There is at least one person who will believe him when he says that Soushi is going to come back. Maya will, but she is the only one. There might be more, but he can't think of them, and he can't trust them the same way he trusts Maya. The others will look at him with pity, they'll think he's grieving (he IS grieving, but what hasn't got anything to do with it?), that he's losing his mind (that can't be true, his mind can't be deteriorating at the same rate his body is, can it?), that he's lonely (but when hasn't he been lonely?). Some of them might get angry at him, or even humor him. They might talk about how Kouyo came back, and how it is ipossible/i for Soushi to also come back, but they will only be humoring him, and it will be painfully obvious. So he doesn't say it.

They don't see Soushi in their dreams every night. They can't feel the crossing that they share. Kazuki can. He can feel Soushi's presence, like a song he can't get out of his head, like a word he knows but can't remember. Soushi is there, and Kazuki knows it. Maya would understand, but the others wouldn't. If he has to tell anyone, he will tell her, but he will save that until he really needs it.

They're linked, he and Soushi. The other pilots seem to think that the Sigfreid Systems crossing only worked one way, that Soushi was able to invade their minds, and direct them as if he was simply an onlooker. It isn't that simple, it isn't that simple at all, even if he has nothing but flashes of pain that aren't his, and the feeling of long hair tickling his back to confirm it. (But it only seems to work both ways for them. He'd asked Maya before, not outright, but she looked at him in concern and she knew what he meant, and she said no. He can't tell Maya until he really needs it, she worries to much already.)

After Operation Azure, Soushi Minashiro stopped existing. He disintegrated in Kazuki's hand, and his presence disappeared from the face of the earth. Soushi vanished, but he wasn't gone.

(Sometimes he wonders what would have happened if he'd made it back in time, if he'd just been a little faster. Soushi had said he didn't have much of his body left, and Kazuki has morbid nightmares of waiting by a glass coffin, forever. Dreams of looking down at Soushi, his eyes blank, red instead of glistening black, his lips muttering things Kazuki can't hear, with cords and tubes sticking out of gaping wounds that never heal. Cords and tubes that keep him alive. Other nights he dreams of the island deciding to 'save' him, like they saved Tsubaki, and making Soushi become the new core. Kazuki can only watch as Soushi's stuck in a different glass coffin, never able to leave. When he wakes from those nightmares, he wonders how Soushi slept at night, with his sister like that. Kazuki doesn't think he could have done it.)

Soushi Minashiro was gone, but he wasn't going to stay gone. He was going to remake himself, and come back. He'd promised, and Kazuki knew that he would keep his word. But the world didn't believe him. Soushi was gone, Soushi had been assimilated, and that meant death to the island. The fact that Soushi was going to come back, didn't make that first month any easier. It was the worst month of his life.

That month consisted of convincing his father not to move Soushi's things out of his room in Alvis. (Because it was the only place on the island that still smelled like him. The only place that Soushi had to sleep and look at his one solitary picture, in his room devoid of personal possessions except for paperwork, and pills and pills and pills. Kazuki had to protect that. Soushi himself had let them give away the Minashiro house when his father and Karin died, but Kazuki couldn't let that room go. Couldn't allow it to become someone else's haven.)

That month consisted of not going to a funeral. (Because they'd had Soushi's funeral the same time they'd had Michio's and Mamoru's, and he'd gone to that one, to see -with his one good eye- Soushi's student picture in black and white next to the other two, and it had been wrong, but he'd had to go to that one. Had to. But then they realized Soushi WAS alive, so that ceremony was ignored, his picture taken off the wall at the shrine. Then Kazuki came back without him, and there was some discussion if there SHOULD be another funeral for only one person, who they'd already had a funeral for. They decided to have it. Kazuki couldn't go that time. He almost broke into the shrine and stole the picture of Soushi that they'd hung there. Almost. If he'd been able to see it, he probably would have.)

That month consisted of believing that Soushi was going to come back, when no one else did. (Because Soushi wasn't a liar, he said he'd be back and he would, and even if he wasn't Kazuki was going to wait forever ianyway/i.)

But perhaps worst of all, that month consisted of uninterrupted peace. Disgusting, insufferable, peace. He didn't even have fighting to distract himself. (Because as much as he hated it, piloting Mark Sein had become an essential part of who he defined himself as. Just as the term 'Ace Pilot' had been carved into his skin, and the glow of the Siegfried System had bled into Soushi's muscles. He'd ran away because he didn't want to be that person, and because he wanted to know why Soushi needed him to be that person. He'd returned, accepting that it was what he had to do, who he had to be. Now, with it gone, and with Soushi gone, all he had was to wait, and wait and wait and wait forever. )

That month was horrible; until the silence ended.

Soushi called his name.

It was small, hardly even noticeable, but it was there. It was soft, quiet, and almost seemed like a question. It brought back memories of the moment before the Siegfried System disappeared in his hands. That scared, confused, broken little utterance of his name: that's what it had sounded like, and it had stopped him in his tracks. He had been up at the top of the mountain, looking out at the town below, the rolling sea, and thinking about nothing, but that sound had changed everything.

Without a second thought, Kazuki answered, and the world went dark.

-\/-

Kazuki woke to the sound of Soushi calling his name, but this time, it was soft, and prodding. Not anything like the last time, when it had sounded lost. Kazuki had just enough time to wonder if this was a dream, if all of it had been a dream, before he opened his eyes, and realized that there was nothing.

He was blind, but usually, he saw shadowy shapes, and colors. Seeing was like living in very thick fog for him now, but even that was gone. There was simply darkness when he woke. It felt like nothingness, like the voids he used to dream about when he was younger. The dreams that made him feel empty. Maybe this was one of those dreams.

"Kazuki"

There was Soushi again, but Kazuki couldn't tell from which direction the sound had come. It felt like they were crossing, like the sound was in his own head, leaking out of his ears, instead of going in them. He heard Soushi like he heard his own voice when he talked. Was he really there at all? Or was Kazuki just imagining it? Was it all, literally, in his head?

"Soushi?" He felt himself reaching out into the abyss of nothingness, as if he could actually touch a voice that he wasn't hearing with his ears. Somehow, he knew that even here, Soushi would be out of reach, as he always had been. Even still, he had to try and reach Soushi, but Kazuki was struck by how strange the sensation of moving was. It didn't feel normal. Something was inherently wrong, like he had no weight, as if he was trying to reach for something on the moon. Every twitch of his finger made it feel like he was pushing something to hard and that he was going to shatter the world around him with just a single touch. He inhaled sharply; he didn't ever remember having this sensation in his dreams before. "Where are you, Soushi?"

"I'm here, Kazuki." And, really, that's all it took to slow his rising anxieties. He was encased in nothingness, his already deplorable vision was gone, and his movements weren't working right, but Soushi was there. Soushi had answered him, and that mattered a lot more than most things.

"Soushi" Kazuki couldn't keep the affection out of his voice, couldn't stop the warmth bubbling in his throat from seeping out into the name. "Soushi," because he could never say the name enough, had said it too many times in anger or desperation to even out the softness he wanted. "is this a dream?"

A pause for effect -Soushi loved those- and then it was Soushi's steady baritone answering him. "We are in your subconscious. This is a dream, but, I am here, Kazuki." He imagined Soushi standing there, in casual clothes, his face as subtle as always, and the scar glaring down at him. He could hear the reassurance in Soushi's tone, and he could imagine the light shift his mouth would make. It wouldn't be a smile, but it might as well have been on Soushi. How often had he imagined these things? Was his mind even reliable anymore? Was a month enough time to forget how Soushi stood, how his mouth tilted? Kazuki didn't know, wasn't sure if he wanted to.

"In my head, or my memory?" He'd meant the statement to be simple, but after he'd said it, he realized it wasn't very simple at all. He rationalized that Soushi would understand what he meant. His Soushi would know; Soushi always knew when Kazuki didn't quite make sense.

There was a pause, as if Soushi was trying to say just the right thing. That, more than anything, was reassuring. "I disappeared while crossing, so I was able to maintain some sense of self by having a part of my consciousness constantly in contact with yours."

That gave Kazuki slight pause, but it wasn't anything he hadn't already guessed. He'd felt pain in his chest when he didn't have injuries there. When he slept, he felt the tickle of long hair on his back, but his hair had always been short. It was as he'd suspected, the two of them were connected, even past Soushi's assimilation. It wasn't what he wanted (because he would probably always want Soushi within arm's reach from now on.) but it was enough. For now, Kazuki would settle for it, and be grateful."So, what I heard on the mountain overlooking the city, it really was you?"

"Yes. At that time, I was starting to become..." A pause there, as if the right word had somehow escaped, and Soushi had to find it again. "aware. It took time to solidify my existence again. I have since been able to, but only with the help of our shared memories." Ah, it probably really was Soushi. He was saying things that didn't make a lot of sense, but Kazuki seemed to understand it anyway. A definite sign that he was probably speaking with the real Soushi, and not some illusionary shadow, or figment of his imagination.

But one thing in Soushi's statement struck him. "Since?" It was a stumbling block. He had just heard Soushi on the mountain, but this Soushi sounded more confident, more like himself. "I just heard you. I was on the mountain, and you called my name."

A definite pause this time, but the silence that hung between them was different this time, it was more stifling. That usually meant Soushi was going to say something Kazuki wasn't going to like, but Kazuki let that silence linger. Soushi would answer, if given the proper time, but when he did, it wasn't what Kazuki had expected. "Kazuki, I'm sorry." And perhaps the most striking thing, was that it sounded genuine. Soushi didn't often apologize, it just wasn't in his nature, just like looking back wasn't in his nature. But there it was, as if he'd struggled with himself to say it, because it was hard, but he'd meant it, and that he'd made a great effort to actually say it, and not falter. The statement made Kazuki want to rush forward, and apologize for whatever he'd done, and that was absolute proof that this had to be Soushi, apologizing to him. But for what? Instead of voicing his thoughts, or his denials of wrongdoing, Kazuki waited, and gave Soushi the time he needed to formulate what he needed to say. "The process of recreating myself has been, difficult. If I had not been crossing with you, I don't think I would have been able to do it. But, there have been side effects I wasn't aware of." There was another stop there, and Kazuki could visualize the narrowing of Soushi's eyes, how he wouldn't make eye contact. "When I called your name then, I couldn't comprehend the ramifications of reaching out to you."

Kazuki furrowed his brow in confusion and thought, then wondered if Soushi could even see him. He couldn't see Soushi, but he had no idea if it worked the other way around. He waited for Soushi to continue, to pick up where he'd left off, and finish what he'd started to say. There was more to the story than just that, but as long as Kazuki waited, Soushi seemed content to just let himself brood -and Kazuki was sure he was brooding, likely angry, or irritated. "Soushi?"

As if realizing that he'd stopped talking out of turn, there was a quick intake of breath -Soushi was breathing!- and then a labored response; an answer that he seemed to pull out of himself by force. "Without realizing the energy I was draining from you, I simply kept reforming myself. It is only now that I am able to speak with you. I was unable to before, but, now, I must. Kazuki, you must wake up."

"Wake up?" Kazuki paused, and took in the information. "So, I'm asleep? This really is a dream." He wondered if that made this any less real, and quickly decided to discard that thought. It worked out in his favor, because Soushi spoke quickly after the thought.

"You've been in a coma for one year." The statement was soft, and it almost seemed like Soushi wanted him to be angry about it. As if he wanted Kazuki to blow up and throw a temper tantrum.

Instead, Kazuki blinked, and thought about that. He had been 14 when Soushi had died. If he had been asleep for a whole year, then he'd missed a year of life with everyone. He'd likely caused everyone a lot of unnecessary grief. And what if the festum had attacked again? Would the island have recruited new pilots? Like how Kenji and Mamoru had started piloting when he ran away from the island? He hoped not, he hoped that the peace that they'd fought so hard for had lasted.

A year was a long time to be gone, he couldn't imagine all the things that could have happened, that he'd have missed. "A whole year?" was the only thing he found himself muttering out. Disbelief was a good way of putting his current mental state, but Kazuki was usually rather good at adapting to new situations and circumstances. He wondered if anyone had forgotten him, but no one had forgotten Kouyo, so maybe not. It was all so strange, it felt like he should feel bad, but he had just been there. If time had passed, it really had simply left him behind, and all he could think of was some sort of resentment, but it was the same sort of resentment that he felt when he had to pilot Fafner. He had no one to blame, and nothing to do about it, so even though it was there, he knew it didn't really matter.

"Maya found you on the mountain, and you've been in Alvis's medical room ever since. That is, my fault. I've stolen that time from you." Kazuki had always wondered how responsible for things Soushi felt. There were some things that Kazuki was positive Soushi took as his own personal problems, probably more than he ever admitted. Kazuki knew that he wasn't going to add to that burden more than he had to.

It took him a moment to realize exactly what he wanted to say, but once he found the right words, Kazuki wasn't about to let them slip away. "Soushi, if a year is all I have to sacrifice to get you back, then I wouldn't think twice about giving it up." And that was the truth. Even if Kazuki didn't want to lose time, even if his time was so precious because he didn't have much of it, he would have given it up in a second if Soushi had needed it. Just like he piloted Fafner because Soushi told him to, because Soushi said he could, because Soushi would be with him. It really was very simple, in the end, and Kazuki wondered if he'd always been this predictable.

"But you didn't have the choice." The answer was abrupt, and cutting. As if Soushi thought that Kazuki hadn't really listened to what he'd said. But Soushi was always correcting him, telling him the ugly truths of things, or hiding them away if they were too painful. It wasn't something Kazuki was interested in anymore.

He couldn't help the almost smile that came across his face. He hoped Soushi couldn't see it, because it probably wasn't a happy smile. "Soushi, it's the choice I would have made. You know that."

"That doesn't make it right." There was just a hint of anger to Soushi's response, and it was more than enough to tell Kazuki that Soushi really was upset at the conversation. He didn't like showing things like that, even if he was more honest with Kazuki than some people. Or, at least Kazuki hoped Soushi was more honest with him. If he wasn't, that was something Kazuki wanted to change. But Kazuki knew that he couldn't force it, so he took a different route.

"Soushi, will you come back soon?"

"Definitely." The answer was fast, assertive, positive. But once the bravado and assurance were gone, the next statement was more hesitant, more controlled. "But I don't know when. It could be a long time."

It was as Kazuki suspected. For a moment, he weighed his options, but there had really only ever been one choice for him, and Kazuki knew it."Will taking more of my energy shorten that time?"

A sudden gasp of air. "Kazuki!" As if what he'd said was something horrible. "Your life is not some battery! I'm speaking with you so that you will wake up!"

It was true that Kazuki had realized his life was precious. It had taken him some time, but he had realized that, through all the struggles and loss. But it was only precious, because of the people he could spend that time with. People that loved him, and that he also loved. Soushi had always been one of those people. "Soushi," And he made the name soft, convincing. He didn't know if he would get an answer, but he wanted one. "will taking more of my energy bring you back sooner?"

Silence, then a soft "I don't know."

But the statement was enough for Kazuki to guess at what exactly that little 'I don't know' meant. "You don't know for sure."

As if in confirmation, Soushi reiterated the statement more strongly this time. "I don't know." Kazuki was wondering if he should leave the conversation at that, when Soushi spoke again. "It's a gamble."

Kazuki smiled. That was Soushi, always making theories and trying to solve problems. "Then it's a gamble we should take." A long silence came after his statement. He tried to imagine what Soushi would look like, standing there silent. He wondered if his image was right or not, if his brain could properly remember all the nuances.

"Kazuki..."

"I want you to come back." Kazuki made the statement as earnest as he could. It was the truth, and Soushi had to know it. But even if he could understand that from crossing, it wasn't the same as actually saying it. Kazuki had learned, that when he wanted to say something, something important, he had better just say it. "If time is the price that I need to pay, then I will."

"I.."

Soushi was stumbling, his voice wavering. Kazuki wondered what was going through his head, what Soushi was thinking. But he knew what he needed to say, and he hoped that it was also what Soushi needed to hear. "Soushi. I need you."

"B-but all of this is useless if you aren't there." The response sounded desperate, and upset. As if Kazuki had suggested something completely out of line, just like when Kazuki had ignored his plans and hadn't considered Soushi's opinions. At the beginning, he'd done that a lot. "You must wake up! You have things you need to do, people that miss you. Enough of your life has already been taken!"

Kazuki was shocked at how emotional the statement was, how raw and unguarded Soushi sounded. He had to be meaning other things too, had to be talking about the timer ticking away what little time Kazuki had left. Had he been internalizing, and feeling guilt over that? "Soushi..." All he could do, was to utter Soushi's name again, and it sounded confused, worried, an unspoken question.

"I've already gambled enough for one lifetime." Bitter, the words that Kazuki heard were bitter, and angry. He knew Soushi had dealt with a decent amount of resentment, but he couldn't hear it at that point. All that came out was bitterness. Then the tone changed, and what came next was purely emotional, almost a plea. "Kazuki, please, wake up." Soushi was worried about him. Soushi wanted him to live his life to the fullest. Of course he had known all those things, but it was interesting to be so reassured of them. Soushi didn't always say exactly what he meant, but Kazuki had always hoped he understood anyway. He was pretty sure he understood this time.

"Will you still be here when I wake up?" Kazuki wanted to live his life for as long as he could, wanted to enjoy peace on the island again, wanted to have something simple. But he wanted that with Soushi there. He didn't want to be alone again, he didn't want Soushi gone.

"Yes," The answer was breathy, and Kazuki could hear Soushi's relief because it mirrored his own. "with our crossing, I think you'll be stuck with me for a long time."

Kazuki smiled that time, because it was nice to think that even if Soushi wasn't in arm's length, that he could still hear him, still feel him, and that it wouldn't just be a figment of his imagination. He wouldn't have to keep reassuring himself over and over. "It won't be long enough." It was the first thing that came to his mind, and Kazuki said it without hesitation. He knew he probably didn't have a very long time to live, but he was going to have to come to terms with that. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with Soushi, and even if Soushi already knew it, Kazuki thought it needed to be said. "Soushi, promise me, that if you need my energy, that you will take it. If there are still ways I can help, I want to. Please, do what you need to."

"Kazuki..." It sounded like Soushi's lip was trembling. Kazuki had only seen that a few times in his lifetime. He wondered if he was imagining it. "I.." He wished he could see.

"Soushi." And he made the name sound soft and reassuring in the same stroke. "I will wait. Forever."

"I-" A sudden stop. Kazuki wondered if Soushi was trying to compose himself. What kind of movements would he make? Would he tense up, loosen, would his eyes change, would they glisten? He wanted to know, he wanted to see so badly. "I know."

"If you need me, use me. We're past that point." He hoped that there would be a time when Soushi didn't need to use him, and instead wanted to. But as it stood, Kazuki would take what he could get. Would accept how things had to be. "I'm just happy, that I can be of use."

"I hope that your days of use are almost over." The statement caught him by surprise. Perhaps what they wanted wasn't so different.

"You mean peace?"

"Yes. Peace." There was a sigh, but it was a reassuring sound. "You will always be of use, but I'd rather it be for your cooking than your piloting." Kazuki imagined a little house, with a small kitchen and a guest bedroom- of hanging out laundry, and having dinners prepared, and movies on a couch, and late night picnics on the beach when they couldn't get to sleep. Yes. Peace could be nice.

"Maybe." Because he still wasn't sure if they both really wanted the same thing. "That could be nice. I haven't felt like cooking."

"You've been in a coma for a year." There was almost humor in that statement. Almost.

Kazuki smiled, but huffed a little for effect."You knew what I meant."

"I'm sorry." Now he could almost hear the smile on Soushi's face. The amusement in his voice. It was a wonderful sound.

And then things started to change. All of a sudden, his eye lids got heavy, his body seemed to be slowly gaining weight, and without warning he was unspeakably tired. "Soushi" and this time, it sounded like a tired mutter. He wondered if that's how it would sound if he woke up with Soushi beside him. "I'm... feeling heavy, all of a sudden..."

When Soushi answered, it sounded warm. "You're waking up."

"Soushi," Kazuki could feel the workings of desperation in his voice. His brain was slowly fogging over, but there was a part of him screaming that he had to stay, that he couldn't fall asleep. "will you really be here, when I wake up? If this is all a dream, I-"

Soushi abruptly cut him off, and his tone hadn't lost its warmth. "I will always be here, Kazuki." It felt like things were closing in on him, but he had to stay, even if it was for just a little longer. "I don't think you will remember this when you wake up, but I will be here. I promise, I'm not leaving."

"Soushi," He didn't want to go. He didn't want to go back without him. "I don't want to be alone."

"Kazuki," More reassurance, and it was comforting, but it didn't change how he felt. "I will always be here."

"I know.." Getting things out coherently was starting to get harder. He wondered if pinching himself would keep him awake longer, or if it would end the dream entirely, but even if he'd wanted to, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to. Weight was returning to his limbs, Weight and a tingling sort of pain, as if he hadn't moved in forever, and his bones simply didn't want to anymore. But he still had things he needed to say, he didn't want to let Soushi go yet. "I can feel you when I'm awake...but, it isn't the same. You always feel so, lonely, and I can't reach you, can't even hear you.."

It was happening regardless of what he wanted. Keeping his eyes open was becoming very difficult. He found that he was slumping more, as if gravity was suddenly pushing down on him. It was so tempting to just let things go, but he didn't want that. "Soushi, when you're lonely, call me." He wondered if his voice was slurring, if he was saying strange things, his mind wasn't working like it should, but he kept going regardless. "I don't care if there are consequences. Being alone is so painful, and we were both alone for so long. I-I don't want that anymore. Not for me, and not for you. So, if you're lonely, call my name, and I'll answer, always." The tingling in his arms was spreading to his shoulders, and his limbs were now entirely useless, it didn't feel like he could move them at all.

"Kazuki, I-"

Normally, he would have let Soushi finish, would have let him respond, but he felt that he simply didn't have the time for it. There were things he needed to say, and they couldn't wait. "Promise me, Soushi. Don't shoulder everything like you did before. Please, let me help."

"I-"

Soushi was going to protest, Kazuki could tell, and he couldn't have that. Time seemed so limited now, he wouldn't last for an argument, or even a discussion. "Soushi, please."

The silence lingered for too long, and Kazuki thought for a while there, that he had simply fallen out of consciousness, that whatever Soushi had said was lost to him, until Soushi spoke, and Kazuki forced his eyes open, and his head up in a sudden burst of awareness that tickled his senses. "I understand. I-" An deep even breath, and Kazuki paid close attention to the sound of it, willing himself not to fall back into that sense of unawareness. "I promise."

He managed a smile, despite how difficult it was to stay alert. He wondered if it looked silly on his face or not, but couldn't make himself care. "Thank you, Soushi. I don't want to regret things, anymore. I want to understand, and be understood. Crossing isn't enough, Soushi."

"What lies ahead of active self-denial is absolute affirmation..."

He hadn't quite caught what Soushi had said, his brain was getting foggy again. He'd been able to pull himself back for a few moments, but that wakefulness was quickly slipping away from him."Hm?"

"Nothing. It looks like I'll be the one catching up to you from now on."

He definitely missed that one, all he could hear was the rumble of Soushi's voice, the even, almost playful tone to it. He wished he'd heard. He wanted to keep talking forever, but it didn't seem like he'd be able to. With one last "Soushi," he slipped away, into the abyss.

-\/-

The first thing he was aware of, was that he was cold. He shivered, and struggled to open his eyes, but when he did, there was a blinding amount of white around him. Who had left the light on? Kazuki didn't know, but he screwed his eyes shut for a few moments, before groaning. He felt horrible. His arms and legs felt all tingly, as if he'd slept in the wrong position and cut off blood flow.

He struggled to open his eyes again, blinking several times to take the glaring edge out of the white that surrounded him. Where was he? It felt like the Alvis medical room, but there was peace, he hadn't piloted Fafner in a month. Had something happened? Kazuki couldn't remember, and he had a feeling the haze of sleep had nothing to do with it. He shivered again. Had it always been this cold in the Alvis medical room? Or was he somewhere else.

Kazuki groaned again, and tried to sit up, but he found that incredibly difficult, and he slumped back down into the bed with a surprised cry. Maybe he really was in the Alvis medical room, something did seem wrong with him.

He tried to get up again, but with minor success. He was getting frustrated, when there was the whooshing of a door opening (definitely in Alvis then) and rushed footsteps. He looked up, and could see a figure, but who it was escaped him. He didn't feel like someone he knew well, and he didn't recognize the sound of their foot prints.

"Kazuki-kun!" Ah, it was Toomi-sensei. That made perfect sense, since he was in the medical room. He chided himself for not realizing it sooner.

"What-" he struggled to sit up and speak with her, but he slumped back down, and stifled a groan of irritation. But she was much faster than he was. With a few even strides, she was beside him, helping him to sit up, and lean his weight back against the head of the bed.

"Don't strain yourself, Kazuki-kun." Once she was sure he was situated, she placed two fingers to the side of his neck, and waited. Knowing that she was checking for his pulse -which he thought was very strange, but she was the doctor, not him- he stayed silent. Within a few moments, she retracted her fingers, and a pleased little 'hm' escaped her lips. She retreated, only to quickly come back and arrange the blankets to cover him again. Since he was still quite cold, he couldn't help but be grateful for it. "Welcome home, Kazuki-kun."

He wished he could see her face. Maybe if he could, he'd have a better idea of what was going on. He'd never realized how much he read off of people's faces before he lost the ability to do so. He probably sounded confused, but the warmth in her voice was all he had to go off of. "Am I home?"

He wondered if she was smiling. "You're back."