WEEK FIVE: Saturday→Sunday (Touji)

When Doctor Taisuke entered my hospital room, I was ready for her.

"Good morning," I said with a bow. As I'd hoped, her gaze slid past me to the empty breakfast tray on the table, and I did my best to suppress a triumphant smirk. Getting everything into my stomach had taken all morning, but I'd managed it. She seemed so concerned about my appetite, I figured an easy way to convince her I was fit to leave was to show her I was eating.

Her mouth tilted up at the corners. "Someone's ready to go home, hm?"

It was that obvious? Then again, I guess I probably wasn't the only patient who'd tried to convince her this way.

"Mm."

She pulled out a chair and sat, indicating I should do the same. "I'm glad to hear it. So tell me, have you decided what you're going to do?"

"I'm going to talk to Yuzuru-san," I said. "If he really wants to break up, I'll ask my parents to send me overseas for the rest of high school."

She tilted her head, the curly ribbons in her hair brushing the tips of her ears. "You'd be all right with that?"

"I..." I have to be, don't I? "All I know is, I don't want to keep hurting them. Especially my mom. But I think the only way is to be out of sight for a while."

It was going to be miserable, no lie. But what I'd learned yesterday had flipped some kind of switch inside me. I didn't feel I needed them so much anymore. Not if they couldn't be trusted, if they couldn't trust me. I'd done a lot of thinking about what Doctor Taisuke had said, about there being two types of families.

Doctor Taisuke hummed and made a note on her tablet. I hoped it was a good one. "And if this young man does want to continue your relationship? What then?"

I pressed my lips together. "Then I'll wait."

"Wait for what?"

"We're being transferred to different schools next semester. After that he's going to university. We won't get to see each other much, but I'll wait however long it takes to be with him."

"And your parents?"

"I'll try not to be a bother. But I'm not going to lie, either. They might decide to send me away anyhow, and that would be—" Hard. I swallowed. "I'll make it work."

I'm sure she could tell I wasn't actually as confident as the words sounded. The idea of being so isolated made my stomach churn. But if Yuzuru and I could at least talk on the phone, exchange emails, watch movies together sometimes even from opposite sides of the world... I knew we could pull it off, if we wanted it enough.

Doctor Taisuke asked me more questions, about the pain in my hands and if the sleep meds were still working and whether I was finding things to occupy the time while I was here. And then she said, "Your family plans to come when visiting hours start. Would you like to see them?"

My first impulse was to say yes. The thread of loneliness and longing that ran through me in their absence was still there, insistent as ever, like a basic instinct I couldn't shake. But then I reminded myself how they'd lied. How my mom had claimed yesterday that Yuzuru didn't consider me a priority, when they were the ones who'd manipulated him into breaking up with me.

Maybe he would have done it anyway, and my parents had just given him an excuse. I'd find out soon enough. But even if that was the case, it didn't make the lies okay.

I shook my head. "I'd rather be left alone today."

"Does that include your grandfather?"

My head snapped up. "He's here?"

"Yes, he arrived this morning. I think he'd like to discuss some additional options with you, for your release."

"Like what?" Military school? A monastery? God only knew what his thoughts on all of this were, but he might be the one person who could make certain I never saw Yuzuru again, if he put his mind to it.

Doctor Taisuke smiled. "I think you should hear him out, Touji-kun."

I felt the familiar fingers of panic creeping up my neck. Ugh, I couldn't do this right now. How was I going to convince her I was well enough to be released if I was having anxiety attacks at the thought of facing him? But then, what if I was released and never got the chance to talk to Yuzuru at all? That would be the one outcome I definitely couldn't live with.

"Is he angry?" I asked, feeling childish for asking.

"Not at all."

I could do this. I pictured Yuzuru in my head and drew a deep breath. "Okay. He can come in. But just him, nobody else." I couldn't deal with all of them ganging up on me at once.

She nodded. "I'll let them know."

She gathered up her things, and gave me another set of pills to take before she left.

I stayed at the table, staring out the window and trying to keep my breath even. No matter what Grandfather wanted, if I didn't like it I'd insist on staying here. I'd outright refuse to leave the hospital until I could see Yuzuru.

Though, maybe they wouldn't be able to convince him to come.

Or they might lie again, and tell me he was refusing the invitation, without even mentioning it to him. How would I know the difference?

I hated this. I hated not being able to believe a word they said. I hated that I was even having these kinds of thoughts.

The dread was actually worse than the real thing. Sitting here in anticipation of Grandfather's visit was allowing my brain to spin all the most frightening possibilities, each one worse than the last. My actions had endangered the reputation of the company he had spent his life building. There was no way he was going to let me off the hook for that. I was already regretting agreeing to this. I should have told Doctor Taisuke I wasn't ready.

She must have given me another of those anxiety pills, though, in that round of meds. I felt my tension getting blurry around the edges. A little voice inside was saying, quite matter-of-factly, that there was only so much anyone could do to me. There was only so much anyone could take away. I wasn't helpless, and I was smart enough to be able to put up a good fight. Let's see what Grandfather has to say. Then I could think it over, rather than working myself up over hypotheticals.

A knock at the door, and it clicked open. Grandfather was there in his wheelchair, surveying me calmly. Terrified as I was, I also couldn't suppress the ripple of happiness that went through me at the sight of his familiar face. I stood and bowed.

"Grandfather. Thank you for coming." Actually, I wasn't sure yet whether I should be thanking him or not, but it seemed like a polite place to start. "I'm sorry for causing so much trouble."

Instead of coming in, though, Grandfather rolled his chair back a little and looked to the right of the door.

"I brought someone to see you," he said, and my muscles went rigid.

"Grandfather, I only agreed to meet you."

"Are you going in or not?" he said to whoever was standing outside, as if he hadn't heard me.

"Grandfather!" I protested louder. If he was going to maneuver my other family members in here, I would call the nurse to take them all away. I was so tired of these games. Family or not, if they wanted a power struggle, I'd give them one.

Then I heard an answering voice from the hall. "I told you, Grandfather, I can't. I can't."

Oh my god.

I stumbled a couple steps forward.

"And I told you, my boy, nobody's sending Touji anywhere he doesn't want to go. You have my word, so get in there." Grandfather saw me coming and wheeled back further to let me out into the hall.

Sure enough, Yuzuru was plastered to the wall by the door, his back and the palms of his hands pressed flat to the drywall. He had his eyes screwed shut, as if he thought if he couldn't see me, it wouldn't get him into trouble.

Oh my god, he's here.

He was even more beautiful than I remembered. His hair fell loosely across his forehead, his chest rising and falling fast under a snug espresso-colored shirt that hugged the lines of his arms and stomach. The split in his lip had healed, though there was still a dark half-moon bruise underneath one of his eyes. He looked exhausted, and sad, and absolutely, breathtakingly perfect.

Was I seeing things? Surely Grandfather, of all people, wouldn't have brought Yuzuru to me.

"Y—Yuzuru-san?"

His eyes opened slowly, and focused on me. He came away from the wall, his face pale and cautious. I could see the pulse rioting in his neck, the tendons standing out on his forearms as he clenched his fists. His gaze moved down my torso to my bandaged hands. I gulped down a surge of apprehension.

And then he flew at me.

His arms went around me so hard I couldn't inhale, and he was sobbing violently into the side of my neck. I put my arms up out of instinct, then found I couldn't stop squeezing him either.

"Oh," I gasped, turning my face into his hair. "Oh. Okay... It's okay."

As my brain caught up with what was happening, my breathing started getting harsh. Over Yuzuru's trembling shoulder, I stared at Grandfather in disbelief. He just smiled, his eyes crinkling warmly. "I think I'm going to go check out the view," he said to no one in particular, and turned his wheelchair toward the common room.

I backed up, Yuzuru clinging to my neck, until we were inside my room, then pushed the door closed behind us.

"I'm sorry," he was wailing against my shoulder. "Shit, Seryou, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

I closed my eyes, pulling him against me, the uncontrollable need to be closer taking over every nerve ending until my entire being was throbbing with it. "Oh," was still the only sound I could get my mouth to make, and I said it so many times it probably seemed like I really had gone insane in here. But I couldn't get over the feel of him in my arms.

This meant he still wanted me, then. Right?

"Is this real?" I panted, once I could get my tongue to obey. "You're really here?"

He put his hands roughly on either side of my head, started hammering my face with kisses. My cheeks, my forehead, my eyelids, my nose. Then my lips, hard and fast. I returned them as best I could, but too quickly he had broken away and buried his face in my neck again.

"I love you," he cried. "I love you, Seryou."

Tears fled down my cheeks. "Yuzuru-san..."

I used my padded paws to urge his head up from my shoulder. Under a wash of liquid his eyes had gone copper, the most brilliant shade of warm amber I'd ever seen. The deep blue bruise under his eye was even more noticeable now that he was so close, and I could see tinges of green and yellow spilling out around it. On the other side, a pale pink scar now crowned his cheekbone, courtesy of Tanaka's fist. I tried to stroke it, but could only swipe at his cheek gently.

"God, your face."

"Your hands," he said, tilting into my awkward touch. "Seryou, did you..." He choked, gripping my upper arms and searching my face with those eyes that were painfully bright. "You really tried to kill yourself?!"

My heart tightened at the agony in his voice. "No," I answered quickly. "No, Yuzuru-san, it was an accid—"

"Because you can't do that!" he cried, shaking me as his face streamed. "You can't, you can't ever. How am I supposed to keep on living if you... Aghh!" He was back to crushing me in his arms. "Promise me. No matter what, you have to promise!"

My heart was battering the insides of my ribs. "I promise," I whispered into his hair. I held him for a few seconds longer as he continued to soak the shoulder of my hospital robe. I ran my hands over his back, guilt and awe swirling through me in a dizzying mess. "It's true, then? The reason you broke up with me...  You thought, if my parents sent me overseas, I'd hurt myself?"

He only clutched me tighter and howled.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Okay." I pressed him back so he would look at me. "Listen to me. If I have to choose between being with them or being with you... I'd rather have you."

I get it, big brother. I totally get it now. There are two types of families in this world: the one you are born with, and the one you choose for yourself.

Yuzuru stared at me, his lips parted incredulously. "Seryou, they're your family."

"Yes." I swept his bangs aside as best I could with bound fingers. "But you're my heart."

His eyes went even wider, until I thought my chest was going to burst trying to absorb his beauty.

"I don't want to live without my heart," I said hoarsely, and brought our mouths together.

He kissed me back, whimpering and gripping the back of my robe. This wasn't a sexy, hormonal-roller-coaster kind of kiss. It was a wave crashing on shore, the crack of thunder after distant lightning. We didn't need our tongues for this, we barely even needed our lips. Raw emotions had taken over, and they were doing all the work. We held onto each other and got lost in a frenzy of relief and joy and regret, in all the I'm sorrys and I need yous that could be packed into such an inadequate physical connection.

"Never leave me like that again," I pleaded against his mouth.

He wrapped me in his arms, sank his forehead onto my shoulder. "I won't. Fuck, Seryou, I've missed you so much."

It was a good twenty minutes of swaying in each other's arms, basically slow dancing to the beats of our own hearts, pressing fervent kisses to hair and cheeks and necks and lips, before either of us could speak again.

"How's your mom?" I murmured hesitantly. I'd been worried about her nonstop for days. He went still, and I felt him sigh.

"She's in trouble."

"Still?" I asked, pulling back to look at him.

"Mm. The doctors found a bleed in her brain. They're trying to treat it with medicine, but it sounds like she'll probably have to have another surgery. With all the blood thinners she's on, it will be really dangerous."

His lower lip was trembling, and it made my guts ache. "God, I'm so sorry."

"When you get out of here, will you come with me to see her?"

I inhaled, searching his face. "Isn't that..." Wouldn't that only make things worse? "I don't want to do anything that would—"

"It's okay. She's okay with us. You and me together, I mean."

"But I thought..." I'm the reason she's in this state. Because of that picture...

Yuzuru shook his head. "She wants to meet you. Properly, this time. You know, as my..." I held my breath as he looked up at me shyly through his golden lashes. "That is, if you still want to be..."

Of course I did, what was he thinking? "Be my boyfriend again, Yuzuru-san," I said. "Please?"

Relief filled his face so quickly I almost laughed. "And you'll come see my mom with me?"

"I'd like that a lot."

He beamed, and then another thought occurred to him. "Ah, Grandfather. You think he's still out there?"

"I guess we should go check," I said reluctantly.

It wasn't that I didn't want to see Grandfather. He'd returned Yuzuru to me, and for that I would listen to anything he had to say. But my head was in such a daze I couldn't be sure if it was the medicines or the overload of emotions. I was afraid to let go of Yuzuru, afraid to leave this room, as if I stopped touching him for even a moment I'd find out this was all a dream.

"I can't believe Grandfather brought you here," I said. "I thought for sure he had come to say he was getting you drafted into the army or something so that I'd never see you again."

He swiped his thumbs under my eyes, trailing them along my jawline as a slow grin spread over his face. God, how I had missed that smile. "So you didn't know either, huh?"

"Know what?"

He wrapped his arms around one of mine and tugged me toward the door. "You guys have so much to talk about. Come on."

🍓 🍓 🍓

I thanked the nurse as she set a second full tray of food in front of me, picking up the one I'd already emptied. I wasn't putting on a show for the doctors now. I was truly hungrier than I could ever remember being in my life, and with Yuzuru carefully lifting each bite to my mouth, everything tasted suddenly amazing. I sat as close to him as I could get without actually pulling him into my lap, our thighs pressed together from hip to knee under the table, and let him feed me anything he wanted off the plates in front of us.

Grandfather sat across from us with an immensely pleased expression. "You'll accept my invitation?"

I nodded, putting up a hand to keep the rice in my mouth from spraying everywhere. "If you're sure I won't be a bother, Grandfather."

"Of course not. I'm more concerned that you'll be terribly bored drifting around my big house while I'm working."

"I'm used to being by myself," I said quickly. I meant for it to be a reassurance, but sadness skipped through me for a second and I knew they both saw it. Yuzuru dropped the spork to lay a hand on my knee.

"I'll call every day. And I'll come see you as much as I can," he promised. "If Grandfather's okay with that."

"I insist," Grandfather replied. "I expect you to take my grandson on a date every weekend, young man. You will also be my escort to every K-pop concert that comes to town from this moment on, got it? I'm a member of all the best fan clubs, so the seats are front row."

Yuzuru's entire face lit up, and I laughed. "Grandfather, he has university entrance exams next month. He probably isn't going to have much time for concerts... or dates."

Yuzuru's nose scrunched petulantly at the same time Grandfather's did.

"Nonsense," Grandfather said. "There's always time for concerts and dates. Especially dates. Hm?" He and Yuzuru fist-bumped, while I just sat there grinning. The two of them were going to be so much trouble.

"Now this is a welcome change," Doctor Taisuke said, approaching our table. "Touji-kun, I haven't seen you smile once since you got here. I take it you're enjoying your visit?"

"Yes, Doctor," I said, trying not to sound too giddy. It was hard, though. This morning I'd been prepared to shoulder the world through sheer, grim determination, and now things actually felt optimistic. My relationship with my parents might never be the same again—Natsuki, either—but at least I wouldn't be alone. I put an arm through Yuzuru's.

"Then, Takeuchi Yuki-san, can I assume you will be here in the morning to sign Touji-kun's discharge papers?"

"I can leave tomorrow?" I asked excitedly, and Doctor Taisuke nodded with smile. "And you'll give my bracelet back then?"

"Of course."

Yuzuru's eyes fell to my bandaged wrist, and I gave him an apologetic wince. "They had to take it off," I explained, and he pecked my cheek with his lips.

"That's okay. But if mine wears out first you have to get me another one."

"Deal," I said. I wasn't about to remind him it had only been a few days. It felt like I'd been in here for a lifetime.

"I'm terribly sorry to be a killjoy, boys," Doctor Taisuke winked at Grandfather to include him in that statement, "but visiting hours are ending in a couple minutes. I'm afraid you'll have to pick this up again tomorrow."

My grip around Yuzuru's arm tightened reflexively. He was leaving? I didn't want to complain, for fear the doctor might decide I wasn't stable enough to be released tomorrow after all. But the thought of letting him go brought tears to my eyes before I could stifle them.

"I can't stay here?" Yuzuru asked, squeezing me right back. "I've been sleeping at the hospital the past week anyway, I'm really good at staying out of the way."

"I'm sorry, it's the rules of the ward. It's for your own safety, as well as that of all the patients here."

I looked over at him, compressing my lips together hard to stop myself from throwing a tantrum like a little kid. He looked just as upset as I was.

"Are you gonna be okay?" he demanded.

I nodded, casting a glance in the doctor's direction. "Of course. We'll see each other tomorrow, right? And you need to be with your mom."

But inside I was crumbling a little. Once Yuzuru and Grandfather had left and I was all alone in my room, waiting for a medicated sleep to hit, how could I be sure all this had really happened today? That I hadn't just imagined it in some drug-induced hallucination, brought on by the boredom and emotional exhaustion of being here? I still wasn't allowed to have my phone, so I couldn't call or text Yuzuru for reassurance. My eyes went to his bracelet, and I wished I at least had mine. This was going to be one very, very long night.

Yuzuru suddenly peered around me at Doctor Taisuke. "Doc, can I use that marker?" He inclined his head toward the breast pocket of her coat.

"Hm? Oh, sure. Here you are."

He took it from her and turned to me. "Give me your arm," he said, lifting my wrapped hand up onto the table and uncapping the marker with his teeth.

"Yuzuru-san, what—"

He started scribbling on my bandages, then stuffed the marker back into its cap and plucked it out of his mouth. "There, I fixed it," he said.

My heart swelled all the way into my throat. He'd drawn an arrow on my wrist, and put his initials under it. He'd written them so that they were facing me, so that all I had to do was look down and I could see a bold Y.S. right where my bracelet belonged.

"Now you don't have to worry that it was a dream," he said, and I stared at him in amazement. Had he read my mind? "And you'll know for sure I'm coming back."

"Oh," I said, exhaling. "Yuzuru-san, I..." My vision wavered under a rise of tears, and I leaned forward to touch my forehead to his. "Thank you." As if I wasn't already head over heels in love with him, he had to go and do something so indescribably perfect. Exactly what I needed... he was always exactly what I needed.

Even Doctor Taisuke seemed moved. She cleared her throat and tapped me on the shoulder. "Well, then, Touji-kun, would you like to walk your guests out?"

I nodded, getting up from the table with Yuzuru at my side. He took the handles of Grandfather's wheelchair, and we crossed the common room to the exit doors. We paused there, and I bent to throw my arms around Grandfather.

"Thank you so much," I said, relishing his warm sandalwood smell and the way his whiskers tickled. For a couple seconds it was like being six years old again. Only there was more of a grown-up solidarity, now. As it turned out, he and I had more in common than I had ever imagined. "I'm really, really glad you came, Grandfather."

He patted my back with a chuckle. "Things are going to turn out just fine, my boy," he said. "I will see you first thing in the morning, hm?"

I straightened and turned to Yuzuru. I wanted to hug him too, but he pulled me in and kissed me instead. His lips were firm and confident, caressing mine in a voiceless promise. Tomorrow.

"Sleep well, Seryou," he said when he pulled away.

I nodded, and stood there until the heavy doors buzzed closed behind them.

🍓 🍓 🍓

On Sunday morning, I leapt up eagerly from the chair the moment my hospital room door opened. "Are they here?" I asked the nurse. She shook her head, setting a breakfast tray on the table in front of me.

"Not yet, Touji-kun. The earliest your grandfather can pick you up is eight. But while you're waiting you can eat and change. Your mother brought these for you yesterday." She set a bundle of folded clothes on the bed. "The ones you came in with were damaged."

"Mom brought those? Is she— Will she be here this morning?"

"I'm not sure. But if she isn't, you'll be able to call her after your discharge. She also brought your cell phone."

The nurse left, and I went over to the pile of clothes with mixed emotions. I'd refused to see Mom and Dad yesterday. I'm sure if I hadn't, it just would have been more of the same angst and anger on both sides—me trying to get them to understand, them trying to fix me, with the shadow of their lies hanging over our heads the whole time. But I guess it was nice that Mom was still trying to do Mom-things.

You know, like bringing clean clothes for her son's release from the mental hospital.

She'd brought elastic-waist athletic pants and a sweatshirt, underclothes, shoes, and a hooded jacket. The shoes were the step-in kind, without laces. I realized they were all clothes I could get on by myself, even with my bandages, which made me even more impressed by Mom's thoughtfulness.

I took off the robe and gown I'd been wearing for the past three days, and got dressed. The feel of real clothes was sobering, like I was straddling the threshold between two worlds. I'd be leaving the hospital today and returning to a normal life, except it wouldn't really be normal at all. I'd be in a different house, a different school, a different city.

All of it was for the best. Some of the changes were even kind of exciting. But at the same time, I felt sad.  It was like one of the biggest chapters of my life had ended too soon, and I wasn't quite ready to leave it behind.

I sat down at the table to eat, then decided that I wanted to be as close as possible to the entrance when Grandfather arrived, so I carried the tray out to the common room instead. I'd figured out yesterday how to prop the end of the spork between the tips of my fingers, and if I didn't put too much on it at once, I could actually eat on my own. It was slow going, though. I kept an eye on the clock above the door, waiting for the hands to roll around to eight.

"Seryou Touji-kun?"

I leapt up from the table as a nurse beckoned me over. She badged us through a door I hadn't been through before, led me down a short hallway, then badged us into a meeting room. Grandfather was positioned at the conference table, and I ran to him. "You're here!"

He chuckled. "Did you think I'd forget? I'm not that old, you know."

His assistant—Lover? Boyfriend? I wasn't sure what to call him—was standing calmly behind his wheelchair. I bowed, feeling slightly awkward. "Hi, Shimizu-san." This was maybe going to be one of the oddest things to get used to, the idea of my charismatic Grandfather having a romantic relationship with this guy. Shimizu didn't seem to have much more personality than a rock. He closed his eyes, barely inclining his head, acknowledging my greeting in the barest movement possible.

Grandfather grinned and pointed to the chair next to him. "Have a seat, Touji, and we'll finish up the paperwork to get you out of here."

He was the only one here, I noted as I took a seat. I guessed my parents and brother wouldn't be coming after all. That was both a relief and a disappointment; I couldn't really tell which emotion was stronger. Yuzuru wasn't here either. Visiting hours wouldn't start for a while, so I supposed he wouldn't be allowed in for this part.  He was probably waiting outside.

I was about to ask Grandfather when Doctor Taisuke entered the room. I broke into a grin, because her scrubs today were printed with strawberry cake slices, complete with matching red pants and strawberry-printed shoelaces in her white tennis shoes. Her outfit sent my thoughts right to Yuzuru all over again. She took a seat across from me.

"Good morning, Touji-kun. Are you excited to be going home today?"

I'm excited to see my boyfriend, I thought, beaming at the arrow drawn on my wrist. Even with the sleeping pill they'd given me, I must have woken up at least four times last night,  holding my arm up in the darkness to make sure Yuzuru's artwork was still there. "Mm."

"Well, let's see what we can do to get the boring stuff over with, then." She handed Grandfather several sets of printed instructions for the medications I was on, and then another paper that talked about how I was supposed to take care of my stitches. She passed us a little plastic bag with medicine bottles, bandaging supplies, and a pair of weird plastic gloves with elasticized cuffs that I was supposed to wear for showering. Speaking of which, that was the first thing I wanted to do when I got to Grandfather's house. I hadn't wanted the nurses helping me with that while I was here, so I was starting to feel pretty gross.

"Takeuchi-san, you can make an appointment at the hospital or clinic of your choice in Tokyo to have Touji-kun's stitches removed next Saturday. Also, while you can, of course, select any therapist you like, I've put together a list of folks in the Tokyo area that I've worked with in the past and can recommend."

"More shrinks?" I asked uncertainly. Doctor Taisuke herself hadn't turned out to be so bad, but I didn't see the need for ongoing therapy. I hadn't actually tried to commit suicide, after all.

"Mm. I'm recommending once a week sessions for now, with someone who can help monitor your response to the medications and provide you with any support you need through this transition to a new home and school."

Grandfather signed the new pieces of paper she'd handed him, and then she slid another plastic bag over to me.

"Here you go, Touji-kun, I know you've been waiting for this."

My phone and watch were in there, but I bypassed them in favor of the clear baggie containing my bracelet. I managed to pinch it with my fingertips and pull it out, but couldn't get it open. Doctor Taisuke laughed and took it out for me. "Want to wear it as a necklace for now?"

I nodded and she put it around my neck, looping the end of the cord around the tip of the arrow. "Looks pretty good like that."

She took the completed paperwork from Grandfather and looked it over. "Everything seems in order," she said. "Do you boys have any questions?"

We didn't. She pushed her chair back and stood, shaking hands with Grandfather first, then me. "Congratulations on your release, Touji-kun. Have a wonderful time in Tokyo."

"Thank you, Doctor."

She badged us out of another door, and we were in a lobby area filled with couches, a reception desk, and potted silk plants. I darted into the center of the room and looked around eagerly, but didn't see Yuzuru. He hadn't been able to come? Maybe he was still sleeping.

"Grandfather, can we go see Yuzuru-san now? Do you know where he is?"

Grandfather's wheelchair pulled alongside me. "About that..."

I turned to him, first in confusion, then in alarm as I realized how grave his expression was. "Grandfather?" Dread started to well up in me as he gave me a sharp, grim look.

"Touji, I'm afraid there's something I have to tell you."