Chapter 48:

Hospital

Ana's stomach tightened as she watched the realization and terror set in on her friend's face. Ana grabbed her friend's shoulder.

"Sanae. Can someone from the staff give you a ride to the hospital?" Ana asked. Sanae shook her head.

"None of their shifts end soon. I… The bus." Her friend turned.

"If you don't mind riding on my motorbike, I can take you." Asao offered.

Sakura looked up at her brother, horrified. "You said you'd play with me today."

Asao looked down at his little sister and frowned. "I'll play with you another time. Go back and visit with Grandma until mom and dad show up to take you home."

Sakura crossed her arms and hung her head. She mumbled under her breath, "But you never have time…"

Asao ignored her and turned back to Ana and Sanae. He offered again, "I can take you, if you don't mind?"

Ana quickly shoved her friend toward Asao. "No, she doesn't."

"Ana—"

Ana interrupted her. "Get to the hospital. This will be the fastest way."

Sanae bit her lip, then agreed and left with Asao. Sakura watched them go while looking irritated. The little girl glanced back at Ana, then stuck her tongue out at her before storming off down the hall. Ana sighed and went to tell the Director what had happened. The lady seemed to understand, but Ana had to stay to clean up for a bit until she could leave. By the time she left, an hour had passed since Sanae left. Ana boarded the bus and took it to the local hospital. When she got there, she found Asao waiting outside, pacing.

"How is he?" Ana asked the pacing boy.

Asao stopped and frowned. "He's alive, but they took him to surgery. He had major damage to his intestines, and they needed to operate right away."

Ana took a deep breath and headed inside with Asao. A familiar voice floated around the corner. It was Sanae's mom talking to someone.

"I don't know how we're going to afford this… I wasn't asking you for money, mom!" Ana walked around the corner and found a short woman with long dark hair the same color as Sanae's look up from a phone. There were tears in her eyes. When she made eye contact with Ana, she quickly wiped the tears away.

"Ana-chan… Sanae's down in the waiting room," she mumbled, then walked off to the bathroom.

Ana bit her lip, feeling uncomfortable. She knew Sanae's family had been struggling financially for the last few years. I wish I could offer help, but borrowing money from a friend usually puts more strain on the person. It may seem kind, but it just looks like pity. How can I help? Ana tried to think of ways she could help as she walked into the waiting room. Sanae was sitting quietly with her eyes glued to the floor. Ana walked over to her and sat down next to her without a word. They said nothing as they waited. Asao looked at them uncomfortably before leaving the room. Sanae turned and placed her head on Ana's shoulder, hiding her eyes from the world. Ana didn't know what to do to make her feel better. Gently, Ana rubbed her friend's back and felt a lump forming in her throat.

The wait was long and painful. Eventually, Sanae's mother came to wait with them in the sitting room. No one said anything and other people kept their voices low out of respect. Ana glanced at the clock more times than she could count. Each time it didn't seem like the minute hand had moved at all. Finally, a doctor came in and walked over to them. Sanae sat up straighter and grabbed Ana's arm.

"The surgery went well. He's resting in recovery right now." The doctor gave them the good news, and both Sanae and her mother let out a sigh of relief. After the doctor delivered the news, Sanae and her mother discussed what they should do. Sanae's mother wanted her to go home, but Sanae wouldn't have it. They debated quietly until Sanae won out. Her mother let her stay until they could go see her father. Ana did the most that she could and bought them some drinks from the vending machine.

"Thanks, Ana-chan, for today." Sanae took the canned coffee, looking tired. Her mother had left to run to the house to pick up some clothes, since it seemed they'd be staying at the hospital for a bit.

"Of course." Ana smiled but wished she could do more. "Where did Asao-kun go to?"

"He came by while you were getting drinks and left after I told him the news. I guess I'll have to think of some way to thank him for bringing me." Sanae sighed and rubbed her tired eyes.

I can think of something. Ana tried not to smile. She didn't think mentioning Asao's feelings right now would be a good thing. Ana waited with Sanae until her mother came back and then headed on home. On the bus ride home, she got a call from Sanae.

"Sanae? Is everything alright?" Ana asked, worried that her father might have taken a sudden turn for the worse.

"Everything is fine… Ana, did your family pay for my father's medical bills?" Sanae asked, sounding conflicted.

"Huh?" Ana frowned. "How could they have? I've been with you this entire time. So, they couldn't have known."

"Oh…. Someone covered my father's bills, and I was wondering if it was…. I have to go. They're going to let us see him now." Sanae said goodbye and hung up.

When Ana got home, she went straight to her grandfather's room and knocked. The old man opened the door, looking surprised.

"Ana?"

"Grandpa, did you pay for the Watanabe family's medical bills?" Ana asked, knowing that her grandfather would be the one to make that decision.

"What? Medical bills? What happened?" He looked truly surprised.

Ana explained where she'd been most of the day.

"I did not. I wasn't even aware that happened. I'll have to send their family a get-well gift." Her grandfather stroked his chin as he looked thoughtful.

Ana was too tired for dinner, so she excused herself to her room. If it wasn't Grandfather? Ana called Seto out of curiosity.

"Hello?" His tone seemed annoyed.

"Amin-chan, did you pay for Sanae's father's medical bills?" she asked outright.

"What?" His tone definitely made it seem like he had no frickin' clue what she was talking about.

"I'll take that as a no." Ana sighed.

"What happened?"

Ana explained again the events of the day as she sat on her bed and leaned against the wall.

"Well, that's a crappy day. Why did you assume I'd be the one to cover their bills?" Seto asked.

Ana hesitated, then chuckled nervously. "I don't know. I just kind of thought maybe you'd know somehow."

"I'm not spying on you." He seemed annoyed.

"Really? At all?" Ana teased. There was silence on the other end. Ana frowned. "Amin-chan, you're not spying on me. Right?"

"Hmm," was all he said in response.

"What does that mean? Amin-chan."

Seto snickered. "Who knows?"

"Amin-chan, you're being an ass… Wait, I wondered earlier today, but were you disappointed that I went to hang with Sanae instead of you?" An evil smile spread over her face.

"What? No!" He snapped at her. "Why would I be?"

"Sure…."

"I wasn't jealous!"

Ana laughed. "I didn't say jealous. I said disappointed."

There was a growl on the other end of the phone.

"You were jealous." Ana teased him even more. She wondered what face he was making.

"No, I wasn't. And tomorrow I'm coming to pick you up." He declared.

Ana paused. "What if I already have plans? I need to go check on Sanae—"

"You can do that later. I'm picking you up in the morning."

"What if I say no?" Ana smirked.

There was another growl on the end of the phone. She laughed.

"I'm picking you up." He hung up before she could reject him. Ana sighed at the phone, but she felt better after their talk. Her hunger was finally coming back. As she headed downstairs to get herself some food, she wondered what Seto had planned.

Author Note: Hey everyone! I realized after I wrote this that I broke the pattern of alternating between Seto and Ana. Oh, well. It made more sense to show this event from Ana's perspective. I'll make up for it and have a couple of Seto chapters in a row. I hope you enjoyed it! Until next week.