Work Text:
“Daddy!” Eri called from the bathroom.
Shouta’s head turned at the sound of his daughter’s frantic yelling. He quickly dropped his book and sprinted up the stairs to her bathroom. He knocked on the door and opened it when he heard a quiet “come in,” from the other side.
“Eri? Apple of my eye, what’s wrong?”
Eri tightened the towel around her body, her hair still dripping from the shower, and pointed to her bare legs. Shouta looked down to see her legs were blotchy and purple.
He sighed. “Again?” Eri nodded. Shouta held out his hand for her, which she gladly took, and he helped her get to her bed and lie down. “What did we do last time that helped?”
“Um,” Eri thought for a moment. “I think we put a pillow under my legs.”
Shouta nodded and grabbed a pillow, sliding it under Eri’s still damp legs. “There you go. Do you need anything else?”
Eri shook her head. “Thank you, Daddy.”
Shouta smiled and kissed her forehead, running a hand over her wet hair. “Of course, my love. I’m so sorry that this keeps happening. It doesn’t hurt, does it?”
Eri shook her head again. “No, but it’s kinda itchy. Like my legs are kinda itchy.”
Shouta nodded. “Okay. I’ll add that to the notebook.” Shouta handed Eri her cellphone. “Call me if you need anything else, okay? I’ll be downstairs in the living room.”
“Okay, Daddy.”
Shouta gave his daughter another kiss on the forehead before heading downstairs. He made his way into his home office and grabbed the binder full of Eri’s medical documents and the symptom tracker they created and took it into the living room. He sat on the couch and flipped through the binder, finding a blank spot on the symptom tracker and wrote “March 3rd, 7:35pm, blotchy and purple legs after taking a shower. Propped legs up on pillows.” He sighed heavily as he flipped through the past two weeks of various symptoms, ranging from the blotchy legs to dizziness and high heart rate. He sifted through the medical documents from the last several doctor’s appointments, which attributed all of Eri’s symptoms to growing pains, puberty (she’s 8), stress (she’s 8), emotional problems due to her parents’ divorce (she took it better than Shouta did), and other stupid explanations that just made Shouta more angry and frustrated. Before his emotions got the better of him, Shouta closed the binder and put it away, then returned to his book.
—
“So, how’s little Eri doing?” Nemuri asked, sitting on Shouta’s desk.
Shouta finished the text he was writing and put his phone down on the desk, looking up at Nemuri. “She’s with the babysitter. Couldn’t get out of bed today.”
Nemuri clicks her tongue. “Oh, poor baby. Is she coming down with something?”
Shouta shook his head. “I don’t think so. She was saying her whole body hurt and she was dizzy. She felt the same way a couple weeks ago.”
Nemuri frowned. “And the doctors don’t think anything’s wrong?”
Shouta leaned back in his chair. “They all say it’s growing pains.”
Nemuri scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Growing pains? That girl hasn’t grown in two years.”
Shouta picked up his phone and looked at it. “The babysitter said she’s been sleeping all morning.” He sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know what to do, Nem. My little girl is suffering and I feel like such a horrible father—”
“Stop that.” Nemuri nudged Shouta’s side with the toe of her high heel. “You are a wonderful father.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have fought for full custody. Maybe I should’ve let her live with her mom.”
Nemuri hopped off of Shouta’s desk and crouched down next to him, putting a gentle hand on his thigh. “Sho. You are an incredible father. That woman baby-trapped you and then fucked off to fuck a dozen different men. She was almost never in Eri’s life. You had every right to fight for custody and you deserved to win it. Eri is so much happier with you than she ever was with her mom. Whatever is going on with her medically is absolutely not your fault. You’re doing everything you can to help her. Trust me, I’ve seen the binder.”
Shouta chuckled wetly, wiping his tears away. “It’s gotten bigger lately.”
“I’m sure it has. You’re taking her to the doctors every week.”
“Yeah, and they aren’t doing anything.”
Nemuri squeezed Shouta’s thigh gently. “I know. But you’ll find a doctor who can help. I know you will.”
“What if I don’t?” Shouta asked, resting his elbows on his desk and running his hands through his hair. “What if she goes through her whole life feeling miserable and I can’t do a fucking thing about it?” Just as he finished his sentence, the bell rang.
Nemuri patted Shouta’s leg before she hopped off his desk. “We can talk later. Have a good class!”
Shouta nodded and watched as Nemuri left his classroom just as his class began to file in. Shouta nodded to his students and tidied the already organized papers on his desk as he waited for the classroom to fill up. His students were loud as they entered the classroom, having just come back from lunch, laughing and chatting about one thing or another. Shouta checked his phone again, the lock screen showing no new notifications. He scrubbed his hand over his face and slipped his phone into his pocket as he stood up in front of the chattering students.
“Alright, class. Pass your assignments from last night up to the front.” Shouta looked around at his students as they all took out their assignments and passed them to the front.
“Hey, Shouta!”
Shouta looked up from his phone as he walked down the hallway. The babysitter had been texting him about Eri throwing up her lunch and complaining of dizziness. Shouta was grateful to have a babysitter that understood the situation they were in and didn’t automatically assume she had been asked to watch a sick child and possibly get sick herself. Shouta pocketed his phone as he was approached by another one of his coworkers, Oboro, who was smiling and waving a piece of paper.
“I am here to give you this!” Oboro said, holding the paper out to Shouta.
“What is it?” Shouta took the paper and looked at it, seeing the name and website of someone called Dr. Hizashi Yamada. “A doctor?”
“A specialist,” Oboro corrected. “A pediatric disease specialist, to be specific.” Oboro tapped the paper with his finger. “This man used to work in Kyoto, but moved to the States and now owns his own practice in Maryland. He specializes in autoimmune and nervous system disorders. He works primarily with children and teens, but also sees adults.”
“He’s in the U.S.?” Shouta looked at the paper like the words were going to jump off of it and run away.
“Yeah,” Oboro said, resigned. He paused for a beat, then smiled again. “But he’s the top pediatric disease specialist in the country!”
Shouta finally looked up at Oboro. “How did you find out about him?”
“Well, Nem and I have been asking around, trying to come up with some solution to what’s been going on with little Eri. We hate seeing you so stressed out and her feeling so bad. I was finally able to get ahold of a distant cousin of mine who lives in The States, and she said that one of her friends brought her daughter to see this doctor and he was able to figure out what was wrong with her and treat her.”
Shouta blinked at Oboro like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You did all of that for me?”
“Nah, we did it for Eri,” Nemuri chimed in as she walked over to them from her classroom, tossing her arm around Shouta’s shoulders.
“And you, I guess.” Oboro added, his arm crossing over Nemuri on the other side of Shouta. He grinned. “The rooftop gang always has your back. I mean, what kind of uncle would I be if we couldn’t help figure out what was happening to my little rainbow?” Nemuri cleared her throat, leaning forward to narrow her eyes at Oboro. He grinned at her. “I mean, what kind of uncle and aunt would we be?”
Shouta rolled his eyes, which in Shouta-speak meant he was grateful for his friends. Over the years, his two best friends had become versed in Shouta-speak and could decipher the little head tilts, eye rolls, and subtle twitch of the lips to understand what it was that the stoic man was actually saying. Though his face remained neutral in that moment with just a roll of the eyes, Nemuri and Oboro knew that the man was thankful.
Oboro patted Shouta on the back. “At least take a look at the website. If it seems like something you want to try, we’ll help you make it work, okay?”
“Thank you,” Shouta said.
Nemuri gasped dramatically, a hand on her chest. “Did Shouta Aizawa just thank us?”
Shouta rolled his eyes again. “Don’t make me take it back.”
Nemuri and Oboro simultaneously mimed zipping their lips and tossing the key before they walked off, leaving Shouta to stand alone in the hallway, a piece of paper in his hands that could potentially change his daughter’s life. Shouta took a deep breath and headed to his office.
He had a website to check out.
Shouta shifted his bag to his shoulder as he pulled his house key from his pocket and put it in the lock. He entered the front door, stopping to place his shoes in the genkan before heading further into the house. He smiled as he turned the corner to see Eri under a blanket on the couch, watching her favorite show with the babysitter.
“Daddy!” Eri said with a bright smile. Even when she felt unwell, Eri was always smiling.
Shouta put his work bag on the floor by his home office door and walked over to the couch. He squatted down by Eri’s head, kissing her forehead and brushing her hair away from her face. “Hi, sweetie. How are you feeling?”
“I feel okay, Daddy. Rei-chan made me some broth and I had some crackers, and now my tummy feels better.” Eri smiled sweetly at her dad.
Shouta continued to stroke her hair with his hand. “And how is your dizziness? Your pain?”
“I’m not really dizzy anymore. My body still kinda hurts, but it’s better than it was this morning.”
“That’s good.” Shouta looked up at the babysitter and smiled. “Thank you, Reina.”
“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Aizawa,” Reina said. The two of them stood up. “Bye, Eri!” She called as she and Shouta walked to the genkan.
“Bye, Rei-chan!” Eri said, waving.
Aizawa pulled out his wallet from his pocket as they reached the genkan, pulling out a few thousand yen as Reina put on her shoes. He handed the money to Reina, who took it and bowed gratefully. “Thank you, Mr. Aizawa.”
Shouta smiled a bit. “Reina, you’ve been babysitting Eri since she was three. Hell, you taught both of us English.” He chuckles. “I am okay with you calling me Shouta.”
Reina’s cheeks tinged a light pink. “Of course. Thank you… Shouta. I love spending time with Eri. She’s a wonderful girl. And very intelligent. She picked up on English faster than you,” she teased with a slight nudge to Shouta’s arm.
Shouta’s smile grew as he chuckled. “She really is. And you’re absolutely right, she is incredibly intelligent. Thank you for taking such good care of her. Of us.”
Reina smiled, “You have a wonderful evening, Shouta.”
“You as well, Reina.”
Shouta shut and locked the door, then headed back to the living room. He sat on the couch and let Eri climb onto his lap with her blanket, curling up and pressing her face against Shouta’s chest. Shouta wrapped the blanket tighter around her and stroked her hair as he held her close.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
Eri sniffled and looked up at her dad. “I’m tired of not feeling good, Daddy.”
Shouta kissed her forehead. “I know, baby girl. We’re going to figure this out, okay? I promise.”
“You do?”
Shouta wiped away a stray tear from Eri’s cheek. “Of course, princess. Daddy’s a superhero, remember?”
Eri grinned brightly, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “Eraserhead!”
Shouta chuckled at the silly nickname Eri had come up with for her “superhero” father. “That’s right, princess. And Eraserhead is gonna do his best to figure out what’s going on with his princess, okay?”
Eri nodded. “Okay.”
Shouta suddenly remembered the piece of paper in his pocket and he pulled it out. “You know, Uncle Oboro gave me the name of a doctor to look into that may be able to help us.” Eri’s eyes lit up. “Now, I don’t want you to get too excited just yet, okay? This doctor is in The U.S., which would mean a very long trip for us and having to stay there for a while.”
Eri sat up. “We would have to live there?”
Shouta nodded. “For a little bit, probably. I called while I was at work and they explained the process for appointments. It’s one day for a consultation and a few tests, then they schedule some more tests over the course of a month or so, and then once all that is over, there’s another appointment with the doctor to talk about the results of the tests. Does that all make sense?” Eri nodded. “So, we would be there for maybe two months, then come back, and then go back again for the follow-up appointment, which might not be for several weeks.”
“Can we just stay there?”
“I have to think about it. It’s a big decision. I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to put all of our eggs in one basket, so to speak. Uncle Oboro said this doctor…” Shouta glanced at the paper. “Yamada… used to live and work in Kyoto and is now the top pediatric disease specialist in The States, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to be able to figure out what’s been going on.” Shouta paused, looking into his daughter’s hopeful eyes. “But I am willing to give it a try. Anything to help you, princess.”
“Okay,” Eri said, a thoughtful look on her face.
Shouta stroked her hair. “What are you thinking, princess? Talk to me.”
“You said there would be tests.”
“Yeah, there’s gonna be some tests.”
“Will they hurt?” Eri’s eyes widened a bit as she spoke.
Shouta shook his head. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. But we can always ask about the tests if you decide this is what you want to do.” Eri simply nodded. “You know this is your choice, right? If you don’t want to do this, I won’t force you. Whatever I have to do for us to be able to live in America for a bit, I will do. But only if you’re absolutely sure that you want to do this.”
Eri nodded again. “It’s been two years. I don’t want to feel like this anymore.”
“I know, sweetheart.” Shouta kissed Eri’s forehead. “I don’t want you to feel like this anymore, either.”
Eri looked down at her lap for a moment, then looked back up at Shouta. “I wanna do it. I wanna go see this doctor.”
“Are you sure? You know you can take as long as you need to think about it.”
Eri nodded firmly. “I’m sure.”
Shouta smiled softly. “Alright then, princess. We’ll go.”
Eri hugged Shouta tightly. “Thank you, Daddy!”
Shouta hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome, sweetheart.” He hugged her for several moments before she eventually pulled away. “Now, there’s a lot of things that need to be taken care of before we can go, alright? We can’t just pick up and leave for another country.” Eri nodded. “I’ll start by making a phone call to the doctor’s office to see when their next appointment is, and then we’ll start working on finding somewhere to stay while we’re there and what to do about school. For now, I just want you to rest. What would you like for dinner?”
“Chicken katsu!” Eri beamed.
Shouta chuckled and kissed her forehead again, then moved her off his lap and back onto the couch. “Chicken katsu it is, then.” He stood up from the couch with a soft grunt and made his way to the kitchen to make dinner.
As Shouta tucked Eri in bed for the night, he wondered if picking up their lives and moving them to a completely different country would be worth it in the end. Would this doctor live up to the hype? Would he be able to figure out what’s wrong with Eri? Would his little girl finally be able to live the life of a normal 8-year-old girl? Shouta gently kissed Eri’s forehead and made his way to his office to begin working on grading tests.
“Are you ready to go?” Shouta asked as he loaded the last piece of luggage into the rental car.
Eri adjusted her cat-shaped backpack and nodded. “Yep!”
“Do you need to use the bathroom again?”
“Nope!”
“Alright then, let’s go!” Shouta said, closing the trunk and heading to the driver’s seat. Eri climbed into the backseat and buckled up, singing a made-up song about their trip to America.
Once they were settled into their temporary apartment and Eri was playing in her room, Shouta pulled out Eri’s medical binder and began to rifle through it. The binder went back nearly two years. Eri’s symptoms ranged from fatigue to purple and splotchy arms and legs to passing out completely. She often complained of headaches, body aches, dizziness, and her body feeling “heavy.” She would have to sit up and stand up slowly to avoid feeling dizzy and lightheaded, and any sort of physical activity slowly started to become harder and harder for her to do. She eventually got to the point where she could no longer participate in physical education or recess at school because she would become dizzy, out of breath, and nauseous very quickly. Shouta had taken her to countless doctors, who all told him the same thing. She was anxious about the divorce or school, which was causing her stomach aches, nausea, and vomiting. They would say she was having growing pains, which Shouta believed for a while, until Eri stopped growing. The most recent doctor he took her to stated it was simply puberty, which Shouta knew for sure wasn’t correct considering she was eight and hadn’t started puberty yet.
Shouta flipped to the most recent week of symptoms. It had been three months since he first called the office for an appointment, and would be another two weeks before their appointment actually happened, so Shouta continued to diligently track all of Eri’s symptoms. He wanted to make sure he had a solid record for the doctor to look at so he would have a solid understanding of just how serious her symptoms were. Shouta scrubbed his face with his hand and ran his fingers through his hair as he flipped through pages and pages of after-visit summaries with conclusions and diagnoses that didn’t explain anything, symptoms that didn’t add up, and medical bills that were horrendously overdue. He checked the last two weeks of symptoms again with a frustrated sigh. Eri had passed out three times in the last two weeks, which was more frequent than usual. He tried to make sure she drank more water since she complained that she was always thirsty and dizzy and had a headache, but all that seemed to do was make her have to pee more. He tracked everything to a T. He wrote down everything she ate, everything she drank, what time she went to bed and woke up, how much exercise she did that day, and even how many times she went to the bathroom. He knew at this point he was probably going overboard, but he hoped that having too much information was more helpful than not having enough information.
Just as Shouta was going through the binder a second time, his phone began to ring. He picked it up without looking at the caller ID.
“Hey, Kumo.”
“How’s the apartment? You guys get settled in okay?”
Hearing Oboro’s voice on the other end of the line was comforting, and Shouta was somewhat surprised that he was able to correctly guess which friend was calling him.
“It’s alright. The best I could do on short notice. Eri doesn’t seem to mind it, though.”
“How did she do on the flight?”
“It was rough. She felt dizzy and tired when we landed, so she just slept while I unpacked. She’s feeling better today. She’s just playing in her room.”
“And let me guess; you’re rereading her medical binder for the third time today.”
“Second,” Shouta corrected.
“Shouta.”
Shouta closed the binder. “You’re right. I’m not helping Eri or myself by obsessing over this. All I can do is continue to track her symptoms like I have been and take that to the doctor. You said he’s the best in the country, so hopefully he has some answers.”
“I hope so, too. When’s the appointment again?”
“Two weeks. I’ve called every day trying to get an earlier appointment, but they haven’t had any cancellations yet. We’ve already waited this long, what’s another two weeks?”
“Just finish settling into your new place and enjoy it. You have to get Eri set up with the virtual school stuff, don’t you? I bet you’re glad you had an American babysitter for her, aren’t you?”
Shouta chuckled, “So glad. Having to teach Eri English to see a doctor would’ve been a nightmare. And yeah, I still have to set her up with her virtual tutors and all of that. I was going to take care of that in the morning.”
“Well, good luck with that. I should be going, it’s getting late.”
“Right. Thanks for calling, Kumo. I really appreciate it. Have a good night.”
“You too.”
“Eri?” A woman with a clipboard said, looking around the waiting room.
Shouta looked up from the paperwork he was filling out and patted Eri on the back, “Come on, princess. It’s our turn.”
The two stood up from their seats and followed the nurse out of the waiting room. She took Eri’s height and weight, then they went into a room where she took Eri’s vitals and started asking questions.
To Shouta.
“This is quite an extensive list of symptoms. How long have they been going on?”
“Um…” Shouta glanced down at the binder in his hand, then at Eri. “Roughly two years, right? I’d have to look to know for sure.”
“Okay,” The nurse typed something into her computer. “And her pulse was 130. That’s quite high for a girl her age. Is that normal for her?”
Shouta frowned slightly, then looked at Eri, speaking to her in Japanese. “Do you feel unwell or is that just from standing?”
“Just standing and walking,” Eri replied in Japanese. She looked up at the nurse and smiled sweetly, speaking to her in English. “That’s normal for me.”
The nurse blinked in surprise at Eri and quickly turned back to her laptop, typing something and turning back to Eri. “Thank you. Dr. Yamada will be with you shortly.”
“Thank you,” Shouta said as the nurse left the office. He slumped back in his seat, mumbling in Japanese. “I hope the doctor doesn’t treat you like that, too.”
“Daddy,” Eri responded calmly, putting a small hand on Shouta’s arm.
Shouta put his hand on top of hers and leaned over to kiss the top of her head. “I’m sorry.”
The two of them sat in the exam room for several minutes, talking and looking at cat videos on Shouta’s phone, until there was a knock on the door and someone walked through the door.
“Hello,” The man said, a little too loud, “I’m Dr. Yamada.”
Dr. Yamada was tall. At least as tall as Shouta, if not taller. His shoulder length blonde hair was pulled half up and he had on triangle glasses, a white coat with various pins, and several piercings. Shouta even noticed a hearing aid in the man’s right ear. The small mustache would’ve looked bizarre on anyone else, but on Dr. Yamada, it looked right. Everything about the man screamed rockstar, not doctor.
Shouta stood, though his legs randomly felt like jelly.
Huh. Weird.
“Shouta Aizawa,” He said, shaking the doctor’s hand. He gestured to Eri. “This—”
Dr. Yamada smiled at Eri. “Are you Eri?”
Eri smiled shyly and nodded.
Dr. Yamada eyed Eri’s phone case and jerked his head toward the exam table. “Can you hop up there for me, Eri?”
Eri nodded again and stood up from the chair, using a stool to climb onto the exam table. Once she was settled, she looked up at Dr. Yamada, the man holding a stuffed cat wearing a dress and a collar.
“This is Michi. She’s my assistant. Her speciality is teaching kids how to sit for shots.” He lifted the cat’s paw and spoke in a silly voice. “Hi there! I’m Michi! Do you want me to sit with you?”
Eri broke into a smile, then a laugh, and nodded as she held out her hands for the plush animal. Dr. Yamada grinned and handed it to her and Eri immediately hugged it to her chest.
“Now, keep her safe for me while we’re here, okay?” Dr. Yamada said.
Eri nodded and hugged the cat tighter. “I will!”
Dr. Yamada grinned. “Good. Now, can you tell me a little bit about what’s been going on?” He grabbed his rolling stool and sat diagonally from Eri, leaning his elbow on the exam table and turning his head slightly, his left ear closer to Eri as he listened to her talk.
Eri told Dr. Yamada all about her symptoms, when they started, and how often she had them. She told him how sometimes they don’t bother her, and other times they’re so bad she can’t get out of bed. She explained the painful symptoms, the uncomfortable ones, and the weird ones. She played with and petted Michi as she talked, and Dr. Yamada listened intently, letting her find her words when she would stumble. Once she finished her explanation, she looked up at Dr. Yamada, who looked back at her with a thoughtful look on his face before he smiled gently and sat up straight.
“You’re very articulate for your age, Eri.”
“Thank you.”
Dr. Yamada smiled wider. “You’re welcome,” His face gets more serious. “So, it sounds like you’ve been dealing with a lot of bad symptoms that have made it hard for you to go to school and play with your friends, huh?” Eri nodded. “That must make you feel pretty sad.”
Eri nodded again, looking down at Michi as she played with her ears. “Yeah, it does. My friends don’t really understand why I don’t feel good all the time, so I just get left out of stuff. Like—” Eri huffed and hugged Michi close. “I didn’t get invited to Katsuma’s birthday party because he didn’t think I would be able to roller skate!” Her face downturned into a frown as she tried to hold back tears.
Dr. Yamada nodded. “I understand. But it’s not your fault that you’re sick. You know that, right? You didn’t do anything to cause this. I want you to remember that, okay? Even if you forget everything I say, I want you to remember that being sick is not your fault.”
Eri sniffled and nodded as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “Okay…”
“Can you do me a favor?” Dr. Yamada sat up straight on his stool. “Can you say that out loud for me? I want you to say ‘my illness is not my fault.’ Can you do that?”
Eri looked up at Dr. Yamada, and nodded meekly. “My illness is not my fault.”
“Oh, now that’s not nearly convincing enough. Say it with your whole chest!” Dr. Yamada takes a deep breath, puffing out his chest, and speaks in a loud voice. “My illness is not my fault!” He smiled as he looked at Eri, who was giggling and covering her ears. He tapped his hearing aid. “See, I have to say it a bit louder so I can hear myself. Now it’s your turn. Say it loud enough for me to hear with this ear.”
Eri giggled again and nodded, puffing out her chest just like the doctor did. “My illness is not my fault!”
“I can’t hear you!”
“My illness is not my fault!” Eri said even louder.
“Damn right it isn’t!” Dr. Yamada covered his mouth and looked sheepishly at Shouta as soon as he realized he had sworn, but Shouta was looking lovingly at his daughter, paying no mind to the doctor. He lowered his hand and smiled at the proud look on Shouta’s face. “You must be Eri’s father.” He nodded to the binder in Shouta’s hand. “I take it, you have some records for me?”
Shouta chuckled awkwardly, lifting the binder slightly. “Yeah, this has everything from a symptom tracker to doctor’s notes from the last two years.”
“Do you mind if I take a look?” Dr. Yamada asked, holding out his hand.
“No, go right ahead.” Shouta handed Dr. Yamada the binder and crossed his arms as he watched the doctor flip through it.
“You’re very thorough,” Dr. Yamada said as he skimmed through the symptom tracker. “So, how did you hear about me? I hear you’re from Japan.”
“Tokyo, yeah,” Shouta said. “A few of my close friends did some research and found you. Said you’re the top pediatric specialist in the country.”
Dr. Yamada nodded as he flipped another page in the binder. “So I’ve been told.” He smiled goofily at Shouta. “Well, I appreciate you coming all this way to see me.” He closed the binder and looked back and forth between Shouta and Eri. “Now, Eri, here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna schedule some tests over the next month. There’s gonna be at least one test you have to do per week. Once those are done, it’ll take a few weeks for me to put all of the results together and come up with a diagnosis. Then you’ll come see me again and we’ll talk about the diagnosis and treatment. Does that all make sense?”
Eri nodded carefully. “Yeah, I just have one question.”
“What’s your question?”
“You said I have to do tests,” Eri said softly, playing with Michi’s ear. “Will they hurt?”
“The only thing that might hurt is getting the bloodwork. Some of the other tests might be a bit uncomfortable, but they shouldn’t be painful. I want you to let the nurse administering the test know if something hurts, okay?”
“Okay,” Eri nodded. “I will.”
“Do you have any other questions?”
“Ummm…” Eri rubbed her chin in thought. “Nope!”
Dr. Yamada smiled and looked up at Shouta. “Dad? Do you have any questions?”
“Not really, just wondering how much all of this is gonna cost.” Shouta chuckled breathily.
Dr. Yamada waved him off. “Don’t worry about that right now. We have plenty of payment plans. You don’t have to worry about paying anything right now. Just focus on little Eri, okay? That’s your job. Just be the great father I know you are.” Dr. Yamada grinned and Shouta blushed.
“Right… th-thank you. So, do we just make the appointments out front?”
Dr. Yamada nodded as he stood. “Yep! The ladies at the front desk will take care of all of that for ya! It may be a few weeks before we can get you in for the tests, but after that, you’ll have at least one every week. Sound good?”
“Yea, thank you very much, Dr. Yamada.”
“Please, call me Hizashi.” Dr. Yamada brushed off his coat and began to walk toward the door.
“Wait! You forgot Michi!” Eri said, holding the cat out to Hizashi.
Hizashi chuckled and walked back to Eri. “So I did. Thank you for reminding me.” He took the cat and held her up, talking directly to her. “How was our patient, Medical Assistant Michi?” He switched his voice to a silly, high pitched one as he moved the cat around as though she was talking. “She was great, Doctor! The bravest patient we’ve ever had! She’s gonna do great!” Hizashi grinned and looked at Eri. “Well, that’s all I need to hear. Michi and I will see you soon, Eri.” He waved to Eri and Shouta before heading out of the room.
The next few weeks consisted of Shouta and Eri getting settled into their temporary apartment, getting Eri set up with virtual teachers, and Shouta teaching his own students virtually. When they weren’t schooling, they explored the city, trying different American foods and touring different landmarks. They spent time watching television and playing board games, and finally got on a normal sleep schedule after dealing with jet lag for nearly two weeks. Shouta was grateful, once again, for Reina and everything she had done to not only teach English to Eri, but himself as well. He found it much easier to navigate things when he understood and could speak the language. Eri adjusted to her new schedule fairly quickly and frequently requested that they stay in America permanently. Shouta would simply chuckle and ruffle her hair.
Shouta checked in with Oboro and Nemuri each week, letting them know how Eri was feeling, how she was doing with virtual school, and when her tests were. Shouta found that Eri enjoyed school a lot more than usual once she was given the opportunity to do it virtually and lie down when she needed to.
Once the testing started, Eri began to feel worse again. Her symptoms seemed to flare up even more and it would take longer for her to feel better from them. The nurses recommended electrolytes, so Shouta went to the store and bought several kinds. Shouta took notes on how much Eri drank throughout the day and how she was feeling. He quickly found out that the electrolytes were helpful and began to give those to her every day.
Finally, the month-long testing period had ended and Shouta had booked the follow up appointment with Dr. Yamada—Hizashi—and logged onto their patient portal to look at their bill. Instead of finding he owed a balance, he found the balance to be $0. He figured he would bring it up the next time they met.
Over the next few weeks, Eri went through various tests and bloodwork to determine exactly what was going on with her. While she didn’t have a follow-up appointment with Dr. Yamada during the testing period, she almost always saw him in the clinic. He’d say hello to her and Shouta, offer her a sucker or a small toy, and tell her how brave he heard she was being during all of the tests. As the time went on, Shouta found himself more enthralled with this doctor who was so gentle and caring with his daughter.
When it came time for Eri’s follow-up appointment, Dr. Yamada, who insisted Shouta call him Hizashi, sat down with Eri on a mat on the floor and explained her condition. He explained that she had a condition that affected her autonomic nervous system, so her body had trouble with regulating things like her heart rate, blood flow, breathing, digestion, and other things. Hizashi drew her a diagram of her autonomic nervous system and explained each part, and explained the treatment in great detail, using words she could comprehend. Shouta wrote down every detail in Eri’s medical binder and held back tears. His baby girl finally had a diagnosis and a doctor who was willing to help her.
“Now, Eri,” Hizashi said with a serious expression, “you know this isn’t going to be easy, right? You’re going to have to take some medicines and track the amount of water you drink and the sodium you have. I want you to try to get in two liters of fluids and five grams of sodium per day, okay? Your dad can help you track it. He’s pretty organized, isn’t he?”
Eri chuckled and nodded. “He is.”
“Well, that’s good,” Hizashi said, winking at Shouta. “Now, if you have any further questions or concerns, please reach out to me at any time.” He grabbed a business card and handed it to Eri. “Got it, kiddo?”
Eri nodded enthusiastically, pocketing the business card. “Got it! Thank you, Dr. Yamada!”
Hizashi grinned. “You’re absolutely welcome. Oh! And one more thing!” Hizashi gave Eri a small salt shaker plushie and she grinned and thanked him, holding it close.
Hizashi turned to Shouta and handed him his personal cell number.
“For emergencies,” he said.
Shouta blushed at the subtle wink.
Eri and Shouta left the clinic with a hundred “thank you’s” and went out and bought supplies for Eri to help with her treatment, picked up her medication, and headed back to their apartment. Eri went to her room to nap while Shouta sat and re-read all the notes he had taken at the appointment and tried not to wake Eri with his muffled sobs. After years of watching his baby girl struggle, and dozens of doctors who couldn’t tell him what was wrong with her, she finally had an answer. Not only that, but it was manageable. He knew they still had a long journey ahead of them, but he was looking forward to having his little girl back.
And he had a very handsome doctor to thank for it.
Shouta resisted reaching out to Hizashi on his personal number for the next year, until the day Hizashi told them Eri’s condition had stabilized and that she no longer needed check-ups every three months. It was then that the two of them had a decision to make. They could stay in America for another year to see how Eri did and attend the appointment before heading back to Japan. Theythen would then travel back to the States once a year for her check-ups. The other option would be to decide to discontinue treatment in America and find a doctor in Japan who could prescribe similar medications for her to continue her treatment. Shouta made sure to have a lengthy conversation with Eri about it and what each decision entailed. He told Eri she had plenty of time to think about it, and that he was going to think about it as well.
By “think about it”, he meant calling the doctor he somehow found himself falling for.
His phone shook in his hand as the line rang a few times. There was a click, then the familiar sunshine voice.
“Hello?”
Shouta froze for a moment, then cleared his throat. “Erm, Dr. Yamada? It’s Shouta Aizawa. Eri’s dad?”
“Ah yes, Eri’s very thorough father,” Hizashi chuckled on the other end of the line. “And it’s Hizashi… Shouta.”
Shouta found himself blushing at the way Hizashi said his name like some teenager. He shook the thought out of his head and continued.
“Right. Hizashi. Um. I just… I wanted to thank you. For helping Eri. She’s basically back to her old self at this point.”
“That’s great to hear, Shouta. I’m glad that she’s feeling so much better. She definitely looked a lot stronger the last time she was in my office.”
“Yeah….” Shouta wasn’t sure what else to say, but he wasn’t ready to hang up.
“Is something wrong?”
Shouta cleared his throat again. “I’m just… conflicted on a decision.”
“About Eri?”
“Yes. Well, her treatment. As you know, we’re from Japan. And now that Eri is down to yearly appointments, I have to decide whether to come here every year to continue treatment, or find a doctor in Japan who can prescribe similar medication.”
“Well, if it helps at all, I wouldn’t mind seeing you every year.”
Shouta’s breath hitched. Had he heard that right?
“Sorry, that was unprofessional of me. I apologize.”
Shouta shook his head dumbly. “Could you say that again?”
“Which part? The part about me being unprofessional, or the part where I wouldn’t mind seeing you every year?”
Shouta’s heart raced. Maybe I should take one of Eri’s beta blockers. He chuckled to himself.
“What’s so funny?” Hizashi sounded somewhat nervous.
Shouta chuckled again. “My heart is racing.”
“Oh.” There was a pause. Shouta thought Hizashi hung up. “Maybe you should take one of Eri’s beta blockers.”
Shouta let out a surprised laugh, which quickly delved into giggles. “I just made that joke in my head.”
Hizashi laughed, loud and bright. “Who would’ve known that Shouta Aizawa had a sense of humor.”
Shouta chuckled. “Yeah, it’s in there somewhere.”
The two of them were silent for a few moments.
“So…”
“You—Oh, sorry, you go.”
“No, it’s okay! You say what you were gonna say.”
“Right. Um… So, you said you wouldn’t mind seeing me every year…”
There was silence. “Yeah.”
“Does that mean you also wouldn’t mind seeing me more often?”
More silence. A cough. Some shuffling. “Yeah. I-I’d like that, too…”
Shouta let out a breath. “Great. So will you go on a date with me, Doctor?” Hizashi spluttered and Shouta blushed profusely. “Sorry, that was probably too forward.”
“Wait!” Shouta paused, waiting for Hizashi to continue. “Wait, yes. Yes, I will.”
Shouta blinked in surprise. “You will?”
“Yes.”
Shouta slowly smiled. “Great! It’s a date! I’ll… I still don’t really know the area.”
Hizashi laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll plan something. How does Saturday at six sound? We can meet at the cat cafe downtown. I’ll text you the address.”
“That sounds perfect.”
“Great. See you Saturday.”
“See you then!”
Shouta hung up the phone and sighed like he was in a sappy romantic comedy movie.
“Does this mean we’re staying?”
Shouta’s head whipped around to glare at his daughter. “Eri!”
Eri giggled and ran back to her room.
Shouta stood in front of his full-length mirror as he tied his hair into a ponytail. He heard Eri enter the room and hop onto his bed.
“You’ll be good for the babysitter, right?”
“Is Dr. Yamada gonna be my step-dad?”
Shouta dropped the hair he was pulling up and turned to Eri in shock. “It’s one date!”
Eri giggled. “But you really like him! Trust me, I can tell.” She smiled self-assuredly.
Shouta quirked up one side of his mouth. “Oh yeah? How can you tell?”
“You get all blushy and stuttery around him. Especially when you were on the phone with him the other day.”
Shouta pointed a finger at her accusingly. “You, missy, were supposed to be napping.”
“That was more interesting.”
Shouta clicked his tongue and dropped his hand. “Just say you’ll be good for the babysitter.”
“I’ll be good for the babysitter.”
“Good. I don’t know what time I’ll be home, so she’s prepared to feed you dinner and tuck you into bed. Okay?”
Eri nodded. “Got it.”
The doorbell rang and Shouta went to answer it. He spoke to the babysitter for a bit, introduced her to Eri, then kissed Eri on the head and left. He pulled his hair up again and tied it into a ponytail as he made his way to the car.
Once he reached the cat cafe, Shouta parked and headed to the door. He could see the back of Hizashi’s head through the window and took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He opened the door, the bell above it tinkling softly, and walked over to Hizashi’s table.
“Hi,” Shouta said nervously, standing awkwardly next to the table.
Hizashi’s face brightened as he looked up to see Shouta. He stood and pulled out a seat for Shouta. “Hi! Here you go! Wow, you look amazing!” Hizashi sat down, still grinning wildly, and Shouta chuckled.
“Are you always this enthusiastic?”
Hizashi chuckled. “I work with kids and host a radio show. Being chipper is in my blood.”
Shouta raised an eyebrow. “You host a radio show?”
Hizashi nodded. “Put Your Hands Up Radio.”
“Wow, a doctor and a radio show host. You’re the total package.”
Hizashi tilted his head with a lazy smile. “I also sing: I do a mean Itsy Bitsy Spider.”
Shouta barked out a laugh, causing the cat that was lounging in Hizashi’s lap to jump off, and he quickly covered his mouth with his hands. Hizashi laughed loudly as well, scaring a few more cats. The two of them received some odd looks from the people around them who were just trying to enjoy their tea, and they both leaned toward each other, still giggling. After they finally calmed their giggling, Shouta ordered himself some tea, and the two of them sat in silence for a bit, petting the cats. After a while, Shouta set his tea down and looked down at the cat in his lap.
“Thank you for writing off the bills for Eri’s treatment.” Shouta looked up at Hizashi. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Hizashi put his own mug down and smiled, tilting his head as he does when he’s genuinely smiling. “I know I didn’t. But I also know you two had to uproot your entire lives in order to come here and get answers. It felt like the least I could do.”
“You already did so much for us. Eri is doing incredibly well. I’m extremely impressed with how quickly she improved.”
“I am too. I can see she was very dedicated to her treatment. Most children struggle with it. Especially the medication.”
“I can’t thank you enough. Truly. You’ve changed our lives.”
Hizashi smiled softly and placed a hand on top of Shouta’s resting on the table. “You’ve changed mine as well.”
Shouta blushed and Hizashi started to pull his hand back, but Shouta stopped him. “Don’t. I mean… I don’t mind. You… holding my hand.”
Hizashi grinned and tilted his head again. “Well, I think I’ll continue to do it, then. It’s quite warm.”
Shouta snorted. “You’re such a goof.”
Hizashi grinned wider. “Yeah, it helps the kids feel more comfortable.”
Shouta chuckled. “Speaking of which—”
Hizashi patted Shouta’s hand, cutting him off. “As much as I love hearing about my patients, I’d much rather talk about you. At this point, I know all of Eri’s favorite things, but not yours.”
Shouta raised his eyebrows. “Me? Okay. Well, my favorite animal is cats.”
“Oh, thank God,” Hizashi said with a dramatic sigh. “This date would’ve been really awkward if you actually hated them.”
Shouta blinked, then laughed. “Yeah, but I would’ve come anyway.”
Hizashi blushed softly. “Yeah?”
Shouta squeezed Hizashi’s hand. “Yeah.”
The two spent the next several hours chatting about their favorite things. Hizashi let Shouta listen to an old recording of his radio show, and Shouta told Hizashi all about his students. They inevitably talked about Eri and the decision Shouta had to make regarding their move back to Japan. Hizashi listened to Shouta, not wanting to put any sway into his decision, though Shouta tried to ask for his opinion. Shouta listed the pros and cons of moving back to Japan, as well as staying in America, and Hizashi nodded along. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that it was best to wait it out and make sure Eri’s condition continued to stay stable for the next year, and he would do research into the medications Hizashi prescribed her to see if they would be able to get similar ones in Japan. Hizashi offered words of encouragement and support for whatever decision he ended up making. When Shouta expressed disappointment over potentially having to leave Hizashi, he kissed Shouta on the forehead and let him know that they would cross that bridge when they came to it.
Shouta somewhat hoped the bridge would be far away.