Butterfly kisses and Flower petal wishes

Regret P. 2

"They're candy, dumbass."

"Oh... um, sure." He took one then and bit into the chalky sweet, 'Minty.'

Hiding a laugh behind a cough, Yayoi only shook her head. "God, you haven't changed."

"Um... Thanks for the change of clothes." Takemichi then said awkwardly, pulling at the shirt he'd been given. 'Though where'd she get men's clothes from.'

Shrugging, Yayoi pulled another candy cigarette out to eat. "No problem, my husband keeps a spare set of clothes here for when we both get off of work late. Or he decides to spend the night here with me." She casually explained making Takemichi's mood lighten slightly.

"Oh! You're married now." He noticed the wedding band than on her ring finger. "Congratulations, I guess I can't call you Shimizu anymore huh."

"Nope, you still can."

"Huh?"

"I kept my maiden name." Yayoi bluntly replied. "It's the name I had when I became a Doctor and it'd be a pain to change it, especially with the clinic's name."

"Oh..." Takemichi replied, 'I guess that makes sense.'

"So... my question?"

"Oh, um... Right. Uh, what was your question?" Takemichi nervously questioned as Yayoi stared him down with her deep emerald eyes.

"You said you were pushed into train rails right? Was that why you never tried to get into contact or appear at your sister's wake?" Yayoi asked, causing Takemichi to begin to sweat a bit in place.

"Uh... Yeah." He nervously replied, 'I mean that's sorta true.'

"Was that why you were passed out, were out all this time?" She asked, face becoming filled with concern as she began to give Takemichi a better once over. "You do look a bit paler than before..."

"..." Eye's becoming wide, Takemichi's jaw dropped as he openly gaped at the red-haired woman, "Wait! Huh?! How do you know about that?" He exclaimed, almost dropping his mug as he jumped away from the red-haired woman.

"Well, that would be because Naoto-kun called me over for a consultation and supplies. How else do you think he got that equipment? Magic? He may be a cop, but he can't just stroll into any clinic or hospital and flash a badge to get what he wants... Well, at least not without gaining specific clearance from his bosses." Yayoi simply replied, "I'll admit, I didn't realize it was you at the time, but given what you just said, and what I saw..." Her brows furrowed and her lips dipped into a frown from around her chalky sweet. Standing from her seat she bowed, "I'm sorry."

"Huh?!"

"What I said back then, at the cemetery, it was all wrong," Yayoi explained as she slowly stood up back straight, face now stricken with regret. "If I'd realized sooner that was you comatose in Naoto-kun's apartment I wouldn't have said such cruel words to you. You had legitimate reasons."

"Oh..." Takemichi mumbled in surprise, "And I guess you wouldn't have hit me too."

"..."

Pointing to himself, Takemichi nervously repeated, "And you wouldn't have hit me, right?" She smiled at him and Takemichi shivered as he noted how similar the look was to one his sister used to give him. 'She still would have hit me.'

Dropping her smile, Yayoi frowned as she fell back into her seat with her arms crossed. "Though that begs the question, how did you get pushed into train rails..." Eye's becoming filled with concern she asked, "You... you didn't–"

"No!" Takemichi quickly exclaimed, "I... I would never! Akkun was the one who–" His hand shot up to cover his mouth.

"Akkun..." Yayoi's eyes became wide with shock. "Atsushi-kun pushed you!" She exclaimed in shock, slamming her hands on her chair's arms. "B... but he's–" She stopped, facing becoming pale as her left hand rose to cover her mouth. "Oh goodness... Is that why he..."