Becoming Her Lover

Chapter 17

My Umi-chan

Note: Sorry for the late update. A few days ago, I underwent some surgery and have been unable to spend some time at my computer. I hope you guys can understand. I normally wouldn't lag on my updates, but I hope you can enjoy this new chapter.

Somehow, Kotori woke up before Umi and saw that she was still deep in her sleep so she decided to change things up. She got out of bed and prepared some special breakfast for her. She wasn't too skillful in cooking, but she wanted to do her best since Umi did so much for her all of this time. After some time, she finally finished up the food. It wasn't anything special, but to Kotori, that was the greatest thing in the world. She finished up the plating and took it up to Umi's room.

"Umi-chan? Good morning." She peeked her head into the room and saw something interesting. It looked as though she was awake so she walked over to her, but was immediately thrown off about what she saw. Umi was breathing extremely heavy and her face was bright red. "Oh my… Umi-chan, are you okay?"

"Kotori, is that you?"

"I'm here. What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know. My body's in pain and I can't move."

"Well, sit up. I'm sure breakfast will make you feel better." Kotori set the food down and attempted to sit her up, but Umi screamed out in pain as Kotori's hands touched her back. "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No, it's just that it hurts so much." Kotori knew that she had to call her parents. She quickly ran out of her room and over to her parent's room. She bashed down the door and woke up them up, crying out for help. They knew this wasn't some false alarm so they got ready and headed back to her room. When they arrived, they saw that Umi was in pain. They didn't know what was happening, but they did know that this was beyond their help. Kotori's father quickly made the decision to call Umi's parents and to get them down to the hospital. Kotori's mother was in charge of that while he attempted to move her to the car.

"Umi-chan, are you in pain?" She couldn't respond, but she nodded her head with so much in it. "Alright, this is going to hurt, but I need you to endure it. Are you ready?" She nodded her head once more and it was finally time. Kotori's father picked her up off the bed and carried her to the car. All of the while, Umi was screaming out in pain. It hurt everyone around her to see her in such pain, but once she was in the car, Kotori's father drove off without another word, leaving Kotori behind.

She watched as the car disappeared from sight and then her mother came rushing out of the house. She told her that Umi's parents were on their way and that they should follow behind her father. Without wasting any more time, Kotori ran as fast as she could to the hospital where her father was taking Umi.

When she arrived, she desperately looked for a sign that could direct to where Umi was. It wasn't until she saw her father and Umi's parents when she ran to their side. Although she was out of breath, she couldn't waste any time. She needed to know what was happening.

"What happened? What's going on with Umi-chan?" There was no response. There were just sad looks which only made Kotori even more worried. "Please tell me what's going on." At that moment, one of the doctors working with Umi walked towards their group to announce what was happening. "Can you tell me what's wrong?"

"I can. Unfortunately, it's not too happy." Kotori's face suddenly turned dark. "This happened so suddenly and it's unfortunate that there's really no way to find out how or when this occurred, but you're daughter has been diagnosed with CRPS."

"What's that?"

"Complex Regional Pain Syndrome."

"That… That sounds big." It was obvious that this news was pretty shocking to Umi's father. "What does that mean?"

"Thankfully, her condition isn't critical so we're doing everything we can to try and suppress the effects of this horrible disease."

"What does it mean?!" Kotori couldn't stand being quiet for much longer. Her voice broke out of the silence like an explosion.

"It's an excruciating pain that affects a certain area of the body. In your daughter's case, her arms have been completely affected. The bad news is that it's somehow spreading to her entire upper body. The other doctors and I are working with her right now so you won't be able to see her. If you give me your contact information, I'll keep in touch with you and let you know when it'll be alright to see her. I'm terribly sorry." At that moment, Kotori dropped to her knees as tears started to form in her eyes. "There was no way we could have seen this coming. I promise to work as hard as I can to help your daughter." She couldn't believe this was happening, especially to Umi. Umi was always the healthiest person she ever knew and for this kind of thing to happen, she just didn't know how to handle it.

She looked to her side and saw Umi's mother starting to break down. Luckily, her husband was right there for her. Her own mother and father weren't too affected, but being there with the family of the victim was definitely a tough scene to be a part of. They stayed there for a few minutes before deciding that it was best to give them space.

"Kotori, let's go home."

"No, I wanna stay here."

"Alright. We'll see you at home." They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Once they left, Kotori made her way to the waiting area where Umi's parents were sitting and waiting. Umi's mother was in complete ruins, but Kotori noticed that one of her hands was free. She quickly grabbed it and held it tight.

"It's alright. I know Umi-chan will make it through this. I believe in her." Umi's mother suddenly turned around and looked at Kotori with puffy eyes.

"Kotori-chan, thank you for being here. It means so much that you care about our daughter."

"Of course. I would never leave Umi-chan alone like this." Finally, a small smile emerged from her face and Kotori happily returned the gesture.

Hours went by and there was no news from any of the doctors and staff members. Since the day was late and there was nothing they could do there, Umi's parents cleaned themselves up and left. Kotori gave her deepest condolences to them and walked them out. However, she had no intention of leaving. She was going to stay there and be the first one to see Umi. That was what she wanted and there was no way she would change her mind.

As she sat there alone, it gave her some time to think. However, the only thing she could think about what was happening to Umi and how she could have possibly prevented this. She thought long and hard about it, but it didn't seem there was anything wrong with Umi. She always had a smile on her face with no sign of suffering or being in pain. But at that moment, something else popped up in her head. Kotori realized that Umi was such a selfless person. Everything she did, she did for the sake of the people around her. Maybe she wanted to hide whatever was happening because she didn't want to worry Kotori. When Kotori had this thought, she immediately closed her eyes to prevent the tears from escaping.

"Umi-chan, why would you do that? You know I'm here for you. You don't need to handle everything on your own." The struggle was too much. Those tears she tried so hard to hold back managed to escape her eye lids and fell onto her hands. "Umi-chan… Please."

End of Chapter 17