The Meeting
Our StoryA/N: Beware- this is a super long chapter haha~ I also realized that every time I create a 'draft' on AFF, it sends a 'story update' notification for some reason. I promise that this isn't intentional and I'm so sorry for making you all hop onto AFF for no reason sometimes! :(
But this update notification is real this time! Enjoy!!
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Daiki stared suspiciously at the bright sky. The sun seemed to shine brighter than usual the next morning and he couldn't help but feel wary from all of his recent bad luck. 'I wouldn't be surprised if it starts pouring on me later.' He thought to himself before entering his best friend's apartment building.
As soon as he approached the familiar unit, he rang the doorbell and waited for Ryosuke to answer it. Perhaps that was also why he wasn't expecting Satoko to open the door instead.
"Oh uhm, hey..." Daiki greeted, completely unprepared for the encounter. As soon as he raised his hand to wave hi, the girl rolled her eyes and walked right by him before proceeding down the path he just came from.
With the door still opened, Daiki decided to invite himself in, hoping to find some answers for that strange exchange from earlier before. "So is there a reason why Satoko looks like she wants to murder me?" He asked as soon as he noticed Ryosuke putting on a watch.
"Don't mind her. We just got into a small argument." The younger one replied. After making sure his watch was in place, he grabbed his mask and glanced into the living room mirror before looping the straps behind his ears. "She's against me returning to work." He explained. "She thinks that I'm going to leave her for someone else if I go back."
Daiki raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's odd. If that's the case then why wasn't she concerned about you working prior to your accident?" He asked. "Either she has gotten unreasonably jealous or there's a different reason that she's just not telling you."
Ryosuke nodded in agreement. "That's exactly what I thought but when I tried to confront her about it, she decided to just ignore me." He sighed. "Let's get going. The longer I stay here, the more frustrated I get."
It didn't take long for the two to finally reach the hospital. As soon as Daiki parked the car, he leaned his head back against the headrest and pulled out his phone hoping to scroll through Twitter to pass the time. "Good luck in there."
"Wait, you're not going in with me?" Ryosuke asked, the tone of his voice filled with concern.
"Why would I?" Daiki replied in confusion. "I'm not the one that needs a check-up."
Ryosuke shifted his body to face his best friend. Immediately, his expression turned serious. "There's no way you're letting me go in there alone." He explained, pointing at the hospital entrance.
"But you've been in the hospital by yourself before..."
"Yeah but... it's Rio."
Daiki sighed. "I just don't want to bump into Amu."
"Dai-chan, the chances of you bumping into Amu here are nearly non-existent. Besides, wouldn't she already be working at Jimusho by this time?"
Ryosuke was right- the chances of bumping into Amu here were really low. If anything, the good weather today should at least mean that luck was on his side right? "Fine, but if we do happen to bump into her then you owe me." Daiki concluded as he turned off the engine of his car.
"Deal."
The two began to proceed towards the building and after hopping into the elevator, Ryosuke pressed the seventh-floor button before taking a second to collect his composure. "Wow, you're really head over heels for her." Daiki , trying his best to hold in his grin.
"Shut it." Ryosuke mumbled, sending him a quick death glare right before the elevator doors opened to the familiar floor. The younger one stepped out first, proceeding down the corridor to the reception area which he was all too familiar with. Daiki trailed not too far behind him, his eyes on the lookout for that one specific person.
As soon as the two approached the reception, Ryosuke immediately recognized Rio even with her gaze set on a whiteboard that hung on the wall. There she was, as mesmerizing as ever with her hair tied up in a ponytail and her hands in the pockets of her white coat.
Ryosuke wouldn't have minded if time stopped right now but he knew that reality doesn't like to work this way. After Rio finally tore her gaze away from the board, she turned around and immediately locked eyes with him. Perhaps she could recognize him from a kilometer away, even with his mask on.
"Oh uhm, you can enter this room here," Rio said, quickly averting her gaze away before gesturing for him to proceed into a nearby room. "I'll be with you in a minute."
Maintaining his cool composure, Ryosuke followed her direct orders and entered the room as Daiki decided to take a seat on the bench by the door.
As soon as Rio returned to the room after grabbing her tablet, her gaze met with Daiki's and she instantly rolled her eyes. After Amu told her about what happened that evening two weeks ago, Rio couldn't help but still feel resentment towards the boy for breaking her best friend's heart.
Not knowing the reason behind her actions, Daiki just sat with a bewildered expression. "Why does everyone hate me today?" He muttered to himself, watching the door next to him.
--
Other than medical-related questions and answers, Ryosuke and Rio didn't exchange any other words during the checkup. After a couple of additional checks and scans, they sat in their chairs and discussed the results.
"So it looks like you're all clear to resume your activities today. You no longer need a brace but you should still refrain from doing any activities that put extreme pressure on your body."
"How fun." Ryosuke mumbled, obviously bummed about not being in his usual top shape yet even after a month has passed.
"I'll put together the report right now so you can bring it to your company." She said, taking the printed papers before placing them into a yellow envelope. After sealing it shut, she passed it over to Ryosuke and folded her hands onto her lap. "Do you have any questions I can answer for you?" She asked, doing her best to remain professional.
However, all of her efforts seemed to have gone out the window at the moment Ryosuke decided to ask the question that has been on his mind for quite some time.
"How have you been, Rio?"
"I've- been well." She answered, straightening her back at the same time.
"I heard that you and Yuto are together now." Ryosuke responded, letting his lips curve into a gentle smile. "I'm happy for you two."
"Thanks." Rio replied, letting her hands fall onto her lap. "How are you and your girlfriend doing- or should I say fiancee by now? Have you proposed to her yet?"
"Oh uhh- we're doing well. Happy, as always." He lied. Ryosuke knew that Rio was never the kind of person to turn a blind eye to someone who needed help, even him. Therefore, not wanting to burden her with his current relationship troubles, he decided that faking the truth would spare her the worries. "We're not engaged though." He clarified at the least.
"Ryosuke- to be honest, there are actually some days that I wonder if you're doing okay." Rio paused. "... So I'm really glad to hear that you're happy."
Her words were enough to sting his heart. "Are you, Rio?" He asked, their gaze locking as soon as he asked the question. "Are you happy?"
"I...." Rio began, unsure how to complete her answer. 'I've been happier' were the words she wanted to say but they couldn't seem to leave . She was grateful for the past few weeks that she spent with Yuto but none of the days could compare to the time she spent with Ryosuke.
"I am." She decided to finally say.
"I see." He nodded. "If only he could realize how lucky he truly is," Ryosuke mumbled, trying his best to ignore the jealousy he was feeling. "Actually, any guy would be lucky to be with you."
"Eh?" Rio uttered, her thoughts suddenly clouded by the boy's response.
Realizing that he had said more than he should, he stood from his chair and proceeded towards the door. "Forget all that." He said as he reached for the door handle. "It's not like things could change, anyways."
--
Just outside of the room, Daiki could feel his consciousness swerve in and out as he struggled to stay awake. 'How long does a checkup take?' he thought, noticing that 2.5 hours had already passed.
The boy leaned his head back against the wall behind in this quiet corridor. There weren't many people around. However, one particular girl seemed to have caught his attention, in fact- she seemed oddly familiar to him. As soon as she approached his direction, he immediately stood up, his heart racing as he knew exactly who that person was.
"Amu-chan." He found himself uttering her name as soon as she passed him. Upon hearing her name, Amu stopped in her tracks and faced his direction, squinting her eyes before eventually recognizing him from under his mask.
"Eh- Dai-chan?" she greeted him with a confused expression. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just waiting for Ryo to finish his checkup."
"I see." Amu said as she expelled a sigh of relief. "Is Rio with him right now? I have to give her something."
Daiki nodded. "They should be almost done soon."
The girl nodded back in return before deciding to stand against the wall. She turned her head in the opposite direction, not knowing what to say in this unexpected encounter.
"I uhm, heard from Chinen that your memories had returned." Daiki began, walking over to stand next to her. "I'm glad you found happiness with him again."
"Same goes to you." Amu responded, glancing down at her shoes. "I'm glad that you were able to get your second chance with Mayu again."
"I've.. actually been meaning to ask you about that." The boy paused. "Why did you ask Nishida for a request like that?"
"Isn't it obvious, Daiki?" Amu sighed, feeling uneasy about reopening the wounds that she tried so hard to heal. "You two liked each other. With Nishida out of the way, there would've been nothing else stopping you both from your happiness."
Daiki immediately noticed how strange Amu's answer was and he suddenly felt the need to scold himself for not realizing it earlier. "What did he ask for in return?" He asked, shifting his body to completely face her.
"Eh?" The girl uttered, her gaze meeting his. Daiki's question completely threw her off her tracks and she didn't know how to answer it. "N-nothing." She answered but unfortunately, lying wasn't one of her strengths.
"Nishida isn't the kind of person who would give without taking anything in return." The boy explained. "What did it cost you?" He asked, this time in a more serious tone.
Amu let her shoulders drop after realizing that he wasn't going to let this go any time soon. "Us." She finally said, that one word enough to break Daiki's heart all over again.
"And you were fine with that?"
"As long as you were happy."
Before Daiki could comment further, the door suddenly opened. "It's not like things could change, anyways." Ryosuke muttered as he stepped out but immediately stopped as soon as he saw Daiki and Amu in front of him.
"Damn it. Now, I'm in debt too."
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