The Happiest of Man

Chapter 8

It was a childish thing to say. He was aware of that much, but the desperation in wanting to get better was overwhelming him. It was the only explanation he could come up with to explain why he was saying things that he wouldn’t normally be found saying on a perfectly normal day.

The medicine wasn’t working, so what purpose did it serve? No matter how hard he tried to control his movements, they were either delayed or nonexistent. Sometimes, he just wanted to cry, but a man like him had no tears to shed in the first place.

Izaya felt extremely drained as he released a sigh from his mouth. Without turning towards Namie’s direction, he waddled his way to his bedroom which was up the stairs. He knew that it was going to be difficult to walk up there, but he was going to try to remain as “normal” and as composed as possible.

“I’m turning in for the evening. You’re free to return home.”

“This illness of yours . . .” Izaya grabbed a hold of the railing that was a part of the staircase as he didn’t dare to look over his shoulder.

“Do you know what it is?”

It didn’t take him until a minute (or even more) to finally reply with a hollow smile.

“That’s none of your concern.”

- -

When he had visited the hospital once again, he learned that he had to be hospitalized for a good month or two. Somehow, this will allow the doctors to diagnose him properly. They didn’t want to rely heavily on CT scans alone and it wasn’t entirely enough for them to decide what was wrong with him. Although they had a disease in mind, they wanted to make sure first. A little detail they had mentioned to him was the fact that they will send him to the largest hospital in Ikebukuro (“one of the best”, they said) and that caused him to grow slightly anxious. 

Many of his enemies resided in Ikebukuro. There were a handful of citizens there who know of him; his name, his face, what he does for a living, what he’s like thanks to those unnecessary rumors. If they were to hear that he was being hospitalized, he began to wonder what will become of him. In his current state, he probably won’t be able to get away with much unless luck was by his side at a given moment. Izaya was going to ask that he were to be transferred to another hospital, but he decided against it at the last minute. He shouldn’t complain or run with his tail between his legs. He can do this. If this was going to allow him to get better, then so be it. Besides, this illness can’t go on forever, right?

Izaya decided to begin his hospitalization the following week after he settled things with Namie.

The timing was somewhat perfect for him. It was just about time for him to give her the paycheck that she had been waiting for. Izaya wasn’t generous enough, so of course he didn’t add in any extra for her living expenses in those hotels she would frequently spend her nights in.

“I’m sure you can manage to find another job while I’m away.”

“Of course. Who do you take me for?”

They parted with Izaya smiling and Namie frowning as per usual. The card key she would usually leave with was no longer in her possession.