1 month. 1 long month has passed since Ganta Igarashi, the falsely proclaimed "butcher of Nagano" and all his deadmen comrades were all at last free for good from Deadman Wonderland. After defeating Rinichiro Hagire, the mad scientist who wanted to free the "Wretched egg" in order to create another "great Tokyo earthquake", and also defeating said egg, everyone started anew with their lives, each following their own new path in society.

They still kept contact with each other though, so Ganta knew what his friends were becoming. Karako became a nurse, which was her job before the earthquake. Hitara-san and Choppline both became teachers and Minatsuki and Yoh, the Takami siblings, pursued their studies. Ganta had heard from Yoh that Minatsuki was studying to become a veterinarian. Makina-san joined the army and for Senji, who had certainly been Ganta's most trusted friend back at DW, he last heard from him that he was climbing up mountains along with another ex-inmate. As for himself, Ganta has restarted school and was back as an ordinary third year middle school student. He even got new friends there. Unfortunately, all of it didn't bring this much joy to Ganta. He could be acquitted from his false crime, he could be free at last from this hell that was Deadman Wonderland, just the thought of Shiro made him feel guilty to the brim and sad as can be.

Shiro, his childhood friend, the girl he loves more than his own life, went through an hell even worst than Ganta had ever been through. Because of his mother and that bastard Hagire- just the thought of this man and what he dared to do to Shiro made Ganta want to go back 1 month ago when he killed him and butcher the absolute fuck out of him -and also himself, Shiro went through so much pain and torture during her childhood that this twisted thing was born within her: the "Wretched egg". And until Ganta was reunited with Shiro ten years later, when he was sent to DW, this fucker was using Shiro as his personal guinea pig, making her fight him when the "Wretched egg" persona was in control and also butcher scientists, only to leave her all alone the rest of the time.

And that's not the worst. The worst is that Shiro was never ment to go through all this: it was Ganta. He had been the one ment to become Hagire and his mother's test subject from the beginning, not Shiro. When Hagire tried to "possess" him back at DW by downloading his memories into him, he had discovered the horrible truth behind the reason for his birth. He also discovered that this witch decided to adopt Shiro when she was a baby so that he wouldn't be the test subject. After Ganta's fight against Shiro- surely the worst thing that he ever had to do -Makina, who happened to have his mother's journal, gave it to Ganta, judging that he should have it. He immediately asked Hitara-san to burn it.

Yes, Ganta had in bonus to fight Shiro in order to put a definitive stop to all this madness. Just imagine yourself, forced to fight the woman you love who wants you to kill her and you can't stop it. As mentioned before, it was the worst experience that he ever had to go through. No, actually the worst was seeing Shiro break down in tears in front of him, all the while screaming that she shouldn't have been born, that she didn't deserve to know happiness.

When he came back to Deadman Wonderland after being acquitted, Ganta, even though he deeply loved her- and still does right now -, he had been willing to kill her in order to avenge his friends who were killed by "her", the "Red man". It all turned to dust once he discovered the horrifying truth and understood- at the last moment -that she didn't really sought death, which caused her heartbreaking break down.

When he looked into her eyes, her beautiful ruby eyes filled with tears, he didn't see a monster, far from that. He saw a scared, broken little girl who was seeing herself as a monster and who wanted and asked nothing more than to be happy, to be a normal 15 year old girl with a normal life. And that, Ganta had been more than willing to give it to her, when he drew his mark on her right palm and told her that as long as she was with him, he will be able to eat all the pudding and face everything in this world. And when he saw Shiro jump and wrap her arms around his waist, Ganta knew that he would give Shiro the happy life that she rightfully deserved. Unfortunately, the explosion that followed the destruction of their crystals- to which they both miraculously survived -caused Shiro to fall in a coma, and Ganta had been devastated when he discovered the state in which his beloved was in. As if fate hadn't been cruel enough with her.

Right now, 1 whole month went by and Shiro was still in a coma, under the care of a nurse named Yukki, in an hospital in Tokyo near the apartment that Ganta was living in. Karako had proposed Ganta to come live with her, but he had categorically refused to leave Shiro alone, even though he appreciated the gesture from the former Scar Chain member. Everyday and after school, he would go to the hospital in order to visit her and tell her what happened during the day, or just hold her hand on which he drew his mark. He didn't care if other people said he looked stupid; he wanted Shiro to know that he was here for her, that she wouldn't be alone anymore. But Ganta wasn't the only one who came to visit her; Senji, Minatsuki and Yoh, Choppline, Hitara-san, Karako, even Masu, they all came to see Shiro at the hospital when they could. It really touched Ganta, it helped him to go through this hardship.

Today, he brought her a box of candies and told her that he had been proposed to join the school's basketball team. Shiro's room was decorated with flowers placed in vases, most of them being from Minatsuki. Ganta was glad that his friends harbored no ill will thowards Shiro, even with all that happened.

Nonetheless, seeing her lying asleep in that hospital bed, and for over a month, was filling Ganta with sadness. He wished that he was the one in a coma, not Shiro. After all she's been through, it's her who deserved to go to school, make friends and do what any other girl of her age does, not him.

Still, Ganta couldn't let himself being submerged by guilt and needed to stay hopeful. Karako had told him: Shiro could wake from her coma at any moment; as long as she breathes, there's always hope. Ganta trusted her, since it was her domain. It was also confirmed by the dialysis machine connected to Shiro that was also measuring her heartbeat. But he couldn't wait. He couldn't wait for the day when he would finally be able to hold his precious Shiro in his arms. But for now, Ganta had to be patient. So, like every time he had to leave Shiro, Ganta planted a kiss on her forehead and told her that he will come back soon. But every time he exited the hospital, he felt like his heart was being crushed a bit.

What Ganta didn't know yet, was that all the pain and wait were going to end today.

A.N.: At the end of the manga, the machine connected to Shiro looks like a dialysis machine, so I just assumed that it was one. Kind of the same when I wrote that Hagire made "Wretched Egg" kill scientists, which is pretty logic, considering that Hagire pretty much saw Shiro as his own possession.