Chapter 18: 8.1

Chapter 8 : She’s Starting to Visit – Part 1

It was a rare experience, Shoichi thought, to be on a high-speed train for almost an hour.

And to pay nearly one thousand yen for a one-way train ride. It wasn’t really about the amount of money, it was about moving that much farther away from home.

Right after school, Shoichi and Amiru went on such a short trip.

Their destination was the hospital where Amiru had asked Shoichi to follow her. Since she had recovered, they decided to go there right away.

“It’s a big hospital in the next prefecture.” At the so-called box seat where four people could sit across from each other, Amiru explained again.

“I think it’s some kind of a hospital affiliated with a university? Mom is hospitalized there.”

“Heh~, that sounds like serious stuff… I didn’t know Auntie was hospitalized. I never heard of this before.” Shoichi thought he had said something similar, but he spoke his thoughts again.

Then, right to his opened mouth, a peg of orange was shoved into it.

“Yahh~. I didn’t mean to hide it, but I didn’t think there was anything to say.”

“Chewing-chewing… No, but… chewing… When I was little, I was taken care of in so many ways… gulping… So I wished you’d told me…”

“Here, tea.”

“Gulp… By the way, Amiru.”

“Hmm? What?”

“Why do you keep shoving oranges and candy in my mouth?”

Shoichi was dumbfounded and looked at Amiru sitting next to him.

However, Amiru replied to Shoichi without a hint of ill will.

“Um, to take care of you?”

“You don’t have to do this here! I mean, it’s a box seat, why don’t you just sit across from me, why are you next to me?”

“Because it’s hard to feed oranges from across the seat.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to do this!”

Shoichi stopped Amiru’s hand from plucking another mandarin orange. I mean, how many oranges did this girl bring?

Coming straight from school, Amiru was in her school uniform, hair and makeup as usual. She puffed out her cheeks under her blush and reluctantly put away the mandarin oranges. Her bosom moving with her arms was strangely seductive.

I feel like people are staring at me.

Shoichi felt the eyes of the other passengers on him and let out a sigh.

Amiru had been like this ever since they got on the train. What was the point of declaring that she would be more moderate in her care for him?

However, Shoichi let Amiru do what she wanted as much as possible. She looked like her usual cheerful self, but he noticed that she couldn’t hide the nervousness in her expression at times.

In the first place, the destination was a university hospital in a neighboring prefecture.

Normally, hospitalization can be done in the same area as the patient’s home unless there’s a serious problem. The fact that this wasn’t the case meant that there must be something serious with Amiru’s mother’s illness.

Could it be that Auntie’s illness is pretty serious…?

When he thought about it, something heavy seemed to fall on Shoichi’s heart.

Amiru’s mother took care of Shoichi a lot when he was little. When both of his parents weren’t at home, he was often left at Amiru’s house. On such occasions, Amiru’s mother always greeted him with a kind smile.

Whether she was seriously ill or not, he didn’t know, but she was in the hospital anyway. For Shoichi, this was a big shock.

–If it were her own daughter, the reality would be even more painful.

The last time she had a fever, she said she wouldn’t faint, but maybe she might this time. Shoichi stole a look at Amiru as he thought about this.

And then, he looked her in the eye. The other party seemed to be looking at him as well. She seemed to have found out that he was looking at her–

“Oh, no, Sho-chan, you pervert.”

“What?”

“Just now, you were looking at my breast, right? I guess boys really like this.”

“You’re wrong, I didn’t look that way! Or rather, don’t say anything outrageous on public transportation!”

Amiru laughed bitterly, but he was furious.

As he felt the eyes of the passengers around him change from curious to suspicious, Shoichi thought to himself, Maybe this girl isn’t nervous after all.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○

After getting off the train at the station, they reached the hospital they wanted to visit in about fifteen minutes on foot.

“It’s a lot more prosperous than I thought it would be,” Shoichi said, looking around. The area around the medical university hospital was lined with various stores and office buildings, and as it was evening, it was crowded with people. He had imagined something like a country retreat, so he felt he had been let down. That’s because, “What’s this, Amiru? When you said you didn’t know where it was, I thought it would be deep in the mountains or someplace difficult to find, but it’s just a big national highway.”

“Ehh. The last time I came here by myself, I really got lost. I think it was about three months ago.”

“It’s not like you’re still a kid. You really have no sense of direction, do you?” After giving a tsukkomi to Amiru, who tilted her head, Shoichi noticed something and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm? So you haven’t visited Auntie in three months?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Don’t say ‘that’s right.’ It’s really pitiful for Auntie that her daughter hasn’t come to visit for three months!”

“Ahaha… I was kind of scared.” Amiru laughed and looked up at the hospital.

There were several wards lined up on the grounds. There were outpatient wards, inpatient wards, and a few other wards as well.

After looking at them, she suddenly looked at Shoichi and pointed to the university adjacent to the hospital.

“Next to here is a doctor’s school. Look, don’t you think they might have dead bodies or something?”

“That may be part of the education, but… Eh, is that why you’re scared?”

“But if there are zombies or something, Sho-chan will be able to get rid of them because he knows about the occult.”

“And that’s why you wanted me to come?” Shoichi was dumbfounded and put his hands on his hips. “Really, you’ve seen too many bad horror movies to be scared by that.”

“Ahaha, I guess so…”

“You see, zombies are essentially corpses that have been buried in the ground. And since they’re based on voodoo beliefs, they’re not made very often in Japan, where there’s almost no religion. There is a possibility that a real priest–called a boko–would come to Japan, but even in that situation, he would have to go through the tedious process of piecing together the corpse, so he would not be able to make one from an autopsy…”

“Ah, Sorry. Sorry about that. Anyway, let’s go in, Sho-chan.” Amiru interrupted Shoichi’s lecture and stepped out into the premises–suddenly grabbing his hand.

Shoichi was surprised. Not only was his hand suddenly gripped, but her palm was moist and wet. Her hands were sweaty. Her expression had somehow become stiff. Her feet also stopped.

“Amiru?”

“Eh, ah, yeah. We have to go.”

With that, they finally started walking.　

Amiru must really be nervous.

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Shoichi was convinced. Her excitement on the train was just that, an empty energy.

So what’s making Amiru so nervous? Is it her mother she hasn’t seen in a long time? Shoichi wondered if it was possible to be so nervous about a reunion after three months.

In the first place, why did Amiru not see Auntie for three months? I mean, it’s not like she’s really afraid of zombies…

Shoichi was suspicious but didn’t have an answer, so he walked with Amiru, his hand still holding hers.

In the inpatient ward, he went to a room as Amiru instructed him.

It was a large room for eight people. At the back of the room, a woman with long hair was sitting on a bed.

The writing on the bed plate read ‘Yui Yuzuki.’

Amiru started to say something, then hesitated, before finally running off.

“Mom!”

“Ara, Amiru. I’m so glad you’re here.”

Amiru’s mother, Yui Yuzuki, smiled at her daughter as she approached.

She looked like her daughter, and had a very gentle smile that Shoichi knew well.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Amiru approached her mother sitting on the bed, her hands were wandering in the air as if she was unsure of what to do, but she eventually grabbed a towel from the shelf by the bedside.

“Th-This is dirty. Do you want me to wash it?”

“It’s okay. I can still use it.”

“Is that so? Then, are you thirsty? I could get you something to drink…”

“Come on, don’t worry about it. More importantly, how are you doing? Are you eating well? Have you been skipping school or anything?”

“A-Ahh…” Then, Amiru let out a breath and suddenly bowed her head. “Mom, I’m sorry! I’m sorry I haven’t come to see you in a while! It’s been three months!”

“Well, you have nothing to apologize for. You have your life to live, and I would rather be the one to apologize. You just started high school, and I’m sorry for inconveniencing you.”

“M-Mhmm, it’s okay, I’m doing fine! Besides, Sho-chan has been helping me a lot!”

Reluctantly, though, he added in his mind, when Yui suddenly looked at him.

“I see. Thank you, Sho-chan. For taking care of Amiru. Also… It’s good to see you after all these years. How have you been?”

“Ah, yes, it’s been a while… Um, did you know I was coming here? You don’t seem too surprised.”

“Yes, I was informed in advance by Amiru. But I was surprised when I heard she was bringing you. You stopped coming to our house for a while. And now you’re helping Amiru in various ways again? I thought you’d have run out of love for her already…”

After saying that, Yui let out a breath and put her hand on her cheek in disappointment. She stared at Amiru’s flashy school uniform as if licking it.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t blame you for getting tired of her. Amiru started going to school in this messy outfit. Mom is sad.”

“Wait, what are you talking about, Mom? Everyone does this! Mea-chan, Yukko-chan, Rii-chan, all my friends are doing this!”

“Just because your friends are doing it, doesn’t mean you have to do it too. In the first place, school is a place to study. It’s enough if you dress like a student.”

“No, I’ll be left out!”

A parent-child quarrel broke out unexpectedly, but it didn’t turn ugly as both parties seemed to be used to it.

Shoichi was rather surprised that Amiru was able to talk back to her mother so much. When she was little, she couldn’t even speak to her parents very clearly. When he thought about it, it was probably somewhat meaningful that she had become this boisterous.

No, the disadvantages are greater than the benefits. After all…

As he was thinking about it, Yui asked him, “Nee~, don’t you think so too, Sho-chan?”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening. What is it?”

“I said, don’t you think Amiru has become a bit more silly since she started liking flashy things?”

“…Honestly, I was just thinking about that.”

“Wait, aren’t both Mom and Sho-chan being terrible right now?!”

“It’s your grades that are terrible. I can’t tell how many times your test scores in junior high school made me cry… And now you’re still indebted to Sho-chan, aren’t you? It’s probably because your test scores are so bad that they told you that you’re guaranteed to repeat a year.”

Guhh~. Amiru couldn’t even make a sound. Shoichi chuckled, “Very perceptive.”

“Really, it’s fine to be flashy, but I wish you would have at least studied properly. You’re going to keep bothering Sho-chan like this.”

“Yes~~.”

“Ah, but I’m also indebted to Amiru. She’s been helping me with a lot of things around the house… Honestly, she’s been a big help.”

“Really? That’s good… Sho-chan, let me see your face for a second.”

At that moment, Yui suddenly extended her hand and gently touched Shoichi’s face.

“Yeah, you look good. You seem to be eating well. If this is the result of Amiru’s care, then my daughter is doing a good job.”

“Of course. I cook, clean, and do the laundry. Ah, I also make sure to take care of Mom’s pickles.”

“OK, that’s great, Amiru. Good job.”

Then Yui, for the first time here, stroked Amiru’s hair with a face full of compassion. Amiru’s eyes narrowed in fascination. She looked so happy, and it was hard to believe that they had just been arguing with each other.

In the first place, the fight they just had was probably just a joke. Amiru and Yui really cared about each other. Shoichi could see that.

No, he had known this since he was a little boy–He was the one who had seen them closest, except for the two themselves.

But why did Amiru neglect her precious Mom for three months…?

The question that he had asked earlier reared its head again.

Opening the door to the large room, one of the female nurses walked in.

“Excuse me. You’re the one who contacted me yesterday, Amiru Yuzuki–Yui Yuzuki’s daughter, aren’t you?”

“Ah, yes.”

“The doctor would like to speak with you. Please come this way.”

“Yes… Um.”

She glanced at Shoichi. Perhaps wondering if she should take him with her.

Ahead of her, the nurse nailed it. “I’m sorry, no one other than family members are allowed.”

“I understand. Sho-chan, I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Ah, yeah.” Shoichi nodded, but anxiety was swirling in his chest.

Amiru’s face just now looked more tense than ever.

What’s this important talk about…? Before he could ask her about this, however, Amiru had already left the room with the nurse.

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