Reveal and Recovery - Less than 1 Day Left

"Antei. I am going to die."

That short sentence completely shattered Antei's world.

"You're lying...! You have to be!" Antei's voice started small, but became louder and more desperate.

Sekai could only smile at his friend sadly, and instinctively, Antei knew he wasn't lying. She'd known Sekai for as long as she could remember, she could confidently say that when it came to him, she was a living lie detector. She knew every nervous tick or unconscious action he'd make.

Yet there was none of that, and in his eyes as a gentle but sad expression of acceptance.

"Why do you think my hair turned white all of a sudden?" Sekai chuckled mirthlessly, running his hands through his hair "I didn't dye it, that's for sure."

"So it's like - some kind of disease? Is there no cure?! Your dad - he works at the hospital right? Surely he can do something!" Antei knew she was just grasping at straws, Kaeru Senior was only a surgeon after all. He could treat cuts and stabs, but a disease was beyond him.

Sekai shook his head, "We've already talked to...a doctor." Sekai decided not to mention Serpentine's involvement. "It's an incredibly rare and extremely rapid degenerative condition."

He pulled up his sleeve, finally revealing to Antei the timer he had on his wrist.

27:45:11

"Twenty Seven Hours, 45 minutes, and 11 seconds?" She read aloud, and Sekai nodded.

"That's all the time I have left." Sekai told her, "According to the doctor, most patients with this die after three days of diagnosis. So she had this timer set to help me keep track of how long I have, more or less, anyway."

"Thats...! So you've just been walking around, knowing you're going to die within the next day?!" Antei was angry, but not at him, but at herself.

For being so utterly unable to do something, to help in her friends final moments.

Sekai didn't raise his voice or get angry, only continued to look at her with those sad eyes.

"I'm just happy I got to spend the day with you guys." Sekai stated,

"That's bullshit!" Antei yelled, "Don't start acting all cool, like everything is going to be alright! You're going to die! Aren't you scared? Angry? At least cry or scream!"

Antei fell to her knees and began to cry. "I don't want you to die..." She muttered,

Sekai couldn't say anything as she cried, he felt a part of himself crack further and further with each sob she heaved out.

"I'm really sorry." Sekai began to approach Antei to comfort her, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his lungs, causing him to begin to stagger and cough uncontrollably.

'What the-!?' The pain was blinding and forced Sekai to close his eyes, but he could still feel the presence of a slippery and warm liquid on his hands, combined with a chunky solid substance of some sort mixed in with it.

Finally able to open his eyes, he would see that his hands and feet were covered in his own blood that he had coughed up, some of it continued to drip from his mouth as well.

Amongst the blood were chunks of some sort of white material, what was even stranger was that he couldn't quite nail it's properties either, it seemed both crystalline yet soft in his hands.

Before he could think any further on it, his vision suddenly became blurry.

'This is...it.' Sekai thought to himself mirthlessly, Antei had gotten up. She was trying to say something, but Sekai could no longer hear her, and could only give her a peaceful smile as blood trickled from the edge of his lips.

And that's when everything went dark for him.

⸻

"He was doing so well too..." Hina sighed, watching from a distance as the unconscious Sekai was rushed out by a group of quote-unquote "EMTs" - in reality - a group of Serpentine's private doctors.

"Do you think your faith was misplaced?" Hoshida asked,

"Maybe. Maybe not." Hina shrugged, "The bet isn't lost until he's dead, and I plan on playing my hand until the end."

With that, Hina turned and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Hoshida asked,

"They'll need help, after all..." Hina tossed him a soft smile over her shoulder,

"...I - personally - don't want to see Mr. Kaeru die."

⸻

"He what?!" Kiyomi Kaeru shrieked as the witch that was occupying their house completely unbeknownst to them watched from the stairwell as the couple panicked before her, quietly munching on a set of potato chips she had found in Sekai's room.

'Has he gotten himself into more trouble with the Witch Hunters?' Annabeth wondered, 'I told him it was a bad idea...'

"We will be right there." Hidoshi Kaeru said quickly, grabbing a set of car keys before heading out quickly.

The girl watched in confusion, before sighing. 'If it was the Witch Hunters I don't think his parents would know so quickly...' Annabeth sighed, did this boy just have a penchant for trouble?

⸻

"How's it looking?" Hina asked, slipping on a pair of surgical gloves. They didn't have time to take him to a Serpentine medical facility, so instead they commandeered a room in the local hospital before leaving explicit instructions for no one to enter without explicit permission, with Hoshida and his men enforcing that command.

"Not good, we've never seen something like this." The doctor named Hinohara stated,

"What do you mean?" Hina asked him, placing a surgical mask on his face.

"Normally, the virus kills by rapidly lysing brain cells and those in the spinal cord, combined with the fact that the ability manifests too rapidly for the body to adapt properly..." The doctor fell silent, there was no need to say anymore.

Hina nodded, she had seen many victims claimed in horrific ways. Burned or electrocuted from the inside, crushed from their own telekinesis...

"However, this one is different." Hinohara pointed out, "The virus is advancing in a stable manner, his body is adapting."

"He is?" Hina's voice lit with unadultered hope, so far, Ruiko had been the only one who had managed to survive with the virus to date. If Sekai was such a person, there was no telling what they might be able to glean about its nature.

"Yes, but not fast enough." Hinohara stated, "If he had any other ability he might've passed the 72 hour phase, maybe even longer."

"If he had any other ability?" Hina questioned, Hinohara sighed. Stepping aside from the operating table, he gestured for one of the nurses to bring over a tray, and Hina looked over it.

"What am I looking at, Doctor?" Hina wondered, inside the tray was a large amount of the same white material Sekai had coughed up prior.

"We've found traces of this everywhere in his body. Lungs, bloodstream, you name it. At first, it was in small enough amounts that they had no effect on his every day life. But now..." He sighed,

"Fascinating...do we have any idea what it is?" She asked,

"Not a clue," He shrugged, "Hence why we think it's his ability."

"Alright then. That settles it, Sekai Kaeru can't die here." Hina announced, "Get the cardiopulmonary bypass, if this boy dies it's on your heads!"

⸻

Needless to say, Hina Susumu was true to her words, the group of doctors worked tirelessly for hours on end. Clearing his lungs, airways, and bloodstream of the enigmatic matter that was blocking them. On occasion, it would manifest externally as well, only to shed seconds later, nonetheless, it seemed like they had bought his body enough time to adapt enough that - as long as he didn't conduct anything too strenuous - he might live.

"Might" being the key word.

Hina wiped the sweat from her forehead, sighing in a mix of relief and exhaustion.

"He's stable." Hina announced, much to the relief of most of the doctors.

"Everyone here can take a break, have the hospital staff move him to a regular room then he can have sanctioned visitors." Hina proceeded to explain further,

The doctors sighed in exhaustion and relief, conversing amongst themselves about the miraculous patient they had managed to treat.

"To think we'd be doing so many back to back procedures. A bronchoscopy and a dialysis? I'd never want to catch the I.K." One doctor said in relief,

"It really says something about Doctor Susumu too. To think she'd handle a procedure so masterfully at such a young age." Another replied,

"Well, it's not her first time doing this. She treats every I.K victim personally." The first stated, stepping aside as Sekai was wheeled out on a stretcher.

'Still...if he does survive, I wonder it will mean for Serpentine - no, the world?' Hinohara wondered to himself.

⸻

When Sekai woke up, he found himself staring up at a white hospital ceiling, feeling like he had just finished vomiting several pounds of glass shards.

'Is this...the hospital?' He wondered, finally finding the strength to turn his head to see a bedside table with what he now referred to as his "Life Counter" on it.

Reaching out weakly for it, he fumbled with the small watch-like device for a few seconds before finally managing to gain a solid hold on it, not having the strength to lean up and look at it, he lifted it above his face and read the time on it in his mind.

20:01:13

"Less than a day." Sekai muttered to himself weakly,

"You know, you really are a troublesome patient." A voice said suddenly, Sekai felt surprise, but was far too exhausted to express it, and could only turn his head weakly to look at the girl at his bedside.

"S-Susumu...right?"

"Susumu Hina." She finished for him, "Doctor Susumu Hina."

"What happened?" Sekai questioned.

"Well, as you might suspect, the I.K is starting to take hold, just not in the way we expect."

"What do you mean?" Sekai raised an eyebrow,

"Well, normally, the I.K attacks the nervous system, the brain, the spine, et cetera. Normally, you'd be paralyzed at this point, or blind, or both." Hina explained,

"However, that's not the case for you." She continued, "You actually might have the potential to be an Immune to the virus."

"That's good news, right?" Sekai smiled weakly, but Hina shook her head.

"Well, that's one side of it." Hina sighed, "The other side is that being immune doesn't necessarily mean survival when it comes to the I.K. It simply means a second phase of survival."

"I believe you already know this, but the I.K leaves no one unscathed. Survivors always develop supernatural abilities once their immune system learns to co-exist with the virus."

"Mine is killing me, somehow, right?" Sekai finished, and Hina nodded.

"Yours is unlike anything we've ever seen before." She said to him, "There was no real way we could 'treat' your affliction, we could only keep you alive long enough for your body to acclimate to degree."

"What is my ability?" Sekai asked,

"We don't know." Hina answered honestly, "Your body appears to be generating some kind of matter, but it's properties are...inconsistent, to say the least. We will have to take samples for testing."

Sekai nodded simply, "So what do I do in the meantime?"

"Just stay in the hospital, and avoid strenuous activity." Hina stated, "Your body is maintaining a delicate balance, don't upset it."

Hina stood up, and began to walk away, but said over her shoulder at the last second:

"Oh and Mr. Kaeru - for the love of God, don't try using your ability in any fashion, unless you want to die a very painful death." Her voice was deadly serious and flat in tone, unlike her usual chipper self.

Sekai shuddered as a chill went down his spine.

"Well then - see ya! Your parents are outside." With that, Hina left the room, and his parents came in soon after.

Sure enough, Mr and Mrs. Kaeru rushed to their son, tears of relief flooding their faces.

"Are you alright? They didn't hurt you did they?!" Hidoshi Kaeru quickly asked, and Sekai smiled abashedly.

"Dad, I'm fine." Sekai replied, "Hina said that I have a better chance of surviving if I just rest in the hospital."

"Of course, of course." Kiyomi quickly nodded, "Rest is the best thing you can have right now."

"More importantly, would you like to see Antei?" Hidoshi asked, "The Minamos have been worried about you."

Sekai smiled, "I wouldn't mind if they came tomorrow."

The Kaeru's shared a worried look amongst themselves before nodding.

"Tomorrow then." Mr. Kaeru nodded,

The Kaerus spent a few more precious minutes amongst eachother, reinforcing that Sekai was alright for the time being before leaving. Mr. Kaeru still planned on returning to work in a short while, so he would be able to keep an eye on his son while performing his duties as a surgeon there.

Once they left, Sekai once again found himself alone in the hospital room.

Or at least, so he thought.

"Yo." Yet another girl called out from him, this time from the window, startling Sekai.

"What the- You're the magical girl I picked up!" Sekai exclaimed in surprise.

"'Magical girl'? The first thing you think of when you see me is trashy shoujo anime?" Annabeth said in a mix of disgust and anger.

"Well, given how you're dressed..." He trailed off, and Annabeth sighed.

"I swear, I come in here to check on you and this is how I'm received..." Annabeth muttered,

"...How did you even get in here?" Sekai sighed, placing a hand on his forehead.

"Window." She answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"The window? You realize we are like - three stories up, right?!" Sekai said in surprise.

"So? A little bit of Physical Enhancement and Wind Magic and any building is easy to scale. What did you expect me to do? Check in like everyone else?" Annabeth looked at him as if he was the crazy one,

"Ye-" Sekai began, but cut himself off as he cast another look over Annabeth, who was still dressed in the same witch outfit he had met her in.

"Point taken." Sekai sighed, "Well, as you can see, I'm fine now. More importantly, hasn't your master-or-whatever contacted you yet? My parents are going to notice that a lot more food is being consumed than usual, and I don't feel like explaining that we have an invisible girl crashing in my room."

At that, Annabeth's face fell distinctly. "No. It's really strange, I thought she would've by now..."

"How do you...'mages' even get in contact with each other?" Sekai asked,

Annabeth huffed, "I've told you too much as is. Don't worry about it."

Sekai shrugged, "Suit yourself."

Annabeth nodded, and proceeded to approach the window.

"Get well soon." Annabeth stepped onto the ledge,

"Hey, don't tell me you're going to-" Sekai reached out, predicting what she was about to do.

Alas, it was too late, Annabeth leapt off the edge down to the pavement below.

"...jump." Sekai sighed, turning to look out the window by his bed. He saw Annabeth managed to slow her descent and gently land on the pavement, where she promptly turned to see him watch and gave him a smug look.

'She's absolutely insufferable.' Sekai thought with a huff, lying back down on the bed.

⸻

'He's absolutely insufferable.' Annabeth thought to herself.

She walked a few meters before suddenly pausing. A chill passing over her spine as she looked around rapidly.

'Was the parking lot always this empty...?' Annabeth thought to herself grimly. Taking another look around her surroundings, she realized that it wasn't just empty.

It was deserted.

There were no cars, no people, not even birds. A complete rarity for a hospital, even at a somewhat late hour like this one.

"Oh no." Annabeth muttered to herself, beginning to cast the workings of a spell.

This was a trap, and she had fallen right into it.