Chapter 57 – His Last Days
Yui's POV
*SLAM*
"WHAT?! YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND?!"
This was yelled out by Ricchan as she slammed her fist on the clubroom table in a fit of rage.
…
But not for the reason you would think it would be.
"This is bullshit! How the hell did Yui of all people beat me in getting a boyfriend?!"
"THAT'S what you're mad about?" Mugi-chan asked.
"And you're not?! She beat you too, Mugi!"
"Yes…but with all the stuff that's happened in my life, getting a boyfriend is the least of my concern right now."
"O-Oh, right…" Ricchan gained a sweatdrop.
"So, you really had a boyfriend in middle school, Yui?" Mio-chan asked me.
"*sigh* Yeah…I did. It was a…special time for me. The two of us were pretty happy together. Until the day we broke up."
"Why? What happened?"
"Um…well…"
I don't think I can use the whole "pickle" and "taco" thing again…
"…he…wanted to level up the relationship. Y-You know…when a boy and girl get together and…"
"O-Okay, Yui. We get it." Mio-chan said with a light blush on her face. "Geez…boys really have no shame."
"Well, it's a lot tamer here than back home." Miharu-chan said. "In France, men would get up in your face and even try to seduce you if they were interested. Oftentimes, it would end with them getting kicked in the nuts. It don't stop them, though."
"Sounds like sexual harassment isn't a thing in France…" Azu-nyan said with a sweatdrop.
"If this guy wanted that, then he has a lot of nerve coming back to you right, Yui?" Ricchan asked.
"Well…that's what I thought." I then went silent for a bit. "But there's actually more to that story. A lot more than I was prepared for."
"Huh?" The others were confused.
"Well, you see…"
*LAST NIGHT…*
Aw, geez…just when I thought this night couldn't get more stressful, Mom goes ahead and brings Shuichi here! Why?! Now, I gotta explain to THREE people that I'm into girls! And one of them is someone I thought I'd never see again!
Why is life having fun with screwing with me?
"H-Hey…Yui. Are you okay?"
"Huh? O-Oh…y-yeah. I'm fine…kinda." I said to Shuichi as we were sitting outside my house. Just the two of us.
"Ah. Well…that's good. I guess…"
…
…
…
It was dead silence between the two of us for nearly 10 minutes. Making the atmosphere around us more and more awkward the longer we sat there. And it made me hate this moment even more than I originally thought.
I gotta get this over with…
"L-Look. Shuichi…why are you here?" I asked him. "If I'm being honest, you got a lot of nerve showing up here after what you did all those years ago."
"*sigh* I know, Yui. What I did back then was…pretty stupid and cruel of me. And I know that saying sorry now isn't going to fix any of that." Shuichi then went silent again. "But…if I'm being honest…running into you parents at the airport was really a stroke of luck for me."
"Stroke of luck? What are you talking about? Why were you at the airport, anyway?"
Shuichi didn't answer right away. Instead, he went silent again and turned to me with a sad…more so depressed look on his face. The first time I've seen him that way since the day we broke up.
And it was then that he told me…
"Long story short, Yui…I-I'm dying."
"W-Woah, what?! He's DYING?! Since when the hell did we start doing character death in this story?!"
"Ritsu! Don't interrupt!" Mio-chan yelled at Ricchan for suddenly shouting out like that.
"What? It had to be said! Ever since Miharu showed up, we've done things that are not normal of a Slice-of-Life School anime about music. Now, we're down to the point of having somebody DIE in this long as hell story."
"So, Yui's ex-boyfriend dying is MY fault?" Miharu-chan asked with an exasperated look.
"Guys, please…" Mugi-chan said. "…let's have Yui-chan finish her story."
"Fine, fine." Ricchan gave in.
"Go ahead, Yui-chan."
"Thanks, Mugi-chan." I said. "So, uh…continuing from where I left off…"
"Y…Y-You're DYING?! How?! Fr-From what?!" I yelled in shock from hearing what Shuichi just told me.
"Toxoplasmosis. It's a parasitic disease caused by a parasite known as the Toxoplasma gondii. It started when I had a flu that lasted nearly a month. My parents took me to the doctor and that's when they discovered it. Apparently, it's been inside me for months."
"I-It's a parasite? H-How did you get it?"
"*sigh* It's believed that I got infected when this poorly cooked steak while on a vacation in New York. It sat there for months. Slowly making me sicker by the day. Until it became so noticeable that I had to go to the doctor. Believing that it was just a simple cold."
"W-Wow…" I stayed silent for a while. Then something came to mind. "…wait a minute. How do I know this is all true?"
"What? You think I'm lying?"
"How can I trust you after what happened in middle school? For all I know, this could be a cold-hearted plot to have me come crawling back and give you what you originally wanted."
"Y-You can't be serious…you honestly believe that I would make up an illness just to sleep with you?! That's so freaking petty!"
"Says the guy who dumped me because he couldn't get laid…" I pouted.
"Oh, my God! FINE! You want proof?! I'll give you proof right freaking now!" Shuichi then got up and started unbuttoning the shirt he had on in a rapid pissed-off manner.
"H-Hey! What are you doing?!" I yelled while having a small blush and covering my eyes.
"What do you think?! I'm showing my proof!"
"By taking your shirt off?! And watch how you phrase things, you pervert!"
"I'm about to die soon! As if I care about being a pervert!"
"Sh-Shuichi!"
The yelling stopped once Shuichi had fully taken off his shirt. And I had finally uncovered my eyes to take a look at this "proof" he was talking about.
…
Only to be shocked even more than before.
"Wh-Wha…What is that?" I asked once I saw the giant scar across the side of Shuichi's stomach.
"That's where they removed my spleen. That damn parasite completely obliterated it to the point where they had to take it out. And it's slowly doing the same to my other important organs, too."
"S-Seriously?"
"The surgery was done in America. That's why I was at the airport when I ran into your parents. It was nothing more than a complete coincidence."
"W-Wow…" I said in pure shock. "…you really are telling the truth. Sorry for…you know…doubting you."
"*sigh* I should be mad…but in the end, I can understand why you were skeptical about it. After what I did and all."
"Shuichi…"
"Hey, Yui. You okay?" Himeko asked as she opened the door to the backyard. "I heard a bunch of yelling earlier."
"Himeko…" I then went silent as I turned to Shuichi. "…uh, hey. So, um…this is Shuichi Akari. My ex-boyfriend. Shuichi, this is Himeko Tachibana. My…current girlfriend."
"Current girlfriend? Y-You're a lesbian now?" Shuichi asked in shock.
"Yeah…I am. If there was one good thing our break-up brought was me finding my one true love. So, I have that to thank you for."
"I-I see. Well…best of luck to you two."
"Um…am I interrupting something?" Himeko asked.
"No, you're fine. In fact…I was just leaving." Shuichi then put his shirt back on and made his way to the backyard fence. Looking back at me as he was climbing over it.
"It was nice to see you again, Yui. Glad you're doing better than I am."
This was the last thing he said to me before fulling going over the fence. Now walking away…most likely back home.
"Shuichi…"
"Yui…did something happen between you two?" Himeko asked.
…
…
…
"Yui?"
I didn't answer her. Instead, I just latched onto her and gave her a small kiss on her lips. Not wanting to let go for a while.
…
And luckily…Himeko understood. As she returned the hug and kiss as we sat there alone in the night sky. Not saying another word.
Thank you…Hime-chan.
"A few minutes after that, we went back inside. And eventually told my parents that Himeko was my girlfriend. They were shocked…but they did accept it. The same for Ui and Zoé-chan. And then the night just faded away like it was completely normal. Nothing else happened after that."
"I see…well, at least they accepted Himeko as your girlfriend." Mio-chan said.
"Yeah…that's true."
"But you're still bummed out about this Shuichi guy, huh?" Miharu-chan asked.
…
"Yeah…I am." I replied with a depressed sigh.
"Do Ui and Nodoka know about this?"
"No. And honestly…I don't plan on telling them, either. They never liked Shuichi from the start."
"Yeah…I got that from their reactions yesterday." Miharu-chan said with a sweatdrop.
"So, what are you going to do, Senpai?" Azu-nyan asked.
"*sigh* I don't know. I mean…I know he's my EX-boyfriend and I have Himeko now. But…"
…
If I'm being honest with myself…I never did hate him for breaking up with me. Sure I was upset and highly pissed…which led me to gain incestuous feelings for my own younger sister…but in the end, I never blamed him. I blamed myself…mostly.
"Yui…Yui!"
"H-Huh? Wh-What?" I came out of my own thoughts.
"The bell just rang." Ricchan said to me. "Come on, we're going to be late for class."
"Oh…right. Sorry. Let's get going, everyone!" I cheered with the biggest smile on my face as I walked away from them.
…
But even I know that a smile that fake is not going to fool any of them. It would be too good to be true.
After all…none of them are a ditz like me.
Author's Note:Learning that her ex-boyfriend is slowly dying has put Yui in a conflicted form of depression. She's obviously still mad about what happened in the past…but she does still care about him. Now, she's stuck on either continuing life as is or finally confronting her past emotions. A tough decision, indeed.
Toxoplasmosis is a real disease and the Toxoplasma gondii is a real parasite. It's one of the deadliest out there…but it can be treatable if discovered early enough. You can get it from things like eating undercooked meat or even cleaning up cat litter. But the latter isn't a huge reason to not own a cat. Many sites said so (unless you're pregnant).
I plan to have one more chapter up by Saturday. I'm home from work these next three days. So, this is my chance to be more productive on this.
Thanks for reading. Later.