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It was something of a typical summer morning in Shiroiwa, one where the weather was just right enough to keep students wiggling impatiently in their seats, wishing to be set free from the confines of school already. The teachers left the windows open to allow fresh air to breeze through the classrooms, inviting in the smells of nature and the sweet sing-song chirps of the birds.
Like anybody else in her ninth-grade class, Izumi Kanai found it harder than usual to focus on frivolous math equations when summer vacation was so close and yet so far away. Not that she wanted to come across as disliking school like some of the other students may, on the contrary, she was very fond of it! But even she had to admit that the last few weeks before vacation were the hardest to sit through.
As she looked around the class, she could sense the same antsy attitude from her peers. Among them was Mitsuru Numai, who she often found herself stealing glances at. He looked particularly restless as he fidgeted with his pencil, a fistful of hair clasped with his other hand, beads of sweat dripping down his cheek. She felt a pang of concern before her attention was captured by a truly rare sight- a butterfly had flown in through the window and landed delicately on her textbook.
She gasped dreamily, and did a loud whisper to the class, "Look! Look! A Butterfly!"
As the attention of the class was brought to her and filled the room with gasps and giggles, she could see Mitsuru, from the corner of her eye, painfully attempt to look her way but stop halfway, dropping his head limply on his desk.
Seeing Mitsuru’s weak behaviour caught her attention, and her excitement over the butterfly was now replaced by concern. As his head dropped, she began to panic. Aside from his friends, nobody had noticed, as they were still distracted by Izumi’s small outburst.
“Numai-kun?!” she cried.
She half-rose from her seat, but then froze when she saw the only other people going to help were his friends and the teacher. She attracted a few looks as she stood up and meekly sat back down, watching on sadly.
Sho Tsukioka wrapped an arm around Mitsuru’s waist, hoisting him up. The boy’s head still hung limply as he was pulled from his seat, and as he was being pulled away, Izumi noticed beads of sweat on his forehead.
“Take him straight to the nurse’s office,” he said. “And Fujiyoshi-san, I’ll give you permission to leave too in order to assist the nurse.”
Izumi watched as his friends and Fumiyo Fujiyoshi assisted Mitsuru out of the room. She wasn’t sure if he was even conscious at this point, given how his feet were being dragged limply as his friends carried him. Of course, she understood why those were the people who were allowed to go with him.
What sense would it make for me to go too...? He just needs his friends and the nurse’s assistant, she thought, but it didn’t make her feel any better.
After a moment of deliberation, she decided to go against what her mind was telling her. She stood up from her seat.
“Uhm... I need to use the bathroom! May I be excused?” she asked.
"Are you alright, Kanai-san?" Hayashida asked, still wearing a look of concern.
"Yes," Izumi answered, somewhat embarrassed to have the classes focus on her, "I just need to use the bathroom, that's all..."
Her friends giggled as her face burned red all the way to the tips of her ears, but she was less concerned about that at the moment.
"Alright, go ahead," Hayashida said, smiling apologetically.
Izumi hurried into the hallway, but the group was out of sight at that point. She took quick steps down the hall, slowing when she passed by any classrooms, as she made her way to the infirmary. As she got closer, she passed by Mitsuru's group of friends and avoided making any eye contact with them, but it wasn't as if they had taken notice of her anyway.
"He's fuckin' fakin' to get outta class," Ryuhei swore, "Faintin' like he's a lil girl at a boy band concert or sumn."
Sho stifled a laugh behind his hand, "Maybe we should have pretended that we caught whatever it was, too. I really don't want to go back."
"Fuck it, then," Hiroshi concluded, "Let's go an' smoke in the yard."
Izumi contained her surprise at their reactions. It wasn't like Mitsuru to fake being sick like that, at least from what she had seen. It looked way too genuine to be an act.
As she made her way to the infirmary, she slowed her steps and peered cautiously inside.
Inside the infirmary, she saw Mitsuru lying in one of the beds, his face pale. She could see his eyelids twitching as he slept. There’s no way he’s faking this! How could his friends think that?!, she thought.
She took another tentative step forward but froze when she saw Fumiyo bustling around inside. She was examining different store-bought medication to give Mitsuru and had apparently not heard Izumi approach.
She felt, weirdly enough, a pang of jealousy. She knew that it made logical sense that Fumiyo should take care of Mitsuru— she was the nurse’s assistant after all— but she couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in her stomach of watching another girl put so much thought and care into helping him.
“None of these are right... I need to go find Ms. Furudo...” Fumiyo mumbled to herself and began to pace towards the door.
Izumi flinched as she saw Fumiyo approaching. She began to take a few steps back, but Fumiyo had spotted her as soon as she left the infirmary.
“Kanai-san? Were you sent here too?” she asked.
“Umm... I...” she stammered, feeling her face turn red.
“I’m sorry, but I need to find the nurse... we can talk another time, okay?” Fumiyo said and ran off down the hall.
Izumi felt a bit confused by the girl’s comment— the two never spoke that much. Fumiyo was a bit of a loner, after all. But that was another matter. For now, she was relieved that she didn’t have to think of some excuse as to why she was here.
With Fumiyo gone, Izumi decided to take a deep breath and enter the infirmary.
She watched from a distance as Mitsuru's chest raises and eased back down with each breath, timing her steps so that they occurred in the time between. His slumber appeared to be somewhat restless so she didn't want to disturb him by waking him up (after all, how would she even explain herself in this situation?)
She couldn't help but stare at Mitsuru's sleeping face, noting how he looked much younger, nearly childlike in such a vulnerable state. Tufts of his dark brown curls clung to his forehead with sweat, and he'd occasionally made a pained expression.
He's probably trying his best to fight sleep right now, Izumi thought to herself, If I know Numai-kun like I think I do, he's worried about looking weak right now, even if this is something that can't be helped...
Izumi knew that she couldn't stare at Mitsuru all day long. Besides being an invasion of his privacy, she just felt like some perverted peeping tom doing so. Even if she wasn't ready to leave just yet.
Maybe I can just do a couple of things to make him feel better, She thought to herself, And then I'll run back to class and nobody will know.
The first thing she decided to do was open up the infirmary window and invite in some fresh air. The school lacked an air conditioning system, so the rooms quickly became humid, especially one as small as the infirmary. A clean breeze rolled into the room, and Izumi enjoyed filling her chest with the kiss of summer, her long hair lifting from her back and fluttering behind her.
After a moment, she moved out of the way and allowed the air to find Mitsuru at his bed.
When she first entered the room, she had noticed that Fumiyo had filled a small pale with water, a clean rag set beside it. She must have intended to dab his forehead with it, to bring down his temperature, but got side-tracked by the medication.
Would it be okay for me to... Izumi bit her lip, After all, he looks so uncomfortable. Wouldn't I want help as quickly as possible in this situation...
With a slightly trembling hand, she reached out for the rag. She didn’t know how long Fumiyo would be gone, after all. What if something terrible happened in the time she was gone? Izumi knew that if something awful happened—and she could have prevented it—she would’ve never forgiven herself.
Or maybe, deep inside, she knew that there was a specific reason that she wanted to take care of him.
She ignored this thought as she dipped the rag in the water, and gave it a gentle squeeze to wring out any excess water. She leaned forward and began to dab his forehead lightly, trying to apply it to the most prominent spots of sweat.
As she did this, she also watched him carefully, to see if he showed any signs of waking. If he did awaken, she had no idea how she would explain herself.
However, as she watched him, she found it difficult to think up excuses. All she could focus on was how his face gradually became more peaceful as she applied the damp cloth. Is this working...? she wondered.
His eyes began to twitch a little, and terrified, Izumi jumped back, still holding onto the cloth and praying he wouldn’t wake up just yet.
Just as a particularly strong breeze swept through the room, lifting the hair from Mitsuru's face, the curtains around his bed swelling out like a balloon, he sat up with a start.
"What the he---" Mitsuru began to mumble, but having moved too quickly for his body to handle, he groaned instead and curled into himself.
"Lay back down, p-please!" Izumi stuttered. She realized he may be confused about where he was so she took a breath and tried to sound as calm as she could. "You're very sick right now, Numai-kun. You have a high temperature and nearly passed out in class s-so you're in the infirmary now. Please rest..."
"Huh?" Mitsuru opened an eye and looked up at Izumi, "Impossible. I don' get sick."
Izumi didn't really know how to reply to that, but as she gently pressed down on his shoulder, she found that he eased back onto the bed without much of a fight.
Mitsuru gazed up at her, frowning at his own weakness. He could hardly remember what had happened in class, only that Izumi had whisper-exclaimed something concerning a butterfly.
The hell did I do to distract her from that? he asked himself.
“Numai-kun...?” Izumi asked, and with that, he realised he had still been staring at her. He quickly turned his head away.
“‘M fine... go back to class, you don’ need to waste your time worryin’ ‘bout me,” he mumbled, unable to keep the embarrassment out of his voice.
“I... uhm... I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone when you’re this sick,” she said. “Fujiyoshi-san should be back soon, but... can I stay with you until then?”
Mitsuru considered for a second. Maybe, if he had been in better spirits, he would have insisted that she go back to her friends. Not to waste her time on him. But, being as weak as he was at that moment, he couldn’t fight back his selfish urges as much as he usually could.
“Sure,” he said with a weak nod. “Guess it’d be nice if you stayed.”
Maybe it was a little silly, but Izumi felt flattered and smiled at that. She'd always known Mitsuru to be the most gentle of his gang based on their personal interactions, but she still felt a certain nervousness around him. They were from two completely different worlds, after all.
Izumi wheeled over one of the nurse's stools to Mitsuru's bedside and sat down. She dipped the cloth back into the water and rung it out before asking, "I...Is it okay if I...?"
"Uh?" Mitsuru grumbled, looking over at Izumi through weak, narrowed eyes, "Yah, sure, guess so."
Bringing the cloth down slowly, Izumi was cautious as she gently brushed Mitsuru's curls from his face, dabbing at his skin with the cloth. She wiped away the accumulation of sweat, accidentally brushing her hand against his bare skin in a brief moment and surprising herself with how hot he had become. She bit back her concern, doing her best not to reveal to him how worried she was getting.
"How long have you been feeling this way for...?" Izumi asked when she noticed that Mitsuru wasn't falling back asleep any time soon.
"Dunno," Mitsuru answered lazily, "Ain' been long. Didn' really feel that shi-- that bad 'til we were in class an' all."
Izumi tried to think back on whether or not the classroom had been particularly stuffy. But, as Mitsuru appeared to be the only one affected, she reckoned that whatever he had was something that nobody else in the class had at that moment.
“And you just felt... lightheaded? Everything happened so suddenly...” she murmured.
“Yeah, pretty much. Jus’ felt kinda dizzy an’ then I woke up here,” he said.
Then, he appeared slightly more alert. He attempted to sit up but slumped back down just as quickly. Izumi held out a hand to settle him back down instinctively, but she quickly withdrew her hand as she realised what she was doing.
“Where’s the gang?” he asked.
“They think you’re faking it... they’re all gone outside cutting class,” she said, and then to herself, “I wonder if they’ve realised by now that you actually are sick...”
"Tch," Mitsuru scoffed, slowly shaking his head. He raised an arm slowly and used his hand to keep the damp tufts of hair from clinging back to his face. He looked strangely more at home. "'Course they'd think that. Assholes. They'll keep on thinkin' it."
"They might have been teasing, maybe," Izumi replied, trying to be optimistic, but even she realized how forced this idea felt. She took back the damp cloth and dunked it a final time, wrung it out, and set it across Mitsuru's forehead where it would sit for a little while on its own.
"Don' remember the last time somebody did this," Mitsuru said. His eyes were closed and he huffed a lazy laugh.
Izumi wasn't really sure how to respond to that. It seemed as if he had unintentionally opened up to her unless... Did he realize he had said it? Was he really opening up? It was probably just because he was feeling so ill.
"I can't take much credit... Fujiyoshi-san already had it set up so I just went ahead and used it... I'm not really great at this sort of thing, the way she is."
Mitsuru laughed with more enthusiasm this time. "Fujiyoshi? Tha' big-nose nurse chick?"
Izumi gasped a little at Mitsuru’s blunt description of Fumiyo. She wouldn’t exactly say he was wrong, but... she couldn’t be that mean about her, right?
“I... umm...” she said, blushing as she tried to think of a way to describe her in a nicer fashion.
“Big-nose nurse chick got it,” Mitsuru said with a nod, grinning still.
“A-Anyway, she should be back soon, so you don’t need to worry...! She’s much better at this than I am...” she said.
“Don’ wanna be alone with that useless... mmph...” Mitsuru trailed off, a glassy look in his eyes.
Izumi sat forward, alarmed that he needed medical attention as soon as possible. She stood up, trying to mentally figure out where all the medication was.
However, just as she took a step away from the bed, she felt a hand placed on her arm gently. She turned around and saw that Mitsuru was now sitting up again, frowning at her.
“Don’ go... I mean, you’re doin’ a great job. You shoul’ be the nurse’s assistant, not her,” he said.
Well, I think there’s one particular reason why I’m here, and it’s not to start taking care of every other student... Izumi thought, blushing.
"I couldn't, possibly..." Izumi attempted to deny, her voice trailing off as she stared into Mitsuru's heavy eyes filled with sleep. There was a certain softness in his expression that she had seen fleetingly very few times, but she assumed that his friends had never seen it at all. "I guess I can stay a little bit longer."
"Good," Mitsuru replied contently, allowing his eyes to close more.
Izumi sat back down again but couldn't deny that seeing Mitsuru in that state still had her worried. Luckily, the worry didn't last for long. Moments later, Fumiyo entered the room holding a bottle of medicine.
"Oh! Kanai, I didn't know you were still in here," Fumiyo said surprised, "Thanks for keeping the patient company."
Izumi smiled meekly. She felt strangely embarrassed by being caught in the room when she probably wasn't supposed to be, but she did her best to hide it. "Y-Yes, I was rather worried about Numai-kun."
"I can take over from here if you'd like," Fumiyo replied, but when she sensed Izumi's hesitancy, she added, "Actually, can you give him his medicine and some juice? I need to fill out a report with the head nurse so it might be better if there's two of us."
Izumi felt a strange sense of relief as Fumiyo gave her the opportunity to stay a little longer. She nodded at the nurse's request.
"I can do that," she said, standing up from the bed.
Fumiyo gave her a grateful look just as she strode out of the room. Once she was gone, Izumi got the aspirin from the side table and poured out a glass of juice. She pushed it in Mitsuru's direction.
"Thanks..." he mumbled. "Sorry 'bout all this..."
He weakly tried to drag himself up but to no avail. He slumped weakly back against the pillow, feeling his cheeks heat up at the embarrassment of appearing so weak in front of Izumi.
Izumi watched him struggle with a mix of alarm and pity. She had never seen him like this before, and her main concern at that moment was making sure he would be able to drink when he needed to.
So, she did what she would have previously considered unthinkable. She got the glass of juice from the side of the table and held it to his lips, trying to ignore the fact that she was now blushing too.
"Um, can I...?" she asked quietly, trailing off.
Mitsuru blinked slowly as he silently contemplated the sight before him, causing Izumi to burn up a touch more with each passing second. “Yea, sure,” he eventually mumbled, once he realized what she was referring to.
At the prompt, Izumi brought the glass closer to his lips and gently tilted it upwards as he drank it back slowly. After a few sips, he seemed to gain more energy and took larger drinks until Izumi eventually held back the cup, setting it on the side table once more.
“Are you feeling better already?” Izumi asked, to which Mitsuru nodded his head.
“Yea. Ain’t bad. Guess I’ve been pretty dehydrated or whatever.”
“Dehydrated...?” Izumi asked, her brows knitted with concern. “Have you not been drinking enough water lately?”
Mitsuru shrugged slightly and looked off to the side, a bit embarrassed under her scrutinizing gaze. It took him a moment to respond.
“Our gang’s got bigger worries than drinkin’ water,” he mumbled.
While his statement sounded a little vaguely ominous, Mitsuru’s main concern was the fact that Ryuhei and Hiroshi would find some way to roast him if he was suddenly concerned with the importance of drinking water.
Izumi bit her lip, unsure of what to make of his flippant attitude, considering his dehydration had landed him in the nurse’s office. She stood up once more.
“Well, we need to fix that. I’m going to get you some more juice to drink, okay?” she said.
He didn’t have the energy to do much more than nod weakly. Izumi strode over to the desk and paused as her eyes fell on his open medical file, which Fumiyo had presumably been looking over before she arrived.
She couldn’t help but look and paused as her eyes fell on a certain detail. His date of birth was listed as May 16th— today’s date. She let out a small gasp. It’s his birthday and he didn’t mention anything? she thought. And he’s spending his day like this?!
"Everythin' okay, Kanai?" Mitsuru murmured from the bed. He looked up weakly through one eye, snapping Izumi immediately out of her thoughts.
"O-Oh! Yes, sorry! I j-just, uhm, lost track of the juice." Izumi replied awkwardly. She scrambled to fill the cup once more and then hurried to Mitsuru's bedside. "Here you are, s-sorry for the wait!"
Izumi couldn't look at Mitsuru the same after realizing that it was his birthday. She felt such a pang of guilt for him, spending his birthday in the school infirmary while his friends mercilessly mocked him for supposedly faking it.
"It's fine," Mitsuru replied as he mustered up his energy to sit up. He took the juice cup and sipped it back, his energy slowly returning to him as he became more hydrated. "Thanks for the help, Kanai. I ain't weak or nothin' but--" he interrupted himself with a laugh, "I appreciate it."
Izumi smiled weakly, still unable to forget the day. She only wished that she could do more. "Listen, Numai, uhm, can I... ask you something?"
Mitsuru gazed at her with curiosity, and under his gaze, Izumi looked away, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Yeah, what's up?" he asked.
"Uhm, well," Izumi didn't know how to phrase herself now and felt embarrassed that she'd even begun to ask anything. "Uhm, well... Today... is... uhm, is today anything important?"
"Huh?" Mitsuru asked, looking deeply confused, "Whaddya mean?"
"Today uhm... I might have seen that it's uhm... your birthday... maybe...?"
"Oh." Mitsuru replied blankly, "Yeah. I guess it is."
Now Izumi felt awkward for sure. What if birthdays were a bad association for him? Why did she even bring it up?!
"O-Oh, uhm, well-"
Before Izumi could continue, her attention had been caught by another person standing in the doorway. It was Hayashida, looking a little out of breath and worried. Izumi didn't know whether to be embarrassed that he had caught her in a lie-- or relieved that he had just saved her from an awkward moment.
"Kanai-san, I was pretty worried when you'd been gone for a while! Were you checking in on Numai-kun?" The teacher asked cheerily. He never was the type to get mad, thankfully.
"O-Oh, yes! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be gone so long b-but Fujiyoshi-san had to step out s-so I thought I might help..!"
Hayashida smiled warmly at her. “That was very kind of you! Numai-kun is lucky to have such a caring classmate.”
She glanced back at Mitsuru for a second, blushing at the mention of how lucky he was to have her there at that moment. Before she could open her mouth to respond, there was another pair of footsteps that could be heard approaching, and Fumiyo appeared beside Hayashida.
“Oh, there you are, Fujiyoshi-san! Kanai-san was taking great care of Numai-kun while you were away,” he informed her in the same bright tone. He then turned to Izumi. “Are you ready to come back to class?”
She nodded once, but looked at Mitsuru again, unsure about leaving him. Come on, he’s in good hands... you’re no medical expert, she thought with some sadness but walked to the door nevertheless.
“Kanai,” Mitsuru spoke up from behind.
“Yes...?” she asked, turning back with an attentive look.
“Thanks... I’m glad ya were here,” he mumbled, his face turning slightly red.
“O-Of course! I was happy to help!” she said, her voice slightly high-pitched.
She then joined Hayashida walking down the hall, walking back towards the classroom. As they walked, she couldn’t help but think about his birthday. I have to do something for him, surely...! she thought.
They shortly arrived at the classroom where Izumi returned to her desk, the eyes of many curious students falling upon her.
"Izu, I thought you died in there!" Yuka whispered as she walked past, "It was some nasty old d-i-e-a-r-e-e-a wasn't it?"
Izumi gave a courteous laugh at Yuka's comment, not fully understanding what she meant until she got to her desk and thought it over. Her face became bright red and she shot the other girl a desperate look that Yuka responded to with a gentle smile and head nod, clearly misunderstanding what Izumi's expression was for.
How embarrassing, Izumi thought to herself. She lost track of the time and now everybody in the class was going to think she was doing something gross in the bathrooms. As if! Even if that was completely beside the point.
She needed to focus on what she was going to do to brighten Mitsuru's day a little more.
Izumi looked out the window and found herself lost in thought, wondering what sort of gift Mitsuru might like. If only she'd had more time to prepare, she'd have baked something- well, theoretically, it was a nice thought, even if she was hopeless in the kitchen.
She looked around the classroom, hoping for some kind of inspiration. As she scanned the room, she paused upon seeing Keita try to shove an eraser up his nose. She didn't feel particularly inspired- and apparently, she wasn't alone, as she saw Toshinori glaring at the boy out of the corner of her eye.
In spite of Keita's weird behaviour, seeing the eraser did get her thinking.If only I had some kind of artistic talent... I could draw him something like... like the butterfly he didn't get to see!she thought, and then shook her head. That isn't too corny, is it? What would he even like...?
But no matter how much Izumi tried to think up a new idea, the inspiration from the butterfly wouldn't leave her. In the short few moments between classes, Izumi found herself standing from her desk and rushing to the back of the room where the student cubbies were. Not many of her classmates carried art supplies but she knew one girl who had something she could use-- Mizuho Inada, who often spent entire classes doodling her strange little fantasy creatures, always had pencil crayons in her bag.
"Uhmm, Inada-san? Hey!" Izumi greeted the other girl.
Mizuho was currently ducked down, going through her cubby, when she looked up at Izumi.
"Could I...Uhm," Izumi mumbled. She felt a little awkward around the girls she didn't usually hang around, "Could I ask you for something?"
Upon hearing a voice from above, Mizuho leapt to her feet and held her hands in front of her, one leg in front of the other, in some kind of battle stance. Izumi shrank back, already wondering if this was a bad idea.
“Kanai! Have you come to request help?” Mizuho asked boldly, and then leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, “Do you need help discovering the invisible evil force that pummelled Numai?”
Izumi blinked a few times, somewhat surprised that Mizuho actually seems to be somewhat on the right track for once.
“A-Actually, I do! I was wondering if—“
“You need not worry! I have been discussing the potential identity of the enemy with my fellow warriors, and we will defeat it before the day is done! You will not fall victim!”
“Um… thank you, but I think you could help me out by, um… letting me borrow your colouring pencils?” Izumi blurted out.
“Why would you need such a thing?” Mizuho asked, instantly suspicious.
“Because… um…” she mumbled, “I could draw up some… protective auras…? For you warriors?”
Mizuho stared her down for a moment, and Izumi felt her nervousness grow by the second. Why didn’t I just ask somebody else?! she thought. But then, Mizuho bowed her head slightly and held out her pencil case.
“Your efforts will be rewarded, Kanai,” she said in a serious voice. “We will be depending on you.”
Izumi laughed awkwardly in response, not knowing what to say but still not wanting to be rude. She thanked Mizuho as she took her pencil case and returned to her desk, feeling bad for dreading the fact that she'd have to interact with her later to return it (Mizuho is a nice girl and all, Izumi would think to herself, I just never know if I'm supposed to play along or if it's a prank... I blame Yuka and her pranks for this complex!)
But, she'd deal with that later. The more important thing was to make sure that she could quickly make a card suitable for Mitsuru without it being too cheesy and embarrassing. She was no artist, and she'd never claim to be, but she remembered the look of that butterfly very clearly in her mind as if she'd taken a permanent snapshot of it. Now all she had to do was convey that perfectly on paper.
Izumi folded a blank sheet of paper in half and then slowly started to sketch out the shape of the butterfly lightly with her mechanical pencil.
Even though she wasn't the most talented artist, she was pleased to see that as she continued to sketch, the drawing was slowly beginning to look like the butterfly she had seen earlier in class. Once she was happy with the outline, she used the colouring pencils to bring the drawing to life. Using pretty blues and pinks, she blended them together to make it vibrant.
Once she had finished, she held it up, smiling as she admired it. She worried a little that it wasn't much of a present, but still, it was the thought that counted, right? Now that she knew it was Mitsuru's birthday, she couldn't just leave him lying there alone and empty-handed.
She wrote, "Happy birthday!" on the top of the card with the colouring pencils, and then opened the inside.
Oh, no. This is the hard part. What do I write...? she thought. Maybe if I write without thinking it over too much beforehand, it will sound more genuine and not as ... stiff as my school essays?
Swallowing back, Izumi decided to go for it.
To Numai-kun on his birthday,
As I'm writing this card, you're in the infirmary with a pretty bad cold.
It seems like you've had a rough day today...
So in a way, this is a Happy Birthday card, and a Get Well Soon card!
I wish you a happy and healthy year!
Love,----
"Oh no!" Izumi exclaimed aloud after she realized what she'd done. Her face turned red when a few people turned to face her.
What did you do?! she cursed herself.
Izumi sat there mentally panicking for a minute and glanced briefly around the class, hoping no one noticed how much she was freaking out at that moment. Then, it hit her.
Love, Class 3-B.
She scanned over the card again, noticing that it read kind of awkwardly- first, it was personal, then it was from the entire class? She shook her head. Whatever. There was no way she could sign off a card from her with love!
She held the card by the edges, wondering if she should just leave it there. But, the thought of Mitsuru spending his birthday alone in the infirmary was enough for her to decide that she should give him the card, regardless of embarrassing little details.
So, she waited for her chance. There were only a couple more classes left in the day, yet that suddenly felt so impossibly long to sit through.
Raising her hand during a quiet section of the class, Izumi’s quiet voice attracted the attention of the entire class, but she was already too nervous to be embarrassed over it.
“Uhm, sensei? May I be excused from class to, uhm, use the restroom?” she asked, trying to ignore the mixed look of amusement and pity coming from Yuka.
Worse yet, Hayashida gave her a knowing smile and nodded his head. “Of course, Kanai.”
Izumi felt her face turn red as she stood up and walked out of the classroom. In reality, very few students took notice, but she couldn't shake the feeling that all eyes were on her. That they knew what she was doing.
She shook her head and pushed the thoughts away, instead clutching tightly onto the card. Her heart was thumping as she walked further and further down the corridor, eventually arriving at the nurse's office. She gave a delicate knock, in case Mitsuru was sleeping. But, as soon as she knocked, a hoarse voice spoke up.
"Yeah? Who is it?" Mitsuru asked.
She opened the door, feeling her hands begin to tremble. Mitsuru sat up, more alert than he had been a few minutes ago. Under his gaze, she felt her nervousness only grow even more. Oh god, where do I begin? she asked herself.
Stepping into the room slowly, Izumi bowed her head as she announced, “It’s me again, sorry for the intrusion,” she raised her head and looked at Mitsuru, who had colour returned to his face. She smiled with relief. “How are you feeling?”
“Like hell,” Mitsuru somewhat laughed, “Nah, it ain’t so bad anymore. Guess I was mostly dehydrated or whatever.”
“Dehydration can be pretty scary and dangerous… But I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling a little better,” As Izumi spoke, she took a few more cautious steps forward, and held the card behind her back nervously. Mitsuru eyed her curiously and Izumi couldn’t help but burn up, assuming that he already suspected what she was up to.
“Y’okay?” Mitsuru asked, causing Izumi to halt in her tracks.
For a moment, Izumi contemplated just throwing the card away, running out the door, and pretending like none of this ever happened. But she knew she’d eventually regret it if she left him empty-handed on his birthday.
“M-Mhm, I’m fine…” she mumbled, taking another step forward.
“Ya sure? Ya sound kinda nervous,” he said.
“N-No, I’m not!” Izumi protested, her voice high. Ugh, what am I doing?!
Before Mitsuru could open his mouth to question her further, she stepped forward once more, holding the card out to him. Her face was now bright red, but all she could do was hope he didn’t notice.
“Happy birthday…!” she exclaimed.
“Huh,” he said, his eyebrows raised. He smiled. “Ya really did know it was my birthday? Thanks, Kanai.”
He looked down at the card, smirking at the drawing of the butterfly. He then opened the card, reading its contents. She noticed his eyes briefly widen, but it was only for a moment, as he then looked up at her again.
“The whole class was in on this?” he asked.
"Well..." Izumi's voice drifted off, causing Mitsuru to laugh again. That deep, breathy chuckle of his that made Izumi's heart flutter. "In spirit, I suppose..."
"Guess that's something, huh," Mitsuru smirked.
“The art is nice but something about it is making me get, uh,” Mitsuru searched for the word, “Déjà vu or whatever.”
“Oh, it’s because there was a butterfly in the class earlier! I called out for everybody to see it but that’s at the same time that you became faint,” Izumi explained.
Mitsuru smiled, faintly recalling the memory. “Oh, yeah, you’re right,” he said with a nod. “Ya got pretty excited ‘bout it, right?”
“You… remember that?” she said, her eyes widening a little.
“Yeah, it was pretty much the last thing I remember b’fore I passed out,” he said. “It was nice to hear ya so excited.”
Izumi blushed, looking away. I can’t believe he remembered that especially when he was about to pass out..!
"Ay, Kanai?"
Izumi snapped out of her thoughts and she quickly stepped forward, "Yes?"
"Why dontcha sit down for a minute?"
"Sure," Izumi replied, as she took a seat again. Mitsuru shifted until he was sitting upright, placing the card on the side table.
"Guess I got a lot to thank ya for, huh?"
"O-Oh, the card was no biggie!" Izumi replied, smiling politely.
"Nah, not just that."
"Huh?"
"It's more than the card, really, y'know?" For the first time, Mitsuru sounded a little awkward, and more vulnerable- like the other boys of the class who weren't as tough as him, yet it was as if he was holding back something. "You're always helping me with stuff, even now, an' I ain't the type of guy to deserve it. But I want ya to know I appreciate it, f'sure."
Izumi tensed up, feeling her face turn red. For a moment, all she could do was sit there, letting Mitsuru’s kind words float around in her head, seemingly unable to settle. She remained quiet enough to earn an embarrassed look from him.
“Erm… Kanai?” he said, and with that, she finally allowed herself to look at him.
“That’s… that’s so incredibly kind of you to say. But… I have one objection. You are the type of guy to deserve it. You help me just as much, a-and I don’t know why, because I can be such a fool sometimes, but I always feel like you’re there for me,” she replied.
Now it was Mitsuru’s turn to blush. He coughed awkwardly, looking away. “Shit— damn— I… yeah. I hope I’m the kind of guy you can rely on.”
Izumi couldn't help but laugh quietly, which then inspired Mitsuru to do the same, any awkwardness between them now drifting away completely. Both of their faces had become red enough that they couldn't deny it, so neither thought to bring it up. Why ruin a good moment, after all?
"Of course you are," Izumi said, after the laughter subsided into giddy, tooth-baring smiles, "Numai-kun, thank you for everything."
"Shit, I'm the one in the bed, gettin' taken care of an' gettin' a nice card an' still, I'm the one bein' thanked," Mitsuru said, laughing a bit at the irony, "You're too good to me, Kanai. Thanks a lot for everythin'. Guess this birthday ain' so shitty after all."
Izumi blushed. She didn’t want to let herself believe that she alone made Mitsuru’s birthday better, but… well, his friends weren’t around that much, and she did write that card all on her own.
“You deserve to have a great day,” she told him with a bright smile. “And… please make sure to drink plenty of water for the rest of your birthday, okay?”
"F'sure," Mitsuru said, no sense in fighting it anymore. He was a tough guy- he wasn't gonna let dehydration knock him off his ass ever again, "Y'ain't such a bad nurse aid, y'know. Ain't tryin' too hard like other people-- ya actually genuinely care an' that makes a big difference."
Izumi wasn't sure how to respond. She had never seen herself as the nursing type and honestly, she still didn't. If it was taking care of the people she cared about then it was only natural to do everything she could to make them feel better, wasn't it?
"I'm just glad that you're doing so much better," Izumi replied, "School is almost over now... Do you think you'll make it home alright..?"
Mitsuru hesitated for a moment but then nodded. He thought Izumi had already gone out of her way enough for him today, and he couldn't help but feel a little bad about it.
"Yeah, I gotta yell at the gang for bein' shitty friends in my time of need," he said. "An' I'll tell 'em all 'bout how nice and thoughtful... the class was instead."
Izumi smiled, looking away. "W-We're all so glad we could be there for you."
Mitsuru smiled that sweet smile of his that was so rarely seen on the tough boy. He briefly looked at the wall clock and then said, "You better get back to class before you miss the whole day. I'll see ya around, I guess?"
"Oh! Yes, of course," Izumi nodded, as she stood. She hesitated to remove her eyes from Mitsuru and was even slower when it came to backing out of the room, making Mitsuru let out a laugh.
"F'real, I'm all fine, alright? Ain't got a thing to worry 'bout. I'll see ya later, Kanai."
Izumi let out an embarrassed laugh, but she was convinced. "Alright... If you're sure. Happy birthday again, Numai-kun."
"Thanks, Kanai," Mitsuru smiled. As Izumi fully exited the room, and the clacking of her school shoes got quieter with distance, Mitsuru leaned back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling, the words of the card ringing through his head like a joyful melody.
To Numai-kun on his birthday,
As I'm writing this card, you're in the infirmary with a pretty bad cold.
It seems like you've had a rough day today...
So in a way, this is a Happy Birthday card, and a Get Well Soon card!
I wish you a happy and healthy year!
Love,
Izumi Kanai.