It felt almost like waking up from a prolonged nap -- one you didn't mean to take, stuck in a place you weren't supposed to sleep at. The first thing he noticed was the relentless headache; and, sure, you could imagine pain in your own head, but nothing felt quite this real in a long time. In fact, nothing felt at all -- his coma allowing him to see occasional images and battle against repetitive nightmares, but that's it. Not that he expected anything else, with his mind both compromised and then crippled by Aoba's scrap.
And yet, his will to wake up never relented -- mostly because he knew there were still things to actually wake up to. With no idea how much time passed, the first ray of sunlight upon opening his eyes was almost painful, every muscle sore and refusing proper responses. He didn't need it to work properly right away, though -- it was fine if he stayed for an hour or two more --
Ha.
Blinking a few times to allow his view to sharpen, at least enough to make out the countours of the hospital room, he pushed himself up to sit with a loud, strained groan; arms too weak to handle even that. It took him a few more minutes of staring blankly at the ceiling before realizing that he wasn't alone -- and although seeing the man's features wasn't yet fully possible, he had no trouble recognizing his frame; eyes widening in initial surprise.
Now that, he didn't expect.
Akuma seemed to be asleep -- or at least halfway there, dozing off by his hospital bed. Without thinking, he reached to prod the guy a few times; weak as it were, it should be enough to bring him back to reality.
"Hey -- you think you could sneak me in a cigarette?"
Yeah, that sounded like a good greeting after God knows how long of not talking to each other. Smooth.