

With that, Youichi gathered up his bag and climbed out of the car, and closed the door behind him. The sound of a second door shutting had him spin around to see his mom walking around the car, "Where are you going?" He questioned, suspicious of her intentions. He knew she gave in too easily.

She smiled serenely at him, hefting her purse over her shoulder, "I'm going to speak with the school nurse," His mom breezed past him and continued through the gates, "And give them my personal phone number," She paused and turned to look at Youichi, "In case of emergencies." And then she spun back around to stroll straight to the main building. Youichi could only stare after her, dumbfounded, with his dad's muffled laughter emanating from the car behind him.

While his mom took the direct path, Youichi chose the more roundabout route that would lead him to the dorms with minimal opportunities for him to be seen.

Returning to the dorm felt like stepping foot into a childhood home that he hadn't been in for years, yet still remembered the layout like the back of his hand. In retrospect, he had only been gone for two months, but with everything that had happened in that time frame, it felt a whole lot longer. The dorm room itself was stagnant; the air stale with a thin layer of dust that had settled over surfaces. It made sense since all the occupants had been missing.

Youichi set his bag down on the seat of the desk chair and turned to take the room in, in its entirety. Clothes were still strewn about, where they had been haphazardly shed after a particularly grueling practice. Old homework and assignments were piled in disarray on top of the desk, and the controllers lay out along the floor, cords trailing back to the console. Lastly, his eyes drifted over to Sawamura's bed, where his current shoujo manga peeked out from under his pillow in a half-assed attempt to hide it.

At the reminder of Sawamura, Youichi clenched his fist against the sudden bout of frustration. While he hadn't forgotten about Sawamura and Miyuki, they had always at least been on the back of his mind, but having a visual reminder felt like a punch to the gut; abrupt and left him breathless.

Suddenly, standing in his room felt too stifling, despite him currently being the only occupant. And perhaps, that was part of the problem. Youichi had grown accustomed to having roommates, especially one, in particular, that was loud, no matter what he was doing. The unnatural silence disturbed him.

With that, Youichi opened the sole window to air the room out and made a hasty escape. He didn't have a destination in mind and just allowed his feet to carry him somewhere away.

It wasn't long before he found himself standing outside the cafeteria door and stepped inside. Youichi wasn't expecting to see anyone else, but immediately, his eyes fell upon the two occupants seated at a table in the center of the room. At the sight of Kominato and Furuya, some of the tension eased from his shoulders as they both glanced up at him. They had paper strewn about in front of them, and Youichi could only assume it to be their catch-up work.

Youichi plopped himself down into a chair across from them.

"Welcome back," Furuya mumbled.

Youichi snorted out a short laugh and leaned back in his chair, "You just got back, too."

Furuya made a noncommittal hum in response before peering back down to his work, where he furrowed his brows and began erasing furiously at one of his answers.

They sat in relative silence for several minutes as both Furuya and Kominato returned to their work. Youichi had briefly debated going to grab his but quickly dismissed the idea. He didn't foresee himself actually being able to sleep later tonight, and his work would be a great distraction. So instead, he took the opportunity to evaluate his juniors.

Their pallor had improved, making them appear less sickly, which was good. Kominato's hair had begun to grow back over his eyes, in clear need of a trim. The bags underneath Furuya's were not nearly as stark as they had been, though they were still present. Other than those, Youichi knows any evidence of what happened had to have faded from their bodies by now. He was glad at least they won't have any noticeable marks left on their flesh; to be a constant reminder.

Overall, they seemed healthier and were probably on a similar diet as Youichi so as not to overwhelm their stomachs with large amounts of food; limiting them to light, easy-to-digest meals.

Youichi was not looking forward to building back up to the average portions he would consume. Currently, just the thought of three bowls of rice made him feel overly stuffed.

Since Youichi was already looking, he noticed Kominato set his pencil down. "It's weird," Kominato began. Youichi focused his gaze fully on him while Furuya glanced over, "Being here, doing school work," he lifted his head, looking towards Youichi and Furuya in turn, "It just feels...so normal. Like it was all a dream." Kominato trailed off, turning to stare blanking down at the paper in front of him.

"It's surreal," Youichi agreed before they fell into contemplative silence.

"We survived," Furuya spoke up, drawing attention to himself.

Kominato blinked up at him, then slowly smiled, "Yeah," he began, "We did." The smile slid from his face and his gaze fell again. He didn't need to say anything more. They all felt the metaphorical elephant in the room. None of them had the gall to bring it up, and left it to hang in the air around them, while Kominato and Furuya returned back to their work under the now somber atmosphere.

Youichi pulled his new phone out of his pocket to mess with the settings and reinstall some of his favorite apps to quietly kill time. His parents had made him save their phone numbers as soon as the phone was in his possession. His mom even made him set speed dials for them, which Youichi didn't think was that necessary, but did it anyway. They were the only numbers he currently had, and he quickly input the elder Kominato's as he had his number memorized, and briefly toyed with the idea of sending him a text.

Though he should know that his little brother had returned to school today, so Youichi didn't see any harm in confirming that he had as well. He quickly sent off a simple text stating who it was with a confirmation that he had been discharged. Youichi didn't expect a reply so soon and backed out, only to notice he had received a message from his mom; updating him on her therapist search and a doctor appointment that was set in two weeks for a check-up. He deigned her message with a single thumbs-up emoji before he moved on.

Eventually, he ventured to the many notifications that lined the top of his phone, determined to clear them out. He sifted through them one-by-one, taking note of which application they came from so he could turn them off. However, during this, one, in particular, caught his eye. It appeared to be from a pre-installed news app, and next to it, was a tiny picture of Sawamura; the same one Youichi had seen whenever the kidnapping was being spoken about. The bit of the headline didn't reveal much of anything and he hovered his finger over the notification to clear it but hesitated. He tried to tell himself that it was probably clickbait or even just a recap coverage since, apparently, after they escaped, many news stations wrote of their case at a higher frequency than they had been. Youichi didn't have many opportunities to read any of them, but he had caught a few stations discussing it on T.V. He never watched them; quick to change the channel to avoid listening to people make assumptions.

For some reason, though, part of Youichi wanted to take a peek at the article, to see what's being said. Out of curiosity, he tapped the notification and waited for the app to load the article. His eyes skimmed over the first paragraph, not sure what to expect; however, the more he read, the faster his heartbeat at its contents. Youichi ended up backtracking to fully read it the second pass through, even as his hands began to shake around his phone.

"They found Miyuki and Sawamura," Youichi uttered in a rush, completely breathless and lightheaded. Out of his peripherals, he could see both Furuya and Kominato lift their heads to stare at him.

"What?" Kominato questioned, shocked with a slight undertone of panic.

"They found Miyuki and Sawamura- '' Youichi reiterated more steadily, but no sooner than the words left his mouth, Kominato uncharacteristically leaned across the table to pull Youichi's phone out of his trembling fingers.

Youichi watched as Kominato's eyes roved over the screen, "Yesterday evening, Miyuki Kazuya and Sawamura Eijun were found on a park trail…," Kominato read, "...cops arrived at the scene…," he muttered quieter, more to himself, clearly he didn't deem the rest of the sentence as important and he read ahead for more information, "...rushed to the Nikko hospital...by morning, they were transferred to The University of Tokyo by air ambulance for further medical care…," Kominato paused, his own hands began to tremble as well, "...at this time, we have no further details…" He slowly lowered Youichi's phone onto the table, "They're alive."