My Father's Secret

Chapter 18

Kimiko quickly settled into her room. She took a little time getting used to the new hospital room but adjusted very quickly. After all, she had been hospitalised all her life. She sat down at the coffee table beside the window and continued planning the science project. Unless Tsurugi miraculously changes over night, she would have to end up finishing the project on her own.

Soon enough, Fuyuka-san came back with Kimiko's dinner. She sat down and they talked about school life. Kimiko told her about Tsurugi and how frustrating he was to work with which lead their discussion to shift to Tsurugi.

"From what I've seen, Tsurugi-kun seems like a nice person. I think he just needs help with his life. After his brother was hospitalised, he didn't know what to do. He must have felt lonely because his parents had to work very hard to find money to send his brother to surgery. He's very closed the his brother so he visits his brother nearly everyday"

Thats probably why he didn't agree to do the science project together.

"Thanks for telling me, Fuyuka-san"

"I think if you get to know Tsurugi-kun better, you'll find that he is very different from how you described him to me"

"Have you faced anything like this before?" Kimiko asked the nurse.

"I have actually, when I was about your age"

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Sure. After I graduated my third year from Raimon, my dad, Coach Kudou, sent me to study high school in Hokkaido because he had a friend there who knew the owner of this famous university"

"Fubuki-san was also going to the same school and since we were once on the same team, he and I were close"

"From the outside, Fubuki was gentle and quiet and I never thought I would see his other side which was fierce and dark. He told me a story about how his brother, Atsuya lives inside his him. Though he managed to separate from his brother back in his junior high years, he never completely got rid of Atsuya"

"He told me how Atsuya haunted him in his dreams and how he could hear Atsuya's voice everywhere he went"

"Thats when I saw how afraid Fubuki was. So I helped him, by giving him company and comforting him whenever I could"

"You can never judge a book by it's cover because each one has it's own unique story"

"Wow, I never thought that Fubuki-san was so different from what I had imagined"

"I was surprised too"

"Thank you for everything Fuyuka-san. You've really helped me a lot. Ill try my best to understand Tsurugi so we can get this project done."

"No worries. I'm supposed to look after you and this is the least I can do. Now you should eat your dinner before it gets cold"

***

After talking with Fuyuka-san, Kimiko made a promise to do her best to get along with Tsurugi. But the talk also reminded Kimiko of a mother. Fuyuka-san was so caring and mother-like just like Aki-neesan but Kimiko always wondered about her real mother.

Yuuka never mentioned her before when they talked and she never saw her mother at home. So where exactly was she? Were her parents divorced?

There were so many things on her mind she decided to go for a walk in the hospital gardens to get her mind off everything. She got out of her room, went down the elevator, and quietly slipped passed the reception desk.

It was late and she wasn't supposed to be out.

Kimiko successfully made it to the garden unseen by the staff in the hospital. That night, the crescent moon shone brightly in the clear night sky and the stars twinkled in the background. As she gazed up at the view, she walk through the gardens and took in deep breaths.

She was too busy stargazing to notice a boy in her path. He on the other hand was too absorbed in kicking a ball at the wall to notice her.

Thats when they collided.

"I'm sorry are you ok?" Kimiko asked, since it was her fault for not looking at where she was walking. Furthermore, she didn't expect anyone to be in the gardens at this time anyways.

"I'm fine are you alright?" the boy asked.

"Yeah" then Kimiko noticed the soccer ball on the ground beside the boy.

"You play soccer?"

"Yeah, but don't tell anyone I'm here or they'll drag me back to my room for sure. I'm not allowed to play soccer"

That reminded Kimiko of herself when she snuck out to play soccer at night. The nurses would have to run around the hospital trying to find her and bring her back to her room. The thought of it made her laugh.

"What's so funny?" the boy asked with a smile.

"Its just that I used to do exactly the same thing"

"Kimi-chan?" she heard someone call. It was definitely Fuyuka-san who realised she had gone missing.

"I have to go. The nurse is looking for me" Kimiko whispered.

"I should leave too. Don't want to get caught again" the boy whispered back with a laugh.

"Wait, what's you name?"

"Amemiya Taiyou. What's yours?"

"Ichinose Kimiko. See you around Amemiya-kun" and Kimiko disappeared into the night.

Yayy! Ive been waiting to update this chapter for so long cuz Taiyou is another one of the characters in the Go series to I really like.

From now on, Kimiko will be seeing Taiyou more often since she has a requirement to visit the hospital every week. What sort of relationship will they develop? Friends? Best friends? Or possibly even more...