White light rained down. But it was only an artificial light that was easy on the eyes.
“...H-Huh?”
Coming to, Koutarou found himself lying down and staring up at the fluorescent light in the ceiling.
“Why am I lying down? And where am I...?”
“So you’re finally awake now.”
Koutarou blinked a couple of times, unable to understand the situation. Kenji standing there was the next thing he saw.
“Mackenzie?”
“Don’t give me that. You gave me quite the shock when you just collapsed at the worksite like that.”
“Collapsed? I did?”
“Yeah. In the middle of your shift, too. It looked like you slipped and fell. Supposedly that’s how you got that bump on the back of your head.”
“Ouch, there really is a bump...”
Koutarou sat up as he rubbed his head. Looking around, he finally realized that he was on a bed in a hospital room.
“Umm... First there was a big rock where the old lady was digging...”
Koutarou began recalling what had happened.
“Yeah, she was worried about you too.”
“I’ll be sure to let her know that I’m fine later... But I moved that rock for her and went back to my station.” Then Koutarou went silent. “...What happened after that?”
“Why are you asking me? Wouldn’t that be when you slipped and fell? They found you in the middle of your assigned area, after all.”
“Hmm...”
Koutarou tilted his head in thought.
“What?”
“It’s just... I feel like something else happened too.”
Something didn’t sound right to Koutarou. There was a bump on the back of his head and he had been found in the middle of his assigned area, sure, so what Kenji was saying made a certain amount of sense. But it still felt off to Koutarou.
“Don’t be stupid. Maybe you were just dreaming?”
“Hmm...”
Koutarou crossed his arms and continued pondering as the nurse on duty entered the room, pushing a cart ahead of her.
“I see you’re awake now.”
“Oh, yes.”
Kenji, who had met with the nurse before, gave her a slight bow.
“Heehee. You should be grateful for your partner here.”
The nurse flashed Koutarou a smile.
“Grateful?”
“Yes. Kenji-kun stayed by your side the entire time. He looked so worried too. It was kind of cool.”
“M-Miss!”
“There’s no need to be embarrassed, Kenji-kun. You have a cute side to you too... Or could it be that the two of you swing that way?”
“Not at all!”
Kenji flat out denied it.
“Actually, we do.”
But Koutarou grinned and played along.
“Aha, I thought so! So which one of you is the bottom?”
“Well...”
“You idiot!”
Kenji threw a sharp hook at Koutarou to shut him up.
“Ouch!”
“Hey, you can’t just punch your lover in the head like that, Kenji-kun!”
“Please stop saying such horrifying things.”
Satisfied with Kenji’s reaction, the nurse pointed to the bandages wrapped around Koutarou’s head.
“Heehee. I know, and I’m sorry. But as you can see, Satomi-kun is injured, so don’t be too rough with him.”
“...I-I’m sorry. My bad, Kou.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Now that that’s settled, here you go, Satomi-kun.”
The nurse smiled again, then pulled a thermometer from the cart and handed it to Koutarou.
“Could you take your temperature for me? Head injuries often come with complications, so this is just to be safe.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Once you’re done with that, you can go home for today. But if you notice anything strange, you should come straight back here. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Kenji-kun. Please hand this file over to the cashier on your way out.”
“Got it. Thank you very much.”
“Goodbye then, you two.”
The nurse smiled and waved to the boys before heading off to her next patient.
“Hey, Mackenzie.”
“Hmm?”
As Koutarou called his name, Kenji looked up from flipping through the file.
“Are you aiming for that nurse this time?”
“You idiot!”
Kenji raised his fist to hit Koutarou again, but remembering the nurse’s words made him hold back.
“Seriously, you really are...”
Kenji just sighed instead.
“Sorry, sorry.”
Koutarou grinned and put the thermometer under his arm.
“Pharmacy, pharmacy...”
After getting out of bed, Koutarou left the cashier to Kenji and headed for the hospital’s pharmacy. His injuries were minor apart from his bump, but he decided to get medicine he might need just in case.
“So it’s this way...”
Following the directional signs hung on the wall, Koutarou turned the next corner. The pharmacy was just ahead now, but Koutarou stopped short for some reason. He could see a familiar face on the other side of the window.
“That’s Sakuraba-senpai. What is she doing here?”
Koutarou had spotted the figure of the knitting society’s club president. She was sitting down on a bench in the hospital’s courtyard.
“Hmm...”
As Harumi caught his interest, Koutarou decided to leave the pharmacy for later and went through the glass door leading outside.
The early spring sun shone down on the courtyard, lighting it up. Enclosed by hospital walls, there was next to no wind either. Thanks to that, it felt much more comfortable than the hospital hallways, making it the perfect place for the hospitalized children to play.
However, when Koutarou walked up, the children were all completely silent, sitting in the grass and listening intently to the person on the bench.
Sitting on the bench was a young girl with long hair, wearing a cardigan over her hospital pajamas. She was one year older than Koutarou, but her pale skin and delicate figure made her look younger. Her name was Sakuraba Harumi. She was the club president of the knitting society that Koutarou would be joining.
“Then the North Wind said, ‘With my power, I’ll blow the clothes right off that traveler. I’ll teach the Sun that I’m stronger!’”
Harumi was in the middle of reading out loud to the children around her. With the open book in her lap, she continued reading with a calm and gentle expression.
“‘However, the Sun wasn’t about to give up. It said to the North Wind’— Oh? Goodness, who was it that scribbled on this page?”
“Hiromi, wasn’t it you?”
“It wasn’t me!”
“It was Saya-chan. I saw her!”
“Is that true, Saya-chan?”
✦ ✦ ✦
