Work Text:
Mahiru had been in the hospital for three days when she’d been told she was getting a roommate. It was a teenage girl, the doctor says. They were dealing with similar injuries, or at least, they both had several broken bones. Mahiru’s room was closest to the elevator, so it was ideal for patients that needed some help getting around.
When she gets back from x-ray, the girl is already settled into the bed next to hers. She’d been looking out the window with an unreadable expression, but when she heard the door open she quickly gave a cheery wave.
“I’m Kashiki Yuno,” she said with a smile, “just Yuno is fine though. You’re Shiina-san, right?”
Mahiru was so thrown by the energy of the greeting that she took a moment to respond. “Oh, yes. You can call me Mahiru though!”
It was strange. Mahiru hadn’t been in the hospital long, but everyone she’d met had been so sad. It made it hard for her to keep up her own smile. Maybe the cheer seemed out of place with the bandages and bruises, but even with dark marks under her eyes this girl seemed to be taking her injuries well.
Noticing her eyes on the bandages, Yuno's smile took on a playful quality. “I broke my hip. Really, why couldn’t it have been my knee or something? It makes me sound like an old lady.”
“That sounds serious…”
“Nah, I just tripped. Fell right down the stairs too. You should’ve heard my little brother.” She grabbed her head as if she was hearing shocking news. “ How can this be!? Nee-chan drinks her milk and everything! ”
Despite everything, that got a laugh out of Mahiru. “He sounds funny.”
“Yeah, if we’re both sticking around you might get to meet him sometime.” Then, Yuno glanced around before whispering conspiratorially. “How about you? What’re you in for?”
“You make it sound like we’ve been arrested.”
“Ha, who’s to say we haven’t? So?”
“Car accident.” And that was all Mahiru had to say about that.
Yuno was right, she did get to meet her little brother soon enough- along with the rest of her family. They gave polite greetings before crowding around Yuno’s bed, piling her with get well gifts. As much as Yuno seemed to come alive in their presence, Mahiru thought it was maybe a bit much. Her smile was just a bit too wide, like it had been pasted on. When they said their goodbyes, it was like a weight was lifted.
Yuno flopped back into her bed with a sigh. “They’re never going to stop hovering, are they?”
“Isn’t it nice that they’re worried?”
“Ugh, no, it’s the worst. I’m fine .” She gestured to the small army of stuffed animals crowding the foot of her bed. “All of this is kind of stupid. What am I supposed to do with these?”
“If it’s too much, maybe you can give some away?”
“Great idea! I hope you like dogs.”
Yuno didn’t even give her time to respond before she was tossing over a stuffed dog holding a big red cartoon heart. She barely managed to catch it, but when she did she gave it a big, dramatic hug. “Oh you poor thing, getting thrown away without a second thought. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.”
“You do that,” Yuno said with a laugh. When it died down, she turned to watch Mahiru put the dog on her bedside table. “Hey Mahiru?”
“Yes?”
“We’ve been here a couple days, but you haven’t said anything about anyone visiting you .”
“Ah, it’s nothing bad. My family’s just too far away.” Mahiru waved away the concern. “Actually, I’m just here for university. I’m in my second year of Faculty of Literature.”
“Oh, how is it?”
“It’s really fun,” Mahiru got her phone, opening it to a familiar website. “Actually, I run a little blog…”
With the change of subject, Mahiru was glad she got to avoid letting Yuno ask if there was anyone else that could visit her.
I might never walk again.
The doctor watches over Mahiru quietly as she processes the news. She knew her spine was fractured, but it’s only now she knows how severe it was. It’s a bit cliche though, isn’t it? Being paralyzed by a car accident.
“It’s not paralysis,” the doctor says, seemingly correcting her thoughts. “So you might be able to walk someday, but even if you do you may still need a wheelchair for longer distances.”
So there was some hope, it just wasn’t a guarantee. She clung to it nonetheless, but that still left a more pressing issue. “My apartment building doesn’t have an elevator.” She was going to have to move.
“I know living on your own after such a drastic change can be frightening,” the doctor said, “so I’ve reached out to a friend. He recently retired as a doctor but is looking to go into teaching. He has a spare room, and he’s offered to let you stay with him until you can find a new place.”
It was a generous offer, but Mahiru was still too overwhelmed to even begin considering it. The doctor seemingly realized this, and gave her a gentle smile.
“I’ll see if he can visit before you’re discharged. You can decide after you’ve met him.”
As it happens, Yuno was set to be discharged the day before she was going to meet this other doctor. Her new crutches were left leaning against her bed as she stuffed what little get well gifts she chose to keep into a backpack.
“Hey Yuno…” Mahiru hesitates to continue, but this is her last chance to ask. “When we first met, why did you lie?”
“Hm?”
“I'm not very smart so maybe I'm wrong, but when you say you tripped it always feels like you're lying.”
Yuno paused, staring at her. Eventually she sighed. “What makes you think that?”
“I don't really know how to say it that well. You always laugh it off, but you change the subject right away. Aoi used to do the same thing.” Seeing Yuno’s confusion, she continued. “I never really said it. Why I'm here, I mean.”
“You were in a car accident.”
“Yes, but I'm not really supposed to drive. I'm only on my learner's permit, so it's not safe.” And here it was, what she herself had been avoiding during her entire stay. “But when I found Aoi… I didn't know how long he was hanging. I didn't know if he'd still be breathing by the time an ambulance made it to us.”
“So you drove.”
Mahiru nodded. “But then he died in the accident anyway, and I'm here. It… didn't really matter.”
“Oh.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I’d listen if you did.” Really, Mahiru knows she’s probably asking a lot. Aoi never told her about any of his thoughts, and they’d been dating. Yuno barely knew her.
But Mahiru could hear Yuno’s crutches clicking on the floor, before she sat on the edge of Mahiru’s bed. She started off with a hollow laugh. “I don’t really know how they found me. The place I picked, no one really goes there unless they’re up to no good.”
“No one thought that was strange?”
“I told everyone I was just looking for a place to skip school, but… I think my mom figured it out. She just won’t say anything in front of Yura.”
Mahiru imagined herself in Yuno’s mother’s place. She’d been horrified to find Aoi, and he’d been prone to some low moods from time to time already. Yuno seemed so well adjusted, for her to suddenly turn to something so drastic must have been a shock.
But Yuno’s story wasn’t finished, so she continued. “I… got some bad news. My life as I knew it was going to be over anyway, so I thought why not? ” She paused, fidgeting with her hair. “I don’t know if I was going to go through with it. I didn’t really get the chance to decide.”
“You didn’t?”
“I got to the top of the stairs, and just when I was about to pick, I passed out. I woke up in the ICU and the news I got just… wasn’t a problem anymore.”
And really, what was Mahiru supposed to say to that? I’m glad you’re okay now? She clearly wasn’t. But… maybe it wasn’t Mahiru’s place to say anything. Not when she was practically a stranger.
“Can I have your number?” Is what she finally settled on. “I think it might be nice to talk again, once I’m out.”
Mahiru’s first impression of Dr. Kirisaki is that he has a surprisingly elegant figure. He walks as if gliding into her hospital room, which is impressive for a man his height. He'd fit in as a princely character straight out of a shoujo manga, if only he didn't seem so sad.
He brought a roughly drawn floor plan of his house with him. It was surprisingly big. Two floors, lots of rooms, not really the kind of house a man living on his own would need. When she asked if he lived with anyone else, all he said was “not anymore.” The tragedy in that statement was clear.
Well, now she had to move in with him- kindred spirits and all of that.
(As hasty as it was, Mahiru would later learn this was the best decision she’s ever made.)