“Sorry I kept you waiting, Miharu,” he apologized.
“You sure took your sweet time, Manabu!” she snarled.
“Sorry. It took a bit longer than expected. Are you mad?”
“Don’t you think it’s rude to keep Satsuki waiting when we came to see her? You said it’d only take half an hour, and the poor dear had to wait a solid hour!” Miharu snapped.
At this, Manabu bent around Miharu, bringing his face before hers. Absolutely indifferent to the fact Satsuki was right in front of them, he lightly pecked her lips like a little bird. “Cheer up, for me.”
“Fine, I’m over it,” Miharu conceded as she stole a glance at Manabu over her shoulders with slightly rosy cheeks.
Watching the spectacle they put on, Satsuki smiled wryly. “What do you think you’re doing in front of an innocent single bachelorette?!” Satsuki asked in a somewhat snarky tone, but she knew this was how these two always behaved.
Copying Satsuki, Manabu shot back in a slightly snarky tone of his own, “Funny, coming from the girl who makes out with Mr. Shindo in front of anyone and everyone!”
“I do not!” Satsuki protested.
“Really? As I recall, you didn’t mind asking him to carry you in public all that long ago. Isn’t that right, Mr. Shindo?” Manabu ask, turning toward Shindo as he brought another chair into the room.
Unable to follow the conversation after stepping out of the room, Shindo was at a complete loss. “Isn’t what right?” he asked for clarification, but Manabu simply laughed, not bothering to elaborate.
Shindo barked a dry chuckle. Apparently, this was one of those days where people were having fun talking about him behind his back.
“Master Manabu, if I may assist you—” Shindo began to offer, placing the chair next to Miharu, but Manabu held his hand up apologetically, cutting him short.
“Thank you, but we really must be going. As it is, we’ve already kept Satsuki up for an hour. I’m sure she must be exhausted. I’ll drop by some other day.”
“I’m fine! You don’t need to worry about me, Manabu,” Satsuki asserted.
Manabu shook his head and tapped Miharu’s shoulders to prompt her to stand up. “I’m afraid I can’t stay. You need to rest up and get well soon.”
“And then will you come visit me again?”
“Yes, I’ll be back soon. Think along the lines of two or three days...” Manabu snuck a sidelong glance at Shindo, who was trying to keep the chairs out of the way by pushing them against the wall. “...There is something important I need to discuss with you.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“WOULD you like me to bring you something to drink?” Shindo asked Satsuki after he returned from escorting Manabu and Miharu to the entrance hall on her behalf. Miharu graciously said she didn’t need to see them out, so Satsuki bade them farewell from the perch on her bed.
“Would you like something cold? Or would you like to treat yourself to a carbonated beverage?” he asked, standing at her side. Concerned for how long she had been sitting up, he slipped his hand behind her back for support.
Satsuki grew increasingly frustrated as she watched Shindo wait patiently for her to reply. Finally she snapped, “I don’t want you to treat me like I’m sick, too. It’s not like I got hurt or anything.”
“But I believe you were gravely wounded...in the heart...” Shindo replied.
At a loss for words, Satsuki turned away. Her body was unharmed, excluding the hickeys on her neck. However, her heart and mind sustained terrible wounds.
Coming into contact with the fundamental nature of the beasts known as “humans” was rattling. It made her lose all control of her powers. Her heart flew into an unstoppable frenzy. All of this combined to bring about a cold, hard reality that could never be undone.
“Shindo...” Satsuki whimpered and clutched onto the same side of the blazer’s lapel as the hand he was using to support her. She looked up at him and continued, “...I want to go outside for some fresh air.”
“To the veranda?” he asked.
“To the greenhouse.”
“I can’t take you there.” It was unusual for him to reject one of her requests. Slightly leaning over, he peered into her eyes as he explained, “You are currently on bed rest, or at least that’s the cover story. Even though the greenhouse is on our property, it’s still outside the mansion. We can’t afford to run the risk of anyone seeing you up and about.”
“You’re no fun,” Satsuki grumbled with a pout. “I want to visit the greenhouse. Shindo, figure something out!”
Satsuki pursed her lips angrily. This pouty face was reserved just for Shindo. He was so happy to see her make that face for him, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
At the sound of his chuckle, Satsuki’s face instantly lit up. “Ah, I made you laugh! That means you’ll take me there, doesn’t it? You’re going to take me to the greenhouse, aren’t you?”
Satsuki was overjoyed to see Shindo laugh. These past few days, it felt as though she had only seen him act solemn out of concern for her. To be fair, he only treated her as gently as if she might break due to her listless brooding. The greatest comfort to Satsuki’s heart was none other than Shindo and the smile he reserved for her, but he kept that very smile tucked away in his attempt to console her.
Shrugging his shoulders in mildly bemused defeat, he dropped to both knees. “Very well, but you’ll have to wait a while before I can. If you rest all morning, I’ll say you’re feeling better and take you outside. We’ll go under that pretext.”
“We can’t go now?” Satsuki pouted.
“Your guests just left. I can’t let you wander around outside your room when you should be exhausted from entertaining company,” he explained.
Satsuki’s shoulders slumped in disappointment, but she was willing to accept this compromise. “Fair enough, but we absolutely must go this afternoon.”
“Of course,” Shindo replied with a satisfied smile, glad that Satsuki came around, albeit reluctantly. “In the meantime, I’m afraid you’ll have to be satisfied with the veranda. I’m going to grab something light for you to wear over that, so if you’ll excuse me,” he said and began to step away from the bed.
A tug on the hem of his blazer brought him to a stop. Naturally, it was none other than Satsuki who tugged at his blazer. Shindo turned to look at her, his head tilted inquisitively as he wondered, What does she want? What silly little request has she thought up next?
“What is the matter, Miss?”
It was no wonder those words flew from his lips. Satsuki looked up at him with eyes filled with fear and trepidation. “Shindo...I want you to tell me something.”
Seeing the serious look on her face, Shindo thought better of leaving and turned to face her properly. “Anything.” He would answer whatever plagued his mistress. That was, after all, part of his job.
Satsuki released her hold on the hem of his blazer and shifted her eyes away from him. Staring fixedly at hands folded over the blanket pulled up to her waist, she began, “You see...I’ve been thinking a great deal these past few days...”
Ever since the incident, Satsuki would fall deep into reverie if left alone. The events of that day replayed in her memory one after the next, from how her heart fell into chaos to how she lost control of her powers.
Satsuki’s mind was assaulted with the hateful words of someone confronted by her abnormal powers. Monster! he cried in her mind, the word piercing her heart. But this wasn’t a first.
I was repeating the events of the past, Satsuki realized.
“There was another instance in the past when I was unable to control my powers, wasn’t there?” she quietly asked. Shindo’s hand twitched noticeably, but Satsuki kept going. “This wasn’t the first time I killed someone with my powers, was it?”
She tilted her head toward Shindo and gazed into eyes drawn wide in surprise—an unusual expression for him.
“And the one who made me forget was you...” she finished. The melancholic past was trying to resurface and overcome the block on the memories presumed lost in the depths of her mind...