You jolt up, alarms sounding as you try to figure out where you are. A nurse rushes in, hands out as a gesture that she means no harm as she approaches you and helps you lay back down. "You're at the university hospital, you are safe. There was an accident, a train crashed and you were brought here after suffering blunt force trauma to the head."
"Chishiya." You whisper, the only thing you can think about is him. "Where is Chishiya?"
"What is your name?" The nurse asks, bringing up a small light as she checks your eyes. "Are you able to tell me what year it is?"
You mumble the information asked before asking about Chishiya again.
"I'm afraid I don't know any patients by that name. You seem fine but the doctors will want to run some more tests to be sore. However, we haven't been able to identify a few people that came in. If you're feeling up to it you can have a look?" The nurse offers and you nod immediately. "Okay, come with me."
You lean on her as you walk, your legs weak as though they haven't been used in weeks.
That wasn't true though, you'd run practically every single day in the borderlands. The halls are clean, the sun is bright as it lights the hallway. "Wh-what happened?"
"There was a serious train crash and hundreds of people were hurt, some unfortunately didn't make it."
You wanted to argue but everything was confusing right now, there certainly hadn't been any trains in the borderlands. "When?"
"Three days ago." The nurse responds. "You've been sleeping."
She guided you into a hall with rooms similar to the one you had woken up in, a few doors were closed but some were open, you noticed a few bodies, people you'd seen at the beach but no one of importance.
"Here is the first Jane Doe." The nurse opens the door, you don't have to step inside to realise who it is.
An.
"What happened to her?" She has a few marks here and there but nothing as serious as it had been in the borderlands. "Is she okay?"
"Do you know her?" The nurse probes as she looks at Ans's chart.
You nod. "Her name it's- it's An."
"Thank you." The nurse smiles. "She was crushed underneath one of the train doors. Do you remember that?"
"No." You shook your head. "Do you have any patients by the name of Kuina?"
"We did."
"Did?" Your eyes widen. "What do you mean did?"
Kuina wouldn't leave without making sure you and An were okay. You were sure of that.
"Nothing serious." The nurse calmed. "but she has left already."
"So she's okay?" You ask again, the entire situation still not making sense.
The nurse smiles. "She is. Let's move on and let An here rest."
You don't want to leave An but the prospect of coming across Chishiya in one of these rooms was enough to have your feet moving. The nurse showed you a few different people, some of whom you didn't know, although you did come across Aguni, the man was still unconscious, a bandage wrapped around his head.
"Okay, this is our last John Doe." She informs you as she pushes the door open.
"Oh my god." You pull your arm out of the nurse's grasp, pushing past her to run to him. His hair was tied up out of his face, his hands were cold. "Chishiya."
"This is Chishiya?" She asked. "How do you know him."
"He's my boy-." You cut yourself off, you'd never been official with Chishiya. What you had couldn't exactly be explained in normal terms. "He's someone I love."
"He was hurt." You lift his shirt, a bandage covering his side. "He was shot."
"No." The nurse frowns, shaking her head. "A pipe broke through the window of the train, it pierced his side. He had surgery but is in recovery."
"But.." You don't exactly know what to say. Nothing seemed real.
You needed Chishiya to wake up.
The nurse touched your shoulder, your body flinching involuntarily. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Y-yes." You take a seat on the chair beside the bed. "Can I stay here?"
"Sure." The nurse says softly. "I'll bring you some food and have a doctor come and check on you."
You nod only to get her out of the room. The second she is gone you jump us, looking up and down the hallway to ensure it's clear before closing the door.
"Chishiya?" You call his name. "Chishiya I know you can hear me, you have to wake up I don't know what's happening but I'm confused and I can't figure this out."
A few moments ago you had been in the borderlands watching as your friends died beside you after playing horrific games and now you were in a hospital, surrounded by white walls and strange smells after apparently being in a train crash.
Was this another game?
You groaned in frustration when he didn't move, his body as still as it was lifeless. You took a seat back in the chair, pulling your legs up to your chest as you linked your hand to his.
The nurse came back carrying a tray of food but you'd ignored her in favour of drawing circles onto Chishiyas palm. "You would have hated me doing this when we first met, in fact I'm sure you hated me for a little while but I think even if you did you wouldn't be honest about it. You were so stubborn then, when we were at the beach you were the worst. I'm happy I annoyed you into letting me come with you though, I'd have been sad if you didn't. I really cared about you, even then, even in that place I couldn't stop myself caring for you."
The machines he was hooked up to continued beeping with every beat of his heart. You took it as a sign to continue. "They said you were injured by some pole on a train, apparently Kuina has left already and An is laid up in a bed. I don't know if Niragi made it but I found Aguni. No one else is awake and I'm all alone Chish. Something didn't feel right, Kuina wouldn't leave without checking on An and me. I'm sure she would even check on you too but what they are saying cannot be the truth, we weren't in any train crash. I need you to wake up, I can't figure this out without you. You made me promise before when we were there but I'm useless right now."
You use the sleeve of your gown to wipe your face when the alarms start going off. A few doctors and the nurse from earlier come bundling into the room, shouting to one another as they tend to Chishiya.
"What happening?" You ask as you try to get closer to him only to be stopped by the nurse pulling you back. "Let go of me!" You shout.
"They need to help him." She explains. "He has been in a coma since he arrived they need to check him I promise I will bring you back."
"I can just stay here." You cry in the doorway, unable to look away from the doctors administering some kind of drug. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth to think that Chishiya would be able to tell you what was happening right now.
He was smart like that, a little too smart.
The nurse shakes her head as she takes your hand. "You can't stay here hon. Let's get you back to bed, I'll get the doctor to check on you and whenever Mr Chishiya is ready I'll bring you back."
You didn't want to go, the thought of being away from him was terrifying but a part of you knew he needed to be checked. His health was more important than your needs and it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and figure out what happened to you in the "crash".
"Shall we?" she asks again.
"Okay." you agree, letting yourself be pulled back to the room you'd woken in hours earlier. "Oh…is there anyone here called Niragi?"
"The man with the attitude." She looks unimpressed, you're unsurprised he had gotten that name for himself already. "He was very injured, he isn't awake but when he does wake up he isn't very polite. Is he a friend of yours?"
You shake your head. "Nope."
"Ah." She sighed. "Let's take some blood tests so we can make sure your levels are stable. The doctor asked for them earlier but I didn't want to interrupt you earlier than necessary, you seem to have been through a lot at the border."
"At what?" You whipped your head around. "Did you say border?"
She furrowed her eyebrows. "Yes the border, you were leaving Tokyo when the crash happened."
You slump a little, how come no one knows the borderlands? "Oh… yeah sorry."
"It will all come back to you, don't fret too much. Now let's get these tests done." Her smile is too wide as she begins drawing your blood, which despite the fact she only took two small vials, seemed to take forever. "I'll get these sent off, your vitals all seem stable, I'll go and check on Chishiya and see if it's okay for you to return."
"Thank you." You mumble aimlessly.
She's gone faster than she arrived, her figure disappearing down the long hall. You take the moment alone to snoop, rifling through the drawers in the room, looking out of the small window on the wall in the hall, looking in the rooms closest to you.
You gave up searching soon enough, shrugging your shoulders as you turned back to your room. "I'm going insane." You mutter to yourself, taking a seat on the bed.
"He's awake, you can come and see him if you'd like." The nurse helps you to Chishiya's room, your heart thumping with every step that brings you closer to him.
You turn and stop her before she enters the room. "Can you please let us have a moment alone?"
"Sure." She smiles though it's strained, looking between Chishiya and you before backing out of the room.
He is sitting up halfway, two pillows propped underneath his head to support his weight. There aren't as many tubes connected to him but the sight of the IV in his arm and oxygen mask wrapped around his neck makes your heart hurt, he was like this because he tried to save you.
"Chish." You whisper, tentatively reaching a hand out to touch his.
He feels cold.
"I know you." He croaks out, a tear slips down your face at the sound of his voice. "I know you but I don't know how."
You drop your hand as though you've been burned. "What?"
"How." He groans, hand grabbing his side. "How do I know you?"
"You don't remember?" Your voice cracks, and you bite your lip in hopes it prevents you from crying any more.
It doesn't.
"No." He tries to shake his head.
You are frozen in place for a moment as you stare at him, unsure of what to do next. If he didn't remember you, he would t remember the borderlands and that's if it was even real.
"Please tell me." He asks, his voice softer than you've ever heard him before.
You sigh, closing the door to his room. "Where the fuck do I even start Chish."
"At the beginning." He says blankly and for a minute it feels as though everything is normal.
Like nothing changed between you.
"Okay." You agree, you start at the beginning, relaying every single even down to the finest details.
You're unsure how long you stay there telling him everything, the nurse comes in a few times to check on you both but other than that they, thankfully, don't bother you. Your throat is dry by the time you finish, you'd given up trying to stop the tears hours ago.
He sat patiently listening to everything, asking questions here and there but staying relatively silent. "So that happened?"
"It did, I think it did, I don't know Chishiya." You drop your head in your hands.
"It's okay." He whispers. "We will figure it out."
You choke back a sob at his reassurance. "Thank you."
He goes to say something but the sound of nurses running accompanied by an alarm sounding has you both looking towards the door, you instruct Chishiya to wait as you follow behind the group of doctors swarming around one room.
"She's awake." You overhear someone.
You're unable to see much as the room is filled with professionals only catching a glimpse of the name on the patient board.
An.