For weeks, Ichimatsu's condition didn't get better at all. It continued to get worse and worse, so much, to the point where Jyushimatsu was scared to leave him at night, alone in the hospital.

Every day, Jyushimatsu visited Ichimatsu, sometimes bringing Harvey along with him. He was no longer a tiny white kitten anymore, but he still wasn't full grown.

Jyushimatsu would sit down by his brother's bedside, telling him everything that had been going on. He spoke of the happy times they used to have, hoping his brother could hear him. Oh, how he longed for Ichimatsu to remember the brighter days of the past. Everything wasn't always terrible in life. In fact, most of the memories Ichimatsu would be able to call "happy", were the ones with Jyushimatsu when they were children.

"Hey, Ichimatsu!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed happily, walking into the his brother's hospital room one morning. "It feels like it's been a long time since we last spoke, doesn't it? It's only been six hours though!"

Jyushimatsu's mouth was wide open in a happy smile as he pulled a chair up to Ichimatsu's bedside.

"I found a cool song that reminded me of you last night, nii-san! Do you wanna hear it?" Jyushimatsu asked. And as usually, there was no reply from Ichimatsu. Just a calm sleeping face.

"We will sink. We will swim. 'til the ocean turns to sand. We will laugh. We will cry. 'til there's no more breath inside. We will sink. We will swim." the song played on Jyushimatsu's MP3 player out loud.

"I really like it! Don't you?" Jyushimatsu asked, turning it off after the chorus ended. "I hope you were able to hear that just now in your deep sleep! I can't wait to let you listen to it when you wake up!"

"Excuse me, Jyushimatsu?" an nurse said, opening the door. "I have to do another test on Ichimatsu. Will you leave for just a moment?"

"Sure," Jyushimatsu replied, walking casually out of the room. He longed to hug his brother goodbye, but he refused to. He didn't smell how he used to. He was starting to smell like the hospital's elevator. Sickly depressed.

When Jyushimatsu exited the room, he noticed the girl with blonde hair sitting in her wheelchair. At that moment, Jyushimatsu remembered what had happened the last time he saw her.

"Hey!" Jyushimatsu called, waving at he whole smiling brightly. "It's been awhile! How have you been? Are you okay?"

"Thank you," she said, slightly looking down at the light pink blanket that covered her legs in her wheelchair.

"Why are you thanking me?" Jyushimatsu asked confusedly.

"You saved my life by telling the nurses what happened! I could have died that day. But thanks to you, they found me and took care of my broken bones," she replied. "And I'm doing great! I know you probably think I'm lying since I'm on the second floor, also known as, the more sickly floor, but that's just because of the accident! I'm not allowed to leave this floor anymore on my own though. I really wish I could just escape for awhile, to be honest. I've been here for a long time now, but that's okay! I just miss the times where my parents could take me for a walk around the park down the street for a few hours. Those were better times. I really loved it when my sister would take me too...she would always tell me of a person who was very dear to her."

"Do you like cookies?" Jyushimatsu asked randomly.

"Yes! Very much!" the girl exclaimed, looking up at Jyushimatsu, her eyes glimmering with excitement.

"What kind?" Jyushimatsu asked.

"I really like mint chocolate chip cookies! They're really funny because they're green! I only had one once last year, but Kanola, the Cat Cafe owner, gave one to me for free! She's so nice..." she replied.

"Really? Wait, what's your name?" Jyushimatsu asked.

"Akari," she replied, smiling. "Not that my name will get you anywhere in life."

"No, thank you, Akari!" Jyushimatsu backing up towards the elevator. "Wait just a minute!"

The elevator door quickly slid open, and Jyushimatsu hit the button that would lead him to the bottom floor.

That sickly depressing smell filled his nostrils, making him want to gag. He had gotten quite used to the smell, but just something about it wasn't comforting...at all.

The elevator door slid open, and Jyushimatsu ran out, running towards the hospital exit.

The hospital doors swooshed open, and Jyushimatsu went running down the street to the Cat Cafe. It wasn't that far away, yet it seemed like forever.

"She'll be very happy if I do this, won't she, Homura-chan? Will this make her happy? I hope it does! I hope it does!" Jyushimatsu thought, skidding to a halt when he nearly ran into Kanola outside of her shop.

"Why hello, Jyushimatsu! Aren't you in a hurry today!" she gasped, leaning on her broom. "So do you need something?"

"Yes! I need to buy a bag of mint chocolate chip cookies! I've seen this girl several times all alone in the hospital, and she told me she really likes them! How much are they?" Jyushimatsu said all in one breath.

"So they're for a friend?" Kanola asked, laughing. "I'll just give them to you free of charge. But, what's this girl's name?"

"Her name is Akari!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed.

"Akari? Wow...she's still in the hospital, is she? Poor thing...she's been struggling longer than I thought..." Kanola muttered, swinging open the glass cafe door. "Come on in and take a seat for a moment, Jyushimatsu. A fresh batch of these are cooling for literally two more minutes right now!"

"Okay!" Jyushimatsu replied, sitting on the floor by a cat. It hurt to be reminded of the time Ichimatsu had first come here. He was actually smiling then...

The cat purred, rubbing its head on Jyushimatsu's pants.

"Hello, kitty!" Jyushimatsu laughed, petting it on the head.

"If Ichimatsu were here right now, you would be smiling for real, you know. Have you really forgotten how it feels to be a genuinely happy person?" a little voice seemed to scream in the back of Jyushimatsu's mind, but he fired his best to block it out as he listened to the smooth jazz playing in the cafe.

Only moments later did Kanola walk towards Jyushimatsu with a small brown paper sack.

"Here you go, Jyushimatsu," she said, smiling as she handed him the bag. "I hope Akari like these!"

"I'm sure she will!" Jyushimatsu sai, laughing as he ran out of the Cat Cafe, back down the street towards the hospital.

Sweating when he finally reached the familiar building, Jyushimatsu wasted no time in making his way to the second floor.

And right there, in the same spot as when he left, sat Akari in her wheelchair. She was just sitting there, slightly trembling while muttering inaudible words. She brought her pale hands to her chest, letting out a slightly loud depressive sigh.

"Hey! I'm back!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, walking towards her as if he hadn't just seen her suffering. He quickly handed her the paper bag and smiled. "They're fresh! Kanola gave them to me for free, too! She was really nice when I mentioned your name too!"

"Thank you so much!" Akari laughed, smiling as brightly possible. She looked truly happy when she opened up the bag. "Would you like one?" she asked politely.

"No thanks! They're just for you," Jyushimatsu replied.

A single tear ran down Akari's cheek s she bit into the cookie, closing her eyes.

"Memories are powerful things, aren't they?" she asked after she finished her cookie.

"Yeah," Jyushimatsu replied.

"Certain things can just take you back to a moment in time...where everything seemed perfect. Your family was happy. You were well. Nothing could ever go wrong. Yes, I truly do love memories." Akari said.

Jyushimatsu felt like she wasn't the happy girl she kept trying to come off as. But then again, wasn't everyone like that? Faking all the time, never showing others who they really are?

Jyushimatsu let out a small sigh and walked back towards Ichimatsu's room.

"I have to check on my brother again, Akari!" he said, waving goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow!"