Chapter 2 – A Day With Haruki-san ~ The Sick Visit

Class was always spent with her cheek nestled into her left hand, staring diagonally to her right. Of course, it had only been her “always” position since the seat changes last month. But one month was all it had taken for her to entirely forget how she used to spend her time in class.

It was the final class of Tuesday, July 4th. Haruki Misora listened to the world history lecture as she rested her cheek into her hand, looking ahead to the right, just as always. But this time, the seat directly in her line of sight was empty. The boy who usually sat there was gone that day.

She had thought that his voice sounded strange as she listened to him the prior day. It was only now that she realized she should have lent more weight to that thought. Haruki let out a small sigh, small enough that nobody around her would notice.

The old man in front of the lectern was going on about some French revolution and Rousseau’s ideologies. It was so unimportant. Political sovereignty or a revolution that ended centuries ago weren’t even worth thinking about at that moment. Asai Kei was out with a cold. The only thing Haruki was worried about was how to deal with that fact.

Kei was no stranger to colds. In fact, he got them several times a year. He never paid much attention to his health, and tended to ignore symptoms when they popped up. It was so strange, given how attentive he was on a daily basis. With all his knowledge and smarts, he still hadn’t latched onto the concept that the quicker he treated a cold, the better off he’d be.

Turning the issue over in her mind, Haruki concluded that Kei simply didn’t find catching a cold to be meaningfully negative. In general, he was quite dismissive about problems like his head hurting or feeling unwell. On top of that, he was surprisingly careless about his hygiene, often forgetting basic essentials such as gargling and washing his hands when he got home to prevent disease.

But none of that was particularly relevant. They weren’t things she should be sticking her nose into, and how he treated his body was his own business.

Haruki’s concerns could be broadly categorized into three parts:

First, should she go visit him?

Second, if she did visit, what should she bring?

Third, should she assist with U-Lab’s research?

Each carried its own complexities.

She certainly wanted to go and visit him. But even if she went to his room to wish him well, that wouldn’t necessarily improve his condition. If anything, she would likely be forcing him to get up and interact with her. Her visit could very well have the opposite of its intended effect.

With that said, the only logical reason for a visit would be to bring him food. It was quite possible that he had avoided eating all day, only finding the effort to be an annoyance. But if she visited him with something to eat, he would probably be willing to indulge.

What if I made him some rice porridge?

It seemed like an excellent idea. It provided the perfect reason for a visit, and told her exactly what to bring. All rice porridge required was an earthenware pot and rice. Perhaps she could even add some pickled plums and kelp stock. It would have been nice to have the know-how to make it more elaborate, but she knew he liked to keep things simple anyway.

She was fairly certain she knew how to make rice porridge, but failure was absolutely not an option. She resolved to search up a few recipes later to be certain.

Haruki nodded, small enough that nobody around her would notice. Her plans for after school were set: to visit Kei and make him some rice porridge. Her day had been suddenly affected by a massively important event. It was the kind of event that warranted a big red circle on her calendar, but since it was already the day of, there was no point doing it in retrospect.

Now, the only remaining issue was her assignment from U-Lab.

Haruki’s appointed U-Lab research had been brought up by Minami Mirai, a female classmate, during lunch break. Typically, Haruki ate lunch with Kei on the staircase landing. Of course, he was gone, so she decided to eat alone in the classroom, opening up her bentou box.

Despite her attempted preparations, she couldn’t find her appetite.

She put her chopsticks down, pulling out her cell phone. She had a feeling that Kei had contacted her. That turned out to only be her imagination, but she still ended up opening her e-mail inbox. She scrolled through, looking at the several e-mails they had sent to each other up to that point.

Most of them were straightforward and businesslike communications. The next most common would be specifying a date and time. Otherwise, he might send, “Duly noted.” Every now and then, he would talk more politely in his e-mails.

Haruki considered sending him an e-mail right then and there. She quickly realized that if he was sleeping, the ringtone might wake him up. As she was stuck in her dilemma, Minami Mirai made her appearance.

“Hey, hey! Mind if I eat with you?”

Haruki had no particular reason to refuse, so she nodded. Minami flipped around the chair from the desk in front of Haruki, sitting across from her. She opened up her small, oval bentou box as she stated, “You seem quite stricken with ennui today, Misora.”

Ennui. Haruki had heard the word before, but didn’t really know what it meant. She knew at the very least that it wasn’t English. Unfortunately, that meant she would receive no aid from the English-Japanese dictionary inside her desk. “How so?”

She didn’t really care, but she asked anyway. It seemed that typical conversation wasn’t supposed to end just because you weren’t interested in the topic. At least, that was what she gathered from Kei and his penchant for pointless discussion.

“Well, I dunno. Asai-kun’s gone today, so I kinda figured you’d have some ennui.”

Haruki had been hoping to get a clarification on what ennui was, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards. Furthermore, she didn’t consider it something worth spending any more time on.

“Is that so?” With a small nod, Haruki picked her chopsticks back up. Her main course for lunch was meat-stuffed peppers. Haruki was by no means a picky eater; of course, that went both ways. There was nothing she disliked, but there was also nothing she particularly enjoyed. It was all the same to her.

Minami lifted up some broccoli with her chopsticks. “So, are you gonna go visit Asai-kun?”

“I have been considering it.”

“Whaddaya mean? That’s not something you should have to consider.”

After conflicting with that response for a while, Haruki asked, “Do you think it would be best that I go?”

“Of course! It’s a wonderful opportunity for a romantic encounter.”

“But colds have nothing to do with romance.”

“Sure they do! He’s sick and weak now, so it’s the perfect time to strike!”

Haruki had her doubts that a cold would be enough to significantly weaken Kei. Haruki brought her stuffed peppers to her mouth. They tasted like shredded meat and green peppers.

Minami leaned forward, wiggling her broccoli-laden chopsticks up and down. “Hey, Haruki. You know how to cure a cold, right?”

“Taking medicine and getting plenty of rest?”

“Aw. c’mon, not the practical way. I mean by a miracle of love!”

It was hard to imagine such a convenient miracle, but Haruki concluded that if it would help cure Kei’s cold, it was at least worth listening to.

Minami held up her left hand’s index finger, her right hand still occupied by her chopsticks and broccoli. Haruki had to wonder if perhaps she didn’t like broccoli very much.

“Fact 1: You can catch a cold through a kiss.”

Haruki thought it through. It was certainly true that many viruses could be transmitted via mucous membranes, so the possibility did exist.

Minami flicked up her middle finger, forming a peace sign. “Fact 2: Your cold goes away quicker when you spread it to someone else.”

That one had to be misinformation. It sounded more like an old wives’ tale than anything factual. Colds were highly contagious as well as short-lived, so that idea likely came from a false correlation between spreading a cold and getting better.

Minami’s confidence remained unwavering as she declared, “Which means that a kiss can cure a cold! It’s only logical!” her voice peaking on the final sentence.

It was by definition a logical conclusion, but the entire premise was flawed. “That seems highly unlikely,” Haruki responded.

Minami took the retort quite well, finally eating her broccoli. “I don’t really buy it either, to be honest. It’s just what U-Lab is looking into right now: Do colds cure faster when they are spread?”

“What is the U-Lab?”

“It’s my club.” Minami explained in a quick and rehearsed fashion. The U in U-Lab stood for “unidentified” and the “Lab” was the shorthand for their research group. “Basically, U-Lab is a place where anything unusual or unconfirmed is investigated.”

Although Haruki now understood the group’s function, she still doubted the efficacy of the proposed research. “Let’s suppose that I were to catch Kei’s cold, and he got better immediately. Even so, that would not be conclusive evidence in favor of proving that spreading a cold cures it faster.” Those events could have both occurred by chance without any real connection between them.

“I know, so that’s why I’m trying to gather as much data as possible. I want to determine periods of when the cold was caught till it was cured, add the variable of whether anyone else was infected, then compare the statistics.”

Her methodology was surprisingly sound, but Haruki had yet to be convinced. “But I believe that most people are unaware of when they get infected by their colds.”

“Yeah, that’ll make it hard to get accurate statistics.”

“Does that not make the pursuit pointless?”

Minami snagged a cherry tomato, smiling. “Sure. But the point of U-Lab is to make a serious investigation of pointless claims so we can come to an arbitrary conclusion. Truth and objectivity aren’t really all that important for it.”

The research group was thoroughly meaningless, but Haruki was okay with that concept. She had recently begun to appreciate the slight meaning behind meaningless actions. Even if the actions were pointless, it gave way to allow the process to be its own end.

“So hey, if you’re feeling up to it, try giving Asai-kun a kiss.” Minami proposed, smiling.

And so, Haruki had ended up with an assignment from U-Lab.

For Haruki, the vast majority of the world was viewed through a lens of indifference. Doing or not doing something made no difference to her. If she was asked for help, it was rare for her to refuse.

However, this request was one of few exceptions, for the sole reason that it involved Asai Kei. And when it came to Kei, it was more likely that he would hate the thought of passing his cold onto someone else.

Guess I won’t help out U-Lab after all.

As she finalized her decision, the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day.

✽

Haruki Misora went home after school, borrowing a large carrying bag from her mother. Aside from her school-issued bag, Haruki only had a purse for smaller items and a duffel bag that was far too cumbersome, so neither of those were just right for the job at hand.

After packing a small earthenware pot and porridge ingredients, also all borrowed from her mother, Haruki quickly left. She hadn’t even felt the need to change out of her school uniform.

Her steps were quick and purposeful. It was only a 15 minute walk to Kei’s apartment, but she needed to take a slight detour to the shopping district. As it turned out, there was no pickled plum in their kitchen, and she doubted Kei would happen to have some on hand.

Haruki felt unsteady, as though she had poor balance. She always felt that way whenever she was without Kei at her side. It was as though she couldn’t walk straight without him there to remind her of how to do so. But she knew it was all just in her head. The earthenware pot was simply weighing down her shoulder.

She entered the supermarket, heading straight for the grocery section. She quickly located some pickled plums filled with honey, and made a small nod of satisfaction. She then spent a moment making sure there was nothing else she needed.

She should have had all the ingredients for rice porridge, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something. Perhaps it was her intuition, or perhaps it was just an unshakeable anxiety. Either way, the thought continued to haunt her as she approached the checkout area.

The line to the cash register was long, likely due to a rush of shoppers getting their final dinner ingredients. As she tucked into the back of the line, a corner segmented away for traditional Japanese sweets caught her eye.

Could that be what I’m missing?

Kei loved sweets. He would probably be very grateful for a dessert. Unfortunately, the only items lined up in that corner were heavier sweets such as daifuku mochi and mitarashi dango.¹ Haruki doubted such foods would be suitable for a sick person.

As Haruki was mulling it over, she eventually reached the register. She paid for her items in small change.

About a ten minute’s walk from the supermarket, Haruki noticed the Sangatsudou Western confectionery. It was a small shop that mainly served takeout, but still had a small indoor area for eating and drinking. Haruki had eaten their cream puffs with Kei in the past.

There was a poster hung up on the store’s entrance. It was a modest poster, around size B5. There were no aggressive marketing statements such as, “Most Popular!” or, “New Item!” or, “Limited Time!” The poster didn’t have a single exclamation mark on it. It only carried the simple phrase, “Fresh peach jelly with pulp”.

After passing by the poster, Haruki stopped in her tracks.

Of course. Peaches.

She was missing peaches. One should always bring peaches along for a sick visit. She couldn’t remember where she had heard that from, but it just felt right, like it was common sense.

Haruki turned around and walked into Sangatsudou. There were no other customers inside, and a single female employee smiled from behind the display counter. “Welcome!”

Walking straight up to the clerk, Haruki requested, “Two peach jellies, please.” She would eat peach jelly with Kei. It was the perfect plan.

But the clerk’s expression clouded over. “I’m very sorry, but we’ve sold out of today’s stock.”

That was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done. Haruki noticed that there were very few items behind the display counter, perhaps due to the timing of her visit.

“Could I recommend the fruit tarts instead? They’re also filled with peaches.”

Haruki’s eyes focused on the clerk’s outstretched palm. She had reached a difficult impasse. Surely Kei would normally enjoy such a delicacy, but would a tart be appropriate for someone down with a cold?

Since she had an expert at hand, she decided to state her question plainly. “Do you have anything that would be suitable to eat while sick?”

The clerk smiled. “Going on a sick visit, are we?”

“Yes.”

“Very well, then. Could I interest you in some ice cream?”

Ice cream. Of course, something cold could be beneficial. But it wasn’t peaches.

The clerk’s voice was filled with confidence, as though describing a ritual passed down through the generations. “Ice cream is a must when you are sick.”

“Even more so than peaches?”

“Peaches are great, but ice cream is even better.”

Was that really true? Haruki didn’t know for certain, but the woman before her was definitely more experienced in Western sweets than her.

“We don’t have peach ice cream, but could I draw your attention to our ice cream made with apples?”

Apples. Yet another concept inseparable from sick visits. It only felt right.

Taking another look at the fruit tarts, Haruki made her decision. “In that case, I would like two servings of apple ice cream.”

The clerk smiled kindly. “Just give me a moment.” She pulled two cups of ice cream from inside the cold case, quickly packing them into a paper bag alongside some dry ice.

✽

Haruki Misora made it to Kei’s apartment complex in ten minutes, having walked quickly to keep the ice cream from melting. In her right hand was pickled plum. In her left hand was apple ice cream. Over her shoulder was an earthenware pot, rice, and kelp stock. It was all perfectly in place.

But Haruki remained stuck in place in front of Kei’s apartment building. She found herself hesitating once more if she really should go through with the sick visit.

She had already come so far, but her worries had only compounded. She had failed to imagine her way through the entire scenario. When she got to Kei’s room, she would have to ring his doorbell. Not only that, he would be required to unlock his door for her. Was a little bit of rice porridge and ice cream worth forcing him out of bed to answer the door? It was a tough question. After all, Haruki still thought that proper rest was the most important part of getting through sickness.

On top of all that, she had gone through her entire charade under the assumption that he was not preparing his own supper, but she had no way of knowing that. He could have food in his kitchen, and it was possible he had already eaten. Depending on the scenario, Haruki’s efforts could boil down to just forcing more labor on his part.

I’m stuck.

To go, or not to go. Haruki couldn’t decide.

After mulling it over, she came to another realization. She had known her answer the whole time. It all lay in the fact that she had never gone on a sick visit before.

The reason why was obvious. Asai Kei was brilliant. Nearly anything he wanted to do, he could accomplish by himself. Being alone was no struggle for him. There was no reason for her to worry about Asai Kei. Judging purely by logic, the most beneficial course of action for her was to shut up and wait, just like she had every other time he got sick.

She glanced up at his apartment building one last time. She could see the window to his room. She checked her phone again, hoping to find a message from him. But that had never been very likely.

I guess… I should just go home. She was sure that he would be better by the next day. If that was going to be the case anyway, it was better for her to go back home and pretend nothing had ever happened.

It made her feel a little sad. But her feelings didn’t matter at that moment. It was better for Kei to get his rest.

She turned on her heel and walked away, slower than before. Slow enough that the ice cream would probably melt. But that didn’t matter anymore.

The sun was setting. She walked alone on the road, which was getting darker, but still visible. Her soles made quiet sounds with each step that she took on the asphalt. With each and every clack, she thought, I’m getting farther away from Kei. That was only natural.

She was caught by a traffic light at a nearby intersection. As she stood in place, the thought crossed her mind that if she turned around, she could still see Kei’s apartment.

Just then, her cell phone chimed with the sound of an incoming e-mail. Haruki took out her phone, checking the display. Kei.

Haruki rushed to open her phone. It felt like the screen took unusually long to change over. The pedestrian light flashed on, but that didn’t matter. She finally managed to display the e-mail.

I got a sudden craving for ice cream. If you get the chance, would you mind buying me some?

She couldn’t believe it. It was a veritable miracle.

She was right to trust the expert. Ice cream really was better than peaches for someone with a cold. Admiration swelled in her chest as she turned around, preparing to run back towards Kei’s apartment. But then, her reason spoke up, telling her that something was wrong.

Asai Kei would never send that kind of e-mail. It was fair to say that she didn’t know absolutely everything about him, but she was at least certain about her conclusion. There had to be some kind of external reason behind why he would send that kind of e-mail.

But, even if there was some kind of special reason, did it really matter all that much?

Kei wanted to eat ice cream, and she had ice cream. Wasn’t that all that mattered? If he had some kind of reason, she could hear it directly from him.

Haruki continued heading towards Kei’s apartment, moving the fastest that she had all day. When she was halfway there, she realized that she needed to respond to his e-mail. She stopped in her tracks.

It was right then that she heard another pair of footsteps stop behind her.

Haruki Misora whipped around, and everything began to fall into place. Somebody was hiding behind a street lamp, but the pole was so thin that it didn’t hide anything at all. Haruki could even make out a face.

Thinking back over the events of the day, Haruki asked, “Is that you, Minami-san?”

Her classmate, Minami Mirai. The member of U-Lab who so strongly insisted that Haruki go and visit Kei.

She walked out from behind the street lamp wearing an embarrassed smile. “Hey there.”

After thinking for a while, Haruki confirmed, “You have been following me, have you not?”

“Well, y’know. Sorry.”

Haruki didn’t quite understand why she was apologizing. It occurred to her that following people might be against the law, but she wasn’t sure how true that was. “Why would you do something like this?”

“Well, I just… thought it’d be interesting.”

“Was it interesting?”

“Yeah, kinda. The best part was when you passed by the sweets shop, then turned around and went in.”

Haruki failed to see what was so interesting about that situation, but if Minami had enjoyed it, then Haruki didn’t want to take that away from her.

Minami Mirai suddenly held up her right index finger and put her left hand on her hip, striking an angry-looking pose. “But come on, Misora. Why’d you give up on the sick visit?”

“Because I realized that it was unnecessary.”

“But I don’t think it’s about necessity.”

“It became clear that I would very likely be causing trouble for Kei. With that being the case, it was better that I abandoned the prospect.”

“He’s not gonna think you’re trouble. He’ll be so happy to see you.”

Kei was the only one who could decide that, and Minami had no place in that decision. Haruki didn’t think Kei would be against the visit, but she couldn’t be completely sure, and the odds were high that he would end up overcompensating. No matter how sick he was, he would pretend to be fine.

“Regardless, you contacted Kei, am I right?” Haruki questioned.

“Yeah. I couldn’t just let things end like that.”

Haruki had no clue why Minami couldn’t just ignore everything. But even so, thanks to Minami’s efforts, Haruki had gotten an e-mail from Kei. She certainly had no reason to complain.

Haruki smiled, so small that it might even take a magnifying glass to see it. “Thank you very much.”

Minami’s eyes widened in surprise before she nodded with a bright smile. “Don’t mention it.”

“If you will excuse me, I am going to go eat ice cream with Kei.” If she wasn’t quick about it, the ice cream would melt.

“Right. Make sure to say, ‘open wide,’ and feed him.” Minami held out her right hand, probably trying to mimic feeding someone ice cream from a spoon.

Haruki nodded. “Understood.”

“Wh– you’re really gonna do it?”

“Is that not typical behavior during a sick visit?” Haruki could recall her mother doing the same thing for her when she got sick as a child.

Minami smiled, looking ever so slightly downwards. It made her look refined and elegant. The smile looked notably different from her usual expressions. “Yeah. Now that I think about it, that sounds about right. Alrighty then, get going,” she urged.

Haruki nodded and turned her back to the waving Minami. Her pace quickened. As she approached Kei’s apartment, a smile managed to make its way onto her face.

Another thought passed through her mind. It was more of a fleeting notion. It had to be purely an impulse, because she couldn’t quite explain her reasoning behind it. Maybe it’s worth reconsidering my participation in U-Lab’s research.

Perhaps for just a little while longer, up until she managed to ring his doorbell, that was an idea she could afford to keep hesitating about. Something told her that would be okay.

A Day With Haruki-san ~ The Sick Visit – END

1. Pounded rice cakes stuffed with bean jam and sweet soy-glazed rice dumplings, respectively. ↩︎