A Book Can't Be Judged By The Cover

Chapter 144: I’m Home

Unaware of what was happening right behind him, Hajime let Rea drag him into the hospital straight to the receptionist, who recognized Hajime in an instant. Her face lit up as she stood and greeted Hajime. "Are you visiting Akiko by any chance, Hajime? Please head straight to her hospital room. It’s by the second floor, the first room in the right wing." The receptionist was none other than Izumi. She was also one of the nurses who monitored Akiko whenever Kirisu was not available.

"They transferred my sister to another room?! Why?!" Hajime almost lost his composure, but he was rational enough not to cause a scene. Instead, he leaned in toward Izumi and almost hissed at her. "If this is about the payment... as far as I know, I wasn’t late." Hajime let out, heaving a sigh. He was trying so hard not to control his anger.

"If you’re worried about your sister’s transfer because of your payments... rest assured, Hajime, you don’t have to worry about that," Izumi reassured Hajime as she wiped a stray tear from her eyes. "Kirisu is already waiting for you over there. Please head there as soon as possible."

"What on earth is going on?" Hajime asked.

"You shouldn’t ask that question, Hajime; let’s just go there as fast as possible. Come on, let’s take the stairs." Rea offered, pulling on Hajime’s arm a second time.

"But you’re wearing heels, Rea-san." Hajime reasoned. That didn’t stop Rea from dragging him around, though.

The doors leading to the fire exit opened as soon as Hajime and Rea pushed their way through. Doctors and patients alike stared at the two of them as they unnecessarily caused a scene. In embarrassment, Hajime ducked down as Rea continued to tug at his arm.

"First room on the right wing," Hajime repeated. This time, he got ahead of Rea, taking the lead and rushing to the first room where her sister was supposed to have been transferred.

A plethora of thoughts ran through Hajime’s mind with every step he took. He had no idea how he’d react when he saw why her sister was transferred. In hindsight, though, he noticed that everyone he met the moment he entered the hospital had a positive atmosphere around them, and he hoped that those signs meant that something good had happened to her sister.

Upon reaching the door, Hajime took a deep breath in before clutching onto the door handle and swinging it open. He didn’t hesitate anymore since doing so would just prolong his overthinking. A brief glance at Rea suggested that she won’t be coming inside.

At this point, Megumi and the others also reached the second floor. From their peripheral vision, they saw Hajime heading inside a room. This was a first for them since they didn’t know that Akiko had been transferred to another room. Cautiously, the four of them walked towards the room where they saw the red-haired lady positioned by the side of it.

With an amicable smile, the lady greeted the four of them. The only person she recognized from the group was the daughter of the Kikuchi family, Megumi, that’s why she didn’t bother listing their names down.

"Since when?" Fuuka was the first one to speak up as she suspiciously eyed the red-haired girl from her high heels to her head. She couldn’t believe that Hajime knew someone like this. The more she glared at her, the more she realized just how mature the lady was. She had a curvaceous body, and Fuuka felt slightly jealous, reasoning out in her mind that she was still growing.

Well, she wasn’t the only one who eyed the girl. Even Megumi and Natsumi eyed her suspiciously. Somehow, they could tell that they had met or seen the lady before, but they couldn’t exactly remember when or how they met.

"Since when?" Rea repeated, wondering why Fuuka was interrogating her with such a generalized question. She already got the gist of what she was about to ask, though, being a reporter and all.

"Since when have you known big brother?" Fuuka asked. "We haven’t seen you before, so you better tell us."

"I remember now, you’re that reporter... right?" Akamine-sensei asked. "The one from Tokitawa News? So... you’ve known Hajime for at least three months now?"

Rea had no idea why knowing Hajime was such a big deal, so she just nodded along. "It’s nice to meet you. I presume you’re all good friends with Hajime? Except for her... we’ve had an inside scoop telling us that you’re his girlfriend. Don’t worry, we won’t be releasing such news on our station."

Natsumi and the Akamine sisters swiveled their heads at Megumi. This was the first time they heard about it, and they were shaken to their core. Dumbfounded, Akamine-sensei lightly chuckled as she patted Megumi on the shoulder. "Heh, it’s thanks to me that they got along this much." She prided herself.

"AKIKO!"

Before they could continue on with their conversation, they heard Hajime scream inside the room. The sudden scream made them scramble inside the room, slamming the door open as they pushed themselves into the room without prior heads up.

...

As soon as Hajime entered the room, the first thing that he saw was a familiar girl sitting on the bed. Kirisu stood by the corner of the room, watching the reunion unfold. The girl’s head was turned to the windows as she admired the view outside. It was a clear day with the sunlight pouring through the window, naturally flooding the room with sunlight. A smile appeared on her face as she combed her hair with her hand. She turned around, and for the first time, Hajime saw her whole face.

The memories of the past year flashed before Hajime. All the hardships he had to suffer, as well as the sacrifice he had to make, flashed before his eyes. However, compared to how his younger sister suffered, he knew he couldn’t compare his experiences to hers. There she was, with her eyes open after more than a year. Despite her sunken cheeks and thin stature, she was smiling. frёewebηovel.cѳm

"Ah, it’s big brother," She greeted, her eyes tearing up. Unbeknownst to Hajime, Kirisu had already given her a rundown on what happened. Before Hajime even got there, she already knew how much her brother suffered, as well as how long she was in a coma.

Seeing his younger sister wake up after all these months made Hajime freeze in place. He couldn’t speak, and yet he felt like his throat was choking. Tears started streaming down his cheeks as every kind of emotion overwhelmed him.

Regret. Sadness. Longing. He felt everything at once as he bawled his eyes out.

"AKIKO!"

His scream gave him the strength to run to his sister, enveloping her in his hug as he squeezed her tightly. For a moment, Hajime thought that he was dreaming, and yet he could feel his younger sister returning his embrace. It was warm, and her hands weren’t limp as they once were. "You’re awake. You’re awake." Hajime kept on mumbling to himself. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

At the same time, everyone outside flocked inside the room upon hearing Hajime raise his voice. First hand, they saw the heartfelt reunion between two siblings, and they couldn’t help but tear up.

"I’m home, big bro," Akiko greeted, ignoring everyone in the room as she snuggled into her brother’s arms.