Saturday, 12 October 2013
Hikari turned the key in the lock after she and Miyako left the apartment. They chatted their way to the elevator, talking of nothing important, but when the doors slid open and Hikari saw Takeru standing there, she knew instantly something was wrong. He was leaning with his back against the wall and his arms folded across his chest. His head was bowed towards the ground, but from what she could see of his face she could tell he was deep in thought about something. As the two girls stepped onto the elevator, he didn't even glance up at them. "Hey, Takeru, what's up with you?" Miyako demanded as she slapped her hand down on his shoulder.
He glanced up sharply at Miyako with a look Hikari would probably label as shock, and then when his gaze landed on Hikari, he literally flinched back as his eyes went wide. Frowning at this unusual behavior and slightly hurt by it, Hikari's shoulders drooped down. However, she was more confused than anything else, so she asked, "What's wrong, Takeru?"
"Nothing," he said quickly—too quickly—with a smile that reached nowhere near his eyes.
Hikari knew he was lying—and she didn't quite know how to handle that. It wasn't that he hadn't ever lied to her before, but usually it was in jest or when he was teasing her. Even if that wasn't the case, she had never felt that he was purposefully hurtful towards her, but this…this was flat out lying. There was something that he actually felt he couldn't tell her. That was what she didn't know how to deal with because she had never had to before. And she could tell that whatever he was lying about was affecting him deeply.
Miyako nudged him with her elbow and said with a grin, "Come on. Just tell us what's going on."
Takeru, however, just laughed, but it was a fake laugh. A totally non-Takeru laugh. "Seriously, it's nothing," he said as he waved his hand dismissively. Hikari knew better, but before she could ask or say anything, even if she could think of anything to say, he continued to speak, "I'm just on my way to see Yamato. What about you? Where are you girls going?"
Hikari could see the change of subject for what it was, but all she wanted to do was pull him away and demand that he tell her what was wrong. She glanced at Miyako and wondered if it was the other girl's presence that was stopping him from saying anything. Hikari and Takeru had always been able to talk to each about anything before. She tried to catch Takeru's eye to commune to him that they would talk later, but he was distinctly avoiding her gaze. Alarm and panic sliced through her all at once and tears brimmed suddenly on the corners of her eyes. Hikari ducked her head down in shock as she furtively wiped them away, wondering where they had come from. She'd never really considered herself the kind of weepy girl that cried about anything and everything. Hikari usually only cried when she was truly upset about something—was it possible that Takeru lying to her was affecting her so deeply?
"Are you crying, Hikari?"
She felt Miyako's gentle hand on her shoulder and barely heard Takeru's quick intact of breath. Hikari shook her head as she forced a small giggle through her lips. "Just some dust in my eyes," Hikari said as lightly as she could. "This elevator is always terrible for me with that."
Luckily, Miyako seemed to accept this easily as she simply shrugged her shoulders, though Hikari did catch Takeru frowning at her out of the corner of her eye. Just as the elevator reached the bottom floor and the doors chimed open, Miyako turned her attention back to Takeru as she said, "We have just a quick trip to the doctor before we hit the mall."
They had all walked out the doors, but Takeru suddenly stopped up short. Hikari and Miyako stopped as well and turned back to look at him. "Doctor?" Takeru repeated instantly concerned.
It was in that concern that Hikari found the real Takeru—not just her friend, but her absolute best friend. She realized that whatever he was hiding from her, she would just have to trust that he would tell her when he was ready. After all, it could just be something as simple as a surprise for her—and she wouldn't want to ruin that. Hikari doubted that was what it was from his behavior, but she would just have to believe that he would come to her, trust that he knew that she was here for him no matter what. So, she laughed brightly to reassure him as she said, "Just the good old regular yearly check-up for me. Nothing to worry about."
There was nothing marring the genuine confusion in his expression. "Don't you usually do that in July?" he asked.
Hikari nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but with the wedding and all, I just completely forgot about it. And it's been a busy semester so far, so I didn't remember again until just last week that I hadn't done it yet," she explained.
She didn't know why, but his jaw tightened at her words and a muscle jumped in his cheek. She couldn't be sure, but she thought he might have paled slightly as well. He seemed to almost forcing himself to sound normal as he said, "It's good that you're doing it. Your mom would be upset to know that you missed it." Hikari tried to push down the alarm in her that threatened to surface.
Suddenly, almost as if she was completely unaware of the tension that Hikari felt so palpably, Miyako burst out laughing. In a moment more normal than either one of them had managed since meeting in the elevator, Hikari exchanged a glance with Takeru, and she could tell that he was thinking the same exact thing as she was—namely, that Miyako was insane.
"Sorry…" Miyako wheezed out between breaths. "It's just that…sorry…you two…you…she…" She seemed unable to continue speaking as her peals of laughter seemed to renew themselves.
Tentatively, Hikari asked, "Miyako?"
"Hikari said the same thing!" Miyako burst out suddenly, before she collapsed into laughter once more. "Sorry…don't know…not really funny…" she said, once again speaking nearly incoherently in between breaths. She started walking towards the street, leaving Takeru and Hikari no choice to follow after her. As they made it to the sidewalk, Miyako's laughter had mostly subsided, though she still burst into small chuckles occasionally. "Wow, sorry," she said with a grin. "Seriously, guys, I have no idea why that struck me as so funny."
Hikari shrugged and she did not fail to notice that Takeru did the same thing. "Not a problem," he said. "Happens to all of us." He suddenly looked in the opposite direction from where Hikari knew she and Miyako were going. She frowned in thought, until she remembered that he was headed for Yamato's apartment, which was in fact the opposite direction from the bus stop they were going to use to get to the doctor's. Since Yamato's was within walking distance, it seemed that Takeru was not going with them any longer. He confirmed that by giving them half a smile—more real than Hikari had seen from him so far—and saying, "So…I'll see you guys later."
"Sure," Miyako said with a wave, already turning her back and walking towards the bus stop.
Hikari bit her lip as a moment of indecision rushed through her. Almost without conscious thought, she reached out and grabbed onto Takeru's sleeve before he could start walking. She was sure that she did not imagine the slight jump from Takeru as she did so, but she brushed this off for the moment as she said, "Takeru…are you..." She trailed off unsure that she wanted to intrude on this.
"Hikari, hurry it up!" Miyako called out suddenly.
She turned to her other friend and pleasantly said, "Just a minute!" She looked back at Takeru, pouring as much concern as could into her expression.
Takeru's face slid into that gentle smile that she knew so well, but she could see some sorrow behind it—something else she knew as well. He smoothly reached over and pulled her grasp from his sleeves as he said, "Hikari, I…" He trailed off as well as she saw him gulp. "I promise I will tell you later," he finally said after a few silent moments. He caught her gaze as she could see the sincerity in it as he whispered, "I promise."
Knowing that they had no time at the moment and that Miyako was waiting for her, Hikari nodded and took a step back from him. She turned and didn't look back as she ran after Miyako. "What took you so long?" her friend asked as she approached.
"Nothing," Hikari said as she smiled at her friend. "Let's go before we miss our bus."
"Thanks for coming with me," Hikari said again as she and Miyako walked into the doctor's office.
"No problem!" Miyako said, as they approached the receptionist. After she greeted them and handed Hikari the obligatory clipboard with the usual paperwork, the two women sat down and Hikari started to fill out the forms. Miyako glanced around than noted with some happiness that the waiting room was pretty empty so she hoped that meant they wouldn't have to wait very long. She reached out to the table and grabbed one of the magazines lying on it. She perused through it, not really finding any article in particular that she wanted to read, but it wasn't like she had anything else to do.
Hikari finished filling out the forms in a few minutes and went to hand them to the receptionist. Miyako started talking to her as she sat back down about an article about skin care that she found interesting—in that she couldn't believe what people came up with these days to take care of their skin.
"Hikari Yagami?" the receptionist called out.
Hikari smiled at Miyako and asked, "Do you want to wait here or come back with me?"
Miyako stood up and waved her hand towards the door. "Lead the way, Miss Invalid," she stated with a grin.
As they started to walk behind the nurse to the room, Hikari gave a little giggle and shook her head at her friend's theatrics. Hikari hopped up onto the tiny examination table as Miyako took one of the two empty chairs in the room. The nurse started doing the things Hikari was used to during every examination, such as taking her height, weight, and blood pressure and entered them on the computer sitting in the room. There was only a few minutes of waiting before Hikari's regular doctor, Misaki Ito, walked into the room.
"Good morning, Ms. Yagami," Dr. Ito said pleasantly. "How are you today?"
Hikari returned the doctor's smile with one of her own as she said, "Fine, thank you."
"That's good to hear," Dr. Ito said. After that, she went immediately to the computer, and Miyako assumed she was looking at the data that the nurse had just put in. Miyako barely saw the minute frown that passed across the doctor's lips for just a moment before it disappeared. When she turned back to Hikari, Miyako saw that the doctor had on her pleasant expression once again. She pulled the stethoscope off from around her neck and placed it against Hikari's chest. "Deep breath, please," Dr. Ito instructed, as she looked down at her watch.
Miyako sat up straighter as the doctor's lip twitched just barely. She had only really just been joking yesterday—she didn't actually want something to be wrong with her best friend. The doctor repeated the same thing, except that this time with the stethoscope against Hikari's back. Without a word, she made a few notes on the computer. Miyako looked at Hikari, but her friend did not seem alarmed in the slightest. "Have you had any problems lately?" the doctor asked neutrally.
Hikari tilted her head in thought before she said, "Well, I've been having a little heartburn lately, but it hasn't been too bad. I really think it's just been because it's been a stressful semester for me."
The doctor nodded and asked, "Have you found yourself experiencing extra fatigue or shortness of breath when you exert yourself?" Miyako noted that the doctor sounded casual for the most part, but there was a small underlining urgency about her tone that Miyako didn't like. She wondered if the doctor had something in mind for what was wrong, if there was anything in the first place. Miyako really hoped that there wasn't.
Hikari seemed to be giving the question serious thought. Slowly, she nodded. "Actually, yeah, I have," she said. Her gaze suddenly narrowed. "Why?"
The doctor shook her head as she said, "One last question first." Hikari nodded in assent before Dr. Ito asked, "When was your last period?"
Hikari opened her mouth to answer what was a relatively easy question, but then closed it again as a look of confused concentration crossed her face. "It was about three months ago," she said slowly and with a befuddled tone. "I've been so busy that I hadn't really noticed. And I've always been kind of irregular. It's not unheard of for me to miss a month, but to miss two in a row…" she trailed off with her brows furrowed together
Miyako's mind started twirling in thought, but she was speechless in shock. Dr. Ito was quiet for a moment as she glanced at the computer screen. "I saw what you marked, but are you sure that there's no chance that you're pregnant?" Slowly, Hikari's expression morphed into an expression of disbelief and mild panic as the doctor spoke.
"That's impossible," Hikari burst out. "I've never even—" she cut off as she gasped loudly as her eyes widened considerably. She covered her mouth with her hands as her face paled to nearly deathly white. "Oh, no," she whispered frantically. "Oh no, no, no, no…" She trailed off as her eyes clenched shut.
"I guess this means there is a possibility?"
Without opening her eyes, Hikari gave the smallest of nods. Miyako's jaw dropped in utter shock—mostly because Hikari hadn't dated anyone in the past six months or so and she had never dated anyone seriously enough for that ever. The amount of guys she'd actually kissed could be counted on one hand. Dr. Ito looked at Hikari with compassion. "Ms. Yagami, I know it's hard for girls to admit these things happen, but if there's anyone you'd like to report—"
"No," Hikari said firmly as she shook her head vigorously. "It wasn't like that. He…he would have never…" Miyako sat up straighter as Hikari said that. Her mind processed that quickly into the potential father being someone Hikari knew and someone she knew well. And Miyako had an inkling of a feeling that she knew who it was. Hikari continued, "But wouldn't I have had morning sickness or something?
"Not necessarily," Dr. Ito explained. "Morning sickness actually only happens in about seventy percent of pregnancies. You could be part of the lucky thirty percent."
Hikari looked like she didn't think she was lucky at all. Quietly, she asked, "Is there a way we can test now to be sure?"
The doctor smiled and stood up. "Of course," she said. "Just come with me and we'll have the nurse help you. We'll also need to take some blood for some tests in case it turns out positive."
Hikari didn't met Miyako's eyes as she followed Dr. Ito out. As soon as the door closed, Miyako shot to her feet and began to pace about the small room to vent some of her frustration. She couldn't believe Hikari had withheld this kind of juicy news from her.
By the time, Hikari entered the room again, with a fresh bandage above the crook of her elbow where they had taken her blood, Miyako had worked herself up quite a bit . Miyako was about to hound her until she noticed the pallor of Hikari's face. As Hikari closed the door again, she leaned against it and sighed heavily as she leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling. "Hikari?" Miyako asked tentatively.
Hikari didn't look at her as she said, "She'll be back in a few minutes with the results." She lowered her gaze and there was half a sardonic smile that didn't fit on her face. "I tell you, if this turns out to be true, I am going to murder Daisuke."
Miyako gaped at her as this bit of information processed. "You slept with Daisuke?" she asked incredulously—he had not the one she had been expecting Hikari to say.
Hikari gave a small hollow laugh as she moved away from the door to sit back down. "Of course not," she answered. "Miyako, the day you got married…well, that's the only night I can't remember what happened before waking up next to Takeru."
Miyako jumped to her feet again. "It was Takeru?" she asked with somewhat of a triumphant grin as he had been the one she had guessed.
"Look, Miyako, I don't want you to make a big deal of this."
"Sorry, Hikari, but it kind of already is a big deal," Miyako interrupted.
Hikari sighed. "I know, but it was more of an accident than anything else."
"Hikari, you don't just sleep with your best friend by accident."
"Well, this time was," Hikari protested. "At your reception, Daisuke gave me and Takeru some sort of drink—I have no idea what, but I will kill him for it—and everything is sort of fuzzy after that."
"Is that why you two disappeared?"
Hikari shrugged. "I guess. Neither of us thought anything happened because we had clothes on the next morning and we sleep over at each others' apartments all the time anyway…but I guess something did happen." There was a gentle smile on her face. "I don't know if it's destiny or just fate casting its own joke at my face, but it makes sense that it would be him for my first time. After all, he was my first crush and my first kiss, too."
"You had a crush on Takeru and you kissed him? When was this?"
"I had a crush on him back when we were in like second grade—which doesn't even really count. Obviously, I got over it. And he kissed me at the end of our third year of middle school, but only because I asked him to."
"Wait, you asked him to kiss you?" Miyako asked incredulously.
Hikari gave another shrug. "I hadn't been kissed yet and I was wondering what it was like, so I…you know…" Her expression was rather sheepish as she turned her gaze away from Miyako.
Miyako felt for the poor boy as she shook her head at her usually so sensible best friend. It hadn't been obvious—he'd been very good at hiding it—but Miyako used to sometimes catch Takeru looking at Hikari for the barest of moments with expressions that she'd always thought meant he was harboring feelings for Hikari. But that had stopped by the time they'd entered high school. After, Miyako realized with a jolt, the two of them had kissed.
Just then, Dr. Ito came back in and Miyako saw Hikari tense up out of the corner of her eye. "The test came back positive," she said with a bright smile. "Congratulations. We need to schedule an ultrasound so that we can see how the baby is doing. I'll also get you some recommendations for a few obstetricians. See the receptionist on the way out, okay?"
"All right," Hikari said almost sounding hoarse. The doctor continued to give out instructions about vitamins, what Hikari should and should not eat, and various other things that Hikari just kept nodding and agreeing to almost in a daze. Finally, she let them go, but they stopped by the desk to see the receptionist.
They were both quiet on their way back to the bus stop after scheduling Hikari's ultrasound for next week. As they were waiting for the bus to arrive to take them to the restaurant they were going to eat lunch at, Hikari said, "You can't tell anyone about this."
"I won't," Miyako said rolling her eyes.
"I mean it, Miyako," Hikari said. "You have to promise me that you won't even tell Ken."
"Hikari, contrary to what you may believe, I do know how to keep a secret. But, you know you're going to have to tell Takeru, right?"
"I know and I will, but I just need some time…to think things through."
Miyako smiled at her. "I understand, but don't wait too long." After a few moments of silence, Miyako offered a smile and said, "Well, look on the bright side. Now we have an actual legitimate excuse to look at the baby clothes." Her grinned widened as Hikari burst into laughter.