A familiar ceiling with a chandelier hanging above your head took you by surprise as you tried to get off the bed, feeling something was trying to prevent you from doing it.
You looked to your side and found Mikey sleeping beside you, wrapping his arms around your waist — his hair was longer this time and slightly tousled, giving him a different aura from when he was younger.
Shaking his body gently, you watched Mikey try to open his eyes before sitting down against the headboard, hand still around your waist while the other was occupied to rub his itchy eyes
"Morning, peach."
He rested his chin against your shoulder, pressing butterfly kisses from your jaw to your nape. His hands started to wander around underneath your sleeping gown before he stopped on your waist and wrapped them tight.
Basking in his warmth, you looked around the room and could guess it almost immediately that Mikey was the one who decorated this whole room.
A modern chic bed, monotone wallpaper, giant built-in wardrobe and small vanity table at your left side — everything just screamed his name out and couldn't be silenced.
Looking at your reflection on the wardrobe's mirror, your hair was dyed silver like Mikey instead of pink — it made you look more mature and unapproachable.
Mikey spent almost an hour trapping you in his arms, not showing any sign of letting you go. The room was still silent and all he did was play with your hair — brushing and untangling the ends until a knock from outside caught his attention.
"Come in."
The man walked inside as Mikey pressed your face against his chest, hiding you away from the unknown man as you could hear his heartbeat kept getting stronger and faster until the man finally left the room.
Raising your head, you watched how his dark eyes softened when they made contact with yours — trying to avoid them and yet those eyes were still longing for a lost warmth it used to hold.
There would always be a wave of regret washing over him whenever he stared at those eyes, reminiscing the light of hope until he took it away from her.
The memory was still fresh inside his mind, they kept replaying like a broken cassette — over and over and over.
No room for forgiveness nor repentance.
He should have been there for you — who slipped away from his grasp almost as easily.
"Peach, it'll be alright, okay?"
He was scared but it was the only way for him to make sure you lived well — away from him.
The clouds started to accumulate and Mikey knew it was his last chance to fix everything.
A warm kiss to end this misery as a pair of star-crossed lovers — the last chapter to shed your tears on.
... Sano Manjiro (32) and his presumed wife had found dead inside their secluded house this morning. The cause of his death is due to suicide after killing his wife, taking her as a 'good-for-nothing woman' who was rumoured to have an affair with ...
You were cold and your body wouldn't move no matter how much you tried to get any of them to follow your order.
"... Miss? ... heartbeat ... losing her! ..."
The faint smell of rubbing alcohol and scalpel filling up your nostrils, enough clues to tell you that you were currently at the hospital and these people who were calling for you were doctors and nurses.
Your lids felt heavy but you kept fighting to open them, letting out a silent scream as the blaring light hit your eyes almost immediately before someone turned it off.
The room was dim, enough for your eyes to adjust slowly before a doctor stepped up and tried to ask you some questions — blinking once for yes and two for no, in case you weren't strong enough to talk yet.
Apparently, you had been in a coma for months and your guardian would be contacted by them to inform them about your current condition, asking you to minimise any unnecessary movements and would assign a nurse for you.
The room was quite luxurious and almost looked like a hotel room, making you fear how it would turn out for you when the hospital sent you the bills — or even worse, strapping you here forever.
Hearing someone calling for your name, you found Shinichiro and two people you had never met before — walking in your direction as Shin pulled you into a tight hug while the taller guy behind him was crying and the other could only look at you in boredom.
Due to your fragile condition, Shin couldn't stay inside your room for more than twenty minutes and had to be dragged by his friends as he kept saying he must stay by your side for a better recovery.
"...Ah!"
You placed your hand on your throat, trying to say a few words as burning pain starts to flare up, forcing you to stop as it already reached its limit.
You woke up feeling hazy, trying to remember what happened as your dream started to slip away — ignoring it as another imagination before you went back to sleep, hoping you could get discharged as soon as possible.
The day finally came and you were allowed to leave the hospital, watching Shin taking care of the papers since he was your guardian before he took your hand and walked outside.
"Do you know how long you have been sleeping?"
"You've been sleeping for months."
You looked at him in shock as he told you that it was already January 2006 — a lot of things happened in the span of six months and he hoped that you would take your time before meeting everyone.
As you went to S.S Motors with Shin, you saw many people smiling at you lightly with bruises covering their faces while Emma and Hina were at the other corner, checking a fashion magazine before finding you behind Shin.
"You're awake!"
Emma was the first one who hugged you while Hina only gave you a light squeeze on your hand, making sure she wouldn't put too much strain on your body before guiding you to sit down with them.
It wasn't that long before a certain blondie walked inside with Draken, avoiding your eye contact and sitting down beside Takemichi — bearing a heavy guilt towards you.
"Now that she's awake, I think it's fair for her to know what happened, yes?"
Emma crossed her arms, looking at Mikey menacingly before Draken interfered and said he will be the one who told you that.
After Toman won against Kiyomasa, everyone took you straight to the hospital as your bleeding wouldn't stop and there was a knife sticking on your stomach.
The hospital said it would be really hard for you to survive but the operation was a success even though you were in comatose for months afterwards.
Toman wanted to go to the beach for its anniversary, but Mikey didn't want to go there until you woke up — so, all of them decided to postpone that and buried a time capsule again for this year.
"Now that she's awake, let's go to the beach—"
"No!"
Mikey raised his head, glaring at Emma before storming out from the shop as the rest of Toman tried to catch up after him.
Emma let out a huff, feeling confused at his brother before looking at you with a smile, giving your shoulder a gentle squeeze and bringing you to your room while Hina took your bag from Shin.
Walking through the dimmed path, Emma and Hina would once in a while talk about their boyfriends before Emma looked at you with a grin.
"Yes, I'm dating Draken now!"
You looked at her with a smile, knowing how happy she was as he was her first love and someone who you could count on — a character you always hoped to be a partner.
Unlike Emma, who's always cheerful and happy-go-lucky — you were the opposite of her, someone that would get new people feeling bored almost instantly, leaving you only hanging out with her most of the time.
"That's really good! How about y'all's first date?"
You looked at her with bright eyes, feeling curious about how and when it was — especially since you never went to one before and didn't actually have time for that.
With a giggle, she looked at you bashfully — cheeks getting red as she played with her fingers, carefully recounting the first date she had with him.
Apparently, their first date was roughly three months ago. He took her out for a date at a recently opened café at Harajuku before going to a park together, ending the date with a night ride with Zephyr.
"That sounds nice..."
You whispered under your breath, not realising both girls heard it — a sheer panic covered both of their faces when the realisation hit.
You were always alone and avoided by many people including at your school because of Mikey.
Looking at each other, Emma and Hina knew what to do now for their little sister.
'Operation Fall in Love' had started!