Volume 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)
Yumi suddenly had a phone call from Yos.h.i.+no-san, who'd been absent from school for almost a week. Well, phone calls are almost always quite sudden, but as Yos.h.i.+no-san had never called her before she was a bit, no, she was quite surprised.
It was a bit after eight in the evening.
”Yumi-. Phone call.”
Her brother yelled - a rare occurrence - from downstairs.
”Hurry up. I think it's a public telephone.”
”Public telephone?”
She tilted her head to the side in confusion, and when she picked up the telephone, she heard Yos.h.i.+no-san's voice.
”Your brother?”
”Oh, yes, he's being cheeky again.”
”He seemed like a reliable person.”
”If you say so.”
As her brother mentioned, it did seem like she was calling from an outside telephone. She could faintly hear the bustling of people underneath Yos.h.i.+no-san's voice, an indication that she probably wasn't at home.
”You're so blessed. I'm an only-child, so I admire siblings so much.”
But Rei-sama was around, like a sibling, so she probably couldn't have been that lonely. Is what Yumi thought, but Yos.h.i.+no-san didn't mention Rei-sama, at all.
Incidentally, Yos.h.i.+no-san seemed bright and energetic. She'd been resting since the ”Yellow Rose Revolution,” so Yumi was worried about her, but she didn't seem to be that ill, at least at the moment. Rosa Foetida and Rei-sama seemed more like the ill people in question.
On that note, did Yos.h.i.+no-san know how disastrous things have become at school? And how people perceive what she did?
”What have you been doing, while you've been away?”
Of course she was probably resting at home, but she seemed so healthy Yumi bluntly asked. Plus, it seemed difficult to ask directly about Rei-sama.
”Mm. I've been having exams taken at the hospital, and such.”
”Exams?”
”Yes. Like blood sampling and electro-cardiograms.”
”You're sick&h.e.l.lip;?”
”No, I'm not. They're not performing exams because I'm sick-”
Yos.h.i.+no-san froze.
”It's a bit hard, to talk about it by telephone. Actually, I called because I wanted to see Yumi-san.”
”Me?”
Which meant Yos.h.i.+no-san had no intention of returning to school just yet. ”I'm sorry to call you over like this,” Yos.h.i.+no-san said, and then she designated the time and place for Yumi.
”Eh?”
Yumi asked again, while writing everything down on a memo book. She'd said she wanted Yumi to see her, so Yumi a.s.sumed she was going to Yos.h.i.+no-san's house, but&h.e.l.lip;
”Yos.h.i.+no-san you weren't receiving treatment at your home&h.e.l.lip;?”
And right as she asked, she heard the unique announcement from the receiver.
-- Doctor OO, please come to the nurse station immediately.
Yos.h.i.+no-san was actually in a hospital.
”Excuse me.”
When she double-checked the name-plate on the door, then opened the door, she found Yos.h.i.+no-san reading a paperback on her bed.
”Ah, Yumi-san.”
Yos.h.i.+no-san immediately raised her head and smiled, like a blossoming flower.
It was an independent room, and there was no one in the room attending to her. Probably to kill time, there was a stack of paperbacks on the small table by her bed.
”Here&h.e.l.lip;”
Yumi showed Yos.h.i.+no-san the flowers she had brought as an expression of concern. At first she thought about bringing cake or fruits, but her mother had told her she should refrain from that if she hadn't asked Yos.h.i.+no-san if she could eat, so she decided on flowers instead.
”Thank you! They're pretty.”
They were a variety of types, but the three species of yellow roses were all cute. For some reason, Yumi felt they suited Yos.h.i.+no-san.
”I'd never paid someone a bed-side visit before, so I had the florist pick the flowers for me. I didn't know there were so many things to keep in mind, like avoiding Lillies because their scent is too strong.”
The florist had also recommended taking an arranged bouquet so there wouldn't be a need for a flower vase. So the flowers were placed in a basket, like a flipped straw-hat, and it was conveniently designed so you could simply pour water into it, so all you needed to do was set it down on a table.
”I didn't know you weren't supposed to bring potted plants.”
”Oh, yes, because it implies 'netsuku,' I don't mind, though.”
Apparently that's because of ”根つく” (to become rooted) and ”寝つく” (to enter a deep slumber). According to Yos.h.i.+no-san, hospitals paid deep care to omens. Accordingly, many hospitals refused to use 4 (s.h.i.+) and 9 (ku) (死, s.h.i.+, death, 苦, ku, agony). Of course it's mostly because patients might be bothered, rather than the hospital itself.
”I'm sorry for taking up your Sunday.”
Yos.h.i.+no-san placed the book she was reading on her stack of books and turned herself around to face Yumi.
”Oh no, don't worry about it.”
Yumi shook her head as she sat herself down on the chair Yos.h.i.+no-san offered. Her happiness at being told by Yos.h.i.+no-san, ”I want to see you,” trumped any feelings she might have had about losing her Sunday.
”It feels a bit off-kilter, doesn't it.”
Because they'd never met each other outside of school. Yos.h.i.+no-san had a gown draped over her cardigan, and Yumi was wearing a jumper skirt and a mohair cardigan, so they both giggled.
”How do things look?”
Yos.h.i.+no-san didn't specify who, or what, she was asking about in her question, but even with her average language skills, Yumi knew who Yos.h.i.+no-san was asking about.
”She was dazed for a while. But I think she's recovering.”
”I see.”
The question was about Rei-sama.
”Then, she's not dazed anymore?”
”Mm, well&h.e.l.lip; I guess. I think she has a bit more to go, though.”
As she spoke, Yumi wondered. Was Yos.h.i.+no-san happy that Rei-sama was dazed, or the opposite?
”Next Sat.u.r.day, Rei-chan, she has an inter-school match. For kendo.”
”Yes.”
”I really want her to win.”
So I wanted to make sure she'd gotten a grip on herself again, Yos.h.i.+no-san said while smiling, relieved. Then why did she do such a gut-wrenching action in the first place? But Yumi could ask that after Yos.h.i.+no-san finished speaking, so Yumi concentrated on listening. -Because Yos.h.i.+no-san didn't seem to dislike Rei-sama, or anything.
”Yumi-san, did you read the special edition 'Lillian Kawaraban' about Rei-chan and I?”
The subject abruptly changed.
”Y, &h.e.l.lip; yes, I read it, why?”
Actually, Yumi brought that, and the following edition, with her in her handbag. She wasn't trying to be proactive, but if Yos.h.i.+no-san wanted to read it, she wanted to make sure she had it on hand.
”Did you feel anything was odd, while reading it?”
”What?”
”Would it be a mistake? Or would it be better called a misprint? Anyways, that article has a huge mistake.”
”Eh!?”
Yumi quickly opened her bag and pulled out the ”Lillian Kawaraban.” She was in a hurry, so the second and third leaflets were pulled out of the bag at the same time and floated onto the bed, where Yos.h.i.+no-san quickly snapped them up.
”- Oh. Things have become quite dreadful, it seems.”
Yos.h.i.+no-san laughed while skimming over the article.
(I don't think it's something to laugh about-)
One sheet was the break-up announcement. And the new issue this week was a special about the others that had jumped on Rosa Foetida en bouton's bandwagon and began breaking up their own relations.h.i.+ps. On the front page alone was a list of ten pairs, for a total of twenty names. Aside from Oyamada Miyuki-san, Katsura-san was also one of Yumi's cla.s.smates on the list, so Yumi was in complete shock when the issue was printed. Just how far was the newspaper club going to take this?
But this was just a list of pairs the newspaper club had actually found out about, so there was a possibility that the true list was at least double the size. What was going to happen?
”- Oh. In any case, where's the misprint?”
Yumi held out the ”Lillian Kawaraban” and approached Yos.h.i.+no-san. She'd glanced over it again, but she didn't find anything wrong.
”Of course. Anyone else would find that article more believable.”
”So, it's not a kanji conversion mistake, or something like that?”
”It's the content.”
Yumi looked through the article again with that pointer, but she still didn't know what was wrong. ”I give up,” she said, and handed the ”Lillian Kawaraban” to Yos.h.i.+no-san, and she then said, ”All of this,” and pointed to almost half the page.
”All?”
”The questionnaire for Rei-chan and I. There were two sheets, but the second sheet got swapped.”
”Eh&h.e.l.lip;? Ehh-!?”
It wasn't the data you could pull from a physical examination record, like birth date and blood type. Rather, it was the part introducing their personal tastes.
”You're kidding.”
Rei-sama read shoujo novels, and Yos.h.i.+no-san read novels about samurai killing people. That totally didn't fit their image.
Then Yos.h.i.+no-san picked up one of her books and showed the cover to Yumi, as proof.
”&h.e.l.lip; Ikenami Shoutarou.'
She felt herself being sapped of power.
”These are all by him.”
Like a finis.h.i.+ng blow, Yos.h.i.+no-san pointed to her tower of books. She probably would be better off reading textbooks to keep up with the cla.s.ses she missed, but then she'd end up longing for school, so she was re-reading her favorite fencer books, instead.
”Then, then, Yos.h.i.+no-san's hobby-”
”Maybe it's because I can't do it. I love watching sports shows.”
Sumo, baseball, soccer, Olympics, she loved them all to death, she said. Ahh, Yumi's image of Yos.h.i.+no-san was being shattered.
But, that meant Rei-sama was the one who loved knitting.
”Do you remember the lap blanket I used in the cla.s.sroom? Rei-chan made that.”
Being stunned speechless, would best describe Yumi.
The cool Rei-sama, who swung a s.h.i.+nai around at school, gripped a knitting needle and b.a.l.l.s of wool at home - who would believe such a thing?
It didn't suit her. She was willing to bet that without actually pointing it out, no one would notice the misprint. She didn't want to defend the newspaper club, but she could understand why the misprint happened.
”I think Rei-chan's overdoing things.”
”Overdoing?”
”She's always tried to be my knight. Plus her looks? Everyone ends up thinking of her as a boy.”
But she was such a girl, inside. A girl's girl, as Yumi had spoken to Yos.h.i.+no-san about some time ago.
”Yos.h.i.+no-san, umm, I understand you want to say she's actually quite girlish, and that she's pus.h.i.+ng herself, but&h.e.l.lip;”
Yumi was beginning to lose sight of where the conversation was going.
”Rei-chan falls apart when I'm around.”
Yos.h.i.+no-san said seriously.
”So you returned the rosary?”
But that would be just like the newspaper club imagined. To pull herself away for Rei-sama's future was like a story out of modern j.a.panese drama.
But Yos.h.i.+no-san glanced at the article and said it was completely different.
”I'm not that sort of gallant person. Plus I can't just turn my back on her.”
”Eh?”
”I just thought this relations.h.i.+p couldn't continue the way it was. So I wanted to return things to a blank sheet.”
”What do you mean?”
”Becoming strong for Yos.h.i.+no. Then what happens when I'm gone? In truth, Rei-chan's a strong, dependable person, but she's just using my existence as a s.h.i.+eld, acting strong rather than being strong. And she has to realize that.”
Rather than Rei-sama supporting Yos.h.i.+no-san, Rei-sama was using Yos.h.i.+no-san as a crutch.
Yos.h.i.+no-san had realized that earlier, and had thought deeply about what to do about it. And she decided that they needed to be apart for a while. But they go to the same school, and they were neighbors. Then the only way to do this was to break their sisterly bonds. And just as she was wondering about when to put things into motion, that day came.
Yos.h.i.+no-san, incensed by Rei-sama's excessive care, returned the rosary out of momentum.
”I want Rei-chan to become stronger.”
With a firm expression befitting of the phrase ”First strike, certain victory,” Yos.h.i.+no-san laughed.
”In turn, I'm not going to just make Rei-chan suffer. I'm going to become stronger, too.”
”Become stronger-?”
Yumi could tell Yos.h.i.+no-san was plenty strong, just from the conversation. Why would she want to become even stronger?
But Yos.h.i.+no-san wasn't talking about that aspect of strength. Yumi hadn't completely understood Yos.h.i.+no-san's thought-processes yet.
”I've decided to undergo surgery.”
She was a girl with more than enough strength.
”- And so Yos.h.i.+no-san's message is, 'I can't come to cheer for you, but I'll pray for your success at your match.' That's all.”
Rei-sama was completely floored when she finished hearing the message.
”Yos.h.i.+no is hospitalized? And she's having surgery-”
”This Sat.u.r.day. The day of Rei-sama's match.”
It was lunch-break on Friday.
Rei-sama was probably going to be busy after school, so Yumi called her to the courtyard and relayed the message.
”Aunt and uncle did seem a bit fretful lately&h.e.l.lip;”
Rei-sama put her fist to the hemp palm in the courtyard and agonized. It must have hurt, because she was leaning against a hemp palm&h.e.l.lip;
(If this were Rosa Gigantea, she'd probably cling to someone without any hesitation.)
Then. Rei-sama raised her head and suddenly leaned in to Yumi.
”Which hospital? The usual place?”
Rei-sama's close-up. She'd been Yumi's dance partner at the school festival, so she was a bit used to it, but it was still intimidating. Maybe it was because of her hairstyle. Even when she wore the school uniform, she seemed like a young man.
”Yumi-chan!”
”&h.e.l.lip; Apparently it was the same hospital she'd been going to.”
She spun around as soon as she heard the answer, so Yumi hurriedly grabbed Rei-sama's arm. Hey, what time do you think it is? It's still noon, Yumi thought in her mind. And this was why Yos.h.i.+no-san ended up having to take drastic measures.
”What do you hope to accomplish by going?”
”What, uhh-”
”Rei-sama, you don't understand at all why Yos.h.i.+no-san deliberately chose to have surgery during your match.”
The arm Yumi grabbed suddenly became powerless.
”I don't know. There's no way I'd know.”
They'd walked together all the time. Then, their relations.h.i.+p was torn apart without any explanation, so Rei-sama had no way of knowing Yos.h.i.+no-san's feelings, and why she decided to have surgery during the match.
Yumi became a bit envious while watching Rei-sama struggle.
Yos.h.i.+no-san occupied this much of Rei-sama's heart. She knew it wasn't right to compare, because they'd been together for so long, because they shared blood. But if Yumi had decided to break their relations.h.i.+p, would Sachiko-sama agonize as much as Rei-sama? Would she contort her face in distress like it was the end of the world?
”And even if it's surgery, she said it wasn't anything big. The success rate was close to 100 percent&h.e.l.lip;”
”Close!? It's her heart! Can you be absolute about it!?”
Rei-sama grabbed Yumi by her shoulders and shook her wildly.
”Re, Rei-sama.”
She wasn't a doctor, so she couldn't answer that. Yumi was just a messenger, so she was completely clueless about that sort of medical stuff. And maybe Rei-sama realized that fundamental point, because a bit after she shook Yumi, she let go and apologized.
”Yos.h.i.+no always refused surgery.”
”Yes.”
Yos.h.i.+no-san's heart was always a bit off from normal people. She didn't know the specifics, but she had a hole in a wall inside her heart. So sometimes blood that was supposed to go elsewhere would go to the wrong place, making her have palpitations or run out of breath.
Yos.h.i.+no-san's illness was a bit subtle, in that if you were careful, you could live normally. Ideally, you'd just have surgery when you're an infant, but the illness was diagnosed after elementary school, so she'd come to this point, having steadfastly refused it. Yos.h.i.+no-san had told Yumi all of this yesterday.
Even if it were alright now, it was the type of illness that could have repercussions later in life, so it was better to have surgery. Medical practices were always improving, so the surgery could be completed without leaving much of a mark, and so she decided now was the time, said Yos.h.i.+no-san.
But she must have been a bit scared. Yos.h.i.+no-san never said it, but because of her incident with Rei-sama, she'd finally decided to give surgery serious thought for the first time.
Basically, a return. She would become stronger for Rei-sama.
When you think about it, the accepted principle for living is to live for your own sake, but Yumi thought that, beyond that, people were greatly influenced by the need to live for someone else, or to not depart before another, or other such like powers.
”Please, do well during your match. That's Yos.h.i.+no-san's wish.”
Yumi held Rei-sama's palm and gently reminded her. This was something they'd have to deal with on their own, so Yumi couldn't do much more to help them.
But, she honestly hoped, from the bottom of her heart, that things would work out well for both of them.
Rei-sama's match.
Yos.h.i.+no-san's surgery.