Chapter 11

I hurried through the long hallways of Cherish. It was a rather new hospital and had only been completed about five years ago. Thus everything I walked by sparkled in the fluorescent lights. But the place felt like an endless maze. All I wanted was someone who could point me in Yomi's direction. I hadn't even located the front desk yet. Finally, up ahead sat a nurse behind what I assumed to be a desk. It looked more like a crescent moon. I reached the desk and asked, "Excuse me, but do you know what room Yomi's in?"

"Who?"

"Mizuhara Koyomi. I was told she'd be here."

The nurse fiddled with some things on her computer before turning back to me and answering, "Yes. Go down that hall and take the last left. They should have her in one of the recovery rooms."

"Thanks," I said and started down the hallway. Though not a terribly long hallway, it had enough of a bend in it. I reached the end and took my left. After that, I spent a few minutes just peaking in different rooms to see which one she was in. For a recovery room, these things sure were small. Oh well, the fourth door I'd checked appeared to have my person of interest. I stepped inside and found Yomi sitting up on the doctor's chair, her leg in a cast; small bandages and gauze in various places on her arms and face.

I tried to sound cheerful when I called her, but it came out rather fake. "Hey Yomi! What happened to you?"

"Nothing. I just fell," she shrugged.

Before I could say anything more, the doctor walked in and said, "Well it looks like you had a nasty fall, but no serious injury." He completely ignored me as he spoke to Yomi. "If anything Mizuhara-san, that leg of yours is going to take some time to heal up. You did a mighty fine job of breaking it so you'll wanna stay off it for a while. As far as the rest of your cuts and bruises go, I'd say keep them covered for at least the rest of the day and then see where you are." The doctor only nodded at me before he left.

With Yomi free to go, I helped her into the car and we started driving. "So, what happened?"

"I just slipped on the ladder in the back room and fell. That's all."

Her voice was a little sharp, maybe annoyed. "Well it's a good thing you've got a big butt Yomi, or you would've broken your back," I said, giving her the biggest smile I could muster.

Yomi just angrily shook her head and stared out the window. Maybe that was too far; but she really should lighten up. Apologizing, I said, "Don't worry Yomi. I'll take some days off work to help out. I could sleep on the couch in your apartment if you like . . ."

"You don't have to trouble yourself," Yomi snapped, but then she sighed and said, "Sorry Tomo. I didn't mean it. Could we just go home?"

"Sure," I eventually answered, allowing the remainder of the drive to pass in silence.

I helped Yomi up the stairs and into her room. After a few trips back to the car for things like crutches, medication, my wallet; I was finally able to relax with Yomi for a few minutes. For a while, neither of us spoke a word. But eventually Yomi blurted out, "Yuuko and I broke up."

I about did a double-take. "W-What?"

Yomi nodded and continued, "Last night. You were right. I don't know how Tomo, but you were right about everything. No smartass comments." Damn she shot me down fast. "That's kind of why I fell. I was distracted."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"What is there to say? He walked in while I was working. I didn't know what to think. I guess I thought he had decided something on that marriage idea that I had brought up. But nope. Nothing like that . . ."

I'd been working the cash register for most of the morning. Business had been slow during the noon hour, which was unusual for the restaurant. I noticed some surprised glances towards the clock as I stood like an idiot in front of an empty counter. It was the manager's policy. Someone always had to "man the register" at all times. If no one stood there, it somehow reflected the lack of the restaurant's duty of immediately responding to a customer; or something like that. So there I stood, waiting for someone, anyone to walk through the door and give me something to do besides smiling at the odd person or two who'd walk past into the restrooms.

When I finally saw someone walk in, I was a little more than surprised to see Yuuko firmly approaching the register. With his hard face and the way he shuffled his hands in his pockets, I could tell he wanted to talk to me about something. However, I didn't want to rush things so I allowed him to take his time until he stood opposite the counter, glancing up as if to order; his bangs falling neatly out of place and into his way. "I guess I'll order the usual for now. And if you have a minute we need to talk." The whole time, his eyes never left the menu above me.

I entered in his order which thank God the machine took, and stepped back to ask the manager about my break. With hardly any customers around, he gladly gave me a small lunch break while one of the new gals took my place at the register. Returning to Yuuko, I said, "Your order will be ready in a minute. Find a table and I'll be right there." He nodded and sulked off.

Hurrying to the back, I quickly prepared myself a small cup of milk tea. I wasn't feeling particularly hungry and besides, we had strict limitations on what we could make for ourselves during break. So I grabbed my cup along with Yuuko's lunch and headed out to meet him. He wasn't hard to find, a bit of a burly man. He had the smallest traces of a mustache and always carried a pair of sunglasses in his shirt pocket. Taking a seat across from him, I nervously twirled my thumbs with the cup between them. I didn't really know if I should speak first or let Yuuko do the talking. I mean, on one hand if I started the conversation then I'd have more control; but on the other it might put Yuuko off. He didn't like feeling as though he had no control over a situation. In the end, I decided it best to let him do the talking. After all, I was still reeling from yesterday when he'd so coldly rejected my idea of marriage. It still hurt to think that a guy who'd been going out with me for so long would be totally against commitment. I watched Yuuko finish off his meal. I'd probably end up paying for it again. But maybe it'd be worth it.

"Yomi," Yuuko said, fidgeting with his sunglasses. "I thought about yesterday. And I don't think it's gonna work. I don't think nothings gonna work."

"What are you talking about? If it's about the marriage thing, then . . ."

"Not only that Yomi," Yuuko interrupted, his voice solid, "but everything. Nothing's working out between us. I wanna call it quits."

"What," my voice had been reduced to a whisper. Instantaneously I was reminded of what Tomo had said last night, but I hadn't wanted to believe it. We could work things out. We always did before. That's what I had thought. Yuuko and I had withstood the test of time for so long and he wanted to call it quits? "Why would you want to do that? We've been through a lot togeh . . ."

"There's someone else, Yomi." His cold words stunned me to silence. He didn't even try adding sympathy to his voice when he'd said that. It just slipped right out as casually as a hello.

All I managed to say in response was, "Who?"

"No one you'd know. Now look . . ."

"WHO?" I couldn't stop it from coming out. I could hardly keep myself from slapping him. The only thing that held me back was the fact that I was at work. The boss wouldn't appreciate an associate attacking one of his customers.

Yuuko got defensive at my questioning and blurted, "That's none of your business! Now I tried making this relationship work but it just wasn't going anywhere. You kept nagging and nagging about the same old boring shit. I tried dropping hints that I wanted out but you were too ignorant to notice."

My mouth hung open. I couldn't remember it dropping, but half the restaurant must've seen it as Yuuko's aggravation easily carried across the room. But somehow, none of that mattered. "Not going anywhere? I wanted to start a family with you!"

"Yeah, well maybe I didn't." His words were final. He didn't add another letter, but just glared at me, as if it was my fault. He simply got up out of his seat, and left. Just as I had suspected, I was left with the bill.

I silently cleaned up the table, whispers fading in and out of the now awkwardly quiet restaurant. I'd catch morsels of conversation between the customers and eventually threw down my rag when the manager came out to check on me. I didn't even wait for him to say anything. I just briskly walked by and said, "I'm gonna do inventory." He neither questioned me nor stopped me. He just nodded his head as I passed by.

Yomi shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "That's why I fell. I went to the back and tried to do some inventory. My foot slipped on the ladder and down I went." Yomi's body shivered as she hugged herself, her voice quaking. "That's it. Yuuko's ran off with some tramp, and he's not coming back."

I wanted to say something, but everything I thought about saying would've only sound like "I told you so." And Yomi didn't need that kind of comfort. So I sat in silence, listening to Yomi sniffle. She was holding back her tears, but they were still creeping through.

Yomi's face contorted as she continued. I wished she wouldn't, but she had to let it out and I needed to be there for her. "I bet this other girl weighs half as much as I do. It's just like that time he cheated on me. That bitch couldn't have weighed half of . . ."

"Stop Yomi," I couldn't take it any longer, "Yuuko did not dump you because you were fat. The guy's an asshole. I mean, you look about as good now as you did back in high school. How many girls can say that? And considering Yuuko cheated on you once, I'm willing to bet he's been with this girl for a while."

Defeated, Yomi nodded her head. I hated to see her like this, but maybe things would turn for the better once she got over it. With a sarcastic chuckle, Yomi asked, "So, how was your day?"

A bit baffled by the sudden question, I had to think about how to reply. The image of Kagura's body when I pulled it out; I knew that image would haunt me, just like that kid I'd shot. But did I really want to tell Yomi about everything? Especially after what happened to her today? I was about to wave it off when I caught her staring at me. She looked worried. Her own troubles masked, she anxiously waited for my response. "Yeah, something did happen today."

"What, "Yomi asked, the only traces of Yuuko were drying on her cheeks.

"We found Kagura. She's dead. Found her at the bottom of the Shinano River."

I stopped so that Yomi could take this all in. "How'd she die?"

"Well. There hasn't been an autopsy yet, but I bet I know. After Kagura was visited by Osaka, she probably got upset and wanted to prove that she could still compete. So she snuck off and tried to swim in the Shinano River. Well her one leg had that osteomyelitis in it and it probably gave out. Unable to swim, she drowned. But I don't know how she ended up at the bottom of the river."

"Osaka. Would the autopsy be able to explain Kagura seeing Osaka?"

"I don't know. With the body being lost for so long, I don't know what they'll find. But she was well preserved in that cold water." I shivered just thinking about it. The touch of Kagura's clammy skin alone sent goose bumps down my back.

"How'd they find her?"

I kind of hoped that Yomi wouldn't ask that. I stumbled around some words and caught Yomi's suspicious stares. "Uh, some tip I think."

"Something wrong Tomo?"

The question had pulled me out of thought. "What do mean?"

"You look like you're upset about something." I was silent. I couldn't respond because I was afraid of what I might say. Yomi took this as confirmation of her suspicions and prodded further. "Is it about Osaka or Kagura? Sometimes I have a hard time telling which one you were looking for."

Yomi was serious. How she was able to completely drop the subject of Yuuko amazed me. It's like that didn't even matter right now. Lets face it. Yomi was tough. Tougher than I'd ever be. Which is why I faltered and told her everything; from my dream on up to my discovery of Kagura. ". . . But what I don't get is, why'd Osaka tell me I was running out of time? Kagura's been dead, probably for three years. What could I be running out of time with?"

I knew Yomi'd been a little taken aback by what I said. For a moment, she didn't seem to know how to respond. But eventually, her voice became firm and she grasped one of my shoulders tightly, catching me off guard. "Tomo, I know you've gone through a lot lately. But this thing with Kagura and Osaka has seriously been affecting you. Osaka is dead. And that was a dream. It meant nothing. The girl that the cab driver spoke to could have easily been someone from where she worked or something."

I still doubted that, but I nodded not wanting to argue. Yomi, satisfied with my response, or lack of, tried putting on a smile but failed. Her lips quivered as she said, "So, wanna help me walk with my crutches? I need to get used to them sometime."

Tomo stopped for a moment to catch her breath. She'd become agitated by having to relive all this again. Sakaki suspected that Tomo hadn't spoken of these events at all since they happened all those years ago. And from what Sakaki learned at being a vet, she knew that discussing traumatic events with others and understanding your feelings was one of the most important steps to moving on. Yet it was hard on Sakaki because she'd felt so far out of the loop. She couldn't remember hearing about Kagura's disappearance or death and she felt guilty because Kagura always hung out with her in high school.

When Sakaki glanced over to Chiyo, she could see that all this was taking a toll on her little friend as well. Even though Chiyo had been so persistent on hearing about Osaka, the constant bombardment of Yomi's hardships had to affect her. Chiyo remained silent however, and just kept her eyes on her lap; looking as frail as ever.

When Tomo had recovered, she continued, "Yomi never did recover from that breakup. Yuuko had meant more to her than I ever could have imagined. A few months later she got put on antidepressants. Things started getting weird after that. Coworkers were calling, worried about Yomi. And eventually, she was fired because they caught her swiping food from the back." Tomo stopped as tears welled up her eyes. Sakaki moved to comfort her but Tomo didn't accept. After insisting she was okay, Tomo went on. "She eventually moved in with me. It could be so hard being around her. But it was mid October of 2017 when things finally got out of control. We were eating dinner and Yomi seemed to be having a good day . . ."

I sat across from Yomi, snacking on some ramen that we'd heated up from yesterday. It was a little stale, but edible. Yomi looked tired, and pale too. Sometimes I wondered whether she slept or not. And maybe it was just me, but as of late, she'd really let herself go as far as health was concerned. Hell, I can't remember the last time Yomi tried a diet. She's put on some weight too; not a lot but it was noticeable. "How was your day," I asked, hoping she wouldn't respond with the usual "oaky."

"Not bad. They brought back that TV show I used to watch." Yomi's lips smacked over her yellow teeth as she spoke. Another thing that bothered me. Her teeth always used to be so white; I think she bought the toothpaste in bulk. But now, it's like she hasn't brushed in ages. "I didn't think they'd ever bring it back. It's just one of those things you know."

I nodded as Yomi continued. Good for her. She has so few nice days like this. I thought as Yomi trailed off on some in depth analysis of her show. I never did catch the name of it. But it didn't matter. Yomi was having a good day. As she talked, she seemed to eat a little more too. "So Yomi," I began, wondering how she'd react.

"Huh, what?"

"Did you wanna watch something with me later?"

"What?" That change in tone was fast. But it was welcoming to hear that suspicious tone that was oh so reserved for me.

"I don't know. How about Panty and Stocking?"

Yomi about spurted out her drink. "That's the last thing I'd want to watch."

"Why not," I teased.

"Why not?" Yomi set down her cup and gave me one of her trademark looks. I hadn't seen it in so long that I'd almost forgotten it. "Tomo how can you watch such garbage? That show is so juvenile that . . ." And Yomi stopped speaking. I was about to comment on it when she opened her mouth in a sickening belch and suddenly everything she'd eaten spilled out onto the table.

"Yomi!" The sudden vomiting scared her more than me and I jumped up from my seat. I ran over to her as more gushed out and when she brought her head back, it slowed to a stop. Yomi started crying immediately and I wrapped an arm around her as her head lowered and more came rushing out of her and onto the floor.

"Bathroom," Yomi managed in-between bursts.

I nodded and led her to the bathroom where she closed the door. While Yomi's gags could be heard clear out into the kitchen, I busied myself with cleaning things up. Why tonight? She was having such a good day too.

Tomo stopped for a second to clear her throat when a knock on the door interrupted everyone. Misagi-sensei poked her head in and, surprised by Chiyo's amount of company, said, "Sorry, but I'll have to ask you to leave. I need to give Mihama-san her medication and then she'll need some rest."

Sakaki nodded along with Tomo and together they walked towards the door.

"Tomo." Chiyo burst. Tomo turned and Chiyo said, "Will you finish your story tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I'll be back."

Chiyo nodded and lay back in bed, her face blank. With that, Sakaki led Tomo out of the hospital. Not a word passed as they exited the building.