Secrets (2)

(Haruna POV)

***

As Reiji was tipping over, his balance whisked away from him, Haruna jumped up from her seat in panic, her arms reaching out to try and cushion his fall.

She barely managed to grab onto his hoodie, her firm grasp slowing his momentum.

But he was simply too heavy, so he still ended up collapsing, albeit not as hard.

"Reiji-tan! Are you okay??" she cried out in worry.

"Urrghhhh..."

A weary groan was all he could muster, the sweat on his forehead and neck now clearly visible as he hadn't wiped it off, something he'd consistently done throughout their lesson.

Haruna placed her hand on his skin, and her eyes started trembling when she felt the almost searing temperature of his body.

It was radiating from him like a heatwave, but the direct contact cemented the fact that his fever had gotten much worse.

"Can you get up? I'll take you to the bedroom," she muttered softly, pushing her arms under his shoulders to try and lift him up.

The sudden movement when he got up from the table must have been the final straw, because Reiji's consciousness was hanging on by a thread.

Thankfully, he was still awake, and he obliged by placing one shaky foot after the other as she slowly helped him over to his bed.

When they got near, she felt him go limp as he let himself fall onto the mattress.

"There you go, go under the covers."

She peeled the sheets back and made him put both of his legs inside, wrapping him up like a burrito.

"No.... Too hot," he mumbled.

"Stop complaining, this will help you out."

"But it's cold...."

"You just said it's hot," she replied quizzically.

"It's both."

His eyes were shut the entire time, his tired face moving around trying to find a comfortable angle.

Or maybe he was trying to make the dizziness go away.

'....I shouldn't have listened to him.'

She felt like this was partly her fault, for not being able to figure out that he'd been lying.

Reiji had always looked so strong and reliable that she ended up trusting his word when he said he was fine.

'I'm an idiot.'

"Where do you keep the medicine?" she asked with her nails digging into her palms, allowing her to focus on the present.

She couldn't change what had happened, but she'd damn well make sure she'd help out now.

"Bathroom," he groaned, his words barely audible.

Haruna stood up and entered his bathroom, turning the lights on as fast as she could.

There was a large cabinet on the wall, which she opened to find a variety of toiletries, but there was also a large transparent pouch filled with tablets and medicinal drinks.

She took it out and rummaged through it, finding what she was looking for after a few seconds.

There was only one tablet left, so she popped it out of its shell and looked around for a garbage bin to throw out the empty packaging.

'Oh, there's a trash can there.'

She put her food on the pedal and the lid popped open smoothly, but just as she was about to chuck the packaging inside, she froze.

'.....Is that?'

She peered into the bin in shock, her eyes widening with horror at the item dumped inside it.

She nervously picked it up by holding onto a white part of the object, though there wasn't much of that to begin with, and just stared at it for a few seconds.

In her hands was a long strip of bandages that were almost completely red, clearly coated in blood.

Haruna dropped it back into the bin after recoiling, her breath growing heavier and heavier as she stormed out of the bathroom and ran over to Reiji's bed.

He was lying there, his chest heaving up and down, oblivious to her discovery.

"....Did you get the medicine?" he croaked, his lashes fluttering as he struggled to stay awake.

"Why are there bloody bandages in the trash can?" she snapped, cutting straight to the point.

She was closely studying his face and noticed his surprise immediately, grabbing his chin when he tried to look away with guilt.

"Look at me, and don't lie to me. Not again. Why are those bandages there?"

"....I got slightly injured, it's not a big deal."

"Show me."

"....I can't do that."

"Why not!?" she glared, her volume rising as much as her frustration did.

"Because I know you'll freak out, and I don't want you to do that. It's just a small wound," Reiji sighed, patting her hand, which was tightly holding onto his chin.

".... I don't care," Haruna hissed, and her hands started moving as she opened the blankets he was covered in and started pulling on his hoodie.

"Oi!"

"Take it off!"

"C-Calm down!"

"No! Now take it off!"

"Fine! Just stop moving, it hurts," he yelped.

She stiffened up at those words, backing away quickly when she saw him wince.

Reiji clicked his tongue after not moving for a brief moment and started to remove his clothes. He did it slowly, appearing to grimace now and then when he got to his right shoulder, but eventually he managed to pry off the thick outerwear.

Underneath that was a white shirt that used to be completely white.

Now, there was a bright red stain, a small one, on the sleeve of his right arm.

"Tch, did I not wrap it correctly?" he murmured.

Haruna watched, her fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly as he removed the final article of clothing, revealing a bandage that had somehow loosened around the supposed injury.

She stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for it as she slowly started to unwrap it, layer by layer.

Reiji didn't monitor her.

He was simply looking at her worried face while she continued to take it off.

"....Fair warning, it's not a pretty sight."

"I can tell," she whispered.

The last layer was unpeeled, the strip of bandages falling to the floor as the long wound was finally exposed in its full 'glory'.

Neither of them said a word.

Reiji watched her bite her lips as her body trembled, and Haruna stared at the gruesome cut on his shoulder that still hadn't properly dried up.

"....How did this happen?" she finally asked.

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not!"

"Because I don't want to lie to you again."

"Then just tell me the truth!"

"No."

Haruna's expression switched from anger to worry to irritation, and to sadness, cycling through these feelings like a Ferris wheel.

'This is definitely....'

"This came from some Yakuza thing, didn't it?" she wavered.

"It's an outlier. I just made a small mistake that won't happen again, so don't take it too seriously."

"How do you know? I'm sure you didn't intend to get hurt, but it happened anyway. So you can't just say it won't happen again and expect me to be fine with it!"

Reiji didn't reply.

He simply shut his eyes again and leaned back into his pillow, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his left hand.

"Can we have this conversation later? My headache is getting worse."

"....Don't think you can worm your way out of this. I'm not forgetting about it," Haruna snapped, standing up to get the glass of water from his bedside table. "Now, take this tablet."

Reiji forced himself up and ingested the pill handed to him, gulping it down with the cool water.

A hum of relief escaped his lips as he collapsed back into his bed.

Haruna had re-entered the bathroom and came back with the first-aid kit she had seen in the cabinet, popping it open with the frown still etched on her small face.

Reiji blinked slowly, watching as she carefully cleaned the wound and dressed it with medicine, taking her time to ensure it didn't hurt him more than necessary.

Aside from the occasional grunt when the alcoholic solution entered his wound, he didn't make much noise.

Neither side was in the mood for a chat, and it showed with the heavy silence enveloping them.

Haruna finished her task by redoing his bandages with a new set, this time wrapping them up properly so that nothing would leak out again.

'Thank god it's not deep enough to need stitches...' she thought internally.

As she closed the first-aid kit, Reiji's deep voice echoed through the room.

"You should go home now, otherwise Granny will worry," he mumbled.

Haruna turned to him with a deadpan look.

"I don't want to hear another word out of you tonight."

"....What?"

"Not another word."

When Reiji's mouth opened again with a questioning look, Haruna's fingers clamped them shut, which made him raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"I'm going to go make some soup; you get some sleep."

She walked off, refusing to wait for his protests, which she knew were coming.

The door closed behind her after she turned off the lights, plunging the room into darkness.

Haruna picked up her phone that she'd left on the dining table and scrolled through her contacts, trying to control her fingers that were still a little shaky.

"Hello? Granny?"

An old voice came through the speakers in response.

"Haruna, when are you reaching home? I thought you'd be back earlier."

"I'm not coming home tonight. Reiji has a bad fever, so I'm going to make him some soup and stay over to make sure it doesn't get worse," she said, dropping the usual suffix out of seriousness.

"What? Is he okay? Should I come and help out?"

"No, I can do it. You get some sleep, don't wait for me."

".....Fine, but keep me updated. If things get worse, give me a call, don't worry about waking me up. I'll also send you a recipe; it will help bring his fever down," Granny replied.

"Okay, good night, Granny."

"Good night."

She ended the call and put on the apron in the kitchen, tying it up tightly.

'It's so big.....' she thought, feeling like she was wearing a large dress. 'Now it's my turn to take care of you.'