Chapter 17: 7.2

Chapter 7 : She’s Starting to Worry – Part 2

“…What the h**l? A fever?” Shoichi grumbled as he walked through the residential area where the sun was still a little high.

From behind him, he could hear an apologetic and affectionate “haha” laugh.

“Sorry, I was just thinking too. I didn’t think I’d have a fever.”

“Just so you know, a fever is something that small children get. High school students are not supposed to have it. Well, in your case, I heard that you also have anemia.”

“Hmm.”

“Not ‘hmm.’ If you’re so tired that you’re anemic, you should have taken a break from taking care of me. If you fall behind in your studies because of it, you’ll end up staying a year.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, taking care is what I do. If I had to stop, I would collapse from stress.”

“…You’ve got to be smart to come up with a theory like that.”

Shoichi exhaled deeply, but it was not so uncomfortable because he could feel the softness and warmth on his back. He was carrying Amiru on his back.

He and Amiru’s friends went straight to the nurse’s office, where the school nurse told them, ‘The symptom is a fever,’ to their dismay, and then said, ‘I have to ask her parents to pick her up and leave early.’

But Amiru said that her mother was not at home at the moment. So, Shoichi had to take her home. Fortunately, the next class was LHR, so it wouldn’t be too much of a problem if he missed it. (T/N: Last Home Room, probably…)

“I’m sorry, Sho-chan. Not only do you have to accompany me, but you also have to carry me on your back. Am I heavy?”

“…It’s fine. You’re light.”

In truth, the weight of Amiru, Amiru’s bag and his own was quite the load, but Shoichi persevered and moved his feet. There was no point in letting a sick person worry about him.

And then, Amiru said, squeezing Shoichi’s neck and rubbing her face against it, “Sho-chan…”

“What?”

“Sho-chan, you’re really kind… I like you, Sho-chan.”

“Yes, yes, I know.”

He had gotten used to it because she said it all the time. He knew that this was just a statement from a childhood friend and that it meant nothing more than that. Shoichi shrugged his shoulders lightly.

He didn’t know that Amiru had a complicated look on her face at this moment. He thought it was because of the fever that her voice was hoarse.

Eventually, when they reached Yuzuki’s house, he set Amiru down. His arms were numb and he could barely feel them, but he put up with it and supported her as she wobbled.

“Where’s the key?”

“Ah, here.”

He had her take the key out of her bag, unlocked it, and went inside.

–Suddenly. A memory from when he was little came back to him.

Amiru’s house, in its dining room. It was small, but it was surrounded by a variety of things that gave it a sense of life.

A kitchen with a stove, a table, and her mother coming home from her part-time job. She chopped the ingredients for a dish and greeted Amiru with a smile, as well as Shoichi who came to visit.

At the moment, all of them were exposed to the shadows. They must have been taken care of, as they were not covered with dust. However, except for the kitchen, there were no signs of frequent use–or so he felt.

A sense of discomfort was beginning to envelop Shoichi.

“Hey, this is…”

Before he could open his mouth, Amiru headed for her room. It was the same old room. There was a study desk, bookshelves, a dressing cabinet on the wall, and a bed by the window.

Amiru sat down on the bed and said to Shoichi with a smile, “Thanks, Sho-chan. I’m fine now… You can go home.”

“What?”

“Thank you so much for today. You helped me a lot.”

However, Shoichi felt something unnatural in Amiru’s smile. Maybe it was his imagination, but he felt as if she was forcing herself to push something down. Her fingers were playing with her hair, twirling it around and around, but her smile seemed somewhat awkward.

Suddenly, Mea’s words came back to him.

‘In that girl’s case, it’s possible she’s spinning out of control.’

‘After all, she’s not like us, she’s very sensitive.’

Shoichi found himself sitting next to Amiru.

“Sho-chan…?”

“You have something on your mind, don’t you?”

“What? W-Why do you think that?”

“You’ve been thinking about it so much you’ve developed a fever. And you didn’t say anything to anyone. It’s more natural to think that something is troubling you.”

“That’s… Um. I’m not bothered by anything.”

“There it is.”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve been curling your hair around your fingers for a while now. That’s a habit you’ve always had when you want to say something but can’t. You used to do that when you were begging Auntie for a birthday present.”

At these words, Amiru pulled her hand away from her hair with a “haha,” but it was too late.

Shoichi put his hands on Amiru’s shoulders and looked at her with serious eyes.

“Talk to me, as much as you can. If you get knocked down by your own thoughts again, it wouldn’t be any good.”

“B-But…”

“Or maybe you can’t talk to me? If you don’t think I can help you, then…”

“No! It’s something I can’t talk about unless it’s with Sho-chan!” Amiru shouted loudly and huffed, holding her mouth with both hands.

Shoichi became more suspicious and looked into Amiru’s face.

“Something you can’t talk about unless it’s with me? What’s that?”

“We-Well…”

She then let her gaze wander, but eventually she closed her eyes as if she had given up, and as if she had made up her mind, she closed in on Shoichi.

“Y-You see, Sho-chan… There’s someplace I really need to go to.”

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“A place you need to go to?”

“Yeah. I have to do something there… But I’m so scared. I’m scared just to go there…”

“Scared…?”

She was not a child, but what kind of place would she be afraid of just by going there?

However, Amiru’s expression was serious. She was looking at Shoichi as if she was thinking hard.

“So, Sho-chan. Please, can you come with me there?”

“What…?”

“I feel like I can go with you, Sho-chan. No matter how scared I am, I feel safer with you by my side.”

“…You, by any chance. Have you been wondering how to ask me for that?”

“I’ve been asking Sho-chan to do a lot of things for me. Like studying, the other day’s reward, and the nursery school… That’s why I thought it would be wrong to ask for more.”

Amiru’s words caused Shoichi to inwardly gasp.

It was too much, too watery. He stood up–and he flicked Amiru’s forehead with his finger.

“Ouch!”

“You really are an idiot, you know that? You’ve asked me to do so many things, why are you hesitating now?”

“B-But…”

“Listen, if you ask me to do something and it bothers me, I’ll refuse. But how would I know if I could do what you want if you didn’t even ask me? In that case, just say it. You can’t convey your intentions to others just by worrying about it.”

“O-Okay.”

“So, I’m not really sure, but you want me to come with you somewhere, right? I’ll go with you.”

“…Really?”

“If it can help you get back to a condition where you can study, yeah. And it’s my job too, since I’m in charge of your studies. It doesn’t seem to be that difficult either… I’ll come with you.”

“Thank you, Sho-chan! I’m happy.” Amiru’s face lit up and she smiled. Her voice and tone were characteristic of her recent, noisy behavior.

And yet.

–Huh?

Shoichi rubbed his eyes.

The girl in front of him certainly looked like the girl from his childhood.

A shy girl who always followed behind him hesitantly.

“I think my eyes are getting tired…”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing. Anyway, you need to rest. Wherever we’re going, it’ll be after your fever goes down.”

“Yes, Sho-chan!” Smiling again, Amiru nodded.

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A few minutes later, Amiru changed into her sleepwear–of course, after Shoichi had left the room–and she laid down on the bed. In the meantime, Shoichi excused himself and searched the house for a while to find some leftover antipyretic and gave it to Amiru.

“Yeah, I think I feel better now.”

Seeing her completely calm, Shoichi became a little more relaxed.

“But you’re more of a worrywart than I thought.”

“Why?”

“Because, you were wondering if I’d listen to your wishes, so you got all huffy and over-cared for me. You’re just like a child to get all worked up over something you’re worried about.”

“Eh? Ehh? That’s not true at all. I was worried about that for sure, but apart from that, I tried to take care of Sho-chan to the best of my ability and I will continue to do so, okay?!”

“What?! Why would you do that?! I mean, if you weren’t just spinning out of control, why did you suddenly decide to put so much effort into caring for me in the first place?”

“Hmm, I don’t know either.”

As Amiru smiled and answered, Shoichi thought, What the h**l is that? Well, I guess it’s better than her being down.

Wait, this isn’t good. This would mean that Amiru’s caring would continue to heat up.

“You know, Amiru. It’s good that you’re fired up, and I’m happy you’re feeling that way, but… Just take care of me in moderation.”

“Eh, why?”

“Well, um… Look, if you get too worked up, it’ll be too much for you. It will also interfere with your studies. So I’d like you to refrain from doing that.”

The truth is, it’s because I’m embarrassed when people watch. Shoichi secretly thought about this, but felt somewhat embarrassed to mention it, so he kept it to himself.

Amiru’s mouth was agape as she pondered.

“Mmm. Alright, I’ll moderate.”

She nodded her head. The tone of her voice, almost as if she didn’t understand at all, made him slightly uneasy.

But at least now she wouldn’t be making character bentos for a while. Now all that was left was to do her a favor. He stood up and decided to leave the Yuzuki household.

At this point, he realized he hadn’t asked the important question and hastily asked, “So, Amiru…”

“Hmm?”

“Where are we going anyway? Where am I supposed to come with you?”

At these words, Amiru was silent for a little while. Eventually, she slowly opened her mouth, “…A hospital.”

“A hospital?”

“Yeah, a hospital.” She looked Shoichi straight in the eye and added, “I want you to come with me to the hospital…and visit my mom.”

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