Part I - Summer (Late) - "I was so scared."

—to fight another day!

Cameron's eyes shot open.

He was lying in a futon. Ceiling of his guest room. The Nocturne estate. Summer vacation. Lazumere. Cicadas outside. Late afternoon sun streaming through the windows.

Mother Crystal, was his mouth dry. So very, very dry.

Weight on his chest. Somebody resting on it. Her head. Her face, eyes closed, asleep. The older sist—… No.

Miyu Nocturne.

His Miyu.

Her eyes fluttered open, nudged out of her sleep by the apparent change in the rise and fall of Cameron's chest.

At the realization that her boyfriend was now conscious, her eyes grew wide. "Cameron? … Cameron!"

She sat up.

The two of them looked at each other for a long time. Tears welled up in her eyes, her lip trembled. Then she bent down again, to hug him, burying her face in his neck.

"… Hey." He barely recognized his own voice, it was so hoarse.

The warmth of her palm on his face now, as she kissed his cheek. He tried lifting his hand to meet hers, but couldn't.

"I thought …" she said, into his shoulder. "We thought … We were afraid that you—…"

"Yeah," he croaked. "… Yeah."

"I was afraid I was going to lose you. Cameron … Nobody's ever survived drinking that much."

"… Yeah. … Yeah. Miyu."

"What made you even decide to—"

"Miyu."

"I mean, I can't fathom why you would ever—"

"Miyu."

She raised her head up. "… Yeah?"

"I'm really thirsty."

"Oh. Oh, yes! Of course. … Of course." She got up, moved to the table, and poured a glass of water from a nearby pitcher. "We had to feed you water through this cloth, place it on your lips. We fed you broth that way, too." She took the water to him and knelt beside him again. She slid a hand behind his back and gently eased him up, and placed the glass to his lips. He drank greedily, draining the entire glass with a single gulp.

"… More."

She poured another glass, and he drank again, just as quickly.

The parallels were not lost on him here. The priestess of Lazumere, kneeling next to a futon, caring for someone she cared deeply about … This arrangement all too familiar now to Cameron, who'd seen this very dynamic play out, too many times to count over the past—… well, however long he'd been out.

"… What day is it?"

She told him.

He tried to do the math in his head. Even such a basic calculation made his head throb, taking much longer than it should've.

"I've been out for … seven days?"

"Mm-hmm." She sniffled.

"… So another week until we go back to Crystal City."

"Don't worry about that for now! We can leave later. School can wait. You should recover your strength first."

He said nothing.

Miyu let out a large sigh. Like a huge weight had been lifted off her.

And then she smiled at him, warmly.

And as Cameron stared back into the face of the elf who had stayed by his side, all this time, he had only one thought on his aching mind. His temples throbbing dully.

That's not your smile.

That's not what you look like when you smile.

… But those were just visions, Cameron. You might as well have been dreaming. You don't know if they were real, what you saw. Any of it.

Think about it—you'd been to the secret place, you'd seen Archie's portrait, you've heard Miyu talk about Lazublooms and his sickness. That's more than enough fuel for your unconsciousness to run wild, conjure up everything you saw.

… So how could you possibly know it wasn't all just the imaginings of a comatose mind?

"Oh, everyone's been so worried, Cameron. Heinrich, especially. They'll all be so relieved to know you're okay." She stood up. "I'll go tell Mama and Papa. Don't get up, okay? I'll be back. Mama will make you something to eat soon."

Cameron watched her back as she headed toward the door.

How could he know whether or not it was all real?

How could he know …

Unless …

"… I'm really glad I'm back, Miyu," he said. "For a while, it was like … I was headed into the fray there."

And there it was. A sharp flinch, as though he'd shot her with an arrow. A stiffening of her shoulders, as she froze into place.

She stood there for a bit, before turning her head back, to meet his glance. A strained smile on her face. Her voice tight, almost trembling, as she replied, "… Yes. We were all very worried."

"Thank you, Miyu."

"… For what?"

"… For taking care of me. It's all because of you, that I can live. … To see another day."

Her smile stiff, eyebrows twitching. "I'm … glad to hear that, Cameron."

She stood there for a long time. Cameron didn't break his gaze, not once.

Then, turning back to the door, she muttered, nearly whispering, "… I'll go get Mama now."

And then she left.