The next day...

Jyushimatsu walked down the street slowly towards the hospital early in the morning. He hadn't eaten breakfast, but he didn't mind. All that mattered to him at the moment was Ichimatsu.

The five birds glided over his head, following him wherever he went.

"Good morning, Jyushimatsu!" Kanola called out it him as he passed the Cat Cafe. "To the hospital, I assume?"

"Good morning! And yes!" Jyushimatsu said cheerily as he kept on walking.

Jyushimatsu looked across the street at the empty park. The children's playground looked extremely lonely in the morning.

"I remember when Ichimatsu and I played there when we were kids," Jyushimatsu thought as he continued to stare at the playground. "We had lots of fun there. More than I could ever imagine. I'm going to make that happen again. When Ichimatsu comes back, we'll make so many new happy memories together!"

Jyushimatsu continued to walk, the birds still following him, until he reached the hospital.

He saw an old with a breathing machine, feebly walking out to a car with a nurse.

"Everyone here has a story, don't they? I wonder what it's like. Is it sad? Is it happy? Are they happy? Are they depressed? Do they know how much longer they're going to live? Are their days numbered? Or did they simply come here for a small surgery that isn't life threatening?" Jyushimatsu thought as he walked inside the hospital.

The nurse at the desk smiled and waved at Jyushimatsu.

"Good morning, sir!" she said. "Ichimatsu hasn't been moved overnight. So he's still in the same room."

Jyushimatsu nodded his head, stepped in the elevator, then held his breath, not wanting to inhale the depressing stench.

The elevator door slid opened as soon as he thought he was going to pass out. Gasping for air, Jyushimatsu walked on down the hallway to Ichimatsu's room.

He knocked gently on the door, dying to hear his brother reply. There was none. Jyushimatsu pushed open the heavy door.

Then, as he did every single day, he pulled out a folding chair, sat down at Ichimatsu's bedside, and told his brother everything.

"Good morning, Ichimatsu nii-san," Jyushimatsu said, squirming excitedly in his chair. "It's another day today, isn't it? Summer will be over soon. I can already feel the cool breeze of fall coming. Isn't that exciting?"

Jyushimatsu scooted a bit closer to the bed.

"I gave that blonde headed girl a bag of mint chocolate chip cookies yesterday! She told me her name is Akari! Isn't that a pretty name? I think it is. Not as pretty as Homura, but it's still pretty! She's the one who was hit by the car here! Do you remember me telling you that? I hope so. It feels like every day is a blur now. Nothing really changes without you around, Ichimatsu
nii-san..."

Jyushimatsu stood up, hugged Ichimatsu, and began to leave the room.

Sometimes, Jyushimatsu nearly thought his brother was completely dead. The only thing that reassured him that he was alive, was the constant steady "beep" from Ichimatsu's heart monitor. The sound comforted him. Knowing he really was still alive gave him hope.

"I know you can do it, nii-san! Be strong! You're not weak! You can do it!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, as he swung open the heavy door and left the room.

As Jyushimatsu walked down the hallway, he noticed that Akari was sitting all alone, once again, on the second floor's sitting area.

"Akari!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, walking swiftly towards her. "How are you today?"

"I'm...fine!" Akari said, looking up at Jyushimatsu, smiling with her eyes closed. Her hand gripped the pink blanket across her legs tightly. From beneath the blanket, Jyushimatsu could tell her legs were trembling.

"Are you sure?" Jyushimatsu asked.

Akari didn't reply.

"What's your name, sir? I told you mine yesterday, but you never had the chance to tell me yours!" Akari said, changing the subject.

"My name?" Jyushimatsu laughed, sitting down in one of the chairs across from Akari. "I'm Jyushimatsu!"

Akari's eyes filled with tears when she heard him say his name.

She shakily stood up from her wheelchair, walked a few steps towards Jyushimatsu, then hugged him as tightly as she could.

"I'm so...so sorry!" she cried as she nearly fell down.

"What's the matter, Akari?" Jyushimatsu asked, completely shocked.

Akari stumbled back to her wheelchair and began to sob into her pink blanket.

"Now I'll only h-hurt you if I say her name!" Akari choked. "Forget me, please! Forget this even happened...I'm so sorry, Jyushimatsu!"

"Tell me, it's okay, Akari!" Jyushimatsu begged, not knowing what to say to make her stop crying.

"I-it's just..." she wheezed. "H-H..." Akari began to cry even harder than she had before.

"Please stop!" Jyushimatsu begged, waving his arms anxiously in the air. "I didn't mean to upset you!"

"Homura!" Akari wheezed pitifully. "You were Homura's boyfriend..."

Jyushimatsu didn't say a word, he just nodded his head.

"I..I just..." Akari sniffed as she shakily smoothed her pink blanket out over her legs again. "Thank you...for being there for her, Jyushimatsu. I was such..." She burst into tears again.

"It's okay," Jyushimatsu said, trying to calm her down.

"I was such a terrible sister!" Akari cried bitterly, "It's all my fault she killed herself! You made her so very happy, Jyushimatsu! So happy! You were all she talked about for months! Then...something just changed one day...the day I grew ill, she started acting depressed again. She didn't speak about how you and her were having so much fun together. All she did was care for me! And...when the doctors told me I didn't have much time left..." Akari wheezed loudly, "She k-killed herself..."

"It's not your fault..." Jyushimatsu said quietly.

"Then why...why did she do it?! She was my hope all my life! She made me smile when I couldn't find the strength to! She took care of me whenever I grew ill! And now that's she's gone...I've just given up hope. I want to see Homura again...I'm tired of being so alone here now. I want to be with the only person who showed they cared about me..."

Akari looked up at Jyushimatsu, her face red with tears.

"But now I'm scared, Jyushimatsu. I'm so scared! The doctor told me I didn't have much time left yesterday..." Akari sobbed. "I don't want to die! I'm not ready to! There's so many things I've wanted to do! Places to go...oh, Jyushimatsu...I'm a terrible person..."

Jyushimatsu stood up and hugged Akari.

"Homura would be proud of you for hanging in there for all this time, you know. She was always proud of everyone for the smallest little things. Just keep trying...maybe you can overcome this! Isn't there anything you can do to stay alive...?"

"There...is a surgery..." Akari mumbled. "If everything went as planned, I would most likely live for another ten years...But if the surgery failed, I would die as soon as I woke up."

"What are you going to do then..?" Jyushimatsu asked.

"I'm not going to do anything. Either way I'm just going to die, Jyushimatsu. What's the point in trying to stay alive when, in the end, there is NO hope left. None." Akari wheezed, pushing her wheelchair away from Jyushimatsu.
"Please, forget we ever met, will you?"