wake up soon - k. akaashi

twelve: ghost

2012, February 3rd

Slowly opening her eyes, Tamiko let a groan out and scrunched her nose. She had a headache. Great. She sat up and looked around. Something at the pit of her stomach told her that it shouldn't be this easy to move, but she brushed it off and tried to think of the last thing she remembered.

"Keiji." She told herself "Home, cuddles"

"I don't care what they said, I want to hear what you think!" Mitsu Shiota's voice teared her away from her thoughts.

Her mother sounded distressed, something unusual, as both her mothers were of calm nature. It was true Mitsu was more driven by her emotions than her mama, but Tamiko had never heard her so stressed —almost like she was losing her mind. She remembered when she'd told her mom she liked Akaashi and barely ten minutes later Hina was smirking down at her, teasing her so she could get some gossip too. She had a method, if she wanted well thought and rational advice, her mama —Hina— was the way to go, but if she just needed to solve something quickly and rip the band aid, then mom's got you, Mitsu had rapid solutions up her sleeve. Both worked for ranting and reassuring, her mothers were one of the best things of her life.

"Considering a car ran into her, I think we're all lucky she's still alive," Hina Yamada. Her voice was strained, like she was trying to control herself from either screaming like her wife, or just trying to keep her mind grounded.

"She got lucky. Oh my- What if she hadn't? Hina our daughter could've died."

"I know." silence "But she didn't. We haven't lost her, and I'm not planning on letting her. We have great treatment in this hospital," she took Mitsu's hands, and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

Tamiko knew that gesture. When one was worried the other took her hands and kissed her knuckles. It was their way of saying "I've got you. I'm not letting you fall, you're not alone in this", but wha-

Oh.

Oh, that was her. Unconscious. On a hospital bed. With tubes sticking in her, and unconscious and-

"Oh my God, how am I watching myself right now?"

Tamiko's breathing grew more labored, the reality of the situation slamming on to her, faster than she needed. Of course, nobody could exactly grasp seeing themselves in a coma, seeing how the world kept its course and they couldn't do anything to tell their people they were okay. That they were there, with them.

So Tamiko was left to cry alone in a corner, watching. Like a ghost.

2012, February 18th

The floor by the window had become her spot.

Tamiko spent her days watching people visit her. First it had been her siblings. Her heart had broken when Ayane had walked clutching Ryu's hand, neither of them letting go of the other as if they were a lifeline. She saw fear in their eyes.

"Hey sis" Ryu had said, his voice shaking and rough "Moms said we should visit you. What a drag, huh?" a chuckle attempt left his lips, but the laughter didn't reach his eyes "Anyways, uhm. You better wake up soon, ya hear me? I'm not about to take all your shifts at the shop. I guess I love you, and all that"

Ayane had needed a few more minutes to actually speak, and when she did, she broke down crying. "I miss you, Tami! Please wake up!" The poor girl was scooped up in her brother's arms and shook there, not even capable of saying goodbye as she gripped onto Ryu's shoulders.

After them, her friends had come. Sometimes alone, sometimes in groups, they all told her how much they missed her and needed her to wake up.

Wake up. Yeah, that seemed to be the common factor everyone wanted. The comatose girl had spent a whole day trying to do so, figuring a way of ending this stupid nightmare she was trapped in. But she hadn't accomplished anything, and her body still laid in that bed.

Days passed with her contemplating the world through this window of hers. The oh so lively Tamiko was starting to feel numb from looking at herself in the decrepit state she was. She watched as her mama got dressed and looked down when she was done.

Another day without waking up.

"When you're ready, I'm sure she's waiting," she heard her say, and then the sounds of footsteps and the chair scrapping the floor.

Tamiko kept her head resting on her knees, not leaving her spot on the floor or looking up.

"Maybe Bokuto should have come with me," Akaashi's voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough for her to look up.

She thought it was an illusion at first, it would've made total sense given the position she was in and that she'd been wishing for him to come since day one. She placed her hands over her ears, wanting to drown everything, even her thoughts. Somehow, she managed to fall into another slumber, and when she woke up, Tamiko felt dizzy. She slowly got onto her feet and walked to herself.

She sighed, wondering for the thousandth time when her body would decide to wake up. Her head moved sideways, and something caught her eye. An owl. Akaashi Junior.

"Keiji?"

But he didn't see nor hear her.

She was a ghost.