Another Time Another Kiss - Chapter 18

The operation turned out to be very successful even when Aihara Kotoko was the assistant nurse of the day. She didn’t faint when it was her first time seeing a real heart pumping bloodily in front of her and she even passed all the correct scalpels to both Takashi and Naoki.

Everyone, even Reiko felt a sense of unknowing comfort to see how calm Kotoko was during the entire operation.

Well, not exactly everyone.

Everyone but Irie Naoki could feel that.

****

“Well done, Nurse Aihara.” Takashi said when both of them were inside the sterilizing room, doing their clean up after the tedious eight-hour operation. Both Naoki and Reiko were there too.

“I…” Kotoko blushed for it was one of the rare moments she would get praised for getting things right. “All…thanks to you…” Kotoko finally muttered out.

“Naoki! Where are you going? You haven’t finished…” The loud slamming of the door covered Reiko’s voice.

“What happened to Doctor Irie?” Doctor Yamaguchi asked. “Is he in a hurry for another operation?” The ladies shrugged their shoulders and continued with their clean ups. However, both knew deep inside what was going on with Naoki. Or perhaps, it ought to be Reiko, who knew more.

****

Kotoko stood nervously on the wooden bridge that stretched over the artificial pond located behind the hospital, wondering why Doctor Yamaguchi would want her to meet him in the garden instead of his office. What puzzled her most was when she had found the note on her desk, she could immediately recognize the handwriting, however, the undersign name did not tally with the one she had in mind.

Thirty minutes passed by and yet nobody showed up at the bridge. Kotoko took a quick glance at her watch that indicated nine-thirty. “Did I get the time correct?” Kotoko muttered and quickly pulled the note out from her pocket.

“It stated nine.” Kotoko frowned and decided to read on. “Is there another garden in this hospital?” Kotoko wondered aloud, afraid of her uncertainty as well.

“No, there isn’t, and you are waiting in the correct location. You’ve indeed improved a lot.”

Kotoko was stunned by the sudden answer and spun around. She was further stunned by the fact that the person now standing right in front of her was not Doctor Yamaguchi at all.

****

“Irie…kun.” Kotoko finally stuttered when she felt a sudden chill running down her spine. Since when had Naoki given her such uncomfortable feeling? Kotoko couldn’t seem to be able to locate that missing link.

Both stood still and quiet on the bridge as a sudden cold breeze mercilessly attacking their bodies. It was as if time had frozen as well by the breeze.

“You seem to be doing very well under Doctor Yamaguchi’s care.” Naoki finally broke the silent but his tone was colder than the surrounding air.

“I guess that’s because Doctor Yamaguchi always has faith in whatever I do.” Kotoko replied.

“And I don’t?”

Kotoko swallowed, unable to continue.

“You seem to be enjoying all those phony faiths that person has been giving you so abundantly, don’t you?”

Kotoko backed away a little, not knowing how to react to the sudden accusation. Is he really the Irie-kun whom I’ve been in love all these while? Kotoko questioned herself, trying to convince herself that this was only one of her several nightmares about how Irie Naoki had reprimanded her whenever she was doing the uttermost incorrect thing of the day.

“Ouch!”

Kotoko’s knees became weak almost immediately the moment she felt the sharp pain that she had inflicted on her arm. She quickly grabbed hold of the railing beside her to prevent herself from going down.

“Irie-kun…” Kotoko muttered as she managed to hold her head up and looked straight into Naoki’s eyes.

“Don’t you have faith in me?” Kotoko asked, hurt. “Even when,” Kotoko paused, struggling at the thoughts of whether she should continue.

“You are fully aware of the fact that I’ve tried my very best to do everything right.”

“And as I have predicted, you’ve had messed up everything…all the time.”

Kotoko was totally speechless and she thought she could hear sounds made by that already shattered heart of hers.

“You hear it?” Kotoko asked.

“Hear what?”

“It is getting louder and louder each time you decided to be mean to me without telling me why.” Kotoko continued in a mono tone.

“Hear what?”

“Who am I kidding?” Kotoko let out a bitter laugh. “Why would a tensai like you want to listen to the heart of a baka like me?” Kotoko's eyes became teary.

“Oyasumi.” Kotoko gave Naoki a formal bow as if he was only a stranger whom she had met and turned around to head back the direction of the hospital.

“You’ve sure become the devil when your eyes turned green, don’t you.” Reiko remarked sourly as she stopped beside Naoki, whose eyes were already red instead of green.

What have I done? Naoki questioned himself when each and every word from Reiko was like daggers stabbing deep into his conscience.


To be continued…