Chapter 101 - Freesia
(1)
"Yo, Toya. I heard the story from Tosaka-san and the others."
Watanabe-kun called out.
On this day, my classmates... the members of the so-called Watanabe group had come to visit me.
"You can put things in your mouth now, right? Look, I brought sweets."
Ah, we meet again. I wonder if "hello" is appropriate here?
I take a big bite.
Delicious!
"Katagiri-kun, you really do look happy when you eat,"
Sashihara-san says, as if impressed.
Well, if you've been living on hospital food for a week, anything tastes delicious.
"Did you really get stabbed in the stomach?! That appetite is not normal!"
Kiritani-kun lets out a voice of surprise.
I'm actually holding back. I'm being forced to.
"But as expected, a normal person couldn't imitate that,"
Ishihara-kun says admiringly.
I wouldn't recommend imitating it.
Maybe I was in that thing called the Zone back then too.
My body was moving on its own.
Ah, I just had an inspiration.
"In that case, I have one piece of advice."
"Eh?"
"It hurts like hell."
"??"
Ishihara-kun looks bewildered.
I thought that was a pretty good line.
Poke
Airi has really become good at the straight-man act.
This is what they call being in perfect sync.
"Ishihara-kun, you don't have to take him seriously. When he makes that face, he's usually just imitating a line from some anime or game! Even though I've told him so many times to stop!"
Even if you say that, it was on my ranking of things I wanted to say once in my life, so it can't be helped.
"As usual, you do things at your own pace. I suppose that's typical of Katagiri-kun. Isshy, you can just act in your own way. That wasn't an action that earns admiration,"
Eguchi-san says calmly.
It's something Airi has told me many times too.
There's nobody who'd be happy if you did something like that!
It goes without saying that I got scolded even further when I replied, "Do you need a reason to help someone?"
That was second on my ranking of lines I wanted to say once in my life.
"Toya is an amazing guy. I think it's cool!"
It's Mika-san.
But Kanna speaks up.
"Please don't let him get too carried away. He probably thinks of it as nothing more than a heroic tale. He doesn't understand at all how many people he made sad. Though I'm also at fault."
Yeah, I probably thought it was the most brilliant moment of my life.
If the partner were Airi, I'd make it one of the episodes at the wedding.
Assuming I can marry Airi.
"Geez, let this be the last time. I never want to see Airi like that again,"
Kanna warns.
Well, it would be troublesome if I were scolded over and over.
"Well, be grateful, Toya. This many people gathered for your sake. That means if something had happened to you, just as many people would have been sad. Keep that in mind when you act from now on,"
Finally, Watanabe-kun wraps things up.
"Everyone, thank you for coming."
I say that and give my thanks.
"Well, Toya looks healthy, so we should probably head out soon. Staying too long will be bad for Toya's body."
When Watanabe-kun says that, everyone leaves the hospital room.
As Airi tries to leave last, Kanna and Watanabe-kun stop her.
"Tosaka-san, please be Toya's conversation partner. He'll be bored if he's alone."
"Eh, but..."
Kanna pats the shoulder of the bewildered Airi.
"If we leave this guy alone, he'll probably head to the convenience store immediately. Consider it a combined role as a lookout."
"I-if that's the case."
I don't know if Airi was convinced, or if she wanted to do that from the start, but Airi and I were left alone.
She is sitting in a chair reading a novel.
I am playing with a handheld game console my parents brought for me.
"Can I say something inappropriate?"
Airi suddenly spoke to me.
"What is it?"
"I'm glad you were hospitalized, Toya-kun. Because it created time for just the two of us like this."
I make time for just the two of us whenever, right?
"The wound... does it still hurt?"
"No, the painkillers are working."
"Can I touch it?"
"If over the bandages is okay."
Airi put her hand inside the blanket and touched the wound.
It was nothing.
"Pain, pain, go away—"
Blank stare
"I've always wanted to try saying that,"
Airi says bashfully.
I feel like the wound might heal just by looking at that face.
Ah, maybe it did heal.
Because right now, I really want to hug Airi.
That's not really a reason, is it?
But whatever.
I cling to Airi.
"Toya-kun!? Won't it affect the wound?"
"This much is nothing."
"I see."
Airi says that and hugs me back.
"Katagiri-san, shall we change your bandages...!? Oh my."
The nurse looked at us in surprise and laughed.
Airi hurriedly pulls away from me.
"Sorry, it seems we were in the way. It was just for a little bit."
"It's fine. I'll wait outside."
Airi says that and tries to leave the room.
"Wait, Airi. Stay with me."
"But..."
I had an inspiration.
"Airi, did you know? I heard patients and nurses often go pretty far."
Of course, it's a joke.
It's a joke, okay?
Don't put out such a terrifying aura.
"Katagiri-san, there's a limit to your jokes!"
"Toya-kun, you idiot!!"
That bag, you've got a dictionary or something in there, right?
I think swinging a weapon around in a hospital is a bit much, Airi.
(2)
Toya-kun is hospitalized.
Kanna is at her part-time job.
If I'm just going to go straight home...
And so, my days became spent visiting Toya-kun's hospital every day.
When I enter the room, Toya-kun puffs out his cheeks like a small animal and hides something behind him.
"...Hand it over."
Toya-kun shakes his head.
"Hand it over!"
When I say it a bit more firmly, Toya-kun reluctantly brings out the things he was hiding.
They keep coming out.
Sweets, juice, bread...
It's okay, that's your only pleasure while hospitalized, right?
But you know...
I don't mind that you prefer eating over romance at this point, but while the clothes can't be helped, I think the messy hair and stubble are a bit much!
It can't be helped...
I hold out my right hand and say, "Brush!"
Toya-kun says, "I don't have one."
He probably doesn't have a razor either.
"I'll have my mother bring one next time."
Ignoring the Toya-kun who said that, I take a brush out of my own bag and start running it through Toya-kun's hair.
This might be the first time in my life I've tidied someone else's hair.
It's interesting, like he's a doll.
Unaware that he's being played with like a toy, Toya-kun is stiff with tension.
"Your hair has grown. Shouldn't you go to a beauty salon soon?"
"A barber is fine, right?"
...I want him to be a little more fashionable.
As expected, he doesn't have a razor.
He said he'll shave next time, so I guess it's fine.
Now then, shall we start studying?
Don't make a face like you hate it!
I enjoy it, studying with Toya-kun.
I tell myself to solve the problems little by little as I work through them.
I heard there's even an equation for love in mathematics.
That many patterns of love exist, and they are researching those patterns.
But... but we don't need that, do we?
Because we found each other in just one encounter.
I'll cooperate too, so let's prove it together, okay?
When night comes, it's time to go home.
I'm lonely.
You embrace me like that.
I want to stay like this forever, but...
See you tomorrow.
I deliver a smile to you.
I thought those kinds of days would continue.
(3)
One day, when I visited the hospital as usual, two people were visiting the room.
One was a lanky person taller than Toya-kun.
The other was... Ako-san!?
"W-why..."
I'm sure she was supposed to have gone back to her parents' house.
"It's been a while, Airi-san,"
Ako-san said as she looked at me.
Who is the other man?
Ako-san answered my question.
"My older brother, Katsuya."
Katsuya-san looked at me, grinned, and said, "Nice to meet you."
I wonder if it's just my imagination that his eyes look sleazy.
Even if it's not my imagination, I can't accept him biologically.
"Brother, I have something to talk about with her."
Ako-san took me out of the room.
We bought juice in the lobby, and as we drank it, Ako-san began to speak.
"You probably thought I came to steal Toya-kun away again, right?"
I say nothing.
"Rest assured, I have a boyfriend now. A college student."
I believe she liked a teacher before.
Does she like older people?
Then why was Toya-kun the first?
Was it just simple harassment? Was she serious?
"I only came today because I heard Toya-kun was injured and wanted to visit. I'll be going home today. Are you two still together as usual?"
"Yes. He's become kinder than before."
Only to me, though.
"That's good. I hope you... can be happy."
What does that mean!?
Just then, I heard a faint shouting voice.
From Toya-kun's room?
"Brother has started, hasn't he."
Eh? What does that mean?
"Brother has a troublesome habit. Despite not having the courage to attack someone on his own, he has a habit of trying to steal other people's girlfriends."
Does that mean he's set his sights on me?
After a while, Katsuya-san appeared in the lobby.
"Ako, let's go home."
Katsuya-san said that and took Ako-san away.
"Well, see you. I'm sure we'll meet again soon."
I don't want to meet him again. There's no reason to.
"Until next time, Airi-chan."
I got goosebumps.
My spine froze.
Calling me "-chan" immediately upon our first meeting?
When the two of them got into the elevator, I returned to the room.
Textbooks were scattered.
I gathered them up and tidied them.
Toya-kun also seemed terribly agitated.
I pretended to be as calm as possible, smiled, and said to Toya-kun.
"What happened?"
"It has nothing to do with you, Airi!"
I flinch at that shouting voice.
"Katagiri-san, you're bothering the other patients, please be quiet!"
A nurse came to the room, warned him, and left.
Toya-kun seemed to come back to his senses due to the nurse's warning.
"Airi, sorry."
I hug Toya-kun.
"It's okay, don't worry... what happened?"
We promised not to keep secrets, remember?
"I should probably tell you, Airi..."
Toya-kun began to talk.
(4)
After Airi and Ako left the room, Katsuya muttered.
"What a cute girlfriend... since when have you been dating?"
"Since 6th grade."
"Ah, the girlfriend you mentioned during Grandfather's wake."
"Yeah."
"I heard from Ako that you have another girlfriend too?"
Is he talking about Kanna?
"If it's about Kanna, she already has a boyfriend."
"I heard you're popular. If you start soccer seriously, won't you be super popular?"
What is he trying to say?
Then, he said something I didn't expect.
"IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A GIRLFRIEND, ANY OTHER WOMAN IS FINE TOO"
What is he talking about?
"HAND OVER THE GIRLFRIEND"
Snap
I heard the sound of something popping inside my head.
I throw whatever was nearby... a textbook, at Katsuya.
Even so, Katsuya continues talking without being shaken.
"Why is it always just you? It's unfair, right? Give me some of the leftovers."
"...Get lost while I'm staying quiet in this bed!"
If you anger me any further, I won't hesitate to send you to the hospital too.
I'll settle for sending you to the hospital.
I wouldn't mind sending you to the same grave as Grandfather, you know?
"...Well then, think about it. Though, I'll take her even if you refuse."
"Did you not hear me? Get lost."
Katsuya left the room.
I told Airi the contents of that.
Then, Airi listened quietly, but suddenly burst out laughing.
"Toya-kun, you got angry on my account."
Airi starts laughing.
And then Airi hugs me again.
"It's okay. Because the flower of hope that bloomed between me and Toya-kun, the bond we connected, is inside my chest. It will never wither. No matter the adversity, I'll just use those as strength to live for tomorrow."
"I don't know what that guy might do."
"I won't lose no matter what happens. We've had various things happen until now and problems are still piled high, but let's tell ourselves to do it little by little and make our two wishes come true, okay?"
She's positive to the very end.
"Until now, we've sewn together hearts that had drifted apart and frayed, and we became stronger each time. It'll be the same from now on."
I carved Airi's words into my heart.
The kindness she gave me when I was worrying alone. The tears of determination swearing for the future that overflowed.
"I'll protect Airi no matter what... definitely."
"Thank you."
Airi says that and gives me a light kiss.
"Now, let's start studying."
Airi will probably gather the regrets up until now, line them up, and turn them into hope.
Let's put labels on them together, turn them into memories, and connect them to the future.
Discharge Day
When I left the hospital, Makoto and Kanna were there to welcome me.
Eh? Airi? She's right next to me?
"Congratulations on your discharge."
Kanna says that and hands me a bouquet.
When I receive the bouquet, I say a single "thank you."
"Now, once we get home, we have to prepare for the make-up exams, right?"
Don't say things I don't want to remember so casually, Airi.
I go home in my father's car.
I successfully cleared the make-up exams.
The final year of high school begins.