Chapter 44

"It's been a week, and you still won't let me out of bed on my own?" Rika complained.

"Nope, not until the doctor okays it," Yuto said, holding his hand out to help her stand.

"But this is taking too long. I can't stay in bed all the time." She shifted off the bed and gripped his hands, forcing herself to stand. Her legs wobbled, but she stayed standing this time.

"You can't rush this, or you might set yourself further back. You seem more stable, so we can try a few steps. Don't tell the doctor, though; they're supposed to decide that."

Rika nodded. Gripping his hands, she shuffled her foot forward. "Ugh." She pitched into him.

"Got you. I'll get you back in bed."

"Wait." Her fingers clutched his arm. "I want to keep trying. One and done isn't enough for the day."

"Fine, but we won't push it too far. Wouldn't want to sadden Duke." Yuto smirked.

"You seem to like my bear a lot."

"Why wouldn't I? It's so similar to the one I got you when were little."

"Wait, you got him for me?"

"Yup, with my own allowance. Something soft and cuddly to welcome my baby sister into the world. Didn't you know?"

"No... I assumed Mom and Dad got it for me."

"They got you a bunny and a monkey, but the bear was all me."

A couple of nurses ran down the hall. "Where'd he go? How'd he even leave his room when he shouldn't be able to walk yet?!"

"Another commotion," Yuto sighed. "How can a bedridden patient cause so much trouble?"

"Maybe they're eager to get out of here like me," Rika said as she took another shaky step.

"I get being eager, but it's best not to cause trouble for everyone around you. Patience and persistence are the keys to recovery."

"Doesn't make them easy," Rika mumbled.

"Two more steps, then back to Duke." Yuto led her along carefully. "Almost there. And back to bed!"

She sat down and sighed. It's like being one of those people who annoy me at work. Do a couple of things and then take a break longer than it took to do the tasks. "We can do more later today, right? That's not all?" Rika reached for Duke, hugging him as she buried her face in his soft fur, the scent of roses permeating off of him.

"Sure, but I have to head to work, so it'll have to be in the afternoon. Maybe the staff will come around again, and you can wow them with your progress so far." Yuto helped her bring her legs up onto the bed. "I'll see you soon."

"Yuto... "

He froze mid-step.

"Are you okay doing all of this? If I'm burdening you too much—"

"Don't be silly." He poked her arm. "You're not a burden. I'm doing this because I want to. Don't let any of those negative thoughts not grounded in reality take over." He poked her forehead. "If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be. Now, I have to go, or I'll be late." He kissed the top of her head. "See you later."

"Bye," Rika mumbled, watching him go. "Just us again, Duke." She cuddled him and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep as fatigue took over.

Thump, thump, thump. Heavy footsteps rang through the halls. "How did he get loose again?!" a nurse cried out. "Every time I turn my back for a minute, he's gone again!"

Slam.

Rika jolted awake as her hospital room door closed.

"Ha... Those nurses don't know when to give up." A black-haired man in a white hospital gown and multiple wraps on his arms huffed, bracing himself on the mini railing by the door.

What the hell? Rika swallowed hard, hugging Duke tight as she wished Dryden were there, or at least Yuto.

"Aha! I've finally found you, my little bunny." He laughed, his expression brightening. "I knew you had to be the other coma patient that woke up the same day." He followed along the wall, shuffling closer to her as he huffed, his face paling.

No way. It can't be. But he does kinda look like him. "Kael? Is that you?" The rose mark on her neck tingled.

He smirked and wiggled a finger at her. "I don't go by that here. It's Souta. And I don't know what you were talking about before. Outside of the hair colour, you look just like your character."

"But..." Rika trailed off, not sure what to say. "How?"

"See, when you told me your name, I knew you weren't super far from me. Figured it was a possibility, and voila!" He laughed, looking at the ceiling, and smiled at her. "How lucky can we be? Wait, that bear. How'd you get him to come with you?" Souta stumbled into the chair beside her bed. "That's the one from your room in Thornburg." He poked at its paw.

"It is."

"Not even sure how that's possible, but I guess it's hard to believe any of it." He looked at her, and his eyes widened slightly as he smiled.

"What is it?" Rika frowned.

"You still have my mark!"

Her hand flew to her neck, the mark on her neck warming. "Somehow..."

"See? We're still connected." He took her hand, rubbing the back of it with his thumb. "I'm so glad I found you again." His hand shook as he kissed the back of her hand.

"You are? I didn't think we'd have any connection remaining after coming back here."

"Seriously? You thought I'd leave it at that? After we've grown so close?" He sighed, shaking his head. "Of course, my pursuit of you would continue out here. Did you think I was only interested in you because of the game?"

"Honestly? Yes. Why would I think otherwise? I was your ticket out of there."

"Then you've missed quite a bit, Rika. Half the stupid things I pulled were me chasing you, not about home." He tilted his head down, fluttering his eyes. "Heck, the mark couldn't have been put on you if I didn't have strong feelings for you in the first place."

Oh, that's right. It's supposed to be from both sides...

"I doubt it'll shock anyone like it did Dryden, but it's still nice to see our link lives." He smirked.

Her mouth tightened into a thin line. Dryden... I'll likely never see him again. I won't see any of them.

He gripped her hand tighter. "Look, it was a nice adventure that pulled us out of our dull lives, but we didn't belong there, and we can't go back."

Rika gasped and tightened her grip on Duke.

"I checked on the digital game store, and it's not there anymore. I looked it up otherwise, and there's no proof the game even existed, other than our memories, and those tokens. Heck, if you weren't here, I'd wonder if it was all a coma dream."

Me too, probably.

"At least you got to bring something with you. Well, I got you—the best prize of all. I wouldn't have minded keeping the superpowered prince body, though. Definitely could've recovered and broken us out of here already."

"I'm not a prize," Rika mumbled, her cheeks warming.

"Oh, but you are—to me. The best prize I could've gotten, and I look forward to getting to know this version of you better."

"Kael—"

He shook a finger at her. "Souta. Say it with me. S-o-u-t-a."

"Sorry, Souta."

"Good, little bunny."

"Are you still going to call me that?" Rika huffed.

"Yes, especially with the cute look on your face right now." He poked her nose.

She scrunched her face and swatted his hand away. "What does that make you?"

"The big bad wolf." He smiled, baring his teeth. "Oh, maybe that's why I liked him so much. We're alike!" Souta sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Say, there's plenty of room in that bed; how about you scooch over so I can nap?"

"Excuse me? No, you have your own hospital bed to go to."

"But it took all my energy to get in here." He pouted, puffing his cheeks out. "You don't want me to collapse in the hall, do you?"

"No... but I'm sure the nurses will help you."

"Who knows what they'll do to me if they find me in here!"

"You can rest your head on the bed, but I'm not moving over." She patted the spot by her hand.

He leaned over right away, resting his head on his arms beside her. "Thanks." He yawned and closed his eyes, his breath evened out against her arm.

I guess he has been working hard. She remembered him saving her in the carriage and taking an arrow for her. He was there so much longer; I can only imagine what he went through in Aeuro. She stroked his head, and he smiled in his sleep. So soft, it's like petting a shaggy dog. Her eyes grew heavy, and she fell asleep.

"Who is that?!" Yuto spotted Souta beside her right away. "Rika, why is there a man on your bed?"

"Hmm?" Rika slowly opened her eyes. Oh, Souta's still here. She absentmindedly stroked his head again.

"Rika, who is this man, and why is he in here?" Yuto reached out to Souta, who jumped back in his seat.

"Who am I? Who are you?" Souta frowned, clinging to Rika's hand.

"Yuto, this is Souta. Souta, this is my older brother, Yuto," Rika explained. How do I explain Souta? Co-worker? Not quite... but I did meet him through work. "He's..." Not explainable without sounding insane.

"I'm her boyfriend." Souta smiled and held his free hand out to Yuto. "Also another former coma patient."

Yuto shook his hand in a daze. "Did you say boyfriend?"

"He's not—"

"Yes, of course," Souta interrupted and winked at her.

"She never mentioned a boyfriend. In fact, she said she was single." He turned his attention to Rika. "Why'd you say you didn't have a boyfriend? And how did you both end up in a coma?"

Guess that one will bite me, but I didn't know he'd be here and say that...

"No idea," Rika and Souta both said.

"Okay... I need time to process this, and that means it's time for you to go." Yuto pointed at the door.

"I would, but it's a bit hard to walk around right now."

"Do you want me to get a nurse to help you?"

"No!" Souta grabbed Yuto's hand before he could turn around. "Not them. They're mad at me."

"Let me guess, you're the one I keep hearing them complain about? Something about wandering through the halls, vanishing?"

"Well... I heard about Rika being here and had to find her. You can't keep me away from my little bunny. That's too harsh."

"Bunny?"

Rika rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I'll help you get back there." Yuto helped Souta up, slinging Souta's arm around his neck. "I'll be back, Rika."

"Thank you, brother," Souta said.

"I'm not your brother," Yuto muttered flatly as he helped Souta out of her room.

"But you will be soon enough."

Geez. Rika hid her burning face in Duke. How do I explain my way out of this?