Sugu lowered herself onto the chair beside Asuna. Her mother had fallen asleep next to her son's bed.

Kazuto had not yet rejoined his loved ones, leaving them to wait impatiently. Nurses often visited, writing down notes as they monitored his progress which didn't seem to be moving along as they had hoped, the teen's fever spiked several times since he was taken to the recovery room, leading the medical team to increase the medication.

Sugu stood to place a cool compress on her brother's forehead, she lightly touched his hand before returning to her seat.

"Come on, Brother. You have to wake up now." She said quietly.

"He'll wake up soon." Asuna soothed. "They're giving him medicine to help-"

"It doesn't look like it's working very well to me. Sometimes I wish...life was more like a game, I mean if we were in ALO right now, we could heal him, better yet , he wouldn't be sick in the first place." Sugu reasoned. "He looks almost...fragile. He's-"

"He's not. You and I both know he's far from it. He's sick but he'll get through this." As if to prove Asuna's point, Kazuto slowly shifted his head away from them, a soft moan escaped him.

Both girls leaned forward in their chairs.

"Kazuto?"Sugu called softly. The boy gave no reply. He seemed to be struggling to wake fully. Asuna stood up, gently stroking his dark hair and holding his hand.

"It's okay. Take your time, we're going to be right here when you're ready. We love you." He turned toward her voice,at last finding the strength to look up into her eyes with blurred vision.

"A-Asuna." He replied weakly, the girl smiled.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

"don't know-" he replied weakly,unable to think clearly.

"Shh, it's okay. You've got a lot of medicine going through your system right now. Just take it easy. " she soothed. Kazuto felt dizzy and weak, his thoughts seemed clouded. The ill teen closed his eyes once more.

"Kazuto?" Sugu called, standing up beside the bed. "Hey, are you-"

"Tired." He mumbled.

"You'll be feeling better soon, Brother. Mom will be happy to see you awake."

"M-Mom?"

"Yeah, she's sleeping right now, it's been kind of a long morning for her and she didn't sleep much last night. We were worried about you. " the ill boy again looked up at his visitors,then glanced around the room.

"What -"

"Your appendix ruptured." she said. "You had surgery and you have an infection,you'll be feeling sick for a little while." Kazuto didn't reply, instead he closed his eyes once again,drifting back into sleep. He woke with the pain returning to his belly. He shifted slowly only to add to the pain.

"It's all right,Kazuto. Lie still." Midori instructed

"I-it hurts." The ill teen replied weakly.

"I know,I'm so sorry,I should've brought you here sooner,you wouldn't have been so sick." She reached over to grab the control button, placing it in her son's hand. "You can push this for more pain medicine. I want you to use it anytime you need it, don't worry about pushing it too much, it only gives you a certain amount each time.

Kazuto let out an involuntary moan as he pressed down on the device. Midori sighed heavily.

" M-mom? "He called quietly.

" I'm here,take it easy. " Kazuto reached out to her,his body shivering.

"So cold." Midori turned to the chair behind her,never letting go of his hand. She took the blanket and carefully spread it over the boy. She leaned down and gently pressed her lips to his forehead.

" 's'okay. " he soothed as best he could,though everything around him seemed hazy and slightly distorted,he attempted to fight against it,but it would soon prove to be a losing battle.

"Try to rest, it's been a long day. You're going to need your strength. I love you."

" l-love you too. " After several minutes of fighting, Kazuto allowed himself to sink into a peaceful sleep. Midori lowered herself onto the edge of the bed.

"I'll be here when you wake up," she whispered to the sleeping teen. "I took the next couple of days off. I know I'm not home as much as I should be to make sure you and Sugu are looking after yourselves. Maybe then I would've realized it wasn't just the flu or only a stomachache." She brushed back a few strands of hair from his face. She sighed heavily,she had another long night ahead of her.

"The doctor thinks he's doing okay,he'll be here a bit longer." Asuna said into her phone,she stopped at the vending machine. "I'm sorry,I know we were all supposed to get together tomorrow."

" he needs you there, I understand. A ruptured appendix is more important to deal with, I'm glad he's okay. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. "

"Thanks,Sinon. I'll do that,and I'll keep you updated."

" Hey,Asuna? "

"Yeah?"

"would it be okay if I came by, I can wait a couple days if it's better. "

"Of course,He's sleeping a lot right now,but you can stop by when you're ready. It'll be good for him to have his friends around." The girls ' conversation lasted only a moment longer and after offering wishes for a quick recovery, the call ended. Asuna placed the money in the slot,selecting a bottle of water. She repeated the action two more times, she leaned back against the machine with a sigh. She twisted the cap on the water and took a sip. The day's events had been difficult for her. From the moment she received the text,her thoughts seemed to be everywhere.

Asuna was however grateful for the ability to push the worst of them from her mind. She had spent every second of the half hour it took her to reach the hospital silently pleading for him to be all right,she found herself feeling exhausted now. Now that she had seen him awake, her fears decreased. She made her way back to the room,to find Midori placing a cool compress on Kazuto's forehead.

"Mrs. Kirigaya, I brought you some water." She said softly ,handing her one of the remaining bottles and placing the final one on the bedside table. Midori accepted it with a faint smile.

"Thank you."

" it's no problem, I just though you could use it, it wouldn't do any good if you get dehydrated. There's one here for Sugu too when she gets back. How is he doing? "

"He could be better,but he was awake again,I want to thank you for being there for him, it means so much to me as a mom to know he's found someone that cares and loves him so genuinely"

"Kazuto is always there for me when I need him, I can't help wanting to do the same. He saved me so many times and I've never felt so much love."

" it's easy to see how much you two love each other,i I wouldn't be surprised if one day you two get married. " Midori teased,Asuna blushed.

"Yeah, maybe." She turned her attention to the ill teen lying asleep in the bed. She took his hand and kissed his pale cheek. "I'm just glad he was awake. I missed him."

Midori placed a hand on her shoulder. "He'll be himself again in no time. Now that he knows we're all here,it'll only make him stronger."