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[ Kido is in luck(?), because Terry is still in the hospital as expected. He no longer has an IV stuck in his arm, color mostly regained in his face, and he's even sitting near the window to enjoy the outside scenery, even if it isn't much--but compared to the hospital room, it's a lot better. There are some changes to the room since Kido last came in. There's a small vase with flowers on top of the drawers and the cats seem to like Terry again--there's even a kitten sleeping on top of his head. Terry doesn't seem to mind and there's a giant notepad on his lap and Kido is free to notice that it's the same kind of lined paper as the paper airplanes. There are crumpled up papers in the trash bin, as well as around him. He didn't feel like getting up then. Either way, Terry is looking a lot better back to normal, even if it isn't his 100% health, it's well above 75% at least. The hole had closed up, he's no longer bleeding... Looking good.

On the notepad are some notes with arrows drawn, kinda like those relationship charts. ]

It's kinda like a drama... Hm...

[ One of the kittens perk their head up and stares at the door, which also leads to Terry following its gaze. Is someone there?? Probably a nurse. ]

[ Nope, not a nurse. Kido's sort of the opposite of a nurse, seeing as she's part of the reason why Terry's always here, but she raps her knuckle on the door frame despite already being spotted by the kitten, and opens the door more fully. ]

You're still here.

[ She tries to keep her voice level, something in between "Oh good, you're still here," and "It's been so long, why tf are you still here," dropping her bag off at the foot of the bed before picking up the trash bin so she can throw those wads of paper inside, it's literally right there, Terry, come on. ]

I said I'd be back, so... How are you feeling?

I'm feeling great. I'm not on painkillers anymore either.

[ Terry is glad that Kido came after he got better from his cold because that was the first time in his life that he experienced one... it's kinda sad that he suffered near death experiences before getting a cold in his 20 years of existence, but. Eh. ]

The doctor said that I can leave tomorrow.

[ You don't get morphine for colds, and it's honestly suffering having a stuffy nose and not being able to breathe at night, so maybe it's better to almost die 230985793 times rather than catching a cold. It's surprising, though, how quickly he'd gotten over whatever had happened, when there was doubt just a week ago whether or not he'd be able to even leave the bed by this time. Maybe Rei healed him with her Persona some time, because it would be really sad if we all collectively went an entire month forgetting about healing spells. ]

Really? That's great news. You can finally get out of bed, and the cats can stretch their legs too.

[ The secret isn't all that hard, since he's close to Rei, he definitely asked her to heal him during the lockdown phase--it sped up the process, but it didn't heal him completely. That's all he could ask for at the moment, really. He smiles at Kido and nods. ]

Yeah. I'm really glad... You didn't have to pick up the trash, but thanks. I was gonna do it on the way back to bed. How are you doing though?

Fine.

[ It's an offhand answer as she continues to pick up the papers anyways, because she doesn't need Terry bending open and tearing open his stomach wound or whatever's wrong with him. But in doing so, she catches the words again and smooths out the sheet.

...She re-crumbles the page into a ball and throws it into the trash before going over to her bag on the bed and pulling out that paper airplane from before, straightening out the wings before tossing it towards Terry's face. ]

Is this yours?

[ If I had that poke his eye, I'm sure Kido would already start crying on the second day of August so maybe next time... The paper airplane hits Terry's forehead and he looks down at it. ]

... Oh. Yeah.

[ He didn't think it would be found by someone he knew?! ]

Why...?

[ Number of days since crying: 0

Kido folds her arms across her chest, staring at Terry for a moment like she wants him to please think about why anybody would be questioning paper airplanes spiralling down from the sky. ]

Because I found it outside, that's why. You have a wastebasket right there, so don't go throwing things out the window. You better not have written anything weird on it either, in case somebody else picks it up.

Don't you think it would be cool if it started an augmented reality game? A mysterious paper airplane falls from the sky and it starts a strange chain of events--

[ He laughs a little. ]

I didn't think it would be found by you, and have it brought back to me so fast.

No.

[ This whole situation still feels like some augmented reality game— and game is used very liberally here- but it's been an entire month and Kido's hopes that something will just happen or somebody will just show up and tell them what to do is getting lower by the day. ]

If you're throwing it around the hospital, the people who are most likely to see it are visitors coming in and out, aren't they?

[ She takes the paper again, glancing over at the words that make zero sense to her. She can probably read the yesses and nos, any numbers, very little else. ]

Is that what this is for? Instructions to a game?

Well, no. I was kidding about the game part. I wouldn't be able to make one anyway. But...

[ How should he put this.

Hmmm.

Hmmmmmmmm...

... ]

It's... a love letter.

[ lmao ]

[ Her mind screeches to a halt, because that's one of the last things she would have expected. It takes a while to snap out of it, and that's the only reason she doesn't whack Terry upside the head. She does yell at him, though. ]

That's not something you throw out the window! Stupid!!

[ Honestly, he thought Kido would have just stared at him dead in the eyes and scold him to tell a better lie, so this reaction was... unexpected. Terry looks at her, looking a little surprised.

The kitten on his head finally wakes from the slumber. It's the judging youngest cat, who stares at Kido for a few moments, but then hops down, making good use of Terry's shoulder, lap and floor and toddles off to the bed. ]

Relax, Kido! I was kidding... [ Maybe. ] I don't write love letters.

[ Cat, no... Kido feels like she has plenty of reasons to be upset about that, setting her face into a scowl and glaring at Terry, feeling like she's justified in this too, because who doesn't hate lies or being made fun of? ]

What a stupid thing to joke about... If that's not what it is, then read it out loud to me.

[ Yeah, he really deserves that glare. Terry knows it too, that's why his expression turns into an awkward, nervous half smile instead. He thought he was going to get punched! But is thankful that he isn't for now. ]

Fine, fine.

[ Terry unfolds the paper airplane and straightens it out. ]

"It's been a month since I saw you, but my answer will still be a no. If you think I'd just agree quickly because of your position, you had another thing coming. Though maybe it was better that you knocked me out because I'm now in a place where none of you can reach me. That's too bad."

[ Kido would just have to take his word for it for the legitimacy of the contents, but Terry did read it word for word. He folds the paper into halves twice and tears it in half. It really does feel like a message in a bottle kind of thing in the form of a former paper airplane. He's also blatantly ignoring the existence of the second paper airplane for reasons, so he won't ask for that... ]

[ The frown on Kido's face grows as she listens, but rather than angry, it's uncertain, a little bit embarrassed, because it's very clearly meant to be a letter to somebody specific and she's not the person who should hear it. ]

...It's better to reject somebody in person than in a letter, [ she mumbles, going over to the bed so she can sit on it. ]

Back when we first met, you said you got hit hard enough to be knocked out. Is this to the friend you were arguing with?

It's to that person, yeah, but she's not my friend. She's not here, and really... I just wrote that in the moment.

[ When he thinks about how similar it is to his original's habit of keeping audio diaries, it makes him want to frown in disgust, but he keeps the same face as always. That's why he didn't hesitate to tear the paper in half. Into the trash bin you go. ]

She's my original's girlfriend.

[ She really doesn't want to know, and it sounds like a mess to be caught up in. Definitely not something she should pry into. She should just leave it. ]

But she's somebody important, for you to have written all this to her?

[ She gestures a bit to all the other papers scattered about the room, as well as who knows how many airplanes that have flown outside. All she can make out from this one letter is that this girl asked Terry something, he said no, and she punched him in the face. It's pretty scary how easily she can see herself in this girl's shoes. ]

Huh? I only wrote one about her. The others are...

[ ... ]

You'll have to figure that out yourself!

[ No she doesn't. She takes the second airplane out of the bag and holds it up to him. ]

Read.

Wha--

[ Oh god she really had the second airplane. Terry slightly turns red at the face--he can tell it's the dreaded one because he folded the wings a little differently than the others. ]

No! Get someone else to do it!

What, is it something embarrassing? If it is, it's better if you read it out loud, not somebody else, isn't it?

[ She pulls her hand back at little- not to spare Terry from having to read it, but so she can make sure he doesn't just grab it out of her hands and tear it up like the last one. ]

If it's embarrassing, why would I want to read it out loud?!

[ Kido??? ]

Oh my god, this is payback, isn't it? I'm still not gonna read it!

Because then it stays between us, instead of being shared among others, right? It can't be that embarrassing, if you threw it out the window for anybody to see.

[ It's payback and she keeps the piece of paper held up in front of her chest so he can't ignore it if he keeps looking at her. ]

I threw it out the window without my name on it, wrote in English, IN A JAPANESE TOWN, in hopes that no one would pay attention to it and throw it in the garbage!

[ AAAAAAAAAAaaaa

This is why he can't bully anyone. He just gets hit back tenfold. And it hurts. ]

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