As The Wind Blows Your Scent To Me

Kazuya pushed aside a stack of documents on the working desk. After analyzing them for hours since early in the morning, he felt like countless words and numbers were playing catch inside his brain.

He shook his head a few times, trying to chase the figures and alphabets away from continuously wrecking chaos in his mind.

Kazuya was so tempted to take a nap right now but, his workload didn't allow him to.

His mind was also thinking about something else, or rather, about someone.

"Tired? Aren't you going for lunch?"

Shuichi's voice came from the door. He poked his head inside the office, staring at his friend who was leaning his back against the swivel chair.

"Where would you go?" Kazuya took his phone from the desk, slowly rose to his feet then looked at his friend, "The usual place?"

"Of course! Your good buddy here needs his daily dose of good coffee!" Shuichi exclaimed, "Hurry up! I still have lots to do after lunch hour."

Although Shuichi looked like a carefree man, he placed greater importance on every task that was entrusted to him. That was why Kazuya felt comfortable working with this childhood friend of his.

"Yeah, yeah," Kazuya just agreed with wherever Shuichi wanted to go.

While he walked out of the office, the one where his brother used to work, Kazuya swept his gaze over his phone. His finger tapped on the green icon of the LINE app. He read again his prior chat with Himari.

[Himari: The yuzu tea has eased my sore throat ah]

[Himari: PinkStrawberryOK.png]

Those were her messages before he replied with two more texts. After that, there was nothing coming from her.

If it was the usual day, Kazuya wouldn't think much because Himari might be busy with her job but, it seemed like the lady had gotten sick. It must be because of the cold canal water from yesterday.

Should he just call her?

But, it might disrupt her job or rest.

After contemplating the matter for a moment, Kazuya just resorted to texting her.

[Kazuya: Are you feeling better now?]

"...heard they would release a new menu today. I want to try it! Let's see if the new menu could rival their previous dish," Shuichi kept on muttering before he realized the troubled look on Kazuya's face. He stopped in his track, "What's wrong with you ah?"

Kazuya brought his gaze from the screen to Shuichi's peering look. He smiled faintly, "Nothing. Let's go."

The office was deserted as the employees had already gone out for lunch. For their operations, they rented three floors of the commercial building as their office. It was still easy to meet people from other small companies like them.

Kazuya and Shuichi exited the building and walked to the row of shops on the opposite side of the road. People had begun to flock to the restaurants and cafes at the shop row.

LINE~

Kazuya quickly looked at his phone. His hope faltered as he saw that the message was sent by Izumi instead of Himari. Nevertheless, he still opened the unread text.

What was displayed on the screen surprised him.

[Izumi: Uncle, Teacher Kato took a sick leave. Apparently, she got a fever]

[Izumi: Teacher Ayase from the next class told us that she's really sick]

[Izumi: Another teacher sent Teacher Kato home]

From surprise, his emotion changed to concern.

How sick was she? 

She lived alone with only her cat as her companion. Even though her fever might not be too bad, it was still perturbing in her current condition. 

He was also worried if she was affected by the appearance of that man yesterday. 

"Eh, what's wrong with you again?" Shuichi asked because Kazuya stopped walking all of a sudden.

They had just arrived at the restaurant. Before Shuichi walked inside, he found that Kazuya was standing stiffly on the pedestrian walk a few meters from him.

His friend had been staring at the phone a few times already. Did he get bad news?

Kazuya looked at the confused Shuichi. He pondered for a few more minutes then replied, "Sorry. I have something to do. Eat by yourself."

"Eh? Hey! Where are you going!"

Shuichi's loud yell only attracted the passers-by's attention rather than his friend's. Kazuya had turned around and walked briskly to cross the road, heading back to the building of their company.

What was wrong with this man?

Kazuya was busy scrolling down his phone. He had tried to call Himari twice but both of them were not answered. The latest text that he sent to her also was marked as unread.

Thinking that he would just bother her rest or something else indeed had happened to her, Kazuya diverted his attention to another way to contact her.

In his own point of view, Kazuya realized he was overly concerned about her. It might just be a mild illness but, he couldn't shake his worries away.

He understood what it felt like to be sick with no one around him.

Once he found the number that he was looking for, Kazuya tapped on the call button without hesitating. Within a short time, the line was connected.

"Hello, Mr. Kashino? This is me, Hayashi Kazuya. I want to ask about..."

A few hours later.

The clock continued ticking. The sun gradually setting down as the horizon was dyed in shades of amber and orange. The children who were happily playing outside were called back home by their mothers.

Inside the small apartment of Himari, it was quiet, too quiet.

The only sound that echoed faintly was her breathing as she slept on the bed. Even the orange feline who slept next to her didn't meow as usual as if he understood his mama needed rest.

"...en, urgh..."

Himari tossed and turned on the bed, her whole expression showing pain. After a few minutes, she slowly opened her eyes. The image before her was blurred and dimmed. 

"...Chobi? Cough!"

"Meow~" Chobi lifted up his head, staring at Himari from where he was lying.

Himari forced herself to open her eyes properly. Her eyes felt hot yet her body shivered in cold. She coughed a few times, almost running her already parched throat dry.

"What time it is?" Her voice was so hoarse once she spoke.

Himari didn't cough frequently like before she slept yet, her throat was still uncomfortable.

From the darkened sky outside, Himari assumed the time must be around six to seven o'clock. The lamp poles had begun to illuminate the streets all over the neighborhood. 

Her headache was still painful. Himari fought the urge to lie down again before she reached for the thermos that stood on the bedside table.

It was the thermos given by Kazuya. She hadn't finished the entire bottle of yuzu tea.

This afternoon, Teacher Masuda only left after she made sure Himari lied on the bed after eating the porridge. The beef porridge that she hadn't eaten was stored inside the cabinet. Himari could just heat it for dinner.

Ding dong~

Ding dong~

"...who?"

Himari looked out of the bedroom, eyes staring at the entrance that was hidden behind the walls.

Ding dong~

The bell continued ringing. Himari had no choice but to get up from bed. She grabbed a long cardigan, draped it over her shoulders then walked out of the bedroom with a slow movement.

"...go away! You would just worsen her condition!"

"I'm just worried about her."

"Get lost! Seeing you would make her feel sicker!"

Two voices sounded from the outside. One was harsh while the other was gloomy. The voices were familiar to Himari even though she couldn't focus properly right now.

Himari opened the door slowly. Her pale face changed as the face of one of the two entered her eyes.

"Himari! Himari! Are you okay?" The harsh voice changed into a worried one once Himari stood at the door.

"Nanako..." Himari looked at her best friend before her eyes drifted to the man standing next to her. She muttered, "...and Jun."

Jun's face turned stiff at the sight of her ashen-looking face. He nodded and spoke, "Himari, I came because I heard you have gotten sick. How are you now? Should we go to a doctor?"

Himari closed her eyes and opened them again. With an indifferent look, she answered, "It's like how you see me. Nanako, come in."

"Yes!"

Himari walked back into the apartment with Nanako followed from behind. Under Jun's stunned eyes, Nanako slammed the door shut, almost hitting his nose when he suddenly moved closer.

Click.

Nanako didn't forget to lock the door. Through the tiny gap of the door, she yelled, "Get lost or I'll call the police!"

Himari watched her friend in helplessness. She curved a faint smile, "Why are you here? Don't you have work to do?"

"Hey! I came to check on you! Who told you to not tell me that you're sick?" Nanako nagged at Himari once she got the opportunity, "You're really something, Himari. If I didn't know, you must have been holing inside your room, handling everything by yourself."

"...I didn't mean to," Himari shrank her neck, feeling guilty all of a sudden. Then, something dawned on her, "Wait, how do you know that I'm sick?"

And, it was also weird because Jun also came here knowing that she had fallen ill.

"Mr. Hayashi told me! Well, I heard he knew from his nephew first then, he called Ryota to ask about me then Ryota gave my number to him so, I ran here as soon as I can!"

While Nanako was recounting the entire event that led her to be here, Himari was lost in her daze.

Kazuya did.... what?