At dusk, in the hospital...
"Hiruzen... you... how did you end up... too??" Kagami swallowed as he looked at Hiruzen, who was covered in bandages beside him...
Was it because he knew I was bored, awkward, lonely, and all alone in the hospital, so he disguised himself—no, maybe he deliberately got injured just to keep me company! This! Was this friendship?! Was this brotherhood?!
Half-dead, Hiruzen lay facedown on his hospital bed and gave Kagami a look... Figure it out yourself...
Yes! That had to be it!
"Big brother Kagami, Mom made some extra food especially for you when she heard you were hurt, so I brought it over." Just then, Little Shanshan appeared in the doorway, carrying a boxed meal...
Hiruzen, lying on the hospital bed over there, took a critical hit to the heart...
"Um... um... Shanshan... your mom... knows about me??" Kagami swallowed... A bad feeling suddenly crept over him...
"Mm-hmm!" Little Shanshan nodded with a beaming smile.
She remembered that when she told her mom about this, her mom had even activated her Sharingan. Mom said it was because she was excited and happy, and Shanshan felt happy too. Then Mom took out a packet of white powder and said it would help big brother Kagami recover faster if he ate it. Mom had added several packets to the food.
Kagami took the meal Shanshan handed him and slowly opened it... Looking at the layer of white powder covering the delicious food, he slowly swallowed...
"Why aren't you eating, big brother Kagami? Um, do you want Shanshan to feed you?" Shanshan asked in confusion when she saw Kagami sitting motionless...
"...Um... well... I... I... I'll do it myself..." Kagami wanted to cry, but no tears would come... Then he scooped up a huge spoonful of snowy