Light came to, a searing pain behind his eyes. He barely had enough time to register the grass underneath him before bile was rising in his throat. A hand rubbed his back, it kept him on his side even as he vomited. He smacked the hand away, collapsing onto his back. What happened? Everything felt too foggy, too bright. He could hear people yelling, just sounds with no meaning and why were people touching him just stop it. Light swatted blindly, anger building in his chest. They- whoever 'They' entailed- were treating him like a child. He wasn't a kid, he was an adult. "Stop touching me." It was meant to be stern, but it sounded slurred and desperate. The electricity from before came back and he faded out once more.
Sachiko sat in the emergency room clutching on to her daughter. Sayu looked close to tears, and her mother shared the sentiment. No one could blame them, though- a high-velocity penetrating brain injury from excessive force to the skull; intracranial hemorrhaging; craniotomy; he might not make it- that's what the doctors had said. Her only son was in surgery and Sachiko wasn't about to lose her other child as well. She hadn't been told what had caused the injury, just 'excessive force', whatever that could mean. It wasn't fair. Light hadn't been home in months, not a single call or even a text. And now he might be dying in surgery for an unknown reason while Soichiro was off God knows where. This was her family. She had worked so hard to keep them all safe, and yet here they were. She held Sayu tighter.
In the coming days, Sachiko spent every minute by Light's side. Misa and Sayu were there often, only leaving for work, school and sleep. Soichiro visited as well, but he never spoke; just stared guiltily.
Five days after surgery, Light woke up. Sort of. At first, it was little twitches, eyes rolling back when he was spoken to. Little sounds when someone grabbed his hand. Sachiko encouraged every movement, every noise. Each was a sign that her son was alive. He was okay. It took days. When he finally gained full consciousness, she cried. He looked so scared and confused. But he was alive. He was alive and here and not in some cold morgue being pumped full of formaldehyde.
Sayu launched herself towards her brother, wrapping him in a gentle hug. "Don't scare me like that, dumbass." Her voice wavered as if she was holding back tears. She shot him a watery smile. "Glad to have you back." Light just smiled, even through the fog of fear and confusion in his mind. He tried to speak, to tell Sayu how much he loved her, to tell his mom how grateful he was that she was there when he woke, but the words caught in his throat. He glanced around the room anxiously, searching for his father or- God forbid- L.
Being stuck in his own mind, unable to communicate with his family without the dark feeling of foreboding, his own screams echoing in his ears; it was strange, but the doctors said that this was normal after significant head trauma. He believed them. Why shouldn't he?
Even so, it got old quick. Light never had very much patience.