He woke up in a small empty room, the window on the opposite wall the only source of light. A thin blanket was laid over him.
Feeling fuzzy and tired, Amon forced himself to sit up, trying to recollect what happened. He had been… fighting the Quinx. And that girl... Yonebayashi, she had him cornered. He remembered that much.
After that… his headache spiked and Amon gritted his teeth. He couldn't think any further. Couldn't recall anything but darkness. Seidou's voice resounded in his ears for some reason, the words faint but sounding important. Had he met Seidou again after the battle?
Damn it, why couldn't he remember?!
Amon struggled to fight down the rising panic, taking deep breaths. He swung his legs off the bed and got up. That was when the door opened and a girl peered in. Fueguchi…? What was she doing here?
"Oh, um, you're awake," she said, turning her head away. "I'll get Touka."
"Wait!" he said as she made to leave. "Do you know what happened?"
She watched him warily. "You were captured by the CCG. Kaneki and some others found you while they were searching the lab. Takizawa fought you and brought you back. That's all I know."
"He fought me?"
"You… lost control."
Oh. He hung his head. He'd been working for years to try and keep himself disciplined, controlled, and knowing of his failure stung. To think he snapped against his friends… shame washed over him.
But he didn't have any time to chastise himself. He had something else to focus on. In his mind, one image was vivid—a blonde investigator lying face down, blood pooling around her.
"Fueguchi, if I can ask you one more thing…" He didn't want to impose on her, not with their adversarial history, but he needed to know.
"Yes?"
"How's Akira?"
Her expression went blank. Amon felt a sinking cold in his stomach. Please let her be fine…
"She's undergoing surgery right now. She was suffering from RC cell accumulation, but Kaneki got the suppressants she needed."
Thank God. When she woke up, she would hate him from the depths of her soul, far more than she had back when he was an investigator, but he couldn't have borne it if he had failed to protect her. That promise was one he never wanted to break.
"I should tell the others you're up. They should be able to answer your questions."
Amon watched her leave and sighed, leaning on the wall. Once Akira woke up… he couldn't face her. He had missed her all these years, but he still couldn't bring himself to stand in front of her and be judged by those eyes. He feared what judgement they'd pass.
But he at least needed to talk to her. To tell her… and after that, everything would be her decision. He would give her the closure that he had been too cowardly to provide all this while.
That was the least he could do.
It was tough deciding whether to do the rest of the battle or not, but in the end, I chose to skip it because I couldn't think of much to add to those scenes.
