King Make Believe

Chapter 13

Hirokazu

I woke up to a cold, unusual feeling on my forehead and hoped to hell that someone made it. All I remembered was Jae screaming at me to stop, and when I tried to; the Mist just ignored me and kept going. So all I could do was transfer it all into one of them. I frowned and held my hand to my forehead. There was a wet cloth that had been folded and dunked into a basin I noticed as I looked down to my right.

"Are you feeling any better?"

I started and pulled my hand down, also removing the cloth. I looked over to the fathers left side of the room and Tsuna was sitting on a heavily cushioned chair with a blanket wrapped around her legs. I cleared my throat and threw my legs over the edge of the bed and wriggled my toes. I tried to clear my head, but it was like my mind had purposefully blocked what had happened from me. To save me...from what?

"Careful now dear, you don't want to push yourself too hard." Tsuna said, her voice sounded like it was scraping up the insides of her throat.

I stared at her, looking a little closer. "Wha...what happened?" I asked, taking how frail she looked. Her eyelids drooped over her brown eyes, she sighed like it was taking her sheer will to stay alive.

"The disease hit the palace not long after you and Jae returned." Tsuna said. My eyes widened and I stood up, half tempted to walk over there and shake her. "You and Jae's father were isolated—even though you were unconscious, you were dangerous—Your mother knew what could happen..." Tsuna sighed sadly. "And yet she let you back into the palace. And the day after you were placed in your bedroom, the disease got a hold of Councillor Akiyama."

I sucked in a breath, my lung slowly collapsing into themselves as I took in the meaning of her words. "No...no—they were okay—right?" Tsuna casted her gaze to the window and I did the same, not Abel to look at the sorrow buried and plastered to her face like sweat any longer.

"He died in a day and a half. It was then the palace went into complete lockdown, it was then that your trainer caught it." Tsuna looked at me, I didn't look back.

"You and Captain Song spent a fair amount of time with him, yes?" I nodded, not wanting to hear the words I knew that would hit me like three bullets to my heart and soul.

"Well, when you were released from your isolation—still unconscious—the Captain went to tell the trainer the good news, but he already seemed to have some sort of illness at the time. So when we found out that he had the disease, we isolated Jae instantly." I stared harder until I felt my eyeballs sting from not blinking for so long.

"Tell me she's alive." I begged, I imagined trying to bring back the life to a dead person. I shook my head and closed my eyes, the itching feeling washed over me as I wanted to know but didn't.

"Barely, but yes."

I opened my eyes in shock. I couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. I stared at her, but there was no happiness in her features. "There's one more..." She said, trailing off, her hands started to twitch as she blinked numerous times, holding back tears that still fell.

"Who is it?" I asked, standing up, I walked over to her and knelt in front of her. She shook her head and trembled. I held back a growl. "Tsuna, who is it?"

She bit her lip and let out a shaky breath. "Your mother." She said.

The air escaped my lungs in one single swoop. The sound of leaves stroking the rooftops was all I could hear. And when I fell to the ground, I watched as my tears dropped and left dark splotches on the wood. "Tell me she's alive...at least like Jae..." I looked up Tsuna, hoping to see that smile hidden in her eyes as she explained her reasoning for everything. "...Please..." I murmured.