[Kaori Aiba's (Naoki's Mother) POV]
The fading vibration surged in my hand once more.
The hospital's name displayed on the screen wouldn't vanish.
I knew I had to answer, but my finger froze over the call button.
"Mom."
Koharu grabbed my arm.
Steadied by her grip, I finally touched the screen.
"...Hello."
My own voice sounded terribly distant.
"Pardon the sudden call. This is—"
The caller named the same hospital shown on the display and stated that they were calling from the emergency department.
"Excuse me, but may I confirm your name?"
"...This is Aiba."
"Mrs. Aiba. This number was registered as 'Mother' in the emergency contacts of a patient brought to our hospital. To verify, could you please state the patient's full name?"
My breath caught in my throat.
I took a single, shallow breath.
"...Naoki Aiba."
"Naoki Aiba-san. And you are Naoki-san's mother, correct?"
"...Yes."
"Thank you. Naoki-san is currently receiving treatment at our hospital. His attending physician will explain the details of his condition once you arrive. Would you be able to come in?"
"...Understood. We'll head there immediately."
"When you arrive, please give Naoki-san's name at the emergency reception desk."
"...Yes."
I ended the call.
"Did they find Big Brother?"
Koharu was peering up into my face.
"He's been taken to the hospital."
"I-Is he... hurt?"
"I don't know yet. We'll find out the details once we get there."
"Big Brother's... going to be okay, right?"
"Let's believe... that he is."
Midway through, my voice trembled.
Nothing had been confirmed. Even so, right now, we needed words we could cling to.
"He's being treated at the hospital. Naoki isn't alone."
I squeezed Koharu's hand tightly.
"Let's go right away."
I said it not just to reassure Koharu.
I needed to cling to those words just as desperately.
He had been taken to the hospital.
They would explain his condition upon arrival.
From just those few words, every worst-case scenario rushed into my mind.
"Let's go."
Saying it once more, I pulled Koharu along.
Right now, we had to get to where Naoki was.
◇◇◇
Until we got back to the car, Koharu never let go of my hand.
I got her into the passenger seat, made sure her seatbelt was fastened, and hurried around to the driver's side.
My hand was shaking so badly around the key that I couldn't start the engine right away.
"Mom, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
I uttered the exact same words again.
This time, I didn't even know if I was reassuring Koharu or trying to convince myself.
Taking a deep breath, I gripped the steering wheel with both hands. I waited for the trembling to subside a little, then slowly pulled out.
I knew the route to the hospital. It was far from the fire, well outside the cordoned-off zones.
Even so, the drive felt excruciatingly long.
Every time we stopped at a red light, I could hear Koharu's shallow breathing beside me. Clutching her phone tightly with both hands, she stared at the dark screen.
"Big Brother replied even after the fire started, right?"
"Yes."
"He said, 'I'll be a little late.'"
"That's right."
"That wasn't... because he was still trapped inside the mall, was it?"
I wanted to deny it immediately.
But I didn't know where that message had been sent from either.
"He didn't text saying he'd be late because he couldn't get out, right?"
"...I don't know."
Koharu's fingers dug into the edges of her phone.
"Still, he's at the hospital now. We're on our way to him."
The traffic light ahead turned red, and I brought the car to a stop.
Reaching out with one hand, I touched Koharu's cold fingers.
"Let's just go see Naoki first."
Koharu bit her lip and gave a small nod.
Before long, the hospital building came into view.
As I turned toward the entrance, staff in white coats emerged from the front doors. It was a sight I saw every day at my own workplace, yet today, every single one of them looked like someone who already knew Naoki's fate.
I pulled into an open parking spot.
The moment I cut the engine, a heavy silence fell over the car.
"Let's go."
I called out to Koharu.
There was no answer.
Even so, she opened the door herself and ran with me toward the hospital entrance.
◇◇◇
When I gave our names at reception, word had already been passed along.
A staff member guided us toward the waiting area near the emergency department.
In the hallway, several families sat huddled together, likely relatives of those brought in from the fire.
Muffled weeping. A man speaking in frantic, hushed tones over the phone. Every time the doors to the trauma rooms swung open, heads snapped up in unison.
The smell of antiseptic—so familiar from my own work—clung stubbornly to the back of my throat.
Despite being enveloped in the exact same scent, today I wasn't the one administering care. I was just another family member, desperately waiting for someone to step out and explain what was happening beyond those doors.
Beside me, Koharu sat with her hands clamped between her knees. Though I noticed her trying to hide her trembling, I couldn't find the words to comfort her.
Eventually, Naoki's name echoed down the corridor.
When I tried to stand, my knees buckled, struggling to support my weight. Clasping hands with Koharu, I made my way to the consultation room where the doctor was waiting.
"My son..."
The words spilled out before I could even sit down.
"Is Naoki... is he going to be all right?"
The doctor answered in a calm, measured voice.
"His respiration and circulation are currently stable. He is not in immediate life-threatening danger."
The breath I had been holding leaked out in a faint gasp.
"However, he has not yet regained consciousness."
The air rushing back into my chest froze.
Koharu's fingers dug painfully into my hand.
The doctor proceeded to explain Naoki's condition.
Due to heavy smoke inhalation, his throat and airway were severely inflamed. He had also sustained extensive burns stretching from his right shoulder down his upper arm, with some areas suffering deep tissue damage. They would need to continue treatment while monitoring his condition very carefully.
"When... do you expect him to wake up?"
I knew it was too early for a definitive answer. Even so, I couldn't stop myself from asking.
"There is a chance he suffered temporary oxygen deprivation. At this stage, we cannot say for certain when he will regain consciousness."
"Is there a possibility... that he might never wake up?"
The doctor paused for a brief moment.
"We have no reason to conclude that he will not wake up. For now, we simply need to observe his progress."
He paused again, choosing his words carefully.
"Furthermore, airway swelling from smoke inhalation can worsen hours after the fact. We will be watching him very closely tonight for any sudden changes."
His respiration and circulation were stable.
He was not in immediate danger.
Even hearing those assurances, the tight knot in my chest refused to loosen.
They had told me the exact same thing when my husband was brought in—that all we could do was wait and observe.
They told me they would notify me of any change, asking me to just wait.
The same words didn't guarantee the same ending.
I knew that, yet the trauma etched deep into my bones refused to listen to reason.
"It will only be for a short while, but you may see him now."
At the doctor's words, Koharu's hand gripped my arm.
◇◇◇
Naoki lay in a white hospital bed.
Soot that hadn't been fully washed away still stained his face, and a clear nasal cannula delivered oxygen beneath his nose. His right shoulder and upper arm were wrapped in thick, heavy bandages.
Everything the doctor had explained took harsh, tangible form before our eyes.
The moment Koharu stepped into the room, she froze, squeezing my hand tightly.
She had already heard that he was unconscious and that his right shoulder was burned. But seeing Naoki lying there helplessly in that bed was an entirely different reality.
Only his left hand resting quietly on the white sheet looked like the Naoki we knew.
Koharu let go of my hand and took a hesitant step toward the bed.
"...Big Brother."
No answer.
Her lips trembled as she parted them to call out again.
"Big Brother."
Her face crumpled. Wiping away the tears spilling over her lashes, she reached out, touching his left hand with her fingertips before gently wrapping both hands around his to feel his warmth.
"I got the photo of the notebook. It was the light blue one, just like you thought."
Naoki's eyelids didn't even twitch.
"You don't have to text back anymore... so please, just wake up."
Standing a few steps back, I remained frozen.
He looked as though he were merely asleep, yet no matter how many times we called to him, his eyes stayed shut.
The steady, rhythmic beeps of the monitors, the bleached white sheets, the limp hand that offered no squeeze in return—it was all painfully identical to that day.
In the hospital room where my husband was taken, I had called his name until my voice was raw.
Open your eyes.
The children are waiting.
Let's go home together.
No matter how desperately I pleaded, he had never squeezed my hand back.
Pulling my gaze back to Naoki, I walked up to the bed.
Standing beside Koharu, I took his left hand. The warmth radiating against my palm broke the dam holding back my tears.
"Naoki. It's Mom. Koharu's here, too."
His eyelids remained still.
"Can you hear me? Please, open your eyes."
I couldn't stop my voice from shaking.
This wasn't the same as with my husband. I wanted so badly to believe that, yet I couldn't bring myself to say "this time will be different."
◇◇◇
Even after our brief visit ended, Koharu and I couldn't bring ourselves to leave the waiting room.
Every time a nurse walked past, we looked up, bracing for Naoki's name to be called. When it wasn't, relief washed over us, only to be replaced by the suffocating weight of endless waiting.
A little later, a nurse came by to explain what we would need for his stay.
A change of clothes, underwear, towels, and toiletries. Since he couldn't move his right arm, front-buttoning shirts would be best. She told us we didn't need everything right away, but having them by tomorrow would be a great help.
"I'll pack them," Koharu said, looking up. "I know where Big Brother keeps his clothes."
Hearing the resolve in her voice, I realized she needed something to do just to keep from breaking down.
"All right. Would you do that for me?"
"Yeah."
We decided to head home briefly to gather Naoki's clothes and personal belongings.
◇◇◇
When we stepped through the front door, the entryway light I had left on was illuminating the empty hallway.
The spot where Naoki always took off his shoes remained bare.
I knew it would be, yet seeing that void made my heart sink all over again.
Koharu slipped off her shoes, tucking them neatly to the side to avoid blocking his spot.
"I'll leave Big Brother's space open."
Unable to find the words to reply, I couldn't bring myself to switch off the entryway light.
Leaving a light on didn't mean he would magically return. I had learned that lesson all too well with my husband.
Even so, I couldn't bear the thought of shutting off the path back home.
Koharu went upstairs and returned with several front-buttoning shirts from Naoki's room. Picking out loose ones that would be easy to put on with one arm, she packed them into a duffel bag alongside fresh underwear and towels.
"With these, he won't have to move his right arm much, right?"
"Yes."
"He'll need his charger, too, right? His phone's at the hospital."
"Let's bring it along."
Koharu checked the contents over and over.
Clothes. Underwear. Towels. Toiletries. Charger.
One by one, she packed the things Naoki would need once he woke up.
Watching her, a tight ache seized my chest.
Koharu, too, was focusing entirely on the moment Naoki would open his eyes.
By the time we finished packing, midnight was fast approaching.
"Let's go," Koharu said, picking up the bag of clothes.
"I'll carry that."
"I've got it. It's not heavy."
Koharu hugged the bag tightly against her chest.
This time, I didn't tell her to wait at home.
After seeing Naoki in that state, there was no way I could leave her alone in an empty house.
Leaving the entryway light burning, we headed back into the night toward the hospital.
◇◇◇
Even after we returned, Koharu refused to leave the waiting area.
Eventually, the exhaustion caught up with her. As the night deepened, she slumped over in her chair, fast asleep.
I pulled the blanket back over her shoulders and gently wiped away the tear stains dried against her cheek.
Around that time, a police officer came looking for me.
It was to confirm Naoki's identity and have the family inspect the personal belongings recovered from the scene.
A scorched wallet and a scratched smartphone. The shopping bags had been left behind in the blaze, so not everything could be accounted for.
Looking at his phone made my heart ache.
I'll be a little late.
What had happened to Naoki after sending that brief text?
"Why... was my son injured so badly?" I asked the officer. "He replied to us once after the fire started. What happened after that?"
The officer glanced down at his notes.
"This is only what the fire department has shared with us so far, but..."
With that caveat, he began explaining the sequence of events leading up to Naoki's rescue.
Naoki had initially evacuated the mall on his own.
On-site security guards had confirmed seeing him outside among the other evacuees.
"Then why...?"
My voice trailed off.
Naoki had approached a nearby firefighter, asking for a way back into the building.
The firefighter had told him to return to the evacuation area, strictly warning him that it was far too dangerous to approach the building.
"They stopped him, right? They told him going back inside was dangerous, didn't they...?"
"That is what the fire department reported, yes."
Even so, Naoki had slipped back inside on his own the moment he found a blind spot.
Hearing that, the bandages I had seen in his room took on an entirely different meaning.
Naoki hadn't failed to escape.
He could have simply waited outside. He could have told me he was safe, called Koharu, and come home.
Yet he had chosen to walk back into the flames of his own free will.
"...Did he go back to save someone?"
It took several shaky breaths before I could force the words out.
"A high school girl was trapped inside. It appears he went back in to rescue her."
No name was given.
I didn't even know if Naoki knew her.
When the firefighters discovered them, Naoki was carrying the girl—who had injured her right leg—on his back, heading toward the northern employee stairwell where the rescue team was stationed.
The severe burns across his right shoulder and upper arm had been sustained after he re-entered the building.
Until the firefighters reached them, Naoki had kept moving forward with the girl on his back. The instant the firefighters took her from him, his legs gave out, and he collapsed, losing consciousness on the spot.
"That girl..." I asked almost on instinct. "Is the girl Naoki saved alive?"
"She was transported to a different hospital. She lost consciousness briefly, but she came to after being rescued. Though she suffered smoke inhalation and a leg injury, the fire department reported that her life was not in danger at the time of transport."
A warm wave of relief washed through me.
The girl Naoki had risked his life to carry was alive.
I was profoundly, deeply thankful for that.
My son hadn't abandoned a girl trapped in the smoke and flames. There was no way he hadn't been terrified. He must have understood the risk of never making it back. Even so, he had found her, hoisted her onto his back, and refused to let go until she was safe.
I felt so proud of him.
Yet the very next second, the image of Naoki lying motionless on that hospital bed flashed through my mind, and an agonizing pain tore through my chest.
He had already made it out.
Why did he go back?
The firefighters warned him, so why did he throw himself into danger?
The overwhelming relief that the girl had survived clashed violently with the raw anguish of wishing my son had never done it.
I couldn't choose between the two emotions.
"Thank you very much."
Managing to choke out the words, I bowed deeply to the officer.
As the mother of a boy who had saved a life, I couldn't smile with pride.
As a mother on the brink of losing her son, I couldn't bring myself to resent the girl he saved.
Both of them had simply fought to come back alive.
Only that singular, painful truth settled heavily in my chest.
◇◇◇
I returned to Naoki's room.
Pulling a chair up to the bedside, I took his left hand in mine.
"The girl you saved... she's going to be okay."
No response.
"She was taken to a different hospital, but they said she woke up after being rescued, even though she passed out for a bit."
Naoki's hand was warm.
Yet that warmth did nothing to put my mind at ease.
My husband's hand had been warm when he was brought to the hospital, too. Thinking he might hear me if I called his name, I had held it over and over again.
He never woke up.
The casual "I'm heading out" he said at the door became the last words I ever heard him speak.
Only later did I learn that he, too, had fought desperately to make it home to us.
Yet he never did.
That lingering trauma cast a suffocating shadow over my heart, even as I tried to believe in Naoki, who was still breathing right in front of me.
"Naoki."
I rested my forehead against his hand.
"You must have been so scared. Your shoulder must have hurt so much."
Imagining my boy pressing forward through the blinding smoke with that girl on his back, the tears wouldn't stop.
"You did so well."
I was finally able to say it aloud.
"Mom is so proud of you."
I meant every word.
Yet looking down at him lying unconscious, I couldn't leave it at that.
"But Naoki... if you don't come home either, what am I supposed to do?"
The rhythmic beeping of the monitor droned on.
"I don't want to lose someone I love while holding their hand ever again."
This wasn't the same as with my husband.
Naoki was Naoki.
No matter how many times I repeated that to myself, my body refused to believe it.
Every time his breathing hitched, I snapped my head up, desperate to confirm that his chest was still rising and falling.
Memories of this morning flashed in my mind.
His side profile as he ate a slightly burnt fried egg.
The way he typed my grocery list into his phone.
A completely ordinary Saturday morning, double-checking the color of a notebook with Koharu.
"I don't care about the detergent or the batteries. You can buy that notebook whenever you want."
I tried to smile, but my voice broke.
"So just come home... and say 'I'm back.'"
His fingers remained limp in my grip.
Even so, I refused to let go.
I had held my husband's hand until the very end, too.
Even if all I could do was wait, I refused to be the one to give up first.
It was no different now.
Naoki was still on his way home.
So I would call his name as many times as it took, keeping the beacon lit so he knew where home was.
"I'll be waiting," I whispered. "Koharu is waiting right outside, too. She picked out your clothes herself and brought them all the way here."
Outside the window, the night was at its darkest.
"I left the light on in the entryway at home, too."
I wrapped both hands around his fingers, squeezing tight.
"I'll keep calling your name. So make sure you find your way back."
◇◇◇
The darkness outside gradually thinned, and the first pale light of morning began filtering through the hospital corridor.
When I returned to the waiting area, Koharu was awake. She had barely slept; her eyes were red and swollen, and her movements were sluggish as she pushed herself up.
"Let's go home for a bit."
"No. I want to stay here."
"You've barely eaten anything since yesterday. Let's go home, get changed, rest a little, and then come right back."
"But what if Big Brother wakes up...?"
"I'll call you immediately."
"Promise?"
"I promise. If he opens his eyes, you'll be the very first person I tell."
Koharu stared down the hallway toward his room, lingering in place.
"Can I come back... by noon?"
"Of course."
By the time we stepped outside, the dazzling summer sun was already bathing the streets in light.
We stopped at a convenience store on the way home, picking up two salmon rice balls and some barley tea.
When we arrived, the entryway light we had left on last night was still burning beneath the morning sun.
I had Koharu sit at the dining table and laid out the food.
"You don't have to finish it all, but please try to eat a little."
"...Okay."
Koharu stared at the rice ball for a long while before unwrapping it and eating about half. Sitting across from her, I forced myself to swallow down my own portion.
As I put my shoes on in the entryway, I turned back to Koharu.
"Lie down for a while, okay?"
"...Okay."
"Keep your phone right beside you."
"I will."
Just as I reached for the door handle, Koharu called out to me.
"Mom."
"Yes?"
"Until I get back... please take care of Big Brother."
"I will."
This time, I nodded without a shred of hesitation.
By the time I made it back to the hospital, it was not yet ten in the morning.
◇◇◇
There was no major change in Naoki's condition.
Sitting in the bedside chair, I took his left hand.
Every time a nurse entered to check his vitals, I watched his face intently, determined not to miss the slightest flicker of movement.
Hours passed, but his eyelids stayed shut.
Even so, his steady breathing continued.
The warmth in his left hand hadn't faded either.
Shortly after eleven o'clock, the strain finally caught up to me, and my consciousness slipped away for a brief moment.
I hadn't intended to fall asleep.
Holding his hand, I had simply rested my forehead against the edge of the mattress.
A dry, raspy cough broke the silence.
My body reacted before my mind did.
Jerking my head up, I saw Naoki's eyes open against the white pillow.
"Naoki?"
My chair scraped loudly across the floor as I shot up.
It was the moment I had prayed for, yet seeing his eyes open felt entirely surreal.
"Naoki, can you hear me? Do you know who I am?"
Naoki looked at me.
It took a second for his eyes to focus, and then, he gave a tiny nod.
That was all.
Just that small gesture shattered the dam of grief that had held back my emotions ever since the night my husband died.
"Thank God..."
I cupped his left hand between both of mine.
"Thank God... thank God..."
Tears blurred my vision, but I couldn't wipe them away, terrified of letting go of his hand for even a second.
"I'm... sorry..."
A hoarse, fragile whisper escaped his damaged throat.
"Don't try to talk. Your throat is hurt, so you mustn't force yourself."
Naoki had made it back.
He wasn't standing in our entryway yet. His injuries were far from healed, and he could barely speak a word.
Even so, he had looked at me with his own eyes and answered my voice.
He had made his way back to where our voices could reach him.
As I reached for the nurse call button, my first thought went to Koharu.
Your brother is awake.
He came back to us.
◇◇◇
My phone buzzed against the dining table, snapping me out of the distant memory of that hospital room.
Realizing the sink was still running, I hurriedly shut off the faucet. The stacked breakfast dishes hadn't even been washed yet.
A message from Asahi-san lit up the screen.
We'll visit tomorrow as planned. Hina is really looking forward to seeing Naoki-kun too.
She was confirming the plans we had discussed last night.
We'll be waiting for you. Naoki is feeling completely fine now, too.
After sending the reply, I set the phone back on the table.
The clock on the wall was about to strike ten.
By now, Naoki was probably arriving in front of the station.
When he first woke up in that hospital room, the very first thing he asked about—before even worrying about his own injuries—was the safety of the girl he had pulled from the smoke.
Unable to decipher the raspy words he struggled to voice, I had asked him in return:
A girl?
Yeah... Mikage.
That was the first time I had ever heard the name "Mikage" cross Naoki's lips.
Her name was Serina Mikage.
The girl Naoki had hoisted onto his back and carried to safety was heading toward the station right now to meet him.
To fulfill the promise they made amid the raging fire, in a place free from smoke and ash.
It had been less than an hour since Naoki left the house.
Yet thinking back from that morning to the moment he finally opened his eyes in the hospital, today felt like a precious destination reached after an impossibly long journey.
On that day, Serina-san could barely see his face through the thick smoke and didn't even know his name. Naoki had collapsed without ever telling her who he was.
Yet today, both of them were walking toward the exact same spot of their own free will.
Naoki, to see Serina-san.
Serina-san, to see Naoki.
I began washing the breakfast dishes one by one.
The gentle sound of running water echoed softly through the sunlit kitchen.
When he gets back, I'll make sure to ask what kind of crepe he chose. I'm sure Koharu won't be able to hold back her curiosity either.
Naoki will probably look away in embarrassment, yet with a smile he won't be able to hide, he'll tell us what little he can.
Today, I can look forward to that evening without a trace of fear.
The long hand of the wall clock snapped straight up.
10:00 AM.
The exact meeting time they had promised.
Bathed in the warm summer sunlight spilling through the window, I silently sent off the words to my son that I had been too embarrassed to say this morning:
"Have a wonderful time, Naoki."