Recovery

Ryo had awoken from a deep slumber after enduring an ordeal involving Sez's repressive and lethal expression of the Yakuza's code. He found himself leaning against a wall on a bench amid a clinic hallway. It was precisely seven in the morning, and Ryo was seized of a bountiful and well-rested sleep. His fragile legs were squirming in nervousness, and darkish rings appeared underneath his sleep-deprived eyes. He frantically wanted to stand up from his seat to adjust himself, but he found his buttocks glued to the bench aching to stay if more information regarding April's status was provided.

In the clinic's waiting room, rows of seats were accommodated for patients and guests seeking to visit their loved ones. Only a handful of people were inside the waiting room during the given hour, and most of them had come expecting their loved one's arrival. Chiaki and Star were occupied in front of a vending machine near a spacious sunrise window. The frosty snow clumped on top of pine and oak trees melted into dew drops, to where Solo and Duo were encapsulated from a distance in the clinic. Star pointed at a snack consisting of bite-sized peanuts and chocolate candies. Chiaki purchased it for her and brought her to the children's play area, where she began playing with Solo and Duo after eating her snack.

Ryo lingered in his same position: slumped forward with his knuckles encased in his sweaty palm. The soles of his feet were beginning to numb up like anesthesia in the hospital. The constant beeping sounds of pulse meters in various sections of the patient's doors, along with the combined collaborative utterances of hospital workers were all that Ryo could hear as he began to sluggishly twist his head to the side entrances where April was taken into.

"Senpai," Chiaki beckoned to Ryo after chewing on a peanut snack from the vending machine. He rested next to Ryo on the bench and could not stop gazing into his flat and lackluster expression. "Is there any news of her condition?"

Ryo's dry chapped lips hardly moved when articulating his next few words. "No," His profound voice could barely speak suitably. "Nothing."

"I see," Chiaki answered, stowing away the snack in his pockets. "All we can do is just wait. But other things are happening around us, Senpai. The Yakuza's after us. I don't know their next move, and I don't know if-"

"I'm staying here until she wakes up," Ryo bluntly stated, shifting his gaze down to his feet. "Do what you have to do to get them off your back. Contact the police or Sunlight HQ. They'll handle it."

"But what about you?" Chiaki asked.

"I told you…" Ryo turned his head like a mechanical wind-up doll to face Chiaki with a menacing and soulless stare. His quavering tone was filled with frustration as his lips moved. "I'm staying here until she wakes up. Do you understand?"

Chiaki remained silent as he nodded in understanding. He sensed the level of agony and trauma that Ryo had been subject to in the past few years and knew that April's accident only added flames to the fire. Although Chiaki knew that April hadn't known Ryo for longer than three days, he could sense the level of respect and affection between the two.

"I do understand. But you should eat something if you're planning on staying, Senpai," Chiaki suggested. "I can grab some Aries cuisine from down the street if you'd like."

"No," Ryo said. "My friends are coming soon."

"Friends?" Chiaki's eyes widened in astonishment. He hadn't realized that Ryo had made new adjustments after escaping from his heist mission. Regarding his severe loneliness, that is. "You made new friends, Senpai?" He asked.

Ryo nodded.

"I'm so happy for you, Senpai," Chiaki cheered. "It seems things have changed ever since you escaped them. I think it was for the best. You needed to be free. You made the right decision, but it looks like they kept dragging you in. I'm just glad-"

Ryo abruptly released himself from his paralyzed position by grabbing Chiaki's loosened arms in surprise. He dragged his head towards the bench to bow in genuine respect for Chiaki's presence. His shoulders slumped forward as his fingers trembled in fear and regret. "She saved me again, Chiaki," HIs voice quivered and cracked, as he was unable to control his emotions. "She saved me the first time after that heist… and I was dying on the floor. She brought me in and saved me. And now… she saved me again after pushing me away from that car. I should have been the one to take the blow, Chiaki. I should have been the one…!"

"No, Senpai," Chiaki rejected, acknowledging his passionate feelings. "You're wrong."

"You were tortured in the Yakuza to lure me out," Ryo continued as his face shriveled up in a raisin in sadness. "You were brought to your knees, battered and broken for nine years while I wasted it all finding a purpose in life. I ignored my sister for nine years, and I never spoke to my family again. I never apologized to the people I hurt in the past. The Yakuza's on my ass again, and now, April's fucked."

Ryo's hands slid off of Chiaki's arms as he slumped forward in sorrow. "This is all my fault," He continued. "If only she had let me die that day, none of this would have happened. If I was dead, you wouldn't have been tortured. My sister would have found a life worth living, and April would have lived just as a happy life as she did before. Her voice, Chiaki. She sang so beautifully. You had to have heard it before, right?"

Chiaki watched helplessly as Ryo elicited such deep emotions that he had never witnessed before in a decade. Ryo had always been a bad-mouthed and rambunctious hothead that only selfishly cared about himself. But as he expressed his true feelings to Chiaki, he had transformed into a completely different person. Ryo's true feelings had assimilated.

"Senpai…" Chiaki could only speak his name.

"I should have been the one to die," Ryo repeated. "I should have been the one. I should have-"

A sudden direct slap to Ryo's cheek caught him and Chiaki both off guard. Ryo fell back against the white wall as a red outline appeared from where he was struck. Sumire's sudden appearance and presence were ungodly. She indignantly stared at Ryo with eyes so furious it could have resembled a tiger's fabled eyes, waiting to sink its teeth into its prey. Chiaki turned to face her and was nearly dumbstruck about Sumire's fearsome aura and attractive traits.

"How long are you going to keep telling yourself that?" Sumire raised her powerful voice as she remained instinctual and on edge. "You've blamed yourself ever since you ran away from home, Ryo. You should be fucking grateful that she saved you because she believed in you. She sacrificed her life for yours, and this is what you say?!" Sumire grabbed Ryo's shoulders and shoved him to the ground.

"Wait, stop!" Chiaki pleaded.

"Stay out of this, Chiaki!" Sumire instantly recognized him as Ryo's ally from the Yakuza. "You're pathetic, Ryo. What would she think right now if she saw you this fucked up? Do you think she'd be happy? Huh?!" Sumire yelled, slapping Ryo across the cheek once more. "You know, I knew her before, right? I recognized her that day when I reunited with you. You wanna know what she did to me back then? She sang me a private song when Claude didn't return home on time. She took care of me and wanted me to be happy. And I remember what she sang about too. She sang about her hopes and dreams and how she wanted to be free. Sound familiar to you? She's got the same aspirations as you. So what kind of person are you to believe that you're at fault? Do you think you're her savior? You think you're responsible for all this bullshit?"

"Sumire, stop!" Jinni's voice came abruptly from the entrance in the waiting room. She grabbed onto Sumire's arms as she began tugging her back to prevent her from assaulting Ryo.

"Let me go!" Sumire yelled, desperately trying to shove Jinni away. Her face began crumpling up into hot tears before she collapsed on her knees. "You don't… you don't deserve to feel that way, Ryo. April… she… she's gone… and it's not anyone's fault… except the fucker who ran her over…!" She cried. "I can't even thank her for saving you twice. I didn't thank her for giving me a second or third chance with my brother… and I can't believe that's all you have to say, Ryo. You selfish bastard…"

"That's enough," Natia's monotone voice called from behind the waiting room. Ryo was shocked to see her arrival after their tense battle yesterday in the Virgo District. She had bandages and patches on her skin to help her recover. She walked over to Ryo and held her hand out to pick him up. "Get the fuck up. You look like shit on the floor." She insulted.

Ryo grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled himself up. He only acknowledged her with a glance that reminded her of their battle's outcome yesterday. It seemed she had forgotten about it, but she desperately attempted to not let it leak out to the rest of Sunlight HQ. Naoto, Claude, Dr. Zanner, and Nana had finally arrived in the clinic's wing with assorted bouquets and chocolates.

"You all came," He commented, astonished at their generosity. They didn't even personally know April, but they had come anyway.

"Of course we did," Naoto replied. "What kind of friends would we be if we didn't? You almost died, too. We came here for the both of you."

"Indeed!" Jinni agreed.

"Eee-eee!" Nana hopped off of Claude's shoulder and pounced towards Sumire's cheeks. "Your body temperature is extremely high, Sumire! Shall I run a diagnostic check for possible solutions to alleviate your body temperature?"

"Water," Naoto suggested. "She needs water."

"I'll get them both some," Jinni suggested, walking back to the end of the clinic's waiting room. "Solo un momento. Give me a moment."

"Damn it," Naoto continued, irritated. "Where the hell's Akai? He should have been here."

"I think he's with Rose Accel. But maybe he should be in charge of finding the damn rascal who ran over the poor girl in the first place," Dr. Zanner commented. "He should be tried and held accountable for his actions! A case must be made for that inconsiderate monster!"

"Damn, yeah..." Naoto said. "We need to find out who did that shit. We can't just let the person go. He committed a crime and has to be charged for it."

Ryo's pent-up rage only flared up rapidly the more he thought about the incident. He remembered hearing a vehicle behind him before April managed to exit the gate to greet Ryo. He wondered if it was the same vehicle that wanted to strike Ryo but ended up hurting April instead. If that was the case, then there was a planned hit for him.

It couldn't have been... Sez?

"Fuzzy monkey!" Star's cutesy voice called from a distance as Jinni passed by her. Ryo, Chiaki, and the rest of Sunlight HQ personnel froze and turned to observe her sudden appearance. She pointed at Nana and cheerfully darted towards her to cuddle with her. "You are so cute. You are so cute." She repeated as she rubbed her ears with her gentle palms.

"Eee-eee!" Nana chuckled, rubbing her face against Star's nose to tickle her. Sumire looked at Ryo and Chiaki, who were both watching Star indulge in her ticklish delight. Ryo stood up and stepped back with Naoto and Claude as they observed their break in emotion.

"Who is this?" Sumire asked, examining Star hugging Nana tightly.

"This is Star," Chiaki replied. "April rescued her on the day that the Yakuza attacked us. If it weren't for her, both of us would have been dead."

"She saved you? So the Yakuza did attack you both. At first, the news called it a car crash," Sumire confirmed as she took a seat next to Chiaki. "I'm sorry for being so brash for our first meeting. I'm Sumire Nakai, Ryo's sister. We are all members of Sunlight, a police task force in Aries. If you stick with us, we can keep you safe from those people. Sezan Fuma won't be able to hurt you."

"You know Sez?" Chiaki bursted in emotion.

"Ryo-boy spoke of it before during our meeting," Claude chimed in. "From the looks of it, he seems like a tyrant who will stop at nothing to get what he wants from you two."

"Terrible person, he is!" Dr. Zanner added.

Chiaki scratched his head at the thought of them knowing so much about his tyranny. "Well, it's true." He confirmed. "Senpai's been running away from him for nine years. And in those nine years, I've watched him do nothing but plan to retrieve him from hiding. I could never do anything about it. He has the highest power in the Yakuza ever since he stole the nanosuits from Polycyclone Industries."

"He stole it from there?" Sumire said. "But, how? It was already confirmed that he didn't before…"

As they spoke about the recent events regarding the nanosuits, Naoto decided to change the subject and whisper to Ryo to lift his spirits. "Hey, Ryo…" He began. "You never told me that your best friend in the Yakuza was smoking hot. Man, there are so many pretty Japanese girls out there in Asahikawa. I wish I lived there as a child. Maybe I would have had a chance…"

"He's a man." Ryo bluntly stated, walking towards Sumire and Chiaki. He wanted to bring up the idea of the incident as a purposeful attempt to assassinate Ryo. It was all too convenient. The pieces weren't adding up, and the driver didn't stop either. The rage in his heart began to consume his hands and feet in desperation.

Naoto's face froze as Jinni approached behind him, who eavesdropped after she acquired bottles of water. His flustered cheeks were incomprehensibly embarrassed from his misunderstanding. He associated Chiaki's high-pitched light voice, long tomboy haircut, and slender feminine body the incorrect way. Jinni put on a fake grin and smashed the back of Naoto's head with one of the water bottles. "Idiota," She mocked.

"Sumire, I think-" Ryo wanted to bring up the possible incident until he was interrupted by a clicking sound.

Two automatic twin doors from the clinic's hallway suddenly opened, startling everyone to glance forwards. Chiaki picked up Star and set her on the bench with Nana as Natia stayed by her father. Jinni stood by Ryo, Naoto, and Claude after she handed the water bottles to Sumire. A tall spectacle-wearing doctor approached the crowd with a bright and optimistic smile on his face. At the same time, Ryo could sense more extra following the shrouded complexion.

"Ryo Nakai? Chiaki Sasaku?" He called as he eyed his clipboard using his spectacles for precise reading accuracy. "I have some good news and bad news. I'll start with the good news first, and that your friend's going to make it. We managed to stop the bleeding. She's in stable condition, but she needs rest. I estimate for about another month or so."

The entire crowd lit up in cheers and prayers while Ryo stayed still. He was anticipating the bad news that the doctor had in store for him. Sumire looked over to Ryo and held his arm despite their previous disagreement.

"However, as for the bad news..." The doctor continued, looking at his clipboard. "Her body suffered multiple fractures in the legs, arms, and skull. She may have survived her injuries, but according to our professional doctors, they have stated that she will have to undergo rehabilitation until she's back on her feet. Her injures are extremely severe and surgery had to be done to correct all that we could." He looked up from his clipboard to see everyone was shocked by the news.

"Oh, no…" Jinni placed her hands near her chest in anguish.

"Damn it," Naoto added, looking away in shame.

Ryo, Sumire, Star, Claude, and Chiaki were the ones that were impacted the most by the news. The notion of having every memory lost included magnificent traits, such as her angelic singing, her ability to play the guitar, her kind, and generous mindset, and her estate's treasure. Ryo only idly stood by, reminiscing about how April had forgotten everything about him and their first meeting in the jazz club. He thought about if she still had her psychic abilities, or her mind-reading skills by gazing into one's eyes. He wondered if she still cherished Ryo, or could remember anything about the events after her accident.

"There is another odd thing. In fact, too odd, to be exact," The doctor continued, flipping through the papers on his clipboard. "We've been examining her x-rays and we've discovered something lodged into her brain. We're trying to proceed with extreme caution to remove it. It's very difficult for me to report it to you all right now. But in a month or so, we shall see if she will recover from this. She's only regained consciousness once for a split second, but after analyzing her thinking patterns using our finest technology, there is a high chance of steady recovery. I ask you all to wait for approximately a month as she recovers."

"A month?" Chiaki asked. "Any chances of that being much longer?"

"Beats me," Natia added.

"Perhaps," The doctor confirmed. "Two or three months maximum. It all depends on the speed of her rehabilitation."

Ryo abruptly grasped the doctor's hand and viciously rocked it as he struggled to retain his joyous tears. "Thank you so much," He said with his wholehearted mind. "Thank you for saving her. Thank you so much, doctor. I owe you everything."

"It's our job, Mr. Nakai," The doctor chuckled. "Besides, medical bills shouldn't be an issue when it comes to Miss Springwell's background history. She's a very wealthy prodigy, she is. Unfortunately, it seems that she has forgotten that as well. I trust you will all do your best when it comes to supporting her. She's a very strong woman."

"Thank you, doctor," Sumire stepped in and shook his hand as well. "We shouldn't keep you any longer. But, thank you so much for the good news. Please, take care of her."

"Of course," The doctor acknowledged before returning inside. "Come see her in a month! Take care, now."

Naoto excitedly rushed towards Ryo and shook his body while wearing latex gloves. He noticed that Ryo still had a straight face. "Dude, she's alive!" He yelled. "She'll be okay, man!"

Star shrieked in happiness, embracing Chiaki and Nana tightly. "April's okay! April's okay!"

"Eee-eee!" Nana jumped for joy as she squealed.

"This is wonderful news," Claude cheered as well. "Although she might have forgotten about me, her legacy in music remains untouched. Sumire and I shall both remember all that she has done."

"Ottimo! Che piacere, Ryo!" Jinni graciously cheered as she shook his back from behind. She sprang on Naoto and began squeezing him tightly, to which Naoto reciprocated by striving to shoulder her away.

Natia lingered silently as she relaxed her back against the wall. All she did was cross her arms and look elsewhere. Her father was excited about the news as well.

Ryo couldn't fathom what was happening. His allies at Sunlight HQ hadn't known April at all, but they were cheering as if they were long-term friends with her. Hearing his childhood friends Sumire and Chiaki, combined with his new friends at Sunlight HQ gladden their spirits at the news of April's survival was something he never believed he would ever hear. Yet he treasured it all, despite the unformidable circumstances of her status. There was just something about hearing the good news that rallied everyone together despite the person.

Ryo swung around and smiled once more, understanding that her survival was his second chance at redemption. The more he reflected about April, the more he considered he dared to endure through his past. He realized that Sumire was right. April sacrificed all that she had to preserve Ryo's sanctity to give him a second chance at his goal. When her eyes met with him, all she could see were shadows blotting the path to harmony. Despite this, she still had faith in his goal to be himself.

But if there was that chance that someone such as Sez was the one who attempted to take his life, then Ryo realized he wanted to confront him about it. But it was rather impossible. He would be killed if he had the chance, and returning to the Yakuza, the origins of his contritions, was the worst possible idea. He instead decided to bring it up later when Sunlight had the opportunity to assess the full situation.

The night that April had shoved aside Ryo from suffering his last moments, he remembered one thing that he was able to read through her eyes. This time, he could see something instead of her views upon his own.

"I'll be waiting for you. Give me some time, okay? I'll come to see you again." The little boy assured.

"Okay," The angel uttered. "Promise you'll be safe…"

And don't give up, okay?