AN: When it comes to mentioning characters, my words will call them by their real names. While people like Subaru would call Naoko his mother I would refer to her as Naoko. So when Subaru thinks of his mother he would say "mom." Same goes with Kenichi. Subaru says, "dad" while I say, "Kenichi." Just wanted to clear that up.

Also, in response to a guest, when Rem started to stop talking in 3rd person I did that on purpose to show the seriousness in her. I imagine when she speaks in 3rd person it's how she is. But in a situation where Rem was very serious that cuteness disappears. I added it in too in chapter 5 before Rem knocked out Subaru. But she slowly started to talk back in third person as she slowly starts to fall in love Subaru again.

Big thanks to JDUBZ for being my advisor/editor and... Beta Reader? Is that a thing? Ah, yeah it's a thing. Checked Wikipedia so it must be real.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7: Hospital Visit

Subaru was slow to regain consciousness. He began by opening his eyes half way. His arms were numb, his neck hurt, his back was aching. Subaru wasn't sure where he was when he fully opened his eyes.

Bolting upright Subaru checked his surroundings. A TV was above in front of his bed, planted where the wall and ceiling met. The television was currently on a game show, but Subaru could care less whether the man got the grand prize or not. Below the TV was a chart that said his full name. It included a doctor's name who apparently was the one taking care of him.

To his left there was a small door that had a sign that read: Restroom. A window was to the right of the restroom, showering him and his room in light. To his left there were curtains but before the curtains was a table with a large bouquet of flowers and various gifts covering the table.

Subaru reached for a card but saw a needle stuck in his arm. An IV.

A heart monitor was displaying his heart beat. beep beep beep. On and on and on, the beeping seemed unending.

How did he end up here? Subaru racked his mind. He was at his house with Rem, knocked, closed his eyes and when he opened them he was in his old world. Why? Why was he back? He thought he had 4 more years! Thought, that was the key word. He thought he had 4 more years when in reality it was months.

Rem. He needed to get back to her one way or another. Subaru took off the clip on his finger monitoring his heart, grabbed the IV connected to him, and got out of bed. The heart monitor was making one single long beep now that it no longer sensed a pulse. He was clumsy at first, unaware of just how much time had passed since his mental breakdown.

Subaru walked through the curtains toward where he assumed the exit would be. On the other side of the curtains was a middle aged man. His whole right arm was in a cast. The man saw Subaru walk toward the exit and tried to get his attention.

"Hey. Hey, kid! Hey, where you going? You can't leave!" Subaru was already out the door by the time the man called for a nurse.

Nurses and doctors rushed to the room when an emergency alert informed them that Subaru's heart monitor showed no pulse. A doctor who was holding defibrillators asked the man the whereabouts of Subaru.

Within minutes Subaru was apprehended. Surprisingly, he had almost made it to the guest waiting room. Doctors surrounded him telling him to go back to his room. But Subaru need to go back, back to Rem, back to that medieval world of wonder he wanted to live in. Subaru didn't care that the witch ruled him in that world, he didn't care that every forest was dangerous, he didn't care that the only person he loved in there probably hates him now. He just wanted Rem.

"No." Subaru refused to go with the doctors, he wanted out.

"Sir, please if you come with us we can-," the doctor made a move by grabbing gently onto Subaru's arm.

Subaru yanked his arm from the doctor yelling, "NO! I'M LEAVING!"

"I'm sorry sir, but we need to help you recover." The doctor signaled for the others to help him because he could sense that Subaru was a fighter.

The other doctors grabbed hold of Subaru. Two grabbed his arms and pinned him to the wall. It was excessive, but necessary. If Subaru got out who knows what might happen.

Another doctor approached the incapacitated Subaru with a needle. Sticking it in his neck the doctor released the liquid into his bloodstream. Breaking free of the doctors, Subaru stumbled towards the exit. His IV had been ripped from his arm, a long stream of blood was rushing down his arm creating a trail leading to where he was going. His vision was getting blurry and dark. The last thing Subaru saw was his hand raised towards the exit as the doctors caught him before he fell to the ground. Subaru whispered one word before succumbing to the darkness, "Rem…"

Once again Subaru woke in the same bed, in the same room, but this time there were voices.

"He tried to escape?" A woman's voice.

"Yes ma'am. He managed to get down a few halls, but we got him back in a jiffy." A man's voice. Most likely the doctor's.

"Will he be alright? He didn't get hurt did he?"

"There was a little scramble that resulted in the removal of the IV needle, but nothing serious I assure you."

"Thank goodness. Thank you, doctor!"

"My pleasure ma'am. I must attend to other patients now goodbye for now."

"Goodbye, doctor. Thank you again."

Natsuki Naoko watched the doctor go. When he left, Naoko went to the window and looked at the parking lot, wondering when her husband would get here.

"Mom?" Naoko's eyes widened as she heard the voice of her son call out to her. She hadn't heard that voice in over a year. Turning around Naoko saw her son awake, looking at her with a loving expression. His eyes matched hers; fiery and stern. Naoko's eyes always looked menacing it was what she was born with. Subaru inherited those eyes and treated them like a blessing and a curse. Naoko was a short woman standing at just 5'2'' with brown hair tied into a ponytail.

"Subaru!" Naoko lunged at her son, embracing him in her arm. Her tears seeped into Subaru's hospital gown creating a wet spot on his right shoulder.

No matter how much his mother cried Subaru did not shed a single tear. He was happy there was no doubt about that. After being kidnapped to a fantasy world one would start to wish to have had the chance to say goodbye to the ones they left. But Subaru didn't want to come back. At first, he did.

During his first few weeks in Lugnica Subaru would silently cry into his pillow. He hated death, the feeling of dying wasn't something Subaru wanted to experience multiple times a month. Then Rem came and everything fell into place, his future was set and he couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life in Kararagi.

As his mother cried, face buried into his shoulder, Subaru only looked at the TV. Round and round the wheel spun until slowly it started to come to a stop. ...click….click…...click. The wheel stopped. The man on the TV had just won the jackpot.

At least he's happy. Subaru thought.

.

.

.

.

Subaru agreed with his mother to talk about where he's been when his dad got there. His mother, leaving him to his thoughts and the sounds of the game show. Subaru's mom told him that Michael was the one who found him outside the convenience store and called the police when Subaru just collapsed.

Subaru learned that he had suffered a major heart attack, but luckily paramedics arrived on time to save him. The heart attack put him into a coma for a good 5 days. The doctor said he was lucky to wake up at all, but advised to not sleep for the rest of the day just to be safe. If Michael hadn't seen Subaru out in the night Subaru may have died out there.

Michael was a friend of Subaru, they stayed friends since middle school up until Subaru disappeared leaving Michael feeling like he was missing his second half. Needless to say, Michael didn't have many friends but the ones he did have were caring and supportive. Subaru was among them but was at the top. Michael noticed that Subaru never believed in his abilities, but when it came to others Subaru was on top of that making sure that person didn't fall behind. Michael was the only one to notice that Subaru was suffering in silence.

Subaru picked up the cards left for him on the table and read them. The first one had a duck with a thermometer sticking out of its mouth. The duck looked sick and in bold letters were the words: Get Well Soon!. The inside of the card read:

Dear Subaru,

I didn't think you were ever gonna come back bro! At first I thought you were one of the lucky ones that escaped school. But I guess not. Anyway, get well soon bro. Stay frosty!

From,

Cristian.

PS: You still owe me 15 bucks, dumbass. Haha see ya at school.

"Crap." Subaru had forgotten he still had to go to school. Throwing his body back, Subaru looked up at the ceiling wondering what he was gonna do. He needed to find a way back to Kararagi, but he also had to attend school? He wasn't worried about his studies, but rather about having more time to find a way back to Rem.

"You know, you talk a lot in in your sleep." The man in the bed next to Subaru's spoke. Subaru didn't notice it before, but the man also had a neck brace on. Subaru wasn't in the mood to talk so he stayed silent, hoping the man would get the hint. He didn't.

"Ok, you're one of them silent types I get it. But the things you say in your sleep are bizarre. If you don't mind me askin-."

"I do mind….so please just.." Subaru trailed off into silence. The man sensed his bitterness and went back to watching the game show.

Subaru didn't want to talk about the world he was in. It was too personal for him to talk about to a random stranger. Subaru would wait until his parents came and then he would tell them everything. However, he needed proof that he was in a faraway land. Looking around Subaru found the pants he was wearing when he was transported back here.

In the various pockets Subaru found his metia which was useless since there was no one to contact on it in this world, a pouch of coins that was the currency of Kararagi, and a picture of Rem with her name on the back in the language of the world before.

The photo of Rem was taken on her last birthday, February 2. The photo was of Rem showing that radiant smile that Subaru loved to see whenever she got excited or really happy. The cake placed in front of her was one Subaru attempted to make by hand all on his own. Long story short, the cake burnt and Subaru had to rush to the market and buy a premade one. The cake was topped with 2 numbered candles; one was a 1 and the other was an 8. 18.

Subaru pocketed the photo, deciding to keeping it to himself. It was just too personal.

2 hours later Subaru's mother and father came into the room. Naoko came in first followed by Kenichi, his father.

Kenichi was almost an exact copy of Subaru except Kenichi lacked his menacing eyes. His were gentle, any woman caught in his gaze would instantly be wooed by his handsome looks and charms. His messy black hair was tossed around as per usual. His looks were stunning, his personality was ideal, and his build was muscular his smile was one that gave someone the idea that he was up to something mischievous.

Subaru didn't realize how excited his dad was until his dad was right next to him.

"My boy." Even Subaru's father cried despite being a man who had his emotions under control. "You're back, I can't believe my baby boy is back."

Subaru was always closer to his father even though he used to despise him for being the example everyone expected him to become. Subaru hugged his father back and could feel tears welling in his eyes.

"We have so much to talk about, Subaru." Kenichi finally let go of his pride and joy to let him breathe. Subaru sat up and threw his legs over the right side of the bed where his father was.

Subaru made a silent vowed to himself to treat his father with the love he always deserved from a son. His father wasn't a bad guy, Subaru was just the bad son. But that changes now. Until Subaru figures out a way to find Rem he would treat his father with respect.

Subaru scooted closer to his father, who was on his right side. Looking over his shoulder, Subaru looked at his mom and patted the bedding on his left indicating he wanted his mother to sit there.

Naoko happily sat down next to her son who was smiling at her. Naoko was the first to break the silence, "Subaru dear, are you ready to talk about it?"

Subaru looked at his loving parents. His mom's eyes weren't harsh, but soft and vibrant with feeling. Her hands were clasping onto Subaru's left hand. Subaru could feel the warmth of her palms. He never was this emotionally close to his mother before; he liked it.

Looking to his father, Kenichi gave his son a smile that was full of mischief. Subaru smiled back, knowing full well that his father cared about him. All his sour thoughts about his dad were something Subaru now thinks of as his ugly self. It was a part of him he hoped would never see the light of day again.

Subaru took a deep breath and exhaled. Finally ready, Subaru nodded his head, "Yes."

All at once questions upon questions were bombarded into his skull;

"Where were you?!"

"Why didn't you answer your phone?!"

"Were you hurt?!"

"Who were you with?!"

"Did you take drugs?!"

"How could you take drugs?!"

These questions and more infiltrated his eardrums and overflowed his brain with too many questions that he couldn't answer them all at once.

"Woah woah woah! Settle down guys!" Subaru put one hand onto each of his parent's mouths' to silence them. Good ol' Natsuki Subaru.

Subaru removed his hands from his parents and crossed his arms, "One at a time please." Naoko was the first to ask.

"Where were you for a whole year, sweetie?"

Subaru wasn't entirely sure how to answer that when he had such a bizarre answer. Subaru just decided to tell them the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth.

"I was transported to a another world where humans and demihumans lived in harmony. In that world people used mana to use special abilities they had. It did take a while, but I slowly got used to the new world." Subaru let a small smile show on his lips, " I did make friends there...but they're gone now." Subaru's smile instantly fell.

Stunned silence. Then Kenichi broke the silence, "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Subaru looked at his father stunned, not that he expected him to believe his story he just didn't expect him to laugh. Maybe a real long 'Um' but not a laugh.

"Oh, Subaru. You always were a creative one."

Subaru could care less if his parents didn't believe him, but he felt he at least had to try.

"Look at these!" Subaru pulled out his pouch of Kararagian coins. "All this is currency in Kararagi. Money. Look at them, they're engraved and everything."

Kenichi and Naoko each took a coin and inspected it. Kenichi noticed how detailed the coins were. Each coin had a realistic engraving of someone onto them. All of them were the same size and perfect as if manufactured professionally.

Kenichi passed the coin back to Subaru, "All right you have my attention as of now. What else you got?"

Subaru put away the pouch and walked up to the whiteboard in front of his bed. He erased the information on it and grabbed the marker.

"This is I-script." Subaru wrote a few words down.

"This is Ha-script." Subaru again wrote down a few words.

"And this is Ro-script." Subaru did the same routine.

Kenichi went up to inspect the writing, "Seems like a bunch of scribbles to me."

That was it. Subaru gave it all he was willing to give. Now he gave up and let his parents live in ignorance.

"I give up, dad. I apparently can't tell you about where I was if you don't believe me." Subaru sat back down on the bed, getting fed up with his parents already.

For one more hour Subaru's parents asked him questions, all of which Subaru answered truthfully which his parents weren't happy about for they all had something to do with his fantasy world. After that they decided to go home.

"When you're ready to tell us the truth son, we'll be all ears. Until then keep the Karaoke stuff to yourself." Kenichi opens the exit and let Naoko out first.

"It's KARARAGI!" Subaru raised his voice so his father would hear him as he left.

Before the door closed to a shut, Subaru heard his dad say, "Love you, son!"

Subaru was left to his thoughts once more. Now that his parents were gone Subaru pulled out the metia. Subaru opened the gallery and found the photos Rem and him had taken together. Each one told there own story.

One such picture showed a terrified Rem running from a flock of geese who were trying to get to the bread in her hands.

Rem hugging a puppy they found that was lost, a smile on her face. They later found its owner. After that, Rem was sad.

Rem asleep, clutching Subaru's arm and using it as a pillow after she nodded off watching the stars.

Rem.

Rem.

Rem.

Every photo was of Rem. When taking the pictures Subaru thought that if he were to take a picture, Rem would be the only thing worth snapping a photo of. Subaru looked at his latest picture of Rem's sleeping face. Getting teary eyed Subaru touched Rem's face.

"I'll find you, Rem. That's a promise."

"Hey what's that?"

Subaru snapped the metia shut. The man next to him noticed Subaru staring at a flip phone looking device with a smile.

"It's nothing. It doesn't work." Subaru put the metia to the side.

Bzzz bzzz bzzz bzzz bzzz

"Well, I think it's working now." The man was right. The metia was receiving a call.

The metia buzzed and buzzed. Subaru was watching the metia light up and shake. He slowly picked up the device, opened it up to show its internal screen. No caller ID, figured. Maybe someone from Kararagi had somehow made contact with him? Oki? Rem? Anyone?

Subaru's hand was shaking as he put the metia to his ear.

"Hello?"

AN: OK, for this chapter I wasn't too into it. I just did it because it was inevitable that Subaru would be confronted by his parents about of his disappearance. So don't think that this is where the story starts to decline in plot, I have more things planned. Just you wait and see. See y'all in the next chapter! :P