I Will Always Be By Your Side

Chapter 18 (part 2)

"Rena..." Rena, who was still crying, lifted her head to see the person who has called her. Her eyes widened upon recognizing the person who was standing in front of her.

"O-Onee-chan?" She muttered as she looked at her in surprise. The girl just smiled and sat in front of her. "I-Is that really y-you?" Rena asked, still holding Jurina in her arms. The girl nodded and she slowly put her hand on Rena's face and gently wiped the tears that were continuously flowing from her eyes.

"Don't cry Rena." Her sister said. "Crying does not suit you. And besides there's nothing for you to cry about. Your friend isn't dead. In fact, she's already waiting for you." She continued.

"I don't understand. W-what are you-" Before Rena could continue what she's saying, she's been enveloped with a white light. "O-Onee-chan! Onee-chan!"

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"Aren't you being unfair right now?" Yuki said as she watched over Rena who was lying on the bed with different kinds of apparatus attached to her body. "You're already sleeping too much. You're missing on a lot of things. If you keep on sleeping like that, you're going to repeat another year." She continued. Suddenly the door opened and Rena's mother came in. "Auntie," Yuki said as she stood up and bowed to greet Rena's mom. "Yukirin, you can take some rest now. You still have to go to your part time job right?"

"Ah yes. I should get going now." Yuki replied before she gets her bag.

"Rena is lucky to have a friend like you." Rena's mom said, to which Yuki only replied with a faint smile before she went out.

Just as she closed the door to Rena's room, Mayu also came out of Jurina's room.

"Kashiwagi-senpai?" Mayu called. "I told you to just call me Yuki." Yuki said as she looked back to Mayu. "Ah, sorry. I'm still not used to it." Mayu said shyly as she walked towards her. "Still no progress with Jurina?" Yuki asked. "The doctor said that she's already stable now but they are still not sure as to when will she wake up. Probably due to the injury that she got." Mayu replied. The two of them started walking on their way out of the hospital. "What about Rena-san?" Mayu asked.  "Same as with Jurina." Yuki replied.

The two of them are finally outside of the hospital and they decided to sit underneath the big Sakura tree in front of the building. "What do you think will happen to them?" Mayu asked. "I also don't know, to be honest. But I don't want to think anything negative right now." Yuki replied. "I know both of them are strong person so they will be able to get through this." She continued.  Then she noticed that Mayu was just sitting quietly beside her.

"Hey, what's the matter?" She asked but she got no response from Mayu. "Mayu?"

It was then that Mayu started sobbing, tears are already falling from her eyes. "I... I'm sorry I just can't help it." Mayu said. Yuki pulled her and wrapped her arms around her. "It's alright. Just cry and let it all out. Everything is going to be alright." She said as she gently rubbed her back.

They stayed like that until Mayu has finally calmed down. Yuki hugged her, not minding if her blouse is already wet because of her tears. Mayu pulled away and wiped her tears. Yuki pulled back her hair behind her ears as she looked at her with concern written in her eyes. "Are you feeling better now?" She asked. "Yes. Sorry if I bother you. It's just that it's already been more than a week and my best friend hasn't wake up yet."

"No, you're not a bother to me." Yuki said with a reassuring smile. "If you're feeling better now, how about some ice cream before we go home? It will make you feel a lot better." "Okay." Mayu replied.

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Rena slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was still blurred so she had to blink a few times to clear her vision. It was then that she realized that there are several apparatus that are attached to her. "Where am I?" She thought.

"Rena?! Oh my gosh! Thank God you're awake!" Her mom exclaimed when she noticed that Rena's already awake.

"M-Mom?" Rena said weakly. "Yes, my child. I'm here." Her mother said as she held her hand. Just then, a nurse came in for her routine check and noticed that Rena is already awake. "You're finally awake. I'm just going to call Dr. Shinoda." With that the nurse left.

"My poor child. What happened to you?" Her mother asked. Rena then remembered what happened back at the abandoned warehouse.

"J-Jurina..." She said.. "Huh?" "J-Jurina.. what happened to her? Is she alright?" Rena said as she tried to get up but she felt a sharp pain on her side. "Argh!!"

"Rena! Are you alright? You still can't move. You're stab wound might re-open." Her mother said as she tried to stop Rena from getting up.

"N-no. I need t-to s-see her. I n-need to make sure she's a-alright.."