What is Deserved

Yoichi translated what Verónica said to his parents. Enko then stood up to leave. Yoichi's parents tried to convince her to stay for dinner, but she had plans with her family already.

The four people remaining walked from the living room to the dining room. Yoichi's mother served four plates of rice, meat, bread, and vegetables and placed them on the table. They didn't take long to start eating.

Yoichi noticed how the food kept falling off Verónica's chopsticks. He suggested using a spoon but she refused, explaining she would never learn to use them otherwise.

Thanks to Yoichi's and his parents' help, she was able to eat most of the food she picked up on the first try by the end of dinner. She left a little on her plate, yet no one judged her about it.

They asked her to take a bath first. Since she wasn't sure how any of it worked, she asked for help before getting in.

Yoichi obviously couldn't stay close to her to cancel the effects of their mutated diseases anymore, so he returned to his room to avoid putting his parents in danger.

He sat down at his desk and turned his PC on. He stared at the monitor in the middle as the operating system loaded.

He couldn't believe how his way of living changed so much in one day. Even though it wasn't permanent yet, he could finally think about going out with friends, having an office job, finding a partner, and living a normal life. However, he wasn't going to use Verónica to achieve any of that.

More importantly, he wouldn't hurt others anymore. He hadn't been able to shake Okamoto and her fall out of his head for a week. The last he had heard from the principal was that she had a third, and hopefully last, surgery.

Remembering the messages from the principal made him realize he should've told him about his plans to return to the campus.

He grabbed his phone from the pocket of his pants and opened the chat with the principal. As soon as he typed the first word, the principal's condition of keeping the experiment secret echoed in his mind, yet that didn't stop him from asking.

The PC loaded into the desktop. He placed the phone on the desk and opened the browser to check his social media accounts. He had announced the delay of his regular Sunday livestream when he realized that Enko's tests were going to take all afternoon. Fortunately, the great majority of his followers were kind and understanding.

After reading through the replies to his announcement, he made a new post, telling his followers he would be going live in around an hour.

The principal replied to his message after that.

"I'll speak with Mrs. Kawahara. Please wait for my message tomorrow morning. Have a good night."

Yoichi's chest tightened. Had he gotten Enko into problems? Was the principal going to refuse? Should they have gone to the campus unannounced? The principal would've found out regardless.

He sighed. It didn't matter anymore.

Not knowing what to reply, he merely said, "Thank you."

He couldn't allow himself to be in a bad mood for his livestream and he didn't want to postpone it either. He had to be live for two hundred hours every month to meet his contract's requirements, so every day counted.

His mother's voice came from outside.

"That was quick. We brought a pillow and a couple of blankets."

Verónica was going to sleep in the living room due to us having no bed or futon for her. Enko promised to bring one the next day.

Yoichi's father added, "And you can use our phone chargers to charge your phone and your glasses overnight."

"Thank you," Verónica replied in a rigid Japanese.

A smile formed on Yoichi's face.

…

A harmonious tune rang in Yoichi's ears. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and turned the alarm off. Although it was six o'clock, a twenty-minute-old notification displayed the first words of the principal's message. He sat up on the bed and hurriedly tapped it.

"After discussing the situation with Mrs. Kawahara, I've decided to allow your return to the campus while accompanied by Ms. Verónica. Please take extreme precautions to avoid further accidents, and come meet me at my office at the end of the day."

Yoichi elbowed the air and burst, "Yes!"

He jumped out of bed, put the translating glasses on, and fit his feet into the fluffy slippers to head out of the room. He walked from the hallway to the living room and disconnected Verónica's glasses from the charger on the TV cabinet. She slept soundly on the sofa, covered with two thick blankets. She seemed so peaceful that he didn't want to wake her up, but he had to.

"Verónica."

He realized he was too quiet, so he tried again louder.

"Verónica."

It was to no avail. Almost shouting, he called her again.

"Verónica."

Her eyes snapped open to look at him. She took a deep breath but was interrupted by a groan, grimacing as if she was in pain.

He handed her the glasses and waited for her to put them on.

"Morning. Sorry for waking you up. I know you agreed to go to uni with me, but are you sure you want to?"

"I am."

His smile widened. "Alright. Do you want breakfast?" he asked as he stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge to take the ingredients out. "My parents like to eat fruit, while I prefer something a bit heavier like a sandwich. Which do you prefer?"

"There's no need."

As always, she was of few words, but Yoichi wasn't going to give up that easily.

 "I've wanted to ask you about life in Mexico. Since you're so willing to learn our language and culture, I might as well learn yours. Ah, now that I mention it, maybe you could teach me a recipe or two."

"I don't know any."

"Really? That's okay. I've been trying to copy these tacos we order regularly from a Mexican place, but mine always fall short. Oh! We can go check it out during lunch."

"I'm sick of tortillas."

Yoichi raised his eyes from the counter. He expected it to be a crude joke, but Verónica's face was as expressionless as always.

"I guess it's common to get tired of your local food."

He didn't want to bother her anymore. Instead, he focused on finishing the sandwich.

Once he did, he put it on a plate and took it with him to the living room, where Verónica used her phone.

"Here," he said and lowered the plate on the coffee table.

"But I said—"

"You'll need the energy."

He walked back into the kitchen, rushed to prepare himself another sandwich, and ate it, so he could get into the shower before his parents woke up.

…

As usual, Yoichi's parents drove to work and took him with them. Unlike the prior months, Verónica accompanied them, sitting with Yoichi in the middle seat of the SUV instead of all the way at the back.

Not having to worry about other people, they got off in front of the campus' gate. Several people glanced at them, including the surprised guards, but they didn't stop them as Yoichi greeted them.

"Good morning!"

He and Verónica walked through the garden and arrived at the lecture room in no time. He took advantage of Ayako and Shin'ichi being distracted by their phones at their seats to sneak from behind.

"Boo."

Shin'ichi screamed and jumped to the side, while Ayako stared at Yoichi.

"Yoichi? You're… cured?" Shin'ichi asked.

"Incredible, right? But not yet." He raised his hand in front of Verónica. "It's thanks to her. Her mutated disease is similar to mine, so the effects cancel each other out as long as we're close enough."

"That's… the most absurd thing I've heard in a while, but I'm glad."

Yoichi grinned. "I know this is a weird thing to ask, but can we have a group hug?"

"Of course!" Ayako answered.

Shin'ichi stood up and wrapped his arms around Yoichi's shoulders, followed by Ayako. Yoichi hugged them back. He had known them for less than a year, yet they were like childhood friends. Despite that, he couldn't avoid the self-awareness under the glances of his classmates.

"Isn't she gonna join?" Ayako wondered.

Verónica replied bluntly in Spanish, "No."

Yoichi stepped back. "I forgot to mention she's from Mexico. Her name's Verónica. She doesn't speak Japanese and I don't speak Spanish, but our glasses display subtitles in real time."

"And here I thought you were becoming a hipster," Ayako joked.

"I don't think that'd suit me," he laughed nervously. "Do you—?"

"Hey," a girl uttered behind him.

He turned around and, before he could do anything, got slapped.

"How dare you come back and smile while Manami is at the hospital, paralyzed because of you?"

Yoichi's mind blanked. The principal had told him about the surgeries but nothing about her being paralyzed.

She raised her hand, but Ayako grasped her arm and pulled her away.

"That's enough."

"Get off me! A slap is far from enough! He doesn't deserve to be happy!"

Yoichi stared at her. She was Okamoto's best friend. They had always been together since the beginning of university. If she was that broken, how were Okamoto and her family?

"Don't listen to her," Shin'ichi said. "Sit down."

How could he not listen to her? Every word was true, and he hadn't done anything to amend it. He did the opposite, in fact. He was enjoying life after destroying someone else's.

He placed his shoulder bag on the desk and sat down. Verónica sat next to him.

"Sorry you had to see that. Let's focus on the lectures, shall we?" he smiled at her.

The first professor stepped into the lecture room a minute later and thus the school day began.

Yoichi tried to understand the subjects to avoid struggling with the assignments later, but on top of being boring, his mind kept drifting away to think about Okamoto. He swore he was far enough from her. Even Enko seemed skeptical when he described the incident, yet she trusted him.

Regardless, they couldn't do anything about it, but he couldn't stay still with his arms crossed. He had to do something.

Between the few periods his mind shut up, he glanced at Verónica to his side. She kept looking up and down between her tablet and the whiteboard. At least she seemed entertained.

Lunchtime arrived. The four of them decided to eat together at the campus' cafeteria since neither Yoichi nor Verónica had gone to one.

Yoichi grabbed a tray and served himself whatever he wanted. It was a mundane task for everyone else in the cafeteria, yet it lifted his spirits.

No one knew if Verónica was allowed to get food from the cafeteria. Yoichi didn't care and asked her to grab a tray and get whatever she wanted as well.

After a meal filled with gazes toward Yoichi and some toward Verónica, they returned to the lecture room and resumed the day.

…

Yoichi knocked on the door of the principal's office.

"Come in."

He opened the door and stepped in. Verónica followed him close behind.

The principal stood up from the chair behind the desk.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ishige." He bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Verónica."

Verónica stiffly bowed and greeted in Japanese, "Nice to meet you. I'm counting on you."

The principal smiled. "Please take a seat."

Yoichi and Verónica walked deeper into the room and sat in the chairs in front of the desk. The principal then sat back in his chair. He glanced at both of them before a gentle chuckle escaped his mouth.

"I shouldn't have doubted Mrs. Kawahara."

"I learned that over the years too," replied Yoichi.

The principal looked at Verónica. "I was told you came all the way from Mexico. Despite that and your glasses translating in real-time, you're eager to learn our language and culture. I respect that."

Verónica's eyes wouldn't stay still. Unlike when she arrived at the laboratory for the first time, she wasn't inspecting the room; she merely couldn't stare at the principal. It was the first time Yoichi had seen her nervous.

"I was also told about your education situation, so it would've been heartless of me to deny both of you the life you've always wanted to experience. The reason I was hesitant to let you come was Okamoto's incident. However, Mrs. Kawahara explained it was a freak occurrence that needs to be researched, but that won't be possible in the near future."

"Sorry for interrupting," Yoichi said, "but why didn't you tell me she was paralyzed?"

The principal's expression didn't change as he stared deep into Yoichi's eyes. Eventually, he closed his eyes.

"Although her condition is stable, the doctors can't predict how it'll evolve. They were hopeful to see improvements after the last surgery, but not much changed. I was hoping to give you good news as well, but we can't do anything except wait."

Yoichi lowered his head. "I know I can't do anything to amend what I did to her, but the least she deserves is an apology and an explanation."

"Mr. Ishige, I can't say I understand your position in its entirety, but stop blaming yourself. Yes, it wouldn't have happened had you been more cautious, but you couldn't have known that. And although I agree you should explain what happened, giving you any more information without her or her family's authorization goes against the law."

The room fell silent. What was he supposed to do? He didn't have any way of contacting Okamoto; they had barely exchanged words. His only option was…

"However, I told her parents about your desire to talk with her," the principal added. "I apologize for assuming your request and acting without your consent, but I believe it's for the best for everyone."

"What did they say?"

"They'll give you the opportunity to visit her at the hospital."

Yoichi's lips widened, but before he could say anything, the principal continued.

"Under the condition of meeting with them first."