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Ugh... What happened? Where am I? Nene slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurry at first, but ultimately she could clearly see the bright fluorescent light above her head situated on a faded white tiled ceiling.
Where the hell was she? And why did her right leg feel like shit?
"Nene! Are you feeling okay?" She heard the worried voice of her mother, as she got her bearings together to turn her head to her direction.
"Mm... I guess. Where am I?"
"In the hospital. Do you remember what happened to you?"
"Uh... I was trying to put up those new charts up on the wall, then..." Nene racked her brain, trying to remember past events. That's right, the flimsy ladder she was using wobbled when a kid accidentally bumped into it and that's when she fell.
Wait, and that meant—
Hurriedly she sat up, lifting the blanket covering her to find her right leg propped on a cushion, covered in one of those casts.
Ah. She really went and broke her leg, huh? As if them resembling a certain vegetable weren't already unfortunate enough.
"You know, Nene, I told you to be very careful, especially when you're dealing with very active children. They can get quite rambunctious." Her mother said, and Nene resist the urge to sigh. Preschool kids weren't particularly a threat, but doing potentially risky things like climbing ladders around a bunch of rowdy ones were.
"It's really just our luck that there was a doctor nearby when it happened." Her mother continued. "He was the one who had taken you to the hospital right away while you were unconscious!"
"A doctor?"
"Mm-hm! The preschool just so happened to be really close by here, so he managed to get you here in time before things escalated any further. He was such an outstanding young man!"
Nene inwardly grimaced. Oh, she knew that tone of voice. That was her mother's "I found a nice young man for you that you might like!" voice.
Now, she wasn't really against the idea of meeting a (potentially) hot guy, but when her mother got herself involved into it, it usually lead to some pretty embarrassing moments. She appreciated the effort, sure, but she really needed to prove to the lady she can manage her own non-existent love life by herself.
She might as well entertain her mother this time, even for a little. She had been worried sick for a while, after all.
Then there was a knock on the door. "Excuse me? May I come in?" A male voice spoke from outside.
"Oh, that must be him!" Suddenly her mother looked even more excited than before. "Yes, come in!"
It took Nene all her willpower not to stare too much at his distinctively golden eyes.
"Ah, you're awake! That's a relief. You slept the entire way here." He spoke in a friendly tone, a smile adorning his face that were framed by his short, choppy black hair. His hairdo looked rather messy, but Nene couldn't help but think it complemented him very well.
"Thank you so much for helping my daughter, Doctor!" Her mother bowed to him, and he waved his hand about.
"I'm just doing my job, ma'am. There's no need to thank me."
Geh! Don't tell me... he was the one who carried me here! Not only is he cute, he's also very humble! What has the Lord brought me to?!
"Are you feeling alright? Anything else hurting?" She jumped a little when she heard herself being addressed to. Shit, he's talking to her now. Act cool, Nene, act cool!
"Um... nothing's out of the ordinary so far." Except the extreme pounding of my heart, that is. Crap, is my face red right now? Please don't look at me.
"Will she be needing surgery, Doctor?"
He put a hand on his chin, nodding slightly. "Well, she did shatter her leg pretty badly back there. So an operation is necessary in this case. But before that, she'll need to recover here in the hospital so there'll be less risks during surgery."
Good grief. She would have to take a long leave off work, then. The kids would be pretty sad not to see her for a while, she thought. They were little scamps, but she adored them all the same, as well as they towards her.
"Thank you again, Doctor. Oh, I didn't happen to catch your name!" Nene sprung out from her thoughts, tuning back into the conversation as she turned to the man, hoping she didn't swivel her head around too fast and look painfully obvious.
Their eyes then met briefly. Was that a hint of a smirk on his face? Nene felt her cheeks begin to warm up at the sight.
"You can just call me Amane, Yashiro-san."
Two whole weeks passed. Nene laid back on her hospital bed, turning at the desk right by her side, seeing flowers and little get-well cards that were made by her students stacked in a neat pile. Even her coworkers came to visit, Aoi in particular. Her boyfriend happened to be one of the paramedics that were also around at the time of the accident, so unfortunately for Nene, no, it wasn't the charming young doctor who carried her all the way in his arms at all.
Speaking of the guy, he had a younger twin brother who also worked in the same hospital as a surgeon. One look at him was enough to tell her that he was very happy with his line of work. A little too much for her own liking.
Amane, however, was like the opposite in terms of temperament. She had come to notice the way he was the teasing type, and if she weren't any wiser she would have thought it was him flirting with her.
Or maybe she just couldn't tell the difference.
Besides the teasing remarks, he definitely was kind, and always made sure to check on her and see if she was comfortable. He made days where no one was around to chat with bearable with the company he was able to provide, well, at least whenever his schedule allowed it.
Her mother looked suspiciously ecstatic about it all. Huh.
A knock on the doorway made her look away from the table, and to Amane leaning on the side with his arms crossed. "Lonely?"
"I wouldn't say it like that."
He chuckled, taking a nearby chair and moving it towards her bedside, sitting down next to her. "Well, you look like you could use a bit of company right about now."
Nene rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "Maybe you're the one who needs company, seeing as you're always visiting me a lot than most people."
"Maybe I do. What would you do if that were the case?" There he goes with that smirk again. Seriously.
How the hell are you still single with that kind of attitude?
She took a small breath, folding her hands together and put on a smile. "Well, I'd be very glad to provide company to you in the best way I can. If you're happy with that, that is."
She could have sworn she saw him blush back there. He dipped his head just slightly down, his shoulders shaking as another laugh escaped his mouth, and another grin followed.
"Yashiro, Yashiro... you're driving a pretty solid offer over there. Very tempting."
I wouldn't mind at all if you accept. Like ever. Hah.
"Unfortunately I wouldn't be around tomorrow for a while. We have some distant family visiting and they needed someone to guide them, basically." She almost visibly slumped her shoulders down in disappointment at that. Tomorrow, huh? That was also the time she was going to be having her surgery.
"That's fine. There's always next time." She patted his head. That was one thing she started doing a lot in her stay at the hospital. For some reason he didn't mind at all.
"Hmm? Does Yashiro really wanna spend time with me that badly? Well, I can't say I'm not happy~"
"Just go back to work, you big dummy. Your lunch break's almost over."
"Hey there Nene-nee!" Tsukasa's enthusiastic face popped in the room to greet her. For some reason, he always insisted on calling her with that honorific, and it was making her think he was implying something. She didn't know what it was, but it was something.
(She absolutely knew. She was just trying to convince herself otherwise)
"I'm doing your surgery today! Isn't that great?" Oh boy. What a way to start the day.
Her mother seemed to match his level of enthusiasm too. "And once that's done, you'll be able to go back home tomorrow!"
"...oh." Well, so much for the whole "keeping him company" now. She wondered who would be the most disappointed out of the both of them.
"Shrimp, the room's all ready!" Someone from outside shouted. Judging from the use of the odd nickname, Nene guessed it was Natsuhiko, one of the nurses.
Was everyone in this hospital this weird?
Ah, well, she just hoped she'd be able to at least talk to Amane again the next day, even for a little bit.
Nene kept her eyes on the pavement while her mother pushed her wheelchair out of the hospital building. "Isn't this nice? Once your leg gets fully better, the kids back at the preschool are going to be very happy! They missed you so much!"
"Yeah." She replied, careful not to let her disappointment show. But she perked up when an extra set of footsteps were heard behind them.
"You're not leaving without even saying goodbye now, are you?"
"Doctor! You're back!" Her mother sounded extremely pleased at Amane's appearance. Seriously, was this woman up to something?
"Just in time to see you off. Glad that the surgery was a success." He had a casual smile on, but Nene felt like there was something else beyond that look.
"Oh, I almost forgot! I have to fix something in the car! Doctor, mind looking after Nene for a second? I'll be quick!" And before Nene could say anything, her mother hurried off, leaving her and Amane alone together.
He held onto the back of the wheelchair, not saying a word, and Nene suddenly found the pavement once again more interesting to look at right about now. She fiddled with her fingers, inhaling slowly before gathering the courage to speak.
"Thanks. For everything, you know."
"No problem." Was his reply. Another moment of silence, but she felt yet another surge of bravery. Might as well ask him instead of regretting it for the rest of her life.
"By any chance... do you think we'll meet each other again?"
He finally turned his head to look at her, eyebrow raised, but the corner of his mouth curled upward. "If you break another leg, that is."
"That's not what I meant and you know that!" She hissed. The anger in her voice quickly subsided, and her heart pounded hard in her chest when he eventually came in her view, lowering himself down so he could meet her directly in the eyes at her level, deciding to rest his hands on her lap.
"It's just that... It wouldn't be too bad if we saw each other on a better circumstance... like on the street, or something."
"Like... in a date?" The way he uttered that question was so strange. It almost sounded... hopeful? At least, she wanted it to be the case.
"Y-yeah! Something like that!"
"You're awful at acting casual, you know that, Yashiro?" She wanted to headbutt his stupid, handsome face right there and now.
"So?!"
He leaned closer, their faces almost touching. "If you want... I can find time. I can even visit you at your work. It's just nearby, after all."
She couldn't seem to pry herself away from his gaze. "Will you, now...?"
"Mm-hm." Inching further ahead, his lips brushed softly against hers before ultimately settling on her right cheek, lingering there for a while before pulling away.
"Let's just hope that my busy schedule decides to have mercy on me for once." He tapped the tip of her nose with a finger, before standing up and taking his leave with a smile.
Nene slapped her cheeks with her hands, eyes squeezed shut. No way did he just—
"Nene~" Her mother finally decided to show up, a knowing smile creeping up her face. Yep, safe to say she had witnessed the entire thing unfold.
"Not a word, Mom."