As always,
I was at school,
waiting for the time
to go back and take care of Hana.
Before I realized it,
it was time.
On my way to Mr. Kiro's house,
I received a call.
—Hello, Mr. Kiro —I answered.
—Kaji, don't come yet —he said.
—Today I'm taking Hana to see her doctor.
—Get some rest.
—Ah, yes sir, alright.
—I'll call you.
He hung up, and I went back home.
When I arrived, I found my parents there.
—Son, weren't you going to work? —my mother asked.
—I was told to wait for a bit.
—And by the way, son...
—What kind of job do you have?
Until now, I hadn't told them about my job.
—Well...
—...I take care of someone who's sick.
—I see —my mother said.
—While you wait, let's have lunch.
I thought my parents would react differently.
Some time passed.
I was in my room, waiting,
when I saw a message.
But it wasn't from Mr. Kiro.
It was from an unknown number.
It said:
You can come now.
—What's this? —I wondered, confused.
Then Mr. Kiro called.
—Kaji, you can come now.
I headed to his house
and found Mr. Kiro outside.
—Hello, Mr. Kiro —I greeted him. —How are you?
—Hello, Kaji.
—I'm doing well, thank you.
—Well, I'm heading out now.
—Hana is in her room.
—Have a good day, sir.
When I entered Hana's room,
she greeted me.
—Hi, Kaji. How are you?
—I'm good, thanks.
—Hey —she said, pouting.
—You didn't reply when I texted you.
That was her?!
—I'm sorry.
—I didn't know it was you.
—I thought it was a...
—...thief.
Hana let out a small laugh.
—And...
—...what did you go to the doctor for?
—To check on my illness.
Why am I asking such obvious questions?
—Hey, this is kind of embarrassing...
—...could you help me with my bath?
What?!
Well... this is my job.
—Sure.
In the bathtub,
I only helped wash her back.
I noticed her bones were slightly visible.
After that, I rinsed her back.
—All done.
—Thank you.
—Well...
—At school, they told us...
—...that everyone should take care of their private parts.
—So I'll wait outside while you finish.
—Okay —she replied.
This job keeps getting more and more intense.
But I'm not complaining.
Then I received a call.
It was my friends.
—Now what is it?
—Hey, are you still working?
—Yeah.
—Can we come?
—Have you guys lost your minds or what?
I hung up.
Before coming here, I told them I was taking care of a girl.
And they said they wanted to come.
Obviously, I refused.
—Kaji, I'm done.
—Yeah, I'm coming.
I took her to her room.
—Can you get dressed on your own?
—Yes.
—Alright.
—If you need anything, I'll be in the living room.
Then someone knocked on the door.
I opened it... and it was them.
My friends.
Saku and Akashi.
—...
—What are you guys doing here?
—How did you find me?
—We put a tracker on your phone —Akashi said.
I sighed.
—You idiots.
—Well...
—Kaji —Hana called me.
—Can you come help me, please?
—Looks like they're calling you —Saku said.
—So... you're just going to leave us here—
—No way!
I shut the door
and went to Hana's room.
—What's wrong?
—Could you help me dry my hair?
—Sure.
She handed me a hair dryer, and I helped her.
—I heard people at the door —Hana said.
—Who were they?
—Just some friends.
—I told them I was taking care of you, and they followed me.
—Let them come in —Hana replied.
—What?
—But...
—It's rude to leave people outside.
—A lot of times, that can be dangerous —I said.
—You know them, right?
—Then let them in.
So I went.
I opened the door and called them.
—Hey, you idiots!
—Yeah?
—You can come in, but I don't want you to—
—Thanks.
—HEY!
Hana laughed softly as she listened to everything.
Then I brought them to Hana.
—Alright.
—These are Saku and Akashi.
—And this is Hana.
They suddenly stepped closer.
—Nice to meet you —they both said at the same time.
—Hey, don't get too close!
I said as I grabbed them by their shirts.
They pulled up some chairs
and sat next to Hana.
Then they started asking her stupid questions.
—Do you like Kaji?
—What do you eat every day?
—How does Kaji treat you?
—What kind of illness do you have?
—Can I touch your hand?
—Do you like me?
Everything suddenly went silent.
I laughed at them.
—Alright, that's enough nonsense.
—You've seen who I take care of, happy now?
Hana let out a laugh.
—It's nice to meet you —Hana said.
—Likewise —they replied.
—Actually, we were heading to our training.
—It's close to here.
—We stopped by to visit our great friend Kaji —Akashi said.
—He's a good person.
—You can trust him, just like we do —Saku said.
—Alright.
—We're heading out now.
—Take care.
—Bye —Hana said.
—Your friends are funny.
—Hm... yeah, you're right.
The rest of the time flew by.
We ate,
played some board games that were there,
and I made her listen to some new music.
In the end, I told her story again
until she fell asleep from exhaustion.
—Rest well, Hana.
It was exactly 7 o'clock.
I went to the living room,
and at that moment, Mr. Kiro arrived.
—Hello, Kaji.
—Hello, Mr. Kiro.
—Sorry for getting here so late.
—I had to do some extra work.
—Here's your pay.
—Sir...
—Yes?
—I'd like to know about Hana's mother...
—and about her illness.
—Yesterday, when I asked her about her mom...
—she started crying.
—Is Hana asleep?
—Yes, sir.
—Let's go outside. I want to tell you something.
We headed to a nearby park.
And he told me everything I had been wondering about.
—When Hana was born...
—my wife suffered an internal hemorrhage.
—She passed away that same day.
—Since then, everyone said it was Hana's fault.
—But she was never the problem.
—They pushed us out of their lives.
—My parents passed away when I was a child.
—When I turned 18, I left the orphanage.
—And that's when I met Hana's mother.
—We got married, and then we had her.
—After her death, we came to live here.
—But Hana was born sick.
—She has a heart condition that doesn't let her do much.
—She can't exert herself or get scared.
—That would be bad for her heart.
—The doctor said she would get better.
—But when we went today...
—he told us her illness is slowly getting worse.
Mr. Kiro began to shed tears.
—I don't want to lose her too.
—I promised I would take her to see the fireworks when she gets better...
—but I don't know if... she will.
—I'll take her.
—This weekend, there will be fireworks at night.
—If you allow me...
—I'll take her.
—I'll protect her from anything.
—I'll take care of her... forever.
Mr. Kiro looked at me and smiled.
—Of course.
—You're a good person, Kaji.
—Thank you for telling me everything...
—...Mr. Kiro.
—Well, I'll see you tomorrow, sir.
—Take care.
—See you later, kid.
After that, Mr. Kiro and I returned to our homes.
—Hi, Hana —Mr. Kiro whispered.
—Hi, Dad —she replied, half asleep.
—Where's Kaji? —she asked.
—He already went home.
—But he'll come again tomorrow.
—I don't know why I always get excited when he comes...
—It must be something good.
—Well, I'm going to bed now.
—Rest well, my daughter.
Mr. Kiro kissed her on the forehead and left her room,
so she could sleep peacefully.
Chapter 3: End