"sensei, ohayou."

"ah you're here.... Nanase-san, please prepare Nobuo for the treatment."

"hai. come with me" the nurse place her arms gently over the boy dressed in a patient's clothes, and ushered him to the wheelchair where he was wheeled subsequently into a room.

the tubes break his skin at his spine, and he's attached to many other devices to monitor his blood pressure and his heartbeat. his face showed a strong sense of agonizing pain and his forehead breaking out in cold sweat. his face pales in comparison to his surroundings. silent tears trickled down his eyes; his hands clenched tightly, he grit his teeth as he endured every single excruciating pain that came.

"it'll be done soon, Nobuo... you'll be fine as always, ne~"

he couldn't speak in this situation, he only blinked his eye as response.

"you are different today~ braver than your usual self" the nurse noticed his initial determined expression.

the boy smiled as a sign of agreement cause there indeed was something that changed him, that gave him a little more strength than usual.

"you wanna go home or stay after this?" the nurse asked as he detached the equipments and wiped the sweat that mixed with his tears from his face.

"h-home" he replied weakly

"I'll make the arrangements. rest first" she lightly patted his head and walked towards the door. then she heard his soft voice...

"arigatou, Nanase-san" 

teardrop trickled down her cheeks as she thought to herself. Dr Jin approached her with a tissue and a listening ear. "this boy, he never fails to thank, even though we inflicted so much pain on him. a fine boy like him deserves much better."

"Nanase, we have to stay strong... patients like Nobuo needs us for support. he is special so I believe he can pull through."

"you really think?"

"it's faith I wish to hold on" they exchanged glances and the mood turned lighter with a subtle smile.

*****
"Yuto! ohayou!" I jumped from behind Yuto while he dragged his feet towards the hospice. he maintained a sulk on his face and remained rather hostile in his gestures as he pushed me away.

"nande Yuto?"

he stuck out his tongue at me, and sped up in his footsteps. his occasional childishness really tickle me. catching up with him is frankly quite draining given his long legs.

"ahh" 

"Daijoubu?!" he ran back when he saw me crouching in pain. I giggled when I looked up at his worried face. I knew this method will definitely work!

"what the heck Mirai!stop joking around" he gives an intolerable face that made it even funnier.then the 2 of ended up sitting on the platform, laughing at each other's silliness. 

"now you smiled. mission accomplished... Yuto, gomene. I abandoned you yesterday, I'm really sorry." I enveloped my arms around his and sincerely seek his forgiveness.

"I'm not angry over this..."

"you're not?"

he nodded as he pressed the nape of his neck.

"but still, I shouldn't dump you alone with the girls. gomene Yuto. I always take you for granted... actually, I won't be able to do anything without you..." our glances became focused and something seemed to transpire between us.

"Mirai~ actually I... I kinda..." before he could finish his line, my phone rang. I could see the frustration in his eyes, I wondered why.

"Moshi Moshi?"

"Mirai!!!" a familiar cheerful voice came from the other side. I knew who it was instantly, without doubt.

"Chinen!!! how are you guys?!" I asked and I the loud speaker so Yuto could join in.

"we're having so much fun, but I bet if you and Yuto were here, it'll be much more fun than it is now! we're missing you two" Chinen said, while Umika and Suzuka's agreed in the background.

"aww... you guys are so sweet... the two of us are missing you guys too..." I responded.

"how are you then? how's the volunteer service?" Chinen asked.

"it's been quite a journey thus far... it'll take days to say the things we encountered these 2 weeks" Yuto replied.

"ahh We can't wait to hear too" Umika shouted from the other side.

"Umika! Suzuka! guess who we met at the hospice?" I decided to make them a little jealous.

"who?!" the 2 girls crowd out Chinen, and I could hear Chinen's whining at the other end.

"yamada Ryosuke!"

"heh?! that senpai who looks like a prince?!!!!" Suzuka shouted back in disbelief.

"yea! he's here as a volunteer too! and Chinen, he'll go with me to the club party!" I could see Yuto pouting at the side (what's his problem, he's the one who declined me first.)

"woah, then you should thank me that I aren't able to make it this year" Chinen giggled.

"you're so lucky Mirai! attending with a prince is no joke! you'll steal the limelight of the night!" Umika cheered as if genuinely happy for her friend.

"but... isn't he attached with Kawaguchi Haruna? the girl from east high girls school? heard she just became a model of a fashion magazine..." Suzuka said.

"and I thought he went U.S.?" Umika added.

"hmm.. he said he's back for summer break, and as to this Haruna girl... I'm not sure if they're still together.. (technically all he said he's no longer with the girl who went to that hilltop with him. but is that girl Haruna, remains a mystery~)"

"then you've got to be careful Mirai~ don't stick too close, or he's girlfriend might come haunting you" Chinen teased, while the rest laughed uncontrollably.

"stop it, minna! I know! I know my limits... or Umika would have powed on me long before."

"ne?" Chinen is so dense that she couldn't get what I meant; whereas Umika was screaming in protest. "shut up Mirai. I'm not talking to you." those who knew her infatuation for Chinen laughed, and even though I'm not there, I could tell the blush on her face. 

"see you then Mirai, Yuto!" Chinen bidded farewell on the phone but before he plugged down the call, Umika decided to drop the bomb.

"Mirai!!! Chinen managed to invite Yuma and Ryunosuke, so they're in our trip as well!" she cheered.

"heh?!" but before I could say anything more, the call was disengaged. my mood was ruined almost immediately, and Yuto didn't seem any better.

"you're going with Ryosuke for the club party?" he was still habouring on the matter.

"hai. you said you can't accompany me that day right?" 

"yea, I said that. but I never thought you will ask him and I never thought he will agree," he mumbled to himself so I shrugged it off instead. I grabbed his arms and moved ahead in our journey to the hospice, and that seemed to have startled him a little. 

"Yuto~ it's a new week so ganbatte!" I cheered and he nodded with his enthusiastic smile. 

when we reached the hospice, Nanase-san happened to be standing at the entrance, apparently just finished loading a patient on the ambulance. 

"ohayou! Nanase-san!" we both greeted in unison, but her returning greetings seemed lethargic and her eyes a little red. Realising something must have happened to someone in the hospice, and knowing myself how that affects one's emotions, I decided to stay clear.

"er... Yuto and I will get our task done for today..." I dragged Yuto away from the seemingly sensitive nurse.

"ah, Nanase-san, is Ryosuke here already?" I asked before I make a turn at the corridor.

"he's off till next week," my mood literally sank, thinking that I've to endure the week without his presence until the party date. ah that's going be a long wait! 

so the week went on like this.... well, it turned out better than I thought. I spent a lot more time with Yuto, although at times, Nanase would assign him to help her (that's so obvious she's trying to have him to herself). but luckily, I have Mika and Erika too! they became very attached to me, and they brought me to some of the fun places in the hospice, though I could be a bit old for it. as times go by, I realise I learn more about the patients here and their stories. those times where Ryosuke comforted me, actually made me emotionally stronger and immune to the patients and their families' desperation. I could almost master the art of controlling my tears and expression. 

****
~ the day of the party ~

"oi why do you keep staring at your phone?!" Yuto startled me from behind, just when he's about to leave the hospice. 

"I thought you've already left? why are you still here?" I asked in surprise.

"I forgot something. anyway, I thought you should have left too, won't you be late for the party if you dragged anymore time?"

"yea~but, i messaged him just now but he didn't reply me~ what if he's not coming?" I asked worriedly, but Yuto reassured me otherwise, "well,Ryosuke doesn't look like someone who'll break a promise, would he~don't worry, I trust that he'll be there when he said he will" Yuto pulled me up onto my feet and hurried me out of the hospice and head towards the direction of our houses.

still, I felt so uneasy, that my mind couldn't distract itself with any other thing, "if he doesn't turn up, what am I going to do?! that Yuko will mock me for the rest of my school life!" I gave Yuto the puppy dog eyes, hoping he does a little sacrifice for me. 

"eh, don't give me that look. if I had nothing on, I'll go with you definitely. but I can't skip this family function, my grandparents will be disappointed"

I slouched to vent my disappointment, and he still refused to budge, "call your brother to fill in instead~ he'll come"

"nooo, that's worst than Yuko's mocking. my brother will tease me throughout the rest of my life!"

"ah, then you'll just have to live with it. but I really think it's unnecessary for you to worry so much, ryosuke will be there. so.... bye Mirai! see you tomorrow!" he quickly dashed off from my clutches as soon as we arrived at the crossroad.

"Yutooooooo!" I shouted but he just ran ahead, making me really embarrassed by my great voice.

*****
Dressing up was always a chore for me, especially evening dress. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the past 2 years of award for best prom king and queen with mine and Chinen's name imprinted on. Yuko and her ever-changing partner have always been really close behind in the scoreboard and never give up any chances in winning me. this time if I'm gonna be alone, she'll really laugh her head off. I could almost imagine her mocking laughter, looking down at me as if her staff. looking down at my phone and seeing the blank screen, further reduced my minimal faith remaining. "he's not coming~" I thought to myself, and no matter how hard I tried to suppress, there's this grudge growing against him. "he promised but he backed out without saying...he's irresponsible, even if he's ha