Friday came and went with nothing notable happening. Other than saying hi to Josuke and Okuyasu in the morning and then finding out Kazue was out sick wasn't exactly a mind boggling development.
Even the weekend passed without fanfare. It was starting to feel as if your whole life revolved around being at school, which being a high schooler, I guess it kind of does.
Monday morning was announced not to the sound of trumpets, rather to the nerve wracking tones of your alarm clock and the chatter of spring birds on the morning commute to school.
It was overcast and dreary, even for a Monday. Though the sun was in the sky, it was impossible to pinpoint its exact location through the thick grey comforter of clouds. The muted light even felt as if it were turning the landscape grey as well, or at the very least dulling the colors.
The classroom was quite that morning, more so than usual when you walked in. Everyone who was already there seemed to be looking in the same two spots, at you, or at the desk that sat in front of yours.
Kazue's desk.
All you could do was join them in staring at the tiny glass vase and the delicate stem that almost seemed to bend under the weight of the bulb at the end. A thin white ribbon was tied around the neck of the little bottle. You took slow steps forward, eyes transfixed on the frail and lithe thing. You looked around for any answers, but none came from the stuck lips of your classmates as they watched you take your seat behind the ornament.
Your heartbeat marched evenly, but a feeling of dread still pulled at your insides as the classroom filled in around you, most of which took on the same hushed tone when they saw the flower. You barely noticed, if at all, the reactions of your peers.
When your teacher came in to start home room, not even a faint or breathy whisper could be heard.
"Now, I'm sure that most of you have noticed the elephant in the room." He drawled. "This past Friday your classmate, Kazue Ebina, was in an accident."
Your heart dropped.
"He is currently alright. In fact, from what I hear he's in stable condition up at the hospital. If you want to send him or his family condolences, we will be collecting letters and things like that to give to his family..." The voice of your teacher continued to blather on, but you had lost focus.
The water in the little glass vase trembled a little as a bubble of air that had been sticking to the inside of the glass shuddered loose.
What happened, Kazue? What did you do?
He had promised, he had promised that he'd be back.
"I'll see you tomorrow then, right?" That smile that he'd been hiding had finally come back, but now-
"Does anyone mind volunteering to deliver these letters to him and his family up at the hospital? I understand it might not be the most interesting assignment, but it would be greatly appreciated..." The teacher's voice suddenly came back into focus. You looked around the classroom, but nobody had volunteered themselves.
You raised your hand. "I'll do it, Mr. Matsushita."
Your teacher gave you a tight smile. "I appreciate your dedication, miss (l/n), but I'm not too sure that you'll know exactly where to go."
"I can help her, Mr. Matsushita." A voice from across the classroom sounded out. Somehow, even with only grey light filtering through the window, his colorful eyes still seemed to shine undisturbed. Josuke was leaning forward on his desk, his hand extended in a hesitant raise. His eyes flickered in your direction.
"That's fantastic news, Mr. Higashikata. That settles that matter quite nicely." Mr. Matsushita looked between the two of you. "When the school day ends, stay after. The other first year classes were instructed to also write letters to the Ebina family, and we'd like to collect them all at once." He straightened out his papers up at the podium. "Right, I'll leave it to you two."
Mr. Matsushita continued on with other announcements and roll call, officially kicking off the school day.
It was rather challenging to focus on any of the lessons, between the empty desk and the concern brewing in your heart. For lunch, you and Miko just sat in silence, for the afternoon classes, you zoned out once more.
"Mr. Higashikata, Miss (l/n), would you two come here?" The final bell had chimed for the day, setting in motion the classroom. You slid your bag over your shoulder and pushed in your chair, headed for the chalkboard and teacher's podium. Mr. Matsushita handed you a small canvas bag. "These are the letters that I want you two to deliver." He looked to Josuke. "I'll take it that you know which way to go?" Josuke gave a curt nod. Mr. Matsushita sighed. "Give his family my condolences, please? Tell them that we're all keeping him in our thoughts."
"We will." Your voice was small, and you hugged the bag to your chest. Josuke lead the way out of the room, you followed silently behind.
***
You had run into Junko on your way out of the school and told her what was going on, and that you'd be home later. She had given you a quick hug, and disappeared. Leaving you and Josuke to your own devices.
The day was just as grey as it had been during the morning walk in, the only change being in the light breeze that ruffled your hair. It smelled like rain, but the clouds didn't show signs of breaking into a downpour.
"We'll need to take a bus to get there." Josuke's voice floated down to you once you had crossed into the town plaza. He motioned you to follow him over to a bench that sat not too far from a sign that marked a bus stop. He sat down, and without much thought you sat next to him. He turned his head to face you. "How are you feeling?"
Your eyes lingered on the bag, words running through your head but none slipped through your throat. Josuke watched you for a moment, leaning back on the bench. He sighed. "Mr. M said he's fine, remember? there's no need to worry."
You slid your eyes over to him. Though he had taken a far more relaxed pose, his eyes were still on you. You tried to give him a little smile. "I know, but I just can't help but worry about what happened. When I talked to Kazue last week, he had promised we'd see each other again, but then this happened." Your fingers absentmindedly pulled at the fabric of the canvas bag, returning your focus to your lap. You swallowed over the gum ball sized lump in your throat. "It's stupid, but I can't help but feel like because I held him up, just for a couple minutes, that it might have had something to do with whatever happened..."
"You're right, that is stupid." He shook his head. "You had no part in what happened to Ebina, it was just rotten luck." Josuke elbowed you lightly. "But he's ok, so cut it out with the 'what ifs'. Save it for when you can talk to him yourself." His eyes shined with soothing reassurance.
"I guess you're right." That little smile fought its way onto your face. "Hey, Josuke?"
"What's up?"
"Would you be able to, you know, heal Kazue?"
He thought for a moment. "Well yeah, I could."
You shot up in your seat, excitedly latching onto his arm. "This is perfect then! You can fix him up and he'll be back in no time at all!" A giddy smile bubbled out of you, Josuke looked surprised at your sudden change of spirit.
He smiled awkwardly and looked away, the muscles in his arm tense. You realized you were still holding onto his arm and let go of him. His arms... they felt pretty defined underneath the sleeve of his uniform, sending a blush over your face. You eyed his hands, casually resting in his lap. You knew he was well built, I mean, he was TALL after all, but it felt like a strangely intimate thing to have felt it yourself.
You two sat in awkward silence while waiting for the bus, which pulled up not ten minutes later, jolting to a stop with a hiss of the brakes. Josuke got up, and you followed him on, giving the bus driver a couple of coins. You scrambled for your bag, hoping that you had money for the fare.
"Relax, I've got you." Josuke gave the driver two more coins, and filed in, holding onto one of the overhead bars by the window. The bus was fairly crowded, the seats having all been occupied.You shuffled after him, careful not to bump into anyone and wrapped your arm tightly around the pole next to him. The bus jolted, and pulled away from the bus stop, jostling you against Josuke.
You kept your eyes on the window, afraid to look up at him. The shifting crowd pushed him closer to you as well, your face just inches away from his chest.
Oh god, I can't feel my face.
You clutched the bag of letters closely trying not to crush them in the mass of shifting bodies. Yo noticed one of Josuke's arms was pressed up against the window, as if he were trying to support himself as to not further fall towards you.
The engine and the feeling of the wheels running over the pavement made your feet tingle as the bus periodically stopped and started again. The Hospital was near the end of the line, so eventually more people were getting off than on, but you were still firmly sandwiched between the pole and your classmate.
As the bus started up again, the cabin shook rather violently, sending you careening into him. Josuke's arm slipped on the glass, pressing you up against the pole. He stopped himself by propping his arm against the metal bar, hand grasped tightly just above your head.
His shirt was soft against your cheek, giving off the scent of bar soap and ground ginger that you had come to associate him with. His chest was firm, just as his arm was, his body was muscular and hidden beneath his more conservative school uniform. It made your face flush red with embarrassment. You could hear his heart thumping in his chest and feel the vibrations of his voice.
"Oh god! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- the bus just-!" You craned your face upwards. He was clearly flustered, scrambling to pull himself away from you. His face had taken on the color of a cherry, his words stammering out.
"No! It's fine, I'm sorry!" You pulled yourself smaller, in an attempt to put space between you two and hide your burning face from him. You pulled apart, both of you facing in opposite directions. You clutched onto your shirt, the fabric practically pulsing along with your pounding heart beat.
Josuke slid farther away, putting almost a meter between you. The bus rolled on, oblivious to the mess it just caused, the cabin just rumbled as if nothing happened.
"Next stop, Budogaoka Hospital, stand clear of the doors." The voice of the bus driver fizzled from the speakers. The street leading up to the hospital was lined with buildings of various sizes, most of which conveyed a feeling of impersonal professionalism. The perfect place for a hospital, sterile and angular.
The bus slid to a stop, the familiar jostle of the seizing brakes bouncing underfoot. "This is us." Josuke kept his eyes forward as he crossed into the aisle, headed for the doors in the middle of the bus. Your feet clanked against the metal walkway and grated steps that led down and out of the bus.
In front of you, Budogaoka Hospital loomed intimidatingly amidst the grey sky.