"Miss, please don't do this," Harumi begs me.
I ignore her and remove the IV. Who brought me back to the hospital? This is the most hateful place in the world. Why do I keep showing my weaknesses to the Kamiyama family?
"Where is your master?" I ask her with a low voice.
"He is talking to the doctor, miss." Harumi looks at my wrist. "I will call the nurse. Please stay here. You are still weak."
After she leaves to call the nurse, I walk to the doctor's office. Harumi I need to tell Kamiyama that I can't work with Chisa. I will never ever share the same breathing space with her. If he tries to force me, I don't know what I will do. I am already on the verge of losing my mind.
"I see." I hear his deep voice. I stand close to the door to hear their conversation.
"From what I heard, she might be like this because of the deep scars on her heart. It could be related to childhood trauma." I hear the Doctor's voice. "Mr. Kamiyama, it is better if you show care when you are with her. Forcing her might cause more incidents like this."
Kamiyama already knows. Is that why he brought her in front of me? That must be it. This cruel man can do anything to achieve his goal. He wants to torture me for ruining his family's reputation. It makes sense now. Why would Chisa appear before me like this? I also met Miwako at the hospital when I was here a few days ago. I thought that it was a coincidence.
I was wrong. They are all in this together. He is probably sent by Chisa herself. They seem close too. Sending that reporter, breaking my house, dragging me to the Kamiyama family, lying and sleeping with me, taking me to the restaurant, the wrong train, acting nice and strange at the same time, and the gaming company... It makes sense now. It's all planned by Chisa and Kamiyama.
***
"Master, Miss Takeuchi is gone!" Harumi barges into the office. "I can't find her anywhere."
Kamiyama grimaces at her. "I told you to not leave her alone for a single second."
Harumi kneels on the floor. "It's my fault. Please punish me."
"Isn't it the second time?" The doctor sighs. "Calm down, Mr. Kamiyama. We will look for her."
That girl! Why does she always run away like this? Kiyohira takes a deep breath. "Close all the exits. She can't leave the hospital. I want her to get treated."
"Um... Mr. Kamiyama, her mental illness can't be treated in one day. You can't force her to go through therapy. Forcing her might make it worse. You have to be extremely cautious when you are with her. Otherwise, you might end up giving her new scars," The doctor says slowly. "I agree that we should find her first."
Kiyohira squeezes his eyes close. He hasn't been cautious with her. He might have done something worse. He thought that she would be happy if he gives her a job that is related to video games. Instead of being happy, she turned out like this. When it comes to her, all of his actions are just wrong.
"I won't force her to anything anymore," He tells the doctor. "Find her first."
***
I lean toward the window. I managed to run away from the hospital. Kamiyama was busy talking with the doctor. Harumi was busy looking for the nurse. I escaped before they could find out. I can't stay anywhere near Chisa or Kamiyama. Both of them wants to turn me into their toys. I won't let them win in this lifetime. If I can't fight them, I will rather die.
I thought that my hell was over when Chisa had to move away because her mother remarried during the second year of high school. I didn't see her again. Without Chisa, Miwako was nothing. Still, I hated going to school. I barely managed to graduate. I thought that I would never see Chisa again. She must have planned the scandal to bring me out of my house. I can't trust anything anymore.
I don't know where this train is going. My destination is anywhere I can breathe.
"Ah, we meet again." A joyful voice wakes me out of my thoughts.
"Who?" I shift closer to the window.
"Don't remember me?" The man is in his late fifties. His eyes twinkle when he smiles. "I shaved my beard."
"That homeless old man who lived under the bridge?" I ask hesitantly.
"Haha, Yes!" He gives me a thump up. "I am homeless though."
He is not wearing rags today. He is dressed in a clean black suit. He is wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a hat. It's another coincidence that I am meeting him here.
I ask him suspiciously. "Are you stalking me?"
"What?" He looks at me with shock. "Of course, not. I am visiting my daughter. I told you about her last time. Look."
He shows me his ticket. "I am going to F city."
I look at mine. I am going to KA city. It's 13 hours journey. Fine. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."
"Are you running away?"
I stare at the old man. What's his problem? Is it an occupational hazard that he can't stop asking questions? "Old man, I am not your patient."
"Aish! I am just trying to have a conversation." He seems slightly irritated. "Did something happen recently?"
"Stop talking." I already have a headache. His voice sounds like sandpaper rubbing against the whiteboard.
"Take this." He brings out a pill bottle from his bag and places it in front of me. "It's good for calming the mind. I don't have any other medicine for your problem right now. I will write a prescription. You should get them if you don't want the symptoms to get worse. By the way, how long has it been since you stopped your medications?"
"I won't take medicines from strange old men. I don't want the prescription either." I hate people like this the most. My grandfather forced me to see one when I was in middle school. I hated eating those pills. I stopped after he died during my high school years. It's been years. I was fine for all these years. "How do you know that I used to take medication?"
"I can tell." He picks up the pill bottle and puts it back into his bag. "See someone before it gets bad."
It's better if it gets bad.
"Someone would be upset if something bad happens to you." He doesn't stop speaking at all. "That young man seemed worried about you."
That young man is Kamiyama who jumped into the river like a fool. For a moment, I also thought that he was worried about me. It's all a lie.
"You are mistaken, Old man." I chuckle. "I am going to sleep. Don't bother me."
"It's confirmed that she went to the train station."
It's been two hours since she disappeared. He has been looking for her everywhere. Someone people have seen her hail a taxi outside the hospital.
"Which train did she take?" He asks Mizutani over the phone.
"We don't know yet." Mizutani sounds anxious. "It's better if we sue her for breaking the contract and ask the cops to find her."
"No, keep looking. Nobody must find out especially, the media." Suing her isn't an answer. "Send me the list of the trains that left the station within half an hour after she arrived. Look for her friends or relatives who live in other cities. Have you sent me the information?"
He hangs up the phone and takes a deep breath. Where could she go? What did he do this time? Did she hate changing the job that much? She seemed like she cared about Takeshi. Why would she run away?
"Kiyohira, if she wants to leave, don't look for her." His grandmother speaks with a soured face. "Ever since she came here, she has been stirring trouble."
His fingers pause on the screen of the phone. "We need her to fix the -"
"I have found another way." His grandmother interrupts him before he can finish.
"What another way?" He takes a seat in front of his grandmother.
Grandmother Kamiyama stares at her grandson. Her grandson's interest in that girl is frightening her. At first, she thought that he just wanted to use that girl to fix what was wronged. After hearing that he has taken her to the same rooftop restaurant where her son used to take his family to celebrate happy happenings in the family, she is afraid that Kiyohira is falling for that girl's seduction. She also heard that her grandson personally cooked for Hitomi's daughter. She recently found out that he spent the night with that girl at his personal villa before bringing that girl here.
"Her father is coming. He would take responsibility for her."
"Her father who abandoned her when she was only eight?" Kiyohira clenches his fists. "Does it makes sense that he wants to take responsibility for her now?"
"Does it makes sense that we are taking the responsibility because of her dead mother? We are forced to take the responsibility of a grown-up woman who chose to live that life." Grandmother Kamiyama scolds him. "It's better if it is her father who handles her. We aren't her family. You have to protect Kamiyama Groups and your younger brother. Because of a woman who isn't even a proper human being, you can't ruin the Kamiyama family. Remember that she is still your stepsister. Takeshi is blood-related to both of you."
Kiyohira didn't miss the warning in his grandmother's sharp voice. Takeuchi Rie is his stepsister. He can't look at her as a man.
Grandmother Kamiyama glances at him once. He hasn't said anything. He hasn't given up either. Her grandson has never been interested in anyone. Why is it that girl? Hitomi's daughter can never be accepted into the Kamiyama family. At this crucial time, it's better if her grandson marries a girl from a powerful family. Someone like Hashimoto Chisa is more suitable. Though Hashimoto Chisa is not linked by blood to the Hashimoto family, she is loved and treasured by her stepfather. Hashimoto Chisa's stepfather was a close friend of Kamiyama Shintaro. That's how Kiyohira and Chisa met.
Grandmother Kamiyama makes a decision silently. She leaves Kamiyama alone in the living room. Her son made a mistake by falling for Hitomi's seductive charms years ago. They are still suffering because of it. She won't let her grandson make the same mistake and bring ruins to Kamiyama Groups and Takeshi.
Kiyohira opens the file on his phone. Mizutani has sent an investigation report of Takeuchi's past. During middle school, drugs were found in her bags. She also mixed aphrodisiac in a boy's drink and tried to rape him. When he resisted, she pushed him out the window. She was reported for bullying younger students and providing prostitution services outside school. She was almost suspended, but she was kept in the school because of her grandfather who paid a huge donation to the school.
Bully? Prostitution? That doesn't sound like her at all. This is a complete lie.
He checks her grades. Until the age of eight, her grades were good. After her parents' divorce, there was a significant drop in her grades. She often went to the hospital for stomach pain to skip school. She hung out in the arcade for gaming. He looks at her medical reports. She is found to visit a therapist weekly from the second year of middle school. She stopped after her grandfather died.
He needs to see that therapist and that boy who was pushed out of the window.
***
"Hey, wake up," The old man yells.
He succeeds in waking me up. "What?"
"It's been eight hours. How long are you going to sleep?" He tosses a beer can in my direction. "Drink up."
I look at the can to check the expiry date.
"I brought it today." He sips the beer. "Can you drink it?"
Can I? That's a good question. This reminds me of the time when that boy gave me the drugged juice can. I toss it back at the old man. "Don't try to act familiar with me."
"My station is almost here." He pretends like he didn't hear anything. "Do you still have my card? If anything happens, give me a call."
"Old man!" I glare at him. "Why would I give you a call? Are you my family?"
"I have chosen you as my patient." He crushes the can. "You told me that you have no one. As a doctor, I feel responsible for my patients. You can give me a call anytime. If I can't come, my student will come to get you. Here, I am giving you another card. Keep it safe."
He tosses a card in my lap. He gets up and picks up his bag. "You can call me even if you just want to have a drink or wish me on new year day."
The new year is four months away. What is this old man made of? "Hey, I am never calling you."
The train stops at the station. He grins and walks away.
Good riddance!
I look at the card carefully.
Dr. Umezaki Yushiro.
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