Chapter Text
This was so nerve-wracking.
Yesterday, Ryuji received a call from the nearby hospital, saying his wife got into a work-related accident and has a head injury. He rushed in as soon as he could into the place, panicking. Good news was that Akira was stable, but who knows when she'll regain consciousness.
Their son, Goro, also arrived in panic, with Morgana in tow. Both men and the cat stayed at Akira's side until it got late. Ryuji then told the both of them to go home for the night. They protested against his advice but ultimately, they gave.
And now today, he's at her bedside, waiting for the moment she'll awake. Ryuji was texting their close friends and Goro about Akira's status.
Still nothing.
He put his phone away and sighed, looking at her. Hearing the ambiance of the hospital equipment surrounding his wife kept him on edge, like he would expect a flatline at any time. It feels like every second to him is life or death.
And then, he heard something that made his heart skip a beat: A murmur. From Akira.
And then saw her slowly opening her eyes; His wife's awake.
Ryuji became so ecstatic, he started crying. He quickly hugged her as soon as she stood up from her bed, but not before calling the nurse via button. "Dude, I-I was so w-worried! Thank G-god you're okay!" He was a sobbing mess.
"Let go of me!" Akira screamed.
Ryuji stopped and reacted accordingly. Did he hug her too tight? "S-sorry."
"Where am I? How did I get here?" she was panicking hard, frantically looking at her surroundings. She then gazed at Ryuji.
"Who are you?"
----***----
Akira looked up at the ceiling while in her bed.
Today was productive, but bittersweet. She briefly hung out with basically everyone she met over the course of her stay in Tokyo to say goodbye, as she was leaving the next day. She was going to miss everyone, especially her boyfriend, Ryuji. She wondered if a long-distance relationship would work for them.
From the moonlight, she can see the glow-in-the-dark stickers she placed and, on the corner of her eye, her packed items. She really was going to miss this place; Although the accommodation wasn't very ideal, she made it work. She could also briefly see Morgana at the bottom corner of her bed, sleeping away. And luckily, he was coming with.
With everything that happened in the past year: meeting new people, discovering the sights and sounds of Tokyo, and especially, starting the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Akira was glad she went here, although the reason why she was here in the first place was infuriating, to say the least.
Her eyes were starting to get heavy. She turned over and started to drift into sleep, as for tomorrow, she'll leave.
~~~
Akira woke up, feeling hazy with a slight sudden headache. From her field of vision, everything was white, except for something that looks like a person. She stood up to get herself awake and suddenly, that person, now clearly a man, hugged her. While he was sobbing, she quickly looked at her surroundings. She started to panic at her situation and screamed at the unknown man to get off her.
She quickly looked around again and noticed white nearly everywhere; Was she at a hospital of some sorts? There were machines next to her and panicked even more. "Where am I? How did I get here?" Akira then looked at the man. "Who are you?"
The man was stunned. "It's m-me, Akira," How did he know her name? "Ryuji."
Ryuji? Like her boyfriend, Ryuji? No way, she thought. He had dyed blonde hair and was young, while this unknown man had black hair and looked old enough to be her father. "No you're not, you're too old. H-how do you know me?"
He, again, was stunned. "Dude, I…" Then, what looks like a nurse arrived into the room.
----------
His wife had a form of amnesia.
When the nurse did a simple checkup on Akira, the questions they asked, her answers were all off course. When she was addressed as Mrs. Sakamoto, she was puzzled. When asked her age, she said she's seventeen. For the date, said March 19th, 20XX. And for the last memory she can recall, she said it was sleeping in her room in Leblanc.
The nurse broke it to Akira that it's 20ZZ, she's actually in her late thirties, and was in a work-related accident that caused her amnesia. She can't remember or recall the past twenty years. The revelation of this put Akira into shock.
When Ryuji asked if it was permanent, the nurse didn't know and suggested maybe jogging her memory. They shortly left the room to report it to the main doctor. He stared at Akira, looking devastated like her. Losing 20 years of their love, progress, and moments…
Ryuji inched himself closer to Akira's bedside and suddenly, his wife spoke up.
"How much did I miss?"
Her voice trembled when she asked. He drew his left hand onto her right hand and said, somberly, "...We got married."
Akira just noticed the wedding ring on his hand and looked at her left hand and sure enough, she had a matching ring. "...It was the best day ever, right?"
"It was the biggest, Dude," He was reminiscing. "The gown you wore was amazing, the reception was too, and even made Morgana wear a cat tuxedo and he hated it." he snickered.
"Morgana! Is he still--"
He turned to face Akira. "Around, yea. He's at home, likely waitin' for Goro to pick him up--"
"Wait, Akechi?"
Ryuji then got slightly nervous. "Uhhh...no. Y'see…" He put his hand behind his head. "Goro's the name of our son. We had a kid together."
Akira grabbed onto Ryuji's left pinky with her thumb, fidgeting. "A kid…Goro..."
----***----
Hearing that her son's name was Goro, something suddenly flashed into her mind, and then it quickly vanished. Was it a memory resurfacing?
Akira then suddenly asked her now-husband more about their son and everything else that happened. He was surprised, but it then hit him why and went into much detail as he could.
---
"He then did--"
Ryuji was interrupted by the sound of the room door opening. Who appeared behind it was a tall boy wearing a dark green gakuran.
"Goro!" Ryuji greeted. "...Why didn't ya call?"
"Dad, I did, like, three times. Did you put your phone on silent again?"
"No!" He then quickly looked at his phone and saw a lot of messages and missed calls, then noticed on the notification bar, it had the 'phone silent' icon. "...Oh...yea, oops."
Goro shook his head. "Dad…" He then took notice of Akira. "Mom!" He rushed to her. "Mom! You're up!"
She noticed his school bag was shaking. "Hey, is it safe?" it mumbled.
"Oh right!" Goro zipped open his bag to reveal Morgana, peeping out. It looked like Morgana hadn't changed at all, though she swore he looks a bit chubbier…
"Akira!" the cat meowed. "So glad you're okay!"
"Morgana!" she greeted back. But then dart her eyes back to Goro. She saw the photos Ryuji showed her of their son and yet, it's so surreal to see him face-to-face. And being addressed as Mom by someone she was supposed to know by heart, but can't remember…
"Uh, Mom? What's with the staring?" Her son's question snapped her out.
"Oh, right." Ryuji chimed in, shifting to a somber tone. "Both of ya, Akira...well...she has amnesia and she--"
"Then how did she know my name?" Morgana hissed.
"Lemme finish, ya damn cat!" he exclaimed, then calmed down. "She doesn't remember the past 20 years. Last thing she remembered was her time in Tokyo back in 20XX. She knows us, Morgana," He looked at Goro, who was standing in silence. "But doesn't know you, Goro."
Morgana eyed at Akira, who was looking away, then looked up at Goro, looking distraught. "Is it permanent?"
"We don't even know, champ. I'm tryin' to see if jogging her memory helps."
The room was now filled with silence.
"...Can I talk to Goro alone?"
The guys were surprised at Akira's request. "Why him?" the cat protested. "We're all here! We could help you remem--"
Ryuji intervened. "Sure, dude." He turned back to their son. "Goro, gimme the bag."
Their son handed it over with Morgana shuffling inside. "Hey!"
"How the hell can ya handle this, Goro?" It looked like Ryuji could hold the bag with no difficulty, but yet complained about it. He turned to the cat. "You need to lose even more weight."
"Shut it!"
Both left the room bickering to one another. And now it was just Akira and Goro.
"Ryuji told me a lot about you," she began. "I can't believe that--" She stopped and noticed Goro holding his tears in. It must be devastating from his point of view that she can't recognize him. "Goro--"
"Shut up!" The young man burst out crying. "T-this is total bullshit!" He was hiccuping between words.
Briefly, a memory appeared in her head of being told something similar and put her hand against her temple in pain. Goro took notice.
"Mom?"
He went closer to her side as the pain was subsiding. "Sorry…" she said. "Just...deja vu, I think."
Goro wiped off his tears. "S-sorry as well…" He still looked pretty upset.
Even after what Ryuji told her what happened over the years, she still was amazed that they had a son. Looking at him and seeing bits of themselves, though looking more like Ryuji, was surreal. "...Goro." Her son looked up at her again. "From what Ryuji told me, we've raised you pretty well. You're kind, generous, started a band...and even a big fan of the Phantom Thieves!"
"Uh...yeah."
"So who's the most overprotective one in the family?"
"Huh?" Goro was surprised again.
"You know, with Ryuji telling me, we all loved you, but still wanna know who showers you the most!"
Goro sighed. "It's Dad."
She put her hands together. "I knew it. He always had a big heart and uses that to protect others, especially me." Akira smiled. "He's brash and a bit of a loudmouth, but he's--" She then blanked out.
"Mom?" Her son got worried once again.
She snapped back a few seconds later. "Oh! Sorry. When I said that, 'felt like I remembered something, but...forgot. Anyways..." She shifted the subject. "I'm guessing you already know why he's overprotective."
"Because I'm his only son." Goro snided. "But I wish he would stop. I'm in high school now and I don't need to be called Champ like I'm a little kid or him snooping on my problems."
Akira listened to him vent a bit. "It's not just because you're his only kid." She paused and turned solemn. "...Ryuji never had a father, I mean, a good father."
"Huh?" Goro piqued at her comment.
It looks like her future...present...whatever self or Ryuji never told him, which caught her by surprise. She then continued. "Well...his dad was...hurtful. He'd be drunk, yell, and hurt him and his mom. He one day left, which, good riddance, and that's all I know." She paused again. "My guess is that Ryuji's making up for it by being a good dad to you, a bit overbearing, but still."
Both fell silent.
"I'm...gonna go get Dad and Morgana." Goro stepped away from her bed and left for the door.