Puppet Skin [OHSHC]

Chapter 14

Iiyo was currently resting on one of the beds, completely still except for the deep breathing. She wasn't shaking, and her arm wasn't rippling anymore. Umehito had Kageru go tell the class president of the situation, just so he could calm down from his worries and his anger alone. After the nurses told him that she would be fine, he felt better, but his hands wouldn't stop fidgeting, or squeezing the cell phone he had given her. As soon as the class president heard of the news, they rushed over to the infirmary where Umehito re-explained the situation to get the president to calm down, telling him that she needed to rest (assuming that it was a seizure). It was getting closer to their shift for the festival, so of course the class president would be panicking. Umehito had to assure him several times that he and Kageru would be at their tables by the time their shift started, before the class president finally left, leaving him and Kageru the only conscious ones in the room.

Umehito didn't pull off his hood or bother to look at him, away from Iiyo. "What happened? Tell me every detail." His seething tone scared Kageru, who wasn't ignorant about Umehito's favorite hobbies.

"I needed to talk to her, and knew she would be coming from her writing class at some point, so I waited around. When I saw her, I grabbed her hand, trying to surprise her, it being Halloween and all." Umehito's suspicions were proven. "I had no idea she would scream that loud. It was just supposed to be a tease, a joke." Kageru's hand clenched. "She wandered down the hall, telling me to stay away, but she looked like she was in pain, and she was having trouble breathing. I tried to get her to walk in the direction of the infirmary, but she wouldn't have it, and then she collapsed in the science room and started shaking. I called her name, but she didn't respond. That's when you called."

The boy in black didn't say anything for a while, measuring Kageru's reliability. It was obvious that Kageru was oblivious of Iiyo's reluctance of physical contact, and knew nothing of how it caused physical pain. If he had been lying, he would have left the part out about him touching her, he knew, but he was still mad, mostly because Iiyo had been hurt.

Iiyo's closed eyes started darting around, and her brows furrowed together. Her hands grasped her blankets, and she started groaning, as if in pain.

Kageru was about to reach for her hand, but Umehito forced it away before any contact was made. "Don't touch her!" He made sure to stand between the bed and Kageru.

"What is wrong with you?" Kageru growled. "Aren't friends supposed to help each other? You're her friend, aren't you?"

"And friends don't hurt each other. If you touch her, you are hurting her," Umehito quipped. "Don't touch her."

"Why the hell not?"

"It's not my business to tell you. Just know that physical contact puts her under a grand amount of torture."

"What? 'Physical con—.'" That's when Kageru realized his mistake, his surprise overtaking his face. "When I grabbed her hand . . .?"

"Yes. That's what caused her attack." He sat back down in his stool when Kageru clearly got the message.

Kageru dragged a stool over to sit a few feet away from the other. "Why?"

"I don't know. It never seemed to hinder her, so I never felt the need to ask." Not immediately anyway. He had been trying the respect the boundaries Iiyo had given him, but the mystery had been gnawing at him. Out of the corner of his eye, in between the tresses of his wig, he saw Kageru pop a couple of pills, and take a swig from his water bottle. When Kageru looked back, catching Umehito, Umehito looked away.

"Fukuda-san knew. I'm not sure how she knew, but she knew. That was one of the things I wanted to talk to her about." Kageru cleared his throat, and casually told Umehito. It wasn't as if it was a big secret, it was just something he didn't particularly like making a conversation about. "Since I was little my chest would occasionally hurt, but since it would always go away, I didn't think anything of it. Then, last year, it started hurting especially bad, for longer periods of time. I finally told my parents, but all the doctors could say was that it was pretty bad. They said while I wouldn't need surgery immediately, that it's something I can live with, there are some things I won't be able to do because of it, and even if I'm careful, there is a possibility that I could die from it. What made it worse was that my girlfriend kept urging me to just go through with the surgery and get it over with, and when I wouldn't make up my mind fast enough, she dumped me for someone with a jockstrap for a brain."

"And you got in a fight with him?" Umehito slipped.

Kageru blinked. "Yeah, he kept mocking me for not being man enough. How did you know about that?"

"Er, so Fukuda-san knew you were sick?" Umehito tried his luck at changing the subject. He didn't want to seem like a gossiper confirming a rumor.

"Yeah. It was weird. She asked me about it when I felt like I was at one of my lowest points. We talked about it, and I finally decided to go through with the surgery. In fact, I'm getting my surgery tomorrow, so I wouldn't be able to stay at school in case I would end up needing multiple surgeries, which is why it was urgent that I talk to her tonight."

And thus, all of the puzzle pieces were in place. Kageru wasn't abusive; he wasn't manipulating her, and didn't mean to hurt her at all. Wazuka's story was wrong in the presumptuous way. "I apologize, Minoshita-san. I shall cancel out the curse I had placed upon you immediately."

Kageru became appalled. "What?"

"You should thank Fukuda-san when she wakes up. If it wasn't for her overwhelming desire for your safety, and for her to see that safety with her own eyes, you would have been forcibly removed from the school, and would have never be heard from again. It must have been her strong feelings that halted the curse."

Kageru thought best to not question what "forcibly removed" would have meant, and just counted himself lucky it didn't happen.

"Hmm, interesting," Umehito muttered to himself, curling a pale hand over his chin, smiling, and creeping Kageru out. Iiyo had never performed any sort of spell, so her feelings must have been especially strong to counter a curse from such an experienced practitioner. She definitely had promise.

As if the devil heard his thoughts, Iiyo sat up rubbing her eyes and her temple. "Whoa, that wasn't at all fun," she uttered. She had a slight headache, but other than that, seemed reasonably OK.

"Fukuda-san, are you alright?" Kageru and Umehito had asked simultaneously, standing up.

Iiyo was surprised to see them both standing right next to the bed she was sitting on. "Uh, yeah, I'm OK. What's up with you two? You look really . . . tense."

Umehito smiled, knowing that Iiyo would be alright. "I'll go let the class president know that you're awake. Take your time; I won't expect for you to be at your table immediately, so it's perfectly fine if you're late." He handed Iiyo back the phone he lent her. "Text me when you're ready, and I'll come back to escort you. In the meantime, I think Minoshita-san had something to tell you?" Umehito stood up and nodded to Kageru before taking his leave. He had finally no need to be worried. For tonight, at least.