Mega: Hello, everyone! Sorry for the long wait.
Tenma: You should be…
Mega: Hey! I said I was sorry! This would've come faster, but FFN glitched or something and uploaded the first chapter twice for some reason, so I had to go fix it.
Tenma: Sure…
Mega: Really, Tenma? Oh well. Here are the reviews!
OTP's are all you need: As you can see, it is NOT the final chapter. If it was, I wouldn't be here. Here is the beginning of Tenma's journey to regain his voice (that sounded really dramatic…). Also, thank you for your praise. *bows while Tenma sweatdrops*
KyouTakuTen: I'm glad that you enjoyed the Heat Stroke moments. While writing, I like to have the previous chapter/story up so that I don't mess anything up, so I'm glad that you noticed. I'm interested with how their relationship will play out, and I'm the one writing the story! Shows just how much planning I put into my stories, right?
2gatita8: I would be honored if you wrote something for me! I also am glad that you accept my friendship. I really want to know what song from the Little Mermaid you listened to while reading the last chapter. I'm glad that you like the story and Tenma-torture! (Tenma's not, though…) Enjoy!
Mega: Those were some good reviews, right, Tenma?
Tenma: Yeah, but shouldn't we get to the story?
Mega: Point taken. Let's go!
Note: The story has now caught up with the little narrative from chapter one. I also wrote this listening to Over the Rainbow/Simple Gifts by the Piano Guys. I'm not sure why, though…
~Chapter Three: Recovering~
~Tenma's POV~
A month had passed since I had first woken up in the hospital. I was allowed to move around after a week, but only for short periods of time. A week ago, I had been released and was allowed to go home. Aki-nee had been waiting for me and had prepared an entire feast for me.
Takuto and Tsurugi had brought me home, but Kirino had tagged along to be with Tsurugi. I found it sweet, and so did Takuto. Tsurugi looked thoroughly embarrassed, though. Takuto, Kirino, and I had spent a good five minutes laughing at him, or Shindou and Kirino had. I just kind of looked like I was laughing, but believe me, if I could talk, I would have been laughing the loudest.
When we arrived at my house, Aki-nee had welcomed us happily and invited everyone to dinner. It was defiantly and eventful meal. Takuto and Tsurugi had started arguing about something stupid, and Kirino and Aki-nee were laughing at them. Then, it had turned into an all-out war between my friends. I think that Sasuke was involved in it too at some point…
I had enjoyed the meal, but I was glad when it was over. Tsurugi and Kirino were the first to go. They thanked Aki-nee for the meal and had waved cheerfully before they set off towards their homes hand in hand.
That left Takuto, Aki-nee, and me, but Aki-nee disappeared moments later, saying that the dishes needed to be done or something.
Once she was gone, Takuto pulled me into a tight hug, which I returned instantly. I looked up at him and smiled. Takuto smiled back. Then, he kissed me. I kissed him back gleefully, but I was disappointed when he broke away.
"Sorry, Tenma, but I have to go," he told me. "I have school tomorrow, and you need to rest."
I pouted and gave him puppy dog eyes, but he just laughed and kissed me again. "You're just too cute sometimes. I love you Tenma."
I smiled softly. 'I love you too, Takuto.'
"Good," he rubbed my head playfully and kissed my forehead gently. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tenma! Bye!"
I watched him dart down the street towards his house sadly. I didn't like it when he had to go. It always made me feel lonely, but Takuto was right. I needed to get some rest if I ever wanted to get better.
I hugged Aki-nee goodnight and made my way up the stairs. Once I got to my room, I changed into my pajamas and flopped down on the bed tiredly. Fighting my exhaustion once more, I got off the bed and pulled the covers down so I could slide under them. After I had finished my first task, I crawled into my bed and pulled the covers over my body. Within seconds, my eyes had closed, and I was in a deep, exhausted sleep.
The week that followed my return home was uneventful. I was still not allowed to attend school or do anything strenuous, so I just slept or tried to finish all the homework assignments that had accumulated during my time in the hospital. Aki-nee had told me that I didn't need to do them, but I didn't want to fall behind in class and had nothing better to do, so why not?
Takuto visited me every day after school, which was nice, but I was still lonely. I couldn't even play soccer! During that week, I was very bored. I wished something would happen.
Now, though, I was wishing I could go back to such simple times. Aki-nee had dragged me out of bed early this morning to help me get ready for my first day at school since my accident. Aki-nee assured me that all of my teachers knew of my condition, but I was still terrified of going. Yesterday, I had even gone as far as to refuse to go completely. Aki-nee had then called Takuto and had gotten him to agree to take me to school, which made me agree. Why did Aki-nee have to use Takuto? Curse her knowledge of our relationship…
It was now seven-thirty, and I was sitting on the couch waiting for Takuto to arrive. Aki-nee had packed me a lunch, which was lying beside me, and had left to walk Sasuke. I hummed silently and swung my feet back and forth out of boredom. Moments later, the doorbell rang.
I hopped up quickly and made my way to the door, lunch in hand. I opened the door and walked out to join Takuto. He grinned and ruffled my hair as I locked the door. We then started walking to Raimon.
"How are you feeling?" Takuto asked me as he grabbed my hand gently.
'Fine…' I told him dejectedly.
He gripped my hand tighter, "Nervous?"
I nodded, 'yeah…'
"Don't worry, Tenma," he smiled, "you'll be fine, and if anything happens, just come find me. I'll help you."
'Thanks, Takuto.'
He kissed me softly. "Anytime, Tenma. Anytime."
We held hands until we reached the front gates, which was when he was forced to wave goodbye and make his way towards his second year classes. I thought that I would be alone, but Takuto had apparently thought of that too because Tsurugi, Kariya, and Hikaru showed up and walked with me to my first class.
"Hey Tenma!" Hikaru smiled brightly as we walked. "I'm so sorry for causing all of this…"
'Don't worry about it, Hikaru. It was an accident,' I told him calmly.
"But still…" Hikaru started.
"He said not to worry about, so don't worry about it!" Kariya snapped, effectively cutting off Hikaru.
"K-Kariya!" The purple-haired boy was shocked by his friend's sudden interruption, but he took his advice none the less.
Tsurugi looked at the duo nonchalantly, "Could you two go do your lovey-dovey stuff somewhere else? The rest of us would like to actually get to class."
"H-hey!" The two cried, clearly embarrassed by Tsurugi's statement. "W-we're not dating!"
"Sure you're not," Tsurugi smirked.
"Why you-!" Kariya looked ready to clobber Tsurugi, but Hikaru intervened before the teal-haired boy could do anything he would regret later.
Tsurugi smirked victoriously as he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the classroom, leaving the other two scrambling to catch up with us. Once we arrived, Tsurugi walked with me over to my desk.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" He asked me softly.
'No. Not at all,' I replied.
He patted my hand gently. "You'll be fine. Everything will work out somehow, right?"
I nodded. 'Yeah!'
He smiled at me before he walked away. The teacher arrived seconds later and began to call role.
"Tsurugi Kyousuke?"
"Here."
"Kariya Masaki?"
"Here…"
"Kageyama Hikaru?"
"Here!"
"Matsukaze Tenma?"
I lifted my hand to show that I was here, but the teacher was too busy looking at the role to notice.
"Matsukaze?" The teacher was confused, apparently forgetting my condition.
The class laughed, and I blushed in embarrassment. It wasn't my fault that I couldn't answer! I looked at Tsurugi desperately.
"He's right here, Sensei." Tsurugi told the teacher, thankfully sensing my embarrassment and silent plea for help.
"Oh! So he is. My apologies, Matsukaze." The teacher told me before returning to calling the role.
The rest of the class was uneventful, as were the rest of the classes that followed.
When lunch came, I quickly bolted out of the classroom and made my way to the roof. Once there, I sat near the railing and began unpacking my lunch. I munched on an onigiri as I thought about the day's events up to now. I stayed on the roof for the entire lunch break, but I left and headed towards the main office once the bell signaling the end of lunch rang.
When I entered the office, Aki-nee was waiting for me. Together, we left the school and headed for her car. From there, she drove us to the hospital where I would begin my speech therapy. This was the second reason I had been dreading this day.
Aki-nee walked with me to the front desk and asked one of the people there where I was to go to meet my therapist. The receptionist gave her directions before shooing her away.
She grabbed my hand and began pulling me towards wherever the receptionist had told her to go. We were walking for a while, but we did get there eventually.
Aki-nee knocked on the door. A kind looking man opened the door. "Matsukaze Tenma?"
Aki-nee nodded and pushed me into the room. "I'll be back once your session is done. Behave, Tenma." Then she left me alone with my therapist.
"So I take it that you're Tenma?" The man asked me.
I nodded, 'I am.'
My therapist smiled. "Good. We wouldn't want to have the wrong person here, would we? Come have a seat."
He guided me over to one a chair placed directly across from his desk. I did as he requested and sat down.
He pulled out a folder and glanced through the content before looking at me. "From what your file says, you became mute after sustaining a major head injury, correct?"
'Correct,' I told him.
"Alright, then. At least we know that much. Now all that's left is to figure out how to get you to speak again." He nodded thoughtfully.
'Is that even possible?' I questioned. I hadn't even been aware that my condition could be reversed.
"Theoretically, yes. You were not born mute, so if we can find what caused your muteness, we could be able to fix it. It's not guaranteed, though. You could be mute for the rest of your life," he explained. Then he remembered something. "Oh! I never did introduce myself, did I?"
'No.'
"I'm sorry! I meant to do that the moment you sat down, but I guess I got distracted," my therapist laughed. "I'm Iyashimasu Shizen. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tenma."
'It's nice to meet you too, Iyashimasu-san.' I replied politely.
"Now that that's out of the way, we can get down to business." He smiled before he began telling me exactly what we were going to do. 'It's going to be a long day,' I thought as we began my therapy session.
~Trauma~
Hours had passed since our session had begun, but I still felt like we had gotten nowhere. Iyashimasu-san assured me that we had made progress, but I didn't believe him.
When Aki-nee arrived to pick me up, I felt the happiest I had in a while, but it turned out that she didn't come alone. Once I walked into the hallway with Aki-nee, Shindou appeared out of nowhere and pulled me into a tight hug.
'T-Takuto!' I was startled by his sudden action.
"Hey, Tenma." He greeted as he released me. I spun around to face him. "How are you feeling?"
'Okay, I guess,' I sighed tiredly.
"Alright, you two," Aki-nee said, ending our short conversation, "you can continued this back home. Now let's go. I'm sure that you're both tired."
And with that, she ushered us out of the hospital to her car. We both slid into the back seat and buckled out seatbelts as Aki-nee started up the car. She drove us home quickly and got out of the car just as quickly.
"Come on, Tenma. Let's go inside," Takuto said as he got out of the car and pulled me out too.
We walked into my house and went up to my room. Takuto looked around my room briefly before he began tugging me towards my bed. He sat down on it and pulled me onto his lap as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I smiled and snuggled back into his arms.
We stayed like that for a moment before Takuto turned sideways and laid back. I yelped at the sudden movement, but it was very comfortable lying on my side with my back pressing against his chest. I shifted towards him tiredly and yawned.
"Someone's tired, hmm?" Takuto laughed as I yawned again.
I nodded as my eyes began drooping.
"You should get some sleep, then." He told me. "I'll even stay with you if you want."
I nodded and pulled his arms up so that they rested on my chest. Then, I laid my hands on his and closed my eyes tiredly.
"Goodnight, Tenma. Sleep well." Takuto whispered to me as I allowed myself to submit to my exhaustion.
I was asleep within seconds in Takuto's arms.
~Chapter Fin.~
Mega: Sorry for the long wait, but I've been busy. I also don't know how long this story will be, but I'm thinking around five chapters. I haven't decided yet, so you guys/girls can still give me suggestions.
Tenma: We hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to leave a review if you want to tell Mega something (like to stop torturing me!).
Mega: That's all for now, minna.
Tenma: Bye, everyone!
Mega: See you next time! Bye!