The two of them, before they went to school, would leave the house early and head to the shrine to take care of Blue. After school, they would go directly to see Blue.
Kota got so worked up about it he would even leave school during lunch break to go and see the kitten. But after doing so a few times, one of the girls in his class tattled to the teacher and he was severely reprimanded. But still, he would not talk about Blue even if it killed him. Afterwards, he cornered the tattletale and made her cry. Of course, he was scolded for that too.
As reckless as Kota’s actions were, he knew exactly what he was doing. The boy had his own beliefs about the situation and thought the things he did were all for the good. Although he eventually came to love Blue, first and foremost in his mind was not to burden Mai too much.
Kota decided in his heart that he had to protect her. Mai looked so sad. Her parents looked so pained. He resolved, with a determination only a child could muster, that he would never let them be so sad again.
So when his classmate Saiki asked him, “Kota, wanna go play PerFree at my house? Everybody’s gonna be there and there’ll be a tournament.”
PerFree was a popular card game also known as “Perfect Freedom.” It was all the rage with kids at school. Kota had been spending almost all of his allowance on it.
“It… It’s okay,” he stammered. “I’ve got things to do. Sorry.”
Kota stood firm in resisting temptation. But Saiki was dissatisfied and continued badgering him.
“Jeez… Well, you’re always playing with Makihara anyway.”
“It’s not like we’re playing…” Kota tried to explain.
“Fine, whatever,” Saiki said. “I’m not asking you anymore. If you want to be with Makihara so much, then you guys can just go and get married!”
It was a childish taunt, born of childish jealousy. Saiki had a general sense of why Kota was always with Mai. After all, Kota and Saiki had been the best of friends and were always playing together. But since Mai became ill, Kota spent all of his time with her.
Saiki knew a bit about the situation, but nonetheless, he felt as if a girl had taken away his best friend. Especially now. Just as soon as school ended, the two of them would disappear together. The entire class was having fun spreading rumors about Kota and Mai. To Saiki, it was extremely annoying.
If Kota had just continued playing with him, Saiki thought, he would never have gotten teased like this. So Saiki had tried to help his friend out by inviting Kota to play several times. But Kota’s answer was always “no.”
Finally, Saiki got upset. In his heart, he only wanted to be friends like they used to. But instead, he found himself always yelling at Kota.
“Sorry…” Kota softly murmured, watching the retreating back of his former best friend.
It was a very lonesome feeling.
Blue was being playful, but his father, Kota, did not smile as he normally did.
Every day, Blue would get stronger and stronger. For Kota and Mai, watching his progress was pure joy.
But on this day, Kota did not smile. The reason was because of his argument with Saiki at school. Since then, whether in the classroom or passing each other in the hallway, they would avoid each other. Even if, truth be told, what they really wanted was only to talk and play.
Sensing this, Mai pretended to be casual about it and remarked, “Why don’t you play with Saiki-kun once in a while?”
“It’s okay,” Kota said. “It doesn’t matter. Who cares? I don’t want to play with that guy anyway.”
He was obviously putting on a brave front. Although he seemed angry, Kota’s eyes were cloudy and seemed about to burst into tears at any moment.
Not knowing what to say, Mai tried to pick Blue up. And then it happened.
“Mai…? H-hey!” Kota realized something was wrong with Mai. Her face was twisted in pain. She was having an attack and was unable to breathe normally.
“Hold on!” Kota pleaded. He quickly pulled Blue away from Mai and opened the pouch dangling from her bag. He pulled out her medicinal spray.
“Here!”
He pressed the inhaler to her mouth. In an attempt to help her feel better even with the tiniest of deeds, Kota let her put her weight against his chest while he rubbed her back. After a while, she began to calm down.
Kota had seen her suffer an attack several times. He had been taught how to deal with it by her mother. He had promised to protect her.
“Are you okay?” Kota said softly.
“…Yes…” she managed to say.
“Did you take your medicine at noon today?” he asked.
“……”
“You didn’t? Look here…”
“But when fourth period ended, I was sleeping in the nurse’s office…” she tried to explain.
“Jeez…” Kota sighed.
After a few moments’ silence, with eyes downcast, she apologized.
“Why are you apologizing to me?” Kota asked sulkily.
Before, Mai would never have apologized like this. No matter if it was a boy or someone older, she would unflinchingly stand up for herself. But she had somehow developed a habit of apologizing. It was because her health was suffering.
She believed she had become a burden to a great many people around her because of her illness. Of course, there was no way Kota would ever think she was troubling him.
But her sense of responsibility would not relieve her of these thoughts. She hated being weak. Yet despite that, she only got weaker. She wanted to be strong, and so eventually grew to hate herself as she became weaker. Her strength made her weak.
Kota didn’t like seeing Mai so weak. But he would not hate her, he could not. He only wanted to smile with her and be himself around her.
The two of them fell quiet. As if mirroring their mood, the wind stopped blowing, rendering the world completely silent.
“Meow.”
Blue’s voice, though innocent-sounding, seemed deafening amidst the quiet.
“…I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“Like I said, don’t apologize.”
“But…” she protested.
She wanted to apologize for being weak.
“It’s okay…” he said. “You’re you, Mai.”
As usual, Kota didn’t particularly understand what he was saying, but his words reached Mai’s heart and gave her an irreplaceable joy. She smiled and decided to stop complaining. After all, her heart felt so warm now. She loved him, he was so important to her. Shyly, Mai squeezed Kota’s hand.
“H-hey! Mai! Th-that’s embarrassing!” Kota protested in a panic.
“There’s nobody here but you and me,” Mai laughingly told him.
“B-but…! Well, you know, Blue’s watching!”
“It’s okay,” she explained. “We’re his mommy and daddy.”
“Y-yeah, but…”
“Then just for a little bit longer,” she pleaded.
“Just for a little bit… Okay…” he said, giving in.
“…Thank you…”
It was a thank you full of various feelings. The warmth of his hand made her feel that she could be strong. She didn’t want to let go. Ever.
—Ring.