Ouma's POV:

The black abyss had swallowed me whole, leaving me alone in the dark and quiet space. It felt for the first time in my life peaceful...it was so painfully quiet now...the unexpected warmth almost seemed to lull me to sleep as more of my mind drift away from me.

It's different than it was before...I thought to myself as I looked at the empty space, I felt my body slowly falling, it was if I was going through some thick watery material...it wasn't cold though...or even frightening like it was the first time I found myself here...instead of the area almost seemed calm...almost inviting...

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Maybe...maybe I can get used to this...

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DICE isn't real...they never were real...they're gone...all my attempts to escape from that game and see them again...sacrificing myself so maybe they could still respect their leader...wanting to tear myself apart when Gokuhara died...it was for nothing...

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...don't wake me up...

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I don't want to go back... it's nice here...I'm too tired to deal with those problems anymore...I'm so frustrated...its...nice...not having to think for once...not having any problems...

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Its...so empty...I never noticed that before...there's nothing...nothing for all of my eternity...no truth or lies...no logic or emotions...nothing...

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"I think...alright...wait look..."

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"Ouma...?"

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"Ouma I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said those things..."

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"Please don't go..."

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"I'll wait..."

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Why...? What am I doing?

The black abyss shifted as I forced myself out of my stasis, I'm not going to just sit back, no, I don't care if it's painful. I don't care if no one is waiting for me if I get out of here. No, all that matters is that I do wake up. I want to live for ME.

If I die now, then...what was the point of anything? I'm the ultimate supreme leader arent I? The king of lies? How can I be so pathetic as to just accept a place like this?!

I felt my conscious getting dragged out of the muddy and thick abyss leaving me in complete darkness, my entire body felt heavy...as heavy as it did when I did my death march...I tried desperately to move even one single finger, along with opening my eyes.

Finally, it seemed I won a tiny part of the battle, as the harsh fluorescent lights blinded me forcing me to shut them again...I...don't just stand there, DO SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT! Fighting the overwhelming sense to fall back asleep I opened my eyes again and allowed them to adjust to the light in the room.

The scent of lavender was in the air, along with a breeze from what sadly wasn't an open window...the beeping of monitors surrounded me, I tried to look around only to receive a sharp headache the second I tried to move my head.

Where...am I...? 

I looked over the fuzzy surroundings and noticed a figure on a chair, they were leaning over the bed though fast asleep, messy hair covering their face and hand also on the bed...I moved a finger and lightly tapped them, straining what pathetically little strength I held.

"Huh...?" her voice mumbled before turning over to see me, immediately her tired expression disappeared, "OUMA!" she cried out as I winced from the loud noise as she wept blissful tears.

Of course, Maiko would be the only one waiting for me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" she whispered to some nameless figure as she moved her chair closer to me, "how...how are you feeling?" she asked quieter this time, I tried to speak only to realize a breathing tube had once again been placed...how many machines...what even happened...?

"I'm glad...I'm glad I got the chance to meet you...Kokichi Ouma..."

I couldn't even contain my shock as the memory flooded back and to my own horror tears, Maiko carefully brushed them away shushing me, "It's ok... it's going to be ok...you've been asleep for...you've been asleep for a while now...we'll get you through this, alright?" she promised.

I looked at her unsure, "does anything hurt...are you feeling really strong pain anywhere?" she asked, there was some small amount of pain throughout my body but other than that I felt fine...it was just...my eyes widened as I tried to contain my shock.

I shook my head at her, as she handed me a notepad and a pen, just like the first time this had happened...

What happened?

"The...Ouma was it you on that rooftop?" she asked carefully, I looked at her confused but shook my head. What kind of rooftop...

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Did he...?

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"Saihara said he found you there...that you were acting strange...that...was that the other Ouma?" she asked me, I paused before giving a slight nod. There was no point in lying about him anymore.

"You...it was a complete shutdown, your body was fighting itself so badly...it was as if a war had happened...I'm so sorry Ouma, we had to replace one of your lungs along with repairing multiple severed veins in your body...we...we thought you were going to die...because even after recovery you would flatline out of nowhere despite good vitals only moments before...then it stopped...its as if a miracle happened and your body remained stable...its as if whatever problems you were having just fixed itself...I'm so glad you're alive..." she breathed out relieved.

It seemed some weight was lifted off her shoulders. Has Maiko ever been actually relaxed around someone...?

How long?

"How long...oh...Ouma please try to stay calm alright?" she advised sternly as she waited for my response, I tried to look prepared as I nodded.

"Ouma...you were in a coma for over six months..."