I am so, so, so sorry I took so long. The next chapter should end the whole story. Hopefully, it will be created faster than this one. Thanks to all who reviewed, and all who support this fic. You guys are wonderful. It's been an encouragement to read the reviews. Please, enjoy.

x

Chapter 9

"Oh, no, no don't do this, my daughter's here-"

Mom.

"Your daughter hasn't woken up yet..."

A man.

"But it's wrong…"

Then I heard the door click open. "Uh, am I interrupting something?"

Sendoh.

"Hello, Erin-san!"

Sayaka.

"Ehehehe, hello."

Mom's embarrassed.

"I- should be going…"

The stranger's embarrassed too. Ah.

Then the curtain slid open with noisy, successive clicks of the little whatever-you-call-thems way up there on the bar that the curtains were hung on.

"Hello," Sayaka smiled at me, and I tried to smile back, but my face didn't want to cooperate with me and I ended up looking as if I was in excruciating pain.

"Oh no, does your head still hurt?" Sendoh came up behind her.

"Well," Sayaka turned to face him, "what do you expect? Kaede just woke up this morning."

"Come on, save me a shred of dignity at least," Sendoh nudged Sayaka before grinning sheepishly at me. "Sorry," he rubbed the back of his head, directing his apology to me.

Now, contrary to popular belief, Sendoh's hair was not always like he had a hedgehog growing on his head. In our first year his hair was actually in dreadlocks past his ears.

I wasn't his classmate in first-year, but he was this basketball guy and even though I had never watched a basketball game, people would point and say, "That's the basketball ace, the one with the dreadlocks" whenever he walked down the hallways with his gang of friends.

I am not kidding.

Sendoh then walked over to me and whispered into my ear, "You mother was getting a foot massage from the physiotherapist. Don't think about anything else."

I really giggled this time, and it caused me so much pain that tears sprang to my eyes. The tubes in my nose were killing me.

"Don't make me laugh," I mumbled through a smile.

"So how does it feel to be alive again?" Sendoh quizzed me cheekily.

Sayaka rolled her eyes in a don't-be-daft-she-wasn't-dead-in-the-first-place manner and wiped the tears away from my temples. I had attempted to brush them off, but my hand only just moved past the blanket.

I blinked slowly and told them, "I can feel my hands, my feet... They don't listen to me much. A week in coma. Crazy. Retardation."

"Tokita, did you get wired wrongly after your operation? You're speaking haiku," Sendoh laughed, along with Sayaka who was arranging the flowers by my bed.

I heard the door slam and Koshino emerged from behind Sendoh and Sayaka.

"Sorry I'm late," he panted at the couple. "Hey, Tokita," he grinned at me. "How's it going?"

I smiled and mouthed "I'm fine", exhausted from being awake.

"Koshino's given up on you, you know," Sayaka giggled softly into my ear, shooting a sly look at the subject of mention.

"Sayaka!" Koshino hissed, blushing a beet-red.

"Yeah, he knew he couldn't beat Kawasaki Tadashi," Sendoh whispered in my other ear.

"SENDOH!" Koshino socked his so-called best friend on the back.

Sendoh laughed and rubbed his back. "It's the truth, buddy. I'm just telling her the truth!"

Koshino sighed and said to me, "They call themselves my friends."

I chortled quietly, "Kawasaki and I aren't together."

"Hmm," Sendoh hmm-ed in a voice that made me suspect it wasn't any old 'hmm', "I think I know why. You have a boyfriend already, right?"

I shook my head slowly.

"But we saw him," Sayaka blurted, before her hands flew up to her mouth. "This isn't my business," she quipped in embarrassment.

Ah. Ru.

"What? What?" Koshino frantically jumped around my two other classmates. He was always very unobservant when it came to things like that.

"I don't like him that way," I mumbled.

"That's what you say," Sendoh winked.

"Idiot," I retorted as vehemently as I could, which was barely a growl anyway.

x

"Sendoh-kun did tell you that I wasn't fooling around right?" my mother stroked my forehead, grinning.

I nodded slowly, flexing my calves under the sheets.

"Physio guy."

Mom grinned even wider. "He's cute," she laughed.

"Ru…?" I asked, catching sight of the clock. Basketball practice would have ended.

"He's on his way. You sure he's just your 'younger brother'? You're so concerned for him," she playfully tapped my nose.

I grimaced – Mom had accidentally knocked on the tubes in my nose. According to my doctors, I had an asthma attack in the ambulance which almost killed me. That was why I had tubes up my nose.

"Ouch, sorry," Mom squinted at me apologetically. "You didn't feel the pain when you were in a coma."

No wonder I had dreamt that my nose-clip fell off when I was fantasizing about being in a synchronized swimming competition. Not that it was my secret passion, I'm no Water Boy. Sometimes comatose patients have vivid illusions.

"Honestly," Mom continued, paying no regard to my attempt to glare, "I think he has feelings for you."

"Don't be daft," I retorted in English.

"It's true, Eddy. He kept vigil by your bedside. He didn't make any motion to touch you, of course, but he would just gaze and you for hours on end. Oh but his eyes! They just tell you that he's longing for you to wake up."

"Where's Tadashi?" I changed the subject.

Mom shrugged, giving up the topic. "He disappeared after Rukawa-kun beat him up for making you chase after him. It amazes me how both of them are Mazzy's sons."

I raised my eyebrows. "You know?"

"Of course I know. I'm your mother."

I stared at her.

"Oh, okay," she threw up her hands, "I asked Rukawa-kun."

"He told…?"

Mom cocked her head, as if in deep thought. "Not really… I had to force it out of him in bits and pieces. But since I knew a lot of details already I just had to put the pieces together. Your mother's not stupid, you know. Unfortunately," she looked at me with a glint in her eye, "you took after your father."

Being an invalid for the time being, I restrained my urge to retaliate.

x

I remember watching a Kindaichi rerun in the ward, a week before I was discharged, when the opening bars of my ringtone punctuated the air.

Ah, trust these people to call me just when it gets to the exciting part, I grumbled inwardly, reaching for the phone.

Who could it be…? I glanced at the screen. Oh. Hmm.

I was apprehensive. The number on the display was Tadashi's.

"Hello?" I answered cautiously.

"…Tokita-san?"

Yep, it's him.

"Tadashi, right?"

"Yes."

There was a pretty long silence.

"Tokita-san… I'm sorry."

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry I was childish, and not able to understand your intentions… I'm sorry that I couldn't see beyond the sacrifices of my mother but I've talked to my dad about it and I've gotten things straight. I'm just so sorry that I-"

I sighed, "Tadashi, let's not talk about it. It's over now."

"But-"

"Tadashi," I put my foot down firmly on the matter, "don't."

There was a pause before he whispered, "I truly want to apologise."

I nodded. "Don't worry about it… We're still friends."

"One more thing."

"Yup?"

He took a deep breath. "I'm leaving for Canada in two days."

I was surprised, extremely in fact. "What for?"

"For college. To study. I got accepted in a university there."

"Congratulations," was the only thing I could say.

x

I could not understand the extreme politeness that was existent between Tadashi and me. There was none of that before, somehow, not even when I was deeply in love with him. I had thought that he was a mature and understanding person, but…

I really couldn't understand my feelings towards him. At least, not at that point in time.

x

"Take the lower bunk," Ru mumbled, "I've changed the sheets."

Mom beamed at him, before giving me a knowing look. "You are soooo considerate, Rukawa-kun!"

"Quit it, Mom," I shot her a warning look before nodding my thanks to Ru. She shooed herself out of the room and went towards the kitchen. The doctor said I was still weak and had to stay home for a few more days. Mom wanted to look after me, so she decided to move in.

"Your mom will sleep on the upper bunk tonight," he said over my shoulder as I took my pillow down from my bed.

I paused and turned to look at him. "Where will you be sleeping then?"

"Couch. Or maybe I won't sleep at all."

I nodded slowly in contemplation. "You sure?" I asked, knowing I wouldn't be able to change Ru's mind about things of this sort.

He just picked up his pillow and headed for The Back.

That's Ru for you, I sighed inwardly.

x

"He's a sweet person, Mom, but I'm sure he doesn't think of me that way," I told my mother later that evening, as I was helping her make her bed.

She snorted, "You're sure."

"Come on, Mom," I threw a cushion at her, exasperated. "You're such a kid!"

"I'm not," Mom tried to defend herself. "I'm just trying to help you see the facts. Quit that Tadashi guy and go for the sweeter fruit!"

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"Okay so maybe that's not what they say in Japan, but you get my point!"

"They don't say that back in London either."

"You do get my point, don't you?" Mom cocked an eyebrow.

I sighed, "Just… go to bed, Mom."

"I'm warning you, you aren't realizing it yourself-"

"Yeah Mom. Whatever you say. Good night," I strode to the door.

"Hey!" Mom hollered.

I spun on my heel and explained, "I'm going to brush my teeth, all right?"

Mom conceded defeat and I turned off the lights.

x

I met Ru in the bathroom, also brushing his teeth.

"Hey bro," I greeted in English.

"What's 'buro'?" he mumbled through the toothpaste.

"Just a contraction of 'brother'," I smiled at him, squeezing a sliver of toothpaste onto my toothbrush.

He didn't reply, but continued brushing.

Typical. He's so bad at smalltalk.

"My mom's asleep. I'm going to bed soon."

He spat to show acknowledgement.

"Are you sleeping soon?" I tried to speak with the toothbrush in my mouth.

He looked at me, and held my gaze for a moment. "I'll finish up the next draft of my manga first," he said slowly, apprehensively in contemplation - as if he didn't want to sleep.

Hm.

"Okay then. Good night," I ruffled his hair and he strutted off.

I spat into the sink, thinking, Why is everyone acting so weird?

x

I really, really, really couldn't sleep.

In hospital there is no disturbance, just comfortable quietness around you. There is no constant rocking coming from the person above you. You cannot hear cars zooming down the road that you're room window faces. You don't have an air-conditioner that creaks every two and a half minutes.

Back home, things are different.

I crawled out of bed, careful not to wake my mother. Glancing at my cellphone, which read a quarter past three, I inwardly groaned. Sleep was beckoning, but I just could not succumb.

I made a foray into the living room. It was dark, except for the dim touch of light on the hallway from the slit of the door from The Back.

Turning the doorknob, I gave the door a gentle push and light flooded my vision. "Ow," I muttered, before my eyes got adjusted to the light.

"Ru?" I walked up to the sleeping form slumped on the table. He didn't respond. Seeing that his draft was risking The Attack of Droolzilla, I pushed his head gingerly aside and slid out the sheets of paper.

I gasped in astonishment – I couldn't help myself, really.

It was me. The main character was me.

As I leafed through the draft I realized that the story was about Ru and I. Sure, some details were tweaked, but almost every scene that took place in his manga had taken place before, in our lives. Even the part about receiving Mom at the airport!

"Oh, Ru…" I couldn't help but smile. I flipped to the last page of the draft. It went like this.

Takazawa walks into the studio and sees Aoshima asleep on the table. His headache was gone, but the fever was still disturbing him. It was about 6 am in the morning and Takazawa had to play in a friendly match in school.

He saw an easel erected beside the table and goes closer to look at the canvas on it. He is taken aback at the half-finished picture. 'It's me,' he realizes.

It is a close-up of him, working hard on his concept sheet. His mouth is set in a soft line, and his eyebrows are slightly furrowed. But his eyes, though lowered, express so much passion and fire for what he is doing. 'It is unlike the charge of adrenaline I get when I play basketball,' Takazawa thinks, 'but yet the passion is so similar.'

Takazawa looks at Aoshima again, and his lips turn up slightly.

x

"Hey, I have your certificate," Sendoh informed me over the phone.

"What certificate?" I yawned. It was noon, but I hardly got any sleep the previous night.

"We had our graduating ceremony today, remember?"

"WHAT? I missed it?"

Sendoh gave me a sigh in mock exasperation. "Yes, of course you missed it. How would I have your cert otherwise?"

"Oh. Okay. So what do I do?"

"You can't come out, right?"

"Nope. Doctor's orders," I chewed on my lower lip. "But it isn't urgent, right?"

"Well," Sendoh mused, "you're right, it isn't urgent. Plus you'll be in time for checking the posting results. You applied for the Tokyo University of Art, right?"

I laughed. "Actually, I didn't. I'm not going to study Art as a major."

"Ah. So what was your choice?"

"Kanagawa University. I'm going to major in English," I replied simply.

"Hey, that's cheating! You already know English very well!" Sendoh protested. "Well, on the other hand, you really suck at everything else…"

"Hey!" I protested.

"Ha! But I thought you'll go to a university in Tokyo, or at least study art."

"I can always do art later in my life. I just want something more solid to fall back on, you know? And besides, I don't want to leave Kanagawa, somehow… At least, not for now," I grinned as I thought of Ru.

I really wanted to look after Ru. Even though I was not very sure why, but I wanted to make sure he had enough takoyaki to eat, I wanted to make sure he had enough clothes to wear in the winter, I wanted to make sure he didn't work too hard on his manga and forsake his sleep. He was someone who, in truth, could not take very good care of himself, independent as he seemed to be.

"Why?" Sendoh questioned.

"Don't be such a nosey parker."

"Ah wait, it must be because of Rukawa," Sendoh said in a suggestive tone.

"Sendoh, I don't like him that way!"

"If that's true, then he must like you a whole lot. We all saw him during our evening visits. Of course, he doesn't like people very much so he would get out of the room whenever we came in. But honestly, how do you know that guy?"

"Honestly Sendoh, it's not for you to know."

"Aw, tell me," he teased. "He lives in our area, right? I've seen him around. Did you guys meet in the supermarket?"

"I'm hanging up!"

"Okay, chill, I'll stop it."

"Good," I sighed. "Maybe one day you'll find out, but it won't be any day soon."

"Fair enough."

"Right then, I'll hang up here. See you around," I hung up the phone.

Honestly, people around me were confusing. Sometimes me denying that I didn't like Ru that way made me wonder if I really did, which didn't make sense at all.

Or maybe it did, but I couldn't fathom why.

Even if it didn't…

…Ah, forget it.

x

KAWASAKI TADASHI 1:20 PM
Are you free to talk? Preferably face to face. I have a few things I want to say to you before I leave for Canada.

I already said forget it, so what else does he need to say? I wondered. I replied anyway, telling him that I couldn't leave the home and suggesting he come over.

KAWASAKI TADASHI 1:25 PM

All right then. See you in fifteen minutes.

"MOM! TADASHI'S COMING! HELP CLEAN UP THE SITTING ROOM!"

Mom crawled up from the couch and frowned. "Am I your maid?"

"You're supposed to look after me," I whined. "You owe me, remember?" (This always worked.)

Begrudgingly, Mom stated to stack up her magazines and throw her beer cans into a plastic bag.

"Remember to vacuum the floor," I smirked, and she stuck out her tongue at me.

"Why is he coming, anyway?" Mom folded her arms, her nose in the air. She didn't like Tadashi much, after he 'indirectly caused me to be hit by a car'.

"He needs to tell me something before he leaves for Canada. He's going there to study."

"Oh, goody," Mom's face lit up, and she turned to pick up the empty potato crisp bag with renewed vigor.

And now, all I had to do was to wait.