The mind can forget... but the heart never!

Chapter 40

Seiya couldn't believe what he had just heard. His hands began to tremble, and he collapsed onto a nearby chair. Taiki and Yaten stood by his side, attempting to console him, but it was futile. Only now did Seiya realize how deeply he loved Bunny. It felt as though the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He felt trapped in a cruel nightmare. Suddenly, he jumped up.

"I need to call her parents. They need to know she's here," he stammered and rushed outside. His brothers followed him. Seiya sat on a small bench outside the hospital, struggling with trembling hands to retrieve his phone from his pocket. Taiki gently took the phone from his hand. "I think it's better if I handle this," he said softly, and Seiya nodded. "Tsukino," Ikuko answered cheerfully on the phone. "Hello, Mrs. Tsukino. This is Taiki Kou; I'm a classmate of your daughter Bunny's." He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. "What's happened to her? She hasn't come home all day," concern laced her voice. She already suspected that something had happened. "Mrs. Tsukino, Bunny was in a serious accident. She's at the Metropolitan Medical Center undergoing emergency surgery." Taiki heard the phone drop to the ground. He hung up and handed Seiya his phone back. They sat there in silence for a while, enveloped by darkness. Ikuko and Kenji had already passed them by.

"Seiya, should we go home?" Yaten eventually broke the silence. Seiya absentmindedly shook his head. "You guys can go. But I won't leave her alone again." With those words, Seiya got up. "It's really alright. Head home. I'm going to check on her parents now; maybe there's some news." Yaten and Taiki exchanged worried glances, but Seiya was already heading back to the hospital, paying no attention to his brothers.

Ikuko and Kenji were sitting in the waiting room. Ikuko's eyes were red from crying. Seiya observed them briefly from the door, then gathered his courage and approached them. He stood directly in front of them and cleared his throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, I'm Seiya. Is there any news about Bunny?" Kenji raised his gaze, briefly examining Seiya before standing up and extending his hand.

 "You must be the young man who found her, right? I want to thank you for that." 

"You don't have to thank me. Your daughter is the most important thing in my life. I don't know what I'll do if..." Seiya couldn't finish the sentence.

 Ikuko burst into loud sobs as he stumbled. Kenji continued to regard the young man skeptically. "Are you her boyfriend?"

 Seiya nodded. "I had hoped to meet you under different circumstances." 

"What about that doctor?" Kenji asked dryly. Seiya shrugged. He'd rather not say anything wrong. Ikuko wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and blinked through her tear-soaked vision. Only now did she truly notice Seiya. Then, she did something that nobody had expected. She jumped up and pulled Seiya into a tight embrace. "Thank you. You've brought her laughter back and pulled her out of that pit. Thank you for saving her again today. You can't imagine how grateful I am to you," she sobbed into his ear.

Mamoru had arrived at Celeste's improvised medical station and was tending to the wounded there. Fortunately, they hadn't suffered too many losses, but many had sustained broken bones, cuts, and gunshot wounds. Mamoru was still highly tense, but he tried to focus on his work. As he was stitching up a wound, Celeste entered the room behind him. Just from her footsteps, Mamoru recognized who it was without turning around. 

"Did you get him?" he whispered over his shoulder. 

"Not yet, but there aren't many places left for him to hide. I hope we'll have him in a few hours. Do you need help?""No. Let me handle this alone, it distracts me. But please find Seiya's number. I need to know how Bunny is." 

"I don't need to find it; we already have it. Since I anticipated this, I brought it for you." She held out a small piece of paper. He quickly removed his gloves. "Sterilize the wound, cover it, and apply a bandage. You should be able to manage that. I'll be right back." Nervously, he dialed the number on his phone.

 "Who's there?" Seiya asked after several rings. 

"It's me. How is she?" Mamoru asked, deeply concerned. 

"I don't see why that's any of your business. After all, it's all your fault. If she dies, it's your fault, got it!" Seiya yelled at him. 

Mamoru's throat tightened. What had he just said? He heard the words, but their meaning felt surreal. He felt his heart grow heavier; he hadn't wanted any of this.He took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice steady. "Seiya, I understand you're angry. But—""No 'buts'! Just leave her alone! Leave all of us alone! It's all your fault!" Seiya interrupted him, then ended the call. Mamoru gripped his phone tighter and then angrily threw it against the wall. 

"Mamo, was that necessary? The phone didn't do anything to you," Celeste tried to calm him."Yes! Once we find Shin, I'm going to kill him for what he did to her," Mamoru growled. His plan was set, first he would finish off Shin once and for all, then he would take care of Bunny. He didn't care what Seiya said. Bunny was his top priority.