"Well, what are you worrying about?"
Currently, I was in a room inside the hospital, staring straight a woman who was hospitalized here. Her face looked like she wanted to confirm something from me. The woman herself was quiet beautiful, and to be honest, being stared at made me a little bit nervous. But…
"No, it isn't like I wanted to confide in you or anything."
"Don't worry about the finer details. Go on, try telling me?"
She was just as persistent as my grandmother. No really, I don't need to confide in others… I am the type to think about things and reflect on my own.
"Really, it's fine. Then, I'll be going now…"
"Ah~ wait a moment."
"… What is it?"
"It's fine if you don't talk about your worries, just talk with this old aunt for a little bit."
"… No, I still have other things to do."
That's right, I need to concentrate and think about the incident that happened with Mamiko. I need to rethink all of my actions so far, and reflect on it.
"Fuun~ What are you going to do?"
"It shouldn't matter to you."
Since the woman was so persistent, my vocabulary became a little more forceful.
"There's no need to get so mad. Besides, I know everything."
"… What do you mean?"
"You, got in a fight with your girlfriend earlier, right?"
"!!!"
W-why…
Maybe this person is a fortune teller, or something along those lines…
"Well, I just happened to be there when the incident occurred~"
"… So that's what it was. You surprised me…"
I gave a sigh of relief, as the woman dropped a bomb, larger than what she said earlier.
"And, about your girlfriend… She's my daughter~"
"…"
I walked out of the room and turned around. There, right below the room number, was the words Kii written. There's no one else in this room, so the woman's last name has to be Kii. And my girlfriend's last name was also, Kii.
Once again, I slowly enter the room. I wasn't conscious about it before, but this woman definitely looks a little bit like Mamiko. Although her hairstyle was short, she had pretty black hair like Mamiko. She also had a thin double eyelid. Here and there, there were parts of her that reminded me of Mamiko.
"Well? Do you believe me?"
The smug face that the woman had made me feel a little annoyed, but there would be no reason for me to disagree.
"Yes, I believe you."
I say that while looking down. This is bad, since I found out that she was Mamiko's parent, I became nervous. Moreover, she was watching our conversation from earlier. I hope she isn't angry…
"Speaking of which, I'm sorry about yesterday. You guys had plans to study, right?"
"I-it's okay, there's no need to worry about it."
"No no, I do mind~ That girl was super down about it yesterday."
"Well that was because O-okaa-san [1] had an accident."
"There is that, but that girl kept on saying, I'm sorry Yoshiki-kun, the whole time."
"Is… that so?"
What is this feeling, as if a dam just burst and is overflowing? I mean, I never asked to hear this much.
"However, you ended up playing around with another girl, right?"
Looks like we were heard pretty clearly. Mamiko's mother looks over this way, glaring at me. As expected from a parent and their child, the way they get mad are both similarly scary.
"No, it wasn't as if I was playing around."
When I panicked and tried to give an excuse, Mamiko's mother went, "Fufu", and smiled.
"I'm not actually that mad. Of course you were partially in the wrong, but it seems that Mamiko also needs to change a little bit."
"Nono, this time is completely my fault. There's no reason for Mamiko… san to change."
"There is. That child, is too dependent on you."
"…"
I vaguely thought that way as well, but…
"You are a good person. That's why I understand why Mamiko would like you this much. But, the level that she does is too much, you know?."
"… I mean…"
I really wanted to deny it. I wanted to say that Mamiko's feelings for me were normal, but the words would not come from my mouth. Just thinking about how she's dating a boy that she hadn't talked to for more than 10 years and the situation is already out of hand.
From my perspective, it wasn't something that bothered me, but objectively speaking, it was something that could incite fear. When it comes to the current situation, it was definitely because of my lack of responsibility. Without a doubt, it was my fault. However, considering her previous actions, I couldn't confidently deny Mamiko's mother's words.
"As expected, it's a little too extreme. Haa~"
Seeing my face Mamiko's mother holds her temple and lets out a sigh. Her sigh was one of those sighs you would give if your own child had done something wrong.
No, it's probably different.
"Umm, regardless of how Mamiko is now, I would still be able to love her. I have confidence in that."
When I said that, Mamiko's mother went still, looked over here, and once again let out a big sigh.
"You, might end up being killed by Mamiko, you know?"
"Eh, what?"
"Those types of people do exist. The type of people with romantic feelings so large that they end up exploding."
"But, isn't it alright as long as I don't betray her expectations?"
"You say that, but you are still in your teens. Someone who you might like more than Mamiko might appear."
"No, I don't think that's possible. I like Mamiko as much as a I possibly could."
"That statement is very naïve. People change, and at that time, I don't think you will like Mamiko as much as you do now. You know, there are only a handful of couples that I know of from high school that ended up marrying."
"Then, we will be part of that handful."
For some reason I was feeling a little annoyed. She's talking to me in a condescending way just because she's an adult. That's why I responded more strongly and forcefully than usual.
"I want that child to have different types of experiences. That girl doesn't really know a lot of boys other than you. There are a lot more boys who are better than you, right? I want her to understand that."
"Why can't it be me?'"
When I said that, she looked at me with eyes like she was trying to comfort a child.
"I'll teach you something. Being an adult is coming to know reality. Interacting with different things, different people in society. That is what it means to be human, that's how it is with the opposite sex as well. Once you have come to know this, that is when you become an adult."
"…"
"Then, when you become an adult, that's when two people can truly become a couple. Being able to find the good and bad points in someone, accepting and forgiving each other, that is what it means to be a couple. But I can't see the two of you becoming a couple in the future. I can only see your feelings as those of a child that doesn't understand."
The words from an adult were starting to weigh heavier and heavier on my back. It gave off the illusion that Earth's gravity had become many times stronger.
"… That's why, I want you to break up with her. It isn't that I don't like you. Rather I like you, you are a good child. However, I want you to break up with her for her growth."
"…"
"If it's now, I don't think it will leave too deep of a wound. I think that if it's her, she will be able to understand and grow up a little and move on to another relationship."
Frankly speaking, the bright impression of this person from when we first met was now gone. To be honest, what she was saying was not wrong.
I'm still just a child, and I don't understand reality. However, it's because I'm a child. It's because I'm a child that it's alright. It's because I'm a child that I want to respect my will. Even if it's as this person says, that this will eventually lead to something bad, right now, I don't want to part with her. With my heart like this, there is no way I would run away.
"I don't want to. I don't want to break up with her."
When I said that, the woman sighed for a third time. It was deeper than before, showing her amazement at my thoughts.
"Fufu~ You won't listen no matter how many times I say it I guess~"
"I'm sorry, it's because I'm still just a child."
"Well, if you are willing to go that far, I'll leave it to you. I wish you the best, Yoshiki-kun."
"Y-yeah, I'll do my best. Ah, then I'll be leaving to go find Mamiko."
I want to see Mamiko as fast as possible. I'll give her my deepest apology yet and tell her my feelings. The moment that I left the room with such confidence, a person appeared before me.
No, it's the opposite. This person was just standing here, and I ended up suddenly coming out. I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that I just didn't notice them.
"Excuse me… Mamiko?"
"… Yeah, it's Mamiko."
That's right, the person standing in outside of the hospital room was the person that I wanted to see the most at this moment. There were so many things that I wanted to apologize for, but since it was so sudden, my head wasn't working properly.
"Ummm, Mamiko. I'm really sorry about earlier."
"I'm relieved!! Yoshiki-kun~!!"
Then, Mamiko held me and drowned out my words. Her voice was too loud for a hospital, so the people in the hall ended up glaring at us. Although, there was probably a little hate from being hugged in the hall.
"W-wait a moment, Mamiko, your voice is too loud."
"It's fine, I don't care about that. I'm relieved though that you didn't want to break up with me~"
Ah, she heard our conversation earlier. That's not good, it was pretty embarrassing. But well, seeing Mamiko like this, I guess it's fine. Wait, more importantly…
"No, I mean, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for hurting you Mamiko."
"It's fine! There's no problem at all, so please, I want to just be with you…"
No, when you show me such emotions, my apologetic feelings will start to disappear… While I thought that, I look at Mamiko who had pressed her face into my chest. Through her beautiful black hair I could see tears in her eyes. Seeing her like that, I threw all my thoughts out of the window, and I stopped thinking.
In the end, we stayed there hugging each other until a nurse called out to us.