"Where am I?"

A male student in his second year in high school came around from his slumber. The blue-haired student shook his head as he placed his his right palm on his forehead. He then lifted his hand above his delinquent-looking eyes and looked at his tanned palm. His eyes widened when he noticed a small scar that was not there before. Near his thumb was a scar left from a stitch. It was completely healed, but the scar was a wake-up call to check his surroundings. He looked around the room. He soon figured out his position. Lying on a bed, he saw medical equipment, a television on the wall, white walls, a desk near his bed, and a few comfy chairs.

In one of those chairs was a person he knew all so well. Like at the house, she was sleeping during the sunny day. The woman had fair skin and blond, long hair. It was curvy and well groomed. She wore a red blouse with a thin, beige coat over it. She wore tight pants, and one of her astounding features that kept her night job was her model-like beauty. Her name, as he remembered calling her as long as he could remember, was Yasuko, his mother.

"What happened?"

"Oh, I see you are awake."

The male looked towards the door to see a short, black haired nurse with glasses and in a white nurse uniform walked over to him to check the monitor. By just looking at her expression, the student had nothing to fear about. The nurse turned to look at him and smiled.

"Welcome back, Mr. Takasu."

"Ta-ka-su?" wondered the male student.

He then remembered.

"Oh, yes. That's my last name."

The nurse nodded.

"Yes. Can I ask if you remember your first name and the school you got to?"

The male nodded.

"It's Ryuuji. I'm a student at Ohashi High School... Um, why am I here?"

Oh," expressed the nurse with a more serious toned voice. "You were caught in a horrific car crash while on your way home. You seem to be alone at the time, so when the paramedics got to the scene, they stabilized you and called your mother."

Ryuuji looked over at Yasuko and smiled.

"She was able to get a week off, hoping that you would come around soon, but she had to return to work, requesting overtime to make up for the lost time. The time she had off was spent here... To have a mother care about her child so much never ceases to amaze me."

"Hey," said Ryuuji, facing the nurse, "you said that she went to work after a week of me being hospitalized. How long have I've been sleeping?"

"It has been about three weeks. But seeing how you are now, it seems you made a perfect recovery. I will alert the doctor about this. I believe he'll say a few days before you can walk out of here."

The nurse excused herself and left. Ryuuji smiled and looked back at Yasuko. He smiled.

Geez, she's going to work herself out. I'll let her open her eyes when she wants to. There's no point in rushing it. Working overtime to support me... Sometimes, she acts like an adult.

Ryuuji looked out the large window. Today was a clear day as the sun beamed down. It was kind of weird. Unknown to Ryuuji, it was sometime in October, where the forecast did predict some clouds. Yet, it looked like a summer day without the heat. Ryuuji reached for the remote on the desk and turned on the television to see the news. He confirmed it was the second of October. This would mean school had been in session for over two months now, meaning he had to catch up the three weeks he missed. He sighed.

Oh, well. I guess I'll just have to read the books.

The noise of the television woke Yasoku up. She drowsily opened her eyes, but they quickly widened as she saw he son focus on the television. She gasped in relief.

"Ryuu-chan," she breathed.

Ryuuji, hearing the name his mother usually called him, faced her and warmly smiled. Water swelled in her eyes as she smiled back. She quickly got to her feet and approached her son. She placed her hand on top of his right one and wiped the tear running down her cheek as she looked at her son.

"Thank goodness it's not a dream."

"I'm sorry I made you worried."

Yasoku shook her head.

"That doesn't matter. You've returned to me. That's all I care about now. My boy has come back to his super awesome mommy."

Ryuuji smiled, remembering as a child that was how Yasoku would describe herself to him. He noticed Yasoku had moved her hand and was closing in for an embrace. He accepted it and smiled. After a couple minutes of motherly hug, Yasoku stood back up and wiped the tears off her eyes.

"Please don't scare me like that again. I don't want to lose you."

"... So, is it true. Have I been asleep for a couple of weeks?"

"Yeah. When I heard the truck hit you so hard that you might not wake up, the only thing I could think of doing is being by your side and praying... I'm just so glad you're back, Ryuu-chan."

Soon, the sound of the door opening interrupted the family moment. They both turned their heads to see who it was. Well, it was more than one person. Two people strolled in, heated in an argument. The two people arguing were a honey blond girl and a blue-haired girl. The blond girl was a little shorter than your average high school student. Her hair was also curvy in a sense and neared her shins. She had chocolate brown eyes and fair skin. To Ryuuji, she could be best described as doll-like. The girl she was arguing with was a blue-haired girl with violent colored eyes and was at a normal height for a female high school student. Her hair reached the back of her chest. Speaking of her chest, it had way more development than the short, blond girl. Her skin was fair, and she could easily pass as a model.

"Stupidchi, why did you have to come here today?"

"Why can't I? I have every right too. It was just a coincidence we met at the entrance."

"Yeah, but dogs are not allowed. Can't you read the signs?"

""Stop it. I can see him without having your permission."

"Well, I-"

"Um, excuse me."

The masculine voice they knew well caused them to stop. They turned around and saw the man they had seen asleep for three weeks staring at them. Their eyes widened in relief.

"Ryuuji?" wondered the honey blonde girl aloud.

Yasoku, who had met all of Ryuuji's visitors and had grown accustomed to these two, approached them.

"Yes, it's not a dream. My Ryuu-chan has returned to me."

Tears were forming in Yasoku's eyes again. Ryuuji smiled.

"When we get out of here, I'll cook to celebrate. After three weeks, I bet you miss my cooking."

Yasoku smiled.

"Yeah. Eating out is tiring. Nothing beats Ryuu-chan's cooking."

Ryuuji smiled back, only focus on his mother, but soon a voice interrupted him.

"It better be pork," said the blond girl.

The blue-haired girl sighed.

"Geez, Taiga. All you eat is meat..."

She smirked.

"...yet, you still don't have Ami-chan's gorgeous body. Eating meat all the time is probably why too."

"Shut up!" Taiga exclaimed, facing her. "I don't need to hear from someone who just eats sweets and instant food from the convenience store."

Ignoring Taiga, Ami turned her attention to Ryuuji.

"So, are you feeling better?"

At first, Ryuuji did not know she was talking to him, but it soon processed. Uncertainly, he nodded.

"Yeah..."

Ami smiled.

"That's good. Everyone has been worried about it in our class. I mean, it almost has been three weeks. When everyone in class knows about this, they'll be overjoyed."

"Oh," Ryuuji replied in a confused expression.

He rubbed the back of his head with his right hand and tilted his head slightly down.

"I'm sorry," he said, lifting his head back up with a sincere face. "Have we met before?"