P.S. The video fits one of the host club members reactions to this chapter, but it doesn't suit the chapte itself. So... yeah. 

Eri

I didn't want to go to breakfast.

With my entire being, I wanted to bury myself beneath my blankets. I wanted to hide away from everyone, with perhaps the exception of Emi, for just a bit longer. My chest felt as if a weight of the world had been dropped upon it, and each breath I took was a struggle. From the moment I opened my eyes, I knew what was going to happen.

By the end of the day, I'd be in the hospital. The change was so quick, so drastic from the day before that I couldn't hide from it.

There was no rule against trying, though.

I struggled out from beneath my heavy blankets, blinking slowly as the world seemed to swim before my tired eyes. Despite having collapsed into my bed the moment Emi left my room, I felt as if only a number of seconds had passed. Exhaustion weighed on my body, but still I forced myself to my feet and stumbled through getting ready for the day. It wasn't until I stood, back against the bathroom counter, brushing my teeth that I caught sight of yet another worrying sign. The tips of my fingers, my nails in particular, had a faint purplish hue to them.

Purple... that means... I struggled to sift through my sluggish thoughts for the connection as I slowly turned to face the mirror. Pulling the toothbrush away from my mouth, I examined my lips, before curling them into a frown. As I thought-- there was the faintest, purplish hue to the skin.

Cyanosis. That means... there isn't enough oxygen in my blood.

That explained why it was so hard to think, let alone breathe. My toothbrush dropped to the sink, forgotten, and I curled my hands around the edge of the counter. It took all I had to keep standing as a sudden wave of fear swept through me. I didn't want this. I wanted to walk down the stairs, smile at Emi, and be pissy towards our dad. I wanted... ha. I really needed to quit thinking like that. I could want anything, and everything in the world, but it wouldn't change what was happening. I was sick-- exactly what I couldn't afford to be.

Where had my earlier peace gone? When I'd first realized my cancer had come back, I'd come to terms with it. I'd abandoned hope, and accepted death. Now... why was I so scared? Why couldn't I give a bittersweet smile to the mirror and move on? What had changed?

I needed to be strong. Emi was going to be scared... no, terrified when she realized what was going on. She needed me to be able to smile. It was barely anything, but if I could offer her even the faintest bit of strength to face the oncoming storm... I'd been okay with that. I was so, so tired of hurting her. I knew the best think I could do for her was to face everything head-on, and show that I. Wasn't. Scared.

So why was I shaking?

My vision blurred. I released one hand from the counter, using my palm to scrub at useless tears. Stupid. So, so stupid.

Smile.

A choked sob burst from my lips, and I once again found myself squatting in front of a bathroom sink. I kept one hand clinging to the counter, mentally urging myself to get up. I couldn't be this pathetic. It wasn't me. I was Hano Eri, self-professed a-okay with dying.

My body shook with the force of suppressed sobs, which turned into chest aching coughs.

I couldn't breathe.

Blood splattered my free hand as I used it to muffle the sound. It hurt. It hurt so damn much.

It hit me then.

The world had changed at some point; I just didn't know when.

Perhaps it was when I'd walked through the doors of that school. Perhaps it'd been one of the countless times I'd sat, hiding laughter, as Emi swore at the twins and pretended to hate them.

Maybe it'd been during those quiet moments during club hours when Kyoya and I would stand to the side, talking as we watched the guests mill about.

Maybe when Kyoya'd allowed me to be selfish, in the name of selflessness, and refuse treatment, but followed it by forcefully dragging me into that trial.

Perhaps it'd been when he'd asked me about my future, and I'd given a real answer.

Or when his sister had given us the brightest smile, mistakenly thinking I was someone who could make her brother happy.

Whenever it'd happened... I'd changed my mind.

I didn't want to die.

Funny, in a twisted sort of way. I finally found some spark of desire for the future, and here I was, nearly passed out in my bathroom with pain flooding my body every time I took a strangled breath. I would have laughed, had the world not been roaring in my ears. It took too much effort to stay upright, so I turned around once again, sinking onto my bottom as I finally released the counter.

"Eri?"

Dammit.

I hated scaring her.

_____________________________

Emi

When Eri didn't answer her door, I went ahead and let myself in. Sisterly concern beat her conservative attitude any day. She could chew me out after I'd figured out why she was still in bed... or, that was the idea anyways. The moment I stepped inside, I noticed how her blankets had been shoved to the side and her drawers hung open. She's up?

"Eri? C'mon, I'm pissed, too, but if we don't head down now we probably won't see him for another year."

A pout formed on my lips as I moved further into her room. Why did I have to be the responsible one? On days like these, it was usually Eri dragging me kicking and screaming to say goodbye. It wasn't until I'd stepped around so I could see into her bathroom that the reality of the situation sunk in.

Curled up against the base of her bathroom counter, sat Eri. Her head laid against the wood, eyes shut. Sweat coated her too-pale forehead, her hands hanging limply at her sides.

For a full minute, I didn't move. I didn't breathe.

"...Eri?"

Her chest moved-- a single, shallow breath-- and something snapped. I dropped to her side, far too many emotions flashing through me as I lightly tapped her cheek with one hand, the other searching my pockets for my phone.

"Eri? Eri, you gotta wake up. I'm.. I'm gonna call, but you gotta... Eri! Eri, please!"

My voice cracked, hands coming up empty. Where was my phone? I couldn't... I couldn't remember. I needed to call someone, anyone, but I couldn't catch a breath deep enough to shout.

Where was my phone?

"Eri!"

I'm not sure how long I sat there, calling her name and attempting to wake her, my mind too scrambled to come up with what to do. It might have been seconds, or hours, but someone heard me. Voices surrounded me on all sides as people filled the room, their voices falling on deaf ears.

"You've gotta wake up... c'mon... this isn't funny..."

Someone pulled me out of the way. I blinked, dumbly, as Dad and Hiroshi took my place. They were arguing... about something. Despite being only a few feet away, I couldn't hear them. I watched, broken, as Hiroshi shoved Dad out of the way and swept Eri into his arms. I would have followed, I think, but my legs felt like jelly.

Then, Kitaru was there. He was pulling me to my feet, shoving my purse in my hands and urging me towards the door. Dad was pulling at his hair as he shouted at someone on the phone. Hiroshi... he was gone. Where?

Where'd he take Eri?

My purse vibrated. I stumbled, but let Kitaru wedge me between him and luggage in the back of Dad's beat-up car. It tore out of the driveway as I dug dug through my purse. My phone... ha... that's where it'd been.

Were we going where Eri was? I had the phone, now, so I could help... right? I stared at it. The device continued to vibrate, and I slowly realized I recognized the ring-tone blaring out from it's speakers. The twins... It was then my eyes finally focused in on the name displayed across the screen.

Dumbass #1.

"They're not too far ahead of us," Kitaru was saying. "We'll be there soon, Emi, just hang in there, alright?"

My finger moved on its own accord as it slid the red phone symbol across the screen. Some, functioning part of me realized I wasn't in a state fit to answer that call.

Time passed strangely. It might have taken us seconds, or years, to reach the hospital. Once again, I found myself being pulled along as our disheveled group somehow managed to find the waiting room. Tick... tick... The clock clicked, a bomb in the silent room.

Tick.

"Emi."

A hand caught my chin, forcing me to look up. At some point, Hiroshi had joined us. The serious edge to his expression seemed to add cracks to my already fracturing mind. Was she...?

"They've got her in a bed," he said, halting my thoughts. "She's sick, some form of pneumonia they think. I'm... I'm not good at these things, but it sounded like it's a her thing. Not something we'll catch, they think. They're gonna let us go in, soon."

My heart raced. I could see Eri?

"But," he added, clearing his throat. His fingers cradled my chin, uncharacteristically gentle. "I'm not letting you go in there like this, okay?"

I blinked. If I couldn't see her, how could I know she was okay? The image of her passed-out in her bathroom flashed through my mind, and indescribable pain crashed through my mind. I realized, then, what'd broken me. Until I saw her chest move, she'd looked... I hadn't been sure she was still breathing.

For a moment, I'd thought Eri was gone.

She wasn't, though. My sister, my twin, my other-half was still alive.

But...

What would happen if...?

"Emi."

Hiroshi tightened his grip, his painful fingers forcing my mind to the present. I blinked, owlishly, as I found his gaze still digging into my own. Funny. For a second, I'd been so lost in my thoughts I'd forgotten he was there. Usually, I couldn't stand being in the same room with him. Yet, I'd forgotten...

"Can you do that?"

Do what?

"When she wakes up, you can't be like this. Got it?" he continued.

"Her phone's been going off for awhile... perhaps we should call someone. This isn't like her..."

Kitaru was still here?

"Not yet," Hiroshi said decisively. "Their... that guy is trying to get ahold of our parents. I don't think she'd be able to deal with those friends of hers, and them, and Eri, at the same time."

"But if they'd help her--"

"It's not our choice, Kit."

Why was he being like this? It didn't make sense. Hiroshi was an asshole. He didn't stare at me with those hard, yet concerned eyes. That look he reserved for Eri. Eri was the one everyone was nice to. They weren't supposed to look at me like that-- like I was broken. Like I couldn't speak for myself. Emi. That was me. The devilish, smartass, punches-before-crying twin.

But, I couldn't. I couldn't find my voice to yell at him to quit looking like that. I couldn't find my fist to shove him away.

My entire body felt filled to the brim. It was weighed down by something unspoken, and unseen. Cracks covered the surface, but they hadn't shattered. I was still here. But, I was leaking. Slowly... slowly...

"Emi. Are you listening?"

I blinked again. Right. Hiroshi. Visiting.

"It's ringing again."

"Kit--"

Hiroshi dropped his hand as Kitaru shoved something--ah, my phone-- into his chest. In turn, Hiroshi sighed, cradling the device in his hand as he glanced down at the caller ID. For a split second, he almost looked amused.

"Really, Emi...?"

Suddenly, Dad was there. His face was flushed, whether with exertion, or anger, I couldn't tell. Hiroshi pressed something and my phone quit vibrating as he turned to face him.

"Well?"

Dad's hands curled into fists. "No one can reach them."

For a moment, Hiroshi didn't react. Then, suddenly, he swore and a loud crack filled the room. Something stirred in my chest as I stared at where my phone now laid at the base of the wall.

"The fuck..."

Hiroshi froze, eyes flicking back to me. Despite everything, he grinned. "Of course that's the first thing you say."

"The fuck..." I repeated, fingers curling into fists. "Dammit, bastard, that was my phone!"

Hiroshi must have been competing for asshole of the year, because he started laughing. In fact, he laughed so hard tears formed at the corner of his eyes as he doubled over, wrapping his arms around his stomach. I leapt to my feet, fully prepared to slug him.

"What the hell!"

Dad fetched my phone, Kitaru stepping between Hiroshi and I with a peacekeeping smile. "Now, now, Emi-chan..."

"Don't 'now, now' me!"

"He's just relieved," Dad added, offering me my phone.

"Relieved?" I echoed, taking it.

The screen's cracked... I realized. I'm going to kill him!

"Emi, you've been..." Kitaru began, pausing as he searched for whatever description he thought fit. Meanwhile, Hiroshi seemed to recover, straightening and offering me a slightly off-kilter grin, that quickly sobered into an even, impossible to read expression.

"I'll take it you're alright to go in, now?"

I stiffened. Go in...

Despite every part of me screaming 'no,' I nodded. In an uncharacteristic reaction, Hiroshi followed-up by grabbing my free hand and pulling me down the hall. Dad and Kitaru stayed behind, perhaps sensing how unwanted they were, as Hiroshi led the way. He paused outside the room, glancing between it and me, before sighing and dropping my hand.

"I'll wait out here for the doctor."

For once, I didn't have a smart-ass comment ready for him, so I just nodded and turned my attention to the door. He said nothing as I stared at it for a full minute before working up the nerve to pull it open.

Once inside, my eyes immediately found Eri. She was laid out on that damn hospital bed, looking the part of a sick angel. Her hair was strewn out on her pillow, eyes closed. Despite the sweat covering her brow, the I.V. in her arm, and the way her chest heaved with each breath, she looked almost... peaceful.

It scared me.

So, I took up a seat in the furthest corner of the room, my eyes never once leaving her. My phone began vibrating, again, but I ignored it. Absently, I wondered what they thought at this point. Knowing the twins, they were calling constantly cause they thought I was ignoring them, and they wanted to see how long I could keep it up before flipping out on them. It was funny, but the thought was somehow soothing. It was as if, despite them not knowing a thing, they were in the room.

It shouldn't have been comforting, but it was.

Hushed voices penetrated the door. I stared at it, numbly, for a few moments, before lurching to my feet and stepping over to press my ear against it. Hiroshi wouldn't tell me if he didn't think I could take it-- so eavesdropping it was.

"...miracle, really. Most likely, wherever she was receiving treatment--"

Treatment?

"Eri refused treatment."

"That might be so, but she's been receiving it nevertheless. It's in her records, although most of the details are hidden. It looks like some sort of trial."

"So you're saying, it worked."

In that second, I could have sworn my heart quit beating.

"So it would seem. But, whatever was done must have impacted her already fractured immune system. At some point during all this, she must've come into contact with a carrier. Typically, this wouldn't matter. With most of us, our bodies fight it off. Imagine it like... a boxing match. Her body played round after round with the cancer, and thanks to that treatment, it beat it. But, by that time, her immune system was exhausted. So, when the virus showed up..."

Hiroshi said nothing when the doctor trailed off. He didn't have to-- it was clear to both of us what the doctor meant.

"I'm sorry, but it doesn't look good. I'm not sure she has enough left in her to fight this off."

"You said it was just pneumonia!"

My phone started vibrating again.

"I'm sorry," the doctor repeated.

I stared at it. Dumbass #2.

"You're shitting me. Get me someone else. You've got to be..."

"I can call another doctor, sir, but they're going to tell you the same thing."

I tried to end the call, but it refused to respond. The crack was probably...

"She's my little sister! She's..."

"I understand. Your parents--"

I stumbled away from the door, unable to take anymore. Then, taking my phone in both hands, I tried once again to end the call. My hands shook, and somehow...

"Finally!"

"Hey, Hikaru, give it here! You said I could--"

"Emi-chan~ We got the sequel~ You should come over!"

"Give it-- Ha! Emi-chan, we've got cake, too~!"

There was a beep. Did Hikaru get on his own phone...?

"Are you at home?"

Water dropped onto the screen. I stared at it, uncomprehending. "Eeh...?"

"Emi-chan~~~!"

Was... was I crying? When did that happen?

"Are you still there?"

"Emi-chan, we're gonna send a car~!"

I should answer them.

"I... I'm not at home," I managed.

Silence. Then, together: "Hey... where are you?" 

A/N: With only a handful of chapters left, I'll leave you guys on that charming note. I've been anticipating this chapter for a long time! Feed back would be soooooo great. 

Did you see this coming~? 

What do you think? Will Eri make it? What about Emi? Hiroshi? 

:) See you next time~