Chapter Ten
I don't know how long it takes me to get to sleep, though it feels like a couple of hours at least, but I awaken to a pained sound, like something is being torn away at. I sit up and rub sleep out of my eyes. I glance at my watch- it's three o'clock in the morning. I fumble around beside me and find the torch. I press down on the button and shine it around the tent. My eyes lock onto Takeshi and I gasp. His dark brown eyes are wide open and his face pale and sweat-drenched. His hands and in front of his mouth as he coughs and splutters hard into them. I swear and lean across, trying to roll him onto his side. His body is limp, and I move him with no trouble, which worries me. Suddenly, I'm wide awake. I quickly unzip my sleeping bag and clamber out so that I can move more easily. I whisper words of reassurance as I reach out for my water bottle and a clean sock. I pour some of my water onto the sock and drape it across Takeshi's forehead. A short break in the coughing comes, and Takeshi looks up at me.
"K-Korin-san… P-please d-don't c-call for h-help… I'll b-be f-fine in a minute…" he croaks out, his voice hoarse and weak. I frown.
"You're sick. You need help. I can't just-"
"I'll be fine." Takeshi cuts me off, his voice slightly firmer, though he doesn't sound any less awful. I shake my head. "Y-you don't understand, Korin-san. Whatever they do, it won't help. A Yokai did this to me." I gasp, and the faces of all the Yokai I've met flash before my eyes… Sweet little Hanako, cheerful but feisty Mariko, bookish and pedantic Bunko, confident and protective Yuki… I can't imagine a single one of them ever doing anything to harm another being unless it was to preserve themselves or their friends. And yet Takeshi is telling me that a Yokai did this, a Yokai hurt him so badly. I don't want to believe it, but the proof is right in front of me.
"Isn't there anything I can do?" He shakes his head. It makes him wince. I feel something dampen my cheeks and I realise I'm crying. Then, the coughing begins again. I can almost feel his pain as each dry, ripping noise makes his eyes water. "I'm going to call your sister." I reach out for my phone and grasp hold of it, fumbling to press the right keys to call Megumi. The phone begins to ring, and I let out a sigh of relief.
A click signals that Megumi has answered my call, "What do you want, Korin-chan? It's, like, the middle of the night." Megumi's voice is thin and tired, and I try to suppress the mounting guilt building inside me because I woke her up. I hear Ezra's voice on the other end asking if everything's okay.
"Takeshi-kun is sick." I say, and Megumi gasps and swears.
"Where are you?" she asks, and I glance at the map still unfolded on the floor and locate our camping spot, marked by a red dot. I tell Megumi the grid reference. In the background, Ezra asks again what's going on.
"I'm on my way, Korin-chan. Wait for a few minutes. I shouldn't be too long, I hope." The phone clicks as Megumi hangs up.
How long we wait for Megumi to arrive, I don't know. I help Takeshi up so that he's sitting upright and leaning against me, all of his weight pressing against me. Tears roll down his cheeks and he buries his face in the crook of my neck every time the coughing stops for a few seconds. Finally, though, I hear Megumi and Ezra calling out to me.
"We're in here!" I say as loudly as I dare, not wanting to hurt Takeshi's head by being too loud. The tent door is unzipped and Megumi crawls in, Ezra standing behind her. They both look extremely worried. Takeshi cranes his neck slightly. Megumi shuffles closer to us and pulls Takeshi from my arms. She wraps her arms around him and strokes his hair as he coughs hard into her chest. Megumi smiles and nods at me gratefully. I smile slightly back at her.
"Takeshi, you idiot… We told you to stay at home…" Megumi whispers, gently rocking her brother. She reaches out a hand and wipes the tears off of my cheeks. I glance at Ezra. He's frozen on the spot, staring, eyes wide with a mixture of terror and concern, at Takeshi. I try to make eye contact with him so that I can reassure him, but his eyes are fixed on Takeshi. The coughing has slowed and become less frequent, but Takeshi presses himself hard against Megumi between coughing fits, whimpering.
By the time Takeshi stops coughing, sunlight has begun to pour through the opening of the tent, seeping in through the sides, as well. Takeshi lays trembling in Megumi arms. Ezra takes his phone out of his pocket and flicks through it. He steps outside the tent and walks a few metres away. I hear him speaking quietly in English, and assume he must be on the the phone to Breckenridge-sensei, our Scottish-born Maths teacher. After a couple of minutes, he mutters a 'thank you' and hangs up.
He comes back over to us, "B-Breckenridge-sensei is o-on her w-way." he whispers, and Megumi nods. Takeshi's head snaps up and his eyes open.
"N-no… I s-said not t-to c-call a-anyone…" he says, shaking his head slightly. He winces.
"You need to get home and rest, Takeshi-kun." I state as calmly as possible. I'm glad of my ability to keep my voice steady now more than ever before. A frown creases across Takeshi's brow.
"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, Korin-chan." he says, but I can tell from the way he's changed the honorific he uses that he cares about the fact that I care about him and doesn't want me to worry, even though I clearly should be worried.
Megumi giggles, "Chan? You've never used that honorific for anyone outside the family before, Takeshi." she says lightly, and Takeshi scowls at her. It's somewhat comforting to see his usual 'leave me the fuck alone' expression back on his face, though it doesn't quell my concern much. Takeshi wriggles out of Megumi's embrace and leans heavily on his hands. He slowly peels away the now sweat-soaked sock that I put on his forehead earlier and looks at it. He wrinkles up his nose.
"You used your sock as a compress, Korin-chan?" he asks. I nod, and Megumi and Ezra start laughing.
"What?" I ask indignantly, "I didn't have anything else." Takeshi smiles slightly.
"It's fine, Korin-chan. That's the thing about you. You always mean well, even if you have a weird mind that compels you to use a wet sock as a compress."
"It's because she's so resourceful," A voice comes from just outside the tent. We all turn to the sound of the voice and see Breckenridge-sensei smiling at us, her eyes filled with concern, "You'll change the world one day, Korin-san. And you probably won't even realise it." I feel an embarrassed flush rising on my cheeks. I'm not used to having so many compliments.
"Yeah, that's about right," Megumi says, "I'm not sure what would have happened if Takeshi had been paired with someone else, and I don't think I want to know."
Breckenridge-sensei nods, "Let's get you home, Takeshi-san. I've called your parents, and your father is on his way to collect you." She nods at me. "You did well, Korin-san. Not many people would've handled the situation so well. You're a lot like your father." She reaches out her hand to help Takeshi up. He shakes his head. Breckenridge-sensei moves out of the tent to give us some space. I crawl out and I'm quickly followed by Takeshi. He drags himself out, scrambling out of his sleeping bag once he's out of the tent and standing up shakily. Megumi follows him out.
"How long is there until the trip is over, Breckenridge-sensei?" she asks, and Breckenridge-sensei glances at her watch.
"You should probably be making your way back to the meeting point now. You've got ten minutes." she says, and Megumi frowns slightly.
"Can we come with you? My Dad's collecting Korin-chan and Ezra-kun, too, so it would make sense for us to go back with you." she says, and Breckenridge-sensei nods.
"That would make sense. Yes, of course you can come with me." she says. The five of us begin to walk back towards the meeting point at the edge of the forest, with Megumi supporting Takeshi, and me carrying his rucksack as well as mine.
It doesn't take long to get back to the meeting point, but, when we arrive, our entire year group and two teachers begin staring at us. Whispers begin to ripple through the crowd. Beside me, Ezra tenses. I slip my hand into his and squeeze it. He glances back towards me and smiles slightly. I nod at him and we look forwards again. No one is looking at us, though. Everyone's eyes are fixed on Takeshi, and the majority of them are filled with nothing but concern. I glance at Takeshi and see that his eyes are beginning to close as his head rests against Megumi's shoulder. Some parents have gathered, too, and I catch a few words of their hushed conversations, the most common being 'the Akiyamas' youngest boy', 'Yokai' and 'awful parenting'. I scowl at people whenever I hear them saying something bad about the Akiyamas.
After about two minutes of standing on the edge of the crowd (Breckenridge-sensei has left us to talk to some parents and tick off my classmates as they leave), Mr Akiyama comes over to us.
"Hey, you two," he says to Megumi and Takeshi, then glances at Ezra and I. "Hello. Your father asked me to collect you today because he's with a client." I nod.
"Thank you." I say. Megumi shakes her head.
"You shouldn't be thanking him, Korin-chan. He should be thanking you." Mr Akiyama frowns slightly.
"Why is that, Megumi?" he asks, and Megumi explains to him how I looked after Takeshi.
Once Megumi has finished speaking, Mr Akiyama smiles warmly at me.
"My daughter is right, Korin-san. I should most certainly be thanking you. Our family is now indebted to yours. If there is ever anything you need help with, you need only ask." he says, and I smile.
"There is one thing I want to know…" I say, trailing off as I reach the end of the sentence. Mr Akiyama gestures for me to ask. I shake my head. "I'll ask once we're in the car, so that the rest of the class doesn't hear." Mr Akiyama nods with a smile. He wraps his arm around Takeshi and the five of us make our way to the car.