The Liar and The Patient

Lively

This dress is for the you who are losing hope.

Off was the light blue hospital gown, and on with the long sleeve sailor outfit. It had been almost a year since Takagi last donned this uniform. She missed it so much. The long sleeves perfectly covered an arm full of tubes and needles, save for the ones on the back of her hand. Brown loafers, black silk long socks, blue skirt, and of course: the red ribbon at the front. She had thought about changing hairstyle, but kept the classic straight long hair Nishikata knew best.

It was like she never left.

"Sorry for bothering!"

The sound of the door sliding open had Takagi's grin growing wider. She did a graceful turn and met face with Nishikata. The dumbfounded boy was in a plain gray shirt and dark blue jeans. Hanging from one arm was a light gray jacket while his other hand was holding a basket.

"You are well dressed." Takagi smiled as she swung her hands to the back. "Are you this excited for today's date?"

"M-More or less..." Nishikata's blush reinforced his words. "Y-You look nice too."

"Thank you!" The girl did a spin around to show the uniform off. "I haven't worn it in too long so I decided to wear it today for our date!"

When she mentioned the word date, she could clearly see Nishikata jolt ever so slightly. His nervousness was all written on his face in the forms of blushes, drifting pupils, and pursing lips. Though it had only been a week since she last saw these adorable reactions, it felt somehow nostalgic. A playful grin emerged from her cheeks.

"Are you embarrassed about our date?" Takagi walked up to him and leaned forward, putting emphasis on the word 'date'. "You are the one that suggested the date though~"

"Pretty sure you are the one to suggest..." Nishikata turned his head to the side as his flush deepened.

"Suggest what~?" Takagi leaned even closer to him, causing him to tilt back.

"W-We should g-get going now, T-Takagi-san." Nishikata stuttered as he took a step back.

"Sure!" Takagi smiled and got back up straight. "Let's go on the date."

-----

The gentle breeze of autumn graced the day with the perfect weather to go out. The patched of clouds were just enough to shield the ground of the fierce sunlight of noon but not cover the aqua sky. With Nishikata leading the way, Takagi followed behind at a steady pace, resisting the urge to skip with excitement. Her gentle steps were accompanied with the satisfying crunches whenever her loafers landed on dry leaves, which there were plenty on the pavement of the park. Around half of the trees were dyed with mellow orange and yellow, mixed in with the still vibrant evergreens to create a picture ripped straight from a realism painting. There were families, friends, and couples on picnic mats and indulging in the pleasant weather and the gorgeous scenery. Takagi glanced at the basket Nishikata was holding. A smile emerged from her face.

They stopped by a tree, as Nishikata took a white and red checkered picnic mat out from the basket and laid it down under it.

"A picnic? In Tokyo?" Takagi chuckled.

"I don't want to make you too tired..." Nishikata murmured as he opened the basket and began taking out the contents inside.

"Very 'Nishikata' like though." Takagi smiled and sat down. "I like it."

Nishikata simply replied with a blush, continuing setting up the picnic without a word. Sandwiches, rice balls, fried chickens, fruits, even cakes; the variety in the basket had Takagi speechless, staring in awe. Nishikata handed her a rice ball.