Chapter 2: Connections/The Doctor's Memories

"…black hoodies…I have that…

…

…dark-colored jeans…I don't have those…but I have track pants…

…

…sunglasses? Eh? Hmmm…don't have those either but…oh! I can borrow his aviator glasses…

…Hehe…this will be perfect!"

In the end, it was far from perfect.

Shaking his head and sporting a grimace, Takuma mentally relived the thought process that had led to him wearing an all-black attire in the middle of the day. The internet had spectacularly failed him in making him give off the impression of a cool, laid-back and calm person.

Instead, he was treated like some sort of a miscreant or a creep by someone he had planned on impressing with the façade he had been working on for a couple of weeks till then. It truly hurt his pride when he informed his mother about the miscommunication who then had to clear up the misunderstanding on his behalf.

But then, a split second before the doorknob turned, his stubbornness would set in.

"What the hell…I am already dressed the part! I'm going through with this!"

With that bit of resolve stirring inside his mind, Takuma made the subtle decision to keep the image of a cool, unbothered adult up in front of Ruby.

Though she had been told everything by Miyako regarding the unexpected visitor, Ruby wasn't quite in the right state of mind yet. Her fear and panic had whittled away but they were quickly replaced by a feeling of embarrassment over what had just transpired.

"…H-He's gonna think I'm crazy now…S-Should I get Aqua to answer the door instead?...B-But…if I don't open now…he'll think I don't want to talk to him…"

The embarrassment would stem from her making a bad judgment after simply seeing their visitor for a split second. She had thought him to be an intruder attempting to indulge in something rather shady. However, the explanation given to her by Miyako had her feeling flustered over the misunderstanding.

"…I have to welcome him…i-it's not nice to not apologize…"

Even though she wished she could slink away into a corner of their home and avoided contact with the stranger, it was her hasty misreading of the interaction that had caused her to slam the door in his face.

That bit of sudden and rude action needed at least an apology.

"Calm your nerves…Calm your nerves, Ruby…you can do this!"

Taking a deep breath and lightly biting down on her lower lip, Ruby faced the door once again.

One…two…three…four strong steps took her to less than an arm's length away from the door.

The fifth step wasn't taken with similar confidence though as possible scenarios played inside of her head.

"W-What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he yells at me?"

She could still hear his footsteps on the other side of the door and at that moment, she yearned for the ability to read into other people's minds so she could formulate the best way to approach him.

Subconsciously, she managed to grab hold of the door knob. It was too late to opt out.

"H-Here goes nothing…"

A moment of hesitation later, she turned the knob and pulled back, causing the door to swing open.

Using all she had left to keep her composure, the girl who was dressed in a red shirt and white shorts would find herself face to face with the visitor.

Like before, his frame, which was slightly larger than Aqua's, dwarfed her as she stood before him. With his black hoodie, black track pants and glaring aviators, he gave off the same intimidating aura she sensed the first time she opened the door for him.

The light from outside also aided her in noticing immediately that he had a rather subtle smile etched on his face. Both of his hands were kept inside the pockets of his pants and his posture was slightly slouched.

"W-Why is he dressed like a serial killer?"

She quickly shook her head to rid herself of unwanted thoughts.

"U-Um…Welcome…Y-Yamasaki-san…please come in" she said in the best stable voice she could muster, "Err…sorry for slamming the door in your face like that…" she hastily blurted out.

"There! G-Got it out of the way!"

Ruby secretly let out a sigh of relief at the way she shoehorned her apology into her greeting.

The stranger would straighten his stance first before nodding. She held her breath the second she realized he was about to speak.

"It's cool" Takuma replied in a deeper voice, "It's cool" he patted her on her shoulder, "Don't worry 'bout it, 'aight?"

As soon as he walked past her to head inside, Ruby widened her eyes in utter surprise. His words and his reaction weren't nearly close to the response she thought she'd receive because of her previous actions.

"G-Gah! H-He's so calm about it!" she thought, "I-Is he just hiding his anger or…?"

Such thoughts had to be kept at bay for the moment as Ruby moved swiftly to offer him a seat in the living room.

"P-Please sit anywhere you please!"

Forcing a smile, she gestured towards the couches and chairs spread out evenly within the living room.

Without saying a word, Takuma crossed his arms and then leant against the wall, taking off his aviator glasses and removing his hood; his gray hair and orange tinted eyes coming into full view immediately.

Ruby was a bit more confused than she was nervous about his sudden nonchalant display.

"Eh? What's he doing? Is he not sitting down?"

On the opposite side of the interaction, the thoughts in Takuma's head weren't too far off from her assumption.

"I can't sit down! I'm already committed to the part!...And why is she giving me that funny look?" he thought, sending a cold stare in Ruby's direction.

Clearing his throat, he gave his answer.

"I'll be standing up if you don't mind" he replied in the same monotonous voice, "You know why I'm here, don't you?"

Ruby nodded cautiously, wanting to avoid doing something that could potentially make him angry at her. He was her guest after all and she had to make sure she put on her best behavior in front of him…even if she had done something to ruin that attempt already.

And the laid-back manner in which he acted made him seem more like a modern greaser than a stalker/serial killer. With the way he propped himself against the wall with his gaze fixed on her, she felt compelled to get the delivery over with as soon as possible.

The fact that she had never dealt with anyone like him before failed to instill confidence in her skills as a host.

"You're here to give me something that was for my mama, right?" she asked.

She had almost forgotten the one tiny detail that Miyako had told her.

It was that the person in front of her was the son of a person who used to work extensively with her mother Ai back when she was alive. Although she had no memories of ever meeting a person with the family name of Yamasaki, the added information about how the family knew the whole story about Ai's pregnancy and subsequent events.

That would've meant that she should view her visitor as a family friend but his strange behavior and imposing appearance had made it quite difficult for her to see him as such.

However, if she was serious about following in the footsteps of her mother, she had to make sure her personality was bubbly, vibrant and friendly all the time…even towards people she wasn't necessarily comfortable being with.

"M-Maybe if we keep talking, he'll seem…more familiar."

Keeping that thought in her head, she waited for his reply.

It would come just a moment later.

"That's right" he said, briefly flashing a smile.

Lazily, he reached into his pockets once more and pulled out a small silver USB drive.

It puzzled Ruby as she had thought that the person named Yamasaki was there to give her some sort of a memorabilia or an old possession of her mother but instead, he had produced a piece of hardware, likely implying that what he would give to her was digital in nature.

Just as she anticipated, he cleanly tossed it over into the palm of her hands.

Shooting him an awkward smile, Ruby turned her attention towards him.

"Err…well…what's in here?"

Without looking at her, Takuma crossed his arms before answering her.

"I won't spoil the surprise" he replied in a casual manner, "Plug it into a computer and see for yourself."

Yet again, her visitor was speaking and acting in a peculiar way as if he was attempting to calm her nerves, act friendly and be unnerving in the same time. That combination was a recipe for total utter confusion and it didn't help that he was being cryptic for no clear reasons.

"…well…I have to do it to get him out of my hair, don't I?"

Had it not been for Miyako calling her back and somewhat explaining what Takuma was there for, she would've rid himself of him already by calling the police or their neighbours for help. Because of the information she had learned, however, checking what he came to give to her was the only acceptable way to have him leave her home before too long.

"He's awfully calm though…maybe he won't rag on me for slamming the door in his face after all…"

As she walked towards the family computer, Ruby wondered if Takuma had forgotten about their initial interaction given how laid-back and nonchalant he seemed to be. There wasn't a hint of the familiar cynicism that Aqua had with him which made it quite difficult for her to gage what his line of thinking was.

Nevertheless, she pushed a button which brought the computer to life.

"Well…here goes nothing, I suppose…" Ruby muttered.

After plugging in the USB into the computer, she waited for a couple of seconds before eventually, a window popped up. Takuma observed her discreetly, eager to know what she'd think of the song while trying to not show his intrigue in the matter.

For a moment, Ruby paused, giving off an expression of astonishment as she read the name of the file.

"H-Huh? "ForAi"?" she mumbled before turning to Takuma, ""For Ai"? Is this it? It looks like a song of some sort. Is this the thing you wanted to give to me?"

She hadn't anticipated the "gift" to be a song in digital format and that too, bearing the name of her mother. It was the first time she had learnt of someone making a song for her mother.

Takuma slowly put his aviator glasses back on before smiling and nodding at her.

"Yes" he told her coolly while moving away from the wall, "That audio file was made for your mother."

Ruby was still trying to comprehend the revelation that someone like Takuma would have the mind to make such a thoughtful tribute for Ai. Despite his suspicious appearance and his strange mannerisms, it really seemed as though he was truly some kind of a family friend to them.

Before she could fully express her gratitude though, she had to first see what the song was like in order to quench her growing curiosity.

"You can play that lat-"

"Is it alright for me to play it right now?" she meekly asked after taking a moment to think about it.

"Huh? She wants to play it now?" Takuma thought while giving her a worried look for a split second, "…I thought she was only going to copy the file and then play it later…Shoot! Am I gonna listen to my dad sing while someone else is around then?...That's gonna be so awkward."

However, as soon as he noticed her waiting for confirmation on his side, he realized he could not deprive her of a chance to see what the song was like.

He then walked up to her, stopping just behind her.

"It's fine by me" he gently nodded again.

Of course, he could not break his façade by suggesting she listen to it in her own time. After all, she could ask him further about why she couldn't listen to it there and then and that would only further plunge him into a vortex of unnecessary lies.

After being assured by Takuma though, Ruby faced the screen again, putting the cursor over the file.

"O-Okay then…" she said, double-clicking the song.

"Does this have vocals? I-Is he the one singing!?"

Before either the instruments or the vocals kicked in, Ruby pondered how it would be like if Takuma was the one singing in the track. Given his…unique presentation, she was fairly intrigued in case he was indeed the one providing the vocals for the song.

The moment an acoustic guitar began strumming some chords, her attention went back to the audio ringing from her computer's speakers. Takuma braced himself in order to not let his emotions get the better of him once his father's voice came through.

"This…this sounds older than I thought…" Ruby could tell that the quality of the recording wasn't exactly up to modern standards.

"Every day, I see the freedom of birds as they fly through the sky…"

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened involuntarily the moment the vocals started. It wasn't Takuma's voice but rather the voice of a much older man. It was gritty and rough but the melody and the overall tone of the song so far matched it perfectly.

"H-Huh? Wha…this is someone else's voice!"

"…The sight of them makes me yearn to lift this weight off my heart,

There's no place for love in this begotten world,

So, my heart longs to soar through the skies.

If I had wings like angel, I could fly and see this world from afar,

Tell me, what is love like in your corner of the world?

'Cause I want to find a place in this world where love reigns free."

As she focused more on the vocals and the lyrics, Ruby instantly understood how the subject matter and theme of the track was unlike any of the songs that her mother had performed nor was it related to the idol career she had.

"Will the heavens open and guide me?

Will the end bring revelation?

Because there is no place for love in this world,

The only road left is to dream.

I want to spread my wings and find a peaceful place where love is still safe,

Even if a storm comes and the world breaks apart,

I will stay hopeful."

The song would then end after a mere 1 minute and 37 seconds of playing and the sounds coming from the speaker would stop abruptly as well.

Ruby could not quite make out the connections between the song's contents and her mother but just the fact that the hauntingly melodic tune was written for her had convinced her that there was a deeper meaning behind it which she wasn't able to grasp yet.

Nevertheless, to learn that someone would go out of their way to write such a lovely and memorable song for her mother was enough to move her.

She was rendered speechless for a couple of seconds as her mind was filled with an intense feeling of gratitude for the person who was responsible for creating the song. Hearing people say good things about her mother always brought joy to her heart but to know that someone would make a song specifically for her made her heart flutter.

"Yamasaki-san…" she said as she moved her head a bit to look at the young man's face, "…Did you write this song?"

There was no hint of fear, anxiety or suspicion in her voice anymore. It was clear that her visitor had approached her to simply give her a chance to hear a beautiful song that was connected to her mother in some way.

There was no chance either that anyone who went out of their way to do that would be antagonistic towards her or her family.

"I have nothing to do with that" he replied calmly.

"Oh…" her smile disappeared for a moment, "Wait…so, how did you...who wrote this song then? Who was the one singing then?"

That answer stumped her as she was starting to believe that Takuma was similar to those eccentric music artists she had learnt about through videos on the internet.

"It was all done by my pops" he answered proudly.

Takuma allowed that emotion to slip through purely because of his admiration for his father.

Then, Ruby's eyes lit up immediately. The smile on her face returned and it was brighter than before.

"Your father?" she asked in awe, "Wow! He must be such a talented musician and songwriter!"

It pleased her to no end that a friend of her mother would take the time to create a tribute for her. That only served to strengthen her belief that despite people telling her otherwise, Ai truly had more friends within the idol world that she had initially thought.

"He made lots of songs for your mother and the idol group she was in" Takuma added the detail he learned from his mother, "Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get her to hear that song since…that thing happened to her. So, we just figured it'd be best to give it to you instead."

Once again, Ruby was filled with gratitude over the thoughtful gesture that the Yamasaki family had showed towards her and her own family.

They could've easily gone till eternity without having to do such a thing for her but on that day, the man next to her had brought to her his father's work. The melodious song had helped her remember how much she loved her mother and how much she was loved…both by her family and her friends.

It was a reminder she needed as she was to embark on a similar journey in the near future.

"Thank you, Yamasaki-san" she said while getting up from her seat, "Thank you for this valuable gift. Umm…could you…"

She took a moment to choose her words carefully before continuing.

"Could you tell your father that I am sincerely grateful for what he did for mama while she was alive?" she asked with a smile, "I mean, I know that mama and her idol group were the ones who performed his songs but he was the one who wrote all their hits and stuff, you know?"

Takuma gave her a smirk and averted his gaze towards the nearest unlit ceiling light.

"He would have been happy to hear that" he told her.

"Ah…that's really nice…"

Ruby nodded before realizing something.

"Oh! Yamasaki-san, could you tell me the name of your father?" she asked, "That way, if someone mentions them, I won't be too lost!"

Putting his hands in his pockets, Takuma answered straightaway.

"My father's full name is Yamasaki Hiroshi" he then pointed a finger at her, "Don't you forget that name, 'aight?"

""Yamasaki Hiroshi"" she repeated.

Suddenly, she reached into her own pockets before pulling out her phone and quickly typed something down on her phone.

"Yamasaki Hiroshi…" she mumbled once more.

At that point, Takuma could see what she was doing and he let out a short laugh in response.

"Ruby, are you googling my father in front of me?" he chuckled.

Her face turned red a bit after he pointed out what she was in the midst of doing. She swiftly cleared her throat before looking at her sides, unable to face him for a moment.

"Oh…I-I'm just curious…his name sounds so famous" she nervously laughed, "And if he worked with mama, then he's probably well-known too…"

"Alright then…" Takuma smiled before sighing, "Proceed as you wish."

With that, she continued to search up details about Takuma's father as discreetly as she could, even though Takuma was right in front of her.

"…I purposefully didn't tell her that he's…no longer with us…" he thought as he watched her open a page, "…aaaaannd…now, she's gonna find out."

As the search results began to be evenly stacked on top of one another, Ruby navigated through them, scrolling up and down and noticing the amount of articles written about "Yamasaki Hiroshi". She was pleasantly surprised to know that her hunch about him being a famous person was correct.

"Wow! He used to be a drummer for a popular band Ion-V? So, that's why he's so talented in music then!"

She continued gathering as much information as she could from the articles including one which mentioned him as one of the pillars of success behind B-Komachi owing to his compositional skills.

However, one title caused her heart to sink instantly.

"W-Wha…w-wait…t-this…this is…"

Steadily, she looked at Takuma in the eye. The young man had already noticed the title as well and he had a neutral expression on his face.

Quietly, she put a hand to her mouth as a bout of sadness took over her mind. She turned off her phone as she blinked, gazing into nothing.

"I-I…" her voice became shaky, "I'm sorry for your loss, Yamasaki-san…"

That was all she could say at the moment.

After learning that Takuma's father worked with her mother and was one of her friends, she had hoped that she'd be given a chance to meet the person who had written such a beautiful tribute for her mother.

Unfortunately, as the news article covering his death stated…Yamasaki Hiroshi had been dead for over six years. Her sorrow was not because the avenue for an eye-opening conversation with the man regarding her mother had been closed, it was more so because the young man who had come to her no longer had a father.

"It's fine" Takuma said in his usual calm voice.

It might have still been a sensitive topic to bring up but the years in between his father's passing and the present had helped him to tackle it with a stable mind. Seeing her downtrodden all of sudden had put him an awkward position though and he made a quick decision to rectify that.

For Ruby's sake, he cranked up the cheesy cool persona he had and sported a friendly smile to keep her at ease.

"You know, they made a mistake on his bio page" Takuma decided to fully commit to his bit, "They got the date of my birth wrong. It should've been February the 28th not the 27th."

The girl glanced at him slightly and upon seeing his pleasant smile, the frown on her face disappeared.

"Oh…I see…" she smiled at him, "How silly of them…hehe…"

"It's a stupid joke but what the hell?...I can't come up with anything better!"

"It's a running joke amongst my family that I should have been four and a half years old right now…hehe…" he further added to lighten the mood, "'Cause you know, I was born an hour before a leap day."

"And you even gave the explanation to your own joke, you dork!"

Takuma could hardly keep his composure as he scolded himself for going through with his half-assed joke in an attempt to lift Ruby's spirits. He could tell instantly that he had put his precious new image in jeopardy as well.

"Oh…I understand…"

The moment he heard Ruby's giggle, all his worries about making a fool out of himself faded.

"Well…I'll be sure to remember that date then, Yamasaki-san" she laughed a bit.

No signs of unease were on her face anymore.

While the two of them stood facing each other, her red eyes meeting his orange ones, wondering what else they could say to continue the conversation, a single thought crossed through both of their minds; a melancholic one that they could share.

"…Wonder what dad would've thought about this …"

"I wonder what mama would've thought of this…me meeting the son of her friend…"

Takuma spoke up first once more, pushing his aviator glasses up slightly.

"You know what, Hoshino-san?" he finally addressed her by her family name, "Do you feel this is a memorable meeting? Learning that our parents were friends through that small USB drive? Quite simple but what the heck? It's still memorable in my eyes."

Ruby was once again amazed by how cool and level-headed Takuma had managed to be throughout their whole interaction- from the misunderstanding at the start to the knowledge of the connection they shared through their parents. She had thought he was being weird initially but as they kept talking, she could see that he was just someone who was practically unfazed by anything and took almost nothing seriously.

On the other hand, Takuma was silently praying for no more hitches in the talk they were having. He had already committed to playing a different version of himself in front of her and was on the verge of feeling the strain of having to keep up a fake front in Ruby's presence.

"Absolutely!" Ruby grinned happily, "Yamasaki-san…it was certainly an experience meeting you. Thank you so much…" she glanced at her computer, "…for the song. It was lovely hearing it."

"Same here" Takuma nodded.

As he had fulfilled what he had set out to do when he left his home, Takuma found the perfect opening to end his short visit. There wasn't much more he could say to the 15 year old who had been super friendly to him ever since the misunderstanding was cleared up.s

"Well…seems like this is a good time for me to le-" he began saying before an unexpected voice interrupted him.

"Yamasaki-san…"

Aqua had been listening in on the conversation his sister had been having for the past fifteen minutes with the hooded stranger, initially out of caution but later out of intrigue. He tried to pick up on the odd cadence of the visitor, noting how unnatural it sounded yet he never strayed from it.

Apart from his dark-hued clothes, that was the only other source of suspicion he had about Takuma. Everything else though, including the reveal of how their parents worked together within the bubble of the idol industry seemed genuine and there was nothing to doubt regarding that.

Clutching Ai's personal phone, he walked out of his room to confront him.

The family name "Yamasaki" as well as the name of the deceased patriarch, Yamasaki Hiroshi, had taken his interest. After browsing the internet for more information about the man, he had no doubts that Takuma's father had numerous connections and possibly was way more influential that most would expect.

However, one of his reasons for announcing his appearance to his bewildered sister and her confused visitor was to make sure he could utilize those existing connections through Takuma to further his own goals.

The other was because he was sure he had heard the name "Yamasaki" before.

Not in his current life as Aqua, but rather in a previous life.

The second he understood he had the attention of both his sister and Takuma, he moved onto the pleasantries to ground the conversation in a way he wanted.

"…Pardon my intrusion" he said in his monotonous, methodical voice, "But I'd like to introduce ourselves properly since Ruby forgot to do so."

"Eh? Aqua!" Ruby pouted the moment she caught onto what her brother was saying, "T-That wasn't needed!"

Aqua simply gave her a side glance in response before locking eyes with Takuma who was staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"My name is Hoshino Aquamarine and this is my twin sister Ruby" he said in a polite tone, "I presume your full name is Yamasaki Shou?"

Takuma blinked before wiping away the inquisitive expression etched on his face, replacing it with a near unreadable smile.

"…I'm sure he is hiding something from me" Aqua tried to keep his own stare as subdued as possible, "…He's too lax for my liking…or perhaps this is his true self…"

After assessing the boy who had suddenly appeared, first taking note of how he was almost the same height as him, Takuma could tell that the stoic demeanor of Aqua was genuine and that he wasn't faking it like he was.

"Drat…this kid is exactly how I wanna present myself!" he thought.

"Haha…" Takuma let out a laugh before taking off his aviator glasses, "No…I am Yamasaki Takuma. Shou is my older brother."

""Takuma"?" Ruby muttered softly.

Aqua gave a nod to acknowledge his mistake.

"Thank you for clarifying that, Yamasaki-san" he said, keeping his sights firmly upon him, "Are you involved in the music industry like your father was?"

"Nah…those kinda things are up my mother and big bro's alleys" Takuma answered nonchalantly.

"Interesting…" Aqua nodded before hastily added, "Oh! Thank you for giving us your father's lovely tribute for our mother."

Takuma smiled.

"It's nothing. I was simply making sure that song found its way to you two" he replied.

Again, Aqua found it a laborious and futile task trying to detect any discrepancies in Takuma's mannerisms. Strange though it might have been, there was nothing to suggest that he was putting up a front given how unpretentious he seemed to be.

"For that, you have our thanks" Aqua told Takuma.

"Yes! Thank you for giving us this!" Ruby agreed.

Takuma smirked and chuckled.

"Well then, I will graciously accept your thanks" he told them before turning his body towards the door.

Not wanting to overwhelm himself with information, Aqua opted to not do anything that would keep Takuma in their household for longer. He still had ample time to make use of all he had learned so far and even though he couldn't quite catch a lapse in Takuma's calm behavior at the moment, he could always come back to that later if needed.

"Huh? You're going, already?" Ruby asked, taking a single step towards him.

"I've done what I set out to do" Takuma replied with a smile, "Have a good day, you two."

With a wink, he immediately walked to the door, pulling it open with a light tug.

"Have a good day as well, Yamasaki-san. Thank you" Aqua bowed.

Takuma would give them one final nod before he put his glasses back on. In one swift movement, he headed out through the door, closing it behind him. A couple of seconds later, all that could be heard were his footsteps fading into the urban cacophony outside of their home.

And like it had been countless times before, the Hoshino siblings found themselves alone in their home.

"Bye…" Ruby muttered before sharply turning to face her brother, "Eh? Did you already know about the Yamasaki family?"

Aqua held up his phone.

"I did what you did. I googled them" he replied.

"Oh…right…" Ruby said sheepishly, "They seem like nice people, you know? Google won't tell you that. I mean, his father used to help mama in her career and he came all the way from his home to give us a song for mama!"

"Yes…I suppose they are" Aqua mumbled under his breath.

His gaze then fell upon the audio file still highlighted on the screen of the computer near them. Staring intently for a split second, he walked back towards his room.

"I'm heading out…"

"Huh? You are?" Ruby arched her eyebrow in puzzlement.

"I have some business to attend to…watch the house well while I'm gone."

"What business? Aqua? Aqua?"

Aqua zoned out the redundant questions his sister was asking as he retreated to the sanctity of his room, to be undisturbed by her words and actions.

As soon as she was out of view, he took out Ai's personal phone from his pockets. With the touch of a button, it turned on.

The short interaction with Takuma had proved more useful than he had expected. Although his original objective of trying to see if he was presenting himself in an insincere way could not give him the answers he wanted, Aqua was glad to know that he confirmed the indirect connection he had with Ai and to an extent, with him and Ruby.

For a while, he stared at one of the many photos stored in the gallery of his mother's old phone.

The photo being a selfie.

A selfie of Ai, holding two one-week old twin babies, along with a bespectacled man nearby as well as a grey-haired three year old boy.

"Around the time of our births, Ai would take candid photos such as these…but only with the people that she trusted...and where have I heard the name "Yamasaki" before?"

He then focused on the boy in the photo.

"Yamasaki-san…you might not be involved in your father's work…but I want to know and I will know everything your family knows about Ai…"

X number of years ago

"Oh! Amamiya-san?"

The time was 8:34 pm and the middle of August. Amamiya Gorou was passing through the maternity ward in the hospital he worked for, his white coat floating behind him when he heard the voice of his senior Dr. Sakamoto ringing through the hallway.

Lifting his head a bit, he spotted his colleague approaching him with a file.

"Sakamoto-san? What is it?" he asked, straightening his posture.

The elderly doctor barely had any hair left on the top of his head but his face seemed to be glowing every time he saw him. It was often the norm for his juniors to greet him respectfully…without any of his input.

"Where are you headed to? Sarina-chan's cabin?" the older man inquired.

"Yes" Gorou nodded, "She wanted me to…watch something with her."

"That's good" Dr. Sakamoto smiled, "You're her favourite after all."

"…I suppose that is the case…"

Gorou responded in a sheepish manner, knowing that he couldn't exactly deny the friendship he had with his patient.

"I have a favour to ask of you though" Dr. Sakamoto handed the file over to him, "Could you take this to Murakami's office?"

"Huh?"

After taking a moment to recollect, Gorou remembered that Dr. Murakami's office was located within the maternity wards, an area he had just walked past.

"Oh! I need to bring this to his office?" he asked, "Is that all?"

Dr. Sakamoto nodded happily.

"Could you do that favor for me?"

"Of course, Sakamoto-san. It's no problem at all" Gorou smiled.

The senior doctor of the hospital had always been nice to him so it was not difficult to carry out his request.

"Thank you, Amamiya-san" Dr. Sakamoto said.

Following that, he headed off towards the elevator, leaving Gorou alone in the hallway.

Wasting no time, Gorou turned around, backtracking towards where he came from while holding the file tightly in his hands. The entrance to the maternity ward was close and it would take no less than a dozen steps to reach it.

Swinging the door open, Gorou entered the maternity ward, navigating the different partitions inside of it as he tried to locate Dr. Murakami's office.

It didn't take long at all for him to see a cubicle labeled with the doctor's name in one corner of the area.

With his right hand, he opened the door to the office, hoping to quickly deposit the file on the doctor's desk before heading straight for Sarina's cabin.

To his surprise, there were a couple of people inside the office.

"Hello!"

A woman's voice unexpectedly greeted him the second he opened the door.

As Gorou turned to face the speaker, he saw a woman sitting in front of Dr. Murakami's desk. A boy was by her side, observing him intently.

The woman was most likely in her late 20s or early 30s and had a comforting aura around her, probably owing to the friendly smile she had on her face.

"Uhh…hello…Good evening" Gorou awkwardly greeted the woman.

"Good evening to you too…hmmm…Is that file for Murakami-sensei?" she asked.

"Umm…I suppose so" he opened the file.

Since Dr. Sakamoto had not told him who the file was for, he presumed it was indeed for the doctor whose office he had entered. A quick check on the front page of the first document inside the file confirmed his assumption.

However, he took note of another name that was written down as well.

"…or…or maybe it is for Yamasaki Yukiyo…" he put a hand to his chin, "I do not recognize this name."

The woman's sudden giggle would take his attention.

"That is my name" she told him.

"Eh?"

Gorou glanced at the file and then back at the woman. Flipping through the next few pages, he realized that it was a collection of Dr. Murakami's reports for the woman.

"I suppose this is yours then…" he mumbled before noticing a rather important piece of information.

As soon as he said that, the blonde twelve-year old standing by Yukiyo's side suddenly darted forward and snatched the file off of Gorou's hands. Before the doctor even had time to react, he presented the file before the woman.

"Here, Yamasaki-san" the boy said in a tone devoid of emotions.

"Hehe…thank you, Hikaru-kun" Yukiyo giggled, "Thank you again for staying here until Hiroshi arrives."

"It's nothing…"

Having recovered from the surprise of the boy's sudden action, Gorou gathered himself before asking Yukiyo a question.

"Forgive me for my rudeness but I couldn't help but notice that the report said you are currently two months pregnant" he said, repeating the information he had briefly seen within the file, "Are you planning on having your baby here in our hospital?"

"I think so" Yukiyo smiled brightly, "Our family's staying close by so this place is the right location in my opinion."

Gorou nodded.

"Is this your first?"

The woman shook her head and giggled.

"It's our second child" she stated, "So, we're well prepared for it in case you're wondering, doctor."

"Ah! That is great then" Gorou nodded once more while smiling, "I shall be going now."

"Alright" Yukiyo waved goodbye to him, "I hope you have a pleasant night, doctor."

As soon as the woman said that, Gorou's head was filled with thoughts about Sarina and how she must've been eagerly waiting for him to join her. He even imagined her playfully scolding him for taking too long.

"You too, Yamasaki-san!"

Closing the door behind him, Gorou left Dr. Murakami's office and subsequently, the maternity ward, putting him in the same hallway he was treading on in just a matter of seconds.

Having fulfilled Dr. Sakamoto's request, he wasted no time in making his way towards a certain cabin within the confines of the institution, a place that he frequented and a place that felt like it belonged him and the bedridden girl he cared for.

Though he knew where her current condition would lead her, Gorou would never let those intrusive thoughts get in the way of him helping her fill the hours she had left with joy and laughter.

He was her friend, after all.