Chapter 1: A Room Filled With Loss
A rasped breath cut through the steady beeps of her heart monitor.
"…Rion…"
The voice was barely a whisper, yet it jolted him awake.
"Mom…?" He lifted his head from her hand.
"Rion…" Akari breathed again.
"Yes…" He sat up straighter, leaning closer. "I'm here, Mom."
Her eyes were hazy, lingering on him for a long, fragile moment, before drifting to take in the hospital room.
"Where…" she murmured.
"We're in the hospital," Rion said, giving her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "You passed out in the kitchen last night…"
A rasped breath.
Her eyes returned to him, earnest and soft. "Dinner…"
Rion's brows knitted.
Even now, you're thinking about your cooking...
"It's in the fridge," he said softly, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Akari breathed slowly and steadily, her gaze lingering on her son sitting beside her. Still in his sweater from last night. His hair was slightly tousled, eyes shadowed with bags from a restless night.
"Did you…" A quiet pause. "…sleep…?"
Rion's shoulders relaxed. "Yes. Right here. Right next to you."
A slow blink from her. "…Good."
Her eyes drifted to the window behind him, taking in the soft blue of the winter sky and flakes of snow clinging to the frame. She blinked again, then returned her gaze to Rion. "Work…?"
A small sigh from him. "They gave me a few days off, I'm free for the rest of the week."
A gentle huff escaped her, curving a soft smirk onto her lips. "Finally…" she murmured, leaning back into the bed, resting her head into the pillow.
Rion's gaze lingered on his mother. The view was unbearable, yet he couldn't look away. Clear tubes snaked across her face. An IV fed directly into her veins. Wireless monitoring pads clung to her skin from head to toe.
She was tethered to machines he couldn't even name.
A ventilator that adjusted the pressure of every breath she took.
A micro-rhythm stabilizer that tracked her heartbeat down to the millisecond.
An auto-infuser that monitored her blood chemistry and adjusted her dosage in real time.
A central hub quietly absorbing all that data, processing it faster than any human could hope to think.
All of them working in perfect, tireless synchrony.
All of them keeping her alive.
His chest tightened. His heart felt heavy. Yet, beneath that weight was something unwavering.
Trust.
He trusted these machines.
He trusted their precision, their persistence, their inability to falter.
Because in moments like these, when a life hung by a thread, perfection mattered more than hope.
He hated that thought.
But he couldn't deny it.
And still… even with all their cold, flawless brilliance, something in the room felt unbearably empty.
The door panel chimed, interrupting Rion's painful daydream.
A hiss followed as the door slid open, drawing their attention.
"Excuse me…" A soft, gentle voice.
A young woman stepped in, carrying herself with quiet grace, nestling a digi-pad in her arms. Her sweet caramel-brown hair brushed lightly against her shoulders, glinting in the light as she moved.
Akari's eyes widened at the sight of her, a spark of recognition glinting like an old, familiar memory.
Rion froze. His breath caught. Not only by her gentle beauty and grace. But also...
In an age dominated by impeccable machines—androids, automatons, and AI-driven precision—this sight felt almost unreal.
Among all the devices tirelessly keeping his mother alive…
A human?
In a time where one wrong decision could end a life…
They assigned a human.
Rion's eyes lingered on her for a moment, still taken aback by the sight.
Then their eyes met.
Rion and the woman froze. A strange, familiar sensation hung between them. A sensation that could only be described as déjà vu.
Have we met before?
The thought lingered in both their minds for a long moment. Until...
"M-Meguriya…kun?" the woman finally whispered.
Rion blinked, shaking himself out of the daze. "U-uh… yes…? How did you know my name…?"
"Huh?" The woman blinked, equally startled, coming back to reality. "Oh—uh… it's on my patient's profile… and… also on the name plate," she added, a hint of awkwardness in her voice.
"Huh—" Rion blinked. "A-ah… are you my mother's Caregiver?"
A gentle, polite smile. "Yes." The woman stepped closer to Akari's bed. "Allow me to introduce myself." She gave a graceful bow. "I am Ayase Risa. I will be your Caregiver starting today." Her smile was soft, sweeter than caramel.
Rion caught himself staring, unable to look away. Akari, meanwhile, hadn't lifted her gaze from Risa. A gentle sigh softened her eyes, and a faint smile curved her lips.
"Meguriya-san?" Risa tilted her head, her voice quiet and kind.
"Mom…?" Rion leaned closer.
Akari's eyes lingered on Risa for a heartbeat longer, then she shook her head slightly. "I'm okay…" she breathed, her voice fragile but steady.
"I'm glad you're awake, Meguriya-san." Risa's eyes softened, her smile gentle.
"Ayase-san," Rion said, voice careful, hesitant, as if testing the familiarity that lingered in his mind.
All eyes turned toward him.
Risa blinked, a faint quiver at the corner of her lips betraying a spark of recognition—or was it surprise?
Akari watched quietly, her gaze soft but curious, lingering between them with a quiet knowing.
Rion swallowed, a tight knot forming in his chest. His pulse quickened. "Have we… met before?"
For a moment, the air in the room felt heavier, as if time had slowed. Risa's eyes flickered downward briefly, then back to him, and a faint blush warmed her cheeks.
"…I… I don't think so, Meguriya-kun," she said softly, voice careful, though the hesitation in her words only deepened the strange sense of déjà vu between them.
Rion's shoulders slumped slightly. "A-ah… right…" He rubbed the back of his neck, gaze flickering away, though a quiet, restless confusion lingered in his eyes. "…I'm sorry, it's just…" His eyes returned to her, searching. "I feel like I know you from somewhere."
Risa felt a subtle ripple deep inside her, a strange familiarity that made her chest tighten. "…Me too…" she murmured, voice barely above a whisper.
Rion's eyes brightened, a spark of recognition—or hope—lighting them. He shifted slightly closer, though still keeping a careful distance, as if drawn by some invisible thread.
Risa leaned forward ever so slightly, hands resting lightly on the edge of Akari's bed. "I feel like we know each other… from somewhere before."
The soft hum of medical machines filled the pause between them, steady and rhythmic, almost like a heartbeat accompanying the fragile moment.
***
"Meguriya-san, what would you like for breakfast?" Risa asked, tilting her digi-pad toward Akari. A menu of options glowed softly on the screen. "We have a lot of varieties." Her smile was gentle, warm. "Also, I'll help you make a diet plan. We'll make sure you have balanced nutrition."
Akari leaned closer, her eyes following Risa's fingers as she scrolled through the menu, a small, curious smile on her lips.
Rion, meanwhile, couldn't look away. He sat back slightly, arms folded loosely, watching the interaction. There was something in the way Risa moved, patient and attentive, that tugged at a memory he couldn't place. And Akari… she seemed lighter, almost at ease, under Risa's care.
A quiet warmth filled him, a mixture of relief, curiosity, and a strange, unexplainable comfort.
"Ayase-san," Rion called softly.
"Yes, Meguriya-kun?" Risa replied, turning toward him with a gentle smile.
"Can I… leave Mom with you?" he asked, voice careful, carrying a hint of relief.
Risa's smile deepened, warm and reassuring. "Of course. I'll be right by her side."
"Thank you," Rion said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Mom, I'll pick up some clothes for you."
Akari nodded slowly, her eyes soft.
Rion gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before standing, a calm settling over him as he prepared to step out, trusting her care to Risa.
The door hissed closed behind him.
Rion strolled down the hospital hallway, eyes unfocused, lost in thought. Cleaner bots floated past, spraying disinfectant and wiping panels. Patients and caretakers moved about, their muted chatter blending into the sterile rhythm of the morning. Somehow, the hospital felt… less dead today.
Heads turned as he passed. Soft whispers followed him like a shadow.
"Hey, hey," a nurse silently nudged her co-worker. "Look at him!" she murmured.
Their eyes sparkled. "Huh? No way! That guy's really cute! And he's so tall!"
"Right?! I think he's totally my type!"
But none of it reached him. His mind lingered on his mother—her fragile breaths, the tubes and monitors, her illnesses, everything the doctor had said.
Kidney failure. Diabetes. Weak heart.
Everything that could've gone wrong... had gone wrong.
And Risa… he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd known her before. Something about the way she moved, the gentleness in her eyes, tugged at a memory he couldn't quite place.
He kept walking, steps steady, the hallway around him alive and bustling, while he wandered in the quiet maze of thoughts and emotions that seemed entirely his own.
Re:Born Procedure, huh?
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