136: In the Cage

"Accompaniment, huh."

"Yes, providing companionship to distract your wife is the best approach." 

"I'll prescribe fewer sleeping pills for her. This will ensure her sleep quality in the coming days, but they shouldn't be used long-term." 

"To help her physical and mental recovery, it's essential to ensure she gets regular meals and maintains a basic emotional balance." 

"Of course, if she can stay happy, that would be even better."

"Thank you, doctor."

Chisato watched the doctor leave.

He turned to face Mr. and Mrs. Isshiki and Iroha, pressed his lips together, and walked toward the latter.

Mr. Isshiki, somewhat concerned, wanted to step forward and say something, but Mrs. Isshiki tightly held his arm to stop him and shook her head slightly when he looked at her.

Chisato took a few steps forward and stood before Iroha, slowly raising his hand.

Iroha had mentally prepared for another slap on her other cheek but was not afraid. 

Instead, she felt somewhat relieved.

If taking a beating would make Chisato calm down, she would not avoid it until his anger had subsided.

She had resolved this way, and it was certainly true…

But as she saw his hand raise, she still closed her eyes in fear.

However, the anticipated hard slap did not come. 

Instead, her cheek, previously hit by her father, was met with a gentle caress.

She opened her eyes to see Chisato's smile, which was clearly an attempt to mask his deep sadness with a forced cheerfulness.

That smile was the most heart-wrenching and painful she had ever seen.

"Whenever I was about to hit you in the past, you would smartly run behind Auntie or me."

"What's wrong today? You don't seem like yourself at all."

"...!"

Hearing Chisato speak in his usual tone, Iroha suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

Despite the pain she felt earlier from her father's beating, she hadn't felt the urge to cry, but now, a single sentence from Chisato made her eyes quickly welled up with tears.

Guilt, anxiety, and self-reproach… turned into tears, slipping down her red, swollen cheeks, the burning sensation clearly felt.

"Don't cry. I can't manage to calm your sister down alone."

Stop smiling, stop smiling…

"Later, when your sister is discharged, let's go to the amusement park together. Just as the doctor said, we'll do everything we can to make her happy."

Why is the person who needs comfort the most now comforting me…

"Since you're in your senior year and don't have many classes, if I'm busy with work and can't be around, you'll have to help keep your sister company."

As the culprit, I have no right to be near her…

"Chisato…"

"Alright, you don't need to say anything. Just listen to me."

Iroha, tearful, mustered the courage to speak but was quickly interrupted by Chisato.

He gently wiped her tears with his fingertips and ruffled her shiny hair.

"I'm starving after all this running around. Could you please go and get a pork chop rice for me?"

"…"

Iroha stared at him in a daze, not moving.

"Iroha!"

Mrs. Isshiki, who had been observing, spoke up at that moment.

Iroha took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her eyes with her wrist, and nodded slightly.

As she turned to leave, Chisato suddenly called her to wait.

He called over a passing nurse and asked if she had any spare masks.

The nurse handed him an unopened mask from her pocket. Chisato thanked her, took the mask, and put it on Iroha.

"Now you can go."

"…"

Iroha's emotions, which had slightly calmed down, wavered again.

"Okay…"

After responding with a muffled voice, she turned and left.

Chisato turned to Mr. and Mrs. Isshiki, assured them that he was fine and that his wife would be okay, and asked them to help collect some clean clothes for himself and his wife from home.

Mr. and Mrs. Isshiki agreed and left, turning around the corner.

Chisato slowly slid down the wall and sat on the floor, his sobs faintly reaching the ears of Mr. and Mrs. Isshiki, who had not yet gone far.

Mrs. Isshiki felt a pang of sympathy, as Iroha was like a child she had watched grow up, almost like her own son. 

She wanted to turn back and check on him, but Mr. Isshiki stopped her with a firm grip.

"Let him be alone for a while. A real man doesn't want others to see his vulnerable side."

Not long after, when Iroha returned with the pork chop rice, she saw Chisato alone in the busy hospital corridor, crying inconsolably with no regard for his image.

She silently retreated, returning to the shadows and standing there for a long time.

The pork chop rice in her hands grew cold.

…

10 PM.

Hospital room.

Mr. and Mrs. Isshiki and Iroha, who insisted on staying, were persuaded by Chisato to go home and rest.

He told them that having the whole family stay here was unnecessary and that they should come back tomorrow to replace him.

He would stay alone tonight to accompany his wife, who had just "miscarried."

"They've gone now, right?"

"Yes."

Chisato withdrew his gaze from the window, where he had seen the familiar car leaving the hospital parking lot.

To be sure, he locked the door of the single-room ward before sitting by the bed.

"How did I perform today?"

Miri, with a smile on her face, climbed to Chisato using her knees and palms, like a dog trying to please its owner, showing none of the extreme weakness she displayed earlier.

Chisato extended his finger, parted her lips, and felt the softness of her tongue.

"The performance was quite good. Did you have the blood plasma strapped to your thigh beforehand?"

"Yes, when I fell down the stairs, I kept my legs together and it burst open, sticky and uncomfortable."

"Were you really anesthetized in the emergency room?"

"No, I just changed into a hospital gown and rested for a while after cleaning up."

"What about the medicine you took this afternoon?"

"Just vitamin pills."

"Heh, it's really thanks to that money-driven doctor."

"It's thanks to you, Chisato."

"Keep up the good work in this way. I've taught you what to do specifically before."

"Mm."

Miri nodded.

The rest of the task became much simpler for her, no longer needing to wear padding to simulate pregnancy every day, which was tiring and stifling.

"…I want a reward."

Miri pulled Chisato's hand onto her fair thigh, her eyes full of seduction.

Chisato pinched her cheek with a wicked smile.

"Not yet. It's not the right time."

"But I want it now."

"Wait until you're 'recovered' and discharged, then I'll give it to you."

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