Ken felt groggy as he tried to open his eyes. The afternoon sun was shining through the windows upon his face, giving off warm sensation.
He looked around the room and was shocked to see that he was in the hospital.
The first thing that he felt was a sweaty palm attached to his own hand. He was about to yank it away until he recognized the culprit.
“Daichi?”
His voice was hoarse and his throat was dry, likely from not getting enough water.
Hearing his name, Daichi stirred from his slumber. He gripped onto Ken’s hand tightly as he lifted his gaze to see his brother watching him in puzzlement.
Ken could see the tear stains left upon Daichi’s baby face, a sign that he had been bawling for some time now.
“K-Ken!?”
Daichi’s eyes lit up with pure joy as he saw Ken’s dumbfounded expression. He didn’t care that he was being stared at weirdly, he moved forward for a hug.
Thankfully his brain was thinking straight and he only hugged Ken’s waist, even then he made sure to be gentle. His tear ducts which should have been empty, once again let the flood gates open.
Ken could only smile gently as he patted his little brother’s back. While he was still feeling a little groggy, his brain was working in the background to piece together all the information.
He could guess what had happened by the bandages on his head and the fact that he was in the hospital. However, the burning question on his mind was, what happened to the game?
Did they win or lose?
While he could ask Daichi, he felt it would be a little insensitive in this moment.
‘Haaah, I’m such a good guy. Worrying about my brother when I’m the one admitted to hospital.’ Ken lamented inwardly, letting out a small chuckle.
A cute nurse who had just walked in to check up on Ken suddenly froze as she entered the room, her gaze focused on him like she’d seen a ghost.
“Hi there.”
Feeling a little awkward, Ken waved and said hello to break the ice.
“I-I-I’ll go get the D-Doctor.”
With that she rushed out the door with as much haste as possible.
Ken felt a grin touch the corner of his lips after seeing the funny sight.
While he had a moment, he remembered the state he’d been in while unconscious. For some reason his mind reverted back to his old life as an office worker, with a few differences.
He was sure that there was no real deep meaning behind it, yet he thought it was interesting. If anything it made him not want to settle for such a life in the future even more so.
While deep in thought, Ken heard the sound of two people talking as they approached the room. He could instantly recognize them as his father and mother.
‘Ah crap, here we go.’
“They said that he might not wake up for another—” Chris’s words were cut off abruptly as he saw his son’s smiling face looking at him when he walked through the door.
“Kenny!”
Yuki dropped her bags and threw herself at Ken, her eyes already moistened by tears. She had been so worried all this time that she’d never be able to see his smiling face again.
Chris was too shocked in this moment to register what was going on. He had heard from the Doctor that things weren’t looking great and that they might be in for a long road to recovery.
The only thing that he could do in that moment was to thank god for the miracle that had brought his son back to him. While he didn’t know all the details, the fact that Ken was already awake could only be a good thing right?
Disregarding any information he’d heard, Chris walked forward and joined his family in the hug.
“Welcome back Ken.” He muttered, feeling the stress and anxiety drift away from him in that moment.
A few minutes later, the Doctor walked into the room after hearing what the nurse had reported to him. At first he hadn’t believed her, yet now there were no doubts in his mind.
He saw Ken sitting up and talking with his family, no signs of pain on his face.
“H-Hi. I’m Doctor Hige, the one assigned to your son.”
After an awkward introduction, he went through a physical evaluation with Ken before checking all of his vital signs. By the time he had finished, he was in shock.
Not only was Ken healthy, there were no signs that he’d ever been struck by a ball in the first place.
“I just want to remove your bandage if you don’t mind.” He said, reaching up and pulling it off gently.
Doctor Hige held his breath as he took the last bit of the bandages off, only to breathe a sigh of relief. The place where the ball had hit showed a lump, evidence that he was not in fact going crazy.
“We’ll have to run a few more tests, but I think your son is more than healthy.” He said, sounding relieved.
“Thank you so much Doctor.” Yuki said, her face turned up in a beautiful smile.
Once the Doctor left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, including Ken.
He had been worried that there would be no evidence of the ball striking his head thanks to the Recovery Elixir he’d taken. Yet it seemed that the system was not stupid, and did not want to draw attention to itself.
So it left a lump and bruise at the site, in order to cover its tracks.
‘Thanks for all your help Mika.’ Ken said to his AI friend.
[You’re welcome]
Ken smiled. That was the first time he’d heard a response like that from Mika, and she sounded pleased.
With that out of the way, Ken decided to ask the question that had been burning in his mind since he’d awoken.
“What happened with our game? Who won?”