7 Years From Now

Chapter 20: Father's Bet

“ Yea..!!”
“So that’s what you wanted to tell me??”
“ It’s because that dude is in madly in love with your daughter. And as a father, you should watch out you know..”
“But you said that you wanted to talk about LMD.”
“Ohh that’s because I wanted to get you to listen to me.. anyways..hear me out. That guy Riku is trying to play cool by not talking to Saki And others..what do you think about I”
Mr Ishiuchi who had that typical serious face uptill now, he finally laughed..
“Hahaha , what do I think huh? Kid, you really are a funny guy.”
“hey..you shouldn’t be laughing..”
“Im sorry but , hahaha”
He didn’t stop because nobody made him laugh like this I his entire work time.
“If you leave it like this.. Riku might..end up stealing your daughter’s first kiss by force..”
“What???!! Noo! That can’t happen” – he said in a typical fathers protective tone.
“yes.. and see , you have to stop Riku..”
“Hahaha , that might be a backfire to me. But anyways I don’t have the right to do that..and why did you ask me ?”
“Umm.. that is..”
“Don’t tell me that you like my daughter as well..”
“ no.. nothing of that sort.. but.. there was a girl whom I liked , and she passed away a few years ago..”
“I see..”
“Yea.. and I’m alive..only because I received her heart in a transplant..”
Ishiuchi’s face showed a bit of guilt. Haruto continued..
“I don’t know the exact reason why she passed away..but I know that someone manipulated.”
“so you know about it…”
“mr Ishiuchi.. saki is an important friend of mine… so is Honaka.. please.. reconsider the heart transplant..”
He went silent for a while..
“Let me think about it..”
“Does that mean??
“Just give me a bit time..”
“Mr Ishiuchi.. I mean Saki’s dad… thanks a lot!!!!”
“Hmm..kid, what’s your name..?”
“Haruto… Soraki..”
“hold on!!! Could it be.. Ohhh.. I see.. fate surely loves to play it’s tricks hahaha…”
Haruto was confused..
“Haruto, let me ask you one thing. The girl you were talking about, who passed away. Did that girl wore a red ribbon?”
“ I see.. that’s the case then.. haha..”
“??”
“Okay Haruto.. I am ready to listen to any one request that you may have”
“Re-reallly??”
“Yea..”
“So I can only ask about one thing huh..?”
“Well I wont limit it to one thing..”
“Firstly , Tell me is it true that you guys are leaving the LMD patients to die?”
“Well.. it would seem that way but I’m not a doctor so I really don’t know the answer.”
“ Well then let me reframe my question.. is it true that LMD is incurable?”
“LMD becomes active after the age of 15. And if a transplant is not planned within three years. Then the survival rate is 0%. That’s what I have been told. But If it’s this hospital, then it could be a lie too.”
“ So it’s true that the organs are been sold ?”
“ yea .. atleast that was the case long time ago..”
“A long time ago? Then what about saki?”
“Saki is the first case after 7 years. But it’s a bit different..”
“I seee.. then what about the archives in basement?”
“You know about that too huh.. well a lot of things has changed since the director of this hospital changed.”
“Wait a minute, so now the top brass of this hospital are good guys?”
“Well good guys. I don’t that.. if they were good, they would have gone public..”
“ Yea that’s true.. so they have some other motive..”
“I don’t know what the director thinks..”
“He is the most superior person right? He would know everything about these right?”
“Yea he should. You want to meet him?”
“alright! I’ll meet him..”
“alright!, I’ll let director kikusui know that you want to talk..”

“Thankss a lot!!!”
“Yea.. So .. mr Ishiuchi. Why did you prefer to work here?”
“Well.. I was introduced by .. someone…and it’s probably as you guessed , I was here for my daughter too.”
“I see.. thanks..”
“Haruto, let me ask you one last thing.. that girl with red ribbon.. You still like her?”
He went silent..
“I don’t know.. I lost my memories. But Im sure that I liked her..”
“I see.. Thank you.”
“ yep.. see you..”. Haruto left.
Mr Ishiuchi smiled and thought..
“ seems like it’s your win, Mr Tateishi..”
*Flashback*
*Seven years ago*
Mr Ishiuchi was in his Cabin. Just then a man around his 40’s with a little brown hair came in.
“Hey Ishiuchi. You shouldn’t rest like that. You should be working hard now..”
“ I’m resting because I don’t have any work to do..”
“ Hmm you alone?”
“Well Shinji was just here.. where did you go off to , mr Tateishi?”
“ohh, I went to take a picture..”
“you are a manager. Are you sure that it’s fine goofing around?”
“Well not that I have something to do..”
“So .. what did you take?”
“Check this out… are you jealous since I took a pic of three cute little girls. And I gave them the camera as well..”
“What??? Mr Tateishi? Why???”
“Ishiuchi.. I’m quitting this place. And I’ll try to stop what the director is doing.”
“Wha--.. what are you saying??you are joking right?”
“Naah.. it’s something I have already decided on”
“but.. we are here because we can get The transplant done soon..how can you be unsatisfied?”
“I struggled through it. But I have made my decision..”
“ But what about your son ?”
“I just met him..that’s right.. I went to see Haruto..he has grown up a lot! And started talking about a girl. Hahaha. 10 years now and already talking about love.. so as a father, I had to just check out this girl. So I went to see the girl in that picture..but I don’t exactly know which girl is it.. hey Ishiuchi you want to help out your daughter regarding her first crush?”
“But..the disease is—”
“then why are we secretly selling organs??”
“But you can’t just bring that up now.. its because of this, that you came to this hospital..”
“I can’t possibly tell me son that I killed his first love to save him.. Ishiuchi… don’t you feel the same way?”
“i.. I don’t know..”
“ They are going to kill you…”
“Perhaps… but I’m going to die protecting my son’s first love.. isn’t that a cool way? And if I die.. I leave Haruto in your hands..”
“no I can’t.. I don’t want to meet my daughter’s friend. I will end ul humanising them..”
“I see.. then.. I should go—”
“Me Tateishi.. which girl is it?”
“??”
“The girl your son likes..”
“Ohooo so you want to know huh..”
“ofcourse I would want to know..it could be my daughter..”
“So do you want to place a bet?”
“What???”
“If it’s your win.. then I’ll listen to what you say.”
“Sure then if it’s my loose then I’ll listen to you as well”
“okay then.. I think it’s the girl with the ribbon..”
“Hmm I think it’s my daughter.. well she is the most cute here..”
“Haha ..yeah yeah.. “
“so how do we know who is it?”
“ohh… no idea..”
“hows that even a bet?”
“Well we’ll know that in the long run..”
“hmm..”
“Anyways you should meet up to your daughter one day when she is all grown up. Those three are a really good group of friends..I’ll get going then.. see ya..”
*End of flashback*

The next day…
March 30, Tuesday
Haruto went up to see the director. He saw the same man who wore a suit and had a paint spill on him that day. ‘that paint guy.’ He was listening to the conversation as that man was speaking to a nurse..
“Thanks a lot director..”
The nurse left..
‘director!!? So this is him?’ he thought..
“Umm excuse me.. are you the director..”
“Ohhh I know you..yes yes I’m the director.. and you are Haruto Soraki right??”
“!.. yea ..I am..”
“So..

How many time leaps did you make untill now??”
To be continued ..