The Liar and The Patient

The Patient

The news about Takagi's return spread around the class, and a touching welcome back party had been held. She didn't start over from second grade, instead, joined the others in third grade. For most people, they thought she was just that smart, but Nishikata knew the truth. Everything went back to normal for the class, as all the seats in the classroom were full again. Takagi was arranged to sit next to Nishikata, presumably by her own request. She still paid attention during every class, but spent noticeably more time teasing him. That said, she never interrupted his learning, only striking when the teacher went off topic or when he was getting drowsy in self-study.

Christmas was right around the corner, meaning that was the last school day of this semester. Next semester was when the entrance exam would take place, so most students had decided to use all their holiday on studying. While the same was for Nishikata, he had one day freed out.

The girls' chatters could be heard from across the classroom, though barely intelligible drowning in all the other noises. Takagi was laughing and chatting with her friends. She looked so happy, that it was hard to imagine her as someone whose life was on a timer. Her carefree smile stung Nishikata's heart a little every time he landed eyes on it, knowing the days he could see it were numbered. He turned away and rested his head on the desk. Few minutes later, he felt a gentle tap on the shoulder.

"What's on your mind~?" A familiar voice asked.

"Resting." Nishikata replied, not even bothering to raise his head up.

"You can't keep acting so grumpy." The voice continued as the sound of the seat beside him being pulled open followed. "You're gonna expose my secret."

Nishikata jolted slightly when he heard those words. He slowly raised his head up and turned his head to the side with his brows locked in a frown. Takagi was on her seat, looking at him with her hand supporting the side of her cheek and a huge smile on her mouth.

"Were you pretending to be happy back there so you don't raise suspicion?" Nishikata asked as he squinted his eyes.

"Not really." Takagi shook her head. "Why? Can't I have fun talking to them?"

"Do they know?" Nishikata continued asking.

"Not yet."

"Are you planning on telling them?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?" Nishikata felt an unknown anger ignite in his heart. He got up from the seat in a flash, making a loud squeak as his chair was launched away, scraping against the floor. He took Takagi by the right wrist. He didn't even care that the entire classroom's line of sights were on them when they walked out. He took her to the rooftop.

"Wow, I didn't know Nishikata can be so rough." Takagi said with a confused chuckle as soon as he let go of his grip. She rubbed her wrist with her left hand.

"How long are you going to hide it from them?" Nishikata asked in a gentle tone, trying his best to conceal the hint of aggression in his voice. "At least tell Sumire. She's your best friend after all."

"She would be sad." Takagi replied with a wry frown, like she was a mother dealing with a child who was throwing a tantrum.

"She would regret not spending more time with you when she knows about it after you're gone!" Nishikata raised his voice. "She has the right to know!"

"And what would that change?" Takagi tilted her head to the side.

"Huh?" Nishikata shook his head and took a step back, not believing what he just heard.

"Telling her would only create one more person grieving me when I'm still fine." Takagi explained with a painful chuckle. "If it was up to me, you wouldn't know as well."

Nishikata didn't reply. He lowered his head. His sense slowly came back to him, as he began to feel like a kid letting his parents down by misbehaving. All he could think about at that moment was how to apologize, biting his bottom lip so hard he felt like it was going to bleed.

"I didn't mean that..." He eventually muttered.

"I know." Takagi comforted him. "I won't tell anyone else for now. Can you keep the secret?"

He nodded.

"Fantastic!" She clapped her hands together. "I'll be under your care for the rest of my days then. Since you're the only one who knows, you are responsible for completing everything in my bucket list! Starting with taking me to Mount Fuji!"

"Mount Fuji?! How do I..." Nishikata groaned, but quickly obliged with a sigh. "I guess I deserve it..."

"I'm just kidding~" Takagi laughed and gave him a playful grin. "I'll be going on a trip there with my family next week. You go spend some more time with Natsu while I'm gone, but don't tell her my secret."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Nishikata asked as he slowly raised his head up a little.

"Stay happy for me?" Takagi shrugged. Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she pointed her index finger to the sky with a wide smile. "Ah! How about we start acting all lovey-dovey in school! Under the condition we won't interrupt your study of course."

"Eh?!" Nishikata's face was taken over by a deep flush. "You're joking, right?"

"I'm living my life!" Takagi chuckled. "Don't worry, I will try my best to contain myself."

"That's not comforting at all." Nishikata groaned as he turned his head away.

Takagi replied with a smile. The school had ended already, yet a lot of students still lingered in the campus, either for club activities or other reasons. Noises from the courtyard and runway below could be heard faintly, accompanied by gusts of chilling breeze. Nishikata trembled a bit from the cold and looked up into the sky. If there were clouds, the temperature would most certainly be low enough for a round of fabulous snow. However, a clear view of the gorgeous orange dusk was nice as well.

"Takagi-san, let's go down. It's getting really cold." Nishikata suggested.

"Can't we stay here for a little longer?" Takagi asked. She was speaking in a different tone, one softer than her usual voice. Nishikata turned around. Takagi was facing out from the fence with her eyes closed, seemingly enjoying the cold wind, even though he could see her trembling ever so slightly. Nishikata went and stood beside her, laying his jacket over her shoulders. Her only reaction was her smile growing a bit wider.

"I really look forward to our date on Christmas." Nishikata whispered in the silence.

"That's still a long time." Takagi turned to him with a grin, while the sunset reflected in her eyes a dazzling shade of pink.

"No, it will come really fast."

Nishikata exhaled lightly, billowing out a puff of white breath.