Chapter 16: Awakening
Kaito did exactly as he said he was going to do: He went to take a bath.
He made the water nice and warm, adding soap as he'd seen his mother do on multiple occasions to make the water sudsy and bubbly and enjoyable. He waited until the bath was filled to the usual height before turning the tap off.
He hesitated at the next step. Usually his mother would grab his bucket of bath toys and dump them straight in, but looking at them now... Almost all of them were little wind-up swimming fish. Kaito looked around the room and realized that the shower curtains were patterned with the creatures. The towels, the tub mat, the soap dispenser...
Suddenly, Kaito couldn't breathe. His chest was constricting, and he reached up for his throat, wondering momentarily if something had wrapped itself around his already sore and aching neck, cutting off his air supply.
But no, his fingers met only raw, bandaged skin. Kaito turned and looked in the full-body mirror which hung on the door, for the first time seeing himself in the reflection. His eyes widened: He looked awful! What had happened?! He just couldn't understand!
Nor could he understand why looking around again at the fish-themed decor made his head spin and breath come in quick, labored pants. His mind was clouded with a fear he couldn't comprehend, unlike anything he'd ever felt before, and one thought ran through his mind over and over again as he got dizzier and dizzier:
'I can't breathe. I can't breathe!'
After several excruciating, terrifying minutes of this he collapsed, passing out on the floor from hyperventilation.
His parents heard a faint 'thump' on the floor above them, despite the conversation they were having, and instantly bolted for the stairs. Toichi got there first, taking the steps three at a time and finding himself in the upstairs bathroom within seconds. He didn't hesitate at the door, thinking it would be unlocked, since Kaito knew that one of the rules of the house was that he wasn't allowed to lock the bathroom door.
He was shocked when he twisted the handle and it resisted the turning motion. He fought the urge to curse under his breath and had his lock-picks out in a flash, the lock giving way near instantaneously under his skilled fingers and allowing him access to the bathroom.
"Kaito? Kaito!" Toichi instantly went to his son's side, Chikage in pace right behind him. Kaito was passed out, laying on the floor, tears streaming down his face.
"Kaito, honey, wake up. Come on, it's Mommy. Kaito?" Chikage rubbed at her son's cheeks to rouse him as Toichi held the boy, not daring to try shaking him awake for fear of injuring him. Kaito's eyes soon fluttered open, dazed and unfocused. "Kaito, baby, what's wrong?"
Kaito blinked a few times, more tears springing to his eyes and his lip trembling. "I-I don't know," he whimpered out. "I don't know." He then proceeded to curl into his father's sturdy chest, clutching tightly onto his shirt and sobbing uncontrollably, no matter how much he wished he could hold the tears back.
Toichi held him tightly and Chikage stroked his hair, both of them whispering assurances to him, promising that it would be alright.
But would everything be alright? Neither of them could truly say.