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“Who?”
A soft voice was heard. Flowing among the other voices in the slightly noisy room. A pair of indigo irises had just met the reddish ones of the person next to him.
“I'm sorry to disturb your sleep. But… it seems like your name was just called. You are Kunikuzushi, correct?”
Kunikuzushi looked around. He then remembered. He was in the waiting room of a hospital.
“Mr. Kunikuzushi.” Once again, the nurse called his name.
Kunikuzushi spontaneously got up and answered, “Yes!” Before he started walking, he looked at the young man who had been sitting next to him and said, “Thank you.”
The young man smiled. Kunikuzushi then walked into the doctor’s office.
It was getting late in the day. This session had been quite emotionally draining, although he felt much better afterwards. After the session ended, Kunikuzushi walked to the hospital pharmacy.
He passed through the hospital garden. His feet stepped on the stone path. Grass was on his right and left. Hearing the sound of other footsteps behind him, Kunikuzushi turned around. A gentle breeze ruffled his hair. In the garden, two pairs of eyes met, again.
"You're going to the hospital pharmacy, right? Want to come together?"
Kunikuzushi was silent for a moment before replying, "Sure."
The young man behind him stepped closer to Kunikuzushi, closing the distance between them. He then extended his hand and said, "My name is Kazuha. Nice to meet you, Kunikuzushi."
Kunikuzushi shook the outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you."
Kazuha asked, "Aren't you curious about why I know your name?"
Kunikuzushi expressed what he had been thinking earlier. "Let me guess. You heard my name being called when I was at the nurse's desk. Or maybe at the registration desk."
Kazuha laughed at that. "You're right. The first reason."
"Hm. Not surprising. My name isn't a common one. It's reasonable that you remember it."
The two of them started walking side by side. Kazuha asked, "Have you been receiving treatment here for long?"
Kunikuzushi replied, "Just a month. You?"
"More than a year."
"I see. Judging from your expression, it seems like the treatment is working?"
"Yes, I feel that way."
Now, they were waiting for their medicine to be ready. Kazuha asked Kunikuzushi, who was sitting next to him, "Do you want to exchange phone numbers?"
Again, Kunikuzushi paused for a moment before answering, "Sure."
The message Kazuha had been waiting for... never came. However, one day after work, they met again.
The cloudy sky seemed to reflect Kunikuzushi's mood that afternoon. He sat alone on a bench in a park near the station. It started to rain. However, Kunikuzushi did not move from where he was sitting.
Not far from him, he faintly heard the sound of puddles being stepped on. Slowly, the sound got closer. Then, the water droplets that hit him suddenly stopped.
"You'll catch a cold."
Kunikuzushi raised his head. He met those reddish eyes again.
".... None of your business."
Kazuha exhaled. Slowly, he sat next to Kunikuzushi. He still held his umbrella to cover them from the rain that was getting heavier and heavier.
They sat like that for a long time. No one spoke. Only accompanied by the sound of the rain dripping its tears.
"Not going home?" Kunikuzushi asked, breaking the silence that had enveloped them.
Kazuha smiled before answering, "No one is waiting for me at home."
".... I see."
Kunikuzushi didn't ask further. Kazuha also didn't ask about the problems Kunikuzushi was experiencing. They only knew, for now, that it was enough to be with each other.
'Are you busy?'
That was the first message Kunikuzushi sent to Kazuha. Until now, Kazuha still remembers it clearly.
'No,' Kazuha answered.
On Sunday of that week, they met. At a library in the city where they lived.
Kazuha asked, "So... do you like reading?"
"Don't I look like someone who likes reading?"
A laugh came from beside Kunikuzushi. "I was just asking." They continued looking for books. Kazuha then asked again, "Favorite genre?"
"History."
"Ah, I see. I personally like poetry books."
"Manyoshu?"
Kazuha smiled at Kunikuzushi. "My favorite."
They spent their day there. However, the time for the library to close was getting closer. At the end of the day, they said their goodbyes.
"Kazuha." For the first time, Kunikuzushi called the name of the young man in front of him. With a faint smile, he said, "See you later."
Again, they planned a meeting. And another one. Until it became a habit. Then, one day, in the garden of the hospital where they first met, they opened up to each other.
"I see. It must have been hard for you."
Kunikuzushi replied, "I think what happened to you was much harder."
"There's no need to compare. In the end, we both ended up here, and then met each other."
Kunikuzushi turned his face away from Kazuha. He then said, "Kazuha, I... think I'm going to move to Sumeru."
Surprise was evident on Kazuha's face at the sudden statement. However, he quickly calmed himself down and said, "I see."
They were silent for a moment. Busy with each other's thoughts. Suddenly, Kunikuzushi asked, "If heaven really exists, what would you ask for there?"
Kazuha was silent for a moment before answering, "I want to meet you again."
Kunikuzushi looked at the face of the young man beside him. For some reason, he felt tenderness in those two eyes. A tenderness that he had never received in his life.
"If forever exists, I want to be with you for that period," Kazuha continued. "Therefore, don't worry about this separation. We will meet again."
".... Promise?"
"Promise."