Even after Kai left, Kusanagi was still in my sick room. She sat on the chair and closed her eyes. I was worried that she might be getting tired. But I too fell asleep before long.
I was woken up when the breakfast was served, and then Kusanagi left the sick room. She raised her hand and bid farewell to me just with her eyes. Like the way we are in the sky.
Anyway, I ate about half of the breakfast. I had an appetite, but the amount was too much for me.
Then, for some reason, I suddenly felt uneasy. But, I could do nothing about it. A doctor came to the sick room in the morning and asked me some questions. He did not check the wound. After that, a woman in white entered and replaced the used gauze on my wound with the new one. It stung just a bit. I kept my eyes shut, because I did not want to see the wound.
I did not eat lunch. I just wanted to sleep. Probably, it is because of the effect of the drugs.
I had a dream in which I was flying in the sky again. Surely enough, I was flying with Kusanagi.
When I woke up, I felt very good. I even thought that life in a hospital would be fine if things would be like this everyday. However, as time passed after waking up, I gradually got depressed. I mean, I felt that something like the weight of my body lying on the bed unbearably inconvenient. I even started disliking the very notion of standing up. I would rather force myself to sleep by closing my eyes. Even if I could not sleep, I preferred to keep myself still with my eyes closed. Because, by doing so, I could imagine the blue sky and the white clouds. It is strange that it is brighter when I close my eyes.
I ate half of the supper that evening. When I put the spoon on a tray and leaned back against cushions, the door was knocked and Kai entered.
“You will be discharged from this hospital tomorrow. Someone will send you to the nearby base via a car. After that, an airplane will take over.” She said in a businesslike manner, while standing beside me.
“Roger.” I replied. But it was the information I had already been given. I did not believe that the visitation was just for that.
“I have to tell you about minor changes.” She paused once. She has come here to say this, I thought. “You will be transferred. Where you will be transferred to is not yet determined. For the present, you will be sent to a medical treatment facility of our company. You will stand by and wait for further directions.”
“Ma’am, does it mean that I cannot return to that airbase?”
“Yes.”
“How about my belongings?”
“We will send them to you, of course.”
“Understood. Does Captain Kusanagi know this?”
“I will tell her about this later. She has no authority about personnel matters.”
“Can I make a comeback?”
“Comeback?”
“I mean, can I get on a fighter aircraft again?”
“You can, if your wound heals and you pass the examination.”
“I think I can pass it even now.”
“That’s all. Any question?” Kai lifted her glasses up with her fingers.
“No, ma’am.” I shook my head.
“Then, happy hunting in the future.” Kai held out her hand. I needed time to comprehend what her movement meant.
A handshaking that is more like merely touching each other.
I retracted my hand.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I have just one favor to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“May I call Captain Kusanagi?”
“I do not think it is a matter that requires my permission.”
“Thank you, ma’am, for your understanding.”
I made a salute while sitting in the bed.
Kai left the sick room. I heard her footsteps fading away.
Pieces of plastic tableware were lined up in front of me. I had no appetite, as if I were at the bottom of a swamp. I did not want to drink anything, either. If possible, I wanted to smoke. I imagined I would be able to do so when moving by car.
My belongings that I had left in the base were few. They could be stored in a single cardboard box. They were so unimportant, to the level that they might as well be trashed. Do I not have at least one important object? I thought for a while, but nothing came up in my mind. For example, stuff I was given by a friend. Or, material goods I have long been holding onto since my childhood. I could have had such things. But I did not have them. Is it because I have no attachment to any stuff?
Then, I recalled Tokino and Sasakura a little bit. But, that’s all. I did not have any sentiment of wanting to visit and to meet them. My mind had already initiated the processing, as if it was one image of the view from a train window.
I started feeling drowsy, and slept for another couple of hours.
The woman in white came to the sick room and replaced the used gauze with the new one. Your recovery has been very good, sir. She smiled like a woman in a poster. I wanna call someone. I told her. She nodded and asked if I could get up from the bed.
I sat straight up in the bed. I could tell that the blood in my head was drained out downward. It was the same feeling as I got when pulling the control stick to deflect the elevators. It was an everyday occurrence of us pilots.
The wound did not hurt me. I just felt that the part was heavy. While holding a bed frame, I put my feet on the floor and stood up.
“How do you feel?” She asked.
“The floor is cold.”
“Use the slippers.” She brought them to me.
I put my feet into the slippers, one by one.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“Can you walk?”
“Probably.”
I walked. At first, the woman was holding my hand. And, I did not need the further support. Now I can go anywhere by myself, I thought.
I found a bright place near my sick room and entered the counter. A telephone was there. She brought me a chair, which was by a window.
“Does it hurt?”
“Not at all.” I shook my head.
I sat in the chair, and made a phone call. I found a clock inside the counter. A little past 21:00. I was a bit worried if Kusanagi was not in her office.
I heard the ring twice.
“Yes, this is Kusanagi.”
“Ma’am, it’s Kurita.”
“Oh ...” The sound of air like a sigh. “How are you doing?”
“I just took a walk to make a phone call.”
“To where?”
“Err, just nearby. About 10 meters away from the room.”
“Will you be discharged tomorrow?”
“Yes. It seems that I will be brought to somewhere.”
“You might as well take advantage of this opportunity, and take enough rest.”
“I think so, too.”
I was thinking about what to talk about. I tried to recall why I was making a phone call. But, nothing came up in mind. Perhaps, it was something that was not represented by mere words.
“Ma’am ...”
“Yes?”
“I want to fly again.”
“I know you can.”
“I want to fly with you, Ms. Kusanagi.”
“I might not be able to fly.” Kusanagi said.
“I think you can.”
“Umm, but, I don’t want to think about it.”
“I hope ... You will do fine.”
“Fine?” Kusanagi exhaled the breath.
“Happy hunting.”
“Happy hunting.”
“Take care of yourself.”
“Okay. I will try.”
“See you again someday in the sky.”
“Yeah.”
“Please stay alive.”
“You, too.”
“Take care.”
“Yeah, I get that. You don’t have to say that over and over again.
“Please take care of yourself.”