QU: Part 3 / 4

Chapter 11 – Bracelet, flow of time, friends…

We had failed another mission. We had come so close…

The only upside was that we knew Iwasawa was living in the neighborhood, which was convenient, although we probably wouldn't want to disturb her for a while, not after we'd dumped so many things on her at one time. We needed to give her time, just like Noda had said to Hinata.

In fact, since that Sunday, things had died down a bit. The number of empty chairs in my class began to drop as the absent students returned over the next two weeks. They still didn't talk much of course, since, according to Yuri, they had become NPC's. But I had to say, things were looking pretty normal for our school. It was almost like our enemy – if there was one to begin with – had decided to take a break.

Or… had he found out someone had been hot on his trail? Was he waiting for the pursuit to cool down before striking again? I didn't know.

And because of that, things hadn't been too hectic for us too. Since 'he' hadn't taken action, Yuri had no new lead. We were still stuck with the stupid computer and the creepy message without making any progress.

Despite that, I was pretty thankful. We hadn't had a new operation in two weeks, so I had time to visit my sister more often. Unfortunately, her condition had gotten worse. In a short span of only two weeks, she had gone from being able to sit and eat on her own to being completely bedridden. She would wear a mask all day, and sometimes she even needed a respirator to breathe.

Even though she was barely able to talk, her gratitude was apparent in her eyes every time she saw me. She couldn't read by herself, so I would read her favorite manga to her. I began fighting for permission to bring a DVD player here so that I could start bringing anime DVDs for my little sister, just so that she could still enjoy the story even when I wasn't in the hospital. Unfortunately, after more than a week, the doctors still hadn't given me an answer.

In fact, I had just left the hospital after another visit on a Saturday. I was happy, because her condition had shown a little improvement. She was finally able to talk a bit.

'Say, big brother, I haven't really thanked you for buying this wonderful present for me.' She pointed weakly at the silver bracelet. 'So I've made something for you too.'

She slowly reached her right hand under the covers before pulling it out again, sitting on top was a small, red, paper flower. 'It was hard to make and it took a really long time, but I finally managed to finish it.' She smiled weakly at the end.

I took the flower from her hand and stared at it for a while. 'Hatsune…'

'You know, big brother… I used to be very scared… Scared of the heavy medication I would have to be on. Scared of the surgeries I would have to go through. I heard they were really painful. I could even feel my body growing weaker.' She turned her head toward me. 'But I'm not scared anymore. Do you want to know why?'

She slowly raised her left hand. 'Because whenever I'm afraid, this bracelet will remind me that you will always be there to cheer me on, to support me, even if you aren't really here in person.'

'Hatsune…'

She stared back at the ceiling. 'Big brother, do you know what I want to be when I grow up?'

I didn't answer her.

'I want to be a doctor, just like you. I want to help people, like the doctors here have been helping me. I want to help lots and lots of people.' She clutched the bed cover. 'Do you think my dream will ever come true?'

My vision was blurry. 'Of course. You will go to medical school and get amazing grades. You will make a lot of friends too. I bet you will be an awesome doctor.'

'Friends…' She chuckled weakly once. 'Say, do you think I can meet your friends once again? They were very funny. I hope I can see them at least one more time…'

'Hey… don't say stuff like that.' I was straining to keep my voice from breaking. 'You're going to meet them of course. And not just once. You're going to meet them for the second time, then for the third time, the fourth time... You know what, I'm going to drag them here every day just to see you. You'll grow so tired of it you will start asking me never to bring them here again.' I smiled.

Never did I think… I could never fulfill that promise…

It was Sunday. I was walking down the usual way to the hospital again. I was playing with the little paper flower my sister had given me that was now hanging around my neck. The morning sun was shining brightly in the sky, and I was feeling hopeful for the day. My sister's condition is getting better. I kept reminding myself. She could hold a conversation with me yesterday.

I already had had today planned out. I had rung up everyone and they had all agreed to pay my sister another visit. They would arrive in the afternoon, so I had the whole morning doing whatever she would like me to do. If she said she'd like to hear me read a manga story, I'd read until my lips bled; if she said she'd like me to talk about high school life, I'd give her some of the most fascinating stories she would ever hear…

I was smiling. I was feeling hopeful. That was when my phone rang…

I didn't recognize the caller number. I pressed the 'talk' button.

'Hello?'

'May I speak with Mr. Otonashi?'

'This is him speaking.'

'Mr. Otonashi, this is the hospital calling. I'm afraid I have bad news.'