We're Here Now

Chapter 155: S2 - We're Here Now

"How is she doing? She's been like this for a few days already!" A familiar man's voice spoke in the background, but my hearing was too cloudy to really pay attention to whose it was.

'Argh! Why does my chest and head hurt so much?' I asked myself as I felt the sudden pain kick in.

Then, it dawned on me that a medical team performed CPR after I collapsed.

"We don't know when she'll wake up. I'm sorry, sir," another man's voice tried to explain politely.

"Her vitals are good now but she's been in a coma for 5 days already!" The familiar man said impatiently by my side.

'Is that Dad?'

As things started to clear up, I could assume that the conversation was happening right next to me. However, my vision was filled with darkness, and I couldn't open my eyes even if I wanted to.

Despite being unable to open my eyes, I recalled dreaming of some strange event.

'What the hell was I dreaming about?'

"Onee-chan hasn't opened her eyes yet! WAaaHHH!" A little boy's voice cried out as I could feel a slight touch on my right arm.

'Eiji?'

I vividly recognized his voice, especially because he was the whiny type.

"I thought you would wake up when we visited you again but… why can't you open your eyes? We're here now," a boy who sounded a bit older said on my left side.

At first, I didn't recognize the sound of his voice since it got a bit deeper, but once I focused my hearing, I knew who it was.

'Haruto as well? What are they doing here?'

Suddenly, I felt some gentle patting on my head, which gave me a heartwarming emotion.

"Please wake up soon, Keiko. We want to see you," a sweet woman's voice whispered in my ears, and I felt a tingly sensation run down my body.

'Kaori?

Hearing that they were right next to me caught me off guard because it'd been a while since I'd last heard their voices.

"Mr. Kenji, there are three boys waiting in the lobby, wondering if they could see your daughter," a woman's voice said from a far distance.

"Who?" My father asked.

"Kashino Makoto, Andou Sennosuke, and Hanabusa Satsuki. They claim to be your daughter's teammates."

As if hesitating, the stroking of my hair ceased, and I felt a light wind blow as Kaori left my side.

"They're Keiko's teammates. They haven't seen her since that day. We should let them visit her for a little while," Kaori tried to convince my father, who remained momentarily silent.

"Fine. Bring them in," Dad said.

"I will let them know," the lady said before closing the door.

"I'm staying here though," Dad said stubbornly.

"Me too," Haruto said.

"Me three!" Said Eiji!

"No, we're leaving right now. I'm sure they have a few things to say to her, so you boys staying here will only make them uncomfortable," Kaori convinced as I could hear the pain and groaning as their footsteps left the room.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

'Classic Kaori. Grabbing them by the ears and dragging them out.'

The room went silent, but not for too long.

*Knock knock!*

Two light knocks came from the door, but nobody could say, 'Come in.'

"We're entering," a calming boy's voice announced, and I could hear multiple footsteps enter the room.

Their footsteps grew near as they approached me, and I knew that they were my teammates.

"How long has she been like this?" Hanabusa asked the group.

"They said that she's been in a coma for 5 days. We're not sure when she'll wake up again, though," Kashino briefly explained.

I could feel all three of their eyes hovering over me, and I felt slightly nervous. I mean, how was I supposed to react?

"We're so sorry, Michiko," Andou said as I felt a light touch on my hand.

"You went through so much just so we could win… You never even told us about what you were dealing with," Hanabusa spoke up.

"Fraise told us everything. How you disguised your tiredness, hid your arms, coughed up blood, and lost sleep just for this stupid competition. Why did you have to go this far?" Kashino asked me, but I couldn't respond.

Within their words, I could feel heavy guilt and burden as they spoke to me. Why were they apologizing? Everything was my fault, to begin with.

'I'm so sorry, guys… We were supposed to be celebrating our victory but it's all my fault that we couldn't. Now, I'm like this…'

I tried to speak the words I had in mind but to no avail. All I could do was regret everything.

'Everything's my fault. I'm so sorry, everyone…'

Suddenly, I could feel tears well up in my eyes and slowly drip down my face as my comrades stood around me.

"S-she can hear us!"