The People Hurting Around Me

It felt so strange to Haru. A twenty eight years old man in his nineteen year old self's body.

He knows that Kei and Mia remember everything before… before they went back in time. But what about Sakura?

Suddenly, something rang a bell.

Before I passed out I was looking for Kei. Haru retraced what had happened before he passed out in his head.

Then I heard the conversation between him, Mr Suzuki and Mia. And then—

"Sakura!" Haru shouted, waking up a Aoi, who was sleeping on the chair.

The last thing he remembered was Sakura screaming his name before he passed out. How could he forget something so important?

"Aoi, is Sakura alright?" Haru said in panic.

"Huh, Sakura?" Aoi said groggily. "I don't know."

"Take me to her," Haru ordered.

Aoi heaved a sigh. "On one condition. You finish your food. You haven't touched it since you're conversation with Mia."

A jolt ran through Haru's spine at the sound of her name.

In an instant, his face changed from worried to stoic.

"Aoi, about Mia—"

"Yeah I know. She likes you, not me. You were right all along. Are you happy now?" Aoi retorted.

Haru blinked once, then twice. He wasn't used to the twenty four year old Aoi. The Aoi he remembered was far more composed and mellow.

As Haru contemplated how to approach Aoi, Aoi spoke interrupting his thoughts.

"Deep down, I always knew that she liked you," Aoi began. "But I just decided to ignore it," Aoi said his voice breaking.

"Aoi," Haru said softly getting off his bed.

"The truth is I'm lonely, Haru. I'm all alone. I spend hours working at a job I hate the most, while all my friends have become what they wanted to be after graduation and are either married or in a relationship."

"Aoi, you shouldn't compare yourself to them. You're far greater than them in so many ways." Haru said putting a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Aoi scoffed. "The only reason I'm doing this shitty job is because mum and dad refused to pay a dime on further education because you were starting university."

"You wanted to get a masters degree?" Haru asked.

"Yeah and I'm sure you do too. And they're not going to pay for both of us. Only you… because you're always number one in your class, whilst I kill myself and barely manage to pass."

Haru never knew his brother held such a burden. Why didn't he notice before? He was so concerned about his feelings for Sakura and hurting Mia that he failed to realise his own brother's feelings.

"Why… why didn't you tell me this before?" Haru asked, his composed expression slipping.

Aoi smiled. "Because you would've blamed yourself for everything."

Haru's heart shattered in a million pieces. Aoi was so selfless. He was always thinking about him, whilst Haru was only concerned about himself and his problems. He even asked his father to transfer his money directly to his bank account, so Aoi couldn't use it anymore.

Haru embraced Aoi.

"I'm so sorry. All this time I only cared about myself. I'm so selfish. I see now that you were only dating Mia because you wanted someone to love you—because even your friends didn't have time for you. You felt so lonely," Haru said sadly. "But don't worry I'll fix everything. I'm not the man I used to be."

That's right, Haru thought, his eyes widening. I remember everything now. And I've decided that in this life I'm going to fix my mistakes.

"Enough about me. Finish your food, so you can go see Sakura," Aoi smiled.

I have my wish now, Sakura and I are dating. But in the process I failed to realise the people who hurting around me. First, I will do something to help Aoi. Then, I'm going to get Mia and Sakura back together.

…

"Excuse me," Haru said to the nurse.

"Yes," the nurse replied, checking Haru's blood pressure.

"Do you have a patient here called Sakura Suzuki?"

The nurse's expression darkened.

"Do you mean Doctor Suzuki's daughter?"

"Yes, do you know her?"

"Yes, she's perfectly fine," the nurse replied nonchalantly. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Haru's eyes narrowed, suspecting something was not right?

"Yes, what room is she in?"

"That is confidential information I'm afraid I cannnot provide."

Haru's eyes locked on the nurse. His gut twisted

"I just told you I'm her boyfriend. Why won't you allow me to see her?" Haru asked suspiciously.

"Because you are a patient," the nurse replied with an unreadable expression.

"Okay, then will you allow my brother to see her on my behalf? Surely, there are no rules against that."

"Miss Suzuki will not be having any visitors right now."

Haru's fists clenched beneath the blanket.

"Okay," Haru smiled as the nurse left.

The nurse gave a stiff nod and walked away, her posture too composed, too rehearsed.

Haru's jaw tightened.

"Aoi," he said quietly, his voice low and urgent. "Find Doctor Suzuki. Now. Something's not right."

Aoi stood still for a moment, his expression shadowed as Haru stared at him expectantly.

"There's something else," Aoi said, his voice barely above a whisper, weighted with hesitation.

Haru's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Aoi exhaled shakily and lowered himself onto beside Haru, rubbing his hands together like he was trying to ground himself. His eyes wouldn't quite meet Haru's.

"Last night… when you collapsed," he began slowly, voice tight. "I was holding you in the hallway. You weren't breathing right. I—I thought you were dying in my arms."

Haru's lips parted, stunned, but Aoi went on, the words coming heavier now.

"And then… there were gunshots. It sounded like they came from Sakura's room."

Haru froze, his body going rigid.

Aoi's eyes flicked up, guilt flickering through them. "Then the Code Silver alert hit. Trauma Room Three."

Haru leaned forward, spine stiff with dread. "That's Sakura's room."

"Yeah." Aoi's voice cracked slightly. "Then the lockdown started. Doors sealed. Alarms. Red lights everywhere. It felt like the whole hospital turned into a cage. Kei and Doctor Suzuki tried to get to her. But no one could move. No one could reach that wing."

There was a long silence before Aoi forced the rest out, each word aching.

"Haru… I should've told you sooner, but I was worried about your health. We're still on lockdown. Three doctors were killed. And… Sakura's missing."

Haru stared at Aoi, his breath caught in his throat. For a moment, it was as if the words hadn't registered, like his mind refused to let them settle.

Then: "Missing?" The word scraped out of him, thin and disbelieving.