Chapter 3
The nurse who came when I pressed the call button wasn’t Ms. Mochizuki, but someone I’d never seen before. When I told her, “I heard a strange voice,” she gave me a pitying look for some reason.
After that, I desperately pleaded with her to remove the tubes and diaper attached to my precious body, but she said they couldn’t be taken off without the doctor’s permission. She promised me she’d tell my attending physician—the thin-faced doctor—once morning came, but then told me, “Just sleep for now,” which left me shocked.
That morning, the doctor came around for his rounds and actually granted my request from the night before. Strangely, though, he also said, “I’m not a specialist in that area, so if something happens, I’ll write you a referral letter.” I had no idea what he was talking about.
I was also told that starting today, I’d be given meals. The first would be rice gruel, but since I hadn’t eaten solid food in days, I was starving.
I just wanted to eat something soon…
By the end of the morning, all the equipment except for one IV drip had been removed. Rehab was supposed to begin in the afternoon.
The first step, apparently, was light walking practice. I could already make it to the room’s toilet just fine, so walking didn’t seem like a problem.
What concerned me more was that my body seemed… different. More solid, even. When I flexed my arm slightly, a bicep bulged up, and my chest felt broader. Even my abs looked faintly defined.
“Did I build muscle from all that bike riding?”
When I first moved here, I rode my bike all over the place, trying to be alone. Maybe that helped? No… muscle doesn’t just appear that quickly. Must be my imagination.
Still, this white hair really stands out. I’ll have to dye it right after I’m discharged…
When I brushed aside my slightly long bangs in front of the mirror, I noticed a tree-branch-shaped scar on the edge of my forehead, too.
“Great… if I don’t keep my hair long, it’ll really show.”
It put me in a terrible mood, but I decided to remind myself that just being alive was better than nothing.
◇◇◇
In the evening, Aunt Akane came to visit me.
“Ken-chan, the doctor told me you’re recovering well. If all goes smoothly, you could be discharged the day after tomorrow.”
It seemed she had spoken with my doctor on her way to my room.
“You don’t need to come visit me every day, Aunt Akane. You must be tired from work. Plus, you still need to make dinner.”
“It’s fine. Chiho helps with dinner, and my husband picks up Kaho from preschool.”
Aunt Akane works at City Hall. Her husband, Yukio, is a teacher at a special needs school—gentle and calm, the kind of adult man you can respect. Their daughters, Chiho (the elder) and Kaho (the younger), are my cousins. Chiho is the same age as me, a first-year high schooler, though we’ve never spoken at school. Little Kaho is three and goes to preschool.
The Yuzuki household is actually my mother’s family home. Since it was just my mom and Aunt Akane as siblings, Yukio married into the family. Sadly, my grandparents passed away five years ago.
The Yuzukis are an ideal family, full of warmth and care for each other. I, the outsider, would only disrupt that harmony. That’s why I live alone in my late grandparents’ old 60-year-old single-story house.
That home faces a garden on the south side, beyond which lies farmland. Past the fields stands the new house where Aunt Akane and her family live.
“I’m surprised, though. I didn’t think Chi-chan could cook.”
“Hehe, I know what you mean. She used to run around outside and come home covered in dirt, but after Kaho was born, she grew more responsible. She says she wants to be a big sister Kaho can look up to.”
“Really? Huh…”
Chiho—Chi-chan—and I used to play together when we were little. During summer break, her friend Mii-chan often joined us, and the three of us would go on little adventures. Those are good memories. But as we grew older, Chi-chan clung more to my sister Rinne, since she admired her. Because of that, I doubt Chi-chan thinks highly of me, the family’s black sheep.
“Ken-chan, you should just live with us. There’s no need to hold back.”
“I’m not holding back. I just feel more at ease being on my own. Honestly, I’m the one who should be apologizing for staying in Grandpa’s house, which was supposed to be demolished.”
“We don’t mind you living there, but that house is getting pretty run down.”
“It’s fine. It’s still livable.”
Unlike my proud and cold mother, Aunt Akane has a soft, carefree personality, and she’s always kind to me.
“And wow, your hair really did turn completely white. You’re too young for ‘romance gray,’ but it actually suits you.”
She wasn’t shocked by my hair at all. My mother, on the other hand, would have snapped, “It looks disgraceful. Dye it immediately.”
“By the way, your sister called.”
“…I see.”
So my mother had contacted them. The air in the room suddenly grew heavy. Since I came here, I hadn’t seen my parents or sister. Honestly, I preferred it that way. I had no desire to see them.
“She said she’s worried about you.”
I couldn’t respond. I knew Aunt Akane was just being considerate. There’s no way my sister actually worried about me—the family nuisance. If she had, she would have come while I was on the verge of death in the hospital. But she hadn’t.
Thinking about that left a sour taste in my mouth… and a wave of drowsiness washed over me.
Since waking up, I’d been hit with sudden bouts of sleepiness. Maybe I wasn’t fully recovered yet.
“Sorry, Aunt Akane, I’m really sleepy. I’m going to rest for a bit.”
“O-okay. Rest well, then.”
Looking a little lonely, she said, “I’ll come again tomorrow,” before leaving the room.
◇◇◇
After that, the sudden drowsiness kept hitting me, and my discharge was postponed by a day. The doctor said there were no abnormalities in my tests and suggested it might be psychological.
On the day I was finally discharged, Aunt Akane came to pick me up. She invited me to celebrate with the Yuzuki family, but I politely declined.
Her face looked so sad, but I just couldn’t step into that bright household. Still, she insisted I take the food she had prepared for the celebration. Since I didn’t feel like cooking for myself, I gratefully accepted it.
“Haah… school starts tomorrow…”
Golden Week was already over. The thought of returning to that prison-like daily life was suffocating.
Still, I knew I had to graduate. My parents said, “You’ll only get tuition support if you graduate with good grades.” Studying itself wasn’t hard for me, but of course, I resented their conditions. Even so, for now, it was better to play along and use them until I could become independent.
Right—my hair. I needed to dye it.
On the way home from the hospital today, I’d stopped at a drugstore to buy dye. Following the instructions, I stripped down to my waist and applied it to my hair. In the mirror, the tree-branch-like scar on my chest stood out clearly.
“Hah… I look like some cringy chuunibyou cosplayer.”
My reflection was painful to look at. But more than that, my clearly changed physique bothered me.
Even though I’d hardly exercised before, my body was toned, with well-defined muscle. The abs weren’t an illusion.
“What’s going on with me…?”
I’d never heard of lightning strikes developing muscles, and when I checked online, no such cases existed.
Beep… beep…
The alarm I’d set went off. It was time to wash out the dye.
I rinsed it off in the shower and dried my hair lightly with a towel.
“…What!?”
Staring at the mirror, I was dumbfounded. Despite following the instructions, my hair hadn’t dyed black at all.
“Did I mess it up? Or is this a defective product?”
Either way, I’d have to redo it. Otherwise, I’d show up at school tomorrow with white hair—something I absolutely had to avoid.
It was 7 p.m., and the stores were still open. So I hopped on my bike and rode off to buy more dye at the drugstore.
