Why?

Yoichi looked away from the principal to see Verónica. Even though he hadn't said a word, she anticipated the request.

"I don't have a problem with it," she said.

"I appreciate your willingness to help me, but you can refuse if you want. I won't hate you for it."

It was true she didn't have a reason to help him, and she wasn't going to get anything from it. Opposite that, they needed privacy in a moment like that, something they couldn't have in person.

Only then did an idea occur to her.

"You'd visit her at a hospital, right?" she asked.

He answered, "After talking with her parents, yes."

"I don't know if it'd be possible for me to get examined. I've been having sudden chest pains these last few days."

His eyes widened. "Are you feeling unwell?"

She shook her head. "It only hurts when I breathe in too deeply or bend too much."

"You should've told us before," he scowled. He stood up and looked at the principal. "Please tell Okamoto's parents I'll meet with them."

"I'll do so immediately," the principal replied. "I'll send you a message as soon as I get a response."

Yoichi bowed and then stood still, waiting for Verónica. She exchanged glances with the principal before standing up and following Yoichi out of the office. She still couldn't understand why the sudden nerves came when she was around certain people.

She walked beside him through the garden. His pace was much slower than usual.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We'll wait for my parents by the gate. I'll ask them to take us to the clinic."

"Weren't we going to go when visiting Okamoto?"

"We don't know how long her parents will take to reply, and there's no guarantee they'll let me—"

He reached for something in his pocket and took his phone out. His pace slowed down until stopping in the middle of the campus' gate to read.

"They already replied. They suggested meeting at a restaurant in an hour." He tapped the screen several times before talking again. "It's five minutes away by car, and it's a couple of streets away from a hospital. We should have enough time for your check-up before meeting with them."

A car honked from the street ahead. It was Yoichi's parent's SUV. He and Verónica rushed to it and she climbed in first, followed by Yoichi. A sharp pain caused a groan to escape her mouth until she sat straight. Yoichi closed the door and Mrs. Ishige gently accelerated as they fastened their seatbelts.

"How was your day?" Mr. Ishige asked.

Yoichi replied, "Before I tell you, please take us to the hospital nearby."

Mr. Ishige snapped his head to the right to look at him.

"Why? Are you feeling sick?" Mrs. Ishige asked worriedly, still looking at the road.

"Verónica's been having chest pains for a few days already. She doesn't feel unwell, but we should make sure it's nothing bad."

"Do you have an idea why that's happening, Verónica?"

She answered, "My guardian got too close during the last argument we had and my disease pulled him. He broke his finger against my chest and threw me to the floor. It's been hurting from time to time since then. I hoped it'd stop after a day or two."

Yoichi furrowed his eyebrows at her. He took a moment before translating what she said to his parents. Mr. Ishige replicated Yoichi's reaction, while Mrs. Ishige glanced at her through the rearview mirror.

"You should've told us sooner, young lady," she scowled.

Why did they worry so much about her, a complete stranger? They never implied they'd help her in order for their son to get cured. Did they do it because they wanted to? Even Yoichi didn't seem like he wanted to be cured for himself but for other people.

He changed the topic and smiled while telling his parents about their day. Although he told them about his encounter with Okamoto's best friend, he avoided telling them about the slap. However, his smile seemed out of place again, and she still couldn't understand why.

They reached the hospital in a few minutes and parked in the adjacent lot. They headed inside and approached the front desk to ask what could be done in Verónica's situation. As she expected, it was far from straightforward. They had to call Mrs. Kawahara, who then had to call the institution, who then called the government.

After half an hour, Mrs. Kawahara sent Verónica's insurance information to Yoichi's parents. Luckily, Mrs. Kawahara had begun the procedure when she prepared Verónica's agreement, so it only needed to be finalized. And yet, everyone apologized to each other for the wasted time. In Verónica's hometown, the same procedure would've taken weeks.

Finally, Yoichi and Verónica stepped into the doctor's examination room. The doctor stood up from behind the desk and walked around it before bowing.

"Good afternoon. You're Verónica, correct?"

She nodded.

The doctor smiled. "Don't worry, I was told about your situation as well as the reason you're here. I must say your file's quite long for this being your first appointment. Please remove your hoodie and sit down over there."

She aimed at a black, narrow bed beside the wall.

Verónica complied and walked to it, followed closely by Yoichi. She pulled her hoodie up from the bottom until it came off and left it on the bed she then sat down on.

Yoichi was turned in the opposite direction when she looked at him. Although she understood he did so to give her privacy, it didn't matter because she wore a long-sleeve shirt.

A stethoscope hung around the doctor's neck when she approached. She inserted the eartips into her ears before placing the freezing metallic end of the tubing on Verónica's back. She moved it around and then remained silent for a while.

She moved it again. "Inhale through your nose as slowly and as deeply as you can. Stop when you feel pain."

Verónica let the air out of her lungs first. She began inhaling and felt her chest expand. It continued to do so until a sharp pain stabbed it, forcing her to groan the air out.

The doctor stepped back and removed the eartips from her ears to lower them on her shoulders.

"I'm going to press my finger around your chest very gently. Let me know if you feel any discomfort, okay?"

Verónica nodded.

The doctor bent forward and slowly placed her finger at the top of her chest. She began moving it to the left and then to the right, gently tapping it. The finger gradually lowered until Verónica jolted and groaned.

"Here's where it hurts." The doctor briefly caressed the area before removing her finger. "Have you noticed any bruising around there?"

Verónica nodded.

The doctor smiled and stepped back. "Based on the incident that caused it and the symptoms, I'm confident it's nothing serious."

Verónica's shoulders dropped.

The doctor continued, "The hit fractured one of your ribs."

Yoichi's eyebrows raised. "That's not serious?"

"It could be depending on the extent of the fracture, but her heart and lungs sound perfectly healthy. Since the pain only appears when she breathes in too deeply or with certain movements, it'll be easy to manage while the bone heals naturally."

"So, there's no need for a radiography or anything like that?"

"She could get one to be completely sure there's no danger, but that'd cost you more money and she'd be exposed to radioactivity unnecessarily. As long as she's careful, the pain will fade away gradually. If it doesn't or if you feel something strange, please come back for further analysis."

"Understood. Thank you, doctor. Is that everything?"

"I'd like to measure her height and weight if that's okay."

Verónica questioned, "For what?"

Yoichi translated, "She asked why."

"They'll be useful for me and other doctors should you return in the future. We hope you don't need to, of course, but taking measurements won't harm you aside from taking a bit of your time."

Verónica asked out of curiosity, not because she was against it. So, she nodded.

The doctor smiled and guided her to a weighing scale. She stood on it as straight as possible while the doctor pulled up a metallic ruler in front of her. The doctor grabbed a tablet from her desk and tapped its screen while checking the ruler and the screen of the scale. Her eyebrows furrowed for a second before checking the ruler and the screen again.

"I'm missing many measurements for your body, but your BMI is dangerously low. You should think about making an appointment with a dietitian soon."

Verónica wasn't surprised in the slightest and merely nodded.

The doctor smiled again. "That'd be everything. Take care and have a good evening."

"You too," replied Yoichi.

He and Verónica stepped out of the room. They headed back to the reception when he stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned around.

"Verónica, I know we're strangers who don't even know your language, but you can always talk with me, my parents, or Aunt Enko about anything, okay?"

Why did he tell her that? More importantly, there it was again.

She asked, "Why do you smile like that?"

His eyebrows raised. "What do you mean?"

"You're always smiling, but it feels out of place sometimes. Do you force yourself?"

"Not really. I just… don't have a reason not to smile."

"Being slapped isn't one?"

"Well, it definitely wasn't nice, but I deserved that and more."

She frowned. "Didn't you push Okamoto by accident?"

"Yes, but it was my fault. I…." He laughed nervously. "You're very observant, and you're not scared of asking anything, hey?"

She had no reason to be scared. Her guardians yelling at her for being annoying was the worst that had happened.

"Why would I?" she asked.

"You might end up hurting somebody's feelings by accident."

"Did I hurt yours?"

"You didn't. You can ask me anything, I won't be offended. The same applies to my parents and Aunt Enko. Just be mindful when asking personal questions to someone you don't know."

She nodded.

The smile returned to his face; it seemed normal.

"On that note," he said. "I haven't seen you smile once. Aren't you happy about being able to go anywhere you want without worries?"

"I still have to worry about staying close to you, but it is relieving not being scared of the people around me."

He chuckled with a sigh. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you have plenty of reasons to smile soon."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you…?"

"Excuse me," a nurse shot as he moved aside to sprint past them.

"We should get out of the way," Yoichi said.

Verónica nodded.

They stepped back into the reception through the double door in the middle of the corridor and walked toward the main entrance of the hospital. Yoichi's parents sat in the row of chairs next to it.

"Good news," he smiled. "She only fractured a rib."

His parents jumped up and yelled, "Only?!"

"It's nothing serious; it'll heal naturally as long as she's careful."

Mrs. Ishige slapped his shoulder. "Yoichi! Don't scare us like that."

"I said it was good news," he laughed nervously.

"Excuse me," a man said behind them. "Are you Yoichi Ishige?"

Yoichi and Verónica turned around to see the man and a woman standing beside him.

"I am. Do you need something?"

"We are Manami's parents."