There Might Not Be a Tomorrow

Surprise Discovery

    Next Monday came as well as Tendou's return to school. Strangely though, Tendou didn't look too well. His skin had turned a corpse-pale from his natural light-tan compelxion. His hair had lost some of its sheen. There were bags under his eyes and his eyes themselves were reddish pink making him look sleep-deprived. The area around his eyes was dark as well. Overall, he looked like a skin-walker murdered him and was using his skin to disguise itself as a human. Tsukasa was shocked by how he looked. "Whoa! You okay, Tendou? You don't look--you look...not you." In a soft voice, Tendou replied, "Hm? Oh, no I'm fine. I just...got back from the....hospital. It was.....some sort of food....poisoning...nothing big." When the rest of the group showed up to class they were just as surprised and shocked at Tendou's current state of well-being. "Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! I'm very, truly, deeply, sincerely sorry for this...I'm the one who took us to have Chinese food. We should've gone somewhere else." Masahiro felt incredibly guilty for being the sole cause of Tendou's diminished health. "No, no....it's okay. It wasn't your fault....things happen....you know? There's no need to be sorry."

     Throughout the day Tendou began to look more like himself and concerns for his well-being subsided. After school had ended many of them had someone take them home with the exception of Yuusuke and Tendou. The walk home was mostly filled with empty conversations about classes, homework, and any other topic about what had happened today. 

"Hey, Tendou? That wasn't food poison was it? You know, this morning when you didn't look to good?"

"It was something, I tell ya. My stomach just felt weird and I started to feel really nauseous so my mom took me to the hospital. They gave me some medicine and we went home. Oh man, I was bed-ridden for a week but at least I got to catch up on my reading for World History class."

Yuusuke acted as though he was satisfied with the excuse although he still had a hunch of suspicion. 

"Oh! I almost forgot! Souji, do you mind coming over to my house to help me finish my project? It was supposed to be due last week but because I was gone my teacher gave me an extra few days to complete it."

"Yeah, I don't mind. Plus, I can actually get to see your house!"

Once they reached Tendou's residence, Yuusuke was taken aback by how fancy and "upper-class" the house looked.

"Holy--Wow! Um...what does your mom do for a living?"

"She's a real estate agent. We're not wealthy by any means but she has connections within the business so we got a great deal for this house without it burying us in mortgage payments. Cool, huh? Anyways, let's go inside. I can show you around the house when my project's done."

When they were done with Tendou's project, Yuusuke assisted in cleaning up the mess they made in his room while Tendou went into the kitchen to make them food. As he was picking up crumpled and semi-glued papers he came across a opened enveloped with a hospital emblem on it. Not really being a nosy person he just couldn't help to see what was inside the letter. "Hmm....this was a few months ago. Blah-blah-blah....diagnostics....blood pressure....cardio-myofilaments weakening?....irregular beats....rejecting donor tissue? Signs of progress are negative....what is this?" Being so compelled to the letter, Yuusuke didn't pay attention to Tendou's footsteps coming closer and closer to his room until they paused in the doorway.

"Yo, Yuusuke, I made us some food! Come have some before you go--" Tendou paused and saw what Yuusuke was holding in his hand. "Souji?" Yuusuke slowly turned around with a somber look on his face. He looked up from the paper and into Tendou's eyes.

"You're dying......aren't you?" 

Tendou just looked at Yuusuke with a disappointed look on his face. Not wanting to continue with this subject Tendou suggested they go eat and he'll tell him afterwards. After their fill of food, Tendou gave Yuusuke the full break-down of his condition and its origins.

"...and that explains why I my parents split and why we're here. That also explains why I didn't like myself earlier today; they gave me this shot and its effects lasted for over a week. I just used the 'food poison' as an easy excuse because I didn't this to perpetuate into a big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal Tendou! We're your friends. We're your support group! We have your back!"

"I appreciate the thought of you guys having my back but..." Tendou shook his head, "this is something you guys can't control. Heck, it's something that even I can't control. I can keep death from knocking on my door but it'll still get me with its random regressions."

"Speaking of regression, what causes it?"

"Well, aside from it happening at random, I can lessen its occurrence by not doing anything strenuous such as running, swimming, sports, or anything else that requires a lot of effort from my heart. I mean--I can do those things...but to a lesser degree." Yuusuke suddenly looked up at the clock and was surprised by how much time had passed since their arrival.

"Yabai! Yabai! It's late! Oh man, my parents are gonna kill me! Sorry for leaving so abruptly; and thank you for the food." Before he left he turned to Tendou and told him, 

"And thank you for telling me about yourself. I'm quite honored that you were willing to tell me about this. Don't forget: we're your friends...but we are also your family."

"No problem, Yuusuke, but you gotta do me one huge favor: please don't tell the others, I beg of you. Let's just keep this between you and me...please?"

Seeing how sincere and vulnerable Tendou looked, Yuusuke promised never to speak of such private information to anyone else and went home.