Itazura Na Kiss- Eternal Love Story

#15 Restlessness

(Naoki POV)

I dropped the phone on the table. I just talked to Kotoko. She seemed worried for some reason. She said it was work. It was good to see her so much engrossed in her work but it still had some kind of bitter taste. Because she is so busy now a day with her work and studies that she rarely calls me. I kind of miss her pestering me all the time. My eyes fell on the unused spare key of the apartment I collected for her. But she never came to Kobe after I got it. I sighed. Maybe that's because I'm less busy now. I'm done with my research and it was already published this week. A conference is going to be held next month in Kobe. All the renowned doctors from around the entire Japan will attend it. I informed Kotoko about the completion of my research. But what I didn't tell her is that I will be moving back to Tokyo soon. I finished my studies and got a degree on the pediatrics dropping few of my courses. Dropping out of those courses won't matter much except that I will have fewer credits. But who cares. I also decided to stop working at Kobe. It already has been a year since I last saw my wife. Since she doesn't have any intention to move to Kobe, and her work won't allow it either, then I should return home. Oka-san complained last month that Kotoko is over-working herself. She doesn't rest or eat properly and falls ill from time to time. I had no idea that she gets sick frequently. Probably she avoids calling or answering me during that time. I wanted to visit home right after I got the call from oka-san but then I delayed and decided to move back permanently. I can visit Kobe for 3-4 days next month for the conference. There is no need for me to stay anymore. 'See you soon wifey.' A smile crept on my face.

...

(Kotoko POV)

I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. I kept panting for a while. It was a nightmare. Nightmares are nothing new to me anymore. It's been a while since I keep having bad dreams and keep waking up at nights. Those dreams are meaningless but they clearly reflect my thoughts and stress. Either my father is crying for me or my mother calling me. Oka-san, otou-san, Yuki-kun, Jinko, Satomi, Kin-chan- everyone visits me in the dream from time to time. Sometimes they accuse me for not sharing my condition with them and the other time they either cry or look sad. But I see Irie-kun almost every day. His sad expression or shocked face, either one is enough to agonize me even in my sleep. I went down into the kitchen to drink some water. My water bottle was empty and I again forgot to bring more water with me after dinner.

I leaned on the fridge and drank some water. My head was hurting so much. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep now so I went to the balcony for some fresh air. I was really worried about the treatment progress. Some new complexity aroused into the treatment. The medicines that were being used to destroy the Neuroshia cells started to have less effect on me. The last 2 therapy did not clear all the Neuroshia cells from my blood. That is dangerous because access presence of these cells in blood interrupts the blood supply in brain. Hence the brain gets deprived of oxygen and nutrients which ultimately can result the brain cell to die. Since the medicine used in the therapy weren't working properly so I needed more powerful medicines. But powerful medicines have too many side effects on me. I already fainted 4 times since last month. Twice I fainted at the Hope and once at home in my bedroom where I was unfortunately discovered by Yuki-kun. It was my day off and I studied the whole morning. He came in my room to call me down for lunch but he found me on the floor unconscious. Thankfully no one else was at home. He picked me and put me on the bed. It wasn't hard as I was much lighter than I used to be. Yuki-kun had sprinkled some water on my face. The touch of the cold water droplets helped me get my senses. I saw his worried face hovering over me in confusion.

"Yuki-kun, what happened?"

"Baka! You scared the hell out of me." He exhaled a deep breath.

"I fainted?" Dreading it that I did. I sat up leaning on the headrest.