Yuzu stared out the window in deep thought. She was transferred from Kyoto back home to the general hospital a few days after her brush with death. Thanks to Mei's grandfather, she had her own private room in the hospital. She rubbed her hands together as they began to feel clammy. If it weren't for the rules and restrictions, Yuzu would have been pacing around the room by now. 'Calm yourself', she inhaled deeply. The last thing she needed right now was to trigger another attack the day before the operation.
"Yuzu-chan!", a pink haired girl suddenly appeared. "Come on, hurry before visiting hours end!", she shouted out in the hall before sitting on one of the chairs. They were soon joined by two teary eyed high schoolers.
"Harumin! Even Momokino-san?", Yuzu lit up as she was tackled by her best friend. "What are you guys doing here?", she inquired after the brunette had calmed down.
"What we're doing here? Obviously to see you before the surgery! We only heard about it today and they only let us see you now!", Harumi still had tears in her eyes but had at least stopped squeezing the life out of the blonde. "What happened, Yuzucchi? Are you okay? Will you still remember me, your best pal Harumin, after the surgery?", she cried out comedically.
Yuzu chuckled at her lively friend, "What sort of tv drama have you been watching… I'm not gonna forget anything! And anyway, I'm getting an ICD. Even if there was the tiniest chance that something could go wrong, they're operating nowhere near my brain so…"
Flashback:
"According to your file, it seems that you were diagnosed during the early stages of your illness. Since then you've been taking medication", he paused to adjust his glasses, "Have you noticed any recent changes? Particularly with the effectiveness of your medication?"
Yuzu hesitantly nodded, practically feeling her mother's bewilderment at the fact.
"Hmm, I thought so…", the old man said more to himself as he looked over the pages on his clipboard before speaking up again. "I think the best solution for Yuzu-san is to get an Implantable Cardioverter-defibrillator"
'A what now?'. Yuzu watched in mild confusion as the doctor and her mother proceeded to talk. It seemed like Ume knew exactly what the doctor was talking about. If it was any other situation, Yuzu would leave the adults to talk but seeing as they were discussing her survival and her possible future, she couldn't just ignore it. "Yeah… what's an i-implantable cardiovascular defribillator…?"
This earned a small chuckle from the doctor. Even Ume managed to crack a smile at Yuzu's failed attempt to pronounce the medical term. After clearing his throat the doctor proceeded to explain the device's purpose. He went in complete detail, telling her how the device worked.
Ume stayed silent during the doctor's explanation, already knowing what the device was and what it did. So instead she let her mind wander a bit. The woman smiled fondly at Yuzu who was listening attentively. Even during a serious situation, Yuzu was still able to maintain her light hearted attitude, which was more than she could say for herself. Ume was glad that her daughter inherited her late father's positivity. 'I hope she didn't inherit his stubbornness'.
"So… you'll just be hooking up wires into my heart and leaving some electronic gizmo in my chest for, like, the rest of my life?", Yuzu asked in bewilderment.
"I know it's scary but it will make your life so much easier, Yuzu. Please just think about it", Ume pleaded. If her late husband hadn't refused the surgery then he would most likely still be here.
"Are you kidding me? If that's all it takes to be less of a burden to everyone then please do it!", Yuzu suddenly felt a stinging pain in her chest, causing her to inhale sharply. She got to excited at the thought which made her sober up from her momentary excitement. After raising her hand to both adults to indicate she was fine and taking a moment to collect herself, she spoke up again, "What about the cost? If it's an operation, won't it be expensive?"
'Like her father indeed', Ume rolled her eyes. "Yuzu, don't worry about the money. Just worry about getting better", the middle aged woman said firmly, almost as if she were gently scolding a small child.
A small chortle escaped the old man's lips before he interrupted the mother and daughter, "If it's concerning money, please don't worry about it. I've been friends with Chairman Aihara for years and I owe him a great deal. His school has taken great care of both of my granddaughters!"
The middle aged woman lit up, "Thank you so much Doctor. Please, take care of my daughter".
The old man nodded firmly before clearing his throat awkwardly and stretching out his hand, "I'm a bit late on introductions but my name is Taniguchi Hojo"
"By the way Harumin… you didn't tell me that your family owned a private hospital!"
"Oh… must've slipped my mind", Harumi said without a care in the world. "But at least I can rest assured that you'll be safe and won't end up getting amnesia!", she gave the blonde a thumbs up.
Yuzu rolled her eyes and giggled as Matsuri started berating the upperclassman. Her attention was drawn away, however, when Momokino handed her a note.
"It's from a girl from a different school while we were in Kyoto… She asked me to give this to you at the train station before we left"
Yuzu opened it to find the contact details for both of the Tachibana twins. 'Get well soon! Keep on fighting!', the note said at the bottom which was accompanied by a doodle of Yuzubocchi. The blonde smiled as she tucked the piece of paper away into her book for safekeeping.
"From a friend", Yuzu answered the girl's unspoken question. "How is she?"
Himeko looked down at the floor, knowing exactly who the blonde was asking about. "The president has been working herself non stop since the excursion trip"
"I see…", Yuzu said simply. Mei had not yet visited her, in fact she hadn't seen the raven haired girl since the day she confessed.
'It must've been a shock to her… I should give her some time', that's what she told herself everytime doubt and apprehension crept up. Was Mei angry with her? Did she no longer want anything to do with her because Yuzu kept it a secret from her? In the past week she had been in the hospital, after regular examinations and tests, Yuzu was left alone in her room. She had time to ponder and reflect over the many possibilities. But thoughts like those in isolation would only lead to insanity.
"Please tell her to take care of herself then…", Yuzu tried to maintain her composure, though she could feel the lump that had begun to form in her throat. "Tell her to get some sleep", she swallowed, "Tell her to eat proper meals as well…", she continued, "and tell her… tell her that I miss her"
The other two girls immediately stopped their bantering when they noticed that Yuzu had begun to cry. Harumi rushed to her best friend's side, lending a shoulder for the blonde to cry on. Matsuri couldn't muster a sarcastic quip or a nasty comment because seeing Yuzu break down in tears like this was too heartbreaking, she didn't dare add to her sorrows. Instead she could only frown at her role model, her older sister. The person she looked up to the most didn't deserve to feel like this.
"You can tell her yourself", the haughty voice made the crying girl look up from Harumi's shoulder. Before the other two girls were about to retort and defend Yuzu, the short girl continued, "Because I'll make sure that Mei-mei comes to see you!".
Yuzu stared for a minute but a smile slowly crept up on her lips. She sniffed as she wiped away any tears before thanking the vice president.
Mei stood in front of the private room she had asked her grandfather to organize for Yuzu when she was transferred to this hospital. For the last week, she had accomplished double the student council work that would usually take a week. The student council election was also coming up so she was simply too busy, she told her step mother when she urged her to visit the blonde. But the older woman obviously knew that she was just busy with trying to keep herself, well, busy. Everyone, including Himeko, knew that it was just an excuse to avoid seeing Yuzu. So it shouldn't have come as a surprise when the vice president confronted her about the issue.
"She's been asking for you ever since she woke up", the girl pleaded, "She's going to have the surgery tomorrow-"
"I know", the raven haired girl said a bit too firmly for someone trying to seem calm. As if she wouldn't know about the things concerning Yuzu.
Himeko stepped back a bit, wary of the president's dark demeanor, "Please Mei-mei, she's… she's scared. When we visited her earlier she seemed so... anxious". The girl sighed in defeat when no answer came. Before she left, she gave it one more shot, "She also said that she misses you…"
Taking a deep breath, she entered the room quietly. It was past visiting hours after all and definitely past bedtime. Yuzu would surely be asleep, but that's what she was counting on when she decided that she couldn't stay away any longer.
To her relief the blonde really was asleep. Mei sat down on one of the stools next to Yuzu's bed. She watched the rise and fall of Yuzu's chest and listened to the sound of the steady rhythm on the monitor and her breathing. Each served as a reassuring reminder that Yuzu was still alive. It contradicted the piercing sound of the monitor flatlining that time when she was rushed to the hospital in the ambulance.
"Mei…?", the younger girl flinched at the sound of the voice. She held her breath as she waited. Upon closer inspection, however, she realized that the girl had merely been talking in her sleep. Mei sighed in relief, reaching up to hold in the other girl's hand gently.
"I'm here", she whispered, not planning on letting go.
Kinda rushed, I have to admit but hope you liked my spin on the Taniguchi family! We know that almost everyone attending Aihara Academy is rich or important but we don't really know much about Harumi's background. Nevertheless, I always love to experiment with stuff that's not really expanded on in the manga.