Chapter summary: Mr. Yagami's team managed to finally rescue Yamato and the others, but many things still remained uncertain.

2

Despite Taichi's promise, the rescue team only managed to reach Yamato and the others two days after they were dispatched into the Outside World. Taichi had all the intentions to go with the rescue team, but their father had been against it the moment Taichi brought it up.

"Those are my friends out there," Taichi had argued.

"I know. That's exactly why you won't be able to think rationally if I let you go with the rescue team," their father had said. "This operation needs the skills of level-headed p—"

"Are you saying I'm not level-headed?"

"Well, you're starting to yell at me now, aren't you?"

And that had been the end of the argument. Taichi had resorted to sulking in the strategy room instead. Hikari had caught him listening to Yamato's message on repeat the night their father sent out the rescue team.

"They'll bring them back home, Oniichan," Hikari had told him. But even to her own ears, those words sounded like an empty promise. "You'll see."

Two days later, the rescue team made it back at around 2:32 PM. Hikari had been busy at the infirmary when she heard the commotion coming from the Gates. She managed to push through the gathering crowd and later found Taichi already standing by the First Gate.

The Gates was a three-layered, highly secured front entrance of their little haven. The outermost gate, which faced the Outside World, was called the Second Gate, and the innermost gate was called the First Gate. Between these two gates was the Security Area. Nothing and no one got past the First Gate without being thoroughly inspected in Security. Sometimes people could get stuck in Security for days before being allowed into the shelter, because Security was very thorough when it came to screening people and things for any possible infections.

There were small cubicles in Security where survivors could sleep in while waiting for the all-green from the authorities – Hikari had seen these cubicles herself, and while they were adequately comfortable, they were rather small and could drive someone potentially mad if they were to stay there too long.

"Is it them?" she asked, making her way towards her brother.

"Yeah, it's them," Taichi said grimly.

A portion of the First Gate was actually made out of glass, and if you're lucky, you could see the security team receiving the survivors in the Security Area. But oftentimes, the great big glass was heavily guarded, and this was exactly the case on that particular day. Someone on the other side had drawn the black curtains over the glass, so neither Hikari nor Taichi could see anything.

"Did they get everyone? Even Joe-senpai?"

Taichi shook his head. "No idea, Hika. We'll have to wait for dad."

It took about twenty minutes for the security team to scan the entire rescue team and admit them into the shelter. Their father came through last, and was still conversing with one of the security staffs in a low voice as he emerged from the First Gate. He caught their eyes and promptly dismissed the guy from security before gesturing for his children to come closer.

"Did you get everyone, dad? What took you guys so long? You were supposed to reach them yesterday, what happened?" Taichi asked the moment they were within earshot. People were now starting to converge on them, asking similar questions and demanding for answers.

"Are they alive?"

"Did they get the supplies?"

"Mr. Yagami!"

"Yes, we found everybody, but it's going to be a while before we can let them through," said Mr. Yagami, addressing everyone around him. "Security is still running some tests on them – look, I know you're all worried. I am, too. But we have to let Security do their job."

There were murmurs of agreement among the crowd now, and this seemed to have assuaged their concern for the time being.

"We've already informed their families," Mr. Yagami went on. "We'll see the kids soon enough." With that, he led his children towards the strategy room, and the crowd parted respectfully to give way to them.

"Do you know how long they'll be in Security?" Taichi asked quietly as their father opened the door. "Are they going to be okay?"

"I can't say, Taichi. They've been out there for far too long..."

"Yes, we know that, dad, but are they going to be okay?" Hikari insisted when their father avoided answering Taichi's second question. Mr. Yagami ushered them into the strategy room before closing the door. He then turned to face them, and sighed.

"Sit down, Taichi. Hikari."

Hikari knew that this couldn't be good. Her father had never been one to give false hope, and she had always liked that about him. She watched as her father sat down and scrubbed his face tiredly. When he opened his eyes again, he looked directly at Taichi and said,

"Sora's in a critical condition. I want you two to know that."

Hikari stole a glance at Taichi: although his expressions remained stoic, his face had gone pale.

"The five of them had encountered a group of the undead three days into their mission. Sora and Takeru got injured in the midst of it – his injuries were minor," Mr. Yagami added quickly, just as Hikari opened her mouth. "That Kido kid managed to tend to some of their wounds, and while Takeru managed to recover rather quickly, Sora did not."

Her father was quiet after that, as if giving his children some time to digest all the new information. "The other three are relatively unharmed. They're just tired, I think," he said a moment later, breaking the heavy silence. "You can see them through the glass once you're done with your chores for today."

Mr. Yagami stood up with a sigh. He opened his mouth as if to say something, only to close it again before clapping a hand on Taichi's shoulder. With that, he opened the door and left the two siblings alone in the strategy room.

"Oniichan…"

Taichi did not meet Hikari's eyes as he stood up and made for the door. "We've got chores to do. Come on."

– X –

The first one to make it through Security was Miyako.

The sun was setting, and Hikari's shift at the infirmary had just ended. She was about to head to the First Gate to see her five friends (Taichi was already there, having switched his shift with Koushiro down at the farm some two hours ago) when they brought the purple-haired girl into the infirmary.

"Oh my god, Miyako, it's really you!"

"Yep, the one and only," said Miyako as Hikari enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Are you okay? What did Security say?" she asked, sitting down on the chair next to Miyako's bed. Other than the nasty bruise around her right eye and the cut across the bridge of her nose, Miyako looked fine, if not a little tired.

"Well, they cleared me, so everything's good, I guess," she said with a shrug. "I just wish I could say the same about the others."

"What happened out there?"

And so Miyako told Hikari everything she could remember. How everything went according to plan initially, and how it went downhill all of a sudden. Apparently there was a rather large group of the undead lurking somewhere to the east of their shelter. One particular bunch had actually been following them since the day they set out for the mission to find food and supplies.

They were outnumbered, and one of the first things that the zombies had gone for were their communication gadgets.

"You know, for a being that hasn't got any blood circulation going, a zombie can be quite smart," Miyako sad, frowning. A nurse came by a moment later to give Miyako something to eat and drink, and Hikari could not help but smile as her friend scarfed down her food.

"Slow down!" Hikari said as Miyako basically inhaled her porridge. Miyako apologised for her bad manners, but she didn't bother slowing down at all. "I'm glad you're back, you know."

Miyako smiled back, now attacking the loaf of bread. "I'm glad I'm back, too. Oh, hey! We stopped by my family's old convenient store, and I managed to sneak in some chocolates. Not sure if Security's got hold of it, though… Ah, come to think of it, I think they have… Darn it."

"Don't worry, I'm sure they'll give it back if it's clean."

"Eh, I suppose."

Just as Hikari was about to ask about the others, a voice called out for Miyako, and then Ichijouji Ken was there. He looked happy and relieved and concerned all at once, and would not sit down until he had personally looked over her scars and injuries.

"Oh my god, I am fine!" Miyako snapped, blushing a little as her fiancé cupped her face in his hands and stared at the cut on the bridge of her nose intently. Hikari could not help but laugh at this.

"I think I'll leave you two alone now," she said, standing up. "Honestly, Ichijouji-san, sit down! Here, have a seat—" she had to practically drag the guy over to the chair, "—now talk!"

And this was how Hikari left her friend, smiling and holding hands with Ken and whispering sweet nothings to each other – and for a moment, Hikari really, really envied Miyako. She watched them for one brief moment by the entrance of the infirmary before making her way to the First Gate.

There was a small crowd there when Hikari arrived, but she noticed that everyone seemed to be giving Taichi some space, for he stood alone by the glass wall. She made her way towards her brother and greeted him by placing a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"Hey."

"Oh. Hey. It's you."

Hikari smiled, and Taichi smiled back – a good sign.

She sighed and turned to face the glass. Someone had pulled the curtains back partially, so they could see the Security Area, but none of their four friends. By this time, they would have been taken into the cubicles – or perhaps they were still being inspected by Security.

"I saw Yamato just now," Taichi said quietly.

"You did?"

"Yep."

"…How is he?"

"He looks like shit."

Hikari huffed out a laugh, and her brother smiled as well.

"But otherwise he looks okay," Taichi went on. "I wanted to ask him about Sora, but Security took him away."

"You know they could be in there for a while, right?" Hikari said gently, and Taichi simply nodded.

"I'll wait."

"You have chores to do, Oniichan."

"I can always switch with someone else."

"Dad's not going to be pleased with that."

"Yeah, I know."

Hikari decided to let the matter drop because she knew that once Taichi had set his mind on something, it could take a lot of persuading and pleading and begging before he'd change his mind. They stood there in silence after that. They simply watched as their dad led the Kidos and Sora's mother into the Security Area, and after a while, the Kidos came out with Joe-senpai in tow. He looked incredibly all right for a guy who had ventured for three days alone in search for medicine, but he needed a crutch to help him walk. Hikari saw the whole Kido family heading for the infirmary, and while her shift had ended, she made up her mind and decided to help around, anyway.

"I'm gonna just hang around the infirmary, see if they need any help," Hikari told Taichi at last, and her brother simply hummed in agreement. "Will you drop by?"

Taichi tore his gaze away from the glass as he heard this.

"Joe-senpai and Miyako are your friends too, you know."

Her brother averted his eyes to stare at the ground instead. "…Yeah. I know."

"Promise me you'll drop by, okay?" Hikari said, already walking away towards the infirmary.

"Yeah, okay."

She smiled, and left.

– X –

Taichi dropped by after dinner.

Although he was quiet at first, he slowly became his old self again after chatting with Joe-senpai and Miyako for about half an hour. Joe-senpai's bed was actually in Hall A while Miyako was in Hall C, but because the former had insisted on walking ("It's just a pair of crutches, I can manage!"), they came to an agreement that their little meeting should be held around Miyako's bed. Koushiro and Daisuke joined them afterwards, and for a while it seemed as if everything was back to normal, with Miyako and Daisuke quarrelling like little children and Joe-senpai face-palming in the background ("Guys, please, please, please keep it down, there are sick people in here!").

They then spent a long while filling Koushiro in on what had happened to Yamato's five-member entourage for the past two months, because he had been so busy down at Communications that he hadn't had the chance to stop by and chat before. "Takeru's kept a careful record of what's happened to us out there," Miyako told them, and Joe-senpai nodded in agreement. "We'll just have to wait for Security to clear both him and his notebook though…then maybe your dad might want to keep his writings in the archives, Hikari-chan."

"Yeah, he's drawn some maps of the places that are safe and the ones that are infested with the undead, so I think it'd be helpful," Joe-senpai said.

(Daisuke let out a small, "tch" from where he sat at the foot of Miyako's bed, but everyone pretended not to hear him.)

"I think dad would be delighted to add that to the archives," Taichi said. "How long are they going to be in there, Joe?"

Joe-senpai gave a thoughtful hum, sitting up straighter. "Yamato and Takeru should be out by tomorrow morning, latest."

"Why though? Our dad said Takeru's managed to recover from his injuries – why is it taking so long?" Hikari asked, praying that she did not come across as desperate or worried.

"Well, your dad's right," said Joe-senpai, "he's got a dislocated shoulder though, so there's that…" Here, he and Miyako exchanged looks and Joe-senpai was quiet for a moment.

"What, what is it?" Hikari prompted.

"I think he just wants to make sure Yamato's doing okay," Joe-senpai said quietly. "He wouldn't leave Sora's side and he hasn't been eating, either. Yamato, I mean. We had some food when we were out there, but Yamato's just been refusing everything… Takeru's just naturally worried about his brother. They only have each other now, anyway…"

Mr. Ishida did not survive the First Wave that hit Odaiba, and Ms. Takaishi had been away in France when the nation-wide lockdown happened. They hadn't heard from or made any contact with her for almost six years now.

A sombre silence fell upon them just then. Joe-senpai's words only worsened Hikari's ache to be near Takeru – she wanted to see him, to be there in Security and tell him that everything's going to be fine, because even if it was a lie, at least he was back home now, at least he was alive—

Before she could register anything, Hikari was standing up, her arms crossed, as she paced around Miyako's bed. She could feel a lump in her throat now, and goddammit she wasn't going to cry in front of her friends, not now. "I need to see him," she muttered to herself, but her brother heard it all the same. Taichi stood up and stopped her from her pacing by placing both hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, look, it's almost curfew, Hika-chan," he said gently. "I think they're not getting out of Security tonight…let's just wait till tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah, you should get some sleep," Miyako said. "You look tired. Tomorrow will come soon enough, trust me!"

"I think we should all get some sleep," Koushiro said, nodding at a nearby nurse: she had a murderous look on her face, and no one could blame her, really, because the rules did say that the sick should not get more than three visitors at a time (but Taichi managed to pull some strings, obviously).

With that, they wished Miyako and Joe-senpai good night before leaving. Ken stayed behind to accompany his fiancé, and one of Joe-senpai's brothers came in afterwards to do the same for Joe-senpai.

– X –

Hikari was up and about even before the sun came out, and even though she had the afternoon shift at the infirmary on that day, she decided to tag along with her mother after breakfast. They'd received news from Mr. Yagami that Takeru had finally been released from Security at around 4:32 AM earlier that morning, and that he was now resting at the infirmary.

When they arrived, the infirmary was dark and quiet, and the same nurse that had given them death glares from last night was still there and was still trying to murder the visitors by shooting out red laser beams from her eyes. However, upon seeing Mrs. Yagami, the nurse sort of relaxed a little and even wished them good morning.

Hikari stood well out of the nurses' way as she waited for her mother to sign in for the morning shift. She was watching a group of nurses bringing in a man whose left leg had been amputated into the infirmary when Mrs. Yagami called for her from the registration counter.

"Here, honey, he's down in Hall F, bed 23," Mrs. Yagami said, handing over Takeru's patient file, and a large paper bag. Hikari peered inside and found that it contained some of Takeru's belongings: his notebook, his clothes, and some of his stationeries had been cleared by Security. "I'm afraid the rest have been sent to the incinerator. You know how Security gets sometimes."

"Yeah, I know," Hikari said as she carefully poked at the contents of the paper bag. "F-23, yes?"

Her mother smiled. "Yeah."

Hikari nodded back, and she could feel her heart starting to race. She was anxious and excited all at once. "Okay. See you in a bit?"

"Or you could just stay there with him for a while," Mrs. Yagami suggested. "You must have a lot of catching up to do. It's been two months, Hika. He must've missed you too."

"Yeah, but I think he's asleep right now," she said, already making her way down the corridor towards Hall F. "I'll just drop by and… Yeah."

Her mother made a shooing motion with her hands, and Hikari didn't need to be told twice. She walked past Halls D and E without really registering it, murmuring quick "hello"s and "good morning"s whenever she ran into her colleagues and superiors in the corridor. She could feel the paper bag crumpling under her death grip as she finally reached Hall F.

The place was dimly lit, as most of its patients were asleep. The beds were arranged in rows of ten, with beds 1 through 10 located on Hikari's right and beds 31 through 40 on her left. Hikari took a deep breath before heading for the correct row that would take her to Takeru.

Beds 20 and 21 were both empty, and bed 22 contained a little boy who was dozing while his mother sat, bleary eyed, in the chair next to the bed. Hikari carefully peered around the bed screen that separated beds 22 and 23, and she immediately saw a familiar lanky figure sprawled amidst the white hospital linens.

Despite the early hour and the tiring day he'd spent in Security yesterday, Takeru was actually awake.

His blue eyes seemed blank and lifeless as he stared at the ceiling above. He was looking thinner than Hikari had ever seen him before, and although he did seem relatively unharmed, he looked extremely tired, as if a year-long nap wouldn't even make a difference. His left arm was in a sling, and Hikari immediately remembered what Miyako had told her yesterday – that Takeru had dislocated his shoulder.

Hikari wondered if he had been able to write in his notebook at all during the last few days in the Outside World with his dominant hand injured like that.

When she finally found her voice, Hikari stepped closer to stand at the foot of the bed. She greeted Takeru with a soft, "Hey, you."

Even with the poor lighting, she could clearly see Takeru's face splitting into a smile once he had registered who his visitor was. "Oh. Hello," he said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Couldn't sleep?"

He nodded a little. "Mm-hm."

"Poor thing."

"I know, right?" Takeru said, sighing a tad bit dramatically and making Hikari roll her eyes. He grinned at her reaction, and began to scoot a little to his left before patting the now-empty space next to him.

And Hikari went easily to Takeru's side. Suddenly there was a lump in her throat, and she had to swallow a few times before speaking. "Missed you," she managed to say, her voice faltering a little as she cupped his cheek with her hand. Takeru leaned into the touch as if it was the most natural thing to do.

"Missed you too," he whispered back, closing his eyes. Hikari brushed away the locks from his forehead before planting a kiss right above the bridge of his nose. A few tear drops fell onto Takeru's cheeks and Hikari was pulling away and apologizing the very next moment.

"'M sorry – it's just—"

"Hey now, don't apologize—"

"You're here." Hikari wiped at her eyes as more tears threatened to fall. "You're actually here."

Slowly, Takeru pulled himself into a sitting position. "Oh, no, I've made you cry," he said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Come here – it's okay, Hikari-chan—"

He enveloped her into a one-armed hug and she returned his embrace, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"You've lost so much weight," she said, and heard him chuckle as a response.

"Well, yeah. Two months of pretty much nothing to eat does that to you, you know."

"We need to feed you then," Hikari replied, still unwilling to let Takeru go. "Have you eaten?"

"Mm-hm. Security's not that cruel."

A comfortable silence fell between them, and Hikari was more than content to just listen to the rhythm of his breathing and the beating of his heart. For two long months she had been plagued by nothing but worry, always wondering if Takeru was still alive or if he was injured or even dead, and always failing to find an answer that could quell her doubts – so to have him here again, safe and sound and in one piece, was more than enough for her.

"You're back," Hikari said again, breaking the silence, and she knew that she sounded like a broken record, but she was beyond the point of caring, really. Takeru kissed her temple as a reply, and she could feel his smile against her skin.

"Yeah," he said, "I'm here. I'm home."

And for the time being, this would be their happy ending.

A/N: Hikari and Takeru have passed the "just friends" phase, but then again they haven't quite reached the "I'm yours" phase.

(Also, what is up with Daisuke?)

This could use more work, but I'm posting it anyway. :D