LXIII

i have no reason for including Tayo the Little Bus ft. ENHYPEN but yk what? Everyone listen to it. It's a masterpiece 10/10 recommend. 

OKAYAMA

OKAYAMA PREFECTURE

JAPAN

OKAYAMA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Tamiko stood on the balcony, staring at the small sliver he could see of the Asahi River. The city was spread out before him as thousands of people carried on with their daily lives. He took one last sip of his now-cold coffee, trying to savor the flavor.

He had worked at the hospital for four months and was supposed to return to Tokyo the next week. He'd turned in his official resignation notice a week ago and his apartment was almost completely packed up. He wondered if Aoki and Sakura had cleaned up their toys at home. Probably not.

His phone rang. Tamiko swiped the screen to see it was his home phone requesting a video call. He immediately answered. "Aoki? What's up, kid?"

"Tamiko, Sakura-chan's crying!!!" Aoki exclaimed. His spiky black hair was sticking up in his every direction and he was pouting. Tamiko immediately straightened, running a hand through his hair. "What? Why?"

"No, I'm not!!" Sakura appeared on the screen, dried tears on her face. Her hair was still in the braids Tamiko had done for in the morning, which made him smile. Sakura yelled, "Tamiko, Ao-nii is LYING!! I am NOT crying!!"

"Really." Tamiko tilted his head and pretended to squint. "What's that on your face, then?"

Sakura's hands immediately went to her cheeks. Aoki announced, "Sakura-chan asked me to call you- hey!"

Sakura grabbed the phone from Aoki and ran away. Tamiko laughed as she insisted, "No, I didn't!! I didn't cry because I missed you!!"

Her lip began trembling. Tamiko smiled. "Sakura, do you want me to come home?"

"Yes!!!" Aoki said immediately. "I want to go to the park!"

"And I wanna read a book with you!" Sakura exclaimed. Tamiko checked his watch. "I'll try, okay? Aoki, take care of your sister. I'll be home soon."

Aoki perked up. "Okay!"

"Altan-kun!!" Sato- Tamiko's superior- approached him from across the rooftop. "Oh, are those your kids?"

Sato was staring at Tamiko's phone. Aoki and Sakura waved shyly. Tamiko looked at them, then back at Sato. He smiled. "Yeah. They're my kids."

TWO MONTHS EARILER

Tamiko was seriously going to quit.

He'd originally applied for a position at the hospital as a way to get away from Tokyo and clear his head, but this was too much. He had been working overtime every night and often spent over 15 hours straight at the hospital. He hadn't gotten more than a few hours of sleep for weeks.

At least he was getting paid. 

A lot. 

The people he worked with were likable enough. He'd made a few friends in Okayama, but he was desperately homesick. He missed his friends and family. He missed his home. He missed the grocery store close to his apartment building that he frequented. He missed spending his days in the small café nearby, spending hours studying and surviving on coffee and pastries. 

"Altan-san, I need help!!" Sato, his boss, yelled across the room. Tamiko stood and walked over, finishing an email on his phone. "Yes?"

"Can you go through these?" Sato shoved three separate folders into his arms without waiting for a reply. "I want them back before you leave."

"Ok." Tamiko readjusted his grip on the folders and turned to go. A tiny cry caught his attention and he whipped around. A young boy and girl were seated in front of a room, fidgeting in two chairs. The girl had just broken down into tears and was tugging on her older brother's shirt.

"Who are they?" Tamiko gestured to them. Sato frowned. "They were just in a terrible train accident. The parents died on the spot. I'm not sure of all the details. I think we're looking for relatives at the moment."

Tamiko flinched. He was used to hearing about terrible accidents- every day, dozens of people were brought in in an ambulance- but this was worse than most. "Is it okay to talk to them?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

Tamiko plopped the folders on a random table and approached the children. The young girl immediately stopped crying. Her long black hair was tied back in two braids with pink ribbons and curved around her adorable face. The boy had spiky hair that was unkempt. Tamiko knelt in front of them just as the boy asked, "Are our parents okay?"

"Is your name Altan?" The little girl asked before he could answer. She reached out and tugged on Tamiko's ID, which was dangling from his neck. Tamiko nodded. "Yeah. But you can call me Tamiko. What's your name?"

"I'm Sa-ku-ra." She enunciated the syllables deliberately. "And this is my nii-chan, Aoki!"

"Sakura!" Aoki swatted at his sister's arm. Tamiko smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Sakura. How old are you?"

"I'm 5!" Sakura jumped off her chair. "Look! I grew this much since last night."

She held her hands as far apart as she could. "Okaa-chan told me I grew up this morning!" Sakura announced proudly. "How old are you, Tamiko?"

"Me? How old do you think I am??" Tamiko tilted his head. Sakura made a show of thinking. "I think you're a 100!!"

"He's not THAT young!!" Aoki argued. "He's at least 200!!"

"300!!"

"400!!"

"500!!"

"1000!!!"

"Ok, ok. I'm not THAT old." Tamiko stifled a laugh. "I'm actually 23."

"Oh." Aoki looked disappointed. "I'm only 9. Okaa-chan said Sakura and I are big though!!"

"You are." Tamiko agreed. Sakura sat back down, frowning. "Tamiko-san, where's Okaa-chan? I want to see her."

Aoki looked down, hiding his face. Tamiko had a small suspicious he was crying; before Sakura could notice, he quickly said, "Your mom is really tired right now, Sakura. We need to let her rest, okay? You'll see her soon."

"I miss her. Is she okay?" she asked. Tamiko didn't know what to say. Sakura's world was about to turn upside down. The sweet, happy life she'd had with her parents had been taken away because of a small mistake. How could someone so small comprehend what death meant, when even adults had difficulty grasping it sometimes? No child should have to experience death and loss so early...but they had. Tamiko swallowed, his throat scratchy. "I don't know. I- I have to go. Will you two be okay?"

"Yeah. Wait! Will we see you again?" Sakura caught his sleeve, startling him. Tamiko managed a comforting smile. "Yeah. For sure."

***

Tamiko didn't see them again for a while. He always made a point to ask Yua, the doctor who was unofficially in charge of them, about them. They had been unable to locate any relatives except for a cousin in Hokkaido who hadn't even known they existed. The cousin wasn't able to provide for his cousins- meaning they had nowhere to go. 

A week or two after he first met them, he found them in Yua's office. He began smiling. "Hey, Sakura, Aoki!!!"

Neither of them responded. Tamiko walked around Yua's desk for a better look. Both of their gazes were glued on the floor. Tamiko glanced at Yua, lost. She whispered, "They've been like this ever since we told them what happened."

"What? You told them?" Tamiko whispered back. She shook her head. "We had no choice! They had to know."

"Where have they been staying?" He asked. Yua answered, "Here. We managed to squeeze them into the guest hall. But they can't stay here forever. I think they're talking about putting them in an orphanage or foster care."

"Both of those take too long." He insisted, startled at the limited options. "Where are they supposed to go in the meantime?"

"I don't know. Things are bad; they're pretty desperate to find someone." Yua sighed. "I offered to let them stay with me for a few days, but I have my own kids. And I legally can't because of the size of my apartment."

He hesitated and glanced at the two kids. "Could I take them?"

"You? You're willing to?" Yua lit up. Tamiko nodded. "I can do it. Do you think it's possible?"

"I'll have to talk to the workers in charge of them. Like I said, they're desperate. But if it was an emergency decision- and this is an emergency- the process shouldn't take too long for a temporary decision."

"Let me know what happens." Tamiko started to leave when he was struck with another idea. "Do you think I could take them out for a while? I think it'd be good for them to leave the hospital."

"Yeah. That should be okay." Yua said after considering it for a moment. "Keep your phone on, just in case. And don't take them too far."

"I won't." He agreed, relieved he could do something to help the children. Yua pulled on her coat. "I'm going to run this past the social workers right away. Please watch them carefully."

"I will." Tamiko knelt in front of Aoki and Sakura. They hadn't reacted to his and Yua's conversation at all and just now seemed to notice him. They squirmed away, anxious. He smiled gently. "Hey. Do you remember me?"

Neither responded for a long time. Tamiko was shocked at how different they looked: both seemed exhausted and depressed by the recent turn in their lives. Sakura's hair was tangled and uncared for, as was Aoki's. 

Sakura finally said, "Tamiko-san, you said Okaa-chan and Oto-chan would be okay."

Tamiko would have been less hurt if he'd been slapped. His eyes were stingy, and he blinked several times. "Sakura-"

"Yua-san told us they were gone! What does that mean? Where did they go? When will they be back?" Sakura raised her voice. "They just got hurt! They have to come back! I- I can take care of them!!! Look!"

She dug into her pocket, searching. Sakura yanked out a crumpled bandage and held it out to show Tamiko. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and she practically yelled, "Look! See! I can fix them!"

Aoki reached out and tried to pull his sister back. "Sakura-chan-"

"I CAN HELP THEM!!!" Sakura pushed him off, hysterical. Tears were tracing her face, and a sob escaped her throat. She was shaking with emotion and could barely talk. "Tell them to come back!!"

Tamiko wrapped his arm around her and pulled her forward, holding her tight. Sakura screamed into his shirt, crying and screaming. Tamiko laced his hand into her hair, trying to hide his own tears from Aoki and her. 

It broke his heart to see her like this. She couldn't understand what had even happened to her parents, let alone why they weren't returning. She was so young. Aoki understood, to an extent, but Sakura? She would be confused for a long time and would probably never handle it well. She just cried and cried, unable to comprehend what had happened. Sakura tried to hold back her sobs, but he whispered, "It's okay."

Aoki was still seated, furiously wiping his eyes. Tamiko couldn't do anything while he was holding Sakura; he waited several more minutes until she'd finally calmed down, although she was still shaking. He smiled, wiping the tears from her face. "Let's go, Sakura-chan."

"Where?" She mumbled. Aoki took his sister's hand and gripped it tightly. He approached Tamiko and whispered, "She doesn't get it, Tamiko-san. I don't know how to tell her."

It wasn't Aoki's job to take care of another human. No nine-year-old should have to burden that type of responsibility. Tamiko placed his hands on Aoki's shoulders, startling him. Tamiko firmly said, "It's not your job, Aoki. It's an adult's. You don't have to. It's alright."

Aoki managed a nod, trying not to start crying again. "Okay."

***

hi guys! 

this is part one of tamiko's story. it was originally supposed to be a single chapter but i'm realizing this will be much longer than i'd planned haha. no promises for the length of the next chapter; it might be much shorter than i've planned. we'll see!!

 im aware that the timing for what happens here is a little odd and unrealistic. japanese laws, however, about adoption are obviously different and can be much simpler. i haven't actually researched it in depth, but ive written this to the best of my knowledge! tamiko's story is such a short part of the actual storyline and i didn't see the point of eliminating small plot holes. 

love you all and as always, thank you for reading <33