A/N; Woah two chapters in one day?! You're darn welcome. I really hope that last chapter wasn't too weird although that was kind of the effect I was going for. I kinda wanted the reader to be as confused/as fucked up as Rena so. This chapter is very angsty so yeah you're welcome. A potential TW for suicide etc (basically Rena is forced to live through her worst memories so) but nothing in this chapter is too graphic. I wanted to really delve into their past in this story and this chapter kinda goes into that. There will probably be more flashbacks etc later on so if you like angst then you've hit the jackpot lmao. Anyways, hope you like it. :):):):):):)


'Rena.'

She opened her eyes slowly. She should have hurt, she should still be feeling fuzzy and sluggish. But... Rena felt fine. In fact, she had felt better than she had in a long time. She lifted her head and found she was still lying on the kitchen floor where she had collapsed. Without thinking about it, she moved her hand backwards and heard a horrible crunch of glass. She snatched her hand away automatically, expecting to have to dig shards of glass out her palms. But there was nothing. No scratches or signs that she had just dug her hand into a pile of broken glass. In fact, her hand seemed to be... glowing?

'Rena.'

That voice again. Rena stood slowly and looked around for the source of the voice, but there was no one there. She yelped as she turned and caught a glimpse of Tadashi kneeling on the floor next to where she had just been lying. Why hadn't she noticed him there when she first woke?

'Dashi I'm fine. You can get up now.'

But he didn't move. At all. Rena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion and bent down in front of him. His face was frozen, his eyes wide and mouth open like he was trying to say something. His hand was stretched out as though he was reaching for something.

'Haha, very funny. But cut it out.' She snapped. He didn't move and she reached out to shake his shoulders. Instead of grabbing onto him, her hand passed straight through him. She stifled a scream and jumped backwards, hitting her funny bone on the kitchen table. Again, it should have sent a sharp jolt of pain up her arm but she didn't feel anything.

'Wha-?' She breathed, her hands shaking as she examined them. Okay. So she'd just turned into some kind of weird ghost. Fine, whatever. Yep. This was normal.

'It's just a dream.' She muttered to herself, shaking her head. But something told her that it wasn't a dream, this was really happening. Besides, she had five fingers. Dream people didn't have five fingers.

'Rena.'

The voice was back, and even more insistent than before. Rena whipped her head from side to side to try to locate the voice. She couldn't see anyone else apart from her frozen brother, and the more she looked the more she that she was convinced that she'd imagined it.

Then something glittered in the corner of her eye. She stepped over Tadashi and stared at the weird source of the glinting. Her Mother's photo hung on the wall. She seemed... alive? Rena brushed her fingers against the glossy surface, watching as her Mom seemed to smile at her even more warmly than she already was.

'Mom?' She whispered, her voice cracking.

'You're so close.'

Rena yelped and fell back against the wall. There was her Mom. Stood right behind her, as alive and well as the day she died.

'You've done so well.' She said, grinning hugely at her daughter.

'What? I.. I don't understand.'

'You will. Come with me.'

Her Mother extended her hand towards her and before Rena had even thought about it, she took it. Suddenly, the room was enveloped in an intense golden glow. She tried to cry out but found her voice wasn't working. Then, the floor fell out from underneath her and she was falling into darkness.


A stressed 17-year-old Tadashi was drumming his fingers on the dashboard. He was staring straight ahead and his mouth was set in a thin, straight line. His eyebrows were furrowed and Rena could practically hear the cogs working away in his brain. He was chewing his lip anxiously. An old habit and a sign to Rena that he was definitely stressing about something. And she was pretty sure she knew what. She straightened out and tapped him on the shoulder.

'You're doing it again.'

'Oh.' He stopped and brushed a finger to his lip, a smear of blood coming away with it. 'Whoops.'

'How long ago did school finish?'

He sighed and ruffled his hair. Another nervous habit but this time it was one that all three Hamadas shared. 'Just under half an hour ago.' He replied with a quick glance at his watch.

'I'm sure he'll be out any minute.' Her tone betrayed her: she sounded just as unsure as she felt. Truthfully, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Hiro was supposed to come meet them straight after school as always. But he hadn't appeared. They were pretty much the only ones left in the parking lot and the two siblings were beginning to worry about their little brother. The school year had only started a month or so back but Hiro had never been more closed off. They knew something was going on but he remained frustratingly shut off. The first day he had come home with bruises littering his arms that he claimed were from him tripping in the hallway. Rena had her doubts. She'd been picked on before for skipping a grade, as had Tadashi. But it was never anything too bad, just odd name calling and jibes at their nerdiness. That she could handle. However, neither of them had skipped three grades as Hiro had. He was the school's first 11-year-old freshman, and you could tell. The kid was tiny and anxious looking and Rena and Tadashi weren't stupid. They knew this made him a very obvious target but Hiro had never told them about any trouble he had encountered.

'I promised them I'd protect him.' Tadashi said in a small voice. 'And yet I let him go here.'

'It was his decision.' Rena said.

'I know. But we could have talked him out of it.'

'You saw how depressed he was in the 'boring' classes. You wouldn't have been able to talk him out of it.'

'Yeah. I just worry.'

She sighed. 'Wanna go look for him?'

Tadashi nodded.

They'd been walking for ten minutes until they noticed that something was wrong. Rena rounded a corner and began walking towards the bike sheds until she heard something that made her blood run cold. She grabbed Tadashi's sleeve and pulled him behind one of the trashcans. They crouched down awkwardly as they listened to what was happening.

'You said I'd get an A+! I got an A-!' Rena recognised the voice from the hallways. She was pretty sure he was a freshman. She winced as she heard the sound of someone being hit. Hard.

'HA! What are you even doing here, you little nerd? I mean what's the point if you can't even get us the best grades that you promised?' Another voice. It was a nasty voice, jeering and laughing cruelly at their intended victim. Again, the sounds of kicking and punching filled the air.

'To...to be fair... I... I don't even... I don't take Spanish!'

Rena tightened her grip around Tadashi's wrist as she suppressed the urge to be sick. She knew that voice, and from the look on Tadashi's face he had also come to the same conclusion.

'You're useless, you know that?'

Thump.

'No one likes you!'

Punch.

'Why would they?'

'LEAVE HIM ALONE!'

Rena dove out from where they were hiding and ran towards the bully. The grin slid from his face as she slammed him into the wall behind her. Her face was inches away from the bully as Tadashi dove in front of Hiro, protecting him from the bullies that were hurting his baby brother.

'What do you think you're doing?' She hissed dangerously, pressing her arm into his throat. The blonde haired boy gulped and his fingers tried to pull Rena away from him. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Tadashi had scared the rest of them away.

'Never do that again. To anyone. You hear me?' She must have looked scary because he nodded feverishly, his eyes bulging out of his head. She turned away from him and he fell to the floor and scrambled away after his friends.

She stepped towards Hiro and Tadashi. Tadashi was kneeling over their little brother and Rena could tell he was blinking back tears. Hiro lay on the floor, stirring only ever so slightly. She was almost there when she noticed that her hand was smoky. She raised it to look at it but her vision was fading and swirling. Everything became cloudy as she yelled out, wondering what was happening to her. Tadashi and Hiro didn't hear her, and the further she ran the further away they became. Colours and objects were spinning around her and she tried to clamp her eyes shut but she couldn't move. She was frozen in time, her ears popping and head spinning-

Then she was 7 again. She was in the car, playing I spy with Tadashi. She was sat behind the passengers seat, craning her neck out the window to locate what Tadashi had spotted. He was wedged in next to her, next to Hiro. The toddler often cried when Tadashi sat anywhere else. Rena didn't mind. She loved her little brother but she also loved looking out the window and admiring the views as they zoomed past them.

'A car!' She exclaimed, pointing at a red car driving alongside them.

'Nope!' Tadashi said gleefully.

'Ceiling?' Their Mother asked, pointing a ringed finger at the car ceiling.

'Guess again!'

'Tree!'

'Daaaad! I said C! Not T!'

'Cap!' Hiro shrieked happily from his car seat. His pudgy fists reached forward and tried to pull the cap from Tadashi's head.

'Yes! Hiro wins!' Tadashi said, pulling his hat off and giving it to his little brother. Hiro squealed with delight and stuffed the edge in his mouth.

'Ewwwww!' Rena said, sticking her tongue out at her annoying brothers. Tadashi rolled his eyes and elbowed her playfully.

'He's only three!' He protested sulkily.

Rena ignored him. She turned her head and rested her chin on her hand as she stared out the window. She watched the clouds drift by lazily and smiled. One day, she was going to invent something that she could use to travel up into the sky. She might take Tadashi with her, if he was nice. They would take Hiro with them and they could live up in the clouds and have an endless supply of marshmallows. Away from parents and their silly rules and most certainly away from broccoli soup. Yuck. Yes, that sounded rather pleasant.

She was pulled away from her daydream by a small black glint in the corner of her eye. It was a car. Driving towards them. She furrowed her eyebrows and frowned. Was it supposed to be driving towards them? No, she was sure that it wasn't. She had just had a nice police officer come in at school and tell their class about how you always had to do up your seat-belt and not open the car doors when the car was moving. And yes, she had definitely mentioned that cars had to stay in their own lanes when driving. So why wasn't this car adhering to these rules? Did the driver forget what he had been told when he was at school? He must have done, because he was coming a lot closer.

'Mommy?' She asked, straightening out and glaring at the car coming towards her.

'Yes my darling?'

'Why is that car driving towards us?'

'What?'

Her Dad yelled very loudly. Rena clamped her hands over her ears as he cursed. The car swerved suddenly and Rena was slammed into Tadashi's side. He gave a muffled yell as her elbow dug into his ribs but Rena couldn't move it out of the way. The car tilted dangerously to the side but then the black car rammed into the side of them and it tipped completely. Suddenly, Rena was being thrown around in her seat as the car rolled down the grassy banking lining the highway. The window next to her shattered and the glass found a home in her skin; big shards of it were stuck in her arms and face. She squeezed her eyes shut and her heart felt like it was pounding in her head. Hiro was screaming and her parents were shouting but she couldn't understand what they were saying. Tadashi grabbed her hand and squeezed it so tight she felt like he was going to pull her fingers off. Then, as suddenly as it had all started, the car stopped. They were sideways in the mud and everything slowed down. The small girl opened her eyes and took in the scene. Tadashi had let go of her hand and taken Hiro out from his car seat. They were both laying still next to her, Tadashi's arm bent at a strange angle and Hiro was covered in blood. She let out a shriek as she shook her older brother's shoulder, tears streaming down her face.

'Wake up!' She gasped between breaths, 'Tadashi! Stop! It's not funny anymore, wake up!' But he never even stirred.

Her Mother was in front of her and she climbed over the seats to reach her, but something was wrong. Her eyes looked different and glassy and her head was covered in thick, sticky blood. Rena collapsed on top of her still form and tried to wake her up but she remained just as stubbornly asleep as Tadashi. She curled up next to her and sobbed. Her ankle throbbed and she was covered in cuts from the broken glass. She could hear sirens in the background but the scene dissolved before they reached her. Then, she felt a jerk in her stomach and she was wrenched forwards, spinning through the air.

She was stood in the river. Her shoes and socks lay discarded on the rocks behind her and she hoisted up her trousers as she waded deeper into the water. Grinning, she turned around to face a girl standing by the rivers edge.

'Come on! It's not that cold!'

The girl shook her head, dark orange curls cascading down her face. 'No way!'

'You're so boring! If I'd have known that you would be such a coward-'

'Okay! Fine!' The girl kicked her shoes off and waded in after her.

Rena stretched out her hand and the girl took it. Rena pulled her in and she stood next to her in the water. For a second, they stood in comfortable silence.

'Clara?'

'Yeah?'

Violet turned and Rena felt herself melt as her best friend looked at her in the eyes. They were a beautiful sea green and they sparkled with flecks of gold in the early evening sunlight. Rena was so close to her that she could count the freckles that were spread across her face. Clara squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

'R, what is it?'

I think I'm in love with you. 'When's the chemistry homework due?'

Clara laughed, and Rena felt her heart swell. God, her laughter was so beautiful. 'I'm not even going to respond to that because I know you've already done it.'

'Maybe.'

'Oh come off it! You know I know you better than anyone.'

'Okay yeah, you're right.'

Clara let go of her hand and stepped forwards until she was knee deep in the water. She smiled and tipped her head back, drinking in the sunlight. 'This is... brilliant. I'm gonna write about this.'

Rena smiled at her friend. 'Oh?' Clara was quite possibly the best poet in the history of the world. Ever. 'I can't wait to read it.'

'Hey... there's something I need to tell you.'

Clara's smile had slipped off her face and she suddenly looked quite anxious. Rena felt her blood run cold as she ran through a million possibilities in her head. 'What? Are you okay?'

She stepped towards her friend but slipped on a rock. She screeched horribly as she came crashing down towards the water, but Clara was fast. She caught her raven-haired friend by the wrists and hauled her up before Rena got a mouthful of water. Their noses were inches away from one another.

'Thanks.'

'Don't worry about it.'

She had that look on her face. Rena's heart felt like it was doing somersaults. 'So what did you want to tell me?'

'In a minute.' Clara murmured. Rena could barely hear her over the water and the sound of her heart thrashing around in her rib-cage. She wanted to say something but words failed her. It took all of her concentration not to just let her mouth hang open in admiration and awe. She'd been best friends with Clara since she'd sat next to her in English the first day in freshman year. She had written the most beautiful poem about summer and since then Rena had been pretty much smitten with her. It had been two years and those thoughts had never changed.

Then they were kissing.

Fireworks exploded inside of her. Clara tasted exactly like her poem. She tasted of sunshine and apple juice. She tasted of peaches and flowers and strawberries. Rena's fingers traced her freckles, Clara's fingers were tangled in her mess of hair. Rena was terrified that she would pull away and say she was straight, but the moment never came.

Then the ginger-haired girl really did pull away. Rena grinned stupidly at her best friend before she realised something was wrong. She was chewing her lip anxiously and didn't seem to want to meet the middle Hamada in the eye. A cold feeling of dread settled on her chest. 'What is it? Are you not.. into girls? Did I do something? Are-'

'No! God no, R. You haven't done a thing.'

'Then... what is it?'

Clara shrugged and turned away from her, sending water sloshing over Rena's legs. 'I.. We shouldn't have done that.'

'Why?' Rena grabbed her wrist and gently pulled Clara towards her. 'Why not? Come on, talk to me.'

'I meant to tell you, I really did. But we shouldn't. We can't. It was stupid, but I had to do that at least once.'

Rena felt her heartbeat picking up speed. 'I don't understand.'

Clara's eyes filled with tears. 'We're moving. W... we leave on Friday. I wanted to tell you! I did. I just.. I only found out a couple of days ago and I couldn't get my head around it.'

Rena's head spun. It was Wednesday. Her best friend was moving in two days. 'Where are you moving to?'

'France.'

'France? I- what?!'

'I know! I know. It's something to do with my Dad's work or whatever.'

Rena's eyes stung with tears. She'd finally kissed the girl she'd been chasing for two years and then it turns out she's moving? Why was the universe so against her? Why couldn't she just have one little thing? 'Well. We still have two days.'

Rena leaned in to kiss her and for a second Clara looked like she was going to return it. Then, the red headed girl pulled away. The river splashed as she stepped backwards away from Rena. 'Rena.. we can't. I'm moving! We can't do this. I can't do it, not long distance.'

Rena stepped towards her. 'Clara please-'

'No. Rena, stop. Don't make this harder than it already is. I'm going home, I need to pack.'

Rena could only watch as she scrambled over the rocks to get her stuff. She didn't even look back as she disappeared over the hill, leaving Rena alone on the river banking. The teen sank onto the rocks and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

She lifted her head to find that she was back at home. Her and Tadashi were playing Mario Kart, and she was kicking his butt. Obviously. Tadashi had never beaten her at Mario Kart, it was the one thing that she could be relied upon to be better at.

'Haha suck it!' She gloated as she crossed the finish line, coming in first place again.

Tadashi threw his hands in the air, exasperated. 'Honestly! I don't even know why I bother anymore!'

'Your hopeless optimism.' Rena replied, smirking.

Tadashi rolled his eyes. 'Keep that up and I'll stop playing.'

'That's what you said last time. And the time before that. Oh, and the time before that.'

'Alright! Rematch then.'

'Lit. 150cc?'

'Obviously. Should I go grab Hiro?'

Rena shrugged. 'If you want. I don't reckon he'd want to come down but you need all the support you can get.'

'Yeah, like he's ever gonna cheer on the losing side.'

'To be fair, he probably would if it was you.'

'Okay, I'll be right back.'

Rena nodded, flicking aimlessly through the character selection. She hummed along to the theme tune and smiled to herself, feeling peaceful for the first time in a while. Her homework was done, it was a Saturday night and she had just finished all her exams (which she was almost sure that she had aced). The next day she was going to accompany Tadashi to the SFIT campus so he could check it out and she was really looking forward to seeing all the sweet tech they'd have on display.

Of course this would never last long.

Tadashi yelled something from upstairs and instantly she knew something was wrong. 'Dashi?' She yelled, but he ignored her. She heard a loud thud and another scream coming from her older brother. Her blood ran cold and the remote dropped out of her hand and fell to the floor. She took the stairs two at a time, racing towards where she could hear her older brother's frantic yelling.

'What is it?' She asked, skidding to a halt outside the bathroom. Tadashi was banging on the door, looking like he was about to throw up. He shook his head and thrust his shoulder against the door again. She had an uneasy feeling that this wasn't just because the door was stuck shut. Tadashi threw his body against it again and cried out in pain, holding his shoulder. 'Let me!' She yelled at him, shoving him out the way. She quickly examined the door and noticed a couple of splinters that her brother had already made in the wood. She stepped back and with a well-aimed kick the door burst open.

Hiro was lying curled up on the floor in the corner. Rena felt her world crash and burn around as her as she realised why Tadashi had been so panicked. And why Hiro had run straight up to his room after school, not wanting to talk to either of them.

Tadashi let out an agonised cry and stumbled backwards. He stood there, seemingly frozen in place. Rena took one look at his wide eyes and rapid breathing and decided to take the situation into her own hands. She ducked out the bathroom and tore down the hallway, opening the cupboard and pulling out as many towels as she could carry. She rushed back to the bathroom and collapsed onto the floor next to her little brother. She turned him gently onto his side and rolled the towels up tightly, pressing them against the long cuts that ran down his arms. The towels turned red horribly fast and she had to change them a lot faster than she thought. She felt tears welling in her eyes but willed them away, forcing her shaking hands to remain still. Any wrong move could cost their little brother his life. Both hands were occupied, so she lent forwards and pressed her forehead to his. He was still warm, but from the pale colour of his face she knew that his life was quickly slipping away.

'Dashi!' She choked out over her shoulder. 'Call an ambulance! NOW!'

Her voice seemed to snap Tadashi out of his daze. He nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket, fumbling with the screen. Eventually, he managed to punch the number in and held the phone to his ear, shaking. Rena turned her attention back to Hiro once she was sure that Tadashi had gotten through.

Tadashi sank down next to her. 'They're coming.' He whispered. Rena nodded numbly, allowing him to take control of one of Hiro's arms. Once her hand was freed she pressed it gently to his neck, only just feeling a weak pulse against her fingers.

'He's still alive.' She said, her voice sounding very far away.

Tadashi nodded and his face crumpled. He started sobbing uncontrollably, fat tears sliding down his cheeks as he processed what was happening. Rena reached her free arm out to comfort him but she was already slipping away.

'No!' She cried, 'no! I need to help them! NO!'

She felt the familiar rush of time passing but didn't move until she landed on solid ground. She opened her eyes and was met with the gut-wrenching sight of the SFIT hall on fire.

Time slowed down as she pushed through the crowds, screaming her brothers names. She came to a halt outside the stairs, already feeling the blistering heat of the inferno on her face. A green blur streaked past her and she lunged after it, screaming Tadashi's name. Her sweating fingers managed to seize the corner of his sleeve and pull him back. Tadashi stumbled backwards and crashed into her, cursing.

'Don't take another step.' She growled hoarsely, the smoke already beginning to affect her. 'I swear to you I will strangle you if you take another step.'

Tadashi ignored her and pulled away from her grip. Then she was screaming. 'TADASHI HAMADA! SON'T YOU DARE! DON'T YOU DARE GO IN THERE! Please!' She gasped pathetically, tears streaming down her face as she pleaded with her stubborn older brother. 'Please. Please don't leave us.'

'I'll be right back! Callaghan is in there! Someone has to help!' Then he was gone, his hat fluttering down onto the stairs behind him as he ran into the building.

Rena stood frozen, her smoke-filled mind desperately trying to process what just happened. She snapped back to her senses just in time for Hiro running past her. She grabbed a fistful of his hoodie and dragged him backwards. He screamed at her and tried to pull away, but she could scarecely hear him over the ringing in her ears. She let go and left him standing by the bushes.

'Stay there.' She croaked, 'I'll get him, I will. Please, just stay there and don't move.'

'But-'

'Please. Hamada rule 23.'

Hiro stared at her, nodding numbly. Rena thrust Tadashi's hat into his shaking hands before turning on her heel and running as fast as she could back towards the building. She was almost there when her world exploded and she was thrown backwards into the sky.

She didn't land on concrete. She landed on something soft and comfortable. She lay there, wishing that she could just drift off to sleep. She had just relieved some of the worst memories in her life, and she did not want to stay awake long enough to think about them. A sob rose in her throat but she choked it back. No, she wasn't weak. She wouldn't let any stupid fragments of the past break her. However, she could not deny that she felt utterly drained and wished for nothing more than to sink into a lovely, dreamless sleep.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

Rena sat bolt upright. She felt weird, weightless even. She could barely feel her limbs and she felt lighter than air. She looked down and stifled a scream when she realised she was nothing but a hazy imprint of herself. Like a ghost. She tried to move but found herself rising to the ceiling, bumping her head gently as she reached the top. She stared in horror at her body left on the bed, her face slack and grey.

Doctors and nurses swarmed around her body and it suddenly occurred to her what that beeping was.

She was dead.

She could do nothing but look on in horror as the doctors worked around her, performing all sorts of procedures in order to get her heart to beat again. Their actions were sluggish and they were slurring directions at one another. Rena couldn't decide if this was an affect of her being dead or the fact that her mind was going so fast that her eyes were struggling to keep up. She moved backwards along the ceiling, desperately trying to figure out a way in order for her to stop floating and get back to her body.

'No.' She muttered to herself as she twisted around in the air, 'no! No no no no no no! Come on, please!'

'Rena, my darling. You have done so well.'

Rena gasped as her Mom appeared below her, standing on the floor as though she wasn't a ghost herself. Her wispy hand reached out to her daughter and Rena hesitated, not wanting to go through that again.

Her Mom laughed. 'Don't worry, you won't have to do that again. I promise.'

Rena reached forward and grasped her hand. Her Mom pulled her forward and she felt the floor beneath her feet. The woman's fingers traced Rena's face and she sighed softly. 'You're so beautiful. You've grown so much, and I'm so proud of you.'

Rena's eyes stung. 'I missed you.'

'I missed you too.'

'Mom... what was that?'

'Have you ever heard of the idea about your life flashing before your eyes?'

'Yeah.'

'Well, that's what happens when you die.'

'So.. I'm really dead?'

Her Mom looked at her, 'no, not yet. But you almost are, you're fading.'

Rena looked down and with a jolt of horror realised that her Mom was right. Her ghostly self was fading so quickly she could barely see the faint outline of where her body should be. She hugged her chest, desperately trying to cling onto what little life she had left. 'What happens when I fade completely?'

Her Mom shrugged. 'I don't know. But if you come with me now, we can stop you fading.'

'Come... where?'

'To the afterlife of course!'

'But... what? No! I... I can't! I d..don't want to die! Please Mom!'

The woman looked at her sympathetically. 'I know you don't. But think about it... wouldn't it be nice to leave this all behind? All this pain, all the suffering that you've lived through? How great would it be to rejoin your Dad and I? We can have our own little family again!'

Rena considered it. And she hated herself for it, but she almost said yes. She was right, it would be great to leave all of this behind her. 'What about Hiro? Tadashi? Aunt Cass?'

Before her Mom could reply, Rena turned on her heel and left the dingy room. The lights were dimming and she realised that it was because she had almost faded entirely. Her footsteps were silent as she ran down the hallway, revelling in the fact that she could run as fast as she wanted without running out of breath.

She skidded to a halt outside a waiting room, knowing that her family were inside. She didn't need to open the door, she merely floated through it. She strode over to where her brothers were standing. Tadashi looked as though he had probably vomited, his face was a horrible green colour. He had his arm around Hiro's shoulder. The latter was trembling horribly, his hands balled into fists.

'I'm not giving up.' She said, as loudly and as clearly as she could manage. 'I promise. I won't break my promise Hiro, I swear on it.'

She felt a lump in her throat as she looked at them. They looked so afraid that it made her heart ache. (Did she have a heart in this state?) No, she couldn't leave them. She didn't even know where she was going, but she would never forgive herself if she broke her promise to Hiro. She wasn't going to die. No way. Not if she had anything to do with it.

She turned on her heel and walked back to the room, her stubbornness and determination growing with every step.

'I'm going to live.' She muttered to herself. She noticed when she said this that her body seemed to flicker slightly, then become a tiny bit more solid.

'I'm going to live.' She said again, picking up the pace so that she was running again. 'I'm going to live. I'm going to live. I'M GOING TO LIVE!'

She burst back into the room, feeling more alive by the second. It seemed that her sheer determination was enough to keep her from fading away.. at least for now.

'Mom, how do I... not die?'

Her Mom looked at her and smiled. 'That's my daughter. I knew you weren't going to give up so easily. You need to get back to your body and hopefully the fact that you're still grounded to the Earth will delay your death long enough for you to reconnect with yourself.'

'Okay. Okay! Okay.' Rena said. She strode over to the bed and clambered up on top until she was standing on top of her sleeping form. She was about to crouch down when something grabbed her wrist.

'Rena. Baby. Protect them, alright? You'll do that for me? Promise?'

'Protect them? I- yes! Of course I promise but-' She whispered, remembering the exact same conversation that she had already had with her Dad many years ago. As soon as she uttered those words, she could instantly feel herself becoming stronger. Her chest ached and she realised it was because of the doctors bringing her back to life.

'You have shown strength beyond your years. You have to protect them, they can't do it without you. Tadashi and Hiro - you've only got each other.'

'Do what? Mom?'

But her Mother was already fading away. 'Don't worry about me. I'm not fading away, you're just becoming stronger. I love you, and I'm so proud of you.'

'I.. I love you too.'

'I know.'

'Mom?'

'Yes?' Her voice was merely an echo, she had become so faded. Rena felt a surge of hope as she realised her life force was stronger than ever.

'Will I remember this?'

'I don't know, will you?'

And then she was gone. Rena was tempted to call out her name, to try and find her but she knew that it was stupid. She took a deep breath, as though she was going to submerge herself into water. She slid down until she was lying back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and praying that it was going to work. The aching in her chest increased and she squeezed her eyes shut.

'I am going to live.' She whispered to herself.

A weird sensation passed over her, like she was slotting back into place. She felt weak. Weaker than she'd ever felt in her entire life. And tired. Oh, so tired. Her eyes remained closed as she felt her weak body begin to work again.

She didn't let herself fall asleep until her roaring ears could register the faint sound of the heart monitor.

Rena Hamada was alive.