I Won't Let Him

SOMETHING

"Now, please take a few steps forward. Don't rush, just go at your own pace."

OMORI did as the doctors asked, steadying himself with the handrail as he slowly walked forward.

When he finally got used to walking, he decided to let go of the rail and proceeded to walk on his own as normal.

"Remarkable...!" He could hear the doctors exclaiming in pleasant surprise as they took their notes.

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MARI watched with a bit of concern as her little brother passed all the physical exams with surprisingly little difficulty.

"You'd think six years of muscle atrophy would take a toll on him..." The nurse next to her muttered in awe, "He's just powering on through without a sweat... It's like a miracle."

For some reason, this actually made MARI more nervous than impressed.

That couldn't possibly be natural...

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"How does it feel if I do this?"

The doctor poked at his knee.

OMORI shook his head.

"Nothing? Really?"

"It's numb." OMORI replied simply.

"Hm... Yes, I suppose we should've expected that..." The doctor murmured to himself.

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"Remember to make sure he isn't straining himself." The doctors warned her, "His entire body has apparently become numb to almost all physical stimuli."

MARI gulped nervously.

She was right to be worried after all...

"Without the ability to feel things physically, he might not be able to properly react to pain or know when he's overdoing something. Keep a close eye on him, remind him not to overexert his body, and let us know after a week if his body regains the ability to touch again."

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"Apparently, he thought that only four years had passed since the accident happened to him." Another doctor looked through his notes, "He says that he remembers spending all this time locked up in his house."

MARI widened her eyes.

SUNNY was experiencing something like that during his coma?

"It's not strange for coma victims to live in a fabricated reality within their dreams. Certainly, it's not the most common occurrence, but he isn't the first." The doctor hummed, muttering in thought, "Still, he seemed evasive about something... I get the feeling that he's not showing us the full picture of what he's gone through..." Then with an embarrassed cough, he apologized, "Excuse my ramblings. I just wanted to let you know. If he experiences any problems with differentiating realities or becomes negatively affected by strange dreams, I can recommend you to a psychiatrist."

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"Now, sadly we have no way of recovering your eye after the injury it sustained six years ago." A different doctor explained to them. "However, we can prescribe surgery to get a glass eye to replace your old one. You'll look just like you used to, before the accident."

MARI turned to look at SUNNY, seeing him looking disinterestedly at the ground.

Laying a hand over his arm and giving him an encouraging smile, MARI brought his attention back and asked, "What do you think, SUNNY? Do you want to get a glass eye?"