The Perfect Medicine

I glance around the stark white halls of the hospital, with only one thought coming to mind.

What am I doing here, again?

Somehow... I always end up roping myself into these situations. I say one little thing to a classmate, and suddenly I'm the one who gets to preform damage control.

It was around lunch time when it happened. It was business as usual in the restaurant… Up until Hiyoko Saionji, our resident big-mouth, decided to cause a scene.

"Hey, pig-bitch!" She makes an obnoxious oinking noise, garnering the attention of our one-and-only health committee member, Mikan.

"Y-Yes!?" She quickly jumps to attention, knocking her chair over as she stands.

"You didn't get the right bread, you dumb cow!" Hiyoko belts the food at the girl's head, nearly making her fall over when it comes in contact with her cheek. "I asked for melon! This is curry flavored!"

"T-That was all they had left!" She holds a hand to where the food smacked her. "I-I told you as much when I got back from the store…!"

"You didn't say it was curry! This is so fucking disgusting!" The short blonde blows a raspberry, face contorting in disgust.

"I-I did tell you the flavor, though…" Mikan shrinks away slightly. "I-I mean… I could have swore I did!"

"Well, you didn't!" The girl stomps her foot angrily, making the nurse flinch. "You dumb broad! You can't do anything right! Ever!"

"R-Right… I know…" She sighs, tears welling up in her eyes. "Sorry! I-I'll do better! I'll go find you melon bread, o-okay?"

Ordinarily, this is where they would have left off. Mikan would be gone for the rest of lunch, doing anything in her power to get Hiyoko what she wanted. Once she came back, regardless of how successful she was, Hiyoko would still call her names and draw on her.

Unfortunately… today wasn't ordinary.

"No way!" Hiyoko wails. "No way, no way! You're so done! I'm not letting you get away with this that easily, dumbass!"

"W-What!?" Mikan quickly shakes her head. "O-Okay! I get it! I'll do whatever you want, okay…!? D-Draw on my arms, strip me, I don't care…!"

"No way!" She's on a roll now, absolutely fuming. She sort of looks like a monkey with how she's stomping around. "You're in for it! As punishment for making me eat something so disgusting, I'm telling everyone who you have a crush on!"

This stops Mikan cold. "…W-What!?"

Hiyoko lets out a mean-spirited laugh. "Oh, so now you're ugly and deaf? You heard me! I'm telling everyone who it is you like!"

"H-Hiyoko…" Mahiru, Hiyoko's reluctant best friend and keeper, chooses this point to break into the conversation. "Don't you think that's a little bit too far?"

"Mahiru, she's always messing up like this! Always!" She crosses her arms and stomps her foot, shooting a pointed look at Mikan. "Smelly pigs won't learn their place unless you punish them!"

"H-Hiyoko, please!" Mikan shakes her head furiously, face aflame. "I-I…. I'll let you do anything else, but please…! N-Not that!"

"Hold the fucking phone here!" Hiyoko holds a hand up to her face in mock-surprise. "Mikan? Saying no? Did someone hit this dumbass over the head before I got a chance to?"

"Hiyoko, seriously!" Mahiru stands from her seat. "Let it go!"

"P-Please!" Mikan pleads, ignoring the other girl. "I-I'll do anything else to get you to forgive me! A-Anything!"

The small girl steps forward, turning her nose up at Mikan. "No chance! You want me to do those other things, you sicko! So listen up everyone!"

"N-No, don't…!" Mikan's tears are extremely close to spilling over.

Hiyoko flips one of her twin tails back, looking like she'd just won the lottery. "It's too late for that! The person smelly-Mikan likes is-"

She doesn't say it. Rather, she can't say it.

Because to everyone's surprise, Mikan flung her plate at Hiyoko, hitting her square in the forehead.

She topples to the floor, landing hard on her butt. Everyone in the room is staring at the scene in stunned silence.

"I-I…!" Mikan seems completely shocked herself, gaping down at her hands. Without saying another word, she bolts out of the room.

Hiyoko looks dazed; she stares off at where Mikan was, almost as if she were still there.

"H-Hey, are you okay!?" Mahiru rushes to her side after the shock wears off, pulling the girl to a stand. She cringes a bit as she inspects her forehead. "Yeesh…! What a lump!"

"She had it fucking coming." Fuyuhiko chimes in, returning to his lunch. "You push someone far enough, and they're gonna push back. Dumbass."

The gang leader's insult pulls Hiyoko back to reality. "H-Hey! What's the big deal!? Isn't making her strip or whatever a lot worse than that!?"

I shake my head, glancing out the window to the sea. "Not to her, probably. I bet she told you that in confidence. I'd be pissed too if someone was going to publicly announce a secret of mine."

"The hell do you know, Haji-dickcheese?" She fumes, holding a hand to her head. "I'm the one who's her friend, not you!"

"We are friends, as a matter of fact!" I can't help but feel agitated at her behavior. "A better friend than you from the looks of it!"

"Oh yeah!?" She yells. "If you're both such good friends, why didn't you chase after her?"

Without realizing it, I'd managed to effectively paint myself into a corner. That's why I'm running around the hospital now; it's the only place I could think of that Mikan would actually run to.

It's not like I was bluffing earlier; Mikan Tsumiki and I really are friends. From the very beginning of this strange island trip, I'd done my best to get to know her just as much as everyone else in the class. Eventually, I got to a point where she'd let me talk to her normally, without her shying away in fear or assuming that I was annoyed by her being near me. After she finally opened up to me about her past, I felt like we'd really become close.

...She and I really are friends, but lately our relationship has become strange. Every single time I've tried to talk to her recently, she'd pushed for me to bully her in some way or another. Yelling at me to pull her hair, draw on her arms, and even push her around… I don't get why she'd suddenly started acting like this towards me, but it's made it hard for me to approach her these past several days.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me a lot.

I shake my head. "C'mon Hajime, focus… check the rooms first."

One after the other, I search each room. She's not in the beds, in the closets… nowhere.

"Where else could she have gone…?" I mumble out loud. She'd told me before that the hospital was her favorite place on the island. Suddenly, it occurs to me that she might have simply gone to her room.

"I'm such a dumbass!" I fight the urge to groan. "How did I not think to check there first?"

I turn on my heel to leave, but I stop short when I hear sniffling. "Where…?" I whip my head around, scanning the room I'd just been in. Nothing jumps out to me… until I see a shoe peeking out from under one of the beds.

"Mikan…" I sigh, relief washing over me in a wave. "Why are you hiding down there?"

She doesn't respond. Instead, she shrinks back farther under the bed.

I drop down to my knees, laying down on the floor in an effort to face her properly. "Mikan, come on-"

"N-No!" She blurts, face buried in her hands. "H-Hiyoko definitely told you about it, right?! She must have!"

I shake my head, realizing after a moment she can't see the action. "N-No! She didn't!"

"Y-You're lying to me!" She sobs a bit. "W-Why else would you be here right now!?"

"I came to check on you, obviously!" I fight the urge to yell at the girl. "We're friends, right? Of course I'd be concerned after what happened!"

Her crying slows as she peeks through her fingers to look at me. "Y-You mean… she didn't actually…?"

I shake my head. "No. I don't think she could if she wanted to anyway; you nailed her pretty hard, you know?"

"O-Oh god…!" She starts sobbing all over again. "I-I really did do that…! There's no way s-she's gonna forgive me! I hurt my friend…!"

Crap.

Instantly regretting what I'd said, I quickly try to take it back. "I-I mean! It wasn't that bad, really! She was yelling again as soon as Fuyuhiko started talking! Everything is going to be okay!"

"No, no!" She furiously shakes her head. "A-After what I just did, there's no way she'd forgive me! Everyone else is-" She sniffles. "They're all g-gonna hate me too! I'm so sorry…!"

"No one is going to hate you!" I reassure. "Mikan, please come out! It's really hard to talk properly when you're curled up under a bed!"

"N-No! I refuse!" As if to prove her point, she shrinks further away from me. "I'm going to stay under here until I die! T-Then I can't disappoint anyone else, right? I-I can't be h-hated if I die!"

What to do…? She isn't going to calm down any time soon at this rate…

I reach out to her. "Mikan, come on…"

"N-No! Leave me alone, H-Hajime!" She scoots back until she's against the wall. "I-I can't stand the idea of anyone hating me! It hurts! I-It hurts so much…!"

"Mikan!"

Before I know it, I've pushed my way under the bed with her. Her crying abruptly stops, clearly overwhelmed by our sudden proximity.

It's cramped, that's for certain. It's a miracle that I was even able to get under here. "Mikan, please… none of us would hate you for something like this. I can't speak for Hiyoko, but none of us like seeing you upset or hurt, you know?"

"..." She fidgets slightly, clearly at a loss. "You… Y-You aren't being honest with me."

"I'm not lying when I say that we all think of you as a friend." I say after a moment. "Frankly… I don't care if you think I'm lying or not. I know it's the truth; you're just going to have to accept that."

"H-Hajime…" She stares at me for a moment before her face erupts into a blush. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you a liar, but-!" She breathes out a shaky sigh, sad look on her face…. "N-No. Out of everyone in the entire world, Hajime wouldn't lie to me. I know that."

"...I see." A familiar feeling forms in my gut. She's doing it again; she's acting strange. "W-Well. Now that that's done, I'll just…"

I try moving back out from under the bed. To my dismay… my back hits something. I can't seem to wiggle my way out from this position.

The look on my face must be speaking volumes. Mikan instantly notices. "H-Hajime! Are you stuck? Oh no, oh no…! You're stuck under here with… me?! Now!? T-This is horrible!"

I sigh. This again… "Mikan, I told you a million times. I don't mind being with you-"

She shakes her head. "N-No! That's not what I meant…!" Suddenly she starts shoving me, clearly distressed over this development. "W-We need to get out! Out, out, out!"

"W-Woah, Mikan! What's the issue?" I can definitely feel Mikan pushing against me, but she's not very strong… it doesn't seem like it's doing a thing. "Stop! We're not going to be able to get out unless I can shift over, so…!"

After a good few moments of her struggling, she relents with a teary sigh. "I-I couldn't do it… Oh no…"

I can't help but feel a little hurt. "What, is it that bad being so close to me?"

"What?!" The nurse seems shocked by the very idea of it. "No! I don't dislike Hajime at all! N-Not in the least…!"

"Mikan…" Now is a good a time as any. While I have her here, I may as well bring this up... "Why have you been acting so strangely towards me recently?"

"H-Huh?" She squeaks. "M-Me? Strange?"

"Well… yeah." I sigh. "I wasn't planning on saying anything about it now, but since we're like this… it feels like you're trying to push me away."

"Wh-What makes you say that!?" She gasps. "N-No, I'd never…! What have I done to make you t-think such a thing!? I'll let you punish me later for it, so please-!"

"That's just it!" I'd rub my face in my hands… if I could get them there without smacking Mikan. "That right there! You've been pushing for me to bully you recently, even more than when we first met! I'd told you before that I'd never treat you like that!"

"...R-Really?" This seems to strike her. She backs away from me slightly, moving to where she can look at me directly. "I…I have?"

"Yes." I bite the inside of my cheek as I confront her. "I…I'd honestly thought we'd gotten past that, you know? Especially after you'd opened up to me about your past… all the horrible things you went through."

She flinches, turning her eyes downward. "Hajime…"

"Help me understand it, Mikan." It's a bit painful, but I manage to grip her shoulders, causing her to look up at me with a start. "Why do you want me to hurt you? Why do you think I ever would?"

Her face erupts in a blush. Speaking in a low whisper, she adverts her eyes. "D-Deep down… I know you'd never hurt me, Hajime."

…H-Huh?

I feel my throat constrict slightly, and I know it isn't because of the tight space we're in.

What's with the sudden change in atmosphere…?

"T-Then why would you ask me to!?" I look away from her. I'm suddenly feeling extremely self-aware.

"H-Hajime!"

I feel her press fully against me; she wraps one of her legs around my bent one, and presses her chest into mine. My face grows hot almost instantly.

"S-So…!" Mikan's body is pressed so close to mine that I can feel her heart hammering away in her chest. "I…I realized something recently. S-Something horrifying."

"Horrifying?" I keep my gaze firmly locked on the wall, doing my best to not look down at the nurse who feels like she's hell-bent on fusing with me.

"I…!" I hear her breath catch. "I started l-liking you too much! I d-didn't want to drive you away with these feelings! I know I always say I can't stand people hating me, but…!"

She trails off, letting out a shaky breath. "H-Hajime, I don't think I'd be able to live if you said you hated me. T-The idea of it terrified me, so I… I tried to get rid of these feelings! T-They came from your kindness, so I thought…! I thought your cruelty would be the cure!"

I feel the front of my shirt grow wet. "B-But now I get it. You wouldn't hurt anyone, Hajime. You'll even treat someone like me gently! M-My plan was doomed from the start…! And now- now you're definitely going to hate me!"

…It all hits me at once. When I first found her, she'd said that my presence must have meant that Hiyoko told on her. I feel like an absolute moron for not realizing it sooner.

The person that Mikan Tsumiki likes is me.

How could I be so dense…? I forced my way in here, without even considering how she felt! Now I understand why she was panicking…

"M-Mikan, I don't hate you!" I try to crane my neck down to look at her, but her face is pressed firmly into my chest.

"D-Don't pity me…!" She all but screams. "T-That's even worse than you hating me…!"

"You said it before, didn't you…?" It takes a bit of wiggling, but I manage to get my arm around her in an awkward sort of half-hug. "You know I wouldn't lie to you."

"N-Not in a mean way! Y-You're trying to spare my feelings…! It hurts so much more than an outright rejection!" She looks up at me, finally prying her face away from my body. The look on her face is heartbreaking… "P-Please, just tell me your feelings! Your real, actual feelings!"

Once more, I feel my face heat up. "Mikan… put your head to my chest."

"E-Eh?" The look she's giving me is so intense that I have no choice but to shut my eyes in embarrassment. "C-Chest…!?"

"Y-You'll find your answer there, I think…" I manage, letting out a shaky sigh.

She complies, resting her head where it was previously. "Like… like this…?"

"Yeah. Do you hear it?"

I feel her shift against me slightly. "A-Accelerated heartbeat…?" She jumps, clearly startled. "W-What!?"

"Do you get it now?" I sigh, cracking an eye open to look down at her. "I… I could never hate you for this, Mikan. I'm actually pretty happy about it."

"Happy…" Her tears finally subside, and her blush seems to consume her entire face. "No… no way!"

"Even though I wanted to give you space at first, I'm really glad I came here." I turn my head away from her again. "I finally understand why your asking me to hurt you bothered me so much. I like you too, Mikan. Probably too much… just like how you feel towards me."

Suddenly, she pulls away from me, scooting up so that we're eye-level. "You're… you aren't lying to me. You can't fake that kind of involuntary reaction! Y-You… you like me!?"

I let out a laugh. "Yeah, I guess I really do. It's embarrassing having to realize it like this though."

"...W-wuh…" She clutches her chest. "I…!"

"Mikan…?" Rather than looking at me, her eyes are crushed shut.

"I-I think I'm having a panic attack!" She blurts.

"H-Huh!?"

"M-My heart…! I feel like it's going to explode!" Mikan's face tells me that she's genuinely scared, and that worries me. "I've never felt like this before! H-Hajime, w-we need to get out from under here!"

"Okay! I get it! J-Just… try to calm down a bit!" I glance back and forth, trying to think of a way to squeeze out of here. "We won't be able to do anything if you don't! I'm going to need your help to get out!"

"I can't!" She furiously shakes her head. "I can't, I-I really can't!"

I can't help but scowl. How am I supposed to get Mikan out of here when I'm the one that's stuck…?

What can I do to calm her down?

I spend a moment thinking about that before it hits me.

"...Ah. Hey, Mikan?"

She forces her eyes open at my call, looking directly at me. Then, hesitating for only a moment…

I lean over and kiss her.

It's just a peck, honestly. It's hard to do anything else with my limited range of motion. Thankfully though… it seems to have the intended affect. When I pull away, she isn't hysterical anymore.

I smile at her. "Are you okay now…?"

"Y-You…" Her face erupts in a blush, hand moving up to touch her lips. "Ki…Kiss…"

"I did." I say. I don't feel nervous after the fact; not at all. It felt so natural. "So… I just had a thought as to how we can get out. Are you calm enough to listen now?"

She mutely nods. It's a little embarrassing that my kiss stole her ability to speak, but at least she's calm.

"Well…" I laugh a little. "I feel stupid for not realizing this earlier, but can't you just squeeze out from the foot of the bed?"

…

"Oh." She manages. She starts shimmying her way down the length of the bed until she's able to exit at the end. Once Mikan is out, I hear her walk around to where I'm stuck. "W-What should I do now?"

"Er…" What should she do? I take a minute to think on it. "Okay, this is going to suck a little bit, but push down on my left shoulder. I'm going to try and turn so that I'm flat on my stomach, alright?"

"R-Right!"

After what feels like an eternity of struggling, I manage to get free of my self-inflicted predicament. As it turns out, I'd accidentally knocked into the railing of the bed when I went under it, causing it to slide down. I'm not too sure how we missed that in the first place, but…

"Jeez…" I sigh. "When we get back to the first island, let's leave out the fact that we were almost eaten by a bed, okay?" She nods, but I'm not entirely sure she heard me. "…Mikan?"

"Oh! R-Right…" She sighs, face erupting into a blush. "Sorry…"

I frown. "What's wrong?"

"T-That's…" Her blush spreads to the tips of her ears. "That medicine you gave me earlier… t-the kiss? I think… I think it's a very powerful drug."

Her wording causes me to flush as well. "D-Drug!? It was just a peck…!"

"I-I know that!" She fidgets slightly. "Uhm, but… I think it might have some addictive properties…! B-Be sure not to abuse it, okay…?"

"What on earth are you…?" I snap my fingers, smiling over to the girl next to me. "…You liked it that much?"

"~~~!" Mikan makes an incoherent squealing noise. "D-Don't say it like that!"

I laugh. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to be giving you a lot of those from here on out. That's a promise!"

She buries her face in her hands and leans her head against my shoulder all in one motion. Then, in a faint whisper, she says something that makes my heart speed up just the tiniest bit.

"...I… I guess I'll just become an addict then…"