No Blossom

XIV

I waited a few minutes and after an eternity the man finally threw out his cigarette and stomped on it. But instead of going back into his own office, he walked over to the ramen cart and started talking with the owner. I sighed. Should I just go into the office now? I was being pathetic, but I couldn't help getting nervous in those kinds of situations.

But after grabbing his food Watanabe didn't go back into his own office, he went into Saya's.

Could this be it? Was she...was she seeing him again? But she had told me not to worry. I didn't think she would lie.

At that point I wasn't really nervous about confronting someone anymore, my heart was racing and I just wanted to find out the truth. So I barged into the office, and he was sitting there eating with another man. They were laughing so they were probably friends. That explained it.

"Are you a client?" The other man, a bit shorter and older, asked, looking at his wrist watch. "Who should you be meeting with?" Right, they must have thought I was there for work, I had shown up pretty unexpectedly.

"...Saya", I blurted out without really thinking. The man who I figured worked at the company muttered something and then looked over at Watanabe. "I haven't seen her around in a while. How long has it been now...two days?" Two...days? That was the last time I had seen her too. Why wouldn't she show up to work? She was a responsible woman.

I started to get worried. Was it because of me? Had I done something wrong? She might have skipped meeting me a few times because she had other things to do, but I couldn't imagine her skipping work. She wasn't that kind of person, I knew that much just from looking at her.

And that's why I was so worried.

I had been keeping her address on me in case I had the courage to go over there sometime. It was a bit far but it was still closer than my home. I had to make sure she was okay.

When I got to Kawasaki it was already dark. The streets were lit but I couldn't really make out the area like I would during the day. Finding her house wasn't hard because it was near the subway in the suburbs, not in the city center. It was a quiet neighborhood, that was good, it was probably a safe place to live. But I was surprised that she didn't live in an apartment building, it was a modern house with a small patio and windows facing the street.

Did she own the house? I never thought about how rich she was but assumed that she earned a lot more than I did. Was it...was it a bad thing? Would she like me more if I had a bigger income?

I was going to knock, but the door was already open. Not just unlocked, it hadn't even been closed properly. My heart started pounding again and I rushed inside. On the floor was a leather wallet and a bag of groceries. Green onions, rice, even a bottle of cooking wine.

"Saya-san?" I called out quietly, but she probably wouldn't have heard it. All I could hear was the sound of an air freshener running somewhere in the house. It was dark because there were no windows in the hall and by the looks of it the living room curtains had been shut. But I could still tell that there was a mirror on the wall, a plant in the corner and a bigger cupboard next to the opening that led into the living room. I moved towards the living room.

On the couch I could tell someone fidgeting and breathing unevenly, but I had to turn on the light to make sure it was Saya. "Saya?" She was asleep, but dripping of sweat. It looked like she was in pain. I approached her and tried her forehead. It was burning hot. "Saya! Wake up!" I began to panic and tried to shake her awake. How long had she been like this? Why hadn't she gone to a doctor?

Then again, maybe I was overreacting and she was just taking a nap. But the way she groaned drenched in sweat hurt me. Now that I thought about it, I had a cold too the week before. It was nothing serious so I didn't tell Saya not to come because of it. Had she gotten sick because of me? I stopped in my tracks and stared at her. "Kiryuu?"

"What is it?"

...

"There's a painkiller and water on the table. Can you give them to me?"

"Of course".

After some time she started to look a bit better and sat up. She didn't ask me why I was there and she didn't ask me to do anything else for her. I never wanted to tell her what to do, I was too scared to do that, but I still had to say it: "Please, can I take you to the hospital?" She noticed that I was looking at the door and the shopping bag on the floor. Shaking her hand she explained that she had just come back from the store and forgot to lock the door. "I'm alright now", She assured me.

But she didn't tell me to go home.

After eating an effortless dinner she drifted back to sleep on the couch, and it was silent again. I sat on the floor next to her and watched the lights flicker in the neighboring windows. I probably should have gone home, she wouldn't like if I stayed there for too long. It was her house and I showed up without a warning. Time flew by just with looking at her face as she slept. I took my laptop case and stood up, but something gripped onto my wrist. It was her.

She didn't tell me to stay with her, but her lips parted a bit like there was something she was thinking of saying. And then I remembered.

Even if she was alright.

I never wanted to leave her side.