The Art of Teaching
Chapter 6
The door to the bookstore swung shut as the owner waved goodbye. Kumiko dropped onto a bench near the window of the shop and cradled her head in her hands.
"There has to be at least one job available in this city," she mumbled to herself, then sighed. "What am I going to do?" Running a hand through her hair, she got to her feet, and made her way back home. Everywhere she applied the position had either already been filled or she just plain didn't get the job.
It had been three weeks since the incident at August Moon and Kumiko had been scrambling for money ever since. She had been working double shifts at the coffee shop as well as trying to find more students. She was even trying to sell her car, though she hadn't had any potential buyers contact her. As if that weren't enough, one of her professors had decided to spring a twenty page essay about the composers of the Baroque period on her, which was due that Friday.
She sneezed. Either someone was talking about her, or all that sleep she had sacrificed to write her still unfinished paper was getting to her immune system.
When she trudged through her front door she didn't even stop to relax on the couch; she walked straight into the tiny music room, sat down at the piano, and began to play a song at random. The girl's head was so fogged with stress that she didn't even realize what she was playing. By some miracle, she managed to hear the doorbell ring at four o'clock sharp.
"Oh, right…" she muttered, remembering Yuki's lesson. "Hi guys," she said when she opened the front door.
"Hello Kumiko!" Shigure answered, stepping inside and removing his shoes. It was just Yuki, Shigure, and Hatori today. She assumed that Kyo and Tohru were at home. "How have you been?" he asked.
"I'm fine," the piano teacher lied. "What about all of you?" she inquired, her eyes flicking to Hatori and back.
"We've been alright," Yuki replied before his cousin could launch into a tirade.
"I'm sorry, I don't have much time to chat today. So, we need to dive right into the lesson." They looked at her strangely; she supposed they were just surprised that she didn't have time to stop and talk. It was a rare occasion that she was too busy. "I hope you understand," she added. "I just have a lot of school work to do."
"No, it's okay," Hatori said after a brief pause. Kumiko smiled gratefully.
"Call me if you need anything," she told them as she and her student slipped into the music room.
The two of them sat at the bench and Yuki's instructor commenced quizzing him on the last lesson. As the time passed, she began to feel more and more exhausted. Yuki sighed as he fumbled over a note.
"It's okay," she assured him. "Here, watch my fingers." She played each note slowly and patiently waited for him to copy.
"Oh, I think I understand it now," he said after repeating the movements a few times. Kumiko's vision suddenly blurred a bit and she began to furiously rub her eyes in an effort to get them to focus again. "Miss Hishida, are you alright?" he asked worriedly when he looked up at her face.
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you seem…different today. Are you feeling well?" the violet-eyed boy inquired politely, concern creased his brow.
"I'm okay. I'm just under a little stress is all," she shrugged. She looked back at him and knew he was thinking about the scene at the restaurant. An awkward silence formed between the two. "I think I just need a glass of water," she said to break the tension. "I'll be right back. Keep practicing those notes," she told him as she stood up and headed for the doorway. Suddenly, she felt dizzy and clung to the doorframe for support. Maybe I really do need some water… she thought, trying to shake off her light-headedness.
Shigure looked up at her curiously when she walked into the living room, still feeling woozy.
"Done already?" he asked. Kumiko shook her head.
"No, we've still got about t-" she cut herself off when her sight began to blacken around the edges and she put a hand to her forehead, "ten more…" she tried to finish. Herr vision tunneled completely and she could feel herself lurching forward, but could do nothing to stop it. The sounds of Shigure and Hatori's alarmed questions became a distant buzzing. Kumiko landed on the floor in an unconscious heap.
The two older Sohmas ran to her motionless form as the piano keys clanged to a stop. Yuki burst into the room and halted, bewildered. It took him a moment to understand what was going on. The second he did, he rushed to kneel next to Shigure, who had gone into a frenzy over the apparently ill young woman.
"Get out of the way Shigure!" Hatori ordered forcefully. He turned her onto back and put a practiced hand to her forehead. It was just as he had expected, she had a moderately high fever. If he had to guess he would say around 102˚F. He caught his hand lingering on her flushed skin for just a second too long and drew away. He put his hand to his chin thoughtfully.
"What is it, Ha'ri?" Shigure asked anxiously.
"Well, I can't figure out for certain what happened until she wakes up. I've got some questions I need to ask her."
"So what do we do until then?" Yuki questioned.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't know where any of her medical supplies are, or if she even has any, so we can't stay here. But, we can't leave to get anything either, because neither you nor Shigure can drive and I want to be able to keep an eye on her," he explained.
"Then we have only one choice!" the novelist interjected. Yuki and Hatori watched him expectantly. "We must take Kumiko back to my house where she can be properly cared for."
"And how do you expect to get her in the car?" the youngest of the group queried.
"Really, Yuki, you act like I don't have any sense at all," he sniffed. "If we can get her on her feet and support her somehow, we could get her into the car." The others considered this.
"It doesn't look like we have any other options," Yuki admitted.
Dragging an unconscious twenty-three-year-old woman to her feet was easier then they had expected it to be. After getting her up, Hatori and Shigure each took hold of one of her arms and managed to get the girl into the back seat of the car without incident. Once everyone was safely in the car, Hatori took off in the direction of his cousins' home.
Tohru had been sweeping off the porch when they arrived.
"Welcome back—Oh!" she said, startled by the sight of Shigure and Hatori half-walking, half-dragging Kumiko into the house.
"Quick, Miss Honda, get the spare sleeping mat," Yuki told her. She ran quickly to the hall closet, grabbed the mat, and returned to lay it out. The two men lay her on it gratefully.
"Shigure, go get some ice," Hatori commanded as he sat down next to the now occupied sleeping mat. While he was gone, the young doctor looked at his hand; the one he had check her fever with. The sensation of touching her silk-like skin still remained there. He shook his head to push the thought from his mind and checked her fever again. It had stayed about the same during the car ride. Shigure returned with an ice pack and placed it on her forehead.
"What happened?" Tohru asked once she got the chance. "Is she sick? Did she fall?"
"She's sick," Shigure confirmed as they settled around the table. The door slid open to reveal a very annoyed Kyo.
"Hey! What's with all the noise?" he asked gruffly. His crimson eyes scanned the room and widened when they came to rest on the pianist's sleeping figure. "What the heck is going on?!"
"Shut-up, stupid cat," Yuki hissed.
"Why you—" Kyo started.
"Kyo, you really should quiet down. Kumiko is sick," Shigure repeated.
"So you brought her here?"
"Ha'ri wanted to keep her in his sights for a while, but if you ask me—"
"Nobody asked you, Shigure," Hatori interrupted curtly. His cousin huffed and turned away. Tohru spoke up shyly.
"Ah, um…Well, I need to go shopping today, but I don't want to leave if Miss Hishida needs help," she said.
"I think we'll be alright here without you Tohru. Go on, and take Yuki and Kyo with you," the momentarily offended writer instructed.
"Um, okay. I guess we should just go now then," she suggested as she stood. The boys followed her immediately when she walked out of the living room to get her grocery list. Shigure giggled quietly as he leaned his head on his hand.
"Those two follow her like a couple of lost puppies," he said happily when he heard the front door close. Kumiko stirred and the two men's heads jerked over in her direction. She opened her eyes to see two pairs of vaguely familiar eyes staring down at her. She frowned confusedly.
"Kumiko, you're awake!" someone cried a little too loudly, making her head throb.
"Where am I?" she asked, slowly sitting up, the ice pack fell into her lap. She got a better look at the two people with her and recognized them as Shigure and Hatori.
"Whoa, careful," Shigure said, putting a supporting hand on her shoulder. "You're at my house." Before she had time to process his answer, Hatori asked,
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"I…passed out," she responded slowly. The young doctor nodded in the affirmative.
"What is your name?" he inquired.
"Kumiko Hishida," she said, becoming slightly alarmed by his interrogation.
"What's his name?"
"Shigure Sohma. What's with all the questions?" she quarried before he could ask another one.
"I'm just making sure you don't have a concussion. I wasn't sure if you hit your head when you fell," he replied calmly. "Shigure, get me a thermometer."
"Uh, but Ha'ri, there's a slight problem with that…I don't know where it is," Shigure said with a sweatdrop.
"Then go find it," Hatori commanded sternly. His cousin walked sullenly away from the living room, whining about how rude Hatori was. "Honestly," he sighed when Shigure was gone. He put a hand to her forehead and she jerked away, not expecting the action.
"Oh," the musician said, realizing her mistake and allowing him to check her fever. His hand was strong and warm against her skin.
"It still hasn't gone down…" he said, talking more to himself than to her. "Miss Hishida, I need to ask you some more questions."
"Like what?"
"Can you think of anything that might have made you sick? An unusual amount of stress, perhaps?" he suggested.
Kumiko didn't say anything. Hatori had hit the nail on the head, but she didn't want him to know that. He drew in a slow breath.
"It's alright. You can tell me." She looked him in the eyes and sighed.
"Yeah, you got it. I've just been busy with school, so-"
"So you neglected your health?" he interrupted.
"It's not like I did it on purpose!" she defended. The doctor raised an eyebrow at her.
"I know. What I meant by that was that it's not just your school work that has you this stressed. There must be other factors. Are you in any financial trouble?"
"That's not any of your business." Hatori seemed to take that as a yes.
"Miss Hishida, why didn't you tell anyone? I'm sure your parents would be happy to help you," he stated.
"I know they would. That's the problem. I don't want to take away from their retirement. I want to support myself." She frowned, realizing how much she had revealed.
"I think I understand. However, you do need to take it easy for a while, alright?" She nodded.
"Ha'ri! I found it!" Shigure announced as he burst through the door.
"Is it clean?"
"Really, Hatori, you put so little faith in me," he pouted. He handed her the thermometer and she placed it under her tongue. "By the way, Kumiko, you're staying here until you graduate and have a stable job." Her eyes went wide and she spit out the thermometer.
"What?! I can't stay here! I've got to go home and finish my paper, find a job, and—" She was cut off when Shigure got uncomfortably close to her face. The young woman drew back, startled.
"Ah, ah, ah," he said, wagging his finger at her, "I insist. You can finish your paper here, while you're getting better. As for finding a job, if you live here with us you won't have to worry about that; in exchange for giving Yuki's lessons for free, of course."
"But, I-I can't—"
"As a doctor, I think you should stay here. You won't work yourself sick that way," Hatori interjected. Kumiko looked back and forth between the two cousins and sighed.
"I can't. I'm sorry…but I just can't," she said shaking her head and getting to her feet. She stumbled and Shigure caught her by the shoulders.
She sat back down on the sleeping mat and crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.
"At least stay here tonight. It would make all of us feel better if you did." She looked up at Shigure's pleading eyes. Then over his shoulder at Hatori. His eyes were the same as always, but with the slightest of worry hidden within them.
"Okay, fine. But it's just for tonight and then everything goes back to normal," she conceded. The writer grinned triumphantly. "Oh, Hatori, how much do I owe you?"
"Never mind about the cost. I acted on my own," he answered.
"But…Are you sure?" she questioned.
"I'm positive. Now may I please take your temperature?"
"Oh sorry," she laughed, placing the thermometer back in her mouth.
Later that night, after Tohru, Yuki and Kyo had returned and Hatori had gone home, Kumiko lay on the sleeping mat, fast asleep. Tohru had refilled the ice pack and placed it on the older girl's forehead. Everyone was still awake, sitting around the table and talking quietly to each other. Tohru went to join them.
"Three jobs? How did you find that out?" Yuki was saying.
"Simple math, really. She lost her job at the restaurant and I know how much she's getting paid for your lessons," Shigure replied.
"Poor Miss Hishida," Tohru said. "She's worked so hard to make it on her own…"
"I don't get it!" Kyo exclaimed. "Why didn't she just ask someone for help?" Shigure looked past his hot-headed cousin at the sleeping pianist with a small grin on his face.
"You know, Kumiko is like a bird," he stated.
"A bird?" the three teens asked in unison. The writer nodded.
"You see, when a bird is injured or sick, it does it's best to hide it from all the other animals," he explained. "A bird hides its troubles because it doesn't want to die, but Kumiko does it because she doesn't want anyone's pity."
A\N: Aha! I have defeated the procrastination monster! Thanks to Moda for getting on my case about updating, I needed that. 3 I'm also working on a new FMA story, just as a fun side project(though it has been mutating into something more as of late), so keep an eye out!
-Camie