Hospitals were one of the few mortal centres connected with the supernatural world. It was a place of death and so many passed souls would cross over. Similarly, hospitals were also protected spaces because of the large volume of Messengers and other supernatural beings present. So they also became centres where supernatural healers were able to easily enter and assist wounded Messengers like Onew and Key.

Onew's leg was cleaned and stitched back up. To assist him in moving about he was given a walking stick. Under normal circumstances, Jonghyun would have made a joke about him being an old man; but their situation was grim. Key remained unconscious. The other members crowded about the bed as they listened to the healer's prognosis. The wound from the Kuro-yurei was healed with no problem; that was a standard surgical procedure. However, the energies swirling within Key were unusual. There were blocks and extra flow channels that the healer had never seen before. And Key's body seemed to possess excessive currents of energy. He must be feeling a lot of pain for it to have no outlet. They were baffled by it all and were working on a solution.

Onew stayed silent in thought, leaning on his new stick. He wondered if it was because Key was not originally a supernatural being like themselves.

Yuki was standing apart as the others digested the healer's opinion. He was getting anxious himself, but because he recognised the hospital they were in. He had yet to fully appreciate the magical wonder of the bus that drove down Heavens Road and its ability to travel the world. They had travelled across countries and they were now back in his home town. The hospital was the same one as Hiro's. Yuki had noticed the date on the calendar when they had passed the reception desk. More than two hours had gone on the mortal world than Onew had suggested. It pained him to think of the panic Saki and Hiro must have been in when they realised that he wasn't there at the circus. But it also meant that they could be in the hospital.

He slowly edged his way towards the door. Yuki knew the heavy atmosphere about the Messengers; they were going to be in the room for a while longer. Enough time for him to look for his own family. Yuki quietly slipped out of the room and made his way down to the children's ward.

Fate helped him. As he was walking down the hall, peering inside the rooms for his wife and son, a gurney with Hiro and his teddy bear was wheeled past by doctors in scrubs. Hiro was pale and his forehead wet with sweat and his hair matted with fever. He was clutching tightly his old and worn caramel brown bear. Saki followed, fear written on her face. Yuki had seen that look before, many years ago, outside a school hall with a bomb shelter. He ran after his family.

Hiro was wheeled into an empty room and lifted onto the bed. The nurses attended to him whilst the doctor took Saki aside. Yuki stood next to her as the doctor gave his prognosis. Hiro's condition was worsening. The fluid in his lungs was not clearing and he has an infection. His immune response is severely low to fight it off. They were helping with antibiotics but they were not hopeful. All they could hope for was to make it less painful for the boy. Hiro will have a month or two left.

The doctors and nurses left them alone and Saki went to stand by Hiro's side. She looked upon her son with a fierce anguish. It was all too much for Yuki and he numbly walked out into the hallway and sat on the bench outside the door. Time passed by and Mama slowly walked out and heavily sat down on the bench too. Together, they stared into the room and at Hiro in bed with his teddy bear. How Yuki wished he could let them know that he was there. How he wished he could wipe away the tears and lines of defeat from Saki's gentle face. But he was like a ghost and impotent to tell them what he wanted them to hear and see. He needed to find a way to save his son’s life, and he would do anything in his power for it to happen.