A year had passed, Kazuki had learned after he had finally regained consciousness. A year spent in coma, time lost to him. A whole year of Soushi gone, as well, though as Kazuki was now slowly recovering, he had found Soushi wasn't actually completely gone.

As the matter of fact, Soushi was very much here with him, through Crossing. His body was lost, and it was taking time to recover it, but it was possible, thanks to the Festum. It would take time, Soushi had explained, but that didn't matter. If there was a chance of Soushi returning, Kazuki would wait as long as it took.

Back in the day, Kazuki's body had always been quick to recover from injuries; now, perhaps that year that taken its toll. He still had slight issues performing simple everyday tasks and needed to rest a lot. Doctor Toumi had said he would get better in time, but right now, he had strict orders to take it easy.

There were worse issues than having to wait till he regained his strength - his eyesight was fading. It was not completely gone yet, but the problem was it wasn't happening due to the coma. It was a result of assimilation side effects, and while the rest of his body would eventually recover for him to continue a normal life, his eyes were never going to return to normal.

He currently preferred keeping his eyes covered. Perhaps after he'd recovered a little, he could try getting used to making out what he could still see, but for now, his eyes hurt occasionally. It wasn't like having his eyes covered kept him from seeing Soushi, who was sitting right in front of him, in his room where he sat on his futon, too exhausted to get up just yet. It was the morning, not that he had any other way of telling than the fact that he wasn't sleepy anymore.

"Happy birthday, Kazuki," Soushi said, catching him a bit by surprise.

Kazuki found himself smiling. "That's, ah," he chuckled a bit and lowered his face. "I almost forgot it was today. Thank you."

"What?" The image of Soushi smiled as well. "I wanted to be the first one to say it, and I definitely have the advantage of being the first one here today." He raised his hand to touch Kazuki's face, and while Soushi's fingers weren't there, Kazuki could swear he felt the touch. Crossing affected his brain, after all, and if his brain said Soushi's touch was real, it didn't matter if his skin didn't feel it in reality. "I wish I could get you a present, but my options are slightly limited."

With Crossing, Kazuki didn't actually have to speak aloud, but it was just easier that way. "The fact that you're here is enough," he said, idly wondering if it would've looked weird to anyone if they had found him talking to himself. Nobody knew of the Crossing, and he felt that they wouldn't have believed him even if he did tell. It led him to think that maybe he actually should've paid a little attention to when he talked aloud, after all. "In this situation, it's more than I could ask for."

"I could recite you poetry," Soushi offered, making Kazuki want to laugh. "Though, wait a minute," Soushi added, looking thoughtful. "I just remembered something. I think I do have a present for you. When you get the chance, go stop by my room. In the bottom drawer of my desk, there's a small box. I..." He smiled again, appearing a little awkward. "I was trying to figure what to get to you last year. This is as far as I got, and for obvious reasons, I never got around to giving you a gift last year."

Crossing had the bad habit of giving away what exactly Soushi was thinking. "A letter opener and a fancy pen?" Kazuki grinned. "That's sounds very much like you, though. Thanks? I'll go check your room whenever they let me wander anywhere alone."

"I never was good with this kind of things, was I?" Soushi pondered. "It was between the pen set and a book, I recall, and I didn't have the chance to pick out that book. Now, neither make very good gifts, do they?"

"I can still use a pen, even if I can't see what I'm writing," Kazuki pointed out.

Soushi nodded. "I'll do better next year," he swore. "I apologize for not being able to participate in your birthday party, either. Assuming there is one this year."

"The others insisted on having a party of some kind, which probably means they'll be stopping by later today and dragging me out," Kazuki replied. "I'm not exactly in a condition for anything fancy, though. Keeps me from sitting at home all day, at least."

He hadn't meant to sound depressing, but from the way Soushi looked at him and from the way Soushi felt, he knew it ended up being just that. "Kazuki." Soushi moved closer, to his side, and put his arms around Kazuki's shoulders. "You're still recovering. I don't remember you being one to give up because of something like this."

The touch that wasn't there gave Kazuki more hope than anything Doctor Toumi had ever said about his condition. "I know," he said with a hint of a smile, leaning in to Soushi's arms just a little. "I'll be fine. Last thing I need is you getting worried," he added with a soft chuckle. "What are you concerning yourself about my body being in this condition? Worry about your own, first."

There was a bit of feeling of relief in the Crossing, but also regret. "I'll come back to you," Soushi quietly said. "So recover from this, and wait for me."

"I will. I'll wait, as long as it takes," Kazuki replied.

He stayed still, feeling the touch that lingered for another moment, until he was forced to snap out of it as his father called for him, saying something about an Alvis medical check. Fumihiko then entered, adding a line about it being Kazuki's birthday.

It made Kazuki smile. Soushi had still said it first.

Author's notes:

Post Dead Aggressor, a year before H&E, obviously. Yeah, happy birthday Kazuki, have... slight suffering? Anyway the whole year in coma after the show/before H&E is from the official site, so going by that here. About a year after DA would be around September, hmm? Thankfully Soushi's "I'll do better next year," actually applies and he totally did! Considering the events of H&E happen around late August/early September, before Kazuk's next birthday.

- Lady Harken (September 2016)