The specter had never done something as drastic as barging in to his prep school and dragging him out.
It has to be pretty serious, Masamichi thought, and he waited for Shino to speak. The specter then gave him a minimal explanation, as usual.
“We’re going to Kobe.”
“Kobe?! In Hyogo Prefecture?”
“That’s correct.”
“That’s awfully far away. What happened? Or rather, what are we going to be doing in Kobe?”
“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
This time, Shino sighed briefly and gave his stunned servant a few more specifics.
“Daizou had a sister. She was the only person he and Yoriko could call a relative.”
Masamichi recalled his conversation with Shino that morning and said, “Really?” He held his bag in his lap and urged the specter to go on.
“Daizou was concerned about his younger sister and arranged for me to receive notification if anything ever happened to her.”
“What? Don’t tell me something happened to her?”
“A hospital called me a while ago, saying she was admitted earlier today. It’s a hassle, but I promised Daizou I’d look out for her. I need to check on her with my own eyes.”
Masamichi finally understood at least a part of the situation, and his soft expression clouded over.
“That’s worrying. Did they tell you about her condition?”
“I’ll see for myself when I get there. Nothing is more of a waste of time than having a lengthy conversation over the phone.”
“…That’s just like you, Shino.” Chuckling wryly, Masamichi finally sat back in the cab, feeling settled. “So, that’s why you rushed over to my prep school to pick me up?”
“…I wasn’t rushing. But it would be troublesome if we took our time getting to Kobe and she happened to die. I should ask her for instructions on what to do when she dies.”
“Don’t say things like that! It might bring bad luck!”
“It’s only natural. I wouldn’t be doing right by Daizou if I didn’t ask his sister what she wanted and just took care of matters systematically. I’m a specter who keeps his word,” Shino declared, before he looked forward.
“Yeah,” Masamichi said simply as he stared at the other man’s perfect face.
That’s true. Shino’s been keeping the promise he made to me, too. He hasn’t been forcing me to accept him in bed since I refused, though he sometimes kisses me, telling me to give him my “chi” energy. That wasn’t really…a kiss. It’s more like he sees my mouth as a faucet or something…
Still, Masamichi’s heart automatically started beating faster when he recalled the feel of Shino’s ice-cold lips.
Masamichi fanned his suddenly warm cheeks with a hand and purposely asked Shino another question to divert his attention.
“Are you sure it’s okay to take me with you for something so important and personal?”
Shino gave Masamichi a sideways glance, glaring at him without moving his face a millimeter.
“Maybe you were planning to spread your wings while I was gone, but that’s not going to happen.”
“That’s not what I was thinking. I’ll handle any chores you have for me. I just wondered if I’d be intruding, that’s all.”
Shino sighed and said, “If I see you as intruding, then all I’ll need to do is make you go out in the hallway. But…with so many complicated procedures, hospitals are a royal pain in the neck.”
“Oh!” Masamichi exclaimed with a clap of the hands. “Are you talking about things like the hospitalization process, renting stuff at the hospital, and paying?”
Shino nodded and added bitterly, “Yoriko took care of things when Daizou was ill, and I handled those tasks when she was hospitalized. I remember it being quite troublesome. If necessary, you can take care of it today.”
Masamichi smiled and nodded.
“Okay. When I was a child, I was frequently hospitalized due to my weak health. My parents were the ones who took care of all the procedures, but I think I have a better understanding of what a patient needs and the inconveniences they may face than the average person. I’ll do anything to help.”
“Then start with a get-well gift.”
“Huh?”
“Think about what to take her. Daizou wanted sake and was scolded by a nurse, while Yoriko wanted flowers. I don’t know what this woman wants. What is generally suitable?”
Masamichi’s smile deepened when he heard that Shino intended to visit the woman.
I didn’t think they were very close, because he suddenly started calling her “this woman” and “that woman,” but I’m glad they’re close enough for him to consider taking her a gift.
Relieved but wondering about another concern, Masamichi said, “Gifts to take to a person in the hospital depend on the hospital and the person’s medical condition.”
Shino finally looked at Masamichi, his shapely eyebrows a little furrowed.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. What’s the name of the hospital? They might have information about things like that on their website.”
Without having to confirm any details, Shino mentioned the name of a general hospital in Kobe.
“Got it. I’ll check it out,” Masamichi said. He searched the hospital online on his phone and accessed its official website.
The section titled For visitors coming to see hospitalized patients provided visiting hours and various things to note.
“No raising a commotion, no running…geez, we aren’t kids… It also says there’s an area in front of the nurses’ station on each floor where we can visit with the patients if they can move around.”
“…I see.”
“As for gifts that we can take her… Oh, here it is. It says if you’re bringing flowers, they only allow arrangements that don’t need to be watered.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Shino asked suspiciously.
Inclining his head uncertainly, Masamichi said, “My grandmother once told me that you shouldn’t take potted plants to someone in the hospital because it suggests that they’d take root at the hospital.”
Instead of snickering and saying it was nonsense, as Masamichi expected, Shino surprised him with a small nod and said, “I see.”
“Huh? Aren’t you going to say that’s silly or something?”
Shino answered with a straight face.
“Humans are creatures who manipulate words. And Tokifuyu said every word is a curse.”
Whenever Shino mentioned his late master, he spoke in a voice that was a mix of anger and resentment, with a hint of nostalgia. That was Masamichi’s impression, but he didn’t think he was far off the mark.
“A curse?”
“A curse. A spell. Whether the intention is yin or yang—dark or light—it will have some effect on the person to whom the words are spoken. Thus, it’s reasonable for a person in a hospital to receive a plant with roots and feel that they’re expected to take root there.”
“…Okay.”
“What about regular cut flowers?”
“Oh, this is just what I think, but you need a vase for cut flowers, right? You also need to change the water, and the sink gets dirty as well.”
“…Hmm. I knew it would be tricky.”
“A hospital is a public place. It’s also a place that has physically weak people, so you have to be more careful than you usually are. Oh, and this hospital says they generally don’t allow food to be brought in.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. I was lucky when I was young. My doctor said it was okay for people to bring me jelly desserts and ice cream. But I figure hospitals don’t often allow it because eating everything you want can sometimes interfere with your treatment.”
“That’s troublesome.”
“Uh-huh. No matter what you do, it’s uncomfortable to be hospitalized. But the best thing that could happen is to get well quickly and go home.”
“The number of people unable to return home can’t be small. It’s not a fair trade-off if you lose your life without freedom.”
“There you go again, saying something tough to respond to! But…yeah, I see your point.”
Masamichi nodded in agreement, thought for a moment, and said, “How about we go to the hospital without any gifts today and see if she needs anything during her hospital stay? Then we can buy it and take it to her. There must be things that only she would notice, and she probably didn’t have time to prepare adequately if she was taken in as an emergency patient.”
“Ah. I can see that a human is best suited to think about what another human needs,” Shino said, looking uncharacteristically impressed. Then he turned his gaze out the window.
Meanwhile, Masamichi put his phone in his bag and finally looked calmly at Shino sitting next to him.
Dressed in a well-tailored suit, he could have stepped out of a page in a fashion magazine.
He was picture-perfect, with his long legs crossed and his chin resting in his hand against the window frame. The image could have been used for a magazine spread.
Masamichi slowly exhaled as he admired the beauty of Shino’s lightly wavy hair, which reflected the morning sunlight shining through the window.
Daizou’s sister…I wonder what she’s like. I hope she isn’t too sick to talk, even a little. Oh, I know. I’ll go back to that website and read up on the hospitalization process. She likely didn’t have much time to do anything, so I’ll ensure I can handle tasks on her behalf.
Masamichi quietly pulled out the phone he had just put away so as not to disturb Shino, who appeared to be lost in thought.
Then, to fulfill his role as a servant, as expected by his master, he opened the hospital website again and carefully began perusing the Hospital Admission Guidelines section.