Sokudo: Villains Always Win (ᴠᴏʟᴜᴍᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ)

Chapter twelve | how are you feeling

When morning broke out, Chieko pulled the covers over her face to block out the sunlight and turned over. She didn't feel like getting up, despite having slept for over eight hours she felt like she had barely slept at all. She didn't want to leave the bed, it was comfortable, and safe. But she had school, and she already missed one whole day.

When she heard footsteps closing in, she fully expected to get ready for an exhausting, horrible school day she didn't want to go through, though had no choice but to. She let out a deep sigh when she heard her mother enter the room, but didn't shift from underneath her covers.

She heard the footsteps stop, and she knew her mother stood beside her bed. "Fujiko?" She had nothing to say, she moved under her covers and flipped around to face her, still hidden. She felt a sudden weight on her bed, her mother had sat down and looked at her with sad eyes and a frown on her lips.

"I... know how you must be feeling, horrible, afraid, and I know telling you everything will be alright won't make a difference. So, just take your time and relax, sleep in for the day, do whatever you want. You can stay home for today, okay?" She placed her hand on Chieko's shoulder, not expecting a response.

Chieko pushed her head above the covers, and pulled herself up. She looked at her mother with an uncommon expression, puppy dog eyes filled with sadness, and pulling at her mouth. School was compulsory, she had already missed one day and surely had a stack of work to complete already, and she didn't want to double that by missing out on another day. But her chest felt heavy, her heart dragged down, and she didn't have any energy in her entire body. She felt absolutely horrible.

So she didn't bother to argue, complaining about how much work she'll have, because at that moment it doesn't matter. She doesn't care, maybe she will tomorrow and make a big deal out of it, but today, it just didn't bother her. So she simply nodded her head and slipped back under the covers, where she felt safe and comfortable.

"I'll just be here whenever you need me," her mother said softly, leaning over and planting a kiss on Chieko's forehead. Who only responded in another small nod, and made herself comfortable, closing her eyes. Her mother's frown lifted up and formed a smile, and she stood up. "Sleep tight, Fuji," brushing a strand of hair out of her face, her mother then turned around and quietly exited the room, making sure not to make a noise when she closed the door behind her, glancing back and smiling at her daughter.

For the first couple of minutes, Chieko couldn't sleep. With her eyes closed and a peaceful look on her face, she sure appeared to be asleep, but she was wide awake. Tangled in her thoughts, she desperately tried to clear her head and fall asleep, she had been given extra time to do so and she wasn't going to let that go to waste.

Trapped in her thoughts, she couldn't help but think back to yesterday's events. Things had been a mess, and only spiralled into a disaster. She found herself regretting sending Taichi off, but at the same time she didn't, because she knew he had been there to comfort Satou when it looked like he was about to fall about. She wondered how they were doing, she wondered how Minji was doing ─ if she was still breathing.

Hopefully, yes, and if not... no, she wasn't going to think about that, even though she literally saw the girl's heart stop and the life drain from her body, that didn't mean anything. Despite the horrible condition she saw her in, Chieko was certain that Minji could still make a full recovery, after all, nothing could stop that girl. Or so, she believed.

Without a doubt, no matter how exhausted she felt, she was going to see Minji in the hospital. But for right now, and the next hour or two, she'd be enjoying her extra time of sleep. She rustled and got back under the covers, she stared at nothing, pondering in her thoughts for a few seconds. Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.