Fall On Me | ✔

XXV

Ezra stared at Subaru's exhausted form with a worried look. He didn't need to ask Subaru if he ran all the way here. Ezra immediately dragged Subaru inside and went to the kitchen to give him water. Now the two of them are sitting on the couch as Subaru drank the entire glass of water. With a few coughs later, they were silent. Ezra waited for Subaru to say something but since he didn't, Ezra decided to go first.

"So you figured it out?"

Subaru froze. "So I was right?"

Ezra nodded.

"You're the last clue?"

Ezra winced at the tone but he nodded his head again.

"How are you the last clue? How?"

Ezra bit his lip. "It's a long story."

"Try me." Subaru demanded.

Ezra didn't know where to start. Subaru waited patiently for Ezra to start and Ezra is grateful for that. Finally he spoke.

"2 years ago, I visited Japan for the first time after Shira's death."

Subaru froze. "I forgot what park it was but I got lost inside the park. That's when I bumped into Yume."

"She didn't know that I can speak Japanese so she tried to talk to me in English but I told her that I can speak Japanese and she relaxed. I asked her where the exit was and she told me to follow her because that's where she was going as well. I don't know how long the walk was but I did know that when we were almost to the exit, she fainted. I panicked and you know what I did next?" Ezra faced Subaru, biting back a smile.

Subaru shook his head. "I brought her to the hospital."

Subaru laughed dryly. Ezra can't help but smile. "Thinking back now, it was a silly thing to do."

"Yume thought so to. When she woke up and I told her that she fainted and that she's in the hospital, she laughed. I couldn't blame her. I guess before I left she told me her secret." Ezra paused. "Her disease."

They were both silent. "Why?"

Ezra chuckled dryly. "If it's a stranger who new of my disease, if it's a person who knows nothing of me, then it's alright. It won't be my secret anymore, Is what she told me."

Subaru had a bitter look on his face. "Did she know that you were Koharu's cousin?"

Ezra shook his head. "No."

"I didn't think we would see each other again and well I thought that it was weird for her to tell a total stranger about her... well disease."

Silence.

"Then 3 days later, I bumped into her at a cafe." Ezra scrunched up his nose. "I forgot what cafe it was but I bumped into her and surprisingly we talked. I guess you could say that we're acquaintances? I don't know what friendship we had but," Ezra paused. Subaru couldn't blame him. "It was a nice friendship."

Ezra smiled bitterly. Relieving the memories hurt. "That year Subaru, she only had 5 months left to live."

"What?" Subaru couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"She only had 5 months left and she wanted to do the things she wanted."

"But she could have told me-"

Ezra shook his head. Oh it hurts. "Yeah, she could have. I asked her the same question you did. 'Why can't you tell him about your disease?' And you know what she said?"

Subaru stayed silent.

"It'll break him."

"And it did!" Subaru yelled. "I had to find out that day! The day she died!"