Following the short introduction, Satoshi volunteered to give me a tour of the estate. Takashi didn't seem to approve, but also didn't protest as I seized my crutches so I could hobble along. Rather, he participated by carrying my kitten for me. Seeming to take my situation into consideration, Satoshi made the tour short, only showing need-to-know locations off, such as their bedrooms, the main bathroom-- each room had a private one, but the main had a huge bath built into the center of the room that honestly looked heavenly-- the dining room, and the practiced rooms.

Along the way, I got to meet Piyo-chan, which turned out to be Takashi's baby chicken, and Kuri, a chestnut colored, miniature pomeranian belonging to Satoshi. I had the distinct feeling that the Morinozuka family had a love for animals, given that I even spotted a large dog from the distance that Satoshi said belonged to their-- our-- father. Then there was how every one of them seemed attracted to Takashi, as if he were some sort of animal whisperer. My kitten began mewing at some point, and one touch of Takashi's fingers to it's head made the noises cease almost instantly.

Satoshi seemed to view this as completely normal. I, however, decided that at some point in the near future I wanted to learn his secret and made a mental note to do so.

Unfortunately, my stay in the hospital seemed to have done something to my stamina. By the end of the tour, I was exhausted, and it must have been obvious given they ended the tour outside the room I'd been given.

"We have dinner at six," Satoshi announced. "Don't worry if you oversleep, though. The cooks said they'll keep something set aside for later."

I jotted a thanks in my notebook. After that, they left me alone to explore my room, Takashi leaving the kitten to keep me company. A large, four-poster bed decorated the far side of the room. The comforter came as a surprise. The center of the thing was light gray, and covered in darker gray vines. The fabric was outlined by alternating, six-inch lines of black and white, and the pillows the same light gray as the main part of the comforter. How did they know?

It wasn't like gray was a common color to have as your favorite. Uncertain of what to make of that-- as I didn't remember sharing that information-- I focused my gaze on the rest of the room. There was nothing really remarkable about it. A large desk was provided for studying, a walk-in closet on the opposing wall, then an entire corner dedicated to the kitten. A large, intricate looking cat-tree took up the majority of the space, with a cat bowl, litter box, and toy box laid out around it.

As I hobbled over to my bed, then sat down, the kitten attempted to jump up to join me. I shook my head in amusement as it resulted in a tiny fluffball clinging to the side of the bed, with no real way to get up, but not willing to drop down either. Taking pity on the poor thing, I slowly managed to work it free, so I could hold it in my hands.

What shall we name you? I wondered. Well first things first...

I held the kitten up for my inspection.

A boy, I decided. In that case... Sumi. You're black, and I'll be using an awful lot of ink now... So I might as well name you after calligraphy ink.

That decided, I settled my crutches within arm's length and flopped out on the bed, staring at the white ceiling above me. Reminds me of the hospital.

The first thing I'd seen that day was the whitewashed ceiling. I'd stared at it at for an impossibly long amount of time trying to remember how I'd gotten there. It might have been minutes, or hours, before I'd finally begun to piece together fuzzy memories.

First, came the sound of screeching tires and screaming. Mine, or someone else's, I'd been unable to figure out.

Second, the memory of laughing along with my mother as she talked about how her editor had started bawling upon receiving the most recent draft of her manga. Apparently, she'd made it within hours of the final deadline, and the editor had been horror struck at the idea of putting something else in the monthly release. I wasn't sure what my mother had found funny about the situation, but her laughter had always triggered my own.

A car crash, I'd finally realized. We were in a crash.

I shook my head, casting off the memories. I'd decided not to dwell on such things... so why did they keep taking over my thoughts?

Because of her.

I rolled over on the bed, burying my face into the comforter. A part of me wanted to scream in frustration, and yet another to cry over the unfairness of it all. There hadn't been a second to relax since that day. The moment they'd discovered me awake, the doctors had launched into an explanation of my medical condition.

A comminuted femur fracture, two broken ribs, severe bruising of others, severe damage to the vocal folds, and numerous lacerations.

I dug my fingers into the fabric, attempting to push the gloomy list from my mind. After all, almost every one of those injuries would solved with time and physical therapy. Even my leg, which had originally looked terrifying due to the metal plate that'd run along my femur, and the multiple screws bored that'd been into the skin in the beginning, would recover with time. They'd already removed the exterior metal, leaving only what had been placed on the inside during surgery.

This is nothing compared to Okaasan, I reminded myself. I'm alive. If I have the ability to complain, I should use it for better things.

I'd come to that conclusion after my father had shown up. Apparently, despite him and my mother having separated years before, he'd been listed as my legal guardian in a case like this. It made sense, I supposed, given that my mother'd long since told me that she hadn't kept in contact with her side of the family. They'd disapproved of her marriage to my father, and had been far too smug following the divorce. Whatever the reason, he'd been the one to arrive and explain everything.

Some part of me had actually felt sorry for him... well, after I'd finished sobbing, anyways. It couldn't have been easy to look into the eyes of a virtual stranger and tell her that her mother was dead. Which was why I'd decided to do my best not to be troublesome. I wouldn't mope away-- I'd take advantage of the second chance the gods had given me. I'd remember that my mother wouldn't want me to sulk, she'd want me to smile.

Blinking away tears-- pain digging claws into my heart at the thought of her-- I carefully sat back up and went about the difficult task of finding something to change into, and then doing so. Thirty minutes of hobbling and swearing later, I buried myself beneath my blankets.

Smile, Asami. You're alive, so smile.

It was harder than it sounded, but I managed to wrangle my lips upwards before drifting off to sleep.

___________________________________

I slept through the entire day. The fault laid with the pain pills, I decided at a later point. They weren't as strong as the ones I'd been handed in the hospital, but they still managed to leave me dead to the world for hours.

A knock at my door was what woke me. Taking breakfast in bed at home was a first for me, but I enjoyed it. Almost directly after, a nurse showed up at the house to walk me through my daily physical therapy. It hurt like hell, but I made it through by reminding myself that the pain was a temporary thing. As long as I did as I was told, I'd get better, and then the pain would be gone.

It was almost noon when they finally released me. Hobbling around the house with my notebook, I explored on my own, taking mental notes of the rooms Satoshi hadn't shown me the day before. I'd just begun to consider taking a breather-- my exploration annoyingly taxing-- when I heard someone moving around in one of the practice rooms. A frustrating number of minutes later, I managed to reach the door and peek inside.

Standing in the center of the room was Takashi. He wore what I faintly recognized as a bogu-- the traditional uniform worn in kendo. He held a wooden sword in his hands, only backing up my thoughts. As I watched, he shifted his feet across the floor, bringing the sword down in smooth, practiced movements. Enthralled, I nearly didn't notice the blond... child, perhaps teenager, sitting at the far end of the room. He had textbooks spread out around him, a comically serious look on his face as he jotted away in a notebook.

A friend from school? I guessed. They must be close to be comfortable spending time like this...

As I rolled the idea over in my head, Takashi smoothly spun as he struck out with his sword. The action was sudden-- giving me no time to shut the door. This, of course, resulted in him spotting me. Instantly, he stopped and pushed up his mask.

"Asami-san."

I wrinkled my nose, uncertain of how to take the greeting. We didn't know each other, really, but we were twins. 'San' was a bit... wrong, wasn't it? This in mind, I balanced my crutches before pulling the notebook up. As I jotted down a message telling him to just call me Asami, the sound of someone jumping to their feet echoed through the room. I looked up, turning the notebook around for Takashi's viewing, and discovered the blond darting over to where I stood.

"Hi!" he greeted enthusiastically. "You're Takashi's sister, right?"

I gave a nod, and the kid gave me a smile so bright I had the distinct mental image of flowers twirling about in the air.

"I wanted to meet you earlier, but Takashi said you were busy," he announced. "I'm Haninozuka Mitsukuni! A lot of people call me Honey, though."

I turned my notebook back around so I could scribble down a response.

"You picked out the notebook. We're cousins?"

"That's right!" he said. "So you can call me Mitsukuni."

I wanted to point out that even for cousins, that was super informal. Resisting the urge, I offered him an agreeable smile instead. Seemingly satisfied, he moved out of my way, practically bouncing back towards where he'd been sitting.

"If you wanna watch, you can come sit with me and Usa-chan, Asami-chan."

I considered the offer for a moment, before nodding. Moving carefully, Takashi acting as my shadow, I made my way over to join Mitsukuni. With a little effort-- and Takashi's help-- I maneuvered into a sitting position next to Mitsukuni's mess of schoolwork. That handled, I began writing another message.

"Who is Usa-chan?"

Mitsukuni giggled, before grabbing a stuffed animal I hadn't noticed sitting behind him. "This is Usa-chan! Isn't he cute, Asami-chan?"

I studied the bunny thoughtfully, before nodding in agreement.

"Very cute."

"Yay!" Mitsukuni cheered. "I think so, too. That's why I got you an Usa-chan notebook!"

So that's the reason behind the bunny on the notebook, I thought. Keeping the realization to myself, I simply jotted down a thank-you for the notebook, before turning my attention back to Takashi. He'd moved back to the center of the room and begun practicing once again.

I wonder if he'd teach me, I thought to myself, once again enthralled by his graceful movements. Otousan did say the Morinozuka family grew to fame through kendo...

Then again, I'd never been too athletically inclined. Rather, I'd taken after my mother. Any attempts to teach me sports had ended with her face planting rather ungracefully. Eventually, I'd convinced her to teach me how to draw instead. Asking Takashi to tutor me would no doubt result in another failure... but, it was also a potential way to grow closer to my silent twin.

I'll try it. I decided. When my leg is healed up, I'll ask him.

That settled, I spent the next few hours chatting with Mitsukuni, who seemed undaunted by Takashi's silence, and watching Takashi's practice with growing interest. When my brother joined us, Mitsukuni pulled him into the conversation effortlessly. By the time we were called to a meal, I found myself silently laughing along with Mitsukuni's antics, and had even learned a few interesting details about Takashi. The most interesting thing, however, was how easy all of it was.

Somehow, it felt as if we'd never been separated, as if we'd grown up around each other. Talking, well, listening to them talking, was comforting in a way that didn't really make sense.

Still... it was nice.