42. Recuperate

Ninomiya Rei

The first one to notice I was awake was none other than Takeshi.

He had been sleeping at the side of the bed, leaned against the railings. He drowsily lifted his head, rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and-- turned briefly to me.

"REI!" he called a little too loudly, instantly pushing himself up toward the bed and trying to make sure he wasn't hallucinating here. He looked frantic, he looked worried, and well, I've seen that face too many times to be concerned about it.

"Hey, Takeshi." I smiled in greeting.

Seeing that, Takeshi let out a little sigh as his expressions softened into a mild smile. And when he greeted me, that casual grin was back on his face.

"Good morning, Rei."

------

------

And now, Sae and Sui were bawling.

I was honestly worried about the bandages on my chest getting wet, but I couldn't exactly find a reason or way to stop my girls from crying.

"Rei-chan, you liedddd!!!"

"You told us-- you'd be--" Sui sniffed way too many times, "Back immediately--"

"I'm never trusting you again!!"

"I'm uh," I spoke up hesitantly, "sorry."

"Rei-san, are you really alright now?" Tsuna asked for the 30th time now, "Like, seriously? You're not lying or hiding?" he sounded skeptic but the concern in his voice was real.

"Yes, I'm alright." I answer him with a sigh, "Do I look like I'm lying?" I smiled at him. Also, you have that crazy intuition of yours. I'm not lying, really.

"Rei-san, do you need anything?  Like water or--" Haru was trying to be helpful, but was obviously frantic.

"Hm? Oh-- uh, water, please."

"REIIIII!!!!" came the screaming voice that was quickly followed by nurses telling him to be quiet.

My father barged into the room, his suit disheveled and his form the sweatiest I've ever seen him-- and engulfed me in an embrace.

"Dad, you stink."

"Spare me the lecture, Rei, I just got back from France."

I sighed and leaned on his chest.

"A total count of ten fractures, and not all of them were clean-- You had a concussion too, but I'm glad you don't seem to have any memory loss. You muscles are all horribly strained, and youu have about twenty-five stitches on you, which is why you're not supposed to be moving anytime soon. Aside from that... minor malnutrition, I guess."

Everyone listened intently as Kunomasu gave the report on the extent of my injuries. He seemed oddly casual about it. In fact, he even seemed slightly annoyed about having to be there. It was evident he hadn't gotten any sleep in a while.

"Kuma-sensei, you're not supposed to make it sound like so little of a deal." Takeshi spoke up jokingly, chuckling slightly, "I mean, that honestly sounds pretty bad but you're making it sound like just a sprain or something."

"Hey, in my defense, sprains are no laughing matter." Kuma replied. He fixed his glasses, holding the clipboard lazily as he groaned, wanting nothing but to collapse and sleep on that free bed over there, but he had to act professional so-

"He annoys me as much as Shamal does," I heard Gokudera growl in the background.

I chuckle.

Apparently, I was at risk of falling into a coma.

Don't really feel scared, though. I mean, I literally just uh, woke up.

I couldn't see the extent of my injuries, but my body was numb. So, so numb I almost thought the Night Flames were still keeping my body alive. But this was anesthetic, I know. I'm all sore and dull because if not, I'd be in agony.

And I just sighed in relief.

Twenty-five stitches, though.

"Whatever the case," Kunomasu sighed, "stop getting hurt, Rei. Your body's not gonna hold if you keep trying to kill yourself, y'know." he sighed.

I chuckled at his remark. "Kuma, I'm past that point already." I told him, "Thanks for saving my life, Sensei." I stressed the last word, smirking at the end of it.

Kunomasu couldn't resist the smile back. It was a beautiful moment. It was sweet, and sparkled with innocence and purity and-- what on earth does that even mean?

None of that poetic nonsense matters, really, because right after, he received a jab to the stomach, courtesy of Sae and Sui.

"Bad Kuma!" Sae scolded, "Rei-chan's not suwi- Suwic-"

"Suicidal?" Gokudera offered helpfully.

"Rei-chan's not suwicidal!" Sae yelled at Kuma angrily.

And Sui was nodding her head vigorously in agreement of everything, her cheeks puffed up adorably like a little hamster.

At the reprimand from the 12-year-old, Kunomasu crouched down, resisting the urge to cause more injuries, and pulled at the both of their cheeks.

"Apologize to me, you brats." he growled, annoyed.

"Don't wanna." The girls replied in unison.

"Good god, REI," Kunomasu turned to me in the ultimate form or complete irritation, the older male very, very close to losing his sanity to a bunch of cheeky punks he was not allowed to punch--

I chuckled in amusement. "What nice weather we have today, eh?" I feigned innocence, looking out the window.

"REI!!"

-------

It was already past visiting hours, so I was left alone in the cold, cold hospital room as everyone scattered back to their homes.

At first, Dad wanted to stay around overnight, but the girls immediately saw that as impartial treatment. Sae and Sui were very reluctant to leave, and they even threatened to cry if they weren't allowed to stay. So ultimately Dad had to go home too so the girls would comply.

It was quiet. Quiet, calming, peaceful and dark.

The light was still on, and I was still wide awake. In fact, I was writing a journal.

Of the notebooks I received from the girls, one of them was quite extravagant. It was small, but the hard cover of it was designed like a poker card. The front was an ace of clubs, and the back was an ace of hearts. My suspicion is that Haru bought it, but I love it. It became my diary.

My broken right hand lay in a thick cast at my side as I struggled to write well without my dominant hand-- I sighed in relief when I was finally done, closing the book.

There was a knock at the door.

The door opened without a request of permission, and Kunomasu stepped in. He was dressed in his usual doctor's coat, his glasses resting on his nose.

"You got a moment, Rei?" he asked.

I chuckle. "You're already here, so I'm sure I do."

Kuma sighed. "It's about your lungs..." he started, "Don't give me that look."

I was scowling. Kuma always brings me bad news, so maybe if he's gone all my bad news will be gone too, I thought grimly. Nevertheless, I was grateful that he still kept my condition a secret from my family under my request. Doctors usually wouldn't tolerate this behavior and reluctance, so Kuma is actually being the kindest saint I've ever seen in this world right now--

"So, what about it?" I put on a close-eyed smile, pretending to be as cheerful about this news as I could.

"Oh, nothing much. You just punctured a lung, that's all." Kuma responded with equal cheerfulness, mirroring my carefree expression.

I threw an ice pack at him. He dodged it.

"Asshole!" I called him.

"Suicidal moron!" he retorted.

We growled at each other for another minute before we sighed in unison.

"Seriously, Rei, you're not getting any better, and you're just making yourself worse. There's a limit to what I can do, alright?" Kuma said. "Please, just- stop being so reckless."

I pouted. "I can't help it if I'm kidnapped and tortured, can I?" I groaned sarcastically.

Picking up the ice bag on the ground, Kuma crouched down by my bed, putting the ice pack back on my swollen, sprained foot. "Please, Rei, this is one time I'm asking you a favour." he soudned like he was pleading--

I was taken aback. This, this wasn't something Kuma has ever told me before.

"I swear, Rei," Kuma turned to me, his eyes narrowed in worry and worry and absolute worry-- "I almost lost you this time, Rei."

My right fist clenched at the fact.

"I almost lost you." Kuma repeated, "To be honest, I don't- I don't even know how you're still alive," he admitted. "Your heart stopped. Everything stopped. You went into cardiac arrest for a full two minutes--"

I was... I was dead?

Kuma had to take a moment to regather himself, "But then you just- You just came back, all of a sudden. I'm not a religious man, but I can say this: your survival was an absolute miracle."

Kuma told me this in pure desperation, but one thing struck me harder than anything else.

- I was dead...?

- Again?

"So please, Rei." Kuma told me, "until we find you a donor to heal you completely--" he brushed my bangs aside soothingly, "Please just try and stay alive."

I smiled weakly back at him.

"Thanks so much for everything, Kuma." I told him.

Hey, Void, when people die, they head to you, and thus are evaluated and sent to their differing destinations.

But if I die this time--

...Where will I go?