Erased/Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi

KayoXSatoru

Chapter 4:

"Hello, Satoru," Kayo Hinadzuki said, smiling at him with small tears rolling down her cheeks and her eyes slightly red from many long fits of crying. He sat up straight in his bed and, for some reason, even though he couldn't quite remember her name, even though it was right at the tip of his tongue and he was unable to remember any of their lives together, he felt himself reaching out for her and he felt warm tears running down his cheeks, his heart warming at the very sight of her.

He smiled brightly, suddenly finding her name in some deep recess of his mind and, despite his body shaking and his choked sobs rolling from his lips, he said her name softly.

"Hey, Kayo."

Kayo stood silently, tears streaming down her face as she covered her mouth. A wave of relief washed away her fear that he wouldn't be able to remember her and she slowly walked towards his bed. Sachiko smiled at her and offered her the chair next to the bed before she walked out to go to the cafeteria. Kayo sat in comfortable silence with Satoru for a moment.

"So..." they both said in unison by accident before they laughed slightly and, again, spoke in unison, saying, "No go ahead."

After they got done laughing, Kayo smiled and looked into his eyes.

"I can't thank you enough, Satoru," she said, softly. "You saved me, in so many ways."

"It's no big deal," he said, laughing slightly. He couldn't even feel the soreness of his throat as he spoke to her.

"It's a huge deal, to me," she said, her gaze intense as she looked into his eyes. "Thanks to you, I'm still alive and I have had a chance to live a great life!"

Satoru smiled slightly and his hand lifted from the bed. Kayo watched and saw it reaching out so she took it in hers. It had been years since she'd held a man's hand, and she found herself blushing furiously as they held each others' hands. She looked up and saw a slight pink tint on his cheeks as well and she couldn't help but smile seeing how nervous he was.

"I'm so glad you're back," she said, gently squeezing his hand. "I've missed you so much."

"I'm sorry for causing you any sorrow or pain," he said, his face dropping slightly and a solemn air surrounding him.

Kayo shook her head slightly.

"Don't be," she said, tears flowing down her face again as she looked back into his eyes, her lower lip quivering as she spoke. "You came back. That's the important part."

With that, Kayo stood and wrapped her arms around a surprised Satoru. He froze for a second while she wrapped herself around him before he pulled his arms up and over her, weakly. He smiled as they held each other, enjoying how warm she was and how nice she smelled. He barely had the arm strength to hold onto her for much longer but he tried his best, clinging to her like a liferaft in the massive ocean.

After a few minutes of him holding onto her like their lives depended on it, him stroking her soft, short hair as she sobbed tears of joy and of relief into his chest, they released each other and she wiped her eyes.

"Oh, god," she said, as she wiped her eyes. "So where to begin!"

Satoru smiled at her softly and leaned back on his pillows listening to her speaking.

As Kayo continued talking to him, she told him all of the things he'd missed in the time he'd been in a coma. At one point, to their mutual confusion, she had begun to tell the story of how Kazu had started a fight with kids from another school and Kenya had gotten a pretty bad cut on his forehead from it.

"Yeah, yeah!" Satoru had said, laughing. "Hiromi stanched it with some Vaseline so the teachers wouldn't find out!"

"Um... Satoru?" Kayo had said, her eyes wide with confusion as she spoke.

"Ah.." he said, "Hiro and Kenya were here earlier and told me about it too!"

"Oh..." she responded, a hint of doubt in her voice as she looked quizzically at him.

She continued regaling him with stories of school and, to his confusion, he had to force himself from speaking out and finishing many of the stories she told.

After almost an hour had passed, a nurse came into the room to notify them that visitor hours were almost up and that she'd have to be leaving soon.

"Well, I guess," Kayo said, pulling on a stocking cap and wrapping a scarf around her neck. "I'll be heading out."

"Going home?" he asked, with a smile.

"No. I've arranged to stay with a friend near here," she smiled back. "I am currently living back in our home town, and working as an elementary school teacher at our old school."

"Oh wow," he said. He quickly replaced the surprised expression he had with a smile again. "Well, be safe. I'll see you again soon."

"Are you an idiot?" she said, frowning.

For a moment, he was confused and thought she was angry with him for something.

"You'll see me tomorrow as soon as visiting hours start," she said, switching to a smile. She hugged him again, her body shuddering slightly as they held each other and he reached up gently and stroked her hair. He enjoyed the perfume she'd worn; a combination of lavender and lilac. Her hair was soft against his face. He couldn't stand the thought that she was leaving for the night.

They broke their embrace and a slight blush glowed across the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, as well as his own and they smiled at each other again as she pulled on her stocking cap, coat and gloves. She slid open the door to the room and waved at him again as he watched her leave.

Once she'd left, his mother walked in and sat down next to him, smiling at her son.

"Seems like you two plan on picking up where you left off," she said, smirking as he blushed in embarrassment from her statement.

"Mom," he said, indignantly. Then, he started reaching around himself, softly, searching for something and his mother gave him a quizzical look.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, standing and taking his hand.

"My glasses," he said, looking around himself more. "Have you seen my-"

His mother's face couldn't have been more confused as she looked into his eyes.

"You don't wear glasses sweetie," she said.

"Oh," he said, grabbing his forehead briefly and rubbing it. "Oh yeah. I don't know why I thought I did."

He tried to laugh it off, but knew his mother was unconvinced, even as she handed him a pencil and paper so he could draw a picture before she gave him a kiss and went to her apartment for the night.

Once his mother left, his nurse came into his room and started preparing him for bed. When she reached for the light switch, he held up his hand so she knew he didn't want the light off.

"Can I have another half an hour please?" he asked as the nurse gave him an exasperated look.

"Ok," she said. "You have until I come back through my rounds. Once I come by this room again, the lights go out."

He nodded his understanding as he continued his sketch.

He imagined Kayo, her beautiful face as she stood smiling in the door at him. He imagined her beautiful eyes as she came forward and embraced him. He felt his hands working almost autonomously as he felt his heart soaring at the thought of her and he felt something in his mind racing; memories hidden behind a veil of mist and obscuring their image.

As the nurse came back in his doorway, announcing she was about to turn off the lights, he took a look at the picture he'd drawn and felt his blood run cold and his eyes went wide. He wasn't sure how he managed to hold the book despite his surprise.

"What the hell is going on?" he whispered, not loud enough for the nurse to hear as she turned out the lights.

*** Author's note: This is property of the original author and studio that produced the anime and the manga. Thank you to all of my devoted fans on here. I am sorry for the long wait for this chapter post and I will begin working on the next chapter as soon as possible for you guys. Thanks for your devotion again and I hope this chapter can sate your hunger until this weekend when I hope to post the next chapter. ***