Note: Now that I've finally completed the Mariko and Chiyoko flashback arc (which took WAY too long for me to finish), it's time to move on to what a lot of you have been waiting for. This chapter will start up the Yutaka and Minami arc which will run until Chapter 30.
Another note: I think by this point you all know what's going on with the length of the chapters, so I don't think I need to say anymore about it.
One more note: This chapter could get a bit intense during the first part, however if you're a true fan of this couple, then I suggest you read to the end for a surprise.
A final note: At least one new character makes her debut in this chapter.
Thursday October 11, 2012, 9:15 am
Inside their apartment right near the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yutaka and Minami were getting ready for another day of school. But this morning, Minami noticed that something wasn't quite right with Yutaka. For one thing, she seemed tired and lethargic, and another thing, she barely ate any of her breakfast.
"Yutaka, is something wrong?", Minami wondered, geniunely concerned. "My stomach hurts and I feel like I'm going to throw up", Yutaka admitted, "I already did earlier this morning". Minami then put her hand on Yutaka's forehead. "Oh you feel a little warm", Minami explained, "I think you should stay here today". "Well, I don't have any classes anyway today", Yutaka answered, "When will you be home?".
"I should be home between 12:30 and 1 o'clock", Minami replied to her. "Okay I'll see you when you get back then", Yutaka concluded. With that, they blew kisses to each other as Minami walked out the front door and Yutaka walked back to her room. "Gee, I hope she's going to be all right", she thought to herself, as she closed the front door and walked the 250 meters (820.21 feet) to the TIOT campus.
12:45 pm
Throughout her three classes for that day, Minami was unable to focus, since she was so worried about Yutaka. So after her classes had finished up for the day, she hurried out of the building. As she did so, she ran into one of her classmates, Mikoto Furukawa (古川 美琴), a second year student, whom she and Yutaka had known for about the last year and a half. "Whoa, easy there tiger! What's the big rush?", Mikoto exclaimed. "Oh I apologize, Mikoto-san. It's just I really wanted to get home to see how Yutaka's doing", Minami answered.
"Is she all right?", Mikoto wondered. "Well, she barely ate anything this morning", Minami explained, "She said her stomach was hurting and she felt nauseous". "Well, it's probably that bug that's going on around campus", Mikoto suggested. "Probably, but then again she called me earlier and she said that she threw up three times and her stomach pains were getting worse", Minami answered back. "She threw up 3 times and her stomach is still hurting?", Mikoto questioned, "You're definitely going to want to keep an eye on that".
"Oh don't worry, I'm going to keep my eye on her", Minami assured her friend, "If she doesn't get better by tomorrow, I'm going to take her to the hospital". "That's a really good idea", Mikoto agreed, "By the way, do you mind if I walk back with you?". "I don't mind at all", Minami replied. "Okay, it's settled then", Mikoto concluded. So with that, the two of them started walking to the apartments.
12:50 pm
Well, it took less than five minutes to walk from the campus entrance to the apartment. "Yutaka, I'm home!", Minami called out, "Yutaka? Are you OK?". She then turned to Mikoto and demanded, "Why isn't she answering?". "Well, maybe she's asleep", Mikoto responded. "But Yutaka's not a very heavy sleeper", Minami insisted. "Okay, but I'm pretty sure there's nothing seriously wrong", Mikoto replied hopefully.
Suddenly, they heard a small voice calling out, "H-help me!". With that, the two girls rushed to Yutaka's room. When they got there, they were met with an alarming sight. Yutaka was sprawled out on the floor, crying and clutching the right side of her stomach. The pained and frightened look on her face said it all. She needed help.
"Oh no! Yutaka, what's wrong?", Minami sputtered, clearly very nervous. "M-m-my s-stomach really, really hurts now, Mi-Min-Minami-chan!", Yutaka sobbed with tears rolling down her cheeks and sweat accumulating on her forehead. Minami then placed her hand on Yutaka's forehead. "Whoa, you're burning up", she sputtered. "I-I think I'm g-going to t-throw up again", Yutaka gasped. Mikoto rushed to the corner and grabbed the trash can. And no sooner than she held it close to Yutaka's head, then she ejected whatever was left in her stomach into the can.
"What does this all mean?", Mikoto wondered. "I think I have a hunch", Minami answered as she pulled out her cellphone and dialed 119. "Hello 119, my girlfriend is having really bad stomach pains, she's vomiting and she's burning up", she explained, "I think it might be appendicitis. Could you please send someone down here?". A brief pause of a few seconds followed. "The address is 48 Gatoh Road, apartment number 2", she continued, "Okay, thank you".
"So what happened?", Mikoto asked. "They're sending an ambulance out right now", Minami announced. "What's appendicitis?", Yutaka wondered. "Well, it's basically when your appendix gets inflamed and swollen", Minami explained to her girlfriend, "If it gets like that, it needs to be removed immediately". "Or what happens?", Yutaka asked. "Well it could rupture, which would cause an infection that could kill you", Mikoto answered.
Upon hearing this, Yutaka gulped. "Y-You mean I c-could d-die", she sputtered. "Now don't forget that it may not even be appendicitis", Mikoto suggested. "There's a very small chance that it may be something else", Minami added, "But you don't need to worry Yutaka, you'll be just fine". "Do you really think so, Minami-chan?", Yutaka questioned. "I know so", Minami assured her. After that, the taller and older girl gently held her girlfriend in her arms until the ambulance showed up.
Well, it didn't take too long for the paramedics to learn everything about Yutaka's current condition. After a few minutes, they lifted her onto a stretcher and wheeled her into the ambulance with her girlfriend not too far behind. "Can you watch the house for us while we're gone?", Minami asked. "Can do!", Mikoto replied, as she saluted. "That's good, thank you", Yutaka managed to call out before the paramedics closed the back doors of the ambulance cab and speeded off.
1:20 pm
Anyway, it took less than 10 minutes to get to Nagatsudakosei General Hospital (長津田 厚生 総合病院) which was located only about 3.6 kilometers (or about 2.3 miles) away from the apartment. During the whole ride, Minami gently held Yutaka's little hand and tried to assure her everything would be all right. "But I've never had to have surgery before!", Yutaka whined. "But you want the pain to go away don't you?", Minami questioned. "Yes, I want this pain out of me right away!", Yutaka sputtered. "Then you should just do what the doctors say to do and you'll be just fine", Minami answered back.
When they got to the hospital, the ambulance pulled up to the emergency entrance, making the back doors of the cab were facing the entrance doors. Once that was taken care of, Yutaka was wheeled out of the ambulance, with Minami following right behind her. Two doctors were already waiting to take their patient in. She was moved to Room 12 in the emergency department, and was told that a doctor would be in to check on her momentarily.
About five minutes later, a doctor came in with an ultrasound machine. "Good afternoon, Miss Kobayakawa", she greeted, "I'm Dr. Kaida, and I'm here to help you get better". "Well, I hope you guys figure it out soon", Yutaka whimpered, "Because it hurts really, really bad!". "Well, I'm going to do some tests to see if you do have appendicitis", Dr. Kaida replied. If you've read my Nichijou fanfic "Not a Normal Day", you'll know exactly what the tests involve. After the tenderness of the abdomen test and the ultrasound image test, all that was left was to wait for the results.
While they were waiting, Yutaka turned her head to look at her girlfriend and asked, "Minami-chan, can I tell you something?". To that, Minami replied, "Well certainly, Yutaka. You can tell me anything". "I just want you to know that I love you very, very much", Yutaka answered. "And I love you very very much as well", Minami confirmed. She then pulled out a tissue and wiped Yutaka's eyes with it.
About 10 minutes later, Dr. Kaida came back into the room holding a manila folder. "Well, what's the prognosis, doctor?", Minami asked. "Well, it seems that Yutaka does have appendicitis", Dr. Kaida answered, "So she's going to have to get her appendix taken out". "Is it going to be a long surgery?", Yutaka wondered. "Oh, it shouldn't take very long at all", Dr. Kaida assured her, "Most of the time, the operation is over within an hour or two. Have you ever had surgery before, Yutaka?".
"No, I've never had surgery in my life", Yutaka answered, "Will it hurt?". "Not at all. I'm going to give you some medicine to calm you down and once you're in the operating room we're going to put you to sleep with anesthetic, so you won't feel a thing", Dr. Kaida replied back. "You see, Yutaka. Everything's going to be just fine", Minami insisted. "Okay, Minami-chan, I'm going to be brave for you and for me", Yutaka confirmed. With that, the two girls gently hugged each other.
2:00 pm
At around 1:50 pm, Dr. Kaida began preparing Yutaka for surgery, which would take place in 10 minutes. Right before she was wheeled to the operating room, Yutaka turned to Minami and said, "So I guess I'll see you when I get out". "I'll be waiting for you", Minami concurred as she grabbed Yutaka's little hand and gently kissed it. "I love you, Minami-chan", Yutaka called out with a yawn. "And I love you too, Yutaka", Minami concluded. And with that, Yutaka was wheeled to the operating room while Minami walked out to the waiting room.
While Yutaka was in surgery, Minami decided to walk down to the little gift shop about 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) down the street. She soon found what she was looking for: a get well card, a bouquet of flowers and a stuffed teddy bear. She paid the cashier the money for the "package" and before she left the store she wrote a message on the card.
To Yutaka, the love of my life. (ゆたか、私の人生の愛へ.)
You have no idea how much I love you. You bring so much joy into everyday. (私はあなたを愛してどのくらいか分からない. あなたは日常にとても喜びをもたらす.)
Just take your time getting better, and I am very proud of you. (ちょうどあなたの時間が良くなって取る、と私はあなたの非常に誇りに思っています.)
Anyway, Minami had written so much that she was barely able to fit it all onto the small card. As soon as she finished writing, she walked the 2 kilometers back to the hospital. And she didn't get back a second too soon, for just a few seconds after she came back, Dr. Kaida came out from the emergency room doors.
"Dr. Kaida, how's Yutaka doing?", Minami asked. "Well Ms. Iwasaki, you'll be very glad to know that the appendectomy was a complete success and Yutaka's going to be just fine", Dr. Kaida explained. "You mean she's out of surgery?", Minami wondered. "Yes, she's in Room 316 on the third floor", Dr. Kaida answered. "Thank you very much", Minami replied back, bowing her head slightly. "My pleasure, just try not to surprise her", Dr. Kaida called out as Minami walked to the elevator.
3:20 pm
When Minami got to Room 316, she gently and slowly opened the door and went inside the room. She noticed that Yutaka was still knocked out from the anesthetic, so she placed the card, the flowers and the teddy bear on the table next to the bed. While she waited for her girlfriend to wake up, she pulled out a book and read it for a little while. She was just about to fall asleep when at around 4 o'clock, she heard a small voice calling out, "Minami-chan?".
"Oh Yutaka, you're awake!", Minami realized, "How are you feeling now?". "Well, I still have a little bit of pain there", Yutaka explained, "But I feel a lot better than I did a few hours ago". "I'm really glad to hear that", Minami told her, "By the way did you look at the table?". Yutaka looked at the little side table and saw everything. "Is all that for me?", she asked. "Yes, it is", her girlfriend replied, "Take a look at the card".
So Yutaka opened the get well card, and as she read the message, tears filled her huge green eyes. "I meant every word I put on there", Minami explained. "Oh thank you so much, Minami-chan", Yutaka whispered, hugging her girlfriend, "Thank you, thank you". "Oh you're welcome, Yutaka", Minami answered back, holding her girlfriend in her arms.
Just then, Dr. Kaida walked into the room. "Oh, I see you've woken up, Miss Kobayakawa. I was just coming in to check on you", she noted. "Yes, I have", Yutaka responded, "By the way, when can we go home?". "Well, depending on your condition over the next day or two, you could be able to go home by Saturday afternoon", Dr. Kaida explained to her. "Okay, thank you doctor", Yutaka answered back. "My pleasure", Dr. Kaida concluded as she left the room to see another patient. As soon as she left, the two young lovers hugged each other and kissed each other on the lips.
BTW, just as Dr. Kaida had predicted, Yutaka was able to leave the hospital on Saturday morning. Her condition had improved very quickly. I'm sure you all know that in the show, Yutaka was very sickly, succumbing to common illnesses a lot. However over the next few weeks, her overall health actually improved greatly.
Thursday December 20, 2012, 12:00 pm
Well, it wasn't long at all before December rolled around once again. And soon after that, the day of Yutaka's 21st birthday came. That afternoon, as soon as Minami got home from her classes for the day (as I've said, Yutaka does not have classes on Thursdays), she and her girlfriend got ready to go out for a day on the town. And Minami was determined to ensure that this would be the best birthday that Yutaka ever had.
After they got cleaned and freshened up, they got dressed making sure to look their best. Yutaka had on a pink dress, white thigh high stockings and red high heeled pumps, and she had a pink ribbon in her red hair. Minami had on a blue dress, black nylon tights, and white Mary Janes and she had a white ribbon in her green hair. "Well, Minami-chan are you ready to go and have some fun?", Yutaka asked. "Yes, definitely", Minami answered, "I just need to check something here real quick". "Well, okay then", Yutaka replied back, "I'll wait for you in the car". "Okay then I'll be right there", Minami responded.
As soon as Yutaka was outside the door, Minami went back into her bedroom and opened her drawer. Under a pile of carefully placed clothes, lay a small box not much longer than an average wallet (when folded that is). She placed the box inside of her purse, making sure it was in a place where she'd remember it. "I hope that she'll like it", she thought to herself. With that, she went to join her girlfriend.
1:00 pm
After about a half hour's drive, Yutaka and Minami reached the Landmark Plaza (ランドマークプラザ) mall in Yokohama City. "Well, here we are, Yutaka. Landmark Tower Plaza", Minami announced. "Wow, that building sure is tall, isn't it?", Yutaka sputtered, mystified by the sheer height of the building. "It's actually the tallest building in Japan", Minami answered, "296.3 meters or 972 feet tall". "Well I can definitely imagine that", Yutaka replied back, "I mean just look at it". Not long after that they went inside the building.
The mall itself took up seven floors of the building, 2 of them were below ground. The first place they went to was a little karaoke box on the first lower level, called Karaoke Play Shopan. They spent about an hour and a half there, and sang quite a few songs like "Lost Destination" (Vocaloid song), "Fireflies", and "Gravity" . At around 2:45, they headed back up to the first level of the mall to do some shopping. Just as they were walking, they bumped into two very familiar faces in Konata and Kagami, who had come to do some shopping of their own.
"Hi there guys!", Konata called out. "How's it going?", Kagami asked. "Things are going very well", Yutaka explained. "We came here to celebrate Yutaka's birthday today", Minami added. "Oh well, happy birthday, Yu-chan!", Konata cheered. "That's right, today's your 21st birthday right?", Kagami wondered. "Yes, that's right", Yutaka answered. "Hey Yutaka, why don't you go wait at the flower shop for me", Minami suggested, "I need to talk to Konata and Kagami privately". "Well, okay Minami-chan", Yutaka concurred, "I'll wait for you there". And with that, she left the scene.
As soon as Yutaka was out of sight, Minami explained to the two other girls her plan. She took out the box and opened it to reveal a two tone gold ring with little 3 karat turqoise diamonds and topped with a 5 karat crystal diamond. "With this ring, I'm going to ask Yutaka if she'll marry me", Minami told them. "Wow! That's great!", Konata exclaimed, "Where are you going to do it at?". "When we go to have dinner at that buffet restaurant on the fifth floor", Minami answered. "That sounds wonderful. I'm sure Yutaka will be surprised", Kagami replied.
"I was wondering if you guys would like to come", Minami suggested. "Well sure, we'd be more than happy to come along", Konata answered. "Exactly, we wouldn't miss this for the world", Kagami agreed. "Great! Thank you so much!", Minami gushed. "What time should we be there?", Konata questioned. "I think around 6 o'clock tonight", Minami answered back. "Good, we'll be there!", Kagami replied. With that, the three girls separated.
6:00 pm
Just as they had promised, Konata and Kagami met Yutaka and Minami at the KEKE buffet restaurant on the fifth floor of the mall. After they had gotten in and paid their bill, the four of them sat down in a booth. By some coincidence, they saw Tomoyo and Hiroko in the booth across the aisle from them. "Hey there!", Konata greeted. "Oh hi there guys", Tomoyo replied back. "I never thought we'd see you two here", Kagami admitted. "But if you can believe it, we're here", Hiroko answered.
"By the way, where's your little daughter Kanata?", Tomoyo asked. "Oh, Kanata's at home today", Konata responded. "She didn't want to go, so Tsukasa and Miyuki are babysitting her while we're gone", Kagami added. "So that explains it", Hiroko realized. "By the way, how old is Kanata now?", Yutaka wondered. "She just turned one last month", Konata told her. "She's growing up so fast", Kagami sighed. "It definitely sounds like it", Minami concurred.
So anyway the six girls decided to combine their tables so that they could all sit together. For about the next two and a half hours or so, the six girls had a great time eating food and talking to each other about things. "By the way, are you all still coming to the Christmas party on Saturday?", Konata asked. "Of course, we're going to come", Tomoyo answered. "Why wouldn't we?", Hiroko blurted. "Sorry, but we had to ask", Kagami explained. "I'll be there", Yutaka chimed in. "So will I", Minami agreed.
8:30 pm
At around half past eight, one of the waitresses brought a rather big cake, with 21 lit candles on it, to the table where the six girls were sitting. She announced, "All right folks, we have a birthday girl among us tonight". Suddenly the lights went down to where it was almost dark. This gave Minami her cue to get ready. "Her name is Yutaka, and today is her 21st birthday", the waitress continued, "If you all would be so kind, let's all say Happy Birthday to her". The rest of the people in the restaurant complied as they along the waitress called out, "Happy Birthday, Yutaka".
After this was said, Yutaka replied, "Thank you everyone!". As soon as she blew out all 21 candles, the room applauded and the lights turned back on. When Yutaka looked to her left, she saw that Minami was on one knee, holding the box with the ring inside of it. As soon as she saw it, she gasped and put her hands to her mouth. Right after that, Minami took hold of her girlfriend's little hand and stuttered, "Y-Yutaka, w-will you m-m-marry me?". To that, Yutaka cheered, "Oh yes, Minami-chan! Of course I'll marry you!".
"Do you really mean it, Yutaka?", Minami wondered, blushing heavily. "Of course I do, Minami-chan", Yutaka assured her as she hugged her girlfriend. At this point, both girls had tears rolling down their faces. "I love you so much, Yutaka", Minami whispered. "And I love you so much too, Minami-chan", Yutaka replied back. With that, the two girls kissed each other on the lips
"Wow, now this is great", Konata noted. "It certainly is wonderful", Kagami agreed. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like this", Tomoyo admitted. "I've never seen this happen either", Hiroko concurred.
Well, I think I can safely say that this was the best birthday that Yutaka ever had hands down.
Author's Notes:
Chapter completed on July 6, 2012
Nagatsuta Kosei General Hospital - a real life hospital located in Midori-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa.
Landmark Plaza - a real life shopping mall located in the Yokohama Landmark Tower which stands as Japan's tallest building and third tallest structure. It is about 20.3 kilometers (12.6 miles) away from the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
Turquoise - the birthstone for the month of December