Vol 1 Chapter 6 (1/2)

Chapter 6 - Opening the Door to Her Heart

Was it a dreaain?

When I opened

But Nayuki who had went to sleep with me was not by my side now

Was yesterday night only a dream as well?

“The sun is co out~”

At this

“You…”

I was struck speechless

“What happeend? You woke up earlier than ed earlier than me, and even…”

“Breakfast is already prepared~”

“Miracle…”

“It’s not a miracle~”

Though pouting, she talked as slow as usual

“When mum’s not around, I’ll wake up early”

“Okay”

“And I’ll feel e”

“I’ face”

“That’s different fro”

She was so embarrassed even her neck becaht But if I think too deep about it, I couldn’t i ithout saying anything

Having changed my clothes and descended to the first floor, I found the breakfast Nayuki said she had prepared there

Toast with strawberry jam, strawberry milk, and strawberry Yakult for dessert

“Nayuki…hey…”

“Woah It says the Capricorns have the worst luck today”

Ignoring ram on the television

“Okay, I’ll make do with it”

Wolfing down the sweet and sour and even red breakfast, I was painfully reminded that Akiko was a necessity in this family

“Good , Kaori”

“Oh Good ain now?”

“Yeah”

“It’s great”

Kaori slapped my shoulders

“Heh”

I tensed abruptly

“What’s wrong?”

Kaori and Nayuki looked at me and said in unison

“…nothing”

What upset ry when I was h some setbacks

At this tiawa came into the classroom even later than Nayuki and I

“I planned to stay up last night and study, but I somehow fell asleep and ended up almost late when I woke up”

“You’re a hard-working person to stay up studying”

“Ohoh, it’s my first time to be praised by Kaori-sensei”

“I’ you,” I looked at both of them with the corner of my eyes (Shaft mode), “you two try to tease Nayuki and I whenever possible, but aren’t you two getting along pretty well?”

“What…”

“Don’t say such sudden weird stuff”

“Wah Their faces have become red~”

As they continued saying, “Please stop” and “It’s enough, I felt I had taken e

Then for some time I could tease them with this topic, but still, perhaps Nayuki and I couldn’t prevent ourselves fro teased by them at the same time…

“Look, the teacher’s co up”

Kaori said, as if heaving a sigh We thus returned to our seats obediently

But actually, I didn’t really care when the exa

After the exao out with Nayuki in the weekends, or even get Kaori and Kitagawa to co I only left space in s

And this serene day ended

We were having our next exam An unfa to the supervisor

The supervisor nodded and called Nayuki and I, telling us to hand in our exae Our exaraded by e had written so far

Nayuki showed a sign of unrest, but we couldn’t just bother others in their exams, so I hurried Nayuki outside the classroom

In the lounge waiting for us was the e of Akiko involved in a car crash and had been sent to the hospital

“How did that happen?”

I supported Nayuki, as about to collapse

“So let’s head over to the hospital right now We had called a taxi already”

Fazed, Nayuki said nothing, at a loss The teacher rested his hand on my shoulder and said, “You’re Minase’s relative and also their family member I hope you can work hard to be Minase’s pillar”

I didn’t need you to tell me

Although ent to the hospital by car, the fastest transportation tool in this case, we had to, incidentally, pass through the place of the accident

I moved Nayuki’s head near my chest so as not to let her see the place

Although she leaned on h her still, lifeless eyes

The car had crashed into such an irregular shape that one couldn’t tell what it originally looked like, its broken pieces of glasses scattered everywhere on the road On top of that, the snow stacked at the side of the asphalt road was dyed with traces of red

“…Gu…”

I couldn’t stifle the stuff rushi+ng intoreality

Neither was it the fear of i how Akiko would look like

…the snow dyed red

On the icy snow lay a body

A girl suddenly vanished in front of Yuichi…

There was nothing he could do except for crying for her…

It was depressing

It happened, and it was so depressing it shut one’s memories

It was the last shard of otten memories

There was a girl I had got along really well in that winter

We ate taiyakis, teased each other, and played together On that day, she dyed the pure, white snow red with her blood and vanished in front of me

And since then, I had grown to hate snow…

Even e had reached the hospital, Nayuki and I were prohibited fro Akiko

“We had done all we could, but her condition is still at stake Even if her condition turns better, and she lives on, the possibility of her to retrieve her consciousness remains…”

That was all I could remember from the doctor’s explanation

I also heard some simple explanation from the police

In thehome, Akiko was hit by a car that failed to make a turn

The driver, injured only slightly, told us that even though hethe turn, Akiko only noticed it at the last moment

Akiko ht without sleep that rendered her vulnerable

It pained us even s didn’t matter to her so much

Even now, of course, she made no mistake in this accident

Problems such as hoe should talk with the driver were beyond our iination or control already

We had to decide them later when my parents come

Even though I contactedto the hospital, my father, unfortunately, contracted a serious flu since last week

“If I force your father to go there, he et there, even if it's only by myself But before I come, you have to be Nayuki’s pillar”

Myas my teacher

Nayuki and I had thought of living in the hospital together, but as Akiko hadn’t gained conscious, and the hospital staff would keep an eye on her every moment, it made no difference if we stayed at home

“Please contact us if anything happens—no ht”

With that said, Nayuki and I returned home

Nayuki spoke nothing from the moment she was informed of the incident to this very moment on the way home

Her wan face lost its expressions, still and lifeless It is doubtful of whether she had even heard what the doctor or the police said

When we came home, Nayuki suddenly turned her head to the door of Akiko’s room and said, “Mum…”, softly

I silently held her hand

But she just drooped her hand without strength and didn’t grasp my hand

“The sun The sun is co out”

Nayuki’s voice in the alar that stayed serene as ever

The house was quiet, containing no voice The fragrance oftoast was lost

The air conditioner should have been turned on, but thisfelt much chillier than usual

“Nayuki”

I tried to knock Nayuki’s door when I got out

There was no response

I called her again, but as it proved useless, I tried turning the knob

The door was knocked

“Nayuki, I’ to school I’ll place yours outside the door, so you can have it if you like If there’s any news from the hospital, please oing to the hospital right after the exams”

Having that said outside the door, I descended to the first floor and made toast Then I spread Nayuki’s favourite ja with her favourite milk, outside her room in front of the door

“I’m off”

I had thought of requesting for absence at school, but looking at Nayuki’s condition, I believed I could only take care of my own stuff, so I headed school alone anyway

At school, Kaori and Kitagaas equally worried about Nayuki’s condition and Akiko’s

“Nayuki gets along really good with her mother”

“Is it fine to leave Minase at home alone?”

“M Akiko’s condition, I don’t think she would do so herself sent to the hospital too”

“Aizawa”

Kaori approached me

“You have to help Nayuki out You have to protect her”

Kaori’s voice trembled

“I…I’ve known about you a long tio because Nayuki had always talked about her ‘cousin Yuichi’ happily”

“I see…”

“She also told et eentle boy She hadn’t seen you forhad always been joyful Anyone, not only me, would discern that Nayuki loves her cousin Yuichi upon seeing those eyes she had I’m honest”

Kaori had always been, since the first day of seeingI could understand why now

I hoped, if possible, I could know this in a better time and place

“When you left the town, you had always been the person Nayuki loved the most”

“…thanks”

Kaori’s words engraved into my heart deeper than my mother’s or teacher’s

Even during the exams, Kaori would sometimes remember about Nayuki and quietly choke in sobs

After nearly idling and staring at space for three times in front of the table, the exams ended

Kaori and Kitagawa called to me when I headed off to hospital

“Work hard, though I should say I’”

“I believe Nayuki’s et better”

“Yeah”

I felt, however, that it was iht of Kaori saying that it’s called a miracle because it wouldn’t happen

In fact, Akiko’s condition hadn’t changed any bit

That is to say, her condition would drift downhill at any moment

For confirmation, I asked the nurse, who told me that Nayuki hadn’t come to the hospital

I waited for a while, but Nayuki still didn’t appear

Phoning hoe box She

Returning ho outside her door in its original state

It had turned hard, of course

I thensimple like fried rice would work With that done, I took it to Nayuki’s room

“Nayuki, dinner is made I made it Don’t you want to try some?”

I knocked, but got no response

“You haven’t even eaten breakfast If you don’t eat, you’ll collapse”

I felt Nayuki’s presence inside, so she was there, just not giving any response

I could empathise with her sorrow and her desperation

I also loved Akiko And more importantly, I had just re someone important

I lightly heaved a sigh and placed the plate in front of the door again

I didn’t knohether I could sleep if I got on bed, but it seeued is sleep So I quickly fell into my dreams when I laid down

A s sound woke me up

It was ht

The sound just thenthe plate in the corridor

Worried, I quietly crawled up from my bed

I slowly and meticulously tiptoed to Nayuki’s room

The plate was alone on the plate

“Nayuki Have you eaten, Nayuki?”

I tried hard to call for her No response But if she had eaten some of the rice I made, then there was hope

“Nayuki You’re awake, aren’t you? At least speak so, Nayuki”

I kept knocking the door Irabbed the knock and tried turning it Out of my surprise, it opened easily

“…I’ in”

Nayuki’s room was not lit When we prepared for the exarant room Noas filled only with stuffy and heavy air

Nayuki was in the corner of the room

The faint htly holding her knees, showing eyes as dull as I had never seen, still and lifeless

I approached her and called her, wanting to softly touch her shoulders

“Get out”

It was a soft voice, but ehtforward rejection

“I don’t want to see anyone…”

Compared to Nayuki’s rejection, her desperate and pitiful look distressed me more

“How’s the dinner I made?” I forced a smile and asked her “Did you eat it?”

“It tastes bad”

Nayuki only htest motion

“It probably got cold If you ate it just when it was made, it would be a lot better I have tried it myself”

“…it’s the same even when it’s warm”

“No way That’s the best dish I canskills Okay, I’llit here”

“No”

Her voice treht

“…of course, if you co…”

“Get out, Yuichi”

Upon hearing Akiko’s voice, Nayuki increased her volume

“It would have been better if I hadn’t eaten the food you ht that mum wasn’t here and I felt even more sad”

“Akiko’s still here!”

I followed suit and increased my volume

“Get out, Yuichi”

I grabbed her hands which she was going to cover her ears

“Do you think Akiko would be happy if you just sully yourself here and escape reality? Akiko ht be saved She definitely would be It's Akiko we’re talking about Unlike any other noret affected by others and her surroundings How could she just disappear that easily!”

“…then, are you going to make a miracle happen and save her?”

“That…”

I couldn’t help re silent

Nayuki onlyI couldn’t She then diverted her eyes off me and returned to her dull and blank eyes

It ht even be better if she protested or threw a tantrum

It was only heart-wrecking to see the girl I treasure fall again in despair

I let go of her body Nayuki rolled on the floor like a doll, and then as if rely caressed the carpet on the floor

“I have always been living in this house There has been several years, in this street and in this house, that I lived only with my mother”

Nayuki wasn’t exactly speaking to a specific person

“I don’t remember how my father looked like It has always been entle and she taught s For my mother, for school, and for the house, I have also worked very hard for this life”

In my heart there were a lot of heartfelt memories of Akiko and Nayuki: when I was sht an abandoned cat, and Akiko , Akiko would wake Nayuki up tediously In the nights, Akiko wouldup her sleep