The smell of flowers is overwhelming. The melodic smell is everywhere, surrounding you, making you think of a kinder, warmer place. It's almost enough to mask the strong smell of medications and decay, lurking beneath the surface.
Almost.
Despite the threat of war looming on the horizon, there's a constant stream of visitors to your bedroom. Gojo and Megumi are your most regular visitors by far. Gojo, who prattles on about everything and anything at all, with a forced lightness to his tone. Megumi, who sits with you in silence, his eyes dark and serious. You hadn't expected to see him at all; you know what it costs him to remain in hospitals, considering how both of his sisters are now confined in one. Maki, Panda, and Inumaki divide their time between training and visiting you; with classes canceled for the week, it seems as though your friends are freer than ever.
All of them, it seems, except Yuta.
Maki's eyes flash dangerously. "That coward!"
"Now, now, Maki. He's got a lot on his plate, after all."
"Salmon."
"[ NAME ]'s the one stuck in here, not him." Maki says.
"Yuta's dealing with a lot, too. Obviously, he's feeling sad and worried because [ NAME ]'s . . ." Panda trails off, but you know what he's thinking. What everyone in the school must be thinking, really. That would explain the copious amounts of flowers lining your room, enough that it now resembles the inside of a Laura Ashley showroom. "And confused, because he likes Rika but now, he's probably starting to like [ NAME ] too, and he probably can't work out what his feelings are, or what he wants to do, or if this is right. And then, he'll be feeling scared, because he thinks he cursed Rika, and he doesn't want the same thing to happen to [ NAME ] if he comes to visit. That's probably why he's staying away. It's not that he hates you . . . It's actually the opposite. He cares about you, and he probably doesn't want to end up cursing you too."
A slightly stunned silence greets the end of Panda's speech, before you and Maki speak at the same time, with two very different reactions.
"He cursed Rika?"
"How can anyone feel so much at once?"
"Someone who doesn't have the emotional range of a teaspoon, probably."
"Salmon."
"What was that?"
". . ."
Once Maki is satisfied that Panda and Inumaki have been cowed into submission, she turns her attention back to you. "Do you want to see him?"
"'S fine, don't go to any trouble." You mumble, but this throws you into a rage of coughs.
"[ NAME ]." Looks like it's your turn to be cowed into submission. "Do you want to see him?"
"Yeah, but . . ." You remember the last time you saw Yuta. Your hands and his, both stained with blood. How he'd barely been able to scream for Ieiri, not with the way that his voice had been clogged with unshed tears. It hurts to breathe, suddenly, when you remember the horrible pain filling his eyes. You couldn't reassure him then, just as you're unable to do so now. "'S fine. Don't – Don't wanna make him uncomfortable. 'S fine."
"We'll get him here." Maki says grimly, with a determination that you have to admire.
"Don't scare him. Please." You say, before drifting back onto your mound of pillows with a weary sigh.
Panda snorts. It doesn't exactly reassure you.
You know that things are getting worse when Ieiri refuses to give you any more updates about the state of your health. Besides, you own a mirror. You know how bad you look. Your hair is tousled, your skin pale and papery, and your lips are tinged blue. You look tired. And so withered. And Ieiri doesn't know what to do, or how to revive you. You avoid looking at yourself in the mirror after that.
