"Let me see my sister," Hayate demanded. His voice was dipped in the strongest of venom. His cold stare was enough to intimidate Semone - who flinched for a second just then. Semone wished things were different. She wished she could bring the family together for the happiest of endings.

But that just wasn't possible.

"I apologize, but I can't allow you to see her. Any more stress would worsen her condition." Semone stated. Before Hayate or Jin could say anything in protest, Semone spoke up again. "This is for her. You have to understand. Mio will be taken care of, please trust me. I know this must be very difficult for you, your younger sister doesn't remember either of you at all. If you two were to go see her right now, she wouldn't be able to handle it." Semone spoke the truth despite how harsh it was.

Hayate and Jin wanted to see Mio. They wanted to see her so badly, even if she didn't remember them. . . But they understood that for her wellbeing, they needed to leave her alone. No matter how naïve it was to hope she would regain her memory, they still hoped. Now, they understood why Sayuri didn't want to see her daughter. Especially now. If either of the boys were to approach her, and she screamed, they just wouldn't be able to take it. The fear in her eyes would break their hearts into far more pieces than ever before.

They were afraid of seeing what had happened to Mio. They were afraid to face the fact that they had failed to protect her. They failed as older brothers. So Sayuri's room, both Hayate and Jin cried their hearts out to their mothers. For the first time in years, Sayuri had comforted her son. Hayate cried silently while Sayuri rubbed his arm. She remembered how she would rock Hayate to sleep when he cried as a baby. It'd been years since she showed some love to her child, but it didn't feel awkward in the slightest. While thinking back on the days when Sayuri took the role of a mother, she regretted so much. She wished she'd cherished her only daughter with the very little time she had her. Sayuri felt like the life had been sucked out of her.

She wished Jung was with her.

Mio stared at the ceiling in her room. She was finally starting to find her bearings, but that was mostly because she was alone. There were a few cameras in her room to watch her every hour of the day. The windows were shut tightly, far too tight to ever be opened again. The sheer curtains filtered out some of the light that pooled on the floor. Mio was still in bed, laying on her back with the bedsheets pulled up under her arms. Her eyes were tired from all the crying she'd done, she probably wouldn't be crying again any time soon. All of her tears had spilled.

Her eyes were lifeless. No shine or sparkle in them anymore.

Semone had left a box of juice and a cookie on the table beside Mio's bed, but the young girl didn't feel like drinking or eating anything yet.

Mio was exhausted. . . She had decided to close her eyes and try to get some rest. A second or two after she'd nestled her eyes shut, she heard tires screeching, and someone's scream.

Sayuri's scream.

Mio jolted up into a sitting position, her eyes now wide as they darted around the room. For a split second, she thought she'd seen a figure at the doorway. When Mio blinked, the figure had disappeared. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Suddenly it sounded like someone had whispered in her ear. The young girl instantly covered her ear, a small gasp slipping past her lips. She scanned the little white room again. . . It wasn't very big, but it wasn't claustrophobic either. It was just the right size. The room had a decently sized window, a night table, and a small desk. Even though it was a nice room, Mio dreaded the truth that she would be staying here for a long while. Suddenly feeling hungry, Mio reached over to the nightside table, and gingerly took the cookie. She quietly unwrapped it and took a small bite, filling her dry mouth with its sweetness. With a little more courage now, she stuck the plastic straw into her juice box and sipped at it. Her favourite drink was diet Pepsi, but she couldn't remember that. The juice box had lemon ice tea inside, and now, that was her favourite drink.

After Mio had finished her cookie, there was a gentle knock at the door, which had genuinely startled her.

"Hi Mio, it's me, Semone." The nurse had entered the room and made her way over to Mio. The little girl was still skeptical about the nurses, and any other person for that matter. She watched Semone cautiously, her entire body had tensed up. Was Semone here to give her another needle? Or take more blood? Mio was afraid of needles now. Semone was the only nurse that Mio allowed near her - even if she was terrified of the woman.

Semone was holding a plush. It was the Pikachu that Matsuda had won for her, but Mio had no memory of that happening. She stared at the stuffed toy with a small frown on her face.

"This is for you. Do you remember this?" Semone handed the toy to Mio, who hesitantly took it in her hands. She set the Pikachu to sit on her lap, and she ran her fingers along the soft fabric. A very faint smile had appeared on her face.

Mio looked up at Semone and shook her head. She didn't remember this toy at all, but she loved it anyway. Just as much as she had when Matsuda handed it over to her.

"It's a gift. Keep it." Semone smiled at the young girl.

"From who?" Mio blinked her eyes a few times.

"Your older brothers. They said your friend Matsuda won it for you a while ago." Semone explained, but Mio just cocked her head to the side.

"I have brothers? Who's Matsuda?" Mio asked. "I want to say thank you to Matsuda. Is he here?"

"Well. . . No. He's not here, but I can pass on the message for you." Semone said.

"Can I see my brothers?"

"I'm afraid that you can't." Semone felt bad to tell her this.

The nurse would have loved for the siblings to reunite, but Sayuri wouldn't allow that. Sayuri was still Mio's mother, and she had decided that Mio was allowed no visitors at all. Sayuri didn't want to see her daughter ever again, the guilt was eating her up so badly. She felt as if she didn't deserve to be Mio's mother anymore, which Jin would say was absolutely true. The only way to move on from this. . .

Was to abandon Mio.

About two days after being admitted, Mio was undergoing psychotherapy. She was prescribed a set of medications to keep her schizophrenia and anxiety at bay. Sometimes she would be doing just fine, and other times she would be hiding under the sheets from the nurses, trying to get away from everything. She didn't see human beings that wanted to help her. She saw monsters that were out to get her. She was afraid of all of them, but just the slightest bit more comfortable with Semone. Currently, Mio was with Semone and a psychiatrist - Dr. Chin. Dr. Chin was a Chinese woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She always wore a blouse and blazer with dark pants. A pair of glasses sat on the bridge of her nose, which she didn't push up very often. Dr. Chin spoke quite firmly, and Mio didn't like that about her, so she very often didn't want to participate in the therapy sessions. But Dr. Chin persisted.

"Mio, what are the voices telling you right now?" The psychiatrist asked, a clipboard sitting on her lap and a pen tucked in her fingers.

Mio didn't respond. She simply just hugged onto her plush and stared at the bedsheet.

"Are you hearing any voices at all?"

No response.

". . . Mio, please answer for me." The woman wasn't getting frustrated, but Mio sure was. Semone sat there in silence.

"They're not saying anything. . ." Mio mumbled under her breath, barely loud enough for Dr. Chin to hear.

"Do you know what makes them start talking to you?"

Mio shook her head.

The questions went on for a while longer, Mio took her medication, and the psychiatrist said it was time for a break.

"Are you doing okay?" Semone asked Mio, who only clutched her stuffed toy tighter. "Why don't you do something fun for now? Do you want to draw something?" Semone had gestured towards the small desk in the room. Dr. Chin had left some paper, and Semone could probably find some pencils somewhere. Maybe even some crayons. Mio pondered on it for a while, but she soon nodded. The nurse had heard from Hayate and Jin, that Mio had loved to draw, so she thought it would be worth a shot. Maybe Mio's drawings would help her and Dr. Chin understand how she was feeling.

Semone brought some old crayons, a well-used eraser, and a clean pencil for Mio. Mio had got up from the bed and went to sit at the desk. She stared at the crayons and pencil for a while, before working up the courage to actually use them. Before she had started drawing, she'd picked up the pencil and noticed something written on the wall. Mio peered a little closer at the writing.

Everything will be okay.