'Doctor Sudo...' I breathed, my stomach twisting.
'I'm really sorry,' the man told me, with an apologetic look, giving me a small pat on my shoulder, 'If you want your mother to continue to receive her treatment, you will have to pay for two years' medical bill in advance. It's the normal protocol after the expiration of a six months' time. If she ever wakes up from her coma during these two years, the hospital will repay you the difference.'
Holding my forehead with my hand, I turned to face my mother, my whole body shaking at the fear of losing her. If the hospital stops her treatment, that's what is going to happen. She was being maintained alive only thanks to the machines that were attached to her.
'I've tried to enter into contact with your grand-parents, but without any success,' the doctor informed me, and I turned to face him again, my heart accelerating further.
It was a good thing that he did not manage to contact them. I didn't want them to learn about this. Their income was hardly enough to pay the monthly hospital bill. And now such an astronomic sum…! Even if Ojii-san manages to obtain a loan at his age, it'll ruin Obā-san and him completely!
No, they shouldn't learn about this! I have to find a way on my own! I can't ask them something like this! They're already doing so much!
'I- I'll tell them about it,' I told him, rapidly.
'Don't worry. You have until tomorrow afternoon.'
Giving me another apologetic smile, the middle-aged man left, and I turned to face my mother once again.
'Oh, Okā-san... What are we going to do?' I croaked, feeling completely distressed.
I left the hospital very quickly after that, and somehow, I found myself sitting on the plaza in front of the cinema hall in the most crowded area of Kokubunji. My mind was working so fast that I couldn't think straight anymore.
Where am I going to find so much money and that within a little more than twenty-four hours?! It's not possible!
I thought about asking the Doctor Kenren Shoran to extend the delay, but I realized that it would be so much inappropriate on my part! And asking Tsubasa-sama's help would be so much inappropriate on my part either!
What do I do?! Oh, Kami-sama!
I was sitting there when, suddenly, a young man came to sit beside me. He was in his early twenties and was clothed in classics. He measured average height, was quite lean and had short, dark-brown hair. The young man was speaking on the phone with someone and I found myself unable to keep my person from listening to his conversation.
'Yes! Yes! I have repaid him all the money that I owed him last month itself. It was the final installment. And to top it all, he has offered me to work for him! I'm really grateful to you for having presented me to the Boss. If he had not lent me that money a few years ago, I would not have been able to pay for my surgery and I would have most certainly died by now. It was such a huge sum, but he accepted to lend it to me- who was a complete stranger to him at that time. He had accepted that I pay him on a monthly installment, and that without accepting any interests! I owe you more than a few beers, pal!'
I held my breath.
Who is he talking about? Who is his boss?!
The person he was talking about seemed to be the answer to all my prayers!
'Alright! See you soon in Kokubunji!' he declared, and hanging up, he got to his feet and started to walk away.
I stared after the young man hesitantly for a few seconds, before I took my courage in both hands and jumped to my feet to run after him.
'Ano… Excuse me!' I called.
Pausing down, the man turned around to look at me, giving me an intrigued look, replying, 'Yes?'
'I'm sorry. I have just overheard your conversation,' I told him, timidly, in a murmur. 'Do you think- Do you think you could present me to your boss?'
His eyes widened at me a little in surprise.
'You want me to present you to my boss? Do you have financial problems? What kind of financial problems could a person of your age have?!
'It's my mother,' I replied, truthfully, lowering my eyes. 'She's in hospital. And I need money for her treatment. A whole lot of money. And it's very urgent.'
Taking a deep breath, he studied my expression for a minute, before he declared, 'Alright, I'm going to present you to the Boss!'
My head snapped up at him on the spot. I couldn't believe it.
'Really?!'
'Yes!' he replied, giving me a smile. 'I'm going to give him a phone-call right away to see if I can obtain you a rendezvous with him today itself!'
I almost sighed in relief.
'Yokatta! Thank you infinitely!'
Asking me to excuse him, he moved a small distance away to make the phone-call, only to return a few minutes later to announce to me, 'You're lucky! The boss is in Kokubunji today, and he's absolutely free to receive you! He wants you to come to meet him immediately. But he doesn't promise you anything. It will all depend on the amount that you need. You know, the boss is first of all a business man.'
I nodded, and thanked him again, my heart full of hope.
'Come! I'm going to take you to him! It's not very far from here!' he said, and I tagged along with him as he got moving. 'By the way, my name is Tetsuya Tsurugi. And you, what's your name?'
'Hime Kirigakure,' I replied, with a small bow.
He led me into one of the several small alleys of the area, only for us to come to a stop in front of the backdoor of a billiard club. I began to feel jittery as I took a glance around us. The alley was crowded with thugs and fancy women.
'Don't worry. You can find these kinds of things in nearly every alley of this part of the city!' he told me, and opening the door of the building, he gestured for me to enter.
Hesitantly, I made my way into the building. It was one-storied and quite small. There were several billiard tables in the room I entered, while there was a door on the back wall which apparently led into the bathroom. There were several men playing billiard when we entered and they all stopped playing to look at us.
But my whole attention was captured by the man who was sitting on one of the sofas on the side of the room. The man was in his mid-twenties. He was tall and lean, with flip-level, sleek, black hair, and he was wearing Chinese-style clothes. He was playing with a set of tarot cards, apparently, giving himself to divination. I had no doubt that he was the Boss and I wondered what kind of business he was in.
'Ah, Tsurugi!' he declared, when he caught sight of us. 'Is this the girl that you told me about? She's very young!'
'Will- Will that be a problem?' I asked him, anxiously.
'No,' he answered, with a small smile, and indicating me the sofa across of him, he asked me to take a seat. 'How much money do you need?'
I informed him of the sum.
'That's a lot of money. It's going to take you a few years to repay me everything.'
'I know. But I promise that I'll work really hard and pay you every month on the agreed date.'
He stared at my face, thoughtfully, for a moment, before he declared, 'Okay. I accept to give you the money!'
My heart skipped a beat.
'Oh my god! Thank you. Thank you so much!'
Looking at the brown-haired male, he asked him to go and fetch the money, and the latter put himself to execution immediately. After having discussed all the modalities, I signed the contract the man had redacted, and the brown-haired young man handed the bag of money to me, wishing me the best of luck.
With the money in hand, I rushed back to the hospital without any delay to hand it over to Doctor Sudo, my heart freed of all worries.
'You've made it really quick!' the middle-aged man told me, his expression filled with surprise.
'Yes. My- My grand-parents had saved up some money,' I lied.
'I see.' He gave me a small smile. 'You wait for me here. I'll bring you the papers.'
I nodded, and turning to my mother, I picked her hand up in both of mine, kissing it, while I watched her tenderly.
The doctor didn't return immediately and I guessed that if it was taking so much time, it was because he was preparing all the papers carefully. When after an hour, he still didn't bring me the papers, I supposed that he must have been caught up in a medical emergency.
Hours ticked by and soon, the visiting hours came to an end, but the doctor still didn't show up.
Is it possible that it completely slipped out of his mind?
Saying goodbye to my mother, I made my way down into the entrance hall to speak to someone from the administration.
'Excuse me,' I said, timidly, as I approached one of the women who worked there, 'Could you please indicate me Doctor Sudo's office?'
'Doctor Sudo? You're the daughter of the patient in coma, aren't you?'
'Yes.'
'Did he not inform you? He won't be treating your mother anymore. In fact, today was his last day at work. He's leaving for the United States. He must already have boarded his plane by now. From today onwards, your mother's new treating doctor will be… Let me see!'
She started to check her register, while I went very still, feeling a bit astounded by the news. The man had not told me anything, indeed.
'But, he left the papers, right?'
'The papers?' She gave me a confused look. 'What papers?'
'For the two-year advance payment,' I answered, my heart picking up speed. 'It's the normal protocol for comatose patients, right?'
Her expression grew even more confused.
'I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're talking about. What advance payment? What protocol?'
In that instant, everything became as clear as crystal to me.
Swinging around onto myself, I covered my mouth with my hand, all color draining out of my face. I was perspiring cold, my heart seeming to want to claw its way out of my chest.
That man… He had lied to me and duped me! I had just been victim of a fraud!
Kami-sama! It's not possible!
Holding my head in-between my hands, I made my way out of the hospital, ignoring the calls of the woman, my mind and emotions in complete chaos.
This can't be happening!
What do I do? Should I inform the direction of the hospital? Should I inform the police? I asked myself, only to realize with total distress the ugliest, but also, most flagrant truth: I had proof that I had given money to him!
***
The next day, at lunch time…
'Have you relocated to the moon, Hime?'
Breaking out of my thoughts, I looked up at Shunsui- where he was sitting across of me next to Gōjun- with a fazed look, uttering, 'Huh?'
'You're not eating your lunch. And ever since this morning, I have noticed that you're more distracted than usual. Did something happen?'
'No-No,' I replied, and lowering my eyes again, I closed my bentō box, telling him, 'I'm just... not feeling very hungry today.'
'Is your head still hurting?' he asked me, giving me a concerned look. 'Please, tell me that after we dropped you to the hospital yesterday for you to visit your mother, you didn't spend the whole day there; you went home to take some rest! That was the purpose for my giving you your entire day off!'
'Oh, y-yes, I did,' I lied, keeping my eyes down.
'You should probably go home directly after school today,' Gōjun told me, with the same concerned look.
'Speaking of that...' I murmured, hesitantly. 'Shunsui, I- I won't be able to come to your house anymore. I have found myself a part-time job at the supermarket. I'll be working after school and during week-ends.' Looking up very quickly then, I assured him, 'But I'll continue to prepare your bentō box and that of Gōjun every day. I promise!'
The reddish-brown-haired young man was a bit astonished, and so was Gōjun. They both exchanged a look with each other, before Shunsui replied, uncertainly, 'Okay. There's no problem. But, do you have any financial problems? I mean-'
I stiffened, my heart going into palpitation.
I can't tell them about what happened. If Ojii-san learns about it…
Clutching the front of my shirt with both hands, I lied, once again, 'I- I- I just want to be able to help my grand-parents a little more.'
The two young men exchanged another look with each other, before they said, 'Okay.'
***
After school, I parted with them to head for the small supermarket where I had found myself a job. This, was situated in the middle of the city itself. The owner of the supermarket was a kind man and he was the owner of a whole chain of supermarkets like this one. Apart from me, there was only one other person who worked there- a young girl of around nineteen years old, who occupied the post of cashier. We were both paid by the hour.
I had just reached the supermarket and started to get to work when, unexpectedly, I received a visit from Tetsuya Tsurugi. But the latter didn't come alone. He was accompanied by two men who resembled thugs to me. And the brown-haired young man, there was something different about him; something that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Maybe, it was the strange smile that he was wearing on his face. There was something disturbing about it.
'We need to talk!' he mouthed, and one of the two men who were accompanying him started to tap on the bay window very loudly from onto the street to ask me to hurry up.
Instantly, I looked at my colleague, afraid that she might report the visit or even the action to our boss. The man was tapping at the window with so much force that I thought he was going to break it. Without losing a minute, I ran outside to meet up with them, before they could do anything else.
'Follow me!' Tetsuya Tsurugi told me, in a commanding tone, and I couldn't help but take another anxious glance behind me at my colleague. The latter was watching me from inside of the supermarket, with a puzzled expression on her face.
Not only did I obtain a visit during my working hours, but I was also abandoning my post to go outside and talk!
If our boss finds out about this...
The brown-haired young man led me a good distance away from the building, down an alley.
'What is it?' I asked him, timidly, and anxiously, when we finally came to a stop. 'Is there a problem?'
'In effect. There's a change of plan,' he answered. 'The boss has lost a lot of money last night in a business that has turned out very badly. He'd need to recover the money that he has lent to you very quickly.'
'What?!' I gasped, my heart jumping to my throat. 'But- But I don't the money he gave me anymore!'
'That's not my problem!' he stated, in a ruthless tone. 'He's asked me to recuperate his money and that's what I'm going to do!'
'But, I really don't have that kind of money!' I told him, desperately. 'And we had a contract!'
At this, a twisted smile came to his lips.
'A contract, you say? Which one? Are you talking about this contract?'
He had taken a paper out of his pocket now to show it to me. It was the contract in question.
'It's not worth anything, you idiot!' he asserted, and my heart fluttered in my chest as he tore it to pieces right in front of my eyes. 'You can burn the copy he has given to you! It won't change anything!'
Kami-sama! I think I'm beginning to understand now! I have been taken for a ride! These guys… They are loan sharks!!!
My whole world shook.
'Look! I'm going to be nice with you! You won't have to repay everything at one go. I'll come every day to collect it bit by bit. But you'd better organize as much money as you can. I'll come back tomorrow, and let me warn you that it won't be good for you if you don't have anything to give me! We know where you live. You wouldn't want us to pay a small visit to your grand-parents, would you? Like at your grand-mother's shop...'
A shrill ran down my spine.
These people… They are dangerous!
I could read it in the glint in their eyes.
Ojii-san! Obā-san!
If anything happens to the two of them…!
'Not that you would want them to learn about this, would you?' he laughed, wickedly, and on these words, he left with the two men who were accompanying him.
I plumped down on the ground, holding my head in-between my hands, completely disheveled.
What am I going to do now?!
When I returned to the supermarket sometimes later, the girl who worked with me, still had that puzzled expression on her face.
'Say, are you friends with those guys?' she inquired, hesitantly. 'I don't think it's a good idea to hang out with people like them. It could be dangerous!'
She studied my expression uncomfortably for a minute, before she asserted, very firmly, 'Look! I won't say anything to the boss, because it's not my problem, but if he ever shows up and he sees that you're not working, I'm not going to cover you up, is that clear? I don't want to lose my job because of you!'
'I- I understand,' I whispered.
Thank you for reading!
Glossary
Ano - 'um'
Yokatta - expression of relief or happiness