When Misanro woke up again, a second week had already begun.
"Shoko?" Misanro propped himself up into a sitting position. He looked at Shoko Ieiri, who had fallen asleep slumped beside the bed, and a gentle smile touched his lips.
"You've worked hard, Shoko." He reached over to hook a thin blanket from the neighboring hospital bed and draped it over Shoko Ieiri.
The moment the blanket brushed against her, Shoko Ieiri woke up.
She sleepily reached out her hand, as if intending to tuck in the corners of the blanket for Misanro, but snapped completely awake the second her hand touched the quilt.
"You're awake." Shoko Ieiri stood up, fished her phone out of her pocket, tapped out a few messages, and tucked it back away.
"Sorry, Shoko." Misanro looked at the dark circles under Shoko Ieiri's eyes and apologized to her. "You've been through a lot this past week."
"It wasn't that bad," Shoko Ieiri denied. "If we're talking about who worked hard, Geto and Gojo had it much harder." Shoko Ieiri poured a cup of water and handed it to Misanro.
Misanro took the cup and drank in small sips.
"Once the sorcerer grades came out, the missions naturally followed. Even after finishing their missions every day, they still made time to come help me take care of you."
"Is that so," Misanro murmured. "It really is..."
"Michi!" The infirmary door was kicked open with a bang.
Predictably, the door was broken again.
"Shoko, bill it to the Gojo family." Satoru Gojo was entirely too practiced at this; it was clear he had done it plenty of times before.
"I keep telling you not to do that, Satoru."
Satoru Gojo charged straight toward Misanro's hospital bed, closely followed by Suguru Geto.
Suguru Geto didn't slow his pace. He strode up to Misanro's bed in a few steps and shoved Satoru Gojo aside.
"Shoko sent a message saying you woke up, so Satoru and I came to see you." Suguru Geto reached out, grabbed a pillow, and propped it behind Misanro's lower back.
"You must be exhausted, Suguru?" The moment they arrived, Misanro noticed that both he and Satoru Gojo had the exact same dark circles under their eyes as Shoko Ieiri—in fact, the shadows under the two of them were even darker.
"And Satoru." Misanro turned his head to look at Satoru Gojo, who was still struggling to squeeze closer.
His eyes were full of deep affection and heartache.
In such a short span of time, his three classmates had all grown a little gaunt and haggard.
"I'm sorry."
Satoru Gojo quieted down. His hand loosened its grip on the bed rail, and he turned his face away, the tips of his ears hidden beneath his white hair stained a faint pink.
Suguru Geto gave a soft cough. Though he had always known this was just what Michi was like, whenever a scene like this played out, it was still a bit much to handle—and he was certain Satoru felt the same way.
Suguru Geto glanced sideways at Satoru Gojo, who was looking around evasively.
Still...
Suguru Geto withdrew his gaze and looked back at Misanro.
The negative emotions brought on by the busyness and exhaustion of these past few days had indeed vanished quite a bit, leaving him feeling noticeably lighter.
Suguru Geto smiled and reached out to gently ruffle Misanro's hair.
"It's fine," he reassured Misanro softly. "You've already given me my gift."
"What gift!" Hearing that particular word, Satoru Gojo immediately crowded in close. "I want one too, Michi." Satoru Gojo grabbed Misanro's sleeve and shook it back and forth, making sure his presence was felt. "I want one too."
He had more or less figured out what they were talking about. While he hadn't minded the heavy workload lately, if Suguru got a gift, he wanted one too.
"I want one too." Shoko Ieiri, sitting in her chair, raised her hand and waved it around.
Misanro laughed. "All right. Everyone gets one."