Chapter 90. Wisteria Witness

Ayaka had barely set her coffee down when her phone buzzed with an incoming call.

Seeing Makoto's name flash across the screen made her stomach flip—not because she was nervous, but because something about the timing felt off.

He rarely called first thing in the morning.

She answered quickly.

"Makoto?"

"Hey." his voice came through, slightly strained. "Sorry to call so early. Um… we're at Tokyo Medical Center."

Her eyes widened. "What happened?"

"It's Suzuki" Makoto said. "We hung out together with Mori last night. He dragged us into this weird restaurant and ordered a weird food combination. He was food poisoned. He was puking his soul out by midnight, and Mori and I ended up driving him here."

"Seriously...that guy..." Ayaka was already standing, grabbing her bag. "I'm coming over right now."

"Yeah, they've admitted him for the day just to monitor him. IV and all." There was a pause, then his voice lowered, "He keeps saying it was worth it."

Ayaka let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Of course he does. That idiot."

She grabbed her coat and bag in one swift motion. "I'll tell Yuki and Keiko, too. We'll be there soon."

"Alright." Makoto said, his voice softening at the edges. "Just… get here safe, okay?"

There was something in his tone—warm and laced with quiet relief—that made her heart thud once.

"I will." she replied, just as gently. "Hang in there."

When the call ended, Ayaka immediately messaged Yuki and Keiko.

Within minutes, the group chat lit up with horrified emojis, a flurry of "WHAT?!" from Yuki, and Keiko's more practical: On my way. Do we need to bring anything?

Ayaka barely stopped to think before texting back: Just yourselves. And maybe mental preparation. It's Kazumi, after all.

------

The automatic doors of Tokyo Medical Center slid open with a hiss as Ayaka stepped through, followed closely by Yuki and Keiko, who both looked equally concerned and thoroughly annoyed.

"He better be dying for real." Keiko grumbled as she stomped through the hallway in boots far too loud for a hospital setting.

"I swear, if it's another one of his food experiments gone wrong…" Yuki muttered, her tone part anger, part exhaustion.

The moment they reached Room 3B and swung the door open, the three women were met with the sight of Kazumi, dramatically sprawled on the hospital bed like a fainting nobleman.

He had a cold compress on his forehead, an IV line taped to his arm, and an expression that could win him a daytime Emmy.

"You never change!" Keiko snapped, rubbing her temples like she was the one who needed medical care.

"See what you get from eating those weird food combinations?!" Yuki followed up, folding her arms in a way that spelled doom.

"Where's your family, by the way?" Ayaka asked, setting her bag down and glancing toward the machines monitoring Kazumi's vitals.

"They left him." Takeshi said flatly from where he was leaning against the doorframe, sipping what looked like his third black coffee of the morning.

Kazumi raised a hand dramatically. "You're overreacting! They're just out of town!"

Makoto, who was seated beside the bed looking like he hadn't slept all night, added calmly, "We tried contacting his family, but they're on vacation in Okinawa. Not reachable."

"Wait—Miura is here?!" Yuki exclaimed, eyes wide as she spotted the handsome blonde with eyes as green as an emerald, sitting casually next to Kazumi.

Makoto gave a small smile, but before he could speak—

"Out of all the places to meet the famous Moonlight Sonata..." Keiko's voice pitched higher as she threw a betrayed glare at Kazumi.

"Kazumi, this is your fault!" She lightly smacked him with her purse. "You and your cursed taste buds!"

Yuki, ever the supportive best friend, joined in and gave him a half-hearted bop on the arm. "You embarrassed us in front of Miura!"

"Owww! You two stop it! I'm a patient!" Kazumi whined, grabbing the hospital blanket and holding it up like a makeshift shield.

"This is Keiko and Yuki..." Ayaka explained, casting an apologetic smile toward Makoto, who looked thoroughly amused. "They've, uh... wanted to meet you for a while."

Just then, the door opened with a quiet creak.

The room went still as a familiar figure walked in.

A man with unmistakable red hair, a stethoscope slung around his neck, and a chart in hand—Dr. Toru Hasegawa.

He froze the moment he took in the full room, his eyes briefly sweeping over every familiar face before landing on Ayaka... and quickly looking away again.

"Well..." he said with a dry chuckle, "What a reunion."

A heavy silence settled for a beat.

Yuki raised an eyebrow.

Keiko slowly lowered her purse.

"Good morning, Mr. Suzuki." Toru said briskly, shifting into his professional tone. "I'm Dr. Hasegawa, and I'll be your attending physician today."

Kazumi squinted at him. "Wait a minute... aren't you Nakamura's best friend? I don't want you as my doctor."

"Tch—Kazumi, you idiot!" Yuki scolded, smacking him again lightly. "You can't say that to a doctor!"

Takeshi sighed. "I'm just gonna step out for some fresh air before I say something we'll all regret." He walked out with the slow grace of a man dodging a migraine.

Toru leaned forward with a practiced smile. "Even if you don't want me as your doctor, I'm the one on deck today. Which means you don't really have a choice. Now—let's see what your stomach has to say for itself."

He approached the bedside, pulling on latex gloves with a snap that made Kazumi flinch.

"No offense." Kazumi muttered, "But I don't trust any doctor who looks like he could be in a rock band."

Toru grinned. "Luckily for you, I graduated from med school."

Ayaka shifted uncomfortably near the back of the room, watching Toru with a conflicted expression.

He hadn't so much as looked at her directly, and yet there was tension hanging thick between them, unspoken and taut.

Makoto noticed.

Toru began the examination with swift efficiency.

He checked Kazumi's temperature, pulse, and reflexes, muttering to himself in rapid-fire medical jargon as he flipped through the chart and jotted down notes.

Then he pressed gently around Kazumi's abdomen, asking him to point out the pain.

"Right... here!" Kazumi groaned, jerking dramatically as Toru palpated the lower right quadrant.

Toru didn't even flinch. "Classic food borne illness symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, dehydration. You're lucky your appendix isn't angry."

"Tell that to my intestines." Kazumi grumbled.

"You'll live." Toru replied, straightening up.

"We'll keep you for observation. IV fluids for rehydration, antiemetics for nausea, and I'll send your labs to confirm there's nothing bacterial going on. You're not going anywhere until I say so."

Kazumi frowned. "You mean I have to stay here... with you?"

Toru leaned in, smirking. "Afraid so. And just so you know, the food in the cafeteria won't involve durian."

Keiko let out a choked laugh, while Yuki shook her head in disbelief.

Toru pulled off his gloves with a flick and turned to Ayaka briefly—just briefly.

Their eyes met for the first time since he'd entered, and in that moment, there was a flicker of something unreadable. Hurt? Concern? Regret?

But before Ayaka could say anything, he was already striding toward the door. "Page me if he starts auditioning for a soap opera again."

As he left, silence fell again—until Kazumi groaned dramatically and muttered into his pillow, "I don't know what was worse… the food poisoning or the emotional whiplash I just witnessed."

Yuki and Keiko exchanged glances.

Makoto looked toward Ayaka.

And Ayaka?

She was still staring at the door Toru had just walked through.

------

As soon as Toru stepped out of the examination room, the heavy door sliding shut behind him, he exhaled loudly, dragging a hand through his disheveled red hair.

"Damn!" he muttered under his breath, loosening the top button of his white coat.

"That was suffocating. I thought they were going to eat me alive there."

He didn't wait around to hear anyone else call his name.

He turned on his heel and made a beeline for the hospital's back garden—a small, neatly landscaped space tucked behind the emergency wing, usually meant for patients and staff seeking a brief moment of peace.

Today, Toru desperately needed it.

The spring air was cool against his skin, and the faint scent of lavender and medicinal herbs tickled his nose as he stepped onto the gravel path. He leaned against the iron railing overlooking a row of trimmed hedges, eyes briefly closing, letting the tension roll off his shoulders.

But the moment he began to relax, his phone vibrated violently in his coat pocket.

He yanked it out with a huff. "What now—?"

Then he saw the name glowing on the screen.

His expression darkened.

He answered immediately. "Akihiko!" he hissed under his breath, glancing around to make sure no one was nearby.

"Until when are you planning to torture me like this?! You told me to make her give up on you, and now—now your damn text messages sound different!"

His voice rose with a mix of frustration and disbelief, and he took several angry strides across the gravel. "You keep telling me to push her away. You begged me to make her forget you. But then you're curious who's with her?! Are you trying to drive me crazy?!"

He paused, listening to something on the other end, and his brows shot up. "What?!"

He barked, eyes widening. "You idiot! You are an absolute hopeless idiot! I swear, if I get one more passive-aggressive glare from her, I'm going to lose it! At this rate, even Ms. Yamamoto is going to switch attending physicians just to avoid the drama!"

With a strangled groan, he jabbed the screen and ended the call, nearly flinging the phone into the flower bed.

"I swear, I'm going to need blood pressure medication before I turn thirty..." he muttered, his knuckles white as he gripped the phone.

Just then—a voice, calm and cutting, broke through the garden's stillness.

"So you weren't being honest after all."

Toru froze.

His head snapped around. "Who's there?!"

From the far side of the garden, partially concealed by a trellis of wisteria, a figure stepped out into the light.

His stride was deliberate, his expression unreadable.

Hands in his pockets, black coat swaying slightly with each step—Takeshi.

The intensity in his gaze was unwavering, sharp as a blade.

Toru straightened, trying to recover his composure, but his heart was already hammering in his chest. "A-azrael Emberlight?" he greeted stiffly,

"D-don't you know I'm a big fan? Y-you scared the hell out of me!" He smiled awkwardly and nervously.

"I meant to." Takeshi replied flatly, halting a few feet away.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "So. You and Nakamura have been in contact this whole time."

Toru said nothing, jaw clenched.

The garden felt much smaller all of a sudden.

Takeshi's voice dropped.

"Tell me... Where the hell is Nakamura?"