[Koharu Aiba's POV]
Even after afternoon homeroom ended, I stayed in my seat.
All around the classroom, the voices of students heading off to club activities overlapped with those packing up to walk home together. People wove between the desks, filing out through the open doorway into the corridor one after another.
That lively bustle gradually thinned, and by the time the day's class monitors finished writing in the logbook at the blackboard, most of the desks were empty.
Anna moved over to the seat by the window and set her bag on the desk.
"Your brother's coming here, right?"
"Yeah. This morning, he said he'd come down to the first-year classrooms after homeroom was over."
As I answered, my eyes dropped to my phone on the edge of the desk.
If you start feeling unwell, message me right away. I had drilled that into him before we parted at the entrance this morning, but so far, not a single message had arrived from him.
Since he hadn't reached out, I wanted to believe he was fine.
Even so, after attending every single class from morning to afternoon the very day after being discharged from the hospital, there was no way he was truly okay. What if the pain had flared up on his way here, and he was resting somewhere without telling anyone? Every time that thought crossed my mind, I found myself checking my phone screen again.
"Wouldn't it have been better to go meet him?"
"If I did that, there wouldn't have been any point in making the promise. Today, I'm having him come to me."
"You want to see for yourself that he really made it through the whole day at school."
Having my thoughts read so cleanly by Anna, I offered an ambiguous smile.
Since parting at the shoe lockers this morning, I hadn't seen my brother once. Even if we were in the same school, being in different grades meant our classrooms were far apart. I had considered going up to the second-year floor during lunch break to check on him, but I knew doing so would only trouble him with my overprotectiveness.
Besides, my brother had someone he wanted to see.
The girl he had rescued during the fire, whose name he still hadn't been able to give.
When he told me he intended to talk to her today, he had looked just like his usual self on the surface, but underneath, he had been just a little nervous.
Had he managed to find her?
Had he properly introduced himself?
Precisely because I didn't know the full story, my imagination ran wild.
Just as I was lost in those thoughts, a quiet knock sounded at the open classroom door.
"Koharu."
Turning around, I saw my brother standing there.
He held his bag in his left hand, his right arm hanging naturally at his side. He wore the same long-sleeved uniform as this morning, but his collar was slightly loose, and a thin sheen of sweat clung to his forehead.
His posture wasn't slumped, yet his shoulders hung lower than when we had left the house, the fatigue of the whole day radiating from his frame as he stood in the doorway.
"Brother."
When I stood up, his expression softened slightly at the sight of my face.
"Did I keep you waiting?"
"No. We just finished up."
"Actually, we've been waiting about ten minutes," Anna chimed in with a laugh.
"Anna."
"Well, if we don't let him know it's fine even if he's a little late, he might rush over next time."
Her tone made it clear she wasn't reproaching him, but looking out for him.
My brother seemed to realize that as well, ducking his head apologetically.
"Thanks for waiting, Sawamura."
"I was just chatting with Koharu. More importantly, are you all right after a full day, Naoki?"
"I'm more tired than I expected, but I sat through all the classes."
Hearing him not say "I'm fine" brought me a small wave of relief.
It seemed that, at least for now, he remembered his promise from this morning not to hide his condition.
"How's your shoulder?"
"It stiffened up a bit when I kept writing on the board in the same posture. But I rested it along the way, so it's settled down now."
"Did you go to the nurse's office?"
"No. I just stayed seated during the breaks."
"I don't think you can call that resting."
"I didn't force it to move, so I'm not wrong, am I?"
I wasn't completely convinced, but just the fact that he admitted to the pain was a step forward.
I picked up my bag and took the small tote hanging beside my desk in hand.
My brother reflexively started to reach out.
Only his left hand moved, and it was already holding his own bag. Realizing he couldn't carry both at once, his fingers froze midair.
"Want me to take that?"
"It's light, so I'm fine. Besides, I wasn't waiting around just so you could carry my things."
"I know. I was just asking."
My brother obediently pulled his hand back.
In the past, he probably would have snatched it from me anyway.
Seeing how his injury had limited what he could do brought a faint ache to my chest. But right now, I reminded myself that I should simply be glad he hadn't pushed himself.
We parted ways with Anna at the entrance lockers.
"See you tomorrow, Koharu. And don't overdo it, Naoki."
"Yeah. Thanks for today."
"I was just waiting around, honestly."
"Still, it gave me peace of mind knowing Koharu wasn't by herself."
Anna's eyes went wide for a split second, then curved into a small chuckle.
"Well then, I'll stick with her tomorrow too."
"We're in the same class, so that's completely normal," I pointed out.
"True, but I figured promising it would put your brother's mind at ease."
Unsure whether she was teasing me or genuinely being thoughtful, I gave Anna's shoulder a light shove.
"All right, that's enough. See you tomorrow."
"Yep. See you tomorrow."
Stepping out of the school building, we walked side by side toward the front gate.
The shouts of the sports clubs drifted from the distance, and the slanted rays of the late afternoon sun still beat warmly against our skin. Despite having only just started walking, fresh sweat was already beading on my brother's forehead under his long sleeves.
I shortened my strides slightly. I thought he might notice if I matched his pace too blatantly, but my brother slowed down in the exact same way.
"Koharu, are you tired?"
"I'm fine. I'm just matching your pace, Brother."
"I only slowed down because you were walking so slowly."
We looked at each other.
Neither of us knew who had slowed down first, and we laughed softly at the same time.
"Then let's head home at this speed."
"Yeah."
We took our time walking the path from the school to the station, moving far more slowly than we had this morning.
A few times, my brother tilted his head as if favoring his right shoulder. When I asked about the pain, he answered honestly, "It's just pulling a little."
I didn't know how much "a little" really meant. Even so, it was vastly better than him pretending nothing hurt at all.
Arriving at the station, we picked a less crowded train car.
When I moved to stand on his right side just as I had this morning, my brother shifted against the wall first.
"You're the one who told me to do this this morning, Koharu."
"You remembered."
"I'm not that forgetful."
As I took my place to his left, the train began to glide forward.
Watching the scenery drift past the window, I hesitated over when to ask.
Since leaving the school, my brother hadn't brought up the person he wanted to see even once.
If the conversation had gone well, his face would have looked a bit brighter. On the other hand, if he hadn't managed to meet her, asking might only bring him down.
Even so, I couldn't just remain in the dark about what had been on my mind all day.
"Brother."
"What is it?"
"Did you meet the person you mentioned this morning?"
After a brief silence, my brother answered while staring at his reflection in the glass.
"I saw her."
"Did you tell her your name?"
"No. I decided not to say anything for now."
Surprised by the unexpected answer, I looked up at his profile.
"Why? You said you were definitely going to talk to her today."
"That was the plan. But I realized that if I gave my name now, she might feel indebted to me. Even if she secretly wanted to keep her distance, she wouldn't be able to say no."
I couldn't immediately grasp what he meant.
I didn't know the exact details of what my brother had done or what had passed between them.
All I knew was that he had saved someone during the fire and ended up in the hospital before he could tell them who he was.
"You mean... if she finds out who you are, she won't be able to pull away even if she wants to?"
"There's a good chance of that. Out of guilt toward me, she might force herself to accept me even if she doesn't really want to."
There was no hesitation in his voice. I could tell he wasn't making up his mind on the spot, but explaining a conclusion he had already settled on.
Even so, the hand gripping the train strap held slightly more tension than usual.
"Do you regret it?"
"Not about keeping quiet, no."
The reply came immediately.
Perhaps that answer was something he had reaffirmed to himself countless times already.
"Then... are you sad that you couldn't talk to her even though you saw her?"
My brother glanced over at me.
He hadn't expected me to dig that deep, and his eyes widened slightly.
"Koharu, you really don't pull your punches with the hard questions, do you?"
"Only when I don't want you dodging them."
The train took a gentle curve, the carriage swaying softly.
My brother angled his body to keep his right shoulder from bumping the wall, then let out a resigned sigh.
"A little sad, yeah. It's not like I forgot our promise."
"I see."
No comforting words came to mind.
Without knowing the full story, I couldn't say whether my brother's choice was right or wrong.
However, choosing to keep his distance when the person he wanted to see was standing right before his eyes had to leave an ache in his chest.
"But you'll tell her someday, right?"
"Yeah. I think it'll be better once she gets to know the everyday me, not the me from the fire."
"Then I think it's fine this way for now."
My brother didn't answer immediately.
His reflection in the window looked just a tiny bit lonely.
Eventually, the tension drained from his fingers, and he gave a quiet nod.
"Yeah. For now, this is best."
Hearing the resolve in his voice, I dropped the subject.
It wasn't that I wanted to make him reconsider his choice.
I just wanted him to know that he didn't have to bottle up the loneliness tucked inside it.
By the time we reached home, the sky had shifted to a pale madder red.
Unlocking the front door, we found a note from Mom sitting on top of the shoe cabinet.
Got called in for a sudden shift cover, so I'll be late. Dinner is in the fridge. Naoki, make sure you take your medicine as soon as you get home. Koharu, don't let him push himself.
Seeing that last line, my brother gave a wry chuckle.
"Mom doesn't trust me before I've even done anything."
"Given how you acted up until yesterday, can you blame her? What about your medicine?"
"I'll take it now."
"Change your clothes first. They told you this morning that staying in sweaty clothes is bad for the wound, remember?"
"You're turning into Mom, Koharu."
"If someone doesn't say it, you'll forget."
"I wasn't forgetting. I just figured I'd rest for a bit first."
"That's called procrastinating."
Retorting all the while, I pulled the barley tea from the refrigerator.
Waiting for my brother to change into his loungewear and return, I handed him a glass along with his medicine.
Once he finished taking his pills, my brother sat down on the living room sofa, saying he would rest until dinner.
He closed his eyes without touching the TV remote.
I was about to tell him to sleep in his room if he was tired, but by then, his breathing had already deepened.
He was leaning slightly to the left to avoid putting any weight on his right shoulder.
The wound hidden beneath his long sleeves was invisible. Even so, the posture he took to ward off the pain made it painfully obvious that he was far from healed.
The burn scars I had seen for the first time yesterday flashed in my mind.
Discolored in angry red, the skin on his right shoulder looked as if it had lost its original texture entirely in places.
My brother had said it was healing little by little, but it was nothing like the "minor injury" I had pictured in my head.
Deciding to let him sleep until Mom came home, I gently draped a light blanket over him from his left side.
I thought I had been careful not to graze his right shoulder. Still, whether waking from the brush of the fabric or the shift in the air, his brow furrowed faintly.
"...Koharu?"
"Did I wake you?"
"No. What time is it?"
"Not even seven yet. Let's have dinner a bit later."
As my brother tried to sit up, his breath hitched the moment he put weight on his right shoulder.
He immediately smoothed his expression, but I couldn't pretend I hadn't seen it.
"Did that hurt?"
"I was sleeping in the same position, so it just locked up a bit."
"Really? That's all?"
My brother paused, shifting his right shoulder slightly as if testing it.
"I promised not to hide anything, didn't I? It hurt a little when I moved. Nothing more, nothing less."
Given that answer, I had no choice but to take his word for it.
I nodded and rested my hands on the low table in front of the sofa.
"I'll warm up dinner."
"If it's just heating up what Mom made, I can do that much."
"Are you planning to carry the dishes with your right hand?"
"I can manage with my left."
"Carrying hot food with one hand is dangerous if you drop it. I'll take care of it today, so just stay seated, Brother."
"But—"
"You kept your promise about being honest, so now listen to me."
My brother started to argue, but seeing me march off to the kitchen, he seemed to give up.
Behind me, I heard him say, "Call me if you need a hand with anything."
In the refrigerator were simmered dishes and seasoned greens that Mom had prepared this morning.
Scooping the rice, reheating the miso soup, and setting out dishes for two. Even for such simple chores, figuring out what to carry and in what order took longer than I expected.
"Koharu, the miso soup."
My brother, now seated at the table, was watching my hands.
"What?"
"Don't carry both bowls at once. Just bring them over one at a time."
"I can handle this much."
"If you spill it, you'll burn yourself."
"Having you lecture me about burns leaves me zero room to talk back, you know."
"Then be good and put one down."
When I placed one bowl back on the counter as told, a look of relief crossed his face.
He was so careless about his own injuries, yet so fussy when it came to me.
That part of him hadn't changed in the slightest since before his hospitalization.
Mom finally returned home after we had finished dinner and cleared the table.
"I'm home. Sorry I'm so late."
Entering the living room with a weary voice, Mom looked at my brother's right shoulder before she even looked at our faces.
"How was your day? The pain hasn't gotten worse, has it?"
"It pulled a bit during class, but it's settled down now."
"Let me see the wound. You must have sweated quite a bit."
Setting her bag down, Mom immediately began preparing the medical supplies without taking a moment to catch her breath.
She helped my brother out of his long-sleeved shirt, peeled away the protective dressing, and meticulously examined the state of the burn.
A deeper layer of exhaustion clouded her face than this morning.
After a full day of work at the hospital, treating her son's injury was waiting for her the second she walked through the door. Mom never once complained, but I didn't miss the faint tremble in her fingers as she tore open the antiseptic packet.
"Mom, what about dinner?"
"I'll eat later. I have to finish this first."
"I'll warm it up for you."
"You had school today too, Koharu. Just sit down and relax."
"It's only heating it up."
Without waiting for an answer, I headed into the kitchen.
Behind me, Mom asked my brother about the severity of the pain, and this time, he answered without brushing it off.
Both of them were desperately trying not to make me worry.
My brother hid his injury, and Mom hid her exhaustion.
Stuck between them, it felt like I was the only one doing nothing—just sitting back and being protected.
I knew that wasn't true.
Going to school and staying healthy was an important part of supporting the family, too.
Even so, when the people dearest to me were pushing themselves to their limits right before my eyes, I couldn't just carry on as normal.
◇◇◇
The next morning, I woke up before my alarm went off.
Stepping into the dim kitchen, I checked the contents of the refrigerator. Before Mom got up, I wanted to at least have breakfast completely ready.
I fumbled the first fold of the rolled omelet, and I ended up putting too much dashi into the miso soup. When packing the freshly cooked rice into the bento boxes, I didn't know how long it needed to cool before putting the lids on, so I had to look it up on my phone.
Even with the hiccups, by the time Mom stepped into the kitchen, breakfast for three and bentos for two were properly laid out.
"Koharu, you made all of this?"
"Yeah. You were home late yesterday, Mom."
"You should have woken me up."
"I made it so you wouldn't have to wake up early."
Mom gave me a touched smile, but as she checked the clock, her brow furrowed.
"What time did you get up?"
"Just a little earlier than usual."
"There's no need for you to run yourself ragged too, Koharu."
"I'm not running myself ragged. I just took over what you do every day for this morning, that's all."
Overhearing our voices, my brother walked into the living room while straightening his uniform collar.
"What's going on so early?"
"Koharu made breakfast and our bento boxes."
"Koharu did?"
A little annoyed by his sheer surprise, I set the plate of rolled omelet onto the table.
"I can do this much, you know."
"I didn't say you couldn't. I was just surprised, that's all."
"That's super rude."
My brother took a seat and brought a slightly misshapen piece of rolled omelet to his mouth.
Noticing I was waiting for his verdict, he immediately picked up another piece with his chopsticks.
"It's good."
"Really?"
"A little on the sweet side, but I like it that way."
"Is that a compliment?"
"It's a compliment. Thank you."
Hearing his straightforward thanks brought a warm glow to my chest.
Even if I couldn't do anything grand, taking a bit of the load off my family was something within my power.
If Mom got to rest in the morning and my brother didn't have to strain himself carrying plates with one hand, then waking up early was well worth it.
"Still, don't try doing this every single day from now on."
Setting down his bowl of miso soup, my brother looked me in the eye.
"Why not?"
"You had to get up way earlier than usual today, right? You're going to crash at school."
"I'll be fine once I get used to it."
"Getting used to it is the hard part, is what I'm saying."
"Hearing you tell me not to overdo things has zero credibility, Brother."
"We're not talking about me right now."
When I shot back, my brother knitted his brows in defeat. Mom chimed in as well, insisting that just helping out with little things here and there was more than enough.
I told them I understood.
I really didn't intend to shoulder everything on my own.
Making breakfast, hanging the laundry, and helping a bit with dinner prep when I got home. I was sure I could handle that much while still going to school.
Just until my brother's shoulder healed a bit more.
Until Mom's schedule settled down.
Until things at home went back to how they used to be, it was fine if I picked up a little extra slack.
That night, returning to my room after finishing folding the laundry, my untouched homework was waiting on my desk.
The clock was already past eleven.
Sitting down in my chair, I flipped open my textbook.
Though drowsiness weighed heavily on my eyelids, the assignment was due tomorrow. Tracing the lines of text across the page, rereading the same sentences several times, I somehow managed to grind through the final problem.
When I pushed myself up from the chair, my vision blackened for a split second.
I caught myself on the desk, and the darkness cleared right away.
It was just from standing up too fast. I had eaten dinner, and it wasn't like I had a fever.
From the room next door, I heard my brother coughing.
I moved toward the door to check on him, but stopped dead in my tracks.
If I went in now, he would know I was still awake. He would definitely lecture me to go straight to bed.
I switched off my bedroom light and slipped under the covers.
Even if I lost a little sleep, I could still wake up tomorrow morning.
Even if I got a little tired, as long as I could be of help to my family, it was worth it.
By the time I closed my eyes with that thought, the clock had already ticked past midnight.