I care about you more than anyone else. If you could only see that, would it change your feelings a little bit?

Teletha Tessa Testarossa, the commanding officer and captain of Tuatha de Danaan, was staring teary-eyed at sergeant Sagara who was lying still on a clinic bed next to her. The lights were quite dim making the whole area gloomy. A large room sign board, Medical Operations Department was hanging outside above the room's door.

If possible, they wanted to use it for check-up purposes only and not for bad situations like this. Sergeant Sagara was in a critical state after the rescue mission in China; Tessa was feeling responsible for this, for everything. She was feeling guilty for the horrible outcome. They won the battle but something like this should had not happened to him if she just became more careful with her decisions. She let out a long sigh.

It was past two o'clock in the morning and she was still there watching her precious sergeant, expecting him to wake up any minute. She was trying to nap but couldn't, she thought he might wake up anytime and she should attend to his needs right away.

A sound of footsteps was reverberating outside the room and was getting closer. It was Melissa Mao. She was worried not only to sergeant Sagara but also to Tessa, she knew she'd still be there, no doubt; Even when she was told she should leave it to the other officers. And just as she expected, the captain was still at the chair she left her several hours ago. She knew she'd be the most worried about this situation especially, because it was the sergeant she most cared about.

"So, how is he? Any development to his state?" Mao broke the silence in the gloomy room.

"Still the same." Tessa closed her eyes, faced down, letting out another sigh. She'd been sighing too much lately, and Mao was aware of that. She had witnessed almost everything Tessa had been going through. She also knew how down she had been several months ago right after her birthday. She didn't exactly knew the reason why but she was certain it was about sergeant Sagara and Chidori.

"Are you okay? You haven't slept since yesterday," Mao responded with a worried tone in her voice, "I know you want to take care of him as much as you can but you should also take care of yourself."

"I-I know that. But I can't help it. I couldn't sleep with all this anxiety inside me." Tessa spoke her mind looking straight at Melissa's unblinking eyes.

"Tessa." Mao was concerned about her health condition, she couldn't afford to get sick now, not now. "Sagara isn't your only subordinate you know, we all need you. Take some rest before anything bad happens to you."

Tessa faced down again, surfacing with a realization. "Okay. I understand. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, when he wakes up, you'll be the first one to know." Melissa smirked feeling contented with the turn of events.

"Thank you." Tessa took a last glance at sergeant Sagara's still face then walked her way out.

You said you like her more than you like me. Truth can be so harsh sometimes. It cuts deeply and there's nothing you can do about it.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't blame yourself, it's no one's fault." Melissa's voice was raised and was aimed at her captain, Tessa. Considering their rank, it was a sign of disrespect but at times like this, Tessa just needed a friend to talk to, even she had hard times like this.

"I perfectly knew Arbalest wasn't in a good condition and I still let sergeant Sagara used it." Tessa's grey eyes were blurred by the tears about to fall to her cheeks. "I took that risk and now, look at what happened."

"But if you didn't take that risk, no one would probably made it out alive, we might be all dead by now." There was a hint of despair in her response.

Tessa didn't say anything in return. She realized Melissa was right. She needed to have faith in sergeant Sagara's strength, that he could get through this. Soon, he would wake up and everything would turn back to normal.

"Are we going to let his school know about this? How about miss Kaname?" Mao was waiting for the captain's decision. Tessa hadn't thought about this, neither it crossed her mind. She was reminded about his life at Japan and the relationship he had with Kaname Chidori. She honestly didn't know whether to tell them his current situation or not. Tessa held the tail of her braid and brushed it off her cheeks, a habit she had whenever she was anxious about something.

"I…I don't know. You just tell them he needs a month off because of a car accident." Tessa was uncertain about her decision but she thought it was the best option they had. "And about her…" She glanced back to sergeant Sagara's tranquil face, he who was trying to fight his current condition. "I'll be the one to tell her, personally."

"Roger that." Mao responded while grinning slightly with her decision, it was as if she could read her mind, and she expected she'd say that. She waved her hand as she slowly paced her way out of the room.

There were only 15 minutes left before Tessa needed to go back to her duty as captain. She spent every free time she could have here, to where she felt she should be - next to his side. Clearly, it was more than a sense of duty for her.

I want to hide this from her. So much. I know she would run here right away the moment she knew your condition. I want you for myself but I have to set everything aside because I know she's the only one who can make you feel better. It'll hurt but if it's for you, I'll do it.

Tears ran down her cheeks, she couldn't hold it back. The truth was too painful to admit and too excruciating to tell it to yourself. She grasped his right hand tightly, crying and wishing he'd return back.

I'm right here. I'm always by your side. You were and will never be alone, please don't forget that.

"You call the head doctor immediately!" Tessa's screaming voice echoed in the four corners of the room. "Sergeant Sagara, please get a hold of yourself."

"Captain, what happened?" the head doctor who just came in catching his breath asked her, then immediately turned his gaze to his patient, sergeant Sagara. They all gasped at the sight of him, he who was slowly moving and opening his eyelids. They were all anticipating what would happen next.

"W-Where am I? Who are you?" there was something peculiar beneath his words. It seemed like he was not making any sense.

Tessa covered the lower half of her face with her hands refusing to believe with the odd turn of events. She saw it right away. This wasn't a bad dream, a lie nor a practical joke. There was something unbearable happened to him, she was certain of it.

"Y-you don't remember…anything?" Tessa asked the obvious to clear her doubts.

"I don't." Sagara felt a minor headache, followed by light dizziness. He shook his head attempting to toss it away but no luck. "But somehow, I can still remember my name. Saga…Sagara-"

"Sousuke Sagara." She cut him off with his name; she saw he was having a hard time. She averted her gaze to the head doctor who seemed to already have formulated a conclusion. "Doctor, could it possibly be…"

"Yes." The two connected the same answer in their mind. "A post-traumatic amnesia. Specifically, a retrograde amnesia." He sounded melancholic with his statement.

If we had met under different circumstance, would everything work out the way I wanted it to be?

Kurz and the others joined them upon knowing Sagara's condition. They introduced themselves to him as if meeting him for the first time. They fed him lots of information he once knew but had to hear again, because every detail they said seemed all new to him. He tried to remember but he couldn't get anything right.

Shortly after that, each had taken their leave as if they were called for a duty or an emergency meeting. He was left alone in the room, only silence and loneliness stayed with him. Sagara roamed his eyes in all four corners of the room but she wasn't in there. All had finished their introduction except one - Tessa.

Where did she go? I still don't know who she is.

Tessa had run off elsewhere, a defence mechanism from an intense shock she had heard several minutes ago. There was something troubling her, something she knew she shouldn't feel, something that wasn't right.

Could it be the heaven's way of letting me change my fate? Our fate?

She looked down, staring at her TDD captain's uniform.

A/N: Chapter 1 done! Please tell me what you think about it. Reviews from you are greatly appreciated! :) Hope you come back for Chapter 2!