Who Are You?

In all honesty, Benjiro never completely understood people's aversion to public transport. Sure, it wasn't his favorite spot to be stuck in, but thankfully, everyone else seemed just as uncomfortable and willing to try and maintain personal boundaries. He was still trying to figure out how, Yamanaka had managed to convince him to come along for this trip. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he had been politely strong-armed into the whole ordeal.

...

Yamanaka had just come into the music room one day and asked, "Hey, Nojiri, I have a really big favor to ask of you."

Benjiro looked apprehensive, but he heard her out.

"I sort of have a need for your specific musical talents."

The young man raised his eyebrows as his interest was piqued, "I'm f-flattered by that r-request, but kn-knowing you, you're n-not asking for a b-birthday party or s-something."

Yamanaka shed her happy persona and donned her more familiar, serious face. After a short explanation, Benjiro became convinced of one fact: That the whole thing sounded insane.

"Come on, Nojiri", Saori was nagging, "I'm guessing you have nothing better to do this weekend, and you're the only person I can ask."

"I can't be the only p-person you know who p-plays guitar", he countered.

"No, but you're the only person that I know I can ask to help me without spilling to the whole d**n town what's going on."

"I j-just don't like hospitals. Th-they give me the c-creeps."

"They give everyone the creeps, given the right situation."

The two students took a moment from their bickering to catch their breath. Neither one of them was making a decent argument for either of their cases. Saori wouldn't stop asking a favor and Benjiro wouldn't stop trying to deny that favor.

"Why d-do you even n-need me? It sh-shouldn't be that h-hard to f-find some music on the int-ternet. Or h-hell, you have a ph-phone, go t-test your theory with th-that."

Now that Benjiro was starting to make sense, Saori was starting to shift back and forth as she became progressively more uncomfortable. A war of emotions displayed across the studious girl's face before she finally sighed in resignation. She sat down and drew her knees up to her chest, "You're right, you're right. I could do all of that, it's just that-"

The young man had a feeling he was going to regret hearing this.

"It's just that, I haven't seen Dad in nearly two months."

Benjiro's face went slack in surprise, "What? You've been killing yourself d-doing doct-torate level research to h-help him and you haven't even v-visited him?"

Saori scrunched her face in discomfort, "I know. I know that sounds hypocritical of me-"

"Sounds? It just is."

The serious girl grit her teeth, "But, the last time I went to visit him, he didn't even recognize me for over half the time I was there. And, I-I'm afraid to go back there alone. Look, there's a chance you may be able to help him, so just, please. Can you do this as a favor for a friend?"

...

One thing led to another, and here he was, guitar case in hand, on his way to Sakuronomiya Hospital to visit Yamanka's father.

"Hey, this is our stop", Saori pointed out as she signaled to get off. The hospital was a decent size and the inside certainly gave the impression of professionalism and order, but all Benjiro could think about was the feeling of despondency that hung over places like this like a black storm cloud. He rubbed his arms to rid himself of a chill that wasn't there as they approached the front desk.

"Hi there, Ms. Karin", Saori greeted with a smile.

"Ah, hello there, Saori", an older nurse greeted, "Been a hot minute since I've seen you here. And who's this young man you brought?"

"This is my friend, Benjiro. He's here to help me with a little idea that's been brewing in my head. Is that alright?"

The nurse took a look at Benjiro and saw that he was clearly nervous, but still trying his best to tough things out.

"Just be careful", she warned, "Your father has been quite agitated the last few days. Adding a new face into the mix may confuse him a little, but I know that seeing you and your mother always brightens his day.

Yamanaka kept smiling, but Benjiro could see that her happy mask was struggling to hide much sadness and guilt.

Karin came out from the desk and directed them through the stark hallways. The nurse eventually stopped outside of a door, "Here we are. If you need anything don't hesitate to press the call light." As she walked away, Benjiro noticed that the nurse was grimacing, in what looked like concern. Yamanaka reached to open the door but stood there hesitating. Her eyes were a mixture of yearning and apprehension. The desire to just see her Dad was weighed against the pain of seeing him and not being recognized. Never one to be a fan of real world tension, Benjiro said, "We c-came this far, h-haven't we?"

Saori nodded and opened the door. Before they were two steps into the room, which had a number of drawings all around it. About half of them were pencil or ink sketches of settings like cafe's, city skyline's, park walkways. The other half of them were vibrant paintings. They had more natural settings like lakes, forests and oceans, and even one still life painting of a fruit bowl and water pitcher. After his quick appraisal of the room, they were introduced to a somewhat older man. If memory served right, he was only in his early fifties, but the stress of disease was making him look much older. Benjiro could see certain similarities between father and daughter, such as the shape of their eyes and nose, but it would seem that the mother's side of genetics mostly won out. The greying man stared confused and immediately greeted them by saying, "Ah, who the hell is it this time? I told that stupid woman that I'm not taking any more of those damn pills."

The tension in Saori was almost to the point of rigor mortis. Biting her lip, she slowly approached, "Hi, Daddy."

"Who are you?"

Such a simple question, but the the pain it was causing the girl was enough that even Benjiro's cold heart was aching at the sight.

"It's me, Saori. You know, your daughter."

Mr. Yamanaka took another scrutinizing look at the nerve wracked girl in his room. A light of slight recognition shone through his eyes, not one of total recollection, but enough of one to show that at least some memories lingered, "Y-Yeah um, hi there sweetie. Is school treating you alright? That Mr. Torasuke still being as much of a taskmaster as always?"

Benjiro quirked his eyebrows as he searched his memories through his grade's teachers. Granted, there were some he never had, but he'd never heard of a Mr. Torasuke. Although, given the context, that particular teacher might have been from his friend's middle school or possibly even elementary school years.

"Eh well, some of them have been a little tough, but I've been improving as best I can."

Some of the lines on Mr. Yamanaka's face lightened considerably as he smiled in pride, "That's my girl. You always had a knack for all sorts of bookish stuff", his face became a bit mischievous, "But would it kill you to learn how to laugh a little? There's a lot more you could be doing with your youth than just reading those boring books."

That struck Benjiro as odd. Yamanaka was one of the most smiley people he'd ever met. Granted, he knew she had a serious side, but it was rare for her to go at least part of a conversation without a joke of some kind.

"Um, Daddy. I'd like you to meet somebody", she turned around, "Oi, come stand next to me", she whispered. For a second it felt like Benjiro's legs didn't want to work, but he found himself next to Saori anyway. Holding up an appraising hand, "This is my friend, Benjiro."

"Huh? Who the hell are you? And when did you get in here", he suddenly yelled, making Benjiro jump.

Quickly interceding, "Daddy, he's been here the whole time. I invited him in."

Mr. Yamanaka still looked mad, but he looked down, rubbed his head and muttered something frustrated in an incomprehensible tone. Looking back up, skeptically.

"So what, are you her boyfriend? Heh, well I haven't given my approval yet. Did you meet her at the science fair?"

Waving his hands, "N-No, I'm n-not her boyf-friend", Mr. Yamanaka looked at him oddly, "I'm still not s-sure why I'm here."

Placing her hand on the guitar case, "Well, I brought him here today because I know that you don't get out much. And as you can see, he plays the guitar, so I thought it'd be nice if he could just play something for you."

Finally understanding the gravity of why he was here, Benjiro knelt down and unclipped his case and brought out his guitar. He nervously tuned the knobs as Saori's father continued to mutter on. After a moment, "OK, I'm ready, um w-what would y-you like to h-hear?"