Chapter 55"Importance" and "Trust"
(TL Note: Like the previous chapter, this uses Aika's POV, unlike the LN version which uses the Narrator's POV.)
"S-Sajocchi... ...tell us if you're awake."
"...Oh..."
His face looked pale white. He didn't seem to be sweating much, but his breathing was a bit labored for such a quiet guy. You could tell that his fever was still high. Even so, he listened to Kei's words and replied in a weak voice.
We took two round chairs nearby and sat next to his bed.
"...Are you unable to sleep?"
"..."
I dared to ask a casual question like that because I could hear his voice. I waited for his answer, but he neither answered nor looked at me. He was just silent, staring at the window with teary eyes. I waited for a while, but in the end, there was no answer to my question, and he just stared at the countless raindrops on the window. I could tell that he was in a bad mood, but I felt a bit frustrated.
"Are you having trouble sleeping?"
"...That's right."
"I-I see..."
When I asked him another question, I was somewhat surprised to hear a very firm answer. Although he didn't turn his face toward me, he kept talking. Even so, I had no intention of forcing him to continue. At the very least, I should ask him what I needed to know.
"...Do you need anything?"
"If you want Pocari, we have some here."
"..."
I asked if there was anything he needed, but there was no answer, so I exchanged glances with Kei. He looked troubled but calm, calm but troubled. I felt uncomfortable with this atmosphere, I didn't know if he had enough free time or not. I thought back to when I was sick and lying in bed with a cold and wondered if it was like this. I remembered that when I had a high fever, I was tormented by the feeling of being trapped in a maze of negative colors.
But, he looked refreshed because of it.
"...I'm sorry..."
"Eh...?"
"I've made a scene."
Unbelievable. And it was a well-marked word. Normally, I would have replied, "How can you apologize for that?", but this atmosphere was so strange that I couldn't help but laugh at it. Yeah, it was strange. It was understandable that his speech was weaker than usual. However, even though he had fainted from a fever, he was still able to speak instead of rambling incoherently. It was just a short chat, but the atmosphere seemed somewhat coherent.
"What's wrong with you? What's wrong?"
"...What's wrong?"
"No, there's something wrong, huh...!?"
Hey? I looked beside him and he nodded his head in agreement. Anyway, I looked at him again and thought that it would be nice if we could talk some more. Then, he looked out the window and raised the right side of his mouth as if mocking herself.
"Heh...?"
"...!"
I felt a bit nervous. I've heard that girls who are sick feel like they need to be protected, and it seems that the same goes for boys. More importantly, I felt that I couldn't just leave him with his thin smile, because he usually likes to joke around.
"..."
"..."
I could only remain silent. I didn't want to force the conversation, but I wondered if I was the only one who expected him to say something since he didn't seem to have any intention of sleeping. Even if he had time to talk, I wanted him to talk more, since I had come all the way here to see him.
(Oh, he's being visited by two girls, so he can talk more... ─but no, no, no! He's a sick person!)
"─Ugh..."
"...! Wa-Wataru!"
"Sajoc-!"
He suddenly frowned and twisted his body and head. We hurriedly bent down to see what was going on, but there was nothing we could do for him, who was already resting his head on the pillow. He moaned loudly with the back of his hand placed against his forehead, and then he gently put his hand back into the blanket.
"...I'm sorry, I'm like this because I have a headache..."
"Y-You don't have to talk anymore, then."
Was this because of my selfishness that I expected him to talk more? I meant to greet him, but somehow it felt like I was already making him sick. He quickly regained his composure, but I couldn't just leave him like this. I couldn't keep my eyes off him. If I leave him here, I'm afraid I'll feel like I'm missing something...
If you know him very well, you can tell that his skin looks pale. You can also tell from his breathing that he is suffering from a high fever. If you touch him, he may be hot, but he also looks cold. If it's the latter, it's unnatural. I must have felt annoyed too. Not knowing why, he reached out to touch his skin, which was covered with the reflection of raindrops on the window...
"—Don't touch me..."
"Huh... Wh-Why...?"
The words of rejection he let out at the last moment. I panicked at those unexpectedly ignorant words making me hurriedly withdraw my hand again, but I couldn't help but feel annoyed, to the point that my heart, which I should have warned, became turbulent. Ah, for a moment I thought that this was my bad habit, but he continued his words without giving me time to think.
"I don't want you two to be infected by me."
"Oh..."
"So is Airi-chan..."
"W-Well..."
The words of consideration he spoke straightforwardly. I inadvertently felt happy to hear such kindness directed at me and my dear little sister's name was also mentioned afterwards. As I felt embarrassed and turned my face away, I saw my best friend next to me looking rather uneasy and cute, from my point of view even though we were both girls. Her feelings seemed to be the same as mine.
Then, as if out of the blue, he continued to talk more.
"I don't want you two to suffer because of me..."
"What...?"
"Hey..."
♦
Leaving the room, we both went out.
"—Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What the heck was that? What exactly happened?"
"..."
We were standing in front of the infirmary. The girl was babbling a lot, probably thinking that she had the volume down, but she was so excited that it didn't seem to make sense. Although I said so, I was also in a situation where my face was hot and my head was blank and I was at a loss for words.
"H-Hey..., that lame Sajocchi..."
"H-He can't do that... ...I mean, he wasn't careful enough..."
Perhaps his kindness and concern were genuine. If only there were other people in the room, I'm sure they would have distanced themselves from the playful words and phrases that he just uttered. I'm sure they wouldn't have had time to embellish the words that popped into their heads with vague expressions at that moment.
(H-How did this happen... ...I didn't come to visit him with that intention...)
I felt that I wanted to go to the side of his bed and talk to him again.
We both knew that he was trying to keep us from touching him. But boldly touching him there, like we did before-
"Wh-What happened? You two."
"Kya!?"
A voice called out to us when we thought there was no one else in the room but the two of us alone. Surprised, we both screamed in a loud tone. Almost hugging each other, we looked towards the owner of the voice and remembered that we were not the only ones who had business in the infirmary.
"Sh-Shinomiya-senpai, and..."
A senpai, who was also the President of the Disciplinary Committee, looked at us with some confusion. Behind her, there was a light brown-haired senpai with somewhat chaotic hair and breath. Sajou Kaede - That guy's big sister. Somehow, after I saw her, she seemed more mature.
"I-It's nothing we were just waiting for you two!"
"What, you guys already know that I'm inviting Kaede, right?"
"Eh!? Yeah! Of course!"
"K-Kei."
I managed to restrain my best friend from talking any further. She usually spoke much more casually, but in this case, coincidentally, neither of them could be talked to casually. Therefore, I was less confident in my ability to handle this situation without keeping silent.
"..."
"Oh."
As he was sitting quietly to regain his composure, his big sister opened the glass door of the infirmary and entered without saying anything. She seemed to be in a bit of a hurry as if she wanted to finish every explained information to her.
The three of us looked at each other and at Shinomiya-senpai, who smiled wryly, and we followed her. Strangely, I felt that the situation wouldn't change like before, and I could see him again without any worries.
"...Hey."
"..."
He was still looking out the window with his eyes open. As before, he didn't respond immediately after I called out to him. Seeing him like that, the big sister sat on the round chair that had been provided, crossed her legs and arms, and continued to stare at him.
"...Are you, Big Sis?"
"Yeah. Are you okay?"
"...I have a headache."
"How's your fever?"
"...Rises."
"You idiot."
His big sister's words were too harsh when she spoke to him. Kei, who was next to me, said, "Eh...?". If you only listen to the end, it sounds terrible. No, they probably meant it properly. However, seeing that kind of exchange of words, I felt a sense of clarity. I felt assured that they were true "siblings".
"Did you get bumped somewhere?"
"...I don't remember."
Come to think of it, I thought so too. The fact that he fell from his shoulder towards the classroom door suggests that he wasn't bumped in any way, but only the boy knows what happened. Can we take "I don't remember" as an indication that he's okay? I don't trust his words about his current physical condition.
"Kaede. Shindou-sensei said that she checked him and he should be fine."
"...I see."
"Oh..."
The big sister touched his cheeks, neck, and hands as if to check her little bro's body temperature. As if capitalizing on that moment, Shinomiya-senpai also placed her hand on Wataru's forehead, and said, "Which one hurts?". He didn't say anything in particular, but he was silent and accepted it.
'—I don't want you two to get infected by me.'
If he did not apply those words to this situation, did he not care about these senpai-s? However, seeing him being touched as he was pleased by the two senpai-s, it seemed that he did not consider them "important".
(How come unlike the two of us, the two of them are allowed...?)
"─It's cold..."
"!"
He relaxed his face and looked somewhat comfortable. Although it was only for a moment, his "usual self" seemed to have returned. I couldn't help but wonder to myself, "Why?" I suddenly had a strong question.
"What, are you feeling hot?"
"...A little..."
"Then let's buy you something cold. Maybe an energy jelly would be more fitting."
"I will call Mom. She might not have heard anything from you."
"..."
The story continued. He didn't say in words that he wanted to. But there seems to be nothing wrong — and I thought so.
In response, he narrowed his eyes and rested his head in just the right position on the pillow. As I looked at him, his body seemed much more relaxed than before. As if to say, no need to worry anymore...
I felt a bit confused.
Author's Note:
Rice, hot water, and seaweed.
Rice, hot water, salt, and pickled plum.
Rice, hot water, shaved egg, and consommé.
Rice, hot water, chicken, oyster egg, and white soup.
Tonkotsu Ramen.
TL: Reeze27
ED: Reeze27
PR: Reeze27
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