Music Playing: Momento Mori (.flow Remix) by NightMargin

I was told I was "Critical". I didn't know what the hell any of that meant and I asked about it. Mrs. Mankanshoku told me that I was very sick but she didn't say a whole lot more than that, just that I should rest. Oh, good lord, am I dyin'?! She told me that the others went out to find Memory and, hopefully, bring her back here to see me. I asked her if they'd even find her and she told me she didn't know.

If anything, by that point, I decided I'd much rather sleep. It earned me another tube because I wouldn't really eat anything. With sleep, I could dream more, even more so when I was holding Memory's sweater. At least, I could, kinda, remember what her embrace felt like. In those dreams, she was holding me again. At least, I figured, she's with me in my dreams.

Ryuuko seemed to have gone downhill overnight. She hadn't been in the hospital long and, already, she's going downhill. They had to stick another tube in her because she wasn't really awake long enough to eat anything. Mom never left Ryuuko's side and we haven't found Memory. What's not helping things is that Ryuuko only seemed to sleep and, since she mostly remembers Memory in her dreams, she doesn't tell what she remembers anymore.

If we find Memory and bring her here, will Ryuuko get better?

Again, Nui was more invested than we thought she'd be, between trying to find the Kiryuuin girl and checking in on Ryuuko's health. With Ryuuko's condition at critical, I asked her as to how she knew that Ryuuko needed treatment, to which she told me, "Oh, funny thing, I wasn't, like, er, always alone, no, I did have someone."

"Oh?"

"Well, yeah, er, the last time I saw someone look like that, it was before she passed away. I wished she went to the hospital when she needed to, but she didn't. Thinkin' about it, I should have told her or pushed harder for her to go."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

It clicked a bit that Nui's investment in the whole thing was because she was lonely but lived with guilt that she couldn't save someone she loved. "That Kiryuuin girl is, like, probably, feelin' guilty, too." she said suddenly, before continuing, while gesticulating, "She loved homegirl—Ryuuko—so much that m'be she was trying to save her from, er, something worse."

She didn't have any more speculations, though she did say, "I hope Ryuuko gets better." It was quiet before she uttered about someone possibly missing Ryuuko, too. If she had more speculations, Nui didn't elaborate on them, but she did say, "Oh, fret not, we'll, like, find her, that Kiryuuin girl."

Being Ryuuko's de facto guardian, the doctors told me they were concerned about the infection further reaching her more essential organs, particularly her heart and lungs. She seemed to be breathing alright, for now, but, other than antibiotics, she's on intravenous nutrition, too. They also told me that they've never had a patient start to decline so quickly.

It was already upsetting to see her go through the motions of a broken heart but it was heartbreaking knowing we could lose her after having had her with us. She lashed out because her heart was broken but, now, her broken heart might just kill her. I know her sister is out there, somewhere, and I can't imagine the pain she'd go through if Ryuuko passes away. At least, I thought, she's not alone, especially not now.

Authoress Note: This chapter has four POVs: Ryuuko, Mako, Nonon, and Sukuyo's.