For almost two months now, from the moment he awoke and pulled himself out of bed to the moment he passed out, the soreness in his hip had become Nagisa's constant companion. Although at first his parents just assumed he was going through "growing pains" and kept an extra bottle of pain reliever pills in the medicine cabinet, now almost six weeks later they weren't so sure. Not only had he not grown any taller, Nagisa seemed to be actually losing his appetite and losing weight as a result, something a teenage boy going through a growth spurt shouldn't be experiencing. Also, the pain had not improved, but now it seemed to be intruding on their son's sleeping hours as well, and the only thing he seemed to be consuming regularly were the pain relievers in the medicine cabinet. His sisters, who normally would tease him relentlessly, even began to take pity on him and help him cover up the dark circles that were becoming more noticeable.
Finally, after cornering Nagisa and threatening to make him do his last year at home if he didn't explain his strange routine, he admitted to them that he had been training hard and must have strained a tendon, and that his hip had been bothering him off and on since then. Seemingly pacified by his answer, they let the subject drop for the time being.
A week passed, however, and Nagisa's concern for their son hadn't waned. Although Nagisa protested, insisting that he was fine, his parents were equally insistant on him getting checked out, as much for their peace of mind as for his. After having him run away at the thought of possibly having to quit the swim club last year, getting a repeat of that incident was the last thing Mr. and Mrs. Hazuki wanted to go through. So, the following Monday the three of them took the train to Iwatobi Memorial Hospital, and sat down with the family doctor for a physical exam.
After several questions about swimming and how the team was doing this year, the doctor asked about the swelling he noticed on his hip and after seeing how extremely tender it was to the touch, the doctor asked if he could run some tests, and he could have the results back in about a week. Nagisa and his parents agreed, if only to put an end to the micromanaging of the situation that his parents were doing, in his opinion.
Now, the day had come when all of this nonsense could be put behind them and life could go back to normal. All he had to do was get through the day...
Lunchtime came, and Nagisa was his happy, energetic self. And when Rei would show his concern about his lack of sleep, he would give him a smile and wave it off with a "don't worry, don't worry!" as he sipped at his strawberry milk, only to throw it away half full when the bell signaled that lunch was over.
As Nagisa and Rei walked out the main doors at the end of the day, Mr. and Mrs. Hazuki were waiting at the end of the sidewalk. Nagisa paused, and after a moment Rei told him he could text him later, and walked away toward the train station. Nagisa met his parents where they stood and together they made their way to the train that would take them to Iwatobi Memorial Hospital.
When his name was finally called, the nurse didn't escort them to an examination room like he expected, but instead to a large conference room, where they were greeted by his family doctor as well as several new faces he didn't recognize. After the Hazukis had been seated at the table and offered refreshments, their family doctor seated himself across from them and opened a very large file folder. He then began pulling out various scans and x-rays that he had asked for days earlier for the family to see.
"Mr. and Mrs. Hazuki, Nagisa-kun... I'm afraid what I am about to tell you isn't exactly good news." There was a slight pause as he picked up one of the x-rays to the light. "There is an abnormally high concentration of cells in this area of the hip that is causing the discomfort. And, after analyzing the symptoms and the information from the tests, my collegues and I - motioning to the people at the table - believe it to be Stage IIA Osteosarcoma." Still seeing the shock and lack of understanding on their son's face, he lowered the picture and said, "Nagisa-kun, you have bone cancer."