Savior

Day 42

Maeko spent the rest of the morning getting ready to go to the hospital. After asking permission from her aunt to go out, she called Riko and the others, informing them of her aunt's approval.

It was the first Christmas Maeko would spend at the hospital. She already ate some food with her aunt last midnight so she didn't mind going to the hospital for Teppei. She knew it must've been lonely for him to be stuck on the hospital bed on such a special day. Even she couldn't imagine spending it alone. She would've been crushed to pieces if that ever happened.

The trip to the hospital took longer than usual. She was calmed by the cool breeze blowing in front of her, though her body shivered as the snow hit her face. This was her first Christmas without Shuzo and surprisingly, it wasn't as painful or as sad as she expected it would a few months ago. It was as if her soul had already accepted that Shuzo was gone and would never come back.

Clearing her thoughts, she arrived at the hospital in warm spirits.

"The others are late," she muttered as she entered the hospital entrance.

The snowflake decorations inside were a sight to see for Maeko. She took pictures of them, sending it to the team's group chat before riding the elevator to the second floor. As the trip to Teppei's room ended, Maeko breathed heavily for a few seconds before opening the door.

Teppei's face lit up as soon as he saw Maeko enter. "Merry Christmas, Maeko-chan! You're early."

Maeko smiled. "You mean, I'm on time and the others are late."

"Probably Izuki's fault? Maybe he woke up late again."

Maeko shrugged and plopped on the nearest chair. "I'm not sure. Riko is usually early though."

Teppei grinned. "That's true. My grandparents couldn't visit me so I had to call the neighbor's phone to greet them. I don't want them to suffer the winter's cold just to go here."

Maeko handed Teppei a small package with a nervous smile on her face. She then placed a bento box on the table next to Teppei's bed. Pointing at it, she said, "Here's your breakfast for today. We'll eat a lot of snacks and delicious foods later. We plan to spend the whole day here!"

"That's amazing, Maeko-chan! Are you sure you all want to do this? I don't want to ruin your Christmas plans."

"Baka! This is our Christmas plan. Don't open your gift until later, alright?"

Teppei nodded. "Aww, that's too bad. I want to find out what it is already."

Maeko grinned. "Patience is a virtue."