Pa-chi. Pa-chi. Paa-chi.

The sound of go stones being placed with smooth, precise movements rang throughout the room that Touya Akira was playing in. Since this was a public event of sorts, there was an audience of spectators watching them from a few paces away. His opponent was another pro, one that he had never played before, though he had heard of him once or twice.

Pa-chi.

Akira shifted a bit in his seat. It was uncharacteristic of him to be distracted during a game, even if this was just a more 'casual' one. He always took all of his games seriously, whether it was a title game or a teaching one or just one with Hikaru when they had some time on that odd Saturday.

But last night's dream unnerved him more than Akira would admit. The timing was off, and the idea that his dream was actually a vision predicting the future was unbelievable. Still, Akira was unable to just brush off the incident for some reason. It kept replaying in his mind, the sight of Hikaru looking ill and feverish, and all he wanted to do was drop everything and head back on the next train. The cold stone that seemed to settle uneasily into his stomach was not exactly helping either.

Pa-chi.

Akira shook himself out of his thoughts at his opponent's next move, and he regarded the board with a careful eye before he placed another black stone onto it, furthering the array of patterns that was steadily making its way onto the grid. He was quite out of it, Akira had to admit. But there was just something that just seemed off, however he thought about it.

Watching as his opponent put down his own white stone, Akira decided that he would leave as soon as he finished the game. The constant occasions of the event had meant Akira had been unable to even call Hikaru. As it was, he was unable to concentrate anyways. He would excuse himself from the next occasion, a conference or interview of sorts with a go newspaper. Then, he would find signal for his cell phone or borrow a landline and call Hikaru.

Someone entered the room from the doors in the back, behind the group of people that were watching the game intently – Akira was ashamed to admit that they were probably paying more attention to the game than he was. He paused, and took several deep breaths. It wouldn't do for him to lose more concentration; as it was, his playing level was already dipping. He would finish the game well and call Hikaru.

Pa-chi.

"Touya-sensei?" a voice called out a few feet from him, at the edge of the crowd.

Akira glanced up, incredibly surprised at whoever it was that had voiced his name. After all, it was almost taboo to interrupt a go game, especially one when the players needed all the skill and attention they had. Especially since most of the crowd would have been made of go enthusiasts or amateurs – people who knew that disturbing a game would be frowned heavily upon.

It was a man that he didn't know, though he looked vaguely familiar. It took Akira several moments to recall that he was the receptionist at the event – the one that did sign-ins by the players, answered the phone calls, and dealt with the visitors.

The grim look on his face made Akira's heart thump loudly in his chest.

"Touya-sensei, if you would please step out with me," the man said.

The audience looked on in worry. No one ever interrupted a go game like this unless there was something really dire or important that had to be dealt with. And since Akira couldn't think of anything important that he might have forgotten … he swallowed heavily.

"Please excuse me," he murmured softly to the opponent sitting across from him, who merely nodded. He did not look exactly 'happy' per se, but rather understanding.

The receptionist nodded at Akira, and walked out of the room in long strides. Akira followed him silently, hands sweaty and breathing coming a bit faster, sharper. It was probably nothing. More likely than not there might have been a problem with travel arrangements or something. After all, he was scheduled to leave tomorrow morning…

And then Akira realized how horribly optimistic he was being. They would never interrupt a game for something like that, something that wasn't urgent and could be handled when the game was over in an hour or two. Before Akira could continue to ponder on this issue, they had reached the back of the room. The crowd had parted to the sides, and the door was within reach.

The receptionist held the door open for Akira, and he managed to gather enough of himself that he murmured a soft thank you in response. The receptionist nodded, and stepped out after Akira. He was led a little ways away from the doorway, down the hallway and into a room with a table and a small television placed on the end of it. A viewing room then.

"Touya-sensei, an urgent phone call came for you minutes before."

No.

"I do not know how to put this, but I believe that given the matter it is regarding, it would be best to be blunt and give you time to make your arrangements."

No.

"We have just received a call from the hospital near your home. Apparently someone has you on their emergency contact list, and they have just been checked into one of the hospital's wards. One…Hikaru, I believe. We received no surname, and no details further than a comment from one 'Sai' for you to please come quickly."

No.

"Would you like us to book the quickest train back – "

"Yes. Please." Akira's voice did not tremble, something he mentally found miraculous given the breakdown he seemed to be going through. "I will head to the station right away. If you would be so kind as to send my one bag to the Tokyo Go Association…"

The receptionist merely nodded. "Of course. I have taken the liberty of checking the train schedule back to Tokyo, and the closest one will depart in twenty minutes."

'The station is fifteen minutes away,' Akira thought numbly. 'I have to go. Now.' He nodded at the receptionist in thanks. "I have to go," Akira iterated without feeling. "Thank you for informing me."

If the man found anything odd with Akira's demeanor, he did not mention anything. In fact, he said nothing as Akira dashed out of the room. It was the first time anyone had seen the teenaged go pro looking so frazzled – from what the man knew as a go receptionist that listened to and watched go games and discussions, Touya-sensei was usually a rational and calm young man.

This was unlike him, and the man sighed as he pondered the possibilities of what might have happened. He walked slowly back to his desk. He would have to file something for the higher-ups about this turn of events as to not affect Touya-sensei's go career records, and put in the form for a transfer of bags from here to the Tokyo Association. Sighing again, the man wished Touya Akira luck in whatever he had been called so urgently away to do. The fact that Touya-sensei had rushed away without even taking the time to retrieve his bags was a telling one.

-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-

The train was slowly inching its way past the surroundings. Instead of the blur that the transport usually seemed to take, every single second was being dragged out. Akira could feel all of them, the moments of time that were just slowly ticking by.

It was driving him insane. The ride here had only taken a few hours. The ride back seemed like days had passed already. Akira had no idea what was wrong with Hikaru, and the fact that this had happened after that horrible dream the night before was worrying.

He frowned, staring at his hands that were held in his lap. 'It might have been a premonition…,' Akira shuddered. 'Please don't let that have actually happened. Please.'

Akira believed that the worst part about this all was the waiting. The time that went by as he waited for when they stopped at his station: when he would quickly rush out of the door and towards the hospital as quickly as he could, devoid of any luggage. He had no idea what was happening, beyond that he got an urgent call from the hospital about Hikaru. The semi-blond could by dying – 'Dead,' his mind whispered – at this very moment, and yet Akira was sitting here, completely helpless.

To make it all the worse, he had left his cell phone back in the jacket Akira had left on the chair of the playing room – it was warm inside. And the cell phone was turned off, because of the go game, which was probably why he did not get the call sooner. Akira berated himself mentally. He had been careless. He knew that Hikaru was ill – why hadn't he been more careful?

For that matter, why did he leave Hikaru alone? Sai meant well, but he did not know how to work many of the modern appliances and tools that would make things a lot easier. He did not know how to find help in the event of an emergency, did not know where to start even. Sai did not even know how to use the telephone, let alone call 119!

Akira groaned, burying his face in his hands. It was times like this that he was reminded that he was fifteen years old, young and inexperienced. Forgetting about or avoiding such important things was unforgiveable, in Akira's eyes.

It had been one go event. One event, too far away from Hikaru for his liking. One event, of which Hikaru had insisted he go to. One event, which might have irrevocable consequences that would affect the rest of Akira's life.

The teen sighed. He wanted to get home already! He needed to … needed to see Hikaru again. He did not know if he was blowing things out of proportion. He did not know if Hikaru had just contracted a bit of a cold and an infection that caused his fever. He did not know if it was Hikaru's disease flaring up that placed him in such a state.

There were so many things that Touya Akira simply did not know. Akira wanted to scream. It took everything he had to not do so.

-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-

Shindou Hikaru moaned softly as his eyes fluttered open, revealing orbs that were light in color. He blinked his eyes, which were heavy with sleep. His limbs also felt weighed down, and he found it difficult to move them, as if they were laden with lead. That was odd.

It was also incredibly peculiar that he found himself on a bed, and not on his typical futon. Ignoring the lingering pain in his body he gave an attempt to sit up when he was pushed back into the bed by a glaring Touya Akira.

"Hm. Déjà vu," Hikaru muttered.

"You," Akira hissed, "are an idiot."

Hikaru winced. Akira was mad. Fire-spitting mad, completely consumed mad, not just the usual annoyed looking mad that Hikaru managed to evoke from him almost every single day since the time they first met in the (ex-)Meijin's go salon. And not the "Hikaru, why would you do this?" look Akira put on every time that Hikaru did something stupid, but not life endangering – something he had done and did quite often, really.

But Hikaru had never, in all of the time that he knew Touya Akira, seen him that completely livid. Even when he almost burned down the paper screen in the Touyas' living room that one time…

"Heh. Err…hi?" The glare didn't relent at all, and Hikaru sighed. "I'm sorry?"

He really had no idea why he was in what appeared to be in the hospital in the first place. For he had figured out that he was definitely lying in a hospital bed. Again. But he did not really feel that ill, besides the lethargy that seemed to make itself part of his life. Sure, his head was a bit more fuzzy than normal, and Hikaru felt a bit like falling over and just sleeping for forever and ever, or at least for a few decades … but it really was not that bad.

"For?" Akira spat out sharply.

"Worrying you?" Hikaru offered.

"Why should that be a question?"

Sighing, Hikaru looked past Akira's glaring eyes to look at his surroundings. Sai was sitting on one of the uncomfortable looking plastic chairs. It appeared that he had nodded off sometime before, for his posture was slack. Yet the long-haired man looked stressed, more so than Hikaru had ever seen him before. There was a crease in his brow, and his lips were pulled into a sort of tight frown. His hands clung to each other, and the way Sai held himself in general looked tense.

Speaking of that, Akira himself looked peaky. Nothing beyond "I've pulled an all-nighter and I'm so tired," kind of an ill, but Hikaru was worried anyways.

"You should go to sleep," Hikaru commented softly.

The fire in Akira's eyes dulled down a bit, or softened rather, but his mouth was still pressed into a firm line. "You idiot. You imbecilic, asinine, completely unaware – "

"Akira."

"– of your health and the – "

"Akira."

"– worry of those poor – "

"Akira!"

"What?" Akira shouted, started to look red in the face, just as Sai started awake from his uncomfortable looking position in his chair. Sai jerked a bit, looking startled and a bit dazed before, but he quickly stood up and made his way over to Hikaru's bedside.

Hikaru felt silly, lying on his back like that and staring up at the irate Akira and the worried looking Sai. "I won't even comment on the silliness you allowed," Sai stared sternly into Hikaru's eyes. Hikaru felt like a small child again, being scolded by his elders. It was odd that this was coming from Sai, who was normally like a big overgrown puppy, but Hikaru was unsure of what to say at the moment.

"And I'm sure that Akira will give you enough of a scolding to last the both of us," Sai continued. Hikaru nodded to himself, a small bobbing of his head. From the looks of the Touya, he would give Hikaru the worried, angry rant of a lifetime. "But we were worried, Hikaru. I don't know what's going on, but I am prepared to find out if you don't tell me." Sai's voice was completely serious, something that Hikaru found incredibly unusual to hear. "For now, concentrate all your energy on becoming better," Sai encouraged. "But when all this is finished and done, I want an explanation."

Sai knew that he was coming off as almost uncharacteristically cold but in his perspective, this was what had to be done. After this close wakeup call, he refused to delay the inevitable confrontation anymore. His original excuse, to both Hikaru (albeit nonverbally) and himself was that it would cause Hikaru more stress on top of all that had been going on with the Korean duo and Waya and Isumi. But it was after this horrible, terrifying event that Sai figured out that he had to cause more stress in order to alleviate some of Hikaru's burden – to help in some manner. He could not help if he had no idea what was going on, and his position at the moment was quite unfavorable. Sai gave off a mental sigh, and whispered, "Rest well, Hikaru," before exiting the room quietly. From the tense atmosphere that remained, he could tell that Akira was seconds from erupting into flames if he did not get to speak with Hikaru. Or reprimand him, rather.

Hikaru winced at the thought of having to 'come clean' with Sai. Sure, it was likely that he would probably try to lie his way out of it, however guilty it would have made him feel, but…Hikaru didn't want to lie to him. The semi-blond did not want to deal with the consequences that the truth would bring, but Sai … Sai wasn't someone that he could lie to without feeling incredibly guilty and horrible inside.

But Hikaru couldn't let Sai know the whole story. Even if Sai was worried, there was nothing more that he could do at this point. Hikaru knew that perfectly well; the god of go had said so much in smaller words: it was too late to go back. And telling Sai everything that had truly transpired – or at least how much Akira knew at the moment – would only bring Sai a lot of guilt, and not any relief. It would make their lives miserable, all three of them, and Hikaru resolved that he just wouldn't do that to Akira and Sai, even if he broke his own moral codes in the process.

Before Hikaru could continue to ponder about what to do, a nurse broke their intense atmosphere by walking in. She let out a small gasp of surprise, and then hurried over to Hikaru's side. "Touya-san," she chided, "you were supposed to notify us if Shindou-san woke up."

Akira looked a bit sheepish, but he made no comment as she began standard procedures on Hikaru. Hikaru endured them with a sigh, but he decided that he had enough of not knowing what exactly was going on.

"So…why am I here again?"

As the nurse cast him a disapproving look, Hikaru sighed again. "Well? I just woke up a few minutes ago, and all I really know is that Akira is really, really mad."

"Touya-san has good reason to be mad," the nurse replied stiffly.

By now Hikaru was quite confused. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep with Sai after a few great games of go. The rest was truly a blank. "What do you mean?"

"Shindou-san, have you been on any medications?" The nurse's tone made it quite clear that she knew very well what medication Hikaru had been on, down to the name of it and its uses and side effects.

Hikaru winced, and looked slightly guilty as he glanced over at Akira.

"Go on," Akira deadpanned. And his body language told Hikaru that he was screwed either way. If he lied, Hikaru wasn't the only one that could read the nurse's obvious tone – he would be chewed out for lying to Akira. If he told the truth, then he would be ranted at for not having told Akira in the first place – in fact, for clearly trying to keep it under wraps as much as he possibly could.

"Err…well, it's a painkiller," Hikaru mumbled under his breath, averting his eyes from Akira's sharp gaze. "I don't remember the name, exactly."

"Then you do you at least know the ways of use, as well as the side effects that you should take precautions against, for those that you can?"

Hikaru blinked. "Don't I just take a pill when I'm feeling … off?"

Oh. The lividness was back in Akira's sharp eyes. Well.

"No, Shindou-san." The nurse's voice was steady, but she seemed to be irked as well. "It is true that you take the pills when you feel pain – hence the name painkillers. There is a limit to them, however. You should stay within that limit, or you will risk overdose. And from the scans, the amount of the drug in your system exceeds the recommended amount. This may be your first prescription, but the fact that you went through the bottle so quickly is disconcerting. It's no wonder that you've been placed in the hospital."

By now Akira was turning both red and pale. Hikaru thought that it wasn't a very complimentary color on him.

"As for the side effects, the one to be most concerned about is its effect on your immune system. It is not great enough that discontinuing the drug in your case is recommended, but enough that you are supposed to take better care of your health that one normally would need to do. For example, a vitamin and nutrient rich diet, and bundling up when it gets colder. It's basically just the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle, though you have to take extra care. If you want someone's words to back mine up, feel free to talk to the doctor. He should have told you the same thing, and given you a prescription slip. In fact, those directions should also be pasted on the label of the pill bottle."

"And he did not?" Akira looked at Hikaru, face stony cold.

"Well…he was saying something like that, I believe. Or, maybe. I was kind of thinking of something else," Hikaru admitted, a pink tint coloring his cheeks.

Akira growled. Growled. "What about the pill bottle label?"

"I dropped it in some water as I was taking some pills and it smeared," Hikaru murmured, averting his gaze from Akira's vividly burning one.

"I see." The woman turned to Akira. "I can give you a pamphlet on how to take care of this if you should like. His case is unusual and troubling, especially since it's so odd and he's refusing observation, but general help manuals should aid you."

"That would be greatly appreciated," Akira bit out. "Any other information pamphlets that you can provide me would also be helpful."

"Of course." She signed her name on the clipboard that she had been recording data on with a flourish, and placed it back onto the footboard of the bed Hikaru was currently lying on. "Good day." She walked out of the room with a polite nod, and left Hikaru to his doom with a smile.

"Shindou Hikaru…"

"I know, I know. I'm an 'imbecilic, asinine, completely unaware' idiot that should have told you about everything when you asked. Medication is an important thing to not have told you about, especially when you clearly asked. I should not have kept this from you. I should not have been hiding medicine under my clothes in the drawer," Hikaru recited, with a hint of guilt clearly present in his eyes.

"And are you just saying this, or do you really mean it?" Akira's voice was cool.

"I do," Hikaru said quietly, completely sincere.

Akira nodded, accepting it. Most did not see the more serious side of Hikaru – even those closest to his heart seemed to see that utter sincerity only rarely, for Akira could count on his hands how many times Hikaru was truly apologetic, or completely free of joking.

"Wait," Akira murmured. Speaking louder, he said, "That nurse never did tell you what caused you to get hospitalized in the first place."

Hikaru grinned, breaking his serious mien. "Maybe she got too mad at me. I'm sure it's something along the lines of not eating well or sleeping enough or playing too much go or something like that. It always is."

"And the fact that you say that so matter-of-factly worries me," Akira sighed, looking up at the ceiling. He rubbed gently at one of his eyes. When he finally got to the hospital after that train ride of terror, the teen was so relieved that Hikaru was 'fine' that he was at a loss of words. That was the first thing that the doctors had assured him of. It was a case of influenza, run badly because of other reasons. He had been far too happy at the news that Hikaru was not dying or dead that he had forgotten to ask about the details.

And while the medication – that he didn't know of before, and would now be keeping a close eye on or at least making sure that Hikaru knew how to do so – may have played a part in it, Akira decided that enough was enough. It did not matter if Hikaru's disease was some crazy attempt to kill him from the go god; Akira wanted to find out the real aspects of it, not just the ones Hikaru deigned mild enough to come clear to him about.

He would find out what was happening. And since it appeared that Sai-san wanted to talk about this as well, the trio would be having a good talk as soon as Hikaru's bout of the flu tided over. 'Of course,' Akira thought, 'it is important that Hikaru heals and rests well first. But after that…I think it is high time that I figure out what is really going on with Shindou Hikaru, and what Sai and the god of go have to do with it. I don't want to treat Hikaru like a child, because he's not, not really. And I refuse to treat this like an abstract concept anymore.'

Akira gritted his teeth determinedly. 'If this is our reality, we'll – I'll – have to deal with it. Even if Hikaru won't treat this seriously, I will. It's time that we all stopped averting the issue and joking around with it. Just you wait. I'm not going to let Hikaru go without a hell of a fight.'

-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-

It turned out that Hikaru was not a docile patient, even in the sickbed. Then again, neither Akira nor Sai expected him to be – he was irksome enough when he had a mere cold; now that the doctors had instructed him to stay still and in the hospital for monitoring should anything take a turn for the worse because of the severity of the state he was in at admittance, Akira was not shocked when Hikaru seemed unable to just lie down and rest. Annoyed and frustrated yes, but not surprised.

"Hikaru!" Akira chided, giving a soft sigh. "Would you just stop moving for one second?"

This was only the second day of Hikaru's hospitalization – for the doctor had decided that Hikaru should stay for a few days, given his circumstances – and Akira was just about ready to start throwing things. He had gone home on Hikaru's insistence to change and clean himself up, but had fallen asleep doing so, the stress of the day and his late night vigil with Hikaru having worn him out. When he got back to the hospital with take-out food and an overnight bag for Hikaru, the knowledge that the shorter teen had tried to escape numerous times and was now tied to the bed was … troublesome.

Part of Akira wondered if that was against regulations, to tie patients to their hospital beds when they were not harming anyone or themselves. But when one of the doctors told him that it was only until Akira got back to "look over his friend" because Hikaru had attempted to escape and nearly toppled over an old lady because he had bowled into her while being unsteady on his feet…well. Akira didn't know how to contest that. He had requested that the restraints removed when he appeared, promising that he would keep Hikaru from injuring himself and the other patients.

"No!" Hikaru pouted petulantly, despite his light-colored eyes being glazed over slightly with the fever medication that he was on. "I don't want to…" He blinked woozily, and Akira sighed, guessing that the current medicine probably had the side effect of sleepiness. "I want to play go; I want to go home~."

'Perhaps this medication is not working very well,' Akira thought. 'Whatever he was on before at least had him lucid.'

"Akira~!" Hikaru reached blearily for his friend, swooning in his bed. "Akiiiiiiraaa~."

Yes. Definitely. Preferably before Sai arrived, for he did not know how the long-haired man would deal with this sobriety-lacking Hikaru.

-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-

Hikaru gave a soft sigh, tossing the bag that Akira had brought to the hospital this morning down on his futon. He had finally been – bugged the doctors until – discharged. But just thinking of being back at home, while making him incredibly happy, was also a source of worry for him. After Sai's comments about the truth being revealed after his discharge, Hikaru didn't know what to do.

Telling him the truth was out of the question. Yet Akira wanted things clarified as well, and it was as likely as not that they would all be having this conversation together. Hikaru knew that Akira strongly disapproved of keeping this issue from Sai. And though Hikaru knew that the older teen would not purposefully leak his secret to Sai against his will, he really did not want to talk about this in general.

He did not understand what was so important about laying out all of the facts. Yes, Hikaru knew that Sai had been incredibly worried the night that he was found wracked with chills and fever. Especially since this era was still mildly unfamiliar with Sai – partly because he spent the two years haunting Hikaru concentrating on go, and partly because being a floating ghost did not exactly expose one well to society. Sai's new pro status was still relatively unheard of by the more 'seasoned' pros, beyond his interesting win record and relation to Shindou Hikaru.

But really. The whole issue troubled Hikaru. He really did not know what to do about the conversation with Sai and Akira. Everything seemed to catch up to him now – the deal had seemed like a good idea then, and still seemed so now. He would never regret doing what he did.

But now that Akira knew of it, and if not of the symptoms then of the end result and Sai was suspicious of something going on, Hikaru just did not know how to explain it. How could he convey in words that sheer desperation that had overtaken him after Sai's 'death'? How everything had seemed to fade away in a painful blur. How the days passed by without feeling, and go really did not seem interesting anymore, not in the way that it used to be, every go stone lighting up the universe that was the board.

Hikaru was, for the lack of better word choice, at the end of his wits. The teen was a relatively simple and straightforward person. He liked go. He enjoyed Sai's companionship. Akira was his best friend and he was completely dependent on the taller teen sometimes. He missed his old friends and family, but things were too complicated to involve them.

He could not, did not want to deal with all the intricacies of an explanation. He did not want to relive and explain the grief and panic that had stricken him before. He did not want to use words that would make no sense in the context of the story that he did not want to tell.

And he did not want to see grief or pain in the eyes of those he cared for.

Things were a done deal, over and simple. Like him. Hikaru did not think that he was very smart. School used to be such a pain for him…back then, just being able to play go was enough.

He did not want to explain.

But there was a part of him that knew that he would have to, no matter what he wanted. For Akira and Sai, though perhaps not very 'bonded' with each other, made up Hikaru's family. His mother was alive, and so his father. They loved him, probably still did – but he didn't know how to explain himself now. And it all came back to that. Go had changed him into a son that his parents did not understand anymore, Hikaru was sure of that. His mother had not been against it, had not even protested when Hikaru wanted to become a go pro all those years before, but she did not understand why he craved that game. His father was distant – a businessman often away from home, or at least not fully there.

But Akira and Sai…they understood his love for go, even before the god of go god involved. They knew why he loved the game, and shared the passion that had emerged with Sai. He loved them.

Hikaru supposed that if he could, and if it was Akira disappearing, he would have done the same. He knew that even the god of go disapproved of his choice, of his trade, even if it was he that technically 'allowed' it. Though, thinking back now, he knew that he hadn't exactly given the god much of a choice, with the way he had approached things then.

Hikaru sighed again, running a hand through his hair. He did not want to think of this. It was really simple, actually. He loved Sai. He wanted Sai back. He got Sai back.

He did not want to have to deal with the talks that came afterwards because of Akira's and Sai's newfound knowledge. He did not want to deal with this matter seriously. It would have been easy to fade out of view. To just…leave.

It was selfish of him, Hikaru knew that too. To want…to want, always want. But when he knew that everything had worked out, Hikaru had not wanted to deal with the aftermath. He was selfish, a child, really. But…he had hoped that loving Sai and needing him there could resolve everything, not that long ago.

Now he knew that things were different. He was only fifteen, not even of legal age yet. But…"It's time to grow up, Shindou Hikaru."

He got up. Hikaru knew what he had to do.

-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-*-.-

The plot is slowly but steadily moving along, and the dreamlike, humorous state of before is slowly deepening into frazzled reality. The true reality becomes mixed and confusing as the puzzle develops.

So, my medical facts are likely way wrong. I've taken certain creative liberties with such things, so please take it all as fiction and not true facts that you can depend on. In fact, the 'disease' that Hikaru has is not a real one – at least, not that I know of. It really does have a hint of the supernatural in it, so please don't take it as a truly straightforward matter.

As always, thanks for reading and for all the lovely reviews. Please drop a few comments for me.

EDIT (7/30/12): I've edited around five lines or so with the scene with the nurse due to a review from MadaMag that clarified some of the medical aspects for me regarding painkillers. Thanks for the help! You can go back and read that part if you read this chapter in the last 24 hours or so, but it's not crucial to understanding the rest of the story.