A slow, rhythmic beeping cut through the silence like a metronome in an empty room. Harumasa's eyelids twitched before they blinked open, his gaze unfocused, swimming in a haze of foggy brightness. It took a few moments for him to realize where he was.

A hospital. Not that hospital, but close enough to pull at old threads of memory he'd rather leave frayed.

His head lolled to the side, his cheek resting on the cold pillow as his his eyes tracked movement. Doctors. He recognized the coats, the hurried steps, the way they talked in that clipped way like he was a patient on the edge of death. He caught pieces of the chatter, enough to understand that he wasn't supposed to be alive.

A miracle, huh? His gaze shifted up toward the ceiling, watching the fluorescent lights buzz quietly. He didn't feel like a miracle. But still, he was alive.

Why?

That question gnawed at him from the edge of his mind as unconsciousness dragging him back into a shallow, dreamless sleep.

Time passed. How long? Harumasa wasn't sure, but when his eyes opened again, his vision was clearer this time. The brightness still sucked, though it wasn't unbearable.

With a sigh, he threw his head back against the pillow, staring at nothing, yet thinking about everything. Master is dead. That thought was harder to swallow than his own near-death experience. The man he once saw as a family was gone. He had pulled the arrow free, aiming it with precision that only years of his training could provide. He never missed, not even when it was the face of the man who raised him.

No, in the end, he was just another monster to be put down.

Harumasa's lips pressed into a thin, bitter line. How pathetic. He should be dead too. He remembered the cold needle of the injection that he pressed against his neck without hesitation, knowing it would kill him. And yet... here he was.

The sound of a door opening snapped him out of his spiral. A blurry figure slipped in, hazy at first but becoming clearer with each second. You.

Harumasa's chest tightened again, but this time, it's not from the pain of his condition. It was the strange, unexpected comfort of seeing someone he didn't think he'd ever see again. He couldn't help the small, familiar smirk that curved onto his lips.

"Man," he muttered, his voice rough and strained from the effort. "Thought I'd finally get some peace and quiet. But nope, you just had to check in on me." His voice had that same playful, teasing lilt he always used, like none of this was that big of a deal.

"Careful, or I'll start thinking you care about me," he added with a soft chuckle that immediately dissolved into a cough. He winced, gripping his chest as the tremors finally eased.

Guess he was still feeling the effects.

Harumasa averted his gaze awkwardly, his smile fading into something more serious. The mask was slipping like it always did when he was too tired to hold it up. "To be honest... I didn't think I'd get to see you again." His voice was quieter now, softer than he'd meant it to be.