Bebridden

A few days have passed since Taylor last seen Chifuyu, it was beginning to make Taylor concerned. When Chifuyu didn't show up the day after, he assumed something came up that Chifuyu had to take care of since he was leaving for his homeland soon. But when Chifuyu didn't show up the next three days, Taylor was starting to get concerned.

"Good morning, sir. I brought your tea," Lucas knocked and entered the office, approached Taylor's table to place the cup of tea on the detective's desk.

"Merci," Taylor thanked him, "By the way, Lucas, have you seen Chifuyu lately?" he asked him.

"Huh? N-No, I haven't seen him for 3 days actually..." Lucas replied, he last saw Chifuyu exactly the same day Taylor did.

"I'm worried about him, if only I know where he lives..." Taylor sighed heavily.

"Honestly, I'm getting worried too." Lucas smiled, "If you would like, sir, I can go and check up on him." He suggested.

"You can? You know where he lives?" Taylor lifted his head.

"W-Well, I do... but Fuyuchi doesn't want me telling anyone where he lives... Je suis désolé, sir." Lucas replied hesitantly.

"I see..." Taylor nodded, "Alright, please go check up on him. Let me know after," he told Lucas.

"Yes, sir." Lucas responded and left the room, then left the house to start heading to Chifuyu's rooftop residence.

Lucas had a hard time making his way through the route Chifuyu usually takes him, slipping and nearly falling a few times along the way. But it was the rare moments where Lucas felt he could see things from Chifuyu's perspective, such high grounds and a different feeling of wind. There were many things to see, and there's so much that could be seen from such high grounds, which explains how Chifuyu is aware about almost everything going on in the city and knows nearly every corner of the city.

Chifuyu was not outside, he was on his bed still in his sleep wear and under the warm covers, bedridden. He was pale, heavily breathing and wheezing, frailly reaching for his inhaler on his small bedside table. He pressed and gasped silently to take a dose, but it seemed to be futile, even when he took additional dosages. His vision was blurry and he dropped his inhaler to the floor next to his bed, the warm steam of his breath was constantly in front of his nose. He closed his eyes and placed his arm over his eyes, clenching his grip on the blanket over his chest.

"My time is up, huh...?" he thought, just laid there on his bed, accepted and given up.

Lucas eventually arrived at the metal ladder leading to the rooftop where Chifuyu lives, he climbed up the ladder and peeked over the edge to see nobody there. It was white and covered in snow, cold and silent.

"He might get mad at me... I came here without letting him know..." Lucas thought as he started walking on the rooftop, "Fuyuchi! Are you home?!" he starts calling out, Chifuyu jolted and his eyes opened rapidly.

"Lucas??!" he was shocked, but he was too little on oxygen to respond and too weak to move from his bed. "Why the hell is he here?? Why??" he thought as he clenched his fists.

"Oi~! Please don't be mad at me! Fuyuchi?!" Lucas kept calling out since he got no response as he walked around the rooftop.

"This... This is the last thing I wanted to happen..." Chifuyu tried to get up, but he fell on his side on his bed, only moving an inch from his previous position.

"Fuyuchi?!"

"I never want for anyone to find out... I don't want him to know... Lucas, Eve, or even the old man..." Chifuyu's consciousness was fading away, his eyes turning dull and lifeless, "They're the last people I want to know... about my illness..." he was gasping and wheezing for air.

"Has he gone to Japan already? But the flight is the day after tomorrow," Lucas mumbled as he stepped in front of the door of the small box house on the rooftop, "Fuyuchi??" he knocked the door.

"If I don't make a noise... maybe he'll think I'm not home..." Chifuyu tried to stay as still as possible, he closed his eyes and clenched his pillow in hopes Lucas would leave.

"Fuyuchi? Are you home?" Lucas entered and he was shocked when he saw Chifuyu's situation, Chifuyu could tell from Lucas's loud gasp.

"Shit..."

"Fuyuchi?! Are you alright?!" Lucas ran to Chifuyu, "You're so pale!" he quickly noticed Chifuyu's unwellness.

"L-Lucas... can you... keep it down...?" Chifuyu's voice was so weak and little, his shaking body made Lucas more concerned.

"Don't worry, I'll take you to a hospital! Hang in there, Fuyuchi." Lucas took Chifuyu and carried him on his back, then he sprinted out on the roofs and on the sidewalk towards a hospital, taking Chifuyu's blanket with him to keep him warm. "Please hang in there, Fuyuchi. We'll get you some help soon," Lucas was talking to Chifuyu to keep him conscious as he runs, fearful for Chifuyu's wellbeing.

"Hello? Lucas?" Taylor answered a call from his phone box on his desk, he was in the room with Eve, who was reading a book on the sofa. "What?! Chifuyu's in which hospital?!" Taylor suddenly jumped out of his chair in shock.

"Huh-?"

"I'll be there right away!" Taylor said before he closed the call and he took his coat and hat in a rush.

"Wait, Dad! I'm coming with you!" Eve jumped from her seat and chased after her father.

Chifuyu was taken into the emergency room of the hospital, he was quickly examined before rested in a private room in the hospital, where he was kept alive with a mechanical ventilator and monitored with vital signs monitor. IV fluids were injected into his veins through his left arm, and he was barely conscious after all the examination and emergency treatment.

"It was all because of you!"

"That's Lucas," Taylor heard Lucas's screams from down the hallway of the ER, soon he and Eve saw Lucas gripping onto a doctor's collar angrily.

"You guys are all jerks!! Why do you discriminate?! I dare you to treat him differently! I'll crush you if you do!!" it was the first time Lucas was seen infuriated.

"Lucas, calm down!" Taylor pulled Lucas back, taking a risk knowing Lucas's abnormal strength.

"He's a Japanese and discriminated here! I know it!! I know how Fuyuchi is!" Lucas kept screaming, "He must've given up and accepted his illness because you doctors didn't bother to do your job correctly! And that's all because he's a Japanese!!" he has never been angrier before, meanwhile, Eve gasped when she saw Chifuyu through the see-through window to the room.

"C-Chifuyu-kun..." she covered her mouth as she started to cry, devastated.

"Young man, I assure you, I've done everything I could." The doctor remained calm and he was understanding, "Apologies, I'm Doctor Isaac." He introduced himself to Taylor, who finally managed to get Lucas to stop trying to beat up the doctor.

"Taylor Anderson, I'm that young man's guardian at the moment." Taylor said, pointed to Chifuyu.

"Well, Mr. Anderson, I would like to explain the results of my examination." Doc. Isaac turned to his clip board, "He's suffering from an unidentified illness; it includes severe troubles in breathing, then aching on his heart area recently. Because of that, I believe his illness is close to heart disease and asthma. The cause of his illness is still unknown, but I found many signs that he has taken a considerable dosage of foreign drugs. It was speculated his illness was left untreated for around 3 years, and he has been only using inhalers to relieve himself." He explained.

"Foreign drugs...?" Taylor paused, "Could it be...?" Chifuyu's history with Professor Morgan was what he quickly suspected to be the cause.

"Correct, could it be that this young man is addicted to narcotics?" the doctor asked him.

"No, absolutely not." Taylor shook his head, as Lucas saw Chifuyu slowly turning his head to them.

"Fuyuchi!" Lucas moved closer to the window, "Don't you dare die! If you die, you know what happens to me!" he yelled with tears oozing from his eyes.

"Lucas..." Taylor felt bad for him.

"Push through, Fuyuchi!" Lucas was sobbing at that point, looking at Chifuyu's pale and lifeless face. Chifuyu slowly smiled, but closed his eyes a second later. "Fuyuchi!"

"It's alright, lad, he's resting." Isaac told Lucas.

"You... You better not treat him differently; don't you even dare." Lucas glared at the doctor.

"I've done all I could, it's only up to him now. If he wants to continue living, he will fight and survive." Isaac said, "According to the examination, his body is strong. I'm sure he'll recover soon," he added.

"Chifuyu..." Taylor was gravely concerned.

***

The news of Chifuyu being hospitalized spread in the group of people who knew him; Charlotte, Jeffrey, Emma, and Eric arrived to visit him the next day. Lucas spent the next few days visiting Chifuyu and seeing him through the window, still asleep while Lucas was hoping to see him awake every time he visited. Occasionally Lucas would overhear people gossiping about Chifuyu, talking negatively about him; Lucas would glare from a distance when he does happen to hear them.

"Oh, Mr. Peters." The receptionist greeted Lucas when he entered the hospital in the morning four days later, "Mr. Tsuguha is moved out from the high-attention room, he is now in room 209. He is already awake, but please keep calm when visiting him." She told him.

"Really??" Lucas gleamed, "Alright, merci!" he ran to the room told by the receptionist, he ran up the stairs from impatience of taking the elevator. He knocked and opened the door of room 209, Chifuyu was sitting on his bed and reading a book before looking up to see Lucas.

"Oh, it's you. Hey, Lucas." Chifuyu greeted his friend with a smile as he puts his book down on his lap.

"Fuyuchi..." Lucas approached him wobbly, "You really scared me back there..." he sobbed.

"Sorry about that, Lucas." Chifuyu snickered.

"Well, how are you feeling now?" Lucas asked him, he sat down on the chair next to the bed.

"I'm feeling a lot better," Chifuyu smiled, "I owe you, Lucas, thanks for saving me." He added.

"I guess we're even now, eh?" Lucas grinned.

"I want to go home... it's boring here..." Chifuyu suddenly complained.

"You already missed your flight back to Japan..." Lucas said.

"Oh, you're right..." Chifuyu sighed.

"If you're bored, I can bring you some books to read if you want to." Lucas smiled, "What do you like to read?" he asked curiously.

"I enjoy historical books; even historical fiction is fine, but I pretty much able to read anything." Chifuyu replied.

"Alright, gotcha. I'll bring you some books when I visit again," Lucas grinned.

In the evening, Chifuyu closed his book he just finished reading and leaned his back against his pillow, sighing as he heard a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Chifuyu responded, and he paused when he saw Taylor open the door. "H-Hey, old man." Chifuyu smiled hesitantly.

"Bonjour," Taylor closed the door behind him before he approached Chifuyu, folding his arms in front of his chest. "I'm sure you know that you have some explaining to do," he sighed.

"I'm sorry..." Chifuyu bowed his head, he felt Taylor already knew the truth but was waiting for him to admit it. "Yes, my plan to return to Japan was a lie... I knew I was going to experience the worst soon, so I lied and hid my illness all this time. I didn't want any of you to know and I never intended to become close to anyone here, because I would hate myself to make you all miserable... I was hoping nobody would go out to find me when I eventually disappear..." he kept his head down as he confesses.

"I knew it..." Taylor grunted lightly.

"But I guess I ended up hospitalized and surviving instead..." Chifuyu lifted his head to give Taylor a guilty smile, "I'm so sorry for troubling you, old man." He bowed his head again.

"You're such a jerk..." Taylor grumbled in a low voice, "Do you distrust Parisians that much? To the point you just left your illness untreated and accepted your fate to die?" he asked Chifuyu.

"When my disease first started 3 years ago, I did decide to give a hospital examination a chance and I went to see a doctor. But just as I expected, they didn't bother examining me genuinely and gave me a small prescription, basically they just gave me whatever to make me leave." Chifuyu remembered his hospital visit clearly, even the sluggish look on the doctor's face and in their voice. "I eventually settled with just inhalers to relieve myself, even though I knew a time will come where they will be useless." He added.

"Do you know where your illness came from? Even the doctor who examined you doesn't know what you have going on," Taylor sat down on the chair near the bed.

"Are you sure that doctor actually doesn't know?" Chifuyu hissed lightly.

"Doctor Isaac is a genuine one, I can tell and I've investigated his history. Besides, Lucas yelled at him quite a lot when you were still asleep, I'm sure he would think twice to do any funny business." Taylor responded, and Chifuyu looked away with a pout.

"Well, there's no doubt in my mind that my illness is the aftermath for being Professor Morgan's test subject." Chifuyu responded, "Those drugs he injected into my system is many forms of weird serums that affects my immune system and nervous system, affecting me psychologically too. I just realized that recently, where I felt indifferent when I murdered someone, I felt nothing at the fact that I have blood on my hands." He explained.

"Well, you're getting better now. I'm sure you're going to be able to recover fully soon," Taylor said.

"Oui," Chifuyu smiled.

"What are you going to do when you finally recover?" Taylor was curious.

"Hmm, I might continue as a private investigator."

"Really??"

"No, I'm just saying what you probably want me to say." Chifuyu sneered, "Looks like I was right," he saw Taylor perked up when he said that.

"Do you want me to hit you...?" Taylor growled, feeling humiliated.

"Don't worry, old man. I have nothing planned, so I might spend time at your office a lot." Chifuyu smiled.

"Then, I'm glad..." Taylor smiled back to him.

***

"Good morning, Mr. Anderson." Taylor was going through papers when Jeffrey entered the office the next day, carrying a paper folder in his hands. "I heard Tsuguha regained his consciousness yesterday," he said as he placed the paper folder on Taylor's table.

"Yeah, I saw him yesterday. He looked so much better," Taylor responded.

"He won't be able to go back to Japan for a while, huh?"

"Nope, I don't think he will be going ever." Taylor replied, "It was a lie he told to hide the fact that he's dying," he sighed.

"He's so secretive..." Jeffrey complains, "Anyways, I brought in a case the central wants you to look at, sir." He taps on the folder he placed on Taylor's desk.

"It's a missing person's case," Taylor read the title of the documents, "Lacey Emerald, last seen at the Paris Museum at 16:45 two days ago with her best friend, Agatha Niles. She left the museum at that time with her friend, and she vanished..." he was mumbling as he reads the papers.

"There were also evidences; her belongings that day were abandoned between the trees behind the museum. Agatha Niles claims they separated outside the museum, going home before Lacey Emerald, who was waiting for her father to pick her up." Jeffrey continued, "The current suspects are Agatha Niles, and a classmate of Lacey Emerald who has a history having a relationship with her that ended terribly, Patrick Dome." He added.

"This is weird..." Taylor mumbled, "This will be a tough one," he added.

Chifuyu had a pile of books brought for him by Lucas earlier that day, and he was reading one of them silently when the nurse who had been taking care of him from the first day entered the room.

"Good morning, Mr. Tsuguha." The nurse smiled to Chifuyu when she greeted him, "I'm here to take your blood for a test again," she informed him.

"Right," Chifuyu closed his book and puts it on the pile on the bedside table, then offering his arm to the nurse to let her take his blood.

"You're the private investigator who's behind the spike numbers of solved cases, right?" the nurse started a conversation with Chifuyu.

"Probably," Chifuyu rolled his eyes, not interested to chat with her at all.

"Alright, there you go. Thank you and please rest," the nurse smiled and left the room after taking his blood, and Chifuyu turned back to reading the book he was in the middle of reading. It was peaceful for a few seconds before there was another knock on the door, which made him roll his eyes once again and groan in complaint.

"Yes?" he responded lazily, and Taylor slid open the door. "Oh, hey, old man." Chifuyu greeted him.

"Hey, Chifuyu." Taylor entered the room, but Chifuyu paused when Jeffrey followed behind the senior detective, Chifuyu's face turned grumbly.

"Who are you?"

"Don't give me that crap, Tsuguha!!" Jeffrey roared, instantly offended.

"Jeffrey, we're in a hospital." Taylor reminded him as he approached Chifuyu, "You seem to spend a lot of time reading," he saw Chifuyu had a pile of books on his bedside table.

"You know I get bored easily, and I hate to have my mind dull by doing nothing." Chifuyu told him as he closed the book to put it on his lap, "Working on a case?" he saw Taylor was carrying a paper folder with him.

"Yeah, it's a missing person's case." Taylor replied and thoughtlessly offered the folder to Chifuyu, who actually took it from his hand to read.

"Doesn't seem too complicated, I'm sure you're going to be able to handle it yourself~" Chifuyu smirked to the two detectives. "You didn't come here because you're struggling with this, are you~?" his smirk turned into a mocking sneer.

"I regret showing it to you..." Taylor didn't come to hear a sarcastic comment.

"No, but seriously, are you struggling with this...?" Chifuyu was suddenly genuinely concerned.

"Not really-"

"Not at all," Jeffrey interrupted Taylor, hissed at Chifuyu and made him sigh lightly in complaint.

"Do these suspects have alibies?" Chifuyu ignored Jeffrey and turned back to the papers.

"Agatha Niles has a strong alibi, she went home with her mother. But Patrick Dome was said to be with his friends at the time of the victim's disappearance," Taylor responded.

"Have you questioned the suspects?" Chifuyu asked, while Jeffrey was sulking behind Taylor.

"Agatha Niles is super cooperative and she's been providing us with many information about Lacey Emerald, while Patrick Dome failed to show up at the day when we're supposed to question him." Taylor replied.

"Méfiant..." Chifuyu nodded his head, "Well, when you eventually get to question him, just as him these two questions; did Lacey Emerald fight back? And where did you hide her? Also, can you please record the entire interview with him? I would like to see his reactions to these questions and hear his responses with his own voice," he told Taylor.

"Are you suspecting him already?" Taylor furrowed his brows.

"Not quite, it's just another method of mine to identify a suspect through their reactions towards direct questions as such. I'm not implying that he did it, but I want to see his reactions to these direct questions." Chifuyu explained, "It's a pain that I'm stuck here, it'll be less troublesome if I can go face him in person." He complained right after.

"Alright, I'll remember that." Taylor nodded as he accepted the folder Chifuyu handed back to him.

"Throw in a lie while you're at it, tell him that there's thousands of officers out on the search for Lacey Emerald. Scare him, maybe he'll end up feeling cornered." Chifuyu added, "Je t'attendrai~" he grinned.

"Are you sure you want to do this case?" Taylor was worried he might be forcing Chifuyu while in his unwell state.

"I'm literally only talking; I won't be able to go anywhere." Chifuyu grunted, "Besides, I already gave you my tips and opinion, I'll just be waiting for updates. My role would be a bedridden consultant for the time being," He added.

"Alright, thanks, Chifuyu." Taylor nodded, "Allons-y, Jeffrey." He walked pass Jeffrey to leave the room, but Jeffrey glared at Chifuyu before he followed Taylor.

"Are you mad at me or something?" Chifuyu was confused, Jeffrey seemed to be more bad-tempered than he usually is.

"I am," Jeffrey stopped at the doorway, his voice was calm yet firm. "You don't know how worried you made me and other people, I was dead apprehensive and I won't forgive you for that anytime soon." He turned to glare at Chifuyu from the edge of his eye, Chifuyu was paused and surprised, while Taylor smiled.

"Sorry to make you worry, Jeffrey." Chifuyu apologized with a smile, "I'll get out of here and go back to working with you soon, okay?" he grinned, and Jeffrey's face turned red.

"Whatever," Jeffrey slammed the door shut, leaving Chifuyu to chuckle in satisfaction as Jeffrey followed Taylor out of the hospital.

"I knew you were worried about him when you heard he was hospitalized, but I didn't expect you to admit that to him." Taylor smiled to his junior.

"I hate to admit it, I was worried sick about him." Jeffrey looked away as he pouted, "For whatever reason, he left a deep impression on me. I can clearly feel the difference when not having him around," he added.

"I guess he did leave a deep impression on almost everyone who knew him," Taylor sighed as he walked to the car in the cold weather, "The kid himself never intended and avoids to emotionally invest in others, but I guess he's unaware, that just his fascinating presence and demeanour alone makes every person he encounters distinctively remembers him." He thought with a smile.

"I'll see you later, Dad." Eve wrapped her scarf around her neck as she walked to the front door.

"Don't come home too late, call me to pick you up if you come home at dark." Taylor told his daughter.

"Okay," Eve nodded and left through the front door in the afternoon, heading towards the hospital Chifuyu was hospitalized in.

"Oh, it's Ms. Evening." Eric just walked out of the hallway when he saw Eve at the receptionist of the hospital.

"Eric? Did you come here to visit Chifuyu-kun?" Eve asked Eric.

"Yeah, I had a huge accomplishment that he was proud of~" Eric grinned, "À bientôt, Ms. Evening. Brother Chifuyu is still awake," he told Eve as he jogged away.

"À bientôt, Eric." Eve waved back to him before she turned to walk down the hallway, she stopped in front of the room door and knocked, she paused in confusion when she heard a groan from inside the room.

"Yes...?" Chifuyu lazily responded, but perked up slightly when he saw Eve. "Oh, hey, Eve." He grinned.

"Are you tired of guests or something?" Eve closed the door behind her and approached him.

"No, I thought you were a nurse who's going to check up on me again..." Chifuyu grunted slightly, "How are you doing at school? Have you been struggling with your homework~?" he sneered, knowing how he usually helps Eve with her homework towards the end of each day.

"I'm surprisingly doing fine on my own..." Eve sighed.

"See? I knew you can do it yourself; my help just makes it many times easier, that's all." Chifuyu smiled proudly, but he paused a moment later as if holding his breath. "H-Hold on," he reached for his inhaler next to his pillow and took a dose to relieve himself, now able to do it freely since his illness was no longer a secret he had to hide.

"You still have trouble breathing?" Eve asked him.

"Sometimes, but it's not a big deal. I've gone through it for 3 years now," Chifuyu shrugged, then Eve took out a box from the tote bag she was carrying on her arm.

"I brought you some macarons, are you up to have some?" Eve smiled, bringing him something he enjoys. "I visited the bakery before I came here to get your favourite mint and chocolate hazelnut ones," she told him as she opened the box of mini macarons on his lap.

"Wow, merci, Eve." Chifuyu thanked her as he took one of the bite-sized macarons to eat, then offered the box to her for her to take and enjoy one as well.

"When will you be discharged?" Eve asked him out of curiosity.

"I don't know that yet, but I'm sure I won't be staying here for too long." Chifuyu replied, "I want to get out of here soon too, it's boring and I hate the nurses..." he pouted.

"It's really quiet at without you around, even Mr. Neilson admits that..." Eve smiled again.

"Jeffrey did? Ha-ha..." Chifuyu chuckled for some reason, but in marvelment that Jeffrey would be affected by his absence too. "How's Maru doing?"

"He's alright, I've been giving him plenty of freedom in my room and attention."

"Thanks, sorry to make you take care of him..."

"No worries, Maru is nice to have around too."

"That's good," Chifuyu smiled, he seemed to be much more laid-back and milder at the moment, Eve doesn't know if he was genuinely relaxed or that was because his current state of recovery. Chifuyu took the remote from his bedside table to turn on the television at the corner of the room, and it showed the news with the headlines 'Theft and fled, a second Alabaster??' where it was discussing the scene was exactly the same as the Alabaster's mischievous act, but the police who chased after the rebel claimed the rebel to be similarly dressed but not the Alabaster himself.

"He was a smaller and shorter, his voice sounded younger as well." Was what the interviewed police stated.

"An impersonator?" Eve was confused when she saw the news.

"He did pretty well, I'm a proud mentor~" Chifuyu was grinning proudly in the meantime.

"You know who the second Alabaster is?" Eve turned to Chifuyu with furrowed brows.

"It's my delightful devotee, Eric." Chifuyu sneered, "He came here just now to tell me all about it and I'm honestly impressed on the hiding places he chose; he's a smart kid." He told Eve.

"I don't understand why you're encouraging him..." Eve sighed, marvelled.

"It's only my way to kill time and boredom, also I love seeing them frustrated from not being able to catch me. It's a harmless act; I would rather do that than do anything like haunting Parisians by becoming a murderer to express my hatred for them," Chifuyu explained lazily, "It's still amazing to me how Parisians are fine with sitting back and watching, only a few people here have the care for others in need." He looked away.

"You still hate Parisians?" Eve tilted her head.

"I could never forgive Parisians for letting my family die, but it never crossed my mind to let Parisians die... I was raised to defend and fight for the weak, my father disagrees with the idea where only the strong ones survive and that the weak are destined to die. He told me; it's allowed and normal to hate others, but it's never allowed to harm them." Chifuyu replied, "Always stay humble and kind, is what my father always told me." He added, looking out to the twilight sky through the window.

"Your father seemed like a wise swordsman," Eve said.

"He was and will always be, he was that one person I look up to. I admire his methods and approaches towards situations, I learned many of mine from him." Chifuyu turned to Eve to give her a smile, "But my mother was not far different; I admire her kindness and ability to forgive simply, which I'm sure is not easy to have. I held a grudge against The Reaper for 3 years, I can admit that I'm nothing like my mother in that aspect." He added.

"I'm sure the kindness you have deep down is like hers, although you're very boorish and standoffish on the surface." Eve told him, admitting her opinion about him unconsciously.

"I'm wondering, Eve... how did the old man met your mother?" Chifuyu remembered Eve's mother was a Japanese.

"Dad told me he met her when he was hiring a housekeeper and she was hired, but the two of them fell in love and got married." Eve stated what her father had told her in the past, "I'm sure Mom was the reason why Dad became really sympathetic towards the Japanese immigrants, he could see how the Japanese are actually nice people." She added.

Chifuyu was reading the last book Lucas brought for him, the eight book in four days from the boredom of being stuck in bed. It was the evening where Chifuyu was reading from a lamp next to his bed, where the snow is falling outside and he decided to take a break half-way. He stood up from his bed and took his infusion stand along with the bag that's still connected to his arm by the tube, he took his scarf from the edge of his bed and walked out of the room quietly to walk around the hospital.

"Mr. Tsuguha," a voice made Chifuyu stop his pace and turned around coolly, he turned around to see a nurse walking towards him.

"What? I only have breathing problems; it isn't affected when I walk." Chifuyu complained, "Honestly, I'm already well enough to be discharged. Staying here anytime longer will make my brain die," he added.

"All patients say that, Mr. Tsuguha. And staying here won't make your brain die, you're exaggerating." The nurse replied, "You should be resting at these hours, please return to your room." She told him, but Chifuyu sighed lazily.

"I was going to take it easy, but..." he rolled his eyes and picked up his infusion bag off the stand to hold in his grip, "I'd like to see you catch me," he smirked and started sprinting down the hallway.

"H-Hey! Arrêt!" the nurse was caught way off guard by his speed that she was unable to react.

"Don't worry, mademoiselle, I'll be back in my room soon!" Chifuyu yelled out as he disappeared.

"Someone, catch him!" he chuckled in satisfaction when he heard the nurse panicking.

"Where did he go?!"

"Let's check the second building,"

"Geez, why are the Japanese always so troublesome?!" Chifuyu heard two staffs having a frustrating conversation before they left, leaving Chifuyu able to come out of hiding at the corner ceiling of the hallway.

"Still talking bad about the Japanese, huh? Scum," Chifuyu jumped down and landed flawlessly, "Looks like I'm still as fit as ever, maybe I was exaggerating... Still, my brain might die of boredom," he was complaining and mumbling to himself as he stood up.

He walked up to the rooftop; the night breeze quickly blew his hair when he opened the door as he took a cold breath for the first time after a month in his hospital room. His ocean-deep blue eyes sparkled slightly when the snow came in his view, the street lights reflected in his eyes as he stood on the rooftop; only wearing sandals to protect his feet from the snow and a scarf around his neck to keep him warm together with his patient attire. The infusion bag he was carrying was getting cold, so he hugged it in his arms to keep it warm with his body heat.

"It's exactly the same as that day..." Chifuyu thought, the memory where he fled from the research facility replayed in his head, where he fled on his own and leaving others to die. "I won't let other people die, huh... but I've unknowingly let people die, which is worse..." he chuckled sarcastically, judging himself as he dazed out to the city lights.

"Mr. Tsuguha!" a staff's voice made Chifuyu flinch.

"Oh, crap-" Chifuyu turned as he spoke with a dull quick voice.

"Return to your room this instant," the staff told him, but Chifuyu dodged the staff's grab and he dashed down the stairs of from the rooftop. "Hey! Stop!!" the staff shouted, but Chifuyu was already far ahead of him.

"Geez, what a way to ruin my fun..." Chifuyu mumbled as he continued to sprint, but he saw two staffs ahead in the hallway.

"Stop right now! You're going to worsen your condition!" one of the staff shouted, but Chifuyu effortlessly jumped over them and continued his run down the hallway.

"So long, suckers~!" Chifuyu smirked as he disappeared down the hallway.

"Wasn't that the Alabaster's line?" the staff were confused.

"Maybe, this isn't too bad after all..." Chifuyu thought as he smiled, as the moon was flooding the town with its dim light.

***

"Chifuyu!" Taylor slammed open the door to Chifuyu's room, to find Lucas also there, just brought Chifuyu more books to read.

"Heya, old man." Chifuyu smirked, knows exactly why Taylor was stomping towards him, while Lucas was scared.

"I got a phone call in the middle of the night that you made a fuss with the staff, is that true?!" Taylor huffed, his face was big and infuriated.

"Come on, now. I was just looking for a little bit of fun," Chifuyu rolled his eyes.

"It literally took 10 staffs to make you go back to your room! And I was told you went out on the rooftop with no warm clothes on, you could've made your health condition worse!!" Taylor was scolding Chifuyu.

"M-Mr. Anderson, please calm down..." Lucas tried to protect Chifuyu.

"C'est vrai, vieil homme. Don't fret, I'm fine..." Chifuyu added, "It's their fault I started running and going to the rooftop, if they hadn't decided to nag me to go back to my room and chase me, I would've been walking around the hospital calmly." He told him, Taylor took a deep breath and let it all out to calm himself down.

"Fine, whatever... that's not important anymore," Taylor sighed, "Lucas, is it okay if I can have Chifuyu to myself now?" he turned to Lucas, making he and Chifuyu confused.

"S-Sure, I just came to exchange his books and I already had 2 hours with him." Lucas nodded, "D-Don't kill him, sir..." he added, concerned for Chifuyu.

"I won't, I just want to discuss a case with him." Taylor replied, calm.

"Understood, pardon me, then." Lucas walked to the door, "À bientôt, Fuyuchi." He waved to Chifuyu.

"See ya," Chifuyu waved back before Lucas shut the door, "So, is this about Lacey Emerald's case?" he turned to Taylor.

"Exactly, I have interrogated Patrick Dome and it's taped. I can play it with my laptop," Taylor took out his old laptop from the bag he was carrying, then placed it on Chifuyu's lap and inserted the tape to play it. The footage showed on the screen and started playing, "Whoa, his instant focus never gets old..." Taylor noticed Chifuyu's sudden change of state, he was silent and his eyes were locked on the screen of the small laptop.

Chifuyu spent the next three hours inanimate, only blinking and breathing, watching meticulously the footage of the interrogation in silence. Taylor was unable to guess his thoughts during the entire time, since he had no reaction or movement whatsoever from the start of the footage or when Patrick Dome stated his claims. Chifuyu finally moved, he leaned back after the footage was done and smiled.

"It's obvious he lied for two from the questions asked, and it's of the questions I wanted you to ask him. His way of hiding his reactions were funny to watch, but his reaction towards the lie about the number of officers in search for the victim is priceless also; every micromovement on his face tells everything, he obviously knows more but he didn't disclose." Chifuyu explained, "Have him arrested please, he's a lead to the case, or even the criminal if luck lets us hit the jackpot." He added.

"Alright, I'll contact Emma to get that done right away." Taylor nodded as he finished packing his laptop back in his bag, "Thanks for a lot for your help, Chifuyu." He thanked Chifuyu.

"I'm free to be a consultant anytime, aucun problème." Chifuyu sneered, "Let me know when the case is done, and it's fine to come again if you need my help." He added with a genuine smile this time.

"Right, then I'll see this case done." Taylor walked to the door, "Don't cause any more trouble here, understand?" he turned with a sharp glare.

"Yes, boss~" Chifuyu smirked.

"See you, Chifuyu." Chifuyu waved back before Taylor shut the door, and he sighed as he leaned back on his pillow.

"When am I going to be discharged...?" he mumbled.

Eve came to the hospital in the afternoon to visit Chifuyu, but there was no answer when she knocked on his room door. Confused but curious, she opened the door to see Chifuyu on his bed, his back rested on his hospital bed in its chair position like it always is most of the time Chifuyu is awake. A book was on his lap with few of his fingers slipped in it, so it seemed Chifuyu had decided to take a quick nap.

"Did he fall asleep?" Eve thought as she approached the bed, and she ran her fingers through Chifuyu's bangs. "Ng? Was someone here before me?" she noticed a basket filled with snacks and a small vase of flowers on the bedside table, that wasn't there the previous day she visited. She sat down next to him and started gently playing with his chain earring, its subtle metal noise was heard louder in the silence of the room.

"Mn..." Chifuyu moved slightly and Eve pulled her hand away in surprise, then Chifuyu opened his eyes to see Eve. "Eve...?" he was confused.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry..." Eve smiled shyly.

"No, it's fine. I wasn't planning to nap for too long anyways," Chifuyu covered his mouth and yawned before he glanced up to the wall clock, "Charlotte just left an hour ago, and I fell asleep right after..." he told Eve.

"So, these were from Charlotte?" Eve was referring to the basket and vase of flowers.

"Yeah, she came with her father to tell me that he decided to cover all my medical bills, even paid extra to make sure that I get the best treatments here." Chifuyu responded, still leaning against the big pillow. "Monsieur Alexandre said he was really grateful for my help, also saving his daughter's life and acknowledged my big role in The Reaper's case, it really surprised me... I feel bad for making a fuss here last night..." he explained and had a smile of shame in the end.

"Yeah, Dad was yelling when he got the phone call last night..." Eve remembered being awoken by her father in disbelieve and infuriated of the trouble Chifuyu had caused in the middle of the night. "I heard you're going to continue as a private investigator when you're discharged," Eve changed the topic.

"Huh? Where did you hear that from?" Chifuyu's lower jaw dropped sarcastically.

"Lucas...?" Eve was confused of his sudden change of expression, which was confusion with a hint of disbelieve.

"Ugh, I should've known... That guy doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut," Chifuyu rolled his eyes, he plopped down on his pillow again. "Don't let your old man hear about that, he's going to get his hopes up and will not stop nagging at me about it." He grumbled lazily.

"Uh, sure..." Eve doesn't understand her father and Chifuyu's relationship, since Chifuyu made it sound like Taylor nags him too much. It was a few moments of silence where Chifuyu was leaning on his pillow, while Eve clenched her dress nervously. "Chifuyu-kun-"

"By the way, thanks for the macarons yesterday. I finished them pretty fast," Chifuyu turned to her, "Sorry, what were you about to say?" he smiled shamefully, apologized since Eve pouted.

"Um, well... I know you said you consider me as your little sister, but it's hard for me to find someone else to love..." Eve looked down to her lap, Chifuyu was silent for a few seconds before looking out the window.

"You don't need to rush, someone that's meant for you will come around." Chifuyu told her.

"Chifuyu-kun,"

"Hm?" Chifuyu turned to see Eve's serious face, making him confused.

"Are you homosexual?" her question made the Japanese boy stone-shock, his face was dead and he was silent for a second.

"HAH??!!" Chifuyu's shout startled the people walking down the hallway outside the room, the shock even struck him to shout in Japanese. "What the heck was that question?! Are you retarded??!" Chifuyu nearly fell out of the covers of his bed, utter disgust and shock was written all over his face.

"I-I just thought it was a possibility... Since you're really close to Lucas," Eve explained.

"Are you an idiot?! Have you ever heard of 'friendship' before???" Chifuyu was in utter disbelieve, and plopped back on his pillow like he was shot dead. "No, I am not homosexual, you imbécile." He grumbled, sulking.

"S-Sorry..." Eve's face was red, ashamed.

"Whatever, forget it." Chifuyu rolled over to reach for his inhaler, and took a dose before putting it back beside his pillow. "I honestly avoid having a deep relationship with anyone here, I made up my mind that after what happened to my family. But, it's always that other people kept sticking around... it gets on my nerves..." his voice lowered before he finally stopped, he rolled over to have his back face Eve.

"Are you sulking?" Eve was confused.

"I'm just tired, that's all..." Chifuyu's voice was vague, which made Eve anxious.

"Chifuyu-kun?" Eve walked to the other side of the bed where Chifuyu is facing.

"What...?" Chifuyu's eyes were barely open, "Go home, Eve... It's getting late, you have homework, don't you?" he reminded her as he closed his eyes, didn't react when Eve reached to touch his earring.

"You will be discharged, right...?" Chifuyu's earring jingled when Eve's hand started to tremble, Chifuyu opened his eyes to see Eve silently sobbing with her head down.

"What are you crying for...?" Chifuyu sighed as he slowly sat down, "Come here," he opened his right arm to her and let her step closer to him, he pulled her in to hug her and pat her back.

"Sorry, I just couldn't hold it in any longer..." Eve sobbed on his shoulder.

"You shouldn't have, I know I worried everyone, including you." Chifuyu patted her head.

Eve left not long after, waving goodbye to Chifuyu seen through the window of his room on the second floor and Chifuyu watched her walk away under the twilight sky. He sat back down on his bed, tucking his lower body back under the covers to keep himself warm.

"I was selfish, probably still am... I hate to see other people cry or die for me; I didn't want to get more people involved in my life... I want the whole world to stay away from me, I don't want more to die because of me... It's really painful, freezing cold..." he remembered clearly Adam and his parents sacrifice their lives to safe him. "It makes me angry... Why do people keep throwing away their lives for someone like me? Even the old man kept trying to engage in fights far outside his job, where he knows he'll get seriously injured or even die... Can't people get it through their heads that I'm a scum?? That my life is not more precious than theirs??" he clenched his fists in genuine frustration, buried his face in his pillow.

"There's just something in the mindset of parents that I couldn't understand, where their lives matter less than their kids'... Mom, Dad, Old Man Williams, and even Old Man Anderson..." Chifuyu was laying on his bed, dazing out to the snow-covered town through his window. "Especially those two old men; I don't understand those two, I'm nobody to them before I met them. I acted like scum, I wanted them to back off... but they're so annoying..." he was lost in his mind, clueless of the reason why Adam and Taylor were so attached to him.

"Maybe, it's also my fault... I toned down my scum attitude occasionally, without intending to. I don't know why, something about those two old men is so similar to Dad, where they can make me throw aside my rude mask without me noticing in time." Chifuyu was breathing lightly, calm in the silence of the room. "You're always looking out for me, huh, Dad?" he closed his eyes and smiled, an image of his father appeared in his imagination, his smile that he always puts up to show how proud he is of his son.

The night came, Chifuyu grabbed his infusion stand and walked out of his room after taking a nap for a few hours, waking up to have a stroll in the middle of the night.

"Mr. Tsuguha," the familiar voice of the nurse and Chifuyu sighed heavily, "Don't run or jump, and please stay inside the building." Her words made Chifuyu pause, but pouted after without turning around to face her.

"I know that," Chifuyu responded and continued his calm pace, "Why is she always there whenever I leave the room? Creepy..." he mumbled to himself in a low voice as he continued to walk down the hallway.

"That was the Japanese patient,"

"Isn't he the one who caused a fuss the previous night?"

"Yeah, I heard he had a good chase with the staff and was jumping all over the place."

"What...? If he's like that, isn't he good enough to be discharged?" Chifuyu overheard two patients started talking about him when he passed by the room.

"Ignore them..." Chifuyu thought as he continued to walk, "Talk badly about me all you want, as long as you don't come near me." He scoffed.

***